Dabbesheth - dab'-e-sheth (dabbesheth; Dabasthai; the King James Version Dabbasheth, dab'a-sheth): A town on the western boundary of Zebulun (Joshua 19:11). It is probably identical with the modern Dabsheh, a ruined site to the East of Acre.ISBE Dabbesheth.2

Daberath

Daberath - dab'-e-rath (ha-dabherath, "pasture"; Dabeiroth): A city in the territory of Issachar, on the boundary between that tribe and Zebulun (Joshua 19:12). It was assigned to the Gershonite Levites (Joshua 21:28; 1 Chronicles 6:72). The most probable identification is with Dabuiriyeh, a village on the lower western slopes of Tabor.ISBE Daberath.2

Dabria

Dabria - da'-bri-a: One of the five who wrote down the visions of Esdras, described (2 Esdras 14:24) as "ready to write swiftly."ISBE Dabria.2

Dacubi; Dacobi

Dacubi; Dacobi - da-ku'-bi, da-ko'-bi, King James Version: Head of a family of gate-keepers (1 Esdras 5:28).ISBE Dacubi; Dacobi.2

See AKKUB; DAKUBI.ISBE Dacubi; Dacobi.3

Daddeus

Daddeus - da-de'-us, the Revised Version (British and American); LODDEUS (Loddaios), which see.iftly."ISBE Daddeus.2

Dagger

Dagger - dag'-er.ISBE Dagger.2

See ARMOR,ARMS .ISBE Dagger.3

Dagon

Dagon - da'-gon (daghon; apparently derived from dagh, "fish"): Name of the god of the Philistines (according to Jerome on Isaiah 46:1 of the Philistines generally); in the Bible, Dagon is associated with Gaza (Judges 16:1-31) but elsewhere with Ashdod (compare 1 Samuel 5 and 1 Maccabees 10:83 f; 11:4); in 1 Chronicles 10:10 there is probably an error (compare the passage 1 Samuel 31:10). The god had his temple ("the house of Dagon") and his priests. When the ark was captured by the Philistines, it was conducted to Ashdod where it was placed in the house of Dagon by the side of the idol. But on the morrow it was found that the idol lay prostrate before the ark of the Lord. It was restored to its place; but on the following day Dagon again lay on the ground before the ark, this time with the head and both hands severed from the body and lying upon the miphtan (the word is commonly interpreted to mean "threshold"; according to Winckler, it means "pedestal"); the body alone remained intact. The Hebrew says: "Dagon alone remained." Whether we resort to an emendation (dagho, "his fish-part") or not, commentators appear to be right in inferring that the idol was half-man, half-fish. Classic authors give this form to Derceto. The sacred writer adds that from that time on the priests of Dagon and all those that entered the house of Dagon refrained from stepping upon the miphtan of Dagon. See 1 Samuel 5:1-5. The prophet Zephaniah (1:9) speaks of an idolatrous practice which consisted in leaping over the miphtan. The Septuagint in 1 Samuel indeed adds the clause: "but they were accustomed to leap." Leaping over the threshold was probably a feature of the Philistine ritual which the Hebrews explained in their way. A god Dagon seems to have been worshipped by the Canaanites; see BETH-DAGON.ISBE Dagon.2

LITERATUREISBE Dagon.3

Commentaries on Judges and 1 Samuel; Winckler, Altoriental. Forschungen, III, 383.ISBE Dagon.4

Max L. MargolisISBE Dagon.5

Daily

Daily - da'-li: This word, coming as it does from the Hebrew yom "day," and the Greek hemera, suggests either day by day (Exodus 5:13), that which is prepared for one daily (Nehemiah 5:18), as e.g. our "daily bread," meaning bread sufficient for that day (Matthew 6:11); or day by day continuously, one day after another in succession, as "the daily burnt offering" (Numbers 29:6 the King James Version), "daily ministration" (Acts 6:1), and "daily in the temple" (Acts 5:42 the King James Version). The meaning of the word "daily" as used in the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:11) seems to indicate sufficient for our need, whether we consider that need as a day at a time, or day after day as we are permitted to live. "Give us bread sufficient for our sustenance."ISBE Daily.2

William E. VansISBE Daily.3

Daily Offering; Daily Sacrifice

Daily Offering; Daily Sacrifice - See SACRIFICE.ISBE Daily Offering; Daily Sacrifice.2

Dainties; Dainty (Meats)

Dainties; Dainty (Meats) - dan'-tis (maT`ammoth, "things full of taste," man`ammim, ma`adhan; liparos, "fat," "shining"): Jacob is represented as predicting of Asher, "He shall yield royal dainties" (Genesis 49:20; compare parallel clause, "His bread shall be fat," and Deuteronomy 33:24, "Let him dip his foot in oil"). David, praying to be delivered from the ways of "men that work inquiry," cries, "Let me not eat of their dainties" (Psalms 141:4). The man who sitteth "to eat with a ruler" (Proverbs 23:1-3) is counseled, "If thou be a man given to appetite, be not desirous of his dainties; seeing they are deceitful food" (compare John's words in the woes upon Babylon (Revelation 18:14), "All things that were dainties and sumptuous are perished from thee," and Homer's Iliad (Pope). xviii.456). "Dainties," then, are luxuries, costly, delicate and rare. This idea is common to all the words thus rendered; naturally associated with kings' tables, and with the lives of those who are lovers of pleasure and luxury. By their associations and their softening effects they are to be abstained from or indulged in moderately as "deceitful food" by those who would live the simple and righteous life which wisdom sanctions. They are also "offered not from genuine hospitality, but with some by-ends." He should also shun the dainties of the niggard (Proverbs 23:6), who counts the cost (Proverbs 23:7 the Revised Version, margin) of every morsel that his guest eats.ISBE Dainties; Dainty (Meats).2

See DELICATE; FOOD, etc.ISBE Dainties; Dainty (Meats).3

George B. EagerISBE Dainties; Dainty (Meats).4

Daisan

Daisan - da'-san, da'-i-san (Daisan): Head of a family of temple servants (1 Esdras 5:1-3) called Rezin in Ezra 2:48; Nehemiah 7:50, the interchange of "D" and "R" in Hebrew being not uncommon.ISBE Daisan.2

Dakubi

Dakubi - da-ku'-bi, da-koo'-bi (Dakoub, Dakoubi; the King James Version Dacobi): Head of a family of gate-keepers (1 Esdras 5:28) called "Akkub" in the canonical lists.ISBE Dakubi.2

Dalaiah

Dalaiah - da-la'-a, da-la-i'-a.ISBE Dalaiah.2

See DELAIAH.ISBE Dalaiah.3

Dalan

Dalan - da'-lan (Dalan; the King James Version Ladan): Head of a family that returned to Jerusalem, but which "could shew neither their families, nor their stock, how they were of Israel" (1 Esdras 5:37); corresponds to Delaiah (Ezra 2:60). Another reading is "Asan."ISBE Dalan.2

Dale, King's

Dale, King's - dal, `emeq hamelekh) : (1) "Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale" (2 Samuel 18:18). According to Josephus (Ant., VII, x, 3) this was a marble pillar, which he calls Absalom's hand" and it wa two furlongs from Jerusalem. Warren suggests that this dale was identical with the KING'S GARDEN (which see), which he places at the open valley formed at the junction of the Tyropoen with the Kidron (see JERUSALEM). The so-called Absalom's Pillar, which the Jews still pelt with stones in reprobation of Absalom's disobedience, and which a comparatively recent tradition associates with 2 Samuel 18:18, is a very much later structure, belonging to the Greco-Roman period, but showing Egyptian influence. (2) King's Vale (Genesis 14:17; the King James Version dale).ISBE Dale, King's.2

See KING'S VALE; VALE.ISBE Dale, King's.3

E. W. G. MastermanISBE Dale, King's.4

Daleth

Daleth - da'-leth (...): The 4th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and as such used in Psalms 119:1-176 to designate the Psalms 4:11-8th section; transliterated in this Encyclopedia with the dagesh as d, and, without, as dh ( = th in "the"). It came also to be used for the number four (4), and with the dieresis for 4,000. With the apostrophe it is sometimes used as abbreviation for the tetragrammaton. For name, etc., see ALPHABET.ISBE Daleth.2

Dally

Dally - dal'-i: Occurs in Wisdom of Solomon 12:26: "But they that would not be reformed by that correction wherein he dallied with them" (paigniois epitimeseos, "child play of correction"), the reference being to the earlier and lighter plagues of Egypt; Version (British and American) renders "by a mocking correction as of children," "by a correction which was as children's play," Greek (as above). He first tried them by those lighter inflictions before sending on them the heavier. In later usage "daily" implies delay.ISBE Dally.2

Dalmanutha

Dalmanutha - dal-ma-nu'-tha. See MAGADAN. Compare Mark 8:10; Matthew 15:39.ISBE Dalmanutha.2

Dalmatia

Dalmatia - dal-ma'-shi-a (Dalmatia, "deceitful"): A district of the Roman empire lying on the eastern shore of the Adriatic. Writing from Rome to Timothy during his second imprisonment (in 66 or 67 AD, according to Ramsay's chronology), Paul records the departure of Titus to Dalmatia (2 Timothy 4:10). No mention is made of his special mission, and we cannot tell whether his object was to traverse regions hitherto unevangelized or to visit churches already formed. Nor can we determine with certainty the meaning of the word Dalmatia as here used. Originally it denoted the land of the barbarous Dalmatae or Delmatae, a warlike Illyrian tribe subjugated by the Romans after a long and stubborn resistance; it was then applied to the southern portion of the Roman province of Illyricum, lying between the river Titius (modern Kerka) and the Macedonian frontier; later the name was extended to the entire province. On the whole it seems most probable that the apostle uses it in this last sense.ISBE Dalmatia.2

See further under the word ILLYRICUM.ISBE Dalmatia.3

Marcus N. TodISBE Dalmatia.4

Dalphon

Dalphon - dal'-fon (dalphon, "crafty"): The second of the ten sons of Haman, slain by the Jews (Esther 9:7).ISBE Dalphon.2

Dam

Dam - ('em, ordinary Hebrew word for "mother"): Hebrew law prohibited the destruction of the "dam" and the young of birds at the same time, commanding that if the young be taken from a nest the dam be allowed to escape (Deuteronomy 22:6-7). In the same spirit it enjoined the taking of an animal for slaughter before it had been seven days with its "dam" (Exodus 22:30; Leviticus 22:27; compare Exodus 23:19).ISBE Dam.2

Damage

Damage - dam'-aj (chabhala'): This word expresses any inflicted loss of value or permanent injury to persons or things. "Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?" (Ezra 4:22). In Proverbs 26:6 "damage" means "wrong," "injury" (Hebrew chamac). The translation of Esther 7:4 is doubtful: "Although the adversary could not have compensated for the king's damage" (the Revised Version, margin "For our affliction is not to be compared with the king's damage" the King James Version "could not countervail the king's damage") but Hebrew nezeq (Esther 7:4) and Aramaic naziq (Daniel 6:2) have the meaning of "molestation" or "annoyance" (see Ges.6 Buhl Dict. (15th edition) 489, 806, 908). We therefore ought to read `for that oppression would not have been worthy of the molestation of the king' (Esther 7:4) and `that the king should have no molestation' (Daniel 6:2). The Greek zemia, "loss" and zemioo, "to cause loss"; the Revised Version (British and American) therefore translates Acts 27:10 "will be with injury and much loss" (the King James Version "damage"), and 2 Corinthians 7:9 "that ye might suffer loss by us in nothing" (the King James Version "damage").ISBE Damage.2

A. L. BreslichISBE Damage.3

Damaris

Damaris - dam'-a-ris (Damaris, possibly a corruption of damalis, "a heifer"): The name of a female Christian of Athens, converted by Paul's preaching (Acts 17:34). The fact that she is mentioned in this passage together with Dionysius the Areopagite has led some, most probably in error, to regard her as his wife. The singling out of her name with that of Dionysius may indicate some personal or social distinction. Compare Acts 17:12.ISBE Damaris.2

Damascenes

Damascenes - dam-a-senz', dam'-a-senz ten polin Damaskenon, "the city of the Damascenes"): The inhabitants of Damascus under Aretas the Arabian are so called (2 Corinthians 11:32).ISBE Damascenes.2

Damascus

Damascus - da-mas'-kus:ISBE Damascus.2

1. The NameISBE Damascus.3

2. Situation and Natural FeaturesISBE Damascus.4

3. The City ItselfISBE Damascus.5

4. Its HistoryISBE Damascus.6

(1) The Early Period (to circa 950 BC)ISBE Damascus.7

(2) The Aramean Kingdom (circa 950-732 BC)ISBE Damascus.8

(3) The Middle Period (732 BC-650 AD)ISBE Damascus.9

(4) Under IslamISBE Damascus.10

1. Name: The English name is the same as the Greek Damaskos. The Hebrew name is Dammeseq, but the Aramaic form Darmeseq, occurs in 1 Chronicles 18:5; 2 Chronicles 28:5. The name appears in Egyptian inscriptions as Ti-mas-ku (16th century BC), and Sa-ra-mas-ki (13th century BC), which W. M. Muller, Asien u. Europa, 227, regards as representing Ti-ra-mas-ki, concluding from the "ra" in this form that Damascus had by that time passed under Aramaic influence. In the Tell el-Amarna Letters the forms Ti-ma-as-gi and Di-mas-ka occur. The Arabic name is Dimashk esh-Sham ("Damascus of Syria") usually contrasted to Esh-Sham simply. The meaning of the name Damascus is unknown. Esh-Sham (Syria) means "the left," in contrast to the Yemen (Arabia) = "the right."ISBE Damascus.11

2. Situation and Natural Features: Damascus is situated (33 degrees 30' North latitude, 36 degrees 18' East longitude) in the Northwest corner of the Ghuta, a fertile plain about 2,300 ft. above sea level, West of Mt. Hermon. The part of the Ghuta East of the city is called el-Merj, the "meadow-land" of Damascus. The river Barada (see ASANA) flows through Damascus and waters the plain, through which the Nahr el-Awaj (see PHARPAR) also flows, a few miles South of the city. Surrounded on three sides by bare hills, and bordered on the East, its open side, by the desert, its well-watered and fertile Ghuta, with its streams and fountains, its fields and orchards, makes a vivid impression on the Arab of the desert. Arabic literature is rich in praises of Damascus, which is described as an earthly paradise. The European or American traveler is apt to feel that these praises are exaggerated, and it is perhaps only in early summer that the beauty of the innumerable fruit trees--apricots, pomegranates, walnuts and many others--justifies enthusiasm. To see Damascus as the Arab sees it, we must approach it, as he does, from the desert. The Barada (Abana) is the life blood of Damascus. Confined in a narrow gorge until close to the city, where it spreads itself in many channels over the plain, only to lose itself a few miles away in the marshes that fringe the desert, its whole strength is expended in making a small area between the hills and the desert really fertile. That is why a city on this site is inevitable and permanent. Damascus, almost defenseless from a military point of view, is the natural mart and factory of inland Syria. In the course of its long history it has more than once enjoyed and lost political supremacy, but in all the vicissitudes of political fortune it has remained the natural harbor of the Syrian desert.ISBE Damascus.12

3. The City Itself: Damascus lies along the main stream of the Barada, almost entirely on its south bank. The city is about a mile long (East to West) and about half a mile broad (North to South). On the south side a long suburb, consisting for the most part of a single street, called the Meidan, stretches for a mile beyond the line of the city wall, terminating at the Bawwabet Allah, the "Gate of God," the starting-point of the Haj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The city has thus roughly the shape of a broad-headed spoon, of which the Meidan is the handle. In the Greek period, a long, colonnaded street ran through the city, doubtless the "street which is called Straight" (Acts 9:11). This street, along the course of which remains of columns have been discovered, runs westward from the Babesh-Sherki, the "East Gate." Part of it is still called Derb el-Mustakim ("Straight Street"), but it is not certain that it has borne the name through all the intervening centuries. It runs between the Jewish and Christian quarters (on the left and right, respectively, going west), and terminates in the Suk el-Midhatiyeh, a bazaar built by Midhat Pasha, on the north of which is the main Moslem quarter, in which are the citadel and the Great Mosque. The houses are flat-roofed, and are usually built round a courtyard, in which is a fountain. The streets, with the exception of Straight Street, are mostly narrow and tortuous, but on the west side of the city there are some good covered bazaars. Damascus is not rich in antiquities. The Omayyad Mosque, or Great Mosque, replaced a Christian church, which in its time had taken the place of a pagan temple. The site was doubtless occupied from time immemorial by the chief religious edifice of the city. A small part of the ancient Christian church is still extant. Part of the city wall has been preserved, with a foundation going back to Roman times, surmounted by Arab work. The traditional site of Paul's escape (Acts 9:25; 2 Corinthians 11:33) and of the House of Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-27) are pointed out to the traveler, but the traditions are valueless. The charm of Damascus lies in the life of the bazaars, in the variety of types which may be seen there--the Druse, the Kurd, the Bedouin and many others--and in its historical associations. It has always been a manufacturing city. Our word "damask" bears witness to the fame of its textile industry, and the "Damascus blades" of the Crusading period were equally famous; and though Timur (Tamerlane) destroyed the trade in arms in 1399 by carrying away the armorers to Samarcand, Damascus is still a city of busy craftsmen in cloth and wood. Its antiquity casts a spell of romance upon it. After a traceable history of thirty-five centuries it is still a populous and flourishing city, and, in spite of the advent of the railway and even the electric street car, it still preserves the flavor of the East.ISBE Damascus.13

4. Its History: (1) The Early Period (to circa 950 BC). The origin of Damascus is unknown. Mention has already been made (section 1 ) of the references to the city in Egyptian inscriptions and in the Tell el-Amarna Letters. It appears once--possibly twice--in the history of Abraham. In Genesis 14:15 we read that Abraham pursued the four kings as far as Hobah, "which is on the left hand (i.e. the north) of Damascus." But this is simply a geographical note which shows only that Damascus was well known at the time when Genesis 14:1-24 was written. Greater interest attaches to Genesis 15:2, where Abraham complains that he is childless and that his heir is "Dammesek Eliezer" (English Revised Version), for which the Syriac version reads "Eliezer the Damaschul." The clause, however, is hopelessly obscure, and it is doubtful whether it contains any reference to Damascus at all. In the time of David Damascus was an Aramean city, which assisted the neighboring Aramean states in their unsuccessful wars against David (2 Samuel 8:5 f). These campaigns resulted indirectly in the establishment of a powerful Aramean kingdom in Damascus. Rezon, son of Eliada, an officer in the army of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, escaped in the hour of defeat, and became a captain of banditti. Later he established himself in Damascus, and became its king (1 Kings 11:23 ff). He cherished a not unnatural animosity against Israel and the rise of a powerful and hostile kingdom in the Israelite frontier was a constant source of anxiety to Solomon (1 Kings 11:25).ISBE Damascus.14

(2) The Aramean Kingdom (circa 950-732 BC). Whether Rezon was himself the founder of a dynasty is not clear. He has been identified with Hezion, father of Tab-rimmon, and grandfather of Ben-hadad (1 Kings 15:18), but the identification, though a natural one, is insecure. Ben-hadad (Biridri) is the first king of Damascus, after Rezon, of whom we have any detailed knowledge. The disruption of the Hebrew kingdom afforded the Arameans an opportunity of playing off the rival Hebrew states against each other, and of bestowing their favors now on one, and now on the other. Benhadad was induced by Asa of Judah to accept a large bribe, or tribute, from the Temple treasures, and relieve Asa by attacking the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 15:18 ff). Some years later (circa 880 BC) Ben-hadad (or his successor?) defeated Omri of Israel, annexed several Israelite cities, and secured the right of having Syrian "streets" (i.e. probably a bazaar for Syrian merchants) in Samaria (1 Kings 20:34). Ben-hadad II (according to Winckler the two Ben-hadads are really identical, but this view, though just possible chronologically, conflicts with 1 Kings 20:34) was the great antagonist of Ahab. His campaigns against Israel are narrated in 1 Kings 20:22. At first successful, he was subsequently twice defeated by Ahab, and after the rout at Aphek was at the mercy of the conqueror, who treated him with generous leniency, claiming only the restoration of the lost Israelite towns, and the right of establishing an Israelite bazaar in Damascus. On the renewal of hostilities three years later Ahab fell before Ramoth-gilead, and his death relieved Ben-hadad of the only neighboring monarch who could ever challenge the superiority of Damascus. Further light is thrown upon the history of Damascus at this time by the Assyrian inscriptions. In 854 BC the Assyrians defeated a coalition of Syrian and Palestine states (including Israel) under the leadership of Ben-hadad at Karqar. In 849 and 846 BC renewed attacks were made upon Damascus by the Assyrians, who, however, did not effect any considerable conquest. From this date until the fall of the city in 732 BC the power of the Aramean kingdom depended upon the activity or quiescence of Assyria. Hazael, who murdered Ben-hadad and usurped his throne circa 844 BC, was attacked in 842 and 839, but during the next thirty years Assyria made no further advance westward. Hazael was able to devote all his energies to his western neighbors, and Israel suffered severely at his hands. In 803 Mari' of Damascus, who is probably identical with the Ben-hadad of 2 Kings 13:3, Hazael's son, was made tributary to Ramman-nirari III of Assyria. This blow weakened Aram, and afforded Jeroboam II of Israel an opportunity of avenging the defeats inflicted upon his country by Hazael. In 773 Assyria again invaded the territory of Damascus. Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 BC) pushed vigorously westward, and in 738 Rezin of Damascus paid tribute. A year or two later he revolted, and attempted in concert with Pekah of Israel, to coerce Judah into joining an anti-Assyrian league (2 Kings 15:37; 16:5; Isaiah 7:1-25). His punishment was swift and decisive. In 734 the Assyrians advanced and laid siege to Damascus, which fell in 732. Rezin was executed, his kingdom was overthrown, and the city suffered the fate which a few years later befell Samaria.ISBE Damascus.15

(3) The Middle Period (circa 732 BC-650 AD). Damascus had now lost its political importance, and for more than two centuries we have only one or two inconsiderable references to it. It is mentioned in an inscription of Sargon (722-705 BC) as having taken part in an unsuccessful insurrection along with Hamath and Arpad. There are incidental references to it in Jeremiah 49:23 ff and Ezekiel 27:18; 47:16 ff. In the Persian period Damascus, if not politically of great importance, was a prosperous city. The overthrow of the Persian empire by Alexander was soon followed (301 BC) by the establishment of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria, with Antioch as its capital, and Damascus lost its position as the chief city of Syria. The center of gravity was moved toward the sea, and the maritime commerce of the Levant became more important than the trade of Damascus with the interior. In 111 BC the Syrian kingdom was divided, and Antiochus Cyzicenus became king of Coele-Syria, with Damascus as his capital. His successors, Demetrius Eucaerus and Antiochus Dionysus, had troubled careers, being involved in domestic conflicts and in wars with the Parthians, with Alexander Janneus of Judea, and with Aretas the Nabatean, who obtained possession of Damascus in 85 BC. Tigranes, being of Armenia, held Syria for some years after this date, but was defeated by the Romans, and in 64 BC Pompey finally annexed the country. The position of Damascus during the first century and a half of Roman rule in Syria is obscure. For a time it was in Roman hands, and from 31 BC-33 AD its coins bear the names of Augustus or Tiberius. Subsequently it was again in the hands of the Nabateans, and was ruled by an ethnarch, or governor, appointed by Aretas, the Nabatean king. This ethnarch adopted a hostile attitude to Paul (2 Corinthians 11:32 f) . Later, in the time of Nero, it again became a Roman city. In the early history of Christianity Damascus, as compared with Antioch, played a very minor part. But it is memorable in Christian history on account of its associations with Paul's conversion, and as the scene of his earliest Christian preaching (Acts 9:1-25). All the New Testament references to the city relate to this event (Acts 9:1:Acts 25:1-27; Acts 22:5-11; 12, 20; 2 Corinthians 11:32 f; Galatians 1:17). Afterward, under the early Byzantine emperor, Damascus, though important as an outpost of civilization on the edge of the desert, continued to be second to Antioch both politically and ecclesiastically. It was not until the Arabian conquest (634 AD when it passed out of Christian hands, and reverted to the desert, that it once more became a true capital.ISBE Damascus.16

(4) Under Islam. Damascus has now been a Moslem city, or rather a city under Moslem rule, for nearly thirteen centuries. For about a century after 650 AD it was the seat of the Omayyad caliphs, and enjoyed a position of preeminence in the Moslem world. Later it was supplanted by Bagdad, and in the 10th century it came under the rule of the Fatimites of Egypt. Toward the close of the 11th century the Seljuk Turks entered Syria and captured Damascus. In the period of the Crusades the city, though never of decisive importance, played a considerable part, and was for a time the headquarters of Saladin. In 1300 it was plundered by the Tartars, and in 1399 Timur exacted an enormous ransom from it, and carried off its famous armorers, thus robbing it of one of its most important industries. Finally, in 1516 AD, the Osmanli Turks under Sultan Selim conquered Syria, and Damascus became, and still is, the capital of a province of the Ottoman Empire.ISBE Damascus.17

C. H. ThomsonISBE Damascus.18

Dammesek Eliezer

Dammesek Eliezer - (Genesis 15:2 the English Revised Version).ISBE Dammesek Eliezer.2

See ELIEZER (1).ISBE Dammesek Eliezer.3

Damn; Damnation; Damnable

Damn; Damnation; Damnable - dam, dam-na'-shun, dam'-na-bl: These words have undergone a change of meaning since the King James Version was made. They are derived from Latin damnare = "to inflict a loss," "to condemn," and that was their original meaning in English Now they denote exclusively the idea of everlasting punishment in hell. It is often difficult to determine which meaning was intended by the translators in the King James Version. They have been excluded altogether from the Revised Version (British and American). The words for which they stand in the King James Version are:ISBE Damn; Damnation; Damnable.2

(1) apoleia, "destruction," translated "damnable" and "damnation" only in 2 Peter 21:3 (the Revised Version (British and American) "destructive," "destruction"). False prophets taught doctrines calculated to destroy others, and themselves incurred the sentence of destruction such as overtook the fallen angels, the world in the Deluge, and the cities of the Plain. Apoleia occurs otherwise 16 times in the New Testament, and is always translated in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) by either "perdition" or "destruction": twice of waste of treasure (Matthew 26:8 = Mark 14:4); twice of the beast that comes out of the abyss and goes into perdition (Revelation 17:8, 11). In all other cases, it refers to men, and defines the destiny that befalls them as the result of sin: Judas is the "son of perdition" (John 17:12). Peter consigns Simon Magus and his money to perdition (Acts 8:20). Some men are "vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction" (Romans 9:22), and others, their "end is perdition" (Philippians 3:19). It is the antithesis of salvation (Hebrews 10:39; Philippians 1:28). Of the two ways of life, one leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). Whether it is utter, final and irretrievable destruction is not stated.ISBE Damn; Damnation; Damnable.3

(2) krino, translated "damned" only in the King James Version of 2 Thessalonians 2:12 (the Revised Version (British and American) "judged") means "to judge" in the widest sense, "to form an opinion" (Luke 7:43), and forensically "to test and try" an accused person. It can only acquire the sense of "judging guilty" or "condemning" from the context.ISBE Damn; Damnation; Damnable.4

(3) katakrino, translated "damned" only in the King James Version of Mark 16:16; Romans 14:23 ("condemned" in the Revised Version (British and American)), means properly "to give judgment against" or "to condemn" and is so translated 17 times in the King James Version and always in the Revised Version (British and American).ISBE Damn; Damnation; Damnable.5

(4) krisis, translated "damnation" in the King James Version of Matthew 23:33; Mark 3:29; John 5:29 (the Revised Version (British and American) "judgment," but in Mark 3:29, "sin" for hamartema), means (a) judgment in general like krino, and is so used about 17 times, besides 14 times in the phrase "day of judgment"; (b) "condemnation," like katakrino, about 14 times.ISBE Damn; Damnation; Damnable.6

(5) krima, translated in the King James Version "damnation" 7 times (Matthew 23:14 = Mark 12:40 = Luke 20:47; Romans 3:8; 13:2; 1 Corinthians 11:29; 1 Timothy 5:12), "condemnation" 6 times, "judgment" 13 times, "law" and "avenged" once each; in the Revised Version (British and American) "condemnation" 9 t (Matthew 23:14 only inserted in margin), "judgment" 17 times, and once in margin, "lawsuit" and "sentence" once each. "Judgment" may be neutral, an impartial act of the judge weighing the evidence (so in Matthew 7:2; Acts 24:25; Romans 11:33; Hebrews 6:2; 1 Peter 4:17; Revelation 20:4) and "lawsuit" (1 Corinthians 6:7); or it may be inferred from the context that judgment is unto condemnation (so in Romans 2:2-3; 5:16; Galatians 5:10; 2 Peter 2:3; Revelation 17:1; 18:20, and the Revised Version (British and American) Romans 13:2; 1 Corinthians 11:29). In places where krima and krisis are rightly translated "condemnation," and where "judgment" regarded as an accomplished fact involves a sentence of guilt, they together with katakrino define the relation of a person to the supreme authority, as that of a criminal, found and held guilty, and liable to punishment. So the Roman empire regarded Jesus Christ, and the thief on the cross (Luke 23:40; 24:20). But generally these words refer to man as a sinner against God, judged guilty by Him, and liable to the just penalty of sin. They imply nothing further as to the nature of the penalty or the state of man undergoing it, nor as to its duration. Nor does the word "eternal" (aion, aionios, often wrongly translated "everlasting" in the King James Version) when added to them, determine the question of duration. Condemnation is an act in the moral universe, which cannot be determined under categories of time.ISBE Damn; Damnation; Damnable.7

These terms define the action of God in relation to man's conduct, as that of the Supreme Judge, but they express only one aspect of that relation which is only fully conceived, when coordinated with the more fundamental idea of God's Fatherhood.ISBE Damn; Damnation; Damnable.8

