AS genius as sacred poets and musicians, than to their possessing the spirit of prophecy. Psalms 1. lxxiii.—lxxxiii. were composed by Asaph.

ASENATH, the daughter of Potipherah, and wife of Joseph, was the mother of Ephraim and Manasseh. (Gen. xli. 45. and xlvi. 20.) The etymology, Gesenius observes, is Egyptian (but obscure), and this circumstance furnishes an additional presumption in favour of the authenticity of the writings of Moses; for, according to Coquerel, the name of a woman absolutely analagous to this has been discovered on Egyptian monuments, which is composed of the monosyllable As and Neith, the name of the Egyptian Minerva.

ASHDOD. See Azorus, p. 411. infra.

AS

ping an ass, see p. 137. And on the subject of Balaam's ass speaking, see Vol. I. p. 421.

ASSEMBLY at Ephesus, powers of, 61.

Assos, a maritime city of Mysia, according to some geographers, but of Troas, according to others. It is mentioned in Acts xx. 13, 14.

ASSYRIA, a country of Asia, the boundaries of which it is difficult to assign. It appears to have been situated between the Tigris and the Euphrates, enclosed between those two rivers, from the part where they begin to approach each other on leaving Mesopotamia to that where they join, not far from their mouth, in the Gulf of Persia.

ASHKENAZ, the eldest son of Gomer (Gen. x. 3. Jer. li. 7.), and the father or head of a nation. That a people in northern Asia is intended is evident from its being placed next to Gomer (Cymmeria), in the first instance, and next to Ararat (Armenia), in the second. The Jews understand by it, Germany, and use the word in that signification. Bochart was of opinion that the regio Ascania in Phrygia and Bithynia was peopled by the descendants of Ashkenaz.

ASHPENAZ, master of the eunuchs, or rather one of the chief chamberlains of Nebuchadnezzar, who was commanded to select certain Jewish captives to be instructed in the literature and sciences of the Chaldæans. In this number he included Daniel and his three companions, whose names he changed into Chaldæan appellations. Their refusal to partake of the provisions sent from the monarch's table filled Ashpenaz with apprehension; he had, however, the generosity not to use constraint towards them. At that time, as in our days, the Asiatic despots frequently punished with death the least infraction of their wills. In acceding to the request of Daniel, Ashpenaz had every thing to apprehend; and the grateful prophet specially records that God had disposed him to treat him with kindness. (Dan. i. 3 -16.)

ASTAROTH, a Phoenician or Syrian idol, notice of, 138. ASHUR, the son of Shem (Gen. iii. 11.), who gave his name to ASSYRIA.

ASIA, one of the largest divisions of the Old World, is not mentioned in the Old Testament. In the New Testament it is always taken for Asia Minor, as it includes the proconsular Asia, which comprised the four regions of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria, and Lydia. In this proconsular Asia were the seven churches of Ephesus, Laodicea, Pergamos, Philadelphia, Sardis, Smyrna, and Thyatira.

ÁSIARCHS, officers appointed to preside over the worship of the gods, and the sacred games in Asia Minor. See p. 140. In our version of Acts xix. 31. they are termed the chief of Asia.

ASKELON, a city in the territory of the Philistines, situated between Azoth and Gaza on the coast of the Mediterranean or Great Sea, about 520 furlongs from Jerusalem. After the death of Joshua, the tribe of Judah took Askelon, which subsequently became one of the five governments belonging to the Philistines. (Judg. i. 18.) This place is frequently mentioned in the Scriptures. During the crusades it was a station of considerable importance, but is now a very inconsiderable place.

ASMONEANS, an appellation given to the Maccabees, the descendants of Mattathias, surnamed Asmon. See p. 50.

