Astronomy, I — Azbasareth

Astronomy, I

Astronomy, I - as-tron'-omi:ISBE Astronomy, I.2

I. THE HEAVENLY BODIESISBE Astronomy, I.3

1. The Ordinances of HeavenISBE Astronomy, I.4

2. The SunISBE Astronomy, I.5

(1) The Names for the SunISBE Astronomy, I.6

(2) The "City of the Sun"ISBE Astronomy, I.7

(3) The Greater Light-GiverISBE Astronomy, I.8

(4) The Purpose of the SunISBE Astronomy, I.9

(5) The Sun as a TypeISBE Astronomy, I.10

3. The MoonISBE Astronomy, I.11

(1) The Names for the MoonISBE Astronomy, I.12

(2) The Lesser Light-GiverISBE Astronomy, I.13

(3) Phases of the MoonISBE Astronomy, I.14

4. SignsISBE Astronomy, I.15

(1) Solar and Lunar EclipsesISBE Astronomy, I.16

(2) The Wings of the MorningISBE Astronomy, I.17

5. SeasonsISBE Astronomy, I.18

(1) The Meaning of the WordISBE Astronomy, I.19

(2) Natural Seasons for WorshipISBE Astronomy, I.20

(3) The Hallowing of the SeventhISBE Astronomy, I.21

(4) The Jubilee a Luni-solar CycleISBE Astronomy, I.22

(5) The 19-Year Luni-solar CycleISBE Astronomy, I.23

(6) The Jewish Ritual PreexilicISBE Astronomy, I.24

(7) The Luni-solar Cycles of DanielISBE Astronomy, I.25

6. The StarsISBE Astronomy, I.26

(1) Their NumberISBE Astronomy, I.27

(2) Their DistanceISBE Astronomy, I.28

(3) Their BrightnessISBE Astronomy, I.29

7. Morning StarsISBE Astronomy, I.30

The Stars as a DialISBE Astronomy, I.31

8. Falling StarsISBE Astronomy, I.32

(1) MeteoritesISBE Astronomy, I.33

(2) The Star "Wormwood"ISBE Astronomy, I.34

9. Wandering StarsISBE Astronomy, I.35

(1) Comets as a Spiritual TypeISBE Astronomy, I.36

(2) Comets Referred to in Scripture?ISBE Astronomy, I.37

II. THE CONSTELLATIONSISBE Astronomy, I.38

1. Nachash, the "Crooked Serpent"ISBE Astronomy, I.39

2. LeviathanISBE Astronomy, I.40

3. The Seed of the WomanISBE Astronomy, I.41

4. The Bow Set in the CloudISBE Astronomy, I.42

5. The Dragon of EclipseISBE Astronomy, I.43

6. Joseph's DreamISBE Astronomy, I.44

7. The Standards of the TribesISBE Astronomy, I.45

8. The CherubimISBE Astronomy, I.46

9. Balaam's ProphecyISBE Astronomy, I.47

10. PleiadesISBE Astronomy, I.48

11. OrionISBE Astronomy, I.49

12. Mazzaroth, the Constellations of the ZodiacISBE Astronomy, I.50

13. "Arcturus"ISBE Astronomy, I.51

(1) The "Scatterers," or the NorthISBE Astronomy, I.52

(2) The Ordinances of Heaven Established on the EarthISBE Astronomy, I.53

14. The Date of the Book of JobISBE Astronomy, I.54

III. PHYSIOGRAPHYISBE Astronomy, I.55

1. The Circle of the EarthISBE Astronomy, I.56

(1) The Earth a SphereISBE Astronomy, I.57

(2) The North Stretched out over Empty SpaceISBE Astronomy, I.58

(3) The Corners of the EarthISBE Astronomy, I.59

2. The Pillars of the EarthISBE Astronomy, I.60

3. The FirmamentISBE Astronomy, I.61

(1) The Hebrew ConceptionISBE Astronomy, I.62

(2) The Alexandrian ConceptionISBE Astronomy, I.63

4. The Windows of HeavenISBE Astronomy, I.64

5. RainISBE Astronomy, I.65

6. CloudsISBE Astronomy, I.66

7. The DeepISBE Astronomy, I.67

(1) Meaning of the WordISBE Astronomy, I.68

(2) The Babylonian Dragon of ChaosISBE Astronomy, I.69

LITERATUREISBE Astronomy, I.70

The keynote of the Hebrew writers respecting the heavenly bodies is sounded in Psalms 8:1-9:ISBE Astronomy, I.71

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,ISBE Astronomy, I.72

The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;ISBE Astronomy, I.73

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?ISBE Astronomy, I.74

And the son of man, that thou visitest him?ISBE Astronomy, I.75

For thou hast made him but little lower than God,ISBE Astronomy, I.76

And crownest him with glory and honor.ISBE Astronomy, I.77

Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;ISBE Astronomy, I.78

Thou hast put all things under his feet" (Psalms 8:3-6).ISBE Astronomy, I.79

The heavenly bodies were inexpressibly glorious, and they were all the handiwork of Yahweh--without power or vitality of their own--and man, not by any inherent virtue, but by the will and grace of God, was superior to them in importance. Thus there was a great gulf fixed between the superstitions of the heathen who worshipped the sun, moon and stars as gods, and the faith of the pious Hebrew who regarded them as things made and moved by the will of one only God. And it followed from this difference that the Hebrew, beyond all nations of like antiquity, was filled with a keen delight in natural objects and phenomena, and was attentively observant of them.ISBE Astronomy, I.80

I. The Heavenly Bodies. 1. The Ordinances of Heaven: To the sacred writers, the ordinances of heaven taught the lesson of Order--great, magnificent and immutable. Day by day, the sun rose in the east, "as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber" (Psalms 19:5), and pursued unswervingly his appointed path across the sky, to his going down. Night by night, the stars, the "host of heaven," moved in their "highways" or "courses" (mecillah), and the words of Joel (Psalms 2:7) respecting the Assyrian army might be applied to them. "They march every one on his ways, and they break not their ranks. Neither doth one thrust another; they march every one in his path." Some wheeled in northern circuits that were wholly seen; some swept in long courses from their rising in the East to their setting in the West; some scarcely lifted themselves above the southern horizon. Little wonder that this celestial army on the march, "the host of heaven," suggested to the Hebrews a comparison with the "angels," the unseen messengers of God who in their "thousands of thousands ministered unto him" (Daniel 7:10).ISBE Astronomy, I.81

But, as the year revolved, the dial of stars in the North shifted round; whilst of the other stars, those in the West disappeared into the light of the setting sun, and new stars seemed to spring out of the dawning light. There was thus a yearly procession of the stars as well as a nightly one.ISBE Astronomy, I.82

And to this "ordinance of the heaven" the Hebrews noted that there was an answer from the earth, for in unfailing correspondence came the succession of seasons, the revival of vegetation, the ripening of harvest and of fruits, the return of winter's cold. Of them God asked the question: "Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?" (Job 38:33), and they recognized that to this question no answer could be given, for these ordinances of heaven were the sign and evidence of Almighty wisdom, power and unchangeableness. "Thus saith Yahweh, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night .... Yahweh of hosts is his name" (Jeremiah 31:35).ISBE Astronomy, I.83

We have no writings of the early Hebrews other than the books of the Old Testament, and in them there is no record of any research into the mechanical explanation of the movements of the heavenly bodies. Nor should we expect to find in them a record of the research if such were made, since the purpose of Holy Scripture was, not to work out the relation of thing to thing--the inquiry to which modern science is devoted--but to reveal God to man. Therefore the lesson which is drawn from the observed ordinances of heaven is, not that the earth rotates on its axis or revolves round the sun, but that God is faithful to His purpose for mankind. "Thus saith Yahweh: If my covenant of day and night stand not, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; then will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant" (Jeremiah 33:25-26). And "the glory of God" which "the heavens declare" is not only His almighty power, but the image which the order and perfection of the heavenly movements supply of the law which He has revealed unto man. The "speech" that they "utter," the "knowledge" that they "show" is: "The law of Yahweh is perfect, restoring the soul" (Psalms 19:7).ISBE Astronomy, I.84

2. The Sun: (1) The Names for the Sun. Four words are translated "sun" in the Old Testament:ISBE Astronomy, I.85

(a) Or simply means "light" and is usually rendered thus, but in one instance (Job 31:26), being in antithesis to "moon," it is given as "sun," the great light-giver.ISBE Astronomy, I.86

(b) Chammah means "heat" and is used for the sun when this is in association with lebhanah or "snow-white" for the moon, as in Isaiah 24:23, `Then the snow-white (moon) shall be confounded, and the heat (sun) ashamed,' the antithesis being drawn between the cold light of the silver moon and the fiery radiance, of the glowing sun.ISBE Astronomy, I.87

(c) Shemesh, the Samas of the Babylonians, is a primitive word, probably with the root meaning of "ministrant." This is the word most frequently used for the sun, and we find it used topographically as, for instance, in Beth-shemesh, "the house of the sun." Four places of this name are mentioned in the Old Testament: one in Judah, a Levitical city, to which the two milch kine bearing the ark took their straight way from the country of the Philistines; one on the border of Issachar; one in Naphtali, a fenced city; and one in Egypt, supposed to be the same as Heliopolis or On, the city of Asenath, wife of Joseph.ISBE Astronomy, I.88

(d) Cherec means "blister" or "burning heat," from a root "to scratch" or "be rough," and is an unusual term for the sun, and its precise rendering is sometimes in doubt. Once it is translated as "itch," when it occurs amongst the evils threatened in the "cursings" that the six tribes uttered from Mount Ebal (Deuteronomy 28:27). Once it is certainly used of the sun itself when Job (Deuteronomy 9:7) said of God, He "commandeth the sun (cherec or cheres), and it riseth not." Once it is certainly the name of a hill, for Mount Heres was near Aijalon, on the borders of Judah and Dan. In another passage, authorities differ in their rendering, for when Gideon overcame Zebah and Zalmunna (Judges 8:13), he "returned from the battle," according to the King James Version, "before the sun was up," but according to the Revised Version (British and American), "from the ascent of Heres." In yet another passage (Judges 14:18), when the Philistines answered Samson's riddle, both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) translation cherec as sun--"before the sun went down." We moreover get slight variants of the same word, joined with qir ("wall" or "fortress"), in Qir-Chareseth (2 Kings 3:25; Isaiah 16:7) and Qir-Cheres (Isaiah 16:11; Jeremiah 48:31, 36). These are probably to be identified with the modern Kerak of Moab.ISBE Astronomy, I.89

(2) The "City of the Sun". But the most interesting reference is found in Isaiah 19:18: "In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Yahweh of hosts; one shall be called The city of destruction." The word here rendered "destruction" is in Hebrew herec, which has that meaning, but Gesenius and other authorities would substitute for the initial letter, he, the letter, cheth, which it so closely resembles, and so read it "The city of the sun." With this reading it was identified with On, that is, Heliopolis (the city of the sun), and on this belief Onias, the son of Onias the high priest, persuaded Ptolemy Philometor to allow him to build a temple to Yahweh in that prefecture, 149 BC (Ant., XIII, iii, 1).ISBE Astronomy, I.90

(3) The Greater Light-Giver. (e) Yet a fifth expression is used to denote the sun, and in one respect it is the most important and significant of all. In the creation narrative it is called the greater light or rather light-giver (ma'or): `And God made the two great light-givers; the greater light-giver to rule the day, and the lesser light-giver to rule the night: He made the stars also' (Genesis 1:16). The extreme simplicity of this passage is most significant. In marked contrast to the Bah creation poem, which by its more complex astronomy reveals its later origin (see post, sectionII , 12, Mazzaroth), the sun and moon have no distinctive names assigned to them; there is no recognition of the grouping of the stars into constellations, none of any of the planets. The celestial bodies could not be referred to in a more simple manner. And this simplicity is marred by no myth; there is not the faintest trace of the deification of sun or moon or stars; there is no anthropomorphic treatment, no suggestion that they formed the vehicles for spirits. They are described as they were observed when they were first noticed by men, simply as "light-givers" of different brightness. It is the expression of man's earliest observation of the heavenly bodies, but it is real observation, free from any taint of savage fantasies; it marks the very first step in astronomy. No record, oral or written, has been preserved to us of a character more markedly primitive than this.ISBE Astronomy, I.91

(4) The Purpose of the Sun. Two purposes for the great heavenly bodies are indicated in Genesis 1:14-15. The sun and moon are appointed to give light and to measure time. These, from the human and practical point of view, are the two main services which they render to us.ISBE Astronomy, I.92

Their purpose for measuring time by their movements will be taken up under another heading; but here it may be pointed out that when it is stated in the Book of The Wisdom of Solomon (7:18) that King Solomon knew "the alternations of the solstices and the changes of seasons," the reference is to the whole cycle of changes from winter through summer back to winter again. From winter onward the places of sunrise and sunset move northward along the horizon until midsummer when for some days they show no change--the "solstice" is reached; then from midsummer onward the movement "turns" southward until midwinter, when again a "solstice" is reached, after which the places of sunrise and sunset again move northward. This changing place of sunrise is also referred to when God asked Job (38:12-14): Hast thou "caused the dayspring to know its place," and the passage goes on, "It (the earth) is changed as clay under the seal; and all things stand forth as a garment." As the shapeless clay takes form under the pressure of the seal, as the garment, shapeless while folded up, takes form when the wearer puts it on, so the earth, shapeless during the darkness, takes form and relief and color with the impress upon it of the dawning light. In the New Testament when James (1:17) speaks of "the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation (parallage), neither shadow that is cast by turning (trope)" he is using astronomical technical terms for these same apparent movements of the sun.ISBE Astronomy, I.93

(5) The Sun as a Type. But the apparent unchangeability of the sun makes it, as it were, a just measure of eternal duration (Psalms 72:5, 17). The penetration of its rays renders "under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9) a fit expression for universality of place, and on the other hand the fierceness of its heat as experienced in Palestine makes it equally suitable as a type of oppression and disaster, so the sun is said, in Scripture, to "smite" those oppressed by its heat (Psalms 121:1-8-Psalms 6:1-10).ISBE Astronomy, I.94

But it was in its light-giving and ministering power that the Hebrew writers used the sun as a type to set forth the power and beneficence of God. Words are the symbols of ideas and it was only by this double symbolism that it was possible to express in intelligible human speech, and to make men partly apprehend some of the attributes of God. So we find in the Ps of pilgrimage (Psalms 84:11) "Yahweh God is a sun and a shield"; Malachi (Psalms 4:2) foretells that "the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in its wings." But the old Hebrew writers were very guarded and careful in the symbolism they used, whether of word or illustration. Men in those days terribly perverted the benefits which they received through the sun, and made them the occasion and excuse for plunging into all kinds of nature worship and of abominable idolatries. It was not only clear thinking on the part of the sacred writers that made them refer all the benefits that came to them in the natural world direct to the action of God; it was a necessity for clean living. There is no bottom to the abyss in which men plunged when they "worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever" (Romans 1:25).ISBE Astronomy, I.95

In New Testament times, though men were no less prone to evil, the fashion of that evil was changing. "The pillars of Beth-shemesh" were broken down (Jeremiah 43:13), idolatry was beginning to fall into disrepute and men were led away rather by "the knowledge (gnosis) which is falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20). The apostles could therefore use symbolism from the natural world more freely, and so we find John speaking of our Lord as "There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world" (John 1:9), and again, "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5); and again, that the glory of the New Jerusalem shall be that "the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb" (Revelation 21:23); while the great modern discovery that nearly every form of terrestrial energy is derived ultimately from the energy of the sun's rays, gives a most striking appropriateness to the imagery of James that `Every good gift and perfect boon is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning' (James 1:17 the English Revised Version).ISBE Astronomy, I.96

3. The Moon: (1) The Names for the Moon. Three words are translated "moon" in the Old Testament, not including cases where "month" has been rendered "moon" for the sake of a more flowing sentence: (a) Lebhanah, "white"; a poetic expression, used in connection with chammah, "heat," for the sun.ISBE Astronomy, I.97

(b) Chodhesh, "new moon," meaning "new," "fresh." As the Hebrews reckoned their months from the actual first appearance of the young crescent, chodhesh is most frequently translated "month." Thus "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month" (Genesis 7:11), and in the great majority of cases, the word for month is chodhesh, "new moon." In Isaiah 66:23, "from one new moon to another," should be literally, "from new moon to new moon." Once it is rendered "monthly" (Isaiah 47:13), when it is used to denote the astrologers who fixed the omens of the opening month. Chodhesh, therefore, when translated "new moon" is not a designation of the actual heavenly body, but denotes the first day of the month. It is a term directly or indirectly connected with the calendar.ISBE Astronomy, I.98

(c) Yareach, probably "wandering," a very appropriate primitive term for the moon, since her motion among the stars from night to night is sufficiently rapid to have caught the attention of very early observers. Its use therefore as the proper name for the "lesser light" indicates that the systematic observation of the heavenly bodies had commenced, and that the motion of the moon, relative to the stars, had been recognized.ISBE Astronomy, I.99

Yerach, "month," is twice translated "moon" (Deuteronomy 33:14; Isaiah 60:20), but without any great reason for the variation in either case.ISBE Astronomy, I.100

(2) The Lesser Light-Giver. The direct references in Scripture to the moon as a light-giver are not numerous, but those that occur are significant of the great importance of moonlight in ancient times, when artificial lights were few, expensive and dim, and the lighting of streets and roads was unthought of. To shepherds, the moon was of especial assistance, and many of the people of Israel maintained the habits of their forefathers and led the shepherd's life long after the settlement of the nation in Palestine. The return of the moonlit portion of the month was therefore an occasion for rejoicing and for solemn thanks to God, and the "new moon" as well as the Sabbath was a day of special offerings. On the other hand one of the judgments threatened against the enemies of God was that the light of the moon should be withheld. The threat made against Pharaoh is "I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light" (Ezekiel 32:7); and in the day of the Lord denounced against Babylon, "The sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine" (Isaiah 13:10). But among the glories of the restoration of Israel it is promised that "the light of the moon (lebhanah) shall be as the light of the sun (chammah)" (Isaiah 30:26).ISBE Astronomy, I.101

(3) Phases of the Moon. There is no direct mention of the phases of the moon in Scripture; a remarkable fact, and one that illustrates the foolishness of attempting to prove the ignorance of the sacred writers by the argument from silence, since it is not conceivable that men at any time were ignorant of the fact that the moon changes her apparent shape and size. So far from the Hebrews being plunged in such a depth of more than savage ignorance, they based their whole calendar on the actual observation of the first appearance of the young crescent. In two passages in the Revised Version (British and American) we find the expression "at the full moon," keceh (Psalms 81:3; Proverbs 7:20), but though this is what is intended, the literal meaning of the word is doubtful, and may be that given in the King James Version, "at the day appointed." In another passage already quoted, there is a reference to the dark part of the month. "Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon (yerach, "month") withdraw itself"--the "withdrawn" part of the month being the time near new moon when the moon is nearly in conjunction with the sun and therefore invisible.ISBE Astronomy, I.102

The periodical changes of the moon are its ordinances (Jeremiah 31:35). It was also appointed for "seasons" (Psalms 104:19), that is, for religious assemblies or feasts (mo`adhim). Two of these were held at the full of the moon, the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles; one at the new moon, the Feast of Trumpets; but the ordinary new moon did not rank among the great "appointed feasts" (mo`adhim). As light-giver, assisting men in their labors with the flock and in the field and helping them on their journeys; as time-measurer, indicating the progress of the months and the seasons for the great religious festivals, the moon was to the pious Hebrew an evidence of the goodness and wisdom of God.ISBE Astronomy, I.103

The "round tires like the moon" worn by the daughters of Zion (Isaiah 3:18 the King James Version), and those on the camels of Zeba and Zalmunna (Judges 8:21 King James Version, margin), were designated by the same Hebrew word, saharonim, translated in the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) as lunulae, and were little round ornaments, probably round like crescents, not discs like the full moon.ISBE Astronomy, I.104

Jericho possibly means "the city of the moon," and Jerah, "moon," was the name of one of the sons of Joktan.ISBE Astronomy, I.105

4. Signs: (1) Solar and Lunar Eclipses. The sun and moon were not only given "for days and years" (Genesis 1:14), but also "for signs," and in no way do they better fulfill what was in the old time understood by this word than in their eclipses. Nothing in Nature is more impressive than a total eclipse of the sun; the mysterious darkness, the sudden cold, the shining forth of the weird corona, seen at no other time, affect even those who know its cause, and strike unspeakable terror in those who cannot foresee or understand it. In bygone ages an eclipse of the sun was counted an omen of disaster, indeed as itself the worst of disasters, by all nations except that one to whom the word of the prophet came: "Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them" (Jeremiah 10:2). To the Hebrew prophets, eclipses were "signs" of the power and authority of God who forbade them to be alarmed at portents which distressed the heathen.ISBE Astronomy, I.106

The phenomena of both solar and lunar eclipses are briefly but unmistakably described by several of the prophets. Joel refers to them twice (2:10,31), the second time very definitely: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood," and this was quoted by Peter on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:19-20). John also says that when the sixth seal was opened "the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood" (Revelation 6:12). When the new moon in its revolution or turning comes exactly between the earth and the sun, and its shadow--the "shadow that is cast by turning" of James 1:17--falls on the earth, the sun is completely hidden and its glowing discovered is replaced by the dark body of the moon; "the sun is turned into darkness." When the shadow of the earth falls upon the full moon, and the only rays from the sun that reach it have passed through an immense thickness of our atmosphere and are therefore of a dull copper-red color like clotted blood, "the moon is turned into blood."ISBE Astronomy, I.107

(2) The Wings of the Morning. But a solar eclipse is not solely darkness and terror. Scarcely has the dark moon hidden the last thread of sunlight than a beautiful pearly halo, the corona, is seen surrounding the blackness. This corona changes its shape from one eclipse to another, but the simplest form is that of a bright ring with outstretched wings, and is characteristic of times when the sun has but few spots upon it. This form appears to have been the origin of the sacred symbol of the ring or discovered with wings, so frequently figured on Egyptian, Babylonian and Persian monuments. It is possible that these coronal "wings of the sun" may have been in the mind of the prophet Malachi when he wrote, "Unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings" (Malachi 4:2). The metaphor "wings of the morning" of Psalms 139:9 is however more probably due to the long streamers, the crepuscular rays, seen at dawn when the sun rises behind a low bank of clouds.ISBE Astronomy, I.108

Total eclipses of the moon must frequently have been visible in Palestine as in other countries, but only two or three total eclipses of the sun were visible there during Old Testament history; that of 831 BC, August 15, was total in Judea, and that of 824 BC, April 2, very nearly total. It has been suggested that two eclipses of the sun were predicted in the Old Testament--that of Nineveh, 763 BC, June 15, in Amos 8:9, and that of Thales, 585 BC, May 28, in Isaiah 13:10, but the suggestion has little to support it.ISBE Astronomy, I.109

5. Seasons: (1) The Meaning of the Word. The sun and moon were appointed "to give light upon the earth," and "for signs," and "for days and years." They were also appointed "for seasons" (mo`adhim), i.e. "appointed assemblies." These seasons were not primarily such seasons as the progress of the year brings forth in the form of changes of weather or of the condition of vegetation; they were seasons for worship. The word mo`edh occurs some 219 times; in 149, it is translated "congregation," and in about 50 other instances by "solemn assembly" or some equivalent expression. Thus before ever man was created, God had provided for him times to worship and had appointed two great lights of heaven to serve as signals to call to it.ISBE Astronomy, I.110

The appointed sacred seasons of the Jews form a most complete and symmetrical series, developing from times indicated by the sun alone to times indicated by the sun and moon together, and completed in times indicated by luni-solar cycles.ISBE Astronomy, I.111

(2) Natural Seasons for Worship. The sun alone indicated the hours for daily worship; at sunrise, when the day began, there was the morning sacrifice; at sunset, when the day closed, there was the evening sacrifice.ISBE Astronomy, I.112

The moon indicated the time for monthly worship; when the slender crescent of the new moon was first seen in the western sky, special sacrifices were ordained with the blowing of trumpets over them.ISBE Astronomy, I.113

The sun and moon together marked the times for the two great religious festivals of the year. At the beginning of the bright part of the year, when the moon was full in the first month of spring, the Passover, followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was held. At the end of the bright part of the year, when the moon was full in the first month of autumn, the Feast of Tabernacles was held. These may all be termed natural seasons for worship, obviously marked out as appropriate. The beginning and close of the bright part of the day, and of the bright part of the year, and the beginning of the bright part of the month, have been observed by many nations.ISBE Astronomy, I.114

(3) The Hallowing of the Seventh. But that which was distinctive in the system of the Jewish festivals was the hallowing of the seventh: the seventh day, the seventh week, the seventh month, the seventh year were all specially marked out. The sun alone indicated the Sabbath by the application of the sacred number seven to the unit of time given by the day. For the period of seven days, the week was not dependent upon any phase of the moon's relation to the sun; it was not a quarter month, but a free week, running on independently of the month. The Jewish Sabbath therefore differed from the Babylonian, which was tied to the lunar month. The same principle was applied also to the year; every seventh year was set apart, as a period of rest, the Sabbatic year.ISBE Astronomy, I.115

Every seventh day, every seventh year, was thus observed. But for the week and month, the principle of hallowing the seventh came into operation only once in each year. The Feast of Pentecost, or as it was also called, the Feast of Weeks, was held at the close of the seventh week from the morrow after the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread; and the new moon of the seventh month was held as a special feast, the Feast of Trumpets, "a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work" (Leviticus 23:24-25). The other new moons of the year were not thus distinguished.ISBE Astronomy, I.116

The weekly Sabbath, the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feasts of Trumpets and of Tabernacles, with one other day of solemnity, were in an especial sense, the mo`adhim of the Lord.ISBE Astronomy, I.117

The seventh day was especially the day of worship, and to correspond, the seventh month was especially the month of worship; and this, not only because it was ushered in with peculiar solemnity, and included one of the chief great feasts of the year, but because it furnished the culminating ceremony of the entire Jewish system, the great Day of Atonement, held on the tenth day of the month, and therefore on a day not marked directly by any phase of the moon. The Day of Atonement purged away the offenses of the past year, and restored Israel to the full enjoyment of the Divine favor.ISBE Astronomy, I.118

(4) The Jubilee a Luni-solar Cycle. The Jewish month was a natural month, based upon the actual observation of the young crescent. The Jewish year was a natural year, that is, a solar tropical year, based upon actual observation of the ripening of the grain. But there is not an exact number of days in a lunar month, nor is there an exact number of months in a solar year; twelve lunar months falling short of the year, by eleven days; so that in three years the error would amount to more than a complete month, and to restore the balance a thirteenth month would have to be intercalated. As the months were determined from actual observation, and as observation would be interrupted from time to time by unfavorable weather, it was necessary to have some means for determining when intercalation would take place, irrespective of it. And this was provided by carrying the principle of hallowing the seventh, one stage farther. Not only was the seventh of the day, week, month and year distinguished, but the seventh week of years was marked by the blowing of the trumpet of Jubilee on the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement meant the restitution of Israel to the Divine favor; the blowing of the trumpet of Jubilee every forty-ninth year meant "the restitution of all things"; every Hebrew in servitude returned to freedom, all land, mortgaged or sold, returned to its original owner.ISBE Astronomy, I.119

And this period of 49 solar years was astronomically a period of restitution, for the sun and moon returned nearly to their original positions relative to each other, since 49 solar years are 606 lunar months with an error of only 32 hours. So that though the Jubilee period is not a perfect lunar cycle, it was quite exact enough to guide the Jewish priests in drawing up their calendar in cases where the failure of observation had given rise to some doubt.ISBE Astronomy, I.120

The beginning of each month was marked by the blowing of the two silver trumpets (chatsotserah: Numbers 10:2, 10). The beginning of the civil, that is to say, of the agricultural year, was marked by a special blowing of trumpets (teru`ah), giving the name "Feast of Trumpets" to that new moon (Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 29:1). And the beginning of a new cycle of 49 years was marked by the Jubilee, the loud trumpet (shophar: Leviticus 25:9). Thus the cycle of the Jubilee made symmetrical, completed, and welded together all the mo`adhim of the Lord--the two great lights were set "for seasons."ISBE Astronomy, I.121

(5) The 19-Year Luni-solar Cycle. The cycle of the Jubilee was sufficient for the purposes of the religious calendar so long as the nation inhabited its own land, since from its small extent there would be no conflict of time reckoning and it would be easy to notify the appearance of the new moon from one end of the country to the other. But after the captivities, when the people were scattered from Gozan of the Medes to Syene on the Nile, it was necessary to devise some method by which the Jews, however far they had been dispersed, would be able to reckon for themselves as to when the moon was new for Jerusalem. We have lately learned from the discovery of a number of Aramaic papyri at Syene that there was a colony of Jews there who used a calendar constructed, not from observation, but from calculation based upon a very exact luni-solar cycle (E. B. Knobel, "Ancient Jewish Calendar Dates in Aramaic Papyri," Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, LXVIII, 334). This cycle, known to us by the name of its supposed discoverer, Meton, is one of 19 years, which is only two hours short of 235 complete months. As this Jewish colony appears to have been founded after Nebuchadnezzar's destruction of Jerusalem by some of the refugees who fled into Egypt with Johanan the son of Kareah (Jeremiah 40:1-16 through Jeremiah 44:1-30), this acquaintance with the Metonic cycle cannot have been due to Babylonian influence. Nor can it have been due to Egyptian, since the Egyptians did not use or require any such cycle, their year being a solar one of 365 days. Indeed no other nation appears to have been aware of it until, a generation later, Meton, the Athenian, won immortal fame by announcing it. The evidence of these Syene papyri renders it probable that Meton did not himself discover the cycle but learned it from Jewish sources. Many of the Semitic nations used, like the Jews, a natural month in conjunction with the natural year, but the Jews were the most likely to have discovered this cycle, since they alone had their worship centralized at a single shrine which became, in consequence, their standard observatory for their observation of the new moon. These observations, therefore, would all be comparable, and during the 400 years that the Temple stood, it must have been quite clear to them that the 19-year cycle not only gave them seven, the sacred number, of intercalated months, but brought the setting places of the new moons to the same points of the western horizon and in the same order.ISBE Astronomy, I.122

It is clear from the evidence of these Syene papyri that the Jews, there, used the 19-year cycle both for fixing the day of the new moon, and in order to determine when a thirteenth month had to be intercalated, an illustration of the futility of "the argument from silence," for so far from there being any notice in Scripture of the use of a cycle for determining intercalation, there is no mention of intercalation at all.ISBE Astronomy, I.123

(6) The Jewish Ritual Preexilic. Ever since this date of the Captivity, the 19-year cycle has been used by the Jews, and it gives to us the "Golden Number" which is employed in fixing the date of Easter in our own ecclesiastical calendar. Since the 19-year cycle has been in use ever since the Captivity, the 49-year cycle, the Jubilee, cannot have been an exilic or post-exilic innovation. In this fact we find the decision of the controversy which has so long divided critics as to whether the ritual legislation of the Jews dated from before or from after their captivity. We may take Kuenen as representing the more recent school: "Even the later prophets and historians, but more especially and emphatically those that lived before the Exile, were unacquainted with any ritual legislation, and specifically with that which has come down to us" (The Hexateuch, 273-74). "In determining its antiquity we must begin by considering its relation to Deuteronomy, to which it is evidently subsequent. .... This comes out most clearly in the legislation concerning the feasts. Other indications though less unequivocal, plead for the same relationship. In the next place the legislation itself gives evidence of the date of its origin, and those data which justify a positive inference point to the Babylonian captivity. .... It would follow that the `legislation of sanctity' arose in the second half of the Babylonian captivity, presumably shortly before its close; and there is not a single valid objection to this date" (ibid., 276). Kuenen was evidently unaware of the astronomical relations concerned in the ritual legislation, and was unable to anticipate the striking discoveries made from the Syene papyri. More recent knowledge has reversed the verdict which he pronounced so confidently. The traditional view, that the Hebrew ritual preceded the Captivity, was correct. For the Jubilee, with which the Day of Atonement was bound up, was both the culmination and the completion of the entire ritual, and, since the period of the Jubilee, as a luni-solar cycle, was preexilic, the ritual, as a system, must have been preexilic likewise.ISBE Astronomy, I.124

(7) The Luni-solar Cycles of Daniel. The seasons for which the sun and moon were appointed are mentioned in yet another connection. In the last vision given to Daniel the question was asked, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" and it was answered, "It shall be for a time, times (dual), and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished" (Daniel 12:6-7). From the parallel passage in Daniel 7:25, where it is said of the fourth beast, "He shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time (`iddan) and times (dual) and half a time," it is inferred that mo`edh in the first instance stands, like `iddan in the second, for a year; or the period is equivalent to half a week of years. The parallel passages in Revelation 11:2-3; 6, 14; 13:5 have caused these years to be taken as conventional years of 360 days, each year being made up of Revelation 12:1-17 conventional months of 30 days, and on the year-day principle of interpretation, the entire period indicated would be one of 1,260 tropical years. This again is a luni-solar cycle, since 1,260 years contain 15,584 months correct to the nearest day. To the same prophet Daniel a further chronological vision was given, and a yet more perfect cycle indicated. In answer to the question, "How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt-offering, and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?" the answer was returned, "Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" (Daniel 8:13-14). Whatever may be the prophetic significance of the passage its astronomical significance is clear: 840,057 days are precisely 2,300 solar years, or 28,447 lunar months, or 30,487 anomalistic months, the anomalistic month being the period in which the moon travels from perigee to perigee. It is the most perfect lunisolar cycle known, and restores the two great lights exactly to their former relationship. This fullest "season" indicated by the sun and moon is given as that for the cleansing of the sanctuary, for the bringing in, as it were, of the full and perfect Jubilee.ISBE Astronomy, I.125

