[Heb., neʹsher; Aramaic, nesharʹ; Gr., a·e·tosʹ].

A large bird of prey. Some believe that the Hebrew name derives from a root word meaning “tear in pieces or lacerate.” Others view it as onomatopoeic (that is, a name whose very sound suggests the thing meant) and believe that neʹsher represents a “rushing sound,” or “gleaming flash,” hence a bird that dives after its prey, plummeting downward with a rushing sound and like flashing light through the air. In either case, the Hebrew term well describes the eagle, whose lightning plunge from great heights causes a whining sound as the air rushes through its widespread pinions (the outer wing feathers). A bird of prey and a drinker of blood (Job 39:27, 30), the eagle was included among those birds listed as “unclean” by the Mosaic Law.​—Le 11:13; De 14:12.

Palestinian Varieties. Among the eagles to be found in Israel today are the imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca), the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaëtos), and the short-toed eagle (Circaëtus gallicus). The golden eagle, named thus because of the golden sheen on its head and nape, is an impressive dark-brown bird that measures about 1 m (3 ft) in length, with a total wingspan of about 2 m (6.5 ft). Eagles characteristically have a rather broad head with a projecting ridge above the eyes; a short, powerful, hooked beak; sturdy legs; and sharp, powerful talons.

‘Carried on wings of eagles’​—what basis is there for such a figure of speech?

The Sinai region is called “eagle country,” where the birds soar and glide on their strong, broad wings. So, the liberated Israelites gathered at Mount Sinai could well appreciate the aptness of the picture conveyed by God’s words, that he had carried them out of Egypt “on wings of eagles.” (Ex 19:4; compare Re 12:14.) Nearly 40 years later Moses could compare Jehovah’s leading of Israel through the wilderness to that of an eagle that “stirs up its nest, hovers over its fledglings, spreads out its wings, takes them, carries them on its pinions.” (De 32:9-12) When the young eaglets reach the time to begin flying, the parent eagle stirs them up, fluttering and flapping its own wings to convey the idea to its young, and then edges or lures them out of the nest so that they try out their wings.

Though some have doubted that the eagle ever actually carries the young on its back, a guide in Scotland is reported by Sir W. B. Thomas as testifying concerning the golden eagle that “the parent birds, after urging, and sometimes shoving the youngster into the air, will swoop underneath and rest the struggler for a moment on their wings and back.” (The Yeoman’s England, London, 1934, p. 135) An observer in the United States is quoted in the Bulletin of the Smithsonian Institution (1937, No. 167, p. 302) as saying: “The mother started from the nest in the crags, and roughly handling the young one, she allowed him to drop, I should say, about ninety feet; then she would swoop down under him, wings spread, and he would alight on her back. She would soar to the top of the range with him and repeat the process. . . . My father and I watched this, spellbound, for over an hour.” G. R. Driver, commenting on these statements, says: “The picture [at Deuteronomy 32:11] then is not a mere flight of fancy but is based on actual fact.”​—Palestine Exploration Quarterly, London, 1958, pp. 56, 57.

Lofty Nest and Farsightedness. The nest-building habits of the eagle are emphasized in God’s questioning of Job at Job 39:27-30. The nest or aerie may be in a high tree or on the crag of a cliff or rocky canyon. Over the years the nest may grow to be as much as 2 m (6.5 ft) high, that of some eagles coming to weigh as much as a ton! The apparent security and inaccessibility of the eagle’s nest were also used figuratively by the prophets in their messages against the lofty kingdom of Edom in the rugged mountains of the Arabah region.​—Jer 49:16; Ob 3, 4.

The farsightedness of the eagle, mentioned at Job 39:29, is borne out by Rutherford Platt in his book The River of Life (1956, pp. 215, 216), which also shows the unusual design of the eye of the eagle, testifying to the Creator’s wisdom. The book says:

“We find the championship eyes of the whole animal kingdom . . . [in] the eyes of the eagle, the vulture, and the hawk. So keen are they that they can look down from a thousand feet in the air and spot a rabbit or a grouse half hidden in the grass.

“Sharp eyesight of the hunter eye is caused by the reflection of the object falling on a dense clump of pointed, cone-shaped cells. This tiny spot in the back of the eyeball absorbs light rays from the object through thousands of points, in a special manner which summons up a clear image in the mind. For almost all hunters, such as the skunk, the cougar, and ourselves, the single spot of cones is enough; we look straight ahead and approach directly the object of our gaze. But not so the eagle or the hawk, which, having fixed the rabbit in the grass with its sharp focusing cones, may then approach by a long, slanting dive. This causes the image of the target to move across the back of the eyeball on a curved path. Such a path is precisely plotted for the eagle eye so that instead of a clump of cones the diving bird has a curved path of cones. As the eagle zooms down, the rabbit in the grass is thus held in constant focus.”​—Compare Jer 49:22.

Flight Abilities. The eagle’s swiftness is highlighted in many texts. (2Sa 1:23; Jer 4:13; La 4:19; Hab 1:8) There are reports of eagles surpassing a speed of 130 km/​hr (80 mph). Solomon warned that wealth “makes wings for itself” like those of a skyward-bound eagle (Pr 23:4, 5), while Job mourned the swiftness of life’s passing, comparing it to the speed of an eagle in search of prey. (Job 9:25, 26) Yet those trusting in Jehovah receive power to go on, as if mounting up with the seemingly tireless wing of the soaring eagle.​—Isa 40:31.

Modern scientists have wondered at “the way of an eagle in the heavens,” as did the writer of Proverbs 30:19. Clarence D. Cone, Jr., relates the manner in which observation of the majestic and almost effortless soaring of eagles, hawks, and vultures “has helped to lead the way to the discovery of a fundamental mechanism of meteorology.” He shows the manner in which such large birds utilize to the full the dynamic power of the great “bubbles” of heated air that float up from the land because of the heat of the sun and the way in which the “slotted” wing tips of the eagle are so designed aerodynamically that they eliminate air drag on the wing.​—Scientific American, April 1962, pp. 131, 138.

Figurative Usage. This powerful bird of prey was a frequent symbol used by the prophets to represent the warring forces of enemy nations in their sudden and often unexpected attacks. (De 28:49-51; Jer 48:40; 49:22; Ho 8:1) The Babylonian and Egyptian rulers were characterized as eagles. (Eze 17:3, 7) It is notable that in many ancient nations, including Assyria, Persia, and Rome, the figure of the eagle was regularly used on the royal scepters, standards, and steles, even as it has been used in modern times by Germany, the United States, and others.

Some have questioned the use of the word “eagles” at Matthew 24:28 and Luke 17:37, holding that the texts must refer instead to vultures, gathered around a carcass. However, although the eagle is not primarily a carrion eater, as is the vulture, it does feed on such dead bodies at times. (Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 1955, p. 9) So too the eagle, though usually a solitary hunter, unlike the gregarious vulture, is known to hunt in pairs occasionally; and the book The Animal Kingdom (Vol. II, p. 965) reports an instance in which “a number of them launched a mass attack upon a prong-horned antelope.” (Edited by F. Drimmer, 1954) Jesus’ prophecy mentioned above was given in connection with his promised “presence.” Hence, it would not apply merely to the desolation in 70 C.E. of the Jewish nation by the Roman armies, who had their standards emblazoned with the figures of eagles.

Eagles are used in Revelation to represent creatures attending God’s throne and announcing the judgment messages of God for those on earth, doubtless to indicate swiftness and farsightedness.​—Re 4:7; 8:13; compare Eze 1:10; 10:14.

Another text that many scholars view as applying to the vulture rather than to the eagle is Micah 1:16, which speaks of Israel’s figuratively ‘broadening out its baldness like that of the eagle.’ The eagle’s head is well feathered; even the North American bald eagle is referred to as “bald” only because its white head feathers give it the appearance of baldness from a distance. The griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), still to be seen in Israel, has only some soft white down on its head, and the neck is sparsely feathered. If the text applies to it, this would indicate that the Hebrew neʹsher has broader application than to the eagle only. It may be noted that the griffon vulture, while not classed by ornithologists as of the same “species” or “genus” as the eagle, is counted as of the same “family” (Accipitridae). Some, however, believe Micah 1:16 has reference to the molting that the eagle undergoes, although this is said to be a gradual and rather inconspicuous process. This molting process, bringing some reduction of activity and strength and followed by a renewal of normal life, may be what the psalmist meant by one’s youth “renewing itself just like that of an eagle.” (Ps 103:5) Others see in this a reference to the relatively long life of the eagle, some having been known to reach an age of 80 years.

The name Aquila (Ac 18:2) is Latin for eagle.

The organ for hearing, designed and created by Jehovah God. (Ps 94:9; Pr 20:12) The ear consists of three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The middle ear is a small chamber that begins with the eardrum and leads to the maze of passageways that constitute the inner ear. Besides its function in connection with hearing, the inner ear also possesses organs having to do with balance and motion. The use of two ears greatly helps a person to locate the source and direction of sounds.

The human ear detects sounds within the range of about 20 to 20,000 cycles per second. The ears of many animals are sensitive to tones of higher pitch that are inaudible to the human ear. The range of sound energy perceived by the human ear is remarkable. The loudest sound that the ear can tolerate without danger is two million million times as powerful as the least perceptible sound. The human ear has the maximum sensitivity that it is practical to possess, for if the ears were any keener they would respond to the unceasing molecular motions of the air particles themselves.

Since the Maker of the ear can hear, the Bible speaks of him as possessing ears, symbolically. (Nu 11:18; Ps 116:1, 2) By this symbolism Jehovah pictures himself as having ears open to the prayers, petitions, and cries of the righteous. (Ps 10:17; 18:6; 34:15; 130:2; Isa 59:1; 1Pe 3:12) While he hears the murmurings of complainers and the wicked speech of his enemies (Nu 11:1; 2Ki 19:28), he refuses to hear their distress calls when execution of judgment catches up with them. (Eze 8:18) Although idol images may have ears carved or engraved on them, they, of course, cannot hear and are powerless to receive or answer the prayers of their worshipers.​—Ps 115:6.

Figurative Use. In the Bible the word “ear” is used very forcefully in a figurative sense as representing the complete process of hearing. The term is used with respect to the faculty of hearing and then weighing the truthfulness and value of what is spoken. (Job 12:11; 34:3) The way the expression “give ear” or ‘incline one’s ear’ is used indicates that it means to pay attention with a view to acting on that which is heard. (Ps 78:1; 86:6; Isa 51:4) To ‘have the ears opened’ means that the individual receives understanding or enlightenment on a matter. (Isa 50:5) The expression ‘uncover the ear’ may originate from the fact that, in Oriental lands, a person would partially remove the headdress in order to hear more clearly. This expression, as well as the phrase ‘disclose to the ear,’ refers to the giving of information in private or the revealing of a secret or something not previously known.​—1Sa 9:15; 20:2, 12, 13; 2Sa 7:27.

An ‘awakened ear’ is one that is made attentive. (Isa 50:4) Such an ear may belong to a person who has formerly been among the ones “deaf [spiritually] though they have [literal] ears.” (Isa 43:8) The righteous man is described in the Bible as listening to God but stopping up his ear to wickedness. (Isa 33:15) Similarly, the Greek word for “listen” may have the sense of ‘giving attention to, understanding, and acting upon,’ as when Jesus Christ said: “My sheep listen to my voice,” and, “a stranger they will by no means follow but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”​—Joh 10:27, 5.

On the other hand, the ears of the rebellious ones are said to be “heavy” (KJ) or “unresponsive.” (Isa 6:10; Ac 28:27) Such wicked ones are likened to the cobra that stops up its ears, refusing to listen to the voice of the charmer.​—Ps 58:4.

Jehovah, through his servants, spoke of the stubborn, disobedient Israelites as having ‘uncircumcised ears.’ (Jer 6:10; Ac 7:51) They are as though stopped up with something that impedes hearing. They are ears that have not been opened by Jehovah, who gives ears of understanding and obedience to those who seek him but allows the spiritual hearing of the disobedient ones to become dulled. (De 29:4; Ro 11:8) The apostle Paul foretold a time when some professing to be Christians would apostatize from the true faith, not wanting to hear the truth of God’s Word, but desiring to have their ears “tickled” by things pleasing to them, and would therefore listen to false teachers. (2Ti 4:3, 4; 1Ti 4:1) Also, one’s ears may “tingle” because of hearing startling news, especially news of calamity.​—1Sa 3:11; 2Ki 21:12; Jer 19:3.

When Saul of Tarsus was blinded by a supernatural light, did the men with him hear the voice that Saul heard?

An example where literal hearing of a sound and hearing with understanding are contrasted is found in the account of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus and his own recounting of it later. (Ac 9:3-8; 22:6-11) The account at Acts 9:7 says that the men with Saul heard “a voice” (KJ) or “the sound of a voice.” (NW) Yet, as recorded at Acts 22:9, Paul (Saul) says that the men with him did not hear the voice. When what was said in the two verses is properly understood, there is no contradiction. The Greek word for “voice” (pho·neʹ) at Acts 9:7 is in the genitive case (pho·nesʹ) and gives, in this verse, the sense of hearing of a voice​—hearing the sound but not understanding. At Acts 22:9 pho·neʹ is in the accusative case (pho·nenʹ): the men “did not hear the voice”​—they heard the sound of a voice but did not get the words, the meaning; they did not understand what Jesus was saying to Saul, as Saul did. (Ac 9:4) This knowledge of the Bible’s use of the idea of ‘hearing’ in both senses helps to clear up what would otherwise seem to be discrepancies.

At the installation of the priesthood in Israel, Moses was commanded to take some of the blood of the ram of the installation and put it on the lobe of the right ear of Aaron and of each of his sons, as well as on the right hand and right foot, indicating that what they listened to, the work they did, and the way they walked should be directly affected by what was there taking place. (Le 8:22-24) Similarly, in the case of the cleansed leper, the Law said that the priest was to put some of the blood of the ram offered as a guilt offering, as well as some of the oil offered, on the lobe of the leper’s right ear. (Le 14:14, 17, 25, 28) An arrangement of comparable nature was found in the provision made for the man who wished to continue in slavery to his master to time indefinite. In such case the slave was to be brought to the doorpost, and his master was to pierce his ear through with an awl. This prominent mark, being made on the organ for hearing, evidently represented the slave’s desire to continue in obedient attention to his master.​—Ex 21:5, 6.

Regarding man’s great need to hear God, in the sense of giving close attention and obedience to his words as the Bible directs, rather than to see God as some demand, R. C. Dentan remarks: “In the Bible, the key word for man’s response to God is ‘hearing’ rather than ‘seeing’ . . . For the mystery religions the highest religious experience was that of ‘seeing’ the god; but for the Bible, where the basic religious attitude is obedience to the divine word, the emphasis is on ‘hearing’ his voice. The most important formula of Israel’s religion begins characteristically: ‘Hear, O Israel.’ ‘He who is of God’ is not the mystic who has seen a vision, but one who ‘hears the words of God’ (John 8:47).”​—The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, edited by G. Buttrick, 1962, Vol. 2, p. 1; see DEAFNESS.

See EARRING.

A ring or other ornament worn on the ear for purposes of adornment. The Hebrews do not appear to have had a specific word for “earring,” for one of the words they applied to this ornament (neʹzem) can be used for either a nose ring or an earring. (Pr 11:22; Ex 32:2) The context in which neʹzem appears in the Scriptures sometimes, though not always, makes it possible to determine whether an earring or a nose ring is meant. Probably in many cases earrings and nose rings varied little in shape. The Hebrew word ʽa·ghilʹ is also used to designate an earring and relates to a circular ornament.​—Nu 31:50; Eze 16:12.

In many nations of antiquity men, women, and children all wore earrings. That they were worn by men of many lands is evident from representations of foreigners on Egyptian monuments. However, in Egypt it seems that it was not customary for men to wear earrings, and it is uncertain whether Israelite men customarily wore them or not. Earrings were worn by the Midianites, from whom the Israelites took them as part of the spoils of war. (Nu 31:1, 2, 50) When Aaron was about to make the golden calf in the wilderness, he instructed the Israelites: “Tear off the gold earrings that are in the ears of your wives, of your sons and of your daughters and bring them to me.”​—Ex 32:1-4.

Common with Egyptian women were earrings consisting of large golden hoops, some being 4 to 5 cm (1.5 to 2 in.) in diameter, though others were even larger and were made of as many as six individual rings soldered together. Silver earrings were found at Thebes, some of them being merely studs. At times Egyptian earrings, like those of the Assyrians, were quite elaborately designed; some of them were cross-shaped. It was customary to attach the earring by passing the ring itself or a hook through a hole that had been pierced in one’s earlobe.

In ancient Egypt, persons of high station sometimes wore golden ear ornaments having the form of an asp, the body of which was studded with precious stones. Middle Eastern earrings at times consisted of rings to which jewels of some sort were attached as pendants. Some were called “eardrops” (Heb., neti·phohthʹ, from na·taphʹ [meaning “drip” or “drop”]). This term evidently relates to a drop-shaped ornament or pendant. “Eardrops” could have been pearls or spherical beads of silver or gold, but they are not described in the Bible. (Jg 8:26) They were among the things Jehovah said he would take away from the haughty “daughters of Zion.”​—Isa 3:16, 19.

Faithful Hebrews and Christians did not wear earrings as amulets, though others of ancient times did so. While the Bible does not specifically say that “the earrings” possessed by Jacob’s household had been viewed as amulets, Jacob buried both “the foreign gods” and “the earrings” of his household under the big tree near Shechem. (Ge 35:2-4) “The ornamental humming shells” possessed by the haughty “daughters of Zion” were charms of some type that may have been suspended from necklaces or worn on the ears.​—Isa 3:20.

When Israel was granted the privilege of making contributions for the tabernacle, willinghearted persons donated various articles, including earrings. (Ex 35:20-22) Centuries later, Jehovah told Jerusalem that, among other things, he had shown her love by placing earrings on her ears. (Eze 16:1, 2, 12) And Solomon used a gold earring illustratively when he said: “An earring of gold, and an ornament of special gold, is a wise reprover upon the hearing ear.”​—Pr 25:1, 12.

The fifth-largest planet of the solar system and the third in order of position from the sun. It is an oblate spheroid, being slightly flattened at the poles. Satellite observations have indicated other slight irregularities in the shape of the earth. Its mass is approximately 5.98 × 10²⁴ kg (13.18 × 10²⁴ lb). Its area is about 510,000,000 sq km (197,000,000 sq mi). Earth’s measurements are (approximately): circumference at the equator, just over 40,000 km (24,900 mi); diameter at the equator, 12,750 km (7,920 mi). Oceans and seas cover approximately 71 percent of its surface, leaving about 149,000,000 sq km (57,500,000 sq mi) of land surface.

The earth rotates on its axis, bringing about day and night. (Ge 1:4, 5) A solar day or an apparent day is a period of 24 hours, the time taken for an observer at any one point on the earth to be again in the same position relative to the sun. The tropical year, which concerns the return of the seasons, the interval between two consecutive returns of the sun to the vernal equinox, is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, on the average. This figure is the one used in solar-year calendar reckoning, and its fractional nature has caused much difficulty in accurate calendar making.

The axis of the earth tilts 23° 27ʹ away from a perpendicular to the earth’s orbit. The gyroscopic effect of rotation holds the earth’s axis in basically the same direction relative to the stars regardless of its location in its orbit around the sun. This tilt of the axis brings about the seasons.

The earth’s atmosphere, composed principally of nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, and other gases, extends over 960 km (600 mi) above the earth’s surface. Beyond this is what is termed “outer space.”

Bible Terms and Significance. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word used for earth as a planet is ʼeʹrets. ʼEʹrets refers to (1) earth, as opposed to heaven, or sky (Ge 1:2); (2) land, country, territory (Ge 10:10); (3) ground, surface of the ground (Ge 1:26); (4) people of all the globe (Ge 18:25).

The word ʼadha·mahʹ is translated “ground,” “soil,” or “land.” ʼAdha·mahʹ refers to (1) ground as tilled, yielding sustenance (Ge 3:23); (2) piece of ground, landed property (Ge 47:18); (3) earth as material substance, soil, dirt (Jer 14:4; 1Sa 4:12); (4) ground as earth’s visible surface (Ge 1:25); (5) land, territory, country (Le 20:24); (6) whole earth, inhabited earth (Ge 12:3). ʼAdha·mahʹ seems to be related etymologically to the word ʼa·dhamʹ, the first man Adam having been made from the dust of the ground.​—Ge 2:7.

In the Greek Scriptures, ge denotes earth as arable land or soil. (Mt 13:5, 8) It is used to designate the material from which Adam was made, the earth (1Co 15:47); the earthly globe (Mt 5:18, 35; 6:19); earth as a habitation for human creatures and animals (Lu 21:35; Ac 1:8; 8:33; 10:12; 11:6; 17:26); land, country, territory (Lu 4:25; Joh 3:22); ground (Mt 10:29; Mr 4:26); land, shore, as contrasted with seas or waters. (Joh 21:8, 9, 11; Mr 4:1).

Oi·kou·meʹne, translated “world” in the King James Version, denotes “inhabited earth.”​—Mt 24:14; Lu 2:1; Ac 17:6; Re 12:9.

In each case of all the above senses in which these words are used, the form of the word in the original language, and more particularly the setting or context, determine which sense is meant.

The Hebrews divided the earth into four quarters or regions corresponding to the four points of the compass. In the Hebrew Scriptures the words “before” and “in front of” designate and are translated “east” (Ge 12:8); “behind” may mean “west” (Isa 9:12); “the right side” may denote “south” (1Sa 23:24); and “the left” may be translated “north” (Job 23:8, 9; compare Ro). East was also (in Heb.) sometimes called the sunrising, as for example, at Joshua 4:19. West (in Heb.) was the setting of the sun. (2Ch 32:30) Also, physical characteristics were used. Being almost the total western boundary of Palestine, the “Sea” (the Mediterranean) was sometimes used for west.​—Nu 34:6.

Creation. The planet’s coming into existence is recounted in the Bible with the simple statement: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Ge 1:1) Just how long ago the starry heavens and the earth were created is not stated in the Bible. Therefore, there is no basis for Bible scholars to take issue with scientific calculations of the age of the planet. Scientists estimate the age of some rocks as being three and a half billion years, and the earth itself as being about four to four and a half billion or more years.

As to time, the Scriptures are more definite about the six creative days of the Genesis account. These days have to do, not with the creation of earth’s matter or material, but with the arranging and preparing of it for man’s habitation.

The Bible does not reveal whether God created life on any of the other planets in the universe. However, astronomers today have not found proof that life exists on any of these planets and, in fact, know of no planet besides the earth that is at present capable of supporting the life of fleshly creatures.

Purpose. Like all other created things, the earth was brought into existence because of Jehovah’s will (“pleasure,” KJ). (Re 4:11) It was created to remain forever. (Ps 78:69; 104:5; 119:90; Ec 1:4) God speaks of himself as a God of purpose and declares that his purposes are certain to come to fruition. (Isa 46:10; 55:11) He made his purpose for the earth very clear when he said to the first human pair: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.” (Ge 1:28) There were no flaws in earth or the things on it. Having created all necessary things, Jehovah saw that they were “very good” and “proceeded to rest” or desist from other earthly creative works.​—Ge 1:31–2:2.

Man’s habitation on earth is also permanent. When God gave man the law regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, he implied that man could live on earth forever. (Ge 2:17) We are assured by Jehovah’s own words that “all the days the earth continues, seed sowing and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, will never cease” (Ge 8:22) and that he will never destroy all flesh again by a flood. (Ge 9:12-16) Jehovah says that he did not make the earth for nothing but, rather, that he has given it to men as a home and that death will eventually be done away with. God’s purpose, therefore, is for the earth to be the habitation of man in perfection and happiness with eternal life.​—Ps 37:11; 115:16; Isa 45:18; Re 21:3, 4.

That this is the purpose of Jehovah God, sacred to him and not to be thwarted, is indicated when the Bible says: “And by the seventh day God came to the completion of his work that he had made . . . And God proceeded to bless the seventh day and make it sacred, because on it he has been resting from all his work that God has created for the purpose of making.” (Ge 2:2, 3) The seventh, or rest, day is not shown in the Genesis account as ending, as in the case of the other six days. The apostle Paul explained that the rest day of God had been continuous right through Israelite history down to his own time and had not yet ended. (Heb 3:7-11; 4:3-9) God says the seventh day was set aside as sacred to him. He would carry out his purpose toward the earth; it would be fully accomplished during that day, with no necessity of further creative works toward the earth during that time.

The Bible’s Harmony With Scientific Facts. The Bible, at Job 26:7, speaks of God as “hanging the earth upon nothing.” Science says that the earth remains in its orbit in space primarily because of the interaction of gravity and centrifugal force. These forces, of course, are invisible. Therefore the earth, like other heavenly bodies, is suspended in space as if hanging on nothing. Speaking from Jehovah’s viewpoint, the prophet Isaiah wrote under inspiration: “There is One who is dwelling above the circle of the earth, the dwellers in which are as grasshoppers.” (Isa 40:22) The Bible says: “He [God] has described a circle upon the face of the waters.” (Job 26:10) The waters are limited by his decree to their proper place. They do not come up and inundate the land; neither do they fly off into space. (Job 38:8-11) From the viewpoint of Jehovah, the earth’s face, or the surface of the waters, would, of course, have a circular form, just as the edge of the moon presents a circular appearance to us. Before land surfaces appeared, the surface of the entire globe was one circular (spherical) mass of surging waters.​—Ge 1:2.

Bible writers often speak from the standpoint of the observer on the earth, or from his particular position geographically, as we often naturally do today. For example, the Bible mentions “the sunrising.” (Nu 2:3; 34:15) Some have seized upon this as an opportunity to discredit the Bible as scientifically inaccurate, claiming that the Hebrews viewed earth as the center of things, with the sun revolving around it. But the Bible writers nowhere expressed such a belief. These same critics overlook the fact that they themselves use the identical expression and that it is in all of their almanacs. It is common to hear someone say, ‘it is sunrise,’ or ‘the sun has set,’ or ‘the sun traveled across the sky.’ The Bible also speaks of “the extremity of the earth” (Ps 46:9), “the ends of the earth” (Ps 22:27), “the four extremities of the earth” (Isa 11:12), “the four corners of the earth,” and “the four winds of the earth” (Re 7:1). These expressions cannot be taken to prove that the Hebrews understood the earth to be square. The number four is often used to denote that which is fully rounded out, as it were, just as we have four directions and sometimes employ the expressions “to the ends of the earth,” “to the four corners of the earth,” in the sense of embracing all the earth.​—Compare Eze 1:15-17; Lu 13:29.

