strength, and learning to "prove all things, and hold fast that which is good." That, through this little work, the Editor may be useful in his day and generation to his youthful friends, by enlarging and facilitating their acquaintance with that HOLY BOOK, in which alone are contained the words of eternal life, and treasures of wisdom that will never fail, is his sincere and fervent prayer. EDWARD ROBINSON Theol. Sem. Andover, April, 1833. DI DICTIONARY OF THE HOLY BIBLE. AAR A, the first letter in almost all alphabets. In Hebrew, it is called aleph; in Greek, alpha. Both the Hebrews and Greeks used their letters as numerals; and hence A (aleph or alpha) denoted one, or the first. So our Lord says, "I am alpha and omega, i. e. the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Rev. 1:8, 11. 21:6. 22:13. Omega was the last letter of the Greeks. ABA years. Num. 20:22, &c. In Deut. 10:6, he is said to have died at Mosera, which was probably the station close by mount Hor, whence he ascended into the mount. ABADDON, or APOLLYON. The former name is Hebrew, and the latter Greek, and both signify the destroyer. Rev. 9:11. He is called the "angel of the abyss," i. e. the angel of death, or the destroying angel. ABANA and PHARPAR, rivers of Damascus. 2 K. 5:12. Interpreters have been much divided in regard to the streams AARON, the son of Amran and Jochebed, of the tribe of Levi, and elder brother of Moses. Ex. 6:20. He was three years older than Moses, Ex. 7:7; was the assistant of the latter in bring-probably designated by these ing Israel out of Egypt, Ex. 7:1, &c. and was then consecrated as the first high-priest, Ex. c. 28, 29. Lev. c. 8. Yet he fell sometimes into grievous sins; he made the golden calf at Sinai, Ex. c. 32; he joined Miriam in sedition against Moses, Num. c. 12; and with Moses disobeyed God at Kadesh, Num. 20:8-12. God, therefore, did not permit him to enter the promised land; but he died on mount Hor, in Edom, in the fortieth year after leaving Egypt, at the age of about 123 || names. One of these undoubtedly is the present Barrada, (the cold,) the Chrysorrhoas of the ancients, which rises in Antilibanus, and flows through Damascus. Just above the city, it is divided into several artificial branches, which pass around the city on the outside, and afford water for the numerous gardens by which the city is surrounded; while the main stream passes through and waters the city itself. Below the city, they again mostly unite, and the river loses offered of the fruits of the earth. sacrifice than Cain. Heb. 11:4. maim, &c. In such cases it sig- itself in a marsh a few miles S. E. from Damascus. If we now suppose that originally there were but two branches in all, (the others being a work of later times,) these two branches may perhaps have been the Abana and Phar-faith," offered a more acceptable par. Another supposition is, that one of the two streams is the Barrada; while the other may be the little river Fijih, which rises near the village of like name, in a pleasant valley about 15 or 20 miles N. W. of Damascus. Dr. Richardson describes it as issuing at once from the limestone rock, a deep, rapid stream of about thirty feet wide. It is pure and cold as iced water, and, after coursing down a rugged channel for above a hundred yards, falls into the Barrada, which comes from another valley, and is here only half as wide as the Fijih. ABARIM, mountains east of Jordan, over against Jericho, on the northern border of Moab, within the limits of the tribe of Reuben. It is impossible to define exactly their extent. The mountains Nebo, Pisgah and Peor were summits of the Abarim. Num. 27:12. 33:47,48. Deut. 32:49. ABBA, a Syriac word signifying father. When the Jews came to speak Greek, this word was probably retained from their ancient language, as being easier to pronounce, especially for children, than the Greek pater. Rom. 8:15. ABEDNEGO, a Chaldee name given by the king of Babylon's officer to Azariah, one of Daniel's companions. Dan. 1:7. I. ABEL, the second son of Adam and Eve. He became a shepherd, and offered a sacrifice from his flocks to God, at the same time that Cain, his brother, || ABIA, in the N. T. the same as ABIJAH in the O. T. which see. ABIATHAR, son of Ahimelech, and high-priest of the Jews. When Saul sent his emissaries to Nob, to destroy all the priests there, Abiathar, who was young, || fled to David in the wilderness, 1 Sam. 22:11, &c. with whom he continued in the character of high-priest. Saul, it would appear, transferred the dignity of the high-priesthood from Ithamar's family to that of Eleazar, by conferring the office upon Zadok. Thus there were, at the same time, two high-priests in Israel; Abiathar with David, and Zadok with Saul. This double priesthood continued from the death of Ahimelech till the reign of Solomon; when Abiathar, attaching himself to Adonijah, was deprived by Solomon of his priesthood. 1 K. 2:27. The race of Zadok alone exercised this ministry during and after the reign of Solomon, excluding the family of Ithamar, according to the prediction made to Eli the high-priest. 1 Sam. 3:11, &c. A difficulty arises from the circumstance, that in 1 K. 2:27, Abiathar is said to be deprived of the priest's office by Solomon; while in 2 Sam. 8:17. 1 Chr. 18:16. 