Adoni-bezek – Agur

Adoni-bezek

Adoni-bezek (perhaps a corrupted form of Adoni-zedek, Joshua 10:1–27). — A king of Bezek (a different place from that mentioned in 1 Samuel 11:8). who was defeated by Simeon and Judah. The mutilation inflicted upon him — the cutting off of the thumbs and great toes — was in order to render him harmless, while retaining him as a trophy; but he died on reaching Jerusalem. Adoni-bezek boasted of having mutilated seventy kings in a similar manner. The passage (Judges 1:5–7) which speaks of Adoni-bezek does not appear to be intact; the original form probably gave more details. W. O. E. Oestemley.

ADONUAH C Jah is Lord’).— 1. The fourth of the six sons of David who were born in Hebron; his mother was Haggith, a name which is possibly of Philistine origin (2 Samuel 3:4). The story of Adonijah (typical of many an Oriental court intrigue) is recorded in 1 Kings 1. 2; as here recounted it permits of more than one interpretation, for that this passage has been subjected to an ‘editorial’ process can scarcely be doubted, and, in. face of the difficulties of interpretation brought about by this, we are forced to reconstruct the course of events to some extent.

After the death of Absalom, Adonijah became the rightful heir to the throne; there was no sort of doubt about his right, it was taken for granted both by himself and by the people at large (1 Kings 2:15). But Bathsheba, it appears, was anxious to secure the succession for her son, Solomon; with this object in view, she, assisted by the prophet Nathan, heads a party at the court inimical to the claims of Adonijah. It would not have been long before the friends of Adonijah discovered the intrigue that was on foot; and Adonijah, learning the peril he was in of losing his rightful succession, concerts means for counteracting the machinations of his enemies. The old, trusted servants of the kingdom, Joab and Abiathar, rally round him, as one would expect; he gathers his friends together at the stone of Zoheleth, and by the visible act of sacrificing, proclaims his kingship; this last was, however, an act of

unwisdom, as it gave a handle to his enemies, for king David was still alive. These, naturally on the alert, represent the gathering to David, now very aged, as an attempt to usurp the throne while he is yet alive; Bathsheba reminds David of his promise that Solomon, her son, should succeed him on the throne (1:17) [this may or may not have been the case; there is no reference to it elsewhere, and it certainly does not accord with what we read in 1:6 2:15) David, remembering perhaps the rebellion of Absalom (whom Adonijah seems to have resembled in temperament as well as in outward appearance), is easily prevailed upon to transfer the succession to Solomon (l""). Even so it is very doubtful whether Bathsheba would have succeeded in her plan had it not been that she was enabled to , gain Benaiah to her side; as captain of the king’s body-guard (the Cherethites and Pelethites), Benaiah was the man upon whom the issue really depended, for he commanded the only armed troops that were Immediately available. In an emergency such as this, everything would depend upon who could strike the first decisive blow. Had the old commander-in-chief Joab had time to assemble his forces, no doubt the issue would have been different; but Bathsheba and her friends had laid their plans too well, and they won the day. Adonijah is ‘pardoned’ (l^^- m); it would nave been dangerous, owing to the attitude of the people (2:15). to put him to death until Solomon was secure on the throne; but as he was rightful heir, the safety of Solomon’s throne could never be guaranteed as long as Adonijah was alive. Bathsheba was not the woman to be oblivious of this fact, accordingly she recommences her intrigues; she represents to Solomon that Adonijah is desirous of marrying Abishag the Shunammite, the maiden who was brought to David in his old age (.!’■ and who, according to Oriental ideas, was regarded as one of the royal wives. Such a desire was naturally interpreted by Solomon as an intention of seeking the kingdom (2). and self-preservation compelled him to decree Adonijah’s death, a sentence which was carried out by Benaiah (v. 25).

Theabove is not in entire accordwith theBiblical account, which in its present form gives rise to a number of serious difficulties. We shall mention but two of these. The request which Adonijah aalcs Bathsheba to convey (2:17) was the most grievous insult that could have been offered to the king; Adonijah would have known precisely what the result would be, viz. death to himself, unless supported by an army; but there is no hint that he contemplated an armed rising. Secondly, Bathsheba is quite the last person he would have asked to prefer this request; as mother of the king, andp rime mover mthesuccessful conspiracy which had robbed him of his succession, he would know better than to place himself so gratuitously within her power.

