E
Eliashib – Emmeruth
Page 56 of 259
Eliashib
1 . The high priest who was contemporary with Nehemiah. He was son of Joiakim, grandson of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, the contemporary of Zerubbabel (. ), and father of Joiada ( ). He assisted in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerus, during Nehemiah’s governorship (). He can have had no sympathy with the exclusive policy of Ezra and Nehemiah, for both he himself and members of his family allied themselves with the leading foreign opponents of Nehemiah. See Joiada, No. 2, Tobiah, and Sanballat. 2. A singer of the time of Ezra, who had married a foreign wife () called in 1 Esdras 9:24 Eliasibus. 3. An Israelite of the family of Zattu (; in 1 Esdras 9:28 Eliasimus) ; and 4. another of the family of Bani (; called in 1 Esdras 9:34 Enasibus), who had married foreign wives. 5. A son of Elioenai (). 6. The name of a priestly house (). 7. Father of Jehohanan, to whose chamber in the Temple Ezra resorted () possibly identical with No. 1.
Eliasib
Eliasib (1 Esdras 9:1). A high priest in the time of Neh. ; in Eliasbib.
Eliasibus
Eliasibus (AV Eleazurus, 1 Esdras 9:24). One of the ‘holy singers,’ who put away his strange wife. In Elaishib.
ELIASIMUS, 1 Esdras 9:28 I02’ Ellashib.
Eliasis
Eliasis (1 Esdras 9:34). This name and Enasibus may be duplicate forms answering to Eliashib in .
Eliathah
A Hemanite, whose family formed the twentieth division of the Temple service (, ).
Elidad
Son of Chislon, and Benjamin’s representative for dividing the land, P (perh. =EIdad, one of the elders, E).
Eliehoenai
1. A Korahite (). 2. The head of a family of exiles that returned () ; called in 1 Esdras 8:31 Eliaonias.
Eliel
1. A Korahite (). prob. = Eliab of V." and Elihu of . 2. 3. 4. Mighty men in the service of David (l Ch H«" ). 5. A chief of eastern Manasseh (). 6. 7. Two Benjamite chiefs (1 Ch , ). 8. A Levite mentioned in connexion with the removal of the ark from the house of Obed-edom (1 Ch , ). 9. A Levite in time of Hezekiah ().
Elienai
A Benjamite ().
Eliezer
(cf. Eleazas). 1. Abraham’s chief servant, a Damascene ( AV, RVm. The construction here is difficult, but the words can hardly be rendered as a double proper name as RV, ‘Dammesek Eliezer.’ Whatever the exact construction, the words, unless there is a corruption in the text, must be intended to suggest that Eliezer was in some way connected with Damascus). This same Eliezer is prob. the servant referred to in Gn. 24. 2. A son of Moses by Zipporah;%o named to commemorate the deliverance of Moses from Pharaoh (. , ). 3. The son of Becher, a Benjamite (). 4. The son of Zichri, captain of the tribe of Reuben in David’s reign (). 5. The son of Dodavahu of Mareshah, who prophesied the destruction of the fleet of ships which Jehoshaphat built in co-operation with Ahaziah (). 6. One of the ‘chief men’ whom Ezra sent to Casiphia to find Levltes and Nethinim to join the expedition to Jerusalem ( f. [=1 Esdras 8:43 Eleazar]). 7. 8. 9. A priest, a Levite, and a son of Harim, who had married ‘strange women’ ( [=1 Esdras 9:19 Eleazar] ^s- " [= l Es9^ Elionas]). 10. One of the priests appointed to blow with the trumpets before the ark of God when David brought it from the house of Obed-edom to Jerus. (l Ch l5!M). 11. A Levite(l Ch26»). 12. An ancestor of our Lord ().
Elihoreph
One of Solomon’s scribes ().
