The report of the introduction of Christianity by king Abgar (q. v.), a contemporary of Christ, is proba- bl}- an unfounded legend; but it is certain that Chris- tianity became firmly rooted in Edessa at a very early period. The twentj^-sixth Osrhoenian king (152-187) was, if not a Christian himself, a patron of Christian- ity, and the Gnostic Bardesanes is said to have been highly esteemed by him. Edessa was an early epis- copal see, and in the 4th centur}- became the cliief seat of Syrian ecclesiastical learning. The emperor Julian threatened to distriljute the large treasure of the churches of Edessa among his soldiers, but his death saved the churches from the execution of this threat. In 3G3, Ephrem (q. v.), the Sj'rian, came from Nisibis to Edessa, and bj' his preaching, teaching, and prolific writings, greatly distinguished himself in the defence of the orthodox doctrines of the Church. After the death of Ephrem, the Arians took possession of all the churches of Edessa, but after five j'ears the ascen- denc}' of the orthodox school was restored. Difterent from the Edessene school established by Ephrem was the Persian school at Edessa, which was intended to be a seminary for the Christian subjects of the Persian king. It attained its highest prosperitj' in the time of Ephrem, became subsequentlj' a stronghold of Ncsto- rianism, and was on that account dissolved in 4^9.^ Herzog, Reul-Encyli. iii, 645 ; Wetzer und A\'clte, A7/- chen-Lex. iii, 391 ; Chronicon Edessenum, in Assemani, Biblioth. OHental. i, 387-428 ; Cureton, Ancient Syriac Documents relative to Edessa, etc. (Lond. 18GG); Ether- idge, The Syrian Churches (Lond. 1846), p. 35 sq. See Nestorians.
Edgar, John, D.D., a Presbyterian minister of Ireland, was liorn in County Down, Ireland, in 1797, and entered the ministrj- in 1820. His life from the outset of his ministry in 1820 was one of ceaseless toil. "His energy of character was immense, and his name became a tower of strength to all the Christian enter- prises with which he was identified. L'pon the union of Presb3'terians in 1840 he was made one of the ]iro- fessors of Divinit_y for the Assemblj-, and the intiuenco he wielded over its students was very great, and he put foitii strenuous and successful eflforts for the erec- tion and equipment of its theological college in Bel- fast. He fired the hearts of his students with his own
EDGAR
58
EDIFICATION
zeal in the work of the evangelization of their coun- try, and spent much of his vacation in personal laljors for it. His spirit in cluirch extension was remarli- able. His last great effort was in undertaking to raise about .^100,000 for erecting additional manses among the churclies. IJy far the greater part of this liad been secured before his deatli." At least lifty of the houses of worsiiip belonging to the Presbvterian Churcli in Ireland owe their existence to his persever- ing efforts. He died in Drtbliu August 26, 18GG. See Killon, Memoirs of John Edgar (Helfast and London, 18G7) ; American. Annwd C ijdopcedla for 1866, p. 277.
Edgar, John Todd, D.D., a Presbyterian minis- ter, was born in Sussex County, Delaware, April 13, 1792. With the proverbial love for knowledge of the Scotch-Irish, his parents gave liim tlie best education that could be ol)tained in Kentucky, to which state they removed soon after his birth. He graduated at Princeton in IS 16, and was licensed by the New Bruns- wiclv Presbytery. In 1817 he was ordained pastor of the church at Fleniingsburg, Ky. He was thence called to Maysville, wliere he labored unremittingh^ In 1829 he was induced to accept a call from the church at Frankfort, Ky, where his eloquence soon gathered around liim the leading men of the state. Henry Clay said of him, " If j'ou want to hear elo- quence, listen to John T. Edgar." In 1833 he became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tenn., and continued to discharge the duties of that office with great fidelity and success up to the year 1859, when an assistant was appointed to aid him. He was distinguished for power in the pulpit, and for a degree of liberality of feeling and public spirit which caused him to be regarded as belonging rather to the whole community than to his particular church. Mr. Edgar wrote little, though at one time he was editor of the American Preshjterian, pnldished at Nashville. He died suddenly of apoplexy Nov. 13, 1860.
Edge, with reference to the sword. Is the rendering of ri3, /jeA, mouth (like arof-ia, Luke xxi, 24 ; Ileb. xi, 34), or fern. iT^3, peyah' (Judg. iii, 16) ; also £"^35, pci- nlm' ,face (Eccles. x, 10); poet. "ii:J, tsur, a ?'oc/i, hence sharpness (Psa. Ixxxix, 43) : elsewhere, in the sense of hrinh or margin; it corresponds to tlS'J, saphah' , lip; and to i^^'!^, Jcatsak', i^'4'i^, kasteh' , or t^.TIip, Tcitsveh', extremity (Exod. xxviii, 7; xxxix, 4; xiii, 20; xxvi, 5; xxxvi, 12; Num. xxxiii, 6, 37; Josh, xiii, 27; Psa. xxxix, 4). To "set on edge" is an in- accurate rendering (Jer. xxxi, 29, 30 ; Ezek. xviii, 2) of ^^'^, bakah', to be blunt (as in Eccles. x, 10). See
SWORI).
Ed(d)i'as (ItJ^iac, Alex. MS. 'JeSSiac, Vulg. Geddi- a?), the second named of the "sons of Phoros," who took foreign wives after the captivity (1 Esdr. ix, 26) ; evidently the Jeziah (q. v.) of the Heb.list (Ezra x, 25).