It must naturally excite surprise, that so small a country should have been able to send forth armies of a million or twelve hundred thousand men; a number which dismays the imagination, especially when we consider how many attendants they must have had, exclusive of fighting men. But this kind of enigma is explained by the manner in which these vast armies were formed. From the centre of a not very extensive domain, a warlike band frequently issued, which poured upon the neighbouring country, carrying away the inhabitants, who, having no other and allured by the hope of plunder, they proceeded onwards, ravaging other lands, and increasing their army with the despoiled inhabitants, who in like manner joined them. Thus were formed those wandering hordes which, under the name of Assyrians, subdued Mesopotamia, penetrated to Armenia, Media, and Persia, inundated Syria like a torrent, and carried devastation through Chaldæa, become the country of the Jews. As their conquests extended, the centre of their power became surrounded with deserts, and itself a desert. It is in vain that we seek the vestiges of the most famous cities, Nineveh for instance, which, from the descriptions that have reached us, have been justly enumerated among the wonders of the world. It is in vain, likewise, that we inquire, what were the manners, religion, commerce, and usages of the Assyrians. They must have been those of all the various nations who united to form them; that is to say, they were conquerors and barbarians, who allowed the greatest liberty in their police and their ceremonies, provided none of their people adopted laws or practices which might obstruct the success of their warlike expeditions.

It may be supposed that a people in this unsettled state had neither the time nor the means to write annals which may serve as a basis for chronology, or furnish any certain dates. The memory of the principal facts could only be preserved by tradition, and it has been transmitted to us with not a few variations by the Greeks. At the same time that it is allowed, that we owe to the latter almost all the historical knowledge we possess relative to the ancient nations of Asia, it must be admitted, that they have greatly disfigured it by accommodating to their own language and pronunciation the names of persons and divinities, and assimilating events to their own traditions in such a manner, that when we imagine we are in possession of authentic facts, we frequently discover them to be only Grecian fables. This observation may serve to point out the degree of confidence which ought to be reposed in the histories of these ancient times. Sketch of the History of ASSYRIA illustrative of the Prophene Writings.

The empire of Assyria was founded by Ninus, the son of Belus; and, according to Herodotus, it continued five hundred and twenty years. (Herod. lib. i. c. 95.) Ninus reigned one hundred and twenty-two years, according to some historians (Jul. African. and Eusebius in Chron.), though others make his reign to have lasted only seventeen years. (Diod. Sicul. lib. ii. c. i.-iv.) He enlarged and embellished the ancient city of Nineveh, which had been built by Nimrod, many ages before his time. (Gen. x. 9, 10.) The commencement of his reign is fixed by Archbishop Usher to the year of the world 2737, B. c. 1267, during the period when Deborah and Barak judged the Israel

Ninus was succeeded by his queen Semiramis, who reigned forty-two years. She enlarged the Assyrian empire, which she left in a flourishing state to her son Ninyas, A. M. 2831, B. C. 1173. The Scriptures are totally silent concerning the subsequent history of that celebrated monarchy, and the successors of Ninyas, until the time of the prophet Jonah, who flourished a. m. 3180, B. c. 824; and even then they do not state the name of the monarch who filled the Assyrian throne. It is evident, how

AS genius as sacred poets and musicians, than to their possessing the spirit of prophecy. Psalms 1. lxxiii.-lxxxiii. were composed by Asaph.

ASENATH, the daughter of Potipherah, and wife of Joseph, was the mother of Ephraim and Manasseh. (Gen. xli. 45. and xlvi. 20.) The etymology, Gesenius observes, is Egyptian (but obscure), and this circumstance furnishes an additional presumption in favour of the authenticity of the writings of Moses; for, according to Coquerel, the name of a woman absolutely analagous to this has been discovered on Egyptian monuments, which is composed of the monosyllable As and Neith, the name of the Egyptian Minerva.

ASHDOD. See AZOTUS, p. 411. infra.

ASHER, the son of Jacob and Zilpah, gave his name to one of the tribes of Israel. (Gen. xxx. 13. 1 Chron. ii. 2.) For the limits of the canton assigned to this tribe, see p. 17. But they never expelled the nations of the country, nor did they obtain entire possession of the district allotted to them. Their soil produced abundance of the comforts and luxuries of life, and was rich in mines. The tribe of Asher tamely submitted to the tyranny of Jabin king of Canaan, but assisted Gideon in his pursuit of the Midianites. On the exodus from Egypt, the fighting men of this tribe were 41,500; in the wilderness they amounted to 53,400.

ASHKENAZ, the eldest son of Gomer (Gen. x. 3. Jer. li. 7.), and the father or head of a nation. That a people in northern Asia is intended is evident from its being placed next to Gomer (Cymmeria), in the first instance, and next to Ararat (Armenia), in the second. The Jews understand by it, Germany, and use the word in that signification. Bochart was of opinion that the regio Ascania in Phrygia and Bithynia was peopled by the descendants of Ashkenaz.

