STORAX STRANGER AND SOJOURNER
STORAX. I. It is plausible to find the storax (so
RVmg.) mentioned in Gen. 3037 as YO??, Zidneh. where
EV has POPLAK( ~ A B A O C CTYPIKINH; Ar. Zubnd
=storax). In Hos. 4x3, however, the Zibneh is men-
tioned as a shady tree; this does not suit the storax,
which is a mere bush. The shrub called storax by the
ancients (Diosc. 179 ; Plin. IiTN1217 sj) is the Styrax
og7cinaZis. a showy shrub covered with a profusion of
white flowers, found throughout Syria and Palestine
and abundantly in the hill regions of Gilead, Carmel,
Tabor, Galilee, etc., and other places (FFP354).
Storax exuded a gum, which was used for incense (and also for
medicinal purposes), and a t an early period formed an important
article of Phcenician trade. It is to be carefully distinguished
from the modern article, which is the product of the Liquid-
arnhar Orienfnle. Lagarde (Mitfh.1234) has suggested with
great probability that the name Storax is derived from the Heb.
’7:. sdrz (‘balm’); hut whether the two words denote the same
thing is douhtful. See BALM, 5 I.
2. RVmg. also gives ‘storax’ in Gen. 3725 4311 for
mix, nTkRd’th (after Aq. lipat at [in both], Sym. u d p a t ,
and’ Vg. storax [in 43111, which was adopted by
Bochart) ; EV, however, has S PICERY , SPICES (4.v.).
More probably (so RVmg.) the gum intended is the
Tragacanth (Ar. nakd‘a, Syr. an@athail;, cp Low, 24),
which is the resinous gum of the A s f r q u Z u s gummzjier,
of which numerous species exist in Palestine.
Like ’?$: (in connection with which it occurs), tragacanth was
an article of commerce imported to Egypt (according to Ebers
Egy fen, 292, the word has been found in Egyptian), and
to &re (Ezek. 27 17, see Co. ad loc.). There is no reference to
this product in the ah??! n.3 of zK.2013 Is. 392 (EVmg
‘house of his spicery’; so Aq. Sym., Vg.), on which see
T REASURY.
3. AV has ‘storax’ for U T ~ K Tin~ ~Ecclus. 24 r j ; hut RV (as
E V in I1 Ex. 3034) has STACTE (q.0.). The fragrant resin in-
tended may perhaps be the gum tragacanth mentioned above (.).
STORE CITIES, STORE HOUSES (nb?DP),Ex.
1 1 1 I K. 919, etc. See CITY (f.), PITHOM, 4.
According to Winckler ( G I 2 ZIO), the phrase means ‘cities of
the governors’ (Ass. Saknu, plur. & d n d f u ; Phcen. p ; cp
FRIEND).
STORK (n?’D? ; from ?Do ‘ pietas’ [see LOVING- placed in a distinct category. The deuteronomic editor
KINDNESS] in allusion to the mutual affection of parents and
youn L&. 11 19 Dt.1418[17] Job39131 Ps. 10417 Jer. 8 7 Zech.
5 9 ’ & ’ a [ o ] ~ ~ [ a ][in
d a Job and Jer.], &rot$ [in Zech.] ipo8rds or
dp.’[in Lev. and Ps.],mhera‘v [in Dt.] : Vg. Itpyodd [in Lev.],
heerodius [in Job and Ps.1, onocrotalus [in Dt.], inilvus [in Jer.
and Zech.]). One of the unclean birds.
Both the White (Ciconin &a) and the Black Stork
(C. nigm) are found in Palestine.
The White Stork is a well-known visitant to Europe,
and is occasionally, though rarely, seen in Great Britain ;
in Palestine it is usually met with during the month of
April (Jer. 87), on its way N. to its breeding-places from
its winter quarters in Central and S. Africa.
regarded as a sacred bird and never molested, and in
return acts to some extent as a scavenger. It frequents
the haunts of man, and usually nests on such prominent
structures as chimneys or towers, more rarely on trees.
Many legends and stories have grouped themselves
around this bird.
The Black Stork has a black head, neck, and back ;
it winters in Palestine, and, avoiding the habitations of
man, frequents the deserts and plains, especially in the
neighbourhood of the Dead Sea. As a rule it lives in
small flocks and breeds on trees or rocks ; in the summer
it migrates northw-ards. A. E. S.
STORY WRITER (0 [€IC] TA I T ~ O C I T I ~ T O N T A ) ~
I Esd. 217. See REHUM,5.
STRAIT OF JUDEA ( TOY TTPIONOC ...
IOYAAIAC), Judith 39. See JUDEA.
1 AVmg. and R V w both recognise ‘stork‘ as the right
rendering of Arisiddh. The former gives, ‘or the feathersof the
stork and osirich ’,the latter, ‘Rut are her pinions and feathers
(like) the stork’s)? In the text AV ‘or win s and feathers
unto the ostrich’: hut RV !agreeing) with Di$, ‘But are her
pinions and feathers kindly? The text is difficult, and most
probably corrupt (see Budde and Duhm).
4813
STRANGER AND SOJOURNER. This phrase,
together with ‘ stranger or sojourner’ and ‘sojourner
or stranger,’..is used by AV to translate
1. P’s phrase >mill. 13
. . ; RV more consistently
has ‘sojourner ’ for >$n ‘uniformly. i~, g ? ~and
gin, f h h i b h denote a resident alien or ~ P T O L K O S , a
foreigner settled for a longer or shorter time under
the protection of a citizen or family, or of the state ; a s
distinguished from i?l-i?, den-nikhir, or *??:, nokhri
(fem. a;??:), which simply denote a foreigner. 14, zdr.
is a more general term, including both foreigner and
stranger. It is used in Nu. 1640 of anyone strange to
--i.e., not belonging to-the priestly clan. It is often
used of persons who might also be called nokri, Is. 1 7 .
The distinction between gZr and ffishdbh will be con-
sidered later ( § 115). The verb i ~ gur, is,sometimes
a denominative of g i r in its technical sense of resident
alien, and sometimes has the more general sense of abide.
@ usually has rpoo;lhuros for @Y, less frequently ?m&pormr.
which latter is the usual rendering of fijshdhh; @vis usuall;
r a p o t i i ~; and Lhh6rpros is the usual rendering alike of nokhrf
ntkhZr, and zdr; zd7, however, is often rendered by dhhoy&
The Vulgate does not clearly distinguish these terms, but uses
advcna, colonirr, and perep‘nus, etc., for g27 and tgshzbh;
alienus, etc., for e k h d r and &Y, and gives very various render-
ings of nokhri.
I. Foreigners,other than girim (strictly so-called), i n
fhe Zund of Isrue-Z.-Jud. 119 21 27-36 . (1,)
. - _ , make it clear
a. Re&ant that Canaanite clans maintained them-
~
ald of can-ites. selves in the land long after the settle-
ment. At first, manv of these clans
stood to the Israelite tribes in the ordihary relations of
neighbouring independent states. In conquered districts
surviving Canaanites would be reduced to slavery.
Where, however, they were too numerous, or submitted
on conditions, they were employed in forced labour
..
( c o r d e ) , oris. 0071, Jud. 128. Thus in Josh. 9 27, J E , the
Gibeonites are spoken of as temple-servants. Probably
the status of such subject-clans was similar to that of
the girim; but the data do not enable us to decide
whether they were formally reckoned as girfnz, or
of Joshua supposes that the Israelites exterminated the
Canaanites at the Conquest, Josh. 1040 1120. Such a
view could not have been held unless, long before the
exiles, the Canaanites in Israel had disappeared as a
distinct class and been absorbed in Israel and its gZ>-im.
This absorption is also attested by the inclusion in Neh.
7 7 25 57 60 of the Gibeonites, Solomon’s Servants, and
the Nethinim among the Men of 1srael.l
Many of the slaves owned by Israelites Rere of
foreign birth ; but the slaves became members of the
family and shared its sucra, and thus virtu-
It is 3’ ally became Israelites. Thus, in Israel,
the slave was circumcised (Gen. 1712f. P),
wives’ kept the Sabbath (Ex. 2010 E), and the
Passover (Ex. 1 2 4 4 P). See SLAVERY.
The examples of Moses, Boaz. David, Solomon, etc.,
and the law as to marriage with a female captive (Dt.
21 IO-14), show that Israelites during the monarchy
frequently married foreign wives. These, like the
slaves, became Israelites in civil and religious status ;
thus Ruth, though a widow, assumes that, if she remains
in her mother-in-law’s family and settles in her late
husband‘s native land ‘ thy people shall be my people,
and thy god my god ’ (Ruth 116). See M ARRIAGE .
The trade of Israel was mostly in foreign hands, and
trade-routes passed through the land. For the most
THC Tradere, part
Q.nomads, traders would enter or pass through
the country in caravans. Similarly,
mercenaries. nomad clans would be occasional
visitors, especially in the border lands.
In ordinary times such caravans and clans could rely on
1 Kittel, Hisf. of Is?. (ET) 2 187,points out that the subjection
of Israelites to the corn&- I K. 124 18 must have tended to
obliterate any surviving distinction &tween Israelites and
Canaanites. I K. 9 Z I 22 is by a late editor. [Cp SoLonroN, $6.1
4814
 STRANGER AND SOJOURNER
their own strength and the general moral sentiment
without seeking any special protection. Dt. 227f:
gives us the terms on which caravans might pass
through a foreign country. They were to keep to the
beaten track and pay for food and water. Further,
the more powerful Israelite kings were anxious to foster
commerce, and no doubt did what they could to afford
a general protection to traders. Facilities for foreign
traders were sometimes guaranteed by treaties ; e.g.,
the <streets' or quarters which the Syrians had in
Samaria, and the Tsraelites in Damascus, I K. 2034. Cp
T RADE .%NU C OMMERCE , 4 6 8 The mercenaries of
the royal bodyguard formed another important class of
resident foreigners (z S. 8 18 1518 207 23 I K. 138 50 44
z I(. 11 4 RV) ; cp CHERETHITES and P ELETHITES . It
is noteworthy that David addresses the mercenary
captain Ittdi the Gittite as a nokhrt who came but
yesterday and might be expected at once to quit a
service that promised little advantage ( 2 S. 1519). On
the other hand, in Uriah the Hittite we have a foreign
soldierwho married a high-born Israelite woman [ 2 S. 11).
11. GZrim in the technical sense.-The peculiar status
of the pZr arose (. I,) from the primitive sentiment that a
5. Te~porarystranger was an enemy, an outlaw ; ( 2 )
from the absence of any public police.
West' The guarantee of security of life lay in
the blood-bond between a man and his kinsfolk. - H e
was protected by the assurance that his kinsmen would
ivenge his murder upon the criminal and his kinsmen.
rhus the foreigner, who was far away from his kin, was
at the mercy of any evil-disposed persons. His only
safety lay in putting himself under Israelite protection,
by becoming the gZr or guest of an Israelite family.
H e then became included in the blood-bond, and his
hosts defended or avenged him as if he were of their
own kin. As in Arabia, such protection was freely
accorded even to complete strangers. Abraham and
Lot (Gen. 18 f.) press their hospitality on unknown
travellers. In Judg. 19 the depravity of the men of
Gibeah is shown by their inhospitable behaviour ; and
in Job3132 it is a mark of the righteous nian that he
does not leave the gir--i.e., the stranger who wishes to
be received asgir-to lodge in the street. In Arabia
(WRS, Kin., 41 8 )the stranger becomes a gZ7 by
eating or drinking with his patron ; ' even the thief who
has surreptitiously shared the evening draught of an
unwitting host is safe. Nay, it is enough to touch the
tent-ropes, imploring protection.' Further (25g), ' h e
who journeys with you by day and sleeps beside you at
night is also sacred.' But the hospitality so readily
accorded can be enjoyed unconditionally only for three
or four days. The gir who stays longer ceases to be a
guest and becomes a dependent (Bertholet, 27). But,
while the relation lasted, the obligation laid upon the
host to protect the gir was stringent ; the stories of Lot
and of the Levite at Gibeah show what extraordinary
sacrifices a host would make to defend his guests. T h e
latternarrative reminds us that, in earlytimes, an Israelite
in a strange tribe was almost as helpless as a foreigner.
Analogy suggests that whole clans or tribes might put
themselves under the protection of a more powerful
6. clans, people and become itsgZrh. The several
Jewish clans of Medina were compelled by
their weakness to becomejfrin (gZ~im) of
the Aus and Khazraj. Or a group might attach itself
to its cousins-i.e., to a tribe with which it reckoned
kindred' (WRS Kin. 42). Thus the Israelites were
xirim in Egypt, Ex. 2221 ; Bertholet, 50, considers
that the subject Canaanites became a kind of gZn-7n to
Israel, and that foreign traders and mercenaries may be
considered gZrim of the kings ; but the terms g Z r , gzir,
are not applied to any of these classes. Both the
Israelites and the Canaanites rendered service to their
patrons. We might perhaps regard as bodies of gZrim
the ' mixed multitude'-Ex. 1238 J E 3 p Nu. 114 J E
i p ~ p ~ - t h a twent up from Egypt with Israel. Possibly,
.. .
4815
STRANGER AND SOJOURNER
too, the Kenites might stand in the same relationship.
See M INGLED P EOPLE , KENITES.
The traveller's necessities might be met by a few days'
protection ; but foreigners often came into the country
7, permanent needing a permanent home. Like
Jacob, they might have provoked the
ger* . dangerous hostility of powerful enemies.
In Arabia, ' men are constantly beingcut off from their
own tribe, generally for murder within the kin, some-
times for other offences against society, or even for
dissipated habits. .. . There were, however, many
other circumstances that might lead free Arabs, either
individually or in a body, to seek the protection of
another tribe and become its j f r i n ' (Kzn. 42). In
such cases thegir became for a longer or shorter period
the settled client of a clan, or chief, or other individual
head of a family.
Bertholet maintains with great probability that such
girim would often attach themselves to the king ; and
that he would welcome them as a means of strengthen-
ing his authority. He includes among the royal girfna
the mercenaries and foreign traders. He further sup-
poses that a foreigner might attach himself to a sanctu-
ary as gir of YahwB, and understands Ps. 15 I 61 4 as
referring to such cases. The Gibeonites would be
another case in point.
The express references togZyim in Israel, however,deaI
with t h e g j r who is a dependent member of an ordinary
family ; in Ex. 20 20, etc., the gZr is grouped with the
slaves and the cattle. There are constant exhortations t o
deal justly and generously with thegZr (Ex. 2221, etc. );
he is grouped with other needy and helpless classes, the
Levites, orphans, widows (Dt. 26 11-13Ps. 946), and the
poor (Lev. 1910). The g Z r was at the mercy of the
individual or the clan within whose gates he took refuge.
They could take advantage of his helplessness to accord
protection only under oppressive and burdensome con-
ditions. The prophets (Jer. 7 6 148 223 Ezek. 227
Zech. 7 I O Mal. 3 5 ) and the Law (Ex. 239 Dt. 24 17 Lev.
19 34) alike protest against such oppression. It appears,
moreover, from Dt. 116 24 17 27 19,that the gZr was not
wholly at the mercy of his patrons ; disputes between
them might be referred to judges.
The gZrfm9 however, were not always poor ; Lev.
2547 contemplates the possibility that the@? may prosper
and purchase impoverished Israelites as slaves. Shebna,
Hezekiah's treasurer (Is. 22 IS), was probably a foreigner,
and the captains of foreign mercenaries and other foreign
courtiers would readily acquire power and wealth.
The relation of t h e g j r to his patron was voluntary
on both sides, and there was nothing in the nature of
the relationship to prevent its being terminated at will
by either party ; but circumstances-the need of the
@Y and the power of his patron-tended to make the
relation permanent. In Arabia (Kin. 4 3 ) ' sometimes
the protectors seem to have claimed the right to dismiss
. . .
theirjzydn at will . at other times . . protection
is constituted by a public advertisement and oath at the
sanctuary, and holds good till it is renounced a t the
sanctuary.'
The terms upon which gZrim were received were
matter of agreement between them and their patrons,
and their position was similar to that of 'hired
servants,' i~it, srikhir, with whom they are classed
[Lev. 2 5 6 4 0 Dt. 2414). Only, the g Z r was more helpless
than the native sdRhir, and less able to insist on favour-
ible terms. Jacob at Haran, Israel in Egypt, rendered
service for their hosts; David fought for Achish-or
pretended to do so. Micah's Levite came to Mt.
Ephraim to find someone with whom he might live a s
pr (m), ZrigGr), and agreed to serve Micah as a priest
for board and lodging, and ten pieces of silver and a
suit of clothes annually (Judg. 1 7 ) . 'The prosperity of
Jacob illustrates the possibility of a gZr becoming rich ;
and his stealthy flight shows that a g Z r might find i t
difficult to leave his patron.
4816
 Sntur:illy-just as Jacob married Laban's daughters,
and Moses Jethro's-~Erim so~netirnesmarried Israelite
women--e.g., Uriah and Rathsheba. But the case of
(cp z K. 1724-41). Moreover, it is probable, though by
no means certain, that the gir may sometimes hare
been included in the sacra of his patrons, as a member
of the family. On the other hand, Moabite, Ammonite,
and Phmnician communities at Jerusalem maintained
their native worship for centuries ( I K. 115 7 z K. 23 13).
But in any case the religious obligations and duties of
the gir are simply the consequences of his civil status
as an inhabitant of the land of Yahwe, a guest of the
people of Yahwk ; they are limited by his non-Israelite
blood.
In Deuteronomy, the gZr seems expressly included in
the family sacra; in 169-17 the gZr is to share in the
9. In Dt. rejoicings a t the feasts of Weeks and Taber-
nacles-Le., partake of the flesh of sacri-
fices, amongst other food. The teaching of the
prophets and Deuteronomy, which drew a sharp
religions distinction between Israelites and foreigners,
naturally furthered the assimilation of the gir to the
Israelite-the only alternative, the entire exclusion of
girim, was impossible. Thus, in the deuteronomistic
passage Dt. 31 12,theg2r is to be exhorted to study and
obey the law, and in 2910-13 the gir is to enter into
covenant with YahwB.
The exile and return further promoted the religious
identification of Israel and t h e g i d m ;those who shared
these experiences with their patrons became
united by close ties. Moreover, in the re-
stored community. gir lost its civil, and acquired a
religious meaning. A subject community, under a
foreign governor, hemmed in by settlement of foreigners,
was not likely to include a class of dependent foreigners.
The tendency was for the Jews to unite with their
neighbours to form a heterogeneous community. They
were saved from this fate by asserting an exclusive
relation to Yahwb and his Temple. Under such circum-
stances the foreigner who united himself with Israd
had to become a worshipper of Yahwk, ge'r came to
mean proselyte. Constantly, especially in the Law of
Holiness, laws are said to apply equally to the Israelite
and the 14, according to the common formula kagg€r
kd'esrdh (Lev. 24 16, etc. ). The gZrim must refrain
from idolatry (Lev. 1816 202). from blasphemy against
God (Ler. 2416), must observe the Day of Atonement
(Lev. 1629-31), the Passover (Ex. 121948 Nu. 914; but
cp below), must abstain from eating blood (Lev. 1710-13).
and must observe certain rules in offering sacrifices
(Lev. 17 8 2218). The religious status of the gZr is
almost the same as that of the Israelite-almost, not
quite. In Lev.2342 it is the native Israelite, the
'ecsrdh. who is to observe the Feast of Tabernacles, in
express contradiction to Dt. 31 la, which includes the
1 The references to the @rin these verses are sometimes
ascribed to a deuteronomic editor.
4817
g?r; but in view 3f this, and of the fact that everywhere
else'ezruh is combined with gtr,' Bertholet suggests that
in Lev. /.c. gir niay hare dropped out. Ex. 1248 lays
111. The distinction between g i ~and t5shdbh.-
Outside of the Priestly Code tashdbh occurs only in Ps.
ll. GBrand 39f3 J = I Ch. 29 15). I n eight passages
it IS either coupled with, or parallel to,
t&9h8bh*
gZr: in three others it is, like gZr else-
where, coupled with sddhiv; and in two others it is
qualified by huggzrim, 'that are gir's.' Neither the
usage, nor the versions (see above, J I), suggest any clear
distinction of the two ternis, and of the many distinctions
drawn, none have met with much acceptance. Prob-
ably the passages in which tCshd6h occurs represent an
unsuccessful attempt to substitute a new term for the
old giy, The older gZrim were now incorporated with
Israel, and a new term-either gZr qualified by an
addition, or simply t5shdbh-might have served t o
distinguish newcomers from the descendants of former
giriin, and to indicate that the status of new foreign
adherents was different from that of the old girirn.
The familiar term giy, however, persisted.
Lev.2535, 'And if thy brother be waxen poor, and
his hand fail with thee; then thou shalt uphold him:
as a stranger [girl and a sojourner
la'Lev'1535. [ t i d d h ] shall he live with thee,' RV,
or better 'thou shalt uphold him as a gZr and t8shubh,
and he shall live with thee ' presents peculiar difficulties.
Gir and tjshribh are usually the antithesis of ' brother.'
The Hebrew naturally implies that the poor Israelite
would actually take the position of a gir-ie., fall
from his full Israelite citizenship ; it might, perhaps,
be strained to mean that he was to receive the same
help and protection ; or this meaning might be obtained
by reading 3 'like' before gZr with 6. Driver and
White (SBOT), with Dillmann and Siegfried-Stade,
excise gZr ZUC t5shdbh as a gloss.
Literuture.-Rertholet, Die Strllung der IsraeZiien und der
Juden zu den Frcmdcn (to which this article is greatly in-
debted)' WRS Kin. 42 ff 1 4 2 ; ReL Sem. 7 5 s ; Benz. H A
3393 ;'Nowack, ZfA 1 3 3 6 2 W. H. E.
STRANGE WOMAN. For ( I ) WiiH. ak?zdrefh
(Judg.ll*), see J E PH T H A H ; for (2) 2p;, nokriyyulr (Pr. 216,
ctc.), see S T RANG E R, I I.
STRANGLED. AV ' things strangled,' RV ' what
is strangled' (rrvirs6v), Acts15~02g2125t. See Counci~O F
JERUSALEM, 8 XI, FOOD, 8 11, and SHAnlBLES.
STRAW (179, Gen. 2425 etc. ; cp lzqp, Is. 2510).
See A GRICULTURE , 8 ; CATTLE,5 j ; cp also BRICK.
STREAIU OF EC~PPT(n:?yp h),2712. IS. See
E G Y m [RIVER OF].
STREET ( 2 b ) , Gen. 192. See Crrv, 52 , ~ .
1 Nu. 15 13 is onlyan apparent exce tion ;g2roccurs in v. 14.
a TJskciJhZ in I K. 17 I IS a misreagng : either a n accidental
repetition of ' t h e Tishbite,' or, as B B , & OovpBPv, for 'of Tish-
beh.' Cp TISHBEH.
4818
 STRING SUKKIIMS
STRING ($+ne),Judg. 169 RVmg. See CORD. (2)As to I K. 746 (and the 11). The true text probably stated
that Hiram the artificer cast the vessels in Maacath-jerahmeel,
STRINGED INSTRUMENTS (Dr??2),Ps. 1504 ; see between Maacath and Zarephath. See TEBAH.
MUSIC, 5s 6-10. The other occurrences of the name in M T are very
STRIPES (n?p),Dt. 253. See L AW A N D J USTICE , doubtful. It has been inferred from ’ Gen. 33 17 (J),
where Jacob appears to have crossed the Jabbok before
§ 12.
moving on to Succoth and thence to Shechem, that
STRONG DRINK (l;d), Nu.63. See W INE AND Succoth lay on the S. side of the Jabbok, near the point
STRONG D RINK , 8. where it forces its way into the Jordan. This is thought
to agree with the representation in Judg.85, where
STRONG HOLD (lyqt?), 2 Sam.247. See F OR- Succoth is upparent& the first town reached by Gideon
TRESS, MILLO. after crossing the Jordan somewhere near Zererah
STUBBLE. (I) dp, &a:; KAAAMH ; EX. 512 etc. (Zeredah) and Abel-meholah. This may possibly have
(2) i?pf&n; so rendered in Job2118 ; elsewhere ‘straw.’ See been the notion of the redactor of the narrative ; but it
A GRICULTURE , $Sf:; CATTLE, 5 5. (3) Kar\&pq ; I Cor. 3 12,cp is not what the original story intended to convey.
I above. ‘ Succoth ’ is a corruption either of a?\p, Salecah =
STUD (I) P+?p?p, hrirammdkim, Esth. 8 IO RV. i n k , Salhad, the border city at the S.E. corner of Bashan
See HORSE, B I [5]. (2) nip@ nZ&&&, Cant. 1Irt. Graetz (cp J EGAR - SAHADUTHA ), or, more probably, of Maa-
cath. a district of the Negeb. (Cp, however, GIDEON.)
very plausibly omends to o*py (see NECKLACE, 3). I n Ps. GO 8 1088 the ‘ valley of Succoth ’ is thought to be that
SUA (coy& [B]), I Esd. 529 RV=Ezra244, SIA. part of the Jordan valley which adjoins Succoth (cp Josh. 13 27);
but this unique and obscure phrase is improbable. The boldest
SUAH (PjD ; XOYX[E]I [Bl, COYE [AL]), a name in but also perhaps the most critical conjecture is that the psalmist
a genealogy of ASHER(T.v.,5 4, ii.), I Ch. 736. wrote ‘ I will mete out Cusbam and Maacath’ (see Ps.N).
E5 also recognises a place-name Succoth in I K. 20 r6 (ev
SUBA, RV SUBAS (COYBAC [BA]), a group of u o q w 0 [ B ] , ev uauxw [AL]). Roth here and in v. 12 probably
children of the servants of Solomon (see NETHINIM) in we should read nnxo3-iy, ‘ on their thrones ’ ; see C r i f . Bi6.
z. A station (hhD) mentioned repeatedly in the Exodus
the great post-exilic list (see E ZRA , ii. 9, 8 c.), one
of eight inserted in I Esd. 534 @BA (om. 6.) after narrative (EX. 12 37 “ [ U O K X d a B F ~u, o x w e a F*, uoxoe LI 1320
uoxwB [Ll Nu. 335J uoxw0 [B* v. 51). See ?XODUS, i. 6 IO,
Pochereth-hazzebaim 11 Ezra2 57 = Neh. 7 59. GOSHEN, and PITHOM, $ 2. Here too Maacath’ may
originally have stood (sudjudice lis es;). &e WILDERNESS OF
WANDERINGS. T. K. C.
SUCCOTH-BENOTH (nbg nip0 ; pOXXw8BAl-
SUBURBS (I) @;p, mipri?, TE~ICITO~IA and NEIeEI PI, COKxW8BENleEl [AI, [L]),a
-i+BPNEIeA
& + o p r u p i v a in Jpsh., r e iwdppraand re rrrdhra [L] in Ch. [ K a T a - Babylonian idol introduced into Palestine (2 K. 1730).
~ X C U F W S or -ovav&v I &h 1321, rpo&&]ra in N u [ i + o p i u n . r a , As some critics think, a Hebraised form of Sarpanitum.
v. 3, U U ~ K V ~ O ~ ~v. V 4,
T ~iipopa
, .,
or 6popoGvTa, F om v. 51, G r b q p a consort of Marduk (on the name see Jastrow, RBA,
in Ezek., [aypoi] &$wpm,kvor in Lev. [cp7i)v L + W P L U ~ ~a~SV. I8)IY,
and see METHEG-AMMAHI ; Lev. 2534 Nu. 35 2-5 7 Josh. 21 11-19 IZI [Germ. ed. 1151, 449). So Rawlinson, Schrader,
:I-37 39 f: Ez:k. 45 2 48 17 I Ch. G 4 0 fi [55fi:] 132 , R V w . Hornmel. Delitzsch (Par. 215)explains Sakkut-binntu
pasture-lands. See CATTLE, col. 712, n. 2. (‘supreme judge of the world’?). But surely if the
(2) O’?lJS, panurirEnr, z K. 23 11. RV ‘precincts.’ See usual explanation of Am. 526 is correct we can hardly
PARBAR. doubt that it is a corruption of p nrpa, Sacciith-KEwBn
SUCATHITES (P+Q$Y), I Ch.255 RV, AV (two names of Saturn combined; see C HIUN A N D
SUCHATHITES. See SOCOH. SICCUTH).
There is, however a better theory. I t is probably of the
SUCCOTH (nbb, i.e. ‘thickets’ or [see Gen. 33171 non-Israelite Negeb ’that the original narrative spoke as the
‘booths’; usually u o & o 0 ; in Josh. 1327 -Oa [Bl, u w x o [AI, country from which the new colonists of the cities of pmu (see
u L p 0 [L] ; 2 C h 4 17 u q w w 0 [B*vid.] u r x x w 0 [Bl], uoxoB [L] ; S HIMRON) came. Among them were the men of 522-i.e.,
v q v a l in Gen. 33 17 Ps. GO 8 108 8 [ m q v i p a r a ~1). Jerahmeel; the idol they made was of n m , or rather n*$?,
I . A town in Gadite territory (Josh. 1327 : G AD , § 12 ‘Cushith,’ a title of the so-called ‘Queen of Heaven’ (or, ‘of
[col. 15871)in the valley ’ (‘&ne&). It is also mentioned Jerahmeel’?) worshipped by the N. Arabians. See Crif. Bi6.
in I K. 746, 2 Ch. 417, in connection with Solomon’s n l n . possibly comes from n n ? (‘2 written too soon). The men
foundries, which were in ‘ the clay ground (?) between of Cuth, or rather Cush, made Nergal-i.e., Jerahmeel (a name
Succoth and Zarethan.’ The description has been held for the Jerahmeelite Baal); those of Hamath (Maacath) made
Ashima-i.e., Ishmael ; the Arvites (Arabians) made Nibhaz
to point to‘Ain es-SBktit, an old site, close to the Jordan, and Tartak (=Terah) ; the Sepharvites (Zarephathites) made
but on ‘this’ side. some 9 m. S. of Beth-shean (so Adrammelech and Anammelech (=Jerabmeel). T. K. c.
Robinson), which is supposed to be referred to in these SUD ( c o y h [BAQ] ; :UT [Syr.], sod), a Babylonian
words of Jerome (Quaest. He6r. in G e n . ) , ‘est autem stream (canal) near which Jewish exiles are said to have
usque hodie civitas trans Jordanem hoc vocabulo in parte been settled (Bar. 1 4 ) . Cp B ARUCH [BOOK], $5 I, 4.
Scythopoleos.’ Against this view, however, see ADAM. There must be some error in the text. Since Bar. 1I-
Memll (PEFQ, 1878, p. 83) and Conder adopt a s the 38 probably had a Hebrew original, we may venture to
site the large Tell or mound now called DEr ‘Alla, about assume a confusion between iand i, and read either
I m. N. of the ZerkH, discovered by Warren ; the i? Le., Sora,
Stir, ~ , the seat of a famous Jewish academy
special reason is that the Talmud identifies Succoth with (so first Bochart), or more probably lnw, ‘ Shihor.’ the
aim, Ter’ala (Neub., Cdqp-. 248),which seems to be name of a wHdy in the Negeb, assuming that 522 in the
this DEr‘Alla. This is rejected by Moore as not agreeing source from which the writer drew meant Jerahmeel.
with the topographical details in Judg. 84-17. All this, See SHIHOR. For a less probable view, see Wetzstein
however, is precarious, unless supported by a thorough in Del. / c s . ( ~ ) ,7015 T. K. C.
textual criticism.
( I ) As to Josh. 1327. The text must originally have belonged SUD (coy& [B]), I Esd. 529 AV=Ezra244, SIA.
to a geogra hical survey of the Negeb, in which ‘the rest of the SUDIAS (coyhioy [BA]), I Esd. 526=Ezra240,
kingdom o f CusAun, king of Heshbon’ was assigned to the H ODAVIAH 4.
Gadites. n130 is mentioned just before 15s (see ZAPHON), and
most probably is miswritten for njyo, ‘Maacath ’ (in Negeb).a

