When digging a shaft close to the south wall of the temple
area, the engineers of the Palestine Exploration Fund, at a
depth of 12 feet below the surface, came upon a pavement of
polished stones, formerly one of the streets of the city.
Under this pavement they found a stratum of 16 feet of
concrete, and among this concrete, 10 feet down, they found
a signet stone bearing the inscription, in Old Hebrew
characters, "Haggai, son of Shebaniah." It has
been asked, Might not this be the actual seal of Haggai the
prophet? We know that he was in Jerusalem after the
Captivity; and it is somewhat singular that he alone of all
the minor prophets makes mention of a signet (Hag. 2:23).
(See
SEAL.)
The country from the Jabbok to Hermon was at this time
ruled by Og, the last of the Rephaim. He also tried to
prevent the progress of the Israelites, but was utterly
routed, and all his cities and territory fell into the
hands of the Israelites (comp. Num. 21:33-35; Deut. 3:1-14;
Ps. 135: 10-12; 136:17-22).
These two victories gave the Israelites possession of the
country on the east of Jordan, from the Arnon to the foot
of Hermon. The kingdom of Sihon embraced about 1,500 square
miles, while that of Og was more than 3,000 square miles.
Heb. meshi, (Ezek. 16:10, 13, rendered "silk").
In Gen. 41:42 (marg. A.V.), Prov. 31:22 (R.V., "fine
linen"), the word "silk" ought to be
"fine linen."
Silk was common in New Testament times (Rev. 18:12).
The water which flows into this pool intermittingly by a
subterranean channel springs from the "Fountain of the
Virgin" (q.v.). The length of this channel, which has
several windings, is 1,750 feet, though the direct distance
is only 1,100 feet. The pool is 53 feet in length from
north to south, 18 feet wide, and 19 deep. The water passes
from it by a channel cut in the rock into the gardens
below. (See EN-ROGEL ¯T0001214.)
Many years ago (1880) a youth, while wading up the conduit
by which the water enters the pool, accidentally discovered
an inscription cut in the rock, on the eastern side, about
19 feet from the pool. This is the oldest extant Hebrew
record of the kind. It has with great care been deciphered
by scholars, and has been found to be an account of the
manner in which the tunnel was constructed. Its whole
length is said to be "twelve hundred cubits;" and
the inscription further notes that the workmen, like the
excavators of the Mont Cenis Tunnel, excavated from both
ends, meeting in the middle.
Some have argued that the inscription was cut in the time
of Solomon; others, with more probability, refer it to the
reign of Hezekiah. A more ancient tunnel was discovered in
1889 some 20 feet below the ground. It is of smaller
dimensions, but more direct in its course. It is to this
tunnel that Isaiah (8:6) probably refers.
The Siloam inscription above referred to was
surreptitiously cut from the wall of the tunnel in 1891 and
broken into fragments. These were, however, recovered by
the efforts of the British Consul at Jerusalem, and have
been restored to their original place.
As illustrative of the movement of small bands of
Canaanites from place to place, and the intermingling of
Canaanites and Israelites even in small towns in earlier
times, M.C. Ganneau records the following curious fact:
"Among the inhabitants of the village (of Siloam)
there are a hundred or so domiciled for the most part in
the lower quarter, and forming a group apart from the rest,
called Dhiabrye, i.e., men of Dhiban. It appears that at
some remote period a colony from the capital of king Mesha
(Dibon-Moab) crossed the Jordan and fixed itself at the
gates of Jerusalem at Silwan. The memory of this migration
is still preserved; and I am assured by the people
themselves that many of their number are installed in other
villages round Jerusalem" (quoted by Henderson,
Palestine).
(2.) An aged saint who visited the temple when Jesus was
being presented before the Lord, and uttered lofty words of
thankgiving and of prophecy (Luke 2:29-35).
(3.) One of the ancestors of Joseph (Luke 3:30).
(4.) Surnamed Niger, i.e., "black," perhaps from
his dark complexion, a teacher of some distinction in the
church of Antioch (Acts 13:1-3). It has been supposed that
this was the Simon of Cyrene who bore Christ's cross.
Note the number of nationalities represented in the church
at Antioch.