ASHPENAZ, master of the eunuchs, or rather one of the chief chamberlains of Nebuchadnezzar, who was commanded to select certain Jewish captives to be instructed in the literature and sciences of the Chaldæans. In this number he included Daniel and his three companions, whose names he changed into Chaldæan appellations. Their refusal to partake of the provisions sent from the monarch's table filled Ashpenaz with apprehension; he had, however, the generosity not to use constraint towards them. At that time, as in our days, the Asiatic despots frequently punished with death the least infraction of their wills. In acceding to the request of Daniel, Ashpenaz had every thing to apprehend; and the grateful prophet specially records that God had disposed him to treat him with kindness. (Dan. i. 3 -16.)

ASTAROTH, a Phoenician or Syrian idol, notice of, 138. ASHUR, the son of Shem (Gen. iii. 11.), who gave his name to ASSYRIA.

ASIA, one of the largest divisions of the Old World, is not mentioned in the Old Testament. In the New Testament it is always taken for Asia Minor, as it includes the proconsular Asia, which comprised the four regions of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria, and Lydia. In this proconsular Asia were the seven churches of Ephesus, Laodicea, Pergamos, Philadelphia, Sardis, Smyrna, and Thyatira.

ASIARCHS, officers appointed to preside over the worship of the gods, and the sacred games in Asia Minor. See p. 140. In our version of Acts xix. 31. they are termed the chief of Asia.

AS

ping an ass, see p. 137. And on the subject of Balaam's ass speaking, see Vol. I. p. 421.

ASSEMBLY at Ephesus, powers of, 61.

Assos, a maritime city of Mysia, according to some geographers, but of Troas, according to others. It is mentioned in Acts xx. 13, 14.

ASSYRIA, a country of Asia, the boundaries of which it is difficult to assign. It appears to have been situated between the Tigris and the Euphrates, enclosed between those two rivers, from the part where they begin to approach cach other on leaving Mesopotamia to that where they join, not far from their mouth, in the Gulf of Persia.

It must naturally excite surprise, that so small a country should have been able to send forth armies of a million or twelve hundred thousand men; a number which dismays the imagination, especially when we consider how many attendants they must have had, exclusive of fighting men. But this kind of enigma is explained by the manner in which these vast armies were formed. From the centre of a not very extensive domain, a warlike band frequently issued, which poured upon the neighbouring country, carrying away the inhabitants, who, having no other resource, incorporated themselves with the conquerors. United, and allured by the hope of plunder, they proceeded onwards, ravaging other lands, and increasing their army with the despoiled inhabitants, who in like manner joined them. Thus were formed those wandering hordes which, under the name of Assyrians, subdued Mesopotamia, penetrated to Armenia, Media, and Persia, inundated Syria like a torrent, and carried devastation through Chaldæa, become the country of the Jews. As their conquests extended, the centre of their power became surrounded with deserts, and itself a desert. It is in vain that we seek the vestiges of the most famous cities, Nineveh for instance, which, from the descriptions that have reached us, have been justly enumerated among the wonders of the world. It is in vain, likewise, that we inquire, what were the manners, religion, commerce, and usages of the Assyrians. They must have been those of all the various nations who united to form them; that is to say, they were conquerors and barbarians, who allowed the greatest liberty in their police and their ceremonies, provided none of their people adopted laws or practices which might obstruct the success of their warlike expeditions.

It may be supposed that a people in this unsettled state had neither the time nor the means to write annals which may serve as a basis for chronology, or furnish any certain dates. The memory of the principal facts could only be preserved by tradition, and it has been transmitted to us with not a few variations by the Greeks. At the same time that it is allowed, that we owe to the latter almost all the historical knowledge we possess relative to the ancient nations of Asia, it must be admitted, that they have greatly disfigured it by accommodating to their own language and pronunciation the names of persons and divinitics, and assimilating events to their own traditions in such a manner, that when we imagine we are in possession of authentic facts, we frequently discover them to be only Grecian fables. This observation may serve to point out the degree of confidence which ought to be reposed in the histories of these ancient times.

Sketch of the History of AsSYRIA illustrative of the Prophene Writings.

