ignorant, as may be seen in Lardner. Here, therefore, as in the Gospels, a selection of facts, though not regularly disposed in chronological order, was designed to serve for the evidence and illustration of certain important religious truths. 5. If we carefully examine the Acts of the Apostles, we shall perceive that St. Luke had two objects in view: 1. To relate in what manner the gifts of the Holy Spirit were communicated on the day of Pentecost, and the subsequent miracles performed by the Apostles, by which the truth of Christianity was confirmed. An authentic account of this matter was absolutely necessary, because Christ had often assured his disciples that they should receive the Holy Spirit. Unbelievers, therefore, whether Jews or Heathens, might have made objections to our religion, if it had not been shown that Christ's declarations were really fulfilled. 2. To deliver such accounts as proved the claim of the Gentiles to admission into the Church of Christ; a claim disputed by the Jews, especially at the time when St. Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles. And it was this very circumstance which excited the hatred of the Jews against St. Paul, and occasioned his imprisonment in Rome, with which St. Luke closes his history. Hence we see the reason why he relates, ch. 8, the conversion of the Samaritans, and, ch. 10. 11, the story of Cornelius, whom St. Peter, to whose authority the adversaries of St. Paul had appealed in favour of circumcision, baptized, though he was not of the circumcision. Hence also St. Luke relates the determination of the first council in Jerusalem relative to the Levitical law; and for the same reason, he is more diffuse in his account of St. Paul's conversion, and St. Paul's preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, than on any other subject. It is true that the whole relation which St. Luke has given, ch. 12, has no connexion with the conversion of the Gentiles; but during the period to which that chapter relates, St. Paul himself was present at Jerusalem, (see Acts 11. 30; 12. 25,) and it is probable for that reason, that St. Luke has introduced it. But there is a third opinion which Michaëlis thinks not devoid of probability, viz.: that St. Luke might design to record only those facts which he had either seen himself, or had heard from eye-witnesses. 6. The Acts of the Apostles, Michaëlis observes, were evidently written with a tolerably strict attention to chronological order; though St. Luke has not affixed a date to any one of the facts recorded by him. There are, however, several parts of this book in which ecclesiastical history is combined with political facts, the dates of which are known; and these Michaëlis has endeavoured to determine, because the chronology will not only contribute to illustrate the Acts of the Apostles, but will also assist us in fixing the year when many of St. Paul's epistles were written. Taking for granted therefore that this book commences with the year 33 of the Christian æra, he has divided the history into five epochs. It will be evident, however, from an inspection of his scheme, and a careful perusal of the book itself, that the time occupied by the narrative, cannot be so divided into distinct periods within one or other of which each fact may with certainty be placed. 7. The following division, adopted by Bishop Percy, is perhaps the most just and useful. Part I. The account of the first Pentecost after Christ's death, and of the events preceding it. (Ch. 1, 2.) II. The Acts at Jerusalem and throughout Judæa and Samaria among the Christians of the circumcision. (Ch. 3-9, 12.) III. The Acts in Cæsarea and the receiving of the Gentiles. (Ch. 10, 11.) IV. The first circuit of Barnabas and Paul among the Gentiles. (Ch. 13, 14.) V. The embassy from Antioch and the first council at Jerusalem, wherein the 8. The narrative of the Acts of the Apostles is per spicuous and noble. Though not entirely free from Hebraisms, its style is pronounced by Michaëlis to be much purer than that of most other books of the New Testament, particularly in the speeches delivered by St. Paul at Athens, and before the Roman Governors. It is further worthy of remark, that St. Luke has well supported the character of each person whom he has introduced as speaking. Thus the speeches and discourses of St. Peter are recorded with simplicity, and are destitute of all those ornaments which usually occur in the orations of the Greeks and Romans. Nearly similar are the speeches of St. Paul, which were addressed to the Jews, while those delivered by the same apostle before a heathen audience are widely different. Thus in his discourse delivered at Antioch in Pisidia, he commences with a long periphrasis, which would not have been either instructive or entertaining in any other place than a Jewish synagogue. On the