Bible Dictionary

Jehovah-exalted. (1.) Son of Toi, king of Hamath, sent by his father to congratulate David on the occasion of his victory over Hadadezer (2 Sam. 8:10). (2.) A Levite of the family of Gershom (1 Chr. 26:25). (3.) A priest sent by Jehoshaphat to instructruct the people in Judah (2 Chr. 17:8). (4.) The son of Ahab and Jezebel, and successor to his brother Ahaziah on the throne of Israel. He reigned twelve years, B.C. 896-884 (2 Kings 1:17; 3:1). His first work was to reduce to subjection the Moabites, who had asserted their independence in the reign of his brother. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, assisted Jehoram in this effort. He was further helped by his ally the king of Edom. Elisha went forth with the confederated army (2 Kings 3:1-19), and at the solicitation of Jehoshaphat encouraged the army with the assurance from the Lord of a speedy victory. The Moabites under Mesha their king were utterly routed and their cities destroyed. At Kir-haraseth Mesha made a final stand. The Israelites refrained from pressing their victory further, and returned to their own land. Elisha afterwards again befriended Jehoram when a war broke out between the Syrians and Israel, and in a remarkable way brought that war to a bloodless close (2 Kings 6:23). But Jehoram, becoming confident in his own power, sank into idolatry, and brought upon himself and his land another Syrian invasion, which led to great suffering and distress in Samaria (2 Kings 6:24-33). By a remarkable providential interposition the city was saved from utter destruction, and the Syrians were put to flight (2 Kings 7:6-15). Jehoram was wounded in a battle with the Syrians at Ramah, and obliged to return to Jezreel (2 Kings 8:29; 9:14, 15), and soon after the army proclaimed their leader Jehu king of Israel, and revolted from their allegiance to Jehoram (2 Kings 9). Jehoram was pierced by an arrow from Jehu's bow on the piece of ground at Jezreel which Ahab had taken from Naboth, and there he died (2 Kings 9:21-29). (5.) The eldest son and successor of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. He reigned eight years (B.C. 892-885) alone as king of Judah, having been previously for some years associated with his father (2 Chr. 21:5, 20; 2 Kings 8:16). His wife was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. His daughter Jehosheba was married to the high priest Jehoiada. He sank into gross idolatry, and brought upon himself and his kingdom the anger of Jehovah. The Edomites revolted from under his yoke, and the Philistines and the Arabians and Cushites invaded the land, and carried away great spoil, along with Jehoram's wives and all his children, except Ahaziah. He died a painful death from a fearful malady, and was refused a place in the sepulchre of the kings (2 Kings 8:16-24; 2 Chr. 21).

Held by Jehovah. (1.) The son and successor of Ahab. He followed the counsels of his mother Jezebel, and imitated in wickedness the ways of his father. In his reign the Moabites revolted from under his authority (2 Kings 3:5-7). He united with Jehoshaphat in an attempt to revive maritime trade by the Red Sea, which proved a failure (2 Chr. 20:35-37). His messengers, sent to consult the god of Ekron regarding his recovery from the effects of a fall from the roof-gallery of his palace, were met on the way by Elijah, who sent them back to tell the king that he would never rise from his bed (1 Kings 22:51; 2 Kings 1:18). (2.) The son of Joram, or Jehoram, and sixth king of Judah. Called Jehoahaz (2 Chr. 21:17; 25:23), and Azariah (2 Chr. 22:6). Guided by his idolatrous mother Athaliah, his reign was disastrous (2 Kings 8:24-29; 9:29). He joined his uncle Jehoram, king of Israel, in an expedition against Hazael, king of Damascus; but was wounded at the pass of Gur when attempting to escape, and had strength only to reach Megiddo, where he died (2 Kings 9:22-28). He reigned only one year.

Whom God afflicts. (1.) The daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and the wife of Jehoram, king of Judah (2 Kings 8:18), who "walked in the ways of the house of Ahab" (2 Chr. 21:6), called "daughter" of Omri (2 Kings 8:26). On the death of her husband and of her son Ahaziah, she resolved to seat herself on the vacant throne. She slew all Ahaziah's children except Joash, the youngest (2 Kings 11:1, 2). After a reign of six years she was put to death in an insurrection (2 Kings 11:20; 2 Chr. 21:6; 22:10-12; 23:15), stirred up among the people in connection with Josiah's being crowned as king. (2.) Ezra 8:7. (3.) 1 Chr. 8:26.

