which may serve to show that the care which was employed by the Israelites did not preserve those histories which were not meant to form part of our canon.

AHIHUD (H. brother of praise), son of Shelomi, prince of the tribe of Asher, appointed with other eminent persons to divide Canaan among the Israelites, and who may, in consequence, be presumed to have possessed the best acquaintance with geography and mathematics, which the science of the times afforded (Numb. xxxiv. 17, 27).

AHIMELECH (H. king's brother). About A. M. 4466; A. C. 1082; V. 1093), son of Ahitub, residing as high priest at Nob, where was the tabernacle, together with the body of the priests. He received David when flying from Saul, and gave him refreshment from the shew-bread designed for use in the ceremonial of worship; he gave him also the sword of Goliah, which lay in the sacred place wrapped in a cloth. Incensed at this, Saul commanded his guards to slay Ahimelech and his attendant priests. They refused, when, at Saul's command, Doeg the Edomite, who had informed the king of Ahimelech's succour to David, put to death eighty-five priests, at the same time slaughtering the inhabitants of Nob without regard to age or sex (1 Sam. xxi. xxii). In Mark ii. 26, where this event is alluded to, the name of the priest is given as Abiathar. From 1 Sam. xxii. 20, we find Abiathar was the name of a son of Ahimelech. Probably, therefore, Abiathar was a name common to both father and son; or, Abiathar having succeeded, in consequence of his father's having been slain, the priesthood was denominated indifferently by the name of the son and by the name of the father. In 1 Sam. xiv. 3, mention is made of Ahijah, where we should expect to find Ahimelech. We admit a difficulty here. The succession of Jewish high priests has its difficulties, after all that has been done to clear it up. No one who knows how many subjects in profane history remain hopelessly obscure, and who remembers that, in treating of the topics before us, we have to go back some three thousand years to a state of society most dissimilar to our cwn, can expect to find the Biblical narratives free from dark, doubtful, or difficult points.

AHITOPHEL (H. a initorous brother), a Gulonite of the tribe of Judah, who was a eunsellor of David, but revolted to Absalom. He was father of Eliam, whose daughter Bath-sheba, wife of Uriah, David took for his

pleasures (2 Sam. xi. 3; xxiii. 34). Ahitophel advised Absalom to take posseswa of David's harem, as being at once a gn and a means of insuring his succession the regal power (2 Sam. xvi. 21). He also re counsel that David should be pursued and overtaken immediately on his flight; and, When the more cautious plan of Hushai was preferred, he went home, and hanged himself

(xvii.; see also xv. 31; xvi. 23). Aaitophel resembles Judas, both in his treachery and his fate. His hatred against David, however, may have taken its rise in something higher than gross selfishness. As the grandfather of Bath-sheba, he may have felt impelled to visit on David's own head the injury which had been done to his family. Indeed, his eager animosity against his sovereign seems to point to some strong personal offence as its source. Thus did David's vices raise up bitter enemies against him, and put his throne and his life in danger. Providence leaves no sin unpunished.

AI (H. heap of ruins), a Canaanitish royal city, which lay on the east of Bethel. Abraham, on his arrival in Palestine, pitched his tent between the two cities (Gen. xii. 8; xiii. 3). Ai was captured and destroyed by Joshua (Josh. viii. 3, seq.). It was rebuilt at a later period, and is mentioned by Isaiah, and also after the exile (Isa. x. 28. Ezra ii. 28). In the days of Jerome, its site and ruins were still pointed out not far from Bethel, on the east. binson conjecturally fixed for its locality a place with ruins just south of Deir Diwan, which is an hour distant from Bethel, having near by, on the north, the deep valley Wady el Mutyah.

