ciation for Christ) impelling them, they were constantly making disturbances; in which charge, it is easy to see an enemy's version of the fact that the Christian church at Rome was zealous and persevering in the extension of the kingdom of God. From Rome, Aquila went to Corinth, where he formed an intimate acquaintance with the apostle Paul, who took up his residence in Aquila's abode, and worked there at their common trade of tent-making (Acts xviii. 2, 3). The religious friendship thus happily formed was of long duration. Aquila became a companion of the apostle, and laboured diligently for the furtherance of the gospel. His wife also fittingly performed her part as a follower of Christ. From Corinth, Aquila and Priscilla accompanied Paul to Syria; thence they repaired to Ephesus, where Paul left them; when they were made instrumental in converting the learned Alexandrian Jew Apollos (Acts xviii. 18, 24, seq.). At the time when Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, they were with him, and had a church in their own house. We have not the means of tracing, step by step, the further changes of place of this Christian couple: but they returned to Rome; for, in Paul's Epistle to the Roman church, they are mentioned as constituting a part of it, and in terms of high esteem:

Greet Aquila and Priscilla, my helpers in Christ Jesus; who have for my life laid down their own necks.' The extent of their benign influence is implied in the ensuing words: To whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles' (Rom. xvi. 4). Whether or not they took up their final abode here, they appear to have formed a part of the church over which Timothy presided (2 Tim. iv. 19). Tradition represents Aquila as a bishop and martyr:

In Acts xviii. 18, it is said Paul sailed from Corinth to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea (a seaport lying to the east of Corinth), for he had a vow.' Who had a vow, Aquila or Paul? Was the vow of a civil nature, such as the Jews sometimes took, namely not to cut their hair, and to abstain from certain kinds of food during a journey or some peril; during a voyage, till safely landed; or an illness, till health was recovered? Such vows, the resource of weak characters, are scarcely worthy of Paul, whose ardour and perseverance needed no support of the kind; and these engagements, formed as it were with the future, are opposed to that trust and confidence which are inspired by a pious regard to Providence. Was it a temporary Nazarite's vow? This observance must take place at Jerusalem, 'at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation' (Numb. vi. 18), not at Cenchrea; unless some legal defilement had broken in upon the Vow, and necessitated its renewal (Numb. vi. 9). Nor is it likely that Paul would observe a vow

which was so strictly Mosaic as that of the Nazarite, except under peculiar circumstances, such as are explained in Acts xxi. 24. These considerations seem rather to throw the probability on the side of Aquila, who, as a banished man, may have had reasons of his own for taking a civil or religious vow of some kind. It makes in favour of this view, that the usual order of the words 'Aquila and Priscilla' is here inverted, apparently with the view of connecting Aquila immediately with the ensuing words-'having shorn,' &c.

ARABIA, a Greek word, formed on a Hebrew one; whose meaning may have the idea of darkness for its basis, and so set forth Arabia as the unknown land, a character which it still to a great extent retains. The entire country now comprehended under this designation lies within these limits; namely

the Indian Ocean on the south, the Per. sian Gulf on the east, the Red Sea and the borders of Egypt on the west: on the north it extended on one side to the boundaries of Palestine, and on the other ran up towards the Euphrates to Babylon. Since the time of the geographer Ptolemy, this large peninsula has been ordinarily divided into three great portions,-I. Arabia Felix, Happy Arabia; II. Arabia Petræa, Stony Arabia; III. Arabia Deserta, or Desert Arabia. The first comprises the greater part of the country; namely, the huge peninsula, which has for its northern boundary a line running from the northern extremity of the eastern arm of the Red Sea, to the northern extremity of the Persian Gulf. The second consists, in general terms, of the small peninsula of Sinai, and the immediate vicinity. The third covers the wide tract which extends from the northern limits of Arabia Felix towards the north and east, to the Euphrates. These boundaries are to some extent arbitrary, nor have they been generally received; they are unknown, equally to the Arabian geographers and the Hebrews; and the descriptions which they imply of the several districts are, if taken in a general application, by no means accurate. Arabia is a name which, in the wide sense, was unknown to the Hebrews. This country, to speak of it in a loose way, they termed the East, the land towards the east; and its inhabitants, the sons or natives of the East. In reality, it lay to the south-east of Palestine. Having to do with particular portions and tribes of Arabia, the Israelites, wanting in that general view which could have embraced the whole country, and so have formed a general name, merely spoke of particular parts, and of separate tribes: sometimes they used the word as denoting only a part of the country which it now designates (Ezek. xxvii. 21. Jer. xxv. 24. 1 Kings x. 15. Gal. iv. 25). It is the country called above Arabia Petræa, with which the student of Scripture is most interested, as it contains the lands in which