It is not possible at present to decide as to whether the Jews had learnt of this cycle and its significance from their astronomical observations. If so, they must have been far in advance in mathematical science of all other nations of antiquity. If not, then it must have been given to them by Divine revelation, and its astronomical significance has been left for modern science to reveal.ISBE Astronomy, I.126

6. The Stars: As with the sun and moon, the stars are regarded under the two aspects of light-givers and time-measurers; or, in other words, as marking the seasons.ISBE Astronomy, I.127

(1) Their Number. But two other ideas are also strongly dwelt upon; the stars and the heaven of which they form the "host" are used to express the superlatives of number and of height. "Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them" (Genesis 15:5); "As the host of heaven cannot be numbered" (Jeremiah 33:22) are a few of the passages in which the stars are used for limitless number. Those separately visible to the naked eye at any one time do not exceed 2,000 in number, but it was just as evident to the Hebrews of old, as it was to Ptolemy, the astronomer of Alexandria, that beside the stars separately visible, there is a background, a patterned curtain of light, which indicates by its granular and mottled appearance that it is made up of countless myriads of stars, too faint to be individually detected, too close to be individually defined. The most striking feature of this curtain is the grand stellar stream that we call the Milky Way, but the mind easily recognizes that the minute points of light, composing its pattern, are as really stars as the great leaders of the constellations. Later astronomy has confirmed the testimony of the prophets that the stars are without number. The earliest star catalogue, that of Hipparchus, contained a little over one thousand stars; the great International Photographic Chart will show the images of more than fifty millions, and there are photographs which show more than a hundred thousand stars on a single plate. The limit that has been reached is due only to the limited power of our telescopes or the limited time of exposure of the photographs, not to any limitation in the number of stars. To us today, as to the Psalmist of old, it is a token of the infinite power and knowledge of God that "He telleth the number of the stars; He giveth them all their names" (Psalms 147:4 the King James Version).ISBE Astronomy, I.128

(2) Their Distance. As regards the height, that is to say, the distance of the stars, this is immeasurable except in a very few cases. By using as a base line the enormous diameter of the earth's orbit--186,000,000 miles--astronomers have been able to get a hint as to the distance of some 40 or 50 stars. Of these the nearest, Alpha Centauri, is distant about twenty-five millions of millions of miles; the brighter stars are on the average quite ten times as far; whilst of the distances of the untold millions of stars beyond, we have no gauge. For us, as for King Solomon, the "heaven" of the stars is "for height" (Proverbs 25:3), for a height that is beyond measure, giving us therefore the only fitting image for the immensity of God. So Zophar the Naamathite asked, "Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is high as heaven; what canst thou do?" And Eliphaz the Temanite reiterated the same thought, "Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are!" (Job 11:7-8; 22:12). And the height of the heaven, that is to say, the distance of the stars, stands as a symbol, not only of God's infinitude, but of His faithfulness and of His mercy: "Thus saith Yahweh: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Yahweh" (Jeremiah 31:37). And the Psalmist sings, "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him" (Psalms 103:11 the King James Version).ISBE Astronomy, I.129

(3) Their Brightness. The stars are not all of equal brightness; a fact alluded to by Paul when he wrote that "one star differeth from another star in glory" (1 Corinthians 15:41). The ancient Greek astronomers divided the stars according to their brightness into six classes or magnitudes, to use the modern technical term, the average star in any particular magnitude giving about two and a half times as much light as the average star of the next magnitude.ISBE Astronomy, I.130

Just as the number of the stars and their ordered movement led them to be considered as a mighty army, "the host of heaven," and as a type of that other celestial host, the holy angels, so the individual stars are taken as fitly setting forth, by their brightness and exalted position, spiritual powers and intelligences, whether these are the angels of God, as in Job 38:7, or rulers of churches, as in Revelation 1:20. The same image is naturally applied in a yet higher sense to Christ Himself, who is the "star out of Jacob" (Numbers 24:17), and "the bright, the morning star" (Revelation 22:16; 2 Peter 1:19).ISBE Astronomy, I.131

7. Morning Stars: The Stars as a DialISBE Astronomy, I.132

In ancient times there were two methods by which the progress of the year could be learned from observation of the heavens. The sun was "for seasons," and the change in its place of rising or of setting supplied the first method. The second method was supplied by the stars. For as the Hebrew shepherds, such as Jacob, Moses, David and Amos, kept watch over their flocks by night, they saw the silent procession of the stars through the hours of darkness, and knew without clock or timepiece how they were progressing. They noticed what stars were rising in the East, what stars were culminating in the South, what were setting in the West, and how the northern stars, always visible, like a great dial, were turning. But as the eastern horizon began to brighten toward the dawn, they would specially note what stars were the last to rise before their shining was drowned in the growing light of day. These, the last stars to appear in the East before sunrise, were the "morning stars," the heralds of the sun. As morning followed morning, these morning stars would be seen earlier and earlier, and therefore for a longer time before they disappeared in the dawn, until some morning, other stars, unseen before, would shine out for a few moments, and thus supplant the stars seen earlier as the actual heralds of the sun. Such a first appearance of a star was termed by the Greek astronomers its "heliacal" rising, and the mention in Scripture of "morning stars," or "stars of the twilight" (Job 38:7; 3:9), shows that the Hebrews like the Greeks were familiar with this feature of the ordinances of heaven, and noted the progress of the year by observation of the apparent changes of the celestial host. One star would herald the beginning of spring, another the coming of winter; the time to plow, the time to sow, the time of the rains would all be indicated by successive "morning stars" as they appeared.ISBE Astronomy, I.133

8. Falling Stars: (1) Meteorites. Meteors are not stars at all in the popular sense of the word, but are quite small bodies drawn into our atmosphere, and rendered luminous for a few moments by the friction of their rush through it. But as they have been shown not to be mere distempers of the air, as they were considered at one time, but bodies of a truly planetary nature, traveling round the sun in orbits as defined as that of the earth itself, the epithet is quite appropriate to them. They are astronomical and not merely terrestrial bodies. Meteors are most striking either when they are seen as solitary aerolites or when they fall in some great shower. The most celebrated shower which seemed to radiate from the constellation Leo--and hence called the Leonid--gave for centuries a magnificent spectacle every thirty-three years; the last great occasion having been on November 14, 1866. Those who saw that shower could appreciate the vivid description given by John when he wrote, "The stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind" (Revelation 6:13), for the meteors fell like autumn leaves, driven by a great storm, as numerous and as fast. The prophet Isaiah also used a very similar figure (Isaiah 34:4).ISBE Astronomy, I.134

(2) The Star "Wormwood."ISBE Astronomy, I.135

Such great meteoric showers are most impressive spectacles, but solitary meteors are sometimes hardly less striking. Bolides or aerolites, as such great solitary meteors are termed, are apparently of great size, and are sometimes so brilliant as to light up the sky even in broad daylight. Such a phenomenon is referred to by John in his description of the star Wormwood: "There fell from heaven a great star, burning as a torch" (Revelation 8:10). Such aerolites are not entirely consumed in their passage through our atmosphere, but portions of them reach the ground, and in some cases large masses have been found intact. These are generally of a stony nature, but others are either almost pure iron or contain much of that metal. Such a meteoric stone was used as the pedestal of the image of the goddess Diana at Ephesus, and the "townclerk" of the city referred to this circumstance when he reminded the Ephesians that their city was "temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter" (Acts 19:35).ISBE Astronomy, I.136

9. Wandering Stars: It has already been noted that the moon may perhaps have received its Hebrew name from the fact of its being a "wanderer" among the stars, but there is no direct and explicit reference in Scripture to other celestial "wanderers" except in Jude 1:13: "Wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved for ever." These asteres planetai are not our "planets," but either meteors or comets, more probably the latter, as meteors are more appropriately described as "falling stars."ISBE Astronomy, I.137

(1) Comets as a Spiritual Type. But as comets and meteors are intimately connected with each other--meteors being in many cases the debris of comets--the simile applies to either. False professors of religion, unstable or apostate teachers, are utterly unlike the stars which shine forth in heaven for ever, but are fitly represented by comets, which are seen only for a few weeks or days, and then are entirely lost to sight, or by meteors, which flash out for a few moments, and are then totally extinguished.ISBE Astronomy, I.138

All the great comets, all the comets that have been conspicuous to the naked eye, with the single exception of that named after Halley, have appeared but once within the period of human records and Halley's Comet only takes 80 days to traverse that part of its orbit which lies within the orbit of the earth; the rest of its period of revolution--76 years--is passed outside that boundary, and for 38 years at a time it remains outside the orbit of Neptune, more than 2,800,000,000 miles from the sun. The other great comets have only visited our neighborhood once within our experience.ISBE Astronomy, I.139

(2) Comets Referred to in Scripture?ISBE Astronomy, I.140

The question has been raised whether the appearance of comets is ever referred to in Scripture. Josephus, speaking of the signs which preceded the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, says, "Thus there was a star resembling a sword which stood over the city, and a comet that continued a whole year" (BJ, VI, v, 3). The "star resembling a sword" was doubtless the return of Halley's Comet in 66 AD, and the phrase used by Josephus has suggested that it was a stellar phenomenon that is referred to in 1 Chronicles 21:16: "The angel of Yahweh .... between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem." But this, and the corresponding suggestion as to the nature of the flaming sword that kept the way of the tree of life (Genesis 3:24), are unsupported conjectures not worthy of attention. The astronomer Pingre thought that the first vision of Jeremiah of the "rod of an almond tree" and of a "boiling caldron" (Jeremiah 1:11, 13) had its physical basis in a return of Halley's Comet, and other commentators have thought that cometary appearances were described in the "pillars of smoke" of Joel 2:30; but none of these suggestions appear to have plausibility.ISBE Astronomy, I.141

Astronomy, II

Astronomy, II - II. The Constellations. The principal achievement of the science of astronomy in the centuries during which the books of the Old Testament were written was the arrangement and naming of the constellations, and there can be no reasonable doubt that the same system was known to the Hebrews as that which has been handed down to us through the Greek astronomers. Paul certainly knew the Greek constellations, for in his sermon on Mars' Hill (Acts 17:28) he quoted from that poetical description of them which Aratus the great poet of Cilicia had written about 270 BC. But these constellations have a much greater antiquity than this, and it is probable that they were well known to Abraham before he left Ur of the Chaldees. It has been frequently shown (The Astronomy of the Bible, 158; Astronomy without a Telescope, 5) that these constellations themselves supply evidence that they were designed about 2700 BC. They thus antedated the time of Abraham by some centuries, and since some of their most characteristic forms are found upon old Babylonian "boundary stones," it is clear that they were known in the country from whence he came out.ISBE Astronomy, II.2

1. Nachash, the "Crooked Serpent": The direct references to these old constellation-forms in Scripture are not numerous. One of the clearest is in Job 26:13, where "formed the crooked serpent" (the King James Version) is used as the correlative of "garnished the heavens"; the great constellation of the writhing Dragon, placed at the crown of the heavens, being used, metaphorically, as an expression for all the constellations of the sky. For by its folds it encircles both the poles, that of the equator and that of the ecliptic.ISBE Astronomy, II.3

2. Leviathan: The term bariach, rendered "crooked" but better as in the Revised Version, margin as "fleeing," is applied by Isaiah to "Leviathan" (liwyathan: Isaiah 27:1), properly a "wreathed" or writhing animal, twisted in folds, and hence also called by the prophet `aqallathon, "crooked," "twisted," or "winding"; a very appropriate designation for Draco, the great polar Dragon. But the latter was not the only "crooked serpent" in the constellations; there were three others, two of which were placed with an astronomical significance not less precise than the coiling of Draco round the poles. Hydra, the Watersnake, marked out the original celestial equator for about one-third of its circumference, and Serpens, the Adder, lay partly along the celestial equator and then was twisted up the autumnal colure, and reached the zenith with its head.ISBE Astronomy, II.4

The arrangement of the twelve signs of the zodiac to mark out the apparent yearly path of the sun, and of these three serpent-forms to hold their respective and significant positions in the heavens, shows that a real progress in astronomy had been made before the constellations were designed, and that their places were allotted to these figures on a definite astronomical plan.ISBE Astronomy, II.5

3. The Seed of the Woman: A further purpose is shown by the relation of the three serpents to the neighboring figures, and it is clear that the history preserved in Genesis 3:1-24 was known to the designers of the constellations, and that they wished to perpetuate its memory by means of the stellar frescoes. For the constellations, Scorpio, Ophiuchus and Serpens, show us a man strangling a snake and standing on a scorpion; the head of the latter he crushes with one foot, but his other foot is wounded by its reverted sting. When these three constellations were due South, that is to say, at midnight in spring-time, Hercules and Draco were due north, and presented the picture of a man kneeling on one knee, and pressing down with his other foot the head of the great northern serpent or dragon. During the winter midnight the zodiacal constellation on the meridian was the Virgin, figured as a woman holding an ear of corn in her hand, while beneath her the immense length of Hydra was stretched out upon its belly in the attitude of a snake when fleeing at full speed. These figures are evidently meant to set forth in picture that which is expressed in word in Genesis 3:14-15, "And Yahweh God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."ISBE Astronomy, II.6

4. The Bow Set in the Cloud: Nor is this the only narrative in Genesis which finds a parallel in the constellations. Among the southern groups we find a ship Argo that has grounded on a rock; and close to it stands a figure, Centaurus, who is apparently slaying an animal, Lupus, beside an Altar. The cloud of smoke arising from the Altar is represented by the Milky Way, and in the midst of the cloud there is set the Bow of the Archer, Sagittarius. Here there seems to be pictured the covenant made with Noah after he offered his sacrifice when he left the ark: "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth" (Genesis 9:13). Thus the constellations, designed several centuries before the time of Abraham, clearly express a knowledge, and appear designed to preserve a remembrance of the two first promises made by God to mankind as recorded in the early chapters of Gen.ISBE Astronomy, II.7

There is no need to assume, as some writers have done, that all the 48 primitive constellations were of Divine origin, or even that any of them were. If some of the early astronomers possessed in one form or another the histories that we have in Genesis 3:1-24; Genesis 8 and Genesis 9:1-29, it would not be unnatural for them to attempt to preserve a memorial of them in the heavens by associating these figures with the stars.ISBE Astronomy, II.8

It does not follow that all the old constellations have an analogous significance, or that if they have, we should now be able to detect it, and a great deal of ingenuity has been wasted in the attempt to convert the old 48 constellations into a sort of gospel in hieroglyphic. Interpretations of this order were current quite early in Christian times, for they are denounced at considerable length and in detail by Hippolytus in his Refutation of All the Heresies, circa 210 AD. Their revival in recent years is chiefly due to Mazzaroth, a series of papers by the late Miss Frances Rolleston in which fanciful etymologies were given to the Arabic names by which the principal stars are known. These names, for the most part, simply indicate the places which the stars were severally supposed to hold in the figures to which they were assigned, and Miss Rolleston's derivations for them are quite misleading and unfounded. Nevertheless her results have been blindly accepted by a number of writers.ISBE Astronomy, II.9

5. The Dragon of Eclipse: The peculiar arrangement of the serpent forms in the constellations, and especially the position allotted to Hydra, extended along the equator with its head near the spring equinox and its tail near that of autumn, appears to have given rise to the terms "Dragon's Head" (omega) and "Dragon's Tail" (an upside-down omega), for the nodes or points of intersection of the ecliptic (the apparent path of the sun) with the celestial equator, and hence for nodes in general. As eclipses of the sun and moon can only occur when those bodies are near the nodes of the moon's orbit, that is, near the Dragon's Head or Tail, the myth seems to have arisen that such eclipses were due to one or other of the two great lights being swallowed by a dragon, and a reference to this myth is found in Job 3:8: "Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready (the Revised Version, margin: skillful) to rouse up leviathan." The persons referred to are the magicians who pretended to be able by their incantations to cause an eclipse of the sun by bringing up the mythical dragon that was supposed to devour it. Astronomical nomenclature still retains a trace of these old expressions, for the time taken by the moon to pass from one node to the same node again is still called a "draconic month," a "month of the dragon."ISBE Astronomy, II.10

6. Joseph's Dream: If we realize that the Hebrews were quite familiar with the same constellation figures that we have inherited through the Greeks, several indirect allusions to them gain an added meaning. Thus Joseph dreamed that "the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance" to him (Genesis 37:9). The twelve constellations of the zodiac are the twelve among which the sun and moon move, and thus constitute, as it were, their family. Eleven of them therefore represented eleven sons of Jacob, Joseph himself being of course the twelfth. There is some evidence that the time came when the suggestion of this dream was acted upon to the extent that some of the tribes adopted certain of the constellation figures by way of crest or armorial bearing. In Numbers 2:1-34 it is stated that each of the four camps into which the host of Israel was divided had its own standard:ISBE Astronomy, II.11

7. The Standards of the Tribes: "Neither the Mosaic law nor the Old Testament generally gives us any intimation as to the form or character of the standard (deghel). According to rabbinical tradition, the standard of Judah bore the figure of a lion, that of Reuben the likeness of a man, or of a man's head, that of Ephraim the figure of an ox, and that of Dan the figure of an eagle; so that the four living creatures united in the cherubic forms described by Ezekiel were represented upon these four standards" (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary on the Pentateuch, III, 17). A variant of this tradition gives as the standard of Reuben, "unstable as water" (Genesis 49:4 the King James Version), a Man and a River, and of Dan, "Dan shall be a serpent in the way" (Genesis 49:17), an Eagle and a Serpent. These four forms are also found in the constellations in the four quarters of the heavens. Aquarius, the man with a stream of water, and Leo were the original zodiacal constellations of the two solstices, Taurus was that of the spring equinox, and Aquila and Serpens were close to the autumnal equinox, the latter being actually upon the colure.ISBE Astronomy, II.12

8. The Cherubim: This distribution of the four cherubic forms in the four quarters of heaven gives a special significance to the invocation used by Hezekiah and the Psalmist, "Thou that dwellest between the cherubims" (Isaiah 37:16 King James Version: Psalms 80:1 the King James Version). The Shekinah glory rested indeed between the golden cherubim over the ark in the Holy of Holies, but "the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands" (Acts 7:48), and the same cherubic forms were pictured on the curtains of the heavens. "Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee" (1 Kings 8:27); `Thou dwellest between the cherubim,' filling the infinite expanse of the stellar universe.ISBE Astronomy, II.13

9. Balaam's Prophecy: When Balaam saw "Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him" (Numbers 24:2), it was not unnatural that he should allude in his prophecy to the great standards which he would see floating above the camps, and three of the four appear to be indicated: the bull of Joseph--"He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox"; the lion of Judah--"He lay down as a lion and as a great lion," the King James Version; and Aquarius, the man pouring out a stream of water from a pitcher, the cognizance of Reuben--"Water shall flow from his buckets" (Numbers 24:7-8, 9).ISBE Astronomy, II.14

In a similar way when the prophets refer to the enemies of Israel under the figure of dragons or reptiles, there seems occasionally an indirect reference to the serpents that represent the powers of evil in the pictures that have been associated with the star groups. Thus in Isaiah 27:1, the English Revised Version, it is prophesied that the Lord "shall punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea"; the first allusion being appropriate to the attitude of Hydra, the second to Draco, the third to Cetus. Whilst the group of constellations, Andromeda, Cetus and Eridanus, the woman persecuted by a dragon that casts a river out of its mouth, a river which flowing down below the horizon appears to be swallowed up by the earth, would seem to have furnished John with some of the material for the imagery of Revelation 12:1-17 in his great vision.ISBE Astronomy, II.15

Besides references direct or indirect to the familiar constellation figures, four special astronomical terms occur in the Hebrew of the Old Testament which have given rise to much discussion. These are Kimah, Kecil, Mazzaroth and `Ayish. The tradition of their significance had been lost before the Septuagint translation was made, but it may be taken as practically certain that the renderings given in the Revised Version (British and American) are substantially correct.ISBE Astronomy, II.16

10. Pleiades: The word Kimah occurs in three passages, in each case in conjunction with Kecil (Amos 5:8; Job 9:9; 38:31). It apparently means a "heap" or "cluster," and is hence especially applicable to the beautiful little group of the Pleiades, the most conspicuous star cluster visible to the naked eye. There is the less uncertainty about this identification since "kima" is the term generally used in Syriac literature to denote the Pleiades.ISBE Astronomy, II.17

Six stars can now easily be seen by any good sight, but very keen-sighted persons can detect more; thus Maestlin, the tutor of Kepler, mapped 11 before the invention of the telescope, and in recent times Carrington and Denning have counted 14 with the naked eye. Still, 6 is the number visible to most persons, though there is a curiously widespread and uniform tradition that they once "were seven who now are six," and seven is the number almost always assigned to them in literature. Hesiod calls them "the seven sisters, the Virgin stars," and Milton, "the seven Atlantic sisters," as representing the daughters of Atlas. Many of the Greek poets, however, regarded them as Peleiades, "rock pigeons," doves, flying from the hunter Orion; but whether they have been considered as representing doves or maidens, seven has still been their traditional number. Possibly one of the group has declined in brightness in the course of the centuries; Alcyone would seem to have increased in brightness, for though now the brightest, it is not one of the four that figure in Ptolemy's Catalogue, and if one has increased in brightness, others may have diminished. In the telescope many hundreds of stars are visible. The photographic plate has registered thousands and shows the principal stars as enveloped and threaded together by delicate streams of nebulous matter, the stars shining on these filamentous lines of light like pearls upon a string. This, the appearance of the Pleiades on the best modern photographs, would be strikingly appropriate to the rendering of Job 38:31, which has been adopted in the Revised Version (British and American), "Canst thou bind the cluster (m "chain") of the Pleiades?" and the question put to Job would be equivalent to asking him if it were his power that had brought together the Pleiades and bound them in so compact a cluster. This rendering which involves the reading "ma`anaddoth" is supported by the Septuagint, and all the early versions, and hence by nearly all Orientalists. The reading in Massoretic Text, "ma`adhannoth," that is to say, "dainties" or "delights," and adopted in the King James Version, where the word is paraphrased as "sweet influences," is however correct, as will be shown below.ISBE Astronomy, II.18

The designation of the group as that of the seven stars gives a special significance to one of the details of the vision of John: "I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, .... And He had in his right hand seven stars: .... The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches" (Revelation 1:12-13, 16, 20). The seven stars in a single compact cluster shining as one, furnish an image of the church in its many diversities and its essential unity.ISBE Astronomy, II.19

It may be well to correct here a certain widely diffused error. When it was discovered that the sun itself with all its attendant planets was traveling rapidly through space, the German astronomer Madler hazarded the suggestion that the center of the sun's motion, the attracting body that governed it, might lie in the group of the Pleiades, and this suggestion has been quoted in many popular writings as if it were a demonstrated fact. It soon became evident that there was no sufficient ground for the suggestion, and the idea has been entirely abandoned by astronomers.ISBE Astronomy, II.20

11. Orion: The word Kecil as denominating a constellation occurs in the singular number in three passages, and in each it is placed in antithesis to Kimah. In a fourth passage (Isaiah 13:10) it occurs by itself and is in the plural. There is no doubt as to the significance of the word in its common use. In 70 cases it is translated either "fool" or "foolish." It does not signify a weak-minded person, so much as a violent, impious, self-confident one. As a star name, it is probably rightly considered to refer to the glorious constellation of Orion. According to an old tradition, the name of Nimrod, mentioned in Genesis 10:10, as the founder of Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, was given by his courtiers to this most brilliant of all the constellations, one that by its form somewhat suggests a gigantic warrior armed for the fight. Until recently it was not found possible to identify the Nimrod of Scripture with any Babylonian monarch until Dr. T. G. Pinches suggested that "Nimrod" was a deliberate Hebrew transmutation of "Marduk," the name of the great Babylonian national hero, and chief deity of their pantheon. "The change was brought about by making the root triliteral, and the ending uk (ak) in Merodach-Baladan disappearing first, Marduk appeared as Marad. This was connected with the root maradh, `to be rebellious,' and the word was still further mutilated, or rather deformed, by having a ni attached, assimilating it to a certain extent to the niph`al forms of the Hebrew verbs, and making a change altogether in conformity with the genius of the Hebrew language" (The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records of Assyria and Babylonia, 129-30). In the very brief reference to Nimrod in Genesis 10:8-9, he is three times overemphatically termed gibbor, "a mighty (one)" and this has been the name of this constellation among Syrians, Arabs and Jews for many centuries. Indeed the brightest star of the constellation, the one in the left knee, now generally known as Rigel, is still occasionally called Algebar, a corruption of Al Jabbar, though now one of the fainter stars near it more generally bears that name. The word Kecil as applied to this constellation would parallel closely the etymology suggested for the name "Merodach," by its transformation into "Nimrod" as if it were derived from maradh, "to rebel." He who was to the Babylonians a deified hero, was to the Hebrews a rebel Titan, bound in chains among the stars that all might behold his punishment, and in this aspect the question, "Canst thou .... loose the bands of Orion?" (Job 38:31) would be equivalent to asking "Canst thou bring down out of their places the stars that make up this figure and so, as it were, set the Titan free?"ISBE Astronomy, II.21

In Isaiah 13:10, kecil occurs in the plural kecilim, "for the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light"; kecilim being translated as "constellations" under the impression that Orion, the brightest of all the constellations, is here put for the constellations in general. This is no doubt correct, but the context shows that the meaning goes farther than this, and that the kecilim who were to be darkened were the proud and arrogant tyrants like Nimrod or Merodach who would, if possible, climb up into heaven itself, even as Orion is represented in our star atlases as if trying to climb up into the zodiac--the home of the sun.ISBE Astronomy, II.22

12. Mazzaroth, the Constellations of the Zodiac: A further astronomical term which occurs in Job 38:32 is left untranslated in both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), namely, the word Mazzaroth. It occurs only once in the Old Testament, but the similar word mazzaloth, translated "planets" in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), occurs in 2 Kings 23:5. For the latter see ASTROLOGY. In the fifth tablet of the Babylonian Epic of Creation, we read:ISBE Astronomy, II.23

1. He (Marduk) made the station for the great gods;ISBE Astronomy, II.24

2. The stars, their images, as the stars of the zodiac he fixed.ISBE Astronomy, II.25

3. He ordained the year, and into sections (mizrata) he divided it.ISBE Astronomy, II.26

4. For the twelve months he fixed three stars.ISBE Astronomy, II.27

Here in the third line, mizrata, cognate with the Hebrew mazzaroth, means the sections or divisions of the year, corresponding to the signs of the zodiac mentioned in the second line.ISBE Astronomy, II.28

Yet again when Job 9:9 is compared with Job 38:31-32, it is seen that the place of the word mazzaroth in the latter passage is held by the expression "the chambers of the south" (chadhre theman) in the earlier. Mazzaroth therefore is equivalent to "the chambers of the south," and clearly signifies the twelve constellations of the zodiac through which the sun appears to pass in the course of the year, poetically likened to the "inns," the "chambers" or "tabernacles" in which the sun successively rests during the several monthly stages of his annual journey. The same idea was employed by the Arabs in their "mansions of the moon," its "lodging-houses" (menazil), which are 28 in number, since the moon takes 28 days to make the circuit of the heavens, just as the sun takes 12 months.ISBE Astronomy, II.29

The word Mazzaroth therefore represents the twelve "signs" or, to speak more correctly, the twelve "constellations" of the zodiac. These two terms are often used indiscriminately, but there is a real difference between their significations. The constellations of the zodiac are the actual groupings of the stars, lying along the ecliptic, and are quite irregular in form and length. The signs have no connection with the actual stars but are imaginary divisions of the ecliptic, all exactly equal in length, and they are reckoned from that point in the heavens where the sun is at the moment that it is crossing the celestial equator in its northward motion in springtime. As this point, known to astronomers as "the first point of Aries," moves slowly amongst the stars, taking 25,800 years to complete a revolution of the heavens, the signs of the zodiac also move among the stars, and hence, though at one time each sign bore a rough and general correspondence to the constellation of the same name, the signs have gradually drawn away from them. The constellations of the zodiac were designed about 2700 BC, but the signs--the equal divisions of the zodiac named from them--cannot have been adopted earlier than 700 BC, and were probably even later. For since Aries is the first of the signs, it is clear that it was the first of the constellations at the time when the equal division of the zodiac was effected, and 700 BC is the very earliest date that the constellation Aries can have been so regarded. Incidentally it may be remarked that the mention in the Babylonian story of creation of the allotment of three stars to each of the sections (Mizrata) of the year, shows that not only had the division of the zodiac into 12 equal signs been effected, but that a further step had been taken, namely, the division of each sign into 3 equal parts, later known amongst the Greeks as its "decans," corresponding roughly to the 36 decades of the Egyptian calendar. Whatever, therefore, may have been the antiquity of the traditions embodied in it, the actual Babylonian poem quoted above, so far from being an early document, as it was at one time supposed to be, is probably almost as late as the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.ISBE Astronomy, II.30

13. "Arcturus": There are three constellations, natural groupings of the stars, the Pleiades and Orion and "Charles's Wain," which have always attracted men's attention, and we accordingly find them referred to in the earliest poems extant. Thus they are the three groups of the stars most frequently mentioned by Homer and Hesiod. The two first groups, the Pleiades and Orion, are, as we have seen, indicated by Kimah and Kecil. We should therefore naturally expect that the third constellation which we find associated with these in the Book of Job should be none other than the seven bright stars in the North, the principal part of the Great Bear. The Hebrew name for this third constellation appears in two slightly different forms. It is `ash in Job 9:9, and `ayish in Job 38:32, and in the latter case it is connected with its "sons." The last star of Charles' Wain or the Plough, as the group is often called among ourselves, still bears the name Benetnasch, derived from the Arabic name Benet Na`sh, "the daughters of the Bier," by which the Arabs designated the three stars in the Plough-handle, while they called the four stars in the body of the Plough, Na`sh, "the bier" or "litter." Na`sh and its daughters so closely correspond to " `ayish and its sons," that there can be no reasonable doubt that the same seven bright stars are intended; so that the rendering of the Revised Version (British and American), "Canst thou guide the Bear with her train?" correctly reproduces the original meaning. The Arcturus of the King James Version is derived from Vulgate, where it is probably a mistake for Arctos, that is to say, Ursa Major, the Great Bear.ISBE Astronomy, II.31

The antithesis which is presented in Job 38:32 now reveals itself. The Mazzaroth are the twelve constellations of the zodiac, and of these each one rules the night for about a month in its turn; they are each "led forth" in its "season." Each, in its turn, is the "chamber," "tabernacle" or "resting-place" of the sun, and they are appropriately called "chambers of the south," since it is especially in the southern sky that each is seen. In contrast to these are the northern constellations, those round the pole, of which the Great Bear or Charles' Wain is the brightest and best known At the time of the origin of the constellations, this group was much nearer the pole of the heavens than at present, but now as then these stars are not "led forth," for they are visible at all hours and during every night; but they are "guided"; they move round the pole of the heavens in an unending circle, as if the wain or chariot were being guided by a skillful driver.ISBE Astronomy, II.32

(1) The "Scatterers," or the North. There is some probability that in Job 37:9 the same two regions of the heavens are alluded to: "Out of the chamber of the south cometh the storm, and cold out of the north." It will be observed that the complete expression, "chamber of the south," is not in the original, the translators having supplied "of the south" from analogy with Job 9:9. The sirocco comes then from the region held by the mazzal, the "chamber," or constellation of the zodiac, then on the meridian. But the cold, the blizzard, comes from "the scatterers" (Mezarim). Who or what are the scatterers, and why do they represent the north? The late Professor Schiaparelli suggested that by a slight difference in the pointing, the word might be read as mizrayim, "the two winnowing fans," and that this may well have been a native term for the stars which we now know as the two Bears, Ursa Major and Minor, emphatically the northern constellations; the names being given them from the natural grouping of their chief stars, just as they are known as the two "Dippers" in the United States, or the two "Ladles" in China (Astronomy in the Old Testament," 67-72).ISBE Astronomy, II.33

(2) The Ordinances of Heaven Established on the Earth.ISBE Astronomy, II.34

The astronomical antithesis between Mazzaroth, the constellations of the zodiac ("led forth" each "in its season"), and `Ayish, "the Bear with her train" ("guided" in its unceasing revolution round the pole), is so complete and astronomically appropriate, that there is reason to expect an antithesis as clear and as astronomically significant between the two clauses of the preceding verse. But the rendering of the Revised Version (British and American) does not afford anything of the kind: "Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?" is simply equivalent to the question as to whether Job could fix these stars in their places in the sky; and for an inquiry so perfectly general, one constellation would be no more appropriate than another. The true rendering must certainly bring out some difference or at least distinction between the two constellations or the use that was made of them.ISBE Astronomy, II.35