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AJALON (H. pasture field), a name borne by two places in Canaan, of which one was in the lot of Dan (Josh. xix. 42), the other in that of Zebulun. A dozen miles or so north of Jerusalem rises the conical summit, conspicuous over all the surrounding country, on which sat the ancient Gibeon. It is now represented by the modern town of el-Jib, which occupies the site its predecessor did upon this rocky eminence. At the foot of this rounded hill there opens a valley, which runs off to the west, winding through the mountains of Judea, here expanding, there contracting, but continuing its course, till it reaches the great plain of Sharon, on the seacoast. This is the famous valley of Ajalon. A little Arabic town, Yalo,' was found by Dr Robinson on the ridge that skirts the valley on the south, not far from the point, where, in the form of a broad and well-cultivated expanse, it opens into the plain of Sharon. One of the grandest episodes in the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites took place in this valley. The five confederate kings of the Amorites here joined battle with Joshua. Collecting from their territories, which formed the sea-board of Canaan, with all their hosts,' these Amorite kings entered the valley of Ajalon, advanced up it to Gibeon, on the central ridge of the country, and here they were met and routed by Joshua. As the Israelites chased them down the steep defiles of Ajalon, a terrible hail storm burst out, and aided in the destruction of the fugitives. The victory was signalized by a stu pendous occurrence. It was on that occasion that Joshua spoke in the sight of all Israel,

and said-Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of Ajalon.' We may suppose Joshua, when he uttered these words, to have been standing half way down the valley. Behind him would be seen Gibeon aloft upon its rocky hill, while below him, near the entrance of the valley, would be the little town of Ajalon. The sun, then, would be behind him, in the east; while in front, hanging over Aja'on, would be the crescent moon-the former not mounting into the sky, and the latter not dipping into the Mediterranean, but both stationary in the firmament. So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for, Israel' (Joshua x. 13 14). Not in vain was the miracle wrought. The prolongation of the light enabled Joshua to complete the overthrow of the Amorites, and make himself master of the western half of Palestine. Ajalon was one of the three decisive battles which gave him the whole land. The fall of Ai made him master of the eastern division; the victory at Hazor gave him the northern; and now the western sea-board completed the conquest -J. A. W

The children of Dan found the original inhabitants, the Amorites, too powerful for them; and were, consequently, obliged to withdraw, after the conquest of the country by Joshua, into the mountains; nor could they, for a time, succeed in forcing their way down into the lower country. At length, however, they overpowered their enemies, and made them tributary (Judg. i. 34, seq.). Ajalon, with her suburbs, was assigned to the Levites (Josh. xxi. 24. 1 Chron. vi. 69). Beriah and Shema, who had distinguished themselves in martial exploits against the inhabitants of Gath, were chief men in Ajalon (1 Chron. viii. 13). Ajalon was among the cities which Rehoboam built for defence, after the revolt of the ten tribes (2 Chron. xi. 10). Notwithstanding its strength, it was captured by the Philistines, under Ahaz (cir. 741), (2 Chron. xxviii. 18).

AKABAH (A.), and the Gulf of Akabah, is the eastern arm of the Red Sea, which, together with the Gulf of Suez, forms the triangle containing Mount Sinai. The gulf is also called Elath, or the Elanitic Gulf. On it lay Ezion-Gaber. Round this gulf stretched the scriptural Land of Midian;' and on its eastern shore, the ancient city of Midian preserves, to this day, the record of its origin in its name. The ancient Midianites, or the tribes descending from the children of Keturah, lay intermingled with the kindred tribes of the Ishmaelites and Amalekites, from the borders of the land of Moab, to the country round the eastern head of the Arabian Gulf. The Gulf of Akabah is dangerous, owing to its slioals and its coral rocks; while that of

Suez, which extends about a hundred and sixty miles in length, is of safer navigation, its depth varying from nine to fourteen fathoms, with a sandy bottom.

ALABASTER (G. according to Vossius, that which we cannot hold), the common name in ancient and modern times, for gypsum. It consists of very fine grains, is beautifully white, variegated with other less pleasing colours, and yields in hardness only to mar ble, whose brilliant polish it will not take. It was well known, in ancient times, to the Jews, as well as to the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and other nations. Some kinds are entirely white, which were most valued. The alabastrum onyx was used for making vases, urns, ointment and odour boxes. The practice of employing alabaster for bearing perfumes caused vessels, designed for this purpose, to be called alabastra, of whatever substance they were made. Such an alabastron is intended in Matt. xxvi. 7 (see also Mark xiv. 3. Luke vii. 37), where we read of a woman who came with an alabaster-box of very precious ointment, and poured it on the head of Jesus, as he sat at meat.

