time for the utter extirpation of the Jewish sign of Providence in raising her to her present race, he obtained the king's consent to issue condition. Affection for Mordecai, patriotism, the decree. The publication of the edict piety, as well as the fear of personal hurt, caused the greatest consternation and sorrow determine the purpose of Esther. Her resoluamong the Jews. In particular, Mordecai tion briefly is, I will go in to the king, and if was grievously distressed, and considered I perish, I perish." She sets about the execu within himself what he could do to prevent tion of her purpose directly, wisely, piously. the dreadful catastrophe. Esther remained Having, along with her attendants, spent three for some time ignorant of the decree. To days in humiliation and prayer before God, explain this ignorance, we must recollect the while her friends without the palace were secluded lives which women in the East were simultaneously engaged in the same exercises, then and are still compelled to live. Their she on the third day lays aside her mourning apartments were not only distinct, but guarded robes, arrays herself with more than wonted with the utmost vigilance-no one having grandeur, and ventures at length to appear a right to enter the harem, or to communicate in the presence of Ahasuerus. Josephus with any of its inmates, save the master details minutely the circumstances of the himself, or he who received his permission. interview. He says she was accompanied by Mordecai, by constant attendance, and per- two attendants, on one of whom she leaned, haps by bribing some of Esther's attendants, while the other bore her train; and that thus, found means of occasional intercourse with with blushing countenance and pleasant mien, her; and when she heard of his great distress yet not without some symptoms of trepidation, of mind, she sent to inquire the cause; upon she appeared before the king. The king was which Mordecai disclosed the whole matter to in the inner court. The houses of Persian the queen, and urged her to interpose her nobles and kings consisted of three courts. influence on behalf of her countrymen and The outer one was allotted to the more public countrywomen. life of the owner, such as holding levees, receiving ambassadors, petitions, &c. Into this court Esther would not have cared to enter. The next, or inner court, was the more private abode of the king, "where none but himself, his eunuchs, and the young pages his minions, had continual abiding." The innermost court is the harem, the seclusion of whose inmates has already been alluded to. It was to the second court that Esther now approached. Josephus and the Apocryphal book of Esther relate that when the queen beheld Ahasuerus sitting in all his glory and grandeur upon his throne, and a frown darkening his forehead as she approached, she fell into the arms of one of her maids in a swoon, on which the king leaped from his throne, and taking her into his arms, put the golden sceptre into her hand, thereby assuring her that no evil should befal her for the violation of the law of which she had been guilty. The story, however, has about it a fictitious air; and were we to attempt dovetailing it into the narrative of Scripture, it would scarcely be found to harmonize with the preceding or subsequent context. It is the more natural, as well as the more biblical view, to suppose that as soon as the king perceived her, his "first love" returned in all its ardour, and that as Esther stood awaiting his pleasure in the court, he at once held out to her the golden sceptre. So Esther drew near and touched the top of the sceptre."

Now, a law existed among the Persians that no one uncalled should venture into the presence of the sovereign, under pain of death; and heathen writers tell us that an executioner was always at hand, ready to execute summary vengeance on any who should dare to disobey, unless the king were graciously pleased to hold out the golden sceptre, in which case the individual was pardoned. The reason for this law is to be found in the constant dread of assassination in which eastern princes lived, their history being little else than a record of conspiracies, usurpations, and assassinations. This law extended also to the persons who composed the harem. There was an additional reason why the law should apply to them: for not only might they be guilty of compassing or devising the deposition or death of the sovereign, and on this account be doomed to seclusion, but also, where there were so many females assembled together in such a capacity, it was impossible but that disputes and contentions should be constantly occurring from mutual dislikes and jealousies; and had the right of indiscriminate access to the presence of the king been allowed, his tranquillity and peace must have been subject to continual interruptions. Esther remembered this law. More than this, a month had elapsed since the king had sent for her into his presence. This seems to have been different from former practice; for when information of the conspiracy was to be given, no notice is taken of any difficulty in obtaining The plan of Esther was the dictate of sound access. It was possible, then, that the ardour discretion-an understanding enlightened from of the king's passion was abated. These on high. She makes no mention during this thoughts stagger her mind, and she at first her first interview of what lay nearest to her shrinks from the request urged by Mordecai. heart; had she done so she might at once have Mordecai, on being informed of her reluctance, been repulsed. She merely requests the king's does not desist from his request. He urges, presence and that of Haman to a banquet as motives for compliance, her personal safety prepared for them. Haman was ordered to and that of her relations, the very existence appear and accompany the king-a high of her people the Jews, and the seeming de-honour to the vizier, which our customs and