Elihu
1. An ancestor of Samuel () called In Eliel, and In Eliab. 2. A variation in jor Eliab, David’s eldest son (). 3. A Manassite who joined David at Ziklag (). 4. A Korahite porter (). 5. See Job [Book of]. 6. An ancestor of Judith (Judith 8:1). ELIJAH. — 1. Elijah, the weirdest figure among the prophets of Israel, steps across the threshold of history when Ahab is on the throne (c. B.C. 876-854), and is last seen in the reign of Ahaziah (854-853), although a posthumous activity is attributed to him in ff.: A native of Thisbe in Gilead (). he appears on the scene unheralded ; not a single hint is given as to his birth and parentage. A rugged Bedouin In his hairy mantle (). Elijah appears as a representative of the nomadic stage of Hebrew civilization. He is a veritable incarnation of the austere morals and the purer religion of an earlier period. His name (‘Jah is God’) may be regarded as the motto of his life, and expresses the aim of his mission as a prophet. Ahab had brought on a religious crisis in Israel by marrying Jezebel, a daughter of the Tyrian king Ethbaal, who, prior to his assuming royal purple, had been a priest of Melkart, the Tyrian Baal, and in order to ascend the throne had stained his hand with his master’s blood. True to her early training and environment, Jezebel not only persuaded her husband to build a temple to Baal in Samaria (). but became a zealous propagandist, and developed into a cruel persecutor of the prophets and followers of Jehovah. The foreign deity, thus supported by the throne, threatened to crush all allegiance to Israel’s national God in the hearts of the people.
Such was the situation, when Elijah suddenly appeals before Ahab as the champion of Jehovah. The hearts of the apostate king 9.nd people are to be chastened by a drought (). It lasts three years; according to a statement of Menander ciuoted by Josephus {Ant. viii, xiii. 2),
215 in the reign of Ithobal, the Biblical Ethbaal, Phoenicia suffered from a terrible drought, which lasted one year. Providence first guides the stern prophet to the brook Cherith iWady Kelt in the vicinity of Jericho), where the ravens supply him with food. Soon the stream becomes a bed of stones, and Elijah flees to Zarephath in the territory of Zidon. As the guest of a poor widow, he brings blessings to the household (cf. . ). The barrel of meal did not waste, and the cruse of oil did not fail. Like the Great Prophet of the NT, he brings gladness to the heart of a bereaved mother by restoring her son to life (1 K it**-, of. ff.).
The heavens have been like brass for months upon months, and vegetation has disappeared. The hearts of Ahab’s subjects have been mellowed, and many are ready to return to their old allegiance. The time is ripe for action, and Elijah throws down the gauntlet to Baal and his foUowere. Ahab and his chief steward, Obadiah, a devoted follower of the true God, are traversing the land in different directions in search of grass for the royal stables, when the latter encountersthestrange figure of Jehovah’s relentless champion. Obadiah, after considerable hesitation and reluctance, is persuaded by the prophet to announce him to the king (). As the two meet, we have the firat skirmish of the battle. ‘Art thou he that troubleth Israel?’ is the monarch’s greeting: but the prophet’s reply puts the matter in a true light; ‘I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father’s house.’ At Elijah’s suggestion the prophets of Baal are summoned to Carmel to a trial by fire. The priests of the Tyrian deity, termed ‘prophets’ because they practised the mantic art, select a bullock and lay it upon an altar without kindling the wood. From mom till noon, and from noon till dewy eve, they cry to Baal for fire, but all in vain. Elijah cuts them to the quick with his biting sarcasm: ‘Cry aloud; for he is a §od: either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked.’ Towards evening a dismantled altar of Jehovah is repaired, and a trench is dug round it. After the sacrificial animal has been prepared, and laid upon the wood, water is poured over it, until everythingabout the altaris thoroughly soaked and the trench is full. At the prayer of Elijah, fire falls from heaven, devouring the wood, stone, and water as well as the victim. The people are convinced, and shout, ‘Jehovah, he is God; Jehovan, he is God.’ That evening, Kishon’s flood, as of old (), is red with the blood of Jehovah’s enemies. The guilt of the land has been atoned for, and the long hoped for rain arrives. Elijah, in spite of his dignified position, runs before the chariot of Ahab, indicating that ne is willing to serve the king as well as lead Jehovah’s people (). The fanatical and implacable Jezebel now threatens the life of the prophet who has dared to put her minions to death. Jehovah’s successful champion loses heart, and flees to Beer-sheba on the extreme south of Judah. Leaving his servant, he plimges alone into the desert a day’s journey. Now comes the reaction, so natural after an achievement like that on Carmel, and Elijah prays that he may be permitted to die. Instead of granting his request, God sends an angel who ministers to the prophet’s physical needs. On the strength of that food he journeys forty days until he reaches Horeb, where he receives a new revelation of Jehovah (). Elijah takes refuge in a cave, perhaps the same in which Moses hid (). and hears the voice of Jehovah,’ What doest thou here, Elijah?’ The prophet replies, ‘I have been very jealous for Jehovah, God of Hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.’ Then Jehovah reveals His omnipotence in a great wind, earthquake, and fire; but we read that Jehovah was not in these. Then followed a still small voice (Heb. lit. ‘a sound of gentle stillness’), in which God made known His true nature and His real purpose (). After hearing his complaint, Jehovah gives His faithful servant a threefold commission: Hazael is to be anointed king of Syria, Jehu of Israel; and Elisha is to be his successor in the prophetic order. Elijah is further encouraged with information that there are still 7000 in Israel who have not bowed the knee to Baal (, ). As far as we know, only the last of these three commissions was executed by the prophet himself, who, after this sublime incident, made his headquarters in the wilderness of Damascus () ; the other two were carried out either by Elisha or by members of the prophetic guilds ( ff. ).