the Hebrews wandered ere they gained Canaan, and those with which they were in constant communion-as Moab, Idumæa, the country of the Amalekites, Canaanites, and Midianites. On the other hand, the places and heads of tribes mentioned in Gen. x. 7, 26, belong to Arabia Felix, or what might more correctly be termed Arabia Proper. In Arabia Deserta dwelt the descendants of Ishmael; namely, the Nabathæans, Kedarenes, &c. (Gen. xxv. 12, seq.); and most of the tribes who were the offspring of Abraham and Keturah (Gen. xxv. 1, seq.). So wide a district of country, of course, varied very much in character. In the northern part, towards Mesopotamia, there are great plains of sand, destitute of vegetation; but, as you approach the river, fertile and beautiful tracts present themselves. Generally, neither water nor plants are to be found, except here and there almble root, which, however, the camel does not despise. The heaven is cloudless, and of a burning heat, mitigated by the coolness of night, or by breezes in the day; the air pure and dry; and from June to September the deadly simoom prevails, blowing from the south-east; whose power was known to the Hebrews (Ps. xi. 6. Job i. 19). The nature of the country here, as in other parts of Arabia, compels the inhabitants to pursue the life of wandering herdsmen (nomads), going with their flocks and herds from one spot to another, in order to obtain a constant supply of food. This, their ancient, continues their present custom. Their life, though full of change, is limited to a narrow sphere of objects; the mind, in consequence, remains inert; the mental culture is quite rudimental. There is no political constitution. A kind of social life exists, under the patriarchal control of sheikhs. Independence prevails, for conquest is impossible; and the true nomad regards the dweller in towns with contempt. The idea of property is, however, in some sense predominant; for each horde has its land, fixed and determined by immemorial usage, and every intruder is considered a fair object of plunder, unless he has for attendants members or relations of the tribe. Robbery supplies no mean portion of the means of subsistence In their wandering habits, these Bedouins (children of the desert) wander frequently from their own limits, and traverse Arabia Petræa. These general remarks will be found to illustrate Scripture. The threatening prophecy in Isa. xxi. 1317, relates to the inhabitants of Northern Arabia. The children of Kedar' traded in lambs, rams, and goats, with which they supplied Tyre (Ezek. xxvii. 21). Sometimes they earried on a caravan trade themselves (Gen. xxxvii. 28); for a caravan road ran through their country, from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. More frequently they fell on their neighbours' lands, on expeditions of plunder (2 Chron xxi. 10. 1 Kings xi. 14;

xxvi. 7. Job i. 15); or rendered the caravan roads unsafe by their attacks (Jer. iii. 2).