1 See Trelawney Saunders, fntvod. to fhcSIcrJy of W.Pal.

(1881) 158.
2 ‘ i n the valley,’ Josh. 1327, should be ‘in Maacath.’ Cp

4819
 SUN
the army of SHISHAK(4.v. ) is described as consisting of
soldiers 'of Egypt, the Lubim ( L e . Libyans), the
Sukkiini (n,:?p), and the Ethiopians.' By Sukkiim,
evidently an African nation is meant ; and considering
the position between Libya and Ethiopia, one under-
stands why 48 and Vg. guess at the i"rog(Z)odyte (the
I correctly wanting in B). This, however, is only a
guess; no such name is known in antiquity. The
Egyptian name for those nomadic tribes of Hamitic
blood, living between Egypt and the Red Sea, was Anti.
This seems to have about the same meaning as the Greek
name, viz., ' inhabitants of rocks, cliff-dwellers."
Geseniui's explanation, 'dwellers in booths ' (nisp) is philo-
logically and practically impossible. C. Niebuhr, OLZ369, has
observed that the name is almost the same as the (fukhiy
yim), I K. lOzz 2 Ch, 921, the supposed 'peacocks' (see
PEACOCK) brought to Solomon, and coniectures that the word
really means there 'black slaves,' correcting into suR6iyyim, as
above. Assucha word or nameremains unknown, W. M. Muller
proposes, 2 269, to assume o.nDn, ' grey-hounds ' (from Egyptian
fsnz), as the original reading in the kfrican curiosities brought tn
Solomon, and thinks that the chronicler mistook this for a name
of an African nation. Thus C. Niehuhr's observation, which is
undoubtedly correct as far as the similarity of both words in
vocalisation, is just reversed. Of course, !he last explanation
rests on a somewhat bold assumption. W. M. M.
SUN (VQd, on etym. see BDB). As to the
gender of the sun, SenieS or the corresponding word is
masculine in Heb. generally,2 Aram. and Ass. In
Arabic it is feminine, but the heathen Arabs knew Sams
as a sun-god (see further below). For sun-worship among
the earlylsraelites there is little positive evidence, and that
little (one would far rather think otherwise) threatens to
disappear as the result of a searching criticism of the
place-names Beth-shemesh, En -shemesh. Har-heres.
Kir-heres, Timnath-heres, which it is possible are coni-
paratively late corruptions of Beth-cusham, En-cusham,
Har-ashhur, Kir-ashhur, Timnath-ashhur (see Crit. Bid.
on I S . 6 IZ Judg. 135, and other related passages). The
ordinary view, of course, is that daw, SlmeS, and q~,
Ceres, in the traditional forms of these names, prove that
the places to which the names are taken to have be-
longed were centres of the cultus of the sun-god. W e
must remember, however, that the solar character of the
Baals has not been made out (BAAL, 8 zf. : NATURE- submitted to Holofernes (Judith 228).
WORSHIP, § S ), and (not to fall into repetitions) that it
is in S. Arabia that the worship of sun and moon was
' strikingly prevalent.' On the other hand, Winckler
has produced a considerable body of evidence (most of
it, to be sure, is unsafe) from the early narratives, to
show that solar and lunar mythology is represented in
Hebrew legends, and holds that the god variously
called Ramman, Hadad, and Yahu is not only the
storm-god, but at the same time the god who, in the
spring-tide, restores fruitfulness to the earth, and one
of whose forms is the well-known Tammuz ( G I 278).
I n Gen. 49 IO. where Dillmann supposes the moon to
be represented by Joseph's mother, Winckler holds
that, since d , ; ~may be feminine (see Gen. 1517 ; and
. . and py, yEr&%, neith& is nor
cp Ges. n e s . , 3.v. dg@)
can be feminine. the mother is the true representative
of the sun, and we have here a sign of the influence
of a different form of mythology from the pure
Babylonian-viz., the S. Arabian, in which the children
of the moon-god are 'Athtar, who is masculine, and
Sams. who is feminine. Winckler also (Gf2 70) thinks
we may infer that in the early Hebrew myth (which
was also the original Semitic as well as S. Arabian
myth) Sams, the sun-deity, was the mother, 'Athtar
the wife of the moon-god. Zimmern (KATi3),365,
1 [For a consideration of the question whether 2 Ch. 122 12
refers to Mizraim or Minim, and to Shishak or to Cushi, and
bow p 3 should
~ be read see SHISHAK F, 3 and Cn'f. Bi6.1
2 Masculine in Ps. 104'19: feminine in den. 15 17. I n Sam.
Pent. it is sometimes constructed with a feminine where M T
has a masculine. Vice v e n d , in Jer. 16 g Kt. has il:? where
Kr. has N? (of the sun).
151 4821
SUSANCHITES
369) gives a qualified support to Winckler's theories,
but thinks that Egyptian influences on Hebrew cults
may be presumed, in addition to Babylonian. If we
throw back this influence far enough, the possibility of
this may be granted. But, so far as the biblical evidence
goes, it is surely Babylon (directly or indirectly) rather
than Egypt which is indicated as the source of such
influences. W e must also desiderate a much keener
and more methodical criticism of the Hebrew texts,
especially of names and phrases bearing on cults and
myths, than is yet habitual among biblical and archzo-
logical scholars. For instance, is it safe to build either
on the place-name Beth-shemesh, or on the personal
names SAMSON and S HESHBAZZAR (q4.v.)? Holzever
this may be, the worship of the s u n and moon and of
the ' host of heaven ' in general among the Israelites in
the seventh and sixth centnries is not douhtful (see
M OON , NATURE-WORSHIP, 8 5 , STARS, 5 4 , T AMMUZ ).
On the relation of Y5hw& tn the spring-sun god Marduk, Fee
CREATION, p 8, and cp Zimmern KATI3), 369, 509; on other
points, see C H ARIOT, $ 13, HORSE5 4 NATHAN-MELECH.
See also ECLIPSE. For SUN-DIAL (Is.1388) see D I A L ; for
S UN- GATE (Jer. 192 AVmr.) see POTTERY, HARSITH, cp
J ERUSALEM, 5 24 ; for S U N IMAGES see MAS5EEAH, 0 I, C.
T. K. C.
SUPH (VD, THC E p y e p a c [BAF], T. E. eAhACCHC
[L]), the name of a locality, from which, Dillmann
conjectures, the q3D-Dl (yam szi$h; EV R E D ~ E A
[ q . ~ . ] )took its name, Dt. 1 1 1 (cp @). The neigh-
bouring names in the traditional text are as perplexing
as Suph. and there is some reason to think that D, has,
either by accident or under the influence of theory,
misread an earlier text which lay before him.
may originally (cp @, Nu. 21 14,&$hdyrue= n8io)have
1'0
been nm21 hn, and the whole verse may have run, 'These are
the words which Moses spoke to all Israel in Arabia of Jerah-
meel, in the wilderness [in Arabia], opposite Zarephath between
Paran and Peleth and Libnah and Migrim.' In Nu.'21rq the
same name appears as Snphah (7pD). See VAHEB, and Cn?.
Bi6. T. K . C.
SUPPER (AEIITNON). Mk. 6 2 1 etc. See MEALS.
5 z ( b ) , EUCHARIST.
SUR (cc yp [Ba.bKa'a.b c.aA] : T. [K'] : ACC. [B*] ;
Syr. SByyII), one of the coast-towns of Palestine which
Fritzsche too
boldly corrects to ' Dora ' (Do.). If, however, O CINA is
Accho, this violates the geographical order of the places.
Most probably Judith (like Tobit ; see THISBE) was re-
dacted from a narrative in which the scene of the events
was mainly in the Negeb. The place-names easily
adapted themselves to this view. ' Sidon and Tyre,' as
often, represents uxn, ' Missur,' 'Sur and Ocina ' ( v .2.
the Kenites), ip i i p n , ' MiSSur and Kenaz.'
T. K. C.
SUR, GATE OF ( H b we),
2 K. 1 1 6 : cp 2 Ch.
335. An unexplained riddle in a doubtful text. See
Kittel, and Crit. Bib., also J ERUSALEM , 8 24.
SURETY (&IT), Gen.439. See L AW AND
J USTICE , 8 17, PLEDGE, 8 3, and T RADE AND COM-
MERCE, 8 82 ( e ) I (4); Cp EARNEST, D EPOSIT.
SUSANCHITES,RVSHUSHANCHITES(~!?$qd,
COYCYNAXAIOI CB], COYCAN. [AL]): one of the peoples
represented among Osnappar's colonists (Ezra 4 9 t).
Delitzsch (Pur. 327 : CuZwer Bi6. Lex.(z) 876), following
Lenormant, compares Shushinak, the name of the capital and
of the chief god of Susiana on the native Elamite inscriptions.
If, however, the present writer's theory that Ena-Nehemiah has
been recast, on the hasis of a mistaken historical theory, by a
Jewish editor, be accepted, ' Shushan' will (cp BYDIDin Is. 66 20)
have arisen cut ofCushan(cpCusH, z)and 'hankEyE'(Ezra49)
out of CushEnByE 'Cushanites. See SHUSHAN, and on 'Os-
nappz-' see Cn'f. Bib. T. K. C.
1 Perhaps written 'gy+
4822
 SUSANNA
SUSANNA (COYCANNA, i.e. il?Vld, ‘ lily,’ $ 69).
I. The pious and beautiful wife of Joakim, in one of the
apocr phal additions to Daniel. See D ANIEL (BOOK), 8 5.
z. &e of the women who ministered to Jesus (Lk.83).
SUSI (’D13; a Manassite, father
COYC[E]I [BAFL]),
of Gaddi, Nu. 1311[1z] (col. 2919,n. 6).
SWADDLE, SWADDLINGBAND. The verb (h,Mt.S W
534, etc.). See OATH.
hdthal, in Pu. and Hoph.) is found in Ezek. 1 6 4 ; the
noun hJthull8h ( ?l.nn),k,
.~ in Job389, figuratively of the
dark cloud enveloping the circumambient ocean.
The mortal speaker in Wisd. 7 3/: says ‘ I also when I was
born, drew in the common air, and fell updn the kindred earth,
uttering, like all for my first voice, the selfsame wail. I n
swaddling clothes’was I nursed and in [watchful] cares(& uaap-
yavmr auerpb$qv md 2” q5povriurv).’ See also Lk. 2 7 IZ (Lorrap-
y i w u w , culrapyavopCvov). Cp ROLLER ; F AMILY, 5 IO ;
MEDICINE, I I. 1,n Lam. 2 2 2 the verb is nm, fijjak, more
probably ‘ dandled : so RV. See SPAN.
SWALLOW. I. 1\17,d&&: Ps.8 4 3 [A,],Prov.
252 t ; rpuyirv in Ps., u7poueoi in Prov. See below.
2. D?D, ses, Is. 38 14 Jer.8 7 , t Kt.; D’D Kr.; Xehr8&1;
correctly rendered in RV; AV wrongly CRANE (q.w., for
explanation of error).
Canon Tristram considers that dZmW is rightly inter-
preted swallow or martin, whilst the identity of sisa
with the swallow or swift has been satisfactorily proved
by Bochart21 IO (cp Lagarde in GGA; 1888, p. 6 J ) ,
and receives interesting confirmation from the fact that
Tristram heard this name given to the swift (Cypselus
a p ~ s , L) by the present inhabitants of Palestine
(FPP, Bzf.).
Although zoologists place the Hirundinidae (swallows
and martins) some distance from the Cypselidae (swifts),
swallows and swifts are very frequently mistaken for
each other, and it seems improbable that the ancient
Jewish writers distinguished between them.
There are three species of swallow, Hirundo, now found in
Palestine. ( I ) The common swallow, H. nrstica which, like
its congener (2) H. mfuia, returns from its widter quarters
towards the end of March, whilst (3) H , sazipii, the oriental
swallow, winters in the Holy Land. Four species of martin
and three species of swift are known in Palestine, one of them
being the common swift, Cypsclus apw, referred to above.
The swifts fly, like the swallows, with great rapidity,
and their return from the S. in the early spring is a
most striking event (Jer. 87). It usually occurs at the
beginning of April. ‘ Clouds pass in long streams to
the north, hut still leave prodigious numbers behind.’
They return to their winter quarters in November.
It is thought that the reiterated complaining cry of the
swift is referred to by the prophet (Is. 38 14) rather than
the more musical and less frequent note of the swallow
(see further Che. ad Zoc. ).
Both swifts and swallows frequent towns and villages. The
swallows build their nests of mud (Ps. 84 3) The swift usually
builds its nest of straws, feathers, etc., cemented together by
saliva; it uses such materials as it can obtain without recourse
to the ground a* with its long wings and shart legs it experiences
difficulty in r k n g from the earth.
3. (VI?, *Egzi7: Is. 38 14 Jer. 8 7 t), rendered in
RV CRANE
(4.V.). E. S.-N. M.
A.
[It seems probable that 1 q should also be substituted
for MT’s 1;5 in Job 76. ‘ My days are swifter than
a crane’ will be instinct with pathetic force to those who
remember travellers’ descriptions of the migration of the
crane. See Crif. Bi6. T. K. C.]
SWAN (ng@;n,tinjirntpth, L ~ V . 11 18 [rrop+yplwN
[BFL] -PUN [All, Dt. 1 4 1 6 [(e)iBic.BAFL]).
‘Two species of swan C y p u s musicus (C. fencs), the
Whooper or Wild Swan,’ and C. o b r (C. mansuettls), have
been found in Palestine ; hut they appear to be comparatively
rare, and scholars do not now defend A\’.
Following d in Dt., Tristram identifies tin.Fdmeth
xehr8ov represents both DiD and 111y in Is., in Jer. xchr8irv
&ypo~=DlDor D*D Aq. k a o c in Is. 38x4; Sym. x c A ~ 8 6 vin
~ Jer. 8 7 ; Theod. n t in Is 38 14.
Is. 38 14: T C T T ~in
a This form, which is the Kre in Jer. 87, is also supported by
Th. in Is.8814 and is the name which Tristram heard (see
above).
&3
SWINE
with the sacred ibis (16is rethiopica; but see H E R O N ),
or with the purple gallinule (Porphyria ceruleus) allied
to the moor-hen. See, however, O W L .
The same Hebrew word is found in Lev. 1130 in the list of
unclean quadrupeds, where AV has MOLE ( q . ~ .z),
, RV CHAM-
ELEON. See LIZARD, 6. A. E. S.
W I N G (,JJy2@,
Gen. 2123,
etc. ; OMNYEIN,
SWEAT, BLOODY. Of the passage in Lk. 2244
(the agony in the garden), ‘ and his sweat became as it
were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground ’
(Kai i y d v e ~ od iS& ahoG bad Bphppoi afparos Kana-
+
paivov.ros .hi ?+).three interpretations are current :
( a ) that a literal (and preternatural’) exudation of
blood is intended ; (6) that the sweat-drops msemaled
blood-drops in colour, size, abundance, or the like ; ( c )
that the expression is to be taken rhetorically, somewhat
as the modern ‘ tears of blood.‘
It is ‘to be observed that w. 43f: are absent from
many MSS (see the discussion in W H 2 6 4 5 ) . It is a
question whether theywere suppressed by the ‘ orthodox’
(dp866o~oi62 ri+cikav.ro .rb p q ~ b v Epiphanius,
, Ancorat.
31), or whether they are to be regarded as a later in-
sertion, explicable perhaps on some such principle as
that suggested above in col. 1808, middle. Among the
most recent commentators Holtzmann accepts them as
genuine, whilst B. Weiss rejects them. There is a
recent discussion of the subject by Harnack ( S B A W,
1901,251-255),who holds it to be cer.tain that BRA
give an intentionally shortened text, and places t h e
excision perhaps in the beginning of the second century,
b;t perhaps also many decades later. His arguments
are four: ( I ) Every feature in the disputed passage
which can be compared with certainly genuine Lucan
passages bears the Lucan stamp. ( 2 ) There is no
direct evidence that the words were wanting in the
MSS. before 300, whilst Justin, Tatian. and Irensus
attest them for the first half of the second century. ( 3 )
In two important points the passage could not fail to
offend the orthodox : (a)the statement that an angel
strengthened Jesus : we remember how earnest was
the struggle in the earliest times for the super-angelic
dignity of Jesus ; (6) the ciywvia with its consequences
was produced not by external attacks but by a terrible
inward struggle (this goes beyond Heb. 57). (4) W e
cannot, it is true, give a full answer to the question
whence the fourth evangelist drew his material ; but it
is clear that in the narrative of the Passion and the
Resurrection he had no other source than the Synoptics.
Now is it not highly probable, asks Harnack, that
Jn. I227 8 is the Johannine transformation of Lk.
%43/ ? c p CROSS, 5. s
SWEET CANE (n??), Is. 4324 Jer. 620. See
R EED , rb.
SW6ET ODOURS. ( I ) O’??&, bPiimim, z Ch.
16 14, etc. See SPICE, I ; cp BALSAM. z. iYnin*?,ni@&im,
Lev. 2631, etc. Cp SACRIFICE, g 36.
SWEET SPICES (O’PD), Ex. 3034. See SPICE, 2.
SWINE (1Vn ; cp Ass. &umsiru;2 yc; xo~poc,Lk.
8-?Z ,
f: 15 14 f . etc. ). Apart from the prohibition of eating
-<
1. Biblical swine’s-flesh (Dt. 148; cp Lev. 117) there
is probably no pre-exilic reference to
referenms. this animal in the OT. The fine
proverb comparing a ‘ fair woman without discretion ’
1 According to Professor Macalister (Hastings, DBS 3 3 0 ~ : )
‘There are no modern trustworthy cases of genuine bloody
sweat .and although in some older writings comparabF instances
are quoted, none of them are properly authenticated.
2 &‘umsinr a n d j i a z u are two animals which belong to the
class repiesented ideographically by S A g (k,swine) Th:y
lived in reedy, marshy districts. Whether &urn~iruis quite
the same as the Arabic &iwZr is uncertain; but the affinity
must he great (Jensen, Z A 1-2 The Aramaic &%in? is, like
the Arabic form, derived from Babylonian ;, c references in
Muss-Arnolt, s.7,. bnm?im. ‘Narrow-eyed &DB) is not a
satisfactory explanition.
4&4
 SWINE
to ’ a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout’ (Prov. 1122)
may already presuppose the proximity of Gentiles who
kept swine. This is certainly the case with the two
most familiar X T references to swine-viz., ‘ he sent him
into his fields to feed swine’ (Lk. 1515). and ‘neither
cast ye your pearls before the swine’ (Mt. 76). But
we can go deeper into the meaning than this. It is
difficult not to think that, at any rate in its present form,
the crowning error of the ‘ prodigal son ’ consisted in
his becoming paganisedl (an ever present danger of
Jews in the Roman period) ; ‘the swine,’ as well
as ‘ the dogs’ (note the article) in Jesus’ warning,
are Gentiles of the class described so often in the O T
as ‘ the wicked’ (contrast Is. 4346). Such passages are
intelligible only at the period when both Judaism and
the young religion of Christ were confronted by an alien
religious system in the very midst of the sacred land.
No more striking exhibition of this perpetual contrast
can well be imagined than that in the narrative of the
demoniacs of Gerasa (see G ERASA ). This place was
(like Gadara) in the heathen temtory of Perzea, where
a ‘herd of many swine’ (Mt.830 Lk.83z)-we need
not lay stress on the too definite detail in Mk.513%
( ‘ about two thousand ’)-was a familiar sight.
It is probable that the story of the Gerasene
demoniac or demoniacs has not reached us in its
earliest form, and that the departure of the ‘legion’
of demons into the half-legion of swine is a secondary
e l e m e r ~ t . ~If so. ne gain a fresh illustration of the
Jewish way of regarding heathenism as a ‘swinish’
error (see Weizsacker’s weighty remarks, Apost. Age,
265). The author of 2 Peter regards the immoral
heresy of his day as just such another (z P e t . 2 ~ 2 , ~
where EV ’ sow,’ 8s).
There are three references to swine in Q which are not found
in MT. Probably, however, they are due to corruption of the
text. See 2 S.l78(where @ B appears to insert As 9s rpaX&a
& m8iy ; but see Klo. a d Zoc.) and T K. 20 1922 38 (where the
[ail iks of BAL and BA respectively has evidently sprung out of
.dvas).
The swine occupied a highly honourable place as a
sacrificial animal in Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy, but
was neither .sacrificed nor eaten by the
a
a.animal. Jews.5 Their feeling of repugnance was
not shared by the Assyrians, who relished
swine’s flesh ; though the hog, which was only half-
tamed, was not included among their ordinary domestic
animals.’ In Egypt the pig was unpopular, if not
tabooed.8 Swine were certainly kept, but only in
certain localities-cg., in the district of el-KBb (the
city of Eileithyia). Among the live stock belonging to
Renni, whose tomb is at el-KBb. 300 swine are
mentioned. As Renni (13th dynasty) was a prophet of
the goddess at el-KBb (perhaps to be identified with
SelEnE; cp Herod. 247). it is probable that he had to
provide swine for sacrifice; for swine, as Herodotus
states, were sacrificed to SelEnE and Dionysus (Osiris).
The drove of swine depicted in the tomb of Paheri
(18th dynasty) at the same place may be for agricultural
1 The parable is even ZifpraZty accurate. That Jews were
sometimes tempted to keep swine is roved for the time of John
H r c a n u s by a prohibition quoted gy Grotius in his comment
on Mt.832.
2 Keim’s statement (3es-24 won Naz. 2 457) is correct ; ‘ the,
report of Matthew is by far the simplest the most original.
Cp Badham, S. Mark’s Zndebtedness, 4zJ’
3 Nestle (PhiloZogicaSurra, 21) suggests that the story may
have arisen as a popular explanation of a place-name such as
RZs el-hinzir ‘swine’s head’ (or ‘promontory’), or Tell abu-l-
hinzir, ‘hill df the father of swine.’
4 In this passage the reference to the wallowing of the swine
appears to have s rung from a misreading of a well-known
proverb (Prov. 26 117.
5 Cp Frazer Pausanias 4 ~ 3 7 3
6 On certain) days it was Lxpressly forbidden to eat it (Jastrow,
ReZig. BaB. Ass. 381). Was it sacred to Bel at Nippur? See
Peters, N z ~ $ ~ u2Y ,
131.
7 Maspero, Dawn of Civ. 560. The illustration given by
Maspero represents a sow and her litter in the reeds of the
marshes.
8 Erman, E&t, 41.
48%
SWORD
purposes. Elsewhere swine came to be regarded as
embodiments of Set and Typhon, and were loathed
accordingly. T o the Syrians and Phcenicians. however,
the swine was sacrosanct and its flesh prohibited (cp
Lucian, Deu Syv. 54). Antiphane states that it u a s
sacred to Aphrodite or Astarte (Athen. 349).
Probably it is from the European hoar (Sus scroqiz)
that the domesticated swine of Palestine is derived,
though this is still to some extent a matter of conjecture.
Swine are very uncommon in Palestine, and there may
have been the same scarcity in Jewish territory in ancient
times on account of the repugnance of the Jews to this
animal. This repugnance (which is shared by Moham-
medans) is not to be explained on mere sanitary grounds
(cp Plut. De Is. et Osiv. 8). It is but the reverse side
of that earlier veneration for the swine as sacrosanct,’
which also accounts for the original taboo upon swine’s
flesh ; and the legend of the death of ADONIS may be a
primitive (Phcenician) explanation of this change of
feeling. ‘There is indeed some evidence among the
Jews of a survival of the ancient feeling in certain
quarters. As Robertson Smith has pointed ont,2 the
strange statements in Is. 654 (cp 6617) and 663 are
most easily explicable if the flesh of swine was partaken
of in secret sacrificial meals.
The correctness of this view is by no means hound up with
his view of the date of Is. 65J, which later criticism regards as
belonging to the time of Nehemiah, and referring to certain
unorthodox rites practised by some a t least of the Jews and
by the Samaritans, or the N. Arabians (Che.), and denounced by
the adherents of a legal orthodoxy. It has also been made a t
any rate plausible by Robertson Smith that the swine, the dog,
and the mouse (see DOG, MOUSE)were the totems of the Jewish
families which took part in the mysteries described in those
strange prophecies.3
The B OAR in Hebrew bears the same name as the
swine. The Talmud for clearness uses the Dhrase
p g i y (cp is, # t h e open country,’
3*Ileferences Job394) ; a psalmist (Ps. 8013 [ q ] uGr
to boars’ rBA1. 8s rK’ART1) once sDeaks of ‘ the
boar from the jingle ’ ($n, EVA’‘out of‘ the wood ’).
This is in fact the more descriptive phrase. It k i n the
’jungle’ of the Jordan, from Jericho to the Sea of
Jalilee. that the wild boar specially dwells, though he
IS also to be found in the lowlands of S. Philistia and
Ekersheba and on the slopes of Hermon. ‘ A party of
wild boars,’ says Tristram ( N H B 54), ‘ will uproot a
whole field in a single night.’ The Assyrian storm-god
,n his fury is likened to a wild boar urn&^) ; not
innaturally we may interpet Ps. 80 13 [14] of the havoc
mought in Palestine by the armies of Artaxerxes Ochus.
Similarly in 4 Esrl.1530 the CARMANIANS [q...] are
:ompared to ‘the wild boars of the forest ’ (in one of
.he late additions to 4 Esd.); and in Enoch8972 the
Samaritans who attempted to prevent the rebuilding of
.he Jewish temple are symbolised by wild boars.
A.E,S.-S.A.C.-T.K. C.
SWORD(33QWeb; A M X A I ~ A , ~ O M @ A I A ,fiI$oc).
:n Ecclus. 46 z pop$ala (EV ‘ sword) ’ represents
kidin, pi’p. See J AVELIN , I , 5. In Job2025 b i r z k ,
112,lit. ‘lightning,’ is poetically used for a sword ’ or
T I
blade’ (cp Dt. 3241).
1 The theory of the primitive sanctity of the swine is unassail-
ible (cp FISH, 0s g 8). Callitratus’s ex lanation of this
anctjty (Plut. Syt.pos.45) may be ahsuri. but the fact
emains. C p Frazer’s important remarks in ’his Pausaniar
L 138 ; and see C LEAN AND U NCLEAN, 0 8 ; FOOD,$ 16, and
‘QR,1902, p. 422.
2 KimAip, 307& ; RS(9343, 357, 368. (Other illustrations
pf the subject of this article will also he found in RSI?.)
8 [See SHAPHAN S ANBALLAT ZERUBBABEI.and especially
:rit. Bib., where ;he evidence :dative to the )captivity of the
xople of Judah and their subsequent relations to their oppressors
s considered, and Is. 654 663 17 are restored to what the present
miter takes to be their original form. H e would gladlq- have
:ome to other results as the new considerations compel him to
tbandon the brillin; and plausible theory adopted from W. R.
Smith in Infr. Is. 3 6 6 3 - ~ . K. c.]
4 On the reading see H IPPOPOTAMUS.
4826
 SWORD
Other words doubtfully or wrongly rendered ‘ sword ’
are :
I . Siluh, n$$, Joel 2 8 ; RV ‘weapons’ (EV’s usual rendering).
‘Dart’ would he better (&*, to send, shoot). So in Neb.
4 17 [II], and elsewhere, ‘weapon’ should he ‘dart’(@BNApohk).
2. mF.&dh, ”TJJ, Gen. 49 s t . So AVmg., RV. The mean-
ing is suitable; but the sense has no philological justification
(see Spurrell’s note). See S HECHEM .
3. rip+, n?;, Ps. 42 IO [II] ; @ .araOAduar (-9A2uOaL [Wa]);
AVmg. ‘ Or killing ’ ’ RVmg. ‘ Or crushing.’ Baethgen agrees
with R’V, cdmparing’62 3 [41.’ Se; Che. Ps.(z),We. SBOT,on
the text of both passages.
The &?re(, or sword (the sheath of which was called
ip,td‘nr, or I?:, nidun) was suspended from the girdle
( p n . 4822 I S. 1739 2513 2 S. ZOS), probably on the left
thigh (cp Judg.316, with Moore’s note), as was also
usual with the Assyrians (see Layard, quoted below)
and the Greeks. Though so frequently mentioned in
the OT, we need not infer that it was in very common
use ; the sword cannot have been so easy to make as
the arrow (see WEAPONS, 5 2 ) or SPEAR. Nor must
we suppose that an instrument of the same size and shape
is always intended by 4Jre6; the same word may have
denoted the most primitive form of sword, as well as
the later knife-like weapons (cp Josh. 5 2 and see K NIFE ,
2 ) . including scimitars and the longer poniards.
Taking a wider survey of the evolution of the sword,
we notice that the earliest form of this weapon was of
wood ; the antelope’s horn, merely sharpened, which is
still used in every part ot the East where the material
can be procured, may also, as a writer in Kitto suggests
(BibZ. CycZ.). have served the same purpose. The
Egyptian soldiers of the first Thehan Empire were
armed in some cases with wooden swords (Maspero,
D a w n of Civilisation, 452), and swords of heavy wood
are said to be still used in Nubia; in Mexico and
Yucatan the wooden sword was provided with a flint
edge, and the destructive powers of this formidable
weapon are frequently dwelt upon by the early Spaniards’
(Wilson, Prehistoric Man, 1190). Later, bronze and
iron were used.
The sword, however, would not appear to have been
a favourite weapon in ancient times. Where it is
found, it seems to be carried as a rule as an additional
security. The Chaldaean soldiers, whose cquipment
was of the rudest kind, though they seem to have used
the dagger, did not apparently carry a sword (see
Maspero, D a w n of Ciw. 722). According to Erman
(Lqe in Anc. Egypt, 516), the swords (+u?;au)imported
into Egypt in the eighteenth dynasty came from Syria.
Wilkinson ( A m . Egypt, 1z r o f . ) gives the following
description of the Egyptian sword :
‘ The Egyptian sword was straight and short, from two-and-
a-half to three feet in length, having apparently a double edge,
and tapering to a sharp point ; and Herodotus compares the
sword of Cilicia to that of Egypt. It was used for cut and
thrust. but on some occasions they held it downwards, and
stahheh as with a dagSer. The handle was plain, hollowed in
the centre and gradually increasing in thickness at either
extremity‘’ (cp the picture of the storming of Dapuru the
fortress of the e e t a , by Rameses II., reproduced above: col.
1223).
This is very like the sword of the bronze age as we
find it elsewhere (cp the bronze swords given in Evans,
The Ancient Bronze of Great Britain, 273-300 ; Wilson,
Prehistoric Annals of Scotland, 1 352). Like other
bronze swords it is without cross-piece or handguards ;
and like these, in spite of what Wilkinson says, it was
perhaps ‘ intended for stabbing and thrusting rather
than for cutting ’ (Lubbock, Prehistoric Timed6),30).%
The swords of the Mediterranean pirates seem to have
been of the same kind (Wilkinson, 246; cp WMM,
1 Cp the earlier broadsword of the ante-Norman period ; see
Evans Ancient Armour and WeagOns i n Euroje 1 3 1 5
a ‘ h e handles of the bronze swords are very shdrt, and could
not have been held comfortably by hands as large as ours, a
characteristic much relied OL by those who attribute the intro-
duction of hronze into Europe to a people of Asiatic origin’
(Lubbock, op. cit.).
4827
SYCHAR
As. u. B u r . 375); and we meet with it again on the
silver patera found by Gen. di Cesnola (Cyprus,
pl. xix., opp. p. 276) at Curium.’ For cutting, a
curved sword, like a sickle, was often used. In the
nineteenth dynasty the Pharaoh himself is represented
a s fighting. ‘ He even takes part in the hand-to-hand
fight, and his dagger and sickle-shaped sword are close
at hand’ (Erman, Anc. Egypt, ~ 2 7 ) .The ~ Assyrians,
whose martial equipment was remarkable, used swords
of various kinds and sizes. The spearman, besides his
spear and shield, often carried a short sword in his belt
(Maspero, Ancient Egypt and Assyrio, 321). But
Assyrian soldiers also used long swords ; ‘ the swords
were worn on the left side, and suspended by belts
passing over the shoulders, or round the middle’
(Layard, Nineveh and i f s Remains, 2342) ; some of the
swords have quite a modern appearance (see Ball, Light
from the East, 191)). That amongst the Israelites the
sword was some:irnes slung in the same way seems to
be shown by such passages as I S. 1739 2 S.2 0 8 I K.
2011. Both sword and sheath atnongst the Egyptians
and Assyrians were often highly ornamented (see
Wilkinson, Anc. Bgypt, 1210, Layard, Ninmeh and its
Remains. 2298 ; cp also the poniards found in the
coffin of ‘Ah-hotep. as shown in Maspero, Egyptian
Archeology, 3181: StrugqZe of the Nations, 97).
~
Amongst the metal objects found by Bliss ( A Mound
of Many Cities, 105) were spear-heads, lance-points,
and knives, but apparently no swords. On p. 106,
however, he gives what he describes as ‘ a large knife,
which fitted on to a wooden handle, as a few slivers of
wood still clinging to the end show.’ Perhaps this was
rather a poniard. Schliemann in his Mycenaean explora-
tions (&&enre, 283) found swords the length of w-hich
‘seems in a great many cases to have exceeded three
feet ... ; they are in general not broader than our
rapiers.’ But, strange to say, he found no swords on
the supposed site of Troy (see ZZios, 483). At Hissarlik
d weapons of copper and bronze occur frequently-lance-
heads, daggers, arrow-heads, knives, if we may designate
these as weapons-but no swords’ (Preface by Prof.
Virchow, xii). The reputed sword of Goliath was
preserved as a sacred object in a sanctuary ( I S. 21 81: ).
There are Babylonian parallels (see G OLIATH , 5 3). and
Lubbock (Or@ of CiwilisationP), 323) points ont that
to some peoples the sword itself has been an object of
veneration and even of worship. M. A. C.
SYCAMINE TREE ( C Y K A M I N O C , Lk.l’l6t) is, as
all agree, the mulberry, that being the invariable
meaning of the Greek word (Cels. 1288X).
Both the black and the white mulberry ( M a s nigra L. and
M. al6u L.) are at tbis day commonly cultivated in Palestine.
The Greek name is probably derived from Heb. tl’n?@, likrnirn,
though this denotes a different tree-the sycomore or fig-mul-
berry. The Mishnic name for the mulberry is nm. Mulberry
trees’ as a rendering for O’r(?P is a mere guess. Cp MUL-
BERRY TREES. K. M.
S Y C U (cyxbp [Ti. WH]), mentioned in the
account of the conversatlon of Jesus with a Samaritan
woman (Jn. 45). It was a city of Samaria,’ and it
was ‘near the piece of ground ( x w p i o v ) which Jacob
gave to his son Joseph.’ ‘ Jacob‘s fountain ‘ ( ~ 7 ~was4)
there, by which we are told that Jesus sat, ‘wearied
with his journey.’ From the expression ‘ a city ...
called Sychar’ (cp 1 1 5 4 , ‘ a city called Ephraim ’) we
may plausibly assume that the place referred to was
not very well known. On the other hand, it is not
impossible that the redactor of the Gospel may have
misread the manuscript which lay before him, and that,
not knowing any places called Sychar and Ephraim, he
1 The weapons of Cyprus were greatly prized : Alexander
had a Cyprus sword given him hy the king of Citium, and
praised for its lightness and good quality’ (p. IO).
2 Cp the curved sabre of Ramman (Adad)-Nirari I. ; Masperq
Struggle of the Natiom 607 ’ Ball Li‘htfrom the East 133.
The Etruscans also used ;he ckved’sword; Dennis, The i‘ities
and Cemeteries of Etruria, 1201 2 442.
4828
 SYCHAR
may have modified the phraseology so as to suit these
apparently obscure places. Naturally there has been
much debate as to this ’ city called Sychar,’ otherwise
unmentioned ; and the theory which has the first claim
to be considered is that which identifies ‘ Sychar ’ with
u q e p (Sychem)-Le., the chief city of the Samaritans,
Shechem.
From the time of Eusebius, no doubt has been
entertained as to the identity of ‘Jacob’s fountain.’ It
is called later in the gospel narrative a
1. Sychm= well (@pkup=it+ ~ Z Z Y )and , this double
Shechem.
title is, in fact,’applicable to the vener-
able a Jacob’s Well ’ of our day, i f the various reports of
travellers are correct. It is no doubt rain-water that
produces the softness claimed for the water of ’Jacob’s
Well’ ; but it may nevertheless also be true that, as
Conder says, the well fills by infiltration.2 Few of the
sacred sites in Palestine thrill one so much as this, because
of the beauty of the narrative with which it is connected,
and because of the unquestioning and universal accept-
ance of the early tradition. Jacobs Well is situated
14 m. E. of NHblus, 1100 yards from the traditional
tomb of Joseph (Josh. 2432). It is beneath one of the
ruined arches of the church which Jerome, as we shall
see ( 5 z ) , speaks of, and is reached by a few rude steps,
being some feet below the surface. The situation is
very appropriate, if the well was designed for the use of
the morkers in the grain-fields of el-hfahna ; for it is at
the point where the Vale of NHblus merges into the
plain of el-Mabna. The reputation of its water for
sanctity and for healthfulness might conceivably have
led a woman to go there from Shechem (if Sychar=
Shechem) to draw water, although the well was ‘ deep.‘
A doubt may, indeed, arise as to whether the city of
Shechem could have been described by the narrator as
‘near the piece of land which Jacob gave to Joseph,’ if
this piece of land enclosed the present ‘Jacob’s Well ’
and Joseph’s Tomb.’ It would seem, however, that a
writer who had the statement of Gen. 3318-20 in his
mind would almost inevitably spt-ak of the ‘piece of
land ’ as near Shechem ; for the writer of that passage
(we assume the text to be correct) certainly suggests
that Shechem and Jacob’s purchased estate were near
together. If, therefore, our present ‘ Jacobs Well ’ was
already known by that name in the time of the evangel-
ist (or the writer on whom the evangelist relies) there is
no difficulty in the statement that Sychar (if Sychar=
Shechem) was near Jacob‘s possession. Nor can we,
in accordance with the tenor of the narrative, venture
to place ‘the city’ very near Jacobs Well, for Jesus’
disciples, who had gone away into the city to buy food,
returned (Jn. 4 8 27) only after Jesus had had a conversa-
tion with the woman, which we cannot well suppose to
have been a short one.
If ’Sychar’ were the only somewhat improbable
place-name in the Fourth Gospel, it might perhaps be
rash to question the accuracy of the reading; but
B n o n , Salim, Ephraim all w-arn us to caution in the
treatment of ‘ Sychar.’ Jerome long ago ascribed the
reading to the error of a copyist, nor has modern
criticism disproved the possibility of his hypothesis. 4
It is, however. in the document used by the redactor
of our Gospel, not in the Gospel itself, that we may
1 It is remarkable, however, that in Gen.3318, as the text
stands, the well-known Shechem is described in a way which
would rather befit an obscure lace like ‘Sychar’ (on the
assumption that ‘ Sychar ’ is right!
a Cp G . A. Smith, HG 374; and papers on the water of
Jacob’s Well, PEFQ, 1897. pp. 67, 74 , 196. ‘The source of
sup ly to the well has not been accurate$ ascertained, hut it is,
douktless, greatly due to percolation and rainfall,’ Barclay, 68.
3 Trumhull PEPQ 1897, p. 149.
4 ‘Transieit Siche;, non ut plerique errantes legunt Sichar,
quae nunc Neapolis appellatur (Ep. 86). ‘ Hehraice Sichem
dicitur, ut Johannes quoque Evangelista testatur : licet vitiose
ut Sichar legatur, error inolevit ’ ( Q u e s t . in Gm. cap. 48, no. 22):
‘ Sichar conclusio sive ramus. Conrupte autem pro Sichem.
ut Sichar legeretur, usus optinuit’ (US 66 20).
..
4829
SYCHAR
suppose the corruption to have arisen. The text may
have become indistinct, and the redactor may have
misread ‘ Sychar ’ for ‘ Sychem.’
To suppose that the narrator, being an.allegorist, deliberately
changed ‘Sichem’ into ‘ Sychar’ in order to suggest that the
Samaritan religion was a ‘ lie ’ (let,
S&er; cp Hah. 2 IS), or that
the Samaritans were ‘drunkards’ (Ekkarirn, cp Is. 26 I), is rash
in the extreme. The latter suggestion (Reland) is absurdly
inappropriate for 1%28 T relates to the nobles of ancient
Samaria, and’has nothing to do with Shechem. (Cp, however,
GOSPELS,0 54 y.)
The above, however, is not the only solution of the
problem of Sychar. By a curious coincidence it
2. Sychar happens ( a ) that early Christian travellers
distind In Palestine speak of a Sichar distinct from
Sichem, (6) that the Talmud several times
&;gm speaks of a Suchar, and ( 6 ) that at the
present day the name ‘Askar is found in the
neighbourhood of Jacobs Well.
(a)A s to the early travellers’ notices, it is almost enough
to refer to G. A. Smith’s compact and lucid summary.
Every one who either has, or desires to have, an intelligent
delight in biblical geography knows this writer’s .Historical
Geogra#hy, and may therefore he aware that the Bordeaux
Pilgrim (about 333 A.D.) speaks of a Sychar, about I R. m. from
Shechem. The pilgrim also says that the monument of Joseph
was at the place called Sichem, hy Neapolis a t the foot of Mt.
Gerizim. The abbot Daniel (1106-1107) speaks of ‘ the hamlet
of Jacob called Sichar. Jacob’s Well is there. Near this place,
not half a verst away, is the town of Samaria . . . at present
called Neapolis.’ Fetellus (1130) says ‘A mile from Sichem is
the town of Sycharj in it is the f o h a i n of Jacob, which,
however is a well. John of Wiirzhurg (1160-1170) says,
‘ Sichem’ is to-day called Neapolis. Sichar is E. of Sichem.’
Quaresmius (about r63o) gives the report of Brocardus (1283)
that ‘ to the left (N.) of Jacob’s Well’ he saw ‘ a certain large
city desyted and in ruins, believed to have been that ancient
Sichem ; the natives told him that they now call the place
Istar.1
In addition to other notices we may add the Itinerary
of Jerusalem (333 A . D . ) . which places Sychar at the
distance of nzih passus from Neapolis, and the follow-
ing testimony of Eusebius ( O S 297 26) : ‘ Sychar, before
Neapolis, near the piece of ground, etc.. where Christ
according to John discoursed with the Samaritan woman
by the fountain ; it is shown to this day,’ to his trans-
lation of which Jerome adds ( O S 154 31) in lieu of the
closing words, ‘where now a church has been con-
structed.’2 The latter statement, it may he said in
passing, throws back considerably the date of the
belief in the traditional Jacob’s Well. It should also
be noticed that Eusebius in the same work writes thus
of Sycheni or Shechem : ‘ T h e place is shown in the
suburbs of Neapolis, where, too, the Tomb of Joseph
is shown ’ ( O S 290 56), with which ccmpare this state-
ment of Eusebius on Bdhuvos ZtKfpov (the Oak of
Shechem=the present hamlet of Bala!a): ‘ It is shown
in the suburbs of Neapolis at the Tomb of Jostph‘
( O S 23769). Now if the Tomb of Joseph was in the
suburbs of Neapolis. surely the Well of Joseph must
have been there too. Both Tomb and Well were‘
certainly placed in the traditional ‘piece of land’
purchased by Jacob, before Shechem.’ It may be
added that there is abundant evidence in the texts of
early and mediaeval pilgrims for identifying Sychar and
Sychem (see H G 373, n. I).
(9I t was long ago pointed out by Lightfoot (t 1675) that the
Talmud mentions a place called Suchar (i3io. ~ 1 3 1 or ~ )Sichar
( ~ T D , N ~ > * D ) ,and a fountain of Suchar (131~i’y), and a plain
of E n Suchar (ins yy nypl). It was from E n Suchar (fountain
of S.) or the plain of En Suchar that the Passover sheaf and the
two Pentecostal loaves were brought to Jerusalem during the
war of Aristobulus 11. against Hyrcanus 11. (Bribci KamnzA
826; MZmihath, 646). The other references (R66ci mi&Z, 42;
[Pisri&m, 3161 and 83a; Nidda 36a; Hullin, 186) relate to a
time when the Samaritan population had n o doubt given place
1 HG 369f: ‘Askar must be meant. Cp,a similar uncertainty
about the pronunciation of another Palestinmn name (LACHISH).
2 Cp Jerome, E#. 86, ‘Et en latere mopis Garizim exstructam
circum puteum Jacob intravit ecclesiam. The church built over
the well was visited hy Antoninus Martyr near the end of the
sixth century, and again in the seventh century by Arculphus,
and in the eighth by Willihald. The ruins of the church have
doubtless raised the bottom of the well.
4830
 SYCHEM
to a Jewish.1 That at rhe time referred to by the. evangelist a
Samaritan PO ulation occupied Sychar is explained by the fact
that under &rod the Great, Archelaus, and the Roman pro-
curators, the Samaritans were able to recover from the fearful
blow dealt to them i,y.the vindictive John Hyrcanus.
It is difficult not to conjecture that the localities
intended in the Talmud are the Sahil el-'Askar (Plain of
el-'ilskar) and the 'Ain el-'Askar (Fountain of el-'Askar)
discovered early last century by Berggren. Though
Prof. G. A. Smith does not mention this evidence, it is
hardly likely that he rejects it.
( c ) On the slope of Mt. Ebal, about 12 m. ENE.
from Nablus and little more than half a mile N. from
Jacob's Well, is a little hamlet called 'Askar, with rock-
tombs and a fine spring called 'Ain el-'Askar (or el-
'Asgar). The neighbouring plain, too, bears the name
Sahil el-'Askar. It is tempting to think that this is the
Sychar of the Fourth Gospel (cp Conder, Tentwork,
175). Not only does it at once virtually prove the tradi-
tional Jacob's Well to be the true one, hut it seems also
to show conclusively that the evangelist had a singularly
minute and accurate knowledge of the scene of his
narrative, and this suggests in turn that the narrative
itself may be, at least, founded on fact. It is true,
there still remains the difficulty that nothing is said of a
Sychar distinct from Sychem before the fourth century ;
that Eusehius's language is indecisive ; and that Jerome,
the most learned scholar of his time, and, like Eusebius,
a resident in Palestine, maintains that Sychar is a bad
reading ; but perhaps the evidence of the Talmud and
of the native nomenclature may plausibly be held to
counterbalance this. Von Raumer, Ewald, Keim.
Furrer, Lightfoot, etc., adopt this theory.
The disputants on either side may sometimes have
been unduly influenced by their interest in the question,
3. Conclusion. Did the fourth evangelist make great
mistakes in his geography? The author
of Supernatural ReZi,.+on, for instance (P),2421 [pop.
ed. 531]), whose tone is not altogther dispassioktte.
'
holds that the mention of a city of Samaria called Sychar
is one of several geographical errors which show the author
not to be a disciple of Jesus, or indeed a Jew. There is
another point of view, however, already briefly referred
to. The Fourth Gospel, as it now stands, may have
several errors in names ; but these errors may not be due
to the writer, whose work has been edited and largely
transformed by a redactor. It is most unlikely that the
city which fills such a prominent place in the narrative
of Jn. 4 should be any other than Shechem. Sychar is
most probably incorrect, and it is a mere coincidence
that the Talmud contains the name i j i ~ - i . e . , probably
Sychar-and that the native nomenclature has preserved
the name 'Askar. How i j i ~ . 'Sychar,' is to be ex-
plained, is by no means clear ; it can, of course, have
no connection with ~ 2 . i .Shechem. 'Askar, however,
'may quite well have grown out of Suchar ; the 'Ain, as
G. A. Smith well remarks,2 may quite well represent an
original 'Elif. It is one of the many plays on names
discernible in the Arabic nomenclature, 'Askar being a
common Arabic word for soldier, army.' Cp Taylor,
Pir@ AdfithP),170. T. K. C.
SYCHEM (CYXEM [Ti. WH], Acts716; Sychemite,
b E v x e ~[BKA], Judith 5 16 AV, RV SHECHEMITE) AV, RV
SHECHEM
(qa.).
SYCOMORE ( c y ~ o ~ o pLk.
~ a194t)
; and SYCO-
MORES (nD?@, Zkmikmim, I K. 1027 I Ch. 27 28 z Ch. 1 25 9 27 Is.
9 IO [9]Am. 7'14t,and n&W, Ii&mdth, Ps. 7847t).
@ wrongly renders by W K & ~ J I I M C (-9 in R of Ps.78 47, -a in
Am.), a word which is probably derived from Ji&mim,but denotes
the mulberry. Sikmrih (?@) and h a m . Te$mri, on the other
hand, denote a quite different tree-Ficussycomorus L.-whose
leaves to some extent resemble those of the mulh&y, hut its
fruits those of the fig.
1Delitmch, ' Talmud. Studien, 8, Sichem and Sychar,' 2f.J
Luther. Theol. 17 [18561 2 4 0 3 ; cp Nenb. Gdog. 1 7 0 s
2 In opposition to Robinson, Later Researches, 133.
4831
SYNAGOGUE
From the deep shade cast by its spreading branches the
sycomore is a favourite tree in Egypt and Syria, being
often planted along roads and near houses. It bears a
sweet, edible fruit, somewhat like that of the common fig,
but produced in racemes on the older boughs. The apex
of the fruit is sometimes removed, or an incision made
in it, to produce earlier ripening. This is the process
denoted by the verb bdZm ( ~ h ) 7 14 (cp FIG, 5 3).
in Am.
The sycomore, as a common and a lowland tree, is
repeatedly contrasted with the more valued and majestic
mountain cedars ( I K. 1 0 2 7 , etc.). At the present time,
it grows in Palestine mainly on the coast and in the
Tordan valley (FFP 411). . , CD AMOS,. (i- 2 . end,
PROPHET,
~I
35.
The British 'sycamore,' which is a species of maple, is of
course an entirely different tree. N. M.
SYELUS ( H C Y H ~ O C [B*Al, H CYNOAOC [Barb]).
I Esd. 1 8 = 2 Ch. 358, JEHIEI,, 7.
SYENE (nJlD, 7d)D). Ezek. 29x0 threatens de-
struction to Egypt ' from Migdol [to] Syene (RV
Seveneh) and even unto the border of Ethopia' (thus
EVmg.) ; similarly 306 without the reference to Ethiopia.
Cornill, following d,sees the same name in 3016 : Syene
(reading m n , for ID, Sin) shall have great pain,'
Thebes-that is to say, even the most remote cities of
Egypt shall tremble (in 515, however, Cornill keeps 1*D
Sin as Pelnsium). Cp also S I N , SINIM. Scw2n?h,
or ScwZneh ( m D or nI!D), is rendered in Ezek. Z u 7 j v ~
(A. ~ q v ~ c 6 c pin 1i.433,see SEBAI, ~ o u q v q )in 6 ,
Syene, Vg., and the context shows that this is correct ;
cp especially the allusion to the Ethiopian frontier with
Strabo, 32, 118, 669, 693, 7 8 7 ; Jos. Bl iv. 105; Plin.
v. 1011. The ancient Egyptians wrote Swn, Szunw.
Swnt (no safe etymology of the name is possible) ; cp
Brugsch, Dicf. Giogr. 666 ; the Coptic form is C O Y ~ N .
The Arabs rendered this Vswdn(u); the modern ortho-
graphy is A?dn. The hlassoretic punctuation is,
evidently, taken from the Greek form, which also the
English Bible has taken from the Versions.
This cataract-city seems to have been very old ; but
it was completely eclipsed by the capital of the nome,
the island-city of Elephantine (Egyptian YZbu), directly
opposite. Syene does not seem to have been more than
the landing-stage for the famous quarries, from which
the ancient Egyptians cut e.g. most of their obelisks.
The stone, however, they called 'stone of Elephantine.'
and the troops guarding the Nubian frontier had their
headquarters in that island-city. Herodotus therefore
does not mention Syene, not because he had not been
there (Sayce, lourn. Phil. 14271)~ but because for him
it belonged to Elephantine. The great garrison of
Elephantine, of which he speaks, must have had its
quarters mostly around Syene (not on the island) to
protect the desert roads alongside of the cataracts against
inroads of the nomadic Ethiopians. It is the more re-
markable that Ezekiel knows the name of Syene and its
importance as a frontier-fortress. Under the Romans
Syene came more into prominence, receiving a garrison
of 3 cohorts (Strabo, 817) ; Juvenal lived there in exile
as governor of the city. Elephantine still had the
temples. Under the Arabs Elephantine was deserted,
and Syene became a very considerable town, being the
point of arrival for the caravans from the Siidiin.
Modern AsuHn (ASwHn) is a very small town, owing to
the decline of the caravan trade ; its population, which
had fallen to 6000, is said to be now about 10,ooo.
The most remarkable antiquities are the tombs of the
monarchs of Elephantine (beginning from dyn. 6 ) on
the mountain opposite, discovered in 1885, large Arab
cemeteries, and the quarries. W.M. M .
SPMEON (CYMEWN [Ti. WH], Lk.330 Acts 131
1514 RV, AV SIMEON
( q . ~ . ,4-6.)
SYNAGOGUE. The term synagogue conveys a
4832
 SYNAGOGUE
narrower and a broader meaning : in the broader mean-
1. Name. Fg,
a synagogue is a local conimunity in
its corporate capacity and as under religious
arid more or less civil jurisdiction ; in the narrower, it is
the building with its assemblies and services. Naturally,
the two meanings often merge into one. The designa-
tion common to both is kinkseth.
The Heb. nDn, and the Aram. X p v l 3 , l are derived from O>p
and th? respectively, ' to gather' ; hence they strictly come.
spond io the Gk. ovvuyoTj,2 'congregation' or 'assembly.'
The narrower meaning is expressed also by no!$:
NCW33 '3, and in Gk. by mpoucu~4,3 ovvay6yrov (Philo, 2 591
16?5?, T~OUWK+OV (Philo, 2 168), and u a # ? a n i o v (Jos. Ant.
XY1. 6 2).
At first, the church also seems to have been called
synagogue.4 Ja. 22 is often quoted as evidence ; hut it
may well be questioned whether ' assembly ' (as hsrauva-
ywy+jv, in Heb. 1025) would not meet all therequirements
.of the passage (so v. Soden. H C on Ja. 22). Of more
weight is the fact that the Ebionites called their church
4 synagogue ' ; that the anti-Jewish Marcionites inscribed
upon one of their church-buildings : uuraywy+~
I U T ~ V~ L j p ( 7A~t p) a p w v ; and that in patristic literature
a w u y w y ? j is occasionally used for the church.6 That
the church abandoned the term in favour of ~ K K X ~ U ~ UWhere that was not the case the organised synagogal
may be accounted for by the fact of the separation of
the two faiths ; the two terms are used interchangeably
in the LXX, and Q K K X 7 u f a was like and unlike enough
t o be just the designation wanted. Schurer thinks that
the word ecc2csia was adopted because of its deeper
ideal and spiritual significance (see G V I 2 4 3 3 , and cp
A SSEMBLY, C H U R C H ).
The origin of the synagogue as an organised religious
community is hound up with the general history of Israel
after the exile (cp GOVERNMENT,
a' Origin' When the assemblies first began, and when BlkirGth 5 5) were subject to discipline and punishment
buildings were first set aside for this specific purpose,
cannot be definitely stated. I t seems most probable
that the assemblies originated during the exile (cp
Wellh. I/G13J,193). I n strange environment, and in
default of a centre of worship, something of this sort in
a limited form and extent must be presupposed to
account for the religious zeal that emanated from the
exiles. Whether, on the return to Palestine, any need
was felt for such assemblies, the sanctuary becoming
now again the centre of worship, may well be ques-
tioned. The activities of Nehemiah and Ezra and the
introduction of the Law must in time, and in connection
writh the springing up of Jewish communities outside
of Jerusalem, have given a new occasion for them (see
C A NON, 18). No reference to the institution of the
synagogue. however, is met with in the canonical or
apocryphal books of the O T except Ps. 748, where
m7'iidZ i Z ( 5 ~'yi?) is best taken as meaning ' sacred
meeting-places,' and as belonging to the Maccabean
period. (See Che. PsuZms('J,ad Zoc., but cp P SALMS, 5
2 8 , v.) In N T times the synagogue is already a well-
1 The rabbinical references will appear in the course of the
article.
* Jos.Ant.xix.63; B j i i . 1 4 4 J v i i . 5 3 . IntheNTcrvvayqnj
occurs fifty-six times ; with the broader meaning in twelve cases:
iMk.13911 M t . 1 0 1 7 , L k . 2 1 1 z M t . 2 3 ~ 4 L k . 8 . + r 1 2 r rActs6992
22 19 26 II Rev. 2 9 3 9. Of the remaining forty-four cases it
means ' xsemhly ' twice : Acts 13 42 (not in BXA) Ja. 2 2 and
the synagogue-building and its services in the others : Mk'. 121
. 108 ; it was to be the means by which to keep exclusive
lz311Lk.433,12911Lk.438 1 ~ l l L k . 4 4 43111Mt.12 Lk 6 6
I j z I1 Mt 135 Lk.416 123 '11 h t . 236, Lk: 2046 (doubk l&)
M t. 4 q'(dou%Iet 9 35) 6 z 5 e k . 4 15 20 28 7 5 13 IO Jn. 6 59 18 20
Acts 9 20 13 5 14 14 I 15 21 17 I IO 17 18 4 7 19 26 l a s t .
Acts 16 13 16 ; Philo, 2 5 q J , rpouwx$ implies the Heb.
X>??-n's, of which it is a's translation in Is. 56 7 (quoted in
Mt. 21 13) ; but as a designation of the synagogue it is not found
until late.
4 Epiphan. Ffm-.3018: mvayoyilv 81 o t m ~i d o i h +v
Cav7jv rirhquiuv rrai .&xi Lrrhqu&w.
5 b e Bas et Waddington, fnscripfimugrecqws e t latinrs,
t. 3. n 2558 quoted by Schiir. GVlBJ 2 4 3
8 Cp Ha;nack, Z W T 1876 pp. 1 L 4 d f Zahn, Ge.vck. NT
Kan. 2 (1883) 165 ; Eid'l SJ'
4833
SYNAGOGUE
knonn institution with a hoary past ; 'Moses from
generations of old ( k y~e v t G v dpxaiwv) has in every city
those that proclaim him, being read in the synagogues
every Sabbath' (Acts 1521). (For.full references in N T
see (i I n. 4 ; see, further, § 8 . )
In considering the function and organisation of the
synagogue, it will greatly conduce to clearness if the
Fzzy3*
distinction between the broader and the
narrower meaning of the term is observed.
The synagogal assemblies and services
n.3, Aram. presuppose the existence of an organised Jewish com-
munity of which they form an essential part. The +der
function is evident in d s o o u v d y o y o s , 'put out of the
synagogue' (Jn. 9zz 1242 I ~ z ) which , means more than
mere exclusion from the synagogal assemblies-viz. ,
exclusion from social and religious intercourse, that is,
from community life (cp E XCOMMUNICATION ). The
wider function included not only the religious but also
the civil and municipal affairs of the community. The
distinction between secular and religious is foreign to
Judaism. Mishnic legislation throughout presupposes
M R ~ K L W VJewish
- control of civil life (NJd@rinz5 5 , M8giZLa 3 I) ;
but this is ideal, and could not actually prevail except
in towns where the Jewish population preponderated.
community was found by the side of the civil. In the
former case, the synagogal officials were identical with
those of the town ; in the latter case, they only ruled
more or less the Jewish portion of it. Larger towns had
more than one synagogal community. In Jerusalem,
for example, according to Acts 6 9 , the Hellenistic Jews
had either two or five separate organisations, represent-
ing aggregations homogeneous in nationality or condition
(cp Schiirer. 2.6. 2 4 3 c f . 1 7 6 8 ) . .
25-31), Members of the synagogal community (mq? TI?,
~. aovarn- by the synagogal government. The local
governing body, within whose jurisdiction
merit. it lay to try disciplinary cases, was called
62th din, n.3, 'court,' or (its Gk. equivalent) san-
Aedrin, ~ q i n o uuvk6ptov,
,~ 'council ' (Mt. 5 2 2 1017 hlk.
1 3 9 ) ; also&uh?j (Jos. BJii. 141). It was composed
of twenty-three members in larger towns ; and in
smaller, of seven members (cp GOVERNMEET, § 31 ;
and see Schur. 2176 8).The members were called
' elders ' ( ~ ~ E U @ ? T C ~ O LLk.
, 7 3) or ' rulers ' ( & P X O V T E S ,
Mt. 918 23 Lk.841), and the chief ycpoumdpxvs (see
Schur. 346f.).
The chief methods of punishment were ( u ) scourging,
(6) excommunication, and (0death.
( u ) Scourging (nbg [MukkGfh, 3121, Gk. ~ U U T L ~ ~ W
[Mt. 1017 23341 and 66pw [Acts 2219 Mk. 1391) was in-
flicted in the synagogue building by the synagogue
attendant (nmq: l v ~dsqphvs,, Mukk.. ibid. ). The minor
offences for which it was administered are given in
Mukkdfh 3 I fl The number of stripes was forty save
one ( X u R k . 310, a Cor. 1124, Jos. Ant. iv. 821). The
tribunal competent to decide upon the punishment is
variously given as consisting of three or twenty-three
members (Sunhednit, 1z).,%
(6) The punitive exclusion of unsubmissive members
of the Jewish community is met with already in Ezra
Judaism intact. There seems to have been a t first (so
in N T times) but one form of excommunication-viz.,
4Prem a ban,' that is, absolute exclusion from
the synagogal community. Its origin and conception
lie in the O T (see B AN). e t r e m and its Gk. equivalent
1 SankedHn, 15J : the two terms ~ X I and D 191 n q are used
interchangeably ; and I*-, i-p> should not he limited to the lowest
tribunal. as is done by Weber JSd. TkroZ. 141.
2 Scourging by Roman offifr;ials,referred to in NT (Mt. 20 19
Jn. 19 I ), is not considered here.
3 For the rabbinical use of D i n , which does not differ from OT
usage (see RAN), cp Jastrow, Dict., S.V.
4834
 SYNAGOGUE
aivd8epu mark an object as ' devoted,' or under the curse
of God and deserving death (cp Holtzmann, Neutest.
Zeifgesch. 150).
+'frewz meant: in fact, the penalty of death, and its infliction
was prevented only by lack of power. We must take it that t h e
NT terms &+op&v, bvr&<erv,
;rj%AAerv rb 8 v o p a (Lk.6 22).
a r o u u v a y o y o v g i v r o 0 a r or row;v (Jn. 9 zz 12 42 16 z), and
d v i k p a or d v a epari<e'frv (Rom. 9 3 I Cor. 12 3 16 zz Gal. 18f:
Mk. 14 77 Acts 23 12 14 ZI), all contain this meaning.1
( 6 ) The tribunal composed of twenty-three members
was competent to inflict the penalty of death (Sank 1 4 ) .
and it is most probable that excommunication was pro-
nounced by it ; if so, ' shall incur the penalty of the
judgment ' (&oxor k 7 a t 7% K p l u e t ) , Mt. 5 2 2 , refers to
the lighter punishment of scourging ; ' shall incur the
penalty of the council' (Evoxor &nut 78 auveGpiy), to
the severer punishment of excommunication or death.
The Mishna mentions a second kind of excommunication-.
viz., nia'dziy, 'i??, ' isolation,'called also by its Aram. equivalent town.
faFammnafti, H p W . Its main purpose seems to have been to
guard the dignity and authority of the rabbinical teacher; it
might be imposed for disobedience to a rabbinic decision for an
impertinent remark to a teacher, or for failure to gdet him
properly. It might be imposed by a mere hint-for instance, by
saying ' I have never known thee ! ' or 'Some one is calling thee
outsid; !' The G&n&r3mentions a third kind of excommunica-
tion-via, nZiiphdh, a???, 'rebuke.' It seems to have been a
severe reprimand uttered by a rabbi, carrying with it in Palestine
one day's, in Babylonia a seven days', overhanging displeasure.
The nidday-ban according to the GSmBrii extended over a
period of thirty dAys, and involved greater ristraint as to inter-
course, though not exclusion from the temple or synagogue
service. But both forms are later than NT times and they are
too mild to represent the NT terms quoted ahove.4
Recently discovered ruins of synagogues in Northern
Galilee, belonging probably to the second, some perhaps
to the first, Christian century, furnish
5. The
scanty, but the safest, information regard-
*ynagogue ing the architecture of ancient synagogues.
Negatively, they show that the rabbinic
directions ( TFs. Mi&. 42zf.) that Synagogues should be
built on a height of the city and should have the entrance
on the E. (like the temple) had not yet come into force.
The ruins do not lie in the most prominent positions of
the towns, and, with the exception of the synagogue a t
Irbid. whose entrance is E., they were built from N. to
S. with the entrance on the S. On the whole, a Graeco-
Roman influence in style is noticeable. The buildings
were quadrangular in form, divided into five or three
aisles by means of four or two rows of massive columns.
The columns bore an architrave of stone, the roof was
of wood, and the ornamentation, especially of the
cornices, was extremely rich, and figures of animals are
frequently met with. The entrance was by means of
three front portals, a larger for the centre and two smaller
for the sides ; the lintels have carved on them Hebrew
inscriptions and sacred Jewish symbols.Y
Various parts of the synagogue building, outside of pales+:,
fin? occasional mention in Gk. inscriptions : & & S p a ortico
rrpovms, 'vestibule'; rep$3oAos 7017 h a i e p o u , ' cor;!t4 Thd
synagogue of Harnm;im-Lif not far from Carthage, had a mosaic
floor with varied animal fdrms in its design (see Schiirer, 2 437
n. 26). Kaufmann has shown that both painting and sculptur;
were in use in decorating the synagogues, even at a later time,
the lion being a favourite symbol ('+t in the Synagogue,'JQR
1 It seems most orobable that I Cor. 5 7 - 4 and 2 Cor. 26-11 do
not refer to a Jewkh form of excommuiiGation : see EXCOM- the synagogue assemblies were for the religious instruc-
M U N I C A T ~ O N $3 z and cp article 'Anathema' in E'XEW.
2 See Ta'&iti38, M82d KdtdnS if: and 14a1.56, 'Zdzzpith
5 4 Middath 2 2. The full details of procedure in excommuni-
cation as found in Hamburger RE S.V. ' Bann,' and in Eder-
sheim,' Lilp and Times ofJesd, 2 18;,6, are based upon a codi-
ficationof Talmudic law of the Middle Ages and do not illustrate
N T times.
3 Thereareelevenof these ruins: at Kefr Bir'im (two), Meiron,
!rbid Tell Hom, KerBzeh, Nebratein, el-Jish (two), Umm el-
Amid, and Susaf; cp PEFQ, 1878,pp. 1 2 3 8 . PEFMenr. l m+
234 240-243 251-254 396-402 414-417; Baed. PaLP),pp. cxv 255.260
333 (1894). It is not impossible that the ruin at Tell Ham (see
CAPERNAUM, k 3) is that of the synagogue referred to in Lk. 7 5,
in which Tesus often taucht : CD Wilson and Warren, Recovery
of Ierusahz (1871), 342-146.
4 In .4thribi (Egypt), Mantinea, and Phocis respectively ; cp
REJ l? z36f: 34 148 1'2 2 3 6 8
4835
SYNAGOGUE
9 2 5 4 8 [1897]). In arabbinic description of the synagogue of
Alexandria we meet the following terms : 'p&, @aud.~G,
basilica; i & p i , &rA$ urda, a double-colonnade ; ),P)D, mda.
colonnade.1
The synagogue of Philippi was outside the city gate
by a river (Acts 16r3), and a decree of Halicarnassus
6. site. (in Jos. Ant. xiv. 1023) speaks of synagogues
as customarily placed by the sea-side (on these
passages see. P RAYER , § 4). This, however, does not
seem to have been the usage in Palestine, nor is it taken
account of in the ideal rabbinic legislation. Schurer's
contention (2444). as against Low ( M G CVJ, 1884, pp.
1 6 7 # ) , that the ceremonial ablutions made the water-
site preferable, is overdrawn. These ablutions do not
require a river, and though orthodox Judaism now, more
than ever, demands them, no preference is shown for
such sites, which are, moreover, opposed to the positive
requirement to build them on the highest point of the
Neither does the position of the discovered ruins
bear out Schiirer's view. It would seem then that in
foreign lands a preference was shown for sites outside
the city (for obvious reasons), and then near the water-
side ; whilst on native soil, or in strong Jewish environ-
ment, a central site was chosen.
The chief piece of furniture was the ' ark ' (329,fly,
Aram. wci>fi, n $ w ) containing the scrolls of the Law
?. Interior. and other sacred writings, which prob-
ably stood by the wall farthest from the
entrance. I n the centre, upon a raised platform ( n p
p+,a), stood the lectern (civahoy&ov, Heb. p i h y or
p&). The rest of the room contained wooden seats
(h+ subsellium ;i&?,K X W T ~ P ) for the congregation
(cp Jer. .MZgilZ2, 7 3 d foot ; KTZm, 167). The chief
seats of the synagogue ( ~ p p w ~ 0 ~ ~ 8were d p lnear
~ ) the
ark, facing the people, and were occupied by those held
in highest honour. (Mt. 236 Mk. 1239 Lk. 1 1 4 3 2 0 4 6 ;
Tos. Mlgilld, 421.) Schiirer (2451) takes it for granted
that the women were seated separately in the synagogue.
This is not at all certain; such evidence as there is
points the other way. That the Talmud and all the
ancient sources should not mention such an arrange-
ment is hardly accidental, and the facts gathered by
Low ( M G W J , 1884, 3 6 4 8 ) show a prominent activity
of woman in the synagogal service : to these should be
added what Schiirer himself mentions (350), that they
could bear the titles of honour, dipXtuuvciyoyos and
mater synagoge, and could sit in the seats of honour in
the synagogue (2451). T h e present writer has pointed
out elsewhere ( ' Woman in the Ancient Hebrew Cult,'
/ B L , 1898, p. 1 1 1 8 : )that the exclusionof woman from
the cult was gradual, and came with the progress in
the development of the cult itself. Relegation to the
galleries of the synagogues was seemingly the last stage
and belongs to the Middle Ages (cp Israel Abrahams,
.
lewish bye in the MiddZe Ages, 25J).
The primary function of the synagogue assemblies
- -
was the popular instruction in the law. The children
were taught in the ' school ' ( i ? ~ n.3?;
spmagogue Jer. Kifizib. 3 2 c , KZtUb. IO), and the
more technical training was furnished
in ' the college' (.',:pa n*s; Jer. Mi&khi, 7 3 d ) ; but
tion of the people. Worship, in the narrower sense,
was only a secondary object. That this was so in the
times of Jesus we learn from Josephus (CAP.217;
Ant. xvi. 2 4 ) . from Philo (2168), who calls the syna-
gogues GtBaaKaX&,2 'schools,' and from the NT, where
' to teach ' (GtGdaKetv) appears as the chief function of
the synagogue (cp Mt. 423 Mk.121 62 Lk.41531 6 6
1310Jn. 659 1820). But there is evidence that a t this
time the synagogue assemblies stood, as it were, in the
medium stage of their growth. In earlier times the
synagogue was called a the assembly of the common
1 Tas. Sukkd, 4 6 = Jer. Sukkd, 55 n, 6.
2 apoumurripra ~i &pov burw 4 Gr8atrraAeia.
4836
 SYNAGOGUE
people’ (oe: nm? ; Shabbdth, 32 u ) , and corresponded
more nearly to the ‘gate’ ye) as a common meeting-
place.’ The Targum translates ‘gate’ (TI@) in Am.
5 12 15 62th k l n i f t i (u@s n’3). But after the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem. when the synagogue began more and
more to take the place of the temple, the assemblies
took on gradually more of the form of worship. The
name ‘ assembly of the common people ’( nyn non) was
then seriously objected to (Shab. 32 a ) , and the sacred-
ness of the synagogue was specially asserted (Tos. Mtg.
371.2
For conducting the synagogue service, an official,
strictly speaking, was not deemed necessary ; any com-
9. ofhcars.petent Israelite could officiate. The free-
dom with which Jesus and Paul took
