Habakkuk – Hermogenes And Phygellus

Habakkuk

One of the minor prophets. Of his life we know nothing, except that he appears to have been contemporary with Jeremiah, and to have prophesied about 610 B.C., shortly before Nebuchadnezzar’s first invasion of Judea, 2Ki 24:1.

The BOOK OF HABAKKUK consists of three chapters, which all constitute on oracle. In Hab 1:1-17, he foretells the woes which the rapacious and terrible Chaldeans would soon inflict upon his guilty nation. In Hab 2:1-20, he predicts the future humiliation of the conquerors. Hab 3:1-19 is a sublime and beautiful ode, in which the prophet implores the succor of Jehovah in view of his mighty works of ancient days, and expresses the most assured trust in him. Nothing, even in Hebrew poetry, is more lofty and grand then this triumphal ode.

Habergeon

Ne 4:16; Job 41:26, a coat of mail; an ancient piece of defensive armor, in the form of a coat or tunic, descending from the neck to the middle of the body, and formed of tough hide, or many quilted linen folds, or of scales of brass overlapping each other like fishes’ scales, or of small iron rings or meshes linked into each other, Ex 28:32; 39:23.

Habor Or Chabor

A city of Media, near which Tiglath-pileser, and afterwards Shalmanezer located portions of the captive Israelites. It is thought to have stood where the town of Abhar now exists on a branch of the river Gozan, 2Ki 17:6; 18:11.

Hadad

1. An Idumean prince, who defeated the Midianites in the plains of Moab, Ge 36:35; 1Ch 1:16.

2. A second prince of Edom, mentioned in 1Ch 1:51.

3. Another Edomite of the royal family, who fled to Egypt while young, upon David’s conquest of Edom, 2Sa 8:14; was well received, and married the queen’s sister. After the death of David and Joab, he returned to Edom and made an ineffectual effort to throw off the yoke of Solomon, 1Ki 11:14-22; 2Ch 8:17.

Hadadezer Or Hadarezer

A powerful king of Syria, reigning in Zobah and the surrounding country, even to the Euphrates, 1Ki 11:23. He was thrice defeated and his power overthrown by David, 2Sa 8:3,4; 10:6-14; 16:1-19:43; 1Ch 18:3; 19:6.

Hadadrimmon

A place in the valley of Megiddo, where the good king Josiah lost his life in a battle with the Ethiopians, 2Ki 23:29; 2Ch 35:20-25. The lamentation over this event was very great, Zec 12:11.

Hadoram

See ADONIRAM.

Hagar

Stranger, an Egyptian bondmaid in the household of Sarah, Ge 12:16, who, being barren, gave her to Abraham for a secondary wife, that by her, as a substitute, she might have children in accordance with the customs of the East in that age. The history of Hagar is given in Ge 16:1-16; 17:1-27; 21:1-34. In an allegory, Paul makes Hagar represent the Jewish church, which was in bondage to the ceremonial law; as Sarah represents the true church of Christ, which is free from this bondage, Ga 4:24. Her name is much honored among the Arabs claiming to be her descendants.

Hagarenes Or Hagarites

1Ch 5:10,20, descendant of Hagar and Ishmael. In Ps 83:6, the name seems to be given to a distinct portion of the Ishmaelites.

Haggai

One of the minor prophets, probably accompanied Zerubbabel in the first return of the Jew from Babylon, B. C. 536. He began to prophesy in the second year of Darius Hystaspis, B. C. 520; and the object of his prophesying as to excite his countrymen to begin again the building of the temple, which had been so long interrupted. In this he was successful, Darius having granted a decree for this purpose, Ezr 6:1-22. The exceeding glory of the second temple was, as he foretold, that Christ "the Desire of all nations" came into it, and made the place of his feet glorious, Hag 2:7-9.

Hail!

A salutation, importing a wish for the welfare of the person addressed. It is now seldom used among us; but was customary among our Saxon ancestors, and imported "joy to you," or "health to you," including in the term health all kind of prosperity.

Hailstones

Drops of rain formed into ice by the power of cold in the upper regions of the atmosphere. Hail was among the plagues of Egypt, Ex 9:24, and was the more terrible, because it rarely occurred in that country. Hail was also made use of by God for defeating an army of Canaanites, Jos 10:11; and is used figuratively to represent terrible judgments, Isa 28:2; Re 16:21.