contrary, the speech of the martyr Stephen (Acts 7), is altogether of a different description. It is a learned but unpremeditated discourse, pronounced by a person totally unacquainted with the art of oratory; and though he certainly had a particular object in view, to which the several parts of his discourse were directed, yet it is difficult to discover this object, because his materials are not regularly dis posed. Lastly, St. Paul's discourses before assemblies that were accustomed to Grecian oratory, are totally dif ferent from any of the preceding. Though not adorned with the flowers of rhetoric, the language is pointed and energetic, and the materials are judiciously selected and arranged, as is manifest in his speech delivered at Athens (Acts 17. 22-31), and in his two defences of himself before the Roman Governors of Judæa. (24. and 26.) Dr. Benson and Michaelis, however, are both of opinion that St. Luke has given abstracts only, and not the whole of St. Paul's speeches; for in his speech before Felix, he must certainly have said more than is recorded by St. Luke (24. 10-21); unless we suppose that St. Paul merely denied the charge which had been laid against him, without confuting it. Michaëlis adds, that in his opinion, St. Luke has shown great judgment in these extracts; and that if he has not retained the very words of St. Paul, he has adopted such aswere well suited to the polished audiences before which the apostle spoke. 9. The Acts of the Apostles afford abundant evidence of the truth and divine original of the Christian religion; for we learn from this book that the Gospel was not indebted for its success to deceit or fraud, but that it was wholly the result of the mighty power of God, and of the excellence and efficacy of the saving truths which it contains. In addition to external evidences derived from the early and unbroken tradition of the Christian Church, the most indubitable evidences of the truth of the book may be deduced from its style and composition. It was written by a person who was acquainted with the various circumstances which he relates, and who was both able and disposed to give a faithful narrative of everything that occurred. The historical details, and especially the incidental cir cumstances mentioned by St. Luke, so exactly correspond, and that evidently, without any design on the part of the writer, with the accounts furnished in St. Paul's Epistles, and in ancient historians both Jews and Heathens, that no person who had forged such a history ACTS OF PILATE-ADAM. in later ages, could have had the same external confirmation; but he must have betrayed himself, by alluding to some customs or opinions which have since sprung up, or by misrepresenting some circumstances, or employing some phrase or expression not then in use. Since, therefore, the Acts of the Apostles are in themselves consistent and uniform; the incidental relations agreeable to the best ancient historians that have come down to us; and the main facts supported and confirmed by the other books of the New Testament, as well as by the unanimous testimony of so many of the ancient fathers, we are justly authorized to conclude, that if any history of former times deserves credit, the Acts of the Apostles ought to be received and credited; and if the history of the Acts of the Apostles is true, Christianity cannot be false; for a doctrine so good in itself, so admirably adapted to the fallen state of man, and attended with so many miraculous and divine testimonies, has all the possible marks of a true revelation. Benson's History of Christianity; Horne's Introd.; Carpenter's Guide. ACTS OF PILATE. The ancient Romans were scrupulously careful to preserve the memory of all remarkable events which happened in the city; and this was done either in their Acts of the Senate (Acta Senatus), or in the Daily Acts of the People (Acta Diurna Populi), which were diligently made and kept at Rome. In like manner it was customary for the governors of provinces to send to the Emperor an account of remarkable transactions that occurred in the places where they resided, which were preserved as the Acts of their respective governments. In conformity with this usage, Eusebius says, "Our Saviour's resurrection being much talked of throughout Palestine, Pilate informed the Emperor of it, as likewise of his miracles, of which he had heard; and that being raised up after he had been put to death, he was already believed by many to be a God." (Euseb. Eccl. Hist. lib. 2. c. 2.) These accounts were never published for general perusal, but were deposited among the archives of the empire, where they served as a fund of information to historians. Hence we find long before the time of Eusebius, that the primitive Christians, in their disputes with the Gentiles, appealed to these Acts of Pilate as to most undoubted testimony. Thus, Justin