And in the third passage in which Kimah and Kecil are mentioned together an important distinction is hinted at. The order in Amos 5:8 suggests that the Pleiades corresponded in some way to daybreak, Orion to nightfall: "That maketh the Pleiades and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night." Sunrise turns "the shadow of death into the morning," and in the progress of the seasons the analogous change on the higher scale is effected when Nature revives from the death of winter in the morning of the year, that is to say, at the return of spring. And at the time of the origin of the constellations the Pleiades were the harbingers of this change at their "cosmical" rising, that is to say, when they rose with the sun at daybreak they brought back the "delights" of springtime.ISBE Astronomy, II.36

Similarly sunset makes "the day dark with night," and in the progress of the seasons the analogous change on the higher scale is effected when the long nights and short days of winter set in the evening of the year, and all nature is bound as by iron bands, in cold and frost. And at the time of the origin of the constellations, the "acronychal" rising of Orion, i.e. its rising at nightfall, was the harbinger of this change; the rigor of winter formed "the bands of Orion."ISBE Astronomy, II.37

These regular changes in the appearings and positions of the constellations constitute the ordinances of the heavens, ordinances which Job could neither alter for the worse by holding back the delights of springtime, or for the better by breaking the bonds of winter cold. But these ordinances were not confined in their effects to the heavens; their dominion was established on the earth, which answered by the revival of vegetation when the Pleiades, then nearly in conjunction with the sun, appeared for a short time before sunrise; and by the return of the constraints of cold and frost when Orion, in opposition to the sun, rode the sky the whole night long.ISBE Astronomy, II.38

The completeness and beauty of the imagery will now be apparent.ISBE Astronomy, II.39

The Pleiades stood for the East, since by their rising just before daybreak, they heralded the morning of the year and the "delights" of springtime.ISBE Astronomy, II.40

Orion stood for the West, since his appearing just after nightfall heralded the evening of the year, and the bands of winter cold.ISBE Astronomy, II.41

Mazzaroth, the twelve constellations of the zodiac, the "chambers of the south," each "led forth" from the underworld in its own "season," stood for the South.ISBE Astronomy, II.42

And the "Bear with her train," "guided" in their unceasing course round the pole, stood for the circumpolar constellations in the North.ISBE Astronomy, II.43

And the movements of them all in a perfect obedience to the law of God were the ordinances of heaven; whilst the dominion of them was seen to be established upon the earth in the constant succession of the seasons there in unfailing answer to the changes in the stars above.ISBE Astronomy, II.44

These three verses give us a vivid picture of the work of primitive astronomy. The science was then in an early stage of development, but it was a real science, a science of observation, thoroughly sound so far as it had progressed, and showing high intelligence on the part of those who pursued it. We now know that the movement of "the Bear with her train," that is, the apparent rotation of the heavens round the pole, is due to the real rotation of the earth upon its axis; that the bringing out of "the Mazzaroth in their season," apparently due to the revolution of the sun round the earth, is due to the real revolution of the earth round the sun. But this knowledge which has enabled us to see where the actual movements lie has not brought us any nearer penetrating the mystery of those movements. What is the ultimate cause of the rotation of this vast globe, we know no more than the ancients knew what caused the heavens to rotate; what causes it to fly through space 18 miles in every second of time, we know no more than the ancients knew why the sun appeared to move among the stars. To us, as to them, it is the power of God, and the will of God.ISBE Astronomy, II.45

14. The Date of the Book of Job: It has been supposed by some scholars that the Book of Job was written during the Captivity in Babylon, but this supposition is untenable in view of the statement in Job's Apology that the worship of the heavenly bodies was "an iniquity to be punished by the judges" (Job 31:26-28). This could not have been written by Jews in exile amongst the worshippers of Samas and Sin. But neither can this book have been written after the Return. The meaning of the three terms, `Ayish, Kimah and Kecil, had been lost before the Septuagint made the rendering of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, for in Amos 5:8 they left Kimah and Kecil untranslated, and they rendered `Ayish and Kecil differently in Job 9:9, and Job 38:31-32. Before the Captivity, Kimah and Kecil were plainly in common use, since Amos uses them as if they were familiar to his hearers, and as he himself points out, he was not a man of learning but a simple herdsman. The obvious and sufficient explanation of the later ignorance respecting these three terms lies in the catastrophes of the Assyrian and Bah conquests. Not less significant of their complete loss of the old Hebrew astronomy is the alteration which the Septuagint made in the Hebrew text. The "delights of the Pleiades" had evidently no more meaning for them than they have had for the majority of modern Orientalists, and no doubt it seemed a plausible and legitimate emendation to write ma`anaddoth, "chains," instead of ma`adhannoth, "delights," so as to bring about a fancied parallelism with moshekhoth, the "bands" of Orion. But the alteration transforms a complete, beautiful and symmetrical figure, an epitome of the astronomical observation of the time, into a bald tautology. Those critics are therefore right who assign the Book of Job and the Isaiah 13:1-22 to the period before the Captivities, and the three names come to us as indications, not of a Babylonian science of astronomy, learned by the Jews during their exile, but of a Hebrew astronomy destroyed by the unspeakable disaster of the conquest.ISBE Astronomy, II.46

Astronomy, III

Astronomy, III - III. Physiography. 1. The Circle of the Earth: It has generally been assumed that the Hebrews considered the earth to be a vast circular plain, arched over by a solid vault--"the firmament"--above which were stored, as if in cisterns, the "treasuries" (Job 38:22) of the rain, snow and hail, and some writers have even attempted to express this supposed conception in diagrammatic form. One of the best of these attempts, reproduced below, is given by Schiaparelli, in his Astronomy in the Old Testament.ISBE Astronomy, III.2

But this assumption is in reality based more upon the ideas prevalent in Europe during the Dark Ages than upon any actual statements in the Old Testament. The same word (chagh) used in the Old Testament to express the roundness of the heavens (Job 22:14) is also used when the circle of the earth is spoken of (Isaiah 40:22), and it is likewise applied to the deep (Proverbs 8:27). Now it is obvious that the heavens are spherical in appearance, and to an attentive observer it is clear that the surface of the sea is also rounded. There is therefore no sufficient warrant for the assumption that the Hebrews must have regarded the earth as flat.ISBE Astronomy, III.3

(1) The Earth a Sphere. Certain astronomical relations were recognized very early. The stars appear as if attached to a globe rotating round the earth once in 24 hours, and this appearance was clearly familiar to the author of the Book of Job, and indeed long before the time of Abraham, since the formation of the constellations could not have been effected without such recognition. But the spherical form of the heavens almost involves a similar form for the earth, and their apparent diurnal rotation certainly means that they are not rigidly connected with the earth, but surround it on all sides at some distance from it. The earth therefore must be freely suspended in space, and so the Book of Job describes it: "He stretcheth out the north over empty space, and hangeth the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7).ISBE Astronomy, III.4

(2) The North Stretched Out over Empty Space. Here the "north" signifies the northern circumpolar constellations and the writer recognized that they stretch out beyond the utmost confines of the earth; so that he was not under any impression that the heavens rested upon the earth, or were borne up by mountains. The celestial sphere surrounded the earth entirely, but at a distance from it; between the two there was "empty space." Some commentators have indeed claimed that Job 26:10, "He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters, unto the confines of light and darkness" is equivalent to a statement that the circumference of the terrestrial plain extended to the place where sea and sky met. But no man of intelligence can, at any time, have supposed that the sea horizon marked the dividing line between day and night, and the meaning of the passage is correctly given in the King James Version, "until the day and night come to an end"; in other words, the waters of the sea will be confined to their appointed place never again to overflow the earth so long as the succession of day and night shall continue (compare Genesis 8:22; 9:15).ISBE Astronomy, III.5

(3) The Corners of the Earth. See EARTH, CORNERS OF THE.ISBE Astronomy, III.6

2. The Pillars of the Earth: erets, "the earth," is in general the surface of the earth, the dry land inhabited by man and beast. Hence "the pillars" of the earth (Job 9:6) are the rocks that bear up that surface, for as has been shown, it was quite clear to the author of the Book of Job, and to the primitive astronomers, that our world was unsupported in space. For "Vault of the Earth" see EARTH, VAULT OF.ISBE Astronomy, III.7

3. The Firmament: (1) The Hebrew Conception. Above the, spherical earth was stretched out the "firmament" (raqia`) made on the second day of creation to "divide the waters from the waters" (Genesis 16:1-16). To the Hebrews the "firmament" was the apparent void above, in which clouds float and the lights of heaven pursue their appointed paths. The word raqia`, by its etymology, suggests an expanse, something stretched, spread or beaten out, as when Isaiah (Genesis 40:22) says that the Lord "stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in." But the Greek word stereoma, by which the Septuagint rendered raqia`, gives the meaning of a firm and solid structure, and our translators have carried out this same idea in their English rendering of "firmament."ISBE Astronomy, III.8

(2) The Alexandrian Conception. In this however the Septuagint simply expressed the astronomical science of their day as accepted in Alexandria, where the doctrine of a succession of solid crystalline spheres, each carrying a planet, held currency. But in order to express the Hebrew idea, raqia` should be rendered "expanse" or "space"; it corresponds to the "empty space" of Job 26:7. This "expanse" was appointed to divide "the waters which were under the expanse, from the waters which were above the expanse"; and it has been argued from this that the upper waters must have been regarded as being enclosed in a watertight reservoir, furnished with sluices or floodgates, which could be opened to allow the rain to fall.ISBE Astronomy, III.9

4. The Windows of Heaven: Thus in the account of the Flood, "the windows of heaven" are said to have been opened. But, 'arubbah, "window," means a network, or lattice, a form which can never have been ascribed to a literal floodgate; and in the other passages where "the windows of heaven" are mentioned the expression is obviously metaphorical (2 Kings 7:2, 19; Isaiah 24:18; Malachi 3:10).ISBE Astronomy, III.10

5. Rain: Further the numerous other references to rain connect it with the clouds, as "I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain" (Isaiah 5:6), or in the Song of Deborah, "The clouds dropped water" (Judges 5:4; see also Psalms 77:17; 147:8; Proverbs 16:15; Ecclesiastes 12:2). The fantastic idea of solidly built cisterns in the sky furnished with sluices has no warrant in Scripture. So far from any such crude conception, there is a very clear and complete account of the atmospheric circulation. Elihu describes the process of evaporation, "For he draweth up the drops of water, which distilll in rain from his vapor, which the skies pour down and drop upon man abundantly" (Job 36:27-28).ISBE Astronomy, III.11

6. Clouds: Jeremiah and the Psalmist repeat the description, "He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries" (Jeremiah 10:13). By the foreshortening that clouds undergo in the distance they inevitably appear to form chiefly on the horizon, "at the ends of the earth," whence they move upward toward the zenith. Thus God "calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth" (Amos 9:6); and thus "All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again" (Ecclesiastes 1:7). Other references to the clouds in the Book of Job reveal not merely observation but acute reflection. "Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?" (Job 37:16) indicates a perception that the clouds float, each in its own place, at its own level, each perfectly balanced in the thin air.ISBE Astronomy, III.12

7. The Deep: (1) Meaning of the Word. Tehom, "the deep," means moving water, and hence the ocean, which is represented as being essentially one, exactly as we now know it to be by actual exploration--"Let the waters Under the heavens be gathered together unto one place" (Genesis 1:9). And the earth is stretched out "above the waters" (Psalms 136:6; 24:2). That is to say that the water surface lies lower than the land surface; and not only so, but, within the substance of the earth itself, there are subterranean waters which form a kind of ocean underground. This also is called in Ezekiel 31:4 the "deep," tehom; "The waters nourished it, the deep made it to grow." But in general tehom denotes the sea, as when Pharaoh's chosen captains were drowned in the Red Sea, "The deeps cover them" (Exodus 15:5). Indeed the word appears to be onomatopoetic derived from the "moaning" or "humming" of the sea; whilst 'erets, the "earth," seems intended to represent the "rattle" of shingle, "the scream of a madden'd beach dragged down by the wave."ISBE Astronomy, III.13

(2) The Babylonian Dragon of Chaos. In Genesis 1:1-31, tehom denotes the primeval waters, and the resemblance of the word to Tiamat, the name of the Babylonian she-dragon of Chaos, has led some commentators to ascribe a Babylonian origin to this chapter. It need hardly be pointed out that if this resemblance proves any connection between the Hebrew and Babylonian accounts of creation, it proves the Hebrew to be the original. The natural object, tehom, the sea, must have preceded the mythological personification of it.ISBE Astronomy, III.14

LITERATURE.ISBE Astronomy, III.15

Maunder, Astronomy of the Bible; Astronomy without a Telescope; Schiaparelli, Astronomy in the Old Testament; Warren, The Earliest Cosmologies, 1909.ISBE Astronomy, III.16

E. W. MaunderISBE Astronomy, III.17

Astyages

Astyages - as-ti'-a-jes (Astuages; or Astyigas (in Ktesias), or Istuvigu, son of Cyaxares. I, king of the Medes 585-550 BC, and predecessor of Cyrus (Bel and the Dragon verse 1)): His wife was the daughter of Alyattes, king of Lydia. The daughter of Astyages (Mandane) married a Persian, Cambyses, and a son was born to them who later became Cyrus the Great. Astyages had given orders to expose the babe; but Harpagus, on whom the task had been imposed, gave the child to a herdsman, with instructions to kill him. When the boy, who had been brought up as his own by the herdsman, arrived at the age of twelve, Astyages discovered that he was the son of Mandane. The king in wrath then had the son of Harpagus killed and served to his father as food. The latter concealed his feelings of hatred and resentment, and bided his time; and when the young Cyrus had grown to manhood, he stirred up the grandson in insurrection against Astyages, who was defeated and taken prisoner (Herodotus i.127-30). When Astyages marched against the Persians, the Medes, under the command of Harpagus, deserted their king, and sided with the disappointed Persians; and Cyrus was crowned king. This account of Herodotus is confirmed by the Annalistic Tablet of Cyrus (RP, series ii, 159). The dethroned monarch was treated with kindness by his conqueror. According to Ktesias, a home was provided for him by Cyrus in Hyrcania.ISBE Astyages.2

Astyages was the last of the kings of the Manda (Media). An exceedingly shrewd man, Deioces by name, had founded the kingdom 150 years before (699-646). Phraortes was the second in line (646-624), and Cyaxares the third (624-584).ISBE Astyages.3

J. E. HarryISBE Astyages.4

Asunder

Asunder - a-sun'-der: This word occurs 22 times in the King James Version, 13 in Old Testament and 9 in the New Testament. It is found in combination with break (twice), burst, cleave (twice), depart, cut (six times), divide (three times), drive, part, pluck, put (twice), rend, saw. These are the translation of 9 Hebrew, and 4 Greek words.ISBE Asunder.2

Break asunder (1) (parpar): Job, in reply to Eliphaz, complains about God, "I was at ease, and he brake me asunder" (Job 16:12). (2) (nitteq): In Psalms 2:1-12 the kings and rulers, meditating rebellion against Yahweh and His anointed, say, "Let us break their bonds asunder" (Psalms 2:3).ISBE Asunder.3

Burst asunder (lasko): This was the fate of Judas (Acts 1:18).ISBE Asunder.4

Cleave asunder (1) (nibhqa'): The same root as of biq`ah, "a valley." "The ground clave asunder" and swallowed up Dathan and Abiram with their households (Numbers 16:31). (2) (pillach): Job complains of God, "He cleaveth my reins asunder" (Job 16:13).ISBE Asunder.5

Cut asunder (1) (qitstsets): The Lord "cut asunder the cords of the wicked" (Psalms 129:4). The Hebrew word is used of cutting into wires or strips (Exodus 39:3). (2) (gadha'): "to cut off a branch or cut down a tree." "How is the hammer of the whole earth (Babylon) cut asunder!" (Jeremiah 50:23). Zechariah "cut asunder" the staff "Beauty," signifying the breach of the covenant between Yahweh and His people, and also the staff "Bands," signifying the breach of the brotherhood between Judah and Israel (Zechariah 11:10, 14). (3) (dichotomeo): The fate of the Unfaithful Steward, literally, "cut in two"; the Revised Version, margin "severely scourge him" (Matthew 24:51; Luke 12:46).ISBE Asunder.6

See PUNISHMENTS.ISBE Asunder.7

Depart asunder (apochorizomai): Paul and Barnabas "departed asunder from one another" (Acts 15:39 the King James Version); the Revised Version (British and American) "parted asunder."ISBE Asunder.8

Divide asunder (1) (hibhdil): Usually to separate, to make a division between. Here the reference is to the offering of pigeons or turtledoves (Leviticus 1:17; 5:8). (2) (merismos): From merizo, "to divide." The noun is abstract, "the act of dividing." The word of God pierces "even to the dividing of soul and spirit" (Hebrews 4:12).ISBE Asunder.9

Drive asunder (hittir): Lit. "to cause to tremble," then "to loosen." God "drove asunder the nations" (Habakkuk 3:6).ISBE Asunder.10

Part asunder (hiphridh): With a preposition ben, "between," "to separate." The chariot and horses of fire "parted asunder" Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2:11).ISBE Asunder.11

Pluck asunder (diaspao): To bear asunder, to part forcibly. "Chains had been plucked asunder" by the demoniac of the Gerasenes (Mark 5:4 the King James Version); the Revised Version (British and American) "rent asunder."ISBE Asunder.12

Put asunder (chorizo): To sever one from another. See the words of Jesus on divorce (Matthew 19:6; Mark 10:9).ISBE Asunder.13

Rend asunder (nibhqa`): The same Hebrew word as "cleave asunder." (1) "And No shall be rent asunder" (Ezekiel 30:16 the King James Version): the Revised Version (British and American) "broken up." (2) the Revised Version (British and American) for the King James Version "plucked asunder" (Mark 5:4).ISBE Asunder.14

Saw asunder (prizo or prio): The fate of some on the roll of faith, "They were sawn asunder" (Hebrews 11:37).ISBE Asunder.15

See also PUNISHMENTS.ISBE Asunder.16

S. F. HunterISBE Asunder.17

Asuppim; House of Asuppim

Asuppim; House of Asuppim - a-sup'-im, (beth ha-'acuppim): King James Version, margin "gatherings"; the Revised Version (British and American) "the storehouses." In Nehemiah 12:25, the King James Version renders the same word thresholds(King James Version, margin "treasuries, assemblies"). A storehouse most probably at the southern gate of the temple (1 Chronicles 26:15, 17; Nehemiah 12:25).ISBE Asuppim; House of Asuppim.2

Asur

Asur - as'-ur (Asour): the Revised Version (British and American) for Assur in 1 Esdras 5:31. Same as Harhur of Ezra 2:51.ISBE Asur.2

Asylum

Asylum - a-si'-lum: The custom of fleeing to specially sacred places to obtain the protection of a deity is found all over the world (Post, Grundriss, II, 252 ff). In ancient Israel we meet with it in two forms--the asylum of the altar and the asylum of the cities of refuge. The altar at the House of God was a place to which persons in danger fled for protection (1 Kings 1:50; 2:28). It had horns and must not be confused with the altars of earth or stone that were used for lay sacrifices. See ALTAR; SANCTUARY. Exodus 21:14 provides that a murderer is to be taken from the altar to be put to death. The law of the cities of refuge proceeds upon a somewhat different principle. Its objects are (1) to shield a homicide from the avenger of blood until trial, and (2) to provide a refuge for the manslayer who has not been guilty of murder. There is one reference to the institution in the history of the kingdom (2 Samuel 14:14). For the legal and geographical information, see CITIES OF REFUGE; HOMICIDE.ISBE Asylum.2

Harold M. WienerISBE Asylum.3

Asyncritus

Asyncritus - a-sin'-kri-tus (Asunkritos, "incomparable"): An unknown Christian at Rome to whom Paul sent an affectionate salutation (Romans 16:14).ISBE Asyncritus.2

At One

At One - eis eirenen, "at one," "at peace"): "Set them at one again" (Acts 7:26), the reconciliation of persons at variance. From this adverb we have the words "atone" and "atonement."ISBE At One.2

Atad

Atad - a'-tad ('aTadh, "a thorn").ISBE Atad.2

See ABEL-MIZRAIM.ISBE Atad.3

Atar

Atar - at'-ar (Atar; the King James Version Jatal = Ater (Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45)): The sons of Atar (porters) returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem (1 Esdras 5:28).ISBE Atar.2

Atarah

Atarah - at'-a-ra, a-ta'-ra (`aTarah, "crown"): One of Jerahmeel's wives and mother of Onam (1 Chronicles 2:26).ISBE Atarah.2

Atargatis

Atargatis - a-tar'-ga-tis (Atargatis; the Revised Version (British and American) wrongly ATERGATIS): Is stated in 2 Maccabees 12:26 to have been worshipped at Karnion, the Ashtaroth-Karnaim of the Old Testament (compare Ant,XII , viii, 4). The name is found on coins of Membij as `atar-`atah, where `Atar (i.e. Ashtoreth) is identified with the goddess `Atah, whose name is sometimes written `Ati. or `Atah or `Ati was also worshipped at Palmyra, and (according to Melito) in Adiabene. The compound Atargatis, often corrupted by the Greeks into Derketo, had her chief temples at Membij (Hierapolis) and Ashkelon where she was represented with the body of a woman and the tail of a fish, fish being sacred to her. Herodotus made her the Aphrodite Urania of the Greeks. `Ati may have been originally a Hittite goddess with whom the Assyrian Ishtar (`Atar) came afterward to be identified.tory of the kingdom (2 Samuel 14:14). For the legal and geographical information, see CITIES OF REFUGE; HOMICIDE.ISBE Atargatis.2

A. H. SayceISBE Atargatis.3

Ataroth

Ataroth - at'-a-roth, a-ta'-roth (`aTaroth, "crowns" or "wreaths"; Ataroth):ISBE Ataroth.2

(1) A city East of the Jordan, apparently in the territory given to Reuben, but built, or fortified, by the children of Gad (Numbers 32:3, 34). It is named along with Dibon, which is identified with Dhiban. Eight miles Northeast by North of Dibon, on the South of Wady Zerqa Ma`in, stands Jebel `Attarus, in which the ancient name is preserved. The city is doubtless represented by Khirbet `Attarus, about 4 miles West of the mountain.ISBE Ataroth.3

(2) A place on the boundary between Ephraim and Benjamin, toward the West (Joshua 16:2). It seems to be the same as Ataroth-addar of Joshua 16:5 and Joshua 18:13. It is probably to be identified with the modern ed-Dariyeh South of nether Bethhoron, and about 12 1/2 miles West of Jerusalem.ISBE Ataroth.4

(3) A place on the eastern frontier of Ephraim (Joshua 16:7). This town has not been identified. Conder thinks it may be identified with et-Truneh in the Jordan valley, or with Khirbet et-Taiyereh.ISBE Ataroth.5

W. EwingISBE Ataroth.6

Ataroth-addar

Ataroth-addar - at'-a-roth-ad'-ar (`aTroth 'addar, "crowns of Addar").ISBE Ataroth-addar.2

See ATAROTH (2).ISBE Ataroth-addar.3

Ater

Ater - a'-ter ('aTer, "bound" (?)): (1) The ancestor of a family of 98 persons who returned from Babylonian captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:16; Nehemiah 7:21). the King James Version has "Ater of Hezekiah"; the Revised Version (British and American) of 1 Esdras 5:15 has "Ater of Ezekias," margin, "Ater of Hezekiah." the King James Version has "Aterezias."ISBE Ater.2

(2) The head of a family of porters who returned from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45).ISBE Ater.3

Aterezaias

Aterezaias - a-ter-e-zi'-as (Ater to Hezekia): Usually found in the abbreviated form Ater. Head of a Jewish family, which returned with Zerubbabel, under the decree of Cyrus. Mentioned (Ezra 2:16) as sprung from Hezekiah. Their number is given as 98. Mentioned again as found in the register of the genealogies of the first returned exiles by Nehemiah (7:21). Again among those who sealed "the sure covenant" (Nehemiah 10:17). Also found in 1 Esdras 5:15, where the name is given variously as Ater or Aterezaias. The number of the family, given by Esdras, is 92.ISBE Aterezaias.2

Atergatis

Atergatis - a-ter'-ga-tis.ISBE Atergatis.2

See ATARGATIS.ISBE Atergatis.3

Ateta

Ateta - a-te'-ta (the King James Version Teta; Codex Alexandrinus Ateta, Codex Vaticanus, om.): Head of a family of Levites; gate keepers who returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel (1 Esdras 5:28); called Hitita in Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45.ISBE Ateta.2

Athach

Athach - a'-thak (`athakh, "lodging-place"): One of the cities of Judah to which David sent from Ziklag the spoil of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30:30). Its site is unknown. Driver, Budde, and Wellhausen identify it with Ether (Joshua 15:42).ISBE Athach.2

Athaiah

Athaiah - a-tha'-ya ('athayah = "Yahweh is helper"; Athea, or Atheai): He is designated (Nehemiah 11:4) as a descendant of Judah and the son of Uzziah. After the return from Babylon, he dwelt in Jerusalem. In 1 Chronicles 9:4 his name is given as Uthai.ISBE Athaiah.2

Athaliah

Athaliah - ath-a-li'-a (`athalyah; meaning uncertain, perhaps, "whom Yahweh has afflicted"; 2 Kings 8:26; 2 Kings 11:1-21; 2 Chronicles 22:1-12; 2 Chronicles 23:1-21):ISBE Athaliah.2

1. Relationship: (1) Daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, grand-daughter of Omri, 6th king of Israel. In her childhood the political relations of the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel had, after many years of strife, become friendly, and she was married to Jehoram, eldest son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah (2 Kings 8:18). The marriage was one of political expediency, and is a blot on the memory of Jehoshaphat.ISBE Athaliah.3

2. Athaliah as Queen: When Jehoram was 32 years of age, he succeeded to the throne, and Athaliah became queen of Judah. She inherited her mother's strength of will, and like her developed a fanatical devotion to the cult of the Zidonian Baal. Elijah's blow at the worship of Baal in Samaria shortly before her accession to power did nothing to mitigate her zeal. It probably intensified it. The first recorded act of Jehoram's reign is the murder of his six younger brothers; some princes of the realm, who were known to be favorable to the ancient faith of the nation, were also destroyed (2 Chronicles 21:4). There can be little doubt that these deeds of blood were supported, and perhaps instigated, by Athaliah, who was a much stronger character than her husband.ISBE Athaliah.4

3. Murder of Her Grandchildren: After eight years of royal life, Athaliah became a widow, and her son, Ahaziah, then 22 years of age (2 Kings 8:26; not 42 as in 2 Chronicles 22:2), ascended his father's throne. As queen-mother, Athaliah was now supreme in the councils of the nation, as well as in the royal palace. Within a single year, the young king fell (see JEHU), and the only persons who stood between Athaliah and the throne were her grandchildren. It is in such moments that ambition, fired by fanaticism, sees its opportunity, and the massacre of the royal seed was determined on. This was carried out: but one of them, Jehoash, a babe, escaped by the intervention of his aunt, Jehosheba (1 Kings 11:2; 2 Chronicles 22:11).ISBE Athaliah.5

4. Her Usurpation: The palace being cleared of its royal occupants, Athaliah had herself proclaimed sovereign. No other woman, before or since, sat upon the throne of David, and it is a proof of her energy and ability that, in spite of her sex, she was able to keep it for six years. From 2 Chronicles 24:7 we gather that a portion of the temple of Yahweh was pulled down, and the material used in the structure of a temple of Baal.ISBE Athaliah.6

5. The Counter-Revolution: The high priest at this time was Jehoiada, who had married the daughter of Athaliah, Jehosheba (2 Chronicles 22:11). His promotion to the primacy led to the undoing of the usurper, as Jehoiada proved staunchly, if secretly, true to the religion of Yahweh. For six years he and his wife concealed in their apartments, near the temple, the young child of Ahaziah. In the seventh year a counter-revolution was planned. The details are given with unusual fullness in Ki and Chronicles, the writings of which supplement one another. Thus, when the Chronicler wrote, it had become safe to give the names of five captains who led the military rising (2 Chronicles 23:1). With the Book of Ki before him, it was not necessary to do more than extract from the ancient records such particulars as had not hitherto appeared. This it is which has chiefly given rise to the charge of variations in the two narratives.ISBE Athaliah.7

See JEHOASH.ISBE Athaliah.8

6. Her Death: At the time of her deposition, Athaliah was resident in the royal palace. When roused to a sense of danger by the acclamations which greeted the coronation ceremony, she made an attempt to stay the revolt by rushing into the temple court, alone; her guards, according to Josephus, having been prevented from following her (Ant., IX, vii, 3). A glance sufficed. It showed her the lad standing on a raised platform before the temple, holding the Book of the Law in his hand, and with the crown upon his brow. Rending her robe and shouting, "Treason! Treason!" she fled. Some were for cutting her down as she did so, but this was objected to as defiling the temple with human blood. She was, therefore, allowed to reach the door of the palace in flight. Here she fell, smitten by the avenging guards.ISBE Athaliah.9

Athaliah's usurpation lasted for six years (2 Kings 11:3; 12:1; 2 Chronicles 22:12). Her 1st year synchronizes with the 1st of Jehu in Israel, and may be placed 846 BC (some put later). See CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. The statement of 2 Kings 12:1 is here understood in the sense that Jehoash began his public reign in the 2 Kings 7:11-20th year of Jehu, and that he reigned 40 years counting from the time of his father's death. A modern parallel is the dating of all official records and legal documents of the time of Charles II of England from the death of Charles I.ISBE Athaliah.10

The only other reference to Athaliah is that above alluded to in 2 Chronicles 24:7, where she is spoken of as "that wicked woman."ISBE Athaliah.11

(2) A Benjamite who dwelt in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 8:26, 28).ISBE Athaliah.12

(3) Father of Jeshaiah, who returned with Ezra (8:7); called Gotholias in Apocrypha (1 Esdras 8:33).ISBE Athaliah.13

W. Shaw CaldecottISBE Athaliah.14

Athanasian; Creed

Athanasian; Creed - ath-a-na'-zhan.ISBE Athanasian; Creed.2

See CREED.ISBE Athanasian; Creed.3

Atharias

Atharias - ath-a-ri'-as.ISBE Atharias.2

See ATTHARIAS.ISBE Atharias.3

Atharim

Atharim - ath'-a-rim] (`atharim): the Revised Version (British and American) "The way of Atharim"; the King James Version "The way of the spies." the Revised Version (British and American) regards Atharim as a place (so Septuagint). the King James Version follows Syriac and Targum, rendering Atharim as if Tarim = spies. Dillmann translates "the caravan path," connecting it with Arabic athar, "a track or footprint." Here the king of Arad fought against Israel, taking some captives (Numbers 21:1).all official records and legal documents of the time of Charles II of England from the death of Charles I.ISBE Atharim.2

See HORMAH.ISBE Atharim.3

Atheism

Atheism - a'-the-iz'-m (atheos, "without God" (Ephesians 2:12)): Ordinarily this word is interpreted to mean a denial of the existence of God, a disbelief in God, the opposite of theism. But it seems better that we should consider it under four heads, in order to obtain a clear idea of the different meanings in which it has been used.ISBE Atheism.2

(1) The classical.ISBE Atheism.3

In this sense it does not mean a denial of the existence of a Divine Being, but the denial of the existence or reality of the god of a particular nation. Thus the Christians were repeatedly charged with atheism, because of their disbelief in the gods of heathenism. It was not charged that they did not believe in any god, but that they denied the existence and reality of the gods worshipped, and before whom the nation hitherto had bowed. This was considered so great a crime, so dangerous a thing to the nation, that it was felt to be a just cause for most cruel and determined persecutions. Socrates' teaching cast a shadow on the reality of the existence of the gods, and this charge was brought against him by his contemporaries. Cicero also uses the word in this sense in his charge against Diagoras of Athens. Indeed, such use of it is common in all classical literature.ISBE Atheism.4

(2) Philosophic.ISBE Atheism.5

It is not meant that the various philosophic systems to which this term is applied actually deny the existence of a Divine Being or of a First Cause, but that they are atheistic in their teaching, and tend to unsettle the faith of mankind in the existence of God. There is indeed a belief in a first cause, in force, in motion, in a certain aggregation of materials producing life, but the Divine Being as taught by theism is absolutely denied. This is true of the Idealism of Fichte, of the Ideal Pantheism of Spinoza, the Natural Pantheism of Schelling, and similar forms of thought. In applying the word atheism to the teaching here given, theism does not intend to assail them as wholly without a belief in a Divine Being; but it affirms that God is a person, a self-conscious Being, not merely a first cause or force. To deny this fundamental affirmation of theism is to make the teaching atheistic, a denial of that which is essential to theism (Hebrews 11:3).ISBE Atheism.6

(3) Dogmatic.ISBE Atheism.7

It absolutely denies the existence of God. It has often been held that this is, in fact, impossible. Cousin has said, "It is impossible, because the existence of God is implied in every assertion." It is true, however, that in all ages there have been persons who declared themselves absolute atheists. Especially is this true of the 18th century a period of widespread skepticism--when not a few, particularly in France, professed themselves atheists. In many cases, however, it resulted from a loose use of the word, careless definition, and sometimes from the spirit of boastfulness.ISBE Atheism.8