Elijah is also the champion of that civic righteousness which Jehovah loved and enjoined on His people. Naboth owns a vineyard in the vicinity of Jezreel. In the spirit of the Israelitish law (. ) ijg refvisea to sell hia property to the king. But Jezebel is equal to the occasion; at her suggestion false witnesses are bribed to swear that Naboth has cursed God and the king. The citizens, thus deceived, stone their fellow-townsman to death. Ahab, on his way to take possession of his ill-gotten estate, meets his old antagonist, who pronounces the judgment of God upon him: *In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine,’ is the prophet’s greeting. For Ahab’s sins, every male child of his house will be swept off by an awful fate (, , ). By the ramparts of Jezreel itself, the dogs will devour the body of Jezebel (). These predictions, although delayed for a time on account of the repentance of Ahab, were all fulfilled (, IQW-).
Ahaziah is a true son of Ahab and Jezebel. Meeting with a serious accident, after his fall he sends a messenger to Ekron to inquire of Baal-zebub, the fly-god, concerning his recovery. Elijah intercepts the emissaries of the king, bidding them return to their master with this word from Jehovah: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.’ Ahaziah recognizes the author of this message, and sends three captains of fifties to capture the prophet, who calls down fire from heaven on the first two. ,’ The third approaches him in a humble spirit, and at God’s bidding Elijah accompanies the soldier to the palace and reiterates the message of doom (2 K 1^.
Like all the great events of hia life, the death of this great man of God was dramatic. Accompanied by his faithful follower Elisha, he passes from Bethel to Jericho, and from thence they cross the Jordan, after Elijah has parted the waters by striking them with his mantle. As they go on their way, buried in conversation, there suddenly appears a chariot of fire with horses of fire, which parts them asunder; and Elijah goes up by a whirlwind to heaven (cf. Elisha).
In the history of prophecy Elijah holds a prominent position. Prophetism had two important duties to perform: (1) to extirpate the worship of heathen deities in Israel, (2) to raise the religion of Jehovah to ethical purity. To the former of these two tasks Elijah addressed himself with zeal; the latter was left to his successors in the eighth century. In his battle against Baal, he struggled for the moral rights and freedom of man, and introduced ‘the categorical imperative into prophecy.’ He started a movement which finally drove the Phoenician Baal from Israel’s confines.
Elijah figures largely in later Scriptures; he is the harbinger of the Day of the Lord (Mai ) ; in the NT he is looked upon as a type of the herald of God, and the prediction of his coming in the Messianic Age is fulfilled in the advent of John the Baptist (). On the Mount of Transfiguration he appears as the representative of OT prophecy (. , ). The prophet whose ‘word burned like a torch’ (Sirach 48:1) was a favourite with the later Jews; a host of Rabbinical legends grew up around his name. According to the Rabbis, Elijah was to precede the Messiah, to restore families to purity, to settle controversies and legal disputes, and perform seven miracles (cf. JE, sm.\ Lightfoot, Har. Heb. on ; Schoettgen, Hor. S33 ff.). Origen mentions an apocryphal work. The Apocalypse of Elijah, and maintains that is a quotation from it. Elijah is found also in the Koran (vi. 85, xxxvii. 123-130), and many legends concerning him are current in Arabic literature.