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manners, so widely different from those of Orientalists, will hardly allow us to appreciate. At the banquet she still refrains from presenting her petition, and merely repeats her invitation to another banquet on the succeeding day. To this the king and his minister consent. During that night, by a wonderful coincidence, which illustrates the control of Jehovah over the hearts of men, Haman and the king had their thoughts engrossed with the same person-viz., Mordecai. Haman, intoxicated with pride, and maddened with rage, was plotting the destruction of the stubborn Jew, and already, in anticipation, saw him affixed to the gibbet. The king, from motives of gratitude, was considering how he might reward him for discovering the conspiracy and preserving his life. On the morrow, when Haman thought to have obtained the king's consent to the death of Mordecai, to his great mortification he was compelled to lead the captive Jew through the city on horseback, proclaiming before him,-"Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour." These circumstances combined to favour the object of Esther; she represented to the king the nature and extent of the threatened destruction, as well as the guilty author of it. She was successful in her cause, and the royal indignation was turned upon Haman. That haughty tyrant was hanged on the very gallows which he had erected for Mordecai, his estate was given to the queen, and his office and honours bestowed upon Mordecai, of whose relation to Esther the king was now for the first time apprised. Esther requests further that the edict contained in the former letters should be cancelled. It was contrary to a fundamental law of the constitution to reverse a decree. But the monarch issued counter letters, recommending the Jews to prepare themselves for the 13th Adar, and authorizing them to defend themselves against every attack on their lives or properties. Thus was the dreaded evil greatly counteracted, if not entirely prevented; and the Jews "had light and gladness, and joy and honour." In Shushan alone, 500 of their enemies were slain on the 13th Adar, among whom were the ten sons of Haman. At the request of Esther, the same privilege is given to the Jews on the succeeding day in Shushan the palace. On that day 300 fell under the hands of the Jews; and to prevent all possibility of re-action, as well as to exhibit a salutary warning to others, the ten sons of Haman were publicly hanged. In the provinces, in which the liberty of the Jews was confined to one day, there fell of their foes 75,000. But the victorious party strictly abstained from all rapine and plunder. To commemorate this deliverance, the feast of Purim was instituted, so called because of the lot by which Haman determined the period for the perpetration of his diabolical scheme.

BOOK OF, is the seventeenth in the order of the books of the Old Testament, and embraces a period of probably less than

twenty years. It bears the most unquestionable internal evidence of its authenticity; and the feast of Purim, of the institution of which this book gives an account, is still observed by the Jews, who hold that, whatever may be the fate of the other parts of their Scriptures, this will ever be preserved. It contains an account of the elevation of Esther to the throne, the pride and envy of Haman, his malicious plot for the destruction of the Jews, the turning of his schemes against himself, the honour and dignity of Mordecai, the destruction of the enemies of the Jews (and among them Haman's family), and the power and glory of the king.

The Jews call it Megillah Esther, as it usually forms by itself a distinct roll. Some ascribe the authorship to Ezra, some to a priest called Jehoiachin. Others refer it to the men of the great synagogue, while many give it to Mordecai himself. The name of God is not mentioned in it, nor are there any allusions to the interpositions of a divine providence. Perhaps it was written for the Persian annals, for "the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia." In that case pious reflections would have been in vain in a document which was to be laid up among the archives of a heathen kingdom. Its whole air and tone show it to have been composed in Persia. Its inspiration is its place in the canon. It contains facts; and, under the guidance of the Spirit, those facts so instructive in their nature are preserved to us in Holy Scripture. The facts are merely recorded-the words said and deeds done are not sanctioned or commended to us. In the Septuagint there are additions to the Book of Esther, concerning Mordecai's dream, a prayer of Mordecai and Esther, with other fragments and supplements which betray themselves as unworthy forgeries of a later age.

ETAM (Judg. xv. 8, 11)-a famous rock, probably near a city of the same name in Judah, built by Rehoboam (1 Chr. iv. 32; 2 | Chr. xi. 6), and lying between Bethlehem and Tekoah, and may be represented by the modern Urtas.

ETERNAL, ETERNITY (Deut. xxxiii. 27; Isa. lvii. 15). These terms, when applied to Jehovah, embrace the past as well as the future. Being self-existent, he must be eternal. He is without beginning or end of years. When applied to the future existence, happiness, or misery of man (Matt. xix. 16; 2 Cor. iv. 17; Jude 7), these words denote the endlessness of the state. And it is to be observed that, if they are restricted in their application to future punishment, they must be restricted in the same degree to their application to future happiness and even existence. When applied to the principles of truth and justice they signify unchangeableness. In Matt. xxv. 46 we read, these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." The epithets applied to " 'punishment" and "life" are different in the English version;

And

The Ethiopian queen Candace (which was the common name of the queens of that country) reigned in Seba. Her treasurer was baptized by Philip (Acts viii. 27). There is a version of the Scriptures in the Ethiopian tongue.

EUNICE (2 Tim. i. 5)-the mother of the evangelist Timothy. She was by birth a Jewess, but married a Gentile (Acts xvi. 1).

EUNUCH-bed-keeper (2 Ki. ix. 32), renordered in our version both "officer" and the "chamberlain." Eunuchs were employed by eastern kings to take charge of the beds and lodging apartments, and also of the secluded princesses (Esth. ii. 3). In Persian and Turkish courts the principal offices are held by eunuchs (Acts viii. 27).