(4) Practical atheism.ISBE Atheism.9

It has nothing at all to do with belief. Indeed it accepts the affirmations of theism. It has reference wholly to the mode of life. It is to live as though there was no God.ISBE Atheism.10

It takes the form often of complete indifference to the claims of the Divine Being or again of outbroken and defiant wickedness (Psalms 14:1). That this form of atheism is widely prevalent is well known. It is accompanied in many cases with some form of unbelief or prejudice or false opinion of the church or Christianity. Dogmatic atheism is no longer a menace or even a hindrance to the progress of Christianity, but practical atheism is widespread in its influence and a dangerous element in our modern life (compare Isaiah 31:1; Jeremiah 2:13, 17-18; Jeremiah 18:13-15). Whatever the form, whether it be that of religious agnosticism, denying that we can know that God exists, or critical atheism, denying that the evidence to prove His existence is sufficient, or dogmatic, or practical atheism, it is always a system of negation and as such tears down and destroys. It destroys the faith upon which all human relations are built. Since there is no God, there is no right nor wrong, and human action is neither good nor bad, but convenient or inconvenient. It leaves human society without a basis for order and human government without foundation (Romans 1:10-32). All is hopeless, all is wretchedness, all is tending to the grave and the grave ends all.ISBE Atheism.11

Arguments against atheism may be summarized as follows: (1) It is contrary to reason. History has shown again and again how impossible it is to bring the mind to rest in this doctrine. Although Buddhism is atheistic in its teaching, idolatry is widespread in the lands where it prevails. While the Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte was based on a denial of the existence of God, his attempt to found the new religion of humanity with rites and ceremonies of worship reveals how the longing for worship cannot be suppressed. It is a revelation of the fact so often seen in the history of human thought, that the mind cannot rest in the tenets of atheism.ISBE Atheism.12

(2) It is contrary to human experience. All history testifies that there are deep religious instincts within the human breast. To regard these as deceptive and unreasonable would itself be utterly unreasonable and unscientific. But the fact of such spiritual longing implies also that there is a Being who is responsive to and can satisfy the cry of the heart (Hebrews 11:6). In his Bampton Lectures Reville has said on this subject: "It would be irrational in the last degree to lay down the existence of such a need and such a tendency, and yet believe that the need corresponds to nothing, that the tendency has no goal."ISBE Atheism.13

(3) It fails to account for the evidence of design in the universe.ISBE Atheism.14

See COSMOLOGY.ISBE Atheism.15

(4) It fails to account for the existence of man and the world in general. Here is the universe: how did it come to be? Here is man: how is he to be accounted for? To these and like questions, atheism and atheistic philosophy have no adequate answer to give.ISBE Atheism.16

See also COSMOLOGY; CREATION; GOD.ISBE Atheism.17

Jacob W. KappISBE Atheism.18

Athenians

Athenians - a-the'-ni-ans Athenaioi: Inhabitants of Athens. Luke has a remark on their curiosity and their delight in novelty (Acts 17:21).ISBE Athenians.2

See ATHENS.ISBE Athenians.3

Athenobius

Athenobius - ath-e-no'-bi-us [Athenobios]: A "friend" of Antiochus VII (Sidetes), who was sent to Jerusalem by the king to protest against the occupation of Joppa and Gazara, and the citadel Jerusalem. A demand was made on Simon Maccabeus to give up all the places he had taken or pay 1,000 talents in silver. Simon declined to pay more than 100 talents, and Athenobius returned to Antiochus from his fruitless mission (1 Maccabees 15:28-36).ISBE Athenobius.2

Athens

Athens - ath'-enz Athenai In antiquity the celebrated metropolis of Attica, now the capital of Greece. Two long walls, 250 ft. apart, connected the city with the harbor (Peiraeus). In Acts 17:1-34 we are told what Paul did during his single sojourn in this famous city. He came up from the sea by the new road (North of the ancient) along which were altars of unknown gods, entered the city from the West, and passed by the Ceramicus (burial-ground), which can be seen to this day, the "Theseum," the best preserved of all Greek temples, and on to the Agora (Market-Place), just North of the Acropolis, a steep hill, 200 ft. high, in the center of the city. Cimon began and Pericles completed the work of transforming this citadel into a sanctuary for the patron goddess of the city. The magnificent gateway (Propylaea), of which the Athenians were justly proud, was built by Mnesicles (437-432 BC). A monumental bronze statue by Phidias stood on the left, as one emerged on the plateau, and the mighty Parthenon a little further on, to the right. In this temple was the famous gold and ivory statue of Athena. The eastern pediment contained sculptures representing the birth of the goddess (Elgin Marbles, now in the British Museum), the western depicting her contest with Poseidon for supremacy over Attica. This, the most celebrated edifice, architecturally, in all history, was partially destroyed by the Venetians in 1687. Other temples on the Acropolis are the Erechtheum and the "Wingless Victory." In the city the streets were exceedingly narrow and crooked. The wider avenues were called plateiai, whence English "place," Spanish "plaza." The roofs of the houses were flat. In and around the Agora were many porticoes stoai. In the Stoa Poecile ("Painted Portico"), whose walls were covered with historical paintings, Paul met with the successors of Zeno, the Stoics, with whom he disputed daily. In this vicinity also was the Senate Chamber for the Council of Five Hundred, and the Court of the Areopagus, whither Socrates came in 399 BC to face his accusers, and where Paul, five centuries later, preached to the Athenians "the unknown God." In this neighborhood also were the Tower of the Winds and the water-clock, which must have attracted Paul's attention, as they attract our attention today.ISBE Athens.2

The apostle disputed in the synagogue with the Jews (Acts 17:17), and a slab found at the foot of Mount Hymettus (a range to the East of the city, 3,000 ft. high), with the inscription haute he pule tou kuriou, dikaioi eiseleusontai en aute (Psalms 118:20), was once thought to indicate the site, but is now believed to date from the 3rd or 4th century. Slabs bearing Jewish inscriptions have been found in the city itself.ISBE Athens.3

The population of Athens was at least a quarter of a million. The oldest inhabitants were Pelasgians. Cecrops, the first traditional king, came from Egypt in 1556 BC, and by marrying the daughter of Actaeon, obtained the sovereignty. The first king was Erechtheus. Theseus united the twelve communities of Attica and made Athens the capital. After the death of Codrus in 1068 BC, the governing power was entrusted to an archon who held office for life. In 753 BC the term of office was limited to ten years. In 683 BC nine archons were chosen for a term of one year. Draco's laws, "written in blood," were made in 620 BC. Solon was chosen archon in 594 BC and gave the state a constitution. The tyrant Pisistratus was in control permanently from 541 to 527 BC; his son Hipparchus was assassinated in 514. Clisthenes changed the constitution and introduced the practice of ostracism. In 490 BC the Athenians defeated the Persians at Marathon, and again in 480 BC at Salamis. In 476 BC Aristides organized the great Athenian Confederacy. After his death Conon became the leader of the conservative party; and when the general Cimon was killed, Pericles became the leader of the people. In 431 BC the Peloponnesian War broke out and continued till 404 BC, when Athens succumbed to Sparta. An oligarchical government was set up with Critias and Theramenes at the head. War broke out again but peace was restored by the pact of Antalcidas (387 BC). In the Sacred War (357-355 BC) Athens exhausted her strength. When Philip of Macedon began to interfere in Greek affairs, Athens could neither resolve on war measures (to which the oratory of Demosthenes incited her), nor make terms with Philip. Finally, she joined Thebes in making armed resistance, but in spite of her heroic efforts at Chaeronea, she suffered defeat (338 BC). Philip was murdered in 336 BC, and Alexander the Great became master. After the subjugation of Greece by the Romans, Athens was placed under the supervision of the governor of Macedonia, but was granted local independence in recognition of her great history. As the seat of Greek art and science, Athens played an important role even under Roman sway--she became the university city of the Roman world, and from her radiated spiritual light and intellectual energy to Tarsus, Antioch and Alexandria. Philo, the Jew, declares that the Athenians were Hellenon oxuderkestatoi dianoian ("keenest in intellect") and adds that Athens was to Greece what the pupil is to the eye, or reason to the soul. Although the city had lost her real independence, the people retained their old characteristics: they were still interested in art, literature and philosophy. Paul may possibly have attended theater of Dionysus (under the Southeast cliff of the Acropolis) and witnessed a play of the Greek poets, such as Euripides or Menander. Many gifts were received from foreign monarchs by Athens. Attalus I of Perg amum endowed the Academy, Eumenes added a splendid Stoa to theater and Antiochus Epiphanes began the Olympeium (15 columns of which are still standing), the massive sub-basement of which had been constructed by Pisistratus. Athens became a favorite residence for foreign writers who cultivated history, geography and literature. Horace, Brutus and Cassius sojourned in the city for some time. Josephus declares that the Athenians were the most god-fearing of the Greeks eusebestatous ton Hellenon. Compare Livy xlv.27.ISBE Athens.4

LITERATURE.ISBE Athens.5

See Wordsworth, Athens and Attica; Butler, Story of Athens; Ernest Gardner, Ancient Athens; Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens; A. Mommsen, Athenae Christianae; Conybeare and Howson, Life and Epistles of Paul, chapter x; Gregorovius, Stadt Athen im Mittelalter; Leake, Grote, Thirlwall, Curtius, Wachsmuth, Holm, and Pausanias' Attica, recently edited by Carroll (Ginn and Co.), or in the large work of Frazer.ISBE Athens.6

J. E. HarryISBE Athens.7

Athlai

Athlai - ath'-la-i `athlay, "afflicted?"): A Jew, the son of Bebai, who was influenced by Ezra to put away his wife (Ezra 10:28).ISBE Athlai.2

Atipha

Atipha - at'i-fa.ISBE Atipha.2

See HATIPHA.ISBE Atipha.3

Atonement

Atonement - a-ton'-ment: Translates kaphar; chaTa'; ratsah, the last employed only of human relations (1 Samuel 29:4); translates the following Greek stems hilas-, simple and compounded with various prepositions; allag- in composition only, but with numerous prepositions and even two at a time, e.g. Matthew 5:24; lip- rarely (Daniel 9:24).ISBE Atonement.2

I. Terms Employed. 1. Hebrew and Greek Words: The root meanings of the Hebrew words, taking them in the order cited above, are, to "cover," hence expiate, condone, cancel, placate; to "offer," or "receive a sin offering," hence, make atonement, appease, propitiate; "effect reconciliation," i.e. by some conduct, or course of action. Of the Greek words the meanings, in order, are "to be," or "cause to be, friendly"; "to render other," hence to restore; "to leave" and with preposition to leave off, i.e. enmity, or evil, etc.; "to render holy," "to set apart for"; hence, of the Deity, to appropriate or accept for Himself.ISBE Atonement.3

2. The English Word: It is obvious that the English word "atonement" does not correspond etymologically with any Hebrew or Greek word which it translates. Furthermore, the Greek words in both Septuagint and New Testament do not correspond exactly to the Hebrew words; especially is it true that the root idea of the most frequently employed Hebrew word, "cover," is not found in any of the Greek words employed. These remarks apply to both verbs and substantives The English word is derived from the phrase "at one," and signifies, etymologically, harmony of relationship or unity of life, etc. It is a rare instance of an AS theological term; and, like all purely English terms employed in theology, takes its meaning, not from its origin, but from theological content of the thinking of the Continental and Latin-speaking Schoolmen who employed such English terms as seemed most nearly to convey to the hearers and readers their ideas. Not only was no effort made to convey the original Hebrew and Greek meanings by means of English words, but no effort was made toward uniformity in translating of Hebrew and Greek words by their English equivalents.ISBE Atonement.4

3. Not to Be Settled by Lexicon Merely: It is at once clear that no mere word-study can determine the Bible teaching concerning atonement. Even when first employed for expressing Hebrew and Christian thought, these terms, like all other religious terms, already had a content that had grown up with their use, and it is by no means easy to tell how far heathen conceptions might be imported into our theology by a rigidly etymological study of terms employed. In any case such a study could only yield a dictionary of terms, whereas what we seek is a body of teaching, a circle of ideas, whatever words and phrases, or combinations of words and phrases, have been employed to express the teaching.ISBE Atonement.5

4. Not Chiefly a Study in Theology: There is even greater danger of making the study of the Atonement a study in dogmatic theology. The frequent employment of the expression "the Atonement" shows this tendency. The work of Christ in reconciling the world to God has occupied so central a place in Christian dogmatics that the very term atonement has come to have a theological rather than a practical atmosphere, and it is by no means easy for the student, or even for the seeker after the saving relation with God, to pass beyond the accumulated interpretation of the Atonement and learn of atonement.ISBE Atonement.6

5. Notes on Use of Terms: The history of the explanation of the Atonement and the terms of preaching atonement cannot, of course, be ignored. Nor can the original meaning of the terms employed and the manner of their use be neglected. There are significant features in the use of terms, and we have to take account of the history of interpretation. Only we must not bind ourselves nor the word of God in such forms.ISBE Atonement.7

(1) The most frequently employed Hebrew word, kaphar, is found in the Prophets only in the priestly section (Ezekiel 45:15, 20; Daniel 9:24) where English Versions of the Bible have "make reconciliation," margin, "purge away." Furthermore, it is not found in Deuteronomy, which is the prophetic book of the Pentateuch (Hexateuch). This indicates that it is an essentially priestly conception. The same term is frequently translated by "reconcile," construed as equivalent to "make atonement" (Leviticus 6:30; 8:15; 16:20; 1 Samuel 29:4; Ezekiel 45:15, 20; Daniel 9:24). In this latter sense it connects itself with chaTa'. In 2 Chronicles 29:24 both words are used: the priests make a sin offering chaTa' to effect an atonement kaphar. But the first word is frequently used by metonymy to include, at least suggestively, the end in view, the reconciliation; and, on the other hand, the latter word is so used as to involve, also, doing that by which atonement is realized.ISBE Atonement.8

(2) Of the Greek words employed hilaskesthai means "to make propitious" (Hebrews 2:17; Leviticus 6:30; 16:20; Ezekiel 45:20); allattein, used however only in composition with prepositions, means "to render other," "to restore" to another (former?) condition of harmony (compare Matthew 5:24 = "to be reconciled" to a fellow-man as a condition of making an acceptable sacrifice to God).s an essentially priestly conception. The same term is frequently translated by "reconcile," construed as equivalent to "make atonement" (Leviticus 6:30; 8:15; 16:20; 1 Samuel 29:4; Ezekiel 45:15, 20; Daniel 9:24). In this latter sense it connects itself with chaTa'. In 2 Chronicles 29:24 both words are used: the priests make a sin offering chaTa' to effect an atonement kaphar. But the first word is frequently used by metonymy to include, at least suggestively, the end in view, the reconciliation; and, on the other hand, the latter word is so used as to involve, also, doing that by which atonement is realized.ISBE Atonement.9

(3) In the English New Testament the word "atonement" is found only at Romans 5:11 and the American Standard Revised Version changes this to "reconciliation." While in strict etymology this word need signify only the active or conscious exercise of unity of life or harmony of relations, the causative idea probably belongs to the original use of the term, as it certainly is present in all current Christian use of the term. As employed in Christian theology, both practical and technical, the term includes with more or less distinctness: (a) the fact of union with God, and this always looked upon as (b) a broken union to be restored or an ideal union to be realized, (c) the procuring cause of atonement, variously defined, (d) the crucial act wherein the union is effected, the work of God and the response of the soul in which the union becomes actual. Inasmuch as the reconciliation between man and God is always conceived of as effected through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-21) the expression, "the Atonement of Christ," is one of the most frequent in Christian theology. Questions and controversies have turned mainly on the procuring cause of atonement, (c) above, and at this point have arisen the various "theories of the Atonement."ISBE Atonement.10

II. Bible Teaching concerning Atonement in General:ISBE Atonement.11

The Atonement of Christ must be interpreted in connection with the conception of atonement in general in the Scriptures. This idea of atonement is, moreover, part of the general circle of fundamental ideas of the religion of Yahweh and Jesus. Theories of the Atonement root themselves in conceptions of the nature and character of God, His holiness, love, grace, mercy, etc.; of man, his nature, disposition and capacities; of sin and guilt.ISBE Atonement.12

1. Primary Assumption of Unity of God and Man: The basal conception for the Bible doctrine of atonement is the assumption that God and man are ideally one in life and interests, so far as man's true life and interest may be conceived as corresponding with those of God. Hence, it is everywhere assumed that God and man should be in all respects in harmonious relations, "at-one." Such is the ideal picture of Adam and Eve in Eden. Such is the assumption in the parable of the Prodigal Son; man ought to be at home with God, at peace in the Father's house (Luke 15:1-32). Such also is the ideal of Jesus as seen especially in John 14:1-31 through John 17:1-26; compare particularly John 177:21ff; compare also Ephesians 2:11-22; 1 Corinthians 15:28. This is quite possibly the underlying idea of all those offerings in which the priests--God's representatives-and the people joined in eating at a common meal parts of what had been presented to God. The prohibition of the use of blood in food or drink is grounded on the statement that the life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:10 f) or is the blood (Genesis 9:4; Deuteronomy 12:23). Blood was used in the consecration of tabernacle, temple, vessels, altars, priests; all things and persons set apart for Yahweh. Then blood was required in offerings made to atone for sin and uncleanness. The reason for all this is not easy to see; but if we seek an explanation that will account for all the facts on a single principle, shall we not find it in the idea that in the life-principle of the blood God's own life was present? Through this life from God all living beings shared God's life. The blood passing out of any living being must therefore return to God and not be consumed. In sprinkling blood, the life-element, or certainly the life-symbol, over persons and things set apart for God they were, so to say, visibly taken up into the life of God, and His life extending over them made them essentially of His own person. Finally the blood of sacrifices was the returning to God of the life of the man for whom the beasts stood. And this blood was not burned with the dead sacrifice but poured out beside the holy altar. The now dead sin offering was burned, but the blood, the life, returned to God. In peace-offerings of various sorts there was the common meal in which the common life was typified.ISBE Atonement.13

In the claim of the first-fruits of all crops, of all flocks and of all increase, God emphasized the common life in production; asserted His claim to the total life of His people and their products. God claimed the lives of all as belonging essentially to Himself and a man must recognize this by paying a ransom price (Exodus 30:12). This did not purchase for the man a right to his own life in separation from God, for it was in no sense an equivalent in value to the man's time. It the rather committed the man to living the common life with God, without which recognition the man was not fit to live at all. And the use of this recognition-money by the priests in the temple was regarded as placing the man who paid his money in a sort of continuous worshipful service in the tabernacle (or temple) itself (Exodus 30:11-16).ISBE Atonement.14

2. The Breach in the Unity: In both Old Testament and New Testament the assumption of unity between God and man stands over against the contrasted fact that there is a radical breach in this unity. This breach is recognized in all God's relations to men; and even when healed it is always subject to new failures which must be provided for, by the daily oblations in the Old Testament, by the continuous intercession of the Christ (Hebrews 7:25; 9:24) in the New Testament. Even when there is no conscious breach, man is taught to recognize that it may exist and he must avail himself of the appointed means for its healing, e.g. daily sacrifices. This breach is universally attributed to some behavior on man's part. This may be moral or ceremonial uncleanness on man's part. He may have broken with God fundamentally in character or conduct and so by committing sin have incurred guilt; or he may have neglected the fitting recognition that his life is in common with God and so by his disregard have incurred uncleanness. After the first breach between God and man it is always necessary that man shall approach God on the assumption that this breach needs healing, and so always come with an offering. In human nature the sin breach is rooted and universal (Romans 3:9-19; Romans 5:12-14).ISBE Atonement.15

3. Means for Expressing, Restoring and Maintaining:ISBE Atonement.16

Numerous and various means were employed for expressing this essential unity of life, for restoring it since it was broken off in sin, and for maintaining it. These means were primarily spiritual and ethical but made extensive use of material substances, physical acts and symbolical ceremonials; and these tended always to obscure and supplant the spiritual and ethical qualities which it was their function to exhibit. The prophet came to the rescue of the spiritual and ethical and reached his highest insight and function in the doctrine of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh through whom God was to be united with a redeemed race (compare among many passages, Isaiah 49:1-7; 66:18 ff; Psalms 22:27 ff).ISBE Atonement.17

Atonement is conceived in both Old Testament and New Testament as partly personal and partly social, extending to the universal conception. The acts and attitudes by which it is procured, restored and maintained are partly those of the individual alone (Psalms 51:1-19), partly those in which the individual secures the assistance of the priest or the priestly body, and partly such as the priest performs for the whole people on his own account. This involves the distinction that in Israel atonement was both personal and social, as also were both sin and uncleanness. Atonement was made for the group by the priest without specific participation by the people although they were, originally at least, to take cognizance of the fact and at the time. At all the great feasts, especially upon the DAY OF ATONEMENT (which see) the whole group was receptively to take conscious part in the work of atonement (Numbers 29:7-11).ISBE Atonement.18

The various sacrifices and offerings by means of which atonement was effected in the life and worship of Israel will be found to be discussed under the proper words and are to be spoken of here only summarily. The series of offerings, guilt-offerings, burnt-offerings, sin-offerings, peace-offerings, reveal a sense of the breach with God, a conviction of the sin making the breach and an ethical appreciation of the holiness of God entirely unique among religions of ancient or modern times, and this fact must never be overlooked in interpreting the New Testament Christian doctrine of the Atonement. In the Old Testament there are sins and sinful circumstances for which no atonement is possible. Many passages, indeed, almost seem to provide against atonement for any voluntary wrongdoing (e.g. Leviticus 4:2, 13, 22, 27; 5:14 ff). This is, no doubt, an extreme interpretation, out of harmony with the general spirit of the Old Testament, but it does show how seriously sin ought to be taken under the Old Testament regime. No atonement for murder could make possible the residence of the murderer again in that section of the land where the murder was done (Numbers 35:33), although the land was not by the murder rendered unfit for occupation by others. When Israel sinned in making the golden calf, God refused to accept any atonement (Exodus 32:20 ff) until there had been a great loss of life from among the sinners. No repentance could find atonement for the refusal to follow Yahweh's lead at Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 14:20-25), and complete atonement was effected only when all the unbelieving generation had died in the wilderness (Numbers 26:65; 32:10 ff); i.e. no atonement was possible, but the people died in that sin, outside the Land of Promise, although the sin was not allowed to cut off finally from Yahweh (Numbers 14:29 f).ISBE Atonement.19

Permanent uncleanness or confirmed disease of an unclean sort caused permanent separation from the temple and the people of Yahweh (e.g. Leviticus 7:20 f), and every uncleanness must be properly removed (Leviticus 5:1-19:Leviticus 2:11-16b; Leviticus 17:15; Leviticus 22:2-8; Deuteronomy 23:10 f). A house in which an unclean disease was found must be cleansed--have atonement made for it (Leviticus 14:53), and in extreme cases must be utterly destroyed (Leviticus 14:43 ff).ISBE Atonement.20

After childbirth (Leviticus 12:7 f) and in all cases of hemorrhage (compare Leviticus 15:30) atonement must be effected by prescribed offerings, a loss, diminution, or pollution of blood, wherein is the life, having been suffered. All this elaborate application of the principle of atonement shows the comprehensiveness with which it was sought by the religious teachers to impress the people with the unity of all life in the perfectly holy and majestic God whom they were called upon to serve. Not only must the priests be clean who bear the vessels of the Lord (Isaiah 52:11), but all the people must be clean also from all defilement of flesh and spirit, seeking perfect holiness in the fear of their God (compare 2 Corinthians 7:1).ISBE Atonement.21

III. The Atonement of Jesus ChristISBE Atonement.22

1. Preparation for New Testament Doctrine: All the symbols, doctrine and examples of atonement in the Old Testament among the Hebrews find their counterpart, fulfillment and complete explanation in the new covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 12:24). By interpreting the inner spirit of the sacrificial system, by insisting on the unity and holiness of God, by passionate pleas for purity in the people, and especially by teaching the principle of vicarious suffering for sin, the Prophets laid the foundation in thought-forms and in religious atmosphere for such a doctrine of atonement as is presented in the life and teaching of Jesus and as is unfolded in the teaching of His apostles.ISBE Atonement.23

The personal, parabolic sufferings of Hosea, the remarkable elaboration of the redemption of spiritual Israel through a Suffering Servant of Yahweh and the extension of that redemption to all mankind as presented in Isaiah 40:1-31 through Isaiah 66:1-24, and the same element in such psalms as Psalms 22:1-31, constitute a key to the understanding of the work of the Christ that unifies the entire revelation of God's righteousness in passing over human sins (Romans 3:24 f). Yet it is remarkable that such a conception of the way of atonement was as far as possible from the general and average Jewish mind when Jesus came. In no sense can the New Testament doctrine of the Atonement be said to be the product of the thought and spirit of the times.ISBE Atonement.24

2. The One Clear Fact: However much theologians may disagree as to the rationale of the Atonement, there is, as there can be, no question that Jesus and all His interpreters in the New Testament represent the Atonement between God and men as somehow accomplished through Jesus Christ. It is also an agreed fact in exegesis that Jesus and His apostles understood His death to be radically connected with this Atonement.ISBE Atonement.25

(1) Jesus Himself teaches that He has come to reveal the Father (John 14:9), to recover the lost (Luke 19:10), to give life to men (John 6:33; 10:10), to disclose and establish the kingdom of heaven (or of God), gathering a few faithful followers through whom His work will be perpetuated (John 17:2 ff; Matthew 16:13 ff); that salvation, personal and social, is dependent upon His person (John 6:53 ff; John 14:6). He cannot give full teaching concerning His death but He does clearly connect His sufferings with the salvation He seeks to give. He shows in Luke 4:16 ff and Luke 22:37 that He understands Isaiah 52:1-15 through Isaiah 53:1-12 as realized in Himself; He is giving Himself (and His blood) a ransom for men (Matthew 20:28; 26:26 ff; compare 1 Corinthians 11:23 ff). He was not a mere martyr but gave Himself up willingly, and voluntarily (John 10:17 f; Galatians 2:20), in accordance with the purpose of God (Acts 2:23), as the Redeemer of the world, and expected that by His lifting up all men would be drawn to Him (John 12:31-33). It is possible to explain the attention which the Evangelists give to the death of Jesus only by supposing that they are reflecting the importance which they recall Jesus Himself to have attached to His death.ISBE Atonement.26

(2) All the New Testament writers agree in making Jesus the center of their idea of the way of salvation and that His death is an essential element in His saving power. This they do by combining Old Testament teaching with the facts of the life and death of the Lord, confirming their conclusion by appeal to the Resurrection. Paul represents himself as holding the common doctrine of Christianity at the time, and from the beginning, when in 1 Corinthians 15:3 f he sums up his teaching that salvation is secured through the death and re surrection of Jesus according to the Scriptures. Elsewhere (Ephesians 2:16, 18; 1 Timothy 2:5; compare Acts 4:12) in all his writings he emphasizes his belief that Jesus Christ is the one Mediator between God and man, by the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20; 1 Corinthians 2:2), removing the sin barrier between God and men. Peter, during the life of Jesus so full of the current Jewish notion that God accepted the Jews de facto, in his later ministry makes Jesus in His death the one way to God (Acts 4:12; 1 Peter 1:2, 18-19; 21, 24; 3:18).ISBE Atonement.27

John has this element so prominent in his Gospel that radical critical opinion questions its authorship partly on that account, while the epistles of John and the Revelation are, on the same ground, attributed to later Greek thought (compare 1 John 1:7; 2:2; 3:5; 4:10; Revelation 1:5; 5:9). The Epistle to the Hebrews finds in Jesus the fulfillment and extension of all the sacrificial system of Judaism and holds that the shedding of blood seems essential to the very idea of remission of sins (Revelation 9:21; compare Revelation 2:17; 7:17 f; Revelation 9:21).ISBE Atonement.28

3. How Shall We Understand the Atonement?ISBE Atonement.29

When we come to systematize the teaching concerning the Atonement we find, as in all doctrine, that definite system is not offered us in the New Testament, but all system, if it is to have any value for Christianity, must find its materials and principles in the New Testament. Proceeding in this way some features may be stated positively and finally, while others must be presented interrogatively, recognizing that interpretations may differ.ISBE Atonement.30

(1) An initial consideration is that the Atonement originates with God who "was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19), and whose love gave Jesus to redeem sinful men (John 3:16; Romans 5:8, etc.). In all atonement in Old Testament and New Testament the initiative is of God who not only devises and reveals the way to reconciliation, but by means of angels, prophets, priests and ultimately His only begotten Son applies the means of atonement and persuades men to accept the proffered reconciliation. Nothing in the speculation concerning the Atonement can be more false to its true nature than making a breach between God and His Christ in their attitude toward sinful men.ISBE Atonement.31

(2) It follows that atonement is fundamental in the nature of God in His relations to men, and that redemption is in the heart of God's dealing in history. The "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8 the King James Version and the English Revised Version; compare Revelation 5:5-7) is the interpreter of the seven-sealed book of God's providence in historyú In Jesus we behold the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world (John 1:29).ISBE Atonement.32

(3) The question will arise in the analysis of the doctrine: How does the death of Christ save us? No specific answer has ever been generally satisfactory. We have numerous theories of the Atonement. We have already intimated that the answer to this question will depend upon our idea of the nature of God, the nature of sin, the content of salvation, the nature of man, and our idea of Satan and evil spirits. We ought at once to dismiss all merely quantitative and commercial conceptions of exchange of merit. There is no longer any question that the doctrines of imputation, both of Adam's sin and of Christ's righteousness, were overwrought and applied by the early theologians with a fatal exclusiveness, without warrant in the Word of God. On the other hand no theory can hold much weight that presupposes that sin is a thing of light consequence in the nature of man and in the economy of God. Unless one is prepared to resist unto blood striving against sin (Hebrews 12:2-4), he cannot know the meaning of the Christ. Again, it may be said that the notion that the death of Christ is to be considered apart from His life, eternal and incarnate life, as the atoning work, is far too narrow to express the teaching of the Bible and far too shallow to meet the demands of an ethical conscience.ISBE Atonement.33

It would serve clearness if we reminded ourselves that the question of how in the Atonement may involve various elements. We may inquire: (a) for the ground on which God may righteously receive the sinner; (b) for the means by which God places the restoration within the reach of the sinner; (c) for the influence by which the sinner is persuaded to accept the reconciliation; (d) for the attitude or exercise of the sinner toward God in Christ wherein he actually enters the state of restored union with God. The various theories have seemed to be exclusive, or at least mutually antagonistic, largely because they have taken partial views of the whole subject and have emphasized some one feature of the whole content. All serious theories partly express the truth and all together are inadequate fully to declare how the Daystar from on high doth guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:79).ISBE Atonement.34

(4) Another question over which theologians have sorely vexed themselves and each other concerns the extent of the Atonement, whether it is available for all men or only for certain particular, elect ones. That controversy may now be passed by. It is no longer possible to read the Bible and suppose that God relates himself sympathetically with only a part of the race. All segregated passages of Scripture formerly employed in support of such a view have now taken their place in the progressive self-interpretation of God to men through Christ who is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). No man cometh unto the Father but by Him (John 14:6): but whosoever does thus call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21).ISBE Atonement.35

See also ATONEMENT, DAY OF; PROPITIATION;RECONCILIATION ; SACRIFICE.ISBE Atonement.36

LITERATURE.ISBE Atonement.37

In the vast literature on this subject the following is suggested: Articles by Orr in HDB; by Mackenzie in Standard Bible Dictionary; in the Catholic Encyclopedia; in Jewish Encyclopedia; by Simpson in Hastings, DCG; J. McLeod Campbell, The Nature of the Atonement; John Champion, The Living Atonement; W. M. Clow, The Cross in Christian Experience; T. J. Crawford, The Doctrine of Holy Scripture Respecting the Atonement; R. W. Dale, The Atonement; J. Denney, The Death of Christ: Its Place and Interpretation in the New Testament, and The Atonement and the Modern Mind; W. P. DuBose, The Soteriology of the New Testament; P. T. Forsyth, The Cruciality of the Cross; J. Scott Lidgett, The Spiritual Principle of the Atonement; Oxenham, The Catholic Doctrine of the Atonement; A. Ritschl, The Christian Doctrine of Justification and Reconciliation, I, II; Riviere, Le dogme de la redemption; D. W. Simon, Reconciliation by Incarnation; W. L. Walker, The Cross and the Kingdom; various writers, The Atonement and Modern Religious Thought.ISBE Atonement.38

William Owen CarverISBE Atonement.39

Atonement, Day of

Atonement, Day of - a-ton'-ment:ISBE Atonement, Day of.2

I. THE LEGAL ENACTMENTSISBE Atonement, Day of.3

1. NamedISBE Atonement, Day of.4

2. Leviticus 16ISBE Atonement, Day of.5

(1) Contents, Structure and PositionISBE Atonement, Day of.6

(a) Leviticus 16:1-10ISBE Atonement, Day of.7

(b) Leviticus 16:11-24ISBE Atonement, Day of.8

(c) Leviticus 16:25-28ISBE Atonement, Day of.9

(d) Leviticus 16:29-34ISBE Atonement, Day of.10

Use of Number FourISBE Atonement, Day of.11

Place in LeviticusISBE Atonement, Day of.12

(2) Modern Attempts to Disprove Unity of ChapterISBE Atonement, Day of.13

II. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENTISBE Atonement, Day of.14

