basing. The only palliation of his monstrous crimes and vices which can be offered is that his disgust of life, occasioned by his early domestic troubles, may have driven him at last to despair and insanity. Tiberius died at the age of seventy-eight, after a reign of twenty- three years. The ancient writers wlio supply most of our knowledge respecting him are Suetonius, Tacitus (who describes his character as one of studied dissimu- lation and hypocrisy from the beginning), Annal. oh. i-vi; Veil. Paterc. ii, 94, etc.; and Dion Cass. ch. xlvi- xlviii. Sec Smith. Diet, of Gr. and Rom. Biof/. s, v, ; and the monograjjhs on Tiberius in German by Frej'tag (Berl. 1870) and Stahr (ibid, 1873), and in English by Beesley (Lond, 1878),
It will be seen that the Saviour's public life, and some of the introductory events of the apostolic age, must have fallen within the limits of his administra- tion. The memorable passage in Tacitus {A nnal. xv, 44) respecting the origin of the Christian sect places the crucifixion of the Redeemer under Tiberius : '• Ergo abo- lendo rumori (that of his having set fire to Rome) Nero subdidit reos, et quiesitissimis poenis affecit, quos per flagitia invisos vulgus Christianos appellabat, Auctor nominis ejus Christus Tiberio iinperitante per procura- torem Pontium Pilatum supplicio affectus erat" (see the monographs cited by Volbeding, Index Profjranimatum, p. 95 ; see also Chiiestus). In Luke iii, 1 he is termed Tiberius Cassar; John the Baptist, it is there said, began his ministry' in the Jifteenth year of his reign (J\-^t\.iovia), This chronological notation is an important one in de- termining the year of Christ's birth and entrance on his public work. See Jesus Christ. Augustus admitted Tiberius to a share in the empire two or three years before his own death ; and it is a question, therefore, whether X\\e jifteenih year of which Luke speaks should be reckoned from the time of the copartnership or from that when Tiberius began to reign alone. The former is the computation justified by other data. See Chro-
Coiu of Anlioch with the Head of Tiberius.
NOLOGY. The other passages in which he is mentioned under the title of Cffisar offer no points of personal allu- sion, and refer to him simply as the emjjeror (Matt, xxii, 17 sq. ; Mark xii, 14 sq. ; Luke xx, 22 sq. ; xxiii, 2 sq. ; John xix, 12 sq.). See Cesar.
Tib'hath (Heb. Tibchath', rri2a, slaughter or [Fiirst] extension; Sept, [repeating the preposition], MaT-(T/3f'j ; Vulg, Thebaih ), a city of Hadadezer, king of Zobah (1 Chron. xviii, 8), which in 2 Sam. viii, 8 is called Betaii, probably by an accidental transposition of the first two letters. If Aram-Zobah be the country between the Euphrates and Coele-Syria, we must look for Tibhath on the eastern skirts of the Antilibanus, or of its continuation, the Jebel Shahshabu and the Jebel Rieha. But Fiirst {Heb. Lex. s. v.) thinks that " the city Thmbata, in the north-west of Mesopotamia (Pliny, Hist. Nat. vi, 30),or the place Bt/Sjj^a of Arrian (in Steph. Byz.), which la.v, according to the Peutiiujer Tables ( "xi, e ), south of Nisibis, may refer to this name."
Tib'ni (Heb. Tibni', "'laPl, perhaps intelligent; Sept. Qanvi; Josephus, i)a^va1o<;, Ant. viii, 12, 5; Vulg.
TICKETS OF MEMBERSHIP 401
TIGLATH-PILESER
Thehni), the sixth king of Israel, B.C. 926-922. After Zimri liad buriieil himself in his palace, there was a di- vision in tlie northern kingdom, half of the peo[)le fol- lowing Tibni the son of Ginath, and half following Omri ( I Kings xvi, 21, 22). Omri was the choice of the army. Tibni was probably put forward by the people of Tirzah, which was then besieged by Omri and his host. The struggle between the contending factions lasted four years (comp. ver. 16, 23); but the only rec- ord of it is given in the few words of the historian : " The people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath; so Tibni died, and Omri reigned." The Sept. adds that Tibni was bravely seconded by his brother Joram. — Smith. But Josephns knows nothing of this apocryphal addi- tion. See IsRAEi., Kingdom of.
Tickets of Membership (English Wesleyan). The possession of a "ticket" is one of the evidences of membership in the Methodist society. Weslej'' decided, in 1743, to meet and talk with every member once in three months. If considered tit and proper, every mem- ber received a ticket. This quarterly ticket, with the member's name written upon it, and signed by the min- ister, enables such a cue to obtain everywhere the priv- ilege of membership. When a member of the society removes from one circuit to another, a '■ note of re- moval," signed by the minister, introduces him or her to the minister of the circuit to which either goes. Minis- ters must not give tickets to those who have ceased to meet in class. All the financial questions are explained to those who are seeking to join the society, and notes of admission on trial, with a copy of the " rules," are given. If any member has walked disorderly, the min- ister has power to withhold his ticket until he has con- versed privately with the offender; if not satisfied, he must inform the party that he may appeal to the leaders' meeting. But he must report the case first to the next weekly meeting of ministers in the circuit, and then to the leaders' meeting. See Simpson, Cyclop, of Methodism, s. v.