Eben-zoheleth. See Zoheleth.
E'ber (Heb. id. ^2", country beyond), the name of five men.
1. (Sept. "E/Jfo and''l!]/Sfp,Vulg. Heber.') Eber (as the name sliould be Anglicized) was the son of Salah, and father of Peleg, being the third post-diluvian pa- triarch after Shem (Gen. x, 24; xi, 14; 1 Chron. i, l»,'lh). B.C. 2448-19.S4. He is claimed as the found- er of the Hebrew race (Gen. x, 21 ; Num. xxiv, 24). See Heber. In Luke iii, 35, his name ('E/if/)) is An- glicized Heber.
2. (Sept. 'Jw/-J)/('>, Yulg. I/eher.) The youngest of the seven heads of families of the Gadites in Bashan (1 Chron. v, 13 ; A. V. " Hel)er"). B.C. 782.
3. (Sept. '12/S//(i, Vulg. Heber.) The oldest of the three sons of Elpaal the Benjamite, and one of those who rebuilt Ono and Lod, with their suburbs (1 Chron. viii, 12). B.C. 535.
4. (Sept. 'iliiin', Vulg. Heber.) One of the heads of the families of Benjamitcs resident at Jerusalem (1 Chron. viii, 22; A.V. "Heber"). B.C. 535.
5. (Sept. 'AfiiS, Vulg. Jfeber.) The head of the priestly family of Amok, in the time of the return from exile under Zerubbabel (Neh. xii, 20). B.C. 535.
Eber, Paul, a companion of Luther and Melancthon, and an eminent Hebrew scholar and theologian, was born at Kissingen, Nov. 8, 1511. He received his first instruction from his father, and continued bis studies at Anspach. The sudden death of his mother caused his father to recall Paul from Anspach, and while on his way home he was thrown from his horse and be- came humpbacked. In 1526 he had so far recovered that he could resume his studies at Nuremberg, and in 1532 he entered the universit}' at "Wittenberg. Here he was employed as amanuensis to Melancthon, with whom he became so intimate that he consulted him on all important matters, and hence Eber received the name of Philip's Repository {Bqjertonum Philippi). He was also a faithful disci|)le of Luther. In 1536 he began to lecture on gi-ammar and philosophy, and in 1541 he accompanied Melancthon to the Diet at Worms. In 1544 he was appointed professor of Latin grammar, in 1550 dean of the philosophical fiiculty, and in 1551 rector of the university. After the death of Forster (1556) he was appointed professor of Hebrew and chaplain to the royal chapel at "Wittenberg. These positions he soon changed for others, and in 1559 he was made general superintendent of the electorate, and, as doctor of theology, a member of the theologi- cal faculty' of the university. From this time to the daj' of his death, Dec. 16, 1569, he devoted himself en- tirely to theology and to the faithful discharge of his duties as general superintendent of the electorate. After the death of Melancthon he was regarded as the head of the universit}'. He took large part in the Adi- aphoristic and Crypto -Calvinistic controversies, hut always shoMed himself moderate and learned. His principal works are : Expositio Evangeliorum (Francf. 1576): — Calendarium hlstoricum (1551, 4to): — Historia popvlijudaici a rtditu ex Babylonico exilio vsqne ad ul- tinium excidium Jerosolymce (Witeb..l458 ; new ed. 1562, and transl. into German, French, and Dutch): — Un- terricht n.Bekenntn. rom h. Saaximent dcs Leibs u. BJuts unseres Herrn (Wittb. 1562) : — Biblia Liitina (Vitcmb. 1565) : — Expositio Evangelicorum Dominicalhim (Francf. 1576). — Hoefer, A'otiv. Biog. Gener. xv, 599 sq. ; Her- zog, Real-Encyhl. iii, 618 sq. ; Plank, Gesch. der pro- test. Theol. iv, Theil i (Lpz. 1798), 448-525 ; Sixt, Paul Eber (Heidelb. 184.3, and another book by the same author, Anspach, 1857) ; Pressel, Paid Eber nach gleich- zeitigen Qnellen (1862) ; Bibl. Sacra, xx, 644 sq.
Eberhard, Johann August, a Rationalistic theo- logian of Germany, was born in 1739 at Halberstadt. He studied theology at Halle, and was in succession preacher at Halberstadt, Berlin, and Charlottenburg. The latter position he obtained by express order of king Friedrieh II. In 1778 he was appointed pro- fessor of philosophy at Halle, where he opposed the idealism of Kant and Fichte. He died in 1809. Eber- hard is a representative of what is called "the vulgar Rationalistic school" {Vidgdr - Rationalismus). He wrote a considerable number of theological, philosoph- ical, historical, and other works. Among his theolog- ical works are : Neue Apologie d<s Socrates (Perlin, 1772, 3d ed. 1788): — Vorbereitmig zur nutiirl. Thtologie (Halle, 17S1) -.—Geist des Urchrisicnlhiims (Halle, 1807 -1808) ; and Sittenlehre der Vernunft (Berlin, 1781). — Brockhaus, Conversations-Lex. s. v. (A. J. S.)
Eberlin, Anton, one of the German reformers, was born in Swabia towards the end of the 15th cen- tury. He entered the Franciscan order, and was cho- sen preacher of the Franciscan convent at Tubingen, from which, in consequence of some difficultes, he was, in 1519, transferred to Ulm. Here he became ac- quainted with Luther's writings, and having adopted his doctrines, had to leave LTm in 1521. Repairing to Basle, he became verj' popular, but ^vas driven away bj' the bisliop of Basle. He found an asylum with Ul- rich von Ilutten and Francis of Sickingen, and wrote with them several works on ecclesiastical and mouas-
EBERT
21
tical abuses. In 1522 he came to Wittenberg, where ha became personally acquainted with Luther and with Melanethon, under the influence of whose teaching! he wrote in the same j'ear his Vuni 3fissbraucke cJiristli- cher Freiheif, breathing a charitable spirit. In 1524 he went to Erfurt, where he preached for some time, and thence to AVertheim on the Main (152G). He died soon after. His works, to the number of 34, were mostly of local interest ; among the others, the most important one, entitled Wie sich eyii Diener Goffes worts ym all seynem thun halten soil (Wittenberg, 1525, 4to), has seen sovei-al editions, and can be found in A. H. Franke, Blonita pastoralia. See Dollinger, d. Refor- matlni, etc. i, 205 ; Strobel, Liter. Museum, i,3G5; Her- zog, Real-EncyMop. iii, 620.