See ESCHATOLOGY; JUDGMENT.ISBE Damn; Damnation; Damnable.9

LITERATURE.ISBE Damn; Damnation; Damnable.10

Salmond, Christian Doctrine of Immortality; Charles, Eschatology.ISBE Damn; Damnation; Damnable.11

T. ReesISBE Damn; Damnation; Damnable.12

Damsel

Damsel - dam'-zel: A young, unmarried woman; a girl (lass); maiden (compare French demoiselle). The Revised Version (British and American) in Matthew 26:69; John 18:17; Acts 12:13; 16:16 gives "maid" for paidiske, "a girl," i.e. (spec.) a maidservant or young female slave (the King James Version "damsel"), and "child" for paidion, "a half-grown boy or girl," in Mark 5:39-40 bis. 41.ISBE Damsel.2

Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of

Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of - (dan, "judge"; Dan).ISBE Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of.2

1. Name: The fifth of Jacob's sons, the first borne to him by Bilhah, the maid of Rachel, to whom, as the child of her slave, he legally belonged. At his birth Rachel, whose barrenness had been a sore trial to her, exclaimed "God hath judged me .... and hath given me a son," so she called his name Dan, i.e. "judge" (Genesis 30:6). He was full brother of Naphtali. In Jacob's Blessing there is an echo of Rachel's words, "Dan shall judge his people" (Genesis 49:16). Of the patriarch Dan almost nothing is recorded. Of his sons at the settlement in Egypt only one, Hushim, is mentioned (Genesis 46:23). The name in Numbers 26:42 is Shuham.ISBE Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of.3

2. The Tribe: The tribe however stands second in point of numbers on leaving Egypt, furnishing 62,700 men of war (Numbers 1:39); and at the second census they were 64,400 strong (Numbers 26:43). The standard of the camp of Dan in the desert march, with which were Asher and Naphtali, was on the north side of the tabernacle (Numbers 2:25; 10:25; compare Joshua 6:9 the King James Version margin, "gathering host"). The prince of the tribe was Ahiezer (Numbers 1:12). Among the spies Dan was represented by Ammiel the son of Gemalli (Numbers 13:12). Of the tribe of Dan was Oholiab (the King James Version "Aholiab") one of the wise-hearted artificers engaged in the construction of the tabernacle (Exodus 31:6). One who was stoned for blasphemy was the son of a Danite woman (Leviticus 24:10 f). At the ceremony of blessing and cursing, Dan and Naphtali stood on Mount Ebal, while the other Rachel tribes were on Gerizim (Deuteronomy 27:13). The prince of Dan at the division of the land was Bukki the son of Jogli (Numbers 34:22).ISBE Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of.4

3. Territory: The portion assigned to Dan adjoined those of Ephraim, Benjamin and Judah, and lay on the western slopes of the mountain. The reference in Judges 5:17: "And Dan, why did he remain in ships?" seems to mean that on the West, Dan had reached the sea. But the passage is one of difficulty. We are told that the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain (Judges 1:34), so they did not enjoy the richest part of their ideal portion, the fertile plain between the mountain and the sea. The strong hand of the house of Joseph kept the Amorites tributary, but did not drive them out. Later we find Dan oppressed by the Philistines, against whom the heroic exploits of Samson were performed (Judges 14:1-20 ff). The expedition of the Danites recorded in Judges 18:1-31 is referred to in Joshua 19:47 ff.ISBE Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of.5

4. The Danite Raid: The story affords a priceless glimpse of the conditions prevailing in those days. Desiring an extension of territory, the Danites sent out spies, who recommended an attack upon Laish, a city at the north end of the Jordan valley. The people, possibly a colony from Sidon, were careless in their fancied security. The land was large, and there was "no want of anything that was in the earth." The expedition of the 600, their dealings with Micah and his priest, their capture of Laish, and their founding of an idol shrine with priestly attendant, illustrate the strange mingling of lawlessness and superstition which was characteristic of the time. The town rebuilt on the site of Laish they called Dan--see following article. Perhaps 2 Chronicles 2:14 may be taken to indicate that the Danites intermarried with the Phoenicians. Divided between its ancient seat in the South and the new territory in the North the tribe retained its place in Israel for a time (1 Chronicles 12:35; 27:22), but it played no part of importance in the subsequent history. The name disappears from the genealogical lists of Chronicles; and it is not mentioned among the tribes in Revelation 7:5 ff.ISBE Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of.6

Samson was the one great man produced by Dan, and he seems to have embodied the leading characteristics of the tribe: unsteady, unscrupulous, violent, possessed of a certain grim humor; stealthy in tactics--"a serpent in the way, an adder in the path" (Genesis 49:17)--but swift and strong in striking--"a lion's whelp, that leapeth forth from Bashan" (Deuteronomy 33:22). Along with Abel, Dan ranked as a city in which the true customs of old Israel were preserved (2 Samuel 20:18 Septuagint).ISBE Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of.7

W. EwingISBE Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of.8

Dan (2)

Dan (2) - A city familiar as marking the northern limit of the land of Israel in the common phrase "from Dan even to Beer-sheba" (Judges 20:1; 1 Samuel 3:20, etc.). Its ancient name was Laish or Leshem (Judges 18:7, etc.). It was probably an outlying settlement of Tyre of Sidon. Its inhabitants, pursuing the ends of peaceful traders, were defenseless against the onset of the Danite raiders. Having captured the city the Danites gave it the name of their own tribal ancestor (Judges 18:1-31). It lay in the valley near Beth-rehob (Judges 18:28). Josephus places it near Mt. Lebanon and the fountain of the lesser Jordan, a day's journey from Sidon (Ant., V, iii, 1; VIII, viii, 4; BJ, IV, i, 1). Eusebius, Onomasticon says it lay 4 Roman miles from Paneas on the way to Tyre, at the source of the Jordan. This points decisively to Tell el-Qady, in the plain West of Banias. The mound of this name--Kady is the exact Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew Dan--rises from among the bushes and reeds to a height varying from 40 to 80 ft. The largest of all the springs of the Jordan rises on the west side. The waters join with those of a smaller spring on the other side to form Nahr el-Leddan which flows southward to meet the streams from Banias and Chasbeiyeh. The mound, which is the crater of an extinct volcano, has certain ancient remains on the south side, while the tomb of Sheikh Marzuk is sheltered by two holy trees. The sanctuary and ritual established by the Danites persisted as long as the house of God was in Shiloh, and the priesthood in this idolatrous shrine remained in the family of Jonathan till the conquest of Tiglath-pileser (Judges 18:30; 2 Kings 15:29). Here Jeroboam I set up the golden calf. The ancient sanctity of the place would tend to promote the success of his scheme (1 Kings 12:28 f, etc.). The calf, according to a Jewish tradition, was taken away by Tiglath-pileser. Dan fell before Benhadad, king of Syria (1 Kings 15:20; 2 Chronicles 16:4). It was regained by Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25). It shared the country's fate at th hands of Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 15:29).ISBE Dan (2).2

It was to this district that Abraham pursued the army of Chedorlaomer (Genesis 14:14). For Dr. G. A. Smith's suggestion that Dan may have been at Banias see HGHL 1, 473, 480 f.ISBE Dan (2).3

W. EwingISBE Dan (2).4

Dan (3)

Dan (3) - (Ezekiel 27:19 the King James Version).ISBE Dan (3).2

See VEDAN.ISBE Dan (3).3

Dancing

Dancing - dan'-sing.ISBE Dancing.2

See GAMES.ISBE Dancing.3

Dandle

Dandle - dan'-d'-l. (sha`-osha`, a Pulpal form, from root (sha`-a`) with sense of to "be caressed"). Occurs in Isaiah 66:12, "shall be dandled upon the knees."ISBE Dandle.2

Danger

Danger - dan'-jer: Danger does not express a state of reality but a possibility. In Matthew 5:21 f, however, and also the King James Version Mark 3:29 (the Revised Version (British and American) "but is guilty of an eternal sin") the expression "danger" refers to a certainty, for the danger spoken of is in one case judgment which one brings upon himself, and in the other the committing of an unpardonable sin. Both are the necessary consequences of a man's conduct. The reason for translating the Greek (enochos (literally, "to be held in anything so one cannot escape") by "is in danger," instead of "guilty" or "liable," may be due to the translator's conception of these passages as a warning against such an act rather than as a statement of the judgment which stands pronounced over every man who commits the sin.ISBE Danger.2

A. L. BreslichISBE Danger.3

Daniel

Daniel - dan'-yel (daniye'l, dani'-el, "God is my judge"; Daniel):ISBE Daniel.2

(1) One of the sons of David (1 Chronicles 3:1).ISBE Daniel.3

(2) A Levite of the family of Ithamar (Ezra 8:2; Nehemiah 10:6).ISBE Daniel.4

(3) A prophet of the time of Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus, the hero and author of the Book of Daniel.ISBE Daniel.5

1. Early Life: We know nothing of the early life of Daniel, except what is recorded in the book bearing his name. Here it is said that he was one of the youths of royal or noble seed, who were carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar in the third year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. These youths were without blemish, well-favored, skillful in all wisdom, endued with knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability to stand in the king's palace. The king commanded to teach them the knowledge and tongue of the Chaldeans; and appointed for them a daily portion of the king's food and of the wine which he drank. After having been thus nourished for three years, they were to stand before the king. Ashpenaz, the master or chief of the eunuchs, into whose hands they had been entrusted, following a custom of the time, gave to each of these youths a new and Babylonian name. To Daniel, he gave the name Belteshazzar. In Babylonian this name was probably Belu-lita-sharri-usur, which means "O Bel, protect thou the hostage of the king," a most appropriate name for one in the place which Daniel occupied as a hostage of Jehoiakim at the court of the king of Babylon. The youths were probably from 12 to 15 years of age at the time when they were carried captive. (For changes of names, compare Joseph changed to Zaphenath-paneah (Genesis 41:45); Eliakim, to Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:34); Mattaniah, to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17); and the tw names of the high priest Johanan's brother in the Sachau Papyri, i.e. Ostan and Anani.)ISBE Daniel.6

Having purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the food and drink of the king, Daniel requested of Ashpenaz permission to eat vegetables and drink water. Through the favor of God, this request was granted, notwithstanding the fear of Ashpenaz that his head would be endangered to the king on account of the probably resulting poor appearance of the youths living upon this blood-diluting diet, in comparison with the expected healthy appearance of the others of their class. However, ten days' trial having been first granted, and at the end of that time their countenances having been found fairer and their flesh fatter than the other youths', the permission was made permanent; and God gave to Daniel and his companions knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and to Daniel understanding in all visions and dreams; so that at the end of the three years when the king communed with them, he found them much superior to all the magicians and enchanters in every matter of wisdom and understanding.ISBE Daniel.7

2. Dream-Interpreter: Daniel's public activities were in harmony with his education. His first appearance was as an interpreter of the dream recorded in Daniel 2:1-49. Nebuchadnezzar having seen in his dream a vision of a great image, excellent in brightness and terrible in appearance, its head of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass, its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay, beheld a stone cut out without hands smiting the image and breaking it in pieces, until it became like chaff and was carried away by the wind; while the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. When the king awoke from his troubled sleep, he forgot, or reigned that he had forgotten, the dream, and summoned the wise men of Babylon both to tell him the dream and to give the interpretation thereof. The wise men having said that they could not tell the dream, nor interpret it as long as it was untold, the king threatened them with death. Daniel, who seems not to have been present when the other wise men were before the king, when he was informed of the threat of the king, and that preparations were being made to slay all of the wise men of Babylon, himself and his three companions included, boldly went in to the king and requested that he would appoint a time for him to appear to show the interpretation, Then he went to his house, and he and his companions prayed, and the dream and its interpretation were made known unto Daniel. At the appointed time, the dream was explained and the four Hebrews were loaded with wealth and given high positions in the service of the king. In the 4th chapter, we have recorded Daniel's interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar about the great tree that was hewn at the command of an angel, thus prefiguring the insanity of the king.ISBE Daniel.8

3. Interpreter of Signs: Daniel's third great appearance in the book is in chapter 5, where he is called upon to explain the extraordinary writing upon the wall of Belshazzar's palace, which foretold the end of the Babylonian empire and the incoming of the Medes and Persians. For this service Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold put around his neck, and he was made the third ruler in the kingdom.ISBE Daniel.9

4. Seer of Visions: Daniel, however, was not merely an interpreter of other men's visions. In the last six chapters we have recorded four or five of his own visions, all of which are taken up with revelations concerning the future history of the great world empires, especially in their relation to the people of God, and predictions of the final triumph of the Messiah's kingdom.ISBE Daniel.10

5. Official of the Kings: In addition to his duties as seer and as interpreter of signs and dreams, Daniel also stood high in the governmental service of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius the Mede, and perhaps also of Cyrus. The Book of Dnl, our only reliable source of information on this subject, does not tell us much about his civil duties and performances. It does say, however, that he was chief of the wise men, that he was in the gate of the king, and that he was governor over the whole province of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar; that Belshazzar made him the third ruler in his kingdom; and that Darius made him one of the three presidents to whom his hundred and twenty satraps were to give account; and that he even thought to set him over his whole kingdom. In all of these positions he seems to have conducted himself with faithfulness and judgment. While in the service of Darius the Mede, he aroused the antipathy of the other presidents and of the satraps. Unable to find any fault with his official acts, they induced the king to make a decree, apparently general in form and purpose, but really aimed at Daniel alone. They saw that they could find no valid accusation against him, unless they found it in connection with something concerning the law of his God. They therefore caused the king to make a decree that no one should make a request of anyone for the space of thirty days, save of the king. Daniel, having publicly prayed three times a day as he was in the habit of doing, was caught in the act, accused, and on account of the irrevocability of a law of the Medes and Persians, was condemned in accordance with the decree to be cast into a den of lions. The king was much troubled at this, but was unable to withhold the punishment. However, he expressed to Daniel his belief that his God in whom he trusted continually would deliver him; and so indeed it came to pass. For in the morning, when the king drew near to the mouth of the den, and called to him, Daniel said that God had sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. So Daniel was taken up unharmed, and at the command of the king his accusers, having been cast into tile den, were destroyed before they reached the bottom.ISBE Daniel.11

LITERATURE.ISBE Daniel.12

Besides the commentaries and other works mentioned in the article on the Book of Daniel, valuable information may be found in Josephus and in Payne Smith's Lectures on Daniel.ISBE Daniel.13

R. Dick WilsonISBE Daniel.14

Daniel, Book of

Daniel, Book of - dan'-yel:ISBE Daniel, Book of.2

I. NAMEISBE Daniel, Book of.3

II. PLACE IN THE CANONISBE Daniel, Book of.4

III. DIVISIONS OF THE BOOKISBE Daniel, Book of.5

IV. LANGUAGESISBE Daniel, Book of.6

V. PURPOSE OF THE BOOKISBE Daniel, Book of.7

VI. UNITYISBE Daniel, Book of.8

VII. GENUINENESSISBE Daniel, Book of.9

1. The PredictionsISBE Daniel, Book of.10

2. The MiraclesISBE Daniel, Book of.11

3. The TextISBE Daniel, Book of.12

4. The LanguageISBE Daniel, Book of.13

5. The Historical StatementsISBE Daniel, Book of.14

VIII. INTERPRETATIONISBE Daniel, Book of.15

IX. DOCTRINESISBE Daniel, Book of.16

Commentaries and IntroductionsISBE Daniel, Book of.17

X. APOCRYPHAL ADDITIONSISBE Daniel, Book of.18

LITERATUREISBE Daniel, Book of.19

I. Name. The Book of Daniel is rightly so called, whether we consider Daniel as the author of it, or as the principal person mentioned in it.ISBE Daniel, Book of.20

II. Place in the Canon. In the English Bible, Daniel is placed among the Major Prophets, immediately after Ezk, thus following the order of the Septuagint and of the Latin Vulgate (Jerome's Bible, 390-405 A.D.) In the Hebrew Bible, however, it is placed in the third division of the Canon, called the Kethuvim or writings, by the Hebrews, and the hagiographa, or holy writings, by the Seventy. It has been claimed, that Daniel was placed by the Jews in the third part of the Canon, either because they thought the inspiration of its author to be of a lower kind than was that of the other prophets, or because the book was written after the second or prophetical part of the Canon had been closed. It is more probable, that the book was placed in this part of the Hebrew Canon, because Daniel is not called a nabhi' ("prophet"), but was rather a chozeh ("seer") and a chakham ("wise man"). None but the works of the nebhi'im were put in the second part of the Jewish Canon, the third being reserved for the heterogeneous works of seers, wise men, and priests, or for those that do not mention the name or work of a prophet, or that are poetical in form. A confusion has arisen, because the Greek word prophet is used to render the two Hebrew words nabhi' and chozeh. In the Scriptures, God is said to speak to the former, whereas the latter see visions and dream dreams. Some have attempted to explain the position of Daniel by assuming that he had the prophetic gift without holding the prophetic office. It must be kept in mind that all reasons given to account for the order and place of many of the books in the Canon are purely conjectural, since we have no historical evidence bearing upon the subject earlier than the time of Jesus ben Sirach, who wrote probably about 180 BC.ISBE Daniel, Book of.21

III. Divisions of the Book. According to its subject-matter, the book falls naturally into two great divisions, each consisting of six chapters, the first portion containing the historical sections, and the second the apocalyptic, or predictive, portions; though the former is not devoid of predictions, nor the latter of historical statements. More specifically, the first chapter is introductory to the whole book; Daniel 2:1-49 through 6 describe some marvelous events in the history of Daniel and his three companions in their relations with the rulers of Babylon; and chapters 7 through Daniel 12:1-13 narrate some visions of Daniel concerning the great world-empires, especially in relation to the kingdom of God.ISBE Daniel, Book of.22

According to the languages in which the book is written, it may be divided into the Aramaic portion, extending from Daniel 2:1-49:Daniel 4:11-37b to the end of chapter Daniel 7:1-28, and a Hebrew portion embracing the rest of the book.ISBE Daniel, Book of.23

IV. Languages. The language of the book is partly Hebrew and partly a dialect of Aramaic, which has been called Chaldee, or Biblical Aramaic This Aramaic is almost exactly the same as that which is found in portions of Ezra. On account of the large number of Babylonian and Persian words characteristic of this Aramaic and of that of the papyri recently found in Egypt, as well as on account of the general similarity of the nominal, verbal and other forms, and of the syntactical construction, the Aramaic of this period might properly be called the Babylonian-Persian Aramaic With the exception of the sign used to denote the sound "dh," and of the use of qoph in a few cases where Daniel has `ayin, the spelling in the papyri is the same in general as that in the Biblical books. Whether the change of spelling was made at a later time in the manuscripts of Daniel, or whether it was a peculiarity of the Babylonian Aramaic as distinguished from the Egyptian or whether it was due to the unifying, scientific genius of Daniel himself, we have no means at present to determine. In view of the fact that the Elephantine Papyri frequently employ the "d" sign to express the "dh" sound, and that it is always employed in Ezra to express it; in view further of the fact that the "z" sign is found as late as the earliest Nabatean inscription, that of 70 BC (see Euting, 349: 1, 2, 4) to express the "dh" sound, it seems fatuous to insist on the ground of the writing of these two sounds in the Book of Daniel, that it cannot have been written in the Persian period. As to the use of qoph and `ayin for the Aramaic sound which corresponds to the Hebrew tsadhe when equivalent to an Arabic dad, any hasty conclusion is debarred by the fact that the Aramaic papyri of the 5th century BC, the manuscripts of the Samaritan Targum and the Mandaic manuscripts written from 600 to 900 AD all employ the two letters to express the one sound. The writing of 'aleph and he without any proper discrimination occurs in the papyri as well as in Daniel. The only serious objection to the early date of upon the ground of its spelling is that which is based upon the use of a final "n" in the pronominal suffix of the second and third persons masculine plural instead of the margin of the Aramaic papyri and of the Zakir and Sendschirli inscriptions. It is possible that was influenced in this by the corresponding forms of the Babylonian language. The Syriac and Mandaic dialects of the Aramaic agree with the Babylonian in the formation of the pronominal suffixes of the second and third persons masculine plural, as against the Hebrew, Arabic, Minaean, Sabean and Ethiopic. It is possible that the occurrence of "m" in some west Aramaic documents may have arisen through the influence of the Hebrew and Phoenician, and that pure Aramaic always had "n" just as we find it in Assyrian and Babylonian, and in all east Aramaic documents thus far discovered.ISBE Daniel, Book of.24

The supposition that the use of "y" in Daniel as a preformative of the third person masculine of the imperfect proves a Palestinian provenience has been shown to be untenable by the discovery that the earliest east Syriac also used "y". (See M. Pognon, Inscriptions semitiques, premiere partie, 17.)ISBE Daniel, Book of.25

This inscription is dated 73 AD. This proof that in the earlier stages of its history the east Aramaic was in this respect the same as that found in Daniel is confirmed by the fact that the forms of the 3rd person of the imperfect found in the proper names on the Aramaic dockets of the Assyrian inscriptions also have the preformative y. (See Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum,II , 47.)ISBE Daniel, Book of.26

V. Purpose of the Book. The book is not intended to give an account of the life of Daniel. It gives neither his lineage, nor his age, and recounts but a few of the events of his long career. Nor is it meant to give a record of the history of Israel during the exile, nor even of the captivity in Babylon. Its purpose is to show how by His providential guidance, His miraculous interventions, His foreknowledge and almighty power, the God of heaven controls and directs the forces of Nature and the history of nations, the lives of Hebrew captives and of the mightiest of the kings of the earth, for the accomplishment of His Divine and beneficent plans for His servants and people.ISBE Daniel, Book of.27

VI. Unity. The unity of the book was first denied by Spinoza, who suggested that the first part was taken from the chronological works of the Chaldeans, basing his supposition upon the difference of language between the former and latter parts. Newton followed Spinoza in suggesting two parts, but began his second division with Daniel 7:1-28, where the narrative passes over from the Daniel 3:11-30rd to the Daniel 1:11-21st person. Kohler follows Newton, claiming, however, that the visions were written by the Daniel of the exile, but that the first 6 chapters were composed by a later writer who also redacted the whole work. Von Orelli holds that certain prophecies of Daniel were enlarged and interpolated by a Jew living in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, in order to show his contemporaries the bearing of the predictions of the book upon those times of oppression. Zockler and Lange hold to the unity of the book in general; but the former thought that Daniel 11:5-45 is an interpolation; and the latter, that Daniel 10:1 through Daniel 11:44 and Daniel 12:5-13 have been inserted in the original work. Meinhold holds that the Aramaic portions existed as early as the times of Alexander the Great--a view to which Strack also inclines. Eichhorn held that the book consisted of ten different original sections, which are bound together merely by the circumstance that they are all concerned with Daniel and his three friends. Finally, De Lagarde, believing that the fourth kingdom was the Roman, held that Daniel 7:1-28 was written about 69 AD. (For the best discussion of the controversies about the unity of Daniel, see Eichhorn, Einleitung, sections 612-19, and Buhl in See Hauck-Herzog, Realencyklopadie fur protestantische Theologie und Kirche,IV , 449-51.)ISBE Daniel, Book of.28

VII. Genuineness. With the exception of the neo-Platonist Porphyry, a Greek non-Christian philosopher of the 3rd century AD, the genuineness of the Book of was denied by no one until the rise of the deistic movement in the 17th century. The attacks upon the genuineness of the book have been based upon: (1) the predictions, (2) the miracles, (3) the text, (4) the language, (5) the historical statements.ISBE Daniel, Book of.29

1. The Predictions: The assailants of the genuineness of Daniel on the ground of the predictions found therein, may be divided into two classes--those who deny prediction in general, and those who claim that the apocalyptic character of the predictions of Daniel is a sufficient proof of their lack of genuineness. The first of these two classes includes properly those only who deny not merely Christianity, but theism; and the answering of them may safely be left to those who defend the doctrines of theism, and particularly of revelation. The second class of assailants is, however, of a different character, since it consists of those who are sincere believers in Christianity and predictive prophecy. They claim, however, that certain characteristics of definiteness and detail, distinguishing the predictive portions of the Book of Daniel from other predictions of the Old Testament, bring the genuineness of Daniel into question.ISBE Daniel, Book of.30

The kind of prediction found here, ordinarily called apocalyptic, is said to have arisen first in the 2nd century BC, when parts of the Book of Enoch and of the Sibylline Oracles were written; and a main characteristic of an apocalypse is said to be that it records past events as if they were still future, throwing the speaker back into some distant past time, for the purpose of producing on the reader the impression that the book contains real predictions, thus gaining credence for the statements of the writer and giving consolation to those who are thus led to believe in the providential foresight of God for those who trust in Him.ISBE Daniel, Book of.31

Since those who believe that God has spoken unto man by His Son and through the prophets will not be able to set limits to the extent and definiteness of the revelations which He may have seen fit to make through them, nor to prescribe the method, style, time and character of the revelations, this attack on the genuineness of Daniel may safely be left to the defenders of the possibility and the fact of a revelation. One who believes in these may logically believe in the genuineness of Daniel, as far as this objection goes. That there are spurious apocalypses no more proves that all are spurious than that there are spurious gospels or epistles proves that there are no genuine ones. The spurious epistles of Philaris do not prove that Cicero's Letters are not genuine; nor do the false statements of 2 Macc, nor the many spurious Acts of the Apostles, prove that 1 Macc or Luke's Acts of the Apostles is not genuine. Nor does the fact that the oldest portions of the spurious apocalypses which have been preserved to our time are thought to have been written in the 2nd century BC, prove that no apocalypses, either genuine or spurious, were written before that time. There must have been a beginning, a first apocalypse, at some time, if ever. Besides, if we admit that the earliest parts of the Book of Enoch and of the Sibylline Oracles were written about the middle of the 2nd century BC, whereas the Book of Esdras was written about 300 AD, 450 years later, we can see no good literary reason wh Daniel may not have antedated Enoch by 350 years. The period between 500 BC and 150 BC is so almost entirely devoid of all known Hebrew literary productions as to render it exceedingly precarious for anyone to express an opinion as to what works may have characterized that long space of time.ISBE Daniel, Book of.32

2. The Miracles: Secondly, as to the objections made against the Book of Daniel on the ground of the number or character of the miracles recorded, we shall only say that they affect the whole Christian system, which is full of the miraculous from beginning to end. If we begin to reject the books of the Bible because miraculous events are recorded in them, where indeed shall we stop?ISBE Daniel, Book of.33

3. The Text: Thirdly, a more serious objection, as far as Daniel itself is concerned, is the claim of Eichhorn that the original text of the Aramaic portion has been so thoroughly tampered with and changed, that we can no longer get at the genuine original composition. We ourselves can see no objection to the belief that these Aramaic portions were written first of all in Hebrew, or even, if you will, in Babylonian; nor to the supposition that some Greek translators modified the meaning in their version either intentionally, or through a misunderstanding of the original. We claim, however, that the composite Aramaic of Daniel agrees in almost every particular of orthography, etymology and syntax, with the Aramaic of the North Semitic inscriptions of the 9th, 8th and 7th centuries BC and of the Egyptian papyri of the 5th century BC, and that the vocabulary of Daniel has an admixture of Hebrew, Babylonian and Persian words similar to that of the papyri of the 5th century BC; whereas, it differs in composition from the Aramaic of the Nabateans, which is devoid of Persian, Hebrew, and Babylonian words, and is full of Arabisms, and also from that of the Palmyrenes, which is full of Greek words, while having but one or two Persian words, and no Hebrew or Babylonian.ISBE Daniel, Book of.34

As to different recensions, we meet with a similar difficulty in Jeremiah without anyone's impugning on that account the genuineness of the work as a whole. As to interpolations of verses or sections, they are found in the Samaritan recension of the Hebrew text and in the Samaritan and other Targums, as also in certain places in the text of the New Testament, Josephus and many other ancient literary works, without causing us to disbelieve in the genuineness of the rest of their works, or of the works as a whole.ISBE Daniel, Book of.35

4. The Language: Fourthly, the objections to the genuineness of Daniel based on the presence in it of three Greek names of musical instruments and of a number of Persian words do not seem nearly as weighty today as they did a hundred years ago. The Greek inscriptions at Abu Simbal in Upper Egypt dating from the time of Psamtek II in the early part of the 6th century BC, the discovery of the Minoan inscriptions and ruins in Crete, the revelations of the wide commercial relations of the Phoenicians in the early part of the 1st millennium BC, the lately published inscriptions of Sennacherib about his campaigns in Cilicia against the Greek seafarers to which Alexander Poly-histor and Abydenus had referred, telling about his having carried many Greeks captive to Nineveh about 700 BC, the confirmation of the wealth and expensive ceremonies of Nebuchadnezzar made by his own building and other inscriptions, all assure us of the possibility of the use of Greek musical instruments at Babylon in the 6th century BC. This, taken along with the well-known fact that names of articles of commerce and especially of musical instruments go with the thing, leave no room to doubt that a writer of the 6th century BC may have known and used borrowed Greek terms. The Arameans being the great commercial middlemen between Egypt and Greece on the one hand and Babylon and the Orient on the other, and being in addition a subject people, would naturally adopt many foreign words into their vocabulary.ISBE Daniel, Book of.36

As to the presence of the so-called Persian words in Daniel, it must be remembered that many words which were formerly considered to be such have been found to be Babylonian. As to the others, perhaps all of them may be Median rather than Persian; and if so, the children of Israel who were carried captive to the cities of the Medes in the middle of the 8th century BC, and the, Arameans, many of whom were subject to the Medes, at least from the time of the fall of Nineveh about 607 BC, may well have adopted many words into their vocabulary from the language of their rulers. Daniel was not writing merely for the Jews who had been carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar, but for all Israelites throughout the world. Hence, he would properly use a language which his scattered readers would understand rather than the purer idiom of Judea. Most of his foreign terms are names of officials, legal terms, and articles of clothing, for which there were no suitable terms existing in the earlier Hebrew or Aramaic There was nothing for a writer to do but to invent new terms, or to transfer the current foreign words into his native language. The latter was the preferable method and the one which he adopted.ISBE Daniel, Book of.37