1. The Significance for IsraelISBE Atonement, Day of.15

2. The Significance from a Christian StandpointISBE Atonement, Day of.16

III. ON THE HISTORY OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENTISBE Atonement, Day of.17

1. The Long Silence of HistoryISBE Atonement, Day of.18

(1) The Facts and the False ConclusionsISBE Atonement, Day of.19

(2) The Historicity of the Day of AtonementISBE Atonement, Day of.20

2. Further DevelopmentISBE Atonement, Day of.21

I. The Legal Enactments. 1. Named: In addition to the chief passage, Leviticus 16:1-34, which is treated under a separate head, we have the following:ISBE Atonement, Day of.22

In Exodus 30:10 it is mentioned in the directions that are given for the construction of the altar of incense that Aaron, once a year, is to make an atonement on the horns of the altar, with the blood of the sin offering, which is used for the purpose of an atonement for sin.ISBE Atonement, Day of.23

In Leviticus 23:26-32 mention is made in the list of festivals of the Day of Atonement, on the Leviticus 10:11-20th day of the Leviticus 7:11-38th month. It is ordered that for this day there shall be a holy convocation at the sanctuary, a fast, an offering by fire, and rest from labor from the 9th day of the 7th month in the evening.ISBE Atonement, Day of.24

According to Leviticus 25:9 the year of jubilee begins with the Day of Atonement.ISBE Atonement, Day of.25

Numbers 18:1-32 speaks of the duties and the rights of the priests and the Levites. In contrast with the latter, according to Numbers 18:7, Aaron and his sons are to perform the duties of the priesthood in all matters pertaining to the altar and of the service within the veil and shall render this service. We have here doubtless a comprehensive law for the entire priestly order, so that from this alone it cannot be determined that the service within the veil, by which reference is made to the ceremony of the Day of Atonement, has been reserved for the high priest alone, just as in Deuteronomy 10:8; 33:8 ff, everything that pertains to the whole tribe of Levi is found combined, without thereby the division into high priest, priests and Levites, being regarded as excluded (compare EZEKIEL,II , 2, (1), c).ISBE Atonement, Day of.26

Numbers 29:7-11 contains in connection with the laws treating of sacrifices also the enactment, that on the Numbers 10:11-36th day of the Numbers 7:11-89th month there shall take place a holy convocation at the sanctuary, fasting and rest from labor. In addition to the sin offering, which is brought for the purpose of atonement for sin, and in addition to the regular burnt offerings and the accompanying meal offerings and drink offerings, burnt offerings also are to be brought, namely, one young bullock, one young ram, seven lambs of the first year (all without blemish); then meal offerings, namely, three-tenths (compare Numbers 28:12-14) of fine flour mingled with oil for each bullock; two-tenths for each ram; one-tenth for each lamb; then a sin offering, namely, one he-goat.ISBE Atonement, Day of.27

Ezekiel in his vision of the new temple, of the holy city and the holy country (chapters 40 through 48), in 45:18 ff, gives a series of enactments for the festivals and the sacrifices. According to these, on the 1st day of the 1st month and on the 7th day of the 1st month (on the 1st day of the 7th month according to the Septuagint), the sanctuary is to be cleansed through a young bullock without blemish, the priest taking some of the blood of the sin offering and putting it on the posts of the temple, on the four corners of the altar and on the posts of the gate of the inner court; and this is to be done for the sake of those who perhaps have sinned through error or ignorance. Further, that sacrifice which is to be brought on the Passover by the princes for themselves and all the people of the land (compare 45:22) appears to present a clear analogy to Leviticus 16:1-34. As for the rest, Ezekiel 40:1-49 through Ezekiel 48:1-35 cannot without further consideration be put on the same level with the other legal enactments, but are to be regarded as an ideal scheme, the realization of which is conditioned on the entrance of the wonderful future (compare EZEKIEL).ISBE Atonement, Day of.28

2. Leviticus 16: (1) Contents, Structure and Position. Leviticus 16:1-28 contains instructions given by Yahweh to Moses for his brother Aaron (Leviticus 16:1-2).ISBE Atonement, Day of.29

(a) Leviticus 16:1-10. Leviticus 16:1-10 contain presuppositions, preparations and summary statements of the ceremonies on the Day of Atonement. According to Leviticus 16:1-2, Aaron is not allowed to enter the holy place at any time whatever, lest he may die as did his sons with their unseemly fire offering (compare Leviticus 10:1 ff); 16:3-5 tell what is necessary for the ceremony: For himself four things: a young bullock as a sin offering (compare 16:6,11,14,15,27); a ram for burnt offering (compare 16:24); sacred garments, namely, a linen coat, linen breeches, linen girdle, linen mitre (compare 16:23,32); a bath. For the congregation: two he-goats as a sin offering (compare 16:7 ff,15-22,25,27,28,32,33), a ram as a burnt offering (compare 16:24). The passages in parentheses show how closely the succeeding parts of this account are connected with this introductory part, 16:1-10. In other parts of Lev also it is often found that the materials used for the sacrifices are mentioned first, before anything is said in detail of what is to be done with this material. Compare 8:1,2 with 8:6,7 ff,10,14,18,22,26 and 9:2-4 with 9:7,8 ff,12 ff,15-18. In 16:6 Aaron's sin-offering bullock is to be used as an atonement for himself; 16:7-10 refer to the two goats: they are to be placed at the door of the tent of meeting (16:7); lots are to be cast upon them for Yahweh and Azazel (16:8); the first to be prepared as a sin offering for Yahweh (16:9); the second, in accordance with the law, to be sent into the desert (16:10).ISBE Atonement, Day of.30

(b) Leviticus 16:11-24. Leviticus 16:11-24 describe the ceremony itself and give fuller directions as to how the different sacrificial materials mentioned under (a) are to be used by Aaron: Leviticus 16:11-14 speak of the atonement for Aaron and his house; Leviticus 16:11, of his sin-offering bullock to be killed; Leviticus 16:12, of burning coal from the altar and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small to be placed behind the veil; Leviticus 16:13, of the cloud of incense to be made in the Holy of Holies, so that the top covering is hidden and Aaron is protected from the danger of death; Leviticus 16:14, of some of the blood to be sprinkled once on the front of the top covering and seven times in front of it. Leviticus 16:15-19 prescribe the ceremony with the first sin-offering goat for the congregation: in Leviticus 16:155-16a, the ceremony described in Leviticus 16:14 is directed also to be carried out with the goat, as an atonement for the inner sanctuary, cleansing it from blemishes; in Leviticus 166:16b the same thing is directed to be done in regard to the tabernacle of revelation, i.e. the holy place, in Leviticus 16:17, no one is permitted to be present even in the holy place when these ceremonies take place; in Leviticus 16:18-19, the altar too is directed to be cleansed by an atonement, some of the blood of both sin-offering animals being smeared on the horns and sprinkled seven times on the ground. Leviticus 16:20-22 prescribe the ceremony with the second sin-offering goat for the congregation: Leviticus 16:20 directs it to be brought there; in Leviticus 16:21 there takes place the transfer of guilt; Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the goat; shal l confess all guilt over him; shall lay them upon the head of the goat; shall through a man send him into the desert; in Leviticus 166:22a, the goat carries the guilt into an uninhabited land; in Leviticus 166:22b, he is not to be let go until he is in the desert. Leviticus 16:23-24, the concluding act: in Leviticus 166:23a, Aaron takes off his linen garments in the tent of meeting, and in Leviticus 166:23b puts them down there; in Leviticus 166:24a, he bathes in the holy place and again puts on his usual clothing; in Leviticus 166:24b he brings the burnt offering for himself and his people. (The statement `for himself and his people' at this place concludes the ritual as such.)ISBE Atonement, Day of.31

(c) Leviticus 16:25-28. Leviticus 16:25-28 are explanatory, with three additional directions. In 16:25, the fat of the sin offering is directed to be consumed into smoke on the altar; 16:26, he who has taken away the second goat must wash his clothes and bathe himself, and only then is he permitted to enter the camp; 16:27, the fat, flesh and dung of the sin-offering animal, and then the blood that was brought into the (inner) sanctuary, are to be burned outside of the camp; 16:28, he who has burned these must wash his clothes, and must bathe, and only after this can he enter the camp. (In this case 16:25 and 27 correspond, and also 16:26 and 28; and in addition 16:26,27,28 are united by their reference to the camp.)ISBE Atonement, Day of.32

(d) Leviticus 16:29-34. Leviticus 16:29-34: Over against these sections (a)--(c) (16:1-28), which contain the instructions for the high priest, we have a fourth (16:29-34), which already through the address in the second person plural and also by its contents is intended for the congregation. In 16:29-31, the demand is made of the congregation. As in Leviticus 23:26 ff; Numbers 29:7 ff, a fast and absolute rest are prescribed for the Numbers 10:11-36th day of the Numbers 7:11-89th month as the Day of Atonement; in Leviticus 16:32-34, a number of directions are given in a summary to the congregation on the basis of Leviticus 16:1 ff, namely, Leviticus 16:32, how the atonement is to take place: the priest who is anointed; he shall be consecrated; that he perform the service in his father's place; in his linen garments; Leviticus 16:33 prescribes when and for whom the atonement is to take place: for the holy of holies; for the holy place; for the altar; for the order of priests and all the people; in Leviticus 16:34, the one Day of Atonement in the year for all sins is declared to be an everlasting statute. The statement that Aaron (Leviticus 16:2), according to Yahweh's command, did as Moses directed aptly closes the whole chapter.ISBE Atonement, Day of.33

Use of Number FourISBE Atonement, Day of.34

The number four appears to occupy a predominating place in this chapter, as the bird's-eye view above already shows, and as this can be traced still further in the details of the accounts. But even if this significance of the number four in the division of the chapter is accidental, although this number appears almost as a matter of course, and in Exodus 35:4 through Exodus 40:38, in Genesis 12:1-20 through Genesis 25:1-34, in the story of Abraham, Leviticus 11:1-47 through Leviticus 15:1-33, and Deuteronomy 12:1-32 through Deuteronomy 26:1-19 naturally fall into four pericopes with four subdivisions, yet this chapter is, as far as contents are concerned, so closely connected, and so well organized as a whole, that all attempts to ascribe it to different sources, concerning which we shall speak immediately, must come to naught in view of this fact.ISBE Atonement, Day of.35

Place in LeviticusISBE Atonement, Day of.36

At this point we first of all draw attention to the fact that Leviticus 16:1-34 has its well-established place in the whole of the Book of Lev (compare LEVITICUS). The whole book has as its purpose to regulate the dealings of the Israelites with their God, and it does this in such a way that the first part (Leviticus 1:1-17 through Leviticus 17:1-16) removes the hindrances that have been caused by sin. In this the ordinances with reference to the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:1-34), and with reference to the significance of the blood (Leviticus 17:1-16), constitute a natural acme and excellent conclusion, while this prepares for the positive sanctification, which is discussed in Leviticus 18:1-30 ff. In 15:31 we find in addition a clear transition to the thoughts of Leviticus 16:1-34, for in this passage mention is made of the uncleanness of the Israelites, which contaminates the dwelling-place of Yahweh that is in their midst.ISBE Atonement, Day of.37

(2) Modern Attempts to Disprove Unity of Chapter. A large number of attempts have been made to destroy the unity of this chapter, which has been demonstrated in division (1) above. Thus Stade separates Leviticus 16:3-10 as the original kernel from the explanatory and changing details that were added in Leviticus 16:11-28. But we have already seen that Leviticus 16:3-10 are the preparation for all that follows, so that these verses demand Leviticus 16:11 ff as a necessary complement. Again Oort separates Leviticus 16:1-44,11b,Leviticus 14:1-57, 166,18a,Leviticus 19:1-37, 233-24a,Leviticus 25:11-55a,29a from the rest, by using the purification of the sanctuary and the atonement of the people as the measure for this separation; but above all it is proved by Ezekiel 45:18-20 that just these two thoughts are inseparably united. In recent times it has become the custom, following the leadership of Benzinger, to divide the text into three parts. Baentsch divides as follows: (a) Leviticus 16:1-4, 6, 12 f,34b contain a single pericope, which on the basis of the fate of the sons of Aaron, described in Leviticus 10:1-20, determines under what circumstances Aaron alone is permitted to enter the Holy of Holies; (b) Leviticus 16:33-29Le 4:1-35a contain "an older, relatively simpler law in reference to the yearly day of penitence and atonement"; (c) Leviticus 16:5, 7-10, 11, 14-28 are a "later enlargement of this ritual, with a more complicated blood rite," and above all with "the rite of the sin goat." Of these three pieces only (a) is thought to belong to the original Priest Codex, as proved especially by its reference back to Leviticus 10:1-20; (b) is regarded as belonging to the secondary parts, because the day of repentance is not yet mentioned in Nehemiah 8:1-18 ff; compare III , Nehemiah 1:1-11; at any rate the anointing of all the priests is there not yet presupposed (compare LEVITICUS); (c), however, is declared to be very late and its separate parts are regarded as having originated only after the others (thus recently also Bertholet). It is impossible here to enter into all the minor parts eliminated by the exegetes; and in the same way we do not intend in our examination to enter into all the incorrect views found in these criticisms. We confine ourselves to the chief matter. The very foundation of the criticism is wrong. What Aaron's sons experienced according to Leviticus 10:1-20 could very easily have furnished a connecting link for that ritual which is introduced in Leviticus 16:2 ff, but could never have furnished the occasion for the composition of the pericope described above (a); for Nadab and Abihu had not entered into the Holy of Holies at all. Just as little justifiable is the conclusion drawn from chapter 10, that chapter 16 originally followed immediately on chapter 10. For who could possibly have conceived the thought of inserting chapters 11 through 15 in an altogether unsuitable place between chapters 10 and 16 and thus have split asunder a connection so transparent? In general, the different attempts to break the unity of this chapter show how subjective and arbitrary these attempts are. They are a characteristic example of the manner in which the Priest Codex is now being further divided (compare LEVITICUS). In general, sufficient material for the positive refutation of such attempts has been given above.ISBE Atonement, Day of.38

II. The Significance of the Day of Atonement. 1. The Significance for Israel: The significance of the day is expressed in the name "Day of Atonement" Yom ha-kippurim: Leviticus 23:27 f; Leviticus 25:9) in the same manner as it is in the fast which was enjoined on the congregation as a sign of sorrow for their sins (this fasting being the only one enjoined by the law: Leviticus 16:29, 31; 23:26 ff; Numbers 29:7 ff), as also finally and chiefly in the entire ritual (Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 23:28; Numbers 29:11; Leviticus 16:1-34; compare also Ezekiel 18:20, 22). Then, too, the atonement takes place for the sanctuary which has been defiled by the contamination of the Israelites (Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16:16-20, 33; compare also Ezekiel 45:18-20). In particular, mention is made of the Holy of Holies (Leviticus 16:33, called Miqdash ha-qodhesh; otherwise in Lev regularly ha-qodhesh), then of the holy place (Leviticus 166:16b,Leviticus 20:1-27, 33), and then of the altar (Leviticus 16:18, 20, 33). In the last-mentioned case it is a matter of discussion whether the altar of incense is meant, as is claimed by Jewish tradition, on the basis of Exodus 30:10, or the altar of burnt offerings, for which reference could be made to the additional statements in Leviticus 16:18, to those of Leviticus 16:16, and to the conclusion in Leviticus 16:17. The altar of incense (Exodus 30:10) would then be included in the atonement of the tent of meeting. The somewhat remarkable position of Exodus 166:17b would then at the same time find its motive in this, that, while Exodus 16:6 and Exodus 11:11-10b mention an atonement only for Aaron and his house, the atonement of the Holy of Holies and of the holy place in Exodus 16:17 is for Aaron, his house, and the whole congregation, while the atonement of the burnt-offering altar in the forecourt (Exodus 16:18) would be intended only for the sins of the congregation. The atonement, however, takes place for all the transgressions of the congregation since the last Day of Atonement (compare Exodus 16:21 f,Exodus 30:1-38, 34). In reference to the significance of what is done with the second goat of sin offering, compare Exodus 16:8 ff,Exodus 20:1-26 ff, and AZAZEL, II, Exodus 1:1-22. In this way Delitzsch has correctly called the Day of Atonement "the Good Friday of the Old Testament." How deeply the consciousness of sin must have been awakened, if the many otherwise commanded private and congregational sacrifices did not make such an institution superfluous, and if even the high priest himself stood before God as a sinner (Exodus 16:6, 11 ff). On this day, with the exception of the mitre, he does not wear the insignia of his high-priestly office, but wears white garments, which in their simplicity correspond to the earnestness of the situation. The repetition of the bath, both in his case and in that of the other persons engaged in the ceremony (Exodus 16:4, 24, 26, 28), was necessary, because the mere washing of the hands and feet (Exodus 30:19 f) would not suffice on this occasion (compare Numbers 19:7 ff,Numbers 19:1-22, 21). The flesh of the sin-offering animals was not permitted to be eaten but had to be burned (Numbers 16:27) because it was sacrificed also for Aaron's sin, and its blood was carried not only into the holy place but also into the Holy of Holies (compare Numbers 16:27 with Leviticus 6:23; 4:11 f,Leviticus 21:1-24; Exodus 29:14; Leviticus 8:17; 9:11; 10:19). And in comparison with the consciousness of sin that had been aroused, how great must on the other hand God's grace appear, when once in each year a general remission of all the sins that had been forgiven was guaranteed.ISBE Atonement, Day of.39

2. Significance from a Christian Standpoint: "The Day of Atonement, the good Friday of the Old Testament"--these words express not only the highest significance of the day but also its limitations. As the tabernacle, the sacrificial system, the entire law, thus too the Day of Atonement in particular contained only the shadow of future good things, but not these things themselves (Hebrews 10:1), and is "like in pattern to the true" (Hebrews 9:24). Christ Himself entered into the holy place, which was not made with hands, namely, into heaven itself, and has now appeared before God, by once for all giving Himself as a sacrifice for the removal of sin (Hebrews 9:23 ff). By this act the purpose of the Old Testament sacrificial cult and its highest development, namely, the Day of Atonement, understood in its typical significance, has been fulfilled, and at the same time surpassed and thereby abrogated (compare LEVITICUS). Accordingly, our hope, too, like an anchor--(Hebrews 6:19), penetrates to the inner part of the veil in the higher sense of the term, i.e. to heaven.ISBE Atonement, Day of.40

III. On the History of the Day of Atonement. 1. The Long Silence of History: (1) The Facts and the False Conclusions. The Day of Atonement is stated to have been instituted in the times of Moses (Leviticus 16:1); the ceremony takes place in the tabernacle (tent of meeting); the people are presupposed to be in the camp (Leviticus 16:26 ff); Aaron is still the high priest. Very remarkably there is but little evidence of the observance of this prominent day in the later history of Israel. Down to the time of the Exile there is found a deep silence on this subject. The days of atonement in Ezekiel 45:18 ff (compare under I, 1) differ in number and observance from that in Leviticus 16:1-34. According to Zechariah 3:9, God in the Messianic future will take away the guilt of the land in a single day; but this too presents no more than an analogy to the results of the Day of Atonement. On the other hand, there is no reference made to the day where we could expect it. Not only 2 Chronicles 7:7-9 in connection with the consecration of Solomon's temple, and Ezra 3:1-6, in the account of the reintroduction of the sacrificial services after the return from the Exile, are silent on the subject, which fact could possibly be explained in an easy manner; but also Nehemiah 8:1-18 f. According to Nehemiah 8:2 f, Ezra begins on the Nehemiah 1:11-11st day of the Nehemiah 7:11-73th month in the year 444 BC to read from the law; on the Nehemiah 2:11-20nd day of the Nehemiah 7:11-73th month remembrance is made of the ordinance treating of the feast of tabernacles, and on the 22nd day of the Nehemiah 7:11-73th month (Nehemiah 8:13 ff), this festival is observed; on the 24th day of the 7th month a day of penance is observed (Nehemiah 9:1); but of the Day of Atonement coming in between Nehemiah 8:1 and chapter Nehemiah 9:1, namely, on the Nehemiah 10:11-39th day of the Nehemiah 7:11-73th month, which would seem to make the day of penance superfluous, nothing is said. From these facts the Wellhausen school has drawn the conclusion, in accordance with its principles elsewhere observed, that all those legal enactments that have not in the history a sufficient evidence of having been observed, did not exist until the time when they have such historical evidence; that therefore the Day of Atonement did not originate until after the year 444 BC. It is claimed that the day originated in the two days of atonement mentioned in Ezekiel 45:18-20 (compare under I, 1); in the four national fast days of Zechariah 7:5, and Zechariah 8:19, and in the day of penance of 444 BC, just mentioned, on the 24th day of the Zechariah 7:11-14th month, which is said to hav e been repeated on the following New Year's day, the Zechariah 10:11-12th day of the Zechariah 7:11-14th month; and that by the sacred character of its observance it soon crowded the New Year day upon the Zechariah 1:11-21st day of the Zechariah 7:11-14th month (compare Leviticus 23:23 ff; Numbers 29:1 ff; contrary to Leviticus 25:9 and Ezekiel 40:1). In this way it is thought that Leviticus 16:29 ff first originated, and that at a still later time the complicated blood ritual had been added (compare under I, 1, 2). But it is to be observed that in still later times there is found no more frequent mention of the Day of Atonement than in the earlier, although it is the custom of modern criticism to place a much larger bulk of Biblical literature into this later period. It is only when we come to Jesus Sirach (Ecclesiasticus 50:5 ff) that the high priest Simon is praised, when he came forth from behind the veil; and this is certainly a reference. to the Day of Atonement, although no further mention is made at this place of the ceremony as such. Then there is a further silence on the subject down to Philo and the Epistle to the Hebrews (6:19; 9:7,13 ff; 10:1 ff; compare underII , 2). It is probable too that the fasting mentioned in Acts 27:9 is based on the Day of Atonement. We have in this manner a characteristic example to show how carefully we must handle the argument from silence, if we do not want to arrive at uncomfortable results.ISBE Atonement, Day of.41

(2) The Historicity of the Day of Atonement. Since Leviticus 16:1-34 constitutes only one part of the Levitical legislation, the question as to the original and historical character of the day cannot be fully discussed at this place (see LEVITICUS). At so late a period, naturally all the data that would lead to an explanation of the origin of such a fundamental institution as the Day of Atonement are lacking. It is all the more impossible to separate Leviticus 16:1-34 from the other priestly ordinances, because the name of the lid of the ark of covenant hakapporeth: Exodus 25:17 ff; Exodus 26:34) stands in the clearest relation to the ceremony that takes place with this ark on the Day of Atonement. The impossibility of splitting up Leviticus 16:1-34 as is the manner of critics, or even as much as separating it from Leviticus 11:1-47 through Leviticus 15:1-33, has been sufficiently demonstrated above (compare under I). Against the view which forces the Priest Codex down at least to the Exile and to claim the tabernacle as the product of imagination and as a copy of the temple of Solomon (see EXODUS), we have still the following to add: If the ark of the covenant was no longer in existence after the Exile and if, according to Jeremiah 3:16, the Israelites no longer expected its restoration, then it would have been absolutely impossible in the ritual of the Day of Atonement to connect the most important ceremony of this ritual with this ark and on this to base the atonement. In the second temple, as is well known, the incense pan was placed on the "foundation stone" in the Holy of Holies, because there was no tabernacle. Against these facts the counter-arguments mentioned above cannot stand. Even those who deny the existence of the Day of Atonement do not lay much stress on 2 Chronicles 7:1-9 and Ezra 3:1-6; but Nehemiah 8:1-18 ff also does not deserve mention, since in this place the emphasis lies on the purpose of showing how the congregation was to declare its adherence to the law, and how the Day of Repentance, which had been observed since the beginning of the history of Israel, was instituted to be observed on the 24th day of the Nehemiah 7:11-73th month for all sins (Nehemiah 9:1 ff), and was not made superfluous by the celebration of the Day of Atonement on the 10th day of the 7th month, on which day only the sins of the last year were taken into consideration. But Ezekiel changed or ignored also other pre-exilic arrangements (compare EZEKIEL), so that he is no authority in deciding the question as to the earlier existence of the Day of Atonement. Finally, attention must be drawn to the fact that the Passover festival is mentioned in prophetic literature, in addition to the mere reference in Isaiah 30:29, only in Ezekiel 45:21; the ark of the covenant only in Jeremiah 3:16; the Feast of Tabernacles only in Hosea 12:9; Ezekiel 45:25; and that in its historical connection the Feast of Weeks is mentioned incidentally only in 2 Chronicles 8:13, and possibly in 1 Kings 9:25, and is not at all found in Ezek (compare 45:18 ff), although the existence of these institutions has for a very long time been called into question.ISBE Atonement, Day of.42

2. Further Development: The Day of Atonement, in accordance with its purpose in later times, came more and more into the foreground and was called "the great fast" or "the great day," or merely "the day." Its ritual was further enlarged and the special parts mentioned in the law were fully explained, fixed and specialized. Compare especially the tract "Yoma" in the Mish; and for the further elaborations and stories in poetry and prose on the basis of the Talmud, see, e.g. Delitzsch's translation from Maim, Ha-yadh ha-chazaqah, in the supplement to his Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, 1857. According to these accounts, e.g. the high priest had to be a married man. Already seven days before the beginning of the Day of Atonement he was ordered to leave his house and had to submit to a series of purifications and had to practice for the performance of the different purification ceremonies, some of which were difficult. The last night he was not allowed to sleep and had to spend his time in studying the sacred writings. On the Day of Atonement he took five baths and ten washings. Four times he enters the Holy of Holies (with the incense), with the blood of both sin offerings, and when he brings out the utensils used with the incense he makes three confessions of sins (for himself, for himself and his house, for Israel); 10 times in all he utters the name of Yahweh; 43 times he sprinkles; in addition he must read certain sections of the Scriptures or repeat them from memory (compare also AZAZEL). When he returns home he celebrates a festival of rejoicing, because he has without harm been able to leave the sanctuary. In addition, he had performed severe physical work, and especially difficult was the manipulation of the incense. The modern estimate put on the Day of Atonement appears from the following citation of Wellhausen: "The rite and the sacrifice through the unfavorable circumstances of the times have disappeared; but it has retained the same sacred character. He who has not yet entirely broken with Judaism observes this day, no matter how indifferent he may be otherwise to old customs and festivals."ISBE Atonement, Day of.43

Wilhelm MollerISBE Atonement, Day of.44

Atroth-beth-joab

Atroth-beth-joab - at-roth-beth-jo'-ab `aTroth beth yo'abh "crowns of the house of Joab"): the King James Version "Ataroth," the house of Joab. Probably a family in Judah (1 Chronicles 2:54).ISBE Atroth-beth-joab.2

Atroth-shophan

Atroth-shophan - at'-roth-sho'fan `Troth shophan; Septuagint gen sophan: A town built or fortified by the children of Gad East of the Jordan (Numbers 32:35), named next to Aroer. If it had been at Khirbet `Attarus or Jebel `Attarus (HDB and EB, under the word) Aroer would hardly have been named between them. The King James Version reads Atroth, Shophah, understanding that two places are named. No identification is yet possible.ISBE Atroth-shophan.2

Attai

Attai - at'-ta-i at'-i `attay, "timely?"):ISBE Attai.2

(1) A son of Jarha, the Egyptian, by a daughter of Sheshan (1 Chronicles 2:35 f).ISBE Attai.3

(2) A Gadite soldier who joined David's army at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:11).ISBE Attai.4

(3) A son of Rehoboam and grandson of Solomon (2 Chronicles 11:20).ISBE Attai.5

Attain

Attain - a-tan': The rendering of qanah = "buy," "get" (Proverbs 1:5); nasagh= "reach," "a meal-offering .... according as he is able" (Ezekiel 46:7 margin), "not attained unto the days" (Genesis 47:9); yakhol or yakhowl ="be able," "overcome," "attain to innocency" (Hosea 8:5); bo' = "come," "follow" (2 Samuel 23:19, 23; 1 Chronicles 11:21, 25); katantao="arrive at" (Acts 27:12 the King James Version; Philippians 3:11); katalambano ="take eagerly," "seize," "apprehend," "attained to righteousness" (Romans 9:30); phthano ="have arrived at" (Romans 9:31 the King James Version; Philippians 3:16); lambano -"take," "get a hold of," "catch," the Revised Version (British and American) "already obtained" (Philippians 3:12); parakoloutheo = "follow," "trace out," "conform to" (1 Timothy 4:6). Here the Revised Version (British and American) corrects the King James Version.ISBE Attain.2

Frank E. HirschISBE Attain.3

Attalia

Attalia - at-a-li'-a Attalia: A city on the southern coast of Asia Minor in ancient Pamphylia which, according to Acts 14:25, was visited by Paul and Barnabas on the way to Antioch during their first missionary journey. The city was founded by Attalus II Philadelphus (159-138 BC), hence, its name Attalia, which during the Middle Ages was corrupted to Satalia; its modern name is Adalia. Attalia stood on a flat terrace of limestone, about 120 ft. high, near the point where the Catarrhactes River flowed into the sea. The river now, however, has practically disappeared, for the greater part of its water is turned into the fields for irrigation purposes. The early city did not enjoy the ecclesiastical importance of the neighboring city of Perga; but in 1084 when Perga declined, Attalia became a metropolis. In 1148 the troops of Louis IV sailed from there to Syria; in 1214 the Seljuks restored the city walls, and erected several public buildings. The city continued to be the chief port for ships from Syria and Egypt, and the point of entry to the interior until modern times, when the harbor at Mersine was reopened; it has now become a place of little importance.ISBE Attalia.2

The town possesses considerable which is of archaeological interest. The outer harbor was protected by ancient walls and towers now in ruins; its entrance was closed with a chain. The inner harbor was but a recess in the cliff. The city was surrounded by two walls which were constructed at various times from material taken from the ruins of the ancient city; the outer wall was protected by a moat. The modern town, lying partly within and partly without the walls is thus divided into quarters. In the southern quarter live the Christians; in the northern the Moslems. Among other objects of archaeological interest still to be seen may be mentioned the inscribed arched gateway of Hadrian and the aqueduct. Rich gardens now surround the town; the chief exports are grain, cotton, licorice root and valonia or acorn-cups.ISBE Attalia.3

E. J. BanksISBE Attalia.4

Attalus

Attalus - at'-a-lus: King of Pergamum, mentioned in 1 Maccabees 15:22 among the kings to whom was sent an edict (Ant., XIV, viii, 5) from Rome forbidding the persecution of the Jews.ISBE Attalus.2

See ATTALIA.ISBE Attalus.3

Attend; Attendance

Attend; Attendance - a-tend'; a-tend'-ans: (1) "To incline," "listen," "regard" qashabh; Psalms 17:1 etc.); then, in the King James Version, "observe," but in the Revised Version (British and American), more frequently, "give heed" prosechein noun, as in 1 Timothy 4:13. (2) "To be with," "take care of," "wait upon" (Esther 4:5; Hebrews 7:13; Romans 13:6); literally, "give unremitting care to," as in 1 Corinthians 7:35 (Luther: "serve the Lord constantly and without hindrance").ISBE Attend; Attendance.2

Attent; Attentive

Attent; Attentive - a-tent' (archaic; 2 Chronicles 6:40); a-tent'-iv: Expresses the direction of thought and interest toward some one point. Same Hebrew word as "attend," and is used particularly in prayers (Psalms 130:2; Nehemiah 1:6). "Very attentive" (Luke 19:48) is a paraphrase for what is literally rendered in the Revised Version (British and American), "the people all hung upon him, listening" exekremeto.ISBE Attent; Attentive.2

Attharates

Attharates - a-thar'-a-tez: A title assigned to Nehemiah, probably by a later editor (Nehemiah 8:9). The Septuagint omits the title; the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) gives "Athersatha"; the King James Version reads "Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha." Tirshatha is the Persian title for a local or provincial governor (Nehemiah 8:9 = 1 Esdras 9:49).ISBE Attharates.2

See TIRSHATHA.ISBE Attharates.3

Attharias; Atharias

Attharias; Atharias - a-tha-ri'as: 1 Esdras 5:40 = Ezra 2:63.ISBE Attharias; Atharias.2

See TIRSHATHA.ISBE Attharias; Atharias.3

Attire; Dyed Attire

Attire; Dyed Attire - a-tir': "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?" asks the prophet Jeremiah in hot remonstrance against Israel's unfaithfulness. "Yet," saith Yahweh, "my people have forgotten me" (2:32). "And I saw that she was defiled," cries Ezekiel against Jerusalem; "she saw men ... girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans [AV exceeding in dyed attire] upon their heads, ..... after the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea, .... and .... she doted upon them .... "(Ezekiel 23:13-16). "And, behold, there met him," says the author of Prov (Proverbs 7:10) in his description of the "strange woman," that "lieth in wait at every street corner," "a woman with the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart," whose "house is the way to Sheol" (Proverbs 7:27). These passages show how diversely and elastically the term "attire" was used among the Hebrews. The numerous synonyms for "dress," "attire," "apparel," "clothes," "raiment," "garment," etc., found in English Versions of the Bible, reflect a similar wealth of nomenclature in the original Hebrew and Greek; but the lack of exactness and consistency in the renderings of translators makes the identification of the various articles of dress referred to very difficult, sometimes impossible.ISBE Attire; Dyed Attire.2