2. A Benjamlte chief (). 3. 4. A priest and a layman who had married foreign wives (, ).
James A. Kelso.
Elika
One of David’s ‘Thirty’ ().
Elu
Elu yi. — One of the stations in the wanderings of the children of Israel (. ) apparently the fourth station after the passage of the Red Sea, and the first place where the Israelites met with fresh water. It was also marked by an abundant growth of palm trees (cf. . twelve wells and seventy palms). If the traditional site of Mt. Sinai be correct, the likeliest place for Elim is the Wady Gharandel, where there is a good deal of vegetation, especially stunted palms, and a number of water-holes in the sand ; but some travellers have pushed the site of Elim farther on, and placed it almost a day’s journey nearer to Sinai, in the Wady Tayibeh, where there are again palm trees and a scanty supply of brackish water.
Elimelech
The husband of Naomi and father of Mahlon and ChiUon, Ephrathites of Bethlehem-Judah (cf. ). He is spoken of as if he were the head of a clan in the tribe of Judah (cf. , ). This would be the Hezronites (. cf. ).
Elioenai
1. A Simeonite chief (). 2. A Benjamlte (). 3. A descendant of David who lived after the Exile (, ). 4. A son of Pashhur who had married a foreign wife () called in 1 Esdras 9:22 Elionas. 5. A son of Zattu who had committed the same offence () called in 1 Esdras 9:28 Eliadas. 6. A priest ().
Elionas
1. Esdras 9:22 10:22 Elioenai. 2. 1 Esdras 9:32 lO’i Eliezer.
Eliphal
One of David’s mighty men (). called in Eliphelet.
Eliphalat
1. 1 Esdras 8:39 = Eliphelet. 2. 1 Esdras 9:33 lO^a Eliphelet.
Eliphaz
1. Eliphaz appears in the Edomite genealogy of (and hence f.) as son of Esau by Adah (vv. 1°), and father of Amalek by his Horite concubine Timnah (w. 12. 22). 2. See Job [Book of).
Eliphelehu
A doorkeeper (, ).
Eliphelet
1. One of David’s sons (. 1 Ch 14’ (AV Eliphalet), , Elpelet of ). The double occurrence of the name in Chronicles, as if David had had two sons named Eliphelet, is probably due to a scribal error. 2. One of David’s mighty men (2 S = Eliphal of ). 3. A descendant of Jonathan(1 Ch ). 4. One of the sons of Adonikam who returned from exile ( = Eliphalat of 1 Esdras 8:39). 5. A son of Hashum who had married a foreign wife ( = Eliphalat of 1 Esdras 9:33).
Elisabeth
The wife of Zacharias and mother of John the Baptist ( ff.). The Hebrew form of the name is Elisheba (). Elisabeth was of a priestly family, ‘the kinswoman’ of Mary (), whom she greeted as the mother of the Messiah ().
J. G. Taskeb.
Eliseus
The AV form of Elisha (wh. see) in NT.
ELISHA, — Elisha was a native of Abel-meholah, which was situated in the Jordan valley 10 Roman miles from ScythopoUs, probably on the site of the modern ‘Ain Helweh. His father was a well-to-do farmer, and so Elisha is a representative of the newer form of Hebrew society. On his return from Horeb, Elijah cast his mantle upon the youth, as he was directing his father’s servants at their ploughing. The young man at once recognized the call from God, and, after a hastily-devised farewell feast, he left the parental abode (, ), and ever after he was known as the man’ who poured water on the hands of Elijah’ (). His devotion to, aivd his admiration for, his great master are apparent in the closing scenes of the latter’s life. A double portiom. of Elijah’s spirit (cf. the right of the firstborn to a double portion of the patrimony) is the summum bonvm which he craved. In order to receive this boon he must be a witness of the translation of the mighty hero\of Jehovah; and as Elijah is whirled away in the charidt of fire, his mantle falls upon his disciple, who Immediately makes use of it in parting the waters of the Jorfian. After Elisha has recrossed the river, he is greeted) by the sons of the prophets as their leader (). I
After this event it is impossible to r«duce the incidents of Elisha’s life to any chronological sequence. His ministry covered half a century (b.c. 855-798), and during this period four monarchs, Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash, sat on the throne of Israel (2143, cf. ff.). The story of Elisha was borrowed by the author of the Book of Kings from some prophetic work of the Northern Kingdom; and, without any regard for sequence in time, he has arranged his material according to subject-matter. In our canonical Book of Kings, the larger part of Elisha’s activities is placed within the reign of Jehoram ( ff.; cf. Q"). He may have reached the zenith of his career in these twelve years, but all the recorded events of his life cannot be crowded into this short period.
