ASADIAS
451
ASARELAII
his popularity had not been substantially impaired, for he was honored with a funeral of unusual cost and magnificence (2 Chron. xvi, 11-14; with which 1 Kings xv, 24, does not conflict). He was succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat. See Judah, Kingdom of.
2. (Sept. 'Orrna.) A Levite, son of Elkanah and fa- ther of Berechiah, which last was one of those who re- sided in the villages of the Netophathites on the return from Babylon (1 Chron. ix, 16). B.C. ante 53G.
Asadi'as (Atratiiac., i. e. Hasadiah), the son of Chelcias and father of Sedecias, in the ancestry of Ba- ruch (q. v.), according to the apocryphal book that bears his name (Bar. i, 1). Comp. 1 Chr. iii, 21.
Asae'as (or rather Asai'as, 'Aaaiac), one of the "sons" of Annas that divorced his Gentile wife after the exile (1 Esdr. ix, 32) ; evidently the Ishijaii (q. v.) of the genuine text (Ezra x, 31).
As'ael (or rather A' ml, 'AmijX, prob. for Jahziel), the father of Gabael, of the tribe of Naphtali, among the ancestors of Tobit (Tob. i, 1).
As'ahel (Heb. Asah-el', bxilbs?, creature of God"), the name of four men.
1. (Sept. 'AaafjX, Josephus, 'AadtjXog, Ant. vii, 3, 1.) The youngest son of David's sister Zeruiah (2 Sam. ii, 18), and brother of Joab and Abishai (1 Chron. ii, 16). He was one of David's early adherents (2 Sam. xxiii, 24), and with his son Zebadiah was commander of the fourth division of the royal army (1 Chron. xxvii, 7). He was noted for his swiftness of foot, a gift much valued in ancient times (comp. Iliad, xv, 570; Plutarch, Vit. Romuli, 25 ; Liv. ix, 16; Curt, vii, 7, 32 ; Veget. Mil. i, 9) ; and after the battle at Gibeon he pursued and overtook Abner (q. v.), who, with great reluctance, in order to preserve his own life, slew him by a back-thrust with the sharp iron heel of his spear, *B.C. cir. 1051 (2 Sam. ii, 18-23). To revenge his death, his brother Joab some years after treacher- ously killed Abner, who had come to wait on David at Hebron (2 Sam. iii, 26, 27). See Joab.
2. (Sept. 'AuarjX v. r. 'lamrjX.) One of the Levites sent by Jehoshaphat to teach the people of Judah the law of the Lord (2 Chron. xvii, 8), B.C. 909.
3. (Sept. 'AaarjX.) One of the Levites appointed by Hezekiah as overseer of the contributions to the house of the Lord (2 Chron. xxxi, 13), B.C. 726.
4. (Sept. Aow/X.) The father of Jonathan, which latter was one of the elders who assisted Ezra in put- ting away the foreign wives of the Jews on the return from Babylon (Ezra x, 15). B.C. ante 459.
Asahi'ah. See Asaiah, 3.
Asai'ah. (Heb. Asayah', rni.'", constituted by Je- hwih; Sept. 'Aaa'ia or 'Arraiac, v. r. 'Aad in 1 Chron. ix, 5), the name of four men.
1. The son of Hag^iah (1 Chron. vi, 30) and chief of the 220 Levites of the family of Merari, appointed by David to remove the ark of the covenant from the house of Obed-edom, and afterward to take charge of the singing exercises (1 Chron. xv, 6, 11). B.C. cir. 1043.
2. The head of one of the families of the tribe of Simeon, mentioned in 1 Chron. iv, 36, as dispossessing the descendants of Ham from the rich pastures near Gedor in the time of Hezekiah, B.C. cir. 712.
3. A servant of Josiah, sent with others to consult the prophetess Huldah concerning the book of the law found in the Temple (2 Kings xxii, 12, 14 [where the name is less correctlv Anglicized "Asahiah"]; 2 Chron. xxxiv, 20). B.C. 623.
4. The "first-born" of the Shilonites (q. v.) who returned to Jerusalem after the captivity (1 Chron. ix, 5). B.C. 536. See Maaseiah 9.
Asamon (Affa/nov), a mountain in the central part of Galilee, opposite Sepphoris, where the rebels from this city having taken refuge, were destroyed by tiie Roman general Gallus (Josephus, War, ii, 18, II).
It is thought by Robinson (Later Bib. Res. p. 77) to be the broken ridge which commences with the high sum- mit of Jebel Kaukab on the XV. and runs eastward along the N. side of the plain El-Buttauf (Van de Velde, Memoir, p. 288).
AsamoiiEean, Asamousus. See Asmo.vi:- ax.
As'ana QAooava), a man (or place) whose "sons" (servants of the Temple) returned from the captivity (1 Esdr. v, 31) ; evidently the Asnah (q. v.) of Ezra ii, 50, rather than the Ashnah (q. v.) of Josh, xv, 33 or 43.
A'saph (Heb. Asaph', fDX, assembler; Sept. 'Aaa(f), the names of three persons. See Ebiasaph.
1. A Levite of the family of Gershom (see below), son of Barachiah (1 Chron. vi, 39; xv, 17), eminent as a musician, and appointed by David to preside over the sacred choral services which he organized (1 Chron. xvi, 5), B.C. 1014. The "sons of Asaph" are after- ward mentioned as choristers of the Temple (1 Chron. xxv, 1, 2; 2 Chron. xx, 14; xxix, 13; Ezra ii, 41; iii, 10; Neh. vii, 44; xi, 22); and this office appears to have been made hereditary in his family (1 Chron. xxv, 1, 2). Asaph was celebrated in after times as a prophet (!~t? H, seer) and poet (2 Chron. xxix, 30 ; Neh. xii, 46), and the titles of twelve of the Psalms (1, lxxiii, to lxxxiii) bear his name, in some of which he evident- ly stands (as a patronymic, Neh. xi, 17) for the Levites generally (see Huetii Demonstr. ev. p. 332 ; Bertholdt, v, 1956 ; Herder, Ebr. Poesie, ii, 331 ; comp. Niemeyer, Charakterist. iv, 356 sq. ; Carpzov, Jntrod. 103 sq. ; Eichhorn, Einl. v, 17 sq.) ; or he may have been the founder of a school of poets and musical composers, who were called after him "the sons of Asaph" (comp. the Homeridoe). See Psalms. The following is his ancestry (see Reinhard, De Asapho, Vien. 1742).