See DRESS.ISBE Attire; Dyed Attire.3

George B. EagerISBE Attire; Dyed Attire.4

Attitudes

Attitudes - at'-i-tuds: Customs change slowly in Bible lands. This becomes clear by a comparison of the many references found in the Bible and other literatures of the Orient with existing circumstances and conditions. The same fact is attested by the pictures illustrating daily life upon the monuments of Assyria, Babylonia and Egypt in the countries between the Nile and the Tigris. Many of these, dating back to the second or third millennium before our era, prove conclusively that the same practices and usages as are now common among the inhabitants of those lands were in vogue in the days of Hammurabi and the early rulers of Egypt. This is especially true of matters pertaining to the worship of the gods, and of the attitudes or positions assumed in homage and respect to monarchs and those in authority.ISBE Attitudes.2

The many references found in the Bible to these same usages prove that the Hebrews too had much in common with the nations around them, not only in creed, but also in the mode of worship, as well as in general everyday etiquette. This is not strange, at least among the Semitic peoples, for there is more or less agreement, even among all nations, ancient and modern, in the attitude of the worshipper in temple and high place.ISBE Attitudes.3

The outward tokens of respect and honor shown by Orientals to their superiors, above all to monarchs, may seem exaggerated. But when we consider that the king was God's vicegerent upon the earth or over a certain country, and in some sense Divine, worthy even of adoration, it is not strange that almost equal homage should be paid him as the gods themselves. The higher the person was in power, the greater the honor and respect shown him. It is natural, therefore, that God, the Lord of Lords, and the King of Kings should be the recipient of the highest reverence and adoration.ISBE Attitudes.4

There are several Hebrew words used to describe the various attitudes assumed by those who worshipped Yahweh and heathen gods; these same words are constantly employed in speaking of the homage or respect paid to rulers and persons in authority. The most common terms are those rendered "to stand," "to bow," "to kneel" and "prostrate oneself" or "fall on the face." It is not always easy to differentiate between them, for often one passes imperceptibly into the other. No doubt several attitudes were assumed by the worshipper or suppliant while offering a prayer or petition. The intensity, the ardor or earnestness with which such a petition or prayer was presented would naturally have much to do with the words and posture of the petitioner, though the same expression might be employed to designate his posture or attitude. Thus "to fall on the face" might be done in many different ways. The Moslems observe a regular course of nine or more different postures in their worship. These are more or less faithfully observed by the faithful everywhere. It is almost certain that the Hebrews in common with other Orientals observed and went through almost every one of these attitudes as they presented themselves in prayer to Yahweh. We shall call attention to just four postures: (1) standing, (2) bowing, (3) kneeling, and (4) falling on the face or prostration.ISBE Attitudes.5

1. Standing: This was one of the very common postures in prayer to God, especially in public worship. It is still customary to stand either erect or with slightly bowed head while offering the public prayers in the synagogue. This is likewise the common practice of a large number of Christians in this and other lands, and no doubt such a posture is sanctioned by the example of the early church and primitive Christians, who, in turn, adopted the usages of the Jewish church. The same practice was in vogue among the Persians, Egyptians and Babylonians and other ancient people as is evidenced by their sculptures and paintings. The famous stela of Hammurabi shows this great king in a standing position as he receives the famous Code from the sun-god. There are numerous Babylonian and Assyrian seals on which are pictured a priest in a standing position before the throne of Sin or Shamash. In this attitude with uplifted hands, he is sometimes accompanied by the person in whose behalf prayers are made. A beautiful rock sculpture at Ibriz, Southeast of Eregli in Lycaonia, shows us a king or satrap in a standing position, worshipping a local Baal. E. J. Davies, the discoverer of this Hittite monument, in describing it, makes this remark, which we cannot refrain from inserting, inasmuch as it gives another proof of the unchangeable East. He says: "He (the god) wears boots turned up in front, and bound round the leg above the ankle by thongs and a piece of leather reaching half-way up the shin, exactly as it is worn to this day by the peasants of the plain of Cilicia round Adana." King Solomon, during at least a portion of his prayer at the dedication of the temple, stood before the altar with his hands stretched out toward heaven (1 Kings 8:22). Numerous allusions to prayer in the New Testament prove that standing was the common posture (Matthew 6:5; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11).ISBE Attitudes.6

What has been said about standing while praying to God is true also of the attitude of the petitioner when paying homage or making an entreaty to man. The Assyrian and Babylonian monuments are full of evidence on this point; we shall give only one illustration: One of the sculptures describing the siege of Lachish by Sennacherib represents the monarch as seated upon his throne while the conquered stand or kneel before him. Joseph stood before Pharaoh (Genesis 41:46). Solomon's advisers stood before him (2 Chronicles 10:6) and so did those of Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 10:8). The same attitude was assumed by suppliants in the Persian court (Esther 5:2; 8:4). The same is true of Babylonia (Daniel 1:19; 2:2).ISBE Attitudes.7

2. Kneeling: Though standing seems to have been the usual attitude, it is quite certain that kneeling was common at all times. The monuments afford abundant proof for this statement; so too the many references in the Bible. Solomon not only stood before the altar on the occasion of dedicating his famous temple, but he also knelt (1 Kings 8:54; 2 Chronicles 6:13). Josephus, describing this ceremony, says that the king at the conclusion of his prayer prostrated himself on the ground and in this posture continued worshipping for a long time. Ezra fell upon his knees as he addressed Yahweh in prayer (Ezra 9:5). Daniel, too, knelt upon his knees and prayed three times a day (Daniel 6:10). The same practice was observed by the apostles and the early church; for we read that Stephen (Acts 7:60), Peter (Acts 9:40), Paul (Acts 20:36) and others (Acts 21:5) assumed this posture as they prayed.ISBE Attitudes.8

3. Bowing: As already stated, it is not always easy to determine the exact posture of those described as kneeling or bowing, for this varied with the temperament of the suppliant and the intensity of his prayer or supplication. Eleazer when sent to select a wife for his master, Isaac, bowed before Yahweh (Genesis 24:26). The Hebrews on leaving Egypt were commanded to bow to Yahweh (Exodus 11:8; Exodus 12:27-28). The injunction of the Psalmist shows the prevalence of this posture in prayer: "O come, let us worship and bow down" (Psalms 95:6). Isaiah refers to the same when he says: "Every knee shall bow" to God (Isaiah 45:23). Paul also bowed his knees to the Father (Ephesians 3:14). The same practice obtained among the heathen nations as they worshipped their gods or idols. Naaman bowed before Rimmon, his god. The numerous prohibitions in the Hebrew Scriptures against bowing down at the shrines of the nations around Israel prove the prevalence of this method of adoration. Indeed, one of the ten commandments is directed explicitly against bowing to or worshipping idols (Exodus 20:5). The same prohibition was often repeated, as by Joshua (Exodus 23:7) and the author of 2 Ki (Exodus 17:16). Unfortunately, Israel did transgress in this very thing, for while still in the Wilderness they bowed down to the gods of Moab (Numbers 25:2) and again after their settlement in Canaan (Judges 2:12). Amaziah bowed down to the gods of Edom (2 Chronicles 25:14).ISBE Attitudes.9

Like deference was also shown to angels or supernatural beings. Thus, Abraham bows to the three angels as they appear to him at Mamre (Genesis 18:2). And so did Lot at Sodom (Genesis 19:1). Joshua fell on his face before the prince of the host of Yahweh (Joshua 5:14). This attitude was a common one to Ezekiel as he saw his wonderful visions (Ezekiel 1:28; 3:23, and often). Daniel when he saw Gabriel in a vision was afraid and fell upon his face (Daniel 8:17). The three disciples had the same experience on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:6).ISBE Attitudes.10

Monarchs and persons of superior rank were the recipients of like honors and marks of respect. Joseph's brothers bowed as they came into his presence, thinking that he was an Egyptian of high rank (Genesis 43:28). Bathsheba bowed to King David when she entered his presence in the interest of their son Solomon (1 Kings 1:16, 31). But such deference was not shown to monarchs only, for Jacob and his household bowed down seven times to the irate Esau (Genesis 33:3 ff). Abigail fell on her face before David as he was marching to avenge himself upon Nabal, her husband (1 Samuel 25:23). David too when he went to meet Jonathan fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times (1 Samuel 20:41). The Shunammite woman, as she came to entreat Elisha for the life of her boy, bowed before the prophet (2 Kings 4:37). The same custom prevailed not only among the Persians, as is evident from the Book of Esther and the monuments at Persepolis, but also in Babylonia, Assyria and other countries.ISBE Attitudes.11

4. Prostration: This was but a more intense way of showing one's regard or of emphasizing a petition. It was the token of abject subjection or the deepest reverence. Abraham, when Yahweh appeared to him and promised him a son, with profoundest gratitude and greatest joy fell prostrate on his face (Genesis 17:3). Moses and Aaron were often found in this posture (Numbers 14:5; 4, 45; 20:6). Elijah, eccentric in many ways, cast himself upon the earth and placed his face between his knees (compare 1 Kings 18:42). Job fell on the ground and worshipped Yahweh (Job 1:20). Such homage was often shown to our Saviour (Mark 5:22; John 11:32), not because men realized that He was God in the flesh, but simply as a mark of respect for a great teacher and miracle-worker. It is to be noticed th at our Saviour never refused such homage, but accepted it as pertinent and proper. Did He not realize that honor and worship Divine belonged to Him, He would have refused them just as Peter did when Cornelius fell down at his feet and worshipped him (Acts 10:25) or as the angel in Revelation 19:10, who said to John, prostrate at his feet, "See thou do it not:I am a fellow servant," etc.ISBE Attitudes.12

See ADORATION, iii.ISBE Attitudes.13

W.W. DaviesISBE Attitudes.14

Attus

Attus - at'-us (1 Esdras 8:29 = Ezra 8:2).ISBE Attus.2

See HATTUSH.ISBE Attus.3

Audience

Audience - o'-di-ens: Translated from the Hebrew 'ozen, "ear." In Genesis 23:10 f "in the audience of" is equal to "in the presence of," or "while they listened." Compare Exodus 24:7; 1 Samuel 25:24 (Revised Version (British and American) "in thine ears"); 1 Chronicles 28:8; Nehemiah 13:1. In the New Testament the expression "to give audience" (Acts 22:22; 13:16, the Revised Version (British and American) "hearken"; Acts 15:12, the Revised Version (British and American) "they hearkened") translated from the Greek akouo "to hear" or derivatives, and means "to listen," "to pay attention." In the King James Version Luke 7:1 (Revised Version, "in the ears of") and the King James Version Luke 20:45 (Revised Version, "in the hearing of") the usage is similar to that of the Old Testament.ISBE Audience.2

Augia

Augia - o'-ji-a Augia: The wife of Jaddus, whose sons were removed from priesthood because their names were not found in the register, their ancestors having "usurped the office of the priesthood" (1 Esdras 5:38). Omitted in Ezra 2:1-70 and Nehemiah 7:1-73.ISBE Augia.2

Augur's Oak

Augur's Oak - o'-gurs' ok: If we translated the Hebrew verb `onen, "to practice augury" (see AUGURY) we should in Judges 9:37 for "the oak of Meonemm" render "the augurs' oak" as in the Revised Version, margin, for the last word is simply the part. of the same verb and means "one who practices augury," though there is some doubt as to the exact connotation of the word. See under DIVINATION. The English Versions of the Bible make this noun the name of a place; but no such place is known and the derivation and form of the word are clear and certain. We have a similar phrase similarly misunderstood by our translators in Genesis 12:6 where the "oak of Moreh" should be "the oak" (or "terebinth?") "of the diviner" or "augur," for moreh is also a part. = "one who teaches" or "directs." Probably the same tree is meant, since in each ease the neighborhood is that of Shechem. The worship of trees, or rather the deity supposed to make them his home, has prevailed very widely. See W. R. Smith, Rel. Semitic.(2), 195; compare Judges 4:5; 2 Samuel 5:24 and "the oak of Zeus at Dodona. " In Judges 9:6 we read of a "matstsebhah, oak tree": the tree with an altar on which sacrifices were offered. The oak trees of Genesis 12:6 and of Judges 9:37, if two distinct trees are meant, would be trees which the Canaanites had been in the habit of consulting: hence, the name.ISBE Augur's Oak.2

T. Witton DaviesISBE Augur's Oak.3

Augury

Augury - o'-gu-ri o'-gur-i: This word occurs in the Revised Version (British and American) in Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 18:10, 14; 2 Kings 21:6, and the parallel in 2 Chronicles 33:6. In all these cases the verb "practice augury" is in the King James Version "to observe times." The verb thus translated is `onen, which means probably to utter a low croaking sound as was done in divining.ISBE Augury.2

See DIVINATION.ISBE Augury.3

I. Definition. The derivation of "augur" is doubtful, but that it means strictly to divine from the flight of birds is suggested by its likeliest etymology (avis, gur) and especially from the fact that in early Latin the augur was called auspex ( = avi spex). But both words came to be applied to all forms of divining from omens.ISBE Augury.4

II. Augury among the Romans. The Roman augur was a government official, paid to guide the councils of the nation in times of peace and of war. The principal signs from which these augurs deduced their omens were these: (1) celestial signs, chiefly lightning and thunder, the direction of the former (right to left a good sign, and vice versa); (2) signs from the flight, cries and feeding of birds; (3) signs from the movements and audible sounds of animals, including serpents; (4) signs from the examination of the entrails of animals; (5) belomancy, or divination by arrows; (6) sortilege, or divination by lot. Among the Romans as among other nations (Babylonians, etc.), a sacrifice was offered before omens were taken, so as to propitiate the gods.ISBE Augury.5

III. Augury among the Greeks. Almost the only kind of divination practiced or even known among the Romans was that by signs or omens, though Cicero (de Div. i.1 f) notices another kind which may be called divining by direct inspiration from the gods. It is this higher and more spiritual mode of divining that obtained most largely among the Greeks, whose chief word for diviner implies this. Yet the lower kind of divination known as augury was to some extent practiced among the Greeks.ISBE Augury.6

IV. Augury among the Hebrews. In general it may be said that the religion of Israel set itself steadfastly and consistently against augury; a very remarkable fact when one remembers how rife it was among the surrounding peoples--Arabs, Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, etc. Surely there is in this evidence of special Divine guidance, for those ancient Hebrews are not fit to be compared with the Babylonians or Egyptians or Romans for achievements in art and general secular literature. For the attitude of the Old Testament toward augury see the passages enumerated in the opening of this article. Several kinds of augury are mentioned in the Old Testament, and in some eases without explicit condemnation.ISBE Augury.7

1. Belomancy: Belomancy was a method of divination by arrows, a number of which were marked in certain ways, then mixed and drawn at random. We have a reference to this in Hosea 4:12: `My people ask counsel from their wood [literally, "tree"] and their staff [i.e. "arrow"] tells them (their oracles)'; and also in Ezekiel 21:21: `For the king of Babylon .... used divination, shaking the arrows to and fro.' The first passage shows that belomancy was practiced by Israelites though the prophet condemned it. The second is interesting as showing how the Babylonian used his arrows. It is to be noticed that the prophet Ezekiel records the incident without making any comment on it, favorable or otherwise. He would, however, had he spoken, almost certainly have condemned it. Mohammed forbade this use of arrows as "an abomination of Satan's work" (Koran, Sur. 5 92).ISBE Augury.8

2. Hydromancy: Hydromancy, or divination by water, was practiced by Joseph (Genesis 44:3-5) without any censure on the part of the writer. There were among the Romans and other ancient nations, as among modern Arabs, etc., many modes of divining by means of water. Generally a piece of silver or gold or a precious stone was thrown into a vessel containing water: the resulting movements of the water and the figures formed were interpreted according to certain fixed signs. See August., de Civ. Dei, vii.31; Strabo xvi.11.39; Iamblichus, de Myst., iii.4.ISBE Augury.9

3. Sortliege: Of sortliege, or divination by lot, we have instances in Leviticus 16:8; Matthew 27:35; 1 Chronicles 25:8; Jonah 1:2 ff; Acts 1:26, etc. The Urim and Thummim was simply a case of sortilege, though in this case, as in the cases enumerated above, God was supposed to control the result. A proper translation of 1 Samuel 14:41 f, based on a text corrected according to the Septuagint of Lucian, is the following: "And Saul said, O Lord the God of Israel, why hast thou not answered thy servant this day? If the iniquity be in me or in Jonathan my son, give Urim; and if thou sayest thus, The ......" It iniquity is in the people, give Thummim. seems almost certain that these words refer to two balls put into the high priest's ephod and drawn by him at random, the one divining one answer, and the other the contrary.ISBE Augury.10

4. Other Methods: We meet with several other signs. The prophet Elisha directs King Joash to throw two arrows through the window in order to find out whether the king will be victorious or not (2 Kings 13:14-19). If Gideon's fleece were wet and the ground dry this was to be a sign of coming victory over the Midianites. There is nothing in the narrative disapproving of the course taken (Judges 6:36-40). In 1 Samuel 14:8 ff Jonathan is represented as deciding whether or not he is to attack the Philistines by the words he will hear them speak. See further Genesis 24:12-19; 2 Kings 20:9.ISBE Augury.11

5. Dreams: Dreams are very commonly mentioned in the Bible as a means of forecasting the future. See Genesis 20:3, 6 f (Abimelech); Genesis 31:10-13 (Jacob); Genesis 37:5; 40:3 ff (Joseph), and also Judges 7:13; 1 Kings 3:5 f; Matthew 1:20; 2:12 ff; Matthew 27:19, etc. The part of the Pentateuch ascribed by Wellhausen, etc., to Elohist abounds with accounts of such significant dreams.ISBE Augury.12

6. Astrology: That omens were taken from the heavenly bodies by the Babylonians, and other ancient nations is matter of definite knowledge, but it is never countenanced in the Old Testament. Indeed the only explicit reference to it in the Hebrew Scriptures occurs in Isaiah 47:13 where the Exilic author mockingly urges Babylon to turn to her astrologers that they may save her from her threatened doom.ISBE Augury.13

Several cuneiform inscriptions give lists of celestial omens by which Babylonian augurs prognosticated the future. In Matthew 2:1-23 the wise men received their first intimation of the birth of the child Jesus from a bright star which they saw in the East.ISBE Augury.14

V. Higher Character of Hebrew Prophecy. Though Old Testament prophecy in its lowest forms has features in common with heathen divination, it stands on an infinitely higher level. The prophet speaks under a strong impulse and from a sense of duty. The heathen diviner plied his calling for money. The Greek mantis worked himself into a state of frenzy, thought to imply inspiration, by music and certain drugs. The prophet believed himself directly guided by God.ISBE Augury.15

See ASTROLOGY, 1; DIVINATION.ISBE Augury.16

LITERATURE.ISBE Augury.17

T. Witton Davies, Magic. Divination and Demonology among the Hebrews, 1898, 72 ff; articles on "Divination" in Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (five volumes) (Jevons); Encyclopedia Biblica (T. Witton Davies), and on "Augury" in Jewish Encyclopedia (Blau), valuable as giving the rabbinical side as well.ISBE Augury.18

T. Witton DaviesISBE Augury.19

Augustan; Augustan Band

Augustan; Augustan Band - o-gus'-tan o-gus'-tus-izsISBE Augustan; Augustan Band.2

See ARMY, ROMAN.ISBE Augustan; Augustan Band.3

Augustus

Augustus - o-gus'-tus Augoustos:ISBE Augustus.2

(1) The first Roman emperor, and noteworthy in Bible history as the emperor in whose reign the Incarnation took place (Luke 2:1). His original name was Caius Octavius Caepias and he was born in 63 BC, the year of Cicero's consulship. He was the grand-nephew of Julius Caesar, his mother Atia having been the daughter of Julia, Caesar's younger sister. He was only 19 years of age when Caesar was murdered in the Senate house (44 BC), but with a true instinct of statesmanship he steered his course through the intrigues and dangers of the closing years of the republic, and after the battle of Actium was left without a rival. Some difficulty was experienced in finding a name that would exactly define the position of the new ruler of the state. He himself declined the names of rex and dictator, and in 27 BC he was by the decree of the Senate styled Augustus. The epithet implied respect and veneration beyond what is bestowed on human things:ISBE Augustus.3

"Sancta vocant augusta patres: augusta vocanturISBE Augustus.4

Templa sacerdotum rite dicata manu."ISBE Augustus.5

--Ovid Fasti. 609; compare Dion Cass., 5316ISBE Augustus.6

The Greeks rendered the word by Sebastos, literally, "reverend'" Acts 25:21, 25). The name was connected by the Romans with augur--"one consecrated by religion"--and also with the verb augere. In this way it came to form one of the German imperial titles "Mehrer des Reichs" (extender of the empire). The length of the reign of Augustus, extending as it did over 44 years from the battle of Actium (31 BC) to his death (14 AD), doubtless contributed much to the settlement and consolidation of the new regime after the troubled times of the civil wars.ISBE Augustus.7

It is chiefly through the connection of Judea and Palestine with the Roman Empire that Augustus comes in contact with early Christianity, or rather with the political and religious life of the Jewish people at the time of the birth of Christ: "Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled" (Luke 2:1). During the reign of Herod the Great the government of Palestine was conducted practically without interference from Rome except, of course, as regarded the exaction of the tribute; but on the death of that astute and capable ruler (4 BC) none of his three sons among whom his kingdom was divided showed the capacity of their father. In the year 6 AD the intervention of Augustus was invited by the Jews themselves to provide a remedy for the incapacity of their ruler, Archelaus, who was deposed by the emperor from the rule of Judea; at the same time, while Caesarea was still the center of the Roman administration, a small Roman garrison was stationed permanently in Jerusalem. The city, however, was left to the control of the Jewish Sanhedrin with complete judicial and executive authority except that the death sentence required confirmation by the Roman procurator. There is no reason to believe that Augustus entertained any specially favorable appreciation of Judaism, but from policy he showed himself favorable to the Jews in Palestine and did everything to keep them from feeling the pressure of the Roman yoke. To the Jews of the eastern Diaspora he allowed great privileges. It has even been held that his aim was to render them pro-Rom, as a counterpoise in some degree to the pronounced Hellenism of the East; but in the West autonomous bodies of Jews were never allowed (see Mommsen, Provinces of the Roman Empire, chapter 11).ISBE Augustus.8

(2) For Augustus in Acts 25:21, 25 the King James Version, see EMPEROR.ISBE Augustus.9

J. HutchisonISBE Augustus.10

Aul

Aul - ol:ISBE Aul.2

See AWL.ISBE Aul.3

Aunt

Aunt - ant dodhah, "loving"): A father's sister (Exodus 6:20); an uncle's wife (Leviticus 18:14; 20:20).ISBE Aunt.2

See RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY.ISBE Aunt.3

Austere

Austere - os-ter' austeros, "harsh," "rough"): Twice used by Christ in the parable of the Pounds (Luke 19:21-22), and of special significance as illustrating the false conception of God cherished by the sinful and disobedient. The fear resident in a guilty conscience sees only sternness and severity in God's perfect righteousness. The word may be made an eminent study in the psychology of an evil heart. Wrongdoing eclipses the soul's vision of God's love and pictures His righteousness as harsh, unfeeling, partial, unjust, forbidding. The awfulness of sin may thus be seen in its power so to pervert the soul as to make goodness seem evil, justice unjust, and even love unlovely. Compare "hard" skleros, "dried up," "harsh") in the parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:24).ISBE Austere.2

Dwight M. PrattISBE Austere.3

Author

Author - o'-ther: This word is used to translate two Greek words: (1) aitios, literally, "cause," hence, "author." Hebrews 5:9, He "became the author of eternal salvation." (2) archego = literally, "chief leader," "prince," "captain"; then author, originator. It is rendered "author" in the following passages: (a) Hebrews 12:2, "looking unto Jesus, the author [King James Version, Revised Version] and finisher [Revised Version, "perfecter"] of our faith." But here it seems better to take archegos in its primary sense, "leader" (Revised Version margin "captain"), rather than in its secondary sense "author." The meaning is, not that He is the originator of faith in us, but that He Himself is the pioneer in the life of faith. He is first in the company of the faithful (compare references to His "faithfulness," Hebrews 2:17; Hebrews 3:2, 5-6), far surpassing in His fidelity even the Old Testament saints mentioned in chapter 11; and therefore we are to look to Him as our perfect pattern of faith. Faith has not only Christ for its object, but Christ for its supreme example. So Bengel, Bleek, B. Weiss, Alford, A. B. Davidson, Grimm-Thayer. Others, however, take the word in the sense of "author." (b) Hebrews 2:10, "to make the author [King James Version, "captain"] of their salvation perfect through sufferings." Here the idea of Christ as originator or author of our salvation is present (compare the passage Hebrews 5:9, where however a different word is used; see above). But here again the original meaning of "leader" is not to be lost sight of. He, being the first possessor of salvation, becomes the author of it for others. "The idea that the Son goes before the saved in the same path ought perhaps to be retained" (Davidson). Compare Hebrews 6:20, where Jesus is said to be our "forerunner." (c) Acts 3:15, King James Version margin and the Revised Version margin have "author," where text has "prince." Here again it is possible that the two ideas are present.ISBE Author.2

D. Miall EdwardsISBE Author.3

Authority in Religion

Authority in Religion - o-thor'-i-ti rabhah; toqeph; exousia; exousiazo; katexousiazo; epitage; huperoche; authenteo; dunastesISBE Authority in Religion.2

I. GENERAL IDEAISBE Authority in Religion.3

1. Of Two KindsISBE Authority in Religion.4

(1) ExternalISBE Authority in Religion.5

(2) InternalISBE Authority in Religion.6

2. Universal Need of AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.7

3. Necessity for Infallible Criterion of TruthISBE Authority in Religion.8

4. Ultimate Nature of AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.9

5. It Is GodISBE Authority in Religion.10

6. Different Ideas of God and Different Views of AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.11

7. A Problem of Knowledge for ChristiansISBE Authority in Religion.12

II. THE BIBLICAL REFERENCESISBE Authority in Religion.13

1. In Old TestamentISBE Authority in Religion.14

2. In New TestamentISBE Authority in Religion.15

3. Common Elements in their MeaningISBE Authority in Religion.16

III. BIBLICAL TEACHINGISBE Authority in Religion.17

1. Old Testament TeachingISBE Authority in Religion.18

(1) Earliest Form PatriarchalISBE Authority in Religion.19

(2) Tribal and Personal AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.20

(3) Seers and PriestsISBE Authority in Religion.21

(4) Kings and Established ReligionISBE Authority in Religion.22

(5) The Great ProphetsISBE Authority in Religion.23

(6) The Canon and Rabbinical TraditionISBE Authority in Religion.24

2. New Testament TeachingISBE Authority in Religion.25

(1) Jesus Christ's AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.26

(a) His TeachingISBE Authority in Religion.27

(b) His WorksISBE Authority in Religion.28

(c) Forgiving and JudgingISBE Authority in Religion.29

(d) Life and SalvationISBE Authority in Religion.30

(e) Derived from His SonshipISBE Authority in Religion.31

(f) In His Ascended StateISBE Authority in Religion.32

(g) Christ and the ParacleteISBE Authority in Religion.33

(2) The Disciples' AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.34

(a) Derived from ChristISBE Authority in Religion.35

(b) Paul's AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.36

(c) Authority of All BelieversISBE Authority in Religion.37

(d) Authority over the NationsISBE Authority in Religion.38

(3) Church's Authority Moral and PersonalISBE Authority in Religion.39

(4) Authority of the BibleISBE Authority in Religion.40

IV. OUTLINE HISTORY OF ECCLESIASTICAL DOCTRINE OF AUTHORITYISBE Authority in Religion.41

1. Appeal to Reason as LogosISBE Authority in Religion.42

2. Orthodox DogmaISBE Authority in Religion.43

3. ScholasticismISBE Authority in Religion.44

4. Ecclesiastical AbsolutismISBE Authority in Religion.45

5. Reformation PrinciplesISBE Authority in Religion.46

6. New ScholasticismISBE Authority in Religion.47

7. The Inner LightISBE Authority in Religion.48

8. Back to ExperienceISBE Authority in Religion.49

9. Distrust of ReasonISBE Authority in Religion.50

10. Christian SkepticismISBE Authority in Religion.51

V. CLASSIFICATION OF THEORIESISBE Authority in Religion.52

1. ExternalISBE Authority in Religion.53

(1) Incipient CatholicismISBE Authority in Religion.54

(2) General CouncilsISBE Authority in Religion.55

(3) RomanismISBE Authority in Religion.56

(4) Papal InfallibilityISBE Authority in Religion.57

(5) Inerrancy of ScriptureISBE Authority in Religion.58

(6) Anglican Appeal to AntiquityISBE Authority in Religion.59

(7) Limitations of External AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.60

(a) Not InfallibleISBE Authority in Religion.61

(b) Rests on Personal AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.62

(c) No Apostolical Tradition ExtantISBE Authority in Religion.63

(d) No Consensus of FathersISBE Authority in Religion.64

(e) Bible Needs InterpretationISBE Authority in Religion.65

(f) Authority Necessarily SpiritualISBE Authority in Religion.66

2. Internal AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.67

LITERATUREISBE Authority in Religion.68

I. General Idea. 1. Of Two Kinds: The term is of manifold and ambiguous meaning. The various ideas of authority fall into two main classes: as external or public tribunal or standard, which therefore in the nature of the case can only apply to the outward expressions of religion; and as immanent principle which governs the most secret movements of the soul's life.ISBE Authority in Religion.69

(1) External. A characteristic instance of the former idea of authority is found in A. J. Balfour's Foundations of Belief: "Authority as I have been using the term is in all cases contrasted with reason, and stands for that group of non-rational causes, moral, social and educational, which produces its results by psychic processes other than reasoning" (p. 232, 8th edition). The bulk of men's important beliefs are produced and authorized by "custom, education, public opinion, the contagious convictions of countrymen, family, party or church" (p. 226). Authority and reason are "rival claimants" (p. 243). "Authority as such is, from the nature of the case, dumb in the presence of argument" (p. 234). Newman makes a kindred distinction between authority in revealed religion and conscience in natural religion, although he does not assign as wide a sphere to authority, and he allows to conscience a kind of authority. "The supremacy of conscience is the essence of natural religion, the supremacy of apostle or pope or church or bishop is the essence of revealed; and when such external authority is taken away, the mind falls back again of necessity upon that inward guide which it possessed even before revelation was vouchsafed" (Development of Doctrine, 86, edition 1878). From a very different standpoint the same antithesis appears in the very title of Sabatier's book, The Religions of Authority and the Religion of the Spirit. He knows both kinds of authority. "The authority of material force, of custom, tradition, the co de, more and more yields place to the inward authority of conscience and reason, and in the same measure becomes transformed for the subject into a true autonomy" (p. xxxiii, English Translation).ISBE Authority in Religion.70

(2) Internal. Martineau distinguishes the two types of authority to reject the former and accept the latter. "The mere resort to testimony for information beyond our province does not fill the meaning of `authority'; which we never acknowledge till that which speaks to us from another and a higher strikes home and wakes the echoes in ourselves, and is thereby instantly transferred from external attestation to self-evidence. And this response it is which makes the moral intuitions, started by outward appeal, reflected back by inward veneration, more than egoistic phenomena, and turning them into correspondency between the universal and the individual mind, invests them with true authority" (Seat of Authority, Preface, edition 1890).ISBE Authority in Religion.71

Confusion would disappear if the fact were recognized that for different persons, and even for the same persons at different times, authority means different things. For a child his father's or his teacher's word is a decree of absolute authority. He accepts its truth and recognizes his obligation to allow it to determine his conduct. But when reason awakes in him, he may doubt their knowledge or wisdom, and he will seek other guides or authorities. So it is in religious development. Some repudiate authorities that others acknowledge. But no one has a monopoly of the term or concept, and no one may justly say to Dr. Martineau or anybody else that "he has no right to speak of `authority' at all."ISBE Authority in Religion.72

2. Universal Need of Authority: All religion involves a certain attitude of thought and will toward God and the Universe. The feeling element is also present, but that is ignored in theories of external authority. All religion then involves certain ideas or beliefs about God, and conduct corresponding to them, but ideas may be true or false, and conduct right or wrong. Men need to know what is true, that they may do that which is right. They need some test or standard or court of appeal which distinguishes and enforces the truth; forbids the wrong and commands the right. As in all government there is a legislative and an executive function, the one issuing out of the other, so in every kind of religious authority recognized as such, men require that it should tell them what ideas they ought to believe and what deeds to perform.ISBE Authority in Religion.73

In this general sense authority is recognized in every realm of life, even beyond that which is usually called religious life. Science builds up its system in conformity with natural phenomena. Art has its ideals of beauty. Politics seeks to realize some idea of the state. Metaphysics reconstructs the universe in conformity with some principle of truth or reality.ISBE Authority in Religion.74