Whose God is Jehovah. (1.) "The Tishbite," the "Elias" of the New Testament, is suddenly introduced to our notice in 1 Kings 17:1 as delivering a message from the Lord to Ahab. There is mention made of a town called Thisbe, south of Kadesh, but it is impossible to say whether this was the place referred to in the name given to the prophet. Having delivered his message to Ahab, he retired at the command of God to a hiding-place by the brook Cherith, beyond Jordan, where he was fed by ravens. When the brook dried up God sent him to the widow of Zarephath, a city of Zidon, from whose scanty store he was supported for the space of two years. During this period the widow's son died, and was restored to life by Elijah (1 Kings 17: 2-24). During all these two years a famine prevailed in the land. At the close of this period of retirement and of preparation for his work (comp. Gal. 1:17, 18) Elijah met Obadiah, one of Ahab's officers, whom he had sent out to seek for pasturage for the cattle, and bade him go and tell his master that Elijah was there. The king came and met Elijah, and reproached him as the troubler of Israel. It was then proposed that sacrifices should be publicly offered, for the purpose of determining whether Baal or Jehovah were the true God. This was done on Carmel, with the result that the people fell on their faces, crying, "The Lord, he is the God." Thus was accomplished the great work of Elijah's ministry. The prophets of Baal were then put to death by the order of Elijah. Not one of them escaped. Then immediately followed rain, according to the word of Elijah, and in answer to his prayer (James 5:18). Jezebel, enraged at the fate that had befallen her priests of Baal, threatened to put Elijah to death (1 Kings 19:1-13). He therefore fled in alarm to Beersheba, and thence went alone a day's journey into the wilderness, and sat down in despondency under a juniper tree. As he slept an angel touched him, and said unto him, "Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee." He arose and found a cake and a cruse of water. Having partaken of the provision thus miraculously supplied, he went forward on his solitary way for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God, where he took up his abode in a cave. Here the Lord appeared unto him and said, "What dost thou here, Elijah?" In answer to his despondent words God manifests to him his glory, and then directs him to return to Damascus and anoint Hazael king over Syria, and Jehu king over Israel, and Elisha to be prophet in his room (1 Kings 19:13-21; comp. 2 Kings 8:7-15; 9:1-10). Some six years after this he warned Ahab and Jezebel of the violent deaths they would die (1 Kings 21:19-24; 22:38). He also, four years afterwards, warned Ahaziah (q.v.), who had succeeded his father Ahab, of his approaching death (2 Kings 1:1-16). (See [178]NABOTH.) During these intervals he probably withdrew to some quiet retirement, no one knew where. His interview with Ahaziah's messengers on the way to Ekron, and the account of the destruction of his captains with their fifties, suggest the idea that he may have been in retirement at this time on Mount Carmel. The time now drew near when he was to be taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:1-12). He had a presentiment of what was awaiting him. He went down to Gilgal, where was a school of the prophets, and where his successor Elisha, whom he had anointed some years before, resided. Elisha was solemnized by the thought of his master's leaving him, and refused to be parted from him. "They two went on," and came to Bethel and Jericho, and crossed the Jordan, the waters of which were "divided hither and thither" when smitten with Elijah's mantle. Arrived at the borders of Gilead, which Elijah had left many years before, it "came to pass as they still went on and talked" they were suddenly separated by a chariot and horses of fire; and "Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven, "Elisha receiving his mantle, which fell from him as he ascended. No one of the old prophets is so frequently referred to in the New Testament. The priests and Levites said to the Baptist (John 1:25), "Why baptizest thou, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias?" Paul (Rom. 11:2) refers to an incident in his history to illustrate his argument that God had not cast away his people. James (5:17) finds in him an illustration of the power of prayer. (See also Luke 4:25; 9:54.) He was a type of John the Baptist in the sternness and power of his reproofs (Luke 9:8). He was the Elijah that "must first come" (Matt. 11:11, 14), the forerunner of our Lord announced by Malachi. Even outwardly the Baptist corresponded so closely to the earlier prophet that he might be styled a second Elijah. In him we see "the same connection with a wild and wilderness country; the same long retirement in the desert; the same sudden, startling entrance on his work (1 Kings 17:1; Luke 3:2); even the same dress, a hairy garment, and a leathern girdle about the loins (2 Kings 1:8; Matt. 3:4)." How deep the impression was which Elijah made "on the mind of the nation may be judged from the fixed belief, which rested on the words of Malachi (4:5, 6), which many centuries after prevailed that he would again appear for the relief and restoration of the country. Each remarkable person as he arrives on the scene, be his habits and characteristics what they may, the stern John equally with his gentle Successor, is proclaimed to be Elijah (Matt. 11:13, 14; 16:14; 17:10; Mark 9:11; 15:35; Luke 9:7, 8; John 1:21). His appearance in glory on the mount of transfiguration does not seem to have startled the disciples. They were sore afraid,' but not apparently surprised." (2.) The Elijah spoken of in 2 Chr. 21:12-15 is by some supposed to be a different person from the foregoing. He lived in the time of Jehoram, to whom he sent a letter of warning (comp. 1 Chr. 28:19; Jer. 36), and acted as a prophet in Judah; while the Tishbite was a prophet of the northern kingdom. But there does not seem any necessity for concluding that the writer of this letter was some other Elijah than the Tishbite. It may be supposed either that Elijah anticipated the character of Jehoram, and so wrote the warning message, which was preserved in the schools of the prophets till Jehoram ascended the throne after the Tishbite's translation, or that the translation did not actually take place till after the accession of Jehoram to the throne (2 Chr. 21:12; 2 Kings 8:16). The events of 2 Kings 2 may not be recorded in chronological order, and thus there may be room for the opinion that Elijah was still alive in the beginning of Jehoram's reign.

