Tarshish – Thamar

Tarshish

(established).

1. Probably Tartessus, a city and emporium of the Phoenicians in the south of Spain, represented as one of the sons of Javan. (Genesis 10:4; 1 Kings 10:22; 1 Chronicles 1:7; Psalms 48:7; Isaiah 2:16; Jeremiah 10:9; Ezekiel 27:12,25; Jonah 1:3; 4:2) The identity of the two places is rendered highly probable by the following circumstances: 1st. There is a very close similarity of name between them, Tartessus being merely Tarshish in the Aramaic form. 2nd. There seems to have been a special relation between Tarshish and Tyre, as there was at one time between Tartessus and Phoenicians. 3rd. The articles which Tarshish is stated by the prophet Ezekiel, (Ezekiel 27:12) to have supplied to Tyre are precisely such as we know, through classical writers, to have been productions of the Spanish peninsula. In regard to tin, the trade of Tarshish in this metal is peculiarly significant, and, taken in conjunction with similarity of name and other circumstances already mentioned, is reasonably conclusive as to its identity with Tartessus. For even not when countries in Europe or on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea where tin is found are very few; and in reference to ancient times, it would be difficult to name any such countries except Iberia or Spain, Lusitania, which was somewhat less in extent than Portugal, and Cornwall in Great Britain. In the absence of positive proof, we may acquiesce in the statement of Strabo, that the river Baetis (now the Guadalquivir) was formerly called Tartessus, that the city Tartessus was situated between the two arms by which the river flowed into the sea, and that the adjoining country was called Tartessis.

2. From the book of Chronicles there would seem to have been a Tarshish accessible from the Red Sea, in addition to the Tarshish of the south of Spain. Thus, with regard to the ships of Tarshish, which Jehoshaphat caused to be constructed at Ezion-geber on the Elanitic Gulf of the Red Sea, (1 Kings 22:48) it is said in the Chronicles, (2 Chronicles 20:36) that they were made to go to Tarshish; and in like manner the navy of ships, which Solomon had previously made in Ezion-geber, (1 Kings 9:26) is said in the Chronicles, (2 Chronicles 9:21) to have gone to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. It is not to be supposed that the author of these passages in the Chronicles contemplated a voyage to Tarshish in the south of Spain by going round what has since been called the Cape of Good Hope. The expression "ships of Tarshish" originally meant ships destined to go to Tarshish; and then probably came to signify large Phoenician ships, of a particular size the description, destined for long voyages, just as in English "East Indiaman" was a general name given to vessels, some of which were not intended to go to India at all. Hence we may infer that the word Tarshish was also used to signify any distant place, and in this case would be applied to one in the Indian Ocean. This is shown by the nature of the imports with which the fleet returned, which are specified as "gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks ." (1 Kings 10:22) The gold might possibly have been obtained form Africa, or from Ophir in Arabia, and the ivory and the apes might likewise have been imported from Africa; but the peacocks point conclusively, not to Africa, but to India. There are only two species known: both inhabit the mainland and islands of India; so that the mention of the peacock seems to exclude the possibility of the voyage having been to Africa.

Tarsus

the chief town of Cilicia, "no mean city" in other respects, but illustrious to all time as the birthplace and early residence of the apostle Paul. (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3) Even in the flourishing period of Greek history it was a city of some considerable consequence. In the civil wars of Rome it took Caesar’s aide, sad on the occasion of a visit from him had its name changed to Juliopolis. Augustus made it a "free city." It was renowned as a place of education under the early Roman emperors. Strabo compares it in this respect to Athens unto Alexandria. Tarsus also was a place of much commerce. It was situated in a wild and fertile plain on the banks of the Cydnus. No ruins of any importance remain.

Tartak

(prince of darkness), one of the gods of the Avite or Avvite colonists of Samaria. (2 Kings 17:31) According to rabbinical tradition, Tartak is said to have been worshipped under the form of an ass.

Tartan

which occurs only in (2 Kings 18:17) and Isai 20:1 Has been generally regarded as a proper name; like Rabsaris and Rabshakeh, it is more probably an official designation, and indicates the Assyrian commander-in-chief.

Tatnai

(gift), satrap of the province west of the Euphrates in the time of Darius Hystaspes. (Ezra 5:3,6; 6:6,13) (B.C. 520.) The name is thought to be Persian.

Taverns, The Three

[THREE TAVERNS TAVERNS]

Taxes

I. Under the judges, according to the theocratic government contemplated by the law, the only payments incumbent upon the people as of permanent obligation were the Tithes, the Firstfruits, the Redemption-money of the first-born, and other offerings as belonging to special occasions. The payment by each Israelite of the half-shekel as "atonement-money," for the service of the tabernacle, on taking the census of the people, (Exodus 30:13) does not appear to have had the character of a recurring tax, but to have been supplementary to the freewill offerings of (Exodus 25:1-7) levied for the one purpose of the construction of the sacred tent. In later times, indeed, after the return from Babylon, there was an annual payment for maintaining the fabric and services of the temple; but the fact that this begins by of a shekel, (Nehemiah 10:32) shows that till then there was no such payment recognized as necessary. A little later the third became a half, and under the name of the didrachma , (Matthew 17:24) was paid by every Jew, in whatever part of the world he might be living. II. The kingdom, with centralized government and greater magnificence, involved of course, a larger expenditure, and therefore a heavier taxation, The chief burdens appear to have been-- (1) A tithe of the produce both of the soil and of live stock. (1 Samuel 8:15,17) (2) Forced military service for a month every year. (1 Samuel 8:12; 1 Kings 9:22; 1 Chronicles 27:1) (3) Gifts to the king. (1 Samuel 10:27; 16:20; 17:18) (4) Import duties. (1 Kings 10:15) (5) The monopoly of certain-branches of commerce. (1 Kings 9:28; 22:48; 10:28,29) (6) The appropriation to the king’s use of the early crop of hay. (Amos 7:1) At times, too, in the history of both the kingdoms there were special burdens. A tribute of fifty shekels a head had to be paid by Menahem to the Assyrian king, (2 Kings 16:20) and under his successor Hoshea this assumed the form of an annual tribute. (2 Kings 17:4) III. Under the Persian empire the taxes paid by the Jews were, in their broad outlines, the same in kind as those of other subject races. The financial system which gained for Darius Hystaspes the name of the "shopkeeper king" involved the payment by each satrap of a fixed sum as the tribute due from his province. In Judea, as in other provinces, the inhabitants had to provide in kind for the maintenance of the governor’s household, besides a money payment of forty shekels a day. (Nehemiah 5:14,15) In Ezra 4:13,20; 7:24 We get a formal enumeration of the three great branches of the revenue. The influence of Ezra secured for the whole ecclesiastical order, from the priests down to the Nethinim, an immunity from all three (Ezra 7:24) but the burden pressed heavily on the great body of the people. IV. Under the Egyptian and Syrian kings the taxes paid by the Jews became yet heavier. The "farming" system of finance was adopted in its worst form. The taxes were put up to auction. The contract sum for those of Phoenicia, Judea and Samaria had been estimated at about 8000 talents. An unscrupulous adventurer would bid double that sum, and would then go down to the province, and by violence and cruelty, like that of Turkish or Hindoo collectors, squeeze out a large margin of profit for himself. V. The pressure of Roman taxation, if not absolutely heavier, was probably more galling, as being more thorough and systematic, more distinctively a mark of bondage. The capture of Jerusalem by Pompey was followed immediately by the imposition of a tribute, and within a short time the sum thus taken from the resources of the country amounted to 10,000 talents. When Judea became formally a Roman province, the whole financial system of the empire came as a natural consequence. The taxes were systematically farmed, and the publicans appeared as a new curse to the country. The portoria were levied at harbors, piers and the gates of cities. (Matthew 17:24; Romans 13:7) In addition to this there was the poll-tax paid by every Jew, and looked upon, for that reason, as the special badge of servitude. United with this, as part of the same system, there was also, in all probability, a property tax of some kind. In addition to these general taxes, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were subject to a special house duty about this period.

Taxing

The English word now conveys to us more distinctly the notion of a tax or tribute actually levied; but it appears to have been used in the sixteenth century for the simple assessment of a subsidy upon the property of a given county, or the registration of the people for the purpose of a poll-tax. Two distinct registrations, or taxings, are mentioned in the New Testament, both of them by St. Luke. The first is said to have been the result of an edict of the emperor Augustus, that "all the world (i.e. the Roman empire) should be taxed," (Luke 2:1) and is connected by the evangelist with the name of Cyrenius Quirinus. [CYRENIUS] The second and more important, (Acts 6:37) is distinctly associated, in point of time, with the revolt of Judas of Galilee.

Tebah

(slaughter), eldest of the sons of Nahor by his concubine Reumah. (Genesis 22:24) (B.C. 1872.)

Tebaliah

(purified), third son of Hosah of the children of Merari. (1 Chronicles 26:11) (B.C. 1014.)

Tebeth

[MONTH]

Tehinnah

(supplication), the father or founder of Ir-nahash, the city of Nahash, and son of Eshton. (1 Chronicles 4:12) (B.C. about 1083.)

Teil Tree

[OAK]

Tekoa, Or Tekoah

(a stockade).

1. A town in the tribe of Judah. (2 Chronicles 11:6) on the range of hills which rise near Hebron and stretch eastward toward the Dead Sea. Jerome says that Tekoa was six Roman miles from Bethlehem, and that as he wrote he had that village daily before his eyes. The "wise woman" whom Joab employed to effect a reconciliation between David and Absalom was obtained from this place. (2 Samuel 14:2) Here also Ira the son of Ikkesh, one of David’s thirty, "the mighty men," was born, and was called on that account "the Tekoite," (2 Samuel 23:26) It was one of the places which Rehoboam fortified, at the beginning of his reign, as a defence against invasion from the south. (2 Chronicles 11:6) Some of the people from Tekoa took part in building the walls of Jerusalem, after the return from the captivity. (Nehemiah 3:6,27) In (Jeremiah 6:1) the prophet exclaims, "Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem." But Tekoa is chiefly memorable as the birthplace (Amos 7:14) of the prophet Amos. Tekoa is still as Teku’a. It lies on an elevated hill, which spreads itself out into an irregular plain of moderate extent. Various ruins exist, such as the walls of houses, cisterns, broken columns and heaps of building-stones.

2. A name occurring in the genealogies of Judah, (1 Chronicles 2:24; 4:5) as the son of Ashur. There is little doubt that the town of Tekoa is meant.

Tekoite, The

Ira ben-Ikkesh, one of David’s warriors, is thus designated. (2 Samuel 23:26; 1 Chronicles 11:28; 27:8) The common people among the Tekoites displayed great activity in the repairs of the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 3:6,27)

Telabib

(cornhill) was probably a city of Chaldaea or Babylonia, not of upper Mesopotamia as generally supposed. (Ezekiel 3:16) The whole scene of Ezekiel’s preaching and visions seems to have been Chaldaea proper; and the river Chebar, as already observed, was not the Khabour, but a branch of the Euphrates.

Telah

(vigor), a descendant of Ephraim, and ancestor of Joshua. (1 Chronicles 7:25) (B.C. before 1491.)

Telaim

(lambs), the place at which Saul collected and numbered his forces before his attack on Amalek, (1 Samuel 16:4) may be identical with TELEM, which see.

Telasear

(Assyrian hill) is mentioned in (2 Kings 19:12) and in Isai 37:12 As a city inhabited by "the children of Eden," --which had been conquered and was held in the time of Sennacherib, by the Assyrians. it must have been in western Mesopotamia, in the neighborhood of Harran and Orfa.

Telem

(oppression).

1. One of the cities in the extreme south of Judah, (Joshua 15:24) probably the same as Telaim. The name Dhullam is found in Van Deuteronomy Velde’s map, attached to a district immediately to the north of the Kubbet el-Baul , south of el Milh and Ar’arah --a position very suitable.

2. A porter or doorkeeper of the temple in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 10:24) He is probably the same as TALMON in (Nehemiah 12:25)

Telharsa, Or Telharesha

(hill of the artificer), one of the Babylonian towns or villages mentioned in (Ezra 2:59; Nehemiah 7:61) along with Tel-melah and Cherub, probably in the low country near the sea.

Telmelah

[TEL-HARSA]

Tema

(a desert), the ninth son of Ishmael, (Genesis 25:15; 1 Chronicles 1:30) whence the tribe called after him, mentioned in (Job 6:19; Jeremiah 25:23) and also the land occupied by this tribe. (Isaiah 21:13,14) (B.C. after 1850.) The name is identified with Teyma , a small town on the confines of Syria.

Teman

(the south).

1. A son of Eliphaz, son of Esau by Adah. (Genesis 36:11,15,41; 1 Chronicles 1:36,53) (B.C. about 1792.)

2. A country, and probably a city, named after the Edomite phylarch, or from which the phylarch took his name. The Hebrew signifies "south," etc., see (Job 9:9; Isaiah 43:6) and it is probable that the land of Teman was a southern portion of the land of Edom, or, in a wider sense, that of the sons of the east. Teman is mentioned in five places by the prophets, in four of which it is connected with Edom and in two with Dedan. (Jeremiah 49:7,8; Ezekiel 25:13) Eusebius and Jerome mention Teman as a town in their day distant 15 miles from Petra, and a Roman post.

Temani

[TEMAN]

Temanite

an inhabitant of Teman.

Temeni

son of Ashur the father of Tekoa, by his wife Naarah. (1 Chronicles 4:6) (B.C. about 1450.)

Temple

There is perhaps no building of the ancient world which has excited so much attention since the time of its destruction as the temple which Solomon built by Herod. Its spoils were considered worthy of forming the principal illustration of one of the most beautiful of Roman triumphal arches, and Justinian’s highest architectural ambition was that he might surpass it. Throughout the middle ages it influenced to a considerable degree the forms of Christian churches, and its peculiarities were the watchwords and rallying-points of all associations of builders. When the French expedition to Egypt, int he first years of this century, had made the world familiar with the wonderful architectural remains of that country, every one jumped to the conclusion that Solomon’s temple must have been designed after an Egyptian model. The discoveries in Assyria by Botta and Layard have within the last twenty years given an entirely new direction to the researches of the restorers. Unfortunately, however, no Assyrian temple has yet been exhumed of a nature to throw much light on this subject, and we are still forced to have recourse to the later buildings at Persepolis, or to general deductions from the style of the nearly contemporary secular buildings at Nineveh and elsewhere, for such illustrations as are available. THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON. --It was David who first proposed to replace the tabernacle by a more permanent building, but was forbidden for the reasons assigned by the prophet Nathan, (2 Samuel 7:5) etc.; and though he collected materials and made arrangements, the execution of the task was left for his son Solomon. (The gold and silver alone accumulated by David are at the lowest reckoned to have amounted to between two and three billion dollars, a sum which can be paralleled from secular history. --Lange.) Solomon, with the assistance of Hiram king of Tyre, commenced this great undertaking int he fourth year of his reign, B.C. 1012, and completed it in seven years, B.C. 1005. (There were 183,000 Jews and strangers employed on it --of Jews 30,000, by rotation 10,000 a month; of Canaanites 153,600, of whom 70,000 were bearers of burdens, 80,000 hewers of wood and stone, and 3600 overseers. The parts were all prepared at a distance from the site of the building, and when they were brought together the whole immense structure was erected without the sound of hammer, axe or any tool of iron. (1 Kings 6:7) --Schaff.) The building occupied the site prepared for it by David, which had formerly been the threshing-floor of the Jebusite Ornan or Araunah, on Mount Moriah. The whole area enclosed by the outer walls formed a square of about 600 feet; but the sanctuary itself was comparatively small, inasmuch as it was intended only for the ministrations of the priests, the congregation of the people assembling in the courts. In this and all other essential points the temple followed the model of the tabernacle, from which it differed chiefly by having chambers built about the sanctuary for the abode of the priests and attendants and the keeping of treasures and stores. In all its dimensions, length, breadth and height, the sanctuary itself was exactly double the size of the tabernacle, the ground plan measuring 80 cubits by 40, while that of the tabernacle was 40 by 20, and the height of the temple being 30 cubits, while that of the tabernacle was 15. [The readers would compare the following account with the article TABERNACLE] As in the tabernacle, the temple consisted of three parts, the porch, the holy place, and the holy of holies. The front of the porch was supported, after the manner of some Egyptian temples, by the two great brazen pillars, Jachin and Boaz, 18 cubits high, with capitals of 5 cubits more, adorned with lily-work and pomegranates. (1 Kings 7:15-22) The places of the two "veils" of the tabernacle were occupied by partitions, in which were folding-doors. The whole interior was lines with woodwork richly carved and overlaid with gold. Indeed, both within and without the building was conspicuously chiefly by the lavish use of the gold of Ophir and Parvaim. It glittered in the morning sun (it has been well said) like the sanctuary of an El Dorado. Above the sacred ark, which was placed, as of old, in the most holy place, were made new cherubim, one pair of whose wings met above the ark, and another pair reached to the walls behind them. In the holy place, besides the altar of incense, which was made of cedar overlaid with gold there were seven golden candlesticks in stead of one, and the table of shew-bread was replaced by ten golden tables, bearing, besides the shew bread, the innumerable golden vessels for the service of the sanctuary. The outer court was no doubt double the size of that of the tabernacle; and we may therefore safely assume that if was 10 cubits in height, 100 cubits north and south, and 200 east and west. If contained an inner court, called the "court of the priests;" but the arrangement of the courts and of the porticos and gateways of the enclosure, though described by Josephus, belongs apparently to the temple of Herod. The outer court there was a new altar of burnt offering, much larger than the old one. [ALTAR] Instead of the brazen laver there was "a molten sea" of brass, a masterpiece of Hiram’s skill for the ablution of the priests. It was called a "sea" from its great size. [SEA, MOLTEN, MOLTEN] The chambers for the priests were arranged in successive stories against the sides of the sanctuary; not, however, reaching to the top, so as to leave space for the windows to light the holy and the most holy place. We are told by Josephus and the Talmud that there was a superstructure on the temple equal in height to the lower part; and this is confirmed by the statement in the books of Chronicles that Solomon "overlaid the upper chambers with gold." (2 Chronicles 3:9) Moreover, "the altars on the top of the upper chamber," mentioned in the books of the Kings, (2 Kings 23:12) were apparently upon the temple. The dedication of the temple was the grandest ceremony ever performed under the Mosaic dispensation. The temple was destroyed on the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, B.C. 586. TEMPLE OF ZERUBBABEL. --We have very few particulars regarding the temple which the Jews erected after their return from the captivity (about B.C. 520), and no description that would enable us to realize its appearance. But there are some dimensions given in the Bible and elsewhere which are extremely interesting, as affording points of comparison between it and the temple which preceded it and the one erected after it. The first and most authentic are those given in the book of Ezra, (Ezra 6:3) when quoting the decree of Cyrus, wherein it is said, "Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof three-score cubits. and the breadth thereof three-score cubits, with three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber." Josephus quotes this passage almost literally, but in doing so enables us to translate with certainty the word here called row as "story" --as indeed the sense would lead us to infer. We see by the description in Ezra that this temple was about one third larger than Solomon’s. From these dimensions we gather that if the priests and Levites and elders of families were disconsolate at seeing how much more sumptuous the old temple was than the one which on account of their poverty they had hardly been able to erect, (Ezra 3:12) it certainly was not because it was smaller; but it may have been that the carving and the gold and the other ornaments of Solomon’s temple far surpassed this, and the pillars of the portico and the veils may all have been far more splendid; so also probably were the vessels and all this is what a Jew would mourn over far more than mere architectural splendor. In speaking of these temples we must always bear in mind that their dimensions were practically very far inferior to those of the heathen. Even that of Ezra is not larger than an average parish church of the last century; Solomon’s was smaller. It was the lavish display of the precious metals, the elaboration of carved ornament, and the beauty of the textile fabrics, which made up their splendor and rendered them so precious in the eyes of the people. TEMPLE OF EZEKIEL. --The vision of a temple which the prophet Ezekiel saw while residing on the banks of the Chebar in Babylonia, in the twenty-fifth year of the captivity, does not add much to our knowledge of the subject. It is not a description of a temple that ever was built or ever could be erected at Jerusalem, and can consequently only be considered as the beau ideal of what a Shemitic temple ought to be. TEMPLE OF HEROD. --Herod the Great announced to the people assembled at the Passover, B.C. 20 or 19, his intention of restoring the temple; (probably a stroke of policy on the part of Herod to gain the favor of the Jews and to make his name great.) if we may believe Josephus, he pulled down the whole edifice to its foundations, and laid them anew on an enlarged scale; but the ruins still exhibit, in some parts, what seem to be the foundations laid by Zerubbable, and beneath them the more massive substructions of Solomon. The new edifice was a stately pile of Graeco-Roman architecture, built in white marble gilded acroteria . It is minutely described by Josephus, and the New Testament has made us familiar with the pride of the Jews in its magnificence. A different feeling, however, marked the commencement of the work, which met with some opposition from the fear that what Herod had begun he would not be able to finish. he overcame all jealousy by engaging not to pull down any part of the existing buildings till all the materials for the new edifice were collected on its site. Two years appear to have been occupied in preparations --among which Josephus mentions the teaching of some of the priests and Levites to work as masons and carpenters --and then the work began. The holy "house," including the porch, sanctuary and holy of holies, was finished in a year and a half, B.C. 16. Its completion, on the anniversary of Herod’s inauguration, was celebrated by lavish sacrifices and a great feast. About B.C. 9 --eight years from the commencement --the court and cloisters of the temple were finished, and the bridge between the south cloister and the upper city (demolished by Pompey) was doubtless now rebuilt with that massive masonry of which some remains still survive. (The work, however, was not entirely ended till A.D. 64, under Herod Agrippa II. So the statement in (John 2:20) is correct. --Schaff.) The temple or holy "house" itself was in dimensions and arrangement very similar to that of Solomon, or rather that of Zerubbabel --more like the latter; but this was surrounded by an inner enclosure of great strength and magnificence, measuring as nearly as can be made out 180 cubits by 240, and adorned by porches and ten gateways of great magnificence; and beyond this again was an outer enclosure measuring externally 400 cubits each way, which was adorned with porticos of greater splendor than any we know of as attached to any temple of the ancient world. The temple was certainly situated in the southwest angle of the area now known as the Haram area at Jerusalem, and its dimensions were what Josephus states them to be --400 cubits, or one stadium, each way. At the time when Herod rebuilt it, he enclosed a space "twice as large" as that before occupied by the temple and its courts --an expression that probably must not be taken too literally at least, if we are to depend on the measurements of Hecataeus. According to them, the whole area of Herod’s temple was between four and five times greater than that which preceded it. What Herod did apparently, was to take in the whole space between the temple and the city wall on its east side, and to add a considerable space on the north and south to support the porticos which he added there. As the temple terrace thus became the principal defence of the city on the east side, there were no gates or openings in that direction, and being situated on a sort of rocky brow --as evidenced from its appearance in the vaults that bounded it on this side --if was at all later times considered unattackable from the eastward. The north side, too, where not covered by the fortress Antonia, became part of the defenses of the city, and was likewise without external gates. On the south side, which was enclosed by the wall of Ophel, there were notable gates nearly in the centre. These gates still exist at a distance of about 365 feet from the southwestern angle, and are perhaps the only architectural features of the temple of Herod which remain in situ . This entrance consists of a double archway of Cyclopean architecture on the level of the ground, opening into a square vestibule measuring 40 feet each way. From this a double funnel nearly 200 feet in length, leads to a flight of steps which rise to the surface in the court of the temple, exactly at that gateway of the inner temple which led to the altar, and is one of the four gateways on this side by which any one arriving from Ophel would naturally wish to enter the inner enclosure. We learn from the Talmud that the gate of the inner temple to which this passage led was called the "water gate;" and it is interesting to be able to identify a spot so prominent in the description of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 12:37) Toward the west there were four gateways to the external enclosure of the temple. The most magnificent part of the temple, in an architectural point of view, seems certainly to have been the cloisters which were added to the outer court when it was enlarged by Herod. The cloisters in the west, north and east sides were composed of double rows of Corinthian columns, 25 cubits or 37 feet 6 inches in height, with flat roof, and resting against the outer wall of the temple. These, however, were immeasurably surpassed in magnificence by the royal porch or Stoa Basilica, which overhung the southern wall. It consisted of a nave and two aisled, that toward the temple being open, that toward the country closed by a wall. The breadth of the centre aisle was 95 feet of the side aisles, 30 from centre to centre of the pillars; their height 50 feet, and that of the centre aisle 100 feet. Its section was thus something in excess of that of York Cathedral, while its total length was one stadium or 600 Greek feet, or 100 feet in excess of York or our largest Gothic cathedrals. This magnificent structure was supported by 162 Corinthian columns. The porch on the east was called "Solomon’s Porch." The court of the temple was very nearly a square. It may have been exactly so, for we have not the details to enable us to feel quite certain about it. To the eastward of this was the court of the women. The great ornament of these inner courts seems to have been their gateways, the three especially on the north end south leading to the temple court. These according to Josephus, were of great height, strongly fortified and ornamented with great elaboration. But the wonder of all was the great eastern gate leading from the court of the women to the upper court. It was in all probability the one called the "beautiful gate" in the New Testament. immediately within this gateway stood the altar of burnt offerings. Both the altar and the temple were enclosed by a low parapet, one cubit in height, placed so as to keep the people separate from the priests while the latter were performing their functions. Within this last enclosure, toward the westward, stood the temple itself. As before mentioned, its internal dimensions were the same as those of the temple of Solomon. Although these remained the same, however, there seems no reason to doubt that. the whole plan was augmented by the pteromata , or surrounding parts being increased from 10 to 20 cubits, so that the third temple, like the second, measured 60 cubits across and 100 cubits east and west. The width of the facade was also augmented by wings or shoulders projecting 20 cubits each way, making the whole breadth 100 cubits, or equal to the length. There is no reason for doubting that the sanctuary always stood on identically the same spot in which it had been placed by Solomon a thousand years before it was rebuilt by Herod. The temple of Herod was destroyed by the Romans under Titus, Friday, August 9, A.D. 70. A Mohammedan mosque now stands on its site.

Ten Commandments

The popular name in this, as in so many instances,is not that of Scripture. There we have the "TEN WORDS," (Exodus 34:28; 4:13; 10:4) the "COVENANT," Ex., Deut. 11. cc.; (1 Kings 8:21; 2 Chronicles 6:11) etc., or, very often as the solemn attestation of the divine will, the "TESTIMONY." (Exodus 25:16,21; 31:18) etc. The circumstances in which the Ten great Words were first given to the people surrounded them with an awe which attached to no other precept. In the midst of the cloud and the darkness and the flashing lightning and the fiery smoke and the thunder like the voice of a trumpet, Moses was called to Mount Sinai to receive the law without which the people would cease to be a holy nation. (Exodus 19:20) Here, as elsewhere, Scripture unites two facts which men separate. God, and not man was speaking to the Israelites in those terrors, and yet, in the language of later inspired teachers, other instrumentality was not excluded. No other words were proclaimed in like manner. And the record was as exceptional as the original revelation. Of no other words could it be said that they were written as these were written, engraved on the Tables of Stone, not as originating in man’s contrivance or sagacity, but by the power of the Eternal Spirit, by the "finger of God." (Exodus 31:18; 32:16) The number Ten was, we can hardly doubt, itself significant to Moses and the Israelites. The received symbol, then and at all times, of completeness, it taught the people that the law of Jehovah was perfect. (Psalms 19:7) The term "Commandments" had come into use in the time of Christ. (Luke 18:20) Their division into two tables is not only expressly mentioned but the stress is upon the two leaves no doubt that the distinction was important, and that answered to that summary of the law which was made both by Moses and by Christ into two precepts; so that the first table contained Duties to God , and the second, Duties to our Neighbor . There are three principal divisions of the two tables:

1. That of the Roman Catholic Church, making the first table contain three commandments and the second the other seven.

2. The familiar division, referring the first four to our duty toward God and the six remaining to our duty toward man.

3. The division recognized by the old Jewish writers, Josephus and Philo, which places five commandments in each table. It has been maintained that the law of filial duty, being a close consequence of God’s fatherly relation to us, maybe referred to the first table. But this is to place human parents on a level with God, and, by purity of reasoning the Sixth Commandment might be added to the first table, as murder is the destruction of God’s image in man. Far more reasonable is the view which regards the authority of parents as heading the second table, as the earthly reflex of that authority of the Father of his people and of all men which heads the first, and as the first principle of the whole law of love to our neighbor; because we are all brethren and the family is, for good and ill the model of the state. "The Decalogue differs from all the other legislation of Moses: (1) It was proclaimed by God himself in a most public and solemn manner. (2) It was given under circumstances of most appalling majesty and sublimity. (3) It was written by the finger of God on two tables of stone. (5:22) (4) It differed from any and all other laws given to Israel in that it was comprehensive and general rather than specific and particular. (6) It was complete, being one finished whole to which nothing was to be added, from which nothing was ever taken away. (6) The law of the Ten Commandments was honored by Jesus Christ as embodying the substance of the law of God enjoined upon man. (7) It can scarcely be doubted that Jesus had his eye specially if not exclusively on this law, (5:18) as one never to be repealed from which not one jot or tittle should ever pass away. (8) It is marked by wonderful simplicity and brevity such a contrast to our human legislation, our British statute-book for instance, which it would need an elephant to carry and an OEdipus to interpret."