Martyr, in his first Apology for the Christians, which was presented to the Emperor Antoninus Pius and the senate of Rome, about the year 140, having mentioned the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and some of its attendant circumstances, adds, "And that these things were so done, you may know from the Acts made in the time of Pontius Pilate." Afterwards in the same Apology, having noticed some of our Lord's Miracles, such as healing diseases and raising the dead, he says, "And that these things were done by him you may know from the Acts made in the time of Pontius Pilate." Justin Martyr, Apol. Pr. pp. 65, 72, edit. Benedict. Tertullian, in his Apology for Christianity, about the year 200, after speaking of our Saviour's crucifixion and resurrection, and his appearance to the disciples and ascension into heaven in the sight of the same disciples, who were ordained by him to publish the Gospel over the world, thus proceeds: "Of all these things relating . to Christ, Pilate himself, in his conscience already a Christian, sent an account to Tiberius, then emperor." (Tertull. Apolog. c. 21.) The same writer in the same Apology, thus relates the proceedings of Tiberius on receiving this information:-" There was an ancient decree that no one should be received for a deity unless he was first approved by the senate. Tiberius, in whose time 29 the Christian religion had its rise, having received from Palestine in Syria an account of such things as manifested the truth of his" (Christ's) "divinity, proposed to the senate that he should be enrolled among the Roman gods, and gave his own prerogative vote in favour of the motion. But the senate rejected it, because the emperor himself had declined the same honour. Nevertheless, the emperor persisted in his opinion, and threatened punishment to the accusers of the Christians. Search your own Commentaries, or public writings; you will there find that Nero was the first who raged with the imperial sword against this sect, when rising most at Rome." Tertull. Apol. c. 5. These testimonies of Justin and Tertullian are taken from public apologies for the Christian religion, which were presented either to the emperor and senate of Rome, or to magistrates of public authority and great distinction in the Roman empire. Horne's Introd. ADADAH, YT a city in the southern part of the possessions belonging to the tribe of Judah, not far from the boundaries of Idumæa or Edom. (Josh. 15. 22.) ADAD RIMMON, or HADAD RIMMON, 117777 the name of a place in the plain of Megiddo. (Zech. 12.11.) According to Jerome it was afterwards called Maximianopolis, in honour of the Emperor Maximinian. It was a city in the valley of Jezreel in the half tribe of Manasseh, where a disastrous battle was fought between Josiah, king of Judah, and PharaohNecho, king of Egypt, in which the former was slain. (2Kings 23. 29.) It was situated seventeen miles from Cæsarea in Palestine, and ten from Jezreel. Rim1 mon was the name of an idol of the Assyrians, (2Kings 5. 18,) who was probably the tutelary deity of pomegranates. Jahn; Gesenius. ADAH, the name of one of the wives of Lamech, (Gen. 4. 23,) also the name of one of the wives of Esau, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. (Gen. 36. 2-12.) The names of men and women, and of the lower animals, and the names of many places, particularly in the remoter ages, frequently allude to some remarkable characteristic in the person or creature named; or in reference to place, to some uncommon circumstance or event. There is scarcely a proper name which alludes not to something of this kind, though in some instances we may be at a loss for the right meaning. ADAM, ON The name of the first man, the progenitor of the human race. The etymology may be gathered from Genesis 2. 7: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground." It is said by Josephus (Antiq. lib. 1. cap. 1), that he was called Adam by reason of the reddish colour of the earth of which he was formed. Sir William Jones suggests whether Adam may not be derived from Adim, which in Sanscrit means the first, and is a name of the first Menu. By his wife Satarupa he had two sons and three daughters. Asiatic Researches. The history of Adam is given with great simplicity in the first four chapters of Genesis. The veil of time is removed by the spirit of revelation, and the past appears just as it once appeared, but the vision is distant, and therefore dim. No explanations are offered, though our curiosity is often ready to ask them; facts of the most interesting character and deepest import are stated without the slightest colouring, and we are left to judge of causes from their effects, of principles from actions, just as we judge of the qualities of a soil from the aspect of its productions. In reviewing the history of Adam, several things appear worthy of particular remark. 