Astronomy (continued) – Athenobius

Astronomy (continued)

The astronomical antithesis between Mazzaroth, the constellations of the zodiac ("led forth" each "in its season"), and `Ayish', "the Bear with her train" ("guided" in its unceasing revolution round the pole), is so complete and astronomically appropriate, that there is reason to expect an antithesis as clear and as astronomically significant between the two clauses of the preceding verse. But the rendering of the Revised Version (British and American) does not afford anything of the kind: "Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?" is simply equivalent to the question as to whether Job could fix these stars in their places in the sky; and for an inquiry so perfectly general, one constellation would be no more appropriate than another. The true rendering must certainly bring out some difference or at least distinction between the two constellations or the use that was made of them.

And in the third passage in which Kimah and Kecil are mentioned together an important distinction is hinted at. The order in Amos 5:8 suggests that the Pleiades corresponded in some way to daybreak, Orion to nightfall: "That maketh the Pleiades and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night." Sunrise turns "the shadow of death into the morning," and in the progress of the seasons the analogous change on the higher scale is effected when Nature revives from the death of winter in the morning of the year, that is to say, at the return of spring. And at the time of the origin of the constellations the Pleiades were the harbingers of this change at their "cosmical" rising, that is to say, when they rose with the sun at daybreak they brought back the "delights" of springtime.

Similarly sunset makes "the day dark with night," and in the progress of the seasons the analogous change on the higher scale is effected when the long nights and short days of winter set in the evening of the year, and all nature is bound as by iron bands, in cold and frost. And at the time of the origin of the constellations, the "acronychal" rising of Orion, i. e. its rising at nightfall, was the harbinger of this change; the rigor of winter formed "the bands of Orion."

These regular changes in the appearings and positions of the constellations constitute the ordinances of the heavens, ordinances which Job could neither alter for the worse by holding back the delights of springtime, or for the better by breaking the bonds of winter cold. But these ordinances were not confined in their effects to the heavens; their dominion was established on the earth, which answered by the revival of vegetation when the Pleiades, then nearly in conjunction with the sun, appeared for a short time before sunrise; and by the return of the constraints of cold and frost when Orion, in opposition to the sun, rode the sky the whole night long.

The completeness and beauty of the imagery will now be apparent.

The Pleiades stood for the East, since by their rising just before daybreak, they heralded the morning of the year and the "delights" of springtime.

Orion stood for the West, since his appearing just after nightfall heralded the evening of the year, and the bands of winter cold.

Mazzaroth, the twelve constellations of the zodiac, the "chambers of the south," each "led forth" from the underworld in its own "season," stood for the South.

And the "Bear with her train," "guided" in their unceasing course round the pole, stood for the circumpolar constellations in the North.

And the movements of them all in a perfect obedience to the law of God were the ordinances of heaven; whilst the dominion of them was seen to be established upon the earth in the constant succession of the seasons there in unfailing answer to the changes in the stars above.

These three verses give us a vivid picture of the work of primitive astronomy. The science was then in an early stage of development, but it was a real science, a science of observation, thoroughly sound so far as it had progressed, and showing high intelligence on the part of those who pursued it. We now know that the movement of "the Bear with her train," that is, the apparent rotation of the heavens round the pole, is due to the real rotation of the earth upon its axis; that the bringing out of "the Mazzaroth in their season," apparently due to the revolution of the sun round the earth, is due to the real revolution of the earth round the sun. But this knowledge which has enabled us to see where the actual movements lie has not brought us any nearer penetrating the mystery of those movements. What is the ultimate cause of the rotation of this vast globe, we know no more than the ancients knew what caused the heavens to rotate; what causes it to fly through space 18 miles in every second of time, we know no more than the ancients knew why the sun appeared to move among the stars. To us, as to them, it is the power of God, and the will of God.

14. The Date of the Book of Job:

It has been supposed by some scholars that the Book of Job was written during the Captivity in Babylon, but this supposition is untenable in view of the statement in Job's Apology that the worship of the heavenly bodies was "an iniquity to be punished by the judges" (Job 31:26–28). This could not have been written by Jews in exile amongst the worshippers of Samas and Sin. But neither can this book have been written after the Return. The meaning of the three terms, `Ayish, Kimah and Kecil, had been lost before the Septuagint made the rendering of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, for in Amos 5:8 they left Kimah and Kecil untranslated, and they rendered `Ayish and Kecil differently in Job 9:9, and 38:31,32.

