Some think him the devil, who goes || ed upon. Edessa, which some have about seeking whom he may devour. placed on the Euphrates, was at the Without excluding Satan, who was distance of a day's journey from it: a murderer from the beginning, we the river upon which it is situated is suppose the Spirit of God, by this the Scyrtus, the overflowing whereof king of the locusts, this angel of the is dangerous and frequent. In the bottomless pit, directly designs the reign of Justin, it was entirely ruined Popes, these sons of perdition, who, by inundations; the emperor rebuilt at the head of unnumbered clergy, it, and gave it the name of Justinoand other agents, ruin the souls, and polis; but it was afterwards called murder the bodies, of inconceivable Orfa. There were kings of Edessa multitudes of men;-and Mahomet before the reign of Augustus, and and his inferior agents, who, partly they generally bore the name of Abwith delusion, and partly with ravage garus. M. Valliens has preserved a and murder, have destroyed infinite succession of these kings, who from numbers. It would be shocking to the first century were all Christians. relate, what thousands and millions were murdered by Hejajus, and Abu Moslem, Saracens, Tamerlane the Tartar, Bajazet, and Mohamed II. Turks, Shah Abbas the Persian, and other heads of the Mohamedan party, Rev. ix. 11. See in ANTI-CHRIST, ARABIANS, SCYTHIANS.

[The following, though a fabulous article, we insert from Calmet's Dictionary, more as a matter of curiosity than of belief.]

ABAGARUS, or Abgarus, king of Edessa, so called because he was lame; we should not therefore give him the name of Abgar, as if it were derived from the Arabic, Akbar, which signifies Great. The city of Edessa, where he resided, goes generally by the name of Orfa; it is a common tradition among the eastern people, both Christians and Mahometans, that this prince wrote a letter to our Saviour, and received an answer from him, together with a handkerchief with the impression of our Lord's face upon it. This we are told by M. D. Herbelot, in his oriental library, which, however, does not destroy what we have heard of Abgarus,|| nor is it sufficient to confirm the authenticity and truth of Abgarus's pretended letter to Jesus Christ, and our Saviour's reply to Abgarus. The eastern people are generally not very exact in matters of history, and their traditions are not always to be depend

ABANA and PHARPAR, two rivers of Syria, which Naaman the leper thought more fit to cure him of his unclean disease, than all the rivers of Israel. Abana is probably the same with Barrady or Chrysorroas, which, Springing from mount Lebanon, glides pleasantly towards the south; and, after running some leagues, is divided into three streams; the middlemost and largest runs directly through the city of Damascus, and the other two run one on each side of the city, and fertilize the gardens to an uncommon degree. The streams uniting to the southward of the city are, after a course of about five leagues, lost in a dry desart. Benjamin of Tudela will have that part of the Barrady, which runs through Damascus, to be Abana, and the streams which water the gardens without the city to be Pharpar; but perhaps the Pharpar is the same with Orontes, the most noted river of Syria, which, taking its rise a little to the north or north-east of Damascus glides through a delightful plain, till, after passing Antioch, and running about 200 miles to the north-west, it loses itself in the Mediterranean sea. Kings v. 12.

2

ABARIM, a general name given to a ridge of rugged hills on the east of Jordan; on the south and north of the river Arnon. They reached into the territories of both the Reubenites,

and Moabites. It is probable they had this name from the ABARIM, or passages, between the particular hills of PISGAH, NEBO, PEOR, &c. all which were part of them. Near these mountains the Israelites had several encampments, Numb. xxxiii. 44,48. and xxvii. 12.

ABARON, is the surname of Eleazar, the fourth son of Judas Maccabeus. Abaron in Hebrew signifies anger, passionate, or passing away. Josephus calls him Auran or Avran, and the first book of the Maccabeus Savaren; 1 Mac. vi. 43. He got a great deal of honour by his death, having been crushed to pieces under an elephant, which he slew by piercing him with his sword. [a]

ABDON, (1.) The son of Hillel an Ephraimite. He succeeded Elon A. M. 2840; and judged the Israelites eight years; after which he died, and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim. He left forty sons, and thirty grandsons, who rode on asscolts, according to the manner of the great men of that age, Judg. xii. 13. (2.) The son of Micah one of JosiAH's messengers sent to consult HULDAH, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 20. (3.) A city, which belonged to the tribe of || Asher; and was given to the Levites of Gershom's family, Josh. xxi. 30.