Figurative and Symbolic Expressions. The earth is spoken of figuratively in several instances. It is likened to a building, at Job 38:4-6, when Jehovah asks Job questions concerning earth’s creation and Jehovah’s management of it that Job obviously cannot answer. Jehovah also uses a figurative expression describing the result of earth’s rotation. He says: “[The earth] transforms itself like clay under a seal.” (Job 38:14) In Bible times some seals for “signing” documents were in the form of a roller engraved with the writer’s emblem. It was rolled over the soft clay document or clay envelope, leaving behind it an impression in the clay. In similar manner, at the arrival of dawn, the portion of the earth coming from the blackness of night begins to show itself to have form and color as the sunlight moves progressively across its face. The heavens, the location of Jehovah’s throne, being higher than the earth, the earth is, figuratively, his footstool. (Ps 103:11; Isa 55:9; 66:1; Mt 5:35; Ac 7:49) Those who are in Sheol, or Hades, the common grave of mankind, are regarded as being under the earth.​—Re 5:3.

The apostle Peter compares the literal heavens and earth (2Pe 3:5) with the symbolic heavens and earth (2Pe 3:7). “The heavens” of verse 7 do not mean Jehovah’s own dwelling place, the place of his throne in the heavens. Jehovah’s heavens cannot be shaken. Neither is “the earth” in the same verse the literal planet earth, for Jehovah says that he has established the earth firmly. (Ps 78:69; 119:90) Yet, God says that he will shake both the heavens and the earth (Hag 2:21; Heb 12:26), that the heavens and earth will flee away before him, and that new heavens and a new earth will be established. (2Pe 3:13; Re 20:11; 21:1) It is evident that “heavens” is symbolic and that “earth” here has symbolic reference to a society of people living on the earth, just as at Psalm 96:1.​—See HEAVEN (New heavens and new earth).

Earth is also symbolically used to denote the firmer, more stable elements of mankind. The restless, unstable elements of mankind are illustrated by the characteristic restlessness of the sea.​—Isa 57:20; Jas 1:6; Jude 13; compare Re 12:16; 20:11; 21:1.

John 3:31 contrasts one that comes from above as being higher than one who comes from the earth (ge). The Greek word e·piʹgei·os, “earthly,” is used to denote earthly, physical things, especially as contrasted with heavenly things, and as being lower and of coarser material. Man is made of earth’s material. (2Co 5:1; compare 1Co 15:46-49.) Nevertheless, he can please God by living a “spiritual” life, a life directed by God’s Word and spirit. (1Co 2:12, 15, 16; Heb 12:9) Because of mankind’s fall into sin and their tendency toward material things to the neglect or exclusion of spiritual things (Ge 8:21; 1Co 2:14), “earthly” can have an undesirable connotation, meaning “corrupt,” or “in opposition to the spirit.”​—Php 3:19; Jas 3:15.

A sudden tremor or a shaking of the earth’s surface as a result of forces at work within the globe. The Hebrew noun raʹʽash refers not only to the “quaking” of the earth, or an “earthquake” (1Ki 19:11; Am 1:1), but also to the “tremors” caused by a tramping army (Isa 9:5, ftn), the “rattling” of war chariots or a javelin (Jer 47:3; Job 41:29), and the “pounding” of horses (Job 39:24). The Greek sei·smosʹ (earthquake) denotes a quaking, shaking, or trembling.​—Mt 27:54; compare Mt 27:51; 28:4; Re 6:13.

Shakings and tremblings of the earth occurred throughout Biblical history, at times as a result of natural geologic forces (Zec 14:5) and sometimes as direct acts of God for judicial purposes or for purposes involving his servants. The geology of the area explains Israel’s past history of seismic activity, which still is not finished.

The temple area of Jerusalem is situated on a line of structural weakness within the earth. The Mosque of el-Aqsa, located in the temple area (not the Dome of the Rock, which is a shrine), has been repeatedly damaged by earthquake activity.

A tremendous earthquake, apparently coupled with volcanic action, provided an awe-inspiring setting for the inauguration of the Law covenant at Sinai. (Ex 19:18; Ps 68:8) Jehovah had a direct hand in this display of power, for he spoke out of the mountain by means of an angel.​—Ex 19:19; Ga 3:19; Heb 12:18-21.

At times the fear-inspiring force of earthquakes has been an evidence of Jehovah’s hand in judging violations of his law. (Na 1:3-6) An earthquake was the executional method used by Jehovah against the rebellious Dathan, Abiram, and the household of Korah; the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them down alive into Sheol. (Nu 16:27, 32, 33) Elijah experienced a quaking of the earth before Jehovah spoke to correct his viewpoint and to send him back to further service assignments. (1Ki 19:11-18) Earthquakes have been a miraculous aid to Jehovah’s people, as when Jonathan and his armor-bearer courageously attacked a Philistine outpost. Jehovah backed up their faith in him by bringing about an earthquake that threw the entire camp of the Philistines into confusion, so that these killed off one another and were thoroughly routed.​—1Sa 14:6, 10, 12, 15, 16, 20, 23.

On the day of Jesus’ death, about three o’clock in the afternoon, an earthquake took place, splitting rock-masses open, causing the memorial tombs to be opened, and causing dead bodies to be thrown from their graves. The curtain of the sanctuary in the temple rebuilt by Herod was torn in two, from top to bottom. Prior to this, darkness had fallen over the land. Some think that volcanic action was involved, for often volcanoes belch out smoke and dust that blacken the sky. But there is no real evidence that there was any volcanic action connected with this earthquake. (Mt 27:45, 51-54; Lu 23:44, 45) Another earthquake occurred on the day of Jesus’ resurrection, when an angel descended from heaven and rolled away the stone from in front of his tomb. (Mt 28:1, 2) The apostle Paul and his companion Silas, while in prison at Philippi, had their prayers and songs of praise answered by a great earthquake that opened the prison doors and loosened the bonds of the prisoners. This led to the conversion of the jailer and his household.​—Ac 16:25-34.

Jesus foretold earthquakes in significant number and intensity as a feature of the sign of his presence. (Mt 24:3, 7, 8; Lu 21:11) Since 1914 C.E., there has been an increase in the number of earthquakes, resulting in much distress. With data obtained from the National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, supplemented by a number of standard reference works, a tabulation was made in 1984 that included only earthquakes that measured 7.5 or more on the Richter scale, or that resulted in destruction of five million dollars (U.S.) or more in property, or that caused 100 or more deaths. It was calculated that there had been 856 of such earthquakes during the 2,000 years before 1914. The same tabulation showed that in just 69 years following 1914 there were 605 of such quakes. These statistics are a means of indicating the extent of suffering from earthquakes during this period of history.

Figurative and Symbolic Uses. Earthquakes are often used figuratively in the Scriptures to describe the shaking and overthrow of nations and kingdoms. Ancient Babylon trusted in false gods such as Nebo and Marduk, which in the people’s imaginations filled their heavens. They also relied greatly on the strength of their mighty military force, but God said in pronouncement against Babylon: “I shall cause heaven itself to become agitated, and the earth will rock out of its place at the fury of Jehovah of armies.” (Isa 13:13) As far as Babylon was concerned, it must have been a great shock when her empire fell and her territory ceased to belong to her as the third world power and she became merely a province in the Persian Empire.​—Da 5:30, 31.

Elsewhere, David describes Jehovah as fighting for him as by means of an earthquake. (2Sa 22:8; Ps 18:7) Jehovah speaks of rocking the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry ground, of rocking all nations in behalf of his people, with the result that the desirable things of all the nations would come in and he would fill his house with glory.​—Hag 2:6, 7.

The apostle Paul uses as an illustration the awe-inspiring display at Sinai, comparing it with the greater and more awesome assemblage of the Christian congregation of the firstborn before God and his Son as Mediator at the heavenly Mount Zion. He goes on to follow through with the illustration of the earthquake that took place at Sinai and gives a symbolic application, encouraging Christians to continue serving in courage and faith, realizing that the Kingdom and those who hold on to it will be able to remain standing while all other things of the symbolic heavens and earth are shaken to pieces.​—Heb 12:18-29.

The greatest earthquake of all yet to come is a symbolic one, described in connection with the seventh of the symbolic seven final plagues of Revelation. It is pictured as wrecking, not one or two cities, as some of the most violent earthquakes have done, but “the cities of the nations.” John’s account of this cataclysm reads: “A great earthquake occurred such as had not occurred since men came to be on the earth, so extensive an earthquake, so great. And the great city [Babylon the Great] split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.”​—Re 16:18, 19.

This expression is translated from the Hebrew miz·rachʹ, meaning literally “sunrising” (De 3:27; 1Ch 4:39), and from nouns derived from the verb qa·dhamʹ, meaning “be before (in front).” (Eze 48:2) It was the practice of the Hebrews to face the rising sun when determining direction, which meant that E was in front of them, W was behind, N on the left hand, and S on the right hand.

Sometimes qeʹdhem was used to mean a generally eastward direction, as at Genesis 11:2. At other times it meant the “east” in relation to something else, as at Numbers 34:11, where the expression “east of Ain” is used. At still other times it referred to the area that lay E and NE of Israel. This included the lands of Moab and Ammon, the Arabian Desert, Babylonia, Persia, Assyria, and Armenia.

The various peoples living in the lands referred to by the word “east” were spoken of as “sons of the East.” Job was called the greatest of all the “Orientals,” or “sons of the East.” (Job 1:3) He lived in this eastern area. When Jacob went to Mesopotamia to get a wife, he went, we are told, to the land of “the Orientals,” or “sons of the East.” (Ge 29:1) The people to the E of Israel were also called “sons of the East,” or “Easterners,” as at Judges 6:3; 8:10.

In Palestine the E wind was a hot wind that blew in from desert lands to the E and was destructive to vegetation. (Eze 19:12) This is the basis for the expression “fill [one’s] belly with the east wind.”​—Job 15:2.

The tabernacle, the temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel, and the second temple as rebuilt by Herod all faced the E. (Nu 3:38) Ezekiel’s visionary temple faced eastward. (Eze 47:1) The coming of Jehovah and Christ to the temple would therefore be expected from the E.

At Isaiah 46:11, Cyrus, the Persian king, is spoken of as coming from “the east” (KJ), or “the sunrising” (NW). The reports foretold as coming from “the east” (KJ) are, literally, out of “the sunrising,” or miz·rachʹ. (Da 11:44) In the book of Revelation back-reference is made to Darius and Cyrus as prophetic of “the kings from the rising of the sun,” in connection with the drying up of the symbolic Euphrates in the time of Babylon the Great’s judgment.​—Re 16:12, 19.

The astrologers that came to see Jesus after his birth came from the direction of Babylon, from “eastern parts.” (Mt 2:1) When they said that they saw his star “in the east [Gr., a·na·to·leiʹ, literally, “rising”],” as some Bible translations state, they did not mean that it was E of where their land was but that they saw it from the East or when they were in the East.​—Mt 2:2, ftn.

See SALT SEA.

See GATE, GATEWAY.

(Eʹbal).

The third-named son of the Horite sheik Shobal descended from Seir. (Ge 36:20, 23; 1Ch 1:40) The Horites dwelt in Seir before being dispossessed and annihilated by the sons of Esau.​—De 2:12.

(Eʹbal).

A mountain now identified as Jebel Eslamiyeh (Har ʽEval), situated in the district of Samaria. Mount Ebal is opposite Mount Gerizim, these mountains being separated by a beautiful, narrow valley, the Vale of Shechem (Nablus Valley), in which nestles the city of Nablus, not far from ancient Shechem. Only its lower slopes sustain such vegetation as vines and olive trees, the higher elevations being quite barren and rocky. Like other mountains in Samaria, Ebal consists of a limestone core with an outer shell of chalk. It stands to the NE of Mount Gerizim and rises to a peak of over 900 m (3,000 ft) above the level of the Mediterranean. Mounts Ebal and Gerizim are situated to the W of the Jordan River.​—De 11:29, 30.

Looking N from the summit of Ebal, one can see the greater part of the land of Galilee and also Mount Hermon. The heights in the vicinity of Jerusalem can be seen to the S, and the Plain of Sharon and the Mediterranean to the W. To the E it is possible to see as far as the Hauran across the Jordan. Abram (Abraham) once camped in the valley between these two mountains, near the big trees of Moreh.​—Ge 12:6.

Moses told the Israelites that when Jehovah brought them into the land that they were going to possess, they “must also give the blessing upon Mount Gerizim and the malediction upon Mount Ebal.” (De 11:29, 30) He also instructed that great uncut stones be selected, whitewashed with lime, and set on Mount Ebal. An altar was to be erected there, upon which sacrifices were to be presented to Jehovah. Moses also said, “You must write on the stones all the words of this law, making them quite clear.”​—De 27:1-8.

After Israel crossed the Jordan, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali were to “stand for the malediction on Mount Ebal,” and the other tribes were to “stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim.” At that time the blessings to be enjoyed by those obeying God’s law, as well as the curses or maledictions to be experienced by those breaking his law, would be recited. (De 27:12-14) When the curses for disobedience were pronounced, all the people were to say “Amen!” that is, “So be it!” to show they agreed that practicers of wickedness merited condemnation.​—De 27:15-26.

After Israel’s victory at Ai, Joshua complied with Moses’ instructions, building an altar to Jehovah in Mount Ebal. Upon stones (perhaps, but not necessarily, those of the altar itself) he wrote “a copy of the law of Moses that he had written before the sons of Israel.” Then, in front of the congregation of Israel (including the alien residents) assembled as Moses had directed, Joshua “read aloud all the words of the law, the blessing and the malediction, according to all that is written in the book of the law.” Half the congregation stood in front of Mount Ebal and the other half in front of Mount Gerizim, the ark of the covenant and the Levites being between the two groups. (Jos 8:30-35) The slopes of Mount Ebal in relation to the slopes of Mount Gerizim provided excellent acoustics for this occasion. Notably, too, these things occurred approximately in the heart of the land of promise and in the vicinity where Jehovah promised the land to Israel’s forefather Abram (Abraham).​—Ge 12:6, 7.

Jewish tradition holds that the Levites, standing between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, faced Mount Gerizim when pronouncing a blessing, to which the people assembled there answered “Amen!” Then it is said that they turned to face Mount Ebal and pronounced one of the curses, to which those assembled on that side said “Amen!” The Scriptures, however, do not outline the exact procedure followed on that notable occasion.

At Deuteronomy 27:4 it is said that the stones were to be set up in Mount “Gerizim” according to the Samaritan Pentateuch. However, the reading is “Ebal” according to the Masoretic text, the Latin Vulgate, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Greek Septuagint. Joshua 8:30-32 indicates that it was on Mount Ebal that Joshua set up the stones on which “a copy of the law of Moses” was written.​—See GERIZIM, MOUNT.

(Eʹbed) [Servant; or, shortened form of Obadiah, meaning “Servant of Jehovah”].

1. Father of Gaal, the one who led the landowners of Shechem in an unsuccessful rebellion against Abimelech.​—Jg 9:26, 29, 39-41.

2. Son of Jonathan. Ebed, accompanied by 50 males of the paternal house of Adin, returned with Ezra to Jerusalem from Babylon.​—Ezr 8:6.

(Eʹbed-melʹech) [Servant of the King].

An Ethiopian eunuch in the house of King Zedekiah who, by his course of action, demonstrated that he was in full agreement with the work of Jehovah’s prophet Jeremiah. When the princes of Judah falsely charged Jeremiah with sedition, Zedekiah surrendered the prophet into their hands. These princes then took Jeremiah and threw him into the miry cistern of Malchijah in the Courtyard of the Guard, there to die without food. (Jer 38:4-6) Courageously, notwithstanding the danger in which it placed him because of the prevailing bitter hatred for Jeremiah and his message, Ebed-melech publicly approached the king seated in the Gate of Benjamin and there presented an appeal in behalf of Jeremiah. Zedekiah responded favorably. Then Ebed-melech, at the king’s command, took 30 men to the cistern and let down ropes with worn-out rags and pieces of cloth for Jeremiah to place under his armpits in order to bring him up out of the cistern. (Jer 38:7-13) Likely Zedekiah directed Ebed-melech to take 30 men along, not that so many men were needed to get Jeremiah out of the cistern, but in order to effect a successful deliverance despite any possible interference on the part of the princes or the priests. Because of this righteous act toward God’s prophet, Ebed-melech was assured by Jehovah, through Jeremiah, that he would not perish during the Babylonian siege but would be furnished an escape.​—Jer 39:15-18; see EUNUCH.

(Eb·en·eʹzer) [Stone of Help].

1. A site near which Israel was twice defeated by the Philistines, resulting not only in the death of 34,000 Israelites, including Hophni and Phinehas, but also in enemy capture of the ark of the covenant. News of this latter event precipitated the death of Eli the priest. (1Sa 4:1-11, 17, 18; 5:1) Scholars tentatively place Ebenezer at Majdel Yaba, 4 km (2.5 mi) SE of Aphek in the Plain of Sharon (where the Philistines were encamped).

2. The name given to a stone erected by Samuel more than 20 years after the events mentioned in the preceding chapter, likely to commemorate Israel’s victory over the Philistines by God’s help. (1Sa 7:2, 12) Although its exact location is today unknown, it was apparently a number of miles SE of No. 1 above, “between Mizpah and Jeshanah.”

(Eʹber) [from a root meaning “pass over (cross)”; or, “other side [that is, the opposite side]”].

In addition to being the personal name of five different men in the Bible, “Eber” is used at Numbers 24:24 as either indicating the Hebrew race or else as referring to a region. The Greek Septuagint, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Latin Vulgate here render “Eber” as “the Hebrews.” However, “Eber” may in this case be referring to the land or people on the ‘other side’ of the Euphrates (in addition to Assyria, mentioned in the same verse). In Hebrew the expression for “beyond the River” (Heb., ʽeʹver han·na·harʹ) is used at times to refer to the region W of the Euphrates. (Ne 2:7, 9; 3:7) At 1 Kings 4:24 the same Hebrew expression is translated “this side of the River” (NW) or “west of the Euphrates.” (RS) The corresponding Aramaic expression is used to designate generally the region of Syria and Palestine.​—Ezr 4:10, 11, 16, 17, 20; 5:3, 6; 6:6, 13.

1. A forefather of Abraham; the son of Shelah and the father of Peleg and Joktan as well as of other children. In the days of his son Peleg, whom Eber outlived by about 191 years, “the earth was divided.” This may have reference to Jehovah’s confusing the language of those who were building Babel and its tower under the direction of Nimrod.​—Ge 10:25; 11:14-19, 26.

Genesis 10:21 refers to “Shem, the forefather of all the sons of Eber [“ancestor of all the Hebrews,” AT, Mo], the brother of Japheth the oldest.” Evidently Eber is here listed in close relation to Shem because of the Biblical importance attached to Eber’s descendants, particularly from Abraham forward. The text, therefore, does not restrict Shem’s descendants to just the Hebrews, as the succeeding verses make clear. Eber’s descendants through Joktan appear to have settled in Arabia, while those through Peleg are associated with Mesopotamia.

2. A Gadite living in Bashan, a descendant of Abihail.​—1Ch 5:11, 13, 14.

3. A Benjamite identified as a son of Elpaal.​—1Ch 8:12.

4. A Benjamite headman listed among the sons of Shashak.​—1Ch 8:22-25, 28.

5. A Levite priest; the head of the paternal house of Amok. Evidently Eber was a contemporary of High Priest Joiakim, Governor Nehemiah, and Ezra the priest and scribe.​—Ne 12:12, 20, 26.

(Eʹbez).

A town in Issachar’s territory. (Jos 19:17, 20) Its location is not known.

See ABIASAPH.

[Heb., hov·nimʹ].

The term is believed to apply to the wood from the Diospyros ebenum or similar types of the same genus of trees. The tree grows tall, with simple leaves and bell-shaped flowers. The outer wood is soft and white, but the inner heartwood, which reaches a maximum diameter of about 0.5 m (2 ft), is very hard, close grained, durable, and black or dark brown in color. It takes a very high polish. These qualities make it very desirable for fine furniture, ornamental articles, and for inlay work with ivory. It was also used by the pagans in making idols for worship.

Ebony is mentioned only once in the Bible, at Ezekiel 27:15, where it is presented as an item of commerce. It is suggested that the ebony and ivory there mentioned were brought out of India or Sri Lanka, perhaps across the Arabian Sea and up the Red Sea and then overland, or else from Nubia in NE Africa. It was highly appreciated by the ancient Egyptians, and products of it have been found in Egyptian tombs.

(Eʹbron).

The name of a boundary city apportioned to Asher. (Jos 19:24, 28) Since many Hebrew manuscripts here read “Abdon,” most scholars generally consider “Ebron” to be an erroneous spelling of that name.​—See ABDON No. 5.

(Ec·batʹa·na).

The capital city of ancient Media, from about 700 B.C.E. Persian King Cyrus II took it from Median King Astyages, after which the Medes and Persians joined forces under Cyrus. Ecbatana is Scripturally identified as a place that was in the jurisdictional district of Media in the days of Persian King Darius I (Hystaspis).​—Ezr 6:1, 2.

“Ecbatana” is the English rendering of this city’s name at Ezra 6:2. This form of the name corresponds to the reading of the Latin Vulgate and is also found in the Greek text of the Apocryphal writings that came to be included in the Septuagint. The Masoretic text and the Syriac Peshitta, however, give the name as “Achmetha.” Early Greek writers seem to have applied the name Ecbatana to several places. However, there is general agreement among scholars today that the Ecbatana captured by Cyrus (and thus that mentioned at Ezr 6:2) is the modern city of Hamadan, an important commercial center of Iran situated at the foot of Mount Alwand approximately 290 km (180 mi) WSW of Tehran. Just as ancient Ecbatana was a significant city along the chief route leading from Mesopotamia to points farther E, so modern Hamadan is traversed by various roads, such as that running from Baghdad to Tehran.

When certain Persian-appointed officials questioned the legality of the Jews’ temple-rebuilding work in Zerubbabel’s day, these opposers sent a letter to King Darius I of Persia requesting confirmation of Cyrus’ decree authorizing the reconstruction. (Ezr 5:1-17) Darius had an investigation made, and Cyrus’ decree was found in Ecbatana, thus establishing the legality of the temple-rebuilding work. In fact, Darius put through an order so that the Jews’ work might go on without hindrance, and their opposers were even ordered to provide them with needed materials, which “they did promptly.” The temple was finally completed “by the third day of the lunar month Adar, that is, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king,” or near the spring of 515 B.C.E.​—Ezr 6:6-15.

The Hebrew name Qo·heʹleth (meaning “Congregator; Assembler; Convener; Convoker”) fittingly describes the role of the king in the theocratic government that Israel enjoyed. (Ec 1:1, 12) It was the responsibility of the ruler to hold the dedicated people of God together in faithfulness to their true King and God. (1Ki 8:1-5, 41-43, 66) For that reason, whether a king was good or bad for the nation was determined by whether he led the nation in the worship of Jehovah or not. (2Ki 16:1-4; 18:1-6) The congregator, who was Solomon, had already done much congregating of Israel and their companions, the temporary residents, to the temple. In this book he sought to congregate God’s people away from the vain and fruitless works of this world to the works worthy of the God to whom they as a nation were dedicated. The name used in our English Bibles is taken from the translation of Qo·heʹleth in the Greek Septuagint, namely, Ek·kle·si·a·stesʹ (Ecclesiastes), meaning “a member of an ecclesia (congregation; assembly).”

Writer. There was only one “son of David,” namely, Solomon, who was “king over Israel in Jerusalem” (Ec 1:1, 12), for kings after Solomon did not reign over all Israel. Solomon was the king so well known for his surpassing wisdom. (Ec 1:16; 1Ki 4:29-34) He was a builder. (Ec 2:4-6; 1Ki 6:1; 7:1-8) He was a composer of proverbs. (Ec 12:9; 1Ki 4:32) Solomon was renowned for his wealth. (Ec 2:4-9; 1Ki 9:17-19; 10:4-10, 14-29) Since the book mentions the building program of Solomon, it must have been written after that time but before he “began to do what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah.” (1Ki 11:6) The book was therefore written before 1000 B.C.E., in Jerusalem. That Solomon would be one of the best qualified men to write the book is supported by the fact that he was not only the richest but probably one of the best informed kings of his day; his sailors and tradesmen as well as visiting dignitaries would bring news and knowledge of people of other lands.​—1Ki 9:26-28; 10:23-25, 28, 29.

Authenticity. Qo·heʹleth, or Ecclesiastes, is accepted as canonical by both the Jewish and the Christian churches. It is in agreement with other portions of the Bible that treat the same subjects. For example, it agrees with Genesis on man’s being made up of a body composed of the dust of the ground and having the spirit or life-force from God and the breath that sustains it. (Ec 3:20, 21; 12:7; Ge 2:7; 7:22; Isa 42:5) It affirms the Bible teaching that man was created upright but willfully chose to disobey God. (Ec 7:29; Ge 1:31; 3:17; De 32:4, 5) It acknowledges God as the Creator. (Ec 12:1; Ge 1:1) It concurs with the rest of the Bible as to the state of the dead. (Ec 9:5, 10; Ge 3:19; Ps 6:5; 115:17; Joh 11:11-14; Ro 6:23) It strongly advocates the worship and the fear of God. It uses the expression ha·ʼElo·himʹ, “the true God,” 32 times. The equivalent for the name Jehovah is found in the Syriac Peshitta and Jewish Targum of the book at Ecclesiastes 2:24. While some claim that the book contradicts itself, this is only because they do not see that the book many times sets forth the common view as opposed to the view that reflects divine wisdom. (Compare Ec 1:18; 7:11, 12.) So one must read with a view to getting the sense and must keep in mind the theme of the book.

