Section 1 — A Dictionary of the Bible

Dictionary of the Bible

DEALING WITH ITS

LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, AND CONTENTS

INCLUDING THE BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

EDITED BY

JAMES HASTINGS, M.A., D.D.

WITH THE ASSISTANCE OP

JOHN A. SELBIE, M.A.

AND, CniEFLT IN THE REVISION OF THE PROOFS, OP

A. B. DA%TDSON, D.D, LL.D. S. R. DKIVER, D.D., Litt.D.

PB0PES90R or HEBREW, NEW COLLEGE, EDINBURGH REOUS PROFESSOR OP BEBREW. OXFORD

H. B. SWETE, D.D., Litt.D.

BEOICa PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY, CAMBRIDGE

VOLUME I A— FEASTS

NEW YORK

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

Edinburgh : T. & T. CLARK

19U

Fie Rights of Translation and of Reproduction are reserved

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PREFACE

' Give heed to . . . teaching.' Perhaps the Church of Christ haa nerer given sufficient heed to teaching since the earliest and happiest days. In our own day the importance of teaching, or, as we sometimes call it, expository preaching, has been pressed home through causes that are various yet never accidental ; and it is probable that in the near future more heed will be given by the Church to teaching than has ever been given before.

As a contribution towards the furnishing of the Church for that great work, this Dictionary of the Bible is published. It is a Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, togetlier with the Old Testament Apocrypha, according to the Authorized and Revised English Versions, and with constant reference to the original tongues. Every effort has been used to make the information it contains reasonably full, trustworthy, and accessibla

As to fulness. In a Dictionary of the Bible one expects that the words occurring in tlie Bible, which do not explain themselves, will receive some ex- pl;inatioii. Tlio ])rof;ciit Dirtioiuiry more nearly meets that expectation than any Dictionary that has hitherto been pubhshed. Articles have been written on the names of all Persons and Places, on the Antiquities and Archaeology of the Bible, on its Ethnology, Geology, and Natural History, on Biblical Theology and Ethic, and even on the obsolete or archaic words occurring in the Enghsh Versions. The greater number of the articles are of small compass, for care has been exercised to exclude vague generalities as well as unaccepted idiosyncrasies ; but there are many articles which deal with important and difficult subjects, and extend to considerable length. Such, for example, and to mention only one, is the article in the first volume on the Chronology of the New Testament

As to trustworthinesa The names of the authors are appended to their articles, except where the article is very brief and of minor importance ; and these names are the best guarantee that the work may be relied on. So far as coidd be ascertained, those authors were chosen for the various subjects who had made a special study of that subject, and might be able to speak with authority upon it Then, in addition to the work of the Editor and his Assistant, every sheet has passed through the hands of the three distinguished scholars whose natnes are found on the title-page. These scholars are not responsible for errors of any kind, if such should be dis-

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covered in the Dictionary, but the time and care they have spent upon it may be taken as a good assurance that the work as a whole is reliable and authoritative.

As to accessibility. While all the articles have been written expressly for this work, so they have been arranged under the headings one would most naturally turn to. In a very few cases it has been found necessary to group allied subjects together. But even then, the careful system of black-lettering and cross-reference adopted, should enable the reader to find the subject wanted without delay. And sc important has it seemed to the Editor that each subject should be found under its own natural title, that he has allowed a Uttle repetition here and there (though not in identical terms) rather than distress the reader by sending him from one article to another in search of the information he desires. The Proper Names will be found under the spelling adopted in the Eevised Version, and in a few very familiar instances the spelling of the Authorized Version is also given, with a cross-reference to the other. On the Proper Names generally, and particularly on the very difficult and unsettled questions of their derivation, reference may be made to the article Names (Pboper), which will be found in the third volume. The Hebrew, and (where it seemed to be of consequence for the identification of the name) the Greek of the Septuagint, have been given for all proper and many common names. It was found impracticable to record all the variety of spelling discovered in different manuscripts of the Septuagint ; and it was considered unnecessary, in view of the great Edition now in preparation in Cambridge, and the Concordance of Proper Names about to be published at the Clarendon Press. The Abbreviations, considering the size and scope of the work, will be seen to be few and easily mastered. A Hst of them, together with a simple and uniform scheme of transUterating Hebrew and Arabic words, will be foimd on the following pages. The Maps have been specially prepared for this work by Mr. J. G. Bartholomew, F.E.G.S. The Illustrations (the drawings for which have been chiefly made in Syria by the Rev. G. M. Mackie, M.A.) are confined to subjects which cannot be easily understood without their aid.