1. The time at which he was created is strongly expressive of the importance of his character. Man, for whom all other things were made, was himself made last of all. In the Mosaic narrative, the only rational account that was ever given of the origin of things, we are taught to follow the heavenly Artist, step by step, first in the production of the inanimate elements, next of vegetables, and then of animal life, till we come to the master-piece of the creation, man, endowed with reason and intellect. The house being built, its inhabitant appeared; the feast being set forth, the guest was introduced to behold the splendid and magnificent scenery in the heavens above and the earth beneath. 2. The manner in which the creation of Adam is narrated, indicates something peculiar and eminent in the being to be formed. Not that it could be a matter of more difficulty to Omnipotence to create man, but principally because he was to be the lord of the whole, and therefore himself accountable to the original Proprietor; and was to be the subject of another species of government, a moral administration; and to be constituted an image of the intellectual and moral perfections, and of the immortality of the common Maker. Everything therefore as to man's creation is given in a solemn and deliberative form. shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made he man.” The essence of the crime of homicide is not confined here to the putting to death the mere animal part of man; and it must, therefore, lie in the peculiar value of life to an immortal being, accountable in another state for the actions done in this, and whose life ought to be specially guarded for this very reason, that death introduces him into changeless and eternal relations, which were not to be left to the mercy of human passions. To these we are to add the intellectual powers, and we have what divines call, in perfect accordance with the Scriptures, "the natural image of God in his creatures," which is essential and ineffaceable. Man was made capable of knowledge and he was endowed with liberty of will. This natural image of God was the foundation of that moral image by which man was also distinguished. The divine image is to be found in the mind, that is, in the understanding, the will, and the affections. In Adam's understanding there was no error; nor was there any obliquity in his will. His knowledge was according to truth, and all the affections of his soul moved in the pursuit and practice of it. Man, therefore, in his original state was sinless both in act and principle. Hence it is said, that God made man upright. That this signifies moral rectitude cannot be doubted; but the import of the word is very extensive. It expresses by an easy figure, the exactness of truth, justice, and obedience. Such, then, was the condition of primitive man; there was no obliquity in his moral principles, his mind, or affections; none in his conduct. He was perfectly sincere and exactly just, rendering from the heart all that was due to God. Tried by the most perfect rule, the law of God, he was faultless. 4. In the complex constitution of Adam, the soul bearing as it did, the Divine image, was united to a far inferior element, the body. Yet even in this, whether 3. It may next be inquired, in what that image of we consider its materials, or its organization, we find God in which man was made, consists. It is manifest from the history of man, that human nature has two essential constituent parts: the Body formed out of pre-existent matter, the earth; and a Living Soul, breathed into the body by an inspiration from God. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils (or face) the breath of life (lives); and man became a living soul." Whatever was thus imparted to the body of man already “formed," and perfectly finished in all its parts, was the only cause of life; and the whole tenor of Scripture shows that this was the rational spirit itself, which by a law of its Creator, was incapable of death, even after the body had fallen under that penalty. The sentiment expressed in Wisdom 2. 23, is an evidence that in the opinion of the ancient Jews, the image of God comprised immortality also. "For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity," and though other creatures were made capable of immortality, and at least the material human frame, whatever we may think of the case of animals, would have escaped death had not sin entered the world; yet, without admitting the absurdity of the "natural immortality" of the human soul, that surely must have been constituted immortal in a high and peculiar sense which has ever retained its prerogative of continued-duration, amidst the universal death, not only of animals, but of the bodies of all human beings. There appears also a manifest allusion to man's