God his salvation, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, who became the attendant and disciple of Elijah (1 Kings 19:16-19). His name first occurs in the command given to Elijah to anoint him as his successor (1 Kings 19:16). This was the only one of the three commands then given to Elijah which he accomplished. On his way from Sinai to Damascus he found Elisha at his native place engaged in the labours of the field, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen. He went over to him, threw over his shoulders his rough mantle, and at once adopted him as a son, and invested him with the prophetical office (comp. Luke 9:61, 62). Elisha accepted the call thus given (about four years before the death of Ahab), and for some seven or eight years became the close attendant on Elijah till he was parted from him and taken up into heaven. During all these years we hear nothing of Elisha except in connection with the closing scenes of Elijah's life. After Elijah, Elisha was accepted as the leader of the sons of the prophets, and became noted in Israel. He possessed, according to his own request, "a double portion" of Elijah's spirit (2 Kings 2:9); and for the long period of about sixty years (B.C. 892-832) held the office of "prophet in Israel" (2 Kings 5:8). After Elijah's departure, Elisha returned to Jericho, and there healed the spring of water by casting salt into it (2 Kings 2:21). We next find him at Bethel (2:23), where, with the sternness of his master, he cursed the youths who came out and scoffed at him as a prophet of God: "Go up, thou bald head." The judgment at once took effect, and God terribly visited the dishonour done to his prophet as dishonour done to himself. We next read of his predicting a fall of rain when the army of Jehoram was faint from thirst (2 Kings 3:9-20); of the multiplying of the poor widow's cruse of oil (4:1-7); the miracle of restoring to life the son of the woman of Shunem (4:18-37); the multiplication of the twenty loaves of new barley into a sufficient supply for an hundred men (4:42-44); of the cure of Naaman the Syrian of his leprosy (5:1-27); of the punishment of Gehazi for his falsehood and his covetousness; of the recovery of the axe lost in the waters of the Jordan (6:1-7); of the miracle at Dothan, half-way on the road between Samaria and Jezreel; of the siege of Samaria by the king of Syria, and of the terrible sufferings of the people in connection with it, and Elisha's prophecy as to the relief that would come (2 Kings 6:24-7:2). We then find Elisha at Damascus, to carry out the command given to his master to anoint Hazael king over Syria (2 Kings 8:7-15); thereafter he directs one of the sons of the prophets to anoint Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel, instead of Ahab. Thus the three commands given to Elijah (9:1-10) were at length carried out. We do not again read of him till we find him on his death-bed in his own house (2 Kings 13:14-19). Joash, the grandson of Jehu, comes to mourn over his approaching departure, and utters the same words as those of Elisha when Elijah was taken away: "My father, my father! the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." Afterwards when a dead body is laid in Elisha's grave a year after his burial, no sooner does it touch the hallowed remains than the man "revived, and stood up on his feet" (2 Kings 13:20-21).

