There is also another system of less note, called Albasi (aS&fct), which is only a modification of the preceding ; for in it the alphabet is divided into halves, and one portion placed over the other in the natural or- der, and the pairs are formed out of those letters which would then stand in a row together. — Kit to, s. v.
All these methods belong to that branch of the Cab- ala (q. v.) which is called rHSlBtl, commutation.
ATER
504
ATHALIAII
A'ter (ITcl). .iter', *CX, shut up; Sept. Arjjp v. r. in Ezra ii. 42, Arri)p), the name of three men.
1. A descendant (?) of one Hezekiah (q. v.), whose family, to the number of 98, returned from Babylon with "Zerubbabel (Ezra ii, 1G ; Neh. vii, 21). B.C. ante 536.
2. The head of a family of Levitical "porters" to the Temple, that returned at the same time with the above (Ezra ii, 42; Neh. vii, 45). B.C. 536.
3. One of the chief Israelites that subscribed the sacred covenant with Nehemiah (Neh. x, 17). B.C. cir. 410.
Aterezi'as ('Ar>)p 'E&iciou), a mistake (1 Esdr. v, 15) for the phrase "Ater (q. v.) of Hezekiah" (Ezra ii, 16 ; Xeh. vii, 21). See Hezekiah.
A thach (Heb. Athak', ~^"., lodging; Sept. 'Axax v. r.'No/(/3f), one of the cities of Judah (i. e. Simeon) to which David sent a present of the spoils recovered from the Amalekites who had sacked Ziklag (1 Sam. xxx, 30). According to Schvvarz (Palest, p. 113), it is marked by the modern valley Athaca, north of Jebel Madurah, on the edge of the Idumsean deserts; given on Zimmermann's map as Wady Ateichs, S. of Hebron, opposite the extremity of the Dead Sea, perhaps at the ruins (with water) marked as Abu Teratfeh on Van de Velde's Map. Others regard the name as an error of transcription for Ether (Josh, xv, 42).
Athai'ah (Heb. Athayah', iT^fiS, perhaps the same as Asaiah; Sept. 'A&aia), a son of Uzziah of the tribe of Judah, who returned to Jerusalem from Bab- ylon (Xeh. xi, 4). B.C. 536. See Utiiai.
Athali'ah (Heb. Athalyali' , tl^brr, 2 Kings xi, 1, 3, 13, 14 ; 1 Chron. viii, 26 ; 2 Chron. xxii, 12 ; Ezra viii, 17; in the prolonged form Athalya'hu, '~"~~:', 2 Kings viii, 26 ; xi, 2, 20 ; 2 Chron. xxii. 2, 10" 11 ; xxiii, 12, 13, 21 ; xxiv, 7 ; afflicted by Jchovali), the name of two men and one woman.
,1. (Sept. VoSoXia, and so Josephus, Ant. ix, 7, 1.) The daughter of Ahab, king of Israel, doubtless by his idolatrous wife Jezebel. She is also called the daugh- ter of Omri (2 Chron. xxii, 2), who was the father of Ahab ; but by a comparison of texts it would appear that she is so called only as being his granddaughter. Athaliah became the wife of Jchoram, the son of Je- hoshaphat, king of Judah. This marriage may fairly be considered the act of the parents ; and it is one of the few stains upon the character of the good Jchosha- phat that he was so ready, if not anxious, to connect him- self with the idolatrous house of Ahab. Had he not married the heir of his crown to Athaliah, many evils and much bloodshed might have been spared to the roy- al family and to the kingdom. When Jehorain came to the throne, he, as might be expected, "walked in the ways of the house of Ahab," which the sacred writer obviously attributes to this marriage by adding, "for he bad the daughter of Ahab to wife" (2 Chron. xxi, G). Jchoram died (B.C. 884) of wounds received in a war with the Syrians into which his wife's counsel had led him. and was succeeded by his youngest son Aha- ziah, who reigned but one year, and whose death arose from his being, by blood and by circumstances, in- volved in the doom of Ahab's house. See Ahaziah. Before this Athaliah bad acquired much influence in public affairs (comp. 1 Kings x, 1 ; Prov. xxi, 1), and bad used that influence for evil ; and when the tidings of her son's untimely death reached Jerusalem, she resolve, l to seat herself upon the throne of David at whatever cost (B.C. 883), availing herself probably of her position as king's mother [see Asa] to carry out her design. Most likely she exercised the regal functions during Ahaziah's absence at Jezreel (2 Kings ix), and resolved to retain her power, especially after seeing the danger to which she was exposed I y the overthrow of the house of Omri, and of Baal-worship in Samaria. It was not unusual in those days for women in the