LlTERATlTRE.— Tlie material is collected in Trench, Synonvm* ^ the ST, and in Cremer, BUj.-TheoL Lex., ». kyiot ami ostoi.
J. V. Bartlet. 8ALAMIEL.— An ancestor of Judith, Jth 8' (BA 2oXa^7,\, S 'La.tiaiuiiX). See ShELUMIEU
SALAMIS (SaXa/i/t; Salamis), the first place visited by Paul and Barnabas on the first niis- sioniiry journey (Ac 1.3'), was, as early as the 6th cent. li.C, one of the most important Greek towns of Cj'prus. Under the Persians, it was the scat of one of the many Greek princes of the island ; and in Roman times it was a flourishing mercantile town, from which the eastern half of Cyprus was governed. Having been overthrown by an earth- quake in the reign of Constantine, it was rebuilt by Con.Mtiintius, and under the name of Constantia became the ciiiiital of Cyprus. From A.D. 367-4U3 the bi.ihop of Constantia was Epiphanius.
Under the Roman empire the Jews were very numerous in Cyprus ; and there must have been • large colony of them at Salamis, with several synagojiues. They were no doubt attracted by the facilities for trade afforded by the fine harbour of Salamis, and the farming of the copper mines of Cyprus to Herod the Great (Jos. Ant. XVI. iv. 5). The word was preached in Cyprus soon after the martyrdom of Stephen (Ac ll'"--"), and amongst the e.arly converts was Mnason (Ac 21"). Barna- bas was a Cypriote (Ac 4**), and so possibly was John Mark, who accompanied Paul and Barnabas toCyirus. During the suppression of the insur- rection of the Jews in the reign of Hadrian, Salamis suffered greatly, and was almost deserted. Salamis stoo<l on the seashore at the eastern end of the great fertile plain — Salaminia — which stretches westward for many miles between two ranges of mountains. Its harbour was good, and from it the rich products of Cyprus were shipped to Seleucia and the Syrian coa.st. The harbour is now tilled with sand and overgrown with thorns •nd thistles ; and a few broken columns and frag-
VOL. IV. — 21
ments of mural masonry alone remain to mark the greatness of the ancient city. The site is about 3 niUes from the modern Famagusta, and not far from it is the Greek monastery of St. Barnabas.
C. W. Wll.sON.
SALASADAI An ancestor of Judith, Jth 8'
(B "ZapoLaaSai, A ZaKaaaSal, X Sapicroooi).
SALATHIEL. — 1. The father of Zerubbabel, 1 Es 5'- ■'"■ " 6- (-aXofli^X, and so in the genealogies of Mt 1'= and Lk 3-''). See Shealtiel and Zerub- babel. 2. Another name of Esdras, 2 Es 3' (Sala- thiel).
SALECAH (.-ipVP ; 'AcreXxa, -eXx^. 2f)cxa(, EXxcf, 'Axd ; Salecha, Salacha ; AV Salcah, in Dt 3" Salchah). — Salecah, one of the cities of Og (Jos 12'), was on the eastern boundary of Bashan, to w liich the kingdom of Og extended (Dt 3'», Jos 13"). Though not specially mentioned, it must have been included in ' all the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan,' which was given to the half tribe of Manassich (Jos 13'»). But in 1 Ch 5" the children of Gad are said to have dwelt ' in the land of Bashan unto Salecah.'
Salecah was held by the Nabatteans under king Aretas (B.C. 9-a.D. 40), whose coins have been found in the ruins. It was an important place in Roman times, and was specially sacred to Allat, the mother of the gods. It is identical with the present Salkhad — the Sarkhad of Abulfeda, who mentions its numerous vineyards, and the Selcath of William of Tyre, in whose day it was a strong fortress. The town occupies a commanding posi- tion a little south of the last spurs of Jehel Uaurdn, at the point where the p'cat eastern road, that led from Gadara to the Persian Gulf, entered the desert. In the town, now occupied by Druses, there are many of the ancient houses — some almost perfect. The water-supply was, and still is, derived from rain water collected in reservoirs and cisterns. A conical volcanic hill rises to a height of over 300 ft. above the town, and in its crater stands the castle. It was built, or rebuilt, by the Romans, and must afterwards have been restored by the Arabs or the Seljiik Turks, for at the time of the Crusades it was an important fortress. From it the old Roman road can be seen running straight as an arrow over the plain towards Bosra and Gadara, and east- ward as it enters the desert on its way to the Persian Gulf (Porter, Giant Cities of Boshnn, p. 75 ; Heber-Percy, A Visit to Bashan anil Arqob).
C. W. \VlLSON.
SALEM (ZdXTjMot, AV Salum), 1 Ks 8' = Sh:inuiii, an ancestor of Ezra (cf. Ezr 7"); called also Sai.i - MAS (?), 2 Es 1'.
SALEM (dS?», i.e. Shalem ; 2aXV ; Snlem).—i. A place of which Melchizedek was king (Gn 14", He V- ^). It was, apparently, near a broad open valley ('cmek), called ' the vale of Shaveh,' or ' the king's vale' (Gn 14"). Various positions have been assigned to Salem. Josephus and the Jewish commentators identilied the town with Jerusalem, and believed Salem to be the ancient name of that city (Jos. Ant. I. x. 2, BJ VI. x. ; Onkelos and all the Targg.). This was also the opinion of the early Christians, for Jerome {Qu. in Gen.) writes of Melchizedek as ' king of Salem, which was the old name of Jenisalem,' and he alludes to the same belief in Ep. Ixxiii. ad Ev. § 2. (See also Eus Onom. 'IfpowaX^/n). Jerome himself, however, iden tified Salem with a place called Salumiits, in the Jordan Vallev, 8 miles south of Scythojiolis, where the ruins of tlie palace of Melchizedek were shown [Ep. Ixxiii. ad Ev. §7 ; Onom. .i. ' Salem,' 'Aenon '). At this spot there is now an artificial mound {tell), and on it the tomb of Slieikh Halim, In a frag-