Hair

The Jewish men, except Nazarites, Nu 6:5,9, and cases like that of Absalom, 2Sa 14:26, cut their hair moderately short, 1Co 11:14, and applied fragrant ointments to it, Ex 30:30-33; Ps 23:5; Ec 9:8. In mourning they wholly neglected it, or shaved it close, or plucked it out by handfuls, Jer 7:29. Women prized a fine head of hair, and plaited, perfumed, and decked it in many ways, Isa 3:18,24; 1Co 11:15, so much as to call for apostolic interdictions, 1Ti 2:9; 1Pe 3:9. "Hair like women’s" characterized the locusts of antichrist, Re 9:8. Lepers when cleansed, and Levites, on their consecration, shaved the whole body, Le 13:1-59; 14:8,9.

Halah

2Ki 17:6. See HABOR.

Hallelujah

In the New Testament, ALLELUIAH, Praise ye Jehovah. This word occurs at the beginning and at the end of many psalms. It was also sung on solemn days of rejoicing, as an expression of joy and praise, and as such it has been adopted in the Christian church, and is still used in devotional psalmody, Re 19:1,3,4,6.

Hallow

To render sacred, set apart, consecrate. The English word is from the Saxon, and means to make holy: hence hallowed persons, things, places, rites, etc.; hence also the name, power, and dignity God are hallowed, that is, reverenced as holy.

Ham

1. Burnt, swarthy, black, A son of Noah, Ge 5:32; 7:13; 9:18; 10:1. The impiety revealed in his conduct towards his father, drew upon him, or rather, according to the Bible statement, on his son Canaan, a prophetic malediction, Ge 9:20-27. Ham was the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan, that is, the ancestor of the Canaanites, Southern Arabians, Ethiopians, Egyptians, and the Africans in general, Ge 10:6-20.

2. A poetical name for Egypt, Ps 78:51; 106:22.

3. An unknown place of the Zuzim, Ge 14:5.

Haman

A favorite of Ashasuerus, king of Persia. In order to revenge himself upon Mordecai the Jew, he plotted the extermination of all the Jews in the kingdom; but in the providence of God he as thwarted by Esther, fell into disgrace with the king, and wrought his own ruin and the upbuilding of the Jews. He is called an Agaite; and as Agag was a common name of the Amalekite kings, the Jews believe he was of that race. This would help to explain his malice against the Jews. See AMALEKITES. Similar wholesale slaughters are still plotted in Asia, and the whole narrative is confirmed and illustrated by the descriptions of eastern life furnished by modern travellers in the same region. The death of Haman took place about 485 B. C. His eventful history shows that pride goes before destruction; that the providence of God directs all things; that his people are safe in the midst of perils; and that his foes must perish.

Hamath

A celebrated city of Syria. Hamath, like Jerusalem and Damascus, is one of the few places in Syria and Palestine which have retained a certain degree of importance from the very earliest ages to the present time. The name occurs in Ge 10:18, as the seat of a Canaanitish tribe; and it is often mentioned as the northern limits of Canaan in its widest extent, Nu 13:21; Jos 13:5; Judg 3:3. In David’s time, Toi king of Hamath was his ally, 2Sa 8:9,10.

Burckhardt describes Hamath as "situated on both sides of the Orontes; a part of it is built on the declivity of a hill, and a part in the plain. The town is of considerable extent, and must contain at least 30,000 inhabitants. There are four bridges over the Orontes in the town. The river supplies the upper town with water by means of buckets fixed to high wheels, which empty themselves into stone canals, supported by lofty arches on a level with the upper part of the town. There are about a dozen of the wheels; the largest of them is at least seventy feet in diameter. The principal trade of Hamath is with the Arabs, who buy here their tent furniture and clothes. The government of Hamath comprises about one hundred and twenty inhabited villages, and seventy or eighty which have been abandoned. The western part of its territory is the granary of the northern Syria, though the harvest never yields more than ten for one, chiefly in consequence of the immense numbers of mice, which sometimes wholly destroy the crops." "The entering in of Hamath" is the northern part of the valley which leads up to it from Palestine, between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, Nu 13:21; 1Ki 1:53.

Hananeel

A kinsman of Jeremiah, from whom the prophet bought a piece of ground before the captivity, and had the legal record made, in token of his prophetic assurance that his people would return to their possessions, Jer 32:6-12.

Hanani

1. A seer in the time of Asa, 955-914 B. C. imprisoned for his fidelity. He was also the father of the prophet Jehu, 1Ki 16:1-7; 2Ch 16:7-10; 19:2; 20:34.

2. A brother of Nehemiah, who brought to Babylon an account of the wretched state of the Jews then at Jerusalem, and afterwards had charge of the gates of the city, Ne 1:1-3; 7:2,3, B. C. 455.

Hananiah

1. A false prophet of Gibeon, who for his impious hardihood was overtaken with speedy death, according to the word of God, Jer 28:15-17.