His name, Elislm (=‘God is salvation’), like that of his master, tersely describes his character and expresses his mission. Elijah’s was a flint-like nature, which crushed its opponents and won its victories by hard blows. Elisha is a gentler and more gracious man, and gains his ends by diplomacy. He loves the haunts of men, and resides in cities like Dothan and Samaria. His miracles are deeds of mercy, and, like that of the Prophet of Nazareth, his ministry breathes a spirit ‘of gracious, soothing, holy beneficence.’ We find him at the headquarters of the sons of the prophets, making his benign presence felt. He sweetens a spring of brackish water at Jericho ( ff.) ) at a time of drought ; he renders a poisonous mess of pottage harmless for the members of the prophetic guild ( ) ; he multiplies the oil for the prophet’s widow, who finds herself in dire extremity ( ff. ). At the prophet’s command, as at the bidding of a greater than Elisha, the loaves are multiplied (). His sympathy goes out in a practical way for the man who has lost his axe (,&"‘■). One of the most beautiful stories in the whole range of Scripture is that of the entertainment of Elisha in the home of the Shunammite. Her hospitality and the practical manifestation of gratitude on the part of the prophet form a charming picture. In the restoration of her son to life, Elisha performs one of his greatest miracles ( ff. ff.). In his treatment of the Syrian troops which had been despatched to capture him, he anticipated the spirit of the Saviour ( ff.). i?he familiar incident of the healing of the leprosy of Naaman not only gives an idea of the influence and power of the man of God. but the story is suggestive of the profoundest spiritual truths ().
The contrast between the spirit of master and disciple may be over-emphasized. Elisha could be as stern as Elijah: at Bethel he treats the mocking youth in the spirit of Sinai (). and no touch of pity can be detected in the sentence that falls on Gehazi (). The estimate of Sirach (48) is according to all the facts of the OT narrative:
‘Elijah it was who was wrapped in a tempest:
And Elisha was filled with nis spirit: And in all his days he was not moved by the fear of any ruler,
And no one brought him into subjection.’ This severer side of the prophet’s character appears in his public rather than in his private life. In the Moabitish campaign, the allied kings seek bis counsel. His address to Jehoram of Israel, ‘What have I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophets of thy father and the prophets of thy mother,’ indicates that Elisha had not forgotten the past and the conflicts of his master (Si’"‘‘). Later, the relations between the reigning monarch and the prophet seem more cordial, for the man of God reveals the plans of the Syrians to Israel’s king ( ff.). This change of attitude on the part of the prophet may be due to the fact that Jehoram attempted to do away with Baal worship () but Elisha has not forgotten the doom pronounced upon the house of Ahab by Elijah. While Jehu is commanding the forces besieging Ramoth-gilead, Elisha sends one of the sons of the prophets to anoint the general as king, and thus he executes the commission which Elijah received from Jehovah at Horeb ().
Elisha’s relations with the Syrians are exceedingly interesting. On one occasion he appears to be as much at home in Damascus as in Samaria. Ben-hadad, suffering from a severe ailment, hears of his presence in his capital, and sends Hazael to the man of God to inquire concerning the issue. The prophet reads the heart of the messenger, and predicts both the king’s recovery and his assassination by Hazael ( ff.). Nothing is said of a formal anointing, but in tills connexion Elisha seems to have carried out the commission of Elijah (). The blockade of Samaria ( ) probably falls in the reign of Jehoahaz. That the prophet is held by king and statesmen responsible for the straits to which the city has been reduced, is an eloquent tribute to his political influence. In this connexion Elisha’s prediction of deliverance is speedily fulfilled.’ Under Joash, Israel was hard pressed, and her might had dwindled to insignificance (), but Elisha was still the saviour of his country, joash weeps over him as he lies on his deathbed: ‘My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof.’ pirecting the monarch to perform a symbohcal act, the prophet gives him assurance of victory ( ff.). Even after his burial his bones had the power to perform a beneficent miracle (IS^"- ‘‘).
