Ahriman. See Ormuzd.
Ahu'mai (Heb. Achumay', "wWN, brother of wa- ter, i. e. living near a stream; otherwise, swarthy; Sept. 'A'xtpai), the first named of the two sons of Ja- hatli, a Zorathite, of the tribe of Judah (1 Chron. iv, 2), B.C. post 1012.
Alru'zam (Heb. Achuzzam', CJHX, their posses- sion; otherwise, tenacious; Sept. '£2y«s«V v-r- &Xa'a)i the first named of the four sons of Ashur (" father" of Tekoa) by one of his wives, Naarah, of the tribe of Judah (1 Chron. iv, G), B.C. cir. 1G12.
Ahuz'zath (Heb. Aehuzzath' , TjPlX, possession, as often in the constr. of Wnx ; otherwise, tenacious [the termination "-ath" being frequent in Philistine nouns, comp. Gath, Goliath, etc.] ; Sept. 'Oxo^a'3-, Vulg. Ochozath), the "friend" (V"^ ; Sept. w^tpayw- y6g, bridesman ; but rather, evidently, that unofficial but important personage of ancient Oriental courts
called "the king's friend" or favorite) of Abimelech (q. v.) II, king of Gerar, who attended him on his visit to Isaac (Gen. xxvi, 26), B.C. cir. 1985.
A'i (Heb. Ay, ""V, ruin, perh. so called after its destruction, Gen. xii, 8 ; xiii, 3 ; Josh, vii, 2-5 ; viii, 1-29; ix, 3; x, 1, 2; xii, 9; Ezra ii, 28; Neh. vii, 32 ; Jer. xlix, 3 ; always with the art., *Vi~t, except in the passage last cited ; Sept. Tea in Josh., 'Ayyai in Gen., 'Aid in Ezra, 'At in Neh., Tat in Jer. ; Vulg. Hai ; Auth. Vers. " Hai" in Gen.: also in the pro- longed forms Aya' ' , X'S;, Neh. xi, 31, Sept. 'Aid, Vulg. Hai, Auth. Vers. "Aija;" Ayath' , FVS, Isa. x, 28, Ayyai, Ajath, " Aiath ;" v. r. "P2, text Josh. viii, 16 ; fli"1?, Samar. Gen. xii, 8, comp. 'Aivd, Jo- sephus, Ant. v, 1, 12 ; Jerome Gai), the name of one or two places. See also Avim.
1. A royal city of the Canaanites (Josh, x, 1), the site of which (not necessarily then a city) is mentioned as early as the time of Abraham, who pitched his tent between it and Bethel (Gen. xii, 8 ; xiii, 3) ; but it is chiefly noted for its capture and destruction by Joshua (vii, 2-5;. viii, 1-29). See Ambush. At a later pe- riod Ai appears to have been rebuilt, for it is men- tioned by Isaiah (x, 28), and it was inhabited by the Benjamites after the captivity (Ezra ii, 28 ; Neh. vii, 32 ; xi, 31). The site was known, and tome scant}' ruins still existed in the time of Eusebius and Jerome (Onomast. s. v. 'Ayycti), but Dr. Robinson was unable to discover an)' certain traces of either. He remarks (Bib. Researches, ii, 313), however, that its situation with regard to Bethel may be well determined by the facts recorded in Scripture. That Ai lay to the east of Bethel is certain (comp. Josh, xii, 9 ; " beside Beth- aven," Josh, vii, 2 ; viii, 9) ; and the two cities were not so far distant from each other but that the men of Bethel mingled in the pursuit of the Israelites when they feigned to flee before the king of Ai, and thus both cities were left defenceless (Josh, viii, 17) ; yet they were not so near but that Joshua could place an ambuscade on the west (or south-west) of Ai, without its being observed by the men of Bethel, while he himself remained behind in a valley to the north of Ai (Josh, viii, 4, 11-13). A little to the south of a village called Deir Diwan, and one hour's journey from Bethel, the site of an ancient place is indicated 1 y reservoirs hewn in the rock, excavated tombs, and foundations of hewn stone. This, Dr. Robinson in- clines to think, may mark the site of Ai, as it agrees with all the intimations as to its position. Near it, on the north, is the deep Wady el-Mutyah, and toward the south-west other smaller wadj-s, in which the am- bushed party of Israelites might easily have been con- cealed. According to Schwarz (Palest, p. 84), the ancient name is still preserved in some ruins called Khirbet Medinat Gai, near the edge of a valley, two English miles south-east of Bethel ; a position which he thinks corresponds with a rabbinical notice of Ai (Shemoth Rabbah, c. 32) as lying three Roman miles from Bethel (erroneously written Jericho). Thenius, however (in Kauffer's Exeget. Studien, ii, 127 sq.), lo- cates Ai at Tvrmus Aya, a small reeky mound east of Sinjil (Robinson's Researches, iii, 85), a position which is defended by Keil (Comment, on Josh, vii, 2) ; but in which he has been influenced by an incorrect loca- tion of Bethel (q. v.). Stanley (Palest, p. 200 note) places it at the head of the 1 1 'ady llarith. lor Krufi't's identification with Kirbet el-IIaiy h, see Pol inson (new ed. of Researches, iii, 288). Van de Velde, after a care- ful examination, concludes that no spot answers the. conditions except Tell el-Hajar, about 40' E. by S. of Beitin, on tha southern border of Wady el-Mutyah, with no remains but a broken cistern (Narrative, ii, 278-282). This position essentially corresponds to that assigned by Robinson.
It is the opinion of some that the words Avim in
AIAH
124
AILLY
Josh, xviii, 5.3, and Gaza in 1 Chron. vii, 28, arc cor- ruptions of Ai.