Before the Captivity, Kimah and Kecil were plainly in common use, since Amos uses them as if they were familiar to his hearers, and as he himself points out, he was not a man of learning but a simple herdsman. The obvious and sufficient explanation of the later ignorance respecting these three terms lies in the catastrophes of the Assyrian and Bah conquests. Not less significant of their complete loss of the old Hebrew astronomy is the alteration which the Septuagint made in the Hebrew text. The "delights of the Pleiades" had evidently no more meaning for them than they have had for the majority of modern Orientalists, and no doubt it seemed a plausible and legitimate emendation to write ma`anaddoth, "chains," instead of ma`adhannoth, "delights," so as to bring about a fancied parallelism with moshekhoth, the "bands" of Orion. But the alteration transforms a complete, beautiful and symmetrical figure, an epitome of the astronomical observation of the time, into a bald tautology. Those critics are therefore right who assign the Book of Job and the Isaiah 13:1–22 to the period before the Captivities, and the three names come to us as indications, not of a Babylonian science of astronomy, learned by the Jews during their exile, but of a Hebrew astronomy destroyed by the unspeakable disaster of the conquest.

III. Physiography.

1. The Circle of the Earth:

It has generally been assumed that the Hebrews considered the earth to be a vast circular plain, arched over by a solid vault-- "the firmament"--above which were stored, as if in cisterns, the "treasuries" (Job 38:22) of the rain, snow and hail, and some writers have even attempted to express this supposed conception in diagrammatic form. One of the best of these attempts, reproduced below, is given by Schiaparelli, in his Astronomy in the Old Testament.

But this assumption is in reality based more upon the ideas prevalent in Europe during the Dark Ages than upon any actual statements in the Old Testament. The same word (chagh) used in the Old Testament to express the roundness of the heavens (Job 22:14) is also used when the circle of the earth is spoken of (Isaiah 40:22), and it is likewise applied to the deep (Proverbs 8:27). Now it is obvious that the heavens are spherical in appearance, and to an attentive observer it is clear that the surface of the sea is also rounded. There is therefore no sufficient warrant for the assumption that the Hebrews must have regarded the earth as flat.

(1) The Earth a Sphere.

Certain astronomical relations were recognized very early. The stars appear as if attached to a globe rotating round the earth once in 24 hours, and this appearance was clearly familiar to the author of the Book of Job, and indeed long before the time of Abraham, since the formation of the constellations could not have been effected without such recognition. But the spherical form of the heavens almost involves a similar form for the earth, and their apparent diurnal rotation certainly means that they are not rigidly connected with the earth, but surround it on all sides at some distance from it. The earth therefore must be freely suspended in space, and so the Book of Job describes it: "He stretcheth out the north over empty space, and hangeth the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7).

(2) The North Stretched Out over Empty Space.

Here the "north" signifies the northern circumpolar constellations and the writer recognized that they stretch out beyond the utmost confines of the earth; so that he was not under any impression that the heavens rested upon the earth, or were borne up by mountains. The celestial sphere surrounded the earth entirely, but at a distance from it; between the two there was "empty space." Some commentators have indeed claimed that Job 26:10, "He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters, unto the confines of light and darkness" is equivalent to a statement that the circumference of the terrestrial plain extended to the place where sea and sky met. But no man of intelligence can, at any time, have supposed that the sea horizon marked the dividing line between day and night, and the meaning of the passage is correctly given in the King James Version, "until the day and night come to an end"; in other words, the waters of the sea will be confined to their appointed place never again to overflow the earth so long as the succession of day and night shall continue (compare Genesis 8:22; Genesis 9:15).

(3) The Corners of the Earth.

See EARTH, CORNERS OF THE.

2. The Pillars of the Earth:

erets, "the earth," is in general the surface of the earth, the dry land inhabited by man and beast. Hence "the pillars" of the earth (Job 9:6) are the rocks that bear up that surface, for as has been shown, it was quite clear to the author of the Book of Job, and to the primitive astronomers, that our world was unsupported in space. For "Vault of the Earth" see EARTH, VAULT OF.

3. The Firmament:

(1) The Hebrew Conception.

Above the, spherical earth was stretched out the "firmament" (raqia`) made on the second day of creation to "divide the waters from the waters" (Genesis 16:1–16). To the Hebrews the "firmament" was the apparent void above, in which clouds float and the lights of heaven pursue their appointed paths. The word raqia`, by its etymology, suggests an expanse, something stretched, spread or beaten out, as when Isaiah (40:22) says that the Lord "stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in." But the Greek word stereoma, by which the Septuagint rendered raqia`, gives the meaning of a firm and solid structure, and our translators have carried out this same idea in their English rendering of "firmament."