immortality, as being included in the image of God, in the reason which is given in Genesis, for the law which inflicts death on murderers: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man much which merits attention, much which marks the superiority of man over the other animal races around him. The human body was not made of the celestial elements, light and air; but of the more gross terrestrial matter, as being designed to receive and communicate notices of terrestrial objects, through the medium of organs similar to them. "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground," He moulded or modelled him as a potter does the clay under his hand; we see the work as it were upon the wheel, gradually rising and growing under the hands of the Divine Artificer; and at length producing from the dust of the ground, a frame superior in rank and dignity. They whose profession has led them to examine the structure of this astonishing piece of mechanism, contemplate the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the formation of the human body. An examination of its parts and the admirable skill with which they are disposed, brought Galen upon his knees in adoration of the wisdom with which the whole is contrived. And while the world shall last, genius and diligence will be producing fresh proofs that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." Adam differed from all his descendants in this particular, that he was not to attain the maturity of his intellectual powers, by a gradual process from infancy, but came into being in full stature and vigour of mind, as well as body. He found creation likewise in its prime; it was morning with man and the world. How long he was allowed to make his observations upon the different objects with which he found himself surrounded, we are not told; but it should seem, either that sufficient time ADAM was allowed him for that purpose, or that he was enabled in some extraordinary manner to pervade their nature, and discover their properties. The creatures were brought to him that he might impose upon them suitable names. The use of names is to express the nature of the things named, but in the knowledge of those natures at the beginning, God, who made them, must have been man's instructor. Without such an instructor, indeed, it is not likely that man could ever have formed a language at all, since it is a task that requires much thought, and the great masters of reason seem to be agreed, that without language we are incapable of thinking to any purpose. However this may be, from the original imposition of names, by our first parent, we may infer that his knowledge of natural objects must have been very eminent and extensive; nothing inferior, we may suppose, to that of Solomon, who spake of trees from the cedar to the hyssop, and of beasts and fowls, and creeping things and fishes. It is, therefore, probable that Plato asserted no more than the truth, when, according to the traditions he had gleaned up in Egypt and the East, he affirmed that the first man was of all men "the greatest philosopher." From the circumstances related by Moses concerning the placing of Adam in the garden of Eden; from his causing the creatures to come before him; from his bringing Eve to him; and from his communicating to him a law which he was strictly to observe, we may judge of the familiar intercourse to which the Almighty condescendingly admitted him. He conversed with him. probably under some visible appearance, as He afterwards did with Moses, "as a man converseth with his friend;" no doubt instructing him, as far as was necessary, in the knowledge of his own immortal spirit and destiny, of the temptations he had to encounter, of the consequences to which disobedience would subject him, and probably of those invisible glories, a participation of which was to be the reward of his obedience. The breaking of a beautiful vase, may afford some idea of Adam after his sin. The integrity of his mind was violated; the first compliance with sin opened the way to future compliances; grosser temptations might now expect success; and thus spotless purity becoming impure, perfect righteousness becoming warped, lost that integrity which had been its glory. Hereby Adam relinquished that distinction which had fitted him for immediate communion with supreme holiness, and was reduced to the necessity of soliciting such communion, mediately, not immediately; by another, not by himself; in prospect, not instant; in hope, not in possession; in time future, not in time present; in another world, not in this. It would be idle to repeat the absurd traditions and fables of the Rabbinnical and Mohammedan writers respecting the first man. Some of them indeed are monstrous, unless we suppose them to be allegories in the exaggerated style of the Orientals. Some say that he was nine hundred cubits high; whilst others not satisfied with this, affirm that his head touched the heavens. The Jews think that he wrote the 91st Psalm, invented the Hebrew letters, and composed several treatises. The Arabians inform us that Adam received twenty books which fell from heaven, and contained many laws, promises, and prophecies. The Gnostics had a book entitled "The Revelations of Adam," which is placed among the apocryphal writings by Pope Gelasius, who also mentions a book called “Adam's Penance." Calmet; Jones; Watson; Dwight. ADAMAH or ADMAH, IN One of the five cities which, together with the valley of Siddim, were overwhelmed and swallowed up in the Dead Sea. (Gen. 10. 