part in the service illustrates this fact. The person who
led in the exercises was called ‘representative of the
community ’ (vs? y!?), and if he erred while perfonn-
ing his duty, some one else present might immediately
take his place (Elnikfitlr 5 3 ) . The same freedom still
prevails, in theory at least, in the present synagogue
service ; but naturally those who are especially qualified
by experience and efficiency are preferred.
The chief official of the synagogue as a religious
assembly was the ~ p x m u v d y w y o s , EV ‘ruler of the
synagogue’ (Mk. 5 2 2 3 5 3 38 Lk.849 1 3 1 4 Acts1315
188 17 ; Heb. nm?? witi, .Si@ 7 7 3 ) . The office was
not identical with’ that of the elder’ (rpeu,%hpos) or
’ ruler’ (&pxwv), nor with that of the president of the
gerousia’ (yeppou~~~dpxqs; see 5 6 ) , though one might
serve in both capacities at the same time. The duties
of the Archisynagogos related to the care and order of
the synagogue and its assemblies and the supervision of
the service.
A second functionary was the /luzzdn (nm?? p, Si@
7 7f:, Y5mi 7 I ) , the hlrqphqs, AV a minister,’ R V
’ attendant ’ of Lk. 420. It was his duty to present for
reading, and return to the ark after the reading, the
sacred scrolls ; he also taught the children (Shad. 1 3 ) ,
and acted as the lictor in scourging, as the agent of the
synagogue council ( ~ 9 7n$ ; cp 5 8.
The giving of alms was a religious service in the time of
Christ, and was administered in the synagogue by special
officials called ‘administrators’ (D’D;??), who had under them
‘collectors of alms’ (afff W?>), and ‘distributors of alms’
t’r ’&np); see Slrab. 1x86,arid cp ALMS, 5 3fi
The rabbinic requirement was that at least ten men must be
present for the conduct of divine service (MZf. 43). Whether
this was already in force in NT times is doubtful ; hut it led in
post-Talmudic times to the custom of providing by payment ‘ ten
men of leisure’ ( p s ~ 2mwy,
- decem ofiosi), whose business it
was to attend the service ; they possessed, however, no official
rank.
The Mishna (M&. 4 3 ) enumerates five principal parts
of the service: ( u ) the ShEma‘; ( 6 ) prayer; (c) the
lo. The reading of the Law ; ( d ) the reading of the
service.3 Prophets, and the benediction ; but to these
must be added ( e ) the translation and ex-
planation of the Scripture lesson. How much of each
of these was already in use in N T times will appear
in the sequel. On the whole, as has been indicated
above (8 S), the synagogue service was much simpler
before the destruction of the temple; that crisis in
Judaism exerted a strong influence upon the develop-
ment of synagogal institutions.
( u ) The ShBma’ (vat, ‘Hear!’), so called from the
opening word of the first passage, a Hear, 0 Israel:
’ c p Ps. 127 5, Ecclus. 6 34 7 14 (where for &v r A @ a r p e o p v -
T~POY stood probably in the original text o y : s?p?; so
Kau. Ajok., ud roc.) 35 33 39 IO 41 18.
At the end of the first century A.D. it was still possible to
class sitting in the synagogues with sleeping away the morning
drinking wine at noon, and playing with children, as bringin;
failure in life (‘x65fk314).
3 See also T EMPLE . 348
4837
SYNAGOGUE
Yahwh our God, Yahwb is one,’ is composed of three
passages of Scripture (Dt. 64-9 11 13-21 Nu. 1537-41), two
introductory benedictions for morning and evening, one
- benediction for the morning, and two for the
closinF:
evening.’
That the benedictions in their present form are the result of
gradual additions wa5 pointed out by Znnz (Gottesdienctl. ?lor-
fr&e d./ d e n [,1832], 369f).; the same is most probably true
also of the selection of the crrpture passages.
The origin of the reciting of the ShEmd (ppf nFqp) i s
most probably to be sought in the endeavour to incul-
cate the sacredness and importance of the Law, for
which the selections are most admirably adapted in that
they not only emphasise these attributes. but also insist
on certain outward symbolic signs as reminders of them
(see FRINGES, FRONTLETS). As the phylacteries and
fringes are well known in N T times (Mt. 2 3 5 ; Jos.
Ant. iv. 8 q),the origin of the reciting of the ShGma‘
must date back into the pre-Christian period as probably
one of the first customs introduced by those who caught
the spirit of Nehemiah and Ezra. That the object of
the ceremony was accomplished may he seen from the
fact that the act is regarded in the beginning of the
second century A. D. as ’ receiving the yoke of the king-
dom of God ‘-i. e., the obligation to keep the Law of
Moses (BPrikh.2 5 ; see Dalman, Worte Jesu, 1 80).
The conception of it as a confession of faith (Schiir.
2459), or as a substitute for the daily sacrifices (Hamb.
RE21088), belongs to later times2 In the N T the
opening words of the ShBma’ are quoted in Mk. 1229
(cp M t . 2 2 3 7 Lk.lOa7), but without any reference to
its liturgical character.
(6) That the disciples could ask Jesus, Teach us to
pray, even as John taught his disciples,’ Lk. 111,would
seem to indicate that a fixed form of prayer was at that
time not in vogue (cp P RAYER , 5 7). This is made
the more probable by the history of the most ancient
synagogal prayer, the ShZm5nd ‘esrt? (a-@ n:bt), the
‘ eighteen ’-i. e., petitions and henedictions There are
now two recensions of this prayer, a Babylonian and a
Palestinian.Y It appears evident that in the original
form each of the petitions consisted of two members ;
the Palestinian recension has more nearly retained its
original form, and is the shorter as well as the older ;
the Babylonian has received considerable additions.
We have, therefore, here also to deal with a piece of
synagogal liturgy which has passed through various
stages of growth. The present writer is inclined to take
the hint of Dalman (PREP),7 I O ) and regard the eight
petitions mentioned in Jer. Y5md, 44b, as pointing to
an earlier form of the ShEmBn6 ‘esr8. If the legislation
regarding these eight petitions is not ideal, they fit into a
period prior to the destruction of Jerusalem (70 A . D .).
The fuller forms cannot he as early. The arrangement
in the present order of sequence is ascribed to Shimeon
ha-PekBli (about IIO A . D . , BZrikh. 2 S d ) . Dalman
thinks it probable that, as petitions 7 and 10-14are
later than the destruction of Jerusalem, the form in
vogue before that event consisted of three opening
benedictions (I-3), six petitions (4-6,8, 9 , IS), and
three closing benedictions ( 1 6 -I S ) , and holds that this
prayer, composed of twelve petitions, may be regarded
as the Pharisaic-Judaic counterpart of that of Jesus,
composed of five or seven petitions (Mt. 69-13 Lk.
112-4). An abbreviated form of the Palestinian receii-
1 Translations of these may he found in Hebr.-Engl. Pra>-er
Books.
2 Detailed rubrics, dealing with the manner and time of
recitation and the persons who are and who are not under
obligation to perform it are given in B&ikhbth1-3. The
authorities differ as to wdether it may be begun in the motniilg
when it is light enough to distinguish between sky-blue arrd
white, or between sky-blue and leek-green.
3 The Palestinian was recently discovered by S. Schechter in
a GBniza of Cairo. and published by him in /QR1065+65g
(1898). Dalman has published both recensions (the probable
later additions enclosed in brackets) with notes in his Worfe
/esu 1 2 9 9 8 ; they are also contained in his .Messiunische
Texfe.
4838
 SYNAGOGUE
sion (from Jer. BPrEkk. 8 a)is here given for comparison
with the ‘ Lord’s Prayer.’
‘Grant us understanding ; graciously accept our repentance;
forgive us, our redeemer ‘ heal our diseases. bless our years ;
for thou gatherest the s c h e r e d and it is thine to judge the
erring ; put thy hand upon the kicked ; and may all who trust
in thee rejoice in the building of thy city, the renewal of thy
sanctuary, in the Branch of David, thy servant (u.1. the sprout-
ing of a horn for David); for thou answerest before we call.
Blessed art thou, Lord, who hearest prayer.’l
Petition 12 of the Palestinian recension calls for
special mention. The text and its translation are as
follows :
aayn b ? 5K
~ n?y+
w m ] i?yn x!;?p iii! n+g
[q& y ~ ?n p . p ; n ’ p !
P x r g 58 o * p y ny! n,:n;r y e p m~:]
: o y p’ng ;m e 7312
May the apostates have no hope ;
And the kingdom of arrogance be quickly uprooted in our day ;
And the Christians and heretics perish in a moment ;
Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not he written
with the righteous.
Blessed art thou, Lord, who hringest low the arrogant.3
The third line has settled it beyond question that
Justin Martyr and the Church fathers were right in their
statements that the Christians were mentioned in the
daily synagogal prayers (DiaL c. T v p h . 93 133 137 ;
and see Schiir. 2463).
By the end of the second century A.D. it was an established
custom to close the synagogal service with the priestly bene-
diction (O’!$;r In??), Nu. 622-26. As this was originally a
part of the temple kervice, it was probably not introduced into
the synagogal liturgy until after the cessation of that service.
When priests were present, they pronounced the benediction
standing between the ark and th-. congregation and facing thd
latter (Tos. M&iLhZ,421); raisin the hands as high as the
shoulder (Sa<&, 76), and repeating t i e formula after the precentor
word by word, the congregation responding after each of the
three parts with Amen. I n the absence of priests the hene-
diction was offered in prayer, and then, just before the closing
prayer for peace, petition 18 (MZg. 1 8 ~ ) .
( c ) The Sabbath lesson from the Law and the
Prophets, and the occasional exposition or exhortation
following upon them, were custoniary in N T times
(Lk.416J Acts131527 1521: cpzCor.315; Jos. c..4p.
2 1 8 ; Philo, 2630). The lesson from the Law was
unquestionably the oldest, and so the most prominent,
part of the synagogue service. The tradition says that
* Moses instituted the reading of the Law on the sab-
baths, feast-days, new moons, and half feast-days;
and that Ezra appointed the reading of the Law for
Mondays and Thursdays and the Sabbath afternoons ’
(Jer. +?@. 75 a). Such early and general origin, how-
ever, 1s out of the question. That here also there has
been a gradual development is made probable by the
fact that the present system of dividing the Pentateuch
into fifty-four sections ( n - 7 ~ ) to
. be completed in an
annual cycle, can he traced back to an earlier cycle of
two years’ duration, and that again to one of three
years and three yean and a half. The special lessons
still in use for the sabbaths of new moons, the four
sabbaths before the Passover, and for other festivals
(ilf&;lzZ535J) give ground for the supposition that the
lessons originated in the selection of appropriate passages
for particular occasions, and that only ont of these grew
the more definite arrangement4 Since the reading of
1 The Hebrew text may be found in Dalm. W o r f e j e s u , 1304.
2 Another fragment of this recension adds, ixiv* t& O M
7vin5, and omits 1. 4. The parts that are bracketed are
regarded as later additions by D a h . Worfejesu,1300.
3 The Babylonian recension of this petition omits p ~ ~ and 3 ,
for n‘l’n it reads O’!,W)g, ‘slanderers.’ According to B&ikh-
d f h 2 8 6 , Samuel the Small added the petition against heretics
t n the original eighteen making thus really nineteen. the
Palestinian recension codhines the petitions for the resto;ation
of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah into one, and so
has only eighteen in all.
4 Cp Hamb. RE21263{,’ Bpchler ‘The Reading of the
Law and the Prophets in a r;ennlal Cyhe,le,’jQR5 4 2 0 3 (1893),
6 1 . 8 (1894).
4839
SYNEDRIUM
the Law was binding upon all, every Israelite. even
minors. could partake in the public reading ; and on
the Sabbath morning seven, at least, were called upon.
Each person read his own portion ; and only in cases of
inability to rend was a public lector employed (Jer.
M&. 75 a ; Phil. 2282). The Mishna (M&. 4 4 ) provides
for a benediction before and after each person’s reading.
According to Siphip/lpi.im13, bath closed with : ‘ Blessed
art thou, Lord, who hast given the Law.’
( d ) The selection of a portion from the second part of
the Jew-ish canon, ‘the Prophets’ ( o y ? ~ ) ,to be read
after the lesson from the Law, marks a further step in
the synagogue ritual. Its original aim may be gathered
both from the term by which it was called and from the
character of the earliest selections. The term Haphtzrs
( n ~ ? ? ;Aram. ~nlgp!) is derived from pdtar (im),
which. in the Hiphil, means ‘ to dismiss ’ or ‘ to adjourn
a meeting’ ; the HaphtHrs was, therefore, the closing
exercise. The selections show that they were meant to
enforce. by an historical example or by a promise, the
lesson from the Law on a particular occasion.
The HaphtEr5 for the first day of the Passover was Jos. 5 9 8 .
for the second day, z K. 23 : for Pentecost the lesson from th6
Law was, Dt. 16 g& the HaphtErZ Hah. 3 includingm. 1 7 f l ;
on the Day of AtoneLent, it was in) the making Is. 57 1 5 8 , in
the afternoon Jonah. Here again the earliest selections on
record (Tos. M&-. 4 1-4 ; M&. 31 a) are those for special days ;
and most likely they served as the nucleus for the present
arrangement.
It is most probable that in N‘T times the prophetic
portions were not yet fixed, but were chosen by the
reader, and that the selection of Jesus (Lk. 416J) was
his own choice.
( e ) Both the lessons from the Law and those from
the Prophets were translated or paraphrased into the
vernacular Aramaic by an interpreter (1
case of the Law, one verse at a time; in the lessons
from the Prophets, three verses might he taken at once
(M$. 44). These translations and paraphrases ( e w p )
were of the nature of explanations, and led graduaily
to the more extended expositions (~???,~ ~ 7 )Of.
teaching in the synagogues the N T contains many
illustrations (Mt. 423 Mk. 121 6 a ) . The preacher (@?)
sat while speaking (Lk. 420). The Scripture exposition
was not a required part of the service; neither was it
the prerogative of an ordained class ; any one able to
instruct might he invited to speak (Acts1315). though
ordinarily it fell to the rabbis of the community
(BirE&Zh, 28 a). Cp JESUS, 5 9.
Much of the literature has already been mentioned ; the chief
place still belongs to Schiirer, GJVP), 2427-463. Dalman
‘Synagogaler Gottesdienst ’ PREP1 7 7-1;
11. Literature. has added richly to both t i e subject i n d th;
bibliography, and signally distinguishes him-
self b y a severer caution in using the Mishnic material to illustrate
the time of Christ. To the literature given by Schiirer and
Dalman add : Duschak, G e s J . u. Dursfellzng d.j%d. Culfzrs,
Mannheim, 1866; Nowack, He&. Archucologie, 2 83 8 ;
Holtzmann, Neutest. Zeifgesch. 147 fZ ; Demhitr, Jewish
Setvices in SynugoSue u r d f/ome (popu ar), Philad. 189%
I. J . P.
SYNEDRIUM ( U U Y ~ ~ ~ L O Ya) ,
Greek word which
means ‘ assembly ’ and is especially used of judicial or
representative assemblies, is the name by which (or by
its Hebrew transcription, 1’17iDQ snnhedt-in, sanhedrim)
is known that Jewish body which in its origin was the
municipal council of Jerusalem, hut acquired extended
functions and no small authority and influence over
the Jem-s at large (see GOVERNMENT, 55 2 9 8 ; ISRAEL,
$5 81 8 ; SYNAGOGUE, 4 ) . In the Mishna it is called
‘the Sanhedrin,’ ‘the great sanhe-
Meaning and drin,’ ‘ the Sanhedrin of seventy-one
constitution* [members],’ and ‘ the great court of
justice’ (62th din itngyEdd). The oldest testimony
to the existence and constitution of the synedrium of
Jerusalem is probably to be found in z Ch. 1 9 8 ; the
priests, Levites, and hereditary heads of houses there
spoken of as sitting in Jerusalem as a court of appeal
from the local judicatories do not correspond with
4840
 SYNEDRIUM
anything mentioned in the old history, but may be
taken as representing an institution of the Chronicler’s
o ~ time.
n And just such an aristocratic council
is what seems to be meant by the gerusia or senate
of a elders ’ repeatedly mentioned in the history of the
Jews, both under the Greeks from the time of Antiochus
the Great (Jos. Ant. xii. 3 3) and under the Hasmonean
high priests and princes. The high priest, as the
head of the state, was doubtless also the head of the
senate, which, according to Eastern usage, exercised
both judicial and administrative or political functions
(cp I Macc. 126 1420). The exact measure of its
authority must have varied from time to time. at first
with the measure of autonomy left to the nation by
its foreign lords, and afterwards with the more or less
autocratic power claimed by the native sovereigns.
As has been shown under I SRAEL ( 5 8 1 3 ) , the
original aristocratic constitution of the senate began
to be modified under the later Hasmoncans by
the inevitable introduction of representatives of the
rising party of the Pharisees, and this new element
gained strength under Herod the Great, the bitter
enemy of the priestly aristocracy.’ Finally, under the
Roman procurators, the synedrium was left under the
presidency of the chief priest as the highest native
tribunal, though without the power of life and death
(Jn. 1831). The aristocratic element now again pre-
ponderated, as appears from Josephus and from the
N T , in which ‘chief priests’ and ’rulers’ are synonymous
expressions. But with these there sat also ’ scribes ’ or
trained legal doctors of the Pharisees, and other notables,
who are called simply elders‘ (Mk. 15r). The Jewish
tradition which regards the synedriiim as entirely
composed of rabbis sitting under the presidency and
vice-presidency of a pair of chief doctors, the n i s i and
a6 bZth din,%is quite false as regards the true synedrium.
It was after the fall of the state that a merely rabbinical
bZk din sat at Jabneh and afterwards at Tiberias, and
gave legal responses to those who chose to admit a
jndicature not recognised by the civil power. Gradually
this illegal court usurped such authority that it even
ventured to pronounce capital sentences, -acting,
however, with so much secrecy as to allow the Roman
authorities to close their eyes to its proceedings (Origen,
Ep. ad AJ’Y.,5 14). That this was possible will appear
less surprising if we remember that in like manner the
synedrium of Jerusalem was able to extend an authority
not sanctioned by Roman law over Jews beyond Judzea
-e.g., in Damascus (Acts92 225).
The council-chamber (BouXh) where the synedrinm
usually sat was between the Xystus and the temple,
probably on the temple-hill, but hardly, as the Mishna
states, within the inner court. W.R. S.
The term *Sanhedrin’ does not occur in EV ; but
the Greek uvvQ6prov is found in a number of passages
2. Tb ovvisprov in N T where EV has ‘ the council.’
In some cases it denotes an ordinary
in NT. Tewish tribunal (Mt. 1017): in others
it seems to be used of the supreme Jewish Council. the
Sanhedrin (Mk. 1455 Acts5x). In this latter sense the
writers are commonly nnderstood to have employed the
word in the narratives of the trials of Jesus. I t may
be doubted, however, whether we have before us the
original text.
I n Mk. 1455 (=Mt. 26 59) the writer, after relating that Jesus
w a s led away to the high priest, adds: ‘Now the chief priests
and the whole council (6Aou rb mv&3prov) sought witness against
Jesus to put him to death.’ In Mk. 15 I again it is said, ‘And
straightway in the morning the chief priests with the elders
and scribes, ,and the whole council (6Aov r b U U Y ~ ~ ~ B Oheld
Y), a
consultation ; but the parallel passage, Mt. 27 I, has simply ‘all
the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel.’ In
the narrative in Lk. the word is introduced very awkwardly.
1 The name syriedriunt first appears under Hyrcanus 11.
Uos. A n i . xiv. 94).
2 N53i properly means the sovereign, and n‘6 62th rIin the
president of the tribunal.
is post-Mishnic.
..
The false traditional application
4841
SYNEDRIUM
In Lk. 12 66 it is said, ‘And as soon as it was day the assembly
of the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief
priests and scribes ; and they led him away into their council
saying, If thou art the Christ, tell us’ ai drnj a OY [ai
dmjyayov] a h b v d s r b W Y C ~ ~ L O Vi a u r G v [n.l a h h y , f ’y O v r f F
I ( . 7. A). Here the abruptness with which the hdyovrcr and
following words come in, together with the use of wv~6pplovfor
the place of assembly as well as for the Council itself (for which
the evidence usually brought forward from other sources is not
very strong) arouses suspicion. cis r b w v i 6 p r o v looks very like
an insertion,’and m i drniyayov (or I m j y a y o v ) a h 5 v an alteration
of r a i & q p J ~ o v ah&.
I t h:is been found that whereas 7 b w v d 6 p m v occurs in hlk.
151 it does not appear in the parallel passage, Mt. 271. If
in additiou to this the word is a late insertion in Lk. 2266 it
is a question whether in an earlier stage of the narratives)&
w v d 8 p r o v was present in any of the passages.
When this article was already in print, an imporlant work
by Dr. Adolf Biichler, Das Synedmbn in ~ L ~ U S O ~ ~ Y P Zappeared,
(1902). H e thinks that the ‘scribes’ in Mk. 1434 are clearly an
addition, and that in all the passages dpp)(rcppcismeans (not the
‘chief priests’ hut) the Temple authorities, by whom (and not
by the Synedrium) Jesus was seized (see p. 203).
I n any case the narratives of the trial are not
3. Jewish trial? satisfactory when examined from a
critical and scientific standpoint.
‘The meeting in the palace of the high priest which condemned
our Lord was exceptional. The proceedings also on this
occasion were highly irregular, if measured hy the rules of
procedure which, according to Jewish tradition were laid dowri
to secure order and a fair trial for the accus<d’(WRS,EBPj
2281zd). C p S ON O F M A N , $ 37, end.
It has been pointed out by Brandt (Die Evnng.
Gesch. p. 6 7 ) and Edersheim (LVe and T i m s o f Yesus,
2 5 5 3 ) that the whole proceedings of the Sanhedrin, if
they were such as they are represented to have been,
contradict all that we know about the Jewish method
of trial from other sources, even when we admit an ideal
element in the Rabbinic notices.2 The Jews, no less
than the Romans, have a t all times shown great
reverence for the law (see Hamburger, Real-Ency-
clopudie 21~51). I f , as Renan ( L q e of Jesus, p. 252)
supposes, Jesus was condemned not so much by Tiberius
or Pilate as by the old Jewish party and the Mosaic
law, it is remarkable that ‘Paul’ in dealing with this
very law is silent on the subject (cp Brandt, p. 56).
But it is still possible to hold that Jesus was con-
demned at an informal meeting of the Sanhedrin
(Edersheim), or by a smaller Court of Justice (Graetz,
Hist. ofthe Iews,2163). Edersheim (2557) thinks there
can be no question that Jesus was condemned and done
to death by the whole body of Sanhedrists, if not by
the Sanhedrin, ‘in the sense of expressing what was
the judgment and purpose of all the Supreme Council
and leaders of Israel, with only very few exceptions.’
It is difficult, however, to think that the Romans would
pay much attention to an informal Council. The high
priest’s task was simply, Edersheim thinks, ‘to formulate
a charge which would tell before the Roman Pro-
curator’ ; but the charge he selects, that of blasphemy,
however serious its estimation among the Jews, could
hardly influence a Roman (cp Keim, p. 83). The
charge of claiming to be the Messiah (Keim) might
have had more weight; but Keinl admits that the
refusal of Jesus to explain what he meant by the claim
is ‘surprising’ (p. 89). I t is more reasonable to
suppose that the charge (whatever it was) was formu-
lated by a mere clique of Jews who in no way repre-
sented the nation,3 and that the condemnation and
crucifixion were brought about by the hirelings of such
a clique.4 It is true that Josephus ( A n t . xviii. 3 3 ) is
1 We are thinking of ‘Science ’ as defined by Huxley(Es.rays)
and Herbert Spencer (Rdzuation), and are not unmindful of
what Toktoy(Modem Science; c hi5 recently published (19021
What is Religion 1) has said on tge subject.
2 ‘ All Jewish order and law would have heen grossly infringed
in almost every particular if this had heen a formal meeting of
the Sanhedrin’ (Edersheim, Z.C.). On Jewish ‘law’ cp Pascal,
Thozqkfs o n Religion, chap. 8, towards end.
3 This seems to be the view of Jost, Gesch. d. Yudenfk.
1402-409 (as cited in Edersheim, Life, 2 553, n. 2). H e describes
it as ‘ a private murder (Privat-Mord) conimitted by burning
enemies, not the sentence of a regularly constituted Sanhedrin,
etc.’
4 The Jewish punishment was by stoning (cp the case cf
4842
 SYNEDRIUM
supposed to assert that Jesus was condemned ‘ a t the
suggestion of the principal men among us ’ ; but it has
been contended that this passage is an interpolation
(De Quiiicey, CoZlected Works, 7127 [1897]), and in
any case the statement would not prove much.
The trial before Pilate, as it is represented in the
Gospels, seems to have been no less irregular, and the
4. Itoman trial. judge‘s conduct can only be accounted
for by making him quite an exception
to the general rule,’ a man of all men-the most perverse
and inconsistent (see Keim. 6 8 3 8 ; Farrar, L g e of
Christ, chap. 60).2 Pilate, however, it would seem,
was not such an exceptional character. See PILATE.
When, therefore, he condemned Jesus to suffer crucifixion
he must surely have done so on other grounds, and the
proceedings must have been different from those
recorded by the synoptists. The charge would have
to be a political one (cp Tac. Ann. 1544). It may
have been, as Lk. 232 suggests, only with more circiim-
stantial evidence arising out of misconstruction of
’ sayings,’ that of ’ forbidding to give tribute to Caesar ’
(cp Mt. 1724-27 2217-22=Mk. 12 14-17=Lk. 20 22-26,
where the words of Jesus, as reported, are ambiguous).
With this charge Pilate would have been competent to
deal, as Roman Procurator, more perhaps than with
any other.3
Keim has made a serious and important attempt to give a
reasonable account of the trials of Jesus on the hads (mainly) of
the synoptic narratives. His work is the more
6. Of valuable as it takes note of the investigations
Narratives. of so many other critics. Rut the variety of
views to which he refers, and his own failure
to present a satisfactory picture, show the insurmountable
Ilifficulties of his task.4 I t seems better, therefore, to admit that
It is difficult, if not impossible, to gather from the NT really
reliable details of the trial that resulted in the crucifixion of
(cp Brandt,.~. 67)s In trying to transmit a complete
ife of Jesus the biographers may have done Jesus himself, the
Jews, and the Romans some injustice. They can hardly have
had more than rumours about the trial to draw upon ; 6 but they
also seem to have made free use of the O T 7 and of the Messianic
interpretations.8 There are perhaps also indications in the
narratives that they, or their redactors, borrowed features from
Stephen). At a moment of great excitement, and on such an
occdsion, would the cry of condemnation that would burst from
the lips of Jews be ‘Crucify him!’? Edersheim, in spite of
his view mentioned above, confesses ‘that such a cry should
have been raised and raised by Jews, and before the Roman
and against Jews: are in themselves almost inconceivable facts:
to which the history of these eighteen centuries has made
(s
terrible echo’ 577).
1 ‘ It was their appreciation of law, their respect for law, their
study of law, far more than anything else, which gave its great-
ne= to the character of the Roman people. Even in the most
degraded ages of their history, and with the worst individual
types of men this is the one bright spot which relieves the
gloom’ (LighLfoot, PiZate [a sermon]).
2 Cp Pearson. An Exposition of the Creed, art. iv. Jeremy
Taylor (J-zYeo Christ, Works 2 613) says, ‘ Not only against the
divine laws k t against the Roman too, he condemned an
innocent p&.on, upon objections notoriously malicious. he
adjudged him to a death which was only due to public thieves
and homicides (crimes with which he was not charged), upon a
pretence of blasphemy, of which he stood accused, but not
convicted, and for which by the Jewish law he should have been
stoned if found guilty. And this he did put into present
execution, against the Tiberian law, which about twelve years
before decreed in favour of condemned perspns that, after
sentence, execution should be deferred ten days.
8 See Pearson, art. iv. p. 284 (1866).
4 H e is obliged to admit that the actors in this drama acted
in quite an extraordinary and exceptional manner. CD Renan‘s
account.
6 The end therefore is as uncertain a5 the beginning. See
M ARY, NATIVITV, RESURRECTION. These matters should not
be made of vital importance. ‘About the birth of Jesus I know
nothing,’ says Tolstoy (Faith).‘nor do I need to know. Cp
Brandt’s eloquent concliision io his work, Die Euang. Gesch.
p. 577; see also Leo Tolstoy, What is ReZigion?, Herbert
Spencer, First PriruipZes, chap. V.
6 Cp Brandt, Die Euang. Gesch. p. 81. The ‘Pauline’
Epistles have no details to give us, though the authors know
that Jesus was crucified (Rom. 6 6 I Cor. 1 1 3 23 2 z z Cor. 13 4
Gal. 2 zo B I 5 14 6 14) by ‘the rulers of this world ’ (I Cor. 2 8).
C p Drescher Das LebtnJesu bei P a u l ~ spp. , 17. 39.
7 c p Pear’son art. iv: also Strauss Leden / e m , R. W.
Mackay, The Tkisingen .&~uoZ and its kntecedents (1863), pp.
1468
8 For these see Aug. Wunsche, Die Leiden des Messias(i870).
4843
SYRACUSE
the ceremonies connected with festivals kindred to the Satur-
nalia;l or it may even be that in collecting materials for an ex-
panded life of Jesus the editors seemed to find in the ceremonies
that were performed a t the sacrifice of the corn- and wine-gods
information regarding the Master who sufferedasomewhat similar
fate.2 The narratives in their present form seem also to indicate
that at the time the Life was re-edited, the gap between Jews
and Christians had become wider, and the effort to win converts
among the Gentiles keener.
Of the older literature of the subject it is enough to cite
Selden, De SynedmYs. The most important critical discussion
is that of Kuenen in the VersZagen, etc., of
6. Literature. the Amsterdam Academy 1866,p. r y seg.
A good summary is given by Schnrer
Geschichfe desjlidischen VoIResF) 5 23, 3 . See also,Hamburger:
ReaZ-EncycZojEd2, S.Z. ; Ginslhrg ‘Sanhedrin in Kitto’s
BiH. Cuclop., and the works on the i i f e of Jesu:; and for an
apocryphal account of the trial, E. V. Dobschiitz, Der Process
Jesu nach den Acta Pilati,’ in ZNTW, 1902,p. 8 9 3
W. R. S . , 5 1 ; M. A. C., $5 2-5.
SPNTYCHE (CYNTYXH[Ti. WH]), Phil. 42. See
EUODIA.
SPNZYGUS (CyNZyrE [Ti. WH]) in Phil. 43, though
rendered ‘ [true] yokefellow ‘ in EV, is, though not met
with elsewhere as such, almost certainly to be regarded
as a proper name (2livruye [WHmg,]). Various un-
successful attempts have been made to guess who is
meant, the Pauline authorship of the epistle being
assumed. Clement of Alexandria thought that the
apostle’s own wife was intended; Chrysostom, the
husband or brother of Euodia or of Syntyche ; Light-
foot, Epaphroditus ; others, Timothy, Silas ; Ellicott
and De Wette, the chief bishop at Philippi ; Wieseler.
even Christ himself, val introducing a prayer.’ Judg-
ing from the context, we can only say some one who
was worthy of that designation and thus could be ad-
dressed in the words y v + ~ ~Zdvruye,
e ‘ genuine Synzygus’
-Le., Synzygus who art rightly so named ’ (Vincent).
In fact, Zhruyor means, as contrasted with 8~epp6r~iry0~
(cp &epo&yeiv, ‘ to yoke incongruously,‘ in 2 Cor. 614).
one who has the power of bringing together what
belongs together. The name is a symbolical one, the
use of which in this passage cannot be explained as
coming from Paul, who is represented as writing to the
church ‘ with the bishops and deacons ’ (1I ) . The
force of the name does not become clear until we
suppose it to come from an unknown author writing
to the Philippians in the character of Paul. In ad-
dressing a certain circle he introduces the name with
the purpose of showing in what manner men of high
ecclesiastical position ought to act with regard to
brethren from a distance visiting their church. C p
Lipsius, H @ ) , 1892; Vincent, Comm. 1897; and
P HILIPPIANS , 3f: W. C. V. M.
SYRACUSE ( c y p a ~ o y c a cTi.
, W H ) , a city on the
SE. coast of Sicily, famous in Greek and Roman history,
is mentioned in the journey-narrative of Acts (28 12) as
having been for three days a halting-place of Paul on
his way from Melita to Rome. Cicero often speaks of
Syracuse as a particularly splendid and beautiful city,
and still in his own day the seat of art and culture
(Tusc.566, D e Nut. Deor. 381, D e Rep. l z x ) , and in his
speech against Verres (52-54) gives an elaborate descrip-
tion of its four quarters (Achradina, Neapolis, Tyche,
the Island), or rather the four cities which composed it.
We hear nothing of importance about Syracuse during
the period of the Empire. It had local self-government
-its own senate and its own magistrates-like most of
the Greek cities. Caligula restored its decayed walls
and some of its famous temples (Suet. Cuius, 21).
Tacitus, in a passing mention of it ( A n n . 1349). says
that permission was granted to the Syracusans under
Nero to exceed the prescribed number of gladiators in
their shows.
1 See Frazer, GokZen BoughP). 2 [=Fortn&htly Rmiew,
?ct.-Nov. 19001. Grant Allen EvoZ. of the Idea of God.
2 Cp Edward’ Clodd, PioAers of EuoZufion, Part 11, 0 I,
middle.
4844
d
e
h
ae
m