The reason why this stone was employed was, that the ancients held that perfumes were best preserved in alabaster. The alabastron was rather a bottle than a box, having a long neck, out of which the perfume was poured. When the odoriferous liquid had been put in, the top or orifice was sealed, in order to prevent evaporation. This explains what is meant by breaking the box, on the part of the woman just referred to. She broke the seal or the top of the long-necked flask. The record was not made without a reason, being perhaps unconsciously intended to show that the perfume was fresh; for the seal remained as it was when first the 'ointment' was put in.

ALBEIT (T. all be it), an obsolete conjunction, signifying although; at the same time. It is used only twice in the English Bible, namely, Ezek. xiii. 7, and Philem. 19. Several

ALEXANDER (G. strong man). persons of this name are connected with Biblical history, particularly the Apocrypha. Alexander, commonly called the Great' (born at Pella, 356, A. C.), was the son and successor of Philip, king of Macedon. He reigned a little more than twelve years. Though his birth made him only ruler of the small kingdom of Macedon, Alexander having, in the year 331, A.C. vanquished Darius Codomannus, near Arbela, put an end to the Persian monarchy, and became master of the eastern, as he was already master of the western world (1 Maccab. i. 1-8; vi. 2). His ambitious disposition showed itself at an early period of life. Philip's victories troubled his mind, and he exclaimed My father will leave me nothing to do.' His chief instructer was the celebrated philosopher Aristotle, who, having removed his pupil

from the court, conducted him through a general course of instruction, and gave him special lessons in the art of government, on which he wrote a treatise (which is lost) for the use and benefit of the young prince. Unhappily, Aristotle thought it his duty to encourage martial feelings in Alexander, and, for this purpose, directed his pupil's attention to the Iliad of Homer, which became the young man's favourite book, and in which he used to read some pages every night, before retiring to rest. His father also employed his influence for the same purpose. When, at the battle of Charonea (338, A.C.), Alexander had performed prodigies of valour, Seek, my son,' said Philip, in embracing him, 'seek another kingdom; for that which I leave you is too smail for so brave a prince.' Having saved bis father's life in battle, he ascended the throne on the assassination of Philip, in the year 336, when not quite twenty years of age. He found war with Persia left him by his father; but, before he entered on it, he subdued the enemies of his house in Greece, and, in particular, punished, with the greatest severity, the Thebans, who, on the death of Philip, had asserted their liberty; he rased their city to the ground, sparing only the house of the poet Pindar, slew six thousand of the inhabitants, and sold thirty thousand of them into slavery. Having thus diffused terror among the Greeks, he set out, with an army of thirty-five thousand men, for the ecnquest of the world. In this expedition, after having taken Damascus, he made himself master of the cities which lay along the Mediterranean Sea. Tyre ventured to withstand him, but was, after extreme difficulty, overcome in seven months. He then marched victoriously through Palestine, in which all the cities, as far as Gaza, yielded to his power. Egypt, weary of the yoke of Persia, received him as a liberator. In order to strengthen his power, he restored the ancient religion, and founded Alexandria, which became a very famous and influential city. When he came to Gordium, in Phrygia, he found, and cut with his sword, the famous knot, whosoever undid which was to become master of the world. Bathing in the river Cydnus, he fell ill, when he acted in a manner which showed that he had good qualities of character.

