Ba'shan-ha'votli- Ja'ir (Heb. hab-Bashan' Chav- v -'// Yalr', 1^ nin ",r?v?. the Bashan of the vil- I tffes of Jair; Sept. llatrav AuibS [v. r. 8«i/w3] 'Imp), leral name imposed by Jair, the son of Manas- seh, upon the region of Argob (q. v.), conquered by him in Bashan (Deut. iii, 14), containing sixty cities, with walls and brazen gates (Josh. xiii,30; 1 Kings iv. 13). It is elsewhere (Num. xxii, 41) called simply IIavotii-Jaik (q. v.).
Bash'emath (Heb. Basmntk', ^"?:-"3, elsewhere more correctly Anglicized "Basmatb," q.v.), the name Of two ('■males.
1. A daughter of Ishmael, the last married (B.C. L92G) of the three wives of Esau (Gen.xxxvi, 3,4,13), from whose son, Reuel, four tribes of the Edomites were descended. When first mentioned she is called M ilul.ith (Gen. xxviii, 9); while, on the other hand, the name 1! a hemath is in the narrative (Gen. xxvi, 34 ) given to another of Esau's wives, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. It is remarkable that all Esau's wives receive different names in the genealogical table <>f tb- Edomites (Gen. xxxvi) from those by which they have been previously mentioned in the history. Thus:
UINI i
(G«n. >■
1. A'lnll. ilalC'llti-I- nt |.|,,n.
•J. thollbaraab, d. of Anah. i ith, d. ><( Ishmael
(On. „V|, :;4, xxviii,!) )
2. Bashemath, d, of lilon.
1. Judith, d. of Beeri.
:;. Mahalath,d. of Ishmael. Whatever be the explanation of this diversity of lere i^ every reason for supposing that they i ma respectivelv, and we may well conclude with Hengstenberg that the change of all the nam ;s cannol have arisen from accident; and, farther, that the names in the genealogical table' whi.h is ea entially an Edomitish document, are those which these women respectively bore as the wives of I .n (Hengstenberg, Autk. <1. Pent, ii, 277; English transl. ii. 22G). This view is confirmed by the fact thai the Seirite wife, who is called Judith in the nar- rative, appears in the genealogical account under the
BASIL
name of Aholibamah (q. v.), a name which appears to have belonged to a district of Idumrea (Gen. xxxvi, 41). The only ground for hesitation or suspicion of error in the text is the occurrence of this name Bashe- math both in the narrative and the genealogy, though applied to different persons. The Samaritan text seeks to remove this difficult}' by reading Mahalath instead of Bashemath in the genealogy. We might with more probability suppose that this name (Bashemath) has been assigned to the wrong person in one or other of the passages ; but if so, it is impossible to deter- mine which is erroneous. — Smith, s. v. See Esau.
2. A daughter of Solomon and wife of one of his of- ficers (1 Kings iv, 15, A. V. "Basjiatii").
Bashmuric Version. See Egyptian Versions.
Basier. See Basire.
Basil (from BamXtloc, Basilius), St., "the Great," one of the most eminent of the Greek fathers, was born about the end of the year 328, probably at Neocsesarea. He began h;s studies at Csesarea, in Palestine, whence he proceeded to Constantinople to hear the famous Libanius, and thence to Athens, where he contracted an intimate friendship with Gregory Nazianzen. About 355 he returned to his own country, but soon after left his home again and travelled into Libya, visiting the famous monasteries of those countries. Upon his re* turn he was first made reader in the church of Cajsarea, and afterward ordained deacon. But about the year 358 he retired into a solitude of Pontus, where he built a monastery near that of his sister Macrina (q. v.), and with his brothers, Peter and Naucratius, and several others, he followed an ascetic life, and, drawing up a rule for his community, became the founder of the monastic life in those regions. In 3G4 (or 362) he was ordained priest by Eusebius, and in 309 or 370, on the death of Eusebius, was elected bishop of Ca;sarea, after great opposition, which was finally overcome only by the personal efforts of the aged Gregory of Nazianzus. But the emperor Valens soon began to persecute him be- cause he refused to embrace the doctrine of the Arians, of which he and Gregory of Nazianzus were strenuous opponents. The death of Valens's son gave freedom of action to Basil, who devoted his efforts to bring about a reunion between the Eastern and "Western churches, which had been divided upon points of faith, and in regard to Meletius and Paulinus, two bishops of Antioch. The Western churches acknowledged Paulinus for the legal bishop ; Meletius was supported by the Eastern churches. But all his efforts were in- effectual, this dispute not being terminated till nine months after his death. Basil was also engaged in some contests relating to the division which the em- peror had made of Oappadocia into two provinces. Eustathius, bishop of Sebaste, had been a friend of Ba- sil, and had planted monasticism in Asia, a pursuit in which Basil fully sympathized ; but Eustathius openly embraced Arianism, and Basil in 373 broke with him and wrote against him. He also wrote against Apol- linaris; in fact, he took a part in most of the contro- versies of his age. He died Jan. 1, 379, with these words on his lips: "0 Lord, into thy hands I com- mend my spirit." Basil was a man of great piety, profound learning, and great eloquence. During the Arian controversy he was an unflinching champion of the orthodox doctrine. At first, through fear of Sa- bellianism, he preferred the homuiimsian formula; but in the strifes which followed, he was brought to clear- er apprehension of the question, and acknowledged the Nicene Creed, which he ever afterward steadfastly maintained. For a statement of his view of the Trin- ity, see 1 torner, /) tctrine «f the Pi rson of Christ, Edinb. ed., Div. I, vol. ii. p. 305 sq. See also Arianism, The (ireek Church honors him as one of its most illustrious saints, and celebrates his festival January 1st. The works of Basil were first published, with a preface of Erasmus, at Basle, 15:J2 ; a better edition, with Latin