The reference in He 12^ is to the previous chapter. The writer, in summing up the list of heroes of faith, bids us look unto Jesus, who is pre-eminently the Leader in that great company, and the Perfect Example of that virtue of which to a certain extent they have been witnesses. The insertion of the word ' our ' in the E V obscures the meaning. ' The faith ' refers to that which has been the main theme of ch. 11.
Alford, Bleek, Ebrard, "Wordsworth, and A. B. Davidson translate apx>ry(>^ in He 12- by ' leader' ; Wyclif has ' the maker ' ; but Tindale, Cranmer, the Geneva and the Rheims all have 'author.'
As Jesus is the Leader in the great army of the Faith, so is He also the Finislier or Perfecter {Te\eiorr-f)s). Therefore we run the race looking unto Him as our Leader and the only one who can sustain us to the end and perfect that which He has begun (cf. Davidson, in loc.).
MoRLEY Stevenson.
AUTHORITIES.— The word occurs thrice in the English XT: Lk 12" RV (AV 'powers'; Gr. i^ovalai). Tit 3' RV (AV ' powers ' ; Gr. e^outriai), and 1 P 3^^ (Gr. i^ovcxiaC). This is by no means a com- plete list of the occurrences of i^ovaia (sing, and plur.)in a quasi-concrete sense in the NT. It is characteristic that in the first and second of these places the word should be united with dpxal, and
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BABBLER
in the third with dwdfieis. This collocation of words denoting power in some nuanifestation or other is due to the later Jewish theology, which postulated the existence of a number of spiritual powers (cf. artt. DOMINION, POWER, Principality, Throne, etc.) inhabiting the air. These powers were delined in Greek under the various aspects of SOvafjn^ (physical force), dpx"^ (magisterial power), and i^ovaia (moral authority). At first each of the words was, no doubt, intended to carry a precise signification, and the complete list would comprise every sort of spiritual power man could conceive ; but later the enumeration became so familiar as to be repeated without any clear distinction between the individual terms (so 1 P 3^^). The frequency of the use to indicate spiritual powers has a reflex effect. The word e^ovaiai is used in the first and second passages with reference to earthly powers. It does not seem possible to say precisely what powers are intended, but in the Gospel passage (where the wording is peculiar to Luke) it is prob- able that the Sanhedrin and the Roman procurator of Judaea would be included, while in the Titus Epistle the reference is to all those set in authority over the people — the Emperor, the governor and his suite, as well as the local magistrates. See also the following article. A. Soutee.
AUTHORITY.— This word, which occurs much more frequently in RV than in AV, in most cases represents the Gr. i^ovala. It is used of delegated authority in Ac 9^* 26^"- '^ ; of the authority of an apostle in 2 Co 10^ and IS'" (RV) ; of earthly rulers (' authorities ') in Tit S^ (RV), cf. Lk 12"; and in RV of Apocalypse is .substituted frequently for AV ' power' ; cf. Rev 6^ 12i» IS^-'^ 17^2 (in 1713 it replaces AV * strength '). Yet in many places RV still re- tains 'power' as the translation of i^ova-La; cf. Ac 819, Col li», Ro 131-s, Rev Qi" 11" etc. In 1 Co lli" i^ova-ia is used in a peculiar sense (' for this cause ought the woman to have i^ovffiav on her head, because of the angels'), where a veil appears to be meant. Here AV gives ' power,' R V ' a sign of authority,' with 'have authority over' in the margin.
In several passages i^ovcrla is used to designate a created being superior to man, a spiritual potentate, viz. 1 Co 15-^ Eph pi, Col 2^°, and, in the plural, Eph 310 6", Col li« 2i«, 1 P 322. In 1 Co 15^* and 1 P
322, AV and RV render ' authority ' and RV also in Eph 1'^'^, the reason probably being that 5i;va/its also occurs in these verses for which the word ' power ' was needed. In the other references the transla- tion is 'power' or 'powers.' Seeing that i^ova-lai appear to be a class of angelic beings distinct from dui'dfieis, it would have been conducive to clearness if the word ' authority ' had been used in all these passages. In Eph 6^- evil principles are obviously referred to (cf. 2^) ; in 1 Co 15'^ both good and evil angels may be included (Lightfoot, Col.^ 1879, p. 154). See, further, under PRINCIPALITY, and cf. the preceding article.
In a few places 'authority' in AV represents other Gr. words, viz. Ac 8-'' AV, RV, ' a eunuch of great authority' (Swdorijs) ; 1 Ti 2^ AV ' for kings and for all that are in authority' {ev virepoxTi), RV ' in high place ' ; 1 Ti 2'^ A V ' I suffer not a woman ... to usurp authority over the man ' {avOevTetv i.vdp6%), RV 'to have dominion over' ; Tit 2^* 're- buke (AV reprove) with all authority' [iirtrayris).
W. *H. DUNDAS.
AVENGING.— See Vengeance.
AZOTUS ('Afwros).— Azotus, the Gr. form of ' Ashdod,' occurs often in 1 Mac. (41' S^no^^- ss'- etc. ), and once in the NT. St. Philip met the Ethiopian on ' the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza,' and, after baptizing him, ' was found at Azotus ' (Ac 8'-®- ^"j. Ashdod was the most import- ant of the Philistine cities which formed the Penta- polis. Situated midway between Joppa and Gaza — about 25 miles from each — it passed through many vicissitudes. It appears often in the histori- cal and prophetic books of the OT, in the Assyrian records, in the Maccabsean annals, and in Joseplius. Herodotus (ii. 157) says that the siege which Azotus endured before it was subdued by Psarameticus, king of Egypt, was the longest on record, lasting 29 years. Ashdod survives in the modern Esdud, a village on the slope of a wooded artificial mound {tell) — once, no doubt, a strong fortress — about 3 miles from the sea-coast, where the traces of a harbour have been found. The ancient city lies beneath the sand-drift that now threatens to bury the mud hovels of the village, among which some remains of old stone buildings are to be seen. The wide plain to the east is exceedingly fertile.