The empire of Assyria was founded by Ninus, the son of Belus; and, according to Herodotus, it continued five hundred and twenty years. (Herod. lib. i. c. 95.) Ninus reigned one hundred and twenty-two years, according to some historians (Jul. African. and Eusebius in Chron.), though others make his

ASMONEANS, an appellation given to the Maccabees, the descendants of Mattathias, surnamed Asmon. See p. 50.

i.-iv.) He enlarged and embellished the ancient city of Nineveh, which had been built by Nimrod, many ages before his time. (Gen. x. 9, 10.) The commencement of his reign is fixed by Archbishop Usher to the year of the world 2737, B. c. 1267, during the period when Deborah and Barak judged the Israel

3 F

Ninus was succeeded by his queen Semiramis, who reigned forty-two years. She enlarged the Assyrian empire, which she left in a flourishing state to her son Ninyas, A. M. 2831, B. C. 1173. The Scriptures are totally silent concerning the subsequent history of that celebrated monarchy, and the successors of Ninyas, until the time of the prophet Jonah, who flourished A. M. 3180, B. c. 824; and even then they do not state the name of the monarch who filled the Assyrian throne. It is evident, how

A S

ever, that Nineveh was at that time a city of immense extent, whose inhabitants, like those of other great cities abounding in wealth and luxury, were extremely corrupt in their morals. But, at the preaching of Jonah, both sovereign and subjects repented and abandoned their evil ways, and thus for a time delayed the execution of the divine judgments. About fifty years after the time of Jonah, the Scriptures mention a king of Assyria, named PUL, who invaded the kingdom of Israel in the days of Menahem (2 Kings xv. 19. 1 Chron. v. 26.), who gave him a thousand talents of silver to engage him to lend him his assistance, and secure him on his throne. Pul is supposed to have been the father of Sardanapalus, the last king of the Assyrians, in whose reign the crimes of the Ninevites having risen to their utmost height, God raised up enemies to chastise them. Arbaces the Median, indignant at the effeminate and luxurious life which Sardanapalus led in his palace, conspired with Belesis, governor of Babylon, to shake off the yoke of so worthless a sovereign. After various engagements, they compelled him to retreat to Nineveh, where he expected that he should be able to defend himself a long time, because the city was strongly fortified, and the besiegers had not machines to batter the walls. But in the third year of the siege, the river Tigris, being swollen with continual rains, overflowed part of the city, agreeably to the predictions of Nahum (particularly i. 8-10.), and broke down the wall for twenty furlongs. Sardanapalus, that he might not fall into the hands of his enemies, burnt himself in his palace, with his women and all his immense treasures. (Usher's Annals, p. 48. A. M. 3254. Athenæus, lib. xii. c. 12.) Arbaces and Belesis then divided the dominions of Sardanapalus: the former had Media, which he restored to its liberty; the latter had Babylon, where he reigned fourteen years: Nineveh they left to Ninus the younger, who was heir to the ancient kings of Assyria, and maintained the second Assyrian monarchy with considerable splendour; so that out of the ruins of this vast empire there were formed three considerable kingdoms, viz. that of Nineveh, that of Babylon, and that of the Medes. We shall briefly consider each of them, separately, according to the share they had in the affairs of the Jews.

Belesis, called BALADAN, by Isaiah (xxxix. 1. 2 Kings xx. 12.), is the Nabonassar of profane historians. He founded the Babylonian empire, of which he made Babylon the metropolis. He was succeeded by his son Merodach-Baladan, who cultivated Hezekiah's friendship, as appears from the embassy which he sent to the latter, to congratulate him on his recovery from sickness (2 Kings xx. 12.), a. m. 3291, E. c. 713. After this time the sacred historians are silent concerning the kings of Babylon, until the time of Esar-haddon, who is noticed in the next column. The younger Ninus, who was left king of Assyria and Nineveh, is the TIGLATH-PILESER of the Scriptures (2 Kings xv. 29. xvi. 7. 10. 2 Chron. xxviii. 20.), A. M. 3257, B. c. 747. His empire appears to have been the most celebrated in the East; as Ahaz king of Judah sent to request his assistance against Rezin king of Damascus, and Pekah king of Israel. Accordingly, Tiglath-pileser advanced with a numerous army, defeated Rezin, captured Damascus, and put an end to the kingdom erected there by the Syrians, agreeably to the predictions of Isaiah (viii. 4.) and Amos. (i. 5.) He also entered the kingdom of Israel, conquered Pekah, and carried away part of the ten tribes beyond the river Euphrates. But Ahaz soon had cause to regret this unhallowed alliance for Tiglath-pileser exacted from him such immense sums of money, that he was obliged not only to exhaust his own treasures, but also to take all the gold and silver out of the temple. (2 Chron. xxviii. 20, 21. 24.) Ahaz became tributary to the Assyrian monarch, whose successors found abundance of pretexts for entering the kingdom of Judah, which they ultimately ruined and subverted.

