Older, however, than the above, are the many tablets of the Babylonians and Assyrians referring to forecasts. Through a long series of years, prob- ably extending into four millenniums, these nations seem to have carried on observations, which they quoted, with the omens derived from current events, for future reference. Again and again, moreover, we meet with communications which passed between the Assyr. kings and the astrologers, in which the former inquired what the stars Indi- cated with regard to Assyria and the nations around. Thus we meet with such predictions as, ' If, upon the 16th day (of the month Ah), an eclipse happen, the king of Akkad will die, Nergal (i.e. pestilence) will destroy the land.' ' If, on the 16th day (of the month Elul), an eclipse happen, the king of a foreign land or the king of y atte will come and take the throne. Rain from heaven and flood from the channel will overflow.' The planets and the sun and moon also furnished omens of a similar nature, for it was supposed that what had happened before would, under similar astral influences, happen again.
When, accordingly, the Hebrews came into close contact and relationship with the Assyrians and Babj'lonians, they found them to be nations among whom astrology, far from being forbidden and in disfavour, was a recognised institution, resorted to by all, from the king downwards — a venerable ' science.' The de.'iire to know the future was, no doubt, as strong in the breasts of the Hebrews as in those of their conquerors, and they must often have resorteil to those ' astrologers,' ' stargazers,' and 'monthly prognosticators ' (Is 47") of whom the prophet speaks so contemptuously. The astrologers are called 0:57 'tzn (^ere), generally rendered ' dividers of the heavens ' ; the stargazers □•5?il3 O'lnri, lit. ' tho.se who gaze on the stars ' ; the monthly prognosticators d'i"iid °'''7~5'> AVm ' that give knowledge concerning the months ' — probably those who predicted at every new moon wliat was likely to happen during the coming month. In Dn 1" 2^ etc., the KV has riglitly 'encliaiitcrs' for the 'astrologers' (D'pys) of the AV, and the same remark holds good for the Aramaic form pCyX in v." etc. These biblical expressions for the varionn kinds of astrologers, it must be noted, are, to all appearance, true Hebrew words, not borrowings from the Assyrians and Babj-lonians, showing, in all i>ro- babilily, that celestial forecasts were far from being altogether novelties with the Hebrews. Nevertheless, as has been already rcm.arkcd, they Beem to have been generally averse to divination of this kind, partly on account of the general pro-
hibition against the use of divination and the practice of augury (Dt IS'""", 2 K 21"), partly because such of the people as were rigid monotheists (and among these we must class all UT writers) looked upon the heavenly bodies as the objects of adoration by the heathen nations around, and mentioned them therefore but seldom — partly because they had but little need to speak of them, but also because they wished to avoid reference to those things likely to call up in the mind of the reader heathen practices.
T. G. Pinches. ASTTAGES {'AarviiyTji, so Herodotus, Xenophon; Assyr. Istuvigu) was tlie son of Cyaxares, king of the Medes, and succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, B.C. 584. His wife was the daughter of Alyattes, king of Lydia, his sister was the queen of Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and Cyrus was his daughter's son by a Persian father. According to Bel and the Dragon (v.'), when A. was gathered to his fathers, ' Cyrus of Persia re- ceived his kingdom.' Not, however, in the way of ordinary succession. Herodotus (i. 127-130), con- firmed by l\\e Annalistic Tablet of Cyrus (RP 2nd Ser. v. 159) records that when A. marched against the disaffected Persians under Cyrus, his own troops deserted him or would not fight, and he was de- feated and taken prisoner, thus losing his crown in B.C. 549, after a reign of 35 years. He was the last of the line of Median kin^s (known on the monuments as kings of the Manda), who had reigned 150 years — the list bein^ as follows : — Deioces (Daiukku), B.C. 699-646 ; Phraortes (Fra- vartis), B.C. 646-624; Cyaxares (Kastariti), B.C. 624-584 ; Astyages (Istuvigu), B.C. 584-549.
LiTKRATTTRK. —HerorfodM, 1. 123-130 ; RP T. 144 £t. (cf. vol. iii p. xiii ff.) : story of the Nations, Media, cha. viii., be. ; Sayce, HCM p. 499 £f. ; Tiele, Bab.-Aaiyr. GetchichU, pp. 463, 46S.
T. NiCOL. ASUR ("Affoup, AV Assur), 1 Es 5'*.— His sons returned among the temple servants under Zerub- babel. Called Harhur [mny:, 'Apovp), Ezr 2", Neh 7^.
ASYLUM.— See Refuge.
ASYNCRITUS {'AavyicptTos, 'kavr-, Asyncritus), Ro 16".— A Christian greeted by St. Paul with four others 'and the brethren that are with them,' perhaps members of the same small community. The name occurs in Rom. Ins. OIL vi. 12,565, of a f reedman of Augustus. See Sanday and Headlam, Romans, p. 427. l^or later traditions, which may be neglected, see Acta Sanct., April, i. 741 ; June, iv. 6.
A. C. Headlam.
ATAD (-iBijn ]-fi, 'thorn'), Gn 50"'".— Appears to have been ' over Jordan ' (see Abel-mizraim), a threshing-floor on the road to Hebron. The site is unknown.