(2) The Alexandrian Conception.

In this however the Septuagint simply expressed the astronomical science of their day as accepted in Alexandria, where the doctrine of a succession of solid crystalline spheres, each carrying a planet, held currency. But in order to express the Hebrew idea, raqia` should be rendered "expanse" or "space"; it corresponds to the "empty space" of Job 26:7. This "expanse" was appointed to divide "the waters which were under the expanse, from the waters which were above the expanse"; and it has been argued from this that the upper waters must have been regarded as being enclosed in a watertight reservoir, furnished with sluices or floodgates, which could be opened to allow the rain to fall.

4. The Windows of Heaven:

Thus in the account of the Flood, "the windows of heaven" are said to have been opened. But, 'arubbah, "window," means a network, or lattice, a form which can never have been ascribed to a literal floodgate; and in the other passages where "the windows of heaven" are mentioned the expression is obviously metaphorical (2 Kings 7:2,2 Kings 7:19; Isaiah 24:18; Malachi 3:10).

5. Rain:

Further the numerous other references to rain connect it with the clouds, as "I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain" (Isaiah 5:6), or in the So of Deborah, "The clouds dropped water" (Judges 5:4; see also Psalms 77:17; Psalms 147:8; Proverbs 16:15; Ecclesiastes 12:2). The fantastic idea of solidly built cisterns in the sky furnished with sluices has no warrant in Scripture. So far from any such crude conception, there is a very clear and complete account of the atmospheric circulation. Elihu describes the process of evaporation, "For he draweth up the drops of water, which distilll in rain from his vapor, which the skies pour down and drop upon man abundantly" (Job 36:27,Job 36:28).

6. Clouds:

Jeremiah and the Psalmist repeat the description, "He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries" (Jeremiah 10:13). By the foreshortening that clouds undergo in the distance they inevitably appear to form chiefly on the horizon, "at the ends of the earth," whence they move upward toward the zenith. Thus God "calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth" (Amos 9:6); and thus "All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again" (Ecclesiastes 1:7). Other references to the clouds in the Book of Job reveal not merely observation but acute reflection. "Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?" (Job 37:16) indicates a perception that the clouds float, each in its own place, at its own level, each perfectly balanced in the thin air.

7. The Deep:

(1) Meaning of the Word.

Tehom, "the deep," means moving water, and hence the ocean, which is represented as being essentially one, exactly as we now know it to be by actual exploration--"Let the waters Under the heavens be gathered together unto one place" (Genesis 1:9). And the earth is stretched out "above the waters" (Psalms 136:6; Psalms 24:2). That is to say that the water surface lies lower than the land surface; and not only so, but, within the substance of the earth itself, there are subterranean waters which form a kind of ocean underground. This also is called in Ezekiel 31:4 the "deep," tehom; "The waters nourished it, the deep made it to grow." But in general tehom denotes the sea, as when Pharaoh's chosen captains were drowned in the Red Sea, "The deeps cover them" (Exodus 15:5). Indeed the word appears to be onomatopoetic derived from the "moaning" or "humming" of the sea; whilst 'erets, the "earth," seems intended to represent the "rattle" of shingle, "the scream of a madden'd beach dragged down by the wave."

(2) The Babylonian Dragon of Chaos.

In Genesis 1:1–31, tehom denotes the primeval waters, and the resemblance of the word to Tiamat, the name of the Babylonian she- dragon of Chaos, has led some commentators to ascribe a Babylonian origin to this chapter. It need hardly be pointed out that if this resemblance proves any connection between the Hebrew and Babylonian accounts of creation, it proves the Hebrew to be the original. The natural object, tehom, the sea, must have preceded the mythological personification of it.

LITERATURE.

Maunder, Astronomy of the Bible; Astronomy without a Telescope; Schiaparelli, Astronomy in the Old Testament; Warren, The Earliest Cosmologies, 1909.

E. W. Maunder

Astyages

as-ti'-a-jes (Astuages; or Astyigas (in Ktesias)), or Istuvigu, son of Cyaxares.