Believing wars of aggression to be antichristian in spirit, tendency, and aim, we can regard the character of Alexander generaily, with no other feelings than those of stern dislike and unqualified pity. Yet we allow that there are features in his character which take him out of the herd of ordinary warriors. A scholar as well as a soldier, be, with no small success, made the furtherance of civilisation one great aim of his life. In this laudable pursuit, he could do nothing better than spread the influence of those Hellenic institutions and manners,

of which, barbarian as he was by extraction, he had come to be the acknowledged patron and representative. But, while he did what in him lay to sow the East with seeds grown on Western lands, he did not hesitate to adopt so much of Eastern manners and usages as might recommend him and his government to the affections of his oriental subjects. Indeed he conceived, and tried to carry into effect, the vast idea of a universal monarchy, of which Babylon was to be the great capital. The conception was not realised, for the elements were too heterogeneous to coalesce; but, while he failed in this intention, he was indirectly, at least, the means of diffusing abroad the germs of a higher and wider culture than had prevailed. In regard to geography, the result of his victories was very distinguished. By his arms he laid the world open; new countries, new mountains, new rivers, new continents and seas, were made known; and never at any period, except on the discovery of America, was there the same excitement, and the same amount of discovery regarding the surface of the globe.

While taking from the hand of Philippus his physician, a draught of medicine, he received a letter from his friend Parmenio, stating that Philippus had been bribed by Darius to poison him. He handed the letter to his physician, and at the same moment swallowed the potion. At Persepolis his renown came to a termination. Master of the entire world, he was a slave to his passions; and, giving himself up to all manner of vicious indulgencies, he became morose, passionate, and depraved. Persepolis, that wonder of the world, was laid in ashes by him in a drunken fit. Vexed with himself, he set out, gained new victories, overran many lands, passed the Indus, and was pressing on to the Ganges, when a general dissatisfaction in his army, which had already displayed itself in two conspiracies, put a stop to his mad and destructive career. He was compelled to return to Babylon, on his way to which he lost a large portion of his troops in the deserts, and had difficulty to maintain any discipline. In this city, while engaged with thoughts of new conquests, he suddenly died after a carousal, in the thirty-second year of his age. His body was placed in a golden coffin, and conveyed to Alexandria. Divine honours were paid to him in several parts of the world. His sarcophagus has been in the British Museum since 1802. The writer of the Maccabees states, that he divided his kingdom among his generals on his deathbed- an account which is not without support from Oriental authors; but the Greek writers say, that, when asked to whom he left his kingdom, he merely answered, To the most worthy.'

We have kept for a distinct notice one fact in Alexander's life, because, as specially exhibiting the spirit of Heathenism on a most

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important point, and aiding to illustrate parts of the book of Daniel, it seems to merit special attention.

While in Egypt, Alexander was induced to pay a visit to the oracle of Jupiter Ammon, whom,' says his biographer Q. Curtius, 'he, not content with the height of mortal pomp, either believed himself, or wished others to believe, to be in a special sense the founder of his family. Reaching the temple after incredible labours and perils, he was dexterously saluted by the oldest priest with the title of son.' 'I receive,' he replied, and acknowledge the title.' 'But,' he asked'does my divine father intend me to possess the empire of the whole world?' The priest with a ready skill in adulation, replied, 'Yes; thou wilt be the ruler of all lands, invincible till thou takest thy place among the gods.' The priests received a reward worthy of a king's munificence. His courtiers had caught the tone. Being permitted by Alexander to consult the oracle, they limited themselves to the inquiry whether Jupiter bade them worship their king with divine honours. The priest answered in the affirmative. which Alexander not only permitted, but commanded himself to be called Jovis filium, 'son of Jupiter.' The historian well adds, that he thus undermined the fame of his deeds, while he wished by this name to augment it (Q. Curt. iv. 7).

On

It will now easily be seen, that Alexander must have made a strong, deep, and widespread impression on the men of his day; and this impression, combined with the facts on which it was built, serves as a key to the explanation of parts of the Book of Daniel.