[Box on page 675]

HIGHLIGHTS OF ECCLESIASTES

A vivid description of works that are vain and those that are worth while

Written by Solomon in the latter part of his kingship, after he had engaged in the numerous pursuits that he describes

A life devoted to vain pursuits is empty

To a natural man all is vanity; one generation is replaced by another, and even natural cycles are repetitious and wearisome (1:1-11)

Increased human wisdom can result in increased pain; what is crooked in this system cannot be made straight (1:12-18)

Devoting oneself to pleasure-seeking through materialism is like striving after the wind (2:1-11, 26)

Wisdom is better than folly, but both the wise and the stupid ones die and are forgotten (2:12-16)

Working hard all one’s life only to leave everything to a man who may not appreciate it​—this is calamitous (2:17-23)

Events in earthly life often occur in cycles, many of which are beyond human control (3:1-9)

In the present system, all (both man and beast) eventually die (3:18-22)

Many acts of oppression take place, with no hope from a human standpoint (4:1-3)

Hard work and proficiency because of rivalry or simply to accumulate wealth is vanity, and the lazy person is stupid (4:4-8)

The life of a ruler can also be vain (4:13-16)

Accumulating riches will not bring contentment, but it may rob the owner of his sleep; and when he dies he will leave them all behind (5:9-17)

Though a person has many possessions, circumstances​—perhaps illness or an unfulfilled longing—​may prevent him from finding contentment (6:1-12)

In the present system, the same eventuality awaits both righteous and wicked​—all die; so, some give free rein to badness (9:2, 3)

Wisdom is not always appreciated when it comes from a needy man (9:13-18)

Indulging in foolishness gives one a bad reputation; when such incompetent ones are in positions of authority, it is hazardous for them and hard on others (10:1-19)

Youth and the prime of life are vanity; the duration of youthful vigor is so uncertain (11:10)

If a person has not been guided in life by constant remembrance of the Creator, everything is vanity! (12:8)

Things that are worth while and that give meaning to one’s life

Enjoy the fruits of your work, recognizing these as a gift from God (2:24, 25; 5:18-20)

The works of God are all pretty; before mankind he has set the prospect of life to time indefinite (3:10-13)

The general pattern of human life that exists according to God’s permission or purpose cannot be changed by man; so wait on God to act as Judge in his appointed time (3:14-17; 5:8)

A person who works with a partner is better off than a loner (4:9-12)

Proper fear of God should move us to listen carefully to what he requires of us and to fulfill any vow we make to him (5:1-7)

Appreciate the importance of a good name and the brevity of our present life in which to acquire it, the benefit of patience, the superior value of wisdom, and the need to submit humbly to what God permits (7:1-15)

Avoid going to extremes but be guided by fear of God; do not get overly concerned about what other people say; shun the snare of a prostitute (7:16-29)

Be law abiding; even though men dominate others to their injury and human justice is lax, do not let it spoil your enjoyment of life; remember, it will turn out well with those who fear the true God; do not expect to fathom all the reasons for what God does and permits to occur (8:1-17; 10:20)

The righteous ones and the wise ones are in the hand of the true God​—they will not lose their reward; but in death a person knows nothing and can do nothing, so use your life now in a manner that God will approve; enjoy it in wholesome ways while you have it (9:1, 4-12)

Seize appropriate opportunities to be generous, to accomplish good; do not let uncertainties of life stifle your activity (11:1-8)

Young man, enjoy your youth, but do not forget that you are accountable to God for your actions; remember your Grand Creator while you are young, before the weakness and decrepitude of old age come, before life ends (11:9; 12:1-7)

The most beneficial writings are those that reflect the wisdom of the “one shepherd,” Jehovah God (12:9-12)

Fear the true God and keep his commandments; he sees everything that we do, and he will bring our works into judgment (12:13, 14)

(Eʹden) [Pleasure].

1. A region in which the Creator planted a gardenlike park as the original home of the first human pair. The statement that the garden was “in Eden, toward the east,” apparently indicates that the garden occupied only a portion of the region called Eden. (Ge 2:8) However, the garden is thereafter called “the garden of Eden” (Ge 2:15) and, in later texts, is spoken of as “Eden, the garden of God” (Eze 28:13), and as “the garden of Jehovah.”​—Isa 51:3.

The Septuagint rendered the Hebrew word for “garden” (gan) by the Greek word pa·raʹdei·sos. To this fact we owe our association of the English word “paradise” with the garden of Eden.

Genesis 2:15 states that “God proceeded to take the man and settle him in the garden of Eden.” While this might appear to indicate that man’s creation took place outside the garden, it may simply refer to God’s ‘taking’ man in the sense of his forming and creating him from the earthly elements, then assigning him to reside initially in the garden in which he came to life. The cultivation and care of the garden was man’s work assignment. Eden’s trees and plants included all those providing scenic beauty as well as those providing food in wide variety. (Ge 2:9, 15) This fact alone would indicate that the garden covered an area of considerable size.

There was a great variety of animal life in the garden. God brought before Adam “all the domestic animals and . . . flying creatures of the heavens and . . . every wild beast of the field,” the naming of which was given to Adam as one of his earliest tasks. (Ge 2:19, 20) Eden’s soil was watered by the waters of the river “issuing out of Eden.” (Ge 2:10) In view of man’s nakedness it may be assumed that the climate was very mild and agreeable.​—Ge 2:25.

What was the forbidden fruit in Eden?

Eden’s fruit trees were all there for man to eat from “to satisfaction.” (Ge 2:16) But one tree, that “of the knowledge of good and bad,” was placed off limits for the human pair. Eve quoted Jehovah’s prohibition given to her husband as including even the ‘touching’ of the tree, with the penalty of death to result from disrespect for and violation of the divine law. (Ge 2:17; 3:3) Traditional teachings have attempted to explain the prohibited fruit in a variety of ways: as a symbol of sexual intercourse, represented by an “apple”; as standing for the mere cognizance of right and wrong; and as the knowledge attained upon reaching maturity and also through experience, which knowledge can be put to a good or a bad use. Yet, in view of the Creator’s command to “be fruitful and become many and fill the earth” (Ge 1:28), sexual intercourse must be rejected as being what the tree’s fruit represented, for in what other way could procreation and multiplication have been effected? The mere ability to recognize right and wrong most certainly cannot be meant, for obedience to God’s command required of sinless man that he be able to exercise such moral discrimination. Nor could the knowledge attained upon reaching maturity be meant, for it would not be sin on man’s part to reach this state, nor would his Creator logically obligate him to remain in an immature state.

As to the genus of the tree, the Scriptural record is silent. But it becomes apparent that the tree of the knowledge of good and bad symbolized the divine right or prerogative, which man’s Creator retains, to designate to his creatures what is “good” and what is “bad,” thereafter properly requiring the practice of that which is declared good and the abstention from that which is pronounced bad in order to remain approved by God as Sovereign Ruler. (See TREES.) Both the prohibition and the subsequent pronouncement of the sentence passed upon the disobedient pair emphasize the fact that it was the act of disobedience in eating the prohibited fruit that constituted the original sin.​—Ge 3:3.

While some modern critics may balk at the very simplicity of the Edenic account, it should be obvious that the actual circumstances made a simple test most fitting. The life of the newly created man and woman was simple, not complicated and encumbered with all the complex problems, predicaments, and perplexity that disobedience to God has since brought to the human race. Nonetheless, for all its simplicity, the test succinctly and admirably expresses the universal truth of God’s sovereignty as well as man’s dependence upon God and his duty toward God. And it must be said that, while simple, the account of Eden’s events presents matters on an infinitely higher level than those theories that would place man’s start, not in a garden, but in a cave, representing him as both crudely ignorant and without moral sense. The simplicity of the test in Eden illustrates the principle stated millenniums later by God’s Son, that “the person faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and the person unrighteous in what is least is unrighteous also in much.”​—Lu 16:10.

Eden’s having this proscribed tree within it, however, was clearly not intended to serve as a thorn in the flesh of the human pair, nor was it so designated in order to raise an issue, or to serve as the subject for debate. If Adam and Eve had acknowledged God’s will in the matter and had respected his instructions, their garden home would have continued unmarred as a place of pleasure and delight. The record shows that the issue and debate over the tree, along with the temptation to violate God’s ordinance, were thrust upon mankind by God’s Adversary. (Ge 3:1-6; compare Re 12:9.) Adam and Eve’s exercise of their will, as free moral agents, in rebellion against God’s rightful sovereignty led to their loss of Paradise and the blessedness of its confines. Of even graver consequence, they lost the opportunity to partake of another of Eden’s trees, this one representing the right to life everlasting. Thus the account says that Jehovah “drove the man out and posted at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubs and the flaming blade of a sword that was turning itself continually to guard the way to the tree of life.”​—Ge 3:22-24.

Location of Eden. The original site of the garden of Eden is conjectural. The principal means of identifying its geographic location is the Bible’s description of the river “issuing out of Eden,” which thereafter divided into four “heads,” producing the rivers named as the Euphrates, Hiddekel, Pishon, and Gihon. (Ge 2:10-14) The Euphrates (Heb., Perathʹ) is well known, and “Hiddekel” is the name used for the Tigris in ancient inscriptions. (Compare also Da 10:4.) The other two rivers, the Pishon and the Gihon, however, are unidentified.​—See CUSH No. 2; HAVILAH No. 1.

Some, such as Calvin and Delitzsch, have argued in favor of Eden’s situation somewhere near the head of the Persian Gulf in Lower Mesopotamia, approximately at the place where the Tigris and the Euphrates draw near together. They associated the Pishon and Gihon with canals between these streams. However, this would make these rivers tributaries, rather than branches dividing off from an original source. The Hebrew text points, rather, to a location in the mountainous region N of the Mesopotamian plains, the area where the Euphrates and Tigris rivers have their present sources. Thus The Anchor Bible (1964), in its notes on Genesis 2:10, states: “In Heb[rew] the mouth of the river is called ‘end’ (Josh xv 5, xviii 19); hence the plural of roʼs ‘head’ must refer here to the upper course. . . . This latter usage is well attested for the Akk[adian] cognate resu.” The fact that the Euphrates and Tigris rivers do not now proceed from a single source, as well as the impossibility of definitely determining the identification of the Pishon and Gihon rivers, is possibly explained by the effects of the Noachian Flood, which undoubtedly altered considerably the topographical features of the earth, filling in the courses of some rivers and creating others.

The traditional location for the garden of Eden has long been suggested to have been a mountainous area some 225 km (140 mi) SW of Mount Ararat and a few kilometers S of Lake Van, in the eastern part of modern Turkey. That Eden may have been surrounded by some natural barrier, such as mountains, could be suggested by the fact that cherubs are stated to have been stationed only at the E of the garden, from which point Adam and Eve made their exit.​—Ge 3:24.

After Adam’s banishment from the paradisaic garden, with no one to “cultivate it and to take care of it,” it may be assumed that it merely grew up in natural profusion with only the animals to inhabit its confines until it was obliterated by the surging waters of the Flood, its location lost to man except for the divine record of its existence.​—Ge 2:15.

2. A place mentioned along with Haran and Canneh as a principal trading center with Tyre, specializing in fine garments, carpets, and rope. (Eze 27:23, 24) It is suggested to be an abbreviated form of the name Beth-eden referred to at Amos 1:5. “The sons of Eden” are included among other inhabitants of places that were vanquished by the Assyrian forces (2Ki 19:12; Isa 37:12), and some consider this Eden (Beth-eden) to be the small district of Bit-adini along the middle course of the Euphrates River.​—See BETH-EDEN.

3. One of the Levites who responded to King Hezekiah’s call for reform; thereafter assigned to work under Kore, “the gatekeeper to the east,” in the distribution of the holy contributions among the priestly divisions.​—2Ch 29:12; 31:14, 15.

(Eʹder).

1. A descendant of Beriah of the tribe of Benjamin who dwelt in Jerusalem.​—1Ch 8:1, 15, 16, 28.

2. A descendant of Mushi of the Levitical family of Merari, assigned to a certain service during the time of David.​—1Ch 23:21, 23-25; 24:30.

3. A city in the southern part of Judah. (Jos 15:21) Since the Hebrew consonants of the name Eder with the last two transposed are the same as the Hebrew consonants of Arad, and since the Septuagint (Vatican Manuscript No. 1209) has “Ara” instead of “Eder” in this text, most scholars consider Eder to be identical with Arad (Tel ʽArad), about 28 km (17 mi) E of Beer-sheba.

4. [Drove]. A tower near which Jacob (Israel) pitched his tent sometime after the death of Rachel. Although its exact location is not known, it was apparently located some place between Bethlehem and Hebron. The name Eder indicates it provided shelter for shepherds and served as a watchtower from which they could oversee their flocks. (Ge 35:19, 21, 27) While Jacob was tenting here, his son Reuben ‘profaned Jacob’s lounge,’ having relations with Jacob’s concubine Bilhah.​—Ge 35:22; 49:3, 4.

The same Hebrew expression here translated “tower of Eder” (migh·dal-ʽeʹdher) is used by Micah (4:8) when referring to the “tower of the drove.” This expression may allude to the name of Jacob’s camping site and is used in connection with the restoration of Jehovah’s “limping” people. (Mic 4:7) With “Zion” restored, they would be watched over as from a lookout “tower” and thereby be guarded from further danger. Such an illustration is consistent with other similes in Micah’s prophecy; he referred to the Messiah as one who would do “shepherding” (Mic 5:2-4) and Jehovah’s people as “the flock of [God’s] inheritance.”​—Mic 7:14.

(Eʹdom) [Red], Edomites (Eʹdom·ites).

Edom was the secondary name or byname given to Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. (Ge 36:1) It was applied to him because of his selling his birthright for the red stew. (Ge 25:30-34) Coincidentally, Esau at birth had had a very red color (Ge 25:25), and a similar color prevailed in parts of the land he and his descendants later inhabited.

Seir and Edom. Sometime during Jacob’s 20-year stay in Haran, Esau (Edom) had begun to establish himself in the land of Seir, “the field of Edom.” (Ge 32:3) Thus, even before the death of his father (Ge 35:29), Esau was apparently beginning to fulfill Isaac’s prophetic blessing, directing his attention away from the fertile soils around Hebron and, doubtless, beginning to ‘live by his sword,’ along with the 400 men under his command. (Ge 27:39, 40; 32:6, 8) The record indicates, however, that he still maintained residence or a base camp in the Hebron area, not transferring definitely to the mountainous region of Seir until after his father’s death (1738 B.C.E.). By then his family had grown and his possessions were great.​—Ge 36:6-8.

The land of Seir had previously been the domain of Horites (Ge 14:6; 36:20-30), but Esau’s sons dispossessed the Horite sheiks and took over the region. (De 2:12) Thereafter the land became known as the land of Edom, though the older name of Seir still continued to be in use.​—Nu 24:18.

Geographic Description. The territory of Edom extended about 160 km (100 mi) from its frontier with Moab in the N, formed by the torrent valley of Zered, down to Elath (Eloth) on the Gulf of ʽAqaba in the S. (De 2:1-8, 13, 14; 1Ki 9:26) To the E, the Edomite domain apparently extended out to the edge of the Arabian Desert, while to the W it reached across the Arabah to the Wilderness of Zin and embraced the Negeb highlands region stretching from the SW corner of the Salt Sea on down to Kadesh-barnea. The western portion of Edom therefore came to form the SE boundary of Judah’s territory.​—Jos 15:1; compare Nu 34:3.

The true heartland of the Edomite territory, however, evidently lay E of the Arabah, for here the high mountain range, with some points reaching an altitude of 1,700 m (5,600 ft), receives some rainfall. This is because the land W of the Arabah, the Negeb, is considerably lower, allowing the remnants of Mediterranean storm clouds to pass over and reach the higher mountains of Edom, where they release some of their remaining moisture. Thus, archaeological investigations show a string of ancient settlements and fortresses along a narrow tongue of arable land on the highest part of the long mountainous tableland, or plateau, but these run out as one proceeds S toward the Gulf of ʽAqaba. Modern Tafileh, about 30 km (19 mi) S of the Dead (Salt) Sea, has large olive groves, though this is due in great measure to the flow of water from eight fine springs, only about 28 cm (11 in.) of rainfall being deposited annually.

Though fertile land was in short supply, this rugged mountainous region held valuable deposits of copper and iron; mining and smelting were carried on around modern Feinan, some 48 km (30 mi) S of the Dead Sea. Evidence can also be seen of the existence of ancient pine forests of considerable size.

In harmony with the above, Moses, upon sending messengers to the king of Edom, spoke of the Israelite position at Kadesh-barnea as “at the extremity of your territory,” and when requesting permission for peaceful passage through Edomite territory, Moses referred to their fields, vineyards, and wells.​—Nu 20:14-17.

Strategic Position. Moses requested permission for Israel to travel over “the king’s road” through Edom. (Nu 20:17) This road, generally called the King’s Highway, may have run from the Gulf of ʽAqaba on up to Damascus in Syria, following the edge of the high plateaus lining the E side of the Arabah when traversing Edom. Along it were to be found the major cities of Edom. (Ge 36:33; 2Ki 14:7) A route also led to the E from the Negeb through Maʽan on the edge of the Arabian Desert and connected there with another route running N and S. Over these roads passed rich cargoes from Egypt, Arabia, Syria, and Mesopotamia. Tolls collected from camel or donkey caravans traversing the roads likely contributed greatly to Edom’s wealth. Weary desert travelers also may have paid for food and lodging upon reaching Edom.

The steep escarpment, or wall of the plateau, that faced the Arabah gave the main stronghold of Edom excellent protection from that direction. The deep canyon of the torrent valley of Zered impeded invasion from Moab. (Note, however, Am 2:1.) A chain of fortresses faced the desert to the more vulnerable E, providing defense against Midianite and other nomadic tribes. Additionally, the clefts that cut into the mountains and plateaus are generally walled in by unscalable red sandstone cliffs forming forbidding gorges. With good reason Jehovah’s prophecy through Jeremiah speaks of the Edomites as confidently “residing in the retreats of the crag, holding the height of the hill,” and like an eagle in its nest.​—Jer 49:7, 16.

The People of Edom. The Edomites as descendants of Esau were basically a Semitic race, but with a strong Hamitic strain. This was because two of Esau’s wives were from Hamitic Canaanite stock (Hittite and Hivite); only one wife named was part Semitic, through Abraham’s son Ishmael. (Ge 36:2, 3) If, as some scholars hold, the name Horite means simply “cave dweller,” Esau’s Hivite wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, may have come from the Horite dwellers of Seir. (Compare Ge 36:2, 20, 24, 25.) At any rate, the Edomites, like Lot’s descendants the Moabites and the Ammonites (note Da 11:41), were related to the Israelites, and originally they also practiced circumcision. (Jer 9:25, 26; compare Eze 32:29.) Jehovah referred to them as Israel’s “brothers,” and Edomite land rights were to be held inviolable by the Israelites advancing through the wilderness, since Jehovah had granted Edom’s descendants Mount Seir as a holding.​—De 2:1-8.

Originally formed into sheikdoms, the Edomite tribes later were organized under a kingdom. The royal line of succession indicates that the kings came from different tribes or sheikdoms, hence not taking the throne on a hereditary family basis. (Ge 36:15-19, 31-43) Some critics have viewed the reference at Genesis 36:31 to the Edomite rulers as “the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel” as an anachronism or as a later insertion. This is not the case, however, since Moses, the recorder of Genesis, already knew God’s clear promise to Jacob (Israel) that “kings will come out of your loins.” (Ge 35:11) Moses himself foretold that Israel would eventually have a king.​—De 28:36.

The Greek Septuagint contains an addition to Job 42:17 that would identify Job with Jobab, the Edomite king of Genesis 36:33. Job, however, was from the land of Uz, a name given originally to an Aramaean tribe and repeated in Aramaean Nahor’s lineage. (Job 1:1; compare Ge 10:23; 22:20, 21.) Lamentations 4:21 does speak of Edom as ‘dwelling in the land of Uz,’ but this text, written many centuries after the probable time of Job’s life, does not equate Uz with Edom, especially since, at Jeremiah 25:20, 21, “the kings of the land of Uz” are distinct from Edom. The text may rather indicate an extension of the Edomite domain.​—See UZ No. 4.

It is possible that one of the three “companions” who visited and criticized Job in his diseased state was an Edomite, namely, Eliphaz the Temanite. (Job 2:11; compare Ge 36:11, 34.) Teman is presented as a center of Edomite wisdom at Jeremiah 49:7, the regular Edomite contact and communication with travelers from the Orient perhaps contributing to their reputation for wisdom.

From Exodus to Close of Judean History. The destruction of Pharaoh’s forces and Israel’s miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea had repercussions in Edom, as in all the region in and around Canaan. (Ex 15:14, 15) In the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula, Israel’s first armed opposition came from a far-ranging Edomite tribe, the Amalekites, a source of trouble for Israel throughout their history. (Ex 17:8-16; compare Ge 36:12, 16; see AMALEK, AMALEKITES.) At the close of the period of wandering, Moses’ respectful request for safe conduct over the King’s Highway through Edom was rejected, and the unnamed Edomite king marshaled a strong force to block any Israelite intrusion. (Nu 20:14-21) So, following Aaron’s death at Mount Hor near the border of Edom (Nu 20:22-29), Israel skirted Edom’s heartland, camped by the torrent valley of Zered, and thereafter traveled N past Moab’s eastern frontier.​—Nu 21:4, 10-13; Jg 11:18; compare De 2:26-29.

In the poetic blessing Moses pronounced over Israel before his death, he described Jehovah God as ‘coming from Sinai,’ as having “flashed forth from Seir [Edom],” and as having ‘beamed forth from the mountains of Paran.’ A similar description occurs in Barak and Deborah’s song and in the prophecy of Habakkuk. (De 33:2; Jg 5:4, 5; Hab 3:3, 4) This prophetic portrayal thus evidently sets forth the arena, or theater, in which Jehovah had manifested himself to his newly formed nation, illuminating them as by flashes of light shining over the mountain peaks.

Israel had been commanded not to detest an Edomite, “for he is your brother.” (De 23:7, 8) However, not only the aggressive Amalekite tribe, but Edom as a whole followed a course of opposition to Israel. Saul successfully waged war against them. (1Sa 14:47, 48) Yet, Saul had an Edomite, Doeg, as head over his shepherds, and this man acted as informer to Saul against David. When Saul’s men were averse to attacking the priests of Nob, Saul used Doeg to accomplish a wholesale massacre.​—1Sa 21:7; 22:9-18.

David, as king, won a major victory over the Edomites in the Valley of Salt. (2Sa 8:13; see SALT, VALLEY OF.) While the action provoking the battle is not stated, Edomite aggression was doubtless responsible, perhaps because the Edomites’ thought that David’s campaigns into Syria had left the southern part of his kingdom vulnerable to invasion. At 1 Chronicles 18:12 and in the superscription of Psalm 60, Abishai and Joab respectively are described as effecting the conquest of the Edomites. Since David was commander in chief and Joab was his principal general, while Abishai was a divisional commander under Joab, it can be seen how the accounts could differ in crediting the victory, depending upon the viewpoint taken, even as is the case in modern times. Similarly the difference in figures in these texts is likely due to the narrator’s particular view of the different aspects or campaigns of the war. (Compare 1Ki 11:15, 16.) At any rate, David stationed garrisons of Israelite troops throughout Edom, and Edom’s remaining population became subject to Israel. (2Sa 8:14; 1Ch 18:13) The “yoke” of Jacob now rested heavily on the neck of Edom (Esau).​—Ge 27:40; compare Nu 24:18.

Solomon, who married Edomite women (1Ki 11:1), made use of Israelite control over the Edomite coastal cities on the Red Sea, Eloth (Elath) and Ezion-geber, for developing a shipping enterprise. (1Ki 9:26; 2Ch 8:17, 18) Edom’s depleted male population was unable to lift off the Israelite yoke, though an escapee of royal blood, Hadad, did lead a resistance movement of some sort.​—1Ki 11:14-22.

Whether this situation prevailed continuously for a full century after David’s initial conquest cannot be said. The attack by “the sons of Ammon, and Moab and the mountainous region of Seir [Edom]” (2Ch 20:1, 2, 10, 22) may have taken place before the combined assault by Judean, Israelite, and Edomite forces against Moab. (2Ki 3:5-9; see MOAB, MOABITES.) Edom apparently formed part of each triple alliance, fighting first on one side and then on the other. It is also stated that at some point in Jehoshaphat’s reign Edom had no king; the land was ruled by a deputy, who evidently was answerable to the Judean throne, so Judah’s access to the Gulf of ʽAqaba and its port or ports was unobstructed. (1Ki 22:47, 48) With regard to the campaign against Moab, the predicted flooding of the previously dry torrent valley where the allied armies camped may have resulted from a desert thunderstorm on the higher plateau. Such storms in modern times can send torrents of water rushing down the wadis toward the Arabah. Or the water may have appeared by purely miraculous means.​—2Ki 3:16-23.

Edom revolted and threw off the Judean yoke in the reign of Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram and reestablished its independent monarchy. Although Jehoram won a military victory in an encounter with them, the Edomites remained in revolt. (2Ki 8:20-22; 2Ch 21:8-10) In the first half of Amaziah’s reign (858-830 B.C.E.), the Valley of Salt was again the scene of military disaster for Edom, and Amaziah seized the major Edomite city of Sela, being ensnared, however, by worship of Edom’s impotent false gods. (2Ki 14:7; 2Ch 25:11-20) His son, Uzziah (Azariah), restored Elath to Judean control.​—2Ki 14:21, 22.

Syria, in an offensive action against Judah during Ahaz’ reign (761-746 B.C.E.), put the Red Sea port of Elath back into Edom’s hands. (2Ki 16:5, 6) The Edomites, evidently free from Judah’s dominion, joined other nations, including Assyria, in raids against Judah.​—2Ch 28:16-20; compare Ps 83:4-8.

No written records have been found from Edomite sources. Secular records of other nations, however, make mention of them. An Egyptian papyrus thought to be of the second millennium B.C.E. refers to Bedouin tribes from Edom entering the Delta region in search of pasturage for their cattle. Pharaohs Merneptah and Ramses III claimed dominion over Edom, as did the Assyrian monarch Adad-nirari III. Sometime after this latter king, Tiglath-pileser III (a contemporary of Ahaz) boasts of receiving tribute from “Kaushmalaku of Edom,” while Esar-haddon, Sennacherib’s successor, lists “Qaushgabri” as an Edomite vassal king.​—Ancient Near Eastern Texts, edited by J. Pritchard, 1974, pp. 282, 291.

Edom in Prophecy. As early as King Uzziah’s rule, the prophets Joel and Amos pronounced Jehovah’s positive condemnation of Edom for its unrelenting fury expressed against Israel by the unmerciful use of the sword. (Am 1:6, 11, 12) Edom, by its vicious opposition to Jehovah’s covenant people, had forfeited its title to the land it had held by divine warrant. (Joe 3:19; Am 9:11, 12) The Edomites sealed their doom when the Babylonians conquered Judah and Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E. Edomite hatred was clearly revealed as they urged on the devastators of Jerusalem (Ps 137:7), rejoiced at Judah’s tragedy, and in their enmity and desire for revenge even turned over Judean escapees for slaughter by the Babylonians. They joined other neighboring peoples in plundering the land, and they planned to take over the abandoned country of Judah and of Israel, speaking boastfully against Jehovah. For this, Jehovah directed his prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Obadiah to assure Edom that its rejoicing would be short-lived and the treatment meted out to Judah would also become Edom’s portion. (La 4:21, 22; Eze 25:12-14; 35:1-15; 36:3-5; Ob 1-16) As the prophet Isaiah had earlier foretold, the sword-wielding Edomites would come under Jehovah’s own sword of justice and judgment, all classes, great and small, becoming like sacrificial animals devoted to destruction.​—Isa 34:5-8.