I, king of the Medes 585-550 BC, and predecessor of Cyrus (Bel and the Dragon verse 1): His wife was the daughter of Alyattes, king of Lydia. The daughter of Astyages (Mandane) married a Persian, Cambyses, and a son was born to them who later became Cyrus the Great. Astyages had given orders to expose the babe; but Harpagus, on whom the task had been imposed, gave the child to a herdsman, with instructions to kill him. When the boy, who had been brought up as his own by the herdsman, arrived at the age of twelve, Astyages discovered that he was the son of Mandane. The king in wrath then had the son of Harpagus killed and served to his father as food. The latter concealed his feelings of hatred and resentment, and bided his time; and when the young Cyrus had grown to manhood, he stirred up the grandson in insurrection against Astyages, who was defeated and taken prisoner (Herodotus i.127-30). When Astyages marched against the Persians, the Medes, under the command of Harpagus, deserted their king, and sided with the disappointed Persians; and Cyrus was crowned king. This account of Herodotus is confirmed by the Annalistic Tablet of Cyrus (RP, series ii, 159). The dethroned monarch was treated with kindness by his conqueror. According to Ktesias, a home was provided for him by Cyrus in Hyrcania.

Astyages was the last of the kings of the Manda (Media). An exceedingly shrewd man, Deioces by name, had founded the kingdom 150 years before (699-646). Phraortes was the second in line (646-624), and Cyaxares the third (624-584).

J. E. Harry

Asunder

a-sun'-der: This word occurs 22 times in the King James Version, 13 in Old Testament and 9 in the New Testament. It is found in combination with break (twice), burst, cleave (twice), depart, cut (six times), divide (three times), drive, part, pluck, put (twice), rend, saw. These are the translation of 9 Hebrew, and 4 Greek words.

Break asunder

(1) (parpar): Job, in reply to Eliphaz, complains about God, "I was at ease, and he brake me asunder" (Job 16:12).

(2) (nitteq): In Psalms 2:1–12 the kings and rulers, meditating rebellion against Yahweh and His anointed, say, "Let us break their bonds asunder" (Psalms 2:3).

Burst asunder (lasko): This was the fate of Judas (Acts 1:18).

Cleave asunder

(1) (nibhqa'): The same root as of biq`ah, "a valley." "The ground clave asunder" and swallowed up Dathan and Abiram with their households (Numbers 16:31).

(2) (pillach): Job complains of God, "He cleaveth my reins asunder" (Job 16:13).

Cut asunder

(1) (qitstsets): The Lord "cut asunder the cords of the wicked" (Psalms 129:4). The Hebrew word is used of cutting into wires or strips (Exodus 39:3).

(2) (gadha'): "to cut off a branch or cut down a tree." "How is the hammer of the whole earth (Babylon) cut asunder!" (Jeremiah 50:23). Zechariah "cut asunder" the staff "Beauty," signifying the breach of the covenant between Yahweh and His people, and also the staff "Bands," signifying the breach of the brotherhood between Judah and Israel (Zechariah 11:10,Zechariah 11:14).

(3) (dichotomeo): The fate of the Unfaithful Steward, literally, "cut in two"; the Revised Version, margin "severely scourge him" (Matthew 24:51; Luke 12:46). See PUNISHMENTS.

Depart asunder (apochorizomai): Paul and Barnabas "departed asunder from one another" (Acts 15:39 the King James Version); the Revised Version (British and American) "parted asunder."

Divide asunder

(1) (hibhdil): Usually to separate, to make a division between. Here the reference is to the offering of pigeons or turtledoves (Leviticus 1:17; Leviticus 5:8).

(2) (merismos): From merizo, "to divide." The noun is abstract, "the act of dividing." The word of God pierces "even to the dividing of soul and spirit" (Hebrews 4:12).

Drive asunder (hittir): Lit. "to cause to tremble," then "to loosen." God "drove asunder the nations" (Habakkuk 3:6). Part asunder (hiphridh): With a preposition ben, "between," "to separate." The chariot and horses of fire "parted asunder" Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 2:11).

Pluck asunder (diaspao): To bear asunder, to part forcibly. "Chains had been plucked asunder" by the demoniac of the Gerasenes (Mark 5:4 the King James Version); the Revised Version (British and American) "rent asunder."

Put asunder (chorizo): To sever one from another. See the words of Jesus on divorce (Matthew 19:6; Mark 10:9).

Rend asunder (nibhqa`): The same Hebrew word as "cleave asunder."

(1) "And No shall be rent asunder" (Ezekiel 30:16 the King James Version): the Revised Version (British and American) "broken up."