Jehovah his sustainer, or he whom Jehovah holdeth. (1.) The youngest son of Jehoram, king of Judah (2 Chr. 21:17; 22:1, 6, 8, 9); usually Ahaziah (q.v.). (2.) The son and successor of Jehu, king of Israel (2 Kings 10:35). He reigned seventeen years, and followed the evil ways of the house of Jeroboam. The Syrians, under Hazael and Benhadad, prevailed over him, but were at length driven out of the land by his son Jehoash (13:1-9, 25). (3.) Josiah's third son, usually called Shallum (1 Chr. 3:15). He succeeded his father on the throne, and reigned over Judah for three months (2 Kings 23:31, 34). He fell into the idolatrous ways of his predecessors (23:32), was deposed by Pharaoh-Necho from the throne, and carried away prisoner into Egypt, where he died in captivity (23:33, 34; Jer. 22:10-12; 2 Chr. 36:1-4).

Jehovah-known. (1.) The father of Benaiah, who was one of David's chief warriors (2 Sam. 8:18; 20:23). (2.) The high priest at the time of Athaliah's usurpation of the throne of Judah. He married Jehosheba, or Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram (2 Chr. 22:11), and took an active part along with his wife in the preservation and training of Jehoash when Athaliah slew all the royal family of Judah. The plans he adopted in replacing Jehoash on the throne of his ancestors are described in 2 Kings 11:2; 12:2; 2 Chr. 22:11; 23:24. He was among the foremost of the benefactors of the kingdom, and at his death was buried in the city of David among the kings of Judah (2 Chr. 24:15, 16). He is said to have been one hundred and thirty years old.

Jehovah-judged. (1.) One of David's body-guard (1 Chr. 11:43). (2.) One of the priests who accompanied the removal of the ark to Jerusalem (1 Chr. 15:24). (3.) Son of Ahilud, "recorder" or annalist under David and Solomon (2 Sam. 8:16), a state officer of high rank, chancellor or vizier of the kingdom. (4.) Solomon's purveyor in Issachar (1 Kings 4:17). (5.) The son and successor of Asa, king of Judah. After fortifying his kingdom against Israel (2 Chr. 17:1, 2), he set himself to cleanse the land of idolatry (1 Kings 22:43). In the third year of his reign he sent out priests and Levites over the land to instruct the people in the law (2 Chr. 17:7-9). He enjoyed a great measure of peace and prosperity, the blessing of God resting on the people "in their basket and their store." The great mistake of his reign was his entering into an alliance with Ahab, the king of Israel, which involved him in much disgrace, and brought disaster on his kingdom (1 Kings 22:1-33). Escaping from the bloody battle of Ramoth-gilead, the prophet Jehu (2 Chr. 19:1-3) reproached him for the course he had been pursuing, whereupon he entered with rigour on his former course of opposition to all idolatry, and of deepening interest in the worship of God and in the righteous government of the people (2 Chr. 19:4-11). Again he entered into an alliance with Ahaziah, the king of Israel, for the purpose of carrying on maritime commerce with Ophir. But the fleet that was then equipped at Ezion-gaber was speedily wrecked. A new fleet was fitted out without the co-operation of the king of Israel, and although it was successful, the trade was not prosecuted (2 Chr. 20:35-37; 1 Kings 22:48-49). He subsequently joined Jehoram, king of Israel, in a war against the Moabites, who were under tribute to Israel. This war was successful. The Moabites were subdued; but the dreadful act of Mesha in offering his own son a sacrifice on the walls of Kir-haresheth in the sight of the armies of Israel filled him with horror, and he withdrew and returned to his own land (2 Kings 3:4-27). The last most notable event of his reign was that recorded in 2 Chr. 20. The Moabites formed a great and powerful confederacy with the surrounding nations, and came against Jehoshaphat. The allied forces were encamped at Engedi. The king and his people were filled with alarm, and betook themselves to God in prayer. The king prayed in the court of the temple, "O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us." Amid the silence that followed, the voice of Jahaziel the Levite was heard announcing that on the morrow all this great host would be overthrown. So it was, for they quarrelled among themselves, and slew one another, leaving to the people of Judah only to gather the rich spoils of the slain. This was recognized as a great deliverance wrought for them by God (B.C. 890). Soon after this Jehoshaphat died, after a reign of twenty-five years, being sixty years of age, and was succeeded by his son Jehoram (1 Kings 22:50). He had this testimony, that "he sought the Lord with all his heart" (2 Chr. 22:9). The kingdom of Judah was never more prosperous than under his reign. (6.) The son of Nimshi, and father of Jehu, king of Israel (2 Kings 9:2, 14).