Edom was to become like Sodom and Gomorrah, uninhabited for all time. (Jer 49:7-22; compare Isa 34:9-15.) Meriting Jehovah’s hatred, Edom would be called “the territory of wickedness” and “the people whom Jehovah has denounced to time indefinite.” (Mal 1:1-5) Edom thus evidently stands as symbolic of the hard-set enemies of God’s covenant people at Isaiah 63:1-6, where the divine Warrior with bloodstained garments who has trod the winepress of God’s vengeance appropriately is described as coming from Edom (meaning “Red”) and from Edom’s most prominent city Bozrah (possibly used here as a play on the Hebrew word ba·tsirʹ, meaning “grape gathering”).​—Compare Re 14:14-20; 19:11-16.

Later History and Disappearance. The king of Edom was warned by means of Jehovah’s prophet Jeremiah to bring his neck under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. (Jer 27:1-7) What the Edomites actually did in this regard is not recorded. However, after the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E., some Judean exiles found temporary refuge in Edom. Then, after the departure of the Babylonian armies, these refugees returned to their land and finally fled down to Egypt. (Jer 40:11, 12; 43:5-7) Soon the time for Edom to drink deeply from the cup of Jehovah’s wrath arrived. (Jer 25:15-17, 21) This occurred about the middle of the sixth century B.C.E., under the Babylonian king Nabonidus. According to C. J. Gadd, a scholar of Babylonian history and literature, the troops of Nabonidus that conquered Edom and Tema included Jewish soldiers. Commenting on this, John Lindsay wrote: “Thus, in part at least, the words of the prophet found a fulfilment when he wrote of Yahweh saying ‘I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel’ (Ezek. 25.14). We have also a partial fulfilment of the words of Obadiah who said that Edom’s ‘allies’, ‘confederates’, ‘trusted friends’ would ‘deceive’, ‘prevail against’ and ‘set a trap under’ them. Here we may see a reference to the Babylonians who, although in the days of Nebuchadrezzar were willing to allow them a share in Judah’s loss, under Nabonidus curbed once and for all the commercial and mercantile ambitions of Edom (cf. Obad. 1 and 7).”​—Palestine Exploration Quarterly, London, 1976, p. 39.

The book of Malachi, written some 100 years after the campaign into Edom by Nabonidus, relates that God had already made Edom’s “mountains a desolated waste and his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.” (Mal 1:3) The Edomites were hoping to return and rebuild their devastated places, but they would not be successful.​—Mal 1:4.

By the fourth century B.C.E. the Nabataeans were inhabiting the Edomite territory, and the Edomites were never able to return. Instead, they found themselves in the Negeb to the S of Judah. The Edomites moved as far N as Hebron, and eventually the southern part of Judah became known as Idumea. According to Josephus, John Hyrcanus I subjugated them sometime between 130 and 120 B.C.E. and compelled them to accept Judaism. (Jewish Antiquities, XIII, 257, 258 [ix, 1]; XV, 253, 254 [vii, 9]) Thereafter they were gradually absorbed by the Jews, and following the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., they ceased to exist as a people.​—Ob 10, 18; see IDUMEA.

(Edʹre·i).

1. A royal city of Og, king of Bashan. (Jos 12:4; 13:12) After defeating Sihon the Amorite, the Israelite forces under Moses’ direction “went up,” that is, went northward, until they encountered Og’s military force in “the battle of Edrei,” at what was apparently Bashan’s southern frontier. Though Og was one of the last of the giantlike Rephaim and may have presented a formidable army, the Israelites, advised by Jehovah to be fearless, wiped out Og, his sons, and people, taking possession of his territory. (Nu 21:33-35; De 3:1-10) The city was later granted to Manasseh as part of its inheritance. (Jos 13:31) Edrei is generally identified with the present-day city of Derʽa about 50 km (31 mi) ESE of the southern end of the Sea of Galilee, near the Yarmuk. Ruins there include a partially excavated subterranean city, cut in the rock beneath the ground-level city.

2. A fortified city of Naphtali. (Jos 19:32, 35, 37) It has been associated with modern Tell Khureibeh, about 7 km (4 mi) NNW of Hazor.

The imparting or acquisition of knowledge and skill. Education is accomplished through (1) explanation and repetition; (2) discipline, training administered in love (Pr 1:7; Heb 12:5, 6); (3) personal observation (Ps 19:1-3; Ec 1:12-14); (4) reproof and rebuke (Ps 141:5; Pr 9:8; 17:10).

Jehovah God is the great Educator and Instructor, of whom there is no equal. (Job 36:22; Ps 71:17; Isa 30:20) God’s earthly son Adam was created with the ability to speak a language. (Ge 2:19, 20, 23) He received instruction about creation (Ge chaps 1, 2) and God’s requirements for him.​—Ge 1:28-30; 2:15-17.

In Patriarchal Society. Throughout the entire Bible the family is the basic unit for imparting education. In earliest society the father was the head of the family and of the household, which might even be a large community, such as that of Abraham. The family head was responsible for the education of his household. (Ge 18:19) The good training manifested by Joseph indicates that Isaac and Jacob followed their father Abraham in teaching their children. (Ge 39:4, 6, 22; 41:40, 41) Job of the land of Uz, a distant relative of Abraham, displayed acquaintance with the scientific understanding and industrial developments of his day, and he was given a lesson in natural history by Jehovah.​—Job 9:1, 9; chaps 28, 38-41.

At the same time there was considerable knowledge in Egypt of astronomy, mathematics, geometry, architecture, construction, and other arts and sciences. Moses, besides getting an education in the worship of Jehovah from his mother (Ex 2:7-10), was “instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. In fact, he was powerful in his words and deeds.” (Ac 7:22) The Israelites, though they had been slaves in Egypt, were able to read and write and to teach their children. Just before entering the Promised Land, they were instructed to write the commands of God upon the doorposts of their houses and on their gates, figuratively so, and they were to teach their children God’s law. This was, of course, in the Hebrew language.​—De 6:6-9; compare De 27:3; Jos 8:32.

Education Under the Law Before the Exile. Parents were still the primary educators, responsible for the instruction of their children. (Ex 12:26, 27; De 4:9; 6:7, 20, 21; 11:19-21) The spiritual, moral, and mental education from childhood up was regarded by the Jews from the very beginning of their history as one of the principal duties of parents. Samson’s father, Manoah, prayed for guidance in the manner in which his son should be trained. (Jg 13:8) The father was the chief instructor, but the mother also taught, especially encouraging the child to follow the father’s instruction and discipline. (Pr 1:8; 4:1; 31:26, 27) The parents realized that right training in youth would safeguard right conduct in later years.​—Pr 22:6.

The children were to regard their parents with the greatest respect. The rod of parental authority was firmly exercised. (Pr 22:15) It was to be used in love, but discipline was severe for the disobedient child, the rod at times being literal. (Pr 13:24; 23:13, 14) A child who cursed or struck his parents could be put to death. (Le 20:9; Ex 21:15) An incurably rebellious older son was to be stoned. (De 21:18-21) In fact, the first commandment with a promise was the fifth of the Ten Commandments: “Honor your father and your mother, . . . in order that your days may prove long and it may go well with you on the ground that Jehovah your God is giving you.”​—De 5:16; Eph 6:2, 3.

The education given by parents was to be regular and constant, at home, at work, or when traveling, and it was to be not only verbal and disciplinary but also by example, for God’s law was to direct parents in all their activities of life. Going to the festivals at Jerusalem three times a year provided education in geography, and at the same time it acquainted the child with his countrymen from all over the land of Israel.​—De 16:16.

Along with the religious education would come education for the young men in following their father’s secular occupation or learning a trade. Bezalel and Oholiab, expert craftsmen, were qualified by God’s spirit to teach others during construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness. (Ex 35:34) The young women in a household would learn the wifely duties, and these prospective wives were trained to have great respect for their husbands, as Sarah had given the example. (Ge 18:12; 1Pe 3:5, 6) The good wife had many abilities, accomplishments, and responsibilities, as described in Proverbs, chapter 31.

It appears that both boys and girls received training in music. There were female musicians and singers. (1Sa 18:6, 7) Among the Levite males there were composers of songs and poetry, musicians, and singers.​—Ps 87:Sup; 88:Sup; 1Ch 25.

God also set aside the entire tribe of Levi as a religious educational body. The priesthood was inaugurated in 1512 B.C.E. One of its chief functions was the education of the people in God’s law. Moses the Levite as mediator was, of course, an instructor of the people in the law of God (Ex 18:16, 20; 24:12), and the priests, together with the nonpriestly Levites, were charged with the responsibility of seeing that the people understood all the regulations spoken by Jehovah through Moses. (Le 10:11; 14:57; De 17:10, 11; 2Ch 15:3; 35:3) The Levites were to read the Law to the people. This was done publicly for all the people at the time of the Festival of Booths in the Sabbath year, and here there was no segregation according to age or sex, but all the people, old and young, including the alien resident within the gates and all who could understand, would be gathered together to hear the reading. (De 31:9-13) King Jehoshaphat, in the third year of his reign, instituted a teaching campaign in Judah, sending the princes, priests, and Levites in a circuit throughout Judah to instruct the people in God’s law.​—2Ch 17:9.

A considerable portion of the Hebrew Scriptures consists of poetry, which, from an educational viewpoint, is an effective memory aid. Hebrew poetry was not expressed in rhyme but in parallelism of thought, thought rhythm. Powerful metaphors were also used; these were based on natural creation, things familiar to all, even to children. Alphabetic acrostics, in which the letters beginning the verses are arranged in alphabetic order, were employed. (Ps 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119; Pr 31:10-31; La 1-4) Sometimes several verses would begin with the same letter; for example, in the 119th Psalm eight lines begin with the Hebrew letter ʼaʹleph, eight with behth, and so forth, to complete 176 lines for the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

After the Restoration. After the return from Babylon and the rebuilding of the temple, the greatest need was the education of the people in true worship. The scribe Ezra was a well-educated man and a Bible copyist. (Ezr 7:1, 6) Ezra compiled many records, and he copied and had a share in arranging the canon of the Hebrew Scriptures. Further, he undertook a general education of the nation of Israel in God’s law. In doing this, he was carrying out his duties as a Levitical priest. (Ezr 7:11, 12, 25) He organized the priests and Levites who had returned from Babylon, in order to carry out an educational program in restoration of true worship for the repatriated Israelites and their children. (Ne 8:4-9) The Hebrew copyists, or scribes (Sopherim), were men educated in the Law, and although not all of these were Levites, they came to be most prominent in the instruction of the people. As time went on, however, they brought in many traditions and corrupted the true teaching of God’s Word.​—See SCRIBE.

Education in the First Century C.E. Parents continued as the primary ones responsible for the education of their children, especially their earlier education. (2Ti 1:5; 3:14, 15) We read about Jesus that he was brought up in Nazareth by his adoptive father and his mother and that he continued growing and getting stronger, being filled with wisdom. At the age of 12 he amazed the teachers at the temple by his understanding and his answers. (Lu 2:41, 46-52) The scribes continued to be the chief educators publicly and in the schools that had been set up in the synagogues. (See SYNAGOGUE.) Physical science was taught as well as the Law and the rabbinic teachings that had been added to the Law. Parents were required also to teach their children a trade.

Jesus was the teacher par excellence. Even among his contemporaries he was acknowledged as a teacher of exceptional influence and popularity. His disciples used to call him “Rabbi,” which means “Teacher” or “Instructor.” (Mr 9:5; see RABBI.) His opponents on occasion even acknowledged his fine speaking, and at one time officers who were sent by the Pharisees to arrest him, when asked why they returned empty-handed, replied: “Never has another man spoken like this.”​—Joh 7:46; Lu 20:39, 40; Mr 12:32, 34.

First of all, as he said, Jesus did not speak of his own initiative but came in his Father’s name and spoke the things that he had learned from his Father. (Joh 5:19, 30, 43; 6:38; 10:25) He was an intimate of Jehovah God, being his only-begotten Son from the heavens, and as such he was the very best teacher concerning the qualities, works, and purposes of his Father. (Mt 11:27) He had the next most vital qualification of a good teacher in that he loved those whom he taught. (Mr 10:21; Joh 13:1, 34; 15:9, 12) Few teachers have loved their disciples so much that they were willing to give their lives for them, as Jesus did. (Joh 15:13) He had an understanding of the minds of his listeners. (Joh 2:25) He had deep discernment. (Lu 6:8) He had no selfish interests at heart in his teaching, for he was sinless and without guile. (Heb 7:26) He did not teach with the philosophical words of the scribes but used illustrations involving everyday things. For this reason his teachings are still understandable today. His instruction was full of illustrations.​—See ILLUSTRATIONS.

Jesus’ teaching included reproof and discipline. (Mr 8:33) He taught by example as well as by word; thus he personally carried out a vigorous campaign of preaching and teaching. His speech was with an authority that none of the scribes could match; accompanying this was God’s holy spirit, which gave his teachings the stamp of heavenly backing, so that he could, with authority and power, command the demons to come out of those who were possessed by them. (Mr 1:27; Lu 4:36) He was bold and fearless in denouncing false teachers who would hinder others from hearing his teachings.​—Mt 23.

Education and the Christian Congregation. Jesus’ disciples followed his footsteps in Christian educational work and had success similar to his. They not only preached the good news of God’s Kingdom everywhere but also taught those who would listen. (Ac 2:42) They, like Jesus, were bold and spoke with authority. (Ac 4:13, 19, 20; 5:29) God’s spirit empowered them and gave evidence of divine approval of their teaching. They taught in the temple, in synagogues, and from house to house. (Ac 5:16, 21; 13:14-16; 20:20) They met with fellow Christians for teaching and inciting one another to love and fine works.​—Ac 20:7, 8; Heb 10:24, 25.

The apostle Paul described the different offices and activities in the congregation that were filled by mature men, among them being teachers. He showed that the purpose of all these activities was education, with a view to the training of the holy ones, for ministerial work, for the building up of the body of the Christ. (Eph 4:11-16) A regular program of education in God’s Word was carried on by the congregation, as outlined in 1 Corinthians chapter 14. All the members of the Christian congregation, even the women, were to be teachers; they were to make disciples of the people of the world. (Ac 18:26; Heb 5:12; Ro 12:7) But within the congregation itself mature men were appointed to oversight, as, for example, Timothy and Titus. (1Ti 2:12) Such men had to be those qualified to teach the congregation and to correct things that may have got out of line. They were to use extraordinary care to ensure that their teaching was accurate and healthful.​—1Ti 4:16; 2Ti 4:2, 3; Tit 2:1.

On the subject of physical education the Bible has little to say, except that the apostle Paul counsels: “For bodily training is beneficial for a little; but godly devotion is beneficial for all things, as it holds promise of the life now and that which is to come.” (1Ti 4:8) Physical activity is required, however, in energetic preaching and teaching, which is encouraged. Jesus did a great deal of walking. So did his disciples; Paul’s ministry, for example, included much travel, which in that time meant much walking.

The Bible gives limited comment on education of a secular nature. It warns Christians not to involve themselves in philosophies of men nor to take time to delve into foolish and unprofitable questions. It strongly counsels against mental intercourse with those who do not believe God and his Word. (1Ti 6:20, 21; 1Co 2:13; 3:18-20; Col 2:8; Tit 3:9; 1:14; 2Ti 2:16; Ro 16:17) Christians recognized that they were obligated before God to provide properly for their families. Often some form of education and training was required to equip them for such secular occupation. (1Ti 5:8) But from the history of early Christianity we find that, primarily, they were interested in any legitimate method for getting “the good news” preached, in Bible education for themselves and all who would hear them. (1Co 9:16) As Professor E. J. Goodspeed says, in Christianity Goes to Press, (1940, p. 111):

“The Christians from the moment they awoke to the possibilities of publication in spreading their gospel over the world availed themselves of them to the full, not only publishing new books but searching out old ones for publication, and this genius for publication has never forsaken them. It is a mistake to suppose that it began with the discovery of printing; it was a characteristic of Christian attitudes from A.D. 70 on, gathering strength as the great fruitfulness of the method emerged. Even the barbarian invasions and the Dark Ages could not quench it. And it is all an evidence of the tremendous dynamic which informed the whole of early Christian life, which sought not only by deed and word but by all the most advanced techniques of publication to carry the gospel, in its fulness and without reserve, to all mankind.”​—See SCHOOL; TUTOR.

(Egʹlah) [Young Cow; Heifer].

The mother of King David’s sixth son Ithream, born to him in Hebron.​—2Sa 3:5; 1Ch 3:3.

(Eg·laʹim).

Evidently one of the geographic extremities of Moab that, according to Isaiah 15:1, 8, was due to ‘howl’ over that nation’s despoiling. The exact location of the ancient site is uncertain. However, the name Eglaim and a similar name, Agallim, mentioned by Eusebius (Onomasticon, 36, 19-21) as about 12 km (7.5 mi) S of Rabbath-Moab, may be preserved at Rujm el-Jilimeh in that area or at Khirbet Jeljul, a location dating from Nabataean-Roman times, 7 km (4 mi) farther south. Yohanan Aharoni suggests identifying it with Mazraʽ, an oasis NE of the Lisan Peninsula.

(Egʹlath-she·liʹshi·yah) [probably, Third Eglath].

A term used by Isaiah (15:5) and Jeremiah (48:34) in their pronouncements of doom against Moab, apparently referring to a site in that nation. Some hold that there were three towns in one vicinity with the same name, and that the third (“the third Eglath,” AT) is here the target of the prophets’ utterances. A precise identification of such sites has never been made.

Many scholars, however, are of the opinion that the Hebrew (ʽegh·lathʹ sheli·shi·yahʹ) should not be transliterated as a proper noun. They view it as a symbolic expression and would translate it as “a heifer of three years old.” (Dy, JP; see KJ, Ro.) In this case, the prophets might be likening vanquished Moab to a sturdy, young, though full-grown, cow, but from which are heard only pitiful ‘cries’ of anguish.

(Egʹlon) [Little Calf].

1. A king of Moab in the days of the Judges, who oppressed Israel for 18 years, “because they did what was bad in Jehovah’s eyes.” (Jg 3:12-25) Eglon was head of the confederacy of Moab, Ammon, and Amalek in their assault upon Israel. His downfall came when left-handed Ehud, after presenting the customary tribute, said: “I have a secret word for you, O king.” In the privacy of his cool chamber atop the flat roof of his palace, Eglon, after dismissing his attendants, rose up from his throne to receive what Ehud said was “a word of God.” Thereupon Ehud thrust into Eglon’s very fat belly a double-edged sword so that “the handle kept going in also after the blade,” and “the fecal matter began to come out.” Concerning Judges 3:22, Clarke’s Commentary says: “Either the contents of the bowels issued through the wound, or he had an evacuation in the natural way through the fright and anguish.”

2. A royal Canaanite city whose king joined a confederacy against Gibeon when that city made peace with Joshua and Israel. Joshua slew the five kings involved, hung them on stakes, and later conquered Eglon, devoting its inhabitants to destruction. (Jos 10:1-5, 22-27, 34, 35; 12:12) It was thereafter included in the territory of the tribe of Judah. (Jos 15:39) The original site is believed to be found at Tell el-Hesi, about 25 km (16 mi) ENE of Gaza, and about 11 km (7 mi) W of the site of Lachish, and thus near the edge of the Plains of Philistia. The ancient name, however, is preserved at the ruins of Khirbet ʽAjlan, a few miles distant.

Egypt and its inhabitants are referred to over 700 times in the Bible. In the Hebrew Scriptures, Egypt is usually designated by the name Mizraim (Mits·raʹyim) (compare Ge 50:11), evidently pointing to the prominence or predominance of the descendants of that son of Ham in the region. (Ge 10:6) The name Misr is applied to Egypt even today by Arabs. In certain psalms it is called “the land of Ham.”​—Ps 105:23, 27; 106:21, 22.

Boundaries and Geography. (MAP, Vol. 1, p. 531) In ancient and modern times, Egypt has owed its existence to the Nile River, with its fertile valley stretching like a long, narrow green ribbon through the parched desert regions of northeastern Africa. “Lower Egypt” comprised the broad Delta region where the Nile waters fan out before emptying into the Mediterranean Sea, at one time through at least five separate branches, today by only two. From the point where the Nile’s waters diverge (in the region of modern Cairo) to the seacoast is about 160 km (100 mi). The site of ancient Heliopolis (Biblical On) is found a short distance N of Cairo, while a few miles S of Cairo lies Memphis (usually called Noph in the Bible). (Ge 46:20; Jer 46:19; Ho 9:6) To the S of Memphis began the region of “Upper Egypt,” extending up the valley all the way to the first cataract of the Nile at Aswan (ancient Syene), a distance of some 960 km (600 mi). Many scholars, however, consider it more logical to refer to the northern part of this section as “Middle Egypt.” In this entire region (of Middle and Upper Egypt) the flat Nile Valley rarely exceeds 20 km (12 mi) in width, and it is bounded on both sides by limestone and sandstone cliffs, which form the edge of the desert proper.

Beyond the first cataract lay ancient Ethiopia, so that Egypt is said to have reached “from Migdol [a site evidently in NE Egypt] to Syene and to the boundary of Ethiopia.” (Eze 29:10) While the Hebrew term Mits·raʹyim is regularly used to stand for the entire land of Egypt, many scholars believe that in some cases it represents Lower Egypt, and perhaps Middle Egypt, with Upper Egypt being designated by “Pathros.” The reference to ‘Egypt [Mizraim], Pathros, and Cush’ at Isaiah 11:11 is paralleled by a similar geographic lineup in an inscription of Assyrian King Esar-haddon, who lists within his empire the regions of ‘Musur, Paturisi, and Kusu.’​—Ancient Near Eastern Texts, edited by J. Pritchard, 1974, p. 290.

Bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the N and the first cataract of the Nile and Nubia-Ethiopia on the S, Egypt was hemmed in by the Libyan Desert (part of the Sahara) on the W and the Red Sea Desert on the E. Thus, for the most part, it was quite insulated against outside influence and was protected from invasion. The isthmus of Sinai on the NE, however, formed a bridge with the Asiatic continent (1Sa 15:7; 27:8); and over this land bridge came commercial caravans (Ge 37:25), migrants, and, in time, invading armies. “The torrent valley of Egypt,” usually identified with Wadi el-ʽArish in the Sinai Peninsula, evidently marked the NE extremity of Egypt’s established domain. (2Ki 24:7) Beyond this lay Canaan. (Jos 15:4) In the desert to the W of the Nile, there were at least five oases that came to form part of the Egyptian kingdom. The large Faiyum oasis, about 72 km (45 mi) SW of ancient Memphis, received water from the Nile by means of a channel.

Economy dependent on Nile. Whereas today the desert regions lining the Nile Valley provide little or no vegetation to sustain animal life, the evidence is that in ancient times the wadis, or torrent valleys, contained many game animals hunted by the Egyptians. Still, rain was evidently scant and today is negligible (Cairo receiving perhaps 5 cm [2 in.] annually). Thus life in Egypt depended on the waters of the Nile.

The Nile’s sources take their rise in the mountains of Ethiopia and neighboring lands. Here seasonal rainfall was sufficient to swell the river’s flow, causing it to flood its banks in Egypt each year during the months of July to September. (Compare Am 8:8; 9:5.) This not only provided water for irrigation canals and basins but also deposited valuable silt to enrich the soil. So fertile was the Nile Valley, and also the Delta, that the well-watered region of Sodom and Gomorrah viewed by Lot was likened to “the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt.” (Ge 13:10) However, the amount of inundation was variable; when low, production was poor and famine resulted. (Ge 41:29-31) The complete failure of the Nile inundations would represent a disaster of the first order, converting the country into a barren wasteland.​—Isa 19:5-7; Eze 29:10-12.

Products. Agriculturally rich, Egypt’s main crops were barley, wheat, spelt (a type of wheat), and flax (from which fine linen was made and exported to many lands). (Ex 9:31, 32; Pr 7:16) There were vineyards and date, fig, and pomegranate trees; vegetable gardens provided a good variety of products, including cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions, and garlic. (Ge 40:9-11; Nu 11:5; 20:5) The allusion to ‘irrigating the land with one’s foot’ (De 11:10) is understood by some scholars to refer to the use of a foot-powered waterwheel. It might also refer to use of the foot to open and to close channels through which irrigation water flowed.

When famine hit neighboring lands, people often made their way down to fruitful Egypt, as did Abraham early in the second millennium B.C.E. (Ge 12:10) In time Egypt came to be a granary for much of the Mediterranean area. The ship out of Alexandria, Egypt, that the apostle Paul boarded at Myra in the first century C.E. was a grain ship on its way to Italy.​—Ac 27:5, 6, 38.

Another important export of Egypt was papyrus, the reedy plant that grew in the abundant marshes of the Delta (Ex 2:3; compare Job 8:11) and that was used for making writing material. Lacking in forests, however, Egypt was obliged to import lumber from Phoenicia, especially cedar from port cities such as Tyre, where Egypt’s many-colored linens were prized. (Eze 27:7) Egyptian temples and monuments were built of granite and some softer stones, such as limestone, supplies of which were abundant in the hills flanking the Nile Valley. Ordinary homes and even palaces were made of mud brick (the common material for construction of buildings). Egyptian mines in the hills along the Red Sea (as well as over in the Sinai Peninsula) produced gold and copper; bronze products made from this copper were also exported.​—Ge 13:1, 2; Ps 68:31.

Stock raising played an important part in the Egyptian economy; Abraham acquired sheep and cattle while there, as well as such beasts of burden as asses and camels. (Ge 12:16; Ex 9:3) Horses are mentioned during the period of Joseph’s administration in Egypt (1737-1657 B.C.E.) and are generally considered to have been introduced from Asia. (Ge 47:17; 50:9) These may have first been obtained by trade or by capture during Egyptian raids into lands to the NE. By Solomon’s time, Egyptian horses were sufficient in number and esteemed highly enough to be an important item (along with Egyptian chariots) on the world market.​—1Ki 10:28, 29.

Birds of prey and scavenger birds, such as vultures, kites, eagles, and falcons, as well as many water birds, including the ibis and the crane, were numerous. The Nile abounded with fish (Isa 19:8), and hippopotamuses and crocodiles were common. (Compare symbolic language of Eze 29:2-5.) The desert regions were inhabited by jackals, wolves, hyenas, and lions as well as various types of snakes and other reptiles.