ABEDNEGO, is the Chaldee name given by the king of Babylon's officer to Azarath, Daniel's compani

on.

This name imports the servant of Nago or Nego, which is the sun or morning star, so called for its brightness. See Shadrack. [a]

ABEL, the second son of Adam

To ABASE, signifies to treat with contempt; to reduce to meanness and poverty, Dan. iv. 37. Job xl. 11. One is abased when deprived of honour and wealth, and laid under poverty, afflic-and Eve, was born, perhaps with a tion, contempt, Philip. iv. 12. One abases himself when he behaves in a humble and debased manner, as Paul did, when he, though a preacher, laboured with his hands for his daily bread, 2 Cor. xi. 7.

To ABATE, to grow lower, less, Gen. viii. 3. Deut. xxxiv. 7; to make less, Lev. xxvii. 18.

It

twin sister, A. M. 2d. or 3d. seems his parents, by this time were sufficiently convinced of the vanity of all created enjoyments, and hoped but little from him; and so marked his name with vanity. When he was grown up, he commenced shepherd of his father's flock. In process of time, or, as the Hebrew words in Gen. ABBA, a Syriac word signifying fa- iv. 3. signify, At the end of the days, ther. It being the same whether we that is, on the sabbath, or on the beginread it backward or forward, may per-ning of the year, he, by faith in haps hint to us, that God's fatherly affection to his people is the same whether he smile on them by prosperity, or chasten them by heavy crosses and sore adversity. The apostle's using the word Abba, a word of the Syriac, (the Hebrew dialect being commonly used in his time,) and his giving its signification in Greek may intimate, that by the influence of the Spirit of adoption both Jews and Gentiles, as one united body, have the most assured faith in, love to, and familiar intercourse with God, Rom. viii. 15. Gal. iv. 6.*

the divine institution of sacrifices, and in the promised Messiah thereby prefigured, offered unto God the best of his flock.t By consuming his ob

were not allowed to use the title of Abba in addressing the master of the family to which they belonged. This will beautiful tament here quoted. Wilson's Achao'ogily illustrate the passages of the New Tescal Dictionary.

† It is evident, that the faith, by which, according to the apostle in Heb. xi. 4. Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, was founded on the command and promise of God: For unless he had known the *The learned Mr. Selden, from the Ba-Divine appointment of sacrifices, he could bylonian Gemera, has proved, that slaves not have had any satisfying persuasion,

|| of his field, he conceived an implacable grudge at Abel, on account of his holy behaviour, and the peculiar regard which had been shewn him by God. He rested not, till he murdered him in the field; and it seems secretly buried him in the earth, about A. M. 128. His murder was divinely resented with distinguished vengeance on the head of Cain; who together with his seed, were cast out from the church of God, Gen. iv. 2.-16. Heb. Abel being dead yet speaketh; his example teacheth us to live by faith on a crucified Redeemer; and to behave soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, whatever persecution it may expose us to, Heb. xii. 4. His blood cried for vengeance on Cain the murderer, Heb. xii. 24.

xi. 4.

that his offering the firstlings of the flock would be acceptable to God. The offer ing of sacrifices appears to have been appointed, soon after God had given our first parents the promise of the seed, that is, of Jesus Christ, who was to bruise the head of the serpent: for when God clothed our first parents with skins, these seem to have been the skins of animals, that were appointed to be offered in sacrifice. Besides, it appears from the directions given to Noah about receiving the animals into the ark, Gen. vii. 2, 3. that the distinction between clean and unclean beasts, which primarily respected those which were or were not to be offered in sacrifice, obtained before the universal deluge. Thus Abel offered sacrifice by faith; 1, because he offered it from a regard to the command and promise of God: 2, because he did so with a believing reference to the Lamb of God, or the great propitiatory sacrifice, which the Mes-root out of dry ground, appeared in siah was to offer for the remission of sin. the likeness of sinful flesh, and had Dr. Kenicot, as quoted by Dr. Guise on his name covered with the basest, the Heb. xi. 4. observes that the Greek word, vilest, reproach. rendered in our translation more excellent, signifies greater or fuller or more in number, rather than in value, in which last sense it is not used in the whole New Testament.