An incident in the life of Elisha throws light on the prophetic state. Before declaring the final result of the campaign to the three kings, he asks for a minstrel. The music induces the ecstatic state, and then he prophesies(3"). The supernatural abounds in his life; in many instances he manifests the power of prediction ( ff. T’- , ff. f. ff.). But some of his deeds are not miracles in the modern sense ( ff. ff. ff.). James A. Kelso.
Elishah
The eldest ‘son’ of Javan (), , whence the Tyrians obtained the purple dye (). The latter favours identification with S. Italy and Sicily, or Carthage and N. African coast, both districts famous for the purple dye. Elissa, or Dido, the traditional foundress of Carthage, may indicate Elissa as an early name of Carthage, and Syncellus gives the gloss ‘Elissa, whence the Sikeloi.’ The Targum on Ezk. gives ‘the province of Italy.’ The Tell el-Amarna tablets include letters to the king of Egypt from the king of Alashia, Egyptian Also, which has been identified with Cyprus; known to Sargon, king of Assyria, as the land of the lonians, Javan. ‘There are difficulties in all these identifications, possibly because the name itself denoted ditEerent districts at different epochs, and no certainty can yet be attained. C. H. W. Johns.
Elishama
1. A prince of the tribe of Epbraim at the census in the wilderness, son of Ammihud and grandfather of Joshua ( . ). 2. One of David’s sons, born in Jerusalem (. ). 3. In by mistake for Elishua of . . 4. A descendant of Judah, son of Jekamiah (). 6. The father of Nethaniah, and grandfather of Ishmael, ‘of the seed royal,’ who killed Gedaliah at the time of the Exile (. ). Jerome, following Jewish tradition, identifies him with No. 4. 6. A scribe or secretary to Jehoiakim (, , ). 7. A priest sent by Jehoshaphat to teach the Law in the cities of Judah ().
Elishaphat
One of the captains who helped Jehoiada to install king Joash ().
Elisheba
Daughter of Amminadab and wife of Aaron ().
Elishua
A son of David (. ; also [corrected text; see Elishama, 3]).
Eliud
An ancestor of Jesus ().
Elizaphan
1. Prince of the Kohathites (, , 2 Ch 2g»)=Elzaphan (. Lv 10* P). 2. Zebulun’s representative for dividing the land (Nu P).
Elizur
(‘God is a rock,’ cf. Zuriel). Prince of Reuben at the first census ( P).
Elkanah
(‘God hath acquired’). 1. Asonof Korah (Ex &"). 2. An Ephraimite, husband of Peninnah and Hannah; by the former he had several children, but Hannah was for many years childless. Her rival mocked her for this as they went up year by year with Elkanah to sacrifice in Shiloh. Elkanah loved Hannah more than Peninnah, and sought, in vain, to comfort her in her distress. At length Hannah conceived, and bore a son, Samuel. Afterwards three sons and two daughters were born to them (see Hannah, and Samuel). 3. The son of Assir (). 4. The father of Zophai (Zuph), a descendant of 3 (1 Ch 6. A Levite who dwelt in a village of the Netophathites (). 6. One of the mighty men who came to David to Ziklag (1 Oh ). 7. A door-keeper for the ark (). 8. A high official, ‘next to the king,’ at the court of Ahaz (, ).
W. O. E. Oesterley.
Elkiah
An ancestor of Judith (Judith 8:1).
Elkoshite
See Nahum.
Ellasar
Arioch king of EUasar was allied with Chedorlaomer in the campaign against the kings of the plain (). He has been identified with Rim-sin, king of Larsa, and consequently ‘EUasar’ is thought to be for al-Larsa, ‘the city of Larsa.’ Larsa, modern Senkereh in Lower Babylonia on the east bank of the Euphrates, was celebrated for its temple and worship of the sun-god Shamash. C. H. W. Johns.