The People. The people of Egypt were Hamites, evidently descended primarily from Ham’s son Mizraim. (Ge 10:6) After the dispersal at Babel (Ge 11:8, 9), many of Mizraim’s descendants, such as the Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, and Pathrusim, may have migrated to N Africa. (Ge 10:6, 13, 14) As already noted, Pathros (singular form of Pathrusim) is associated with Upper Egypt, and there is some evidence for placing the Naphtuhim in the Delta region of Egypt.

Supporting the view that there was a rather composite population formed of different family tribes is the fact that the country from great antiquity was divided into numerous sections (later called nomes) and that these divisions continued to exist and formed part of the governmental structure after the country was unified under one principal ruler, in fact, until the end of the empire. There were generally 42 nomes recognized, 20 in Lower Egypt and 22 in Upper Egypt. The continued distinction made between Upper and Lower Egypt throughout Egypt’s history, though perhaps relating to geographic differences, may also point to an original tribal division. When the central government weakened, the country tended to split into these two major sections or even approach disintegration into numerous petty kingdoms in the various nomes.

On the basis of ancient paintings and also mummified bodies, the early Egyptians are described as generally small-statured, slender, and light- to dark-complexioned. Considerable variety, however, is evident in ancient paintings and sculptures.

Language. Modern scholars incline to class the Egyptian language by such terms as “Semito-Hamitic.” While the language was basically Hamitic, it is claimed that there are many analogous points in its grammar and that of the Semitic tongues, as well as some similarities in the vocabulary. Despite such apparent connections, it is acknowledged that “Egyptian differs from all the Semitic tongues a good deal more than any one of them differs from any other, and at least until its relationship to the African languages is more closely defined, Egyptian must certainly be classified as standing outside the Semitic group.” (Egyptian Grammar, by A. Gardiner, London, 1957, p. 3) When hiding his identity from his brothers, Joseph spoke to them through an Egyptian interpreter.​—Ge 42:23.

There are, at any rate, a number of factors making it extremely difficult to draw definite conclusions as to the earliest forms of language used in Egypt. One of these is the Egyptian system of writing. The ancient inscriptions use pictographic signs (representations of animals, birds, plants, or other objects) along with certain geometric forms, a system of writing called hieroglyphics by the Greeks. While certain signs came to represent syllables, these were used only to supplement the hieroglyphics and never replaced them. Furthermore, the precise sounds expressed by those syllables are not known today. Some help is obtained from the references to Egypt in certain cuneiform writings as early as the middle of the second millennium B.C.E. Greek transcriptions of Egyptian names and of other words dating from about the sixth century C.E., and Aramaic transcriptions beginning about a century later, likewise give some idea of the spelling of the Egyptian words transcribed. But the reconstruction of the phonology, or sound system, of ancient Egyptian is still based primarily on Coptic, the form of Egyptian spoken from the third century C.E. onward. So, the original structure of the ancient vocabulary in its earliest form, particularly before the period of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt, can only be approximated. For example, see NO, NO-AMON.

Additionally, knowledge of other ancient Hamitic languages in Africa is very limited today, thereby making it difficult to determine the relationship of Egyptian to them. No inscriptions of non-Egyptian African languages are known earlier than the start of the Common Era. The facts support the Biblical account of the confusion of language, and it seems evident that the early Egyptians, as descendants of Ham through Mizraim, spoke a language separate and distinct from the Semitic tongues.

Hieroglyphic writing was used especially for inscriptions on monuments and wall paintings, where the symbols were executed in great detail. While it continued to be used down to the start of the Common Era, particularly for religious texts, a less cumbersome writing that used more simplified, cursive forms was developed at an early date by scribes writing with ink on leather and papyrus. Called hieratic, it was followed by an even more cursive form called demotic, particularly from what is styled the “Twenty-sixth Dynasty” (seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E.) onward. Deciphering of Egyptian texts was not accomplished until after the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799. This inscription, now in the British Museum, contains a decree honoring Ptolemy V (Epiphanes) and dates from 196 B.C.E. The writing is in Egyptian hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek, and the Greek text became the key making decipherment of Egyptian possible.

Religion. Egypt was an ultrareligious land, rife with polytheism. Every city and town had its own local deity, bearing the title “Lord of the City.” A list found in the tomb of Thutmose III contains the names of some 740 gods. (Ex 12:12) Frequently the god was represented as married to a goddess who bore him a son, “thus forming a divine triad or trinity in which the father, moreover, was not always the chief, contenting himself on occasion with the role of prince consort, while the principal deity of the locality remained the goddess.” (New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, 1968, p. 10) Each of the chief gods dwelt in a temple that was not open to the public. The god was worshiped by the priests who awoke him each morning with a hymn, bathed him, dressed him, “fed” him, and rendered him other services. (Contrast Ps 121:3, 4; Isa 40:28.) In this the priests were apparently regarded as acting as the representatives of the Pharaoh, who was believed to be a living god himself, the son of the god Ra. This situation certainly emphasizes the courage shown by Moses and Aaron in going before Pharaoh to present him with the decree of the true God and adds significance to Pharaoh’s disdainful response, “Who is Jehovah, so that I should obey his voice?”​—Ex 5:2.

Despite the great mass of archaeological material unearthed in Egypt in the form of temples, statues, religious paintings, and writings, relatively few facts are known about the actual religious beliefs of the Egyptians. Religious texts present a very spotty and fragmentary picture, generally omitting as much as or more than they include. Much of the understanding of the nature of their gods and practices is based on deduction or on data provided by Greek writers such as Herodotus and Plutarch.

The lack of unity of belief is apparent, however, as regional differences continued throughout Egyptian history and resulted in a maze of legends and myths, often contradictory. The god Ra, for example, was known under 75 different names and forms. Only a few, relatively speaking, of the hundreds of deities seem to have received worship on a truly national basis. Most popular among these was the trinity or triad of Osiris, Isis (his wife), and Horus (his son). Then there were the “cosmic” gods headed by Ra, the sun-god, and including gods of the moon, sky, air, earth, the river Nile, and so forth. At Thebes (Biblical No) the god Amon was most prominent and in time was accorded the title “king of the gods” under the name Amon-Ra. (Jer 46:25) At festival times (Jer 46:17), the gods were paraded through the city streets. When, for example, the idol image of Ra was carried by his priests in religious procession, the people made it a point to be on hand, expecting to get merit thereby. Considering their mere presence as a fulfillment of their religious obligation, the Egyptians felt that Ra, in turn, was obligated to continue to prosper them. They looked to him only for material blessings and prosperity, never asking for anything spiritual. There are numerous correspondencies between the principal gods of Egypt and those of Babylon, the evidence favoring Babylon as the source and Egypt as the receiver or perpetuator.​—See GODS AND GODDESSES.

This polytheistic worship had no beneficial or uplifting effect on the Egyptians. As is observed by the Encyclopædia Britannica (1959, Vol. 8, p. 53): “Marvellous mysteries, occultly harbouring deep truths, are assigned to them by the classical and modern imagination. They had mysteries, of course, like the Ashantis or Ibos [African tribes]. It is a mistake, however, to think that these mysteries enshrined truth, and that there was an occult ‘faith’ behind them.” In reality, the available evidence shows that magic and primitive superstition were basic elements of the Egyptian worship. (Ge 41:8) Religious magic was employed to prevent disease; spiritism was prominent, with many “charmers,” “spirit mediums,” and “professional foretellers of events.” (Isa 19:3) Amulets and “good-luck” charms were worn, and magic spells were written on scraps of papyrus and tied around the neck. (Compare De 18:10, 11.) When Moses and Aaron performed miraculous acts by divine power, the priestly magicians and sorcerers of Pharaoh’s courts made a show of duplicating such acts through magical arts until forced to admit failure.​—Ex 7:11, 22; 8:7, 18, 19.

Animal worship. This superstitious worship led the Egyptians to practice a most degrading idolatry that embraced the worship of animals. (Compare Ro 1:22, 23.) Many of the most prominent gods were regularly depicted as having a human body with the head of an animal or bird. Thus the god Horus was represented with a falcon’s head; Thoth with the head of an ibis or else that of an ape. In some cases the god was considered to be actually incarnate in the body of the animal, as in the case of the Apis bulls. The living Apis bull, viewed as the incarnation of the god Osiris, was kept in a temple and at death received an elaborate funeral and burial. The belief that some animals, such as cats, baboons, crocodiles, jackals, and various birds, were sacred by virtue of their association with certain gods resulted in the Egyptians’ mummifying literally hundreds of thousands of such creatures, burying them in special cemeteries.

Why did Moses insist that Israel’s sacrifices would be “detestable to the Egyptians”?

The fact that so many different animals were venerated in one part of Egypt or another is doubtless what gave force and persuasiveness to Moses’ insistence that Israel be allowed to go into the wilderness to make their sacrifices, saying to Pharaoh: “Suppose we would sacrifice a thing detestable to the Egyptians before their eyes; would they not stone us?” (Ex 8:26, 27) It appears that most of the sacrifices Israel later did make would have been highly offensive to the Egyptians. (In Egypt the sun-god Ra was at times represented as a calf born of the celestial cow.) On the other hand, as shown under GODS AND GODDESSES, by the Ten Plagues on Egypt, Jehovah executed judgments “on all the gods of Egypt,” bringing great humiliation upon them while making his own name known throughout the land.​—Ex 12:12.

The nation of Israel did not completely escape contamination with such false worship during its two centuries of sojourning in Egypt (Jos 24:14), and this was doubtless, to a considerable extent, at the root of the wrong attitudes displayed early in the Exodus journey. Though Jehovah instructed the Israelites to throw away “the dungy idols of Egypt,” they failed to do so. (Eze 20:7, 8; 23:3, 4, 8) The making of a golden calf for worship in the wilderness likely reflects the Egyptian animal worship that had infected some Israelites. (Ex 32:1-8; Ac 7:39-41) Just before Israel entered the Promised Land, Jehovah again gave explicit warning against any association of animal forms or of any of the “cosmic” bodies in Israel’s worship of Him. (De 4:15-20) Yet, animal worship surfaced again centuries later when Jeroboam, who had recently returned from Egypt, made two golden calves for worship when he gained kingship in the northern kingdom of Israel. (1Ki 12:2, 28, 29) It is noteworthy that the inspired Scriptures recorded by Moses are entirely free from any corruption by such Egyptian idolatry and superstition.

Spiritual and moral qualities lacking. Some scholars suggest that whatever concept of sin was manifest in certain Egyptian religious texts was the later result of Semitic influence. Yet, confession of sin was always in a negative sense, as the Encyclopædia Britannica (1959, Vol. 8, p. 56) comments: “When [the Egyptian] confessed he did not say ‘I am guilty’; he said ‘I am not guilty.’ His confession was negative, and the onus probandi [the burden of proof] lay on his judges, who, according to the funerary papyri, always gave the verdict in his favour​—or at any rate it was hoped and expected that they would do so.” (Contrast Ps 51:1-5.) Ancient Egypt’s religion appears to have been mainly a matter of ceremonies and spells, designed to achieve certain desired results through the providence of one or more of their numerous gods.

Though the claim is made that a form of monotheism existed during the reigns of Pharaohs Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton), when the worship of the sun-god Aton became nearly exclusive, it was not a true monotheism. The Pharaoh himself continued to be worshiped as a god. And even in this period there was no ethical quality to the Egyptian religious texts, the hymns to the sun-god Aton merely praising him for his life-giving heat but remaining barren of any expression of praise or appreciation for any spiritual or moral qualities. Any suggestion that the monotheism of Moses’ writings derived from Egyptian influence is therefore completely without foundation.

Beliefs about the dead. Strikingly prominent in Egyptian religion was the concern for the dead and the preoccupation with ensuring one’s welfare and happiness after the “change” of death. The belief in reincarnation or the transmigration of the soul was an all-pervading doctrine. The soul was believed to be immortal; nevertheless, it was believed that the human body must also be preserved so that the soul might return and use it on occasion. Because of this belief, the Egyptians embalmed their dead. The tomb in which the mummified body was placed was considered the deceased’s “home.” The pyramids were colossal residences for the royal dead. The necessities and luxuries of life, including jewelry, clothing, furniture, and supplies of food, were stored away in the tombs for future use by the deceased, along with written spells and charms (such as the “Book of the Dead”) to provide the departed with protection from evil spirits. (PICTURE, Vol. 1, p. 533) However, these spells did not even protect them from the human tomb robbers who eventually ransacked virtually every major tomb.

While the bodies of Jacob and Joseph were embalmed, in Jacob’s case this was doubtless largely for the purpose of preservation until his body could be transferred to a burial place in the Promised Land as an expression of their faith. Particularly in Joseph’s case, the embalming may have been done by the Egyptians as an expression of respect and honor.​—Ge 47:29-31; 50:2-14, 24-26.

Egyptian Life and Culture. Scholars have long presented Egypt as the ‘most ancient civilization’ and as the source of many of mankind’s earliest inventions and progress. More recently, however, the accumulated evidence has pointed to Mesopotamia as the so-called cradle of civilization. Certain Egyptian architectural methods, the use of the wheel, perhaps the basic principles of their pictographic writing, and particularly the fundamental features of Egyptian religion are all thought to have had a Mesopotamian origin. This, of course, is in accord with the Bible record of the dispersion of peoples following the Flood.

The best known achievements in Egyptian architecture are the pyramids constructed at Giza by Pharaohs Khufu (Cheops), Khafre, and Menkure of what is styled the “Fourth Dynasty.” The largest, that of Khufu, has a base covering about 5.3 ha (13 acres), with a peak some 137 m (450 ft) high (the equivalent of a modern 40-story building). It is calculated that 2,300,000 blocks of stone, averaging 2.3 metric tons each, were used. The blocks were shaped so carefully that they fitted within a few millimeters. Colossal temples were also built; one at Karnak, in Thebes (Biblical No; Jer 46:25; Eze 30:14-16), was the largest columnar structure ever constructed by man.

Circumcision was a regular practice among the Egyptians from ancient times, and the Bible lists them with other circumcised peoples.​—Jer 9:25, 26.

Education seems to have consisted primarily of schools for the scribes, run by the priests. Besides being expert in Egyptian writing, royal scribes also were thoroughly familiar with Aramaic cuneiform; already in the middle of the second millennium B.C.E. subject rulers in Syria and Palestine regularly communicated with the Egyptian capital in Aramaic. Egyptian mathematics was sufficiently well developed to allow for the stupendous construction feats mentioned previously, and some knowledge of geometric and algebraic principles is evident. It may be noted that “Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” (Ac 7:22) While there was much false wisdom in Egypt, some knowledge of practical value was also available.

Government and law were centered on the king or Pharaoh, regarded as a god in human form. He ruled the land through subordinates, or ministers, and through feudal chiefs, whose power in times of royal weakness rivaled that of the king. Perhaps these latter chieftains were indeed viewed by those under their domain as virtual kings, thus accounting for the Biblical mention of “the kings [plural] of Egypt” when referring to specific times. (2Ki 7:6; Jer 46:25) After the Egyptian conquest of Nubia-Ethiopia to the S, that region was governed by a viceroy called “the king’s son of Cush,” and there is evidence of an Egyptian viceroy in Phoenicia as well.

No actual code of law is known from Egypt; laws existed but evidently they were simply by royal decree, like those of Pharaoh concerning the Israelites’ brickmaking labor and the order to drown all newborn Israelite male babies. (Ex 1:8-22; 5:6-18; compare Ge 41:44.) Taxes were imposed on all crops of landowners, and this seems to have had its beginning in Joseph’s day, when all land, except that of the priests, came to be property of the Pharaoh. (Ge 47:20-26) Taxes included not only portions of the produce or livestock but also labor for government projects and for military service. Punishment for crimes included cutting off the nose, exile to labor in the mines, beating with rods, imprisonment, and death, often by beheading.​—Ge 39:20; 40:1-3, 16-22.

Marriage customs permitted polygamy and brother-and-sister marriages, this latter practice being known in some places in Egypt up until the second century C.E. Certain Pharaohs are known to have married their sisters, apparently because no other women were considered sacred enough to mate with such a “living god.” The Law given Israel after they had left Egypt forbade incestuous marriage, saying, “The way the land of Egypt does . . . you must not do; [nor] the way the land of Canaan does.”​—Le 18:3, 6-16.

Ancient Egyptian knowledge of medicine has often been presented as quite scientific and advanced. While some knowledge of anatomy is evident and certain simple surgical methods were developed and cataloged, much ignorance is also revealed. Thus, while an Egyptian papyrus text speaks of the heart as being connected by vessels to every part of the body, the same text presents the vessels as carrying, not blood, but air, water, semen, and mucus. Not only was there a fundamental misunderstanding of the functions of the living body, but the medical texts are heavily dosed with magic and superstition; magical spells and incantations make up a major portion of the information. Remedies not only included beneficial herbs and plants but also prescribed such ingredients as the blood of mice, urine, or the excrement of flies, which, together with the spells, were “calculated to drive the possessing demon out of the man’s body in sheer disgust.” (History of Mankind, by J. Hawkes and Sir Leonard Woolley, 1963, Vol. I, p. 695) Such lack of understanding may have contributed to some of the ‘fearsome diseases of Egypt,’ likely including elephantiasis, dysentery, smallpox, bubonic plague, ophthalmia, and other ailments; Israel could gain protection from them by faithful obedience. (De 7:15; compare De 28:27, 58-60; Am 4:10.) The hygienic measures imposed on the Israelites following the Exodus are in dramatic contrast to many of the practices described in the Egyptian texts.​—Le 11:32-40; see DISEASES AND TREATMENT.

Egyptian trades embraced the usual range: pottery making, weaving, metalworking, the making of jewelry and religious charms, and many other skills. (Isa 19:1, 9, 10) Already by about the middle of the second millennium B.C.E., Egypt was a center of glass manufacturing.​—Compare Job 28:17.

Transportation within the country centered on the Nile River. The prevailing winds out of the N aided the sailing vessels in going upstream, while those boats traveling from the S were carried downstream by the current. Besides this main “highway,” there were canals and a few roads, leading, for example, up into Canaan.

International trade was carried on with other African countries by caravans and by ships on the Red Sea, while large Egyptian galleys carried cargoes and passengers to many ports of the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Egyptian dress was simple. The men during much of early history wore merely a kind of apron, gathered in pleats at the front; later only the humbler classes left the upper part of the body bare. Women wore a long close-fitting chemise with shoulder straps, the garment often being made of fine linen. It was customary to go barefoot, a possible factor in the prevalence of certain diseases.

Egyptian paintings show the men with their hair cut short or shaved, and as clean shaven. (Ge 41:14) The use of cosmetics was common among the women.

Egyptian homes varied from the simple huts of the poor to the spacious villas of the wealthy, with their surrounding gardens, orchards, and ponds. Since Potiphar served as an official of Pharaoh, his home was likely a fine villa. (Ge 39:1, 4-6) Furniture varied from simple stools to elaborate chairs and couches. Homes of some size were generally built around open courtyards. (Compare Ex 8:3, 13.) Kneading of dough and cooking of food were often done in the courtyard. Food for most Egyptians was likely barley bread, vegetables, fish (both abundant and cheap; Nu 11:5), and beer, the common drink. Those who could afford it added various meats to their diet.​—Ex 16:3.

Egyptian military men handled the standard weapons of the time: bow and arrow, spear or lance, mace, ax, and dagger. Horse-drawn chariots played a major role in their warfare. Though body armor seems to have been little used in earlier times, it later came into use as also did helmets, often plumed. Thus, Jeremiah’s prophecy (46:2-4) gives an accurate description of the Egyptian military in the seventh century B.C.E. Much of the army seems to have been formed of conscripts from among the people; in later times mercenary troops from other nations were regularly employed.​—Jer 46:7-9.

History. Egyptian history from secular sources is very uncertain, especially for the earlier periods.​—See CHRONOLOGY (Egyptian Chronology).

Abraham’s visit. Sometime after the Flood (2370-2369 B.C.E.) and the subsequent split-up of the peoples at Babel, Hamites occupied Egypt. By the time (sometime between 1943 B.C.E. and 1932 B.C.E.) that famine forced Abraham (Abram) to leave Canaan and go down to Egypt, a kingdom was functioning under a Pharaoh (unnamed in the Bible).​—Ge 12:4, 14, 15; 16:16.

Egypt was apparently receptive to strangers, and no animosity appears to have been shown to nomadic Abraham, a tent dweller. Yet Abraham’s fear of being murdered because of his beautiful wife was evidently founded on fact and indicates a low state of morality in Egypt. (Ge 12:11-13) The plagues brought on Pharaoh because of his taking Sarah into his house were effective and resulted in Abraham’s being ordered to leave the country; when he left he took not only his wife but also increased possessions. (Ge 12:15-20; 13:1, 2) Perhaps Sarah’s maidservant Hagar was obtained during Abraham’s stay in Egypt. (Ge 16:1) Hagar became the mother of Abraham’s son Ishmael (1932 B.C.E.), and on growing up, Ishmael married a woman from his mother’s native land, Egypt. (Ge 16:3, 4, 15, 16; 21:21) Thus, the Ishmaelites as a race were originally predominantly Egyptian, and their range of camping sites at times took them near Egypt’s border.​—Ge 25:13-18.

A second famine again made Egypt a place for seeking relief, but now (sometime after 1843 B.C.E., the year of Abraham’s death) Jehovah instructed Isaac to reject any idea of a move into that land.​—Ge 26:1, 2.

Joseph in Egypt. Then, nearly two centuries after Abraham’s sojourn in Egypt, Jacob’s young son Joseph was sold to a Midianite-Ishmaelite caravan and resold in Egypt to an official of Pharaoh’s court (1750 B.C.E.). (Ge 37:25-28, 36) As Joseph later explained to his brothers, this was permitted by God to prepare the way for the preservation of Jacob’s family during a period of extreme famine. (Ge 45:5-8) The report of the major events of Joseph’s life presents a picture of Egypt that is undeniably accurate. (See JOSEPH No. 1.) The titles of officials, customs, dress, use of magic, and many other details described can be corroborated by data obtained from Egyptian monuments, pictures, and writings. The investiture of Joseph as viceroy of Egypt (Ge 41:42), for example, follows the procedure depicted in Egyptian inscriptions and murals.​—Ge chaps 45-47.

The Egyptian distaste for eating with Hebrews, as at the meal Joseph provided for his brothers, may have been due to religious or racial pride and prejudice, or it may have been tied in with their detestation of shepherds. (Ge 43:31, 32; 46:31-34) This latter attitude, in turn, quite possibly was simply due to an Egyptian caste system, in which shepherds seem to have been near the bottom; or it could have been that since the land available for cultivation was limited, there was a strong dislike for those seeking pasture for flocks.

“Hyksos Period.” Many commentators place Joseph’s entry into Egypt and that of his father and family in what is popularly known as the Hyksos Period. However, as Merrill Unger comments (Archaeology and the Old Testament, 1964, p. 134): “Unfortunately, [this period] is one of great obscurity in Egypt, and the Hyksos conquest is very imperfectly understood.”

Some scholars assign the Hyksos to the “Thirteenth to the Seventeenth Dynasties” with a 200-year rule; others confine them to the “Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties” during a century and a half or only one century. The name Hyksos has been interpreted by some as meaning “Shepherd Kings,” by others, “Rulers of Foreign Countries.” Conjectures as to their race or nationality have been even more varied, with Indo-Europeans from the Caucasus or even in Central Asia, Hittites, Syrian-Palestinian rulers (Canaanites or Amorites), and Arabian tribes all being suggested.

Some archaeologists depict the “Hyksos conquest” of Egypt as northern hordes sweeping through Palestine and Egypt in swift chariots, while others refer to it as a creeping conquest, that is, a gradual infiltration of migrating nomads or seminomads who either slowly took over control of the country piecemeal or by a swift coup d’état put themselves at the head of the existing government. In the book The World of the Past (Part V, 1963, p. 444) archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes states: “It is no longer thought that the Hyksos rulers . . . represent the invasion of a conquering horde of Asiatics. The name seems to mean Rulers of the Uplands, and they were wandering groups of Semites who had long come to Egypt for trade and other peaceful purposes.” While this may represent the present popular view, it still leaves the difficult problem of explaining how such “wandering groups” could take over the land of Egypt, especially since the “Twelfth Dynasty,” prior to this period, is considered to have brought the country to a peak of power.

As The Encyclopedia Americana (1956, Vol. 14, p. 595) says: “The only detailed account of them [the Hyksos] in any ancient writer is an unreliable passage of a lost work of Manetho, cited by Josephus in his rejoinder to Apion.” Statements attributed by Josephus to Manetho are the source of the name Hyksos. Interestingly, Josephus, claiming to quote Manetho verbatim, presents Manetho’s account as directly connecting the Hyksos with the Israelites. Josephus, it seems, accepts this connection but argues vehemently against many of the details of the account. He seems to prefer the rendering of Hyksos as “captive shepherds” rather than “king-shepherds.” Manetho, according to Josephus, presents the Hyksos as conquering Egypt without a battle, destroying cities and “the temples of the gods,” and causing slaughter and havoc. They are represented as settling in the Delta region. Finally the Egyptians are said to have risen up, fought a long and terrible war, with 480,000 men, besieged the Hyksos at their chief city, Avaris, and then, strangely, reached an agreement allowing them to leave the country unharmed with their families and possessions, whereupon they went to Judea and built Jerusalem.​—Against Apion, I, 73-105 (14-16); 223-232 (25, 26).

In the contemporary writings the names of these rulers were preceded by titles such as “Good God,” “Son of Reʽ,” or Hik-khoswet, “Ruler of Foreign Lands.” The term “Hyksos” is evidently derived from this latter title. Egyptian documents immediately following their rule called them Asiatics. Regarding this period of Egyptian history, C. E. DeVries noted: “In attempting to correlate secular history with the biblical data, some scholars have tried to equate the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt with the Israelite Exodus, but the chronology rules out this identification, and other factors as well make this hypothesis untenable. . . . The origin of the Hyksos is uncertain; they came from somewhere in Asia and bore Semitic names for the most part.”​—The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, edited by G. Bromiley, 1982, Vol. 2, p. 787.