Adonijah is one of those men whose cruel fate and tragic death, both undeserved, must call forth deep sympathy and commiseration.

2. Perhaps =Adonikam, one of those that sealed the covenant (Nehemiah 9:38 10:16).

3. One of those sent, in the third year of Jehoshaphat, to teach the Law in the cities of Judah (2 Chronicles 17).

W. O. E. Oesterley.

Adonikam

Adonikam (‘my Lord has arisen’), Ezra 2:13 8:13. Nehemiah 7:18. 1 Esdras 5:14 8:39. The head of a Jewish family after the Exile; apparently called in Nehemiah 10 Adonijah.

Adon

Adon ntAM, ADORAM.— The latter name occurs 2 Samuel 20:24. 1 Kings 12:18, and is probably a corruption of Adoniram. Adoniram superintended the levies employed in the public works during the reigns of David, Solomon, and Rehoboam. He was stoned to death by the rebellious Israelites when sent to them by Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:18).

Adohis

The phrase rendered by EV ‘pleasant plants,’ and by RVm ‘plantings of Adonis’ (Isaiah 17:10). alludes to the miniature gardens whose rapid decline symbolized the death of this god, or rather the spring verdure of which he Is a personification. This phase of the myth, which the Greeks obtained from the Semitic Tammuz cult, through the Phoenicians, where the god was worshipped under the title of Adon (‘lord’), is used by Isaiah to depict the fading hope of Israel. See Tammuz. N. Koenig.

Adon

Adon l-ZEDEK.— King of Jerusalem at the time of the invasion of Canaan by the Israelites under Joshua. After the Gibeonites had succeeded in making a league with Israel, he induced four other kings to unite with him against the invaders. Joshua came unexpectedly upon the allied kings, and utterly routed them. They were discovered in a cave at Makkedah, and brought before Joshua, who ordered them to be slain. Their bodies were hung up until the evening, when they were taken down and flung into the cave where they had hid themselves. The mouth of the cave was filled up with great stones (Joshua 10:1–27). Some have identified Adonl-zedek with Adoni-bezek of Judges 1:5.

Adoption

The term ‘adoption’ is found five times in St. Paul’s letters (Romans 8:15, 22 9:4. Gal #, Ephesians 1:5). and not elsewhere in the NT. In Romans 9:4 reference is made to the favoured position of the Jews as the chosen people. To them belonged the adoption, the position of sons (Exodus 4:22). In the remaining passages St. Paul uses the word to describe the privileges of the Christian as opposed to the unbeliever. He is trying, as a rule, to bring home to Gentile readers the great change wrought by the coming of Christ. Though W. M. Ramsay has attempted to identify peculiarities of Syro-Greek law in Galatians 4, and though it is true that ‘no word is more common in Greek inscriptions of Hellenistic times: the idea like the word is native Greek,’ yet St. Paul’s use of the term seems to be based on Roman law. See Hastings’ ERE, s.v.

Adoption in Roman law.could be effected by a modified form of the method of sale known as mancipation. ‘The Roman Mancipation required the presence, first, of all of the parties, the vendor and the vendee. . . . There were also no less than five witnesses; and an anomalous personage, the libripens, who brought with him a pair of scales to weigh the uncoined copper money of Rome. Certain formal gestures were made and sentences pronounced. The (purchaser) simulated the payment of a price by striking the scales with a piece of money, and the (vendor) ratified what had been done in a set form of words’ (Maine, Ancient Law, vi.). The witnesses were necessary, especially in the age before written documents, to vouch for the regularity of the procedure, and to ensure the genuineness of the transaction.

Some of the details of the procedure are said to be reflected in the language of St. Paul. ‘To redeem those under the law’ (Gal45) suggests that God’s action in sending His Son to buyout mankind from slavery to the Law, may be illustrated by the adopting parent’s purchase of ason from his natural father.