3. Necessity for Infallible Criterion of Truth: "If we are ....to attach any definite intelligible meaning to the distinction between things as they really are, and things as they merely appear to be, we must clearly have some universal criterion or test by which the distinction may be made. This criterion must be in the first place infallible; that is, must be such that we cannot doubt its validity without falling into a contradiction in our thought ..... Freedom from contradiction is a characteristic that belongs to everything that is real .... and we may therefore use it as a test or criterion of reality "(Taylor, Elements of Metaphysics, 18-19). A more skeptical philosopher writes: "That the truth itself is one and whole and complete, and that all thinking and all experience moves within its recognition, and subject to its manifest authority, this I have never doubted" (Joachim, The Nature of Truth, 178). It is only a thoroughgoing skeptic that could disp ense with authority, a "Pyrrho," who holds suspense of judgment to be the only right attitude of mind, and he, to be logical, must also suspend all action and cease to be. There can be no question, therefore, except in total nescience, as to the fact of authority in general; and the problem to decide is, "What is the authority in religion?"ISBE Authority in Religion.75

4. Ultimate Nature of Authority: It is a problem involved in the difficulties of all ultimate problems, and all argument about it is apt to move in a circle. For the ultimate must bear witness of its own ultimacy, the absolute of its own absoluteness, and authority of its own sovereignty. If there were a court of appeal or a standard of reference to which anything called ultimate, absolute and supreme, could apply for its credentials, it would therefore become relative and subordinate to that other criterion. There is a sense in which Mr. Balfour's saying is true, "that authority is dumb in the presence of argument." No process of mediate reasoning can establish it, for no premise can be found from which it issues as a conclusion. It judges all things, but is judged of none. It is its own witness and judge. All that reason can say about it is the dictum of Paxmenides: "it is."ISBE Authority in Religion.76

5. It Is God: In this sense, there can be no question again among religious people, that the authority is God. The one idea involves the other. He alone is self-existent and supreme, who is what He is of His own right. If God exists, He is the ultimate criterion and power of truth and reality. All truth inheres in Him and issues from Him. The problem of authority thus becomes one with the proof and definition of God. These questions lie beyond the purpose of the present article; (see GOD). Their solution is assumed in this discussion of authority, although different theories of authority no doubt involve different ideas of God.ISBE Authority in Religion.77

6. Different Ideas of God and Different Views of Authority:ISBE Authority in Religion.78

External theories generally involve what is called a deistic conception of God. Spiritualistic theories of authority correspond to theistic views of God. If He is immanent as well as transcendent, He speaks directly to men, and has no need of intermediaries. Pantheism results in a naturalistic theory of truth. The mind of God is the law of Nature. But pantheism in practice tends to become polytheism, and then to issue in a crude anarchy which is the denial of all authority and truth. But within Christendom the problem of authority lies between those who agree in believing in one God, who is personal, transcendent and to some extent immanent. The differences on these points are really consequences of differences of views as to His mode of self-communication.ISBE Authority in Religion.79

7. A Problem of Knowledge For Christians: It is, therefore, a problem of epistemology rather than of ontology. The question is, in what way does God make known Himself, His mind and His authority to men generally? The purpose of this article is the exposition of the Biblical teaching of authority, with some attempt to place it in its true position in the life of the church.ISBE Authority in Religion.80

II. The Biblical References. 1. In the Old Testament: Only for (1) rabhah (Proverbs 29:2): "to be great" or "many." "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice." So the King James Version and the Revised Version, margin, but the Revised Version (British and American) "When the righteous are increased" (so BDB). Toy in the place cited remarks, "The Hebrew has: `When the righteous increase,' the suggestion being that they then have control of affairs; the change of a letter gives the reading `rule' which is required by the 'govern' of the second line." (2) toqeph (Esther 9:29): "Esther the queen .... wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter of Purim" (Revised Version margin "strength" [so BDB]).ISBE Authority in Religion.81

2. In the New Testament: (1) Most frequently for exousia; exousiazo; and katexousiazo: (a) of God's authority (Acts 1:7): as the potter's over clay (Romans 9:21, right"; Jude 1:25, "power"; Revelation 9:1-21, "power"); (b) of Christ's teaching and works (Matthew 7:29; Matthew 21:23-24, 27 = Mark 1:22, 27; Mark 11:28-29, 33 = Luke 4:36; 2, 8; John 5:27, authority to execute judgment. The same Greek word, translated "power" in the King James Version but generally "authority" in the Revised Version (British and American) or the Revised Version, margin, appears also in Matthew 9:6, 8, to forgive sins: Matthew 28:18; Mark 2:10; Luke 4:32; 5:24; John 10:18; 17:2; Revelation 12:10); (c) of the disciples, as Christ's representatives and witnesses (Luke 9:1, the twelve; 2 Corinthians 10:8, Paul); also of their rights and privileges; (the same Greek word in Matthew 10:1; Mark 3:15; 6:7; Luke 10:19 = the Revised Version (British and American) "authority"; John 1:12; Acts 8:19; 2 Corinthians 13:10; 2 Thessalonians 3:9; Hebrews 13:10; Revelation 2:26; 22:14 = the Revised Version (British and American) "right"); (d) of subordinate heavenly authorities or powers (1 Corinthians 15:24; 1 Peter 3:22; and the same Greek word in Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Colossians 1:16; 10, 15; Revelation 11:6; 14:18; 18:1); (e) of civil authority, as of king, magistrate or steward (Luke 7:8 = Matthew 8:9 [centurion]; Mark 13:34; Luke 19:17; 20:20; 22:25 = Matthew 20:25 = Mark 10:42; and Acts 9:14; 10, 12 [of Saul]; and the same Greek word in Luke 12:11; 23:7; John 19:10-11; Acts 5:4; Romans 13:1-2, 3; Titus 3:1; Revelation 17:12-13); (f) of the powers of evil (Revelation 13:2, "the beast that came out of the sea"; and the same Greek word in Luke 4:6; 12:5; 22:53; Acts 26:18; Ephesians 2:2; Colossians 1:13; Revelation 6:8; 3, 10, 19; Revelation 13:4-5, 7, 12; 20:6). (g) of man's inward power of self-control (the same Greek word in 1 Corinthians 7:37; 8:9, "liberty"; 1 Corinthians 6:12; 7:4; 1 Corinthians 9:4-5, 6, 12, 18, the Revised Version (British and American) "right"; 1 Corinthians 11:10).ISBE Authority in Religion.82

(2) For epitage: commandment, authority to exhort and reprove the church (Titus 2:15).ISBE Authority in Religion.83

(3) For huperoche: "for kings and all that are in high place" (Revised Version (British and American) 1 Timothy 2:2).ISBE Authority in Religion.84

(4) For authenteo: "I permit not a woman .... to have dominion over a man" (Revised Version, 1 Timothy 2:12).ISBE Authority in Religion.85

(5) For dunastes: "A eunuch of great authority" (Acts 8:27).ISBE Authority in Religion.86

3. Common Elements in Their Meaning: Of the words translated "authority," exousia, alone expresses the idea of religious authority, whether of God, of Christ or of man. The other uses of this word are here instructive in as bringing out the common element in secular and religious authority. The control of the state over its subjects, whether as supreme in the person of emperor or king, or as delegated to and exercised by proconsul, magistrate or soldier, and the control of a householder over his family and servants and property, exercised directly or indirectly through stewards, have some characteristics which also pertain to religious authority; and the differences, essential though they are, must be derived from the context and the circumstances of the case. In one passage indeed the civil type of authority is mentioned to be repudiated as something that should not obtain within the religious community (Matthew 20:25-27 = Mark 10:42-44 = Luke 22:25-26). But although its principle and power are so entirely different in different realms, the fact of authority as determining religious thought, conduct and relations permeates the whole Bible, and is expressed by many terms and phrases besides those translated "authority."ISBE Authority in Religion.87

III. Biblical Teaching. A summary of the Biblical account of authority is given in Hebrews 1:1; "God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in a Son [RVm]." Behind all persons and institutions stands God, who reveals His mind and exercises His sovereignty in many ways, through many persons and institutions, piecemeal and progressively, until His final revelation of His mind and will culminates in Jesus Christ.ISBE Authority in Religion.88

1. Old Testament Teaching: (1) Earliest Form PatriarchalISBE Authority in Religion.89

The earliest form of authority is patriarchal. The father of the family is at once its prophet, priest and king. The consciousness of individuality was as yet weak. The unit of life was the family, and the father sums up the family in himself before God and stands to it as God. Such is the earliest picture of religious life found in the Bible. For whatever view may be taken of the historicity of Gen, there can be little doubt that the stories of the patriarchs represent an early stage of religious life, before the national or even the tribal consciousness had developed.ISBE Authority in Religion.90

(2) Tribal and Personal AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.91

When the tribal consciousness emerges, it is clad in a network of customs and traditions which had grown with it, and which governed the greater part of the life of the tribe. The father had now become the elder and judge who exercised authority over the larger family, the tribe. But also, men of commanding personality and influence appear, who change and refashion the tribal customs. They may be men of practical wisdom like Jethro, great warriors like Joshua, or emergency men like the judges. Moses stands apart, a prophet and reformer who knew that he bore a message from God to reform his people's religion, and gave Israel a knowledge of God and a covenant with God which set them forever apart from all other peoples. Other tribes might have a Jethro, a Joshua and a Jephtha, but Israel alone had its Moses. His authority has remained a large factor in the life of Israel to the present day and should hereafter be assumed as existing side by side with other authorities mentioned.ISBE Authority in Religion.92

(3) Seers and PriestsISBE Authority in Religion.93

In our earliest glimpses of Hebrew life in Canaan we find bands of seers or prophets associated with religion in Israel, as well as a disorganized priesthood which conducted the public worship of Yahweh. These features were probably common to Israel and neighboring Semitic tribes. Here again the individual person emerges who rises above custom and tradition, and exercises an individual authority direct from God over the lives of the people. Samuel, too, was a prophet, priest and king, but he regarded his function as so entirely ministerial, that God might be said to govern His people directly and personally, though He made known His will through the prophet.ISBE Authority in Religion.94

(4) Kings and Established ReligionISBE Authority in Religion.95

In the period of the kingship, religious authority became more organized, institutional and external. The occasional cooperation of the tribes developed into nationality, and the sporadic leadership of emergency chieftains gave way to the permanent rule of the king. Priests and prophets became organized and recognized guilds which acted together under the protection and influence of the king, along the lines of traditional morality and religion. The Hebrew church in its middle ages was an established church and thoroughly "Erastian." We know very little of the details of its organization, but it is clear that the religious orders as a rule offered little resistance to the corrupting influences of the court and of the surrounding heathenism.ISBE Authority in Religion.96

(5) The Great ProphetsISBE Authority in Religion.97

Opposition to corruption and advance to higher levels of religious life invariably originated outside the recognized religious authorities. God raised for Himself prophets such as Elijah, Amos, Isaiah and Jeremiah, who spoke out of the consciousness of an immediate vision or message or command from God. In turn they influenced the established religious authorities, as may be seen in the reformations of Hezekiah and Josiah. All that is distinctive in the religion of Israel, all revelation of God in the Old Testament, proceeded from the inner experiences of the irregular prophets.ISBE Authority in Religion.98

(6) The Canon and Rabbinical TraditionISBE Authority in Religion.99

In the Judaism of the post-exilic period, the disappearance of the kingship, and the cessation of prophecy produced new conditions which demanded a readaptation of religious authorities. The relative position of the priesthood was greatly enhanced. Its chiefs became princes of Jerusalem, and exercised all the powers of theocracy that remained under foreign rule. And new developments emerged. The formation of the canon of the Old Testament set up a body of writings which stood as a permanent and external standard of doctrine and worship. But the necessity was felt to interpret the Scriptures and to apply them to existing conditions. The place of the old prophetic guilds was taken by the new order of rabbis and scribes. Gradually they secured a share with the priests in the administration of the law. "In the last two pre-Christian centuries and throughout the Talmudic times, the scribes tsopherim, also called the wise chakhamim, who claimed to have received the true interpretation of the Law as `the tradition of the Elders and Fathers' in direct line from Moses, the prophets, and the men of the great synagogue, .... included people from all classes. They formed the court of justice in every town as well as the high court of justice, the Sanhedrin in Jerus" (Kohler in Jew Encyclopedia, II, 337). In the time of Christ, these courts were the recognized authorities in all matters of religion.ISBE Authority in Religion.100

2. New Testament Teaching: (1) Jesus Christ's Authority. When He began to teach in Palestine, all knowledge of God, and all exercise of His authority were mediated through the priests and scribes, who however claimed the Old Testament as their source. Christ was neither the destroyer nor the creator of institutions. He never discussed the abstract right or capacity of the Jewish orders to be religious teachers. He enjoined obedience to their teaching (Matthew 23:2-3). Still less did He question the authority of the Old Testament. He came not to destroy, but to fulfill the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17). But He did two things which involved the assertion of a new and superior authority in Himself. He repudiated the scribes' interpretation of the law (Matthew 23:13-16), and He declared that certain of the provisions of the Mosaic law itself were temporary and tentative, and to be replaced or supplemented by His own more adequate teaching (Matthew 5:32, 34, 39, 44; Matthew 19:8-9). In doing this, He was really fulfilling a line of thought which permeates the entire Old Testament. All its writers disclaim finality and look forward to a fuller revelation of the mind of God in a day of Yahweh or a new covenant or a Messiah. Jesus Christ regarded these expectations as being realized in Himself, and claimed to complete and fulfill the development which had run through the Old Testament. As such, He claims finality in His teaching of the will of God, and absolute authority in the realm of religion and morals.ISBE Authority in Religion.101

(a) His TeachingISBE Authority in Religion.102

His teaching is with authority. His hearers contrast it with that of the scribes, who, with all the prestige of tradition and establishment, in comparison with Him, entirely lacked authority (Matthew 7:29; Mark 1:22; Luke 4:32; John 7:46).ISBE Authority in Religion.103

(b) His WorksISBE Authority in Religion.104

His authority as a teacher is closely associated with His works, especially as these revealed His authority over that world of evil spirits whose influence was felt in the mental disorders that afflicted people (Mark 1:27; Luke 4:36).ISBE Authority in Religion.105

(c) Forgiving and JudgingISBE Authority in Religion.106

In His claim to forgive sins, sanctioned by works of healing, He seemed to exercise a Divine prerogative (Matthew 9:6, 8; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24). It implied an infallible moral judgment, a power to dispense with the recognized laws of retribution and to remove guilt, which could only inhere in God. All these powers are asserted in another form in the statement that He is the final judge (John 5:27).ISBE Authority in Religion.107

(d) Life and SalvationISBE Authority in Religion.108

He therefore possesses authority over life and salvation. The Father gave Him authority over all flesh, "that whatsoever thou hast given him, to them he should give eternal life" (John 17:2 the American Revised Version, margin). This authority begins in His power over His own life to give it in sacrifice for men (John 10:18). By faith in Him and obedience to Him, men obtain salvation (Matthew 10:32; Matthew 11:28-30). Their relation to Him determines their relation to God and to the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 10:40; Luke 12:8).ISBE Authority in Religion.109

(e) Derived from His SonshipISBE Authority in Religion.110

When challenged by the chief priests and elders, the established religious authorities, to state by what authority He taught, He gives no categorical reply, but tells them the parable of the Vineyard. All the prophets and teachers that had come from God before Him were servants, but He is the Son (Matthew 21:23-27, 37; Mark 11:28-33; 12:6; Luke 20:2, 8, 13). The Fourth Gospel definitely founds His authority upon His sonship (John 5:19-27). Paul deduces it from His self-sacrifice (Philippians 2:5-11).ISBE Authority in Religion.111

(f) In His Ascended StateISBE Authority in Religion.112

In His ascended state, all authority in heaven and on earth is given unto Him (Matthew 28:18). It is not only authority in the church, and in the moral kingdom, but in the universe. God has set Him "far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come" (Ephesians 1:21; compare Colossians 2:10; 1 Peter 3:22; 1 Corinthians 15:24; Revelation 12:10).ISBE Authority in Religion.113

(g) Christ and the ParacleteISBE Authority in Religion.114

His authority in the church as revealer of truth and Lord of spirits is not limited or completed within His earthly life. By His resurrection and exaltation He lives on in the church. "Where two or three are gathered .... in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). Greater works than He did in the flesh will be done in the church, because of His exaltation: (John 14:12); and by His sending the Paraclete, "Comforter" (American Revised Version) (John 14:16). The Paraclete, which is the Holy Spirit, will teach the disciples all things, and bring to their remembrance all that He said unto them (John 14:26). He has many things to tell them which in the days of His flesh they cannot receive, but the Spirit of truth shall guide them into all truth (John 16:12-13). And the Paraclete is neither separated nor distinct from Him in His exalted and permanent life (John 14:18, 28). Herein is the authority of Christ made complete and permanent. His teaching, works and character, as facts outside of men, even while He lived, and still more when He was dead, could only partially and imperfectly rule their spirits. "Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip?" In the day of the Spirit's revelation "ye shall know that I am in my Father" (John 14:9, 20). Nor, again, did or could He define the truth as it applied to every contingency throughout all time, while He lived under the limitations of time and place. Such a revelation, if it could have been given, would have been quite useless, for men can only a pprehend the truth progressively and in relation to the position they occupy in time and place. But by His permanent spiritual presence in the church, He enters into, inhabits and governs its whole life and determines for it what is true and right at every stage of its development. (See Forrest, Authority of Christ, 202-3.) To ask whence Christ derives or how He possesses the authority above described, is to raise the whole question of His metaphysical existence. Empirically, we see it issuing from two facts which are essentially one--His filial consciousness and His moral perfection. These chiefly are the empirical facts which the church has sought to interpret and express in the metaphysical doctrine of the Incarnation. (See Forrest, op. cit.)ISBE Authority in Religion.115

(2) The Disciples' Authority. The first disciples acknowledged Christ in all things as their Lord and Master; not the teaching they had heard, nor the example they had witnessed, but Christ in His permanent, living presence. They pray to Him to fill Judas' place among the Twelve (Acts 1:24-25). He gave the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:33). In His name they perform their miracles (Acts 3:6; 9:34). With Him Saul meets on the way to Damascus (Acts 9:5; Galatians 1:12). From Him they receive the teaching and commands which they deliver to the churches (1 Corinthians 11:23).ISBE Authority in Religion.116

But they too exercised an authority which is derivative, secondary, and dependent upon Him.ISBE Authority in Religion.117

(a) Derived from ChristISBE Authority in Religion.118

While Jesus Christ yet lived He gave the Twelve, and again the Seventy, authority to cast out unclean spirits and to heal all manner of diseases, while they went about preaching (Matthew 10:1; Mark 3:15; 6:7; Luke 9:1; 10:19). After His resurrection He gave them commission to bear witness for Him, to baptize and to teach all nations (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:48-49). Paul also traced his authority to preach directly to Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:1, 12). From Him they received their endowment with the Holy Spirit for the work (Acts 1:5; 2:33).ISBE Authority in Religion.119

(b) Paul's AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.120

Paul claimed for himself, and by inference, for the other apostles, authority to exercise discipline in the churches, "which the Lord gave for building you up" (2 Corinthians 10:8; 13:10). All the church's ministers exercise oversight and admonition over the churches (1 Thessalonians 5:12; 2 Timothy 4:2; 2:2).ISBE Authority in Religion.121

(c) Authority of All BelieversISBE Authority in Religion.122

The authority of sonship, and of participation in the tree of life belongs to all believers (John 1:12; Revelation 22:14).ISBE Authority in Religion.123

(d) Authority over the NationsISBE Authority in Religion.124

And in virtue of their faith they have authority over the nations (Revelation 2:26; 20:4). Christ makes them to be kings (Revised Version (British and American) a kingdom) and priests (Revelation 1:6), a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9).ISBE Authority in Religion.125

In all this we are to see the authority of faith, of character, of men who are messengers of Christ because they are in living union with Him. It pertains to no office or institution, and exists only where Christ reigns in men, and therefore, through them.ISBE Authority in Religion.126

(3) Church's Authority Moral and Personal. It is moral and personal and more concerned with life than with doctrine. Paul was the greatest teacher of the early church, but he claims no infallibility, promulgates no dogma, imposes no standard of orthodoxy beyond faith in Christ. He reasons, argues and persuades men to accept the gospel he had received of the Lord, but he knows no other authority than the truth as it is a living fact in Jesus Christ.ISBE Authority in Religion.127

In the Pastoral Epistles we certainly read of a "sound doctrine" which should be taught and believed, but it has not crystallized into a creed, and the only condition of salvation laid down is living faith in Jesus Christ.ISBE Authority in Religion.128

See DOCTRINE.ISBE Authority in Religion.129

The authority of the apostolic church, then, is in the first place that of individual men in whom Jesus Christ lives, a direct personal and individual authority. It is true that the individual can only live the Christian life, and therefore know the Christian truth, in a society, but that does not impair the individual and personal character of his witness. Yet as the church lives a collective life, there is a sense in which it may be said to bear a collective witness. Men are naturally more readily impressed by an idea held by the many. That is right in so far as the probability of the truth of a doctrine increases with the number of minds which approve it. That is the element of truth in the Catholic dictum quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est ("what is believed everywhere, always, and by all"). But the assent of the many does not constitute the truth of an idea or fact, nor enhance its authority. And there are levels of truth to which only few minds can attain, so that the assent of the many may be a presumption against the truth of an idea. And in the last resort, men do not accept ideas with mind and heart, because many believe them, but because of their inherent truth, their power to govern their minds. And the essential truth of a doctrine is no greater, whether one or a million accept it.ISBE Authority in Religion.130

The apostolic church recognized this principle, for it never claimed for itself greater authority than that of a tutor to bring men to Christ, the one Lord. Peter, Paul, John, each knew Christ in a degree, and each spoke of Him as well as he could, but none of them claims to say all, or demands that his own teaching should absolutely rule men's minds; and the collective authority of the church can never rise higher than that of its best spirits.ISBE Authority in Religion.131

(4) Authority of the Bible. And the authority of the Bible as a whole is of the same nature as that of the church. It is a record of the experiences of men who knew God in various ways and degrees, but among them all there is only one Master. `No one knows the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal Him.' In varying degrees obedience should be rendered to many men in the church and outside of it, as they satisfy the demands of reason and conscience, but in the last resort every soul by itself must find, choose and obey its own King. For Christians Christ alone is King, as He revealed Himself in His human personality, in the experience and history of the church, and ultimately in the personal experience of every believer. (For a different view see J. H. Leckie, Authority in Religion.)ISBE Authority in Religion.132

IV. Outline History of Ecclesiastical Doctrine of Authority.ISBE Authority in Religion.133

1. Appeal to Reason as Logos: Different ideas, drawn from many sources, soon replaced New Testament principles of authority in the life and thought of the church. The Greek apologists and Fathers were generally dominated by the Platonic doctrine of the Logos, and thought of God as dwelling in man and communicating His mind to him by giving him a share of His own mind and reason. While they accepted the Scriptures and the traditions of the church as Divine teaching, they did not regard them as external and sovereign authorities, but rather as copies of the Divine reason which dwelt in every man, but in complete and perfect manner only in Jesus Christ.ISBE Authority in Religion.134

2. Orthodox Dogma: Neo-Platonism followed, and it underlies much of the church teaching from Origen to Augustine. God as pure being could not make known His essence to men, and His Logos in all the forms of its manifestation tended to become a spoken word which God had sent forth from Himself, rather than the living indwelling of God with men. When the Logos ceased to be living, it tended to become external and stereotyped, and upon this basis grew up Greek orthodoxy. Men who knew but little of the living personal Word felt the need of defining and establishing the central truths of Christianity in fixed and permanent forms which should become the standard of all thinking. The inward witness of the Logos disappears, and the external authority of tradition and dogma as defined by the councils took its place. The bishops preserved the tradition and constituted the councils and thus became the organs of authority. The Scriptures were still venerated in words, but in fact subordinated to the episcopacy.ISBE Authority in Religion.135

3. Scholasticism: Aristotle's philosophy dominated the Middle Ages, or rather the pale ghost of Aristotle's system, the formal logic only. The forms of thought were mistaken for its essence. Truth consisted in logical consistency and systematic coherence. The dogmas of earlier ages were assumed as premises from which to deduce, by syllogistic inference, the whole structure of the church and its organs and sacraments, as the infallible representatives of God on earth.ISBE Authority in Religion.136

4. Ecclesiastical Absolutism: Nominalism emptied the forms of thought of all reality and reared the ecclesiastical system upon negation. All the more necessary was it to affirm the absolute and unquestioned authority of the church, since it rested upon no reason or reality to which appeal could be made to justify its position and teaching. Thus, the growth of absolutism in the church went pari passu with the disappearance of idealism, of any contact of the mind with reality, truth and God. Another way of saying this truth is that the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and of the living Christ suffered a total eclipse during the Middle Ages, while the authority of the church as the organ of revelation became absolute.ISBE Authority in Religion.137

5. Reformation Principles: The Reformation was not consciously based upon any philosophic principles. It was the product of practical necessities. Men's spiritual needs drove them back to God, and they found Him in two sources, in the Bible, which was the record of His self-revelation through prophet, psalmist, apostle and preeminently through Jesus Christ, and in the accordant testimony of the Holy Spirit in their own hearts. But the underlying principles of this teaching were not articulated in a philosophy of knowledge and revelation for two centuries.ISBE Authority in Religion.138

6. New Scholasticism: Therefore the second and third generations of Reformers, no longer possessed by the visions and convictions of Luther and Calvin, were thrown back upon the old scholastic philosophy which recognized no kinship of mind between God and man, and knew no direct communication between them. Hence, it was necessary to find a new external authority, and this they discovered in the Bible which they made into a law of truth, as defined anew by ecclesiastical councils.ISBE Authority in Religion.139

7. The Inner Light: But the mystical side of the Reformers' teaching was not altogether lost, and a few obscure bodies of Christians continued to hold the doctrine of the inner light. Yet as the scholastic Protestants took only half--the objective half of the Reformers' teaching--the mystics only took the subjective half, and every man's imagination tended to become a law unto himself.ISBE Authority in Religion.140

8. Back to Experience: Kant did for philosophy what Luther had done for religion. He rejected its dogmas and external authorities in order to come back to its realities. He was the first philosopher of the Protestant principle. He sought to discover a direct relation between man's mind and reality. He did not fully succeed. The old dogma of the noumenon as something that lay completely beyond man's ken clung to him, and vitiated his system. But through man's moral nature, he found a way to the heart of reality and to God. His idealistic principles were developed by his successors into the modern idealism, upon which it has been possible to erect a theory of knowledge that brings man's mind into direct contact with God, and therefore, a theory of authority which represents God as directly the sovereign of the soul.ISBE Authority in Religion.141

9. Distrust of Reason: But the other side of Kant's philosophy, too, was developed into a theory of religious skepticism and external authority. Man's reason, he had taught, could not come into contact with reality, with the thing-in-itself, and therefore it could know nothing of God. This distrust of reason was made the basis of two different systems of external authority by Dean Mansol and Cardinal Newman. The skeptical element really descended from Locke and Hume, but men who would have disdained to learn their theology from Hume accepted Hume's principles from Kant, and built upon them, as a house upon sand, one, the authority of Anglicanism, and the other, the authority of Romanism.ISBE Authority in Religion.142

10. Christian Skepticism: Kant's skepticism also allied itself with elements of Luther's teaching and traveled a middle course in the school of Ritschl. While holding that man may have knowledge and experience of Divine things in Jesus Christ, who is of the practical value of God for religious experience, the Ritschlians scruple to affirm that it is a direct and actual knowledge of God as He is essentially. This they will neither deny nor affirm, but the refusal to affirm has for many minds the effect of denial, and it leads to a subjectivism which is not far removed from skepticism and the denial of all authority.ISBE Authority in Religion.143

V. Classification of Theories: The various theories of authority may be now classed as follows:ISBE Authority in Religion.144

1. External: (1) Incipient CatholicismISBE Authority in Religion.145

Incipient Catholicism in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.--All ideas of a living and prosefit revelation were suppressed as in the case of Montanism. Three more or less coordinate authorities were set up which determined for individual Christians what was Christian truth and conduct. The canon of the New Testament was gradually formed to define what writings, in addition to the Old Testament taken over from the Jewish church, were inspired by the Holy Spirit and of Divine authority. The outline of a common creed or rule of faith grew up as the standard interpretation of Scripture. Above all was the episcopacy, which was supposed to preserve in unbroken tradition the unwritten teaching of the apostles. As the only living factor in this system of authority the last easily secured the predominant place. (See Harnack, History of Dogma,II , chapter ii, English translation.)ISBE Authority in Religion.146

(2) General Councils. The authority of the episcopacy was organized into a permanent and general form in the councils, to whose decision obedience was demanded on pain of excommunication. The councils professed and believed that they were only defining the teaching that had always obtained in the church, and therefore invested themselves and their decisions with the authority of Christ.ISBE Authority in Religion.147

(3) Romanism. During the Middle Ages, the church of Rome concentrated in itself, that is, in its episcopacy, all the authority of tradition, bishops, councils and whatever else had held sway over the mind of the church. Scripture was ignored and the Bishop of Rome exercised the plenary authority of God over men's minds and lives. "Boniface VIII accepted in the Bull Unam sancram (ecclesiam) of November 18, 1302, the Thomist doctrine of the papacy: `We declare, say, define and pronounce that it is essential to salvation that every human creature should subject himself to the Roman Pontiff'" (Loofs, Dogmengeschichte, 307).ISBE Authority in Religion.148

(4) Papal Infallibility. This theory culminated in 1870 in the formal declaration of the infallibility of the pope. "The Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra .... has that infallibility, with which the Divine Redeemer endowed His church, in defining a doctrine of faith or morals" (Vatican Council, 1870, Session 4, cap. 4). This authority of the pope extends over all questions of knowledge and conduct, of discipline and government in the whole church. The theory is based upon the doctrine of tradition, as laid down in the Council of Chalcedon. "The doctrine of Catholic teaching is, that the body of publicly revealed doctrine has received no objective increase since the days of the apostles," and "it is no change of doctrine when that which has always been held implicitly becomes the subject of an explicit declaration" (Hunter, Outlines of Dogmatic Theology, I, 159, 164). Newman and recent modernists, however, concede a development in the doctrines of the church, but on the basis of the traditional teaching derived from the apostles. But once a development is conceded, questions arise as to its principles and conditions, and the whole authority that rests upon them falls to the ground by the mere fact of an appeal from it to the principles that govern its development. The attempt to evade criticism by positing the miraculous preservation of the tradition from error involves a further appeal from the supposed authority to a hypothetical miracle for which there is no tittle of evidence. All the evidence is against it. The history of the church shows that it has been as liable to error, and as readily influenced by natural conditions, as any other human institution.ISBE Authority in Religion.149

(5) Inerrancy of Scripture. When Protestants sought an external authority, they posited the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, and the whole Christian faith was founded upon that dogma. "Holy Scripture is the judge, or rather the voice of the supreme and infallible judge, the Holy Spirit, and the norm to which an inferior judge should refer in deciding controversies of faith, and according to which alone he should give sentence" (Quenstedt, quoted in Hutterns Redivivus, 119, 10th edition). Protestants found it necessary to interpret Scripture, and to define doctrines in synods and councils, but their decisions had authority only because they were supposed to be expositions of Scripture, and in that sense, the expression of God's mind. They differed from the "Catholic" councils in that they claimed no authority of their own and repudiated any authority that might be derived from tradition or the ministerial office.ISBE Authority in Religion.150

(6) Anglican Appeal to Antiquity. In the Anglican church too, the Scriptures as infallible were the ultimate authority, but some kind of a coordinate authority was claimed for the priesthood as standing in the succession of the apostles, and for the church Fathers and councils of the first six centuries. And the tendency has been to lay increasing emphasis on the latter factors, as criticism has undermined the literal and external authority of Scripture.ISBE Authority in Religion.151

(7) Limitations of External Authority. All the above-mentioned theories contain an element of truth, and the authorities they posit have in their turns ruled the minds and lives of men; but none of them can be regarded as adequate and final expressions of the mind of God to man.ISBE Authority in Religion.152

(a) Not InfallibleISBE Authority in Religion.153

It is superfluous to demonstrate that they are not infallible; in spite of that they might still be all the authority that man can have or need.ISBE Authority in Religion.154

(b) Rests on Personal AuthorityISBE Authority in Religion.155

They all rest on the assumption that God's self-revelation came to an end with the apostolic age. The Biblical theory admittedly does, and the tradition theories strictly interpreted are in exactly the same case. An authority resting upon a traditional teaching handed down faithfully from the apostles would differ in no essential respect from one resting upon the written words of the apostles. They would be equally limited, literal, external and mechanical. But problems of mind and conduct have arisen, which the apostles never contemplated, and which their teaching (whether preserved in written or oral tradition matters nothing) could not solve.ISBE Authority in Religion.156

(c) No Apostolical Tradition ExtantISBE Authority in Religion.157

As a matter of fact no traditional teaching of the apostles supplementing their writings has ever been discovered or can be discovered. What has been put forward as such is in manifest contradiction to their writings.ISBE Authority in Religion.158