Thus, it intimates, that Abel brought more sacrifice than Cain, that is, not only, as Cain did, the mincha or meat offering of the fruits of the earth; but also the bloody sacrifice of the firstlings of his flock with the fat thereof, which he presented to the Lord under an humbling sense of guilt, and of his need of atonement. This part of the offering, Cain, in the pride and unbelief of his heart, entirely neglected. Some suppose this token was the appearance of an angel from heaven: some think,

that it was inferred from the different success which the two brothers had in their affairs: some decline to give any opinion upon this subject. But many judicious interpreters agree that it is highly probable, that God shewed his acceptance of Abel's sacrifice by sending fire from heaven to consume it; there being so many examples in aftertimes of God's declaring in this manner his acceptance of the sacrifices offered to him, Levit. ix. 24. Judg. vi. 21. 1 King. xviii. 38. 2 Chron. vii. 1. and xxi. 26. In Psal. xx. 3. the word rendered in our translation, accept, may be rendered,

turn to ashes.

Was our adored Jesus prefigured by this first martyr? He grew as a

He is the great

Shepherd of his Father's flock of ransomed men. In the faith of his Father's call and assistance, he offered the infinitely excellent sacrifice of himself. The horrid murder of him by his malicious brethren the Jews, issued in the terrible judgments of Heaven on them and their seed. And he yet speaketh to men in his example, oracles, and ordinances.

2. ABEL, and which was otherwise called the field of Joshua, a place near Bethshemesh, so called, to commemorate the mourning of the Hebrews, for their friends who were struck dead for looking into the ark. seems a great stone was erected in memory of that wrathful event, 1 Sam. vi. 18, 19.

It

3. ABEL-MIZRAIM, a place otherwise called the threshing-floor of Atad. It was so called from the great mourning of the Egyptians over Jacob's corpse, as they carried it to Machpelah. It is thought to have lain be tween Jordan and Jericho, where the

city Bethhoglah was afterwards built; || red to Christ, imports his hiding his but we can hardly think it was so far face from him, and executing the east, Gen. 1. 11. See JOSEPH. punishment due to our sins upon him, 4. ABEL-SHITTIм, a place 7 or 8 Psalm lxxxix. 23. God's not abhorring miles eastward of Jordan, over against the affliction of the afflicted, imports, Jericho, in the country of Moab, and his not overlooking it, but sympathiznear the hill Peor. Here the He-ing with, and helping and comforting brews encamped, a little before the them under their troubles, Psal. xxii. death of Moses, and fell into idolatry 24. Job's clothes abhorred him, in and uncleanness, through enticement marking the loathsome disease which of the Moabitish, and chiefly the Mi-his sins had brought on him, Job ix. dianitish women; and were punished 31. The carcases of the rejected with the death of 24,000 in one day. Jews; of the ruined heathens under It was probably their mourning over Constantine, &c. and of the Antithis plague, that gave the name of christians and Mahometans, about ABEL to the spot, Numb. xxv. the beginning of the millennium, are an abhorring to all flesh: vast numto|bers of slain did, or shall, pollute the very air. Such Jews as remain, since the destruction of their city and temple, are hated and contemned by all nations. [A] Under and after Constantine, the heathens and their idols were detested by multitudes; and such shall, in a little, be the case of all idolaters, Is. lxvi. 24.

5. ABEL-MEHOLAH, a city or place on the west of Jordan, pertaining the half-tribe of Manasseh, 1 Kings iv. 12. Jerom will have it 10 miles, but others think it to have been about 16 miles south from Bethshean. Not far from this city, did Gideon miraculously defeat the MIDIANITES, Judg. vii. 22; but its chief honour was, to be the native place of Elisha the prophet, 1 Kings xix. 16.

ABIATHAR, the tenth high6. ABEL, ABEL-BETHMAACHAH, A-priest of the Jews, and fourth in deBEL-MAIM, a strong city somewhere scent from ELI. When Saul murabout the south frontiers of mount dered АHIMELECH, his father, and Lebanon. It probably belonged to the other priests at Nob, Abiathar the tribe of Naphtali. Sheba the son escaped to David in the wilderness, of Bichri fled here, when pursued by and joined his party; and by him David's troops. To free themselves David consulted the Lord at Keilah from Joab's furious siege, the inhabi- and Ziklag, 1 Sam. xxii. and xxiii. tants, advised by a prudent woman, 9. and xxx. 7. Saul had placed Zabeheaded the rebel, and threw his || dok, a descendant of Eleazar, in the head over the wall, 2 Sam. xx. 14,-high-priesthood, instead of Abiathar; 18. About 80 years after, Benhadad, but when David came to the throne, King of Syria, took and ravaged it, 1 Kings xv. 20. About 200 years after which, Tiglathpilezer took it, and carried the inhabitants captive to Assyria, 2 Kings xv. 29. It was afterwards built, and was capital of the canton of Abilene.

he made Abiathar, and Zadok next to him, the chief priests: and thus matters continued while David reigned, 2 Sam. xx. 25. Abiathar and Zadok designed to have attended David with the ark, as he fled from Absalom; but he advised them to return with it, and procure him proper information, 2 Sam. xv. 24,-29.