Again, Dr. W. E. Ball {Contemp. Rev., 1891) has pointed out that the work of the Spirit (Romans 8:16) is parallel to the place of the five witnesses in the process of adoption. The reality of God’s adoption is assured by the Spirit’s witness. Dr. Ball brings out the general force of the metaphor thus. Any one who was made a son by adoption, severed all his former ties. Even his debts appear to have been cancelled. ‘The adopted person became in the eyes of the law a new creature. Hebrews 4 bom again into a new family. By the aid of this figure, the Gentile convert waa enabled to realize in a vivid manner the fatherhood of God, brother’ hood of the faithful, the obliteration of past penalties, the right to the mystic inheritance.’ The figure of adoption describes clearly the effect of God’s revelation of Himself aa Father.

St. Paul speaks of adoption, as both present (Romans 8) and future (v.). With Pfieiderer we must distinguish three moments in adoption. It involves here and now, freedom from the Law, and the possession of the spirit of adoption which enables us to address God as our Father. Adoption will be completed by the redemption of our body, the inheritance with Christ in glory. ‘Believers have this blessing (adoption) already, but only in an inward relation and as Divine right, with which, however, the objective and real state does not yet correspond’(Meyer on Romans 8). With St. Paul’s view of adoption now and adoption hereafter compare 1 John 3:2 In Ephesians 1:5 adoption seems to mean that conforming to the character of Christ which begins here and is to be perfected in the future.

That the word ‘adoption’ does not represent believers as children of God by nature, is undeniable. But it would be a mistake to press the term as giving a complete account of St. Paul’s views of the relations of God to man. Roman law afforded St. Paul illustrations rather than theories. It is not clear whether in Romans 8 he conceives the spirit of sonship which cries ‘Abba, Father,’ to be received in baptism or at conversion, or on the other hand to be the natural cry of the human heart. But in any case, he has found the love of God in Christ, and the change in his life is such that the complete change produced in a man’s condition by adoption is only a pale reflex of the Apostle’s experience. See, further. Inheritance. H. G. Wood.

Adora

Adora (1 Maccabees 13:20). The same as Adoraim. ADORAIM (2 Chronicles 11:9). A city of Judah fortified by’ Rehoboam on the S.W. of his mountain kingdom; now Dura, a small village at the edge of the mountains W. of Hebron. ADORAM. — See Adonikam.

Adoration

The word is not found in AV or RV, and even for the verb RV substitutes ‘worship’ in Bel but both the idea and its expression in act are frequent.

Amongst the Hebrews the postures and gestures expressive of adoration underwent slight change in the course of time. Kissing the statue of a god (1 Kings 19:18. Hosea 13:2; cf. Job 31:27) was an early Arab custom, and became a technical meaning of adoratio amongst the Romans; but in this usage the sense is identical with that of worship. Adoration proper was expressed by prostration to the ground, or even by lying prone with the face touching the ground (Genesis 17:3. Joshua 5:14. Job 1:20, Psalms 95:6 99:5. Daniel 3:5). As elsewhere, this posture was not at first confined to intercourse with God. As an act of special courtesy it was adopted towards kings (2 Samuel 14:4). towards strangers of mysterious quality (Gn 18:2). as an expression of close and respectful attachment(1 S 20). or with the design to conciliate (Genesis 33:3. 1 Samuel 25:23. Esther 8:3. Matthew 18). or to honour (2 Kings 4:37). ‘Sat before the Lord’ (2 Samuel 7:18) may refer to a special and solemn mode of sitting, as in 1 Kings 18:42; the Arabs are said to have sat during a part of their worship in such a way that the head could easily be bent forward and made to touch the ground.

Outside the Christian sphere, prostration continued in the East to be a mark of submission and homage, rendered to such men as were for any reason or even by convention invested in thought with Divine qualities or powers. The NT, by example and less frequently by precept, confines this fullest mode of worship to God, and protests against its use towards men. Jairus’ act (Mark 5:22. Luke 8:41) was prompted by intense yearning, a father’s self-abandonment in the sore sickness of his child, and must not be taken as implying a full recognition of Christ’s Divinity. Like Mary’s posture at Bethany (John 11:32). it was a preparation for the attitude of the disciples after their visit to the empty tomb (Matthew 28:9). Whatever Cornelius intended (Acts 10:25 f.). Peter found an opportunity to lay down the rule that no man under any circumstances is an appropriate object of adoration; and John repeats that rule twice not far from the end of Scripture (Revelation 19:10 22:8 f.). The attempt to alienate from God His peculiar honours is a work of Satan (Matthew 4:9) and adoration naturally follows a conviction of the presence of God (1 Corinthians 14:25).

