side of the city, and fertilize the gar-father. The Spirit of adoption makdens to an uncommon degree. The ing the saints to cry ABBA, Father, streams uniting to the southward of imports, that by his influence both the city, are, after a course of about Jews and Gentiles, as one united five leagues, lost in a dry desert. body, have assured and familiar inBenjamin of Tudela, will have that tercourse with God. The learned part of the Barady, which runs Mr. Selden, from the Babylonian Gathrough Damascus, to be Abana, and mara, has proved that slaves were the streams which water the gardens not allowed to use the title of Abba, without the city, to be Pharpar; but in addressing the master of the famiperhaps the Pharpar is the same with ly to which they belonged. This Orontes, the most noted river of Sy-beautifully illustrates the words of St. ria, which, taking its rise a little to Paul, Rom. viii. 15. Gal. iv. 6. All the north or north-east of Damascus, Christian believers have received the glides through a delightful plain, till, Spirit of adoption, and are related to after passing Antioch, and running God as his children. about 200 miles to the north-west, it loses itself in the Mediterranean sea. 2. Kings v. 12.

ABDA, a servant, or servitude, in Syriac, this cloud, son of Shammua, grandson of Galal, and great-grand

ABDI, my servant, the father of Kish, 2 Chron. xxix. 12.

The remarkable conduct of Naa-son of Jeduthun, Neh. xi. 17. man, and the language he uses, as re- ABDAH, father of Adoniram, one corded 2 Kings v. 8-15. affords a stri- of Solomon's princes, placed over king emblem of man's natural disaffec- the tribute, 1 Kings iv. 6. tion to the simple method of salvation through faith in Christ. Had any great thing been required of him, he ABDIEL, the servant of God, son would have done it; so, many sinners of Gudi, a Gadite, and head of his would rather do hard things, or sub-family, 1 Chron. v. 15. Father of mit to endure great sufferings, than Shelemiah, Jer. xxxvi. 26. be saved by grace alone, through ABDON, a servant, or cloud of faith. judgment. (1.) The son of Hilel, an ABARIM, passages, or passengers, Ephraimite. He succeeded Elom, a general name given to a ridge of A. M. 2840, and judged the Israelrugged hills on the east of Jordan; on ites eight years; after which he died, the south and north of the river Ar- and was buried at Pirathon, in the non. They reached into the terri-land of Ephraim. He left forty sons, tories of both the Reubenites and and thirty nephews, who rode on Moabites. It is likely they had this ass-colts, according to the manner of name from the ABARIM, or passages the great men of that age, Judg. xii. between the particular hills PISGAH, 13. (2.) The son of Micah, one of NEBO, PEOR, &c. all which were Josiah's messengers, sent by him to part of them. Near these mountains consult Huldah, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 20. the Israelites had several encamp-|(3.) A city which belonged to the ments, Numb. xxxiii. 44-48, and tribe of Asher, and was given to the xxvii. 12. Levites of Gershom's family, Josh,

To ABASE, signifies to cast down, xxi. 30.

to depress, to bring low. It is spoken ABEDNEGO, is theChaldee name of God's abasing man by affliction, given by the king of Babylon's officer Dan. iv. 37. of one man's abasing to Azariah, Daniel's companion. This another, Job xi. 11. of man's abas-name imports the servant of Nago or ing himself, 2 Cor. xi 7. Nego, which is the sun, or morningstar, so called for its brightness.

To ABATE, to grow lower, less, Gen. viii. 3. to make less, Lev. xxvii. 18.

Abednego was thrown into the fiery furnace at Babylon, with his two com

ABBA, a Syriac word, signifying panions, Shadrach and Meshach, for

refusing to adore the image which and import of early worship: by faith was erected by the command of Ne- in the promised Messiah, the seed of buchadnezzar. Daniel was in all pro- the woman, by the bruising of whose bability at that time absent from Ba-heel the works of the devil were to bylon, for we do not find that he had be destroyed: he brought of the firstthe same fate with his companions. lings of his flock, and of the fat thereThe condemnation of Shadrach, Me- of, pointing to the divine dignity and shach, and Abednego, by God's pro- infinite perfection of the blessed One, vidence, redounded to his honour, to whom his faith had respect, and for he did not suffer them to be in-offered it in sacrifice to God, as a jured by the flames, but sent his an- figure or representation of the death gel to preserve them in the furnace. and sufferings of Christ, in the stead The saying of Nebuchadnezzar on of the guilty. To Abel and his of this occasion, "The form of the fourth fering God had respect, because ofis like the Son of God," is a satisfy-fered by faith. Cain, displeased at ing evidence, that the nations, espe- the preference openly manifested to cially those among whom the Jews Abel's offering, was filled with that were scattered abroad, were no hatred to him, which is so forcibly strangers to the promise of the com-described, 1 John iii. 12. Influenced ing of the Messiah. by the wicked one, who was a mur

ABEL, vanity, vapour, the second derer from the beginning, he slew son of the first pair, was born, it is his brother, and their history remains said, in the 2d or 3d year of the a striking lesson to professors of world. His parents named him Abel, Christianity in every age of the or Vanity, because, as some suppose, world.

