Ear-ring stands in the Auth.Vers. as the render- in;^ of three Heb. words of considerably diflFerent im- port. See lIiXG.
1, ?^H" {agiV , from its roundness), properly a ring, specially an ear-ring (Num. xxxi, ."30; Ezek. xvi, 12), nearly all the ancient ear-rings exhibited in the sculp- tures of Egypt and Persejiolis lieing of a circular shape. These are the Ivwna spoken of in Judith x, 4.
2. fiTJ (iie'eem, either from its pyerforating, or from its use to muzzle in the case of animals), a ring, spe-
cially a nose-ring, but also an ear-ring, which two do not seem, therefore, to have materiallx- differed in form. It most certainly denotes an ear-ring in Gen. xxxv, 4; but in Gen. xxiv, 47 ; Prov. xi, 22 ; Isa. iii, 21, it sig- nifies a nose-jewel, and it is doubtful which of the two is intended in Judg. viii, 24, 25; Job xlii, 11. See Woman. Hence also we find
3. "CTy^ (lach'ctsh, properly a whispenng or incanta- tion'), a charm or remedy against enchantment, i. e. a superstitious ornament, often a gem inlaid in a plate or ring of precious metal, on which certain magic for- mulas were inscribed, and which was worn suspended from the neck or in the ears of Oriental females (Isa. iii, 20). See Enchaxtjient.
The " collars" or "chains" spoken of in Judg. -viii, 2G ; Isa. iii, 19, may also have been a species of ear- drop. See those terms.
No conclusion can be formed as to the shape of the Hebrew ear-rings except from the signification of the words employed, and from the analogy of similar orna- ments in ancient sculpture. The Avord C";, by which these ornaments are usually described, is unfortunately ambiguous, originally referring to the nose-ring (as its root indicates), and thence transferred to the ear-ring. The full expression for the latter is C"2TX3 '""i'X ZT3 (Gen. xxxv, 4), in contradistinction to rN;~S> CT3 (Gen. xxiv, 47). In the majoint}' of cases, however, the kind is not specified, and the only clew to the meaning is the context. The term occurs in this un- defined sense in Judg. yiii, 24; Job xlii, 11; Prov. XXV, 12; Hos. ii, 13. The material of which the ear- ring was made was generally gold (Exod. xxxii, 2), and its form circular, as we maj' infer from the name b'^'i", bj' Avhich it is described (Num. xxxi, 50 ; Ezek. xvi, 12) : such was the shape usual in Egypt (Wilkin- son's Egyptians, iii, 370). They were worn bj' women and by youth of both sexes (Exod. 1. c). It has been inferred from tlie passage cjuoted, and from Judg. viii, 24, that they were not worn by men : these passages are, however, bj' no means conclusive. In the former an order is given to the men in such terms that they could not be mentioned, though they might have been implicitly included; in the latter the amount of the gold is the peculiarity adverted to, and not the charac- ter of the ornament, a peculiarity wliich is still notice- able among the inhabitants of southern Arabia (Well- sted's Travels, i, 321). The mention of tlie sons in Exod. xxxii, 2 (wliich, however, is omitted in the Sept.), is in favor of their having been worn, and it appears unlikelj' that the Hebrews presented an ex- ception to the almost universal practice of Asiatics, both in ancient and modern times. That they were not, however, usually worn by men is implied in Judg.
Ancient Oriental Ear-rings.
EAR-RINGS
EARTH
xiv, 24, where sold ear-rings are mentioned as dis- tinctive of the Ishmaelitish tribes. The men of Egj'pt also abstained from the use of ear-rings; but how ex- tensively thej^ were worn by men in other nations is shown by the preceding group of heads of different for- eigners, collected from the Egyptian monuments. By this also the usual forms of the most ancient orna- "ments of this description are sufficiently displayed. Those worn by the Egj'ptian ladies were large, round, single hoops of gold, from one inch and a lialf to two inches and one tliird in diameter, and frequently of still greater size, or made of six single rings soldered together. Such probably was the round agil of the Hebrews. Among persons of high or royal rank the ornament was sometimes in the shape of an asp, whose bod}' was of gold set with precious stones. Silver ear- rings have also been found at Thebes, either plain hoops like the ear-rings of gold, or simple studs. The
Ancient Egyptian Ear-rings.
ancient Assyrians, both men and women, wore ear- rings of exquisite shape and finish, especially the kings, and those on the later monuments are generally in the form of a cross (Layard, Nineveh, ii, 234, 250).
Ancient Assyrian Ear-ringss.
Lane thus describes those now worn by Egyptian fe- males : " Of ear-rings (' hcdak') there is a great varie- ty. Some of tlie more usual kinds are here represent- ed. The first is of diamonds set in silver. It consists of a drop suspended within a wreath hanging from a sprig. The back of the silver is gilt, to prevent its being tarnished by perspiration. The specimen here given is that for the right ear ; its fellow is similar,
Slodern I'gyptian Ear-iiiigs (each one h;ilf the real size).
but with the sprig reversed. This pair of ear-rings is suited for a lady of wealth ; so also is the second, which resembles the former, excepting that it has a large pearl in the place of the diamond drop and wreath, and tliat the diamonds of the sprig are set in gold. No, 3 is a side view of the same. The next consists of gold, and an emerald pierced through the middle, with a small diamond above the emerald. Emeralds are gen- eralh' pierced in Egj'pt, and spoiled by this process as much as bj' not being cut with facets. The last is of gold, with a small rubj' in the centre. The ruby is set in fine filigree-work, which is surrounded by fifteen balls of gold. To the seven lower balls are suspended as many circular bark''' {Mod. Eg. ii, 404). The mod- ern Oriental ear-rings are more usually jewelled drops or pendents than circlets of gold, but sometimes they consist of a small round plate of silver or gold sus- pended from a small ring inserted into the ear (Kitto, Pict. Bible, note on Exod. xxxii, 2). This circular plate (about the size of a halfpenny') is either marked with fanciful figures or set with small stones. It is the same kind of thing which in that country (Meso- potamia) is worn as a nose-jewel, and in it we perhaps find the Hebrew ear-ring, which is denoted by the same word that describes a nose-jewel. Jewels were sometimes attached to the rings : they were called na'^Z:3 (from rjI33, to drop), a word rendered in Judg. viii, 2G, Sept. opyUitTKOi, Vulg. monilia, A.V. "collars ;" and in Isa. iii, 19, Kc'tQifia, torques, "chains." The size of the ear-rings still worn in Eastern countries far ex- ceeds what is usual among ourselves (Harmer's Obser- vations, iv, p. 311, 314), hence they formed a handsome present (Job xlii, 11) or offering to the service of God (Num. xxxi, 50). See Jewel.