R. W. Moss. ADRAIKQIELECH. — 1. Adrammelech and Anammelech (wh. see), the gods of Sepharvaim to whom the colonists, brought to Samaria from Sepharvaim, burnt their children in the fire (2 Kings 17:31). There is no good explanation of the name: it was once supposed to be for Adar-malik, ‘Adar the prince.’ But Adar is not known to be a Babylonian god, and compound Divine names are practically unknown, nor were human sacrifices offered to Babylonian gods.

2. Adrammelech and Sharezer (wh. see) are given in 2 Kings 19:37 as the sons of Sennacherib who murdered their father. [The Kethibh of Kings omits ‘his sons’]. The Babylonian Chronicle says: ‘On the 20th of Tebet, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, was killed by his son in an insurrection’; and all other native sources agree in ascribing the murder to one son, but do not name him. Adrammelech is impossible as an Assyrian personal name, and probably arises here from some corruption of the text. The sons of Sennacherib known to us are Ashur-nadin-shum, king of Babylon, B.C. 700-694; Esarhaddon, who succeeded his father, B.C. 681; Ardi-Belit, Crown Prince, B.C. 694; Ashur-shum-ushabshi, for whom Sennacherib built a palace in Tarbisi ; Ashur-ilu-muballitsu, for whom Sennacherib built a palace in Asshur ; and Shar-etir- Ashur. Possibly Ardi-Belit is intended. C. H. W. Johns.

Adramyttium

A town of Mysia (in the Roman province of Asia) on the Adramyttene Gulf, originally a native State, and only later Hellenlzed by the Delians, who had been driven away from home by the Athenians (422 B.C.). In Roman times it was a place of considerable importance both politically and intellectually. It possessed a harbour, and a ship belonging to the place carried St. Paul from Caesarea by Sidon and Cyprus to Myra (Acts 27:2–6). A. Souter.

Adria

(more correctly Hadria). The name was at first confined to the northern part of what we call the Adriatic Sea, or to a stretch of land near that, and was derived from a once important Etruscan city. Atria, situated at the mouth of the Po. The rest of what we call the Adriatic Sea appears to have been at that time included in the term Ionian Sea or Ionian Gulf. It was only later, with the growth of the Syracusan colonies on the coasts of Italy and Illyria, that the name ‘Hadria’ came to include the whole Adriatic, and even then, at first, it was the practice to call the southernmost part the Ionian Sea. This reduction of the Ionian Sea to a part of Hadria led, when the name ‘Ionian Sea’ was transferred to the Sicilian Sea in the W. of Greece, to a misuse of the term ‘Hadria.’ It was extended to include the Tarentine Gulf, the Sicilian Sea, the Corinthian Gulf, and even the waters between Crete and Malta, as in Acts 27:27. A. Soutek.

Adriel

Son of Barzillai, the Meholathite. He married Merab, the eldest daughter of Saul, who should have been given to David as the slayer of Goliath (1 Samuel 18:19. 2 Samuel 21:8 [in the latter ‘Michal’ is a mistake for ‘Merab’]).

Aduel

An ancestor of Tobit, Tobit 1:1; a variant form of Adiel, 1 Chronicles 4:36.

Adullam

A city in the Shephelah, assigned to Judah; named between Jarrauth and Socoh (Joshua 15:35 etc.). It is probably the modern ‘Id el-Ma’ , about 8 miles N.W. of Beit Jibrln. Rehoboam fortified it (2 Chronicles 11:7). and the children of Judah returned to it after the captivity (Nehemiah 11:30). The Cave of Adullam, the refuge of David (1 Samuel 22:1 etc.), must have been one of those m the adjoining valley. Adullamite (Genesis 38:1 etc.) =an inhabitant of Adullam. w. Ewinq

Adultery

See Chimes, Marriage.

ADTHSDHIM. The Ascent of (Joshua 15:7 18:17), is the steep pass in which the road ascends from Jericho to Jerusalem. Its modern name, Tal’al ed-Dumm ‘the ascent of blood’ or ‘red,’ is most probably due to the red mart which is so distinctive a feature of the pass In this pass, notorious for robberies and murders, la the traditional ‘inn’ of Lli 10:34.