(2) the Revised Version (British and American) for the King James Version "plucked asunder" (Mark 5:4). Saw asunder (prizo or prio): The fate of some on the roll of faith, "They were sawn asunder" (Hebrews 11:37). See also PUNISHMENTS.

S. F. Hunter

Asuppim; House Of Asuppim

a-sup'-im, (beth ha-'acuppim):

King James Version, margin "gatherings"; the Revised Version (British and American) "the storehouses." In Nehemiah 12:25, the King James Version renders the same word thresholds(King James Version, margin "treasuries, assemblies"). A storehouse most probably at the southern gate of the temple (1 Chronicles 26:15,1 Chronicles 26:17; Nehemiah 12:25).

Asur

as'-ur (Asour): the Revised Version (British and American) for Assur in 1 Esdras 5:31. Same as Harhur of Ezra 2:51.

Asylum

a-si'-lum: The custom of fleeing to specially sacred places to obtain the protection of a deity is found all over the world (Post, Grundriss, II, 252 ff). In ancient Israel we meet with it in two forms--the asylum of the altar and the asylum of the cities of refuge. The altar at the House of God was a place to which persons in danger fled for protection (1 Kings 1:50; 1 Kings 2:28). It had horns and must not be confused with the altars of earth or stone that were used for lay sacrifices. See ALTAR; SANCTUARY. Exodus 21:14 provides that a murderer is to be taken from the altar to be put to death. The law of the cities of refuge proceeds upon a somewhat different principle. Its objects are

(1) to shield a homicide from the avenger of blood until trial, and

(2) to provide a refuge for the manslayer who has not been guilty of murder. There is one reference to the institution in the history of the kingdom (2 Samuel 14:14). For the legal and geographical information, see CITIES OF REFUGE; HOMICIDE.

Harold M. Wiener

Asyncritus

a-sin'-kri-tus (Asunkritos, "incomparable"): An unknown Christian at Rome to whom Paul sent an affectionate salutation (Romans 16:14).

At One

eis eirenen, "at one," ("at peace"): "Set them at one again" (Acts 7:26), the reconciliation of persons at variance. From this adverb we have the words "atone" and "atonement."

Atad

a'-tad ('aTadh, "a thorn"). See ABEL-MIZRAIM.

Atar

at'-ar (Atar; the King James Version Jatal = Ater (Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45)): The sons of Atar (porters) returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem (1 Esdras 5:28).

Atarah

at'-a-ra, a-ta'-ra (`aTarah, "crown"): One of Jerahmeel's wives and mother of Onam (1 Chronicles 2:26).

Atargatis

a-tar'-ga-tis (Atargatis; the Revised Version (British and American) wrongly ATERGATIS):

Is stated in 2 Macc 12:26 to have been worshipped at Karnion, the Ashtaroth-Karnaim of the Old Testament (compare Ant, XII, viii, 4). The name is found on coins of Membij as `atar-`atah, where `Atar (i. e. Ashtoreth) is identified with the goddess `Atah, whose name is sometimes written `Ati. or `Atah or `Ati was also worshipped at Palmyra, and (according to Melito) in Adiabene.

The compound Atargatis, often corrupted by the Greeks into Derketo, had her chief temples at Membij (Hierapolis) and Ashkelon where she was represented with the body of a woman and the tail of a fish, fish being sacred to her. Herodotus made her the Aphrodite Urania of the Greeks. `Ati may have been originally a Hittite goddess with whom the Assyrian Ishtar (`Atar) came afterward to be identified tory of the kingdom (2 Samuel 14:14). For the legal and geographical information, see CITIES OF REFUGE; HOMICIDE.

A. H. Sayce

Ataroth

at'-a-roth, a-ta'-roth (`aTaroth, "crowns" or "wreaths"; Ataroth):

(1) A city East of the Jordan, apparently in the territory given to Reuben, but built, or fortified, by the children of Gad (Numbers 32:3,Numbers 32:34). It is named along with Dibon, which is identified with Dhiban. Eight miles Northeast by North of Dibon, on the South of Wady Zerqa Ma`in, stands Jebel `Attarus, in which the ancient name is preserved. The city is doubtless represented by Khirbet `Attarus, about 4 miles West of the mountain.

(2) A place on the boundary between Ephraim and Benjamin, toward the West (Joshua 16:2). It seems to be the same as Ataroth- addar of Joshua 16:5, Joshua 18:13. It is probably to be identified with the modern ed-Dariyeh South of nether Bethhoron, and about 12 1/2 miles West of Jerusalem.