Since Joseph’s elevation to power and the benefits it brought Israel were by divine providence, there is no need to seek some other reason in the form of friendly “Shepherd Kings.” (Ge 45:7-9) But it is possible that Manetho’s account, actually the foundation of the “Hyksos” idea, simply represents a garbled tradition, one that developed from earlier Egyptian efforts to explain away what took place in their land during the Israelite sojourn in Egypt. The tremendous effect on the country produced by Joseph’s ascension to the position of acting ruler (Ge 41:39-46; 45:26); the profound change his administration brought, resulting in the Egyptians’ sale of their land and even of themselves to Pharaoh (Ge 47:13-20); the 20-percent tax they thereafter paid from their produce (Ge 47:21-26); the 215 years of Israelite residence in Goshen, with their eventually exceeding the native population in number and strength, according to Pharaoh’s statement (Ex 1:7-10, 12, 20); the Ten Plagues and the devastation they wrought not only on the Egyptian economy but even more so on their religious beliefs and the prestige of their priesthood (Ex 10:7; 11:1-3; 12:12, 13); the Exodus of Israel following the death of all Egypt’s firstborn and then the destruction of the cream of Egypt’s military forces at the Red Sea (Ex 12:2-38; 14:1-28)​—all these things certainly would require some attempted explanation by the Egyptian official element.

It should never be forgotten that the recording of history in Egypt, as in many Middle Eastern lands, was inseparably connected with the priesthood, under whose tutelage the scribes were trained. It would be most unusual if some propagandistic explanation were not invented to account for the utter failure of the Egyptian gods to prevent the disaster Jehovah God brought upon Egypt and its people. History, even recent history, records many occasions when such propaganda so grossly perverted the facts that the oppressed were presented as the oppressors, and the innocent victims were presented as the dangerous and cruel aggressors. Manetho’s account (over a thousand years after the Exodus), if preserved with some degree of correctness by Josephus, may possibly represent the distorted traditions handed down by succeeding generations of Egyptians to account for the basic elements of the true account, in the Bible, concerning Israel in Egypt.​—See EXODUS (Authenticity of the Exodus Account).

Israel’s slavery. Since the Bible does not name the Pharaoh who initiated the oppression upon the Israelites (Ex 1:8-22) nor the Pharaoh before whom Moses and Aaron appeared and in whose reign the Exodus took place (Ex 2:23; 5:1), and since these events have either been deliberately omitted from Egyptian records or the records have been destroyed, it is not possible to assign these events to any specific dynasty nor to the reign of any particular Pharaoh of secular history. Ramses (Rameses) II (of the “Nineteenth Dynasty”) is often suggested as the Pharaoh of the oppression on the basis of the reference to the building of the cities of Pithom and Raamses by the Israelite laborers. (Ex 1:11) It is held that these cities were built during the reign of Ramses II. In Archaeology and the Old Testament (p. 149) Merrill Unger comments: “But in the light of Raamses II’s notorious practice of taking credit for achievements accomplished by his predecessors, these sites were most certainly merely rebuilt or enlarged by him.” Actually the name “Rameses” seems to have applied to an entire district already in the time of Joseph.​—Ge 47:11.

By means of God’s deliverance through Moses, the nation of Israel was freed from “the house of slaves” and “the iron furnace,” as Egypt continued to be called by Bible writers. (Ex 13:3; De 4:20; Jer 11:4; Mic 6:4) Forty years later Israel began the conquest of Canaan. There has been an effort to connect this Biblical event with the situation described in what are known as the Amarna Tablets, found at Tell el-Amarna on the Nile, about 270 km (170 mi) S of Cairo. Most of the tablets are letters by Canaanite and Syrian rulers (including those of Gezer, Jerusalem, and Lachish), many containing complaints to the ruling Pharaoh (generally Akhenaton) about the incursions and depredations of the “Habiru” (ʽapiru). While some scholars have tried to identify the “Habiru” with the Hebrews, or Israelites, the contents of the letters themselves do not allow for this. They show the Habiru to be merely raiders, at times allied with certain Canaanite rulers in an intercity and intraregional rivalry. Among the towns menaced by the Habiru was Byblos in northern Lebanon, far beyond the range of the Israelite attacks. Also, they do not present a picture comparing with the major battles and victories of the Israelite conquest of Canaan after the Exodus.​—See HEBREW, I (The “Habiru”).

Israel’s sojourn in Egypt was indelibly engraved on the nation’s memory, and their miraculous release from that land was regularly recalled as an outstanding proof of Jehovah’s Godship. (Ex 19:4; Le 22:32, 33; De 4:32-36; 2Ki 17:36; Heb 11:23-29) Thus the expression, “I am Jehovah your God from the land of Egypt.” (Ho 13:4; compare Le 11:45.) No single circumstance or event surpassed this until their release from Babylon gave them further proof of Jehovah’s power to deliver. (Jer 16:14, 15) Their experience in Egypt was written into the Law given them (Ex 20:2, 3; De 5:12-15); it was the basis for the Passover festival (Ex 12:1-27; De 16:1-3); it guided them in their dealings with alien residents (Ex 22:21; Le 19:33, 34) and with poor persons who sold themselves into bondage (Le 25:39-43, 55; De 15:12-15); it provided a legal basis for the selection and sanctification of the tribe of Levi for sanctuary service (Nu 3:11-13). On the basis of Israel’s alien residence in Egypt, Egyptians who met certain requirements could be accepted into the congregation of Israel. (De 23:7, 8) The kingdoms of Canaan and peoples of neighboring lands experienced awe and fear because of the reports they heard of God’s power demonstrated against Egypt, paving the way for Israel’s conquest (Ex 18:1, 10, 11; De 7:17-20; Jos 2:10, 11; 9:9) and being remembered for centuries thereafter. (1Sa 4:7, 8) Throughout their history, the whole nation of Israel sang about these events in their songs.​—Ps 78:43-51; Ps 105 and 106; 136:10-15.

After Israel’s conquest of Canaan. Not until the reign of Pharaoh Merneptah, son of Ramses II (in the latter part of the “Nineteenth Dynasty”), is there a direct Egyptian mention made of Israel; in fact, this is the only direct mention of them as a people thus far found in ancient Egyptian records. In a victory stele, Merneptah boasts of defeats inflicted on various cities of Canaan and then claims: “Israel is laid waste, his seed is not.” Though apparently only an idle boast, this would seem to be evidence that Israel was then established in Canaan.

No contact of Israel with Egypt is reported during the period of the Judges or during the reigns of Saul and David, aside from mention of combat between one of David’s warriors and an Egyptian “of extraordinary size.” (2Sa 23:21) By the reign of Solomon (1037-998 B.C.E.), relations between the two nations were such that Solomon could make a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, taking his daughter as wife. (1Ki 3:1) Just when this unidentified Pharaoh had conquered Gezer, which he now gave to his daughter as a farewell wedding gift, or dowry, is not stated. (1Ki 9:16) Solomon also carried on business operations with Egypt, dealing in horses and Egyptian-made chariots.​—2Ch 1:16, 17.

Egypt, however, was a haven for certain enemies of the kings of Jerusalem. Hadad the Edomite escaped to Egypt following David’s devastation of Edom. Though a Semite, Hadad was honored by Pharaoh with a home, food, and land; he married into royalty, and his offspring, Genubath, was treated as a son of Pharaoh. (1Ki 11:14-22) Later Jeroboam, who became king of the northern kingdom of Israel after Solomon’s death, likewise took refuge for a time in Egypt in the reign of Shishak.​—1Ki 11:40.

Shishak (known as Sheshonk I from Egyptian records) had founded a Libyan dynasty of Pharaohs (the “Twenty-second Dynasty”), with its capital at Bubastis in the eastern Delta region. In the fifth year of the reign of Solomon’s son Rehoboam (993 B.C.E.), Shishak invaded Judah with a powerful force of chariots, cavalry, and foot soldiers including Libyans and Ethiopians; he captured many cities and even threatened Jerusalem. Because of Jehovah’s mercy, Jerusalem was not devastated, but its great wealth was handed over to Shishak. (1Ki 14:25, 26; 2Ch 12:2-9) A relief on a temple wall at Karnak depicts Shishak’s campaign and lists numerous cities in Israel and Judah as having been captured.

Zerah the Ethiopian, who led a million Ethiopian and Libyan troops against King Asa of Judah (967 B.C.E.), likely initiated his march from Egypt. His forces, gathered in the valley of Zephathah SW of Jerusalem, met utter defeat.​—2Ch 14:9-13; 16:8.

Judah and Israel enjoyed respite from Egyptian attack for another two centuries. Egypt appears to have experienced considerable internal disturbance during this period, with certain dynasties ruling contemporaneously. Meanwhile, Assyria came to the fore as the dominant world power. Hoshea, last king of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel (c. 758-740 B.C.E.), became a vassal of Assyria and then tried to break the Assyrian yoke by conspiring with King So of Egypt. The effort failed, and the Israelite northern kingdom soon fell to Assyria.​—2Ki 17:4.

Egypt seems to have come under considerable domination by Nubian-Ethiopian elements by this time, the “Twenty-fifth Dynasty” being classed as Ethiopian. Assyrian King Sennacherib’s loud-talking official, Rabshakeh, told the people of the city of Jerusalem that to trust in Egypt for help was to trust in a “crushed reed.” (2Ki 18:19-21, 24) King Tirhakah of Ethiopia, who marched up into Canaan at this time (732 B.C.E.) and temporarily diverted the Assyrian’s attention and force, is generally associated with the Ethiopian ruler of Egypt, Pharaoh Taharqa. (2Ki 19:8-10) This seems to be substantiated by Isaiah’s earlier prophecy (Isa 7:18, 19) that Jehovah would “whistle for the flies that are at the extremity of the Nile canals of Egypt and for the bees that are in the land of Assyria,” thereby resulting in a clash of the two powers in the land of Judah and subjecting that land to double pressure. As Franz Delitzsch observed: “The emblems also correspond to the nature of the two countries: the fly to [marshy] Egypt with its swarms of insects . . . and the bee to the more mountainous and woody Assyria.”​—Commentary on the Old Testament, 1973, Vol. VII, Isaiah, p. 223.

Isaiah apparently foretells the unsettled state of affairs existing in Egypt during the latter part of the eighth and the early part of the seventh century B.C.E. in his pronouncement against Egypt. (Isa 19) He describes civil war and disintegration, with fighting of “city against city, kingdom against kingdom” in Egypt. (Isa 19:2, 13, 14) Modern historians find evidence for contemporaneous dynasties ruling in different sections of the country at that time. The vaunted “wisdom” of Egypt with her ‘valueless gods and charmers’ did not protect her from being delivered up into “the hand of a hard master.”​—Isa 19:3, 4.

Assyrian invasion. Assyrian King Esar-haddon (a contemporary of Judean King Manasseh [716-662 B.C.E.]) invaded Egypt, conquered Memphis in Lower Egypt, and sent many into exile. The ruling Pharaoh at the time was evidently still Taharqa (Tirhakah).

Ashurbanipal renewed the assault and sacked the city of Thebes (Biblical No-amon) in Upper Egypt, where Egypt’s greatest temple treasures were located. Again, the Bible shows Ethiopian, Libyan, and other African elements as being involved.​—Na 3:8-10.

Assyrian garrisons were later pulled back from Egypt, and the country began to recover some of its earlier prosperity and power. When Assyria fell to the Medes and Babylonians, Egypt had gained sufficient strength (with the support of mercenary troops) to come up to the aid of the Assyrian king. Pharaoh Nechoh (II) led the Egyptian forces but, on the way, was confronted by the Judean army of King Josiah at Megiddo and, against his wishes, was forced to engage in battle; he defeated Judah and caused the death of Josiah. (2Ki 23:29; 2Ch 35:20-24) Three months later (in 628 B.C.E.) Nechoh removed Josiah’s son and successor Jehoahaz from the Judean throne and replaced him with his brother Eliakim (renamed Jehoiakim), carrying Jehoahaz captive to Egypt. (2Ki 23:31-35; 2Ch 36:1-4; compare Eze 19:1-4.) Judah was now tributary to Egypt, paying an initial sum equivalent to almost $1,046,000. It was during this period that the prophet Urijah made his vain flight to Egypt.​—Jer 26:21-23.

Defeat by Nebuchadnezzar. But Egypt’s bid to reestablish Egyptian control in Syria and Palestine was short-lived; Egypt was doomed to drink the bitter cup of defeat, according to Jehovah’s prophecy already pronounced by Jeremiah (25:17-19). Egypt’s downfall began with its decisive defeat at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar as crown prince in 625 B.C.E., an event described at Jeremiah 46:2-10 as well as in a Babylonian chronicle.

Nebuchadnezzar, now king of Babylon, next took over Syria and Palestine, and Judah became a vassal state of Babylon. (2Ki 24:1) Egypt made one last attempt to remain a power in Asia. A military force of Pharaoh (his name is not mentioned in the Bible) came out of Egypt in answer to King Zedekiah’s request for military support in his revolt against Babylon in 609-607 B.C.E. Producing only a temporary lifting of the Babylonian siege, Egypt’s troops were forced to withdraw, and Jerusalem was left to destruction.​—Jer 37:5-7; Eze 17:15-18.

Despite vigorous warning by Jeremiah (Jer 42:7-22), the remnant of Judah’s population fled to Egypt as a sanctuary, evidently joining Jews already in that land. (Jer 24:1, 8-10) Places specifically mentioned where they took up dwelling are Tahpanhes, apparently a fortress city in the Delta region (Jer 43:7-9); Migdol; and Noph, considered to be the same as Memphis, an early capital in Lower Egypt (Jer 44:1; Eze 30:13). Thus, “the language of Canaan” (evidently Hebrew) was now being spoken in Egypt by these refugees. (Isa 19:18) Foolishly they renewed in Egypt the very idolatrous practices that had brought Jehovah’s judgment against Judah. (Jer 44:2-25) But the fulfillment of Jehovah’s prophecies caught up with the Israelite refugees when Nebuchadnezzar marched against Egypt and conquered the land.​—Jer 43:8-13; 46:13-26.

One Babylonian text, dated to Nebuchadnezzar’s 37th year (588 B.C.E.), has been found that mentions a campaign against Egypt. Whether it relates to the original conquest or merely to a subsequent military action cannot be said. At any rate, Nebuchadnezzar received Egypt’s wealth as his pay for military service rendered in Jehovah’s execution of judgment against Tyre, an opposer of God’s people.​—Eze 29:18-20; 30:10-12.

At Ezekiel 29:1-16 a desolation of Egypt is foretold, due to last 40 years. This may have come after Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Egypt. While some commentaries refer to the reign of Amasis (Ahmose) II, the successor of Hophra, as exceedingly prosperous during more than 40 years, they do so primarily on the testimony of Herodotus, who visited Egypt over a hundred years later. But as the Encyclopædia Britannica (1959, Vol. 8, p. 62) comments on Herodotus’ history of this period (the “Saitic Period”): “His statements prove not entirely reliable when they can be checked by the scanty native evidence.” The Bible Commentary by F. C. Cook, after noting that Herodotus even fails to mention Nebuchadnezzar’s attack on Egypt, says: “It is notorious that Herodotus, while he faithfully recorded all that he heard and saw in Egypt, was indebted for his information on past history to the Egyptian priests, whose tales he adopted with blind credulity. . . . The whole story [by Herodotus] of Apries [Hophra] and Amasis is mixed with so much that is inconsistent and legendary that we may very well hesitate to adopt it as authentic history. It is by no means strange that the priests should endeavour to disguise the national dishonour of having been subjected to a foreign yoke.” (Note B., p. 132) Hence, while secular history provides no clear evidence of the prophecy’s fulfillment, we may be confident of the accuracy of the Bible record.

Under Persian domination. Egypt later supported Babylon against the rising power of Medo-Persia. But by 525 B.C.E., the land was subjugated by Cambyses II, son of Cyrus the Great, and thereby came under Persian imperial rule. (Isa 43:3) While many Jews doubtless left Egypt to return to their homeland (Isa 11:11-16; Ho 11:11; Zec 10:10, 11), others remained in Egypt. Thus, there was a Jewish colony in Elephantine (Egyptian, Yeb), an island in the Nile near Aswan, some 690 km (430 mi) S of Cairo. A valuable find of papyri reveals conditions prevailing there during the fifth century B.C.E., about the time when Ezra and Nehemiah were active in Jerusalem. These documents, in Aramaic, contain the name of Sanballat of Samaria (Ne 4:1, 2) and of Johanan the high priest. (Ne 12:22) Of interest is an official order issued during the reign of Darius II (423-405 B.C.E.) that “the festival of unfermented cakes” (Ex 12:17; 13:3, 6, 7) be celebrated by the colony. Also notable is the frequent use of the name Yahu, a form of the name Jehovah (or Yahweh; compare Isa 19:18), although there is considerable evidence, too, of definite infiltration of pagan worship.

Under Greek and Roman rule. Egypt continued under Persian rule until the conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.E., supposedly liberating Egypt from the Persian yoke but ending for all time the rule by native Pharaohs. Mighty Egypt had indeed become “a lowly kingdom.”​—Eze 29:14, 15.

During Alexander’s reign the city of Alexandria was founded, and after his death the country was ruled by the Ptolemies. In 312 B.C.E., Ptolemy I captured Jerusalem, and Judah became a province of Ptolemaic Egypt until 198 B.C.E. Then, in the long struggle with the Seleucid Empire in Syria, Egypt finally lost control of Palestine when Syrian King Antiochus III defeated the army of Ptolemy V. Thereafter Egypt gradually came more and more under the influence of Rome. In 31 B.C.E., in the decisive battle of Actium, Cleopatra deserted the fleet of her Roman lover Mark Antony, who was defeated by Octavius, grandnephew of Julius Caesar. Octavius proceeded to the conquest of Egypt in 30 B.C.E., and Egypt became a Roman province. It was to this Roman province that Joseph and Mary fled with the young child Jesus to escape Herod’s murderous decree, returning after the death of Herod, so that the words of Hosea, “out of Egypt I called my son,” were fulfilled.​—Mt 2:13-15; Ho 11:1; compare Ex 4:22, 23.

The “Egyptian” seditionist with whom the military commander at Jerusalem confused Paul is possibly the same one mentioned by Josephus. (The Jewish War, II, 254-263 [xiii, 3-5]) His insurrection is stated to have taken place during the reign of Nero and the procuratorship of Felix in Judea, circumstances fitting the account at Acts 21:37-39; 23:23, 24.

The second destruction of Jerusalem, by the Romans in 70 C.E., resulted in a further fulfillment of Deuteronomy 28:68, as many surviving Jews were sent to Egypt as slaves.​—The Jewish War, VI, 418 (ix, 2).

Other Prophetic and Symbolic References. A large number of the references to Egypt are in pronouncements of judgment, couched in symbolic language. (Eze 29:1-7; 32:1-32) To the Israelites, Egypt represented military strength and power through political alliance, so that dependence on Egypt became symbolic of dependence on human power instead of on Jehovah. (Isa 31:1-3) But, at Isaiah 30:1-7, Jehovah showed that Egypt’s might was more in appearance than in fact, calling her “Rahab​—they are for sitting still [“Rahab-do-nothing,” JB].” (Compare Ps 87:4; Isa 51:9, 10.) Along with the many condemnations, however, there were promises that many out of “Egypt” would come to know Jehovah, to the extent that it would be said: “Blessed be my people, Egypt.”​—Isa 19:19-25; 45:14.

Egypt is mentioned as part of the realm of the symbolic “king of the south.” (Da 11:5, 8, 42, 43) At Revelation 11:8 unfaithful Jerusalem, where the Lord Jesus Christ was impaled, is “in a spiritual sense” called Egypt. This is appropriate when we consider that unfaithful Jerusalem religiously oppressed and enslaved the Jews. Also, the first Passover victims were slain in Egypt, while the antitypical Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, was killed at Jerusalem.​—Joh 1:29, 36; 1Co 5:7; 1Pe 1:19.

Valuable Papyrus Finds. The unusually dry soil of Egypt has made possible the survival of papyrus manuscripts, which, in more moist conditions, would have been destroyed. Since the latter part of the 19th century, many papyri have been discovered there, including a considerable number of Biblical papyri, such as the Chester Beatty collection. These provide especially important links between the original writings of the Holy Scriptures and the later vellum manuscript copies.

A long wadi (or ravine) marking the God-ordained SW boundary of the Promised Land, that is, “the land of Canaan.” (Nu 34:2, 5; 1Ki 8:65; Isa 27:12) While this torrent valley was not actually in Egypt, that nation’s domain apparently extended, at least in certain periods, up to that point. (2Ki 24:7) The abbreviated expression “the torrent valley,” used in defining the borders of the land of Israel in Ezekiel’s vision, apparently refers to this same ravine.​—Eze 47:19; 48:28.

The torrent valley of Egypt is usually identified with Wadi el-ʽArish, which starts over 200 km (125 mi) inland on the Sinai Peninsula, near Jebel et-Tih. It runs N until meeting the Mediterranean Sea at the town of el-ʽArish (Rhinocolura), about 150 km (90 mi) E of Port Said. In the summer it is nothing more than a dry bed. During the rainy season, however, when numerous tributaries pour into it, the Wadi el-ʽArish becomes a swollen torrent that tears at its banks, even uprooting trees and sweeping them down its turbulent course. This might allow for its identification as “the river of Egypt” in the boundary listing of the Promised Land at Genesis 15:18.​—See, however, SHIHOR.

See AHIRAM.

(Eʹhud).

1. A descendant of Jediael of the tribe of Benjamin, through Bilhan; a valiant, mighty man.​—1Ch 7:6, 10, 11.

2. Son of Gera of the tribe of Benjamin (Jg 3:15), Ehud was chosen by God to deliver the nation from an 18-year bondage to King Eglon of Moab, an oppression God permitted because “they did what was bad in Jehovah’s eyes.”​—Jg 3:12-14.

When the Israelites began to call to Jehovah for aid, God raised up “a savior” in the person of Ehud. In time, the Israelites sent tribute to Eglon by means of Ehud, who had made a two-edged sword for himself, “its length being a cubit [Heb., goʹmedh],” actually a linear measurement about which there is uncertainty in this particular case. Some believe it was a short cubit of about 38 cm (15 in.). Ehud was a left-handed man, or, literally, “a man closed (impeded) of his right hand.” But this does not mean that Ehud was crippled, as such Hebrew phraseology is used in connection with 700 Benjamite warriors, who are not likely to have had a physical defect but were “left-handed” and evidently ambidextrous. (Jg 3:15, 16, ftn; 20:16; compare 1Ch 12:2.) The Bible does not specifically say Ehud was ambidextrous, though that is possible. Nevertheless, being left-handed, he girded the sword underneath his garment upon his right thigh.

After presentation of the tribute, Ehud sent the tribute bearers away but turned back at the quarries of Gilgal. Ehud then came to Eglon as the Moabite king sat in his roof chamber, and he said to him: “A word of God I have for you.” Interested, Eglon arose from his throne. At that, Ehud “thrust in his left hand and took the sword off his right thigh,” plunging it into obese Eglon’s belly, with the result that “the handle kept going in also after the blade so that the fat closed in over the blade.” A right-handed man would likely draw his sword from his left side, across his body. So it is not probable that Eglon would expect Ehud to draw a sword from the right thigh, using his left hand. The enemy ruler now dead, Ehud escaped through the air hole, after closing and locking the doors of the roof chamber behind him. When Eglon’s servants finally opened the doors, they discovered that “their lord was fallen to the earth dead!”​—Jg 3:15-25.

Ehud, having escaped to the mountainous region of Ephraim, marshaled an army of Israelites, saying to them: “Follow me, because Jehovah has given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand.” After capturing the fords of the Jordan, the Israelites cut off the Moabites’ retreat to their homeland. Doubtless already greatly demoralized by their king’s death, 10,000 Moabites were struck down by the Israelites, “every one robust and every one a valiant man; and not a single one escaped.” Moab having been subdued under Israel’s hand and Ehud’s leadership, “the land had no further disturbance for eighty years.”​—Jg 3:26-30.

Ehud is not specifically called “Judge Ehud”; rather he is referred to as “a savior.” (Jg 3:15) But Othniel was called both “a savior” and a “judge” (Jg 3:9, 10), and the period was the time of the Judges. So Ehud was apparently considered not only “a savior” but also a judge.

3. A name that appears among the descendants of Benjamin at 1 Chronicles 8:1, 6.

(Eʹker) [Member [of the family]].

A son of Ram, Jerahmeel’s firstborn, of the tribe of Judah.​—1Ch 2:4, 5, 9, 25, 27.

(Ekʹron).

A leading Philistine city, apparently the northernmost seat of one of their five axis lords. (Jos 13:3) Its exact position is uncertain, but it is generally identified with Khirbet el-Muqannaʽ (Tel Miqne), about 18 km (11 mi) E of Ashdod. Recent excavation there has unearthed the largest city of its period and gives it current preference as the site of Ekron.

Ekron’s history is one of constantly changing domination. Joshua’s conquest did not include Ekron. It was not until later that the Judeans captured it. (Jos 13:2, 3; Jg 1:18) In the initial division of the Promised Land, Ekron was on the border between Judah and Dan but within the tribe of Judah. (Jos 15:1, 11, 45, 46; 19:40-43) By the time the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant, Ekron was back in their possession. The presence of the Ark caused “a death-dealing confusion” to break out in this city, and it was from Ekron that the Ark was finally sent back to the Jews. (1Sa 5:10-12; 6:16, 17) After another period under Israelite control, the Philistines apparently again had Ekron at the time David slew Goliath. (1Sa 7:14; 17:52) It was in the early tenth century B.C.E. that Pharaoh Shishak of Egypt claimed to have taken Ekron. Some two centuries later, according to Sennacherib’s annals, Ekron’s King Padi was loyal to the Assyrians.

See GOD.

(Eʹla) [possibly, God].

Father of Shimei, one of Solomon’s 12 deputies who provided food for the king and his household.​—1Ki 4:7, 18.

(Eʹlah).

[1-5: related to Heb. ʼEl, “God”]

1. An Edomite sheik who likely occupied the village of Elath.​—Ge 36:40, 41, 43; 1Ch 1:52; see ELATH, ELOTH; TIMNA No. 3.

2. A son of Caleb the spy; father of Kenaz of the tribe of Judah.​—1Ch 4:15.

3. Fourth king of the northern ten-tribe kingdom of Israel. Elah came to the throne in about 952 B.C.E. on the death of his father Baasha and ruled in Tirzah for parts of two years. (1Ki 16:8) While Elah was drunk, Zimri, the chief over half the chariots, put him to death to get the kingship for himself and then went on to wipe out all of Baasha’s house, fulfilling Jehovah’s prophecy.​—1Ki 16:1-14.

4. Father of King Hoshea, the last monarch of the northern kingdom.​—2Ki 15:30; 17:1; 18:1, 9.

5. A descendant of Benjamin who lived in Jerusalem.​—1Ch 9:3, 7, 8.

What was the setting in which David faced Goliath?