Advent

See Parousia.

Advertise

Ruth 4:4 ‘I thought to advertise thee,’ i.e. ini!orm thee; so Numbers 24:14.

Advocate

(Gr. paraUStos). The word occurs only in the writings of St. John: four times in his Gospel (1416. 26 1526 167) of the Holy Spirit, and once in his 1st Epistle (2’) of Jesus. It is unfortunate that our English Versions have rendered it in the former ‘Comforter’(RVm’ or Advocate, or Helper, Gr. Paradete’) and in the latter ‘Advocate’ (RVm ‘or Comforter, or Helper, Gr. Paraclete’).

‘Comforter,’ though a true and beautiful designation of the Holy Spirit, is an impossible rendering. It is true that parakalein means, either ‘comfort’ (Matthew 6:4. 2 Corinthians 1:4 7:6) or ‘call to one’s side’ (Acts 28:20). but paraUltos must be associated with the latter signification. It is a passive form, and denotes not ‘one who comforts (parakaleiy but ‘onewbo is calledin to aid (parakaieitai).’ It was a forensic term, signifying the counsel for the defence and corresponding exactly to our ‘advocate’ (Lat. advocatus) . Singularly enough, the Greeli-speaking Fathers mostly took the word in the impossible sense of ‘Comforter,’ influenced perhaps by the false analogy of Menahem {Consolalar), a Jewish name for the Messiah. Cf. Cyril of Jerusalem, Cat. xvi. 20: ‘He is called Parakletos because He comforts (parakalei) and consoles and helps our infirmity.’ Were it understood in its literal sense of ‘Strengthener’ (Cora/‘orfaior),’ Comforter’ would be a fair rendering; but as a matter of fact it originated in an error; nor does it suggest the true idea to the English reader. It should be observed that ‘comfortless’ in John 14:18 lends it no support. RV gives ‘desolate’; literally, as in the margin of both Versions, ‘orphans.’

The substitution of ‘Advocate’ for ‘Comforter’ reveals a wealth of meaning in our Lord’s address to the Eleven on that night in which He was betrayed. During His earthly ministry He had been God’s Advocate with men, pleading God’s cause with them and seeking to win them for Him. Hebrews 8 away, but God would not be left without an Advocate on the earth. ‘I will pray the Fatheri and another Advocate he will give you, that he may be with you for ever — the Spirit of Truth.’ Not received, because unrecognized, by the unspiritual world, the Advocate would be recognized and welcomed by believers (John 14 26). ^nd He would testify to them about Jesus, the unseen Lord, and they would repeat His testimony to the world (15). And He would make their testimony effective, ‘convicting the world regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment’ (16:8–11).

Jesus told the Eleven that it was ‘expedient for them that he should go away,’ since His departure was the condition of the advent of the Advocate (16:7) and 1 John 2:1 furnishes a profound commentary on this declaration. Jesus in the days of His flesh was God’s Advocate on the earth, pleading with men for God. The Holy Spirit has taken His place, and performs this office. But Jesus is still an Advocate. He is the Advocate of sinners up in heaven, pleading their cause with God, and, in the language of St. Paul (Romans 8:34). ‘making intercession for them.’

And thus it was expedient for us that He should go away, that we might enjoy a double advocacy — the Holy Spirit’s here, pleading with us for God; and that of Jesus in the court of heaven, pleading with God for us. There are three dispensations in the history of redemption, each richer and fuller than the last: (1) The OT dispensation, under which men knew only of God in high heaven; (2) that of the Incarnation, under which the Father came near to men in Jesus Christ and by His gracious advocacy appealed to their hearts; (3) that of the Holy Spirit, under which the Holy Spirit is the Father’s Advocate here, and Jesus ‘our Advocate above, our Friend before the throne of love.’ David Smith.

Aedias

Aedias (1 Esdras 9:27). One of those who agreed to put away their ‘strange’ wives. The name is probably a corruption for Elijah of Ezra 10:26.

.SINEAS. — The name of a paralytic at Lydda who was cured by Peter (Acts 9:33, 34).