The Peninsula of Sinai is a mountainous country, which has of late years become better known than other parts of Arabia. Near the southern end rises a huge mountain mass, forming Horeb and Sinai; which sinks suddenly towards the sea, and on the inland side opens, and throws out a range of mountains on either side of the triangle, which gradually sink in height as they run northwards: but the range which extends along the Persian Gulf, rises again after it has passed the top of that gulf into the mountains of which Idumæa is mostly made up. The mountains consist of granite, porphyry, or limestone: they rise abruptly from the sea, and are intersected by many defiles and valleys, sometimes opening into large plains, which are for the most part deserts, but here and there offer some fer. tility. Serpents and lizards abound there (Numb. xxi. 4, 6). Palms, acacias, tamarisks, are the most important products. Bedouin tribes still traverse the valleys and the table-lands, and exact a part of their sus tenance from caravans and companies of pilgrims. The lofty land of the south tends downwards in a northerly direction, so as to form the extended and elevated plain denominated El Tyh (here the Israelites wandered for many years), which runs north and west to the Mediterranean Sea, and north and east on towards the mountains of Edom. The district is almost without water, consisting of limestone strewed with flint. In the north and north-east of this vast plain there rises a hilly country, capable of cultivation, extending as far as to the Dead Sea, where it unites with other heights that run along both sides of that peculiar lake. Over this high land were spread, in the days of Moses, the tribes of Edomites, Amalekites, and Ammonites. The inhabitants of Arabia Petræa were partly nomads, and as such lived independently under their native chiefs. They were, however, conquered by the Chaldean armies (Jer. xlix. 28). After the Jewish exile, there flourished a kingdom here, having Petra for its capital, whose kings mostly bore the name of Aretas. They for a time possessed several Jewish cities.

The large southern district, or Yemen, is of a very various nature. The countries on the coast are for the most part hot, sandy, unfruitful plains. The interior is lofty, and, with barren districts, contains well-cultured parts, which produce grain, wine, and various fruits. Here are found the sugar-cane, rice, citrons, oranges, lemons, pomegranates, figs, and coffee. It was celebrated also for its myrrh and cassia (Isa. lx. 6. Jer. vi. 20. Ezek. xxvii. 22). Gold was hence brought to the Hebrews (1 Kings x. 10. 2 Chron. ix. 14. Isa. lx. 6); but it is uncertain whether it was originally found there: none is now produced Lead and iron are obtained.

G

At so late a period as this, and after the noble adventures which have laid open before us so many other hidden countries, it is rather surprising, and very much to be regretted, that so little has been done for communicating a full and exact knowledge of Arabia; a country of the highest interest to the friends of civilisation: for here originated the Mosaic and the Moslem religion. This was the centre of ancient commerce; this was the country of a conquering race, which extended its faith, its opulence, its wisdom, its arts, its splendour, to the extreme East and West; which, improving its morals by Persian culture, and its intellect by Grecian wisdom, planted fruits of its own rearing on the banks of the Tigris and of the Guadalquiver.

Arabia received its earliest inhabitants, in all probability, from the Caucasus; which, extending itself along Mount Lebanon, runs down to the Arabian mountains. Of the ancient Arabians, the most celebrated tribes, according to native authorities, are the Adites, Thamud, Tasm, Oschadis, Dschorham, and Amalekites. The later Arabians, from whom spring those of the present day, are divided into two classes-that of the genuine Arabs, or Joktanidæ, from Joktan, son of Eber (Gen. x. 26); secondly, the mixed race, Mostaraben, who are derived from Adnan, son of Ishmael. All these tribes belong to the great Shemitic family. The Arabic language, which, in regard to its riches, its high culture, its wide spread, and its importance in history and religion, has no superior, is a Shemitic dialect, and forms, in union with the Ethiopic, the southern branch of the great Shemitic tree. Its native country is the Arabian peninsula. The religion of the ancient Arabians was the worship of the stars every tribe had its own star, to which it gave special honour. Herodotus mentions as gods of the Arabians-Urotalt, which he accounts the same as Dionysos (Latin, Bacchus); and Alitta, which he identifies with Aphrodite (Venus). In Southern Arabia, the god Sabis was worshipped; that is, the sungod, who is obviously connected with the star-worship of the Sabæans.