(5.) James (Acts 15:14) thus designates the apostle Peter
(q.v.).
This tribe received as their portion a part of the
territory already allotted to Judah (Josh. 19:1-9). It lay
in the south-west of the land, with Judah on the east and
Dan on the north; but whether it was a compact territory or
not cannot be determined. The subsequent notices of this
tribe are but few (1 Chr. 4:24-43). Like Reuben on the east
of Jordan, this tribe had little influence on the history
of Israel.
(2.) The father of Judas Iscariot (John 6:71; 13:2, 26).
(3.) One of the brothers of our Lord (Matt. 13:55; Mark
6:3).
(4.) A Pharisee in whose house "a woman of the city
which was a sinner" anointed our Lord's feet with
ointment (Luke 7:36-38).
(5.) A leper of Bethany, in whose house Mary anointed our
Lord's head with ointment "as he sat at meat"
(Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9).
(6.) A Jew of Cyrene, in North Africa, then a province of
Libya. A hundred thousand Jews from Palestine had been
settled in this province by Ptolemy Soter (B.C. 323-285),
where by this time they had greatly increased in number.
They had a synagogue in Jerusalem for such of their number
as went thither to the annual feasts. Simon was seized by
the soldiers as the procession wended its way to the place
of crucifixion as he was passing by, and the heavy cross
which Christ from failing strength could no longer bear was
laid on his shoulders. Perhaps they seized him because he
showed sympathy with Jesus. He was the "father of
Alexander and Rufus" (Matt. 27:32). Possibly this
Simon may have been one of the "men of Cyrene"
who preached the word to the Greeks (Acts 11:20).
(7.) A sorcerer of great repute for his magical arts among
the Samaritans (Acts 8:9-11). He afterwards became a
professed convert to the faith under the preaching of
Philip the deacon and evangelist (12, 13). His profession
was, however, soon found to be hollow. His conduct called
forth from Peter a stern rebuke (8:18-23). From this moment
he disappears from the Church's history. The term
"Simony," as denoting the purchase for money of
spiritual offices, is derived from him.
(8.) A Christian at Joppa, a tanner by trade, with whom
Peter on one occasion lodged (Acts 9:43).
The moral character of a man's actions is determined by
the moral state of his heart. The disposition to sin, or
the habit of the soul that leads to the sinful act, is
itself also sin (Rom. 6:12-17; Gal. 5:17; James 1:14, 15).
The origin of sin is a mystery, and must for ever remain
such to us. It is plain that for some reason God has
permitted sin to enter this world, and that is all we know.
His permitting it, however, in no way makes God the author
of sin.
Adam's sin (Gen. 3:1-6) consisted in his yielding to
the assaults of temptation and eating the forbidden fruit.
It involved in it, (1) the sin of unbelief, virtually
making God a liar; and (2) the guilt of disobedience to a
positive command. By this sin he became an apostate from
God, a rebel in arms against his Creator. He lost the
favour of God and communion with him; his whole nature
became depraved, and he incurred the penalty involved in
the covenant of works.
Original sin. "Our first parents being the root of all
mankind, the guilt of their sin was imputed, and the same
death in sin and corrupted nature were conveyed to all
their posterity, descending from them by ordinary
generation." Adam was constituted by God the federal
head and representative of all his posterity, as he was
also their natural head, and therefore when he fell they
fell with him (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:22-45). His
probation was their probation, and his fall their fall.
Because of Adam's first sin all his posterity came into
the world in a state of sin and condemnation, i.e., (1) a
state of moral corruption, and (2) of guilt, as having
judicially imputed to them the guilt of Adam's first
sin.
"Original sin" is frequently and properly used to
denote only the moral corruption of their whole nature
inherited by all men from Adam. This inherited moral
corruption consists in, (1) the loss of original
righteousness; and (2) the presence of a constant proneness
to evil, which is the root and origin of all actual sin. It
is called "sin" (Rom. 6:12, 14, 17; 7:5-17), the
"flesh" (Gal. 5:17, 24), "lust" (James
1:14, 15), the "body of sin" (Rom. 6:6),
"ignorance," "blindness of heart,"
"alienation from the life of God" (Eph. 4:18,
19). It influences and depraves the whole man, and its
tendency is still downward to deeper and deeper corruption,
there remaining no recuperative element in the soul. It is
a total depravity, and it is also universally inherited by
all the natural descendants of Adam (Rom. 3:10-23; 5:12-21;
8:7). Pelagians deny original sin, and regard man as by
nature morally and spiritually well; semi-Pelagians regard
him as morally sick; Augustinians, or, as they are also
called, Calvinists, regard man as described above,
spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1; 1 John 3:14).
The doctrine of original sin is proved, (1.) From the fact
of the universal sinfulness of men. "There is no man
that sinneth not" (1 Kings 8:46; Isa. 53:6; Ps. 130:3;
Rom. 3:19, 22, 23; Gal. 3:22). (2.) From the total
depravity of man. All men are declared to be destitute of
any principle of spiritual life; man's apostasy from
God is total and complete (Job 15:14-16; Gen. 6:5,6). (3.)
From its early manifestation (Ps. 58:3; Prov. 22:15). (4.)
It is proved also from the necessity, absolutely and
universally, of regeneration (John 3:3; 2 Cor. 5:17). (5.)
From the universality of death (Rom. 5:12-20).
Various kinds of sin are mentioned, (1.) "Presumptuous
sins," or as literally rendered, "sins with an
uplifted hand", i.e., defiant acts of sin, in contrast
with "errors" or "inadvertencies" (Ps.
19:13). (2.) "Secret", i.e., hidden sins (19:12);
sins which escape the notice of the soul. (3.) "Sin
against the Holy Ghost" (q.v.), or a "sin unto
death" (Matt. 12:31, 32; 1 John 5:16), which amounts
to a wilful rejection of grace.
Sin, a city in Egypt, called by the Greeks Pelusium, which
means, as does also the Hebrew name, "clayey" or
"muddy," so called from the abundance of clay
found there. It is called by Ezekel (Ezek. 30:15) "the
strength of Egypt, "thus denoting its importance as a
fortified city. It has been identified with the modern
Tineh, "a miry place," where its ruins are to be
found. Of its boasted magnificence only four red granite
columns remain, and some few fragments of others.
"Extolled above women be Jael, The wife of Heber the
Kenite, Extolled above women in the tent. He asked for
water, she gave him milk; She brought him cream in a lordly
dish. She stretched forth her hand to the nail, Her right
hand to the workman's hammer, And she smote Sisera; she
crushed his head, She crashed through and transfixed his
temples. At her feet he curled himself, he fell, he lay
still; At her feet he curled himself, he fell; And where he
curled himself, there he fell dead."
(2.) The ancestor of some of the Nethinim who returned with
Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:53; Neh. 7:55).
The words in Prov. 26:8, "As he that bindeth a stone
in a sling," etc. (Authorized Version), should rather,
as in the Revised Version, be "As a bag of gems in a
heap of stones," etc.
(2.) Heb. shablul (Ps. 58:8), the snail or slug proper.
Tristram explains the allusions of this passage by a
reference to the heat and drought by which the moisture of
the snail is evaporated. "We find," he says,
"in all parts of the Holy Land myriads of snail-shells
in fissures still adhering by the calcareous exudation
round their orifice to the surface of the rock, but the
animal of which is utterly shrivelled and wasted,
'melted away.'"
Before his death David gave parting instructions to his son
(1 Kings 2:1-9; 1 Chr. 22:7-16; 28). As soon as he had
settled himself in his kingdom, and arranged the affairs of
his extensive empire, he entered into an alliance with
Egypt by the marriage of the daughter of Pharaoh (1 Kings
3:1), of whom, however, nothing further is recorded. He
surrounded himself with all the luxuries and the external
grandeur of an Eastern monarch, and his government
prospered. He entered into an alliance with Hiram, king of
Tyre, who in many ways greatly assisted him in his numerous
undertakings. (See
HIRAM.)
For some years before his death David was engaged in the
active work of collecting materials (1 Chr. 29:6-9; 2 Chr.
2:3-7) for building a temple in Jerusalem as a permanent
abode for the ark of the covenant. He was not permitted to
build the house of God (1 Chr. 22:8); that honour was
reserved to his son Solomon. (See
TEMPLE.)
After the completion of the temple, Solomon engaged in the
erection of many other buildings of importance in Jerusalem
and in other parts of his kingdom. For the long space of
thirteen years he was engaged in the erection of a royal
palace on Ophel (1 Kings 7:1-12). It was 100 cubits long,
50 broad, and 30 high. Its lofty roof was supported by
forty-five cedar pillars, so that the hall was like a
forest of cedar wood, and hence probably it received the
name of "The House of the Forest of Lebanon." In
front of this "house" was another building, which
was called the Porch of Pillars, and in front of this again
was the "Hall of Judgment," or Throne-room (1
Kings 7:7; 10:18-20; 2 Chr. 9:17-19), "the King's
Gate," where he administered justice and gave audience
to his people. This palace was a building of great
magnificence and beauty. A portion of it was set apart as
the residence of the queen consort, the daughter of
Pharaoh. From the palace there was a private staircase of
red and scented sandal wood which led up to the temple.
Solomon also constructed great works for the purpose of
securing a plentiful supply of water for the city (Eccl.
2:4-6). He then built Millo (LXX., "Acra") for
the defence of the city, completing a line of ramparts
around it (1 Kings 9:15, 24; 11:27). He erected also many
other fortifications for the defence of his kingdom at
various points where it was exposed to the assault of
enemies (1 Kings 9:15-19; 2 Chr. 8:2-6). Among his great
undertakings must also be mentioned the building of Tadmor
(q.v.) in the wilderness as a commercial depot, as well as
a military outpost.
During his reign Palestine enjoyed great commercial
prosperity. Extensive traffic was carried on by land with
Tyre and Egypt and Arabia, and by sea with Spain and India
and the coasts of Africa, by which Solomon accumulated vast
stores of wealth and of the produce of all nations (1 Kings
9:26-28; 10:11, 12; 2 Chr. 8:17, 18; 9:21). This was the
"golden age" of Israel. The royal magnificence
and splendour of Solomon's court were unrivalled. He
had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, an
evidence at once of his pride, his wealth, and his
sensuality. The maintenance of his household involved
immense expenditure. The provision required for one day was
"thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore
measures of meal, ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the
pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks,
and fallow-deer, and fatted fowl" (1 Kings 4:22, 23).
Solomon's reign was not only a period of great material
prosperity, but was equally remarkable for its intellectual
activity. He was the leader of his people also in this
uprising amongst them of new intellectual life. "He
spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a
thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar
tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth
out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and
of creeping things, and of fishes" (1 Kings 4:32, 33).
His fame was spread abroad through all lands, and men came
from far and near "to hear the wisdom of
Solomon." Among others thus attracted to Jerusalem was
"the queen of the south" (Matt. 12:42), the queen
of Sheba, a country in Arabia Felix. "Deep, indeed,
must have been her yearning, and great his fame, which
induced a secluded Arabian queen to break through the
immemorial custom of her dreamy land, and to put forth the
energy required for braving the burdens and perils of so
long a journey across a wilderness. Yet this she undertook,
and carried it out with safety." (1 Kings 10:1-13; 2
Chr. 9:1-12.) She was filled with amazement by all she saw
and heard: "there was no more spirit in her."
After an interchange of presents she returned to her native
land.
But that golden age of Jewish history passed away. The
bright day of Solomon's glory ended in clouds and
darkness. His decline and fall from his high estate is a
sad record. Chief among the causes of his decline were his
polygamy and his great wealth. "As he grew older he
spent more of his time among his favourites. The idle king
living among these idle women, for 1,000 women, with all
their idle and mischievous attendants, filled the palaces
and pleasure-houses which he had built (1 Kings 11:3),
learned first to tolerate and then to imitate their
heathenish ways. He did not, indeed, cease to believe in
the God of Israel with his mind. He did not cease to offer
the usual sacrifices in the temple at the great feasts. But
his heart was not right with God; his worship became merely
formal; his soul, left empty by the dying out of true
religious fervour, sought to be filled with any religious
excitement which offered itself. Now for the first time a
worship was publicly set up amongst the people of the Lord
which was not simply irregular or forbidden, like that of
Gideon (Judg. 8:27), or the Danites (Judg. 18:30, 31), but
was downright idolatrous." (1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings
23:13.)
This brought upon him the divine displeasure. His enemies
prevailed against him (1 Kings 11:14-22, 23-25, 26-40), and
one judgment after another fell upon the land. And now the
end of all came, and he died, after a reign of forty years,
and was buried in the city of David, and "with him was
buried the short-lived glory and unity of Israel."
"He leaves behind him but one weak and worthless son,
to dismember his kingdom and disgrace his name."
"The kingdom of Solomon," says Rawlinson,
"is one of the most striking facts in the Biblical
history. A petty nation, which for hundreds of years has
with difficulty maintained a separate existence in the
midst of warlike tribes, each of which has in turn
exercised dominion over it and oppressed it, is suddenly
raised by the genius of a soldier-monarch to glory and
greatness. An empire is established which extends from the
Euphrates to the borders of Egypt, a distance of 450 miles;
and this empire, rapidly constructed, enters almost
immediately on a period of peace which lasts for half a
century. Wealth, grandeur, architectural magnificence,
artistic excellence, commercial enterprise, a position of
dignity among the great nations of the earth, are enjoyed
during this space, at the end of which there is a sudden
collapse. The ruling nation is split in twain, the
subject-races fall off, the pre-eminence lately gained
being wholly lost, the scene of struggle, strife,
oppression, recovery, inglorious submission, and desperate
effort, re-commences.", Historical Illustrations.
In the New Testament this phrase frequently denotes the
relation into which we are brought to God by adoption (Rom.
8:14, 19; 2 Cor. 6:18; Gal. 4:5, 6; Phil. 2:15; 1 John 3:1,
2). It occurs thirty-seven times in the New Testament as
the distinctive title of our Saviour. He does not bear this
title in consequence of his miraculous birth, nor of his
incarnation, his resurrection, and exaltation to the
Father's right hand. This is a title of nature and not
of office. The sonship of Christ denotes his equality with
the Father. To call Christ the Son of God is to assert his
true and proper divinity. The second Person of the Trinity,
because of his eternal relation to the first Person, is the
Son of God. He is the Son of God as to his divine nature,
while as to his human nature he is the Son of David (Rom.
1:3, 4. Comp. Gal. 4:4; John 1:1-14; 5:18-25; 10:30-38,
which prove that Christ was the Son of God before his
incarnation, and that his claim to this title is a claim of
equality with God).
When used with reference to creatures, whether men or
angels, this word is always in the plural. In the singular
it is always used of the second Person of the Trinity, with
the single exception of Luke 3:38, where it is used of
Adam.
(2.) It is a title frequently given to the prophet Ezekiel,
probably to remind him of his human weakness.
(3.) In the New Testament it is used forty-three times as a
distinctive title of the Saviour. In the Old Testament it
is used only in Ps. 80:17 and Dan. 7:13 with this
application. It denotes the true humanity of our Lord. He
had a true body (Heb. 2:14; Luke 24:39) and a rational
soul. He was perfect man.
In Dan. 2:2 it is the rendering of the Hebrew mekhashphim,
i.e., mutterers, men who professed to have power with evil
spirits. The practice of sorcery exposed to severest
punishment (Mal. 3:5; Rev. 21:8; 22:15).
In Prov. 30:28 a different Hebrew word (semamith) is used.
It is rendered in the Vulgate by stellio, and in the
Revised Version by "lizard." It may, however,
represent the spider, of which there are, it is said, about
seven hundred species in Palestine.
Two spies were sent by Joshua "secretly" i.e.,
unknown to the people (Josh. 2:1), "to view the land
and Jericho" after the death of Moses, and just before
the tribes under his leadership were about to cross the
Jordan. They learned from Rahab (q.v.), in whose house they
found a hiding-place, that terror had fallen on all the
inhabitants of the land because of the great things they
had heard that Jehovah had done for them (Ex. 15:14-16;
comp. 23:27; Deut. 2:25; 11:25). As the result of their
mission they reported: "Truly Jehovah hath delivered
into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants
of the country do faint because of us."