5. The Historical Statements: Fifthly, objections to the genuineness of the Book of Daniel are made on the ground of the historical misstatements which are said to be found in it. These may be classed as: (1) chronological, (2) geographical, and (3) various.ISBE Daniel, Book of.38

(1) Chronological Objections. The first chronological objection is derived from Daniel 1:1, where it is said that Nebuchadnezzar made an expedition against Jerusalem in the Daniel 3:11-30rd year of Jehoiakim, whereas Jeremiah seems to imply that the expedition was made in the Daniel 4:11-37th year of that king. As Daniel was writing primarily for the Jews of Babylon, he would naturally use the system of dating that was employed there; and this system differed in its method of denoting the 1st year of a reign from that used by the Egyptians and by the Jews of Jerusalem for whom Jeremiah wrote.ISBE Daniel, Book of.39

The second objection is derived from the fact that Daniel is said (Daniel 1:21) to have lived unto the 1st year of Cyrus the king, whereas in Daniel 10:1 he is said to have seen a vision in the Daniel 3:11-30rd year of Cyrus, king of Persia. These statements are easily reconciled by supposing that in the former case it is the 1st year of Cyrus as king of Babylon, and in the second, the 3rd year of Cyrus as king of Persia.ISBE Daniel, Book of.40

The third chronological objection is based on Daniel 6:28, where it is said that Daniel prospered in the kingdom of Darius and in the kingdom of Cyrus the Persian. This statement is harmonized with the facts revealed by the monuments and with the statements of the book itself by supposing that Darius reigned synchronously with Cyrus, but as sub-king under him.ISBE Daniel, Book of.41

The fourth objection is based on Daniel 8:1, where Daniel is said to have seen a vision in the third year of Belshazzar the king. If we suppose that Belshazzar was king of the Chaldeans while his father was king of Babylon, just as Cambyses was king of Babylon while his father, Cyrus, was king of the lands, or as Nabonidus II seems to have been king of Harran while his father, Nabonidus I, was king of Babylon, this statement will harmonize with the other statements made with regard to Belshazzar.ISBE Daniel, Book of.42

(2) Geographical Objections. As to the geographical objections, three only need be considered as important. The first is, that Shushan seems to be spoken of in Daniel 7:2 as subject to Babylon, whereas it is supposed by some to have been at that time subject to Media. Here we can safely rest upon the opinion of Winckler, that at the division of the Assyrian dominions among the allied Medes and Babylonians, Elam became subject to Babylon rather than to Media. If, however, this opinion could be shown not to be true, we must remember that Daniel is said to have been at ShuShan in a vision.ISBE Daniel, Book of.43

The second geographical objection is based on the supposition that Nebuchadnezzar would not have gone against Jerusalem, leaving an Egyptian garrison at Carchemish in his rear, thus endangering his line of communication and a possible retreat to Babylon. This objection has no weight, now that the position of Carchemish has been shown to be, not at Ciressium, as formerly conjectured, but at Jirabis, 150 miles farther up the Euphrates. Carchemish would have cut off a retreat to Nineveh, but was far removed from the direct line of communication with Babylon.ISBE Daniel, Book of.44

The third geographical objection is derived from the statement that Darius placed 120 satraps in, or over, all his kingdom. The objection rests upon a false conception of the meaning of satrap and of the extent of a satrapy, there being no reason why a sub-king under Darius may not have had as many satraps under him as Sargon of Assyria had governors and deputies under him; and the latter king mentions 117 peoples and countries over which he appointed his deputies to rule in his place.ISBE Daniel, Book of.45

(3) Other Objections. Various other objections to the genuineness of Daniel have been made, the principal being those derived from the supposed non-existence of Kings Darius the Mede and Belshazzar the Chaldean, from the use of the word Chaldean to denote the wise men of Babylon, and from the silence of other historical sources as to many of the events recorded in Daniel. The discussion of the existence of Belshazzar and Darius the Mede will be found under BELSHAZZAR and DARIUS. As to the argument from silence in general, it may be said that it reduces itself in fact to the absence of all reference to Daniel on the monuments, in the Book of Ecclus, and in the post-exilic literature. As to the latter books it proves too much; for Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, as well as Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, refer to so few of the older canonical books and earlier historical persons and events, that it is not fair to expect them to refer to Daniel--at least, to use their not referring to him or his book as an argument against the existence of either before the time when they were written. As to Ecclesiasticus, we might have expected him to mention Daniel or the Song of Three Children; but who knows what reasons Ben Sira may have had for not placing them in his list of Hebrew heroes? Perhaps, since he held the views which later characterized the Sadducees, he may have passed Daniel by because of his views on the resurrection and on angels. Perhaps he failed to mention any of the four companions because none of their deeds had been wrought in Palestine; or because their deeds exalted too highly the heathen monarchies to which the Jews were subject. Or, more likely, the book may have been unknown to him, since very few copies at best of the whole Old Testament can have existed in his time, and the Book of Daniel may not have gained general currency in Palestine before it was made so preeminent by the fulfillment of its predictions in the Maccabean times.ISBE Daniel, Book of.46

It is not satisfactory to say that Ben Sira did not mention Daniel and his companions, because the stories concerning them had not yet been imbedded in a canonical book, inasmuch as he does place Simon, the high priest, among the greatest of Israel's great men, although he is not mentioned in any canonical book. In conclusion, it may be said, that while it is impossible for us to determine why Ben Sira does not mention Daniel and his three companions among his worthies, if their deeds were known to him, it is even more impossible to understand how these stories concerning them cannot merely have arisen but have been accepted as true, between 180 BC, when Ecclesiasticus is thought to have been written, and 169 BC, when, according to 1 Maccabees, Matthias, the first of the Asmoneans, exhorted his brethren to follow the example of the fortitude of Ananias and his friends.ISBE Daniel, Book of.47

As to the absence of all mention of Daniel on the contemporary historical documents of Babylon and Persia, such mention is not to be expected, inasmuch as those documents give the names of none who occupied positions such as, or similar to, those which Daniel is said to have filled.ISBE Daniel, Book of.48

VIII. Interpretation. Questions of the interpretation of particular passages may be looked for in the commentaries and special works. As to the general question of the kind of prophecy found in the Book of Daniel, it has already been discussed above under the caption of "Genuineness." As to the interpretation of the world monarchies which precede the monarchy of the Messiah Prince, it may be said, however, that the latest discoveries, ruling out as they do a separate Median empire that included Babylon, support the view that the four monarchies are the Babylonian, the Persian, the Greek, and the Roman. According to this view, Darius the Mede was only a sub-king under Cyrus the Persian. Other interpretations have been made by selecting the four empires from those of Assyria, Babylonia, Media, Persia, Medo-Persia, Alexander, the Seleucids, the Romans, and the Mohammedans. The first and the last of these have generally been excluded from serious consideration. The main dispute is as to whether the 4th empire was that of the Seleucids, or that of the Romans, the former view being held commonly by those who hold to the composition of in the 2nd century BC, and the latter by those who hold to the traditional view that it was written in the 6th century BC.ISBE Daniel, Book of.49

IX. Doctrines. It is universally admitted that the teachings of Daniel with regard to angels and the resurrection are more explicit than those found elsewhere in the Old Testament. As to angels, Daniel attributes to them names, ranks, and functions not mentioned by others. It has become common in certain quarters to assert that these peculiarities of Daniel are due to Persian influences. The Babylonian monuments, however, have revealed the fact that the Babylonians believed in both good and evil spirits with names, ranks, and different functions. These spirits correspond in several respects to the Hebrew angels, and may well have afforded Daniel the background for his visions. Yet, in all such matters, it must be remembered that Daniel purports to give us a vision, or revelation; and a revelation cannot be bound by the ordinary laws of time and human influence.ISBE Daniel, Book of.50

As to the doctrine of the resurrection, it is generally admitted that Daniel adds some new and distinct features to that which is taught in the other canonical books of the Old Testament. But it will be noted that he does not dwell upon this doctrine, since he mentions it only in Daniel 12:2. The materials for his doctrine are to be found in Isaiah 26:14, 21 and Isaiah 66:24; Ezekiel 37:1-14, and in Job 14:12; 19:25; Hosea 6:2; 1 Kings 17:1-24; 2 Kings 4:1-44, and 2 Kings 8:1-5, as well as in the use of the words for sleep and awakening from sleep, or from the dust, for everlasting life or everlasting contempt in Isaiah 26:19; Psalms 76:6; 13:3; 127:2; Deuteronomy 31:16; 2 Samuel 7:12; 1 Kings 1:21; Job 7:21, and Jeremiah 20:11; 23:40. The essential ideas and phraseology of Daniel's teachings are found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. The first two parts of the books of Enoch and 2 Maccabees make much of the resurrection; but on the other hand, Ecclesiastes seems to believe not even in the immortality of the soul, and Wisdom and 1 Maccabees do not mention a resurrection of the body.ISBE Daniel, Book of.51

That the post-exilic prophets do not mention a resurrection does not prove that they knew nothing about Daniel any more than it proves that they knew nothing about Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.ISBE Daniel, Book of.52

There are resemblances, it is true, between the teachings of Daniel with regard to the resurrection and those of the Avesta. But so are there between his doctrines and the ideas of the Egyptians, which had existed for millenniums before his time. Besides there is no proof of any derivation of doctrines from the Persians by the writers of the canonical books of the Jews; and, as we have seen above, both the ideas and verbiage of Daniel are to be found in the generally accepted early Hebrew literature. And finally, this attempt to find a natural origin for all Biblical ideas leaves out of sight the fact that the Scriptures contain revelations from God, which transcend the ordinary course of human development. To a Christian, therefore, there can be no reason for believing that the doctrines of Daniel may not have been promulgated in the 6th century BC.ISBE Daniel, Book of.53

Commentaries and Introductions:ISBE Daniel, Book of.54

The best commentaries on Daniel from a conservative point of view are those by Calvin, Moses Stuart, Keil, Zockler, Strong in Lange's Bibelwerk, Fuller in the Speaker's Commentary, Thomson in the Pulpit Commentary, and Wright, Daniel and His Critics. The best defenses of Daniel's authenticity and genuineness are Hengstenberg, Authenticity of the Book of Daniel, Tregelles, Defense of the Authenticity, Auberlen, The Prophecies of Daniel, Fuller, Essay on the Authenticity of Daniel, Pusey, Daniel the Prophet (still the best of all), C. H. H. Wright, Daniel and His Critics, Kennedy, The Book of Daniel from the Christian Standpoint, Joseph Wilson, Daniel, and Sir Robert Anderson, Daniel in the Critics' Den. One should consult also Pinches, The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records of Assyria and Babylonia, Clay, Light on the Old Testament from Babel, and Orr, The Problem of the Old Testament. For English readers, the radical school is best represented by Driver in his Literature of the Old Testament and in his Daniel; by Bevan, The Book of Daniel; by Prince, Commentary on Daniel, and by Cornill in his Introduction to the Old Testament.ISBE Daniel, Book of.55

X. Apocryphal Additions. In the Greek translations of Daniel three or four pieces are added which are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic text as it has come down to us. These are The Prayer of Azarias, The Song of the Three Children, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon. These additions have all been rejected from the Canon by the Protestant churches because they are not contained in the Hebrew Canon. In the Church of England they are "read for example of life and instruction of manners." The Song of Three Children was "ordered in the rubric of the first Prayer Book of Edward VI (AD 1549) to be used in Lent as a responsory to the Old Testament Lesson at the Morning Prayer." It contains the Prayer of Azarias from the midst of the fiery furnace, and the song of praise by the three children for their deliverance; the latter being couched largely in phrases borrowed from Psalms 148:1-14. Susanna presents to us the story of a virtuous woman who resisted the seductive attempts of two judges of the elders of the people, whose machinations were exposed through the wisdom of Daniel who convicted them of false witness by the evidence of their own mouth, so that they were put to death according to the law of Moses; and from that day forth Daniel was held in great reputation in the sight of the people. Bel and the Dragon contains three stories. The first relates how Daniel destroyed the image of Bel which Nebuchadnezzar worshipped, by showing by means of ashes strewn on the floor of the temple that the offerings to Bel were devoured by the priests who came secretly into the temple by night. The second tells how Daniel killed the Dragon by throwing lumps of mingled pitch, fat and hair into his mouth, so causing the Dragon to burst asunder. The third gives a detailed account of the lions' den, stating that there were seven lions and that Daniel lived in the den six days, being sustained by broken bread and pottage which a prophet named Habakkuk brought to him through the air, an angel of the Lord having taken him by the arm and borne him by the hair of his head and through the vehemency of his spirit set him in Babylon over the den, into which he dropped the food for Daniel's use.ISBE Daniel, Book of.56

LITERATURE.ISBE Daniel, Book of.57

For commentaries on the additions to the Book of Daniel, see the works on Daniel cited above, and also The Apocrypha by Churton and others; the volume on the Apocrypha in Lange's Commentary by Bissell; "The Apocrypha" by Wace in the Speaker's Commentary, and Schurer, History of the Jewish People.ISBE Daniel, Book of.58

R. Dick WilsonISBE Daniel, Book of.59

Danites

Danites - dan'-its (ha-dani): Occurs as describing those belonging to Dan in Judges 13:2; 1, 11; 1 Chronicles 12:35.ISBE Danites.2

Dan-jaan

Dan-jaan - dan-ja'-an (dan ya`-an; B, Dan Eidan kai Oudan): A place visited by Joab and his officers when taking the census (2 Samuel 24:6). It is mentioned between Gilead and Sidon. Some would identify it with Khan Danian, a ruined site North of Achzib. The text is probably corrupt. Klostermann would read "toward Dan and Ijon" (compare 1 Kings 15:20).ISBE Dan-jaan.2

Dannah

Dannah - dan'-a (dannah): One of the cities in the hill country of Judah (Joshua 15:49) between Socoh and Kiriath-sannah (Debir), probably Idhna--the Iedna of the Onom--8 miles W. of Hebron. See PEF ,III , 305, 330.ISBE Dannah.2

Daphne

Daphne - daf'-ne (Daphne, "bay-tree"): A suburb of Antioch on the Orontes, according to Strabo and the Jerusalem itinerary, about 40 furlongs, or 5 miles distant. It is identified with Beit el-Ma' on the left bank of the river, to the Southwest of the city. Here were the famous grove and sanctuary of Apollo. The grove and shrine owed their origin to Seleucus Nicator. It was a place of great natural beauty, and the Seleucid kings spared no outlay in adding to its attractions. The precincts enjoyed the right of asylum. Hither fled Onias the high priest (171 BC) from the wrath of Menelaus whom he had offended by plain speech. To the disgust and indignation of Jew and Gentile alike, he was lured from the sanctuary by Andronicus and basely put to death (2 Maccabees 4:33-38). It sheltered fugitives dyed with villainy of every shade. It was the great pleasure resort of the citizens of Antioch; and it gained an evil repute for immorality, as witnessed by the proverbial Daphnici mores. In Tiberim defluxit Orontes, says Juvenal (iii.62), indicating one main source of the corruption that demoralized the imperial city. The decline of Daphne dates from the days of Christian ascendancy in the reign of Julian. The place is still musical with fountains and luxuriant with wild vegetation; but nothing now remains to suggest its former splendor. See ANTIOCH; Gibbon, Decline and Fall, chapter xxiii.ISBE Daphne.2

W. EwingISBE Daphne.3

Dara

Dara - dar'-a (dara`).ISBE Dara.2

See DARDA.ISBE Dara.3

Darda

Darda - dar'-da (darda`, "pearl of wisdom"): One of the wise men to whom Solomon is compared (1 Kings 4:31). He was either a son of Mahol (ibid.) or a son of Zerah, son of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:6, where the corresponding name in the same list is given as DARA). In rabbinic lore the name has been interpreted as dor dea, "the generation of knowledge"--the generation of the wilderness.ISBE Darda.2

Dare

Dare - dar: The expression "to dare" in the Scriptures never has the meaning of "to defy," "to challenge," or "to terrify." It is always found as the translation of tolmao, "to manifest courage." This is particularly evident from 2 Corinthians 10:12, "for we are not bold to number or compare ourselves" (the King James Version "for we dare not make ourselves of the number").ISBE Dare.2

Daric

Daric - dar'-ik (darkemon, and 'adharkon; dareikos): A Persian gold coin about a guinea or five dollars in value. The first form of the word occurs in 1 Chronicles 29:7; Ezra 2:69, and Nehemiah 7:70-72; the second in Ezra 8:27 and is rendered, "dram" in the King James Version and "daric" in the Revised Version (British and American). In the passage in Chronicles, it must refer to a weight, since at the time of David there were no coins, but in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah the Persian darics were current.ISBE Daric.2

See MONEY.ISBE Daric.3

Darius

Darius - da-ri'-us: The name of three or four kings mentioned in the Old Testament. In the original Persian it is spelled "Darayavaush"; in Babylonian, usually "Dariamush"; in Susian(?), "Tariyamaush"; in Egyptian "Antaryuash"; on Aramaic inscriptions, d-r-y-h-w-sh or d-r-y-w-h-w-sh; in Hebrew, dareyawesh; in Greek, Dareios; in Latin, "Darius." In meaning it is probably connected with the new Persian word Dara, "king." Herodotus says it means in Greek, Erxeies, coercitor, "restrainer," "compeller," "commander."ISBE Darius.2

(1) Darius the Mede (Daniel 6:1; 11:1) was the son of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) of the seed of the Medes (Daniel 9:1). He received the government of Belshazzar the Chaldean upon the death of that prince (Daniel 5:30-31; 6:1), and was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.ISBE Darius.3

From Daniel 6:28 we may infer that Darius was king contemporaneously with Cyrus. Outside of the Book of Daniel there is no mention of Darius the Mede by name, though there are good reasons for identifying him with Gubaru, or Ugbaru, the governor of Gutium, who is said in the Nabunaid-Cyrus Chronicle to have been appointed by Cyrus as his governor of Babylon after its capture from the Chaldeans. Some reasons for this identification are as follows:ISBE Darius.4

(a) Gubaru is possibly a translation of Darius. The same radical letters in Arabic mean "king," "compeller," "restrainer." In Hebrew, derivations of the root mean "lord," "mistress," "queen"; in Aramaic, "mighty," "almighty."ISBE Darius.5

(b) Gutium was the designation of the country North of Babylon and was in all possibility in the time of Cyrus a part of the province of Media.ISBE Darius.6

(c) But even if Gutium were not a part of Media at that time, it was the custom of Persian kings to appoint Medes as well as Persians to satrapies and to the command of armies. Hence, Darius-Gubaru may have been a Mede, even if Gutium were not a part of Media proper.ISBE Darius.7

(d) Since Daniel never calls Darius the Mede king of Media, or king of Persia, it is immaterial what his title or position may have been before he was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. Since the realm of the Chaldeans never included either Media or Persia, there is absolutely no evidence in the Book of Daniel that its author ever meant to imply that Darius the Mede ever ruled over either Media or Persia.ISBE Darius.8

(e) That Gubaru is called governor (pihatu), and Darius the Mede, king, is no objection to this identification; for in ancient as well as modern oriental empires the governors of provinces and cities were often called kings. Moreover, in the Aramaic language, no more appropriate word than "king" can be found to designate the ruler of a sub-kingdom, or province of the empire.ISBE Darius.9

(f) That Darius is said to have had 120 satraps under him does not conflict with this; for the Persian word "satrap" is indefinite as to the extent of his rule, just like the English word "governor." Besides, Gubaru is said to have appointed pihatus under himself. If the kingdom of the Chaldeans which he received was as large as that of Sargon he may easily have appointed 120 of these sub-rulers; for Sargon names 117 subject cities and countries over which he appointed his prefects and governors.ISBE Darius.10

(g) The peoples, nations and tongues of chapter 6 are no objection to this identification; for Babylonia itself at this time was inhabited by Babylonians, Chaldeans, Arabians, Arameans and Jews, and the kingdom of the Chaldeans embraced also Assyrians, Elamites, Phoenicians and others within its limits.ISBE Darius.11

(h) This identification is supported further by the fact that there is no other person known to history that can well be meant. Some, indeed, have thought that Darius the Mede was a reflection into the past of Darius Hystaspis; but this is rendered impossible inasmuch as the character, deeds and empire of Darius Hystaspis, which are well known to us from his own monuments and from the Greek historians, do not resemble what Daniel says of Darius the Mede.ISBE Darius.12

(2) Darius, the fourth king of Persia, called Hystaspes because he was the son of a Persian king named Hystaspis, is mentioned in Ezr (4:5, et al.), Hag (1:1) and Zec (1:1). Upon the death of Cambyses, son and successor to Cyrus, Smerdis the Magian usurped the kingdom and was dethroned by seven Persian nobles from among whom Darius was selected to be king. After many rebellions and wars he succeeded in establishing himself firmly upon the throne (Ant., XI, i). He reorganized and enlarged the Persian empire. He is best known to general history from his conflict with Greece culminating at Marathon, and for his re-digging of the Suez Canal. In sacred history he stands forth as the king who enabled the Jews under Jeshua and Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem.ISBE Darius.13

(3) Darius, called by the Greeks Nothus, was called Ochus before he became king. He reigned from 424 to 404 BC. In the Scriptures he is mentioned only in Nehemiah 12:22, where he is called Darius the Persian, probably to distinguish him from Darius the Mede. It is not necessary to suppose thatISBE Darius.14

Darius Codomannus who reigned from 336 to 330 BC, is meant by the author of Nehemiah 12:1-47, because he mentions Jaddua; for (a) Johanan, the father of this Jaddua, was high priest about 408 BC, as is clear from the Aramaic papyrus from Elephantine lately published by Professor Sachau of Berlin, and Jaddua may well have succeeded him in those troubled times before the death of Darius Nothus in 404 BC. And (b) that a high priest named Jaddua met Alexander in 332 BC, is attested only by Josephus (Ant., XI, viii, 5). It is not fair to take the testimony of Josephus as to Jaddua without taking his testimony as to the meeting with Alexander and as to the appeal of Jaddua to the predictions of the Book of Daniel. But even if Josephus be right, there may have been two Jadduas, one high priest in 404 BC, and the other in 332 BC; or the one who was alive and exercising his functions in 404 BC may still have been high priest in 332 BC. He need not have exceeded 90 years of age. According to the Eshki Harran inscription, which purports to have been written by himself, the priest of the temple in that city had served for 104 years. In our own time how many men have been vigorous in mind and body at the age of 90, or thereabouts; Bismarck and Gladstone, for example?ISBE Darius.15

R. Dick WilsonISBE Darius.16

Dark Sayings

Dark Sayings - (Proverbs 1:6; Psalms 78:2; singular, Psalms 49:4(5); chidhoth, singular chidhah, elsewhere rendered "riddle," "proverb"): In the heading to the canonical Book of Proverbs, the general term "proverbs" is made to include "a proverb mashal, and a figure (or, an interpretation, melitsah), the words (singular dabhar) of the wise, and their dark sayings (or, riddles)." The "proverb" is either a saying current among the people (compare 1 Samuel 10:12; "the proverb of the ancients" 1 Samuel 24:13 (14)), or a sentence of ethical wisdom composed by the order of wise men (chakhamim). Of the latter kind are the sententious maxims of the Wisdom literature (chiefly Proverbs, but also Job, Ecclesiastes, and among the uncanonical writings, Ecclesiasticus). They are characterized by a secular touch; wisdom, moreover, flourished among the neighbors of Israel as well; so in Edom and elsewhere. Whatever the date of the collection known as the "Proverbs of Solomon," the wise men existed in Israel at a very early period; the prophets allude to them. But the Hebrew mashal is sometimes of a more elaborate character corresponding to our "parables"; frequently a vein of taunt runs through them, and they played an important part in compositions directed against other nations (compare Numbers 21:27). The prophets are fond of employing this genre of literary production; in their hands the mashal becomes a figurative or allegorical discourse (compare Ezekiel 21:5 ff (8 ff)). The mashal in the sense of a didactic poem occurs also in the Psalms (Psalms 49:1-20 and Psalms 78:1-72). Hence, it is that "proverb" and "figure," or "proverb" and "dark saying" are interchangeable terms. The "dark saying" is the popular "riddle" (compare Judges 14:1-20) raised to the dignity of elaborate production. It is in short an allegorical sentence requiring interpretation. Both prophets and psalmists avail themselves thereof. The word of God comes to the prophet in the form of a vision (compare the visions of Amos or Jeremiah), i.e. the truth presents itself to them in the form of a simile. To the perfect prophet of the type of Moses the revelation comes direct in the shape of the naked truth without the mediation of figures of speech or obscure utterances requiring elucidation (compare Numbers 12:1-16). In the same way Paul (1 Corinthians 13:1-13) distinguishes between the childish manner of speaking of things spiritual and the manner of a man: "For now we see in a mirror, darkly (Greek "in a riddle"); but then face to face." The rabbis say that, whereas all the other prophets saw God and things Divine in a dim mirror, Moses saw them in a polished, clear mirror. Both Paul and the rabbis feel the difference between mediate and immediate vision, the revelation which requires dark figurative language as a vehicle and the clear perception which is the direct truth.ISBE Dark Sayings.2

Max L. MargolisISBE Dark Sayings.3

Dark; Darkness

Dark; Darkness - dark, dark'-nes (choshekh; skotos):ISBE Dark; Darkness.2

1. Darkness and Light in Palestine: The day and night, light and darkness, are notable antitheses in Palestine. There the day does not slowly fade away into the night after a period of twilight, but before sunset there is the brightness of day, and when the sun has disappeared everything has changed and night is at hand. From sunset until the darkness of night is less than an hour.ISBE Dark; Darkness.3

2. Symbolic Uses: In the Bible the main use of darkness is in contrast to light. Light is the symbol of God's purity, wisdom and glory. Darkness is the opposite. Miraculous occurrence of darkness in the land of Egypt for three days is recorded in Exodus 10:21-22, and at the death of Christ (Matthew 27:45).ISBE Dark; Darkness.4

See PLAGUE; ECLIPSE.ISBE Dark; Darkness.5

The figurative uses of darkness are many and various. It is used as a symbol (a) of moral depravity and its punishment. The wicked walk and work in darkness (Psalms 82:5; Proverbs 2:13; John 3:19; Romans 13:12), and their reward is to "sit in darkness" (Psalms 107:10) or to be "cast forth into the outer darkness" (Matthew 8:12); (b) of things mysterious or inexplicable (1 Kings 8:12; Psalms 97:2); (c) of trouble and affliction (2 Samuel 22:29; Job 5:14; Proverbs 20:20; Isaiah 9:2; compare Genesis 15:12); (d) of punishment (Lamentations 3:2; Ezekiel 32:8; Zephaniah 1:15); (e) of death (1 Samuel 2:9; Job 10:21 f; Ecclesiastes 11:8); (f) of nothingness (Job 3:4-6); (g) of human ignorance (Job 19:8; 1 John 2:11).ISBE Dark; Darkness.6

"A dark (the Revised Version, margin "squalid") place" (2 Peter 1:19) refers especially to the state of things described in 2 Peter 2:1-22.ISBE Dark; Darkness.7

Alfred H. JoyISBE Dark; Darkness.8

Darkly

Darkly - dark'-li: The word occurs in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "For now we see in a mirror, darkly," in translation of the words en ainigmati, the Revised Version, margin "in a riddle." The contrast is with the "face to face" vision of Divine things in eternity. Earth's best knowledge is partial, obscure, enigmatic, a broken reflection of the complete truth ("broken lights of Thee").ISBE Darkly.2

Darkon

Darkon - dar'-kon (darqon, "carrier"): Ancestor of a subdivision of "Solomon's servants," so called, in post-exilic times (Ezra 2:56; Nehemiah 7:58; Lozon, 1 Esdras 5:33).ISBE Darkon.2

Darling

Darling - dar'-ling (yachidh, "only," the King James Version margin, "only one"; the American Revised Version, margin, "dear life"): Used poetically for the life or soul (Psalms 22:20; 35:17).ISBE Darling.2

Dart

Dart - dart (chets; belos): A pointed missile weapon, as an arrow or light spear (2 Samuel 18:14; Job 41:26).ISBE Dart.2

See ARMOR;ARMS ,III , 4; ARROW.ISBE Dart.3

Figurative: (1) Of the penalty of sin (Proverbs 7:23 the King James Version); (2) of strong suggestions and fierce temptations to evil (Ephesians 6:16; compare 1 Maccabees 5:51 ).ISBE Dart.4

Dart-snake

Dart-snake - dart'-snake (Isaiah 34:15).ISBE Dart-snake.2

See ARROWSNAKE.ISBE Dart-snake.3

Dash

Dash - The idea of "to throw violently" or "to strike" with purpose of causing destruction is usually connected with the word "to dash." There is perhaps but one exception to this: Psalms 91:12 and the quotations of this passage in the New Testament (Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:11, proskopto), have the meaning "to strike against accidentally" and not intentionally. Nahum 2:1, "he that dasheth in pieces" is doubtful. "He that scatters" would be in better harmony with the Hebrew mephits, and the following description of destruction. In all other cases "to dash" is connected with the idea of destruction, especially the infliction of punishment which is usually expressed by raTash, "to dash to the ground" (2 Kings 8:12; Isaiah 13:16 ff, et al., "to dash in pieces," the King James Version simply "to dash"), but also by naphats, "to break to pieces" (Psalms 2:9; 137:9, et al.).ISBE Dash.2

Dates

Dates - dats (debhash): Arabic, dibbs (2 Chronicles 31:5, King James Version margin); English Versions of the Bible HONEY (which see).ISBE Dates.2

Dathan

Dathan - da'-than (dathan, meaning and derivation unknown, though the name is found in Assyrian, in the records of Shalmaneser II): The son of Eliab the son of Pallu the son of Reuben (Numbers 26:5 ff; Deuteronomy 11:6; Psalms 106:17). He and his brother Abiram, with others, followed Korah the Levite in disputing the authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Numbers 16:1-50-Numbers 17:1-13; Numbers 26:1-65; Deuteronomy 11:6; Psalms 106:17). Other followers of Korah perished by fire before the tent of meeting, but Dathan and Abiram were swallowed up by the earth, with their families and their goods, at their tents.ISBE Dathan.2