ABEY, a city belonging to the tribe of Issachar, Josh. xix. 20. To ABHOR. (1.) To loathe, de-Just before the death of King David, test, Deut. xxxii. 19. Job xlii. 6. (2.) To despise, neglect, Amos vi. 8. (3.) || To reject, cast off, Psalm lxxxix. 38. God's abhorring his anginted, if refer

Abiathar treasonably conspired to render Adonijah his father's succes sor; and was forbidden the exccution of his office, by Solomon, on that

account; and confined to his city of Anathoth; and Zadok was put in his room, 1 Kings i. and ii. Thus was the family of Eli wrathfully for ever put from the priesthood, 1 Sam. ii. 29,-36. It is not Abiathar, but his son that is called AHIMELECH, or Abimelech. Nor is it Abiathar's father, but himself, that is mentioned, Mark ii. 56. for it is certain he then lived, and might have a great hand in procuring the shew-bread for David: nor does that text insinuate, that Abiathar then executed the office of high-priest.

make their abode with one, when they bestow frequent and familiar influences of power, kindness, and inward comfort, on his soul, John xiv. 23. Men abide in Christ, and his love, when, being united to him by faith, they continue cleaving to his person, believing his love, and walking in his way, John xv. 6, 10. Christ's word, or doctrine, abides in men, and they in it, when the knowledge and faith of its truth and excellency, the experience of its power, and an open profession and careful observance of it, are continued in a fixed and constant manner.

ABIDON, the son of GIDEONI, Numb. i. 11. ii. 22. vii. 60, 65. [a]

ABI-GABAON, in 1 Chron. viii. 29. is in our translation, the Father of Gibeon. He was the same with Jehiel, as appears from 1 Chron. ix. 35. [a.]

ABIB, or NISAN, the name of the first sacred, and seventh civil month of the Jewish year. It contained thirty-days; and answered to our moon of March. This word signifies green ears, or ripe fruit; and was given to this month, because, in the middle thereof, the Jews began their ABIGAIL, (1.) The sister of King harvest. On the 10th day of this David, wife of Jether, and mother of month the Paschal lamb was taken: AMASA, 1. Chron. ii. 17. (2.) The on the evening of the 14th day they wife of NABAL. She was a woman did eat the passover; and on the sc- of great prudence and wisdom; but, ven days following they kept the feast perhaps, by the covetousness of her of unleavened bread, the last of which || parents, was married to a rich sot. was held as a solemn convocation, || When his rude behaviour to David's Exod. xii. xiii. On the 15th day they messengers had brought him and his gathered their sheaf of the barley || family unto the utmost danger, Abifirst-fruits, and on the 16th they of- gail hearing of it by some of her serfered it; after which they might be- vants, loaded several asses with progin their harvest, Lev. xxvi. 4,-14. || visions, and went to meet David. In On the first day of it, the modern the most polite and prudent manner, Jews observe a fast for the death of she tendered him her present. Her Nadab and Abihu: on the 10th a fast prudent address not only disarmed for the death of Miriam : on the 27th his rage, but procured his highest a fast for the death of Joshua: on the esteem for her virtue. Returning to 29th they prayed for the latter-rain. her husband, she told him the danger Their Megillath Taanith, however, they had been in by his folly; and takes no notice of any of these super- how she had prevented their ruin. added solemnities; which to me is He quickly died of a stupid melanan evidence that they never univer- choly and she, not long after was sally obtained. married to David. She bare to him two sons, Daniel and Chileab; if these two names do not rather denote the same person. She was taken captive by the Amalekites when Ziklag was burnt; but in a few days was recovered by David her husband, 1 Sam. xxv. and xxx. 2 Sam. iii. 3. 1 Chron. iii. 1.

To ABIDE, (1.) To stay; tarry, Gen. xxii. 5. (2.) To dwell, or live in a place, Gen. xxix. 19. (3.) To endure; suffer, Jer. x. 10., (4.) To continue, Eccl. viii. 15. (5.) To wait for, Acts xx. 23. (6.) To stand firm, Psal. cxix. 90. Christ and his Father

: