The corresponding Greek word in the New Testament,
ethne, has similar shades of meaning. In Acts 22:21,
Gal. 3:14, it denotes the people of the earth generally;
and in Matt. 6:7, an idolater. In modern usage the word
denotes all nations that are strangers to revealed
religion.
(a) The firmament, as "fowls of the heaven" (Gen.
2:19; 7:3, 23; Ps. 8:8, etc.), "the eagles of
heaven" (Lam. 4:19), etc.
(b) The starry heavens (Deut. 17:3; Jer. 8:2; Matt. 24:29).
(c) "The heaven of heavens," or "the third
heaven" (Deut. 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; Ps. 115:16; 148:4;
2 Cor. 12:2).
(2.) Meaning of words in the original,
(a) The usual Hebrew word for "heavens" is
shamayim, a plural form meaning "heights,"
"elevations" (Gen. 1:1; 2:1).
(b) The Hebrew word marom is also used (Ps. 68:18;
93:4; 102:19, etc.) as equivalent to shamayim,
"high places," "heights."
(c) Heb. galgal, literally a "wheel," is rendered
"heaven" in Ps. 77:18 (R.V.,
"whirlwind").
(d) Heb. shahak, rendered "sky" (Deut. 33:26; Job
37:18; Ps. 18:11), plural "clouds" (Job 35:5;
36:28; Ps. 68:34, marg. "heavens"), means
probably the firmament.
(e) Heb. rakia is closely connected with (d), and is
rendered "firmamentum" in the Vulgate, whence our
"firmament" (Gen. 1:6; Deut. 33:26, etc.),
regarded as a solid expanse.
(3.) Metaphorical meaning of term. Isa. 14:13, 14;
"doors of heaven" (Ps. 78:23); heaven
"shut" (1 Kings 8:35); "opened" (Ezek.
1:1). (See 1 Chr. 21:16.)
(4.) Spiritual meaning. The place of the everlasting
blessedness of the righteous; the abode of departed
spirits.
(a) Christ calls it his "Father's house"
(John 14:2).
(b) It is called "paradise" (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor.
12:4; Rev. 2:7).
(d) The "kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 25:1; James
2:5).
(e) The "eternal kingdom" (2 Pet. 1:11).
(f) The "eternal inheritance" (1 Pet. 1:4; Heb.
9:15).
(g) The "better country" (Heb. 11:14, 16).
(h) The blessed are said to "sit down with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob," and to be "in Abraham's
bosom" (Luke 16:22; Matt. 8:11); to "reign with
Christ" (2 Tim. 2:12); and to enjoy "rest"
(Heb. 4:10, 11).
In heaven the blessedness of the righteous consists in the
possession of "life everlasting," "an
eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. 4:17), an exemption
from all sufferings for ever, a deliverance from all evils
(2 Cor. 5:1, 2) and from the society of the wicked (2 Tim.
4:18), bliss without termination, the "fulness of
joy" for ever (Luke 20:36; 2 Cor. 4:16, 18; 1 Pet.
1:4; 5:10; 1 John 3:2). The believer's heaven is not
only a state of everlasting blessedness, but also a
"place", a place "prepared" for them
(John 14:2).
Derivation. (1.) The name is derived, according to some,
from Eber (Gen. 10:24), the ancestor of Abraham. The
Hebrews are "sons of Eber" (10:21).
(2.) Others trace the name of a Hebrew root-word signifying
"to pass over," and hence regard it as meaning
"the man who passed over," viz., the Euphrates;
or to the Hebrew word meaning "the region" or
"country beyond," viz., the land of Chaldea. This
latter view is preferred. It is the more probable origin of
the designation given to Abraham coming among the
Canaanites as a man from beyond the Euphrates (Gen. 14:13).
(3.) A third derivation of the word has been suggested,
viz., that it is from the Hebrew word 'abhar,
"to pass over," whence 'ebher, in the
sense of a "sojourner" or "passer
through" as distinct from a "settler" in the
land, and thus applies to the condition of Abraham (Heb.
11:13).
It is one of the class of languages called Semitic, because
they were chiefly spoken among the descendants of Shem.
When Abraham entered Canaan it is obvious that he found the
language of its inhabitants closely allied to his own.
Isaiah (19:18) calls it "the language of Canaan."
Whether this language, as seen in the earliest books of the
Old Testament, was the very dialect which Abraham brought
with him into Canaan, or whether it was the common tongue
of the Canaanitish nations which he only adopted, is
uncertain; probably the latter opinion is the correct one.
For the thousand years between Moses and the Babylonian
exile the Hebrew language underwent little or no
modification. It preserves all through a remarkable
uniformity of structure. From the first it appears in its
full maturity of development. But through intercourse with
Damascus, Assyria, and Babylon, from the time of David, and
more particularly from the period of the Exile, it comes
under the influence of the Aramaic idiom, and this is seen
in the writings which date from this period. It was never
spoken in its purity by the Jews after their return from
Babylon. They now spoke Hebrew with a large admixture of
Aramaic or Chaldee, which latterly became the predominant
element in the national language.
The Hebrew of the Old Testament has only about six thousand
words, all derived from about five hundred roots. Hence the
same word has sometimes a great variety of meanings. So
long as it was a living language, and for ages after, only
the consonants of the words were written. This also has
been a source of difficulty in interpreting certain words,
for the meaning varies according to the vowels which may be
supplied. The Hebrew is one of the oldest languages of
which we have any knowledge. It is essentially identical
with the Phoenician language. (See MOABITE.) The Semitic languages, to which class the
Hebrew and Phoenician belonged, were spoken over a very
wide area: in Babylonia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine and
Arabia, in all the countries from the Mediterranean to the
borders of Assyria, and from the mountains of Armenia to
the Indian Ocean. The rounded form of the letters, as seen
in the Moabite stone, was probably that in which the
ancient Hebrew was written down to the time of the Exile,
when the present square or Chaldean form was adopted.
(2.) Its authorship. A considerable variety of opinions on
this subject has at different times been advanced. Some
have maintained that its author was Silas, Paul's
companion. Others have attributed it to Clement of Rome, or
Luke, or Barnabas, or some unknown Alexandrian Christian,
or Apollos; but the conclusion which we think is best
supported, both from internal and external evidence, is
that Paul was its author. There are, no doubt, many
difficulties in the way of accepting it as Paul's; but
we may at least argue with Calvin that there can be no
difficulty in the way of "embracing it without
controversy as one of the apostolical epistles."
(3.) Date and place of writing. It was in all probability
written at Rome, near the close of Paul's two
years' imprisonment (Heb. 13:19,24). It was certainly
written before the destruction of Jerusalem (13:10).
(4.) To whom addressed. Plainly it was intended for Jewish
converts to the faith of the gospel, probably for the
church at Jerusalem. The subscription of this epistle is,
of course, without authority. In this case it is incorrect,
for obviously Timothy could not be the bearer of it
(13:23).
(5.) Its design was to show the true end and meaning of the
Mosaic system, and its symbolical and transient character.
It proves that the Levitical priesthood was a
"shadow" of that of Christ, and that the legal
sacrifices prefigured the great and all-perfect sacrifice
he offered for us. It explains that the gospel was
designed, not to modify the law of Moses, but to supersede
and abolish it. Its teaching was fitted, as it was
designed, to check that tendency to apostatize from
Christianity and to return to Judaism which now showed
itself among certain Jewish Christians. The supreme
authority and the transcendent glory of the gospel are
clearly set forth, and in such a way as to strengthen and
confirm their allegiance to Christ.
(6.) It consists of two parts: (a) doctrinal (1-10:18), (b)
and practical (10:19-ch. 13). There are found in it many
references to portions of the Old Testament. It may be
regarded as a treatise supplementary to the Epistles to the
Romans and Galatians, and as an inspired commentary on the
book of Leviticus.
In one part of the modern city is a great mosque, which is
built over the grave of Machpelah. The first European who
was permitted to enter this mosque was the Prince of Wales
in 1862. It was also visited by the Marquis of Bute in
1866, and by the late Emperor Frederick of Germany (then
Crown-Prince of Prussia) in 1869.
One of the largest oaks in Palestine is found in the valley
of Eshcol, about 3 miles north of the town. It is supposed
by some to be the tree under which Abraham pitched his
tent, and is called "Abraham's oak."
(2.) The third son of Kohath the Levite (Ex. 6:18; 1 Chr.
6:2, 18).
(3.) 1 Chr. 2:42, 43.
(4.) A town in the north border of Asher (Josh. 19:28).
Heb. parah (Gen. 41:2; Num. 19:2). Bearing the yoke (Hos.
4:16); "heifers of Bashan" (Amos 4:1),
metaphorical for the voluptuous females of Samaria. The
ordinance of sacrifice of the "red heifer"
described in Num. 19:1-10; comp. Heb. 9:13.
(1.) Sheol, occurring in the Old Testament sixty-five
times. This word sheol is derived from a root-word meaning
"to ask," "demand;" hence
insatiableness (Prov. 30:15, 16). It is rendered
"grave" thirty-one times (Gen. 37:35; 42:38;
44:29, 31; 1 Sam. 2:6, etc.). The Revisers have retained
this rendering in the historical books with the original
word in the margin, while in the poetical books they have
reversed this rule.
In thirty-one cases in the Authorized Version this word is
rendered "hell," the place of disembodied
spirits. The inhabitants of sheol are "the
congregation of the dead" (Prov. 21:16). It is (a) the
abode of the wicked (Num. 16:33; Job 24:19; Ps. 9:17;
31:17, etc.); (b) of the good (Ps. 16:10; 30:3; 49:15;
86:13, etc.).
Sheol is described as deep (Job 11:8), dark (10:21, 22),
with bars (17:16). The dead "go down" to it (Num.
16:30, 33; Ezek. 31:15, 16, 17).
(2.) The Greek word hades of the New Testament has the same
scope of signification as sheol of the Old Testament. It is
a prison (1 Pet. 3:19), with gates and bars and locks
(Matt. 16:18; Rev. 1:18), and it is downward (Matt. 11:23;
Luke 10:15).
The righteous and the wicked are separated. The blessed
dead are in that part of hades called paradise (Luke
23:43). They are also said to be in Abraham's bosom
(Luke 16:22).
(3.) Gehenna, in most of its occurrences in the Greek New
Testament, designates the place of the lost (Matt. 23:33).
The fearful nature of their condition there is described in
various figurative expressions (Matt. 8:12; 13:42; 22:13;
25:30; Luke 16:24, etc.).
(2.) Heb. la'anah, generally rendered
"wormwood" (q.v.), Deut. 29:18, Text 17; Prov.
5:4; Jer. 9:15; 23:15. Once it is rendered
"hemlock" (Amos 6:12; R.V.,
"wormwood"). This Hebrew word is from a root
meaning "to curse," hence the accursed.
(2.) Yarak, green; any green thing; foliage of trees
(2 Kings 19:26; Ps. 37:2); a plant; herb (Deut. 11:10).
(3.) Or, meaning "light" In Isa. 26:19 it
means "green herbs;" in 2 Kings 4:39 probably the
fruit of some plant.
(4.) Merorim, plural, "bitter herbs,"
eaten by the Israelites at the Passover (Ex. 12:8; Num.
9:11). They were bitter plants of various sorts, and
referred symbolically to the oppression in Egypt.
Our Lord and his disciples climbed this "high mountain
apart" one day, and remained on its summit all night,
"weary after their long and toilsome ascent."
During the night "he was transfigured before them; and
his face did shine as the sun." The next day they
descended to Caesarea Philippi.
He was of a stern and cruel disposition. "He was
brutish and a stranger to all humanity." Alarmed by
the tidings of one "born King of the Jews," he
sent forth and "slew all the children that were in
Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years
old and under" (Matt. 2:16). He was fond of splendour,
and lavished great sums in rebuilding and adorning the
cities of his empire. He rebuilt the city of Caesarea
(q.v.) on the coast, and also the city of Samaria (q.v.),
which he called Sebaste, in honour of Augustus. He restored
the ruined temple of Jerusalem, a work which was begun B.C.
20, but was not finished till after Herod's death,
probably not till about A.D. 50 (John 2:20). After a
troubled reign of thirty-seven years, he died at Jericho
amid great agonies both of body and mind, B.C. 4, i.e.,
according to the common chronology, in the year in which
Jesus was born.
After his death his kingdom was divided among three of his
sons. Of these, Philip had the land east of Jordan, between
Caesarea Philippi and Bethabara, Antipas had Galilee and
Peraea, while Archelaus had Judea and Samaria.
On the death of Sargon and the accession of his son
Sennacherib to the throne of Assyria, Hezekiah refused to
pay the tribute which his father had paid, and
"rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him
not," but entered into a league with Egypt (Isa. 30;
31; 36:6-9). This led to the invasion of Judah by
Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:13-16), who took forty cities, and
besieged Jerusalem with mounds. Hezekiah yielded to the
demands of the Assyrian king, and agreed to pay him three
hundred talents of silver and thirty of gold (18:14).
But Sennacherib dealt treacherously with Hezekiah (Isa.
33:1), and a second time within two years invaded his
kingdom (2 Kings 18:17; 2 Chr. 32:9; Isa. 36). This
invasion issued in the destruction of Sennacherib's
army. Hezekiah prayed to God, and "that night the
angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the
Assyrians 185,000 men." Sennacherib fled with the
shattered remnant of his forces to Nineveh, where,
seventeen years after, he was assassinated by his sons
Adrammelech and Sharezer (2 Kings 19:37).
The narrative of Hezekiah's sickness and miraculous
recovery is found in 2 Kings 20:1, 2 Chr. 32:24, Isa. 38:1.
Various ambassadors came to congratulate him on his
recovery, and among them Merodach-baladan, the viceroy of
Babylon (2 Chr. 32:23; 2 Kings 20:12). He closed his days
in peace and prosperity, and was succeeded by his son
Manasseh. He was buried in the "chiefest of the
sepulchres of the sons of David" (2 Chr. 32:27-33). He
had "after him none like him among all the kings of
Judah, nor any that were before him" (2 Kings 18:5).
(1.) The "robe" of the ephod, all of blue, of
"woven work," worn immediately under the ephod.
It was without seam or sleeves. The hem or skirt was
ornamented with pomegranates and golden bells, seventy-two
of each in alternate order. The sounding of the bells
intimated to the people in the outer court the time when
the high priest entered into the holy place to burn incense
before the Lord (Ex. 28).
(2.) The "ephod" consisted of two parts, one of
which covered the back and the other the breast, which were
united by the "curious girdle." It was made of
fine twined linen, and ornamented with gold and purple.
Each of the shoulder-straps was adorned with a precious
stone, on which the names of the twelve tribes were
engraved. This was the high priest's distinctive
vestment (1 Sam. 2:28; 14:3; 21:9; 23:6, 9; 30:7).
(3.) The "breastplate of judgment" (Ex. 28:6-12,
25-28; 39:2-7) of "cunning work." It was a piece
of cloth doubled, of one span square. It bore twelve
precious stones, set in four rows of three in a row, which
constituted the Urim and Thummim (q.v.). These stones had
the names of the twelve tribes engraved on them. When the
high priest, clothed with the ephod and the breastplate,
inquired of the Lord, answers were given in some mysterious
way by the Urim and Thummim (1 Sam. 14:3, 18, 19; 23:2, 4,
9, 11,12; 28:6; 2 Sam. 5:23).
(4.) The "mitre," or upper turban, a twisted band
of eight yards of fine linen coiled into a cap, with a gold
plate in front, engraved with "Holiness to the
Lord," fastened to it by a ribbon of blue.
To the high priest alone it was permitted to enter the holy
of holies, which he did only once a year, on the great Day
of Atonement, for "the way into the holiest of all was
not yet made manifest" (Heb. 9; 10). Wearing his
gorgeous priestly vestments, he entered the temple before
all the people, and then, laying them aside and assuming
only his linen garments in secret, he entered the holy of
holies alone, and made expiation, sprinkling the blood of
the sin offering on the mercy seat, and offering up
incense. Then resuming his splendid robes, he reappeared
before the people (Lev. 16). Thus the wearing of these
robes came to be identified with the Day of Atonement.
The office, dress, and ministration of the high priest were
typical of the priesthood of our Lord (Heb. 4:14; 7:25;
9:12, etc.).
It is supposed that there were in all eighty-three high
priests, beginning with Aaron (B.C. 1657) and ending with
Phannias (A.D. 70). At its first institution the office of
high priest was held for life (but comp. 1 Kings 2:27), and
was hereditary in the family of Aaron (Num. 3:10). The
office continued in the line of Eleazar, Aaron's eldest
son, for two hundred and ninety-six years, when it passed
to Eli, the first of the line of Ithamar, who was the
fourth son of Aaron. In this line it continued to Abiathar,
whom Solomon deposed, and appointed Zadok, of the family of
Eleazar, in his stead (1 Kings 2:35), in which it remained
till the time of the Captivity. After the Return, Joshua,
the son of Josedek, of the family of Eleazar, was appointed
to this office. After him the succession was changed from
time to time under priestly or political influences.
(6.) The high priest in the reign of Josiah (1 Chr. 6:13;
Ezra 7:1). To him and his deputy (2 Kings 23:5), along with
the ordinary priests and the Levites who had charge of the
gates, was entrusted the purification of the temple in
Jerusalem. While this was in progress, he discovered in
some hidden corner of the building a book called the
"book of the law" (2 Kings 22:8) and the
"book of the covenant" (23:2). Some have supposed
that this "book" was nothing else than the
original autograph copy of the Pentateuch written by Moses
(Deut. 31:9-26). This remarkable discovery occurred in the
eighteenth year of Josiah's reign (B.C. 624), a
discovery which permanently affected the whole subsequent
history of Israel. (See JOSIAH
(2.) Heb. har, properly a mountain range rather than an
individual eminence (Ex. 24:4, 12, 13, 18; Num. 14:40, 44,
45). In Deut. 1:7, Josh. 9:1; 10:40; 11:16, it denotes the
elevated district of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim, which
forms the watershed between the Mediterranean and the Dead
Sea.
(3.) Heb. ma'aleh in 1 Sam. 9:11. Authorized Version
"hill" is correctly rendered in the Revised
Version "ascent."
(4.) In Luke 9:37 the "hill" is the Mount of
Transfiguration.
The Jews associated with this valley these two ideas, (1)
that of the sufferings of the victims that had there been
sacrificed; and (2) that of filth and corruption. It became
thus to the popular mind a symbol of the abode of the
wicked hereafter. It came to signify hell as the place of
the wicked. "It might be shown by infinite examples
that the Jews expressed hell, or the place of the damned,
by this word. The word Gehenna [the Greek contraction of
Hinnom] was never used in the time of Christ in any other
sense than to denote the place of future punishment."
About this fact there can be no question. In this sense the
word is used eleven times in our Lord's discourses
(Matt. 23:33; Luke 12:5; Matt. 5:22, etc.).
(2.) Also "Huram" and "Horam," king of
Tyre. He entered into an alliance with David, and assisted
him in building his palace by sending him able workmen, and
also cedar-trees and fir-trees from Lebanon (2 Sam. 5:11; 1
Chr. 14:1). After the death of David he entered into a
similar alliance with Solomon, and assisted him greatly in
building the temple (1 Kings 5:1; 9:11; 2 Chr. 2:3). He
also took part in Solomon's traffic to the Eastern Seas
(1 Kings 9:27; 10:11; 2 Chr. 8:18; 9:10).
(3.) The "master workman" whom Hiram sent to
Solomon. He was the son of a widow of Dan, and of a Tyrian
father. In 2 Chr. 2:13 "Huram my father" should
be Huram Abi, the word "Abi" (rendered here
"my father") being regarded as a proper name, or
it may perhaps be a title of distinction given to Huram,
and equivalent to "master." (Comp. 1 Kings 7:14;
2 Chr. 4:16.) He cast the magnificent brazen works for
Solomon's temple in clay-beds in the valley of Jordan,
between Succoth and Zarthan.
Somewhere about the twenty-third century B.C. the Syrian
confederation, led probably by the Hittites, arched against
Lower Egypt, which they took possession of, making Zoan
their capital. Their rulers were the Hyksos, or shepherd
kings. They were at length finally driven out of Egypt.
Rameses II. sought vengeance against the "vile
Kheta," as he called them, and encountered and
defeated them in the great battle of Kadesh, four centuries
after Abraham.
They are first referred to in Scripture in the history of
Abraham, who bought from Ephron the Hittite the field and
the cave of Machpelah (Gen. 15:20: 23:3-18). They were then
settled at Kirjath-arba. From this tribe Esau took his
first two wives (26:34; 36:2).
They are afterwards mentioned in the usual way among the
inhabitants of the Promised Land (Ex. 23:28). They were
closely allied to the Amorites, and are frequently
mentioned along with them as inhabiting the mountains of
Palestine. When the spies entered the land they seem to
have occupied with the Amorites the mountain region of
Judah (Num. 13:29). They took part with the other
Canaanites against the Israelites (Josh. 9:1; 11:3).
After this there are few references to them in Scripture.
Mention is made of "Ahimelech the Hittite" (1
Sam. 26:6), and of "Uriah the Hittite," one of
David's chief officers (2 Sam. 23:39; 1 Chr. 11:41). In
the days of Solomon they were a powerful confederation in
the north of Syria, and were ruled by "kings."
They are met with after the Exile still a distinct people
(Ezra 9:1; comp. Neh. 13:23-28).
The Hebrew merchants exported horses from Egypt not only
for the kings of Israel, but also for the Hittites (1 Kings
10:28, 29). From the Egyptian monuments we learn that
"the Hittites were a people with yellow skins and
'Mongoloid' features, whose receding foreheads,
oblique eyes, and protruding upper jaws are represented as
faithfully on their own monuments as they are on those of
Egypt, so that we cannot accuse the Egyptian artists of
caricaturing their enemies. The Amorites, on the contrary,
were a tall and handsome people. They are depicted with
white skins, blue eyes, and reddish hair, all the
characteristics, in fact, of the white race"
(Sayce's The Hittites). The original seat of the
Hittite tribes was the mountain ranges of Taurus. They
belonged to Asia Minor, and not to Syria.
They are next mentioned during the Conquest (Josh. 9:7;
11:19). They principally inhabited the northern confines of
Western Palestine (Josh. 11:3; Judg. 3:3). A remnant of
them still existed in the time of Solomon (1 Kings 9:20).