19; 14. 2; Hos. 11. 8.) A town of this name must have been subsequently built by the inhabitants of that country, for, according to the version of the Septuagint, Isaiah says, that "God will destroy the Moabites, the city of Ai, and the remnant of Adamah." Isaiah 15. This town was situated not far from the site of the old one, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. It was also the name of one of the "fenced cities" which belonged to the tribe of Naphtali. (Josh. 19. 36.) Calmet; Script. Gaz.; Gesenius. ADAMANT, D a diamond. A stone of impenetrable hardness used in cutting and engraving. (Jer. 17. 1.) Our translators have rendered the word Adamant in Ezekiel 3. 9, and Zechariah 7. 12. See DIAMOND. ADAMI, TN a city of Naphtali. (Jos. 19. 33.) ADAR, the sixth month of the civil year, the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical year; it has only twenty-nine days, and corresponds with part of our February and March. 1. The new moon. 3. The lessons for this day were from Exod. 30. 11 to Exod. 35. 1, and from 1Sam. 18. 1 to 1Sam. 18. 39. 7. A fast on account of the death of Moses. (Deut. 34. 5.) 9. A fast. The school of Schammai and Hillel began to be divided on this day. 12. The lessons are from Exod. 35. 1 to Exod. 38. 21, and from 1Sam. 17. 13 to 1Sam. 17. 26. This day is also a feast in memory of the death of Hollianus and Pipus, two proselytes and brothers, who chose rather to die than violate the law. (Selden, lib. iii. c. 13. De Syned. e Megill. Taanith.) 13. A festival on account of the death of Nicanor. (2 Macc. 15. 37.) The fast of Esther. (Esth. 4. 16.) 14. Purim the first, or the little feast of Lots. 15. Purim the second, or the great feast of Lots. (Esther 9. 19,21.) The dedication of the Temple of Zorobabel (Ezra 6. 16,) was made in this month, but the day is not known. 18. Lessons from Exod. 38. 21 to the end of the book, and from 1Sam. 7. 50 to 1Sam. 8. 21. 20. A fast in memory of the rain obtained by one Onias Hammagel in a time of great drought. 25. The lessons are the first five chapters of Leviticus, and from Isaiah 43. 21 to Isaiah 44. 24. 28. A feast. The Grecian edict which forbid the Jews the use of circumcision recalled. The Sabbath previous to Purim is Sabbath Zacher (Remember), so called from the first word in the passage in Deut. 25. 17, read to remind the people of the inveterate enmity of Amalek of whom Haman was a descendant. The third Sabbath is Sabbath Parah (heifer). Burnt at this season according to the ordinance. (Numb. 19.1-10.) The last Sabbath is Sabbath Ahodes (month). On which, the ordinance that the month of Nisan should be the first month of the year is read, (Exod. 12. 2,) from which the ecclesiastical year is counted, and all the festivals ordained in conformity; thus New Year is ordained to be observed in the seventh month, &c. VEADAR. In embolismic years, all the observances of Adar are kept in this month in the same order. Sabbath Shekalim is then the last Sabbath of Adar, but should the New Moon of Adar (or Veadar) in embolismic years, happen on the Sabbath, that day is then Sabbath Shekalim. ADAR or HAZAR-ADDAR, the name of a village mentioned in Numbers 34. 4. Also a city of Judah. (Josh. 15.3.) Eusebius places another town of this name in the neighbourhood of Lydda, or Diospolis. ADARCONIM, JDT a piece of money. Occurs in the plural, IChron. 29. 7; Ezra 8. 27. The same as the Dareikas, 4apeixos. In the Talmud 177, the N is formative. 7 a Persian coin of pure gold, which was also in circulation among the Jews under the Persian government. The value of this coin was reckoned at Xpuoous, which our modern authors value at fifteen shillings. According to Dr. Bernard, its weight was two grains more than the English guinea, and worth about 25 shillings. Its impression was an archer who was crowned with a spiked crown, had a bow in his left hand, an arrow in his right, and was clothed in a long robe, hence, in Numismatography, Sagittarii.-Ekhel. Doctr. Numm. ADARSA, or in the Greek (1 Macc. 7. 