2. The Hebrew name of Shadrach.

3. A pious and faithful officer under Nehemiah, Ne 7:2.

Hand

Often put of strength, power; so to be "in the hand" of any one, is to be in his power. Joining hands, or striking hands, is a very common method of pledging one’s self to a contract or bargain; just as persons among us often shake hands in token of an agreement. To "lift the hand," means to make oath. "At the right hand of God," is the place of honor, power, and happiness, Ps 16:11; 45:9; 110:1; Mt 26:64; Col 3:1. The right hand meant towards the south, the Jews being wont to speak as if facing the east. The "laying on of hands," signified consecration to office, and the bestowal of a blessing or of divine gifts, Ge 48:14; Nu 8:10; 27:18; Mr 10:16; Ac 6:6; 19:6; 1Ti 4:14. The hands of the high priest laid upon the scapegoat, as if transferring the guilt of the people to his head, represented the work wrought by Christ in order that the sinner might not be "driven away in his wickedness." See WASHING.

Hanes

A city of Egypt, Isa 30:4, thought to be the modern Ehnes, in middle Egypt on the Nile.

Hannah

The pious wife of a Levite of Ramathaim-Zophim, named Elkanah, and mother of Samuel, B. C. 1171. She had earnestly besought the Lord for him, and freely devoted him to serve God according to her vow. She was afterwards blessed with three other sons and two daughters, 1Sa 1:1-2:21.

Hanun

A king of the Ammonites, whose father Nahash had befriended David in his early troubles. Upon the death of Nahash, David sent an embassage to condole with his son. The shameful treatment received by these ambassadors led to a destructive war upon the Ammonites, 2Sa 10:1- 19; 1Ch 19:1-19.

Hara

1Ch 5:26, probably a mountainous region in the northern part of Media.

Haran

1. The eldest son of Terah, brother of Abraham, and father of Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. He died before his father Terah, Ge 11:26- 31.

2. An ancient city called in the New Testament Charran, in the northwest part of Mesopotamia. Here, after leaving Ur, Abraham dwelt till is father Terah died; and to this old homestead Isaac sent for a wife, and Jacob fled from the wrath of Esau, Ge 11:31,32; 12:5; 24:1-67; 27:43; 28:10; 29:4. Haran was ravaged by the Assyrians in the time of Hezekiah, 2Ki 19:12; Isa 37:12. Here also Crassus the Roman general was defeated and killed by the Parthiuated on a branch of the Euphrates, in 36 degrees 52’ north latitude, and 39 degrees 5’ east longitude, in a flat and sandy plain, and is only peopled by a few wandering Arabs, who select it for the delicious water it furnishes.

Hare

Of the same genus as the rabbit, prohibited to the Jews for food, Le 11:6, because, though it "cheweth the cud," it "divideth not the hoof." No species of hare is known which strictly chews the cud. There were several varieties of the hare in Syria.

Harlot

An abandoned woman, Pr 29:3; a type of idolatrous nations and cities, Isa 1:21; Eze 16:1-63; Na 3:4. Among the Jews, prostitutes were often foreigners; hence their name of "strange women." They were often devoted to heathen idols, and their abominations were a part of the worship, Nu 25:1-5; Ho 4:14; a custom from the defilement of which the house of God was expressly defended, De 23:18.

Harness

A suit of defensive armor, 1Ki 20:11; 2Ch 18:33. The Hebrews went out from Egypt "harnessed," that is, properly equipped or arranged.

Harod

A spring near Jezreel and mount Gilboa, Judg 7:1; 2Sa 23:25.

Harosheth Of The Gentiles

A city in the north of Canaan, the residence of Sisera, Judg 4:2; Judg 13:1-25; 16:1-31. The missionary Thompson finds its ruins at a place still called Harothieh, the Arabic equivalent for Harosheth, on a hill commanding the entrance to the narrow passage of the Kishon from the plain of Esdraelon to the plain of Acre.

Harp

Hebrew KINNOR, the most ancient and common stringed instrument of the Jews, more properly translated lyre. It was light and portable, and was used on joyful occasions, whether sacred or not. It was invented by Jubal, Ge 4:21; 31:27; 1Ch 16:5; 25:1-5; Ps 81:2. David was a proficient in its use, 1Sa 16:16,23; 18:10. The instrument most nearly resembling our harp was the Hebrew NEBEL, translated, psaltery in the Old Testament, Ps 57:8; 81:2; 92:3; 108:2. It had a general triangular shape, and seven to twelve strings, Ps 33:2; 144:9. It was played with the hand or with a short iron rod or plectrum according to its size. The Jews had other stringed instruments, like the guitar and lute, but little can be accurately determined respecting their form, etc. See MUSIC.

Hart

Or STAG, a species of deer, clean by the Levitical law, De 12:15, and celebrated for its elegance, agility, and grace, Song 2:9; Isa 35:6. See HIND and ROE.