et
 ENDEX TO SOME NAMES IN MAP (Kae-Z)--continued frornjrst h a l f o f Map MAP OF SYRIA, MESOPOTAMIA, ASSYRIA, AND BABYLONIA.
KaSiar M b , G z MaBn, D5 (TRADE, 5 14) Oheimir, I4 Serdescht, Iz I jehel Tektek, Fz I N D E X OF SOME NAMES ( A - a )
nahr el-@.simiye, U4 Madai J3 Olba, Cz Seripul, 13 Tela, Gz
Kaski, Ex, FI Madaitu, K4 On A5 Scrt, Gz Telloh B BABYLONIA Parentheses i d u a t i n g articles that r4er to the place-nanws are i n certain cases added to non-biblical names
Kasr-i-Shirin, I3 Madaktu J4 OrAntes, DZ (ASSYRIA, 5 31) Sesong, Ez The&{ H4 having R O biblical equivalcnt. The a&hdetical awangement usual& ignores Arabic pre3xes.
m a t Mgdfik, H4 Shach. Hz Tibne. DA
h g a n k 6 , J6 padan, 13 Tigr&oc;rta, Gz J. 'Abdul 'Aziz, Gz (MESO. Arba-ilu Iz (ASSYRIA, 8 5) Bisutun J3 Famagusta, C3 tell el-eid;
el-Hesi D5 E3
Magariki, Gz Pa'as Ez Tigris H3 Gz J5 POTAMIA 88 3, 9 ) Arhai $5 F5 Bohtanku Hz W
Fekhkhzk,
F a e h A6d zB5,6
nahr el-Kelb, D4 M dnli D4 Pa&&a, F3 (ARAMAIC, 8 jehel dt-TiA, Cb, D6 Abu-Hab&h, 14 (BABY. Tell ?&bin, Gz (MESOPO-Bqm, E; (TRACHONITIS, Uiknbta, B6
Hiuapolk,'Ez
el-Kenk D5 M&tia, D3 Til Gz Lo& 8%3, 14 Arbela
TAMIA, i5) . g 5)
Iz$(ASSYRIA, 5 3) Franktin, DI
Kerbela 'H4 Mahidesht, J3 Pdu, GI Tit'Barsip, EFz Abu-Shahrem, 3 5 (BABY. Bubaslus
Bostra E4B5 Funduk,.Hz tj++ku,CI, z, DI(CILICIA,
Kercha 'J4 Maisa, D3 Pappa, C3 Til-Ermen. Gz LONIA $3) Ardebfi KI
Kerkd 13 Maisere, P5 Parsua 12 T d g i , E4 Ab0 Sir 'B5 Arghankmaden, F I BubmI.' J6
K d n . PI Pascha'Dagh, CI Achita kz Ar hand FI Bunubu h,
Khibhr, G3 (MESO-
POTAMIA $3)
&
% $:(ARARAT, 2)
%?I4 Adaliia: Bz
el-*Ad&
Adana DzI (ASSYRIA,
Arfnlici, 'E4
8 43 Anarathia E I
Burprj-tba~,C r
Busins B5
KkihUr, G: Mamish, I3 Patndtz, 311 Aribi E5 'F5 Bussor:, J5 PAL, 8 6)
Gnrdikana, Gz
tell el-Khslidiye, E4 Man, Hz Pelveri Ez Ad&' I& el-'A;iob 'c5 Gargames Fz
Khalfati, Ea Mandjur, I Pendj-hi Dagh, J3 Bit-Adin! Fz Arka, 'Ah@, D3 Calymdnus, Cz (CILICIA,G GernAnicla,
e h l D i EZ
el-Khalil. D<
Khaniltin, 1;
Manjuluk, %.I
Mansiiriveh, 17
Pethor Fz
Peep. bs
Siduna D 4
~ifeire,'~,
Adumu fi5
Afiun $1
'he Js
A m h a D3 fi 1 )
Carchemish, Fz
Germs J K3
rzs el-Khanzir, Dz Mar'; I i - S h e , I4 'Aid, Ez Armel, b 4 Cellena BI Geurul: &I
Sillua, c3 Armenian Taurus, G I , H I ChoremHbnd K
Khvpilt FI
Khaualil, I4
Khoi, 11
Maraga, z
Marand,
Mar'& Ez
11 Agamtanu, J3
Aha I
Rzs d'Ain, Gz (MESOP-
Cilician Gat& &z
Cilician Tau&, Cz
t 4 Ghdkana, Gz
Ghana D5
el-Ghd D5
Khoi-Sanjak, Iz Marhamhabad, Jz T M I A 8 5) Circesium, G3 (MESOPO- w a y e{-Ghorra, G3, 4
Khorsabad H2 (ASSYRIA,8 MPrdin Gz (MESOPO- 'Aintilh, $2 TAMIA $0'3 4) Giaur-Dagh, Ez Ialman Mts I
5) T A M I ~ , ) 6) 'Akabp, DS Constantha, d z Iarimuta B;' 8 5
Khukh Gz Mariru Gz G. of e b a , D6 (EXODUS,Aria-Atis, Hz Ctesiphon, I4 tell Ibrdim 'I4
Kidri b4 Mark$i, Ez Arzen GI Iconium, C;
KidSi) E3 Nahdarrati, Js Qucit, J6 ' k ~ e t e s h - S hD6 Arzugma. I? Daiani, GI, H I Ilgun BI
Kifri,;Q Martu D E3 *AI&u~, I (BABEL, Arzwipeit, kl Bit Dakuri
Daie, Hz H4, I4 Gizoiibunda, Iz, Jz Imaiku E4
Kilissi-hissar, D2 Mar& 8 4 Radanu, I3 POWER $73 AsduG Dg Gtik-su, Ez Irbid. D;
Killiiz, Ez
Kin 5
Kinadhi D4, 5 (CANAAN)
Mt. Ma&., 11
Masjed, E3
Mazaka D I
S i i ar, ' 14 (BABYLONIA,
893, 54)
Sirki, G3
Akhar, I;
Ak-Dagh EI
Ak-De $ k h'A2
n a , EZ
Tell *&ik, H3
ASaluna, 'C5
Askuza 11 z
Damanhar' B5
D a p b 65
F2+&lh Irkata, D3
Isaura c z
tell Defebne B5 Great Eastirniea, J6 Is& dz
Kipin; F3 Maaved FI Su'la, D4 8k!;'J4 m u r ' H;
Demesek G; Great Western Sea, B3, 4, Isin' 15
Kirp Gz Media fz, 3, K3 Qi;kr$ J5 (BABVLONIA, Ula K5 Akir, D5 APur, $5 3 Der ez-ZAr, G3 Iskzhuna C5
Kirli-'&l, Bz MelasLerd, H I Umhdis HI Akku, D4 nahr el-'Asi E3 ed-mr F3 G&(-a), D i Isbndabn E2
Kirmanshah J3 Melit FI sis ik4 Unki, E'z ASunak, JS; Kg Derud 'J3 Gulamhar, I3 Isma'ilTyeh' K5
Kirruri In (&SYRIA, 8 I)
Kig, I4 (~ABYLONIA, 833,
Meluiba, D6, E6
Menderes. Az :%2c2
tell Re& D5
Si&, E I
SKU Dz
UP^, 14
Ur, 15
%Fd:3
Aksheh;, BI
Mur H3
APuLutir Fz
D e d h i eh
Deschi-i-kia, J3
K5 W. Gum.% E4 Isparta B: C5
Isma'iliyeh'
Mendili I4 Rehobot6: D5 Sui, GI Urarru GI, H I , 11 Jebel 'A&a, C6 (BAAL-Diarbekr, Gz (ASSYRIA, 8 6) Gum-kad, Gurgum EzI3 Isridsh; F3
K$?i Robat, I3 Kala-i-Merivan,J3 Skeniyeh Gz Urdu h 3 22bFb4 ZEPHON) 5 I)
Kisil-Usen Mersina Dz ResZfa F3
soloi D; urfa 'FZ AlSja Cz Athribis, B5
DibPn D5 Guzan, 62 (MESOPOTAMIA, IBit-Iktar J3
S ~ SE; (cILICIA,
R e k d u i , Iz Alasdgerd H I Di 1 .
' I3,4 (ASSYRIA, $5 4) I 4)
Kiil-Used k z MeshheJ-Hosein, HI4 R i m Iz wad; Suab, F3, G3 L. rirmia, 11 Atun, Dz Dilim'n
DiEt'Gz, 11 H3, J5 Itheri, E;
Kitin C3 Meskaka k75 Subari, FZ Uruk I5 Ah& c '(CYPRUS, 8 I) nahr el-'Auja, D4 Izertu, Hz
Meskene,' Fz er-R&, G Ushak,A~ . Albistk %I Habur Fz
Kid4 C RuZd D3 ARVAD) Subiti E4 Aurowman D, J3 D i m a d E4
Kid1 I;ma?c, CI, DI Meuks, H I er-Ruhbe c 4 Subma\ Gz (ASSYRIA, 5 27) Ushnuk Iz Aleppo, $2 (BEREA2) A y d D2 Di&i ' E4 Habur' Gd
Utium Alexandria, A5 (EGYPT, Azaz $2 eI-Hadk. 2 (MESO- eble D3
Klis Ez
tell 'Kakab, Gz (MESOPO.
er-Ruhb;h D5 sufan-dere, GZ kz,12
Ulluba' GI 8 72 'AziAeh, EI
Diner, i~ jefat'D4
TAMIA $ 3)
Konia dz
Rum-kala, $2
;3.----?;2
Su i G3
S&e GI J5 Urgub,'
USu, D4
DI Alma bagh, Ez
Alot 11
Auati, Cs
~
DuplLh ,f4
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Jelu bagh, F Hz I2I
8 1 ) Fz ( C ~ H E M I S H ,
JerPhis,
Koweh J6 M G E5 A&-Ktipri, I3
tell Ksdb F3 Miss& Dz SulwDagh BI Van, L. Van, H I Rmadieh, Hz Ba'albek E4 (LEBANON, 8 6) NPr Dub ia3 J4, 5
Dur, Du'ri, b4 (PHCENICIA,
Jerawe, F5
Kue, Dz ~CILICIA, $ z) Mitanhi Fa Vastan H I Amanus, Ea Ebil 14 jeziret
tell Jezer,
ibn D5
'Omar,Hz
tell es-SultPi, E3 ' Babilku. 14 8 *I\
h f a r 14 Mitanni: Ez, Fz, Gz, Hz Sumra, D j VEranshehr, EI h a J5 DGLAtbara, J4
Kuh-ilGalla, J4 (M ESOPOTAMIA ) VEranshehr, Fa Amad-1) E3 Babylon. 14 Halibu. LZ Jibhah I4
Kuindi, Dz Moks H I
Sumur, D3 Amband: K3 Badiyet ksh-ShSm, E3, F3 DBr-ilu I4 Jjhan, hz
Dur-KArigalzu, I4
Kummnb, Fz (ASSYRIA, 5 M8pi Hz (NINEVEH)
28) Kal'at)el-Mu+ik, E3 -I
Saktchegozii, Ez
supri, Gz
Sura, G3
Surap i, J4
Warka, 15
Werdi, G3
Amkaruna,
Amedi, G: D5 Bafu C3
Bagddiid, 14 (BABEL, (ASSYRIA.
Dur-Sarmkin, J;
8 28) $
Jindaris Ez
jl;i;;, (ISHMAEL)
Kunalua, Ez
Kundi, Dz
el-Muhammereh, K5
Muka' ar 15 Salamiyeh E3 81,
Suri, Fz, Gz, Hz White Mt., Jz Amk D4
Ammk E3
~OWER)
Bagistana J3 Diir YPkin, J5 %'$%$i, G3 uanro J
Kurkh Gz M&ZSu: GI Sam'al, E; (MESOPOTAMIA) Suriya, F3 'AmmA, D5 Bahdinan,' Hz Halys DI CAPPADOCIA) Judr dagi, Hz
Kurna'J5 Mush GI Samerina, D4 (SAMARIA) S ~ r m D4 , Yabnid, E4 Bit .hman, D5, E4 Ecbatana z HamahHn,&(Tna~~, 5 58) Julamerk, H z
Cutad AI M u d , CI Samosata, Fz (CAPPA-$=, K4 Yajaz, D4 Ammana, E4 Ecbatana*(I., K3 jebd Hamamiye, F5 Jnlfa, 11
Kut D h r J5 MuSki EI (ASSYRIA g 28) DOCIA) S u b a nK4, (CVRUS,5 1) Bit-Yakin, J5 jebel
Amrit&'Amfir,
$mumu D3Ez,3 F3 I Edessa Fz (ARAMAIC, $ 1 1 ) Hamiit, E~(HITTITES, $11)
Kut el-&=, 14 Musri'Ez ( M I Z R A8I ~ za) S-t Fz &Pun, K4 YP18 D5 Tell Edi 15 Asrnatm R1 el-Kaf, E5
el-Kaf
Kutet-Tamul 4 NaM'MuSri, D g ( M i ~ ~ aSamudA, i~) 14 Yamhtbal, J4 Barsip I4 Egerdir 'Bz tl K+,'Dj
KaidJ I4 J5
Kutu, H I , 11'(~ABYLONIA, Sangur D3
Sangur: E3
SuZunka, K4
Suti, E3, F3, GJ
Yap& D4
Yarpur EI
Ana, G;
C. A mDg
*AnZb u r , cz
til Basher Ez
Bash-kali H I
Egregli: Dz --..-...,
g. I_