AN

These cities furnished him with a fleet of sixty or seventy vessels, manned by eight hundred Phoenician rowers. They were attacked by the Tyrians with twelve vessels only; who dispersed their fleet, and took five hundred prisoners. The Assyrian monarch did not venture to lay siege to Tyre; but he left bodies of troops in its vicinity to guard the river and aqueducts whence the Tyrians obtained their supplies of water. His precautions were frustrated by the besieged, who dug wells within their city. It was about this time that Isaiah denounced against them those judgments which are recorded in the twenty-third chapter of his prophecies. And Hezekiah seems to have availed himself of the troubled state of Phoenicia and the whole coast of the Mediterranean, in order to attack the Philistines. (2 Kings xviii. 7, 8.) SENNACHERIB ascended the throne of Assyria A. M. 3287. B. c. 717, and was immediately involved in war, both in Asia and in Egypt. While he was thus engaged, Hezekiah shook off the yoke of the Assyrians, and refused to pay the tribute exacted from him by Shalmaneser. It appears from some passages of Scripture that Hezekiah had concluded treaties of mutual alliance and defence with the kings of Egypt and Ethiopia against the Assyrian monarch. (Isa. xx. 1. et seq. 2 Kings xviii. 24. xix. 9.) Upon Hezekiah's refusal of the tribute, Sennacherib invaded Judah with a mighty army, and captured the principal cities of that country. It is probable that he took Damascus in his progress. The pious monarch, grieved to see his kingdom pillaged, implored peace of Sennacherib on any terms he would prescribe and gave him three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold to withdraw. But the Assyrian, regardless alike of the sanction of oaths and of treaties, continued the war, and prosecuted his conquests more vigorously than ever. Nothing was able to withstand his power; and of all the strong places of Judah, none remained uncaptured but Jerusalem, which was reduced to the very last extremity. Isaiah, however, encouraged Hezekiah by promises of divine interposition and deliverance, and announced that the enemy would soon be obliged to return into his own country. (2 Kings xix. 20-34.) Accordingly, after Sennacherib had defeated the allied forces of the king of Egypt and of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, who had advanced against him to assist Hezekiah, he returned into Judah with immense spoil, and renewed the siege of Jerusalem: but an angel of Jehovah slew one hundred and eighty-five thousand of his troops. (2 Kings xix. 35.) Sennacherib returned to Nineveh, where two of his sons, weary of his tyranny and savage temper, slew him while he was worshipping in the temple of Nisroch his god, and immediately fled into the mountains of Armenia. (2 Kings xix. 37. Tobit i. 21.)

It was during the first year of this war that Hezekiah fell sick, and was cured in a miraculous manner, and that the shadow of the sun went back ten degrees on the dial of the palace, to prove the truth of Isaiah's prediction of his recovery. (2 Kings xviii. xix. xx. Isa. xxxviii. xxxix.)

A. M. 3294, B. c. 710. On the death of Sennacherib, ESARHADDON, another of his sons reigned in his stead. He is called Sargon by Isaiah. (xx. 1.) He reigned twenty-nine years, during which he waged war with the Philistines, from whom his general, Tartan, took Ashdod. He also attacked Egypt and Ethiopia (Isa. xx.), and Idumæa or Edom (Isa. xxxiv.), in order to avenge the injuries they had committed against his father Sennacherib; and at length he took Jerusalem, and carried Manasseh king of Judah to Babylon. (2 Chron. xxxiii.) This last war, however, happened long after those above related. Esarhaddon restored the glory of Assyria; and in addition to his other victories, to the sceptre of Nineveh he united that of Babylon, having availed himself of the intestine troubles and commotions occasioned by the extinction of the royal family, to make himself master of that city, and annex it to his former dominions. Manasseh, having been restored to the divine favour after a deep and sincere repentance, obtained his liberty, and returned to Jerusalem, after a short captivity at Babylon. (Usher's Annals, A. M. 3327.)

A. M. 3356, E. c. 648, Saracus, otherwise called Chinaldon or