Hate

Often denotes in Scripture only a less degree of love, Ge 29:30,31; De 21:15; Pr 13:24; Mal 1:2,3; Lu 14:26; Ro 9:13. God has a just and perfect abhorrence of sin and sinners, Ps 5:5. But hatred in general is a malevolent passion, Ga 5:20, and no one who is not perfect in love, can hate without sin.

Hauran

Eze 47:16, was originally a small district south of Damascus, and east of the sea of Tiberias, but was afterwards extended to the south and east, and under the Romans was called Auranitis. It now includes the ancient Trachonitis, the Haouran, Ituraea, and part of Batanaea, and is very minutely described by Burckhardt. Many ruins of cities, with Greek inscriptions, are scattered over its rugged surface.

Havilah

The Scripture mention a Havilah descended from Ham, Ge 10:7, and another from Shem, Ge 11:29. We must assume a double Havilah, corresponding to each of these.

1. The location of one Havilah is connected with that of the Garden of Eden. According to one theory, it is to be sought on the southeastern extremity of the Black Sea; according to another, at the head of the Persian Gulf. See EDEN.

2. The other Havilah seems to have in Arabia. From the statement in 1Sa 15:7, that "Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah unto Shurm that is over against Egypt," it would seen to have been somewhere in the north-western part of Arabia; since, from the circumstances of this campaign, we cannot well suppose that it extended over a great tract of country.

Havothjair

Huts of Jair, a district in Gilead, containing thirty hamlets belonging to the thirty sons of Jair, judges of Israel, Nu 32:41; Judg 10:3,4.

Hawk

Or FALCON, a strong-winged and rapacious bird, of several in Syria; unclean for the Hebrews, Le 11:16, but sacred among the Greeks and Egyptians. In its migrations, it illustrates the wise providence of the Creator, Job 39:26.

Hay

In Pr 27:25; Isa 15:6, denotes the first shoots of grass. The Jews did not prepare and store up hay for winter use, as is customary in cold climates.

Hazael

An officer of Benhadad king of Syria, whose future accession to the throne was revealed to the prophet Elijah, then at Damascus, as to his recovery from sickness, and on the next day smothered the king with a wet cloth, 2Ki 8:7-15, B. C. 885. His discomposure under the eye of the prophet was an indication that he had already meditated this crime. Having usurped the throne, he reigned forty years; and by his successful and cruel wars against Judah and Israel justified the forebodings of Elisha, 2Ki 8:28; 10:32; 12:17; 13:3,7; 2Ch 22:5.

Hazerim

An ancient abode of the Avim, apparently in the northwestern part of Arabia Petraea, De 2:23.

Hazeroth

A station of the Israelites, about five days’ journey from mount Sinai, Nu 11:35. Here they remained a week or more, Nu 12:1- 16; and their next station recorded was near Kades-barnea, on the borders of Canaan, Nu 12:16; 13:26; De 1:19-21.

Hazezon-Tamar

See ENGEDI.

Hazor

1. A chief city of northern Canaan, whose king Jabin, at the head of an allied host, was defeated by Joshua, Jos 11:1-13. Hazor revived, however, and for a time oppressed the Israelites; but was subdued by Barak, fortified by Solomon, and remained in the possession of Israel until the invasion of Tiglathpileser, Jos 19:36; Judg 4:2; 1Ki 9:15; 2Ki 15:29. It lay not far from Lake Merom.

2. A region in Arabia, laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar, Jer 49:28- 33. Its location is unknown.

3. Cities in Judah and Benjamin, Jos 15:23; Ne 11:33.

Heath

Supposed to be the Juniper, a low tree found in desert and rocky places, and thus contrasted with a tree growing by a water-course, Jer 17:5-8; 48:6.

Heaven

In the Bible, means primarily the region of the air and clouds, and of the planets and stars, but chiefly the world of holy bliss above the visible heavens. It is called "the third heaven," "the highest heaven," and "the heaven of heavens," expressions nearly synonymous. There holy beings are to dwell, seeing all of God that it is possible for creatures to see. Thither Christ ascended, to intercede for his people and prepare for them a place where all shall at length be gathered, to go no more out forever, Eph 4:10; Heb 8:1; 9:24-28.

In this life we can know but little of the location and appearance of heaven, or of the employments and blessedness of its inhabitants. The Scriptures inform us that all sin, and every other evil, are forever excluded; no fruits of sin will be found there-no curse nor sorrow nor sighing, no tear, no death: the former things are passed away.