Agade

(formerly but erroneously read Agane). A city of Northern Babylonia and the capital of Sargon, the founder of the first Semitic empire (c. B.C. 3800). As was first discovered by George Smith, Agade was the Semitic Akkadu (see Akkad). It stood near Sippara or Sepharvaim (wh. see), and may have been in later times a suburb of the latter town. A. H. Sayce.

A6AG. — 1. Numbers 24:7. probably a copyist’s error: LXX has Gog. 2. 1 S IS, the king of Amalek, whom Saul defeated and spared; some Gr. MSS name his father Aser (15:33). Whetfier he met his fate bravely or timidly cannot be determined from the extant text (v. 32). Samuel considered him to be under the ban of extermination, and therefore killed him as a religious act (V.3S). J. Taylor.

Agagite

The designation of Haman (Esther 3:1, 10 83. 6 924). Josephus (Ant. xi. vi. 5) calls him an Amalekite. The epithet in Esther indicates that, as Agag was Saul’s adversary, so Haman was the foe of this other Benjamite. The LXX reads Bugaios, 3’ 8=, omits at 31", and at 9’" IB’" has Macedonian, a word of evil connotation after Antiochus Epiphanes. J. Taylor.

Again

The Eng. word ‘again’ means in AV either ‘a second time,’ as Philippians 4:16. ‘ye sent once and again’; or ‘back,’ as in Matthew 11:4 ‘go and show John again those things which ye do hear’ (i.e. ‘go back and show John’).

Agape

See Love Feast.

Agar

The sons of Agar are mentioned in Baruch 3:23; they are called Hagarenes in Psalms 83:6, and Hagrites in 1 Chronicles 5:19, 20 27:31. Their country lay east of Gilead. AGATE. — See Jewels and Pheciods Stones. AGE, AGED, OLD AGE.— In the OT advancing age is represented by words of different root-meanings. The aged man is zagren, perhaps ‘grey-bearded’ (Genesis 48:10. 2 Samuel 19:32, Job 12:20 32:9, Psalms 71:18. Jeremiah 6:11) ‘old age’ is also sebhah, i.e. ‘hoary-headedness’ (Genesis 15:15. 1 Kings 14:4; cf. Genesis 42:38. Psalms 71:18). According to the Mishna (Ab. V. 21) the latter word implies a greater age (70) than the former (60). But in Job 15:10 (cf. 29:8) yashlsh, i.e. ‘very aged,’ marks a further advance in years, of which the sign is a withering of strength. Psalms 90:10 is the only passage in which a definite period is fixed for human life. The idea that ‘hale old age’ (kelach) is a blessing is expressed in Job 5; the contrast is furnished by the gloomy picture (30:2) of the ‘fathers’ whose old age lacks vigour.

The wisdom of the old was proverbial (Job 12:12 32:7), though there were exceptions (Job 32:9, Psalms 119:100). The experience of the older men fitted them for positions of trust and authority; hence by a natural transition of thought ‘elders’ became an oflBcial title Exodus 3:16. Acts 11). Respect is to be shown to the old (Lv Proverbs 23:22), and the decay of reverence for age is an evil omen {Dt 28. 1 Kings 12:8. Isaiah 47:6). It was to the grandmother of Obed that the Hebrew women said ‘he shall be ... a nourisher of thine old age’ (Ruth 4:15) the dutiful affection of children’s children illumined the gracious message of Israel’s God: ‘even to old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you’ (Isaiah 46:4).

J. G. Tasker.

Agee

The father of Shammah, one of ‘the Three’ (2 Samuel 23:11).

Aggaba

Aggaba (1 Esdras 5:29). In Ezra 2:45 Hagabah, Nehemiah 7:48 Hagaba.

AGG^US.— The form used in 1 Esdras 6:1 V and 2 Esdras 1:40 for Haggai (wh. see).

Agia

Agia (1 Esdras 5:34). In Ezra 2. Nehemiah 7:59 Hattil.

Agony

Agony (Luke 22:44) is not a translation but a transliteration of the Greek agSnia, equivalent to St. Matthew’s ‘sorrowful and sore troubled’ (26") and St. Mark’s ‘greatly amazed and sore troubled’ (14^3). The word does not mean ‘agony’ in the English sense. Agon was ‘a contest,’ and agonia the trepidation of a combatant about to enter the lists. Christ’s Agony in Gethsemane was the horror which overwhelmed Him as He faced the final ordeal. David Smith.