6. [Big Tree]. A low plain, or valley, perhaps named for an outstandingly large tree located therein. “The low plain of Elah” was the site of the encounter between the Israelites and the Philistines, championed by Goliath. (1Sa 17:2, 19; 21:9) It is usually associated with the fertile Wadi es-Sant, one of the principal wadis extending from the Philistine plains through the Shephelah into the mountainous regions of Judah, passing between the suggested locations of Azekah and Socoh. (1Sa 17:1) It thus lay about 25 km (15 mi) SW of Jerusalem. The well-watered plain is about half a kilometer (0.25 mi) wide and quite level. The opposing forces faced each other across this valley, each side having a strong position on a mountainside, the Philistines perhaps to the S and the Israelites to the N or NE. Through the low plain ran “the torrent valley,” probably the dry streambed still found there. (1Sa 17:40) Perhaps the delay of “forty days” spent by the two armies was due in part to the weak position in which either side would place itself in having to cross over this torrent valley and then go up against the enemy force on the opposing mountainside. (1Sa 17:16) David selected five smooth stones from the torrent valley when crossing over to face Goliath. After David’s victory, the routed Philistine army fled down the valley to the Philistine plain and the cities of Gath and Ekron.​—1Sa 17:52.

(Eʹlam).

1. One of the five sons of Shem from whom descended “families, according to their tongues, in their lands, according to their nations.” (Ge 10:22, 31; 1Ch 1:17) The names of Elam’s sons are not specified; his name, however, designates both a people and a region on the SE border of Mesopotamia.

Historically, the name Elam applied to an area in what is now called Khuzestan in SW Iran. It included the fertile plain on the eastern side of the lower Tigris Valley, watered by the Karun and Karkheh rivers, and evidently extended into the mountainous regions bordering this plain on the N and E, although these two boundaries are the least certain. A region called Anshan is believed to have been situated in these mountainous regions and is represented in inscriptions as forming a part of Elam from an early period. Elam, located at the extreme eastern end of the Fertile Crescent, was, therefore, in somewhat of a frontier position, being one of the regions where territory populated and generally dominated by Semitic races confronted or merged with races descended from Noah’s other sons, principally the Japhetic line.

The land of Elam was called elamtu by the Assyrians and Babylonians and Elymais by the classical Greek writers, who also at times referred to it as “Susiana” after the city of Susa, or Shushan, at one time evidently the capital of Elam. Under the Persian Empire, Susa (Shushan) was a royal city. (Ne 1:1; Es 1:2) It was situated on the trade routes leading off to the SE and also up into the Iranian plateau. Efforts to gain control of these routes made Elam the object of frequent invasion by Assyrian and Babylonian rulers.

Language. In discussing Elam, reference works generally claim that the writer of Genesis listed Elam under Shem only on a political or a geographic basis since, they say, the people of Elam were not Semitic. This view they base on the claim that the language of the Elamites was not Semitic. Investigation, however, reveals that the earliest inscriptions found in the geographic region designated Elam are “mere lists of objects pictorially jotted down on clay-tablets with the numbers of each beside them, indicated by a simple system of strokes, circles and semicircles . . . their contents at this time are purely economic or administrative.” (Semitic Writing, by G. R. Driver, London, 1976, pp. 2, 3) These inscriptions could reasonably be called “Elamite” only as meaning that they were found in the territory of Elam.

The weight of the argument of those opposing the inclusion of Elam among the Semitic peoples, therefore, rests principally upon later inscriptions in cuneiform, regarded as dating considerably within the second millennium B.C.E., as well as on the Behistun monument (of the sixth century B.C.E.), which contains parallel texts in Old Persian, Akkadian, and “Elamite.” The cuneiform inscriptions attributed to the Elamites are said to be in an agglutinative language (one in which root words are joined together to form compounds, thereby distinguished from inflectional languages). Philologists have not been able successfully to relate this “Elamite” language to any other known tongue.

In evaluating the above information, it should be remembered that the geographic region in which the descendants of Elam eventually concentrated may well have been occupied by other peoples prior to or even during such Elamite residence there, just as the early non-Semitic Sumerians resided in Babylonia. The Encyclopædia Britannica (1959, Vol. 8, p. 118) states: “The whole country [designated Elam] was occupied by a variety of tribes, speaking agglutinative dialects for the most part, though the western districts were occupied by Semites.”​—Italics ours; MAP and CHART, Vol. 1, p. 329.

That the cuneiform inscriptions found in the region of Elam would not of themselves prove that the true Elamites were originally non-Semitic can be seen from the many ancient historical examples that can be cited of peoples adopting a tongue other than their own because of domination or infiltration by foreign elements. There are likewise examples of ancient peoples simultaneously employing another language along with their own for commercial and international uses, even as Aramaic became a lingua franca used by many peoples. The “Hittites” of Karatepe wrote bilingual inscriptions (evidently in the eighth century B.C.E.) in “Hittite” hieroglyphic script and in old Phoenician. Some 30,000 clay tablets of the time of Persian King Darius I were found at Persepolis, a royal Persian city. They were mainly in the language termed “Elamite.” Yet Persepolis would not be called an Elamite city.

Further showing that it is unwise to view the table of nations at Genesis chapter 10 as purely geographic, and not actually genealogical, is the evidence in the form of sculptures carved for Elamite kings and dated by archaeologists as far back as the time of Sargon I (whose rule they assign to the latter part of the third millennium). These sculptures not only present the form of typical Akkadian (Semitic Assyro-Babylonian) figures but also bear Akkadian inscriptions.​—The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, edited by J. D. Douglas, 1980, Vol. 1, p. 433.

History. The first Biblical mention of Elam as a country, or nation, is in the time of Abraham (2018-1843 B.C.E.) when Chedorlaomer “king of Elam” marched with an alliance of kings against a Canaanite coalition of kings in the Dead Sea region. (Ge 14:1-3) Chedorlaomer is indicated as the leader of the alliance and as having held suzerainty over the Canaanite kings, upon whom he now inflicted punishment. (Ge 14:4-17) Such a campaign, requiring a round-trip journey of perhaps 3,200 km (2,000 mi), was not unusual for Mesopotamian kings even in that ancient time. Secular history confirms that in the early part of the second millennium B.C.E. there was such a period of Elamite dominance in the Mesopotamian region. An Elamite official named Kudur-Mabuk who successfully occupied the prominent city of Larsa (along the Euphrates north of Ur) appointed his son Warad-Sin as king there. Noteworthy is the fact that Warad-Sin and Rim-Sin (Warad-Sin’s brother who succeeded him as king) are both Semitic names, further substantiating a Semitic element in Elam.

This period of Elamite power in Babylonia was upset and terminated by Hammurabi, and it was not until the latter part of the second millennium B.C.E. that Elam was able to conquer Babylon and again establish control for a period of some centuries. It is believed that it was during this time that a stele bearing the famous Code of Hammurabi was taken from Babylonia to Susa, where modern archaeologists discovered it.

Elam again was reduced to a subordinate position by Nebuchadnezzar I (not the Nebuchadnezzar who, several centuries later, destroyed Jerusalem), but it continued to be a frequent participant in the power struggle between Assyria and Babylon until finally Assyrian Emperors Sennacherib and Ashurbanipal (Asenappar) defeated the Elamite forces, transplanting some of the people to the cities of Samaria. (Ezr 4:8-10) Also, Israelite captives were sent into exile in Elam. (Isa 11:11) Inscriptions of the Assyrian emperors vividly describe this subjugation of Elam.

Following the downfall of the Assyrian Empire, Elam appears to have come under Japhetic (Aryan) control. The Medes and Persians are thought to have spread into the Iranian plateau region several centuries earlier, and under Cyaxares, the Medes fought with the Babylonians in overthrowing the Assyrian capital of Nineveh. Daniel 8:2 seems to indicate that Elam thereafter became a Babylonian district. Whatever the immediate effects on Elam from the Assyrian collapse, the Persians evidently succeeded in taking from Elam the region called Anshan, as Persian rulers Teispes, Cyrus I, Cambyses, and Cyrus II were all respectively called by the title “King of Anshan.” While some consider such conquest of Anshan to be in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning Elam (Jer 49:34-39), most scholars place the conquest of Anshan by Teispes many years prior to the pronouncement of that prophecy made in about 617 B.C.E.

Isaiah’s warning at Isaiah 22:4-6 foretold that Elamite archers would be among those attacking Judah and Jerusalem. The Elamites were also prophesied to unite with Media in despoiling Babylon (539 B.C.E.), Media by that time being under the rule of the Persian Cyrus II, “King of Anshan.” (Isa 21:2) Elamites thus contributed toward the release of Israel from exile, yet having aligned themselves at various times with enemies of God’s people, Elam along with the other nations would, in due time, be made to drink of the cup of God’s wrath and go down into Sheol.​—Jer 25:17, 25-29; Eze 32:24.

On the day of Pentecost, 33 C.E., Elamites were among the thousands hearing the message spoken by the disciples in the language then currently spoken in Elam. (Ac 2:8, 9) As a nation and people, however, they have since ceased to exist, even as foretold at Jeremiah 49:34-39.

2. A Levite gatekeeper during David’s reign and a son of Meshelemiah of the family of the Korahites.​—1Ch 25:1; 26:1-3.

3. A son of Shashak and a headman of the tribe of Benjamin.​—1Ch 8:24, 25, 28.

4. Progenitor of an Israelite family of whom 1,254 descendants returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:1, 2, 7; Ne 7:12) and a later contingent of 71 males accompanied Ezra. (Ezr 8:7) Some of his descendants were among those agreeing to put away their foreign wives (Ezr 10:19, 26), and a representative of the family signed the covenant in Nehemiah’s time.​—Ne 10:1, 14.

5. One designated as “the other Elam,” also a family head with the same number, 1,254 descendants, accompanying Zerubbabel’s company to Judah.​—Ezr 2:31; Ne 7:34.

6. A Levite present at the inauguration of the wall of Jerusalem by Nehemiah.​—Ne 12:27, 42.

See ELAM No. 1.

(El·aʹsah) [God Has Made].

The son of Shaphan who, with Gemariah, was sent by Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah on that occasion sent his letter to the exiles in Babylon by the hand of Elasah and of Gemariah.​—Jer 29:1-3.

(Eʹlath) [possibly, Ram; or, Place of the Ram], Eloth (Eʹloth [plural]).

A site first mentioned in Moses’ recapitulation of the Israelites’ 40-year trek through the wilderness. (De 2:8) Elath is mentioned along with Ezion-geber and lay on “the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom.” (1Ki 9:26) This points to a location on the NE arm or branch of the Red Sea known as the Gulf of ʽAqaba. Scholars basically agree with Jerome, of the fourth and fifth centuries C.E., who identified Elath with the city then known as Aila, associated with the Nabataeans. This would place Elath at or near the present-day Arab city of ʽAqaba situated at the NE corner of the gulf (the modern Jewish city called Elat being at the NW corner).

Elath was part of the Edomite domain when the Israelites passed through the region on their way to Canaan. Seals bearing the Edomite name of “Qosʽanal, servant of the king,” dated by archaeologists as from the seventh century B.C.E. have been found in the Elath area.

Evidently as a result of David’s conquest of Edom, Elath and neighboring Ezion-geber came under Judean control (2Sa 8:13, 14), and they are mentioned in connection with Solomon’s shipbuilding activities. (1Ki 9:26; 2Ch 8:17) The fact that Ezion-geber is referred to as “by Eloth” may indicate that Elath (Eloth) was the more prominent of the two sites, at least at that time.

Control of Elath evidently reverted to Edom during the reign of Jehoram of Judah. (2Ki 8:20-22) In the following century the city was restored to Judah and rebuilt by King Uzziah (Azariah). (2Ki 14:21, 22; 2Ch 26:1, 2) Then, during the rule of Ahaz (761-746 B.C.E.), it was wrested from Judah by the Syrians and was reoccupied by the Edomites, thereafter never returning to the Judeans. (2Ki 16:6) The Masoretic text here reads “Syria” or “Aram” (Heb., ʼAramʹ) instead of “Edom” (ʼEdhohmʹ). Most current scholars, however, accept the latter reading, in the margin, believing that a scribe confused the Hebrew letter daʹleth (ד) with the similar-shaped letter rehsh (ר).

Essentially an oasis, Elath was a stopping point on the caravan route leading from S Arabia to Egypt, Canaan, or Damascus. Along with Ezion-geber, it was also located at the gateway for the “ships of Tarshish” that plied the waters to and from Arabia, East Africa, and possibly India. (1Ki 10:22; 9:26, 27) Aramaic writings, such as wine receipts from the period of the Persian Empire, have been found in the area, also remnants of high-quality pottery of Grecian style, perhaps intended for transshipment to Arabia.

See BAAL-BERITH.

(El-bethʹel) [The God of Bethel].

The name given by Jacob to the spot where he erected an altar in obedience to God’s command. (Ge 35:1, 7) Certain scholars consider “The God of Bethel” to be an unlikely name for a location, and note that in the Greek Septuagint, Latin Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta, and Arabic versions the initial “El” was omitted. However, it should be remembered that the area around Bethel was full of meaning for Jacob. It was in this area over 20 years earlier that God revealed himself to Jacob in a dream, promising to protect him. At that time the patriarch was moved to respond, “Truly Jehovah is in this place.” (Ge 28:10-22) Since this was the case, when later naming the altar site, Jacob was saying in effect, ‘God is in Bethel.’​—Compare Ge 33:20.

(El·daʹah) [possibly, God’s Knowledge; God Knows].

A son of Midian the fourth-named son of Abraham by Keturah.​—Ge 25:1, 2, 4; 1Ch 1:33.

(Elʹdad) [possibly, God Has Loved].

One of the 70 older men selected by Moses to assist him in carrying the load of the people. Because of murmuring on the part of the mixed crowd and also the Israelites about the manna and not having meat to eat, Moses voiced the feeling that the load was too heavy for him alone. Therefore Jehovah directed Moses to gather 70 older men and take them to the tent of meeting. Two of these older men, Eldad and Medad, however, did not go to the tent of meeting but, undoubtedly for a valid reason, remained in the camp. Jehovah then proceeded to take some of the spirit that was upon Moses and put it upon the older men; these, in turn, began to prophesy. The spirit also settled down upon Eldad and Medad, and they began to act as prophets in the camp. This was reported to Moses, and when Joshua, feeling jealous for Moses, requested that he restrain them, Moses replied: “No, I wish that all of Jehovah’s people were prophets, because Jehovah would put his spirit upon them!”​—Nu 11:13-29.

See OLDER MAN.

(Eʹle·ad) [God Has Borne Witness].

Likely, son of Ephraim who was killed along with his brother Ezer by the men of Gath “because they came down to take their livestock.”​—1Ch 7:20, 21; see EPHRAIM No. 1.

(E·le·aʹdah) [God Has Decked Himself].

One of Ephraim’s descendants.​—1Ch 7:20.

(E·le·aʹleh).

A site regularly mentioned with Heshbon and located in the pastoral country E of the Jordan. The tribe of Reuben “built” (or rebuilt) the city soon after its conquest. (Nu 32:3-5, 37) Centuries later, when it was under Moab’s control, Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesied that Elealeh was due to “cry out” at that nation’s collapse. (Isa 15:4; 16:9; Jer 48:34) It is usually thought to be located on a hill at el-ʽAl, about 3 km (2 mi) NE of Heshbon.

(El·e·aʹsah) [God Has Made].

1. Son of Helez and father of Sismai, a descendant of Judah through Jerahmeel. Jarha, an Egyptian slave who married the daughter of his master Sheshan, was one of the forefathers of Eleasah.​—1Ch 2:33, 34, 39, 40.

2. A descendant of Jonathan the son of King Saul.​—1Ch 8:33-37; 9:39-43.

3. A priest of “the sons of Pashhur” among those heeding Ezra’s exhortation to dismiss their foreign wives.​—Ezr 2:36, 38; 10:22, 44.

(El·e·aʹzar) [God Has Helped].

1. The third-named son of High Priest Aaron by his wife Elisheba. Eleazar was of the family of Kohath the son of Levi. (Ex 6:16, 18, 20, 23; Nu 3:2) Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, constituted the priesthood of Israel at the time of its installation by Moses.​—Le 8.

In the second year after leaving Egypt, when the tabernacle had been set up, Eleazar is mentioned as being chief of the Levites. (Nu 1:1; 3:32) He must have been at least 30 years of age at the time, inasmuch as he was performing priestly duties.​—Nu 4:3.

Eleazar was one of those above 20 years of age who had left Egypt and who also entered the Promised Land. Being of the tribe of Levi, he was not included in God’s condemnation expressed against the other 12 tribes, that none of them from 20 years old upward would enter the Promised Land, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. Levi had no representative among the 12 spies, 10 of whom brought back bad reports, and the Levites apparently were not included in the faithless, rebellious murmuring against Jehovah.​—Nu 13:4-16; 14:26-30.

Shortly after the dedication of the tabernacle and the consecration of Aaron and his sons for the priesthood (Le 8), Nadab and Abihu offered up illegitimate fire to Jehovah and were killed by fire proceeding from Jehovah. (Le 10:1, 2; Nu 3:2-4) Aaron, with his two faithful sons Eleazar and Ithamar, continued to carry on the priesthood. With the division of duties in the care of the sanctuary, Eleazar had oversight of the tabernacle with its utensils, constant grain offering, oil, and incense. (Nu 4:16) At Jehovah’s command Eleazar took up the copper fire holders that Korah and the others associated with him (none of whom were priests) had used to offer up incense to Jehovah in a desire to take over priestly duties. These were made into thin metal plates with which the altar was overlaid. (Nu 16:37-40) Eleazar officiated at the sin offering of the red heifer that provided the ashes for cleansing from certain uncleannesses.​—Nu 19:2, 3, 9; Heb 9:13.

After the Israelites went to war to punish the Midianites for the affair of Peor, Eleazar was on hand to aid in dividing the spoils taken from the Midianites and to declare God’s statute regarding the things taken.​—Nu 31:6, 21-41.

Phinehas, Eleazar’s son by one of the daughters of Putiel, was rewarded by Jehovah with a covenant of peace for his zealous action in behalf of pure worship at the time Israel sinned in connection with the Baal of Peor. This may be considered as added to the covenant for the priesthood Jehovah had made with the tribe of Levi.​—Nu 25:1-13; Ex 6:25.

Becomes High Priest. In the 40th year of the wilderness journey, upon Aaron’s death at the age of 123 years, Eleazar, then about 70 years of age, became high priest. (Nu 33:37-39) Eleazar, therefore, was the first high priest of Israel to officiate in the Promised Land when they entered about eight months later. (Nu 20:25-28; De 10:6; Jos 4:19) It was before Eleazar that Joshua was to stand to be appointed as Moses’ successor, and Eleazar was to continue to give support to Joshua in the appointment and to transmit to him Jehovah’s decisions on questions of importance according to the judgment of the Urim and the Thummim. (Nu 27:18-23) Eleazar also worked together with Joshua in the distribution of the Promised Land after the conquest of Canaan.​—Jos 14:1; 21:1-3.

Head of Major Priestly House. The time of Eleazar’s death is not stated in the Scriptures with exactness, but it seems to have been near the time of the death of Joshua. Eleazar was succeeded by his son Phinehas. (Jos 24:29, 30, 33; Jg 20:27, 28) Eleazar manifested the trait of zeal for Jehovah’s true worship and conducted the priesthood with honor all his days. Jewish tradition holds that during the time the tabernacle was in Shiloh, there were 16 courses of priests, 8 in the family of Eleazar and 8 in that of his brother Ithamar. However, in David’s time there were more chief men in the family of Eleazar than of Ithamar. Therefore David made 16 priestly divisions of the house of Eleazar and 8 of the house of Ithamar, making a total of 24 divisions that served in turn later at the temple.​—1Ch 24:1-4.

2. The son of Abinadab who was sanctified to guard the sacred Ark that was brought to the house of his father in the city of Kiriath-jearim, after its return by the Philistines.​—1Sa 7:1, 2.

3. Son of Dodo the Ahohite; one of David’s three outstanding mighty men. At Pas-dammim, during a military campaign with David, Eleazar distinguished himself by taking his stand in a field full of barley and single-handedly striking down the Philistines, “so that Jehovah saved with a great salvation.”​—1Ch 11:12-14; 2Sa 23:9, 10.

4. Son of Mahli the Merarite of the tribe of Levi. Eleazar did not have any sons but had only daughters. Therefore, the sons of Kish, their cousins, took them as wives.​—1Ch 23:21, 22.

5. Son of a certain Phinehas, mentioned as assisting Meremoth the priest when, on the fourth day of Ezra’s arrival in Jerusalem, the silver and the gold and the utensils for temple use were weighed out.​—Ezr 8:29, 32, 33.

6. A descendant of Parosh among those having taken foreign wives but who followed through on Ezra’s exhortation to dismiss them.​—Ezr 10:25, 44.

7. A Levite priest in the procession arranged by Nehemiah at the inauguration of the rebuilt wall of Jerusalem.​—Ne 12:42.

8. An ancestor of Jesus’ adoptive father Joseph.​—Mt 1:15.

The shining alloy of gold and silver, which, when heated in the furnace, has a quivering beauty and glowing yellow brilliance all its own.​—Eze 1:4, 27; 8:2.

(El·haʹnan) [God Has Shown Favor; God Has Been Gracious].

1. The son of Jair who, in war with the Philistines, struck down Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite. (1Ch 20:5) In 2 Samuel 21:19 Elhanan is identified as “the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite,” and it is said that he struck down Goliath. However, many scholars think that the original reading of 2 Samuel 21:19 corresponded to 1 Chronicles 20:5, the differences in the two texts having arisen through scribal error.​—See JAARE-OREGIM; LAHMI.

2. Son of Dodo of Bethlehem; one of David’s mighty men.​—2Sa 23:24; 1Ch 11:26.

(Eʹli) [Ascended; Gone Up].

A high priest of Israel; evidently a descendant of Aaron’s fourth-named son Ithamar. (Compare 2Sa 8:17; 1Ki 2:27; 1Ch 24:3; Ex 6:23.) As high priest, Eli judged Israel for 40 years. Samuel began to be a prophet during his lifetime. (1Sa 4:18; 3:10-13, 19-21) Eli’s day was one characterized by spiritual famine in Israel, for “word from Jehovah had become rare in those days; there was no vision being spread abroad.”​—1Sa 3:1.

The first glimpse of Eli is given in chapter 1 of First Samuel. Eli is seated outside by the doorpost of the tabernacle and is rebuking righteous Hannah, whom he judges to be drunk, when actually she has been praying extendedly before Jehovah there in front of the tabernacle. Upon Hannah’s reply that she is not drunk but has spoken out of the abundance of her concern and vexation, Eli dismisses her in peace. Jehovah answers Hannah’s prayer, and she gives birth to a son whom she names Samuel. As soon as he is weaned she, in keeping with her vow, turns him over for service at the tabernacle.​—1Sa 1:9-18, 20, 24, 28; 2:11, 18.

Lax in Disciplining Sons. As a father and high priest in Israel, Eli is lax in applying Jehovah’s discipline. His two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, serve as officiating priests, but they are “good-for-nothing men,” only interested in satisfying their bellies and unclean sexual desires. They are not content with the portion of the sacrifice assigned to them by God’s law, and even serve themselves ahead of Jehovah by having an attendant demand raw meat from the offerer before making the fat smoke upon the altar. Eli’s greedy, sensual sons use their position at the tent of meeting to carry on vice and theft at the expense of Jehovah’s pure worship. Even when his corrupt sons have immoral intercourse with the women who serve at the entrance of the tabernacle, Eli does not oust them from office but merely rebukes them mildly. Eli keeps honoring his sons more than Jehovah.​—1Sa 2:12-17, 22-25, 29.

In the course of time a prophet of God comes with a dire message of warning: The power and influence of the house of Eli is to be chopped off, so that there will not come to be an old man in his house. His corrupt sons are appointed to die in one day. (1Sa 2:27-36) Through none other than the young boy Samuel, Jehovah reaffirms the adverse judgment upon the house of Eli. (1Sa 3:11-14) Samuel is afraid to relate the message, but does so at Eli’s request. Eli then meekly submits, saying: “It is Jehovah. What is good in his eyes let him do.”​—1Sa 3:15-18.

Jehovah Judges His House. Retribution comes according to God’s word. Israel loses about 4,000 men in battle with the Philistines. The Israelites decide to get the Ark from Shiloh and to bring it into the camp, thinking that this will result in deliverance from their enemies. But the Philistines step up their battle efforts. Thirty thousand Israelites are slain. The Ark is captured. Hophni and Phinehas, who are there with the Ark, die. A man from Benjamin hurries from the battle lines to bring the report to Eli. Blind and feeble, 98-year-old Eli is sitting on a seat by the roadside, his heart atremble concerning the Ark. Upon hearing that the Ark has been captured, Eli falls over backward and dies of a broken neck.​—1Sa 4:2-18.

Further retribution against the house of Eli came at the hands of King Saul, who ruthlessly ordered the murder of the priests of Nob, the descendants of Eli through Phinehas’ son Ahitub. (1Sa 14:3; 22:11, 18) Only Abiathar, a son of Ahimelech, escaped the massacre and continued serving as priest throughout David’s reign. (1Sa 22:20; 2Sa 19:11) However, Abiathar was removed as priest by Solomon for having offered help to the rebellious conspirator Adonijah. (1Ki 1:7; 2:26, 27) Thus the judgment of Jehovah on Eli’s house was fulfilled, and his descendants were ousted from the high-priestly office for all time.​—1Sa 3:13, 14.

(Eʹli).

As Jesus was dying on the torture stake, about the ninth hour, or about 3:00 p.m., he called out: “Eʹli, Eʹli, laʹma sa·bach·thaʹni?” (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) (Mt 27:46; Mr 15:34) Bystanders thought that he was calling for Elijah. Perhaps they misunderstood Jesus’ words because his speech was indistinct as a result of his intense suffering or because his dialect differed from theirs. (Mt 27:47; Mr 15:35) In calling out to his heavenly Father, acknowledging him as his God, Jesus fulfilled Psalm 22:1.

(E·liʹab) [My God Is Father].

1. Son of Helon of the tribe of Zebulun; one of the 12 chieftains designated by Jehovah to aid Moses and Aaron in numbering the sons of Israel for the army. (Nu 1:1-4, 9, 16) Eliab was over the army of his tribe, which was a part of the three-tribe division of the camp of Judah. (Nu 2:3, 7; 10:14-16) In addition to sharing in the group presentation made by the chieftains after the setting up of the tabernacle, chieftain Eliab thereafter presented his own offering on the third day for the inauguration of the altar.​—Nu 7:1-3, 10, 11, 24-29.

2. Son of Pallu of the tribe of Reuben; father of Nemuel. Eliab’s other sons, Dathan and Abiram, supported Korah in his rebellion against Moses and were swallowed up along with their households by the miraculous opening up of the earth.​—Nu 16:1, 12; 26:8-10; De 11:6.