See KORAH.ISBE Dathan.3

Willis J. BeecherISBE Dathan.4

Dathema

Dathema - dath'-e-ma (Dathema): A stronghold (1 Maccabees 5:29) in Gilead to which the Jews fled for refuge from the heathen (1 Maccabees 5:9). They were delivered by Judas and Jonathan his brother. It was within a night's march from Bosora. It may possibly be identical with `Athaman which lies East of el-Muzerib.e in disputing the authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Numbers 16:1-50-Numbers 17:1-13; Numbers 26:1-65; Deuteronomy 11:6; Psalms 106:17). Other followers of Korah perished by fire before the tent of meeting, but Dathan and Abiram were swallowed up by the earth, with their families and their goods, at their tents.ISBE Dathema.2

Daub

Daub - dob: "To daub" always has the meaning "to cover," "to smear with" in the Scriptures. Ezekiel compares the flatteries of the false prophets to a slight wall covered with whitewash (literally, "spittle"). See Ezekiel 13:10 ff; Ezekiel 22:28. In Exodus 2:3 "daubed it with slime and with pitch" (Hebrew wattachmerah, denominative of chemar, "bitumen" or "asphalt"), "to daub" has the same meaning as in the Ezekiel passage.ISBE Daub.2

Daughter

Daughter - do'-ter (bath; thugater): Used in Scriptures in several more or less distinct senses: (a) for daughter in the ordinary, literal sense (Genesis 46:25; Exodus 1:16); (b) daughter-in-law (Ruth 2:2); (c) grand-daughter or other female descendant (Exodus 21:1-36; Luke 1:5; 13:16); (d) the women of a country, or of a place, taken collectively (Luke 23:28), of a particular religion (Malachi 2:11); (e) all the population of a place, taken collectively, especially in Prophets and poetic books (Psalms 9:14; Isaiah 23:10; Jeremiah 46:24; Matthew 21:5); (f) used in familiar address, "Daughter, be of good comfort" (Matthew 9:22 the King James Version; Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48); (g) women in general (Proverbs 31:29); (h) the personification of towns or cities, as of the female sex (Isaiah 47:1; Ezekiel 16:44, 46; compare Nahum 3:4, 7), especially of dependent towns and villages (Psalms 48:11; Numbers 21:25 margin; Judges 1:27 margin); (i) in Hebrew idiom for person or thing belonging to or having the characteristics of that with which it is joined, as "daughter of ninety years," of Sarah, ninety years old (Genesis 17:17); "daughters of music," singing birds, or singing women (Ecclesiastes 12:4); daughters of a tree, i.e. branches; daughter of the eye, i.e. the pupil.ISBE Daughter.2

Daughters were not so highly prized as sons, not being usually mentioned by name. A father might sometimes sell his daughter as bondwoman (Exodus 21:7); though not to a foreigner (Exodus 21:8); daughters might sometimes inherit as did sons, but could not take the inheritance outside of the tribe (Numbers 36:1-12).ISBE Daughter.3

Edward Bagby PollardISBE Daughter.4

Daughter-in-law

Daughter-in-law - See RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY.ISBE Daughter-in-law.2

David

David - da'-vid (dawidh, or dawidh, "beloved"; Daueid, also in New Testament, Dauid, Dabid; see Thayer's Lexicon):ISBE David.2

I. NAME AND GENEALOGYISBE David.3

II. EARLY YEARSISBE David.4

1. ShepherdISBE David.5

2. SlingerISBE David.6

3. HarpistISBE David.7

4. PoetISBE David.8

5. PsalmistISBE David.9

6. TribesmanISBE David.10

III. IN THE SERVICE OF SAULISBE David.11

1. David First Meets SaulISBE David.12

2. His First ExploitISBE David.13

3. Envy of Saul and Flight of DavidISBE David.14

4. Jonathan and DavidISBE David.15

IV. DAVID IN EXILEISBE David.16

1. David as OutlawISBE David.17

2. David Joins the PhilistinesISBE David.18

V. DAVID AS KINGISBE David.19

1. Civil WarISBE David.20

2. Conquests AbroadISBE David.21

3. Political SituationISBE David.22

4. The ArkISBE David.23

VI. DOMESTIC LIFEISBE David.24

1. His Wives and ChildrenISBE David.25

2. Domestic TroublesISBE David.26

VII. HIS OFFICIALSISBE David.27

1. ProphetsISBE David.28

2. PriestsISBE David.29

3. Military OfficersISBE David.30

4. Other OfficialsISBE David.31

5. Mutual RivalryISBE David.32

VIII. PERSONAL CHARACTER OF DAVIDISBE David.33

1. ChroniclesISBE David.34

2. PsalmsISBE David.35

3. Complex CharacterISBE David.36

4. Physical CourageISBE David.37

5. Moral CourageISBE David.38

6. PrudenceISBE David.39

7. StrategyISBE David.40

8. NobilityISBE David.41

9. David in Relation to His FamilyISBE David.42

10. David in Relation to His FriendsISBE David.43

11. His SuccessISBE David.44

12. His Foreign FriendsISBE David.45

13. NemesisISBE David.46

14. References in the New TestamentISBE David.47

LITERATURE.ISBE David.48

I. Name and Genealogy. This name, which is written "defectively" in the older books, such as those of Samuel, but fully with the yodh in Chronicles and the later books, is derived, like the similar name Jedidish (2 Samuel 12:25), from a root meaning "to love." The only person who bears this name in the Bible is the son of Jesse, the second king of Israel. His genealogy is given in the table appended to the Book of Ruth (2 Samuel 4:12). Here the following points are to be noted: David belonged to the tribe of Judah: his ancestor Nahshon was chieftain of the whole tribe (Numbers 1:7; 2:3; 1 Chronicles 2:10) and brother-in-law of Aaron the high priest (Exodus 6:23). As no other descendants of Nahshon are mentioned, his authority probably descended to Jesse by right of primogeniture. This supposition is countenanced by the fact that Salma (Salmon), the name of the son of Nahshon and father of Boaz, is also the name of a grandson of Caleb who became "father" of Bethlehem, the home of Jesse (1 Chronicles 2:51). David was closely connected with the tribe of Moab, the mother of his grandfather Obed being Ruth the Moabitess. Of the wife or wives of Jesse we know nothing, and consequently are without information upon a most interesting point--the personality of the mother of David; but that she too may have been of the tribe of Moab is rendered probable by the fact that, when hard pressed, David placed his parents under the protection of the king of that country (1 Samuel 22:3, 1).ISBE David.49

II. Early Years. The home of David when he comes upon the stage of history was the picturesque town of Bethlehem.ISBE David.50

1. Shepherd: There his family had been settled for generations, indeed ever since the Israelite nation had overrun the land of Canaan. His father was apparently not only the chief man of the place, but he seems to have been chieftain of the whole clan to which he belonged--the clan of Judah. Although the country round Bethlehem is more fertile than that in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, the inhabitants joined to the cultivation of the soil the breeding of cattle (Luke 2:8). David's father, not only cultivated his ancestral fields, but kept flocks of sheep and goats as well. The flocks were sent out every day to pasture in the neighboring valleys attended by the herdsmen armed so as to defend themselves and their charge, not only against marauders from the surrounding deserts, but also from the lions and bears with which the country was then infested. David seems to have been in the habit of accompanying his father's servants in their task (1 Samuel 17:20, 22), and on occasion would be left in full charge by himself. Nor was his post at such times a sinecure. He had not only to keep a sharp lookout for thieves, but on more than one occasion had with no other weapon than his shepherd's club or staff to rescue a lamb from the clutches of a lion or a bear (1 Samuel 17:34 ff). Such adventures, however, must have been rare, and David must often have watched eagerly the lengthening of the shadow which told of the approach of sunset, when he could drive his charge into the zariba for the night and return home. There is, indeed, no life more monotonous and enervating than that of an eastern shepherd, but David must have made good use of his idle time. He seems, in fact, to have made such good use of it as to have neglected his handful of sheep. The incidents of which he boasted to Saul would not have occurred, had his proper occupation taken up all his thoughts; but, like King Alfred, his head seems to have been filled with ideas far removed from his humble task.ISBE David.51

2. Slinger: David, like Nelson, does not seem to have known what it was to be afraid, and it was not to be expected that he could be satisfied with the lot of the youngest of eight sons of the now aged chief (1 Samuel 17:12; 1 Chronicles 2:13 ff). In the East every man is a soldier, and David's bent was in that direction. The tribesmen of Benjamin near whose border his home was situated were famed through all Israel as slingers, some of whom could sling at a hair and not miss (Judges 20:16). Taught, perhaps, by one of these, but certainly by dint of constant practice, David acquired an accuracy of aim which reminds one of the tales of William Tell or Robin Hood (1 Samuel 17:49).ISBE David.52

3. Harpist: Another of the pastimes in the pursuit of which David spent many an hour of his youthful days was music. The instrument which he used was the "harp" (Hebrew kinnor). This instrument had many forms, which may be seen on the Assyrian and Egyptian monuments; but the kind used by David was probably like the modern Arabic, rubaba, having only one or two strings, played not with a plectrum (Ant., VII, xii, 3) but by the hand (compare 1 Samuel 16:23, etc., which do not exclude a quill). Whatever the nature of the instrument was, David acquired such proficiency in playing it that his fame as a musician soon spread throughout the countryside (1 Samuel 16:18). With the passing of time he becomes the Hebrew Orpheus, in whose music birds and mountains joined (compare Koran, chapter 21 ).ISBE David.53

4. Poet: To the accompaniment of his lyre David no doubt sang words, either of popular songs or of lyrics of his own composition, in that wailing eastern key which seems to be an imitation of the bleating of flocks. The verses he sang would recount his own adventures or the heroic prowess of the warrior of his clan, or celebrate the loveliness of some maiden of the tribe, or consist of elegies upon those slain in battle. That the name of David was long connected with music the reverse of sacred appears from the fact that Amos denounces the people of luxury of his time for improvising to the sound of the viol, inventing instruments of music, like David (6:5). (It is not clear to which clause "like David" belongs, probably to both.) The only remains of the secular poetry of David which have come down to us are his elegies on Saul and Jonathan and on Abner (2 Samuel 1:19-27; 33, 14), which show him to have been a true poet.ISBE David.54

5. Psalmist: Did David also compose religious verses? Was he "the sweet psalmist of Israel" (2 Samuel 23:1)? In the oldest account which we have, contained in the books of Samuel, David appears as a musician and as a secular poet only, for it is obvious the poetical passages, 2 Samuel 22:1-233:2 Samuel 7:1-29, do not belong to the original form of that book but are thrust in in the middle of a long list of names of David's soldiers. The position is the same in Amos 6:5. It is in the later books and passages that sacred music and psalms begin to be ascribed to him. Perhaps the earliest instance is the passage just cited containing the "last words" of David (2 Samuel 23:1-7). The Chronicler (about 300 BC) seems to put parts of Psalms 105:1-45; Psalms 96:1-13, and Psalms 106:1-48 into the mouth of David (1 Chronicles 16:7 ff), and Nehemiah 12:36 regards him apparently as the inventor of the instruments used in the Temple service (1 Chronicles 23:5), or as a player of sacred music. So too in the Septuagint psalter (Psalms 150:2) we read, "My hands made an organ, my fingers fashioned a psaltery"; and gradually the whole of the Psalms came to be ascribed to David as author. In regard to this question it must be remembered that in the East at any rate there is no such distinction as that of sacred and secular. By sacred poetry we mean poetry which mentions the name of God or quotes Scripture, but the Hebrew or Arab poet will use the name of God as an accompaniment to a dance, and will freely sprinkle even comic poetry with citations from his sacred book. David must have composed sacred poems if he composed at all, and he would use his musical gift for the purposes of religion as readily as for those of amusement and pleasure (2 Samuel 6:14-15). Whether any of our psalms was composed by David is another question. The titles cannot be considered as conclusive evidence, and internal proofs of his authorship are wanting. Indeed the only psalm which claims to have been written by David is the 18th (= 2 Samuel 22:1-51). One cannot help wishing that the 23rd Psalm had been sung by the little herd lad as he watched his father's flocks and guarded them from danger.ISBE David.55

6. Tribesman: There are sayings of Mohammed that the happiest life is that of the shepherd, and that no one became a prophet who had not at one time tended a flock of sheep. What Mohammed meant was that the shepherd enjoys leisure and solitude for reflection and for plunging into those day dreams out of which prophets are made. If David, like the Arab poet Tarafa, indulged in sport, in music and in poetry, even to the neglect of his charge, he must have sought out themes on which to exercise his muse; and it must have been with no little chagrin that he learnt that whereas the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, Levi, Dan, and even the non-Israelite tribes of Kenaz and the debatable land of Gilead could boast of having held the hegemony of Israel and led the nation in battle, his own tribe of Judah had played a quite subordinate part, and was not even mentioned in the national war song of Deborah. As contrasted with the poets of these tribes he could boast in his verses only of Ibzan who belonged to his own town of Bethlehem (Judges 12:8). The Jerahmeelites were no doubt a powerful clan, but neither they nor any other of the subdivisions of Judah had ever done anything for the common good. Indeed, when the twelve pathfinders had been sent in advance into Canaan, Judah had been represented by Caleb, a member of the Uitlander tribe of Kenaz (Numbers 13:6). He became apparently the adopted son of Hezron and so David might claim kinship with him, and through him with Othniel the first of the judges (Judges 1:13). David thus belonged to the least efficient of all the Israelite tribes except one, and one which, considering its size and wealth, had till now failed to play a worthy part in the confederacy. It is difficult to believe that the young David never dreamed of a day when his own tribe should take its true place among its fellows, and when the deliverer of Israel from its oppressors should belong for once to the tribe of Judah.ISBE David.56

III. In the Service of Saul. The earliest events in the career of David are involved in some obscurity.ISBE David.57

1. David First Meets Saul: This is due mainly to what appears to be an insoluble difficulty in 1 Samuel 16:1-23 and 1 Samuel 17:1-58. In chapter 1 Samuel 16:1-23, David is engaged to play before Saul in order to dispel is melancholy, and becomes his squire or armor-bearer (1 Samuel 16:21), whereas in the following chapter he is unknown to Saul, who, after the death of Goliath, asks Abner who he is, and Abner replies that he does not know (1 Samuel 17:55). This apparent contradiction may be accounted for by the following considerations: (a) 1 Samuel 16:14-23 may be inserted out of its chronological order for the sake of the contrast with the section immediately preceding--"the spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon David from that day forward .... the spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul" (1 Samuel 16:13-14); (b) the fact of David becoming Saul's squire does not imply constant personal attendance upon him; the text says David became an (not his) armor-bearer to Saul. The king would have many such squires: Joab, though only commander-in-chief, had, it seems, eighteen (2 Samuel 23:37 reads "armor-bearers"); (c) David would not play before Saul every day: his presence might not be required for a space of weeks or months; (d) Saul's failure to recognize David may have been a result of the `evil spirit from Yahweh' and Abner's denial of knowledge may have been feigned out of jealousy. If we accept all the statements of the dramatis personae in these narratives we shall not get very far.ISBE David.58

2. His First Exploit: The facts seem to have been somewhat as follows: It had become evident that Saul was not equal to the task to which he had been set--the task of breaking the Philistine power, and it became the duty of Samuel, as the vicar of Yahweh and as still holding very large powers, to look about for a successor. He turned to the tribe of Judah (the full brother of his own ancestor Levi), a tribe which was fast becoming the most powerful member of the federation. The headman of this clan was Jesse of Bethlehem. His name was well known in the country--Saul does not require to be told who he is (1 Samuel 16:18; 17:58)--but he was by this time advanced in years (1 Samuel 17:12). He had, however, many sons. Old men in the East often foretell a great future for a young boy (compare Luke 2:34). Samuel saw that David was formed of other clay than his brothers, and he anointed him as he had done Saul (1 Samuel 10:1). But whereas the anointing of Saul was done surreptitiously and for a definite purpose which was explained at the time (1 Samuel 10:1), that of David was performed before his whole family, but with what object he was not told (1 Samuel 16:13). His brothers do not seem to have thought the matter of much consequence (compare 1 Samuel 17:28), and all David could conclude from it was that he was destined to some high office--perhaps that of Samuel's successor (compare 1 Kings 19:15-16). It would have the effect of nerving him for any adventure and raising his hopes high and steeling his courage. Whether by accident or by contrivance he became attached to Saul as minstrel (compare 2 Kings 3:15) and subsequently as one of his armor-bearers. He would probably be at this time about twenty years of age. It must have been after an interval of some months that an event happened which made it impossible for Saul ever again to forget the existence of David. This was the famous duel between David and the Philistine Goliath, which saved the situation for Saul for the time (1 Samuel 17:1-58). In regard to this narrative it must be noted that 1 Samuel 17:12-31, 41, 50, 55-58 and 1 Samuel 18:1-5 are lacking in the best manuscript of the Septuagint, that is, the sending of David from Bethlehem and his fresh introduction to Saul and Saul's failure to recognize him are left out. With the omission of these verses all the difficulties of the narrative vanish. For the reason why David could not wear the armor offered him was not because he was still a child, which is absurd in view of the fact that Saul was exceptionally tall (1 Samuel 9:2), but because he had had no practice with it (1 Samuel 17:39). It is ridiculous to suppose that David was not at this time full-grown, and that two armies stood by while a child advanced to engage a giant. The event gained for David the reputation won in modern times at the cannon's mouth, but also the devoted friendship of Jonathan and the enmity of Saul (1 Samuel 18:1-9).ISBE David.59

The next years of David's life were spent in the service of Saul in his wars with the Philistines. David's success where Saul had failed, however, instead of gratifying only inflamed the jealousy of the latter, and he determined to put David out of the way. More than once he attempted to do so with his own hand (1 Samuel 18:11; 19:10), but he also employed stratagem. It came to his ears that his daughter Michal, as well as his son Jonathan, loved David, and Saul undertook to give her to David on the condition of his killing one hundred Philistines.ISBE David.60

3. Envy of Saul and Flight of David: The gruesome dowry was paid, and David became Saul's son-in-law. The Hebrew text states that Saul first offered his elder daughter to David, and then failed to implement his promise (1 Samuel 18:17-199,21Sa 1:1-28b), but this passage is not found in the Greek. David's relation to Saul did not mitigate the hatred of the latter; indeed his enmity became so bitter that David determined upon flight. With the help of stratagem on the part of Michal, this was effected and David went to Samuel at Ramah for counsel and advice (1 Samuel 19:18). There Saul pursued him, but when he came into the presence of the prophet, his courage failed and he was overcome by the contagion of the prophetic ecstasy (1 Samuel 19:24) as he had been on a previous occasion (1 Samuel 10:11). David returned to Gibeah, while the coast was clear, to meet Jonathan, but Saul also returned immediately, his hatred more intense than before. David then continued his flight and came to Ahimelech, the priest at Nob (1 Samuel 21:1). It is sometimes supposed that we have here two inconsistent accounts of David's flight, according to one of which he fled to Samuel at Ramah, and according to the other to Ahimelech at Nob; but there is no necessity for such a supposition, and even if it were correct, it would not clear up all the difficulties of the narrative. There is evidently much in these narratives that is left untold and our business should be to fill up the gaps in a way consistent with what we are given. That Saul made sure that David would not return is shown by the fact that he gave his daughter Michal to a man of the tribe of Benjamin as wife (1 Samuel 25:44).ISBE David.61

4. Jonathan and David: The relation existing between Jonathan and David was one of pure friendship. There was no reason why it should not be so. A hereditary monarchy did not yet exist in Israel. The only previous attempt to establish such an institution--that of Gideon's family (Judges 9:1-57)--though not of Gideon himself (1 Samuel 8:22)--had ended in failure. The principle followed hitherto had been that of election by the sheikhs or caids of the clans. To this Saul owed his position, for the lot was a kind of ballot. Moreover, behind all national movements there lay the power of the prophets, the representatives of Yahweh. Saul was indebted for his election to Samuel, just as Barak was to Deborah (Judges 4:6). Like the judges who preceded him he had been put forward to meet a definite crisis in the national affairs--the rise of the Philistine power (1 Samuel 9:16). Had he succeeded in crushing these invaders, the newly-established kingdom would in the absence of this bond of union have dissolved again into its elements, as had happened on every similar occasion before. He was the only judge who had failed to accomplish the task for which he was appointed, and he was the only one who had been appointed on the understanding that his son should succeed him, for this constitutes the distinction between king and judge. Moreover, not only was Saul aware that he had failed, but he saw before him the man who was ready to step into his place and succeed. His rival had, besides, the backing of the mass of the people and of Samuel who was still virtual head of the state and last court of appeal. It is not to be wondered at that Saul was hostile to David. Jonathan, on the other hand, acquiesced in the turn things had taken and bowed to what he believed to be the inevitable. Such was his love for David that he asked only to be his wazeer (vizier) when David came to the throne (1 Samuel 23:17). David's position was perhaps the most difficult imaginable. He had to fight the battles of a king whose one idea was to bring about his ruin. He was the bosom friend of a prince whom he proposed to supplant in his inheritance. His hope of salvation lay in the death of his king, the father of his wife and of his best friend. The situation would in ordinary circumstances be intolerable, and it would have been impossible but for the fact that those concerned were obsessed by a profound belief in Fate. Jonathan bore no grudge against David for aiming at the throne, because to the throne he was destined by the will of Yahweh. To David it would never occur that he had the choice of declining the high destiny in store for him. Had he had the power to refuse what he believed to be the decree of Fate, he would hardly escape censure for his ambition and disloyalty.ISBE David.62

IV. David in Exile. 1. David as Outlaw: From the moment of his flight David became an outlaw and remained so until the death of Saul. This period of his career is full of stirring adventures which remind us of Robert Bruce or William Wallace of Scotland. Like King Arthur and other heroes he carried a famous sword--the sword of Goliath (1 Samuel 21:9). Having obtained it of Ahimelech, he for the first time left Israelite territory and went to the Philistine city of Gath (1 Samuel 21:10). Not feeling safe here he left and took up his abode in the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1) in the country of Judah, almost within sight of his native Bethlehem. This cave was admirably suited to the outlaw's purpose and no doubt David had many a time explored its recesses when a boy. Here he was joined by his parents and brothers, with their servants, as well as by all sorts of persons who were at war with the government, debtors, fugitives from justice, and discontented persons generally. David thus became the chief of a band of outlaws who numbered about 400. Of such stuff some of his bravest soldiers were made (2 Samuel 23:13 ff). He had an augur, too, to direct his actions, and, after the massacre of the priests at Nob, a priest, Abiathar, carrying an ephod with which to cast lots (1 Samuel 22:5; 23:6). During this period he supported himself and his men by making raids on the Philistine outposts and levying blackmail on his own countrymen (1 Samuel 25:2 ff) in return for giving them his protection from the Philistines (1 Samuel 23:1 ff). Hard pressed both by Saul and the Philistines (who had established themselves even in Bethlehem) he committed his parents to the keeping of the king of Moab, and began to rove as a freebooter through the country (1 Samuel 23:5, 15, 25, 29). On two occasions David had Saul in his power, but refused to seize the opportunity of taking his life (1 Samuel 24:1-222-1 Samuel 26:1-25). Here again there are no adequate grounds for supposing we have two accounts of one and the same incident. During his wandering David's followers increased in numbers (compare 1 Samuel 22:2; 23:13; 25:13). His chief lieutenant was his nephew Abishai, the son of his sister Zeruiah, but his brothers, Joab and Asahel, do not seem to have joined David yet. Another of his nephews, Jonathan the son of Shimei (Shammah), is mentioned (2 Samuel 21:21; compare 1 Samuel 16:9) and the Chronicler thinks many other knights joined him during this period (1 Chronicles 11:10 ff). The position of David at this time was very similar to that of the brigand Raisuli of late in Morocco. That there was some stability in it is shown by his taking two wives at this time--Ahinoam and Abigail (1 Samuel 25:42-43).ISBE David.63

2. David Joins the Philistines: David now, abandoning all hope of ever conciliating the king (1 Samuel 27:1), made a move which shows at once his reckless daring and consummate genius. He offered the services of himself and his little army of 600 men to the enemies of his country. The town of Gath appears to have been an asylum for fugitive Israelites (1 Kings 2:39). David's first impulse on his flight from Saul had been to seek safety there (1 Samuel 21:10-15). Then, however, he was the hero of Israel, whose assassination would be the highest gain to the Philistines; now he was the embittered antagonist of Saul, and was welcomed accordingly. Achish placed at his disposal the fortified town of Ziklag in the territory of the now extinct tribe of Simeon, and there he and his followers, each of whom had his family with him, took up their quarters for sixteen months (1 Samuel 27:6-7). The advantages to David were many. He was safe at last from the persecution of Saul (1 Samuel 27:4); he could secure ample supplies by making raids upon the Amalekites and other tribes hostile to Israel toward the South (1 Samuel 27:8); and if the opportunity presented itself he could deal a serious blow at the Philistine arms. The position was no doubt a precarious one. It could last just as long as David could hoodwink Achish by persuading him that his raids were directed against his own tribe (1 Samuel 27:10). This he succeeded in doing so completely that Achish would have taken him with him on the campaign which ended in the decisive battle of Gilboa, but the other chiefs, fearing treachery, refused to allow him to do so. David was forced to return with his followers to Ziklag, only to find that town razed to the ground and all the women and children carried off by his old enemies the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30:1-2). By the time he had recovered the spoil and returned in triumph to Ziklag the battle of Gilboa had been fought and Saul was slain. The conduct of David in his relations with the Philistines was not more reprehensible than that of the Cid who allied himself with Al-Mu'taman of Saragossa, or of Coriolanus who went over to the Volsci. David composed upon the death of Saul and Jonathan an elegy every sentence of which has become classic.ISBE David.64

V. David as King. 1. Civil War: David immediately removed from Ziklag and took up his quarters at Hebron, where he was at once anointed king over his own tribe of Judah. Thus began the cleavage between Judah and Israel. Here he was joined, apparently for the first time, by his nephew Joab. Abner, however, loyal to his former master, had Esh-baal (1 Chronicles 8:33), son of Saul, anointed king over the remaining tribes at Mahanaim, a fortified town East of the Jordan. War continued between David and Abner for several years, fortune always favoring David. Seeing things were going against him Abner forced Esh-baal into a personal quarrel with himself and then transferred his allegiance and persuaded his side to transfer theirs to David (2 Samuel 3:21). He did not reap the fruit of his defection, as he was immediately after assassinated by Joab in revenge for the death of Asahel whom Abner had killed in self-defence (2 Samuel 3:27). Deprived of his chief support Esh-baal also fell a victim to assassination (2 Samuel 4:2 ff). David denounced both crimes with apparent sincerity. He composed an elegy and fasted for Abner (2 Samuel 3:33 ff) and avenged the death of Esh-baal (2 Samuel 4:9 ff). Yet these acts of violence laid the sovereignty of all Israel at his feet. Of the male heirs of Saul there remained only a son of Jonathan, Merib-baal (1 Chronicles 8:34) who was a crippled child of 7. David was therefore elected king over the nation (2 Samuel 5:1 ff). His sovereignty of Judah is said to have lasted 7 1/2 years and that over the undivided people 33, making a reign of 40 years, beginning from David's 30th year (2 Samuel 5:5; 1 Chronicles 3:4; in 2 Samuel 2:10 the text is probably corrupt). These are round numbers.ISBE David.65

2. Conquests Abroad: King of all the Israelite tribes, David found his hands free to expel the foreigners who had invaded the sacred territory. His first step was to move his headquarters from the Southern Hebron, which he had been compelled at first to make his capital, to the more central Jerusalem. The fort here, which was still held by the aboriginal Jebusites, was stormed by Joab, David's nephew, who also superintended the rebuilding for David. He was in consequence appointed commander-in-chief (1 Chronicles 11:6, 8), a post which he held as long as David lived. The materials and the skilled workmen for the erection of the palace were supplied by Hiram of Tyre (2 Samuel 5:11). David now turned his attention to the surrounding tribes and peoples. The most formidable enemy, the Philistines, were worsted in several campaigns, and their power crippled (2 Samuel 5:17 ff; 2 Samuel 8:1). In one of these David so nearly came by his death, that his people would not afterward permit him to take part in the fighting (2 Samuel 21:16-17). One of the first countries against which David turned his arms was the land of Moab, which he treated with a severity which would suggest that the Moabite king had ill-treated David's father and mother, who had taken refuge with him (2 Samuel 8:2). Yet his conduct toward the sons of Ammon was even more cruel (2 Samuel 12:31), and for less cause (2 Samuel 10:1 ff). The king of Zobah (Chalkis) was defeated (2 Samuel 8:3), and Israelite garrisons were placed in Syria of Damascus (2 Samuel 8:6) and Edom (2 Samuel 8:14). The sons of Ammon formed a league with the Syrian kingdoms to the North and East of Palestine (2 Samuel 10:6, 16), but these also had no success. All these people became tributary to the kingdom of Israel under David (2 Samuel 10:18-19) except the sons of Ammon who were practically exterminated for the time being (2 Samuel 12:31). Thus, Israel became one of the "great powers" of the world during the reign of David and his immediate successor.ISBE David.66

3. Political Situation: There is no doubt that the expansion of the boundaries of Israel at this period almost to their ideal limits (Deuteronomy 11:24, etc.) was largely due to the fact that the two great empires of Egypt and Assyria were at the moment passing through a period of weakness and decay. The Assyrian monarchy was in a decadent state from about the year 1050 BC, and the 22nd Dynasty--to which Shishak belonged (1 Kings 14:25)--had not yet arisen. David, therefore, had a free hand when his time came and found no more formidable opposition than that of the petty states bordering upon Palestine. Against the combined forces of all the Israelite tribes these had never been able to effect much.ISBE David.67

4. The Ark: It had been the custom of the Israelites on setting out upon expeditions in which the nation as a whole took part to carry with them the sacred box or "ark" which contained the two stone tables (Joshua 4:7, etc.). When David had secured the fortress of Jebus for his metropolis one of his first thoughts was to bring into it this emblem of victory. It was then lying at Kiriath-jearim, possibly Abu Gosh about 8 miles Northwest of Jerusalem (compare Psalms 132:1-18). Owing to the sudden death of one of the drivers, which he interpreted as indicative of anger on the part of Yahweh, David left the ark at the house of a Philistine which happened to be near at hand. Since no misfortune befell this person, but on the contrary much prosperity, David took courage after three months to bring the sacred chest and its contents into his royal city. The ceremony was conducted with military honors in 2 Samuel 6:1 and with religious dancing and music (2 Samuel 6:5, 14) and festivity (2 Samuel 6:18-19). A tent was pitched for it, in which it remained (2 Samuel 7:2), except when it was sent with the army to the seat of war (2 Samuel 11:11; 15:24). David, however, had already built for himself a stone palace, and he wished now to add to it a chapel royal in the shape of a small temple, such as the neighboring kings had. He was the more anxious to so do since he had much of the material ready at hand in the precious metals which formed the most valuable part of the plunder of the conquered races, such as bronze from Chalkis (2 Samuel 8:8), gold and silver (2 Samuel 8:11) and the vessels which he had received as a present from the king of Hamath (2 Samuel 8:10). He was persuaded, however, by the prophet Nathan to forego that task, on the ground of his having shed much human blood, and to leave it to his successor (1 Chronicles 22:8; 28:3).ISBE David.68

VI. Domestic Life. 1. His Wives and Children: In accordance with the practice of the kings of his time, David had several wives. His first wife was Michal, the younger daughter of Saul. When David fled from Saul she was given to Phaltiel, but was restored to David after Saul's death. She does not appear to have borne any children. In 2 Samuel 21:8 "Michal" should be Merab (1 Samuel 18:19). During the period of separation from Michal, David took to wife Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the wife of Nabal (1 Samuel 25:43, 12), who accompanied him to Ziklag (1 Samuel 27:3 ff), when they were among those captured by the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30:5). A fourth wife was the daughter of Talmai of Geshur, Maacah, whom he had captured in war (1 Samuel 27:8; 2 Samuel 3:3). When he removed to Hebron Ahinoam bore him his oldest son Amnon, and Abigail his second son Chileab or Daniel (2 Samuel 3:2-3; 1 Chronicles 3:1); his third son was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, and his fourth Adonijah. His mother's name was Haggith; nothing is known about her. Two other sons, Shephatiah and Ithream were also born in Hebron (2 Samuel 3:2-5; 1 Chronicles 3:1-4). When David added the kingdom of Israel to that of Judah, he, in accordance with custom, took more wives with a view to increase his state and dignity. One of these was Bathsheba, who became the mother of Solomon (2 Samuel 5:13 ff; 1 Chronicles 3:5 ff; 1 Chronicles 14:3 ff). David's sons discharged priestly functions (2 Samuel 8:18; compare Nathan in Zechariah 12:12).ISBE David.69

2. Domestic Troubles: It was perhaps inevitable that in so large a household the usual dissensions and crimes of the harem should have sprung up in plenty. A most unvarnished account of these is given in 2 Samuel 11:1-27 through 2 Samuel 20:1-26--it has been suggested by Abiathar the priest in order to avenge himself on Solomon for his disgrace (1 Kings 2:26-27), Solomon's mother being Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-27; 2 Samuel 12:1-31). 1 Chronicles 13:1-14 recounts the wrong done to Tamar, the daughter of David and Maacah, and sister of Absalom, and how the last named, having avenged his sister's honor by killing Amnon, his oldest brother, fled for asylum to his mother's father, the king of-Geshur. Thence after two years he returned (chapter 14), only to foment rebellion against his father (chapter 15), leading to civil war between David and Judah on the one side and Absalom and Israel on the other (chapters 16; 17), and ending in the death of himself (chapter 18) and of Amasa, David's nephew, at the hands of his cousins Joab and Abishai (20:7 ff), as well as nearly precipitating the disruption of the newly founded kingdom (19:43). The rebellion of Absalom was probably due to the fact of Solomon having been designated David's successor (compare 12:24; 1 Chronicles 22:9), for Absalom had the best claim, Amnon being dead and Chileab apparently of no account.ISBE David.70

VII. His Officials. As David's circumstances improved he required assistance in the management of his affairs.ISBE David.71

1. Prophets: The beginning of his good fortune had been the friendship of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 16:13; 19:18). The prophet or seer was keeper of the king's conscience and was not appointed by him, but claimed divine authority (2 Samuel 7:3, 1 ff; 2 Samuel 12:1 ff; 2 Samuel 24:11 ff). Among the persons who discharged this duty for David were Gad the seer (1 Samuel 22:5) and Nathan the prophet (1 Kings 1:11 ff). All these are said to have written memoirs of their times (1 Chronicles 29:29; 2 Chronicles 9:29).ISBE David.72

2. Priests: Next to the prophet came the priest. The kohen (priest) was, as the name indicates, a soothsayer or diviner. The duty of Abiathar, David's first priest (1 Samuel 22:20 ff), was to carry the ephod--an object used for casting lots (1 Samuel 23:6 ff), in order to decide what to do in cases where there was no other way of making up one's mind (1 Samuel 30:7). It is not to be confused with the dress of the same name (1 Samuel 2:18). Later, at Hebron, Abiathar was given a colleague, Zadok (1 Chronicles 12:28), and it became their duty to carry the ark in expeditions (2 Samuel 15:24). Shortly after the death of David, Abiathar was deposed by Solomon for his part in Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne (1 Kings 2:26-27), and Zadok remained sole priest to the king (1 Kings 2:35). David's sons also acted in the same capacity (2 Samuel 8:18). An extra private priest is mentioned in 2 Samuel 20:26 (compare 2 Samuel 23:26, 38).ISBE David.73

3. Military Officers: When still an outlaw David required the services of a henchman to take command of his men in his absence. This post was held at first by different persons according to circumstances, but generally, it seems, by his nephew Abishai (1 Samuel 26:6). It was only after the death of Saul that his brother Joab threw in his lot with David. His great military talents at once gave him a leading place, and as a reward for the capture of Jebus he was given the chief command, which he held against all rivals (2 Samuel 3:27; 20:10) during the whole reign. David's special body-guard of Philistine troops--the Cherethites and Pelethites--were commanded by Benaiah, who in the following reign, succeeded Joab (1 Kings 2:35).ISBE David.74

4. Other Officials: The office of recorder or magister memoriae was held during this reign and in the following by Jehoshaphat (2 Samuel 8:16); and that of secretary by Seraiah (2 Samuel 8:17), also called Shavsha (1 Chronicles 18:16) or Shisha (1 Kings 4:3). There were also the counselors, men noted for their great acumen and knowledge of human nature, such as Ahithophel and Hushai.ISBE David.75

5. Mutual Rivalry: It was natural that there should be much mutual jealousy and rivalry among these officials, and that some of them should attach themselves to one of David's many sons, others to another. Thus, Amnon is the special patron of David's nephew Jonadab (2 Samuel 13:3; compare 2 Samuel 21:21), and Absalom is backed by Amasa (2 Samuel 17:25). The claim of Adonijah to the throne is supported by Joab and Abiathar (1 Kings 1:7), as against that of Solomon who is backed by Nathan, Benaiah, Zadok (1 Kings 1:8) and Hushai (compare Ant,VII , xiv, 4). Ahithophel sides with Absalom; Hushai with David (2 Samuel 15:12, 32).ISBE David.76

VIII. Personal Character of David. 1. Chronicles: We would obtain a very different idea of the personal character of David if we drew our conclusions from the books of Samuel and Kings or from the books of Chronicles. There is no doubt whatever that the former books are much truer to fact, and any estimate or appreciation of David or of any of the other characters described must be based upon them. The Chronicler, on the other hand, is biased by the religious ideas of his own time and is prejudiced in favor of some of those whose biographies he writes and against others. He accordingly suppresses the dark passages of David's life, e.g. the murder of Uriah (1 Chronicles 20:1-8), or sets them in a favorable light, e.g. by laying the blame of the census upon Satan (1 Chronicles 21:1). David's success, especially as against Saul's misfortune, is greatly exaggerated in 1 Chronicles 12:2, 22. Ceremonial functions are greatly elaborated (chapter 16; compare 2 Samuel 6:1-23). The various orders of priests and singers in the second temple have their origin traced back to David (2 Samuel 16:4 ff,37 ff; 1 Chronicles 23:1-32 through 1 Chronicles 27:1-34), and the temple of Solomon itself is to all intents and purposes built by him (chapters 22; 28). At the same time there may be much material in the shape of names and isolated statements not found in the older books, which so long as they are not tinged with the Chronicler's pragmatism or "tendency," may possibly be authentic records preserved within the circle of the priestly caste, e.g. we are told that Saul's skull was fastened in the temple of Dagon (1 Chronicles 10:10). There is no doubt that the true names of Ish-bosheth, Mephibosheth and Eliada (2 Samuel 2:8; 4:4; 5:16) were Ish-baal (Esh-baal), Merib-baal and Beeliada (1 Chronicles 8:33; 9:39; 8:34; 9:40; 14:7); that the old name of Jerusalem was Jebus (1 Chronicles 11:4-5; compare Judges 19:10-11); perhaps a son of David called Nogah has to be added to 2 Samuel 5:15 from 1 Chronicles 3:7; 14:6; in 2 Samuel 8:8 and 2 Samuel 21:18, for Betah and Gob read Tebah (Tibhath) and Gezer (1 Chronicles 18:8; Genesis 22:24; 1 Chronicles 20:4). The incident recounted in 2 Samuel 23:9 ff happened at Pasdammim (1 Chronicles 11:13). Shammah the Harodite was the son of Elika (2 Samuel 23:25; compare 1 Chronicles 11:27), and other names in this list have to be corrected after the readings of the Chronicler. Three (not seven) years of famine was the alternative offered to David (2 Samuel 24:13; compare 1 Chronicles 21:12).ISBE David.77

2. Psalms: If we could believe that the Book of Psalms was in whole or in part the work of David, it would throw a flood of light upon the religious side of his nature. Indeed, we should know as much about his religious life as can well be known about anyone. Unfortunately the date and authorship of the Psalms are questions regarding which the most divergent opinions are held. In the early Christian centuries all the Psalms were ascribed to David and, where necessary, explained as prophecies. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of the Book of Psalms simply as "David" (Hebrews 4:7). The Greek text, however, of that book ascribes only some 87 of the poems to David, and the Hebrew only 73. Some of these are not David's, and in the whole book there is only one which professes from its contents to be his, namely, Psalms 18:1-50 (= 2 Samuel 22:1-51). The occasion on which a psalm was composed is stated only in the case of thirteen psalms, all of which are ascribed to David. Each of these is referred to some incident recorded in the books of Samuel, although sometimes the citation is erroneous (see PSALMS). The Septuagint supplies occasions to two or three more psalms; but all such statements are merely the conjectures of readers and scribes and are of no historical value.ISBE David.78

3. Complex Character: To form a correct opinion of anyone is much more difficult than to state the facts of his life; to form an opinion which will be generally accepted is impossible. Of David's character the most opposite estimates have been formed. On one hand he is extolled as a saint, and yet few men have committed worse crimes. The character of David must remain, like that of everyone, an insoluble enigma. A person is to be judged by his motives rather than by his actions, and one's true motives are unknown even to oneself (Jeremiah 17:9). There are several sides of David's nature in regard to which there cannot be two opinions.ISBE David.79

4. Physical Courage: Perhaps the feature of his character which stands out most prominently in his earlier years, at any rate, is his boundless physical courage. He never shirked danger (1 Samuel 17:28, 34 ff) and delighted in hairbreadth escapes in 1 Samuel 26:6. Like most Semites he was fond of gambling and liked to take risks (1 Samuel 18:26; compare 1 Samuel 23:9; 30:7), even when modesty would have led him to decline them (1 Samuel 17:32; compare Judges 8:20). A native indifference to the shedding of blood grew into a liking for it, giving rise to acts of gross cruelty (1 Samuel 27:9; 2 Samuel 8:2; 16:7, etc.). He had need, indeed, to be a brave man, considering the character of the men whom he ruled (1 Samuel 22:2). Yet he could rule them by gentleness as well as by force (1 Samuel 30:23). All classes had unbounded confidence in his personal courage and soldierly qualities (2 Samuel 18:3), and were themselves driven to restrain his military ardor (2 Samuel 21:17).ISBE David.80

5. Moral Courage: Whether David possessed moral courage to an equal degree is another matter. Had he done so he would hardly have permitted the execution of seven sons of Saul (2 Samuel 21:1 ff), and that, too, at the cost of breaking his plighted word (1 Samuel 24:21); he would not have stood in awe of the sons of his sister Zeruiah (2 Samuel 3:39), and would have punished Joab instead of weakly invoking an imprecation on his head (2 Samuel 3:29), however much he might have felt the loss of his services. But in many matters his natural sense of justice was blunted by the superstitions of the age in which he lived.ISBE David.81

6. Prudence: But David was even more prudent than courageous. He is so described by the person who recommended him (somewhat eulogistically) to Saul (1 Samuel 16:18). Prudence or wisdom was indeed what his biographer most remarks in him (1 Samuel 18:5, 30), and situated as he was he could not have too much of it. It shows itself in the fact that he consistently made as many friends and as few enemies as was possible. His wonderful foresight is shown in such acts as his conciliating the Judean chiefs with gifts taken from his spoil (1 Samuel 30:26 ff), in his commendation of the men of Ja-besh-gilead (2 Samuel 2:5-7), and in his reception of Abner (2 Samuel 3:20). Yet it must be confessed that this constant looking forward to the future takes away from the spontaneity of his virtue. His gratitude is often a keen sense of favors to come. His kindness to Merib-baal did him no harm and some advantage (2 Samuel 9:1-13; 19:24 ff), and his clemency to Shimei helped to win him the tribe of Benjamin (2 Samuel 19:16 ff). Even in his earliest youth he seems to have preferred to attain his ends by roundabout ways. The means by which he obtained introduction or reintroduction to Saul (1 Samuel 17:26 ff) afford some justification for the opinon which his oldest brother held of him (1 Samuel 17:28). Perhaps nothing proves the genius of David better than his choice of Jebus as the capital of the country--which it still continues to be after a lapse of three thousand years.ISBE David.82

7. Strategy: Yet it must be confessed that David's prudence often degenerates into cunning. With true oriental subtlety he believed firmly in keeping one's secret to oneself at all costs (1 Samuel 21:2). The manner in which he got himself out of Gath after this first visit there (1 Samuel 21:13) and the fact that he hoodwinked Achish during sixteen months (1 Samuel 27:1-12; 28:1; 1 Samuel 29:1-11) may excite our admiration but not our respect. The Oriental, however, delights in a display of cunning and makes use of it without shame (2 Samuel 15:34), just as the European does in secret. There is something curiously modern in the diplomacy which David employed to ensure his own return in due state (2 Samuel 19:11 ff). We must remember, however, that David lived among persons hardly one of whom he could trust. Joab accuses Abner of deceit, while he himself was faithful to none except David (2 Samuel 3:25). Ziba accuses Merib-baal of treachery, and Merib-baal accuses Ziba of falsehood, and David cannot tell which is speaking the truth (2 Samuel 16:1 ff; 2 Samuel 19:24 ff). David himself is out-witted by Joab, though with a friendly purpose (2 Samuel 14:1 ff). The wonder, therefore, is, not that David was guilty of occasional obliquity, but that he remained as straightforward and simple as he was.ISBE David.83

8. Nobility: David was, indeed, a man very much ahead of the times in which he lived. His fine elegies upon the death of Saul and Jonathan, Abner and Absalom show that his nature was untainted with malice. It was no superstitious fear but a high sense of honor which kept him back from putting out of his way his arch-enemy when he had him in his power (1 Samuel 24:1-222-1 Samuel 26:1-25). He even attempts to find an excuse for him (1 Samuel 26:19), while depreciating himself (1 Samuel 24:14; 26:20) in phrases which are more than a mere oriental metonymy (2 Samuel 9:8). It was the ambition of his life to be the founder of a permanent dynasty (2 Samuel 7:29), yet he was willing that his house should be sacrificed to save his nation from destruction (2 Samuel 24:17). Like most Orientals he was endowed with a refinement of feeling unknown in the West. His refusal to drink of water obtained at the cost of bloodshed has become classic (2 Samuel 23:17). And he seems to have been gifted with the saving sense of humor (1 Samuel 26:15). That he was a religious person goes without saying (2 Samuel 7:1-29; 8:11). He probably did not believe that outside the land of Israel Yahweh ceased to rule: the expression used in 1 Samuel 26:19 is not a term of dogmatic theology. Like other Hebrews David had no theology. He believed in Yahweh alone as the ruler, if not of the universe, at any rate of all the world known to him. He certainly did not believe in Chemosh or Milcom, whether in the lands of Moab and Ammon or out of them (2 Samuel 12:30; for "their king" read Malcam (Milcom)).ISBE David.84

9. David in Relation to His Family: David discharged, as most Orientals do, his duty toward his parents (1 Samuel 22:3). To Michal, his first wife, his love was constant (2 Samuel 3:13), although she did not bear him any children. In accordance with the custom of the times, as his estate improved, he took other wives and slave-girls. The favorite wife of his latter days was Bathsheba. His court made some show of splendor as contrasted with the dwellings of the peasantry and the farmer class (2 Samuel 19:28, 35), but his palace was always small and plain, so that it could be left to the keeping of ten women when he removed from it (2 Samuel 15:16). David and Michal seem to have lived on terms of perfect equality (2 Samuel 6:20 ff). In this he contrasts somewhat with Ahab (1 Kings 21:5 ff). David's chief weakness in regard to his family was his indulgence of some of his sons and favoring some above others, and want of firmness in regard to them. He could refuse them nothing (2 Samuel 13:27). His first favorite was his oldest son Amnon (2 Samuel 13:21, Septuagint). After the death of Amnon, Absalom became the favorite (2 Samuel 18:33), and after the death of Absalom, Adonijah (1 Kings 1:6). Yet David lived for two whole years in Jerusalem along with Absalom without seeing him (2 Samuel 14:28), and he was succeeded not by Adonijah, but by Solomon, whose mother was the favorite wife of his later years.ISBE David.85

10. David in Relation to His Friends: Not only did David know the value of having many friends, but he was capable of sincere attachment. There is no reason to doubt the sincerity of his love for Jonathan, although it is not so completely cut off from all suspicion of self-interest as is that of Jonathan for him. David, indeed, had the faculty of winning the confidence and love of all sorts and conditions of people, not only of Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1 ff; 1 Samuel 20:1-42; 23:16 ff), but of Jonathan's sister Michal (1 Samuel 18:20), of the whole people (1 Samuel 18:28 Septuagint; 2 Samuel 19:14), and even of his people's enemies (2 Samuel 17:27 ff). His friendship lasted as long as the object of it lived (2 Samuel 1:17 ff; 2 Samuel 10:1 f). In the case of his officers this was partly due to his faculty for choosing good men (2 Samuel 8:16 ff), so that the same persons often held the same offices during David's life (2 Samuel 20:23 ff). Yet the services of one of them at least were retained more by compulsion than by choice (2 Samuel 3:39). He seems, indeed, to have continued Joab in his post because he felt he could not do without him. Joab was devoted to David with the devotion of Caleb Balderstone to his master, and he was as utterly unscrupulous. He did not hesitate to commit any crime that would benefit David. The latter dared not perpetrate these atrocities himself, but he did not mind taking advantage of such a useful instrument, and never punished Joab for them, save with an impotent curse (2 Samuel 3:29). He dealt otherwise with malefactors who could be better spared (2 Samuel 1:14 ff; 2 Samuel 4:9 ff). Indeed, a suspicious juryman might find that David put both Abner and Amasa, in the way of Joab (2 Samuel 3:23 ff; 2 Samuel 19:13; 19:4 ff). It does not say much for David that he fell so low as to fear losing the good opinion even of Joab, this ready instrument of his worst crime (2 Samuel 11:25).ISBE David.86

11. His Success: One reason for the high position David held in the popular estimation was no doubt his almost uninterrupted success. He was regarded as the chosen of Heaven, by friend and foe alike (1 Samuel 23:17). Fortune seemed to favor him. Nothing could have been more timely than the death of Saul and Jonathan, of Ishbaal and Abner, of Absalom and Amasa, and he did not raise his hand against one of them. As a guerrilla chief with his 600 bandits he could keep at bay. Saul with his 3,000 picked men (1 Samuel 24:2; 26:2), but he was not a great general. Most of the old judges of Israel did in one pitched battle what David effected in a campaign (1 Samuel 18:30; 19:8; 23:1 ff; 2 Samuel 5:17 ff; 2 Samuel 21:15 ff). Most of his conquests were won for him by Joab (1 Chronicles 11:6; 2 Samuel 11:1), who willingly accorded David the credit of what he himself had done (2 Samuel 12:27-28; compare 2 Samuel 8:13; 1 Chronicles 18:11 with the title of Psalms 60:1-12). And to crown all, when he came to turn his arms east and west, he found his two most formidable opponents in these directions crippled and harmless. That he ever survived Saul he owed to a timely incursion of the Philistines (1 Samuel 23:24 ff), and his whole career is largely to be explained by the fact that, at the moment, the tribe of Judah as a whole was passing from insignificance to supremacy.ISBE David.87

12. His Foreign Friends: In the prosecution of his military achievements David employed everyone who came to his hand as an instrument without any question of nationality. This is not to impugn his patriotism. Eastern peoples are united not by the ties of country but of religion. Still it does seem strange that two of David's best friends were two enemies of his nation--Nahash, king of the sons of Ammon (1 Samuel 11:1; 2 Samuel 10:1 ff) and Achish, lord of Gath (1 Samuel 21:10; 1 Samuel 27:1-12; 28:1 ff; 1 Samuel 29:1-11). He appears to have found the Philistines more reliable and trustworthy than the Hebrews. When he became king, his personal body-guard was composed of mercenaries of that nation--the Cherethites and Pelethites--with whom he had become acquainted when at Ziklag (1 Samuel 30:14; 2 Samuel 8:18; 20:23). It was to a native of Gath that he committed the care of the sacred ark on its passage from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:10-11). When the rebellion broke out under Absalom, he committed one-third of his forces to a banished soldier of the same town, who had come to him a little while before with a band of followers (2 Samuel 15:19 ff; 2 Samuel 18:2). Some of the soldiers in whom he placed the greatest confidence were Hittites (1 Samuel 26:6; 2 Samuel 11:6), and his commissariat was furnished by persons outside of Israel (2 Samuel 17:27; the Machir tribe were half Syrian; Gilead is the son of Machir, 1 Chronicles 7:14). The threshing-floor of a Jebusite became the site of the temple of Solomon (2 Samuel 24:18 ff).ISBE David.88

13. Nemesis: David was a strong believer in the power of Nemesis, and that daughter of Night played a considerable part in his life. He felt a peculiar satisfaction in being undeservedly cursed by Shimei, from a conviction that poetic justice would in the end prevail (2 Samuel 16:12). He must have felt that the same unseen power was at work when his own oldest son was guilty of a crime such as his father had committed before him (2 Samuel 13:1-39 and 2 Samuel 11:1-27), and when the grandfather of the wife of Uriah the Hittite became the enemy whom he had most to fear (2 Samuel 11:3; 23:34; compare Psalms 41:9; 55:12 f). And David's own last hours, instead of being spent in repose and peace following upon a strenuous and successful life, were passed in meting out vengeance to those who had incurred his displeasure as well as commending those who had done him service (1 Kings 2:5 ff).ISBE David.89

14. References in the New Testament: Even as early as Ezekiel, David became the ruler who was to govern the restored people of Israel (34:23,14; 37:24). If there were to be a ruling house, it must be the Davidic dynasty; it did not occur to the Jews to think of any other solution (Amos 9:11; Hosea 3:5; Jeremiah 30:9; Zechariah 12:8). That Jesus was descended from David (Matthew 9:27, etc.) is proved by the fact that his enemies did not deny that he was so (Matthew 22:41 ff). In the New Testament, David is regarded as the author of the Psalms (Acts 4:25; Romans 4:6; Hebrews 4:7). He is also one of the Old Testament saints (Hebrews 11:32) whose actions (unless otherwise stated) are to be imitated (Matthew 12:3); but yet not to be compared with the Messiah (Acts 2:29 ff; Acts 13:36) who has power over the life to come (Revelation 3:7) and who is "the Root of David" (Revelation 5:5; 22:16).ISBE David.90

LITERATURE.ISBE David.91

See the commentaries on the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Psalms, and histories of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, especially Wellhausen and Kittel. A sketch of the life and historical position of David from the modern Continental point of view will be found in G. Beer, Saul, David, Salomo, published by Mohr, Tubingen, 1906.ISBE David.92

Thomas Hunter WeirISBE David.93

David, City of

David, City of - See ZION.ISBE David, City of.2

David, Root of

David, Root of - root (he rhiza Daueid, Revelation 5:5; 22:16): Root here means stock, family, descendant, hence, "the Root of David" is that which descended from David, not that from which David descended. Jesus Christ in His human nature and family connections was a descendant of David, a member of his family.ISBE David, Root of.2

David, Tower of

David, Tower of - tou'-er.ISBE David, Tower of.2

See JERUSALEM.ISBE David, Tower of.3

Dawn; Dawning

Dawn; Dawning - don: The word means the approach of the morning light, the breaking of the day. There are several words in the Bible that indicate this. nesheph, "twilight" of the morning (Job 7:4; Psalms 119:147). The same word is used for evening twilight (1 Samuel 30:17; 2 Kings 7:5, 7); penoth ha-boqer, "the turning" of the morning, the change from darkness to light, approach of the morning (Judges 19:26); 'aph`-appe shachar, "the eyelids" of the morning (Job 3:9; 41:18 (10)); aloth ha-shachar, "the ascent" or "rise" of the morning (Joshua 6:15); epi-phosko, "to grow light," the approach of the dawn (Matthew 28:1; Luke 23:54 margin); diaugazo, "to grow bright, "lustrous" (2 Peter 1:19), "until the day dawn"; figurative of the Second Coming of Christ (compare 2 Peter 1:16).ISBE Dawn; Dawning.2

H. PorterISBE Dawn; Dawning.3

Day

Day - da (yom; hemera): This common word has caused some trouble to plain readers, because they have not noticed that the word is used in several different senses in the English Bible. When the different uses of the word are understood the difficulty of interpretation vanishes. We note several different uses of the word:ISBE Day.2

(1) It sometimes means the time from daylight till dark. This popular meaning is easily discovered by the context, e.g. Genesis 1:5; 8:22, etc. The marked periods of this daytime were morning, noon and night, as with us. See Psalms 55:17. The early hours were sometimes called "the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8). After the exile the day. or daytime was divided into twelve hours and the night into twelve (see Matthew 20:1-12; John 11:9; Acts 23:23); 6 a.m. would correspond to the first hour, 9 a.m. to the third; 12 noon to the sixth, etc. The hours were longer during the longer days and shorter during the shorter days, since they always counted 12 hours between sunrise and sunset.ISBE Day.3

(2) Day also means a period of 24 hours, or the time from sunset to sunset. In Bible usage the day begins with sunset (see Leviticus 23:32; Exodus 12:15-20; 2 Corinthians 11:25, where night is put before day).ISBE Day.4

See DAY AND NIGHT.ISBE Day.5

(3) The word "day" is also used of an indefinite period, e.g "the day" or "day that" means in general "that time" (see Genesis 2:4; Leviticus 14:2); "day of trouble" (Psalms 20:1); "day of his wrath" (Job 20:28); "day of Yahweh" (Isaiah 2:12); "day of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 5:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10); "day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2);. "day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).ISBE Day.6

(4) It is used figuratively also in John 9:4, where "while it is day" means "while I have opportunity to work, as daytime is the time for work." In 1 Thessalonians 5:5, 8, "sons of the day" means spiritually enlightened ones.ISBE Day.7

(5) We must also bear in mind that with God time is not reckoned as with us (see Psalms 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8).ISBE Day.8

(6) The apocalyptic use of the word "day" in Daniel 12:11; Revelation 2:10, etc., is difficult to define. It evidently does not mean a natural day.ISBE Day.9

See APOCALYPSE.ISBE Day.10

(7) On the meaning of "day" in the story of Creation we note (a) the word "day" is used of the whole period of creation (Genesis 2:4); (b) these days are days of God, with whom one day is as a thousand years; the whole age or period of salvation is called "the day of salvation"; see above. So we believe that in harmony with Bible usage we may understand the creative days as creative periods.ISBE Day.11

See also ASTRONOMY; CREATION; EVOLUTION.ISBE Day.12

G. H. GerberdingISBE Day.13

Figurative: The word "day" is used figuratively in many senses, some of which are here given.ISBE Day.14

(1) The span of human life.--Genesis 5:4: "And the days of Adam .... were eight hundred years." "And if thou wilt walk .... then I will lengthen thy days" (1 Kings 3:14; compare Psalms 90:12; Isaiah 38:5).ISBE Day.15

(2) An indefinite time.--Existence in general: Genesis 3:14: "All the days of thy life" (compare Genesis 21:34; Numbers 9:19; Joshua 22:3; Luke 1:24; Acts 21:10).ISBE Day.16

(3) A set time.--Genesis 25:24: "And when her days .... were fulfilled"; Daniel 12:13: "Thou shalt stand in thy lot, at the end of the days" (compare Leviticus 12:6; Daniel 2:44).ISBE Day.17

(4) A historic period.--Genesis 6:4: "The Nephilim were in the earth in those days"; Judges 17:6: "In those days there was no king in Israel" (compare 1 Samuel 3:1; 1 Chronicles 5:17; Hosea 2:13).ISBE Day.18

(5) Past time.--Psalms 18:18: "the day of my calamity"; Psalms 77:5: "I have considered the days of old" (of Micah 7:20; Malachi 3:7; Matthew 23:30).ISBE Day.19

(6) Future time.--Deuteronomy 31:14: "Thy days approach that thou must die"; Psalms 72:7: "In his days shall ...." (compare Ezekiel 22:14; Joel 2:29; Matthew 24:19; 2 Peter 3:3; Revelation 9:6).ISBE Day.20

(7) The eternal.--In Daniel 7:9, 13, where God is called "the ancient of days."ISBE Day.21

(8) A season of opportunity.--John 9:4: "We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work" (compare Romans 13:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8).ISBE Day.22

See DAY(4), above.ISBE Day.23

(9) Time of salvation.--Specially referring to the hopes and prospects of the parousia (see ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT). Romans 13:12: "The night is far spent, and the day is at hand."ISBE Day.24

Henry E. DoskerISBE Day.25

Day and Night

Day and Night - "Day," yom; ordinarily, the Hebrew "day" lasted from dawn to the coming forth of the starts (Nehemiah 4:21). The context usually makes it clear whether the term "day" refers to the period of twenty-four hours or to daytime; when there was a possibility of confusion, the term laylah, "night," was added (Genesis 7:4, 12; 31:39). The "day" is reckoned from evening to evening, in accordance with the order noted in the account of Creation, namely, "And there was evening and there was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5); Leviticus 23:32 and Daniel 8:14 reflect the same mode of reckoning the day. The phrase `erebh boker, "evening-morning," used in this last passage, is simply a variation of yom and laylah, "day" and "night"; it is the equivalent of the Greek nuchthemeron (2 Corinthians 11:25). That the custom of reckoning the day as beginning in the evening and lasting until the following evening was probably of late origin is shown by the phrase "tarry all night" (Judges 19:6-9); the context shows that the day is regarded as beginning in the morning; in the evening the day "declined," and until the new day (morning) arrived it was necessary to "tarry all night" (compare also Numbers 11:32).ISBE Day and Night.2

The transition of day to night begins before sunset and lasts till after sunset; the change of night to day begins before sunrise and continues until after sunrise. In both cases, neither `erebh, "evening," nor boqer, "morning," indicate an exact space of time (compare Genesis 8:11; Exodus 10:13; Deuteronomy 16:6). The term nesheph, is used for both evening twilight and morning dawn (compare 1 Samuel 30:17; 2 Kings 7:5, 7; Job 7:4). Since there were no definite measurements of the time of day, the various periods were indicated by the natural changes of the day; thus "midday" was the time of the day when the sun mounted its highest (cohorayim); afternoon was that part of the day when the sun declined ( neToth ha-yom); and evening was the time of the going down of the sun (`erebh). "Between the evenings" (ben ha-`arbayim) was the interval between sunset and darkness. The day was not divided into hours until a late period. [~sha`ah = Aramaic (Daniel 3:6), is common in Syriac and in later Hebrew; it denoted, originally, any short space of time, and only later came to be equivalent to our "hour" (Driver). The threefold division of the day into watches continued into post-exilic Roman times; but the Roman method of four divisions was also known (Mark 13:35), where all four divisions are referred to: "at even" (opse), "midnight" (mesonuktion), "at cock crowing" (alektorophonia), "in the morning" (proi). These last extended from six to six o'clock (of also Matthew 14:25; Mark 13:35). Acts 12:4 speaks of four parties of four Roman soldiers (quaternions), each of whom had to keep guard during one watch of the night. In Berakhoth 3b, Rabbi Nathan (2nd century) knows of only three night-watches; but the patriarch, Rabbi Judah, knows four.ISBE Day and Night.3

Day Before the Sabbath

Day Before the Sabbath - (he paraskeue, "preparation"): Considered as a day of preparation, in accordance with Exodus 16:23, both before the regular Sabbath and before a feast Sabbath (Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31, 42). At 3 p.m., the Hebrews began to prepare their food for the next day, and to perform all labors which were forbidden to be done on the Sabbath and yet must be done. They bathed and purified themselves, dressed in festive apparel, set their tables, and lighted their lamps. On the day before Easter, the Hebrews of the later period made it their chief business to remove all leaven from the house (1 Corinthians 5:7). This custom of converting at least a portion of the day before the Sabbath into a holy day was recognized by the Romans to such an extent that, according to a rescript of Augustus, Jews need not appear in court after 3 p.m. on such days. Criminal cases were not brought before court on this day, and journeys exceeding 12 Roman miles were prohibited. The signal for the preparations was given by the priests by means of trumpets blown six times at intervals.ISBE Day Before the Sabbath.2

Frank E. HirschISBE Day Before the Sabbath.3

Day of Atonement

Day of Atonement - See ATONEMENT, DAY OF.ISBE Day of Atonement.2

Day of Christ

Day of Christ - See DAY OF THE LORD.ISBE Day of Christ.2

Day of Judgment

Day of Judgment - See JUDGMENT, LAST.ISBE Day of Judgment.2

Day of the Lord (Yahweh)

Day of the Lord (Yahweh) - (yom Yahweh; he hemera tou Kuriou): The idea is a common Old Testament one. It denotes the consummation of the kingdom of God and the absolute cessation of all attacks upon it (Isaiah 2:12; 6, 9; 34:8; Ezekiel 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:11; Amos 5:18; Zephaniah 1:14; Zechariah 14:1) It is a "day of visitation" (Isaiah 10:3), a day "of the wrath of Yahweh" (Ezekiel 7:19), a "great day of Yahweh" (Zephaniah 1:14). The entire conception in the Old Testament is dark and foreboding.ISBE Day of the Lord (Yahweh).2

On the other hand the New Testament idea is pervaded with the elements of hope and joy and victory. In the New Testament it is eminently the day of Christ, the day of His coming in the glory of His father. The very conception of Him as the "Son of Man" points to this day (E. Kuehl, Das Selbstbewusstsein Jesu, 68). John 5:27: "And he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man" (compare Matthew 24:27, 30; Luke 12:8). It is true in the New Testament there is a dark background to the bright picture, for it still remains a "day of wrath". (Romans 2:5-6), a "great day" (Revelation 6:17; Jude 1:6), a "day of God" (2 Peter 3:12), a "day of judgment" (Matthew 10:15; 2 Peter 3:7; Romans 2:16). Sometimes it is called "that day" (Matthew 7:22; 1 Thessalonians 5:4; 2 Timothy 4:8), and again it is called "the day" without any qualification whatever, as if it were the only day worth counting in all the history of the world and of the race (1 Corinthians 3:13). To the unbeliever, the New Testament depicts it as a day of terror; to the believer, as a day of joy. For on that day Christ will raise the dead, especially His own dead, the bodies of those that believed in Him--"that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day" (John 6:39). In that day He comes to His own (Matthew 16:27), and therefore it is called "the day of our Lord Jesus" (2 Corinthians 1:14),"the day of Jesus Christ" or "of Christ" (Philippians 1:6, 10), the day when there "shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven" (Matthew 24:30). All Paulinic literature is especially suffused with this longing for the "parousia," the day of Christ's glorious manifestation. The entire conception of that day centers therefore in Christ and points to the everlasting establishment of the kingdom of heaven, from which sin will be forever eliminated, and in which the antithesis between Nature and grace will be changed into an everlasting synthesis.ISBE Day of the Lord (Yahweh).3

See also ESCHATOLOGY(OF THE OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT ).ISBE Day of the Lord (Yahweh).4

Henry E. DoskerISBE Day of the Lord (Yahweh).5

Day of Yahweh

Day of Yahweh - See DAY OF THE LORD.ISBE Day of Yahweh.2

Day, Break of

Day, Break of - See BREAK OF DAY.ISBE Day, Break of.2

Day, Joshua's Long

Day, Joshua's Long - See BETH-HORON,THE BATTLE OF .ISBE Day, Joshua's Long.2

Day, Last

Day, Last - (he eschate hemera): Repeatedly used by Jesus in Jn (6:39,40,44,54; 11:24; 12:48) for the day of resurrection and judgment (see ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT). Compare the usage in the Old Testament (Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1) and the New Testament (Acts 2:17; 2 Timothy 3:1; 2 Peter 3:3; 1 John 2:18; Jude 1:18) of "last days" and "last time" to denote the Messianic age.ISBE Day, Last.2

See LATTER DAYS; LAST DAYS; LAST TIME.ISBE Day, Last.3

In John 7:37, "the last day, the great day of the feast" refers to the eighth day of the feast of Tabernacles. This closing day was observed as a Sabbath (Leviticus 23:36). On it the libation of water made on other days was not made; hence, the allusion of Jesus to Himself as the Giver of the living water.ISBE Day, Last.4

James OrrISBE Day, Last.5

Day, Lord's

Day, Lord's - See LORD'S DAY.ISBE Day, Lord's.2

Day, That (The)

Day, That (The) - See DAY OF THE LORD.ISBE Day, That (The).2

Day's Journey

Day's Journey - jur'-ni (derekh yom, Genesis 30:36; Numbers 10:33; 11:31; hemeras hodos, Luke 2:44): The common way of estimating distances in the East is by hours and days. This is natural in a country where roads are mere bridle paths or non-existent, as in the desert. The distance traveled must of course differ largely according to the difficulties of the way, and it is more important to know where night will overtake the traveler than the actual distance accomplished. A day's journey is now commonly reckoned at about 3 miles per hour, the distance usually covered by a loaded mule, the number of hours being about 8. Hence, a day's journey is about 24 miles, and this may be taken as a fair estimate for Bible times.ISBE Day's Journey.2

H. PorterISBE Day's Journey.3

Days, Last

Days, Last - See LAST DAYS.ISBE Days, Last.2

Daysman

Daysman - daz'-man (yakhach, "to argue, decide, convince," the Revised Version (British and American) UMPIRE): The use of this word appears to have been more common in the 16th century than at the later date of the translation of the King James Version, when its adoption was infrequent. The oldest instance of the term given in the Oxford English Dictionary is Plumpton Corresp. (1489), p. 82: "Sir, the dayesmen cannot agre us." It appears also in the 1551 edition of the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 2:25, where the English Versions of the Bible "judge" is translated "dayes-man." Tyndale's translation has for Exodus 21:22, "He shall paye as the dayesmen appoynte him" (EV as the "judges determine"). See also Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene, ii, c. 8, published in 1590. As used in the King James Version (Job 9:33) the word means an arbitrator, umpire, referee; one who stands in a judicial capacity between two parties, and decides upon the merits of their arguments or case at law. "Neither is there-any daysman (the Revised Version (British and American) "umpire") betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both" (compare Genesis 31:37). It was the eastern custom for a judge to lay his hands upon the heads of the two parties in disagreement, thus emphasizing his adjudicatory capacity and his desire to render an unbiased verdict. Job might consider a human judge as capable of acting as an umpire upon his own claims, but no man was worthy to question the purposes of Yahweh, or metaphorically, to "lay his hands upon" Him.ISBE Daysman.2

In the New Testament (1 Corinthians 4:3, anthropine, hemera) "man's judgment" is literally, "man's day," in the sense of a day fixed for the trial of a case. Both Tyndale and Coverdale so translate. See also 1 Timothy 2:5, where the Saviour is termed the "one mediator .... between God and men." Here the word understands a pleader, an advocate before an umpire, rather than the adjudicator himself (see Job 19:25-27).ISBE Daysman.3

Arthur Walwyn EvansISBE Daysman.4

Dayspring

Dayspring - da'-spring: This beautiful English word, in current use in the time of the King James Version, is found in the Old Testament as the translation of shachar, "Hast thou .... caused the dayspring to know his place?" (Job 38:12 the King James Version). This is no doubt intended literally for the dawn. The "place" of the dayspring is the particular point of the horizon at which the sun comes up on any given day. This slowly changes day by day through the year, moving northward from midwinter till midsummer, and back again southward from midsummer to midwinter. See ASTRONOMY, sec. I, 2. Also once in the New Testament for anatole, "a rising." "The dayspring from on high hath visited us" (the King James Version; the Revised Version (British and American) "shall visit us," Luke 1:78). Also in Apocrypha, "At the dayspring pray unto thee" (AV; the Revised Version (British and American) "plead with thee at the dawning of the light," Wisdom of Solomon 16:28). Both the Hebrew and Greek words, however, are of frequent occurrence, but variously rendered "dawn," "break of day," "morning," "sunrise," "east." Note especially "the spring of the day" (1 Samuel 9:26), "the day began to spring" (Judges 19:25). Used with heliou, "sun," for rising of the sun (Revelation 7:2; 16:12). In the Septuagint the same Greek word is used for Hebrew tsemach, "branch," to designate the Messiah (Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 6:12. But this sense of the word is wholly unknown in profane Greek The word is also employed in Septuagint to express the rising of a heavenly body, as the moon (Isaiah 60:19). This is good Greek See the kindred verb anatello, "to rise" (the Septuagint, Isaiah 60:1; Malachi 4:2).ISBE Dayspring.2

What is the meaning of anatole in Luke 1:78? Certainly not branch; that does not fit any of the facts, unless it be rendered "branch of light" (see Reynolds, John the Baptist, 115). It occurs in Zacharias' hymn over the birth of his son. The ode consists of two parts, "The glory and security of the Messiah's kingdom," and "The glory of the Forerunner." The expression before us is in the latter part. It naturally refers, therefore, not to the Messiah himself, but to John. He is the dayspring from on high who hath visited the people who sat in darkness and the shadow of death. With Godet we believe that the picture is borrowed from the caravan which has missed its way in the desert. The unfortunate pilgrims, overtaken by the night, are sitting down expecting death, when suddenly a star brightly beams above them. They take courage at the sight. The whole caravan leaps to its feet. It is the herald of the coming day and soon they see the great orb himself filling the east with orient pearl and gold. Is not one tempted to go a little farther and see here the morning star, herald of the coming sun to be obliterated by his rising? `He must wax, butI must wane' (John 3:30). What was John's work but, by his own testimony, to guide the benighted pilgrims into the way of peace, that is, to Him who was the Prince of Peace? If, however, as by most commentators, it be taken to refer to the Messiah, it probably implies prophetic knowledge that the conception of Jesus had already taken place, and that the Messianic era was at hand, when the Jewish world should be filled with spiritual splendor.ISBE Dayspring.3

See DAY-STAR.ISBE Dayspring.4

G. H. TreverISBE Dayspring.5

Day-star

Day-star - (helel ben-shachar, Isaiah 14:12; phosphoros, 2 Peter 1:19): The Old Testament passage is rendered in the King James Version "Lucifer, son of the morning," in the King James Version margin and the Revised Version (British and American) "day-star," i.e. the morning star. The reference is to the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4). In 2 Peter 1:19, "Until .... the daystar arise in your hearts," the word is literally, "light-bringer." It is applicable, therefore, not only to the planet Venus, seen as a morning star, herald of the dawn, but to the sun itself, and is used here as a title of our Lord.ISBE Day-star.2

See ASTRONOMY, sec. I, 6.ISBE Day-star.3

Deacon; Deaconess

Deacon; Deaconess - de'-k'-n, de'-k'-n-es: The term diakonos, and its cognates occur many times in the New Testament, as do its synonyms huperetes, and doulos, with their respective cognates. It may be said in general that the terms denote the service or ministration of the bondservant (doulos), underling (huperetes) or helper (diakonos), in all shades and gradations of meaning both literal and metaphorical. It would serve no useful purpose to list and discuss all the passages in detail. Christianity has from the beginning stood for filial service to God and His kingdom and for brotherly helpfulness to man, and hence, terms expressive of these functions abound in the New Testament. It behooves us to inquire whether and where they occur in a technical sense sufficiently defined to denote the institution of a special ecclesiastical office, from which the historical diaconate may confidently be said to be derived.ISBE Deacon; Deaconess.2

Many have sought the origin of the diaconate in the institution of the Seven at Jerusalem (Acts 6:1-15), and this view was countenanced by many of the church Fathers. The Seven were appointed to "serve tables" (diakonein trapezais), in order to permit the Twelve to "continue stedfastly in prayer, and in the ministry (diakonia) of the word." They are not called deacons (diakonoi), and the qualifications required are not the same as those prescribed by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:8-12; furthermore, Stephen appears in Acts preeminently as a preacher, and Philip as an evangelist. Paul clearly recognizes women as deaconesses, but will not permit a woman to teach (1 Timothy 2:12). The obvious conclusion is that the Seven may be called the first deacons only in the sense that they were the earliest recorded helpers of the Twelve as directors of the church, and that they served in the capacity, among others, of specially appointed ministrants to the poor.ISBE Deacon; Deaconess.3

Paul says, "I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant (the Revised Version, margin "or, deaconess") of the church that is at Cenchrea" (Romans 16:1). This is by many taken as referring to an officially appointed deaconess; but the fact that there is in the earlier group of Paul's epistles no clear evidence of the institution of the diaconate, makes against this interpretation. Phoebe was clearly an honored helper in the church closely associated with that at Corinth, where likewise evidence of special ecclesiastical organization is wanting.ISBE Deacon; Deaconess.4

In Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy send greetings "to all the saints .... at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons." Here then we find mention of "deacons" in a way to suggest a formal diaconate; but the want of definition as to their qualifications and duties renders it impossible to affirm with certainty the existence of the office.ISBE Deacon; Deaconess.5

In 1 Timothy 3:8-12, after prescribing the qualifications and the method of appointment of a bishop or overseer, Paul continues: "Deacons in like manner must be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them serve as deacons, if they be blameless. Women in like manner must be grave, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well." Deacons and deaconesses are here provided for, and the character of their qualifications makes it clear that they were to be appointed as dispensers of alms, who should come into close personal relations with the poor.ISBE Deacon; Deaconess.6

We conclude, therefore, that the Seven and Phoebe did not exercise the diaconate in a technical sense, which appears first certainly in 1 Timothy 3:1-16, although it is not improbably recognized in Philippians 1:1, and was foreshadowed in the various agencies for the dispensing of alms and the care of the poor of the church instituted in various churches at an earlier date.ISBE Deacon; Deaconess.7

See also BISHOP; CHURCH; CHURCH GOVERNMENT.ISBE Deacon; Deaconess.8

William Arthur HeidelISBE Deacon; Deaconess.9

Dead

Dead - ded (muth; nekros): Used in several senses: (1) as a substantive, denoting the body deprived of life, as when Abraham speaks of burying his dead (Genesis 23:1-20); (2) as a collective noun including all those that have passed away from life (as Revelation 20:12). In several passages dead in this sense is used in contrast to the quick or living (as Numbers 16:48). This collective mode of expression is used when resurrection is described as "rising from the dead"; (3) as an adjective, coupled with body, carcass or man, as Deuteronomy 14:8 the King James Version; (4) most frequently it is used as a complement of the verb "to be," referring to the condition of being deceased or the period of death, e.g. 2 Samuel 12:19; Mark 5:35; (5) in the sense of being liable to death it occurs in Genesis 20:3; Exodus 12:33; 2 Samuel 16:9; (6) as an intensive adjective it is used in the phrase "dead sleep," to mean profound sleep simulating death (Psalms 76:6); (7) figuratively "dead" is used to express the spiritual condition of those who are unable to attain to the life of faith. They are dead in trespasses, as in Ephesians 2:1, or conversely, those who by the New Birth are delivered from sin, are said to be dead to the Law (as Colossians 2:20, etc.). A faith which does not show its life in the practical virtues of Christianity is called dead (James 2:17); (8) in Romans 4:19; Hebrews 11:12, "dead" signifies the senile condition of loss of vigor and virility.ISBE Dead.2

The passage in Job (26:5), wherein in the King James Version "dead things" seem to mean things that never had life, is more accurately translated in the Revised Version (British and American) as "they that are deceased," i.e. the shades of the dead.ISBE Dead.3

There are few references to the physical accompaniments of the act of dying. Deborah has a poetical account of the death of Sisera (Judges 5:24 ff), and in Ecclesiastes 12:1-14, where the failure of the bodily faculties in old age culminates in death, it is pictorially compared to the breaking of a lamp extinguishing the flame ("golden" being probably used of "oil," as it is in Zechariah 4:12), and the loosing of the silver chebhel or chain by which the lamp is suspended in the tent of the ArabicISBE Dead.4

The dead body defiled those who touched it (Leviticus 11:31) and therefore sepulture took place speedily, as in the case of Lazarus (John 11:17-39) and Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:6-10). This practice is still followed by the fellahin.ISBE Dead.5

The uselessness of the dead is the subject of proverb (Ecclesiastes 9:4) and the phrase "dead dog" is used as a contemptuous epithet as of a person utterly worthless (1 Samuel 24:14; 2 Samuel 9:8; 16:9).ISBE Dead.6

Alex. MacalisterISBE Dead.7

Dead Body

Dead Body - See CORPSE.ISBE Dead Body.2

Dead Sea, The

Dead Sea, The - I. PRESENT AREAISBE Dead Sea, The.2

II. FORMER ENLARGEMENTISBE Dead Sea, The.3

III. LEVEL OF THE DEAD SEA IN EARLY HISTORIC TIMESISBE Dead Sea, The.4

IV. CONSTITUTION OF THE WATERISBE Dead Sea, The.5

V. CLIMATEISBE Dead Sea, The.6

VI. ROADSISBE Dead Sea, The.7

VII. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMSISBE Dead Sea, The.8

1. The Plain of the JordanISBE Dead Sea, The.9

2. Ain Jidi (En-gedi)ISBE Dead Sea, The.10

3. The Fortress of MasadaISBE Dead Sea, The.11

4. Jebel Usdum (Mount of Sodom)ISBE Dead Sea, The.12

5. Vale of SiddimISBE Dead Sea, The.13

6. El-LisanISBE Dead Sea, The.14

VIII. HISTORYISBE Dead Sea, The.15

LITERATUREISBE Dead Sea, The.16

The name given by Greek and Latin writers to the remarkable inland lake occupying the deepest part of the depression of the ARABAH (which see). In the Bible it is called the Salt Sea (Genesis 14:3; Deuteronomy 3:17); the Sea of the Plain (`Ardbhah). (Joshua 3:16); and the (East) Eastern Sea (Ezekiel 47:18; Joel 2:20). Among the Arabs it is still called Bahr Lut (Sea of Lot). By the time of Josephus it was called Lake Asphaltires (Ant., I, ix) from the quantities of bitumen or asphalt occasionally washed upon its shores and found in some of the tributary wadies.ISBE Dead Sea, The.17

I. Present Area. The length of the lake from North to South is 47 miles; its greatest width is 10 miles narrowing down to less than 2 miles opposite Point Molyneux on el-Lisan. Its area is approximately 300 square miles. From various levelings its surface is found to be 1,292 ft. below that of the Mediterranean, while its greatest depth, near the eastern shore 10 miles South of the mouth of the Jordan is 1,278 ft. But the level varies from 10 to 15 ft. semiannually, and more at longer intervals; and we are not sure from which one of these levels the above figures have been derived. Throughout the northern half of the lake on the East side the descent to the extreme depth is very rapid; while from the western side the depth increases more gradually, especially at the extreme northern end, where the lake has been filled in by the delta of the Jordan.ISBE Dead Sea, The.18

About two-thirds of the distance to the southern end, the peninsula, el-Lisan ("the Tongue"), projects from the East more than half-way across the lake, being in the shape, however, of a boot rather than a tongue, with the toe to the North, forming a bay between it and the eastern mainland. The head of this bay has been largely filled in by the debris brought down by Wady Kerak, and Wady Ben Hamid, and shoals very gradually down to the greatest depths to the North. The toe of this peninsula is named Point Costigan, and the heel, Point Molyneux, after two travelers who lost their lives about the middle of the 19th century in pioneer attempts to explore the lake. Over the entire area South of Point Molyneux, the water is shallow, being nowhere more than 15 ft. deep, and for the most part not over 10 ft., and in some places less than 6 ft. In high water, the lake extends a mile or more beyond low-water mark, over the Mud Flat (Sebkah) at the south end.ISBE Dead Sea, The.19

From the history of the crossing of the Jordan by Joshua and the expedition of Chedorlaomer when Lot was captured, it is evident that the outlines of the sea were essentially the same 3,500 years ago as they are now, showing that there has been no radical change in climatic conditions since then.ISBE Dead Sea, The.20

II. Former Enlargement. But if we go back a few thousand years into prehistoric times the evidence is abundant that the valley has witnessed remarkable climatic changes (see ARABAH). At Ain Abu Werideh, about 40 miles beyond the south end of the lake, Hull in 1883 discovered deposits of an abandoned shore line 1,400 ft. above its level (see ARABAH). A pronounced abandoned shore line at the 650 ft. level had been observed first by Tristram, and noted afterward by many travelers. But from the more detailed examination made by Professor Ellsworth Huntington in 1909 (see Palestine and Its Transformation) five abandoned shore lines of marked size have been determined, surrounding the valley at the following approximate heights above the present level of the lake: 1,430, 640, 430, 300 and 250 ft. He writes that "at its greatest extent the sea stretched at least 30 miles south of its present termination, while northward it probably covered the Sea of Galilee and the Waters of Merom, and sent an arm into the Vale of Jezreel. .... Lacustrine deposits exist in the Jordan valley shortly south of the Sea of Galilee. A mile north of Jisr el-Mujamiyeh, as the modern railroad bridge is called, a tilted series of clays, apparently lacustrine, lies under some untilted whitish clays, also apparently lacustrine. The elevation here is about 840 ft. below that of the Mediterranean Sea, or 450 above the Dead Sea. .... So far as can be detected by the aneroid the highest deposits (about the Dead Sea) lie at the same elevation on all sides of the lake."ISBE Dead Sea, The.21

There are also numerous minor strands below the 250 ft. major strand. These are estimated by Huntington as 210, 170, 145, 115, 90, 70, 56, 40, 30 and 12 ft. above the lake successively, It is noted, also, that the lower beaches all show less erosion than those above them. This certainly points to a gradual diminution of the water in the basin during the prehistoric period, while on the other hand there is much evidence that there has been a considerable rise in the water within the historic period. Date palms and tamarisks are seen standing out from the water in numerous places some little distance from the present shore where the water is several feet deep. These are of such size as to show that for many years the soil in which they grew was not subject to overflow. As long ago as 1876 Merrill noticed such trees standing in the water 40 ft. from the shore, near the Northeast corner of the lake (East, of the Jordan, 224). Numerous trunks of date palms and tamarisks can now be seen submerged to a similar extent along the western shore. In 1818 Irby and Mangles (Travels, 454) saw a company of Arabs ford the lake from Point Molyneux to the west side, and noted that the line of the ford was marked by branches of trees which had been stuck into the bottom. In 1838 Robinson found the water at such a stage that the ford was impracticable and so it has been reported by all travelers since that time. But Mr. A. Forder, having recently examined the evidence for the Palestine Exploration Fund, learns from the older Arabs that formerly there was a well-known causeway leading from el-Lisan opposite Wady Kerak to Wady Umm Baghek, across which sheep, goats and men could pass, while camels and mules could be driven across anywhere in the water. Moreover the Arab guide said that the channel "was so narrow that the people of his tribe used to sit on the edge of the Lisan and parley with Arabs from the west as to the return of cattle that had been stolen by one or other of the parties." (See PEFS (April, 1910), 112.)ISBE Dead Sea, The.22

III. Level of, in Early Historic Times. Numerous general considerations indicate that in the early historic period the level of the water was so much lower than now that much of the bay South of Point Molyneux was dry land. In Joshua 15:2, 5 f the south border of Judah is said to extend from "the bay (tongue, Lisan) that looketh southward"; while the "border of the north quarter was from the bay (tongue, Lisan) of the sea at the end of the Jordan; and the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and passed along by the north of Beth-arabah." If the limits of the north end of the Dead Sea were the same then as now the boundary must have turned down to the mouth of the Jordan by a sharp angle. But according to the description it runs almost exactly East and West from beyond Jerusalem to Beth-hoglah, and nothing is said about any change in direction, while elsewhere, any such abrupt change in direction as is here supposed is carefully noted. Furthermore, in detailing the boundary of Benjamin (Joshua 18:19) we are told that "the border passed along to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the goings out of the border were at the north bay (tongue, Lisan) of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this was the south border." This can hardly have any other meaning than that the north end of the Dead Sea was at Beth-hoglah. From these data Mr. Clermont-Ganneau (see Recueil d'archeologie orientale,V (1902), 267-80) inferred that in the time of Joshua the level of the sea was so much higher than now that a tongue-like extension reached the vicinity of Beth-hoglah, while the underlying topography was essentially the same as now. On the contrary, our present knowledge of the geologic forces in operation would indicate that at that time the Dead Sea was considerably lower than now, and that its rise to its present level has been partly caused by the silting up of a bay which formerly extended to Beth-hoglah.ISBE Dead Sea, The.23

The geological evidence concerning this point is so interesting, and of so much importance in its bearing upon our interpretation of various historical statements concerning the region, that it is worth while to present it somewhat in detail. As already stated (see ARABAH), the present level of the Dead Sea is determined by the equilibrium established between the evaporation (estimated at 20,000,000 cubic ft. per diem) over the area and the amount of water brought into the valley by the tributary streams. The present area of the sea is, in round numbers, 300 square miles. The historical evidence shows that this evaporating surface has not varied appreciably since the time of Abraham. But the encroachments of the delta of the Jordan upon this area, as well as of the deltas of several other streams, must have been very great since that period. The effect of this would be to limit the evaporating surface, which would cause the water to rise until it overflowed enough of the low land at the south end to restore the equilibrium.ISBE Dead Sea, The.24

It is easy to make an approximate calculation of the extent to which these encroachments have tended to narrow the limits of the original lake. The sediment deposited by the Jordan, at the north end of the Dead Sea, is practically all derived from the portion of the drainage basin between it and the Sea of Galilee--the latter serving as a catch-basin to retain the sediment brought down from the upper part of the valley. The Zor, or narrow channel which the Jordan has eroded in the sedimentary plain through which it flows (see JORDAN, VALLEY OF), is approximately half a mile wide, 100 feet deep, and 60 miles long. All the sediment which formerly filled this has been swept into the head of the sea, while the Jarmuk, the Jabbok, and a score of smaller tributaries descending rapidly from the bordering heights of Gilead, three or four thousand ft. above the valley, bring an abnormal amount of debris into the river, as do a large number of shorter tributaries which descend an equal amount from the mountains of Galilee, Samaria, and Judah. The entire area thus contributing to this part of the Jordan is not less than 3,000 square miles.ISBE Dead Sea, The.25

All writers are impressed by the evidence of the torrential floods which fill these water courses after severe storms. The descent being so rapid, permits the water after each rainfall to run off without delay, and so intensifies its eroding power. The well-known figure of our Lord (Matthew 7:26 ff) in describing the destruction of the house which is built upon the sand, when the rains descend and the winds beat upon it, is drawn from Nature. The delta terraces at the mouths of such mountain streams where they debouch on the lowlands are formed and re-formed with extreme rapidity, each succeeding storm tending to wash the previous delta down to lower levels and carry away whatever was built upon it.ISBE Dead Sea, The.26

The storms which descend upon the plains of Gilead, as well as those upon the Judean hills, are exceedingly destructive. For though the rainfall at Jerusalem, according to the observations of Chaplin (see J. Glaisher, "On the Fall of Rain at Jerusalem," PEFS (January, 1894), 39) averages but 20 inches annually, ranging from 32,21 inches in 1878 to 13,19 inches in 1870, nearly all occurs in the three winter months, and therefore in quantities to be most effective in erosive capacity. And this is effective upon both sides of the Jordan valley, in which the rainfall is very slight. "Day after day," Tristram remarks, "we have seen the clouds, after pouring their fatness on Samaria and Judea, pass over the valley, and then descend in torrents on the hills of Gilead and Moab," a phenomenon naturally resulting from the rising column of heated air coming up from the torrid conditions of the depressed Jordan valley.ISBE Dead Sea, The.27

Tristram (The Land of Moab, 23, 24) gives a vivid description of the effect of a storm near Jerusalem. As his party was encamped during the night the whole slope upon which they pitched became a shallow stream, while "the deep ravines of the wilderness of Judah (were) covered with torrents, and tiny cascades rolling down from every rock. .... So easily disintegrated is the soft limestone of these wadies, that the rain of a few hours .... did more to deepen and widen the channels than the storms of several years could effect on a Northumbrian hillside. No geologist could watch the effect of this storm without being convinced that in calculating the progress of denudation, other factors than that of time must be taken into account, and that denudation may proceed most rapidly where rains are most uncertain."ISBE Dead Sea, The.28

Lieutenant Lynch writes that while ascending the Kerak "there came a shout of thunder from the dense cloud which had gathered at the summit of the gorge, followed by a rain, compared to which the gentle showers of our more favored clime are as dew drops to the overflowing cistern. .... The black and threatening cloud soon enveloped the mountain tops, the lightning playing across it in incessant flashes, while the loud thunder reverberated from side to side of the appalling chasm. Between the peals we soon heard a roaring and continuous sound. It was the torrent from the rain cloud, sweeping in a long line of foam down the steep declivity, bearing along huge fragments of rocks, which, striking against each other, sounded like mimic thunder."ISBE Dead Sea, The.29

I can bear similar testimony from observations when traveling in Turkestan where the annual rainfall is only about 4 inches. At one time a storm was seen raging upon the mountains 20 miles away, where it spent its entire force without shedding a drop upon the plain. Upon skirting the base of the mountain the next day, however, the railroad track was covered for a long distance 2 or 3 ft. deep with debris which had been washed down by the cloudburst. No one can have any proper comprehension of the erosive power of the showers of Palestine without duly taking into account the extent and the steepness of the descent from the highlands on either side, and the irregularity of the rainfall. These form what in the Rocky Mountains would be called arroyos. After the debris has been brought into the Jordan by these torrents, and the rise of water makes it "overflow all its banks," the sediment is then swept on to the Dead Sea with great rapidity.ISBE Dead Sea, The.30

All these considerations indicate that the deltas of the streams coming into the valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea must be increasing at an unusually rapid rate. It will be profitable, therefore, to compare it with other deltas upon which direct observations have been made. The Mississippi River is sweeping into the Gulf of Mexico sediment at a rate which represents one foot of surface soil over the whole drainage basin, extending from the Rocky Mountains to the Alleghenies, in a little less than 5,000 years. The Hoang-Ho is lowering its drainage basin a foot in 1,464 years, while the river Po is reducing its level a foot in 729 years. So rapidly has the river Po filled up its valley that the city of Adria, which was a seaport 2,000 years ago, is now 14 miles from the mouth of the river. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers have silted up the head of the Persian Gulf nearly 100 miles. (See Croll, Climate and Time, 332, 333; Darwin, Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, 233.) From these considerations it is a conservative estimate that the tributaries of the Jordan valley between the Lake of Galilee and the Dead Sea bring down sediment enough to lower the basin one foot in 2,000 years, so that since the time of Abraham 167,270,400,000 cubic feet of solid matter have been added to its delta. This would cover 25 square miles 250 ft. deep. Taking into consideration the probable depth of water at the north end of the sea, it is, therefore, not an extravagant supposition that the Jordan delta has encroached upon the sea to the extent of 15 or 20 square miles, limiting the evaporating surface to that extent and causing the level of the water to rise, and extend an equal amount over the low lands at the south end.ISBE Dead Sea, The.31

At the same time the other streams coming directly into the lake have been contributing deltas to narrow its margin at various points. The Kerak, the Amen and the Zerka Ma'ain bring in an immense amount of sediment from the East; el-Hessi, el-Jeib and el-Fikri from the South; and Wady el. Muhauwdt, el-Areyeh and the Kedron, with numerous smaller intermediate streams, from the West. A detailed examination of these deposits will serve the double purpose of establishing the point in question and of giving a vivid conception of the sea and its surroundings.ISBE Dead Sea, The.32

Throughout the lower part of its course the river Jordan flows as has been already said, through a narrow gorge called the Zor, which the river has eroded in the soft sedimentary deposits which cover the bottom of the valley (or Ghor) from side to side. Opposite Jericho the Ghor is about 15 miles wide. The Zor, however, does not average more than one-half mile in width and is about 100 ft. lower than the general level of the Ghor, But at "the Jews' Castle." about 8 miles from the mouth of the Jordan, the Zor begins to enlarge and merge into a true delta. The embankment of the Zor slopes away in a Southwest direction till it reaches the Judean mountains at Khurbet Kumran. 10 miles distant, leaving a triangle of low land between it and the Dead Sea averaging fully one mile in width and being nearly 3 miles wide opposite the mouth of the Jordan. The face of the embankment separating the Zor from the Ghor has in several places been deeply cut into by the small wadies which come down from the western mountains, and the wash from these wadies as well as that from more temporary streams after every shower has-considerably raised the western border of the Zor throughout this distance. But it can safely be estimated that the original boundary of the Dead Sea has here been encroached upon to the extent of 10 or 15 square miles. Again, upon the eastern side of the Jordan the other limb of the delta, though smaller, is equally in evidence. Merrill (East of the Jordan, 223, 224), in describing his survey of the region, says he was compelled to walk for some hours along the shore and then north to reach his horses, which evidently had been coming over the harder and more elevated surface of the Ghor. "The plain." he says, "for many square miles north of the sea is like ashes in which we often. sank over shoe."ISBE Dead Sea, The.33

Returning to the Northwest corner of the lake we find the delta deposit which we left at Khurbet Kumran extending 2 miles farther south with an average width of one-half mile to Ras Feshkah, which rises abruptly from the water's edge, and renders it impossible for travelers to follow along the shore. But just beyond Ras Feshkah a delta half a mile or more in length and width is projected into the sea at the mouth of Wady en Nar, which comes down from Jerusalem and is known in its upper portions as Kedron. This is the wady which passes the convent of Mar Saba and is referred to in such a striking manner in Ezekiel 47:1-23. Like most of the other wadies coming into the Dead Sea, this courses the most of its way through inaccessible defiles and has built up a delta at its mouth covered with "fragments of rock or boulders swept along by the torrent in its periodical overflows" (De Saulcy, I, 137, 138).ISBE Dead Sea, The.34

From Ras Feshkah to Ras Mersid, a distance of 15 miles, the shore is bordered with a deposit of sand and gravel averaging a half a mile in width, while opposite Wady edition Derajeh and Wady Husasa (which descend from Bethlehem and the wilderness of Tekoah) the width is, fully one mile. At the mouth of one of the smaller gorges De Saulcy noted what geologists call a "cone of dejection" where "the gravel washed down from the heights was heaped up to the extent of nearly 250 yards" (I, 44).ISBE Dead Sea, The.35

Ras Mersid, again, obstructs the passage along the shore almost as effectually as did Ras Feshkah, but farther south there is no other obstruction. The plain of En-gedi, connected in such an interesting manner with the history of David and with numerous other events of national importance, is described by the Palestine Exploration Fund as "about half a mile broad and a mile in length." This consists of material brought down for the most part by Wady el-'Areijeh, which descends from the vicinity of Hebron with one branch passing through Tekoah. The principal path leading from the west side of the Dead Sea to the hills of Judea follows the direction of this wady.ISBE Dead Sea, The.36

Between En-gedi and Sebbeh (Masada), a distance of 10 miles, the limestone cliffs retreat till they are fully 2 miles from the shore. Across this space numerous wadies course their way bringing down an immense amount of debris and depositing it as deltas at the water's edge. These projecting deltas were noticed by Robinson as he looked southward from the height above En-gedi, but their significance was not understood.ISBE Dead Sea, The.37

"One feature of the sea," he says, "struck us immediately, which was unexpected to us, namely, the number of shoal-like points and peninsulas which run into its southern part, appearing at first sight like flat sand-banks or islands. Below us on the South were two such projecting banks on the western shore, composed probably of pebbles and gravel, extending out into the sea for a considerable distance. The larger and more important of these is on the South of the spot called Birket el-Khulil, a little bay or indentation in the western precipice, where the water, flowing into shallow basins when it is high, evaporates, and deposits salt. This spot is just South of the mouth of Wady el-Khubarah" (BR, I, 501). One of these deltas is described by De Saulcy as 500 yds. in breadth and another as indefinitely larger.ISBE Dead Sea, The.38

Six miles South of Masada, probably at the mouth of Wady Umm Baghek, Lynch notes a delta extending "half a mile out into the sea." Still farther South the combined delta of the Wady Zuweirah and Wady Muhauwat covers an area of 2 or 3 square miles, and is dotted with boulders and fragments of rock a foot or more in diameter, which have been washed over the area by the torrential floods. Beyond Jebel Usdum, Wady el-Fikreh, draining an area of 200 or 300 square miles, has deposited an immense amount of coarse sediment on the West side of the Sebkah (a mud flat which was formerly occupied, probably by a projection of the Dead Sea). Into the South end of the depression, extending from the Sebkah to the Ascent of Akrabbim, deltas of Wady el-Jeib, Wady el-Khanzireh and Wady Tufileh have in connection with Wady Fikreh encroached upon the valley to the extent of 12 or 15 square miles. Although these wadies drain an area of more than 3,000 sq. miles, and the granitic formations over which they pass have been so disintegrated by atmospheric influences that an excessive amount of coarse sediment is carried along by them (see Hull, Mount Seir, etc., 104-106). In ascending them, one encounters every indication of occasional destructive floods.ISBE Dead Sea, The.39

Following up the eastern shore, Wady el-Hessi coming down from the mountains of Edom has built up the plain of Safieh which pushes out into the neck of the Sebkah and covers an area of 3 or 4 square miles. Farther North, Wady Kerak and Wady Beni Hamid have with their deltas encroached to the extent of 2 or 3 square miles upon the head of the bay, projecting into the Lisan east of Point Costigan. Still farther North, Wady Mojib (the Arnon) and Wady Zerka Ma'ain (coming down from the hot springs of Callirrhoe) have built up less pronounced deltas because of the greater depth of the water on the East side, but even so they are by no means inconsiderable, in each case projecting a half-mile or more into the lake.ISBE Dead Sea, The.40

Putting all these items together, there can be little doubt that the area of the Dead Sea has been encroached upon to the extent of 25 or 30 square miles since the time of Abraham and that this has resulted in a rise of the general level of the water sufficient to overflow a considerable portion of the lagoon at the South end, thus keeping the evaporating area constant. The only escape from this conclusion is the supposition that the rainfall of the region is less than it was at the dawn of history, and so the smaller evaporating area would be sufficient to maintain the former level. But of this we have no adequate evidence. On the contrary there is abundant evidence that the climatic conditions connected with the production of the Glacial Period had passed away long before the conquest of the Vale of Siddim by Amraphel and his confederates (Genesis 14:1-24).ISBE Dead Sea, The.41

The consequences of this rise of water are various and significant. It lends credibility to the persistent tradition that the sites of Sodom and Gomorrah are covered by the shallow water at the South end of the sea, and also to the statement of Scripture that the region about these cities (on the supposition that they were at the South end of the sea) was like the garden of the Lord; for that plain was then much larger than it is now, and was well watered, and possessed greater elements of fertility than are now apparent. Furthermore, this supposed lower level of the lake in early times may have greatly facilitated the passage of armies and caravans from one end to the other, thus rendering it more easy to understand the historical statements relating to the earliest periods of occupation. Even now the road at the base of Jebel Usdum which is open at low water is impassable at high water. On the last of December, 1883, Professor Hull (Mount Seir, etc., 133) traversed the shore at the base of the salt cliffs along a gravel terrace 100 ft. wide, which "abruptly terminated in a descent of about 5 ft. to the line of driftwood which marked the upper limit of the waters." On the 1st of January, 1901, the water along the base of the salt cliffs was so deep that it was impossible for my party to pass along the shore. It is easy to believe that the level might have been lowered sufficiently to expose a margin of shore which could be traversed on the West side from one end to the other.ISBE Dead Sea, The.42

IV. Constitution of the Water. As in the case of all enclosed basins, the waters of the Dead Sea are impregnated to an excessive degree with saline matter. "The salt which they contain," however, "is not wholly or even principally common salt, but is mostly the chloride and bromide of magnesium and calcium, so that they are not merely a strong brine, but rather resemble the mother liquors of a saltpan left after the common salt has crystallized out" (Dawson, Egypt and Syria, 123). The following analysis is given by Booth and Muckle of water brought by Commander Lynch and taken by him May 5 from 195 fathoms deep opposite the mouth of Wady Zerka Ma'ain. Other analyses vary from this more or less, owing doubtless to the different localities and depths from which the specimens had been obtained.ISBE Dead Sea, The.43

Specific gravity at 60 degrees ......... 1,22742ISBE Dead Sea, The.44

Chloride of magnesium ................... 145,8971ISBE Dead Sea, The.45

Chloride of calcium ..................... 31.0746ISBE Dead Sea, The.46

Chloride of sodium ...................... 78,5537ISBE Dead Sea, The.47

Chloride of potassium ................... 6,5860ISBE Dead Sea, The.48

Bromide of potassium .................... 1,3741ISBE Dead Sea, The.49

Sulphate of lime ........................ 0,7012ISBE Dead Sea, The.50

--------ISBE Dead Sea, The.51

sub-total: 264,1867ISBE Dead Sea, The.52

Water ................................... 735,8133ISBE Dead Sea, The.53

--------ISBE Dead Sea, The.54

Total: 1000.0000ISBE Dead Sea, The.55

Total amount of solid matter foundISBE Dead Sea, The.56

by direct experiment .................. 264.0000ISBE Dead Sea, The.57

What is here labeled bromide of potassium, however, is called by most other analysts bromide of magnesium, it being difficult to separate and distinguish these elements in composition. The large percentage of bromide, of which but a trace is found in the ocean, is supposed to have been derived from volcanic emanations. As compared with sea water, it is worthy of note that that of the Dead Sea yields 26 lbs. of salts to 100 lbs. of water, whereas that of the Atlantic yields only 6 lbs. in the same quantity. Lake Urumiah is as salty as the Dead Sea.ISBE Dead Sea, The.58

As results of this salinity the water is excessively buoyant and is destructive of all forms of animal life. Lynch found that his metal boats sank an inch deeper in the Jordan when equally heavily laden than they did in the Dead Sea. All travelers who bathe in it relate that when they throw themselves upon their backs their bodies will be half out of the water. Josephus (BJ, IV, viii, 4) relates that the emperor Vespasian caused certain men who could not swim to be thrown into the water with their hands tied behind them, and they floated on the surface. Dead fish and various shells are indeed often found upon the shore, but they have evidently been brought in by the tributary fresh-water streams, or belong to species which live in the brackish pools of the bordering lagoons, which are abundantly supplied with fresh water. The report extensively circulated in earlier times that birds did not fly over the lake has no foundation in fact, since some species of birds are known even to light upon the surface and frolick upon the waters. The whole depression is subject to frequent storms of wind blowing through its length. These produce waves whose force is very destructive of boats encountering them because of the high specific gravity of the water; but for the same reason the waves rapidly subside after a storm, so that the general appearance of the lake is placid in the extreme.ISBE Dead Sea, The.59

The source from which these saline matters have been derived has been a subject of much speculation--some having supposed that it was derived from the dissolution of the salt cliffs in Jebel Usdum. But this theory is disproved by the fact that common salt forms but a small portion of the material held in solution by the water. It is more correct to regard this salt mountain as a deposit precipitated from the saturated brine which had accumulated, as we have supposed, during the Cretaceous age. Probably salt is now being deposited at the bottom of the lake from the present saturated solution to appear in some future age in the wreck of progressive geological changes. The salts of the Dead Sea, like those in all similarly enclosed basins, have been brought in by the streams of water from all over the drainage basin. Such streams always contain more or less solid matter in solution, which becomes concentrated through the evaporation which takes. place over enclosed basins. The ocean is the great reservoir of such deposits, but is too large to be affected to the extent noticeable in smaller basins. The extreme salinity of the Dead Sea water shows both the long continuance of the isolation of the basin and the abundance of soluble matter contained in the rocks of the inscribed area. The great extent of recent volcanic rocks, especially in the region East of the Jordan, accounts for the large relative proportion of some of the ingredients.ISBE Dead Sea, The.60

V. Climate. Because of the great depression below sea level, the climate is excessively warm, so that palms and other tropical trees flourish on the borders of the rivers wherever fresh water finds soil on which to spread itself. Snow never falls upon the lake, though it frequently covers the hills of Judea and the plateau of Moab. As already explained the rainfall in the Jordan valley is less than on the bordering mountains. During the winter season the Arab tribes go down to the valley with their flocks of sheep and goats and camp upon the surrounding plains. But the excessive heat of the summer, rising sometimes to 130 degrees F., drives them back to the hills again.ISBE Dead Sea, The.61

VI. Roads. Except at the North end, the approaches to the Dead Sea are few and very difficult to travel. On the West side the nearest approach is at En-gedi, and this down a winding descent of 2,000 ft. where a few men at the top of the cliff could hold an army at bay below. The path up Wady Zuweirah from the North end of Jebel Usdum is scarcely better. Upon the South end the path leads up Wady Fikreh for a considerable distance on the West side of the Mud Flat, and then crosses over to the Wady el-Jeib, up whose torrential bed during the dry season caravans can find their way through the Arabah to Akabah. More difficult paths lead up from the East of the Mud Flat into the Arabah, and through the mountains of Moab to Petra into the plains beyond and the Pilgrim route from Damascus to Mecca. From the Lisan a difficult path leads up Wady Kerak to the fortress of the same name 20 miles distant and 5,000 ft. above the lake. Another path a little farther north leads up the Wady Beni Hamid to Ar of Moab. From the Arnon to the North end of the Dead Sea the mountains are so precipitous that travel along the shore is now practically impossible. But there are, according to Tristram (The Land of Moab, 355), remnants of an "old and well-engineered road of ancient times" extending as far South at least as the Zerka Ma'ain.ISBE Dead Sea, The.62

VII. Miscellaneous Items. There are numerous points around the border of the lake of special interest:ISBE Dead Sea, The.63

1. The Plain of the Jordan: When Lot and Abraham looked down from the heights of Bethel (Genesis 13:10 ff) they are said to have beheld "all the Plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as thou goest unto Zoar. So Lot chose him all the Plain of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: .... and Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom." The word here translated "Plain" is kikkar (Ciccar), meaning "circle," and indicating the appearance from Bethel of the Jordan valley surrounding the North end of the Dead Sea. From this fact, many recent writers have located Sodom and Gomorrah at that end of the sea (see CITIES OF THE PLAIN). But it is by no means certain that it is necessary thus to narrow down the meaning of the phrase. Though the South end. of the Dead Sea is not visible from the heights of Bethel, it is so connected with the general depression that it may well have been in the minds of Abraham and Lot as they were dividing the country between them, one choosing the plain, a part of which was visible, the other remaining on the bordering mountainous area, so different in all its natural resources and conditions. The extent of the region chosen by Lot may therefore be left to be determined by other considerations.ISBE Dead Sea, The.64

2. Ain Jidi (En-gedi): Ain Jidi, "fountain of the kid" (?) (see EN-GEDI) is an oasis at the base of the western cliffs about half-way between the North and the South ends of the lake, fed by springs of warm water which burst from beneath the overhanging cliffs. The 650 ft. shore line composed of shingle and calcareous marl is here prominent, and, as already remarked, there is an extensive gravel terrace at the present water level. Palms and vines formerly flourished here (Song of Solomon 1:14), but now only a few bushes of acacia and tamarisk are to be found. From time immemorial, however, it has been the terminus of the principal trail which zig-zags up the cliffs to the plateau, across which paths lead to Hebron and Bethlehem.ISBE Dead Sea, The.65

3. The Fortress of Masada: The Fortress of Masada was the last stronghold held by the fanatical Jews (Zealots) after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and offers a bird's-eye view of the Dead Sea, which is as instructive as it is interesting. It is situated half-way between Jebel Usdum and En-gedi, directly opposite the northern promontory of el-Lisan. Here on a precipitous height, 2,000 ft. above the sea, is a plateau about 700 yds. long, and 200 wide, adorned with ruins of dwellings, palaces and temples of the Herodian age. Standing upon this height one sees the outlines of the Roman camp, near the shore of the sea, and those of another camp in a depression several hundred yards to the West, from which the final attack of the besiegers was made over a pathway constructed along a sloping ridge. Here many miles away from their base of supplies the Romans slowly but irresistibly drew in their besieging lines to the final tragic consummation when the last remnant of the defenders committed suicide (BJ, VII, ix, 1). The view gives one a profound impression of the difficulties attending military campaigns in all that region. Upon lifting up one's eyes to take in the broader view, he sees the Dead Sea in its whole length with the low ridge of Jebel Usdum, the Valley of Salt, the Ascent of Akrabbim, the depression of the Arabah, and Mt. Hor, to the South, while across the whole horizon to the East is the long wall of Moab dissected by Wady Kerak and the river Arnon, leading up to the strongholds of Ker, Aroer and Dibon, of Moab; while immediately in the front are the white cliffs of el-Lisan, and to the North, near by, the green oasis of En-gedi, and, dimmed by distance, the plains of Jericho, and the cluster of peaks surrounding Mt. Pisgah; while the sea itself sparkles like a gem of brilliant azure in the midst of its desolate surroundings, giving no token of the deadly elements which permeate its water.ISBE Dead Sea, The.66

4. Jebel Usdum (Mount of Sodom): Jebel Usdum (Mount of Sodom) is a salt mountain extending 7 or 8 miles along the Southwest shore of the lake and on the West side of the Valley of Salt to its southern boundary. Its name is derived from the traditional belief that Sodom was located at the South end of the sea; but, on the other hand, it is not unlikely that the name would become attached to it because of its seeming to contain the pillar of salt, which, according to the ordinary translation, marked the place where Lot's wife was overwhelmed. The mountain rises 600 ft. above the lake, and has a general level surface except where streams have worn furrows and gullies in it. The eastern face presents a precipitous wall of rock salt, which, as said above, at the time of my visit (January, 1901), was washed by the waves of the lake making it impossible to pass along its base. At other times. when the water is low, travelers can pass along the whole length of the shore. This wall of salt presents much the appearance of a glacier, the salt being as transparent as ice, while the action of the waves has hollowed out extensive and picturesque caverns and left isolated towers and connected pinnacles of salt often resembling a Gothic cathedral. These towers and pinnacles are, of course, being displaced from time to time, while others are formed to continue the illusion. Any pillar of salt known to the ancients must be entirely different from those which meet the eye of the modern traveler. It follows also as a matter of course that the gradual dissolution of this salt must partly account for the excessive salinity of the Dead Sea.ISBE Dead Sea, The.67

It is uncertain how deep the deposit extends below the surface. It rises upward 200 or 300 ft., where it is capped by consolidated strata of sedimentary material, consisting of sand and loam, which most geologists think was deposited at the time of the formation of the 650 ft. terrace already described, and which they connect with the climatic conditions of the Glacial period.ISBE Dead Sea, The.68

This view is presented as follows by Professor B. K. Emerson: "In the earlier portion of the post-glacial stadium, a final sinking of a fraction of the bottom of the trough, near the South end of the lake, dissected the low salt plateau, sinking its central parts beneath the salt waters, while fragments remain buttressed against the great walls of the trench forming the plains of Jebel Usdum and the peninsula el-Lisan with the swampy Sebkah between. .... It exposed the wonderful eastern wall of Jebel Usdum: 7 miles long, with 30-45 m. of clear blue salt at the base, capped by 125-140 m. of gypsum-bearing marls impregnated with sulphur, and conglomerates at times cemented by bitumen" ("Geological Myths," Proc. Am. Assoc. for Adv. of Sci. (1896), 110, 111). If this was the case there has been a depression of the South end of the Dead Sea to the extent of several hundred feet within a comparatively few thousand years, in which case the traditional view that Sodom and Gomorrah were overwhelmed by Dead Sea water at the time of their destruction would refer to an occurrence exactly in line with movements that have been practically continuous during Tertiary, Glacial, and post-Glacial times.ISBE Dead Sea, The.69

With more reason, Lartet contends that this salt is a Cretaceous or Tertiary deposit covered with late Tertiary strata, in which case the sinking of the block between Jebel Usdum and el-Lisan, for the most part, took place at a much earlier date than the formation of the 650 ft. terrace. A striking corollary of this supposition would be that the climatic conditions have been practically the same during all of the post-Carboniferous times, there having been cycles of moist and dry climate in that region succeeding each other during all these geological periods.ISBE Dead Sea, The.70

The Vale of Siddim (Genesis 14:3, 8, 10) is probably the same as the Valley of Salt (2 Kings 14:7; 1 Chronicles 18:12; 2 Chronicles 25:11).ISBE Dead Sea, The.71

5. Vale of Siddim: This is in all probability the plain extending from the southern end of the Dead Sea to the "Ascent of Akrabbim" which crosses the valley from side to side, and forms the southern margin of the Ghor. At present the area of the vale is about 50 square miles; but if our theory concerning the lower level of the Dead Sea in the time of Abraham is correct, it may then have included a considerable portion of the lagoon South of el-Lisan and so have been a third larger than now. In Genesis 14:10 the vale is said to have been full of slime (that is, of bitumen or asphalt) pits. In modern times masses of asphalt are occasionally found floating in the southern part of the Dead Sea. After the earthquake of 1834 a large quantity was cast upon the shore near the Southwest corner of the lake, 3 tons of which were brought to market by the Arab natives. After the earthquake of January, 1837, a mass of asphalt was driven aground on the West side not far from Jebel Usdum. The neighboring Arabs swam off to it, cut it up with axes and carried it to market by the camel load, and sold it to the value of several thousand dollars. At earlier times such occurrences seem to have been still more frequent. Josephus affirms that "the sea in many places sends up black masses of asphalt having the form and size of headless oxen"; while Diodorus Siculus relates that the bitumen (asphalt) was thrown up in masses covering sometimes two or three acres and having the appearance of islands (Josephus, BJ, IV, viii, 4; Diod. Sic. ii.48; Pliny, NH, vii.13; Tac. Hist. verse 6; Dioscor., De re Med., i.99).ISBE Dead Sea, The.72

Since asphalt is a product of petroleum from which the volatile elements have been evaporated, the ultimate source of these masses is doubtless to be found in the extensive beds of bituminous limestone which appear in numerous places on both sides of the Dead Sea. An outcrop of it can be observed at Neby Mousa, on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, which Dawson describes as resembling dry chalk saturated with coal tar. When long weathered this becomes white and chalky at the surface, so that a mass of it, quite white externally, reveals an intense blackness when broken. It is this that the people of Bethlehem call "Dead Sea stone," and which they carve into various ornamental articles and expose for sale. Some specimens of it are sufficiently bituminous to burn with flame like cannel-coal. These beds are still more abundant around the South end of the lake and doubtless underlie the whole region, and for all time must have been exuding bituminous and gaseous matter, but much more abundantly in former times than now.ISBE Dead Sea, The.73

In these accumulations of bitumen at the South end of the Ghor we probably have the incentive which led the Babylonians under Amraphel and Chedorlaomer to make such long expeditions for the sake of conquering the region and holding it under their power. Bitumen was much in demand in Babylonia.ISBE Dead Sea, The.74

6. El-Lisan: El-Lisan (the Tongue), which projects half-way across the lake from the mouth of Wady Kerak, is, like Jebel Usdum, a promontory of white calcareous sediment containing beds of salt and gypsum, and breaking off on its western side in a cliff 300 ft. high. Its upper surface rises in terraces to the 600 ft. level on the East, as Jebel Usdum does on the West. The length of the promontory from North to South is 9 miles. This corresponds so closely in general structure and appearance to Jebel Usdum on the opposite side of the lake that we find it difficult to doubt theory of Professor Emerson, stated above, that the formation originally extended across and that a block of the original bottom of the lake has dropped down, leaving these remnants upon the sides. Frequent occurrences similar to this are noted by the United States geologists in the Rocky Mountain region.ISBE Dead Sea, The.75

VIII. History. Difficulty of access has prevented the Dead Sea from playing any important part in history except as an obstruction both to commerce and to military movements. Boats have never been used upon it to any considerable extent. From earliest times salt has been gathered on its western shores and carried up to market over the difficult paths leading to Jerusalem. A similar commerce has been carried on in bitumen; that from the Dead Sea being specially prized in Egypt, while as already remarked, it is by no means improbable that the pits of bitumen which abounded in the "Vale of Siddim" were the chief attraction leading the kings of Babylonia to undertake long expeditions for the conquest of the region. Productive as may have been the plain at the South end of the sea, it was too far outside the caravan route leading through Petra to the South end of the Arabah and the mines of the Sinaitic Peninsula to divert the course of travel. Still the settlements on the eastern border of the Vale of Siddim were of sufficient importance in medieval times to induce the Crusaders to visit the region and leave their marks upon it. The Arabian town of Zoghar, probably the Biblical Zoar, appears at one time to have been a most important place, and was the center of considerable commercial activity. Indigo was grown there, and the oasis was noted for its fine species of dates. The country round about abounded in springs and there was much arable land (see Le Strange, Palestine under the Moslems, 286 ff). The hot springs upon the eastern shore of the Dead Sea at Callirrhoe some distance up the Wady Zerka Ma'ain were much resorted to for their medicinal properties. Here Herod came as a last resort, to secure relief from his loathsome malady, but failed of help. The fortress of Macherus, where John the Baptist was imprisoned, is situated but a few miles South of the Zerka Ma'ain, but access to this region is possible only through a difficult road leading over the mountains a few miles East of the sea.ISBE Dead Sea, The.76

On four occasions important military expeditions were conducted along the narrow defiles which border the Southwest end of the Dead Sea: (1) That of Amraphel and his confederates from Babylonia, who seem first to have opened the way past Petra to the mines of the Sinaitic Peninsula, and then to have swept northward through the land of the Amalekites and Amorites and come down to the Dead Sea at En-gedi, and then to have turned to subdue the Cities of the Plain, where Lot was dwelling. This accomplished, they probably retreated along the west shore of the lake, which very likely afforded at that time a complete passageway to the valley of the Jordan. Or they may have gone on eastward to the line of the present pilgrim route from Damascus to Mecca and followed it northward. (2) In the early part of the reign of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:1-37), the Moabites, Ammonites and some other tribes joined together, forming a large army, and, following around the South end of the Dead Sea, marched along the West shore to En-gedi, and having ascended the zigzag path leading up the precipitous heights to the wilderness of Tekoa, were there thrown into confusion and utterly annihilated. (3) Not many years later Jehoram and Jehoshaphat "fetched a compass (the Revised Version (British and American) "made a circuit") of seven days' journey" (2 Kings 3:9) around the South end of the Dead Sea and attacked the Moabites in their own country, but returned without completing the conquest. The particulars of this expedition are given in 2 Kings 3:1-27 and in the inscription on the Moabite Stone. (4) The Romans shortly after the destruction of Jerusalem conducted a long siege of the fortress of Masada, of which an account has already been given in a previous section (VII, 3). All their supplies must have come down the tortuous path to En-gedi and thence been brought along the western shore to the camp, the remains of which are still to be seen at the base of the fortress.ISBE Dead Sea, The.77

For many centuries, indeed for nearly 1,800 years, the Dead Sea remained a mystery, and its geology and physical characteristics were practically unknown. The first intimation of the depression of the lake below sea level was furnished in 1837 by Moore and Beke, who made some imperfect experiments with boiling water from which they inferred a depression of 500 ft. In 1841 Lieutenant Simmons of the British navy, by trigonometrical observations, estimated the depression to be 1,312 ft. In 1835. Costigan, and again in 1847 Lieutenant Molyneux ventured upon the sea in boats; but the early death of both, consequent upon their exposures, prevented their making any full reports. Appropriately, however, their names have been attached to prominent points on the Lisan. In 1848 Lieutenant Lynch, of the United States navy, was dispatched to explore the Jordan and the Dead Sea. The results of this expedition were most important. Soundings of the depths were carefully and systematically conducted, and levels were run from the Dead Sea by Jerusalem to the Mediterranean, giving the depression at the surface of the Dead Sea as 1,316,7 ft., and its greatest depth 1,278 ft. More recently Sir C. W. Wilson in connection with the Ordinance Survey of Palestine carried levels over the same route with the result of reducing the depression to 1,292 ft., which is now generally accepted to be correct. But as already stated the stage of water in the lake is not given, and that is known to vary at least 15 ft. annually, and still more at longer intervals.ISBE Dead Sea, The.78

LITERATURE.ISBE Dead Sea, The.79

Hull, Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine, 1889; Huntington, Palestine and Its Transformation, 1911; Lartet, Voyage d'exploration de la Mer Morte, 1880; Lynch, Report of U.S. Expedition to the Jordan and Dead Sea, 1852; Robinson, BR, 1841; De Saulcy, Voyage dans la Syrie, 1853; Tristram, Land of Israel, 2nd edition, 1872, The Land of Moab, 1873; G. A. Smith, HGHL; Wright; Scientific Confirmations of Old Testament Hist, 1906, and Journal of Biblical Lit., 1911.ISBE Dead Sea, The.80

George Frederick WrightISBE Dead Sea, The.81

Dead, Baptism for The

Dead, Baptism for The - See BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD.ISBE Dead, Baptism for The.2

Dead, State of The

Dead, State of The - See HADES.ISBE Dead, State of The.2

Deadly

Deadly - ded'-li: In the Old Testament two words are used in the sense of a "mortal (Hebrew nephesh, "hateful," "foul") enemy" (Psalms 17:9), and in the sense of "fatal disease," the destructiveness of which causes a general panic (Hebrew maweth, "death," 1 Samuel 5:11).ISBE Deadly.2

In the New Testament we have in Revelation 13:3, 12 the expression "deadly wound" (Greek thanatos), better "death-stroke," as in the Revised Version (British and American), and the phrases "deadly thing," i.e. poison (thanasimon ti, Mark 16:18), and "full of deadly poison" (meste iou thanatephorou, James 3:8), said of an unruly tongue. Both Greek words convey the idea of "causing or bringing death" and occur in classical literature in a variety of uses in combination with the bite of venomous reptiles, deadly potions, mortal wounds and fatal contagion.ISBE Deadly.3

H. L. E. LueringISBE Deadly.4

Deaf

Deaf - def (cheresh; kophos): Used either in the physical sense, or figuratively as expressing unwillingness to hear the Divine message (Psalms 58:4), or incapacity to understand it for want of spirituality (Psalms 38:13). The prophetic utterances were sufficiently forcible to compel even such to hear (Isaiah 42:18; 43:8) and thereby to receive the Divine mercy (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5).ISBE Deaf.2

The expression "deaf adder that stoppeth her car" (Psalms 58:4) alludes to a curious notion that the adder, to avoid hearing the voice of the charmer, laid its head with one car on the ground and stopped the other with the tip of its tail (Diary of John Manninghan, 1602). The adder is called deaf by Shakespeare (2 Hen VI, iii, 2, 76; Troilus and Cressida, ii, 2, 172). The erroneous idea probably arose from the absence of external ears.ISBE Deaf.3

Physical deafness was regarded as a judgment from God (Exodus 4:11; Micah 7:16), and it was consequently impious to curse the deaf (Leviticus 19:14). In New Testament times deafness and kindred defects were attributed to evil spirits (Mark 9:18 ff).ISBE Deaf.4

See DUMB.ISBE Deaf.5

Alex. MacalisterISBE Deaf.6

Deal

Deal - del: The noun "deal" is not found in the Revised Version (British and American). The King James Version translation of `issaron, "the tenth deal" (Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 14:10, et al.) is rendered uniformly "the tenth part" in the Revised Version (British and American) (see WEIGHTS AND MEASURES). The verb "to deal" often means "to apportion," "to distribute" (compare 2 Samuel 6:19; 1 Chronicles 16:3; Isaiah 58:7; Romans 12:3), but more frequently it is used in the sense of "to act" "to do," "to have transaction of any kind with." In the Psalms "to deal" always means "to confer benefit," "to deal bountifully," with the exception of Psalms 105:25, where it means "to deal subtly with." The expression "to deal," i.e. "to be engaged in," is not found in the Scriptures. The translation of sugchraomai, in John 4:9, "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans," conveys the idea that they have nothing in common.ISBE Deal.2

A. L. BreslichISBE Deal.3

Dear; Dearly

Dear; Dearly - der, der'-li ("held at a great price," "highly valued"): In Acts 20:24, Paul does not hold his life "dear" (timios, "at a price"); compare 1 Corinthians 3:12, "costly stones"; 1 Peter 1:19, "precious blood." Luke 7:2, the servant was "dear" to the centurion (entimos, "highly prized"; compare Philippians 2:29; 1 Peter 2:6). 1 Thessalonians 2:8, "very dear to us" (agapetos, "beloved"). In the Revised Version (British and American), agapetos is generally translated "beloved." "Dearly" before "beloved" of the King James Version is omitted in all passages in the Revised Version (British and American). The word "dear" occurs but once in the Old Testament, namely, Jeremiah 31:20. the Revised Version (British and American) correctly changes "dear Son" of the King James Version (Colossians 1:13) into "the Son of his love."ISBE Dear; Dearly.2

H. E. JacobsISBE Dear; Dearly.3

Dearth

Dearth - durth.ISBE Dearth.2

See FAMINE.ISBE Dearth.3

Death

Death - (maweth; thanatos):ISBE Death.2

PHYSIOLOGICAL AND FIGURATIVE VIEWISBE Death.3

The word "Death" is used in the sense of (1) the process of dying (Genesis 21:16); (2) the period of decease (Genesis 27:7); (3) as a possible synonym for poison (2 Kings 4:40); (4) as descriptive of person in danger of perishing (Judges 15:18; "in deaths oft" 2 Corinthians 11:23). In this sense the shadow of death is a familiar expression in Job, the Psalms and the Prophets; (5) death is personified in 1 Corinthians 15:55 and Revelation 20:14. Deliverance from this catastrophe is called the "issues from death" (Psalms 68:20 the King James Version; translated "escape" in the Revised Version (British and American)). Judicial execution, "putting to death," is mentioned 39 times in the Levitical Law.ISBE Death.4

Figuratively: Death is the loss of spiritual life as in Romans 8:6; and the final state of the unregenerate is called the "second death" in Revelation 20:14.ISBE Death.5

Alex. MacalisterISBE Death.6

THEOLOGICAL VIEWISBE Death.7

1. Conception of Sin and Death: According to Genesis 2:17, God gave to man, created in His own image, the command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and added thereto the warning, "in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." Though not exclusively, reference is certainly made here in the first place to bodily death. Yet because death by no means came upon Adam and Eve on the day of their transgression, but took place hundreds of years later, the expression, "in the day that," must be conceived in a wider sense, or the delay of death must be attributed to the entering-in of mercy (Genesis 3:15). However this may be, Genesis 2:17 places a close connection between man's death and his transgression of God's commandment, thereby attaching to death a religious and ethical significance, and on the other hand makes the life of man dependent on his obedience to God. This religious-ethical nature of life and death is not only decidedly and clearly expressed in Genesis 2:1-25, but it is the fundamental thought of the whole of Scripture and forms an essential element in the revelations of salvation. The theologians of early and more recent times, who have denied the spiritual significance of death and have separated the connection between ethical and physical life, usually endeavor to trace back their opinions to Scripture; and those passages which undoubtedly see in death a punishment for sin (Genesis 2:17; John 8:44; Romans 5:12; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:21), they take as individual opinions, which form no part of the organism of revelation. But this endeavor shuts out the organic character of the revelation of salvation. It is true that death in Holy Scripture is often measured by the weakness and frailty of human nature (Genesis 3:19; Job 14:1, 12; Psalms 39:5-6; 90:5; Psalms 103:14-15; Ecclesiastes 3:20, etc.). Death is seldom connected with the transgression of the first man either in the Old Testament or the New Testament, or mentioned as a specified punishment for sin (John 8:44; Romans 5:12; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:21; James 1:15); for the most part it is portrayed as something natural (Genesis 5:5; 9:29; 15:15; 25:8, etc.), a long life being presented as a blessing in contrast to death in the midst of days as a disaster and a judgment (Psalms 102:23 f; Isaiah 65:20). But all this is not contrary to the idea that death is a consequence of, and a punishment for, sin. Daily, everyone who agrees with Scripture that death is held out as a punishment for sin, speaks in the same way. Death, though come into the world through sin, is nevertheless at the same time a consequence of man's physical and frail existence now; it could therefore be threatened as a punishment to man, because he was taken out of the ground and was made a living soul, of the earth earthy (Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47). If he had remained obedient, he would not have returned to dust (Genesis 3:19), but have pressed forward on the path of spiritual development (1 Corinthians 15:46, 51); his return to dust was possible simply because he was made from dust (see ADAM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT). Thus, although death is in this way a consequence of sin, yet a long life is felt to be a blessing and death a disaster and a judgment, above all when man is taken away in the bloom of his youth or the strength of his years. There is nothing strange, therefore, in the manner in which Scripture speaks about death; we all express ourselves daily in the same way, though we at the same time consider it as the wages of sin. Beneath the ordinary, everyday expressions about death lies the deep consciousness that it is unnatural and contrary to our innermost being.ISBE Death.8

2. The Meaning of Death: This is decidedly expressed in Scripture much more so even than among ourselves. For we are influenced always more or less by the Greek, Platonic idea, that the body dies, yet the soul is immortal. Such an idea is utterly contrary to the Israelite consciousness, and is nowhere found in the Old Testament. The whole man dies, when in death the spirit (Psalms 146:4; Ecclesiastes 12:7), or soul (Genesis 35:18; 2 Samuel 1:9; 1 Kings 17:21; Jonah 4:3), goes out of a man. Not only his body, but his soul also returns to a state of death and belongs to the nether-world; therefore the Old Testament can speak of a death of one's soul (Genesis 37:21 (Hebrew); Numbers 23:10 m; Deuteronomy 22:21; Judges 16:30; Job 36:14; Psalms 78:50), and of defilement by coming in contact with a dead body (Leviticus 19:28; 21:11; 22:4; Numbers 5:2; 6:6; 9:6; 19:10 ff; Deuteronomy 14:1; Haggai 2:13). This death of man is not annihilation, however, but a deprivation of all that makes for life on earth. The Sheol (she'ol) is in contrast with the land of the living in every respect (Job 28:13; Proverbs 15:24; Ezekiel 26:20; 32:23); it is an abode of darkness and the shadow of death (Job 10:21-22; Psalms 88:12; 143:3), a place of destruction, yea destruction itself (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Psalms 88:11; Proverbs 27:20), without any order (Job 10:22), a land of rest, of silence, of oblivion (Job 3:13, 17-18; Psalms 94:17; 115:17), where God and man are no longer to be seen (Isaiah 38:11), God no longer praised or thanked (Psalms 6:5; 115:17), His perfections no more acknowledged (Psalms 88:10-13; Isaiah 38:18-19), His wonders not contemplated (Psalms 88:12), where the dead are unconscious, do no more work, take no account of anything, possess no knowledge nor wisdom, neither have any more a portion in anything that is done under the sun (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10). The dead ("the Shades" the Revised Version, margin; compare article DECEASE) are asleep (Job 26:5; Proverbs 2:18; 9:18; 21:6; Psalms 88:11; Isaiah 14:9), weakened (Isaiah 14:10) and without strength (Psalms 88:4).ISBE Death.9

3. Light in the Darkness: The dread of death was felt much more deeply therefore by the Israelites than by ourselves. Death to them was separation from all that they loved, from God, from His service, from His law, from His people, from His land, from all the rich companionship in which they lived. But now in this darkness appears the light of the revelation of salvation from on high. The God of Israel is the living God and the fountain of all life (Deuteronomy 5:26; Joshua 3:10; Psalms 36:9). He is the Creator of heaven and earth, whose power knows no bounds and whose dominion extends over life and death (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6; Psalms 90:3). He gave life to man (Genesis 1:26; 2:7), and creates and sustains every man still (Job 32:8; 33:4; 34:14; Psalms 104:29; Ecclesiastes 12:7). He connects life with the keeping of His law and appoints death for the transgression of it (Genesis 2:17; Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 30:20; 32:47). He lives in heaven, but is present also by His spirit in Sheol (Psalms 139:7-8). Sheol and Abaddon are open to Him even as the hearts of the children of men (Job 26:6; 38:17; Proverbs 15:11). He kills and makes alive, brings down into Sheol and raises from thence again (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6; 2 Kings 5:7). He lengthens life for those who keep His commandments (Exodus 20:12; Job 5:26), gives escape from death, can deliver when death menaces (Psalms 68:20; Isaiah 38:5; Jeremiah 15:20; Daniel 3:26), can take Enoch and Elijah to Himself without dying (Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11), can restore the dead to life (1 Kings 17:22; 2 Kings 4:34; 13:21). He can even bring death wholly to nothing and completely triumph over its power by rising from the dead (Job 14:13-15; Job 19:25-27; Hosea 6:2; 13:14; Isaiah 25:8; 26:19; Ezekiel 37:11-12; Daniel 12:2).ISBE Death.10

4. Spiritual Significance: This revelation by degrees rejects the old contrast between life on earth and the disconsolate existence after death, in the dark place of Sheol, and puts another in its place. The physical contrast between life and death gradually makes way for the moral and spiritual difference between a life spent in the fear of the Lord, and a life in the service of sin. The man who serves God is alive (Genesis 2:17); life is involved in the keeping of His commandments (Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 30:20); His word is life (Deuteronomy 8:3; 32:47). Life is still for the most part understood to mean length of days (Proverbs 2:18; 3:16; 10:30; Isaiah 65:20). Nevertheless it is remarkable that Prov often mentions death and Sheol in connection with the godless (Isaiah 2:18; 5:5; 7:25; 9:18), and on the other hand only speaks of life in connection with the righteous. Wisdom, righteousness, the fear of the Lord is the way of life (Isaiah 8:22, 22; 11:16; 12:6; 13:14; 14:27; 19:23). The wicked is driven away in his wickedness, but the righteous hath hope in his death (Isaiah 14:32). Blessed is he who has the Lord for his God (Deuteronomy 33:29; Psalms 1:1-2; 2:12; Psalms 32:1-2; 33:12; 34:9, etc.); he is comforted in the greatest adversity (Psalms 73:25-28; Habakkuk 3:17-19), and sees a light arise for him behind physical death (Genesis 49:18; Job 14:13-15; Job 16:16-21; Job 19:25-27; Psalms 73:23-26). The godless on the contrary, although enjoying for a time much prosperity, perish and come to an end (Psalms 1:4-6; Psalms 73:18-20; Isaiah 48:22; Malachi 4:3, etc.).ISBE Death.11

The righteous of the Old Testament truly are continually occupied with the problem that the lot of man on earth often corresponds so little to his spiritual worth, but he strengthens himself with the conviction that for the righteous it will be well, and for the wicked, ill (Ecclesiastes 8:12-13; Isaiah 3:10-11). If they do not realize it in the present, they look forward to the future and hope for the day in which God's justice will extend salvation to the righteous, and His anger will be visited on the wicked in judgment. So in the Old Testament the revelation of the new covenant is prepared wherein Christ by His appearance hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10). See ABOLISH. This everlasting life is already here on earth presented to man by faith, and it is his portion also in the hour of death (John 3:36; John 11:25-26). On the other hand, he who lives in sin and is disobedient to the Son of God, is in his living dead (Matthew 8:22; Luke 15:32; John 3:36; 8:24; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13); he shall never see life, but shall pass by bodily death into the second death (Revelation 2:11; 6, 14; 21:8).ISBE Death.12

5. Death in Non-Christian Religions and in Science:ISBE Death.13

This view of Scripture upon death goes much deeper than that which is found in other religions, but it nevertheless receives support from the unanimous witness of humanity with regard to its unnaturalness and dread. The so-called nature-peoples even feel that death is much more of an enigma than life; Tiele (Inleiding tot de goddienst-artenschap, II (1900), 202, referring to Andrew Lang, Modern Mythology, chapter xiii) says rightly, that all peoples have the conviction that man by nature is immortal, that immortality wants no proof, but that death is a mystery and must be explained. Touching complaints arise in the hearts of all men on the frailty and vanity of life, and the whole of mankind fears death as a mysterious power. Man finds comfort in death only when he hopes it will be an end to a still more miserable life. Seneca may be taken as interpreter of some philosophers when he says: Stultitia est timore morris mori ("It is stupid to die through the fear of death") and some may be able, like a Socrates or a Cato, to face death calmly and courageously; what have these few to say to the millions, who through fear of death are all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:15)? Such a mystery has death remained up to the present day. It may be said with Kassowitz, Verworm and others that the "cell" is the beginning, and the old, gray man is the natural end of an uninterrupted life-development, or with Metschnikoff, that science will one day so lengthen life that it will fade away like a rose at last and death lose all its dread; death still is no less a riddle, and one which swallows up all the strength of life. When one considers, besides, that a number of creatures, plants, trees, animals, reach a much higher age than man; that the larger half of mankind dies before or shortly after birth; that another large percentage dies in the bloom of youth or in the prime of life; that the law of the survival of the fittest is true only when the fact of the survival is taken as a proof of their fitness; that the graybeards, who, spent and decrepit, go down to the grave, form a very small number; then the enigma of death increases more and more in mysteriousness. The endeavors to bring death into connection with certain activities of the organism and to explain it by increasing weight, by growth or by fertility, have all led to shipwreck. When Weismann took refuge in the immortality of the "einzellige Protozoen," he raised a hypothesis which not only found many opponents, but which also left mortality of the "Korperplasma" an insoluble mystery (Beth, "Ueber Ursache und Zweck des Todes, Glauben und Wissen (1909), 285-304, 335-48). Thus, science certainly does not compel us to review Scripture on this point, but rather furnishes a strong proof of the mysterious majesty of death. When Pelagius, Socinus, Schleiermacher, Ritschl and a number of other theologians and philosophers separate death from its connection with sin, they are not compelled to do so by science, but are led by a defective insight into the relation between ethos and phusis. Misery and death are not absolutely always consequences and punishment of a great personal transgression (Luke 13:2; John 9:3); but that they are connected with sin, we learn from the experience of every day. Who can number the victims of mammonism, alcoholism and licentiousness? Even spiritual sins exercise their influence on corporal life; envy is a rottenness of the bones (Proverbs 14:30). This connection is taught us in a great measure by Scripture, when it placed the not yet fallen man in a Paradise, where death had not yet entered, and eternal life was not yet possessed and enjoyed; when it sends fallen man, who, however, is destined for redemption, into a world full of misery and death; and at last assigns to the wholly renewed man a new heaven and a new earth, where death, sorrow, crying or pain shall no longer exist (Revelation 21:4).ISBE Death.14

Finally, Scripture is not the book of death, but of life, of everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It tells us, in oft-repeated and unmistakable terms, of the dreaded reality of death, but it proclaims to us still more loudly the wonderful power of the life which is in Christ Jesus.ISBE Death.15

Death, Body of

Death, Body of - See BODY OF DEATH.ISBE Death, Body of.2

Death, Second

Death, Second - (ho deuteros thanatos): An expression, peculiar to the Book of Rev (2:11; 20:6,14; 21:8) in Scripture, denoting the final penalty of the unrighteous; parallel with another expression likewise peculiar, "the lake of fire," in 20:14; 21:8.ISBE Death, Second.2

See ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.ISBE Death, Second.3

Debate

Debate - de-bat': This word is used only once in the Revised Version (British and American) (Proverbs 25:9). It evidently refers to the settling of a difficulty with a neighbor, and anticipates Matthew 18:15. It argues for and shows the advantage of private, peaceable settlement of difficulties. Compare Ecclesiasticus 28:9, and see MAKEBATES.ISBE Debate.2

Debir (1)

Debir (1) - de'-ber (debhir, or debhir, "oracle"): King of Eglon, one of the five Amorite kings whose confederation against Israel was overcome and who were killed by Joshua (Joshua 10:3).ISBE Debir (1).2

Debir (2)

Debir (2) - de'-ber (debhir; Dabeir): "And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir, and fought against it: and he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword .... he left none remaining" (Joshua 10:38-39). In Joshua 15:15-17 and Judges 1:11-13 is an account of how Othniel captured Debir, which "beforetime was Kiriath-sepher," and won thereby the hand of Achsah, Caleb's daughter. In Joshua 15:49 Debir is called Kiriath-sannah. It had once been inhabited by the Anakim (Joshua 11:21). It was a Levitical city (Joshua 21:15; 1 Chronicles 6:58).ISBE Debir (2).2

1. The Meaning of the Name: (1) Debir is usually accepted as meaning "back," but this is doubtful; the word debhir is used to denote the "holy of holies" (1 Kings 6:5). According to Sayce (HDB), "the city must have been a sacred one with a well-known temple." Kiriath-sepher is translated "town of books," and Sayce and others consider that in all probability there was a great storehouse of clay tablets here; perhaps the name may have been qiryath copher, "town of scribes." Kiriath-sannah (Joshua 15:49) is probably a corruption of Kiriath-sepher; the Septuagint has here as in references to the latter polis grammaton, "town of books."ISBE Debir (2).3

2. The Site: Unfortunately this site, important even if the speculations about the books are doubtful, is still a matter of uncertainty. Edh-Dhaheriyeh, some 11 miles Southwest of Hebron, has a good deal of support. It was unquestionably a site of importance in ancient times as the meeting-place of several roads; it is in the Negeb (compare Judges 1:15), in the neighborhood of the probable site of Anab (Joshua 11:21; 15:50); it is a dry site, but there are "upper" and "lower" springs about 6 1/2 miles to the North. A more thorough examination of the site than has as yet been undertaken might produce added proofs in favor of this identification. No other suggestion has any great probability. See PEF ,III , 402;PEFS , 1875.ISBE Debir (2).4

(2) Debir, on the border between Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:7), must have been somewhere East of Jerusalem not far from the modern Jericho road. Thoghgret edition Debr, "the pass of the rear," half a mile Southwest of the Tal`at edition Dumm (see ADUMMIM), close to the so-called, "Inn of the Good Samaritan," may be an echo of the name which has lingered in the neighborhood. Many authorities consider that there is no place-name in this reference at all, the text being corrupt.ISBE Debir (2).5

(3) Debir the Revised Version, margin, Lidebir (Joshua 13:26), a town on the border of Gad, near Mahanaim; Ibdar, South of the Yarmuk has been suggested. May be identical with Lo-debar (2 Samuel 9:4).ISBE Debir (2).6

E. W. G. MastermanISBE Debir (2).7

Deborah

Deborah - deb'-o-ra (debhorah, signifying "bee"):ISBE Deborah.2

(1) Rebekah's nurse, who died near Bethel and was buried under "the oak of weeping" (Genesis 35:8 margin).ISBE Deborah.3

(2) A prophetess, fourth in the order of the "judges." In aftertime a palm tree, known as the "palm tree of Deborah," was shown between Ramah and Bethel, beneath which the prophetess was wont to administer justice. Like the rest of the "judges" she became a leader of her people in times of national distress. This time the oppressor was Jabin, king of Hazor, whose general was Sisera. Deborah summoned Barak of Kedesh-naphtali and delivered to him the Divine message to meet Sisera in battle by the brook Kishon. Barak induced Deborah to accompany him; they were joined by 10,000 men of Zebulun and Naphtali. The battle took place by the brook Kishon, and Sisera's army was thoroughly routed. While Barak pursued the fleeing army, Sisera escaped and sought refuge with Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, near Kedesh. The brave woman, the prototype of Judith, put the Canaanite general to sleep by offering him a draft of milk and then slew him by driving a peg into his temple. Thus runs the story in Judges 4:1-24. It is on the whole substantiated by the ode in chapter 5 which is ascribed jointly to Deborah and Barak. It is possible that the editor mistook the archaic form qamti, in Judges 5:7 which should be rendered "thou arosedst" instead of "I arose." Certainly the ode was composed by a person who, if not a contemporary of the event, was very near it in point of time. The song is spoken of as one of the oldest pieces of Hebrew literature. Great difficulties meet the exegete. Nevertheless the general substance is clear. The Lord is described as having come from Sinai near the "field of Edom" to take part in the battle; `for from heaven they fought, the very stars from their courses fought against Sisera' (Judges 5:20). The nation was in a sad plight, oppressed by a mighty king, and the tribes loth to submerge their separatist tendencies. Some, like Reuben, Gilead, Dan and Asher remained away. A community by the name of Meroz is singled out for blame, `because they came not to the help of Yahweh, to the help of Yahweh among the mighty' (Judges 5:23; compare the Revised Version, margin). Ephraim, Issachar, Machir, Benjamin were among the followers of Barak; "Zebulun .... jeopardized their lives unto the death, and Naphtali, upon the high places of the field" (verse 18). According to the song, the battle was fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; Sisera's host was swept away by "that ancient river, the river Kishon" (verse 21). Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, receives here due reward of praise for her heroic act. The paean vividly paints the waiting of Sisera's mother for the home-coming of the general; the delay is ascribed to the great booty which the conqueror is distributing among his Canaanite host. "So let all thine enemies perish," concludes the song; "O Yahweh: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might." It is a song in praise of the "righteous acts" of the Lord, His work of victory which Israel's leaders, `the long-haired princes,' wrought, giving their lives freely to the nation's cause. And the nation was sore bestead because it had become faithless to the Lord and chosen new gods. Out of the conflict came, for the time being, victory and moral purification; and the inspiring genius of it all was a woman in Israel, the prophetess Deborah.ISBE Deborah.4

(3) Tobit's grandmother (the King James Version "Debora," Tobit 1:8).ISBE Deborah.5

Max L. MargolisISBE Deborah.6

Cow; Kine — Cyrus

Debt; Debtor — Dictionaries