They describe it figuratively, crowding together all the images which nature or art can supply to illustrate its happiness. It is a kingdom, an inheritance: there are rivers of pleasure, trees of life, glorious light, rapturous songs, robes, crowns, feasting, mirth, treasures, triumphs. They also give us positive representations: the righteous dwell in the presence of God; they appear with Christ in glory. Heaven is life, everlasting life: glory, an eternal weight of glory: salvation, repose, peace, fullness of joy, the joy of the Lord.

There are different degrees in that glory, and never-ceasing advancement. It will be a social state, and its happiness, in some measure, will arise from mutual communion and converse, and the expressions and exercises mutual benevolence. It will include the perfect purity of every saint; delightful fellowship with those we have here loved in the Lord, Mt 8:11; 17:3,4; 1Th 2:19; 4:13-18; the presence of Christ, and the consciousness that all is perfect and everlasting.

We are taught that the body will share this bliss as well as the soul: the consummation of our bliss is subsequent to the resurrection of the body; for it is redeemed as well as the soul, and shall, at the resurrection of the just, be fashioned like unto Christ’s glorious body. By descending from heaven, and reascending thither, he proves to the doubting soul the reality of heaven; he opens it door for the guilty by his atoning sacrifice; and all who are admitted to it by his blood shall be made meet for it by his grace, and find their happiness for ever in his love. See KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

Heber

1. An ancestor of the Hebrews, Lu 3:35. See HEBREWS

2. A Kenite descended from Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He resided in the northern part of Canaan, and seems to have been a man of note in his day. His wife Jael slew Sisera with her own hand, Judg 4:11,17; 5:24.

Hebrews

That branch of the posterity of Abraham whose home was in the land of promise. The name Hebrew is first applied to Abraham in Ge 14:13, and is generally supposed to have been derived for Heber, the last of the long-lived patriarchs. However outlived six generations of his descendants, including Abraham himself, after whose death he was for some years the only surviving ancestor of Isaac and Jacob. Hebrews appears to have been the name by which the Jewish people were known to foreigners, in distinction from their common domestic name, "the children of Israel." The name of Jews, derived from Judah, was afterwards applied to them as inhabitants of Judea, 2Ki 16:6. Abraham, the founder of the Jewish nation, was a migratory shepherd, whose property consisted mainly in vast flocks and herds, but who had no fixed residence, and removed from place to place as the convenience of water and pasturage dictated. As such a nomad, he had lived in Ur of the Chaldees, and then in Haran, whence he removed and dwelt in the same manner among the Canaanites, in the country which God promised to give to his posterity. His son and grandson, Isaac and Jacob followed in his steps. By a miraculous arrangement of Providence, Joseph, one of the sons of Jacob, became grand-vizier of Egypt; and in a time of famine invited his family to settle in that land. Here Moses died, and was succeeded by Joshua, who conquered the desired country, and allotted it to the several tribes. From this time they were governed in the name of Jehovah, by chiefs, judges, or patriarchal rulers, until the time of Samuel; when the government was changed to a monarchy, and Saul anointed king. David, a shepherd youth, but the man after God’s own heart, was afterwards king, and founded a family which continued to reign in Jerusalem until the entire subjugation of the country by the Chaldeans. Under his grandson Rehoboam, however, ten tribes revolted and formed a separate kingdom, that of Israel, between which the kingdom of Judah there were hostile feelings and frequent wars. The termination of the whole was the carrying away of the greater part of both nations to Babylon, Media, etc. After seventy years of exile, a few small colonies of Hebrews returned, and built another temple at Jerusalem, and attempted to reestablished their nation; but they had to struggle first, under the Maccabees, against the kings of the Seleucian race, (see JERUSALEM,) and then against the Romans; by whom at length, under Titus, Jerusalem was taken and utterly destroyed, A. D. 70-71. Since that time, although Jerusalem has been rebuilt, the Hebrews have ceased to exist as an independent people; but they are scattered among all the nations of the earth, where they retain their characteristic traits, and live as strangers, and, in a great measure, as outcasts.

The government of the Hebrews is, by Josephus, called a theocracy-a form of government which assigns the whole power to God, with the management of all the national affairs-God, in fact, being the proper King of the state. This government, however, underwent several changes under the legislator Moses, his successor Joshua, the judges, the kings, and the high priests. But amid all these revolutions, God was considered as the monarch of Israel, though he did not exercise his jurisdiction always in the same manner. In the time of Moses, he dwelt among his people as a king in his palace, or in the midst of his camp; always ready to be consulted, promulgating all needful laws, and giving specific directions in all emergencies. This was, properly, the time of the theocracy, in the strictest sense of the term. Under Joshua and the judges, it continued nearly the same: the former being filled by the spirit which animated Moses, would undertake nothing without consulting Jehovah; and the latter were leaders, raised up by God himself, to deliver the Hebrews and govern in his name. The demand of the people for a king occasioned to Samuel, the prophet-judge, great disquietude; for he regarded it as a rejection of the theocratic government, 1Sa 8:6,7. God complied with the wishes of the people; but he still asserted his own sovereign authority, and claimed the obedience of all.