24:3,6,31, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar is said to be high priest along with Zadok. The most probable solution is, that both father and son each bore the two names Ahimelech and Abiathar; as was not at all unusual among the Jews. (See one example under ABIGAIL.) In this way, also, we may remove the difficulty arising from Mark 2:26, where Abiathar is said to have given David the shew bread, in allusion to 1 Sam. 21:1, &c.where it is Ahimelech. the priests were divided into 24 classes, the 8th class was called from him the class of Abia. 1 Chr. 24:10. Luke 1:5. ABILENE, the name of a district of country on the eastern declivity of Antilibanus, from twelve to twenty miles N. W. of Damascus, towards Heliopolis, or Baalbeck; so called from the city ABILA, and also called Abilene of Lysanias, to distinguish it from others. This territory had formerly been governed as a tetrarchate by a certain Lysanias, the son of Ptole ABIB, the first month of the ecclesiastical year of the Hebrews; afterwards called Nisan.my and grandson of Mennæus: It answered to our March, or to part of March and April. Abib signifies green ears of grain, or fresh fruits. It was so named, because corn, particularly barley, was in ear at that time.. ABIGAIL, formerly the wife of Nabal of Carmel, and afterwards of David. Upon receiving information of Nabal's ingratitude to the king, 1 Sam. 25:14, &c. she loaded several asses with provisions, and, attended by some of her domestics, went out to meet David. Her manners and conversation gained for her his esteem, and, as soon as the days of mourning for Nabal's death, which happened soon afterwards, were over, he made her his wife. The issue of the marriage was, as some critics suppose, two sons, Chiliab and Daniel, 2 Sam. 3:3. 1 Chr. 3:1; but it is most probable that these names were borne by one person. He afterwards it fell to Herod the Great. At Herod's death, a part of the territory was given to Philip; but the greater part, with the city Abila, seems then, or shortly afterwards, to have been bestowed on another Lysanias. Luke 3:1. He is supposed to have been a descendant of the former Lysanias. I. ABIMELECH, king of Gerar of the Philistines, who took Sarah into his harem; but being warned of God in a dream, he restored her to Abraham, and gave him 1000 pieces of silver as a "covering of the eyes" for Sarah, i. e. as an atoning present, and to be a testimony of her innocence in the eyes of all. Gen. c. 20. II. ABIMELECH, another king of Gerar, probably son of the former, and contemporary with Isaac. He rebuked Isaac for dissimulation in regard to Rebekah; and afterwards made a Gen. 26:6-31. I. ABIJAH, called also ABI-league with him at Beersheba JAM, was the son of Rehoboam, and second king of Judah. succeeded his father B. C. 954, and reigned only three years. 1 K. 14:1, &c. 2 Chr. c. 13. III. ABIMELECH, son of Gideon, by a concubine, made himself king of Shechem after his father's death, and slew his father's seventy sons on one stone, only Jotham, the youngest, being left. Jotham reproached the She chemites for their conduct in his celebrated fable of the trees. Three years afterwards, they rose against Abimelech; he defeated them, and destroyed their city, but as he was attacking Thebez, a woman threw down a piece of a mill-stone on his head, which so injured him, that he called to his armor-bearer to slay him. Judg. c. 9. ABNER, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle, and the general of his armies. 1 Sam. 14:51. For seven years after Saul's death, he supported Ishbosheth; but, being ill used by him, he went over to David. He was, however, treacherously slain by Joab, either to revenge the death of Asahel, Joab's brother, whom Abner had formerly killed, or more probably from jealousy. David composed an elegy on his death. 2 Sam. 2:8.-3:39. according to the convenience of water and pasturage, and journeying sometimes for the same reason as far as Egypt. His probity and his confidence in God were so conspicuous, that God prospered him greatly, and promised him a seed "like the sand on the sea-shore," which should inhabit the land of Canaan. Hence this was called the "promised land.” Abraham's faith and piety were so great, that when God directed him to offer his son Isaac in sacrifice, he did not hesitate to obey; though the Lord interfered to prevent the accomplishment. God entered into covenant with him in respect to the pious of his posterity, and hence he is called the "father of the faithful," and they are called the "seed of Abraham." Rom. 4:16. Gal. 3:7. This history, which is full of beautiful examples of trust in God and resignation to his holy will, is given at length in Genesis 11:27.25:10. His character and hospi ental patriarch or sheikh. "Abraham," says Dr. Richardson, "was a Bedouin, i. e. an Ara ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, foretold by Daniel, 9:27, denotes, probably, the image of Jupiter, erected in the temple of Jerusalem by com-tality were those of a genuine orimand of Antiochus Epiphanes. 2 Mac. 6:2. 1 Mac. 6:7. But by the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by our Lord, Matt.bian nomade; and 1 never saw 24:15. Mark 13:14, and foretold as about to be seen at Jerusalem, during the last siege of that city by the Romans under Titus, is probably meant the Roman army, whose standards had the images of their gods and emperors upon them, and were lodged in the temple when that and the city were taken. See ARMOR. He ABRAM, afterwards called ABRAHAM, the great progenitor of the Jewish nation. was born in Mesopotamia, and migrated as a nomade, or wandering shepherd, into Palestine, where he continued to dwell, removing from place to place, a fine, venerable looking sheikh busied among his flocks and herds, that it did not remind me of the patriarch himself." Abraham's Bosom. In Luke 16:22, Lazarus is said to have been carried to Abraham's bosom, i. e. to a state of bliss in paradise. This is often represented by a feast, by sitting down to a banquet, &c. Matt. 8:11. Luke 13:29; and to be or lie on one's bosom refers to the oriental mode of reclining at table. So, at supper, John leaned on Jesus' bosom. John 13:23. See EATING, and LAZARUS II. ABSALOM, son of David by |