In the New Testament Tropvi; occurs in Matt, xxi, 31 32; Luke XV, 30; 1 Cor. vi, 15, 16; Heb.xi,31; James II, '-0. In none of these passages does it necessarily im- ply prostitution for gain. The likeliest is Luke xv, 30 It 18 used symlmlically for a citv in Kcv. xvii, 1, 5, 15 IG; xix, 2, where tlie term and aUthe attendant imagery
are derived from the Old Testament. It may be ob- ser\-ed in regard to Tjtc, which (Isa. xxiii, 15. 17) is rep- resented as " committing fornication with all the king- doms of the world upon the face of the earth," that these words, as indeed seems likely from those wliich ibllow, may relate to the various arts which she had employed to induce merchants to trade with her (Patrick, ad loc.). So the Sept. understood it, icTui i^Tvopiov TrdaaiQ raXg [SaaiXiiaig tFiq olKOVfitvijg iirl irpuatoTrov rrjQ yijg. Schleusner obser\'es that the same words in Rev. xviii, 3 imnj also relate to commercial dealings. (Fesselii A d- versur. Sacr. ii, 27, 1, 2 [Witteb. 1650J ; Frisch, De mu- liere jieregrina ap. Heh: [Lips. 1744]).— Kitto, s. v.; Smith, s. V. Compare Peostitute.
Harmer, Thojias, a learned dissenting divine of England, was born in Norwich in 1715, and became minister of a dissenting congregation at Wattesfield, Suffolk. He was much esteemed in the literary world for his attainments in Oriental literatiu-e and for his skill in antiquities. Availing himself of some ]\ISS. of the celebrated Sir John Chardin, who had travelled into Persia and other Eastern countries, Harmer seized the idea of applying the information thus obtained to the iUustratioii of many portions of the prophetical writings, and of the evangelists also. The first volume of tlie OJjservations on various Passages of Scripture appeared in 1764; in 1776 the work agaui made its appearance in tAvo volumes octavo, and in 1787 were published two additional volumes ; a foiu-th edition, in four volumes, was called for in a short time afterwards, and a fifth edition was edited by Adam Clarke (Lond. 1816, 4 vols. 8vo), with considerable additions and corrections, to which is prefixed a life of the author. Mr. Harmer also published Outlines of a neiv Commentary on Solomon's Song (Lond. 1768, 8vo) ; and a posthumous volume has appeared, entitled The Miscellaneous Works of the Rev. Thomas Harnm; with an introductory memoir by Wil- liam Youngman (Lond. 1823, 8vo). IMr. Harmer died in 1788. — Jones, Christian Biography ; Darling, Cyclopcedia Bibliographica, i, 400.
Harmonists or Harmonites. See Eappists. Harmony, as a technical name of a Biblical work, is applied to books the object of which is to arrange the Scriptures in chronological order, so that the mutual agreement of the several parts may be rendered appar- ent, and the true succession of events clearly under- stood. With this view various scholars have compiled liarmonies of the Old Testament, of the New, and of particular portions of both. Plarmonies of the Old Tes- tament exhibit the books disposed in chronological or- der, as is done by Lightfoot in his Chnmick of the Times, and the Order of the Texts of the O/il Tstaiiinit. and by Townsend in his Old Testament arraiigi-d in historical and chronologiccd Order. Harmonies of the New Tes- tament present the gospels and epistles distributed in like order, the latter being interspersed among the Acts of the Apostles. In this way Townsend has proceeded in his valuable worlc entitled The New Testament ar- ranged in chronological and historical Order. Books, however, of this kind are so few in number that the term hamnony is almost appropriated by usage to the gospels. It is this part of the New Testament which has chiefly occujiied the attention of those inquirers whose object is to arrange the Scriptures in their true order. The memoirs of our Lord written by the four evangelists have chiefly occupied the thoughts of those who wish to show that they all agree, and mutually au- thenticate one another. Accordingly, such compositions are exceedingly numerous. The four gospels narrate the principal events connected with our Lord's abode on earth, from his birth to his ascension. There must there- fore be a general resemblance between them, though that of John contains little in common with the others, being apparently supplementarj- to them. Yet there are considerable diversities, both in the order in which facts are narrated, and in the facts themselves. Hence
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77
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the difaculty of weaving tlie accounts of the four into a continuous and chronological history. Those portions of the gospels that relate to the resurrection of the Sav- iour have alw.ays presented the greatest obstacles to the compilers of harmonies, and it must be candidly admit- ted that the accounts of this remarkable event are not easily reconciled. Yet the labors of West and To^vn- son, especially the latter, have served to remove the apparent contradictions. In addition to them may be mentioned Cranfield and Hales, Avho have endeavored to improve upon the attempts of their predecessors. See Gospels.
lu connection with harmonies the term dkitessaron frequently occurs. It denotes a continued narrative se- lected out of the four gospels, in which all repetitions of the same or similar words are avoided. It is thus the result of a harmony, since the latter, properly speak- ing, exhibits the entire texts of the four evangelists ar- ranged in corresponding columns. In popular language the two are often used synonymously. See Diatessa-