A few general remarks, and some particular notices, regarding Arab manners and customs may be of service. The Arabs are of a middle stature, thin and active. In eating and drinking they practise moderation. They use wheaten bread; but the humbler class are content with bread made of an inferior grain termed Doura, in the shape of round cakes. Pillau, made of rice, is a common food. Coffee is a general beverage. Wine and other intoxicating drinks are taken only in secret, in consequence of the prohibition in the Koran. The smoking of tobacco is customary with all classes. Little time is consumed in eating the meal, which, even in the houses of persons of distinction, is taken on the floor; a piece of cloth or of

They

leather serving for a table. The duties of knives, forks, and spoons, are performed by the fingers. The hands, therefore, are carefully washed before food is taken; for the Arabs are very studious of cleanliness. This, and their moderation in eating, conduces very much to the good health which they enjoy. With the exception of the leprosy, few chronic diseases afflict them. Their medical men are generally very ignorant. attach much importance to the anointing of the body. With those who are well off, perfumes and perfumed water are very common, both of which are offered to friends on their arrival. The Arabs are very companionable, on which account they love to assemble in coffee-houses, in the market-places; and in Yemen, there is scarcely any village but has its market-place. The female sex, as in all the East, live retired, inhabiting the back part of the house: the women of a family are never seen by a stranger. The education of children is in their early years confided to the female sex; when the sons are grown up, they either come under their father's instruction, or are placed under a tutor. girls remain in the harem till they are inarried. In regard to wedlock, great care is taken to ascertain that the intended bride is a virgin. If the contrary appears, expulsion, and even death, is the resource. Arabs are celebrated for hospitality, whatever their condition in life. They are courteous even to an extreme, and in cities kind to strangers. Professors of other religions are not rudely exposed to insult. The Arabs seek not to make proselytes, though they show favour to those who pass over to Mohammed. They are generally, and not without reason, described as revengeful. The old custom of blood for blood is unhappily kept up; but they are not quarrelsome, and slight offences are easily forgiven.

The

The Bedouins, now known by the name of Tawarahs, who wander over the western side of the peninsula of Sinai, bear in general a good character. Their most gainful pursuit in the present day, and that upon which they seem, in a great measure, dependent for subsistence, is the accompanying of travellers to and from Sinai, which is a monopoly, and the carriage of merchandise between Cairo and Suez. They are of good dispositions, and solicitous to please. They expect frequent gratuities of food, coffee, &c. It is a cheap and effectual way of winning their kindness and good offices. Harsh language and blows do not answer for Bedouins in the Desert. They are proud-spirited, and feel, and resent indignities. They are honest as well as trustworthy, but little inclined to religious practices. They are poor; having some camels, goats, and a few sheep; but no horses or cows, which could not subsist on the coarse and meagre pasturage afforded by these sterile regions. They have also some

fowls, and deal occasionally in eggs and chickens. Their bread corn, as well as the beans given to the camels when on hard service, are brought from Cairo on the backs of these animals. They carry a little charcoal, made of the branches of the acacia, and a small quantity of gum, to that market; which seem to be their only articles of export, with the exception of now and then a camel. These poor Bedouins love their arid plains and hideous mountains with an affection unknown to the occupants of more genial regions. They show signs of pleasure, and even exultation, on passing out of Cairo into the pure air of the Desert, which no traveller can fail to observe in their buoyant step, animated conversation, and overflowing joyous hilarity.