(3) A place on the eastern frontier of Ephraim (Joshua 16:7). This town has not been identified. Conder thinks it may be identified with et-Truneh in the Jordan valley, or with Khirbet et-Taiyereh.

W. Ewing

Ataroth-Addar

at'-a-roth-ad'-ar (`aTroth 'addar, "crowns of Addar"). See ATAROTH (2).

Ater

a'-ter ('aTer, "bound" (?)):

(1) The ancestor of a family of 98 persons who returned from Babylonian captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:16; Nehemiah 7:21). the King James Version has "Ater of Hezekiah"; the Revised Version (British and American) of 1 Esdras 5:15 has "Ater of Ezekias," margin, "Ater of Hezekiah." the King James Version has "Aterezias."

(2) The head of a family of porters who returned from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45).

Aterezaias

a-ter-e-zi'-as (Ater to Hezekia): Usually found in the abbreviated form Ater. Head of a Jewish family, which returned with Zerubbabel, under the decree of Cyrus. Mentioned (Ezra 2:16) as sprung from Hezekiah. Their number is given as 98.

Mentioned again as found in the register of the genealogies of the first returned exiles by Nehemiah (Nehemiah 7:21). Again among those who sealed "the sure covenant" (Nehemiah 10:17). Also found in 1 Esdras 5:15, where the name is given variously as Ater or Aterezaias. The number of the family, given by Esdras, is 92.

Atergatis

a-ter'-ga-tis. See ATARGATIS.

Ateta

a-te'-ta (the King James Version Teta; Codex Alexandrinus Ateta, Codex Vaticanus, om.): Head of a family of Levites; gate keepers who returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel (1 Esdras 5:28); called Hitita in Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45.

Athach

a'-thak (`athakh, "lodging-place"): One of the cities of Judah to which David sent from Ziklag the spoil of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30:30). Its site is unknown. Driver, Budde, and Wellhausen identify it with Ether (Joshua 15:42).

Athaiah

a-tha'-ya ('athayah = "Yahweh is helper"; Athea, or Atheai): He is designated (Nehemiah 11:4) as a descendant of Judah and the son of Uzziah. After the return from Babylon, he dwelt in Jerusalem. In 1 Chronicles 9:4 his name is given as Uthai.

Athaliah

ath-a-li'-a (`athalyah; meaning uncertain, perhaps, "whom Yahweh has afflicted"; 2 Kings 8:26; 2 Kings 8:11; 2 Chronicles 22:1–12, 2 Chronicles 23:1–21):

1. Relationship:

(1) Daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, grand-daughter of Omri, 6th king of Israel. In her childhood the political relations of the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel had, after many years of strife, become friendly, and she was married to Jehoram, eldest son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah (2 Kings 8:18). The marriage was one of political expediency, and is a blot on the memory of Jehoshaphat.

2. Athaliah as Queen:

When Jehoram was 32 years of age, he succeeded to the throne, and Athaliah became queen of Judah. She inherited her mother's strength of will, and like her developed a fanatical devotion to the cult of the Zidonian Baal. Elijah's blow at the worship of Baal in Samaria shortly before her accession to power did nothing to mitigate her zeal. It probably intensified it. The first recorded act of Jehoram's reign is the murder of his six younger brothers; some princes of the realm, who were known to be favorable to the ancient faith of the nation, were also destroyed (2 Chronicles 21:4). There can be little doubt that these deeds of blood were supported, and perhaps instigated, by Athaliah, who was a much stronger character than her husband.

3. Murder of Her Grandchildren:

After eight years of royal life, Athaliah became a widow, and her son, Ahaziah, then 22 years of age (2 Kings 8:26; not 42 as in 2 Chronicles 22:2), ascended his father's throne. As queen-mother, Athaliah was now supreme in the councils of the nation, as well as in the royal palace. Within a single year, the young king fell (see JEHU), and the only persons who stood between Athaliah and the throne were her grandchildren. It is in such moments that ambition, fired by fanaticism, sees its opportunity, and the massacre of the royal seed was determined on. This was carried out: but one of them, Jehoash, a babe, escaped by the intervention of his aunt, Jehosheba (1 Kings 11:2; 2 Chronicles 22:11).