The religion of the Hebrews may be considered in different points of view, with respect to the different conditions of their nation. Under the patriarchs, they were instructed in the will of God by direct revelation, worshipped him by prayer and sacrifices, opposed idolatry and atheism, used circumcision as the appointed seal of the covenant made by God with Abraham, and followed the laws which the light of grace and faith discovers to those who honestly and seriously seek God, his righteousness, and truth. They lived in expectation of the Messiah, the Desire of all nations, to complete their hopes and wished, and fully to instruct and bless them. Such was the religion of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Joseph, etc., who maintained the worship of God and the tradition of the true religion. After the time of Moses, the religion of the Hebrews became more fixed, and ceremonies, days, feasts, priest, and sacrifices were determined with great exactness. This whole dispensation only prefigured that more perfect one which should come, and bring life and immortality to light in his gospel, and make a full atonement for the sins of the world. See TYPE.

The long abode of the Hebrews in Egypt had cherished in them a strong propensity to idolatry; and neither the miracles of Moses, nor his precautions to withdraw them from the worship of idols, nor the rigor of his laws, nor the splendid marks of God’s presence in the Israelitish camp, were able to conquer this unhappy perversity. We know with what facility they adopted the adoration of the golden calf, when they had recently been eyewitnesses of such divine wonders. Saul and David, with all their authority, were not able entirely to suppress such inveterate disorders. Superstitions, which the Israelites did not dare to exercise in public, were practiced in private. They sacrificed on the high places, and consulted diviners and magicians. Solomon, whom God had chosen to build his temple, was himself a stone of stumbling to Israel. He erected altars to the false gods of the Phoenicians, Moabites, and Ammonites, and not only permitted his wives to worship the gods of their own country, but he to some extent adored them, 1Ki 11:5-7. Most of his successors showed a similar weakness. Jeroboam introduced the worship of the golden calves into Israel, which took such deep root that it was never entirely extirpated. It was for this cause that God gave the Hebrews over into the hands of their enemies, to captivity and dispersion. See IDOLATRY. After the captivity, they appear to have been wholly free from the worship of idols; but they were still corrupt and far from God, and having filled the cup of their guilt by rejecting and crucifying the Lord of glory, they were extirpated as a nation and became strangers and sojourners over all the earth.

For the language of the Hebrews, see LANGUAGE.

The existence of the Hebrews as a people distinct from all others, to this day, is a miracle of the indisputable king, which may well justify a few remarks.

1. They are spread into all parts of the earth; being found not only in Europe and America, but to the utmost extremity of Asia, even in Thibet and China. They abound in Persia, Northern India, and Tartary, wherever travellers have penetrated. They are, as they assert, descendants of the tribe carried away captive by the Assyrian monarchs. They are also numerous in Arabia, in Egypt, and throughout Africa.

2. In most parts of the world their state is much the same-one of dislike, contempt, and oppression. In past ages innumerable exactions and wrongs have been heaped upon them. Within the last few years they have received more justice at the hands of some of the European states; but they have usually held their possessions by a very precarious tenure.

3. They everywhere maintain observances peculiar to themselves: such as circumcision, performed after the law of their fathers; the great day of expiation; also the observance of a Sabbath or day of rest on Saturday, and not on the Christian Sabbath. They have generally retained the observance of the Passover in some form.

4. They are divided into various sects. Some of them are extremely attached to the traditions of the rabbins, and to the multiplied observances enjoined in the Talmud. Others, as the Caraites, reject these with scorn, and adhere solely to Scripture. The majority of the Jews in Europe, and those with whose works we are mostly conversant, are ribbinists, and may be taken as representative of the ancient Pharisees.

5. They everywhere consider Judea as their proper country and Jerusalem as their metropolitan city. Wherever settled, and for however long, they still cherish a recollection of country, unparalleled among other nations. They have not lost it; they will not loose it; and they transmit it to their posterity. However comfortably they may be settled in any residence, they hope to see Zion and Jerusalem revive from their ashes.

6. The number of the Jewish nation was estimated a few years ago at 3,000,000. This number is probably very far short of the truth. Maltebrun estimates them as from four to five millions.

HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE. The object of this epistle, which ranks among the most important of the New Testament books, was to prove to the Jews, from their own Scriptures, the divinity, humanity, atonement, and intercession of Christ, particularly his preeminence over Moses and the angels of God; to demonstrate the superiority of the gospel to the law, and the real object and design of the Mosaic institution; to fortify the minds of the Hebrew converts against apostasy under persecution, and to engage them to a deportment becoming their Christian profession. In this view, the epistle furnishes a key to the Old Testament Scriptures, and is invaluable as a clear elucidation and an inspired, unanswerable demonstration of the doctrine of the great atoning Sacrifice as set forth in Old Testament institutions. The name of the writer of this epistle is nowhere mentioned. The majority of critics, however, refer it to the apostle Paul. It is also believed to have been written in Greek, at Rome and about A. D. 63. See PAUL.

Hebron

One of the most ancient cities of Canaan, being built seven years before Tanis, the capital of Lower Egypt, Nu 13:22. It was anciently called Kirjath-arba, (see ARBA,) and Mamre, and was a favorite residence of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Here too they were buried, Ge 14:13-24; 23:2-19; 35:27. Under Joshua and Caleb the Israelites conquered it from the Canaanites and Anakim, and it was afterwards made a Levitical city of refuge, Jos 14:13-15; 15:13; 21:11,13; Judg 1:10,20. It was David’s seat of government during the seven years when he reigned over Judah only, 2Sa 2:3; 5:5. Here Absalom raised the standard of revolt, 2Sa 15:9,10. It was fortified by Rehoboam, and is mentioned after the captivity, but not in the New Testament, Ne 11:25. At present Hebron is an unwalled city of about 8,000 inhabitants, of whom some 600 are Jews, and the remainder Turks and Arabs. It lies in a deep valley and on the adjacent hillside, in the ancient hill-country of Judea, about 2,600 feet above the sea. Its modern name, El-khulil, the friend, is the same which the Moslems give to Abraham, "the friend of God;" and they profess to hold in their keeping the burial-place of the patriarchs, the "cave of Machpelah." It is covered by a small mosque, surrounded by a stone structure 60 feet high, 150 feet wide, and 200 feet long. Within this no Christian is permitted to enter; but it is evidently of very high antiquity, and may well be regarded as inclosing the true site of the ancient tomb. Other relics of antiquity exist in two stone reservoirs, the larger 133 feet square, and 21 feet deep. They are still in daily use; and one of them was probably the "pool in Hebron," above which David hung up the assassins of Ish-bosheth, 2Sa 4:12. The city contains nine mosques and two synagogues. Its streets are narrow; the houses of stone, with flat roofs surmounted by small domes. Large quantities of glass lamps and colored rings are here manufactured; also leathern bottles, raisins, and dibs, or grape-syrup. The environs of the city are very fertile, furnishing the finest vineyards in Palestine, numerous plantations of olive and other fruit trees, and excellent pasturage. See ESHCOL, MAMRE.

Heifer

Red heifers were to be offered in sacrifice for the national sins, in the impressive manner described in Nu 19:1-10, illustrating the true sacrifice for sin in the person of Christ, Heb 9:13,14. The well-fed heifer was a symbol of wanton wildness, Jer 46:20; 50:11; Ho 4:16.

Helbon

Formerly supposed to be Haleb, or as called in Europe, Aleppo, a city of Syria, about one hundred and eighty miles north of Damascus, and about eighty miles north from the Mediterranean Sea. In 1822, Aleppo was visited by a dreadful earthquake, by which it was almost entirely destroyed. Its present population is not half of the 200,000 it then possessed. But recently a valley has been found on the eastern slope of Anti-Lebanon, north of the Barada, called Helbon, from on of its principal villages. Its grapes and the wine made from them are still remarkable for their fine quality. This valley is probably the Helbon of Eze 27:18.

Heliopolis

City of the sun,

1. A celebrated city of Egypt, called in Coptic, Hebrew, and the English version, ON, sun, light, Ge 41:45. The Seventy mention expressly, Ex 1:11, that On is Heliopolis. Jeremiah, Jer 43:13, calls this city Beth-shemesh, that is, house or temple of the sun. In Eze 30:17, the name is pronounced Aven, which is the same as On. The Arabs called it Ani-Shems, fountain of the sun. All these names come from the circumstance that the city was the ancient seat of the Egyptian worship of the sun. It was in ruins in the time of Strabo, who mentions that two obelisks had already been carried away to Rome. At present its site, six miles north northeast from Cairo, is marked only by extensive ranges of low mounds full of ruinous fragments, and a solitary obelisk formed of a single block of red granite, rising about sixty feet above the sand, and covered on its four sides with hieroglyphics.