Jehovah-swearing, the daughter of Jehoram, the king of Israel. She is called Jehoshabeath in 2 Chr. 22:11. She was the only princess of the royal house who was married to a high priest, Jehoiada (2 Chr. 22:11).

Jehovah is he. (1.) The son of Obed, and father of Azariah (1 Chr. 2:38). (2.) One of the Benjamite slingers that joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr. 12:3). (3.) The son of Hanani, a prophet of Judah (1 Kings 16:1, 7; 2 Chr. 19:2; 20:34), who pronounced the sentence of God against Baasha, the king of Israel. (4.) King of Israel, the son of Jehoshaphat (2 Kings 9:2), and grandson of Nimshi. The story of his exaltation to the throne is deeply interesting. During the progress of a war against the Syrians, who were becoming more and more troublesome to Israel, in a battle at Ramoth-gilead Jehoram, the king of Israel, had been wounded; and leaving his army there, had returned to Jezreel, whither his ally, Ahaziah, king of Judah, had also gone on a visit of sympathy with him (2 Kings 8:28, 29). The commanders, being left in charge of the conduct of the war, met in council; and while engaged in their deliberations, a messenger from Elisha appeared in the camp, and taking Jehu from the council, led him into a secret chamber, and there anointed him king over Israel, and immediately retired and disappeared (2 Kings 9:5, 6). On being interrogated by his companions as to the object of this mysterious visitor, he informed them of what had been done, when immediately, with the utmost enthusiasm, they blew their trumpets and proclaimed him king (2 Kings 9:11-14). He then with a chosen band set forth with all speed to Jezreel, where, with his own hand, he slew Jehoram, shooting him through the heart with an arrow (9:24). The king of Judah, when trying to escape, was fatally wounded by one of Jehu's soldiers at Beth-gan. On entering the city, Jehu commanded the eunchs of the royal palace to cast down Jezebel into the street, where her mangled body was trodden under foot by the horses. Jehu was now master of Jezreel, whence he communicated with the persons in authority in Samaria the capital, commanding them to appear before him on the morrow with the heads of all the royal princes of Samaria. Accordingly on the morrow seventy heads were piled up in two heaps at his gate. At "the shearing-house" (2 Kings 10:12-14) other forty-two connected with the house of Ahab were put to death (2 Kings 10:14). As Jehu rode on toward Samaria, he met Jehonadab (q.v.), whom he took into his chariot, and they entered the capital together. By a cunning stratagem he cut off all the worshippers of Baal found in Samaria (2 Kings 10:19-25), and destroyed the temple of the idol (2 Kings 10:27). Notwithstanding all this apparent zeal for the worship of Jehovah, Jehu yet tolerated the worship of the golden calves at Dan and Bethel. For this the divine displeasure rested upon him, and his kingdom suffered disaster in war with the Syrians (2 Kings 10:29-33). He died after a reign of twenty-eight years (B.C. 884-856), and was buried in Samaria (10:34-36). "He was one of those decisive, terrible, and ambitious, yet prudent, calculating, and passionless men whom God from time to time raises up to change the fate of empires and execute his judgments on the earth." He was the first Jewish king who came in contact with the Assyrian power in the time of Shalmaneser II.