Agrapha

See Unwritten Sayings.

Agriculture

Throughout the whole period of their national existence, agriculture was the principal occupation of the Hebrews. According to the priestly theory, the land was the property of J"; His people enjoyed the usufruct (Leviticus 25:23). In actual practice, the bulk of the land was owned by the towns and village communities, each free husbandman having his allotted portion of the common lands. The remainder included the Crown lands and the estates of the nobility, at least under the monarchy. Husbandry — the Biblical term for agriculture (2 Oh 26:10) — was highly esteemed, and was regarded as dating from the very earliest times (Genesis 4:2). It was J" Himself who taught the husbandman his art (Isaiah 28). ">

Of the wide range of topics embraced by agriculture in the wider significance of the term, some of the more important will be treated in separate articles, such as Cart, Flax, Food, Garden, Olive, Ox, Thorns, Vine, etc. The present article will deal only with the more restricted field of the cultivation of the principal cereals. These were, in the first rank, wheat and barley: less important were the crops of millet and spelt, and those of the pulse family — lentils, beans, and the like.

1. The agricultural year began in the latter half of October, with the advent of the early rains, which soften the ground baked by the summer heat. Then the husbandman began to prepare his fields for the winter seed by means of the plough. From the details given in post-Biblical literature, it is evident that the Hebrew plough differed but little from its modern Syrian counterpart(see PEFSt, 1891). The essential part or ‘body’ of the latter, corresponding in position to the modern plough-tail or ‘stilt,’ consists of a piece of tough wood bent and pointed at the foot to receive an iron sheath or share (1 Samuel 13:20). the upper end being furnished with a short cross-piece to serve as a handle. The pole is usually in two parts: one stout and curved, through the lower end of which the ‘body’ is passed just above the share; at the other end is attached the lighter part of the pole, through the upper end of which a stout pin is passed to serve as attachment for the yoke. The plough was usually drawn by two or more oxen (Amos 6:12), or by asses (Isaiah 30:24). but the employment of one of each kind was forbidden (Deuteronomy 22:10). The yoke is a short piece of wood— the bar of Leviticus 26:13 (RV)— fitted with two pairs of converging pegs, the lower ends connected by thongs, to receive the necks of the draught animals. Two smaller pegs in the middle of the upper side hold in position a ring of willow, rope, or other material, which is passed over the end of the pole and kept in position by the pin above mentioned. As the ploughman required but one hand to guide the plough, the other was free to wield the ox -goad, a light wooden pole shod at one end with an iron spike wherewith to prick the oxen (cf. Acts 9:5). and having at the other a small spade with which to clean the plough-share. Gardens, vineyards (Isaiah 5:6 RV), and parts too difficult to plough were worked with the hoe or mattock (Isaiah 7:25).

The prevailing mode of sowing was by hand, as in the parable of the Sower, the seed being Immediately ploughed in. It was possible, however, to combine both operations by fixing a seed-box to the plough-tail. The seed passed through an aperture at the bottom of the box and was conducted by a pipe along the tail. It thus fell into the drill behind the share and was immediately covered in. The patriarch Abraham was credited by Jewish legend with the invention of this form of seeding-plough (Bk. of Jubilees l l^ss). This mode of sowing is probably referred to in Isaiah 28:25 (‘the wheat in rows’ RV). There is no evidence that harrows were used for covering in the seed.

2. During the period of growth the crops were exposed to a variety of risks, such as the delay or scanty fall of the spring rains (the ‘latter rain’ of the OT, Amos 4:9). blasting by the hot sirocco wind, mildew, hail — these three are named together in Haggai 2:17; cf. Deuteronomy 28:22. Amos 4:9 — and worst of all a visitation of locusts. The productiveness of the soil naturally varied greatly (cf. Matthew 13:8). Under favourable conditions, as in the Hauran, wheat is said to yield a hundredfold return.

3. Owing to the wide range of climatic conditions in Palestine, the time of the harvest was not uniform, being earliest in the semi-tropical Jordan valley, and latest in the uplands of Galilee. The average harvest period, reckoned by the Hebrew legislation (Leviticus 23:15. Deuteronomy 16:9) to cover seven weeks, may be set down as from the middle of April to the beginning of June, the barley ripening about a fortnight sooner than the wheat.