Of these Arabs Dr. Olin thus speaks: It was gratifying to me to observe with what pleasure and pride the Bedouins, after the fatigues of the day's journey which they perform on foot, seldom mounting their loaded camels, hastened away to obtain a supply of their wholesome beverage, water. The one who went with me, laid down a full skin at the door of my tent, with many significant smiles and gestures, exclaiming repeatedly, “Taib! Taib!"-Good! Good! The people are all fond of coffee, but refuse wine and spirits, and even beer. Our sheikh, Salah, who is strictly religious, took once, incautiously, a glass of this favourite English beverage. Another was offered to him in my presence, on the subsequent evening. He smelled the cup, and returned it, exclaiming, "Most taib!" Not good. The dragoman explained to him, that it contained neither brandy nor wine; but he would not be satis fied, and wholly refused it afterwards. The manners and habits of these children of the Desert are truly primitive. Having occasion to wash their clothes this evening, they scooped out a basin in the sand, and filled it with water for the purpose. The supply of fresh water seemed to have tempted them to indulge in other luxuries; and I saw them, for the first time, eating hot bread. Each man, or at least, each party, has a small kneading trough, hollowed out of a piece of wood, which he carries bound up in his bag. gage. In this they mixed a small quantity of the meal of doura; and, having formed it into a thin cake, they laid it upon the sand, and covered it with a fire made of small sticks. One man, at least, used dried camel's dung for the purpose. They parched corn, or doura, and ate it for breakfast. I am, indeed, constantly reminded of the habits of the patriarchs, and see the domestic scenes so beautifully pourtrayed in the Old Testament, re-acted by the Bedouins. It will be observed, that the simple facts I have just recorded are so many illustrations of the ancient eastoms with which the Bible has, from our childhood, made us familiar. Their

dress is equally illustrative of the sacred volume: their sandals, which are merely bits of leather or untanned skins, commonly fishskins, covering the sole of the foot, and fastened by a thong that passes between the first and second toes, over the instep, and around the heel; the girdle, which all wear about the loins, serving as a belt for a long knife, or pistols, and as a depository for money, &c.; and their loose, flowing robes, reaching only to the knee, and exposing the legs.'

Irby and Mangles supply us with the following lively sketch of a camp of Arabs, showing many of their customs at the present day: As we approached, we beheld a very animated and busy scene. The girls were singing, and the children busied in running down the young partridges with dogs; the birds being as yet only able to fly a short distance at a time. Presently we heard a hue-and-cry from all quarters, and soon perceived a large wild boar, with his bristles erect, beset by all the dogs; everybody running eagerly to the pursuit. He was found behind one of the tents. They chased him all through the camp; and two Arabs on horseback, with spears, joined in the pursuit. The animal, however, kept both men and dogs at bay, and finally got off with only one wound. We now approached the sheikh's tent, and found Mahannah and his two sons, Sheikhs Narsah and Hamed, together with about thirty Arab chiefs of various camps, seated round an immense fire. Sheikh Narsah was leaning on a camel's saddle, their usual cushion. He did not rise to receive us, although we afterwards observed, that he and the whole circle rose whenever a strange sheikh arrived. We attributed this cool reception to the low estimation he held us in, in consequence of the unusually small sum we were to pay for visiting Palmyra, and from the plainness of our dress and appearance. Mahannah was a short, crooked-backed, mean-looking old man, between seventy and eighty years of age, dressed in a coarse robe. His son, Narsah, to whom he had, in consequence of his age, resigned the reins of government, was good-looking, about thirty years of age. with very dignified and engaging manners. He had the Koran open in his hand when we arrived, to give us, we supposed, an idea of his learning. He was well dressed, with a red pelisse and an enormous white turban. We observed much whispering going forward between Narsah and every stranger that arrived; and our guides were separately questioned in the same manner, to learn, as we conjectured, whether we had much money or not. Narsah alone addressed us. He inquired why the English wished so much to see Palmyra, and whether we were not going to search for gold? We told him he should have half of any we might find

there. As the evening advanced, the Arab guests increased to the number of fifty. Their mode of saluting their chiefs is by kissing either cheek alternately, not the hand, as in Nubia. Some of the partridges which the children had caught, were now brought in. They roasted them on the fire, and part was given to us; Sheikh Hamed throwing a leg and a wing to each of us. They afterwards gave us some honey and butter, together with bread to dip into it ("butter and honey shall he eat," Isa. vii. 15): Narsah desired one of his men to mix the two ingredients for us, as we were awkward at it. The Arab, having stirred the mixture up well with his fingers, showed his dexterity in consuming, as well as in mixing, and recompensed himself for his trouble by eating half of it. At sunset, and again at eight o'clock, the whole assembly were summoned to prayers; a man standing outside the tent, and calling them to their devotions, in the same manner as is done from the minarets of the mosques of Turkish towns. Each man rubbed his face over with sand, a heap of which was placed in front of the tent for that purpose, to serve as a substitute for water in their religious ablutions.