The rise of the Greek empire, and the exploits of its founder, Alexander the Great, were foretold. In the colossal image seen by the king, symbolic of the four great empires, the Grecian is the third in order. 'His belly and his thighs of brass,' was the part which figured the Greeks in the image. History corroborates this in the phrase the brazen coated Greeks.' In the dream of Daniel, prophetic of the same four empires, under the figure of four wild beasts, the Greeks are symbolized by the 'leopard,' having four wings (Dan. vii. 6), finely emblematic of the rapidity of Alexander's victories. In the prophecy of the following chapter Alexander again appears. 'Behold, an he goat came from the West (the Greek power) on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground (swift and irresistible), and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.' Alexander the Great. 'And he came to the ram that had two horns (the Medo-Persian power), and smote the ram, and brake his two horns.' (Dan. viii. 5-7.) How strikingly descriptive of the swiftness of Alexander's movements, and the impetuosity and force with which he vanquished Darius and overran the world. It was as if he moved

on wings. The Oriental name for Alexander is in strict keeping with these symbols-'the horned one.' On the Macedonian coins, too, we see horns-horns of Ammon and of goats-on the heads of the kings.

Josephus (Antiq. xi. 8. 4) has given, with other particulars relating to Alexander's passage through Palestine into Egypt, an account, not unmixed with th⚫ marvellous, of the meeting of that monarch with the Jewish high priest Jaddua, who, dressed in his robes of ceremony, and attended by the priests and a multitude of citizens, went out to receive the conqueror. Alexander appears to have been deeply impressed with the venerable appearance of the sacred company; and, having saluted the high priest, and adored the name of God, which the latter bore engraven in gold on his mitre, he went up to the temple, and offered sacrifice to God, according to the Mosaic ritual. And when the Book of Daniel was showed, wherein the prophet declared that a Greek should destroy the empire of the Persians, he interpreted the passage of himself: Judæa and Syria were committed by him to the government of Andromachus; and, when he had been slain by the Samaritans, to Memnon.

II. There is also mention of an Alexander in 1 Macc. x. 1. This person was surnamed Balas, and was a reputed son of Antiochus IV., Epiphanes. In the year 152 (A.C.), being supported by Ptolemæus Philometor, king of Egypt, Attalus, king of Pergamus, and Ariarathes, king of Cappadocia, he appeared as an opponent of the Syrian king, Demetrius Soter; formed an alliance with Jonathan, the Maccabæan; and utterly vanquished Demetrius.

III. A third Alexander is mentioned in Mark xv. 21, as a person well known, who, together with Rufus, was a son of Simon the Cyrenian, that was compelled to bear the Redeemer's cross.

IV. A fourth Alexander mentioned in Scripture was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrim, and of the kindred of the high priest; being one of those who called John and Peter to account for the miracle they had performed on the lame man (Acts iii. and iv.).

V. A fifth of this name is spoken of in Acts xix. 33, in connection with the uproar raised by Demetrius at Ephesus.

VI. There is also Alexander the coppersmith, who did Paul much evil (2 Tim. iv. 14), and is probably the same as Alexander, whom, together with Hymenæus, Paul declares that he had delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme' (1 Tim. i. 20); by which is to be understood, that Alexander, having put away conscience concerning faith, had made shipwreck, and was expelled from the Christian community. Comp. 1 Cor. v. 3, seq.

ALEXANDRIA, now called Scanderia, a renowned city in Lower Egypt, built by and named after Alexander the Great, in the year 331, after his conquest of Egypt; or rather Alexander rebuilt on a larger scale an ancient city which bore the name of Rhacotis. The place had many splendid palaces and other works, in which all the glory of Greek and Egyptian art was displayed. Its situation was admirably adapted for the encouragement of navigation and commerce, to which in the main it owed its greatness. At the same time, the salubrity of its climate was not without effect; and of special influence in furthering its prosperity, was the favour of its powerful founder and patron. Its rise was as rapid as it was distinguished. Under the immediate followers of Alexander, its free population amounted to three hundred thousand souls; among whom were many Jews, some families who dated their settlement there from the time of the destruction of the Jewish state, but most planted in the place by Ptolemy Lagus, about the year 320, A.C. The Jews in Alexandria enjoyed many privileges granted to them by Alexander, the Ptolemies, and the Romans. They had equal rights with the Greek and Egyptian inhabitants, while they were under their own code of laws, were governed by their own governor, and inhabited a part of the city peculiar to themselves (Joseph. Antiq. xiv. 7. 2; xiv. 10. 1; xix. 5. 2. Jew. War, ii. 18. 7. Apion. ii. 4. Alexandria remained for centuries the most distinguished commercial city in the world, where was heaped together the collected treasure of Arabia and India. Under the Ptolemies, it was the nurse of all the varied and mingled culture of the Greek and Jewish art and religion. It possessed the most complete and costly library of the ancient world, which was placed in the Serapæum, and amounted to 200,000 volumes. It perished at a later period. The Arab Calif Omar, A.D. 641, is accused of having intentionally destroyed it.