(d) No Consensus of FathersISBE Authority in Religion.159

The idea that there is a consensus of opinion among church Fathers is equally illusory. If there were, it would need to be proved that such opinion could have any binding authority in religion.ISBE Authority in Religion.160

(e) Bible Needs InterpretationISBE Authority in Religion.161

The Bible is not one body of truth all standing at the same level, and whatever view of its inspiration may be held, some further authority will be needed to discriminate between the lower and the higher in its teaching.ISBE Authority in Religion.162

(f) Authority Necessarily SpiritualISBE Authority in Religion.163

Above all, an authority which is merely external and objective is no authority at all to the mature religious life. Blind submission to any external authority, creed, church or book, is the condition of a slave, and in such case "our spiritual intelligence is not quickened and developed by communion with the infinite wisdom, but arrested and quelled. Only then, on the other hand, are we spiritually enfranchised when we receive a revelation as from God, not because we are awed or terrified or allured by our selfish interests into reception of it, but because our own minds and hearts respond to it, because we see and know it to be true" (J. Caird, University Sermons (1898), 204-5).ISBE Authority in Religion.164

2. Internal Authority: Theories of internal authority are in the nature of the case not so easily classified or defined as those of external; nor have they as yet filled so large a place in the public life of the church. But it would be a serious error to suppose that all the men who gave their adherence to systems of external authority lived in mere subjection to them. The history of mysticism in the church is the history of independent thought resting in a direct knowledge of God that transcended all external authority. Montanism and Gnosticism each in its own way appealed to an inner criterion of truth. All heresies involved some independent judgment, and appealed to authorities that were neither objective nor established. The Protestant Reformation was an open revolt against external authority, and although it resulted for a time in the substitution of another external authority, neither its original motive, nor its permanent force had any kinship with it. Luther's free criticism of the Bible, and Calvin's appeal to the testimony of the Holy Spirit as the final principle of its interpretation, are well known. No body of Protestants at present founds its faith on the mere letter of Scripture or creed. Inward authority has been conceived in many ways and expressed by many terms, such as the Logos (Greek apologists); the Paraclete (Montanus); ecstasy (Mystics); knowledge as opposed to faith or creed (Gnostics); the personal experience of faith (Luther); the testimony of the Holy Spirit (Calvin); the inner light (Quakers); individual experience (Pietists); practical reason (Kant); religious feeling (Schleiermacher); the historical Christ (Ritschl); conscience (Martineau); the living Christ (R. W. Dale); the consciousness of Christ (A.M. Fairbairn); the Christ of history and of experience (D. W. Forest) and many more. The variety suggests at first the denial rather than the affirmation of authority, but it is only in such a variety that the principles of an adequate authority can be recognized.ISBE Authority in Religion.165

The ultimate authority in religion is God as He reigns in men's hearts. But both the experience itself and the expression and interpretation of it vary with each individual. A religious authority to be real and effective must win the response of the human spirit, and in that personal relation of Spirit with spirit lie the conditions of variation. Yet human reason and conscience everywhere tend to acknowledge one standard, to recognize one ideal and to obey one Lord. Nothing can force such a uniformity but the inward fitness of one supreme revelation to the common demands of humanity. No agreement yet exists as to the possibility or reality of such a revelation. But wherever men lend themselves to the spiritual contact of Jesus Christ with their souls, without the intervention of human creeds or institutions, their conscience and reason approve His moral supremacy and their spirits recognize His intimate knowledge of the Father.ISBE Authority in Religion.166

LITERATURE:ISBE Authority in Religion.167

Besides books already mentioned, Bruce, Chief End of Revelation; Sanday, Inspiration, and Oracles of God; Oman, Vision and Authority, and The Problem of Faith and Freedom; Asia Minor Fairbairn, Catholicism, Roman and Anglican; Sabatier, The Religions of Authority; Watson, The Philosophical Basis of Religion; Kaftan, The Truth of the Christian Religion; Gwatkin, The Knowledge of God; Iverach, article "Authority" in Hastings, Encyclopedia of Theology and Ethics; E. O. Davies, Prolegomena to Systematic Theology, especially for Bibliography.ISBE Authority in Religion.168

T. ReesISBE Authority in Religion.169

Authority; Authority in General

Authority; Authority in General - o-thor'-i-ti.ISBE Authority; Authority in General.2

See AUTHORITY IN RELIGION, sec. I.ISBE Authority; Authority in General.3

Authorized Version

Authorized Version - o'-thor-iz'd.ISBE Authorized Version.2

See ENGLISH VERSIONS.ISBE Authorized Version.3

Autranitis

Autranitis - o-ran-i'-tis: Used by Josephus for HAURAN (which see).ISBE Autranitis.2

Ava

Ava - a'-va.ISBE Ava.2

See AWA.ISBE Ava.3

Avail

Avail - a-val' shawah, "to be equal," hence "to be enough," "to avail"): Used in the sense of "satisfy" (Esther 5:13). Queen Esther's exceptional favor availed not to satisfy Haman, because of his insane jealousy of his rival Mordecai. ischuo, "to be strong.," translated also "prevail" (Revelation 12:8); with a negative signifies incompetence, e.g. the impossibility of redemptivc merit or power in an outward ceremony or act (Galatians 5:6; 6:15 the King James Version): "neither circumcision availcth anything," contrasted with the efficacy of faith "in Christ Jesus." Used also to express the efficacy of prayer (James 5:16).ISBE Avail.2

Avaran

Avaran - av'-a-ran: A surname of Eleazar, the third son of Mattathias (1 Maccabees 2:5). It is doubtfully conjectured that Eleazar received this surname from the episode related in 1 Maccabees 6:43-46; the word may mean "the piercer," referring to his stabbing of the elephant. Some connect it with chur, "to be white," and connect it with Eleazar's white complexion. The Syriac reads "Chavran" and the Vulgate's "Abaron"; the Septuagint in 1 Maccabees 6:43 gives Sauaran which is an error for Eleazaros auran; Septuagint's Codex Venetus corrects to auran.ISBE Avaran.2

Aven

Aven - a'-ven 'awen "emptiness," "vanity": Used in Ezekiel 30:17 for On or Heliopolis, in Egypt. See ON . As a term of contempt Hosea calls Beth-el "Beth-aven" (Ezekiel 4:15; 10:5). So Amos speaks of some valley near Damascus as "the valley of Aven" (that is, of the idol, Ezekiel 1:5), in which Baalbek (Heliopolis) was situated. The word is rendered "idol" in Isaiah 66:3.ISBE Aven.2

Avenge; Avenger

Avenge; Avenger - a-venj' a-venj'-er: Avenge.--The general idea connected with this word is that of inflicting punishment upon the wrongdoer. Since emphasis may be placed upon the deed itself, the wrongdoer, or the injured party, the verb is found an intransitive (only Leviticus 19:18; see below), transitive (2 Samuel 4:8 et al.); and also active (Deuteronomy 32:43), passive (Jeremiah 5:9) and reflexive (Esther 8:13). In 1 Samuel 25:26 ff avenge is translated from yasha`, "to save" (Revised Version margin, "thine own hand saving thee"), in Hosea 1:4 from paqadh, "to visit," and in 2 Samuel 18:19 ff from shaphaT, "to judge," but the usual Hebrew word is naqam, or derivatives, "to avenge." The translation in the Revised Version (British and American) differs in some places from King James Version: Numbers 31:3 (Revised Version (British and American) "execute Yahweh's vengeance"; compare 2 Samuel 22:48; Psalms 18:47; Leviticus 26:25); Leviticus 19:18 (Revised Version (British and American) "tak vengeance"); Judges 5:2 (Revised Version (British and American) "for that the leaders took the lead in Israel" from para`, "to be free, to lead"). In the New Testament avenge is translated from the Greek ekdikeo, "to do justice," "to protect" (Luke 18:3 ff et al.) and the King James Version Revelation 18:20, krino, "to judge" (Revised Version (British and American) "God hath judged your judgment").ISBE Avenge; Avenger.2

Avenger.--That is, the person who inflicts punishment upon the evil-doer for a wrong experienced by himself (from naqam, "to avenge"; Psalms 8:2 et al.) or by someone else from ga'al, "to redeem"; Numbers 35:12 ff et al.). In the New Testament avenger occurs only once; "the Lord is an avenger in all things" (1 Thessalonians 4:6). It was the duty of the nearest relative to execute vengeance upon the murderer of his kin: he became the go'el. With reference to the protective legislation and custom, see GOEL. Compare BLOOD; REVENGE,REVENGER .ISBE Avenge; Avenger.3

A. L. BreslichISBE Avenge; Avenger.4

Averse

Averse - a-vurs' shabh, "to turn back," "retreat"): Quiet, peaceful wanderers (Micah 2:8).ISBE Averse.2

Avim

Avim - av'-im.ISBE Avim.2

See AVVIM.ISBE Avim.3

Avims

Avims - av'-imz (Deuteronomy 2:23).ISBE Avims.2

See AVVIM.ISBE Avims.3

Avites

Avites - a'-vits.ISBE Avites.2

See AVVIM.ISBE Avites.3

Avith

Avith - a'-vith `awith: The royal city of Hadad king of Edom (Genesis 36:35; 1 Chronicles 1:46). The Septuagint reads Getthaim. There is no clue to its identification.ISBE Avith.2

Avoid

Avoid - a-void: Archaic use in 1 Samuel 18:11 for "escaped." In the Revised Version (British and American) of New Testament only in 2 Corinthians 8:20 stellomenoi with negative), literally, "arranging that not," etc., i.e. by anticipation providing that something should not occur. In the King James Version for "turn away from," ekklinete: Romans 16:17; 1 Timothy 6:20; "refuse," paraitou, 2 Timothy 2:23; periistaso, Titus 3:9.ISBE Avoid.2

Avouch

Avouch - a-vouch': In English Versions of the Bible only in Deuteronomy 26:17-18, in the sense of "to confess," "avow," "publicly and solemnly declare." The Hebrew form is likewise unique (Hiph. of 'amar).ISBE Avouch.2

Avvim; Avites

Avvim; Avites - av'-im a'-vits `awwim; Heuaioi, also unaspirated; also used to represent the name of the Hivites): The early inhabitants of the southern extremity of Canaan afterward occupied by the Philistines (Deuteronomy 2:23; compare Joshua 13:3-4, the King James Version "Avim," a'-vim). The Avvim of Joshua 18:23 was a town of Benjamin, not a people. Gesenius supposes the name to mean "dwellers in the desert," but it was more probably the name of some pre-Sem tribe. The Avvim are described as living in Chatserim or "encampments" and extending as far as the outskirts of Gaza.ISBE Avvim; Avites.2

Awa

Awa - av'-a `awwa'; the King James Version Ava, a'-va: A province, the people of which Shalmaneser king of Assyria placed in the cities of Samaria in the room of the children of Israel taken into exile by him (2 Kings 17:24). It is probably the same as Ivva (2 Kings 18:34; 19:13; Isaiah 37:13), a province conquered by Assyria.ISBE Awa.2

Await

Await - a-wat': Only in Acts 9:24 the King James Version, in its now obsolete sense as a noun, "ambush": "their laying await was known of Saul." the Revised Version (British and American) "their plot."ISBE Await.2

Awake

Awake - a-wak' yaqats, "to waken"; `ur, "to rouse up" from sleep; egeiro, "to arouse from sleep"): The ordinary terms for awaking from natural slumber: as of Jacob at Bethel (Genesis 28:16); of Solomon at Gibeon (1 Kings 3:15); of Jesus in the storm-tossed boat (Luke 8:24). Used figure with striking effect of awaking from mental, moral and spiritual sleep: as when Deborah calls upon herself to awake to the fervor and eloquence of poetry (Judges 5:12); of Zion's awaking to moral vigor and beauty (Isaiah 52:1); of waking from spiritual death (Ephesians 5:14); from the grave in resurrection (Daniel 12:2). Poetically used of the rising north wind (Song of Solomon 4:16); of music (Psalms 108:2); of the sword in battle (Zechariah 13:7); of a lover's affection (Song of Solomon 2:7); of God Himself responding to prayer (Psalms 59:4). Also used of moral awaking, as from drunkenness: eknepho, "to become sober" (compare Joel 1:5).ISBE Awake.2

Dwight M. PrattISBE Awake.3

Away With

Away With - (1) "To endure," "to bear with" (Isaiah 1:13), "I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting," i e. endure the combination of wickedness and worship. In the Hebrew merely, "I am unable iniquity and the solenm meeting." (2) To destroy airo. Found in such expressions as Acts 22:22, "Away with such a fellow from the earth."ISBE Away With.2

Awe

Awe - o: Fear mingled with reverence and wonder, a state of mind inspired by something terrible or sublime. In the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) it occurs in Psalms 4:4: "Stand in awe, and sin not" (where the Revised Version, margin has, "Be ye angry," so Septuagint; compare Ephesians 4:26); Psalms 33:8; 119:161. In the following passages the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "stand in awe for the King James Version "fear": Psalms 22:23 phoboumenoi; Isaiah 29:23; 1 Samuel 18:15; Malachi 2:5; and in Hebrews 12:28 it substitutes "awe" for the King James Version "reverence" (deos here only in New Testament). In all these passages, except 1 Samuel 18:15 (eulabeito, where it describes Saul's feeling toward David), the word stands for man's attitude of reverential fear toward God. This is the characteristic attitude of the pious soul toward God in the Scriptures, especially in the Old Testament. It arises from a consciousness of the infinite power, sublimity and holiness of God, which fills the mind with the "fear of the Lord," and a dread of violating His law.ISBE Awe.2

See FEAR.ISBE Awe.3

D. Miall EdwardsISBE Awe.4

Awl

Awl - ol martsea`: "Bore his ear through with an awl" (Exodus 21:6; Deuteronomy 15:17). The ear was pierced as being the organ of hearing, thus signifying the servant's promise of obedience.ISBE Awl.2

See BORE.ISBE Awl.3

Ax (Axe); Ax-head

Ax (Axe); Ax-head - aks; aks'hed: Nine different Hebrew words have been rendered "ax":ISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.2

(1) garzen. This unquestionably was one of the larger chopping instruments, as the uses to which it was put would imply (Deuteronomy 19:5; 20:19; 1 Kings 6:7; Isaiah 10:15). The modern ax used by the woodchoppers in Syria has a shape much like the ancient stone and bronze axes, with the exception that it is fastened to the handle by passing the latter through a hole in the ax-head, whereas the Egyptian sculptures show that their ax-heads were held to the handles by means of thongs. The so-called battle-ax found at Tell el-Chesy was probably fastened in this way. Syrian peasants are frequently seen carrying in their belts small hatchets the heads of which are shaped like a battle-ax and which are bound to the handles by thongs.ISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.3

(2) ma`atsar, is used in Isaiah 44:12 (King James Version renders "tongs") and in Jeremiah 10:3.ISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.4

(3) qardom, is used in Judges 9:48; 1 Samuel 13:20-21; Psalms 74:5; Jeremiah 46:22. The present Arabic word, qudum, which is the name for the native adze, is from the same origin. The adze is the only chopping instrument of the Syrian carpenter. He uses it for many purposes, where a foreigner would use a saw or chisel or plane, and with a skill which the foreigner envies. Many students of Syrian life believe that the adze is a tool which has survived from the early Hebrew times.ISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.5

(4) barzel (Deuteronomy 19:5; 2 Kings 6:5): The interest associated with this word is that it literally means "iron," although the context indicates that it means "ax." If the word iron was not used here to mean "metal," then iron axes were used by the children of Israel. If iron axes existed, however, they have long since disappeared as the result of corrosion, since the only ones discovered have been of stone, copper or bronze.ISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.6

See METALS.ISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.7

(5) maghzirah (2 Samuel 12:31) is literally, "a cutting instrument," and might be rendered, "a blade" or sickle.ISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.8

(6) megherah (1 Chronicles 20:2), translated in this one passage as axes, but better translated "saws."ISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.9

(7) cherebh (Ezekiel 26:9), rendered ax in this passage only. It is usually translated sword. It could also mean pick-axe.ISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.10

(8) kashil (Psalms 74:6 the King James Version), literally, "a feller," hence, an axe.ISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.11

(9) mapets (Jeremiah 51:20), literally, "a smiter," hence, a war club or battle-axe. The Greek word used in the New Testament is axine (Matthew 3:10; Luke 3:9).ISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.12

James A. PatchISBE Ax (Axe); Ax-head.13

Axle-tree

Axle-tree - ak'-sil-tre.ISBE Axle-tree.2

See SEA,THE MOLTEN .ISBE Axle-tree.3

Ayin

Ayin - a'-yen: `ayin, "eye" or "fountain": The 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, so named, probably, because the original form resembled the eye. `Ayin (`) is usually neglected in pronunciation, and inverted comma (`) is the sign most commonly employed to represent it in transliteration. The same sound is found in the Arabic and other Semitic languages. The Arabs have two pronunciations, one a very strong guttural formed at the back of the palate, something like a rattled "r" or "rg," the other similar in quality, only less harsh and guttural. The Septuagint reproduced the `ayin (`) in some cases by the Greek letter gamma (g)."The numerical value of this letter is 70. An `ayin (`) begins each verse of the 16th section of Psalms 119:1-176 in the Hebrew.ISBE Ayin.2

W.W. DaviesISBE Ayin.3

Azael

Azael - az'-a-el Azaelos; compare Asahel [Ezra 10:15]): Father of Jonathan, one of two chief investigators of foreign marriages (1 Esdras 9:14).ISBE Azael.2

Azaelus

Azaelus - az-a-e'-lus (B, Azaelos; A, Azael; omitted in Ezra 10:1-44): Azaelus, son of Ezora, put away his "strange wife" (1 Esdras 9:34).ISBE Azaelus.2

Azal

Azal - a'-zal.ISBE Azal.2

See AZEL.ISBE Azal.3

Azaliah

Azaliah - az-a-li'-a atsalyahu, "Yahweh has set aside"): A son of Meshullam and father of Shaphan the scribe, famous in connection with the discovery of the law in the reign of King Josiah (2 Kings 22:3).ISBE Azaliah.2

Azaniah

Azaniah - az-a-ni'-a 'azanyah, "Yahweh has given ear"): A son of Jeshua, a Levite who signed the covenant (Nehemiah 10:9).ISBE Azaniah.2

Azaphion

Azaphion - a-za'-fi-on.ISBE Azaphion.2

See ASSAPHIOTH.ISBE Azaphion.3

Azara

Azara - az'-a-ra.ISBE Azara.2

See ASARA.ISBE Azara.3

Azarael

Azarael - a-za'-ra-el.ISBE Azarael.2

See AZAREL.ISBE Azarael.3

Azaraias

Azaraias - az-a-ra'-yas (B, Azaraias; A, Saraias; the King James Version Saraias); compare Seraiah (Ezra 7:1): An ancestor of Ezra (1 Esdras 8:1).ISBE Azaraias.2

Azareel

Azareel - a-zar'-e-el.ISBE Azareel.2

See AZAREL.ISBE Azareel.3

Azarel

Azarel - az'-a-rel `azarel, "God is helper"; the King James Version reads Azareel in numbers 1-5, Azarael in number 6):ISBE Azarel.2

(1) A Korahite who entered the army of David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:6).ISBE Azarel.3

(2) A musician in the temple appointed by lot; son of Heman (1 Chronicles 25:18; compare Uzziel, 1 Chronicles 25:4).ISBE Azarel.4

(3) A captain of the tribe of Dan in the service of David (1 Chronicles 27:22).ISBE Azarel.5

(4) One of those who had "strange wives," a son of Bani (Ezra 10:41).ISBE Azarel.6

(5) The father of Amashai, a priest who dwelt in Jerusalem after the Exile (Nehemiah 11:13).ISBE Azarel.7

(6) A priest's son who played the trumpet in the procession when the wall was dedicated (Nehemiah 12:36).ISBE Azarel.8

A. L. BreslichISBE Azarel.9

Azariah

Azariah - az-a-ri'-a `azaryahu and `azaryah, "Yahweh has helped"):ISBE Azariah.2

(1) King of Judah.ISBE Azariah.3

See UZZIAH.ISBE Azariah.4

(2) A Judahite of the house of Ethan the Wise (1 Chronicles 2:8).ISBE Azariah.5

(3) The son of Jehu, descended from an Egyptian through the daughter of Sheshan (1 Chronicles 2:38).ISBE Azariah.6

(4) A son of Ahimaaz and grandson of Zadok (1 Chronicles 6:9).ISBE Azariah.7

(5) A son of Zadok the high priest and an official of Solomon (1 Kings 4:2).ISBE Azariah.8

(6) A high priest and son of Johanan (1 Chronicles 6:10).ISBE Azariah.9

(7) A Levite, ancestor of Samuel, and Heman the singer (1 Chronicles 6:36).ISBE Azariah.10

(8) A son of Nathan and captain of Solomon's tax collectors (1 Kings 4:5).ISBE Azariah.11

(9) A prophet in the reign of King Asa; his father's name was Oded (2 Chronicles 15:1-8).ISBE Azariah.12

(10 and 11) Two sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah (2 Chronicles 21:2).ISBE Azariah.13

(12) King of Judah (2 Chronicles 22:6, called Ahaziah in 2 Chronicles 22:1).ISBE Azariah.14

(13) A son of Jeroham, who helped to overthrow Athaliah, and place Joash on the throne (2 Chronicles 23:1).ISBE Azariah.15

(14) A son of Johanan and a leading man of Ephraim, mentioned in connection with the emancipated captives taken by Pekah (2 Chronicles 28:12).ISBE Azariah.16

(15) A Levite of the family of Merari, who took part in cleansing the temple in the days of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:12).ISBE Azariah.17

(16) A high priest who rebuked King Uzziah for arrogating to himself priestly functions (2 Chronicles 26:16-20).ISBE Azariah.18

(17) The father of Seraiah and son of Hilkiah (1 Chronicles 6:13 f).ISBE Azariah.19

(18) A son of Hoshaiah, and a bitter enemy of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 43:2 ff).ISBE Azariah.20

(19) One of the royal captives taken to Babylon, whose name was changed to Abed-nego (Daniel 1:7).ISBE Azariah.21

(20) The son of Maaseiah, who helped repair the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3:23 f).ISBE Azariah.22

(21) A Levite who assisted Ezra to expound the Law (Nehemiah 8:7).ISBE Azariah.23

(22) A priest who sealed the covenant (Nehemiah 10:2).ISBE Azariah.24

(23) A prince of Judah mentioned in connection with the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 12:32 f).ISBE Azariah.25

W. W. DaviesISBE Azariah.26

Azarias

Azarias - az-a-ri'as Azarias and Azareias:ISBE Azarias.2

(1) Azarias, who put away his "strange wife" (1 Esdras 9:21); compare Uzziah (Ezra 10:21).ISBE Azarias.3

(2) Azarias, who stood at the right side of Ezra when the law was read to the people (1 Esdras 9:43); omitted in Ezra 8:4.ISBE Azarias.4

(3) Azarias, who interpreted the law to the people (1 Esdras 9:48); compare Azariah (Nehemiah 8:7).ISBE Azarias.5

(4) Azarias, a name assumed by the angel Raphael (Tobit 5:12; 6, 13; 7:8; 9:2).ISBE Azarias.6

See RAPHAEL.ISBE Azarias.7

(5) Azarias, a general in the service of Judas Maccabee (1 Maccabees 5:18, 56, 60).ISBE Azarias.8

(6) Azarias, one of the three men thrown into the fiery furnace (The Song of the Three Children (Azariah) verses 2,66); compare Azariah (Daniel 1:6 ff; Daniel 2:17), Abed-nego (Daniel 1:7; 2:49; 3:12 ff).ISBE Azarias.9

A. L. BreslichISBE Azarias.10

Azaru

Azaru - az'a-ru (B, Azarou; A, Azourou; the King James Version Azuran): The descendants of Azaru returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem (1 Esdras 5:15); omitted in Ezr and Neh; compare however Azzur (Nehemiah 10:17).ISBE Azaru.2

Azaz

Azaz - a'-zaz `azaz, "powerful"): A descendant of Reuben (1 Chronicles 5:8).ISBE Azaz.2

Azazel

Azazel - a-za'-zel `aza'zel apopompaios; the King James Version Scapegoat, the Revised Version, margin "removal"):ISBE Azazel.2

I. THE MEANING OF THE WORDISBE Azazel.3

1. The Passages to Be ConsideredISBE Azazel.4

2. The Proposed InterpretationsISBE Azazel.5

(1) The EtymologyISBE Azazel.6

(2) The ExplanationISBE Azazel.7

II. WHAT IS DONE IN CONNECTION WITH AZAZELISBE Azazel.8

1. The Significance of This ActionISBE Azazel.9

2. The Jewish LiturgyISBE Azazel.10

I. The Meaning of the WordISBE Azazel.11

1. The Passages to Be Considered: This word is found in connection with the ceremony of the Day of Atonement (which see). According to Leviticus 16:8, Aaron is to cast lots upon the two goats which on the part of the congregation are to serve as a sin offering (16:5), "one lot for Yahweh, and the other lot for Azazel." In 16:10, after the first goat has been set apart as a sin offering for Yahweh, we read: "But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be set alive before Yahweh, to make atonement for him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness." In 16:26 we read: "And he that letteth go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water." Before this, in 16:21 f mention had been made of what should be done with the goat. After the purification of the (inner) sanctuary, of the tent of meeting, and of the altar, the living goat is to be brought, "and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all .... their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a man that is in readiness into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a solitary land: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness." But in this last mentioned and most important passage the term under consideration is not found.ISBE Azazel.12

2. The Proposed Interpretations: (1) The Etymology. Some have derived the word from `az plus 'azal (fortis abiens, "passing away in his strength" or from an intentional alteration of 'el plus `azaz, robur Dei, "strength of God"; compare below the angel of the Book of Enoch); while others have regarded the word as a broken plural of a substantive in the Arabic `azala, and translated it as "lonesomeness," "desert." Now there is an inclination to regard it as a reduplication from `azalzel, derived from the root `azal. If we accept this view, although it is without certainty and an exact analogue cannot be found, we could conclude from the way in which this noun has been formed that we have before us not an abstract term (remotio, "removal," or abitus, "departure"), but a concrete noun, or an adjective, longe remotus ("far removed") or porro abiens ("going far away").ISBE Azazel.13

(2) The Explanation. In Leviticus 16:10, 22, 26, we would have an acceptable sense, if we regarded this word as expressive of a distinct locality in the wilderness. But this interpretation is impossible, since the law in Leviticus 16:1-34 was given during the wanderings in the wilderness and accordingly presupposed a constant change in the encampment, even if this should be regarded only as the historical background. By the use of the same preposition le- in connection with Yahweh and Azazel, it seems natural to regard the expressions as entirely II and to think of some personal being. Some interpret this word as referring to a demon of the wilderness (compare Psalms 106:37; Deuteronomy 32:17; Leviticus 17:7; 2 Chronicles 11:15; Isaiah 13:21; 34:14; Matthew 12:43 ff; Luke 11:24 ff; Revelation 18:2) and explain the term as "one who has separated himself from God," or "he who has separated himself," or "he who misleads others." But a demon of this kind could not possibly be placed in contrast to Yahweh in this way; and as in the Book of Enoch 6:6; 8:1 ff; 9:6; 10:4 ff; 13:1 ff; 69:2 one of the most prominent of the fallen angels who taught mankind the arts of war and luxury, revealed secrets to them, and is now bound in the wilderness, and is there preserved for the final judgment, because he was mainly responsible for the presence of evil in the world, is called Azael (also Azazel, or Azalzel), it is highly probable that this name was taken from Leviticus 16:1-34. In later times the word Azazel was by many Jews and also by Christian theologians, such as Origen, regarded as that Satan himself who had fallen away from God. In this interpretation the contrast found in Leviticus 16:8, in case it is to be regarded as a full parallelism, would be perfectly correct. But it must be acknowledged that in Holy Scripture, Satan is nowhere called by the name of Azazel, and just as little is the wilderness regarded as his permanent place of abode. Against these last two interpretations we must also recall that in the most significant passage, namely, Leviticus 16:20 ff, the term Azazel is not found at all. The same is true in the case of the ceremony in connection with the purification of leprous people and houses (Leviticus 14:7 ff,49 ff), which throughout suggests Leviticus 16:1-34. In this place we have also the sevenfold sprinkling (compare Leviticus 14:16 with Leviticus 16:14 f); and in addition two animals, in this case birds, are used, of which the one is to be slain for the purpose of sprinkling the blood, but the other, after it has been dipped into the blood of the one that has been slain, is to be allowed to fly away. In this way the essential thought in Leviticus 16:1-34 as also in Leviticus 14:1-57 seems to be the removal of the animal in either case, and it is accordingly advisable to interpret Azazel adjectively, i.e. to forego finding a complete parallelism in Leviticus 16:8, and to regard the preposition in connection with Yahweh as used differently from its use with Azazel, and to translate as follows: "And Aaron shall cast lots over both goats, the one lot [i.e. for the one goat] for Yahweh, and one lot for the goat that is destined to go far away." On the preposition le- used with the second Azazel in Leviticus 16:10, compare Exodus 21:2. With this interpretation a certain hardness yet remains for our linguistic sense, because we cannot find a good translation for the adjective. But in favor of this interpretation and against the personal interpretation we can appeal also to the feeling of the Septuagint translators who translate apopompaios, diestalmenos, and also to that of Aquilos, who translates tragos apoluomenos, apolelumenos, kekrataiomenos, and of Symmachus who translates aperchomenos, aphiemenos. (The general idea expressed by all these words is "removal," "sending away," "releasing" or "dismissal.") It is true that the Septuagint in one place translates eis ten apopompen, which however could be also an abstract circumlocution for a conception that, though used elsewhere, is yet awkward. In the Vulgate, we have caper emissarius and Luther says "der ledige Bock," which are probably based on a wrong etymology, since `ez signifies only a goat or perhaps this word "Bock" is here only supplied from the connection, and that quite correctly, so that Luther and the Vulgate can also be cited in favor of our interpretation.ISBE Azazel.14

II. What Is Done in Connection with Azazel. 1. The Significance of This Action: Both goats, according to Leviticus 16:5, are to be regarded as a single sin-sacrifice, even should we interpret Azazel as demon or Satan, and we are accordingly not at all to understand that a sacrifice was brought to these beings. This too is made impossible by the whole tenor of the Old Testament in general, as of Leviticus 16:1-34 in particular, so that in Leviticus 16:8 the two members introduced by the preposition le- would not at all be beings of exactly the same importance. Both goats, so to say, represent two sides of the same thing. The second is necessary to make clear what the first one, which has been slain, can no longer represent, namely, the removal of the sin, and accordingly has quite often aptly been called the hircus redivivus. But what is to be represented finds its expression in the ceremony described in Leviticus 16:20 f. Whatever may be the significance of the laying on of hands in other connections, whether the emphasis is placed more on the disposal or on the appropriation of the property, at this place it certainly is only a symbol of the transfer of guilt, which is confessed over the goat and is then carried into the wilderness by the goat upon which it has been laid. In order to make this transfer all the more impressive, both the hands are here brought into action, while e.g. in Leviticus 1:4 only one hand is used. The fact that the goat is accompanied by somebody and that it is to be taken to an uninhabited place is to indicate the absolute impossibility of its return, i.e. the guilt has been absolutely forgiven and erased, a deep thought made objectively evident in a transparent manner and independently of the explanation of Azazel, which is even yet not altogether certain. In the personal interpretation, we could have, in addition to the idea of the removal of the guilt, also a second idea, namely, that Azazel can do no harm to Israel, but must be content with his claim to a goat which takes Israel's place.ISBE Azazel.15

2. The Jewish Liturgy: The actions in connection with Azazel, as was also the case with the Day of Atonement, were interpreted more fully by the Talmud and the traditions based on it (compare ATONEMENT, DAY OF, sec. III, 2). The lots could be made of different materials; in later times they were made of gold. The manner of casting the lots was described in full. The goat that was to be sent into the wilderness was designated by a black mark on the head, the other by one on the neck. On the way from Jerusalem to the wilderness, huts were erected. From a distance it was possible to see how the goat was hurled backward from a certain cliff, called Beth-Hadudu (Beth-chadedun, 12 miles East of Jerusalem). By means of signals made with garments, news was at once sent to Jerusalem when the wilderness had been reached.ISBE Azazel.16

Wilhelm MollerISBE Azazel.17

Azaziah

Azaziah - az-a-zi'-a `azazyahu, "Yahweh is strong," or "strengthens"):ISBE Azaziah.2

(1) A Levite musician who participated in the services held on the return of the ark to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15:21). His name is omitted from the list in 1 Chronicles 15:18.ISBE Azaziah.3

(2) Father of Hoshea, who was the leader of Ephraim at the time that David enumerated the people (1 Chronicles 27:20).ISBE Azaziah.4

(3) A Levite who had charge of the offerings brought to the temple in the days of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 31:13).ISBE Azaziah.5

Azbasareth

Azbasareth - az-bas'-a-reth: The name of an Assyrian king. the King James Version form "Azbasareth" comes from the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.)ISBE Azbasareth.2

See ASBASARETH.ISBE Azbasareth.3