Elm
AV, but RV ‘terebinth.’ See also Pine.
Elmadam
An ancestor of Jesus ().
Elnaam
The father of two of David’s mighty men (1 Oh 11«).
Elnathan
1 . The father of Nehushta, the mother of Jehoiachin (). 2. The son of Achbor, the chief of those sent to Egypt to fetch Uriah, who had offended Jehoiakim by his prophecy ( ff.) and one of those who had entreated the king not to burn the roll (). It is possible that he is identical with No. 1. 3. The name occurs no fewer than three times in the list of those sent for by Ezra when he encamped near Ahava (). In 1 Esdras 8:44 there are only two corresponding names, the second of which is Ennatan,
Elohim
See God.
Elohist
See Hexateuch.
Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani
These Aram, words occur in Mk. 15^, being an Eng. transliteration from the Greek. The underlying Aram, would be Elahi, ElaM, I’ma shabaqtani. The 5 in Eloi is probably a local pronunciation of a as aw or B, as in some Syriac dialects. Dalman, however, maintains that our Lord spoke the first two words in Hebrew and the other two in Aramaic. In this case Eloi represents the Heb. Elohai = ‘my God.’ For sabachthani the Oodex Sinaiticus reads sabaktani, which may be the original reading. It is more correct; but on that very account it may be a gloss. Lama for Aram. l’ma=‘loi what?’ ‘why?’ has many variants in Gr. MSS, as lema, lamma, lima.
In the parallel passage in we find Eli, Eli (though Cod. Sin. reads Eloi and B Eloei). Eli is a Heb. word, here, as elsewhere, borrowed in Aramaic. The Aram, word for ‘forsake’ is sh’baq for which the Heb. equivalent is ‘azabh. In Heb.’ hast thou forsaken me?’ would be ‘azabhtani. This explains the reading of Oodex D, zaphlhanei, which some officious literary scribe substituted for sabachthani, both in Mt. and Mk.
J. T. Marshall.
Elon
(‘terebinth’.)— 1. Of the tribe of Zebulun, one of the minor judges (, ). All that is told of him is simply that he judged Israel for ten years, that he died, and was buried in Elon in Zebulun. 2. A son of Zebulun (. . where the gentilic name Elonites occurs). 3. A Hittite, the father-in-law of Esau ( ).
Elon
1. A town in the territory of Dan, now unknown(Jos 19«). It is perhaps the same as Elonbeth-hanan (). 2. An unknown locality in Zebulun (). R. a. S. Macalisteb.
Elon-beth-hanan
See preceding article.
Eloth
See Elath.
Elpaal
A Benjamite family (1 Oh 8"-
El-paran
El-paran (). See Pahan.
Elpelet
(1 Ch !#, AV Elpalet). One of David’s sons= Eliphelet No. 1.
El-shaddai
See God.
Elteke
(H). A town in Dan associated with Ekron and Gibbethon ( ). probably the Altaqu mentioned by Sennacherib as the locality of his defeat of the Philistines and Egyptians in the time of Hezekiah just before his capture of Ekron. It was a Levitical city. Its modern site is uncertain.
C. H. W. Johns.
Eltekon
(). A town of Judah, noticed with Maarath and Beth-anoth. Site unknown.
Eltolad
(). A town in the extreme S. of Judah, given to Simeon (19*); probably = Tolad (1 Oh 423). The site is unknown.
Elul
Elul (. 1 Mao 14). See Timb.
Eluzai
One of the mighty men who joined David at Ziklag ().
Elymais
This name, which represents the OT Elam, was given to a district of Persia, lying along the southern spurs of Mt. Zagros, S. of Media and N. of Susiana. In 1 Maccabees 6:1. according to the common reading, which is adopted by the AV, Elymais is named as a rich city in Persia. No such city, however, is mentioned elsewhere, except by Josephus, who is simply following 1 Mac. There can be no doubt, therefore, that we should correct the text and read with RV, ‘in Elymais in Persia there was a city.’
Elymas
See Bab-jesus.
Elzabad
1. A Gadite chief who joined David (1 Oh 1212). 2. A Korahite doorkeeper ().
Elzaphan
See Elizaphan.
