214
BABYLOXIA
BABYLONIA
with (i.) The context. The language is allcgorioal, the Church being spoken of as a lady (cf . 2 .In i- 1^). Moreover, St. Mark is mentioned as being with St. Vetcr. Now, St. Mark was summoned to Rome by St. Paul (2 Ti 4"), probably towards the close of A.D. ()7, and very early tradition describes St. Mark as St. Peter's companion and interpreter (Papias ap. Eus. JJE iii. 3',)) at Kome (Iren. iii. 1, Clem. Alex. ap. Ku.s. HE ii. 16, vi. 14). (ii.) The figurative application elsewhere in the epistle (P 2^'") of language primarily used of ancient Israel, (iii.) The general tone of the epistle, especially in regard to persecution, duty towards the state, and ' the universality of [St. Peter's] teaching' (Uort, Jutl'iistic Christianitij, p. 155). (iv.) The order of the provinces in 1', Silvanus coming from the West and lauding in Poiitus. {b) External evidence, (i.) The Apoc. (see above) shows that Asiatic Christians at this time would so understand the name B. (ii.) Such was the ancient interpre- tation. Eus. HE ii. 15 introduces it by the significantly indefinite <paa-i (see the (paaif just above ; it may, however, refer to Papias and Clement Alex, just mentioned). It seems, indeed, to have been univer.sally accepted, till Calvin {in loc), for controversial reasons, urged the litei-al interpretation, (iii.) Ancient testimony is unani- mous, and from its range seems decisive, for a visit of St. Peter to Rome. The evidence for this visit is collected and discussed by Bishop Lightfoot, Clement, ii. p. 493 ff. See also art. on ST. Pkter.
F. H. Chase. ••BABYLONIA, the cradle of the civilisation of the wliole of anterior Asia and the West, and prob- ably also of tliat of ancient Egypt, is the territory enclosed by the lower Euphrates and Tigris, ex- tending from the neighbourhood of the modern Baghdad to ' the mouth of the rivers.' The latter, however, in ancient times flowed separately into the Persian Gulf, a little above Basra. The e.xtra- ordinary fertility of the soil here, as in the case of the Delta of the Nile, was due to the extensive and careful canal system of the early colonists. As soon as these canals fall into disrepair, the same cheerless waste of waters presents Itself again to view, as in primitive times.
The country of Babylonia, which extends from about 30°-3:l-^ N. lat., is bounded on the W. by the Arabian desert, from which it is separated only by a veiy narrow strip of cultivated land ; on the N. by Mesopotamia proper; on the E. by the plain at the foot of the Elamite Mountains, over which in ancient times nomadic Aranuean tribes used to wander (the land of Kir [^V] of Is 226, Am 9") ; and on the S. by the Persian Gulf.
The Climate, especially in South B.abylonia, is extraordinarily warm. The months during which rain prevails are from November to February. At the ijresent day, according to the accounts of travellers, the heaviest rains occur in November and December; but in ancient times, as the names of the months prove, the rainy season would appear to have been in 'I'ebet (^?;? Est 2'") and Sliebat (^J'f '^^'^ 1')) »•<'• fi'"'" ^'i^ ''nd of December to the end of February. Not only the Sumerian names for tliiwe months {ab-ha-i(d-du 'coming from the sea,' and asli-a-an 'curse of the rain'), but also the Semitic {tibetu 'submersion,' and shabatu 'destruction'), refer to rain-storms.
The fertility of the soil, already mentioned, went hand in hand with the mildness of the climate. There were two sowings every year (in 'lebet and in Nisan), and two harvests (the fii-st in Adar and the second in Sivan, i.e. May-June). Tlie Chief Productions were wheat (Sumerian ziij, zid. whence n?Tos, Semitic .s'/ic'd)) which gave from lifly to a hundred fohl return ; sesame, which yielded oil; and the date-palm, introduced at a very
•• rnviirinhl. IfiSS, by
early period from Arabia (Magan). This tree satis- fied all the remaining wants of the people, since from it they obtained wine, vinegar, honey, flour, and material for all kinds of wickerwork. The stones were used by smiths as a substitute for char- coal, and when steeped served for fattening oxen and sheep. The reed which grew l.iy the numer- ous canals attained a height of 15 feet, and was used for building huts and for the construction of mats, and even boats. In the latter case asphalt was employed for pitching purposes. Gn C" 'xy 1DJ (AV 'an ark of gopher wood') must probably be explained in this way, since yijiaru means originally a 'reed-stand.' On the other hand, there were none of the trees characteristic of the lands adjoining the Mediterranean Sea (the vine, the olive, and the fig). For these only the Western Semites have common names, although the vine (Sumer. giahlin 'tree of life,' .Semitic-Uabylonian karanu), and the fig tree ( Sum. dib. Sem. tiutu, tittu) were in course of time introduced from abroad.
Stone and minerals were almost unknown in the alluvial soil. The ab.sence of these was, how- ever, atoned for by the excellent building material that lay to hand in the clay, while the best possible mortar was obtained from the asphalt con- tained in the numerous naphtha wells. All the buildings in ancient Babylonia were accordingly constructed of brick. When sandstone, or still harder kinds of stone, such as basalt or diorite, were used (e.g. for statues), they were brought by ship — even in the earliest times — from the terri- tories along the frontier (Mesopotamia, Elam, Arabia). The same is true of alabaster, marble, gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, and lead ; all of which are mentioned as early as the Sumer. inscriptions.