they were now sufficiently convinced ABEL, being dead, yet speaketh. He is of the vanity of all created enjoy-ranked among those who have obments. It is however to be obtained a good report through faith; served, that among the divers manners among those whose faith and patience in which God spake unto the fathers by we are exhorted to become followers the prophets, the prophetic inspiration of. In his sufferings and death, from by which names were conferred was the instrument of the wicked one, he none of the least remarkable. Abel, as was an eminent type of the great the first on whom the curse, dust thou Sufferer, and his peace-speaking art, and unto dust thou shalt return, blood. Still farther, the blood of was executed, was of course the first Abel cried to God from the ground, instance of the Psalmist's assertion, and was answered by sevenfold vensurely every man walketh in a vain geance on Cain. With what oppres"show; every man in his best estate] sive weight has the blood of Jesus fall"is altogether VANITY." Abel was en, and still lies on the heads of them a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller and their children, who with wicked of the ground; in this manner did ano- hands crucified and slew him! If ther part of the curse appear accom- Abel's blood, stands foremost on the plishing, in the sweat of thy face shalt list among those whose deaths were thou eat bread. Though heirs of em-avenged on that generation, who put pire, they must labour for their sub- to death the Lord of Glory; what sistence. The nature of their wor- direful wrath will be manifested, ship is shortly but strikingly de- when the blood of the antitype of scribed by the inspired penman. In righteous Abel, the head of all his process of time, or rather, at the end martyrs and sufferers, shall be avengof days, that is, on the Sabbath, Abel ed on them that dwell upon the earth! brought of the firstlings of his flock, Compare Matt. xxiii. 34-38. with and of the fat thereof. This, con- Rev. xi. 10.

nected with Heb. xi. 4. By faith Abel 2. ABEL, and which was otheroffered, &c. elucidates the manner wise called the field of Joshua, a

place near Bethshemesh, so called, to beheaded the rebel, and threw his commemorate the mourning of the head over the wall, 2 Sam. xx. 14 Hebrews for those of their friends-18. About 80 years after, Benwho were struck dead for looking hadad, king of Syria, took and ravainto the ark. It seems that a great ged it, 1 Kings xv. 20. About 200 stone was erected in memory of the years after which, Tiglathpileser took event, 1 Sam. vi. 18, 19. it, and carried the inhabitants captive to Assyria, 2 Kings xv. 29. It was afterwards built, and was the capital of the canton of Abilene.

3. ABEL-MISRAIM, the mourning of waters, a place otherwise called the threshing floor of Atad. It was so called from the great mourning of ABEN-ROBAN, the boundarythe Egyptians over Jacob's corpse as stone between the tribes of Judah they carried it to Machpelah. It is and Benjamin, Josh. xviii. 17. so thought to have lain between Jordan called from Bohan, a son of Reuben. and Jericho, where the city Beth- To ABHOR. (1.) To loathe, dehoglah, was afterwards built; but we test, Deut. xxxii. 19. Job xlii. 6. can hardly think it was so far east, (2.) To despise, neglect, Amos vi. Gen. 1. 11. See JOSEPH. 8. (3.) To reject, cast off, Psal.

4. ABEL-SHITTIM, mourning of lxxxix. 38. God's not abhorring the the thorns, a place seven or eight affliction of the afflicted, imports his miles eastward of Jordan, over not overlooking it, but sympathizing against Jericho, in the country of with, and helping and comforting Moab, and near the hill Peor. Here them under their troubles, Psal. xxii. the Hebrews encamped, a little be- 24. Job says, mine own clothes shall fore the death of Moses, and fell into abhor me. I shall be so filthy, that my idolatry and uncleanness, through the own clothes, if they had any sense in enticements of the Moabitish, and them, would abhor to touch me, Joh chiefly the Midianitish women; and ix. 31. This strongly shows the pewere punished with the death of culiar greatness of his affliction. The 24,000 in one day. It was probably carcases of the slain, in ushering in their mourning over this plague that the millennial glory, will be so numegave the name of ABEL to the spot. rous as to be an abhorring to all flesh, Numb. xxv. Isa. lxvi. 24.

ABI, my father, the daughter of Zechariah, and mother of Hezekiah, king of Judah, 2 Kings xviii. 2.

5. ABEL-MEHOLAH, mourning of weakness, a city or place on the west of Jordan, pertaining to the half tribe of Manasseh, 1 Kings iv. 12. Je- ABIAH, the lord my father, second rome will have it to be ten miles, but son to Samuel, and brother to Joel. others think it to have been about Samuel having trusted them with the 16 miles south from Bethshean. Not administration of public justice, and far from this city did Gideon mira- admitted them to a share of the goculously defeat the Midianites, Judg.vernment, they acquitted themselves vii. 22. But its chief honour was in so ill, that they led the people to rebeing the native place of Elisha the quire a king of him. This happened prophet, 1 Kings xix. 16. in the year of the world 2909, before Christ 1191, before the Vulgar Era 1195.

6. ABEL-BETHMAACHAH, mourn ing to the house of Maachah, ABELMAIM, a strong city somewhere about the south frontiers of mount Lebanon. It probably belonged to the tribe of Naphtali. Sheba the son of Bichri fled hither when pursued by David's troops. To free themselves from Joab's furious siege, the inhabitants, advised by a prudent woman,

ABI-ALBON, my father inspects or oversees the building, a native of Arbath, and one of the gallant men of David's army, 2 Sam. xxiii. 31.

ABIASAPH, a gathering or consuming father, son of Korah, and younger brother of Assir and Elkanah, Exod. vi. 24.