Tent

Among the leading characteristics of the nomad races, those two have always been numbered whose origin has been ascribed to Jabal the son of Lameth, (Genesis 4:20) viz., to be tent-dwellers and keepers of cattle. The same may be said of the forefathers of the Hebrew race; nor was it until the return into Canaan from Egypt that the Hebrews became inhabitants of cities. An Arab tent is called beit , "house;" its covering consists of stuff, about three quarters of a yard broad, made of black goat’s-hair, (Solomon 1:5) laid parallel with the tent’s length. This is sufficient to resist the heaviest rain. The tent-poles or columns are usually nine in number, placed in three groups; but many tents have only one pole, others two or three. The ropes which hold the tent in its place are fastened, not to the tent-cover itself, but to loops consisting of a leathern thong tied to the ends of a stick, round which is twisted a piece of old cloth, which is itself sewed to the tent-cover. The ends of the tent-ropes are fastened to short sticks or pins, which are driven into the ground with a mallet. (Judges 4:21) Round the back and sides of the tent runs a piece of stuff removable at pleasure to admit air. The tent is divided into two apartments, separated by a carpet partition drawn across the middle of the tent and fastened to the three middle posts. When the pasture near an encampment is exhausted, the tents are taken down, packed on camels and removed. (Genesis 26:17,22,25; Isaiah 38:12) In choosing places for encampment, Arabs prefer the neighborhood of trees, for the sake of the shade and coolness which they afford. (Genesis 18:4,8)

Terah

(station), the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran, and through them the ancestor of the great families of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites, Moabites and Ammonites. (Genesis 11:24-32) The account given of him in the Old Testament narrative is very brief. We learn from it simply that he was an idolater, (Joshua 24:2) that he dwelt beyond the Euphrates in Ur of the Chaldees, (Genesis 11:28) and that in the southwesterly migration, which from some unexplained cause he undertook in his old age, he went with his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot, "to go into the land of Canaan, and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there." (Genesis 11:31) And finally, "the days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran." (Genesis 11:32) (B.C. 1921.)

Teraphim

This word occurs only in the plural, and denotes images connected with magical rites. The derivation of the name is obscure. In one case -- (1 Samuel 19:13,16) --a single statue seems to be intended by the plural. The teraphim, translated "images" in the Authorized Version, carried away from Laban by Rachel were regarded by Laban as gods, and it would therefore appear that they were used by those who added corrupt practices to the patriarchal religion. Teraphim again are included among Micah’s images. (Judges 17:3-5; 18:17,18,20) Teraphim were consulted for oracular answers by the Israelites, (Zechariah 10:2) comp. Judg 18:5,6; 1Sam 15:22,23; 19:13,16, LXX., and 2Kin 23:24 And by the Babylonians in the case of Nebuchadnezzar. (Ezekiel 21:19-22)

Teresh

(strictness), one of the two eunuchs whose plot to assassinate Ahasuerus was discovered by Mordecai. (Esther 2:21; 6:2) He was hanged. (B.C. 479.)

Tertius

(third), probably a Roman, was the amanuensis of Paul in writing the Epistle to the Romans. (Romans 16:22) (A.D. 55.)

Tertullus

(diminutive from Tertius), "a certain orator," (Acts 24:1) who was retained by the high priest and Sanhedrin to accuse the apostle Paul at Caesarea before the Roman procurator Antonius Felix. He evidently belonged to the class of professional orators. We may infer that Tertullus was of Roman, or at all events of Italian, origin. (A.D. 55.)

Testament, New

[NEW TESTAMENT; BIBLE] NEW TESTAMENT - 3186

Testament, Old

[OLD TESTAMENT; BIBLE] OLD TESTAMENT - 3249

Tetrarch

properly the sovereign or governor of the fourth part of a country. (Matthew 14:1; Luke 3:1; 9:7; Acts 13:1) The title was, however, often applied to any one who governed a Roman province, of whatever size. The title of king was sometimes assigned to a tetrarch. (Matthew 14:9; Mark 6:14,22)

Thaddeus

one of the twelve apostles. (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18) From a comparison with the catalogue of St. Luke, (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13) it seems scarcely possible to doubt that the three names, of Judas, Lebbeus and Thaddeus were borne by one and the same person. [See JUDE, OR JUDAS]

Thamah

(daughter). "The children of Thamah" were a family of Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:53)

Thamar

TAMAR, 1. (Matthew 1:3)