=Jeho'ram. (1.) One of the kings of Israel (2 Kings 8:16, 25, 28). He was the son of Ahab. (2.) Jehoram, the son and successor of Jehoshaphat on the throne of Judah (2 Kings 8:24).

Built fortress, a city and fortress of Moab, the modern Kerak, a small town on the brow of a steep hill about 6 miles from Rabbath-Moab and 10 miles from the Dead Sea; called also Kir-haresh, Kir-hareseth, Kir-heres (Isa. 16:7, 11; Jer. 48:31, 36). After the death of Ahab, Mesha, king of Moab (see [341]MOABITE STONE), threw off allegiance to the king of Israel, and fought successfully for the independence of his kingdom. After this Jehoram, king of Israel, in seeking to regain his supremacy over Moab, entered into an alliance with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and with the king of Edom. The three kings led their armies against Mesha, who was driven back to seek refuge in Kir-haraseth. The Moabites were driven to despair. Mesha then took his eldest son, who would have reigned in his stead, and offered him as a burnt-offering on the wall of the fortress in the sight of the allied armies. "There was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land." The invaders evacuated the land of Moab, and Mesha achieved the independence of his country (2 Kings 3:20-27).

Middle district, Vulgate, Messa. (1.) A plain in that part of the boundaries of Arabia inhabited by the descendants of Joktan (Gen. 10:30). (2.) Heb. meysh'a, "deliverance," the eldest son of Caleb (1 Chr. 2:42), and brother of Jerahmeel. (3.) Heb. id, a king of Moab, the son of Chemosh-Gad, a man of great wealth in flocks and herds (2 Kings 3:4). After the death of Ahab at Ramoth-Gilead, Mesha shook off the yoke of Israel; but on the ascension of Jehoram to the throne of Israel, that king sought the help of Jehoshaphat in an attempt to reduce the Moabites again to their former condition. The united armies of the two kings came unexpectedly on the army of the Moabites, and gained over them an easy victory. The whole land was devastated by the conquering armies, and Mesha sought refuge in his last stronghold, Kir-harasheth (q.v.). Reduced to despair, he ascended the wall of the city, and there, in the sight of the allied armies, offered his first-born son a sacrifice to Chemosh, the fire-god of the Moabites. This fearful spectacle filled the beholders with horror, and they retired from before the besieged city, and recrossed the Jordan laden with spoil (2 Kings 3:25-27). The exploits of Mesha are recorded in the Phoenician inscription on a block of black basalt found at Dibon, in Moab, usually called the "Moabite stone" (q.v.).

Who is like God? (1.) The title given to one of the chief angels (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1). He had special charge of Israel as a nation. He disputed with Satan (Jude 1:9) about the body of Moses. He is also represented as warning against "that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world" (Rev. 12:7-9). (2.) The father of Sethur, the spy selected to represent Asher (Num. 13:13). (3.) 1 Chr. 7:3, a chief of the tribe of Issachar. (4.) 1 Chr. 8:16, a Benjamite. (5.) A chief Gadite in Bashan (1 Chr. 5:13). (6.) A Manassite, "a captain of thousands" who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr. 12:20). (7.) A Gershonite Levite (1 Chr. 6:40). (8.) The father of Omri (1 Chr. 27:18). (9.) One of the sons of king Jehoshaphat (2 Chr. 21:2, 4). He was murdered by his brother Jehoram.