B 69) Egun,FI , jebel

anpatanu,
Hamrin, H3
K3 KaGriye, DI
Kiitn 14
Kybiitra, Dz
Kyrrhos, Ez
Nairi, GI, H I , z, Iz Sanu B5
(ARARAT, 5 z)
Saniru, D4
$api-bel, J4, 5
Suverek, Fz

Tabal, DI, E I ( A ~ R - B A N I -
Anat G3
AnavarL,
Anatha G%z
B%=,
15s el-Bas;
BatrBn 5d z , D3
J (LBYLONIA,
(GEBAL)
Ekrek FI
8 14) Ekrek:
Elam, J3, w
EI 4 (BABYLONIA, ani. GI
Bani' &at FI
lower sea of Nairi, 12 Sarafend D4 Bavian'
0 LR\ (BABYLONIA, ff 22) garafu, E; Kala-i-Risa K;
useaof Nairi H I Sariptu, b4 Upper ZPb, Zaba-Elu, Andia 11 Ekth, D6 a m , Fz
%ietshewan, 1; Saris, E r Tat& J I Zaban, I3 Ango;a, CI Eleusa, Dz Kaldu
&lgi 'H; I4 f&%IfENICIA,
5 8 7)
&rat en-Nakbl, C6 Sarus, Dz (CILICIA,5 I ) tell Tlbiis, F3 aba-Supala, 12, 3 J. AnSafiyeh, E3 Elim Dagh, Ha KamAnu DI, 2, E I

La&, F3
Laliar Ez
Nal-Mts GI, H I
Namri, i;,
N 'bin, fiqibin;, Gz
?z&,
Saur Gz
G3
Tadmor F
e Tafilih %5
&&ht.&i+ J3
Gates of Zagras, J3
Zakhq Hz
Zakho-Dagh, Hz
(PHCENICIA, 8 4 12)
Anti-Taurus, DI, z, E I
Anzal, 11 Enzite FI K3
Elvendkuh,
ABz
Kandil, 1;
Karadja-Dagh, Gz (MESO-
POTAMIA )3)
g B O P O T A M I A , 5 4) SauthBulaq, Iz Takht-i-SulermPn, Jz An-, 13, J4 hralla,
hralla.
Karadja-DAgh,
JI Hz, 3
Lamdn, 15 Savalan Tang-i-Girra, J3 Apam-, E3 Erbtl Iz E3
Epiphslia,
Laodicea, D3 Nath, B5 J I
Nedjef, I4 Schaho-bagb J3 Tantarah D4 Aphek D4 (tlITTITES) Karaman, Cz
Karam&~,
Laranda Cz
Larnaka: C3 Niffer, I4 (BABYLONIA,$j3) Bir es-Seba' b5 %rsos, d z ~enjirli'EZ
Zengan Kz Apku 'D4 B&f HI jebel HaurHn E ~ ( H A U R AKara-su
KN a) r a d Ez
FI
Nigde,
Larsa, I5 (BABYLONIA, 5 3) Ninune, GI Dz Seboa-Tsheiih 4 Tarsus, Dz A ri 'Ez Bindid, B5 t e l - E hBAEz
Eridu, BABYLONIA,
. $3 3) WPddy'Haukn, G i
Se irme Dagh: 13 wZdy Targzr, H3 Zer hui J5 dPdy el-'Arab B6 C6 Bing8lDa h GI HauFni,
kawueh, E4 J5
Lebanon, D3 Nimrod, HZ SeLn b z T e a s D3 L. jerider, J3 WPdy el-'ArabH, D> MISH 8 2)
Bire-jik, % f z (CARCHE-
Lebneh, E3 Nmrud-Dagh, H I Seir J! Sherah D5 tarzi, b z ez-Zih, D4 Arantu Dz
jebd IaBnb. D, rpfmmd-Dagh FI K a l h Sejat E'3 TaOk I Zimarra D3 Ar'ara,' D5 Birs X'hnriid. 16 IBABY- POTAMIA,
Lizan HZ Ararat, 11 LONIA $3)' ' ' Etius 11 R Karpanit, B5
Lowe; ZPb, H3 (ASSYRIA,Nina, Ninevei, Ninua, H z Selentiye, C;
Nippur, I4 (BABYLONIA, Seleicia 14
.faU&,kI,Z(CAPPADOCIA) Zimrin, b 3
L. Tatta, CI Zirzir-tepe, I 4 d. D5 Bismiyeh, 13 Euphkates, F I , H I , 3 H Karthada3, C3
5 4) Seleuki; Cz T%za Khurmii, I3 Zituna D4 JI mound Bib, Ez Ezrak, E4 N E3
z Lullu, I3 Selinus Cz Tchehil-Tche)me-Kuh,J3 Zobeir' 5
Senkerih, I5 (B A BYL O NIA , Tcheluk. G2 Zohabl I3
M=b, D5, E5 0 3) Tekrit, H3 ,
~

Zorbatiyeh, 54 For continiration see back of other h a g o j Map.

 SYRIA
SYRIA
Name etc. ($5 1-3). Hatti Egypt Assyria(j5 13.15).
Greatdr Syria (5 4J). ararnkans (i16).
Fauna (B 56). Tiglath-pileser I. (I 17).
Lesser Syria (I 6). Syria left to itself (g 18).
History : introductory (85 Later Assyrian Empire ($5 19'
8-;0). 23):
Babylonia (5 IIJ). Later times (8% 24-27).
Literature on Geography (0 7).
'Syria' is unknown to Hebrew, but possibly
identical with Bab. Sun', a N. Euphratean district of
1. Name. uncertain boundaries. We find Syria first
in Herodotus ( 2 7 2 , etc.). In Homer's list
((1. 2783) only "Apqmr (Aramaeans) appear. &$ em-
ployed Zupia to translate A R A M ( 9 . v . ) in its divers
applications ( e . g . , Zupia A a p a u d , z S. 8 5 ; M e o o m -
~ a p l a sZupia, Gen. 25 zo), and EV followed. Herodotus
(7 6 3 ) , misled (?) by the resemblance of 'Amliptor
and Z6pcoi, stated that these were 'barbarian' and
Greek forms of a single ethnic. In consequence he
used 'Syria' and 'Syrians' even more widely than
OT used ' A r a m ' ; and his vagueness reappears in
Xenophon ( A n d i. 4 4 ) and in one passage of Strabo
(16737).
Strabo, followed by Pliny and Ptolemy, in stricter use
(see 6 I, end) confined Syria to the eeopraDhical area
2. areater' bounded fi. by Taurus, 5. by the
\ - I I
Arabian Desert, W . by the Mediter-
ranean. and NE. bv Euohrates. The
SE. limit was formed by the vague fiontier of the
' Syrian ' desert, known in antiquity as the ' Arabian.'
Both ancient 'Arabia Deserta' (=N. Hamad) and
a Arabia Petrzea' ( L e . the Arabia of Petra=S. Hamad)
would be included now by most geographers in Syria ;
whilst Arabia would be restricted to the ancient ' Felix,'
Le., all peninsular Arabia S. of and including the
Nefiid or desert belt between the heads of the Red Sea
and the Persian Gulf. In the Roman provincial arrange-
ment ' Arabia ' = Petraea and Deserta. Roman ' Syria '
(at first one province and under Hadrian three) ended
S.with Palestine, and E. with the limit of the Hamiid
Steppe. So also Byzantine Syria split into seven
districts. Moslem geographers had some doubt whether
to reckon the Hamiid to Syria or to Arabia. Mukadassi
(early loth cent. A. D.) protested against the extension of
s-,ma . or esh-ShHm (i.e . , the ' left-hand ' land, relative to
one facing E. in Mekka) into the E. desert; and the
later geographers (e.g., Edrisi and Abulfeda) mostly
agreed with him in drawing the limit of Arabia obliquely
NE. from 'Akaba to Rakka on Euphrates, thus detach-
ing the Hamad from Syria. For the purposes of the
present article we shall follow them, and confine Syria
to the area contained by N. lat. 38" and 31'. by the
Mediterranean sea, and by an imaginary line drawn
roughly parallel to its coast and on an average 150 m.
inland.
There seems also to have been a special use of
' Syria,' which still prevails, restricting the term to that
3. Lesser part of the wider area which lies N. of
Palestine, but excluding the Lebanon littoral
sJrria. (Phmnicia). This territory was regarded
as peculiarly Aramaean, and when the large Roman
province Syria was divided, it retained its name without
qualification. It had at most periods a distinct history,
having been successively the peciiliar seat of the 'Hittite'
dominion, of the Aramaean confederate power, and of
the Seleucid monarchy, at a time when Palestine and
Phcenicia were Egyptian. Only the inclusion of the
whole of wider Syria in a great alien empire, such as
the Egyptian or Assyrian, ever made the history of all
parts identical.
1 The vulgar restriction of 'Arabia Felix' to the SW. of the
peninsula (Yemen and Hadramaut) is due to a medireval error
repeated and confirmed by D'Anville. Strabo, Pliny, and
Ptolemy alike apply the term Felix to all peninsular Arabia.
4845
SYRIA
Syria has strong natnral boundaries : high mountains
N. (average summits 8500 ft. ), sea W., and deserts S.
but there are weak points,
4. Boundaries whose
and E. ;
influence is shown in Syrian
of Syria.
Greater history. The deserts S. and E. being
of the steppe character form very
~~
indeterminate social limits. Supporting nomad popula-
tions, which are constantly being reinforced fromfuci in
the Arabian oases, and forced outwards by the inability
of the desert to maintain their increase, these steppe-
deserts do not divide nearly as sharply as the N. moun-
tains, which retain barrier populations of peculiar
character. Settled folk do not migrate into deserts, but
desert folk constantly migrate into settled lands.
Throughout the S. and E. border of Syria, therefore,
' Arabisation ' has always gone on ; and especially in
Palestine, even W. of the Ghor, many features of
nomadic life appear intrusively in the settled society.
The history of the Aramaean Semites has never been
wholly distinct from that of the Arabian.
NE. and NW. are easy passes. Euphrates, fordable
in an ordinary summer at various points below the
Taiirus gorges, has not served strongly to differentiate
N. Mesopotamia from N. Syria. These regions are of
very similar character, and the eastward roads pass
readily from one to the other. On the other hand the
Amanus mountains, though rising to 6000 ft., have
many low and not difficult passes, notably those
traversing the depression which divides the two main
constituents of the system, the Elma and the Giaur
chains, and will shortly be traversed by a railway.
The strong boundary lies much farther W., where the
main Taurus runs obliquely down to the sea in the
' Rugged ' Cilicia ( Tracha'a). Eastern influence, there-
fore, which entered Syria from NE. passed readily out
of it to NW. and caused the civilisation of Tarsus to be
more Mesopotamian than that of Jerusalem. ' Plain '
Cilicia may more fitly be reckoned to Syria than to Asia
Minor, as indeed was apparently the view of Herodotus.
who included Commagene in Cilicia (cp CILICIA, 5 2).
The influence of Mesopotamia is, therefore, as marked
in N. Syria as that of Arabia in S. Syria.
The area within these limits has always presented
a certain social homogeneity; but its great excess of
6. Genentl length over breadth has militated against
political unity, and given to its internal
geography* geographical harriers a separative power
which their own character would hardly confer. The
main internal barrier is a mountainous region extending
to almost an equal distance N. and S. of lat. 344
Here the land slopes up from N. and S. to a sill of
3000 ft. elevation (Cdesyria). On either flank
E. and W. of the plateau so formed rise longitudinal
calcareous ranges. That on the E. (AntiZi6unus-
J. esh-Sharki) is a five-fold system, radiating N. from
a lofty nucleus on SE. of the plateau (J. esh-Sheikh,
Hermun, 8600 ft. ). The average elevation of the other
principal summits is about 8000 ft. and of the valleys
between the radii 5000 ft. The main drainage of the
E. slopes flows SE. into a lacustrine pan, about 30 m.
in diameter, where it is absorbed by irrigation, or goes
to form marshy inundations, united or divided according
to the season. Of these the principal are B&r el-
'Ateiba N., fed by the BaradL ( A b a n a ) and Bahr
Kibliyeh S . , fed by the A'waj (Pharphar). E.
of this oasis stretches a very barren steppe falling away
to Euphrates. N. of it the swell of the central plateau
is continued NE. from the spurs of Antilibanus by a
barren ridge which runs to Euphrates and beyond. W.
there is easy approach from the central sill of the plateau
by a pass (4200 ft.) which leads between Hernion and
the spring of the radii of the Antilibanus system to the
upper valley of the BaradR. SW. there is also an easy,
though at first barren road to the low country S. of the
central plateau ( =Palestine). This onsis of Damascus,
therefore, placed almost on the axis of partition
4846
 SYRIA
between N. and S. Syria, and cornmunicating readily
with both these regions and with the elevated frontier
district, is marked by nature for the locality of the
capital city of an independent and undivided Syria.
Were it not for its oasis character, Damascus would
have played the part of capital more often. The
W. range of the central plateau (J. el-Gharbi or
Libnxn = LeJanon) is a single chain of jurassic lime-
stone with basaltic intrusions, very steeply inclined and
without passes under 6000 ft. The highest summit
reaches 10,200 ft. (see L EBANON , 6). This walls
off from the rest of Syria a narrow maritime strip,
stretching ftom N. el-Kebir (Eleutheros) on the N. to
Carmel on the S., much interrupted by spurs of Lebanon,
very fertile, thanks to the heavy precipitation on the
western slope, and supplied with many harbours,
good in the days of small sailing craft. Communica-
tion being difficult both with the interior (except by
artificial ways made at great cost, such as the French
mountain railway opened from Beyrout wid Zahleh to
Damascus in 1896),and within the littoral strip itself,
the inhabitants of this region have not shared in the
main currents of Syrian life, but have been attracted
towards navigation (see PHCEXUICIA, 9). The dis-
tinctive character of their small territory was recognised
by its constitution under Hadrian as a separate province
(Syria Phenice). The main floor of the central
Syrian plateau falls gradually N. and S. from a scarcely
perceptible 'sill just N. of Ba'albek, which is the main
water-parting of Syria. It is an ancient lake-bed and
the most important part of the mod. I Lebanon ' district,
administered since 1861 as a province independent of
the vikiyet of Syria. Alcng this deep and easy upland
valley of eZ--Bu&i' (anc. Ccelesyria), and between the
flanking ranges, flow to N. the head-waters of the 'Ag
(Axios or Orontes) : to S. those of the Lit%ni (Leontes),
called in its lower course el-Kssimiyeh, which force
their way W. between the S. butt of Lebanon
and its continuation, the R Z Q J ~ Z ~of Galilee, to the
sea; and those of the W%dy et-Teim, which, after
receiving the drainage of the S. butt of Herrnon, be-
comes Nahr el-Kebir (Jordan), and flows down into
the rift of the Gh6r and to the Dead Sea (see J ORDAN ,
3 j ? ) , where it is dissipated by evaporation at 1300 ft.
below sea-level. The Beka' and the central plateau
in general terminate S. in a steep and rugged
hill-system, rising 'to 3860 ft. in J. Jarmak. This,
which is the N. beginning of Galilee, renders access
from the S. difficult, and diverts the natural trunk road
eastward of the E. flanking range and to Damascus,
whence it either gains the Buk2 through the Barada
pass (see above), or it continues N. ucder the E flank
of Antilibanus. to debouch in the 'ASi valley lower
down (near HUNIS),or it crosses the steppe N. or
NE. to Euphrates. S. Syria is all that lies S.
of the central plateau and the oasis of Damascus, from
the sea to the Euphratean watershed and the edge of
the steppe-desert, which is here fringed in great part by
lava-fields. All this district formed the Syria P a l e h n a
of Hadrian's provincial arrangement. It is divided
longitudinally by the deep rift in which Jordan flows ;
and its eastern half, being thus in great measure detached
from the western, and from all maritime influences, is
especially open to influences of Arabia. W. Palestine
merges insensibly in the desert on the S. For
further geographical details concerning S. Syria see
P ALESTINE , zf. D. G. H.
It has been pointed out under P ALESTINE (col.
3 5 4 2 8 ) that, owing to the geographical position of
ab. Fama. the land, the fauna, though in the main
Pakarctic in character, was modified by
the intrusion of certain forms from the Oriental region
towards the E. and from the Ethiopian region towards
the S. Syria, lying to the N. of Palestine, is equally
with it subject to invasion from the E., but is naturally
much less exposed to intruders from the S . , which,
4847
SYRIA
indeed, in Palestine, chiefly affect the hollow cleft which
contain the Dead Sea and the valley of the Jordan.
The fauna of Syria, like that of Palestine, is to a
great extent a steppe-, desert-, and rock-fauna, but it
differs considerably from that of southern or even central
Palestine in the character of its mammals. As might
be expected, there are many animals with a northern
provenance found in Syria which do not penetrate as far
S . as southern Palestine, whilst the latter area harbours
many forms which extend into the Peninsula of Sinai,
Egypt, and Nubia, but which do not reach into Syria.
Nehring' has recently pointed out that a line which
leaves the coast in the neighbonrhood of Kartha, skirts
the southern limits of the Carmel group of hills, and
then turns NE. to strike the Sea of Galilee a little W.
of the exit of the Jordan, corresponds with the lower
limit of the distribution of several of the more con-
spicuous Syrian mammals. Nehring's line, although
it includes a considerable portion of Galilee, may be
taken as the boundary of Syria considered from a m o -
logical standpoint. It does not of course correspond
with any historical limit ; but animals are seldom found
to respect political deliminations.
N. of this line we find the Syrian variety of the bear Ursus
isa6eZli?inus, which frequents the heights of Lebanon, dermon,
and is met with in Bashan and Gilead. The badger, Meles
t a x u s , like the hear, seems to reach its southernmost limits in
the wooded and hilly districts just mentioned. The pole-cat
Mnstela futonus, and the ermine, M. eminen, are found 0;
the slopes of Herrnon, Lebanon, and Tabor but do not pass
Nehring's line. Their congener, M. ozna, ;he beech-marten
however, spreads through Palestine. Ae'otter, Latrauulgari;
is also not uncommon on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The
striped hyena, Hyena strirrta, a nocturnal animal, the hunting-
leopard, CymZurus jrr6atus, are amongst the commoner car-
nivora whilst FeZis ckaus, the jungle-cat, is found in Syria in
a s p e c h variety. The roe-deer, Ca#rmZxu cajrrea, reaches its
southernmost limit on the slopes of Mt. Carmel ; neither it nor
the fallow-deer passes the above-mentioned line. The Syrian
wild-ass, Equus hrn$fus, is another conspicuous form which
very rarely enters Palestine. The wild-hoar, Sus scrofa, is
more widely distributed. It frequents not only wooded and
marshy localities, but even the desert, where it lives on roots.
The gazelle GazelZa dorcas, extends southward from Lebanon,
as does th; Syrian bare Lepus syn'mzs. Of the enormous
family Rodentia, which :upplies so large a proportion of the
mammals in this part of the world, the Alpine-vole, Mirrotus
nivalis, and the water-vole, M. amfhi6bs, are common in
Syria hut do not pass Nehring's line. On the other hand
several species of ound-vole extend far beyond it as do thre;
common species o y dormice, Myozrs &is, the s&irrel-tailed
dormouse, M. n i t e k , the garden dormouse, and M. &vas. The
Syrian squirrel, Scilrllrs synacus, is peculiarly Syrian, and
the pouched-marmoset or souslik, Sjemo#hiZm z a n t k o j y m -
nus is not encountered S. of Gilead. The gerbille Ger6iZZus
te&ums, is also peculiar to Syria According to Nkhring, the
Psamrnomys myosums mentioned under PALESTINE (( 1 4 4 is
more correctly referred to the genus Nesokia, and thus repre-
sents one of the intrusive elements from the Oriental region.
It will be seen from the above that Syria has several
mammals peculiar to itself, and a number which reach
their southernmost point in or about Mt. Carniel. The
fauna of this region is further characterised by the
absence of many creatures we are accustomed to
associate with the Bible-lands. Conspicuous amongst
these are : the coney, which recent research seems to
confine to southern Palestine; the genus Acomys, a
hedgehog-like mouse with spiny fur ; the fascinating
little jerboas, and several other rodents ; and the Syrian
ibex or beden. Enough has been said to show that the
mammalian fauna of Syria (including a large part of
Galilee) differs considerably from that of S. Palestine, .
and that probably there are few spots on the world of
so restricted an area in which the mammals at one
extremity differ so much from those a t the other as they
do in the little country of Palestine. A. E. 5.
N. Syria is all that land which lies N. of the central
plateau, and E. of Lebanon ; but politically it has
6. Lesser sy~ria. always tended to include not only
the plateau itself (there being no such
barrier to the N. as the mountains of Galilee form to the
1 Globus, 81, r p z , p. 309. See also WMM, OLZ, 1902,
P. 394.
4848
 SYRIA
S. ), but also the oasis of Damascus, between which and
Palestine intervenes a barren tract. It comprises the
NE. steppe as far as Euphrates, and all the N. land up
to Taurus. Since this region is most strictly ‘ Syria’
and is not treated elsewhere, a more particular descrip-
tion is subjoined.
( a ) The‘A-Til dasin.--The Buki‘ valley, ‘after a course
of about 100 m., opens out in lat. 34’ 40’. The
mountains on either hand fall to grassy downs, and the
river ‘&i leaves the rocky gorge in which it has fallen
over 2000 ft. and expands at a level of about 1600 ft.
into a lake of 30 m. area, formed in part by an artificial
dam of ancient construction. At the head of this stood
the ancient Kadesh; at the foot now stands Hums
(anc. Emesu)-to hold the pass between the pbteau
valley and the lower Orontes lands, the heart of Syria
proper (SeZe/rcis). At the same point come in natural
roads ( I ) from Tripoli (Taribulos) on the W. coast,
round the N. butt of Lebanon by way of the valley of
the ?J. el-Kebir, ( 2 ) from Tadmor and Damascus round
PIT. of Antilibauus. Railways will, not improbably, mouth of the Sajfir, and run NW. to ‘Ain T i b ; thence
be laid shortly over both these roads, and Hum: will
regain its old importance. The ‘Asi flows on through
a widening valley for ahout 25 m. to the rich marshy
district of HamLt (Hamath-Epiphaneia),totheE.ofwhich
point the steppe grows more down-like and habitable as
far as the Euphrates, while to the W. rises a broad. low.
and fertile range (J. NusBriyeh) which on the U‘.leaves
considerable littoral strips here and there of its own crea-
tion between itself and the sea. The most important
of these contains the town el-Ladakiyeh (Laodicea). The
range ends N. in the abrupt mass of J. el-Akra‘ ( C Q S ~ U S ) , is the ancient Commagene proper (Assyr. Kummmuh), d
5750 ft., which falls direct to the sea and closes the
littoral. A road over J. NusEriye meets, at Hamst, the
direct Aleppo road, which continues the easiest route
from Euph’rites.
Leaving Hamat, the ‘.?si bends somewhat W. of N.
and flowsthrough rich pastures (el-Ghab) bounded on the
E. by a triple system of basaltic hills (5. el-A‘la)with fertile sloping E. to Euphrates. It is one in formation with
intervals, which contain numerous remains of ancient
inhabitation. It passes successively the sites of Larissa
(SEjar) and Apamea (Kal‘at el-Mudik), and after a
course of 50 m. from Hamat, is turned sharply W. by
a rocky obstruction (Jisr el-Hadid) and hugs the N.
butt of J. Nuseriye. To the N. in the line of its former
course now opens out a wide plain (el-‘Amk),partly filled
by a marshy lake (Bab-el-dbyad. or Ak-Deniz) into
which it once flowed, and where it once met important
tributaries, the Afrin and the Kara Su. These now
feed the lake which discharges into the ‘A$ by the
channel, Nahr el-Kowsit. The Afrin flows down a
broad valley (anc. Cyrrhesticu)from the NE., which pro-
longs the plain far up towards Euphrates and carries
a trunk road thitherward, which crosses a low water-
parting E. of ‘Ain T i b and strikes the great river at
Bire jik, or following the valley of the Sijijur at Carchemish
a few miles S. The proposed Baghdad railway will
ascend the Afrin valley after descending that of Kara Su.
The Kara Su comes from the N. bringing the eastward
drainage of S . Amanus. A natural road leads up its
valley to its source on the marshy sill of Zinjirli
(1650 ft.), and there forks ( I ) W. through the lowest
Amanus passes to Cilicia and Asia Minor, and ( 2 ) NE.
into the valley of Mar‘ash and ancient Commagene.
Ancient remains of a palatial Assyrian fortress of an
importance suitable to its strategic position have been
explored at Zinjirli by Dr. Von Lnschan (FORTRESS, § 5).
From the ‘Amk plain a direct road also leads due E. to
Aleppo and the Euphrates near Rakka (Thapsacus). The
deep and fertile region in which all these waters and roads
meet is the natural centre of N. Syria, and accordingly the
locality in which its greatest c;ty of antiquity, Antioch,
1 ‘Asi in Arab.=‘rebel ’ and the title is variously explained route from Asia Minor to BaghdBd,, or Babylonia, which
by the‘turbuience, the inakessibility, or the anti-Meccan direc- crosses the Eupkrxtes at Rakka (TAu$sncus), and the
tion of this stream. But it is undoubted1 derived originally
from the same ancient native name whicg the Greeks wrote
Axios.
4849
SYRIA
W
\\’assituated (see ANTIOCH, I ) . Thye modern AntZkieh
lies near the point at which the ‘&I, having at last
rounded the butt of J. Nussriye, is about to plunge
SW. into a gorge worn down between that range and
the S. masses of Amanus. Through this it falls about
1 5 0 ft. in I O ni. to the sea in a series of unnavigable
rapids. On the small deltaic fan N. of its mouth stands
Suediah (anc. Seleucia of Pieria) which was the port of
Antioch. But the unsheltered character of the port and
the difficulties of the road in this gorge have caused N.
Syrian trade to seek the more distant Alexandretta
(Iskanderim), which lies NE. of the plain of Antioch and
behind the S. extension of Amanus, here crossed by the
low c d of Beilan (2230 ft.), about to be pierced by the
Aleppo railway. The whole course of the ‘Asi IS about
170 ni.
(6) Cmmugene.-To the N. of the ‘Asi basin a small
district intervenes before Taurus closes Syria. It is
bounded S. hy the heights in ‘which the Afrin and Kara
Su rise. These heights start from Euphrates near the
they bend sharply to the SW., rise in Kurd Dagh to 4500
ft., and are linked to Amanus by the Unjirli sill. T h e
hollow N. of them is divided into two basins by a low
swell running N. from Kurd Dagh to Taurus. The u‘.
basin drains W. by the Ak Su through a rift in Anianus
to the Cilician Jihun (Pyramnus),and is the territory of
Mar‘ash (Germaniceia): it communicates. as we have
seen, with the rest of Syria readily by way of Zinjirli.
The E. basin drains to the Euphrates, looks eastward, and
communicates less readily with the lands to the S . This
which Samosata (Sumeisif)was capital. Two important
crossings of Euphrates, at Samosata and Zeugma
(Bire jik), placed it in communication with N. Mcso-
potamia and especially Edessa (Urfa).
(c) The Euphrutean plains.-To E. of the ‘.&si basin
lies the lean steppe-like plateau described above as
the Arabian desert which limits Palestine on the E., but
more fertile by reason of higher latitude and greater
precipitation. It must be reckoned therefore to habit-
able Syria. It is limited on the S. by the ridge already
mentioned, which runs NE. to Euphrates from Anti-
libanus, and along whose S. foot lies a chain of oases,
marking a natural route from Damascus to the E. Of
these the chief are Karietein (NezuZa) and Tadmor
(Palmyra), both just on the verge of Arabia. The
rolling downs to the N. of this chain once contained a
large number of villages, dependent on wells, whose
ruins have been explored by De Vogii6. Burton, Drake,
Ostrup and others. This region is now deserted
owing to its ‘nomadisation’ by the migrant Anazeh
Bedouins, who have been pressing Tu’. from central
Arabia since the thirteenth century. In the latitude of
J. A‘lL, whose E. slopes fall insensibly into it, the
plateau is still steppe-like : but immediately N. of this
point occur a series of pans, whose northern limit is the
ridge which bounds Commagene on the S. These pans
receive water draining S. from that ridge, and are all
of more or less saline character. Of the two principal
basins, that on the E. receives a watercourse (N. el-
Dahab), which rises just S. of Membij (Hiera$uZis) and
ends in the great sebakha (salt-pan) of Jabul. That on
the W. is more fertile and better supplied with fresh
springs. It receives the Kowaik, which rises near
‘Ain Tab, and ends in a tract of permanent saline inunda-
tion (Mat)near Kennisrin. Fine pasturage surraunds it,
and its lower lands are arable. This is the ancient dis-
trict Chalybonitis. which now supports Aleppo (Haleb :
anc. Cka&6on-Berea), a town of 65,000 inhabitants and
the successor of Antioch. Through it lie the directest
easiest road from S . Syria to the same point or to the
more northern crossing at Bire jik (Zeu,sna).
4850
 SYRIA
For S. Syria see under PALESTINE
and PHCENICIA. For N.
Syria see Burckhardt, Trave& in Synu (1822) ; Porter, Five
Years in Damascus (1855). Burton and
7. Bibliography. Drake, Unexjlored Syfia11872) ; Ains-
worth, Narrative of the Eujhrates E x -
)edition (1888); Humann and Puchstein, Reisen in Nora!ynin
etc. (1890); andarecentaccount ofpart ofthe E. steppe by H. CI
Butler, in the A~nericanjournal of ArcLaoology, series 2, 4
(19w); cp also Oppenheim, Vom Mitteolmeer aum Persischen
G O ~ ( I and~ ) ,Blunt, Bedouins of the Eujhtrates (1879). The
summary by Reclns, Gap. Univ. (Asie Ant6niure) is very
good (1884); and for more recent statistics, as well as local
detail, see Cuinet, Sytrie, Li6an et Palestine (1896).
D. G. H.
11. H ISTORY
The region which we designate as Syria has never
constituted a political unity ; of itself a proof that it is
8. Idea of not, like Egypt or the Euphrates-country,
a single land held together by common
conditions of living. There is no river to
furnish a natural channel of inter-communication and
bond of union. For the same reason, there has never
been any such separate entity as a Syrian civilisation ;
in this respect also, precisely as in things political, the
various districts gravitated towards the countries of the
neighbouring great civilisations. If Syria as an idea
has maintained its existence for millennia, it is possible
to see in this also a proof of the tenacity of the ancient
Babylonian conception of the world. For it is to the
ancient geographical division associated with that coil-
ception that the idea of Syria owed its origin, and its
revival upon the fall of Assyria, after the Assyrian
ascendancy had well-nigh sent it to oblivion.
Suri-Syria is closed in by the two civilisation-areas of
Babylonia and Asia Minor, and thus its development
9. Relations. was determined by them. Being separ-
ated from the Egyptian area by Pales-
tine, it was not so directly influenced from that side.
The movements of nations, the immigrations, to
which it is exposed are, mainly, those from the S.
(Arabia) and those from the N., by way of Armenia
and Asia Minor. The first are those of the Semites ;
the second, those of the peoples whom we are accus-
tomed to call Hittite because they stand to Asia Minor,
the seat of the Hatti or Heta, in a relation analogous to
that of the Semitic immigrants to Babylonia. The
natural consequence is that the population of Syria is in
the main a mixture of both racial elements, and that in
the course of the millennia and centuries representatives
now of the one, now of the other, give the prevailing
character to the whole.
For any knowledge of the conditions in detail we
must turn, for the remoter antiquity -~ exclusively, for
Sourcee of later times chiefly, to the accounts we
information. possess of the neighbouring peoples-
primarily of the Assyrian-Babylonian,
and then also of ihe Egyptian conquerors. Thk soil of
the country itself has as yet yielded but few documents.
Of these, for the older time, the monuments excavated
at Zenjirli-Sam'al are of primary importance. The
many monuments bearing Hittite inscriptions, which
the soil of Syria, both in the narrower sense of that
geographical expression (Hamath, Aleppo, Mar'&, Car-
chemish) and in the wider (the eastern borderlands of
Asia Minor), has yielded, still remain undeciphered.
The oldest Babylonian period shows Syria standing
in the same relation to Babylonia as afterwards to
Sargon of Agade and Naram-
ll. Early Assyria.
Sin must have directed their armies
thither precisely as was afterwards done
by Tiglath-pileser I., Shalmaneser II., and the later
Assyrian kings. That Sargon went forth to Amurru
(Palestine) is repeatedly mentioned in the Omina. and
'Sargon subjugated and settled all Syria' is said of
that monarch exactly as Shalmaneser 11. and others
might have had it said of them.
In the time of Naram-Sin and the period that
4851
SYRIA
followed, at least down to that of the first dynasty
12. Later of Babylon, the ascendancy in Syria is
periods. already held by that Semitic wave of immi-
gration which we regard as the second and
call the Canaanite. At that time, accordingly, Syria
must, like Babylonia itself, have received a considerable
influx of population of this race and language. The
next Semitic wave consists of the Aramaeans, whose
lordship in Syria does not emerge until comparatively
late. Until that event, accordingly, that is to say,
during the second millennium B.c., and even later,
' Canaanite ' dialects-i. e . , languages like Hebrew and
Phcenician-must have been spoken in Syria. Even as
late as the eighth century.a.c., we can learn from the
inscriptions of Zenjirli-Sam'al that the influence of the
Aramaic had still to struggle with the older Canaanite
dialects. A fragment of an inscription of Hasan Bryli,
not far from Zenjirli, and inscriptions of Zenjirli dating
from the ninth century (of Kalammu bar [!I Haja)
show, indeed, that by that time the Semitic language
of ordinary intercourse must already have become
Aramaic, but at the same time exhibit purely Canaan-
ite forms of speech, closely corresponding to Phcenician.
In the middle of the second millennium we find a
Hittite people, the Mitani, masters of Mesopotamia
13. mttih and N. Syria (Hanigalbat = Melitene).
Though they are the first people of this
race which we have as yet been able to
discover on Syrian soil, we must not
therefore conclude that they were the first to force their
way thither. On the contrary, it seems as if we were
able to trace, in the Amarna despatches, the existence
of an older Hittite layer of population even in Palestine
(such names as Sura-sar are unquestionably ' Hittite ').
Both phenomena alike are to be interpreted as conse-
quences of a larger Hittite migration into or conquest
of Syria, advancing from N. to S., in other words, in
the opposite direction to that of the Semitic immigration.
T o the same period belong also the Egyptian con-
quests of the eighteenth and the nineteenth dynasty.
How far the Egyptian lordship over Syria was in point of
fact extended by these, hardly admits of ascertainment ;
but the princes to the N. of Aleppo, we may be sure,
will hardly have accepted the Egyptian suzerainty for
any longer period than that during which the Pharaoh
was in a position at any time to despatch an army
against them. Thus in N. Syria relations will have
prevailed towards Egypt, similar to those which under
Sargon and Sennacherib prevailed towards the adjacent
border countries of Asia Minor (Tabal, Hilak).
In the Amarna letters in the fourteenth century, we
find three powers keeping an eye upon Syria and
Palestine : Babylonia (under the lordship of the Kass-
ites), the Mitani, and the state of the Hatti or Heta in
Asia Minor. Of these the Hatti would seem to have
been at that time the most dangerous to the influence
of Egypt. Again and again mention is made of the
advance of princes of Heta into the Bekil'.
In the thirteenth-twelfth century Egypt is powerless,
until under Ramses 11. it again takes up a somewhat
more vigorous foreign policy. During this interval
Syria was naturally at the mercy of the other great
powers, and it is in agreement with the picture pre-
sented in the Amarna letters that Ramses in the
twelfth century comes into conflict with the Heta in
northern Palestine and Ccelesyria. In the interval the
movement which we find already in existence in the
fourteenth century mnst have been completed, and
Syria have fallen in the main under the power of the
Hittite state. The fourteenth-thirteenth century would
thus be the time which witnessed a Hittite predominance
in Syria and saw Syria drawn politically into closer
connection with the Hittite empire. All the great
Syrian cities from the N. to the S. were at this period
governed by viceroys or vassal princes of the Hittite
sovereign; from Commagene to the valley of the
4852
 I. EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS. 11. AMARNA LETTERS.
-
d

37

3d

34

3:

- - A
~~~

3Q B
~

Long. E. 36'of Greenwich C-

Walker&Cockerell SC.
4
A
1

_ B i_l l e~r k k del.

I..A.
I
so
/
B Long. E. +'of Greenwich C '
Walker& CacLcrell
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BlBLlCA 1903. ENCYCLOPAEOIA BlBLlCA 1903.
 MAPS OF SYRIA
INDEX T O NAMES

I. EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS 11. AMARNA LETTERS-continued

Accho, B6 Marnus, Bz Armada, B4 Jotapata, B6
Adum(a). A7. 8 Mediterranean, A4, 5 ArwBd, B4 (PHCENICIA,
'Aka, B6 (PTOLEMAIS, 5 I) § 4 2.1 Kara Su, C2 (SYRIA, 6 )
Ama(u)r(a). C4 Naharin, Cz, 3 N. el-'Asi, BZ, c3 J. Karmel, B6 (CARAIEL)
Arad. B7 Nazana? Bg (L EBANON, 5 6 ) Katna? C4
Aranti, C2, 3, 4 ' A s k a h , A7 (ASHKELON)Nahr el- Kebir, B4
Arasa, A3 Ono, A6 ASkaluna, A7 (L EBANON, 5 6)
A(ra)siy, A3 Orontes, Cz, 3, 4 Amki, B5 N. el-Kebir, R3, C3
Aratgt, B4 (L EBANON , 6 ) Amma? B4. C4 Kedesh, C4
' A r b , B4 ( P H ~ N I C I A , Otara'a, C6 Amurru, Bg. Cz, 3. 4 Nahr el-Kelb. Bg
§ 4 10) Ayaluna? B7 ( P H ~ N I C I5A5 ,)
Arvad, B4 (PHCENICIA, Purasati. etc., A6, B6 Azzati, A7 el-Khalil, B7
§ 4 12) (P HILISTINE) KidSi, C4
Ashkelon, A7 Ba'albek, Cg (L EBANON, Kinahhi, A6, 7
Askaruni. A7 § 6) Kinsi ? C4
Raman(a)n, B4, 5 Kubli, B4 (GEBAL i.)
As(s)er(u), Bg, 6 Rameses 11.. Egyptian Batnin, B4 (GEBAL)
Astirat(u), C6 frontier of, Bg, Cg Beiriit, B5 (PHCENICIA, el-Kuds, B7
Rap+. A7 148)
Byblos, B4 (PHCENICIA, Raphia, A7 (EGYPT, Biruna, Bg ( PHCENICIA,Lachish, A7
§49) I 48) el-Liidikiyye, B3
IMa) Birutu, Bg (PHCENICIA,Lakis, A7
Retnu (Upper), Bg, 6, 7, $48) Lakisi, A7
D(o)ra, 'A6
Byblos, B4 (PHCENICIA, Laodicaea, B3, C4
Edrei. C6 § 49) Lapana? C4
Egyptian frontier of Lebanon, B4, 5, C4
Rameses II., Bg, Cg Cilician Taurus, A I Lebneh, C4
Sdar(a), B8 Cyprus, A3 (TRADE AND Lejjiin, B6
Sakema, B6 COMMERCE, 18) Bahr Liit, B7
G a y ( 4 , A7
G q a t , A7 *mar(a), €34
Gaxa. A7 Sardun(a). B6 Damascus, Cg Magidda, B6
sar(u), Bs Dead Sea, B7 M e i d a , B6
Gezer, A7
Sauko, A7 DimaSk, Cg Mar'ash, C I (SYRIA, 5 23)
Sety I., Monument of, C6 Dimagka, Cg Martu, Bg, Cz, 3, 4
Hamat(u), B6
Shar+an, A7 Dunip? Cg Meeiddo. B6
Hamat(u), C4 (HAMATH)
Hermon, Mt., Bg Sharuhen, A7
Shaua? Mt., Bg tell Erfad, Cz (ARPAD) Mindus 4'
Huditi. B7 MiSri, A8
esh-Sheikh Sdd, C6 Gari, B8 Kal'at el-Mudik. C3
Sidon, Bg
Joppa, A6 Gath, A7
Jordan, B6, 7 Sidun(a), Bg Gam, A7 NuhaSHi, C2
Sinsara. C3
Gazara, A7
Kadeg, C3 Gazri. A7 Orontes, Bz, C3 (LEBANOS,
Kadm(a), B6, 7 Timask, Cg (DAMASCUS) Gennesaret, E6 § 6)
Kana'an(a), the, As, 6, Tyre. Bg Gezer, A7
B3, 4 , ' s Ghazza, A7 5 66a)
Raphia, A7 (EGYPT.
Kharu, A7# B6 Ung, C2 GidHi. C4 tell Refah, A7
Khet&, Land of, A I , BI Gimti, A7
KhBr, A7, B6 W'n-tree?, banks of the, Ginti, A7 tell e:-Sifieh, A7
KhBr,' ' Great Sea of, A3, CZ Gok-su, BI SaiclZ, Bg
Gubli, B4 (GEBAL i.) Samaria, B6
Sebasfiye, B6
Harabu, Cz Seihun, B I
Tell el-Hasi, A7 Sidon, Bg
Hatti, C I , 2, 3, 4 (SYRIA, Sidunu. Bg
Lebanon, B4, 5 §§ 13 and IS) Sumur, B4
Leontes, Bg (ACHSHAPH) Zahi, 4, 5 jebel HaurBn, C6 Siir, Bg
Zakkari, A6 (PHILISTINES, (BASHAN, § 3) Surru, Bg
M a n u s , Bz § 3) Hebron, B7
Hermon. Bg Bahr Tabariye, B6
Hinatuni, B6 (HAN- Tabor, B6
NATHON) Tarsus, Az
Hinianabi? A7 (ANAB) Taurus, C I
Horn!, C4 (HETHLON) TimaSgi, C5
11. AMARNA LETTERS Bahret el-Hiileh, Bg j. et-Tar, B6
(JORDAN, § 4) Tyre, B5
Accho. B6 Amurru, Bg, Cz, 3. 4
Adana, Bz (AMORITES,SYRIA, § 21) Irkata, BC4 (PHENICIA, Ubi, Cg
Adumu, B8 'Anib, A7 (ATHACH) § 44 Urusalim, B7
N. 'Afrin, Cz (SYRIA, 5 6) Jebel el-AnsHriye, C3. 4 Usii, Bg
'Akkii, B6 (PTOLEMAIS) (PHCENICLA,J 4 12) Jebeil, B4 (GEBAL i.)
Aku, B6 Antioch, Cz Jefat, B6 YZfa, A6 (PALESTINE,8)
AlaSia, A3 (T RADE AND Apamea, C3 Jerusalem, B7 . Yapu. A6 (JOPPA, I )
COnlMERCE, § a6) 'Ar'Bra, AB7 ( AROER 3) Jezer, A7 Yarpuz, C I
Aleppo, Cz Araru, AB7 Jihan, B I , z
Alexandretta, C z (SYRIA, 'Arkg, BC4 (P HENICIA , Jiphtah-el ? B6 Zenjirli, C I (A RAMAIC, 5 2:

§ 6) § 4 10) Jordan, €36, 7 Zituna, Bg

 SYRIA
Orontes, in Malatia, Mar'aS. Aleppo, Hamath, and
Kadesh on the'Orontes the sovereignty of the Hittites
was established. From this period, we may be sure,
CAKCHEMISH on the Euphrates also was reckoned a
Hittite city. It mu:jt have been the principal seat of
the liittite rule in central Syria, for with the Assyrians
latcr it passed as the capital of Syria, in so far as it
was Hittite, and they called its king also, without
qualifying phrase, the Hittite (Hatti) king.
The advance of the Hatti southwards over Cilicia
must have occurred in connection with these move-
ments. For if their power had its seat in Asia Minor
and on the Halys, they would have needed first to
overthrow the Mitani power in Hanigalbat, if they had
wished to force their way through Melitene and Com-
magene. Struggles with this power were not wanting :
the Amarna letters tell of a victory of DnSratta of
Mitani over the Hittite king, hut the overthrow of the
Mjtani was accomplished by Assyria.
The Mitani and their successors, accordingly, held
northern Syria, whilst the advance proper of the Hittites
upon Cilicia (the r.ue of the Assyrian inscriptions)
appears to have been made through the 'Cilician Gates'
and through Cilicia arnd over Amanus.
At the same time we can learn also from the Amarna
letters that Assvria -under ASur-uballit is beginning to
Appemie
lQ.
- 1
h: dangerous to its overlord, the
king of Babylon, and to arouse his
ofAsswia. iealousv as well as that of the king
of the Mitani. &on kfterwards, under Ramman
(Adad)-nirari I. and Shalnianeser I., Assyria broke the
power of the Mitani. and thus subdued Mesopotamia,
settling it in part with Assyrian colonists, as well as ex-
tending also westwards of the Euphrates. Shalmaneser
I. took possession of the lands to the N. of the Taurus
and subjugated plimani as well as Musri-Le., Cappa-
docia. at least between raurus and Anti-taurns. In
other words, he took possession of the whole area of
the Mitani empire and brought that power to an end.
In doing so, Assyria at the same time stepped into
the place that the Mitani had occupied over against the
Hatti, and this new acquaintance thrust itself in almost
like a wedge between the original land of the Hatti and
their new acquisitions. The territory of the Hatti
would in the event of any fresh advances of Assyria
through Cilicia down to the sea be torn in two. The
necessary consequence would then have been that the
Assyrians would be compelled, as were the Mitani kings
in the Amarna period, to go to war with the kings of
the Ijatti, in which all Syria from Commagene south-
ward would have been involved.
The Hatti, however. were apparently spared this
struggle by the sudd(2n collapse of the Assyrian power
16. Hittite at the death of Tukulti-Ninib I . , and by
his efforts to secure his position in Baby-
and lonia before pressing westward. This
Egyptian* happened in the thirteenth century, and
in this way the Hatti were enabled to develop and
establish themselves in Syria undisturbed by the new
and dangerous enemy.
T h e advance of Egypt under Rameses did not
curtail this Hittite territory, for in spite of all alleged
triumphs over the ' miserable Heta' Rameses acknow-
ledged their lordship over Syria, the mutually-recog-
nised frontier having been possibly the Nahr el-Kelb
near Beirfit, if not some river still more to the S.
By the peace concluded between the two powers,
expressed in an offensive and defensive alliance between
Ramses and Hetasar--an alliance rendered famous by
the preservation of the terms of the treaty1-was effected
a definition of political rights in Syria of great import-
ance: the Pharaoh renounced his rights in Syria in
favour of the Hittite king, and thus the country which
hitherto had been in theory Egyptian now became
Hittite.
1 See WMM MVS 1902, no. 5 (&)-fd-sZ-ra).
155 4853
SYRIA
This theory was taken advantage of and zealously
pressed by Assyria. If in the sequel Syria figures with
the Assyrians as Hatti land,' they employ this designa-
tion because they come forward as lawful heirs to the
Hittite claims.
The same period which witnessed the subjugation of
the Hatti saw also the gradual pressing forward of the
I
16.Ilramreans.Aramaeans into Syria. Already in the
Amarna letters we find mention of the
ahlama, by which expression we are to understand the
Aramaic bedouins. RarnniHn (Adad) - nirari I. and
Shalmaneser I. fought with Aramaeans mainly on
Mesopotamian territory, and similarly also, about I 100.
Tiglath-pileser I. speaks of struggles with Aramaean
ahlamli who had forced their way across the Euphrates
into Mesopotamia.
The reign of Tiglath-pileser I. brought with it a
renewed advance on the part of Assyria along the paths
l,. Tiglath- which had already been trodden by
pileser I. Shalmaneser I. Pressing across the
Euphrates through Melitene to Kumani
and Musri, Tiglath-pileser became master in the first
instance of the former territory of the Mitani which
belonged to him as lord of Mesopotamia. This was
not possible without a previous clearing out of other
invaders. For now also the ' Hittite' tribes of the N.
were seeking to make their way into Mesopotamia and
Syria, a counter-current to the Aramzean immigration.
'Iiglath-pileser names the peoples of the Kummub-
who thus, perhaps, at that time, gave their name to the
country-of the Muski, and Kaska, as having been
repelled by him from Mesopotamia. The people in
question are racially of the same kindred as the then
masters of Asia Minor and the Hittite empire. This
empire was, of course, still more profoundly affected by
this same movement of population, and in the reign of
Sargon 11. in the eighth century, it reappears still
under the name of Muski.
These peoples thus, from the present period onward,
constituted the population of the borderlands of Asia
Minor and of Asia Minor itself. The Hatti empire
also, accordingly, was the scene of new displacements
of population. From a statement of Tiglath-pileser we
learn, too, that the collision with the Hatti empire
which had not yet occurred under Shalmaneser I . , was
no longer delayed. The Hittite king-this is our only
reminder of the existence of a Hittite power at all at
this period-was defeated by Tiglath-pileser. and the
way to N. Phenicia was once more open, and with it
access to a port on the Mediterranean.
Tiglath-pileser I. pressed on as far as to Arvad, the
most northern city of Phmnicia, and so fomd himself
on territory which had formerly been recognised by
Rameses as Hittite, and at the same time he had cut
off the Hittite possessions in Syria from the mother
country farther N. H e tells us how (in Arvad) he
received gifts from the ' king of Egypt '-amongst them
a crocodile, apes, and the like. This means nothing
&her more or less than that the then Pharaoh-his
name is not recorded-recognised him as conqueror of
the Hatti and as heir of the rights which had been
ceded to these by Rameses 11. Assyria thus had
become the rightful successor of Egypt in Syria.
Even Tiglath-pileser I. advanced by the most
northerly route to N. Phenicia. Though recognised
by Egypt he had not yet gained the recognition of the
Hatti nor, above all, that of the broken-up Syrian
vassal-states or provinces themselves. We do not
yet know what was the attitude of these states-
Carchemish, Aleppo, and those further to the S. That
matters would not have been settled without an appeal
to arms may be taken for granted: but they do not
seem to have come as far as that, for once more, as pre-
viously at the aeath of Tukulti-Ninib I., the Assyrian
power speedily collapsed.
In this way Syria was rid at one and the same time
4854
 SYRIA
of both its lords, for the Hittite power also must at that
18.,Syria left period have been severely shaken by
the irruptions of the Muski and others,
to itself. and so precluded from effective inter-
vention in the affairs of Syria. Syria, therefore, exactly
as Palestine, was in the eleventh and tenth centuries
virtually left to itself and at liberty to follow its own
political development independently of the great powers :
as snch at this date come into account not only Egypt
and Assyria but also Babylonia. In Palestine and
Phcenicia arose the kingdoms of David and of Hiram,
in Syria a number of states with populations essentially
of one and the same character, a mixture of Hittite and
Aramzan. Needless to say, under these conditions
the Aramzan immigration went on with much less
impediment than would have been the case if a strong
and great power had held sway. W e have evidence
for this AramEan advance in occasional statements
made by later Assyrian kings regarding the time in
question. Thus Shalmaneser 11. bears witness that
under the Assyrian king Ahr-irbf the Aramaeans had
taken possession of Pitru (see P ETHOR ) on the Sagur.
This movement will have been in the tenth century,
for from the second half of that century onwards we are
19. Axur-na8bir- again able to follow the course of the
Assyrian kings (from Tiglath-pileser 11.
onwards). In the ninth century Ah=
nasir-pal begins anew 'to expand. H e begins by
subjugating the Aramzan states which had in the
meantime sprung up in Mesopotamia (the most im-
portant of them was Bit-Adini which had its centre
about Harran), and next' he proceeds to cross the
Euphrates. It is nevertheless worthy of remark that
he did not follow quite the same route as had been
taken by his two predecessors Shalmaneser I. and
Tiglath-pileser 1. Whilst they took possession of the
territory which had belonged to the Mitani and from
this base were thus able, after the conquest of the Hatti,
to make their way to the sea, Ah-nasir-pal advanced
direct through Syria proper. H e already possessed legal
claims to the ' Hatti land'-for as such Syria is now con-
stantly represented by the Assyrians, whilst the Hatti land
proper on the Halys is henceforward known as Muski.
The development which had gone on in the interval
appears from what ASur-nasir-pal tells us. In the N.
it was Kummub, on both banks o r t h e Euphrates, that
was always most fully exposed to the Assyrian influence,
and it acknowledged the Assyrian sovereignty im-
mediately upon the subjugation of the Aramaean states
of Mesopotamia. The region to the S. of Kummub
embraced in Ah-nasir-pal's time the state of Car-
chemish, now called the capital of Hattiland (see above,
5.13). Its king submitted in like manner without
a struggle, thus recognising the claims of Assyria.
Westward of this had grown up a state which included
the northern portion of Syria proper (substantially
Cyrrhestica) from the borders of Carchemish-let us
say the Sagur-southwards to the mountains of the
Nosairi ; its southern and eastern neighbour here may
have been Hamath, of which Ah-nagir-pal for very
good reasons says nothing. The new state was that of
Patin (see P ADDAN - ARAM ), which had Liburna or
Lubarna for its king, and Kunalua or Kinalia as its
capital. Liburna did not submit until his capital had
been besieged. In the southern Nosairi range, that is
in the mountains of North Phmnicia, Ah-naslr-pal
founded an Assyrian colony in Aribua.a Of any
further steps he took ASur-nagir-pal tells us nothing ;
but the state of affairs under his successor shows us
what occurred in the immediately following years in this
Aramzan state in the 'Am$.
Shalmaneser 11. procceded immedi,ctely in the first
1 From the order of the annals it is possib!e to doubt whether
this happened in 876 or in 868 B.C. The latter date is probably
to be preferred.
2 Fal'at el-Rrha':n, ESE. from el-Lsdakiyeh? see Sanda in
MYAG, 1902, 78.
4855
SYRIA
years of his reign to strengthen his hold on the territory
ao. Shalmaneser II. which ASur - na+ - pal had sub-
jugated in Mesopotamia and
Syria Kummub, Bit-Admi, and Carchemish had to
submit, or were overthrown. In place of the single state
of Patin, however, Shalmaneser set up in the same area
several smaller states. Liburna t a d thus to share his
dominion with the various princes of the districts of his
former territory-perhaps in virtue of an arrangement
of Ahr-nagir-pal's on the principle of divide et impera.
Shalmaneser mentions by name Mutallu of Gurgum,
Hani or Hayan bar Gabar of Sam'al, Sapalulme, and
afterwards Kalparunda of Patin in 853. Thus, on this
first campaign which carried him to the Amanus.
Shalmaneser kept himself practically within the limits
of Patin, which had recognised the Assyrian overlordship.
Some years later (in 854) he already names along with
this the people or tribe of Gusi (or Agusi), which had its
seat near Arpad under its prince Arame. and (in the N.)
Lalli of Melitene.
The same expedition was destined to bring the whole
of Syria or Hattiland under the Assyrian sway, and the
course of it explains why formerly Ah-nagir-pal had
advanced by the '-4mk-route. For the territory of
Hamath, and that immediately adjoining it on the S.,
were a t that time the seat of a greater power which
possessed the ascendancy over Central Syria. Here in
the tenth-ninth century DAMASCUS (g.v. ) had developed
into a principal state. Shalmaneser 11. reckons up the
' allies ' of Benhadad (Bir-'idri)-i.e., vassal states which
had to render military service-in 854 B.C. and follow-
ing years thus : Hamath, Kue, Muzri, North Phcenicia,
the I Arabians,' Ammoh.
The humiliation of Damascus was the task which
henceforward confronted Syria. Shalmaneser grappled
with it in vain. Even in 842 when Hazael was besieged
in Damascus it was found impossible to force him to sub-
mit. On the other hand, from that year we hear no more
of any * allies.' Assyrian politics had drawn them all
over to the Assyrian side. The question of adherence to
Damascus or to Assyria is at this period the decisive one
for every prince in Hatti-land, and it is accordingly the
one ofsupreme importance for Israel also (see J EH U ).
Towards the end of the reign of Shalmaneser (832)
a revolt broke out in Patin: but it was nuelled
21. Later kings. (Shalmaneser, 06. 147 8 ) . The
troubles connected with the chanee
of govemment and the reign of &mSi-RammBn (Ada:)
IV. left Syria, in particular Damascus, in much freedom.
RammSn (-Xdad)-nirari111. was the first to get energetic-
ally to work again. Mar? of Damascus made sub-
mission to him, and thus all vatti-land acknowledged
Assyrian suzerainty. At the same time ' Amurri ' also,
down to its most southerly extremity Edom, was
subjugated, and thus Assyria now went beyond the
limits of the claims which could be inferred merely from
the acknowledgment made by the Pharaoh under
Tiglath-pileser I. Henceforward, accordingly, Amurm
also is inclnded in the expression ' Hatti-land.' We
are unable to say how far circumstances of the Aniarna
period were held to justify the claims made (cp 5 13).
Next follows a period of decline of the Assyrian
power, bringing along with it greater freedom for Syria
and Palestine. Mention is made of risings in Damascus
(773) and more particularly in Hadrak (Hatarikka)
(772, 765, 755). The latter must thus at that period
have been a t o m of importance in Syria. Probably
Aramzan princes sought to establish a kingdom there
The powerlessness of Assyria had as one of its results
that the northern part of Syria came under the influence
of the Urarti, which at that time was strongly asserting
j the Aramaic inscription in CIS,
1 I.#., the name ~ y z of
2 no. 7 5 ; see Sachau in Z A , 642% The names are partly
Aramaic, partly Hittite, and thus show the mixed character of
the population.
2 Meanwhile SoSenk had again asserted the Egyptian claims
to Palestine.
4856
 SYRIA
itself. This is true specially of the states of a pre-
vailingly ' Hittite ' character, -KumniuQ, Xlelitene,
Carcheniish. By conflict with the ' Hatti ' - L e . , the
IJatti properly so called, who are now designated as
Muski by the Assyrians-the kings of Urarta had
doubtless acquired like claims with those of Assyria.
Under the changed conditions in Assyria, we see it now
already designing to extend its influence also over
Middle Syria. Sometimes the kings of Urartri take the
title of ' king of Suri,' with the old-Babylonian meaning
(cp § B ) , and in opposition to their adversaries the kings
of Assyria.
In Middle Syria &pad was in the hands of Mati-el
prince of Agusi (5 zo),and his subjugation, a s well a5
22. nglath- the expulsion of the UrartCt king Sarduris
from Sqria, was thus Tiglath-pileser 111.'~
pilaser "1. first task. The reign of this monarch with
its rapid increase of the ilssyrian power, brought about
in the end the subjiigation of Syria and Palestine, and
the prosperity of the Assyrian empire proper under the
dynasty of Sargon. ' Hatti-land,' in the extended sense
which includes Amunu and thus reaches to the Nahal
Musri, comes under the sway of Assyria as a province or
vassal-state.
After the subjugation of Arpad and Urartb, the 'Amk
was again overthrown in 738. Here Azriya'u of Ya'udi
sought to make a smnd. His capital Kulanl (see
C ALNO ) became the chief city of an Assyrian province ;
the other districts of what had formerly been Patin
(Sam'al, Gurgum) retained in the meantime their own
princes. In Sam'al Tiglath-pileser mentions Panamma
whom we know from the inscriptions of his son Bir-gur
in Zenjirli. The king's next effort was directed against
Damascus, which fell under Ra& in 732 B . c . , and
became an Assyrian province.
By avoiding collision, Hamath seems to have main-
tained a government of its own from the time of Shal-
maneser 11. It is not mentioned again after it had given
up the 'alliance' with Renhadad to submit to the
Assyrians (5 20). By the formation of the province of
Kulani in 738 it had sustained a great loss of territory.
The whole of the North Phoenician district which had be-
longed to it was-as belonging to Patin (cp end of § ~ g ) ,
and therefore rebellious-annexed by .~Tiglath-pileser as
~
23. Smgon II. an Assyrian 'province Simirra.' After
the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. an attempt
was made in conjunction by Samaria, Damascus, and this
' province Simirra ' to cast off Assyrian sovereignty.
Eni'il, the king, doubtless, of the old ruling house, had
been set aside, and a certain Ilu-bi'di, ' a peasant,' called
to the throne. The previous peasant condition of the
new king shows that here there was a question of
internal revolution which connected itself with similar
movements in the adjoining countries and was somewhat
belated. In Israel some fifteen or twenty years earlier
Amos had in like manner spoken out in favour of a
popular movement. The result naturally was that
Hamath too lost its independence (720 B . C . ) .
The same fate overtook Carchemish under its last
king Pisiris in 717. H e had vainly sought support
from Mita of Mnski (i.E . , Midas of Phrygia l ) , the ruler
of the OM Hatti-land. Thus the whole of Middle Syria
down to the borders of Judah had come under the
provincial administration of Assyria.
In the 'Amk Sam'al had also in the meanwhile lost its
independence. doubtless at the time of the rising of
Hamath. The same fate befel Kurnani (Kammanu)
and Melitene in 712, ( h r g u m with its capital Markas
(Mar'ai) in 711, !(umrnuh in 708, so that North Syria
also was now once more under Assyrian administration.
Under Sennacherib Assyria made no progress: on
Later the contriry, in Palestine repeated efforts
were made, simultaneously with a like effort
kings. on the part of Babylonia in the rear, to
shake off the Assyrian yoke. This applies, however,
1 Wi. AOF, 2 136.
4857
SYRIA
only to the self-ruling countries-Sidon-Tpre under Luli.
and Judah under Hezekiah ; the Assyrian provinces
remained tranquil-perhaps because they felt themselves
at all events better off under the Assyrian administra-
tion than they had been under rulers of their own.
Under Esarhaddon and ASur-bani-pal, in like manner,
more of the Syrian territory changed hands : broadly,
the conditions which had been established under Sargon
continued, with the single exception that the territory
of 'l'yre and Sidon (not the city of Tyre), also had
become Assyrian.
On the fall of Assyria, Necho made the attempt again
to establish the old rights of the Pharaohs over Hatti-
I
H e advanced to Carchemish
26. Babylonian land.
where he was defeated by Nebu-
chadrezzar.l At this period he must
like Nebuchadrezzar have had his headquarters in the
Bekd. ' Riblah Seems then to have played an important
part. The district of Hamath to which it belonged
\*as very favourably situated for such purposes.
By the victories of Nebuchadrezzar Hatti-land or
86ir nliri (mm i>y)-for it is now again occasionally
designated by its old name-came under the power of
Babylonia, and there it remained. The rebellious of
Judah which eventually led to the abolition of that
kingdom, met with no support elsewhere in Syria.
During the whole of this period the capitals of the
former states of Syria figure as the administrative
centres of an equivalent number of Assyrian (afterwards
Babylonian) provinces.
The same position of affairs is still indicated by
Nabuna'id in his third year (553), when this ruler
once more summons the kings ' of Gaza and the Middle
Sea, beyond the Euphrates' to take their part in the
rebuilding of the temple in Harran. At that time,
therefore, ' Hatti-land ' in the widest sense of the word
was still acknowledging the Babylonian supremacy.
Fourteen years later the new king of Babylon was
Cyrus the Persian.
Under Cyrus and Cambyses the government of the
country seems in the first instance to have been carried
on unchanged ; thus the provinces re-
26.
mained under their pehas and Saknus as
before. The internal revolution within the Persian
empire and the rearrangement of the administration
under Darius next brought about the division of the
empire into satrapies. As a result of this the 'Ab=
Nahar% (xinji3y), as it was now officially called in
Aramaic (@airndri still in the Cuneiform inscriptions),
became a separate satrapy. Its first satrap was UStani
(see T ATNAI ), who was also at the same time satrap
of Babylonia and thus received the whole Chaldzean
kingdom as his satrapy. At a later date the two
Later. satrapies were separated. The Mace-
donian Conquest brought about, in the
kingdom of the Seleucidze, a fresh revival of the kingdom
of Babylon. Very soon, however, the capital was
transferred to Syria (Antioch). Through the Roman
and the Parthian ascendency Syria was severed from
Babylon : its civilisation, through closer contact with
that of the West, received new impulses, whilst the
Babylonian came to ruin under the Parthian influence.
The same state of things persisted under the Sasanian
rule in Babylon, and the Byzantine in Syria. The two
were again united by the Mohammedan conquest which
once more brought together the whole of the east into
one common area of civilisation. Even then, however,
the contrast was marked. The seat of the caliphate is
at first in Syria : not, however, in the Christian Antioch
but on the borders of Arabia, in Damascus, where
formerly Benhadad had sought to found an empire. On
the other hand 'Ali found himself compelled to transfer
his seat from the native land of Islam to the other region
of Eastern civilisation, to Babylon (Irak). By his
1 Nabuchodonossor in Antilibanus and in WPdy Brissa (W.
from Ba'albek).
4858
 SYRIA MAAGHAH
overthrow Syria triumphed in the first instance, and
continued for a century to be the seat of the caliphate
under the Ommayyads. Then the East obtained the
upper hand once more, and the Abbasids took up their
residence in old Babylonia, in BaghdHd. The Orient
had its last period of prosperity, which came to an end
in the overthrow of Baghdgd by the Mongols, by which
time Syria as well as Mesopotamia had already for long
displayed the old tendency to break up into detached
kingdoms or sultanates.
D.G.H.,§$I-5a,6, 7 ; A.E.S.,$gb; H.W.,S§8-27.
SYRIA-MAACHAH, RV A RAM - MAACAH ( I Ch.
196). See ARAM,5 5, and S YRIA, $ I , M AACAH .
SYRIAN LANGUAGE ( 2 K. 1826 Is. 36rr ; also
Ezra47 Dan. 2 4). See ARAMAIC.
S?TROPHCENICIAN (Mk.726). See S YRIA, 5 5,
and compare GOSPELS, col. 1842 n. 2.
SYRTIS, AV QUICKSANDS ( H CYPTIC, Acts2717
Ti., WH). The Great and the Little Syrtis ( X b p s
w-ydX?] Kal ,urKpd, Ptol. 43) were the eastern and the
western recess respectively of the great bay or indentation
in the coast of northern Africa between Tunis and Tripoli.
The Great Syrtis, the eastern recess (the modern Gulf
of S i d m ) , extended from the promontory called Boreum
on the E. to that of Cephake on the W. (Str. 835J).
The Little Syrtis, the w-estern recess (now the Gulf of
Gabes). was included within the promontories Zeitha
and Brachodes (Str. 834 ; Scyl. 48).
If a vessel became involved in them escape was regarded as
almost hopeless (Str. 836, urrLvrou 6' &a& rbuo<dpcvov UK&+OS)'
consequently, ships kept far out to sea in passing between thd
eastern and the western Mediterranean (ihd.,6r6rrepndppdev rbv
rrapdrrAovvnoroGvrai +vAam6psvor p$ (pnduorev c k TOVF K ~ A T O V S to lay the ship upon the starboard tack, that the
irr Lvipov L + A z ~ r o rAq+BCvres). Polybius (1 39) records how
the consuls Gnaeus Servilius and Gaius Sempronius were caught
unawares in the Little Syrtis (253 B.c.), and had to jettison
their stores in order to get off (cp Apoll. Rhod. 4 1235, X6pr'~
68' ok&r v6-s baLucu I wpui nCAer, are T ~ ye
V pqhro K ~ A ~ O V Traveller, 329) were undertaken;
iK&utJac).
The danger was attributed not so much to the
T
TAANACH (72qflor T2yD Josh. 2125, TANAX [B],
B A ~ N A[.4L]
X ; Egypt. Ta'nka, Ta'anak [WMM, As.
a.Eur. 170]), a royal city of the Canaanites (Josh. 1221,
eANAX [AI, za~+X[B], eaaNAX [L]), in the territory of
Issachar, but assigned to Manasseh.
So, in Judg. 127 (BavaK [Bl, ex&rvaaS [AL])5 19 (Bavaq [B],
Bcvvax [ALI) Josh. 17 11-ZT(ravax [AI Odalvax [Ll R om.) I K.
4 12 (nohapax [Bl, Baavax [AI, arOap [LI) I Ch. 7 2; (Bdpq [Bl,
Banvax [AL]).
Schubert (Morgenlund, 3 164), followed by Robinson
(B1?3156), found it in the modern Ta'annuk, now a
mean hamlet on the S . side of a small hill with a
summit of table-land, where Dr. Sellin is now excavat-
ing. It lies on the south-westem border of the plain
of Esdraelon. 4 m. S. of Megiddo, in connection with
which it is mentioned in the triumphal 'Song of Deborah'
(Judg. 5 19). It is a question, however, whether in all
the biblical passages the redactor has not, through a
geo:raphical misapprehension, substituted the northern
city Taanach for a city in the Negeb called probably
Beth-anak (Che.). See C r i f . Bib.
TAANATH-SHILOH (A!$ n>?n),a landmark on
the frontier of Ephraim situated eastward of Micmethath
(Josh. 166f, ~ H N A C AKAI CEAAHCA [B], T H N A ~ C H A W
[A], O H Nbeac [L]). If 'Taanath ' has the right vowels,
we may identify with the mod. Tu'nd or ' A i n Ta'ni, N.
from MnBn, a ruined site with remains of large cisterns.
The form given in 6,how-ever, favours a different
pointing-'d mu?, I fig-tree of Shiloh' (N AMES , J 103);
Cp B?va[B], OS(*) 261 76. T. K. C.
4859
TABEEL
shallowness of the water and the treacherous bottom, as
to the sudden and unaccountable action of the tides and
consequent variations in the position of the banks
(Pomp. Mela, 1 7 ; importuosus atque airox et ob vndorum
frepuendium brevia, magisque etiam ob alternos mofus
pelagi afluentis ac rejuenfis infestus. Cp Str. 836 ;
Apoll. Rhod. Z.C.). It was from this action of the tides
that the name Syrtis was derived (Sallust, B. Jug. 78 :
nomen ex re inditum ... Syrtes ab tractu nominate.
From the Greek ubperv, ' to draw '). Nevertheless,
masters with local experience found little difficulty in
running along the coast (Str. 836). It is probable that
the dangers of the two bays were exaggerated in the
minds of those unfamiliar with the coast ; exaggerated
accounts were also given of the inhospitable character
of the mainland, which was represented as a desert of
sand full of dangers (Diod. Sic. 2042 ; Sallust, op. cit.
79 ; Verg. Aen. 441, inhospita Syrtis '). As a matter
of fact the coast of the Syrtes in ancient times was
fringed with small towns (Str. 8341:). and the territory
was rich (Pol. 322).
From what has been said it is easy to understand the
fear on the part of the crew of the Alexandrian grain-
ship of finding themselves on a lee-shore-and that, the
shore of the dreaded Syrtes. From the probable
direction of the wind (ENE. ; see Smith, Voyage and
Shipwreck o
f St. Paul, 110 f . ) , which can be inferred
from the bearings of the island of Clauda with reference
to the region of the Syrtis, it is probable that the Great'
Syrtis was the immediate object of alarm, for a ship
scudding before the wind ( h 1 8 6 V T E S C,$~pbpeBu, v. 15)
must inevitably have found herself entangled in that
bay ultimately. It was to check this course, and
operations described in v. 17 ( X U X ~ U U V T ~ S~b UKEOOS,
wrongly in AV, 'strake sail' ; RV, 'lowered the gear.'
See Smith, op. cit. 1103 ; Rams. St. Paul fhe
with the result of
throwing the ship ultimately upon the coast of Malta.
W.J. W.
TABBAOTH(MY?l2, $ 71; '[signet] rings,' but see
; T A B A W ~ [RNL]: cp HPTHAM),the family name
TABBATH
of a compan of post exilic) Nethlnlm: Ezra 243 ( r a p d [Bl,
TappwB [AIT Nek. 746 ( y a p a d [ B ] , rapp. [A])=I Esd. 5 1 9
Tabaoth (Tap& [AI).
TABBATH (QQ, with the retention of the old. fem.
ending, § 78 ; [RL], ra. [A]), mentioned only
in the account of the defeat of the Midianites by Gideon,
where it is probably a corruption of J OTBAH [q.v.]
(Judg. 722). See GIDEON, col. 1720, n. 4, and note
that this name, disguised as Tabbaoth, which comes
from the Negeb, is borne by a family of Nethinim or
Ethanites (?). See TABBAOTH, SOLOMON'S SERVANTS.
T. K. C.
TABEEL, AV Tabeal ($KqQ, in Is. pausal form
$?Q [see KO., Lehrgeb. 25371, ' God is good,' or [Wi.
Alt. Unt. 741 ' God is wise,' cp Tab-rimmon ; TABEHA
[BKAQFL]).
I. Ben-Tsbeel (RV 'the son of Tabeel,' AV '. ..
Tabeal ') is the only name given by Isaiah to the person
put forward by Rezin and Pekah as a substitute for Ahaz
on the throne of Judah (Is. 76). 6 regards the name as
a compound, the second part of which is SH, ' God.' The
points, however, imply the pronunciation T&beal-Le.,
o good-for-nothing' (cp Nold. ZDMG 33330 [r879]) ; a
i e u desprit in the old Jewish manner. Winckler ( Alttest.
Uzt. 74) and Guthe(Is~AEx,,5 32)take' thesonof Tabeel'
(as is usually read) to be Rezin (Rezon). Most scholars
suppose that an Aramzan or Syrian is meant, but not
4860