'We could not but admire the decorous solemnity with which they all joined in worship, standing in a row, and bowing down and kissing the ground together. An immense platter of roast mutton was then brought in for supper, with a pillau of rice. The Arabs fed apart, while a separate portion was brought for Narsah and us. We observed the elderly men gave their halfgnawed bones to those around them; and we were told, that they have an adage commending the custom. A black slave was perpetually pounding coffee from the moment we entered the tent till we went to sleep; and as he began in the morning at daylight, and was constantly employed, it would seem that the consumption of this article must be considerable. Late at night, Narsah began to address the whole circle of sheikhs, who, we found, had been convened in order that they might hear his request, that some portions of grazing land, called "The Cottous," might be delivered up to him. Being tired with the length of his discourse, we removed to a corner of the tent, and fell asleep. We heard afterwards, that his harangue lasted till three in the morning. On the following day we wished to proceed, according to the promise to let us depart before sun-rise, which Narsah had given us the previous evening, swearing by his head, and lifting up his hand at the same time. But as the chief had sat up so late, he did not make his appearance till about ten o'clock, when, instead of letting us depart, he desired we would accompany him to a sinall vale contiguous to his tent. We found the Arabs assembling from all quarters, and following

us in great numbers. We were quite at a loss to know the meaning of this: at first we thought it was intended to show off the numbers of his people. Presently, however, we came to a tent, and found an immense feast of rice and camel's flesh prepared for the whole assembly. We were conducted to a smaller tent apart, and had our share sent

to us.

The

'We were in doubt what object the sheikh had in thus separating us; whether it was meant as an accommodation to us, that we might eat more comfortably and freely by ourselves, than in the midst of a concourse of people; or whether he thought we were not fit society for him. Our dress was certainly of a much meaner description than that of any of the sheikhs; and as through. out the East a stranger is generally estimated according to the dress he wears, it is probable that our homely appearance had some weight with Narsah on this occasion. We found the meat both savoury and tender, being a portion of the hump, which is considered the best part. There was little fat, and the grain was remarkably coarse: however, we made a hearty breakfast. feast was conducted with much order and decorum. The sheikhs fed apart in a double row, with several immense platters placed at equal distances between them, and a rope line was drawn round to keep the people from pressing in. Narsah was at the head of the row, with a small select circle, amongst whom he placed us after we had breakfasted, having perceived us among the spectators. When the sheikhs had finished, the people were regaled with the remains; independent of which, portions were distributed to the different tents of the camp. This latter arrangement was for the women and children. Several camels must have been cooked, judging from the immense quantities of meat we saw. This feast was no doubt intended to give weight to the proceedings of the former evening. We were asked whether Christians did not eat pig's flesh; and, answering in the affirmative, were questioned if we did not also drink sow's milk, as they do that of camel's: this, however, we stoutly denied. Mahannah made many signs for money, both for himself and Sheikh Alli, a very handsome little boy about five years of age, the son of Narsah. The Arab sign for money is rubbing the forefinger and thumb together.'

The following lively description of an Arab encampment is given by Dr. Robinson (ii. 180): the locality lies on the south-east of Jerusalem :- All was in motion at four o'clock. There were about six hundred sheep and goats, the latter being the most numerous, and the process of milking was now going on. They have few cows. Six tents were arranged in a sort of square, made of black hair-cloth, not large. They were mostly open at one end