this passage and in Luke xxi, 20, is nugatory, for they are obviously parallel (see Strong's Harmon)/, § 123). Meyer (in loc.) thinks the pollution desig- nated was but "the horrible desolation by the Ro- mans of the temple area generally," but the terms are more explicit than this. The allusion cannot in any case be to a profanation of the sacred precincts by the Jews themselves, for the excesses of the Zealots (q. v.) during the final siege (Josephus, War, iv, 3, 7) were never directed to the introduction of idolatry there ; whereas the first act of heathen occupancy was the erection of the standards crowned with the bird of victory — a circumstance that may be hinted at in the peculiar term " wing" here employed (see F. Nolan, Warburton Led. p. 183). See Banner.
A still more important difference among commen- tators, as to the meaning of the expression in question, has respect to the point, whether the abomination, which somehow should carry along with it the curse of desolation, ought to be understood of the idolatrous and corrupt practices which should inevitably draw down desolating inflictions of vengeance, or of the heathen powers and weapons of war that should be the immediate instruments of executing them. The following are the reasons assigned for understanding the expression of the former: 1. By far the most com- mon use of the term abomination or abominations, when referring to spiritual things, and especial]}' to things involving severe judgments and sweeping desolation, is in respect to idolatrous and other foul corruptions. It was the pollution of the first temple, or the worship connected with it by such things, which in a whole series of passages is described as the abominations that provoked God to lav it in ruins (2 Kings xxi, 2-i3; Jer. vii, 10-14; Ezek. v, 11; vii, 8, 9, 20-23). And our Lord very distinctly intimated, by referring on another occasion to some of these passages, that as the same wickedness substantially was lifting itself up anew, the same retributions of evil might certainly be expected to chastise them (Matt, xxi, 13). 2. When reference is made to the prophecy in Daniel it is coupled with a word, " AVhoso readeth let him understand," which seems evidently to point to a profound spiritual meaning in the prophecy, such as thoughtful and se- rious minds alone could apprehend. But this could only be the case if abominations in the moral sense were meant ; for the defiling and desolating effect of heathen armies planting themselves in the holy place was what a child might perceive. Such dreadful and unseemly intruders were but the outward signs of the real abominations, which cried for vengeance in the ear of heaven. The compassing of Jerusalem with armies, therefore, mentioned in Luke xxi, 20, ready to bring the desolation, is not to lie regarded as the same with the abomination of desolation ; it indicated a farther stage of matters. 3. The abominations which were the cause of the desolations are ever spoken of as springing up from within, among the covenant peo- ple themselves, not as invasions from without. They are so represented in Daniel also (ch. xi, .".0, 32; xii, 9, 10); and that the Jews themselves, the better sort of them at least, so understood the matter, is plain from 1 Mace, i, 54-57, where, with reference to the two passages of Daniel just noticed, the heathen-inclined party in Israel are represented, in the time of Anti- ochus, as the real persons who "set up the abomina- tion of desolation and built idol altars;" comp. also 2 Mace, iv, 15-17. (See Hengstenberg on the <:< nv- ineness of Daniel, ch. iii, § 3; and Christolog//, at Dan. ix, 27, with the authorities there referred to.) These arguments, however, seem to be outweighed by the conclusive historical fact that the material ensigns of paganism were actually erected both by the Syrian and Roman conquerors in the place in question, and in so plainly physical a prediction, it is most natural to suppose that both Daniel and our Lord intended to refer to this palpable circumstance. See Desolation.
ABOTH
27
ABRAHAM
Aboth. See Mishna.
Abrabanel, Abrabenel, or Abravanal (also called Abarbanel,, Abravenel, Barbaxkli.a, Ra- vaxella), Isaac, a famous rabbi, born at Lisbon, 1437. He was descended from an ancient and distinguished Jewish family, which claimed to be able to trace their pedigree to king David. He was a favorite of Alphon- so V of Portugal, but after that king's death he was charged with certain misdemeanors and compelled to quit Portugal. He took refuge in Castile, where he obtained (1484) employment under Ferdinand and Isa- bella; but, in 1492, with the rest of the Jews, he was driven out of the kingdom. He went at first (1493) to Naples, where he gained the confidence of king Ferdi- nand I. After the conquest of Naples by Charles VIII of France, he followed Alphonso II to Italy. After the death of Alphonso he flew to Corfu, then (1496) to Monopoli, a town of Apulia, and ultimately (1503) to Venice, in which city he became very popular by terminating a conflict between the Venetians and the Portuguese. He finally died at Venice, 1508. His body was brought to Padua, and there buried with the greatest honors on the part of the republic of Venice. Abrabanel was an indefatigable student and writer, and is placed by the Jews almost in the same rank with Maimonides. He wrote bitterly against Chris- tianity, but his commentaries are nevertheless much esteemed, as he is very careful in illustrating the lit- eral sense of the text. The most important of them are, fHlPlfl ItJ'HB, a Commentary on the Pentateuch (fol. Venice, 1579, and later ; best ed. by Van Bashuy- sen, fol. Hanau, 1710); d^aa Bird SO COS, a Commentary on the Early Prophets [.Tosh. -Kings] (fol. Pesaro, 1522 ; Naples, i543 ; best ed. by PfeiiTer and Christiani, Leipz. 1686) ; l*ift!| B^ailON: B"X"-? B "i&") a Commentary on the [properly so called] Prophets (fol. Pesaro, 1520 ; best ed. Amst. 1641) ; biOa'n B, a Commentary on Daniel (4to, Naples, s. d. ; Ferrara, 1651, and later; best ed. Venice, 1652). This com- mentary contains the strongest invectives against Christ and the Christians, though some of them are omitted in the second edition (see De Rossi, Blbl. Jud. Antichr. p. 7 sq.), and it therefore called forth a large number of refutations from Danz, C. l'Empereur, Seb. Schnell, Pfeiffer, Koppen, Brand, H. Gebhard, J. Fr. Weidler, and C. G. Mundinus. Latin translations were published of the Commentaries on Nahum and Habak- kuk by J. Meyer (in his Notes to Seder Olurri) ; of the commentary on Haggai by Scherzer (Trifol. Or. Lips. 1663 and 1672), and Abicht (Select. Rabb. Phil.); of the commentaries on Malachi by J. Mej'er (Hamburg, 1685). A translation of the whole commentary was made, but not published, by a former Jew at Vienna. The preface to this work by Rabbi Baruch gives an essay on the life and the writings of Abrabanel, com- piled from his works. He also wrote nz.'Vw""1 S^H E3?2 (fie raid of salvation), an explanation of the principal Messianic passages of the Old Testament, in which work a complete system of the views of the Jewish theology concerning the Messiah is given. This work, in which Abrabanel gives full scope to his animosity against the Christians, was prepared by him at Mo- nopoli, and for the first time published (in 4to) without the name of place (probably at Salonichi) in 1526 (again, Amsterdam, 1644 ; Offenbach, 1767). A Latin translation, under the title Pneco Snlutis, was pub- lished by H. May (Francfort-on-the-Main, 1712, 4to), who, in the room of a preface, gives a biography of Abrabanel. i"l3"X w'SO (head of security), a treatise on the articles of the Jewish faith (first ed., Constan- tinople, 1505, fol.). E*?"? *"09? (crown of old men), one of the first works of the author, in which he treats of the different kinds of prophecy (first printed at Sa- bionetta, 1537, 4to). bifida W^S (wnb of God),