Emadabun
Emadabun (1 Esdras 5:58). One of the Levites who superintended the restoration of the Temple. The name does not occur in the parallel : it is probably due to a repetition of the name which follows, lliadun.
Ematheis
Ematheis (1 Esdras 9:29) = Athlai, .
Embalming
This specifically Egyptian (non- Israelitish) method of treating dead bodies is mentioned in Scripture only in the cases of Jacob and Joseph (Gn S02«- 26).
Embroidery and Needlework
Embroidery is the art of working patterns or figures on textile fabrics with woollen, linen, silk, or gold thread by means of a needle. The process was exactly described by the Romans as painting with a needle (flcu pingere).
The Hebrew word for embroidery {riqmah) is rendered by AV in and by ‘needlework,’ for which RV substitutes ‘embroidery,’ — in the former passage, however, render ‘a piece of embroidery or two’ for ‘embroidery on both sides,’ — and in , , , , by ‘broidered work’ or ‘broidered garments,’ which RV retains. Similarly in connexion with certain fabrics of the Tabernacle and the high priest’s girdle, for ‘wrought with needlework’ RV has the more literal rendering ‘the work of the embroiderer’ ( etc.), whom AV also introduces in .
An entirely different word, the real significance o( which is uncertain, is also rendered in AV by ‘embroider.’ ‘thou Shalt embroider the coat of fine linen’ (). for which RV has: ‘thou shalt weave the coat in chequer work’ (for which see Spinning and Weaving). So tor a ‘broidered coat’ () RV has ‘a coat of chequer work.’
The art of embroidery was an invention of the Babylonians, from whom it passed, through the medium of the Phrygians, to the Greelcs and the other nations of the West. Mummy cloths are still preserved showing that the art was also practised in Egypt. No actual specimens of Babylonian embroidery have survived, but the sculptures of Assyrian palaces, notably a sculptured figure of Ashurnazirpal. show the royal robes ornamented with borders of the most elaborate embroidery. The various designs are discussed, with illustrations, by Perrot and Chipiez, Hist, of Art in Chaldeea and Assyria, u. 363 ff.
It, as is generally believed, the Priests’ Code was compiled in Babylonia, we may trace the influence of the latter in the embroideries introduced into the Tabernaclescreens and elsewhere (reft, above). In the passages In question the work of ‘the embroiderer’ <,rSqim) is distinguished from, and mentioned after, the work of ‘the cunning workman’ (chsshib, lit. ‘designer,’ in Phoenician ‘weaver’), who appears to have woven his designs into the fabric after the manner of tapestry (see Spinning and Weaving). The materials used by both artists were the same, linen thread dyed ‘blue, purple, and scarlet,’ and fine gold thread, the preparation of which is minutely described. .
An illustration in colours of the sails which Tyre imported from Egypt, ‘of fine linen with broidered work’ (). may be seen in the frontispiece to Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii.
A. R. S. Kennedy.
Emek-keziz
Emek-keziz (. AV ‘Valley of Keziz,’ mentioned among the towns of Benjamin).: — A place apparently in the Jordan Valley near Jericho. The site is unknown.
Emerald
See Jewels and Precious Stones.
Emerods
See Medicine.
ElVmvr. — Primitive inhabitants of Moab, a gigantic people of Hebrew tradition (Bephaim, f.: cf. Gn ). J. F. McCUHDY.
Emmanuel
See Immanitel.
Emmaus
1. A village sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, where the risen Christ made Himself known to two disciples (). There is no clue to the position of this place, and it has been sought in Kubelbeh, N.W. of the city; in Kuloniyeh, W. of it; in Khamasah to the S. W. ; and in ‘Unas to the S. The traditional site is Emmaus Nicopolis {‘Amwas), W. of Jerusalem, which, however, is much too far — 20 miles — from the city.
2. Emmaus Nicopolis, now ‘Amwas, on the main Jerusalem-Jafta road, the scene of the defeat of Gorgias by Judas (1 Maccabees 3 4:3–27). held and fortified by Bacchides (1 Maccabees 9:50). R. A. S. Macalister.
Emmer
Emmer (1 Esdras 9:21) = Immer.
Emmeruth
Emmeruth (1 Esdras 5:24). A corruption of Immer in .