40,) Adasa, a city of Ephraim, four miles from Bethoron and not far from Gophna, (Josephus, lib. xii. c. 17.) The same city is likewise called Adazer and Adaco in Josephus. Here Nicanor was overcome and his army put to flight by Judas Maccabæus. ADBEEL was the third son of Ishmael, and the chief of a tribe of Ishmaelites. (Gen. 25. 13.) ADDER, a venomous serpent, more usually called the viper. In our translation of the Bible, we find the word Adder five times, but without sufficient authority from the original. 1. D Shephiphon, (Gen. 49. 17,) is probably the Cerastes or horned serpent, according to Jerome and Bochart, one of the viper kind of a light brown colour which lurks in the sands and the tracks of the wheels in the road, and unexpectedly bites, not only the unwary traveller, but the legs of horses and other beasts. By comparing the Danites to this artful reptile, the patriarch intimated that by stratagem more than by open bravery, they should avenge themselves of their enemies and extend their conquests. See Bochart. Hieroz. lib. 2. 2. 1 Pethen, in Psalm 58. 4; 91. 13, signifies an Asp. We may perhaps trace to this the Python of the Greeks and its derivations, (Arabic according to Forskal, Coluber baetaen.) See Asp. 3. y Achsub is found only in Psalm 140. 3. The root signifies in Arabic to fold itself together; to coil itself in a circle. The Chaldee paraphrasts render it way Acchabis, which we translate elsewhere spider; they may therefore have understood it to be the Tarantula. It is rendered Asp by the Septuagint and Vulgate, and is so taken, Romans 3. 13. The name is from the Arabic Achasa. But there are several serpents which coil themselves previously to darting on their enemy; if this be a character of the Asp, it is not peculiar to that reptile. 4. YDY Tzepha, or "DY Tziphoni, (Prov. 23. 32; Isaiah 11. 8; 14. 29; 59. 5; and Jer. 8. 17,) is that deadly serpent called the basilisk, said to kill with its -ADDER. معم very breath. According to Bochart from s to hiss venomously. See COCKATRICE. In Psalm 58. 5, reference is made to the effect of musical sounds over serpents. That they might be rendered tame and harmless by certain charms, or soft and sweet sounds, and trained to delight in music, was an opinion which prevailed very early and universally. Many ancient authors mention this effect. See Bochart. Hieroz. 1. iii. cap. 6. Virgil speaks of it particularly. En. 7. 750. Quin et Marrubia venit de gente sacerdos, And at his touch the poisons fled again.-PITT. Shaw, Bruce, and indeed all travellers who have been in the Levant, speak of the charming of serpents as a thing frequently seen. The much dreaded Cobra di Capello, or good Serpent of the Hindoos, is capable of being tamed; and the Malabar jugglers have the art of teaching them to dance to the inharmonious and slow notes of their flageolet. The scrpent first seems astonished, then begins to rear himself, and sometimes by a gentle undulatory motion of the head, and with distended hood, seems to listen with pleasure to the notes. These "dancing snakes" are carried about in baskets by the jugglers all over India, and Mr. Forbes states it as a well attested fact that when a house is infested with these snakes and some others of the Coluber genus, which destroy poultry, or with some even of the larger serpents of the boa tribe, the musicians are sent for, who charm the reptiles from their hidingplaces to their own destruction. Oriental Memoirs. The deaf-adder or asp may either be a serpent of a species naturally deaf, (for such kinds are mentioned by Avicenna as quoted by Bochart,) or on account of its appearing to be so. In either case, in the language of poetry, it may be said to stop its ear, from its being proof against all the efforts of the charmer: Ad quorum cantus mites jacuere cerastæ. Dr. Blayney remarks, "that some persons possessed the faculty of rendering serpents harmless is a fact too well attested by historians and travellers, to admit of contradiction. But by what means this effect was produced is not quite so clear." The scripture word unb seems to be used in conformity to the common opinion, ascribing to it the power of certain cabalistical words and incantations muttered through the teeth. But whatever were the methods commonly practised, the enemies of the Jews were compared to such serpents as were not to be mollified nor disarmed by any of those means. "They shall bite you, saith Jehovah." The passage in Psalm 58. 5,6, requires a further illustration, and it is furnished by the author of Scripture Illustrated. "After mentioning the obstinacy of his enemies, which David compares to the untamed malignant spirit of a serpent, our translators make him add, 'Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth; break out the great teeth of the young lions.' And why young lions? The passage requires strong lions to equal, much more to augment, the ideas already attached to the poisonous bite of serpents." To which we ought to add that immediately afterwards the writer |