4. Her Usurpation:

The palace being cleared of its royal occupants, Athaliah had herself proclaimed sovereign. No other woman, before or since, sat upon the throne of David, and it is a proof of her energy and ability that, in spite of her sex, she was able to keep it for six years. From 2 Chronicles 24:7 we gather that a portion of the temple of Yahweh was pulled down, and the material used in the structure of a temple of Baal.

5. The Counter-Revolution:

The high priest at this time was Jehoiada, who had married the daughter of Athaliah, Jehosheba (2 Chronicles 22:11). His promotion to the primacy led to the undoing of the usurper, as Jehoiada proved staunchly, if secretly, true to the religion of Yahweh. For six years he and his wife concealed in their apartments, near the temple, the young child of Ahaziah. In the seventh year a counter-revolution was planned. The details are given with unusual fullness in Ki and Chronicles, the writings of which supplement one another. Thus, when the Chronicler wrote, it had become safe to give the names of five captains who led the military rising (2 Chronicles 23:1). With the Book of Ki before him, it was not necessary to do more than extract from the ancient records such particulars as had not hitherto appeared. This it is which has chiefly given rise to the charge of variations in the two narratives. See JEHOASH.

6. Her Death:

At the time of her deposition, Athaliah was resident in the royal palace. When roused to a sense of danger by the acclamations which greeted the coronation ceremony, she made an attempt to stay the revolt by rushing into the temple court, alone; her guards, according to Josephus, having been prevented from following her (Ant., IX, vii, 3). A glance sufficed. It showed her the lad standing on a raised platform before the temple, holding the Book of the Law in his hand, and with the crown upon his brow. Rending her robe and shouting, "Treason! Treason!" she fled. Some were for cutting her down as she did so, but this was objected to as defiling the temple with human blood. She was, therefore, allowed to reach the door of the palace in flight. Here she fell, smitten by the avenging guards.

Athaliah's usurpation lasted for six years (2 Kings 11:3; 2 Kings 12:1; 2 Chronicles 22:12). Her 1st year synchronizes with the 1st of Jehu in Israel, and may be placed 846 BC (some put later). See CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. The statement of 2 Kings 12:1 is here understood in the sense that Jehoash began his public reign in the 7th year of Jehu, and that he reigned 40 years counting from the time of his father's death. A modern parallel is the dating of all official records and legal documents of the time of Charles II of England from the death of Charles I.

The only other reference to Athaliah is that above alluded to in 2 Chronicles 24:7, where she is spoken of as "that wicked woman."

(2) A Benjamite who dwelt in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 8:26,1 Chronicles 8:28).

(3) Father of Jeshaiah, who returned with Ezra (8:7); called Gotholias in Apocrypha (1 Esdras 8:33).

W. Shaw Caldecott

Athanasian; Creed

ath-a-na'-zhan. See CREED.

Atharias

ath-a-ri'-as. See ATTHARIAS.

Atharim

ath'-a-rim (`atharim): the Revised Version (British and American) "The way of Atharim"; the King James Version "The way of the spies." the Revised Version (British and American) regards Atharim as a place (so Septuagint). the King James Version follows Syriac and Targum, rendering Atharim as if Tarim = spies. Dillmann translates "the caravan path," connecting it with Arabic athar, "a track or footprint." Here the king of Arad fought against Israel, taking some captives (Numbers 21:1).all official records and legal documents of the time of Charles II of England from the death of Charles I. See HORMAH.

Atheism

a'-the-iz'-m (atheos, "without God" (Ephesians 2:12)): Ordinarily this word is interpreted to mean a denial of the existence of God, a disbelief in God, the opposite of theism. But it seems better that we should consider it under four heads, in order to obtain a clear idea of the different meanings in which it has been used.

(1) The classical.

In this sense it does not mean a denial of the existence of a Divine Being, but the denial of the existence or reality of the god of a particular nation. Thus the Christians were repeatedly charged with atheism, because of their disbelief in the gods of heathenism. It was not charged that they did not believe in any god, but that they denied the existence and reality of the gods worshipped, and before whom the nation hitherto had bowed. This was considered so great a crime, so dangerous a thing to the nation, that it was felt to be a just cause for most cruel and determined persecutions. Socrates' teaching cast a shadow on the reality of the existence of the gods, and this charge was brought against him by his contemporaries. Cicero also uses the word in this sense in his charge against Diagoras of Athens. Indeed, such use of it is common in all classical literature.

(2) Philosophic.