Consists of one chapter, "concerning Edom," its impending doom (1:1-16), and the restoration of Israel (1:17-21). This is the shortest book of the Old Testament. There are on record the account of four captures of Jerusalem, (1) by Shishak in the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:25); (2) by the Philistines and Arabians in the reign of Jehoram (2 Chr. 21:16); (3) by Joash, the king of Israel, in the reign of Amaziah (2 Kings 14:13); and (4) by the Babylonians, when Jerusalem was taken and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (B.C. 586). Obadiah (1:11-14) speaks of this capture as a thing past. He sees the calamity as having already come on Jerusalem, and the Edomites as joining their forces with those of the Chaldeans in bringing about the degradation and ruin of Israel. We do not indeed read that the Edomites actually took part with the Chaldeans, but the probabilities are that they did so, and this explains the words of Obadiah in denouncing against Edom the judgments of God. The date of his prophecies was thus in or about the year of the destruction of Jerusalem. Edom is the type of Israel's and of God's last foe (Isa. 63:1-4). These will finally all be vanquished, and the kingdom will be the Lord's (comp. Ps. 22:28).

A watch-mountain or a watch-tower. In the heart of the mountains of Israel, a few miles north-west of Shechem, stands the "hill of Shomeron," a solitary mountain, a great "mamelon." It is an oblong hill, with steep but not inaccessible sides, and a long flat top. Omri, the king of Israel, purchased this hill from Shemer its owner for two talents of silver, and built on its broad summit the city to which he gave the name of "Shomeron", i.e., Samaria, as the new capital of his kingdom instead of Tirzah (1 Kings 16:24). As such it possessed many advantages. Here Omri resided during the last six years of his reign. As the result of an unsuccessful war with Syria, he appears to have been obliged to grant to the Syrians the right to "make streets in Samaria", i.e., probably permission to the Syrian merchants to carry on their trade in the Israelite capital. This would imply the existence of a considerable Syrian population. "It was the only great city of Palestine created by the sovereign. All the others had been already consecrated by patriarchal tradition or previous possession. But Samaria was the choice of Omri alone. He, indeed, gave to the city which he had built the name of its former owner, but its especial connection with himself as its founder is proved by the designation which it seems Samaria bears in Assyrian inscriptions, Beth-khumri (the house or palace of Omri').", Stanley. Samaria was frequently besieged. In the days of Ahab, Benhadad II. came up against it with thirty-two vassal kings, but was defeated with a great slaughter (1 Kings 20:1-21). A second time, next year, he assailed it; but was again utterly routed, and was compelled to surrender to Ahab (20:28-34), whose army, as compared with that of Benhadad, was no more than "two little flocks of kids." In the days of Jehoram this Benhadad again laid siege to Samaria, during which the city was reduced to the direst extremities. But just when success seemed to be within their reach, they suddenly broke up the seige, alarmed by a mysterious noise of chariots and horses and a great army, and fled, leaving their camp with all its contents behind them. The famishing inhabitants of the city were soon relieved with the abundance of the spoil of the Syrian camp; and it came to pass, according to the word of Elisha, that "a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barely for a shekel, in the gates of Samaria" (2 Kings 7:1-20). Shalmaneser invaded Israel in the days of Hoshea, and reduced it to vassalage. He laid siege to Samaria (B.C. 723), which held out for three years, and was at length captured by Sargon, who completed the conquest Shalmaneser had begun (2 Kings 18:9-12; 17:3), and removed vast numbers of the tribes into captivity. (See [548]SARGON.) This city, after passing through various vicissitudes, was given by the emperor Augustus to Herod the Great, who rebuilt it, and called it Sebaste (Gr. form of Augustus) in honour of the emperor. In the New Testament the only mention of it is in Acts 8:5-14, where it is recorded that Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached there. It is now represented by the hamlet of Sebustieh, containing about three hundred inhabitants. The ruins of the ancient town are all scattered over the hill, down the sides of which they have rolled. The shafts of about one hundred of what must have been grand Corinthian columns are still standing, and attract much attention, although nothing definite is known regarding them. (Comp. Micah 1:6.) In the time of Christ, Western Palestine was divided into three provinces, Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. Samaria occupied the centre of Palestine (John 4:4). It is called in the Talmud the "land of the Cuthim," and is not regarded as a part of the Holy Land at all. It may be noticed that the distance between Samaria and Jerusalem, the respective capitals of the two kingdoms, is only 35 miles in a direct line.