2. Another Helioplis is alluded to in Scripture under the name of the "plain of Aven," or field of the sun, Am 1:5. This was the Heliopolis of Coele-Syria, now Baalbec. Its stupendous ruins have been the wonder of past centuries, and will continue to be the wonder of future generations, till barbarism and earthquakes shall have done their last work. The most notable remains are those of three temples, the largest of which, with its court and portico, extended 1,000 feet from east to west. A magnificent portico, 180 feet long, with twelve lofty and highly wrought columns, led to a large hexagonal court, and this to a vast quadrangle, 440 feet by 370. Fronting on this rose ten columns of the peristyle, which surrounded the inner temple. There were nineteen columns on each side, or fifty-four in all, only six of which are now standing, and they were seven feet in diameter, and sixty-two feet high, besides the entablature of nearly fourteen feet. This temple rested on an immense vaulted substructure, rising nearly fifty feet above the ground outside, and in this are three stones sixty-three long and thirteen feet high, lying twenty feet above the ground. The temples are of Roman origin; and in vastness of plan, combined with elaborateness and delicacy of execution, they seem to surpass all others in the world. "They are like those of Athens for lightness, but far surpass them in vastness; they are vast and massive, like those of Thebes, but far excel them in airiness and grace." (Robinson.)

Helkathhazzurim

Field of heroes, a place near Gibeon, so named from a fatal duel- like combat, preceding a battle between the armies of David and Ish- bosheth, 2Sa 2:16.

Hell

The Hebrews SHEOL, and the Greek HADES, usually translated hell, often signify the place of departed spirits, Ps 16:10; Isa 14:9; Eze 31:16. Here was the rich man, after being buried, Lu 16:23. The above and many other passages in the Old Testament show the futility of that opinion which attributes to the Hebrews an ignorance of a future state.

The term hell is most commonly applied to the place of punishment in the unseen world, and is usually represented in the Greek New Testament by the word Gehenna, valley of Hinnom. See HINNOM. In 2Pe 2:4, the rebellious angels are said, in the original Greek, to have been cast down into "Tartarus," this being the Grecian name of the lowest abyss of Hades. Other expressions are also used, indicating the dreadfulness of the anguish there to be endured. It is called "outer darkness," "flame," "furnace of fire," "unquenchable fire," "fire and brimstone," etc., Mt 8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 25:20,41; Mr 9:43-48; Judg 1:13; Re 20:14. The misery of hell will consist in the privation of the vision and love of God, exclusion from every source of happiness, perpetual sin, remorse of conscience in view of the past, malevolent passions, the sense of the just anger of God, and all other sufferings of body and soul which in the nature of things are the natural results of sin, or which the law of God requires as penal inflictions. The degrees of anguish will be proportioned to the degrees of guilt, Mt 10:15; 23:14; Lu 12:47,48. And these punishments will be eternal, like the happiness of heaven. The wrath of God will never cease to abide upon the lost soul, and it will always be "the wrath to come."

Heman

1. A celebrated sage, of the tribe of Judah. The period of his life is unknown, 1Ki 4:31.

2. A Kohathite Levite, to whom as a chief musicians of the temple of the eighty-eighty Psalm is inscribed, 1Ch 6:33; 16:41,42.

Hemlock

Ho 10:4; Am 6:12, in Hebrew, ROSH, usually translated gall or bitterness, De 32:32, and mentioned in connection with wormwood, De 29:18; Jer 9:15; 23:15; La 3:19. It indicates some wild, bitter, and noxious plant, which it is difficult to determine. According to some it is the poisonous hemlock, while others consider it to be the poppy.

Hen

The care of a hen to protect her brood from hawks, etc., illustrates the Savior’s tender care of his people when exposed to the swoop of the Roman eagle, as in all similar perils, Mt 23:37; 24:22. The common barn-door fowl is not often mentioned in Scripture, Mr 13:35; 14:30; Lu 22:34; but at the present day they and their eggs are more used in Syria than any other food not vegetable.

Hena

Supposed to have been a city of Mesopotamia afterwards called Ana, at a ford of the Euphrates, 2Ki 18:34; 19:13; Isa 37:13.

Hephzibah

My delight, the mother of Manasseh, 2Ki 21:1, and a name given to the church, Isa 62:4.

Heresy

Choice, chosen way of life or faith, sect, school, party. The Greek word properly designates any sect or party, without implying praise or censure. So in Ac 5:17; 15:5; 26:4,5. In the epistles it denotes a sect or party in a bad sense, implying a refractory spirit, as well as error in faith and practice, 1Co 11:19; Ga 5:20; 2Pe 2:1. After the primitive age, the word came to signify simply error in doctrine.

Hermas

A Christian at Rome, Ro 16:14; supposed by some to have been the writer of the ancient work called "The Shepherd of Hermas"—a singular mixture of truth and piety with folly and superstition.

Hermogenes And Phygellus

Fellow-laborers with Paul in Asia Minor, who deserted him during his second imprisonment at Rome, 2Ti 1:15.