long war with Asa, king of Judah. Unable to wiliistand him, Asa purchased the help of Ben- hadad, king of Syria, who invaded the northern frontiers of Israel, and captured several towns. This drew Baasha away from the work in which he had been engaged, the building of a fort called Ramah, to blocKade the north of Judah. Asa led his forces against Ramah and destroyed it, using the materials to build the towns of Geba and Mizpah (1 K lo^-^S 2 Ch IG'-*). (See AsA.) In matters of reli^on Baasha did not profit by the warning given in the destruction of Jeroboam and his house, but followed his evil example in main- taining the calf - worship. On this account the same fate was denounced against his house by the prophet Jehu, son of Hanani ( 1 K 16^). He himself, however, died a natural death, and was buried in Tirzah, his capital. Elah, his son, succeeded him on the throne (16^). R. M. BoYD.
BABBLER.— To 'babble' (a word supposed to be formed from the childish sound ba oa, with freq. term, le) is to talk incoherently, hence fool- ishly or unseasonably. ' Babbler ' is given in AV as tr. of ba'al /uillAshun (pa-v} Sys), lit. ' the lord of the tongue' (RV 'the charmer'), Ec 10" j XaTrnrr^t (RV ' braggart'), Sir 20' ; and (jirepixoXbyoi, Ac IV.
In the last word there is a touch of something worse than babbling. It was applied first to the crow, as the bird that picks up scattered grain <Wm/*« ' a seed,' and Xf >-*'* ' to gather ') ; then to any ' parasite ' or ' hanger on,' who piciis up what he can in the marltet or harbour by his wits. Such an one is indifferent as to the obligation of his words, and so any mere prater may have been called a gpennologos. * See Trench, On the AV,\t. 166 f.
Babbling as a subst. is found in Pr 23^ ' who hath b. ?' (n-f, RV 'complaining'); Sir 19» 20* (XaXid); 1 Ti 6*", 2 Ti 2'« 'profane and vain b" {Kfvoipuivlai., lit. ' empty talkings ').
J. Hastings.
BABE. — Two distinct words have been tr'' ' babe in NT. 1. Hirphos (^pi(pot), either an unborn (Lk 1"- ") or recently born cliild, Lk 2"- '«, 1 P 2' (with adj. apn-yivvriToi ' newborn ') ; Lk 18" RV ' they brought unto him also their b* ' ( AV 'infants'); Ac 7'" RV (AV 'young children'); 2Ti 3"RV ' from a b. (A V ' child"') thou hast known the sacred WTitings.' 2. Nepios (vriwioi), a child tliat cannot yet speak (i'7) = 'not,' #7ros = 'a word'), Mt U'^ 21", Lk 102', Ro 2", 1 Co 3', He 5". It ia a pity that RV has not kept these words distinct. 'Infant' {in 'not,' fans 'speaking') is so evident a tr"" of nepios that it mi^ht have been used throughout for that word, and for that word only, leaving ' babe ' for brephos. Then the point of Mt 21'* would have been seen at once, ' Out of the mouth of infants (children not old enough to speak) thou hast perfected praise ' ; and of Ro 2" 'a teacher of infants.' Besides, nepios carries the suggestion of contrast between infancy and man- hood (r^Xfios, adult, as He 5'^- ", 1 Co 14-'", or d^ip, man, as 1 Co 13", EV 'child,' Eph 4"- ", EV 'children'). And the further use of 'infant' to signify a legal minor would very well express the apostle's point in Gal 4'- » 'as long as the heir is an infant,' etc. (EV 'child').
In OT ' babe ' is given as tr" of na'ar (il'j) Ex 2', the usual word for a boy of puberty = 5rar5, piier; of 'Clel (S'piy) Ps 8- 17'*, a suckling ; and of ta'alul ('^i^I^a) from the same root, Is 3^ J. Hastings.
BABEL, CITY AND TOWER OF The city of
Babel or Babylon was, from the time of Kham- murabi downwards, the capital of the Babylonian empire. It was especially famous for its temple
• Ramsay, in a full and interesting discussion of this word io the Elposilnr (5th ser. vol. ii. pp. 220f., •Xit). denies all reference to 9)>eakini;. The Athenians, be thinks, applied this slang term of contempt to St. I'aul simply as one who did nol belong to their learned and exclusive society.
I
BABI
BABYLON m NT
213
Sag-illx {'of the exalted [lit. 'reachinjr to the clouds'] head'), Bituated upon the east bank of the Euphrates. At Koisippa (Bira - Nimroud), the neif;libouring town to Babylon, there may be seen at the present day a ruined temple of Neoo whicli wae called by the Babylonians E-Zidda (' house of eternity'). Like the latter, the temple E-»ag-illa, deilicated to Bel - Merodach, had seven storeys, followin<; in tliis the fashion of all the largei Babylonian temples (see Babvlonia^ p. 220"). A detailed account of Babj-lon, unijuestionably based on personal observation, is given by Herodotus (i. 178 B'.). It is now generallj' admitted that the sanctuary of Zeus-Belos mentioned by him must be identified, not with the still partially preserved temple of Nel)0 at Borsippa, but with the temple Sag-ilia, which wa« then standing, although it has long since disappeared. The latter temple, more- over, not only consisted of the so-called zikkurnt or storied tower just mentioned, which bore the special name of E-timin-an-ki ('house of the foun- dation-stone of heaven and earth ') ; it was a whole complex of sanctuaries. In one of these stood the famous imageof Bel-Merodacli,theannual touching of which by the kings of Babylon at the New Year's festival served to contirm afresh their title and to establish their dominion. On this account Xerxes had it removed (cf. C. F. Lelimann, Samassurn- ukin, p. 49), while he spared (Her. i. 183) the other image of Zeus (no doubt the statue of Ncbo, which also had a place in Sagilla). His removal of the first occasioned the mistake into which later his- torians {e.g. Arrian and Stralx>) fell, of supposing that Xerxes completely destroyed Sag-ilia.