It is not meant that the various philosophic systems to which this term is applied actually deny the existence of a Divine Being or of a First Cause, but that they are atheistic in their teaching, and tend to unsettle the faith of mankind in the existence of God. There is indeed a belief in a first cause, in force, in motion, in a certain aggregation of materials producing life, but the Divine Being as taught by theism is absolutely denied. This is true of the Idealism of Fichte, of the Ideal Pantheism of Spinoza, the Natural Pantheism of Schelling, and similar forms of thought. In applying the word atheism to the teaching here given, theism does not intend to assail them as wholly without a belief in a Divine Being; but it affirms that God is a person, a self- conscious Being, not merely a first cause or force. To deny this fundamental affirmation of theism is to make the teaching atheistic, a denial of that which is essential to theism (Hebrews 11:3).

(3) Dogmatic.

It absolutely denies the existence of God. It has often been held that this is, in fact, impossible. Cousin has said, "It is impossible, because the existence of God is implied in every assertion." It is true, however, that in all ages there have been persons who declared themselves absolute atheists. Especially is this true of the 18th century a period of widespread skepticism--when not a few, particularly in France, professed themselves atheists. In many cases, however, it resulted from a loose use of the word, careless definition, and sometimes from the spirit of boastfulness.

(4) Practical atheism.

It has nothing at all to do with belief. Indeed it accepts the affirmations of theism. It has reference wholly to the mode of life. It is to live as though there was no God.

It takes the form often of complete indifference to the claims of the Divine Being or again of outbroken and defiant wickedness (Psalms 14:1). That this form of atheism is widely prevalent is well known. It is accompanied in many cases with some form of unbelief or prejudice or false opinion of the church or Christianity. Dogmatic atheism is no longer a menace or even a hindrance to the progress of Christianity, but practical atheism is widespread in its influence and a dangerous element in our modern life (compare Isaiah 31:1; Jeremiah 2:13,Jeremiah 2:17,Jeremiah 2:18; Jeremiah 18:13–15). Whatever the form, whether it be that of religious agnosticism, denying that we can know that God exists, or critical atheism, denying that the evidence to prove His existence is sufficient, or dogmatic, or practical atheism, it is always a system of negation and as such tears down and destroys. It destroys the faith upon which all human relations are built. Since there is no God, there is no right nor wrong, and human action is neither good nor bad, but convenient or inconvenient. It leaves human society without a basis for order and human government without foundation (Romans 1:10–32). All is hopeless, all is wretchedness, all is tending to the grave and the grave ends all.

Arguments against atheism may be summarized as follows:

(1) It is contrary to reason. History has shown again and again how impossible it is to bring the mind to rest in this doctrine. Although Buddhism is atheistic in its teaching, idolatry is widespread in the lands where it prevails. While the Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte was based on a denial of the existence of God, his attempt to found the new religion of humanity with rites and ceremonies of worship reveals how the longing for worship cannot be suppressed. It is a revelation of the fact so often seen in the history of human thought, that the mind cannot rest in the tenets of atheism.

(2) It is contrary to human experience. All history testifies that there are deep religious instincts within the human breast. To regard these as deceptive and unreasonable would itself be utterly unreasonable and unscientific. But the fact of such spiritual longing implies also that there is a Being who is responsive to and can satisfy the cry of the heart (Hebrews 11:6). In his Bampton Lectures Reville has said on this subject: "It would be irrational in the last degree to lay down the existence of such a need and such a tendency, and yet believe that the need corresponds to nothing, that the tendency has no goal."

(3) It fails to account for the evidence of design in the universe.

See COSMOLOGY.

(4) It fails to account for the existence of man and the world in general. Here is the universe: how did it come to be? Here is man: how is he to be accounted for? To these and like questions, atheism and atheistic philosophy have no adequate answer to give. See also COSMOLOGY; CREATION; GOD.

Jacob W. Kapp

Athenians

a-the'-ni-ans Athenaioi: Inhabitants of Athens. Luke has a remark on their curiosity and their delight in novelty (Acts 17:21). See ATHENS.

Athenobius

ath-e-no'-bi-us [Athenobios]: A "friend" of Antiochus VII (Sidetes), who was sent to Jerusalem by the king to protest against the occupation of Joppa and Gazara, and the citadel Jerusalem. A demand was made on Simon Maccabeus to give up all the places he had taken or pay 1,000 talents in silver. Simon declined to pay more than 100 talents, and Athenobius returned to Antiochus from his fruitless mission (1 Macc 15:28-36).