The present city of Alexandria, containing forty thousand inhabitants, exclusive of the army and navy, is built chiefly on a rock of land extending into the sea to the peninsula, or long bank of sand, that lies nearly parallel with the shore. The celebrated Pharos of the Ptolemies was situated near the eastern termination of this peninsula. Alexandria engrosses Dearly the whole foreign commerce of Egypt It has risen rapidly into importance under the renovating genius of Mohammed Ali. Forty years ago it was in ruins, without wealth or trade. From being next to Kome, the most magnificent city in the world, as it was under the emperors, and even to the time of its falling under the dominion of the Saracens, it had, by the beginning of the present century, declined into a wretched Arab village of seven or eight thousand inbabitants. The canal of Mahmoudieh, the

most valuable of Mahommed Ali's improvements, has restored to Alexandria her lost intercourse, not only with Cairo and Upper Egypt, but with Arabia and India. Alexandria is surrounded by a high wall, the work of the Saracens, built about six hundred years ago. The present city occupies a small part only of the ancient, the ruins of which extend to a great distance south and east of the modern town. Of all the splendid monuments which adorned the place of old, only two of considerable importance remain, Pompey's Pillar, and Cleopatra's Needle. The shaft of the first consists of a single piece of red granite, seventy-three feet in length, by twenty-seven feet eight inches in circumference; the entire height, inclusive of pedestal and capital, is ninety-eight feet nine inches. It ought to be called Diocletian's Pillar, having been reared in honour of that emperor. Cleopatra's Needle is an obelisk covered with hieroglyphics, of the same species of red granite with that of Pompey's Pillar; and, doubtless, from the same quarry at Syene in Upper Egypt. This monument is ascribed to the Egyptian king Thothmes III. who reigned B. C. 1495. Another obelisk of the same dimensions lies upon the ground, not far from Pompey's Pillar, of which the length is sixty-two feet. Both are monoliths (consisting of only one stone), and stood of old at the entrance of a magnificent temple.

In the Holy Scriptures, Alexandria is only incidentally mentioned as the birth-place of Apollos, eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures (Acts xviii. 24), and as being a seaport. The centurion who had the custody of Paul, when on his voyage to Rome, having broughthis prisoner to Myra, a city of Lycia in Asia Minor, found here a ship of Alexandria, sailing into Italy, on board of which he went with his prisoners (Acts xxvii. 6); and, again, when this vessel had suffered shipwreck on the island of Malta, it was in a ship of Alexandria that they pursued their way (Acts xxviii. 11). This mention of a ship of Alexandria is in keeping with what we have already said of the city. A great trade in corn was carried on in Alexandrian vessels, which sailed for commercial purposes to different ports around the Mediterranean coast, and would naturally be used also as passage boats generally, and by the centurion and his prisoners (Lucian, Navig. 14. Acts xxvii. 37. Philo, ii. 521). With favourable winds, they sailed in a straight course directly to Italy in a few days; but, when the wind was adverse, they sought the shelter of the Syrian and Asiatic coasts. Their proper port and landing place was Puteoli (Suet. Aug. 98. Strabo, xvii. Acts xxviii. 13).

Christianity made its way into Alexandria at an early period; and, according to Eusebius (Hist. ii. 17), it owed its establishment there to Mark, who is said to have died in