EUROCLYDON (Acts xxvii. 14)-a very | intense severity even at this day. (See ABEL, tempestuous wind, and now known under the ADAM, BIRTH, CAIN.) name of a Levanter. It blows from the northeast, and its danger results from its violence and the uncertainty of its course.

EUTYCHUS (Acts xx. 9)—the name of a young man who fell from the third storey of a house where Paul was preaching in Troas. Sitting on the window, which may have been opened for ventilation, he fell outward into the court, which, as usual, was within the house, or round which the house was built. He was killed by the fall, and his restoration to life was a miracle. (See DWELLINGS.)

EVENING (Ps. lv. 17), EVENTIDE (Gen. xxiv. 63). The Hebrews reckoned two evenings: one commencing at sunset, and embracing the period of twilight; and the other commencing at dark. Some suppose that the first evening commenced as early as three o'clock in the afternoon, and the second at sunset. It was in the interval between the two evenings, at whichever of these periods it occurred, that the passover was to be killed and the daily sacrifice offered. (See marginal reading of Exod. xii. 6; Num. ix. 3; xxviii. 4.) Eventide is the same with evening-time. EVIL (Amos iii. 6). (See SIN.) EVIL-MERODACH (2 Ki. xxv. 27). BABYLON, NEBUCHADNEZZAR.)

(See

EXCHANGERS. (See CHANGERS OF

MONEY.)

EVANGELIST-gospeller (Acts xxi. 8)one who brings good tidings. Hence the writers of the four Gospels are called "the evangelists," because they, in a pre-eminent sense, declare good tidings of salvation through Christ. Evangelists were early designated as a particular class of religious teachers (Eph. EXODUS. The Hebrew name is veelleh iv. 11); and some suppose that, without being shemoth-the two words with which the narattached to any particular church, they aban-rative commences. Exodus is the name of the doned all worldly relations and pursuits, and, second book of Moses, and the second in the probably by the commission of the apostles, order of the books of the Old Testament, and preached the Gospel wherever they were called is descriptive of its design; for the word is (2 Tim. iv. 5). The pastors, on the other hand, derived from a Greek term, which signifies were ordained over some spiritual community. going out, or departing; and the book contains One of them was Philip, who had first been the history of the release of the Israelites from a deacon of the church at Jerusalem; but after their bondage in Egypt, and of their going out his flight from that city he seems to have of that country up to the promised land. resided principally in Cesarea, and to have preached the Gospel wherever he found occasion. Mark and Luke are, perhaps, to be considered evangelists in this sense, as well as in the more common one of having written Gospels. Both of them were preachers of the Gospel for many years before they committed the substance of their preaching to writing; and we may suppose that such men were of great assistance to the apostles by accompanying them on their journeys, or by following up and continuing the work which had been so successfully begun. The primitive order of evangelists, distinct from other public religious teachers, is supposed to have been merely temporary, like that of apostles and prophets; but the principal duties and services which they performed, and many to which they were not called, seem to have fallen upon those who in modern days are called missionaries.

EVE (Gen. iii. 20)—the name given by Adam to his wife. It is derived from a word which signifies life, and was applied to her as the mother of all the living. In consequence of her disobedience to the divine command (see ADAM), she was doomed to suffer a multiplication and aggravation of sorrow, especially in the birth of her offspring. It was also declared concerning her, that her desire should be to her husband, and he should rule over her (Gen. iii. 16). It is well known that in those countries which are unenlightened by the Gospel women are the most degraded and miserable slaves to man; and, taking into view the delicacy and sensitiveness which are characteristic of their sex, we may suppose this part of the original sentence is visited upon millions of them with

This book is cited as the work of Moses by David, Daniel, and others of the sacred writers; and it has been remarked that twenty-five distinct passages are quoted from it by Christ and his apostles in express words, and nineteen in substance. It comprehends a history of nearly 145 years, or from the death of Joseph to the erection of the tabernacle. It may be thus divided as to its contents:

1. An account of a change of dynasty in Egypt, and the consequent oppression of the Hebrew tribes.

2. Birth, preservation, early education, and career of Moses; his patriotism, his exile, and his flight into Midian.

3. The divine commission which Moses received from Jehovah in the burning bush, authorizing him in God's name to demand from Pharaoh the emancipation of his people, and empowering him to authenticate his mission by impressive miracles.

4. The demand made upon Pharaoh, with its varying results, and the ten plagues inflicted on him and his people in succession.

5. The paschal feast, the sudden and simultaneous emigration, the pursuit, and the destruction of Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea. 6. The song of triumph, the march into the desert, manna, water, Jethro's advice, Sinai and its manifestations, the law of the ten commandments.

7. Many enactments of statute law on a great variety of topics necessary to the government of the nation.

8. The addition of a ceremonial law, with the tabernacle, priesthood, and sacrifices, commanded by God, and immediately brought into