The standing corn was reaped with the sickle (Deuteronomy 16:9 RV), the stalks being cut considerably higher up than with us. The handfuls of ears were gathered into sheaves, and these into heaps (not into shocks) for transportation to the threshing-floor. The corners of the field were left to be reaped, and the fallen ears to be gleaned, by the poor and the stranger (Leviticus 19:9 f.: Deuteronomy 24:19. Ruth 2:2 ff.).

For small quantities the ears were stripped by beating with a stick (Ruth 2:17. Judges 6:11 RV), otherwise the threshing was done at the village threshing-floor. This was a large, specially prepared (Jeremiah 51:33 RV) space on an elevated situation. Hither the corn was brought on asses or on a cart (Amos 2:13). and piled in heaps. Enough sheaves were drawn out to form a layer, 6 to 8 ft. wide, all round the heap. Over this layer several oxen, unmuzzled according to law (Deuteronomy 25:4). and harnessed together as represented on the Egyptian monuments, might be driven. More effective work, however, was got from the threshing -drag and the threshing -wagon, both still in use in the East, the former being the favourite in Syria, the latter in Egypt. The former consists of two or three thick wooden planks held together by a couple of cross-pieces, the whole measuring from 5 to 7 ft. in length by 3 to 4 ft. in breadth. The underside of the drag is set with sharp pieces of hardstone (cf. Isaiah 41:15). which strip the ears as the drag, on which the driver sits or stands, is driven over the sheaves, and at the same time cut up the stalks into small lengths. The threshing-wagon is simply a wooden frame containing three or more rollers set with parallel metal discs, and supporting a seat for the driver. The former instrument was used by Araunah the Jebusite (2 Samuel 24:22). while the latter is probably referred to in ‘the threshing wheel’ of Proverbs 20:26 (RV). Both are mentioned together in the original of Isaiah 28:27.

After the threshing came the winnowing. By means of a five- or six-pronged fork, the ‘fan’ of the OT and NT, the mass of grain, chaS, and chopped straw is tossed into the air in the western evening breeze. The chaff is carried farthest away (Psalms 1:4). the light morsels of straw to a shorter distance, while the heavy grains of wheat or barley fall at the winnower’s feet. After being thoroughly sifted with a variety of sieves (Amos 9:9. Isaiah 30:28). the grain was stored in jars for immediate use, and in cisterns (Jeremiah 41:8). or in specially constructed granaries, the ‘bams’ of Matthew 6:26.

4. Of several important matters, such as irrigation, the terracing of slopes, manuring of the fields, the conditions of lease, etc. — regarding which Vogelstein’s treatise Die Landwirtschaft in PalUstCia is a mine of information tor the Roman period — there is little direct evidence in Scripture. Agriculture, as is natural, bulks largely in the legislative codes of the Pentateuch. Some of the provisions have already been cited. To these may be added the solemn injunction against removing a neighbour’s ‘landmarks,’ the upright stones marking the boundaries of his fields (Deuteronomy 19:1. 27:17). the humanitarian provision regarding strayed cattle (Exodus 23:4, Deuteronomy 22:1 ff.). the law that every field must lie fallow for one year in seven (Exodus 23:10 f.; see, for later development. Sabbatical Yeah), the law forbidding the breeding of hybrids and the sowing of a field with two kinds of seed (Leviticus 19:19 RV), and the far-reaching provision as to the inalienability of the land CLv 25:8 ff.).

The fact that no department of human activity has enriched the language of Scripture, and in consequence the language of the spiritual life in all after ages, with so many appropriate figures of speech, is a striking testimony to the place occupied by agriculture in the life and thought of the Hebrew people. A. R. S. Kennedy.

Agrippa

See Herod, Nob. 6. 7.

Ague

See Medicine.

Agur

Son of Jakeh; author of the whole or part of Proverbs 30, one of the latest sections of the book. His name may signify ‘hireling’ or ‘assembler’; cf. Vulg. ‘Verba, Congregantis filii Vomentis.’ Some have thought that massa (AV ‘the prophecy,’ RV ‘the oracle’), which otherwise is out of place, is the name of his country (Genesis 25:14). J. Taylob.