3. A Levite of the family of Kohathites and an ancestor of Samuel the prophet. (1Ch 6:22, 27, 28, 33, 34) His name is given as Eliel at 1 Chronicles 6:34 and as Elihu at 1 Samuel 1:1.

4. The firstborn of King David’s father Jesse. (1Sa 17:13; 1Ch 2:13) Eliab’s appearance and the height of his stature so impressed Samuel that he concluded this one was God’s choice for the kingship. Jehovah, though, had rejected Eliab and selected David.​—1Sa 16:6-12.

Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah, the three oldest sons of Jesse, were in Saul’s army at the time the Philistine champion Goliath directed his challenge to the men of Israel. Shortly before Goliath again came up from the battle lines of the Philistines to taunt Israel, David, having been sent by his father, arrived on the scene with provisions of food for his three brothers. Angered greatly by David’s making inquiry among the Israelite warriors about the reward to be received by the one striking down Goliath, Eliab lashed out against David, suggesting that he was negligent in caring for his shepherding duties and accusing him of being presumptuous and having a bad heart. (This account about David’s errand and Eliab’s anger is omitted by the Vatican Manuscript No. 1209.)​—1Sa 17:13, 17, 26-28.

Much later David’s son Jerimoth, it seems, married Abihail the daughter of Eliab.​—2Ch 11:18.

5. One of the Gadites who attached themselves to David while he was still under restriction because of King Saul. The Gadites are described as “valiant, mighty men,” with the least one being equal to a hundred, and the greatest to a thousand.​—1Ch 12:1, 8, 9, 14.

6. A Levite musician of the second division who assisted with the music when King David had the ark of Jehovah moved to Jerusalem from the house of Obed-edom.​—1Ch 15:18, 20, 25; 16:5.

(E·liʹa·da) [God Has Known].

1. A son of David born at Jerusalem. (2Sa 5:13-16; 1Ch 3:5-8) Called Beeliada at 1 Chronicles 14:7.

2. Father of a resister of Solomon named Rezon.​—1Ki 11:23.

3. A Benjamite army officer commanding 200,000 bowmen during Jehoshaphat’s reign.​—2Ch 17:12, 17.

(E·liʹah·ba) [God Hides].

A Shaalbonite; one of David’s mighty men.​—2Sa 23:32; 1Ch 11:33.

(E·liʹa·kim) [My God Raises Up].

1. Son of Hilkiah; chief administrator of the affairs of the house of Hezekiah the king of Judah at the time the Assyrian king Sennacherib invaded Judah in 732 B.C.E.

While Shebna was still “over the house,” the prophet Isaiah foretold that he would be ripped from this position and be replaced by Eliakim, whom Jehovah calls “my servant.” The transfer was to be made by clothing Eliakim with Shebna’s official robe and sash. Also, “the key of the house of David” was to be placed upon Eliakim’s shoulder, suggesting that he would be entrusted with the oversight of the king’s chambers and the authority to decide who might be accepted into the service of the king.​—Isa 22:15-24.

Acting in this official capacity, Eliakim, Shebna the secretary, and Joah, apparently the recorder, came out to speak with Rabshakeh, who had come to Jerusalem with a heavy military force to demand the surrender of the city. Then, with garments ripped apart, the three of them reported the words of Sennacherib’s spokesmen to King Hezekiah, who, in turn, proceeded to send Eliakim, Shebna, and the older men of the priests to Isaiah to make inquiry of Jehovah.​—Isa 36:11, 22; 37:1, 2; 2Ki 18:17, 18, 26, 36, 37; 19:1, 2.

2. King of Judah (628-618 B.C.E.) whom Pharaoh Nechoh placed upon the throne, changing his name to Jehoiakim. Eliakim was King Josiah’s son.​—2Ki 23:34; see JEHOIAKIM.

3. One of the Levite priests with the trumpets who was in the procession arranged by Nehemiah at the inauguration of the rebuilt wall of Jerusalem.​—Ne 12:31, 41.

4. An ancestor of Jesus’ adoptive father Joseph.​—Mt 1:13.

5. An ancestor of Jesus’ earthly mother Mary.​—Lu 3:30.

(E·liʹam) [God of the People].

1. Father of Bath-sheba. (2Sa 11:3) Called Ammiel at 1 Chronicles 3:5.

2. One of David’s mighty men; son of Ahithophel. (2Sa 23:34) He may possibly have been the same as No. 1 above, which would make Bath-sheba the granddaughter of Ahithophel.

(E·liʹa·saph) [God Has Added (Increased)].

1. Son of Deuel (or Reuel) of the tribe of Gad; one of the 12 chieftains whom Jehovah selected to assist Moses and Aaron in taking the sum of the males for the army. (Nu 1:1-4, 14; 2:14) Eliasaph was over the army of his tribe, which was a part of the three-tribe division of the camp of Reuben. (Nu 2:10-15; 10:18-20) Besides sharing in the group presentation made by the chieftains after the setting up of the tabernacle, Eliasaph thereafter presented his own offering on the sixth day for the inauguration of the altar.​—Nu 7:1, 2, 10, 42-47.

2. Son of Lael and chieftain of the paternal house of the Gershonites. Under the direction of Eliasaph, the Gershonites transported the tent coverings and the screen of the tabernacle entrance, the screen of the courtyard entrance and the hangings of the courtyard as well as the tent cords.​—Nu 3:21-26.

(E·liʹa·shib) [My God Returns (Brings Back)].

1. A Levite from the sons of Aaron to whom the lot of the 11th priestly division fell in the time of David.​—1Ch 24:1, 5, 6, 12.

2. Father of a certain Jehohanan.​—Ezr 10:6.

3. A Levite temple singer among those dismissing their foreign wives in the time of Ezra.​—Ezr 10:16, 17, 23, 24, 44.

4. Descendant of Zattu also among the men sending their foreign wives away.​—Ezr 10:16, 17, 27, 44.

5. Descendant of Bani likewise among those putting their foreign wives away.​—Ezr 10:16, 17, 34, 36, 44.

6. Grandson of Jeshua, who returned with Zerubbabel from Babylonian exile. Eliashib was high priest in the days of Nehemiah and shared with the other priests in rebuilding the Sheep Gate of the wall of Jerusalem. (Ne 12:1, 10; 3:1) During Nehemiah’s absence Eliashib himself defiled the temple by making a dining hall in the courtyard of the temple for his relative Tobiah the Ammonite. But Nehemiah, upon his return, threw out Tobiah’s furniture and had the dining halls cleansed. Nehemiah also chased away one of the sons of Joiada the son of Eliashib because of his being married to a daughter of Sanballat the Horonite.​—Ne 13:4, 5, 7-9, 28.

7. Son of Elioenai, a descendant of King David.​—1Ch 3:1, 5, 10, 24.

(E·liʹa·thah) [My God Has Come].

A son of Heman who, during the rule of King David, was designated by lot to be a musician in the 20th service group at the house of Jehovah.​—1Ch 25:1, 4-6, 9, 27.

(E·liʹdad) [My God Has Loved].

A Benjamite chieftain, the son of Chislon; he was appointed at Jehovah’s command to have a direct part in dividing the Promised Land among the Israelites.​—Nu 34:17, 18, 21, 29.

(Elʹie·ho-eʹnai) [Toward Jehovah Are My Eyes].

1. A gatekeeper of the Korahites appointed by David; the seventh son of Meshelemiah of the tribe of Levi.​—1Ch 26:1-3.

2. The son of Zerahiah who, accompanied by 200 males of the paternal house of Pahath-moab, returned from Babylon to Jerusalem with Ezra.​—Ezr 8:1, 4.

(Eʹli·el) [My God Is God].

1. One of the heads of the half tribe of Manasseh. Like the other heads, Eliel was a valiant, mighty fellow, a man of fame.​—1Ch 5:24.

2. A Levite of the family of the Kohathites and an ancestor of the prophet Samuel. (1Ch 6:33, 34) He evidently is called Elihu in 1 Samuel 1:1 and Eliab in 1 Chronicles 6:27.

3. A descendant of Shimei of the tribe of Benjamin.​—1Ch 8:1, 20, 21.

4. A descendant of Shashak of the tribe of Benjamin.​—1Ch 8:1, 22, 25.

5. A Mahavite, one of David’s mighty men.​—1Ch 11:26, 46.

6. Another of David’s mighty men.​—1Ch 11:26, 47.

7. A Gadite, one of the swift, courageous, mighty men who separated themselves to David’s side while he was still under restrictions because of King Saul. The least of these Gadites is described as equal to a hundred, and the greatest to a thousand.​—1Ch 12:1, 8, 11, 14.

8. Son of Hebron; one of the Levite heads selected by David to bring the Ark to Jerusalem.​—1Ch 15:9, 11, 12.

9. A Levite commissioner at the side of Conaniah, who was in charge of “the contribution and the tenth and the holy things” in the days of King Hezekiah.​—2Ch 31:11-13.

(E·li·eʹnai) [shortened form of Elieho-enai].

A descendant of Shimei of the tribe of Benjamin who dwelt in Jerusalem.​—1Ch 8:1, 20, 21, 28.

(E·li·eʹzer) [My God Is Helper].

1. A man of Damascus and the apparent heir of childless Abraham. Abraham referred to him as “a son of my household.” (Ge 15:2, 3) Archaeological discoveries, such as the tablets from Nuzi, shed light on why Abraham considered Eliezer his heir. Often childless couples adopted a son who would then care for them in old age and arrange for their burial at death, thereupon inheriting the property. It was stipulated, however, that, in the event a son was born to them after the adoption, the real son would become the principal heir.

Likely Eliezer was the one spoken of as Abraham’s oldest servant and manager of his household, who was sent by Abraham to Nahor’s household in upper Mesopotamia to bring back a wife for Isaac. Like his master Abraham, Eliezer looked to Jehovah for guidance and recognized His leading.​—Ge 24:2, 4, 12-14, 56.

2. The younger of Moses’ two sons, so named by Moses because God had been his helper in delivering Moses from Pharaoh’s sword. (Ex 18:4) Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, through whom came many descendants. In David’s day one of these, Shelomoth, along with his brothers, was appointed over all the things made holy.​—1Ch 23:17; 26:25, 26, 28.

3. A son of Becher and a descendant of Benjamin.​—1Ch 7:6, 8.

4. One of the seven priests loudly sounding the trumpets before the ark of Jehovah when David had it brought up to Jerusalem from the house of Obed-edom.​—1Ch 15:24.

5. Son of Zichri and leader of the tribe of Reuben during David’s reign.​—1Ch 27:16.

6. Son of Dodavahu of Maresha; a prophet who foretold that Jehovah would break down King Jehoshaphat’s works as regards his shipbuilding partnership with wicked King Ahaziah.​—2Ch 20:35-37; 1Ki 22:48.

7. One of the head ones of the exiles who returned to Jerusalem with Ezra.​—Ezr 8:16.

8. A priest of “the sons of Jeshua” among those following through on Ezra’s exhortation and promising to send their foreign wives away.​—Ezr 10:18, 19.

9. A Levite among the men dismissing their foreign wives, following Ezra’s exhortation.​—Ezr 10:23, 44.

10. A descendant of Harim among those heeding Ezra’s words to dismiss their foreign wives.​—Ezr 10:31, 44.

11. An ancestor of Jesus’ earthly mother Mary.​—Lu 3:29.

(El·i·horʹeph) [possibly, God of Winter].

A son of Shisha who, along with his brother Ahijah, served as a secretary for King Solomon.​—1Ki 4:1-3.

(E·liʹhu) [My God Is He].

1. “The son of Barachel the Buzite of the family of Ram.” As a descendant of Buz, Elihu was evidently a distant relative of Abraham. (Job 32:1, 2, 6; Ge 22:20, 21) Likely Elihu listened carefully to the entire debate between Job and his three would-be comforters. But, out of due respect for their age, he remained silent until all had finished speaking. Though modern critics have labeled Elihu as loquacious, saying that his speeches were long-winded, the statements of Elihu were not those of an impertinent young man. He fully appreciated that wisdom was not the exclusive possession of those advanced in years, but that God’s spirit made one truly wise. Elihu, therefore, leaned heavily on God’s spirit. He was thus able to discern correctly that Job had failed to appreciate that the vindication of Jehovah God is far more important than the vindication of any man and that Job’s three friends had actually pronounced God wicked.​—Job 32:2-9, 18.

Elihu was impartial, not bestowing a flattering title on anyone. He recognized that he, like Job, was made of clay and that the Almighty was his Creator. Elihu had no intention of terrifying Job but spoke to him as a true friend, addressing Job by name, something that was not done by Eliphaz, Bildad, or Zophar.​—Job 32:21, 22; 33:1, 6.

In every respect Elihu exalted the position of the true God: The Almighty is just, rewarding the individual according to his conduct. He judges without partiality and is fully aware of the course taken by men. God hears the outcry of the afflicted. He is a Teacher who makes men wiser than the animal creation. Only untruth does God not hear, and so Elihu encouraged Job to wait for Him. Furthermore, Elihu assured Job that God was with him and that He would not preserve the wicked alive, but that those serving Him “will finish their days in what is good.” (Job 36:11) Job was then admonished to magnify the activity of God, the great Provider, who gives food in abundance. Elihu called Job’s attention to the great things done by God and His control of natural forces, encouraging Job to show himself “attentive to the wonderful works of God.” (Job 37:14) Elihu concluded on a lofty plane, saying concerning the Almighty: “He is exalted in power, and justice and abundance of righteousness he will not belittle. Therefore let men fear him.”​—Job 37:23, 24; chaps 34-37.

Only by God’s spirit was it possible for Elihu to evaluate matters correctly and to speak the words having a fulfillment upon Job when he was restored: “Let him off from going down into the pit! I have found a ransom! Let his flesh become fresher than in youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor.”​—Job 33:24, 25.

2. An ancestor of the prophet Samuel; the son of Tohu. (1Sa 1:1) Elihu is evidently also called Eliab and Eliel.​—1Ch 6:27, 34.

3. Thought to be King David’s oldest brother Eliab; became the prince of the tribe of Judah.​—1Ch 27:18, 22; compare 1Sa 16:6; see ELIAB No. 4.

4. One of the seven heads of the thousands who belonged to Manasseh and who deserted to David at Ziklag.​—1Ch 12:20.

5. A Korahite of the family of Obed-edom who was a gatekeeper at the house of God, appointed during David’s reign.​—1Ch 26:1, 4, 7, 8.

(E·liʹjah) [My God Is Jehovah].

1. One of the foremost prophets of Israel. Evidently his home was in Tishbeh, thought by some to be a village in the land of Gilead, E of the Jordan River. (1Ki 17:1) He started his long career as prophet in Israel during the reign of King Ahab, who began to rule about 940 B.C.E., and continued during the reign of Ahab’s son Ahaziah (began c. 919 B.C.E.). (1Ki 22:51) The last time he is mentioned as serving as a prophet (this time for Judah) is toward the end of the eight-year reign of King Jehoram of Judah, which rule started in 913 B.C.E.​—2Ch 21:12-15; 2Ki 8:16.

Through Elijah, Jehovah provided a pillar of strength for true worship in a time when Israel’s spiritual and moral condition had fallen to an alarmingly low state. King Ahab the son of Omri had continued the calf worship established by Jeroboam, but worse, he had married Jezebel the daughter of the Sidonian king Ethbaal. Under her influence, Ahab added greatly to his sins beyond all Israel’s previous kings by introducing Baal worship on a grand scale. Baal priests and prophets multiplied, and corruption reached an extreme state. Jezebel’s hatred of Jehovah caused persecution and slaughter of the prophets; they were driven into hiding in caves.​—1Ki 16:30-33; 18:13.

Fed by Ravens. Elijah first appears in the record when he is sent by Jehovah to announce chastisement upon Israel for their sins. His first reported words are: “As Jehovah the God of Israel before whom I do stand is living.” Elijah points out that Jehovah the living God of Israel has decreed that no rain or dew will occur for a period of years, except at Elijah’s word. This time period proves to be three years and six months. (1Ki 17:1; Jas 5:17) After this announcement Jehovah directs Elijah to the torrent valley of Cherith to the E of the Jordan in the territory of the tribe of Gad. Here, miraculously, ravens bring food to him. He gets water from the torrent valley, which in due time dries up because of the drought. Jehovah continues to guide him, sending him outside the territory of Israel to Zarephath, a Phoenician town dependent upon Sidon at that time. Here, near the city of Sidon, where King Ahab’s father-in-law Ethbaal is ruling (1Ki 16:31), Elijah meets a widow preparing a final meal for herself and her son with their very last bit of flour and oil. Elijah requests a cake, with the promise of Jehovah’s provision for her during the drought. Because she recognizes him as a man of God, she complies and is blessed. (Compare Mt 10:41, 42.) During Elijah’s stay in her home her son dies. Elijah prays to God, who brings him to life, the first recorded resurrection and the third of Elijah’s eight miracles.​—1Ki 17.

How did Elijah impress upon Israel that Jehovah is indeed the true God?

In the meantime Ahab has looked everywhere in a fruitless search for Elijah, doubtless to put him to death. (1Ki 18:10) Eventually God instructs Elijah to show himself to Ahab. Elijah encounters Ahab and requests a meeting with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the sacred pole (Asherah). Ahab gathers the prophets to Mount Carmel, not far from the Mediterranean Sea. (PICTURE, Vol. 1, p. 950) Elijah now, before the people, proposes a test to prove who is the true God to be followed. The one that answers by consuming a bull sacrificed to him is to be acknowledged by all. Fair enough, the people agree. Baal is first called on, but in vain. There is no fire, no proof that Baal is a living god, although his prophets keep praying to him, yes, even cutting themselves according to their ritual. They limp about the altar under a burning sun for the greater part of the day while Elijah mercilessly mocks them, increasing their frenzy.​—1Ki 18:18-29.

Now it is Elijah’s turn. Using 12 stones, he mends an altar that was torn down, probably at Jezebel’s instance. Then he has the people soak the offering and the altar in water three times; even the trench around the altar, circumscribing an area perhaps 32 m (103 ft) square, is filled with water. (1Ki 18:30-35) About the time of the daily evening grain offering, Elijah prays once to Jehovah, who sends fire from the heavens to consume not just the offering but also the wood, the stones of the altar, and the water in the trench. (1Ki 18:36-38) The people, seeing this, fall upon their faces and say: “Jehovah is the true God! Jehovah is the true God!” Then Elijah has all the 450 prophets of Baal slaughtered at the torrent valley of Kishon. Answering Elijah’s prayer, Jehovah breaks the drought by a downpour of rain. By Jehovah’s power Elijah then runs ahead of Ahab’s chariot, perhaps as much as 30 km (19 mi), to Jezreel.​—1Ki 18:39-46.

Flees From Jezebel. On being informed of the death of her Baal prophets, Queen Jezebel vows to have Elijah put to death. In fear Elijah flees some 150 km (95 mi) southwestward to Beer-sheba, to the W of the lower Dead Sea. (MAP, Vol. 1, p. 949) Leaving his attendant there, he goes still farther into the wilderness, praying to die. Here the angel of Jehovah appears to him, to prepare him for a long journey to “the mountain of the true God,” Horeb (Sinai). Sustained for the 40-day journey by what he eats then, he covers a distance of over 300 km (190 mi). At Horeb, Jehovah speaks to him after an awe-inspiring display of power in a wind, an earthquake, and a fire. Jehovah is not in these manifestations; he is not a nature god, or just natural forces that are personified. These natural forces are merely expressions of his active force, not Jehovah himself. The Almighty shows Elijah that he still has work to do as a prophet. Jehovah corrects Elijah’s thought that he is the lone worshiper of the true God in Israel by showing that there are 7,000 who have not bowed to Baal. He sends Elijah back to his assignment, naming three persons who are to be anointed, or commissioned, to do a work for Jehovah: Hazael as king over Syria, Jehu as king over Israel, and his own successor Elisha.​—1Ki 19:1-18.

Appoints Elisha as Successor. Elijah next travels toward the hometown of Elisha, Abel-meholah. Finding Elisha plowing a field, Elijah throws his official garment over him, indicating an appointing, or anointing. Elisha follows Elijah closely from that time on as his attendant. He is doubtless with Elijah when another occasion arises to prophesy against Ahab. The greedy Baal-worshiping king has illegally seized a vineyard, the hereditary possession of Naboth the Jezreelite, by allowing his wife Jezebel to use false charges, false witnesses, and unrighteous judges to have Naboth murdered. Elijah meets Ahab at the vineyard and tells Ahab that his blood will be licked up by the dogs at the same place where they had licked up the blood of Naboth. He also announces a similar fate for Jezebel.​—1Ki 19:19; 21:1-26.

About three years later Ahab dies in battle. His war chariot is washed by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs lick up his blood. Jezebel’s execution, however, awaits a time perhaps 15 years later. Ahab was succeeded by his son Ahaziah. This king follows in his wicked father’s footsteps, for when he is injured in an accident he turns to the false god Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to inquire regarding the outcome of his sickness. Elijah sends him Jehovah’s word that because of this he will positively die. When Ahaziah sends in succession three groups to get Elijah, each group composed of a chief with 50 men, the prophet calls down fire from the heavens to annihilate the first two groups, but on the plea of the third chief, he goes back with him to pronounce the judgment against Ahaziah in person.​—1Ki 22:1, 37, 38; 2Ki 1:1-17.

Elisha Succeeds Him. In harmony with Elijah’s action in appointing Elisha years earlier, the time comes when Elijah must transfer the mantle of this prophetic office to Elisha, who has been well trained. This takes place during the rule of Ahaziah’s successor, his brother Jehoram of Israel. At that time Elijah goes to Bethel, from there to Jericho and down to the Jordan, Elisha sticking close to him all the way. There Elisha is rewarded for his faithfulness by seeing a fiery war chariot and fiery horses and Elijah ascending in a windstorm to the heavens. Elisha takes up Elijah’s official garment that had fallen off him, and “two parts” (like a firstborn son’s portion) in Elijah’s spirit, a spirit of courage and of being “absolutely jealous for Jehovah the God of armies,” come on him.​—2Ki 2:1-13; 1Ki 19:10, 14; compare De 21:17.

Elijah does not die at this time, nor does he go into the invisible spirit realm, but he is transferred to another prophetic assignment. (Joh 3:13) This is shown by the fact that Elisha does not hold any period of mourning for his master. A number of years after his ascension in the windstorm Elijah is still alive and active as a prophet, this time to the king of Judah. Because of the wicked course taken by King Jehoram of Judah, Elijah writes him a letter expressing Jehovah’s condemnation, which is fulfilled shortly thereafter.​—2Ch 21:12-15; see HEAVEN (Ascension to Heaven).

Miracles. Eight miracles are credited to Elijah in the Bible account. They are: (1) shutting off rain from heaven, (2) keeping the flour and oil supply of the widow of Zarephath renewed, (3) resurrecting the widow’s son, (4) having fire fall from heaven in answer to prayer, (5) having rain break the drought in answer to prayer, (6) calling down fire on King Ahaziah’s captain and his 50 men, (7) calling down fire on a second captain and his 50, and (8) parting the Jordan River by smiting it with his official garment. His ascension to the heavens was also miraculous, but it was the direct act of God, not something initiated by a prayer or proclamation made by Elijah.

Elijah was a powerful advocate of the true worship of Jehovah. He did a tremendous destructive work against Baalism in Israel; the work begun by him was carried on by Elisha, and the execution of Jezebel and the destruction of unclean Sidonian Baalism were accomplished by Jehu. In Elijah’s day 7,000, including Obadiah, Ahab’s household manager, were found to be faithful to Jehovah; Elijah doubtless strengthened some of them greatly. Elijah appointed Elisha as his successor, but the anointing of Hazael and that of Jehu were left for Elisha to carry out.

The apostle Paul undoubtedly refers to Elijah when he speaks of “Samuel and the other prophets, who through faith . . . effected righteousness . . . Women received their dead by resurrection.” He is therefore among the “cloud” of faithful witnesses of old. (Heb 11:32-35; 12:1) The disciple James points to Elijah as proof of the efficacy of prayers of “a man with feelings like ours,” who righteously serves God.​—Jas 5:16-18.

Work Prophetic of Things to Come. About 450 years after Elijah’s time, Malachi prophesied that Elijah the prophet would appear “before the coming of the great and fear-inspiring day of Jehovah.” (Mal 4:5, 6) The Jews of Jesus’ day were in expectation of Elijah’s coming to fulfill this prophecy. (Mt 17:10) Some thought that Jesus was Elijah. (Mt 16:14) John the Baptizer, who wore a hair garment and a leather girdle around his loins as did Elijah, denied that he actually was Elijah in person. (2Ki 1:8; Mt 3:4; Joh 1:21) The angel had not told John’s father Zechariah that John would be Elijah, but that he would have “Elijah’s spirit and power . . . to get ready for Jehovah a prepared people.” (Lu 1:17) Jesus indicated that John did that work but was not recognized by the Jews. (Mt 17:11-13) After John’s death a visionary appearance of Elijah along with Moses occurred at Jesus’ transfiguration, indicating that there was something yet to take place as represented by the work that Elijah had done.​—Mr 9:1-8.

2. A son of the Benjamite Jeroham; an inhabitant of Jerusalem and the head of his house.​—1Ch 8:1, 27, 28.

3. A Levite priest of “the sons of Harim” (1Ch 24:8; Ezr 2:1, 2, 39) among those complying with Ezra’s admonition to dismiss their foreign wives.​—Ezr 10:21, 44.

4. A descendant of Elam among those following through on Ezra’s exhortation to dismiss their foreign wives.​—Ezr 10:26, 44.

(E·liʹka).

One of David’s mighty men, evidently from the town of Harod.​—2Sa 23:25.

(Eʹlim) [Big Trees].

The second encampment location of the Israelites after crossing the Red Sea. (Ex 15:27; 16:1; Nu 33:9, 10) Although its exact location is not certain, it is traditionally identified with Wadi Gharandel on the Sinai Peninsula, about 88 km (55 mi) SSE of Suez. Like the Biblical Elim, which had “twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees,” this modern site is well known as a watering place with vegetation and palms.

(E·limʹe·lech) [My God Is King].

A man of Bethlehem who, along with his wife Naomi and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion, left Judah because of a famine in the days of the Judges and took up alien residence in Moab, where he died.​—Ru 1:1-3.

(Eli·o·eʹnai) [shortened form of Elieho-enai].

1. A son of Neariah and a descendant of King Solomon. Elioenai was the father of Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani.​—1Ch 3:10, 23, 24.

2. A chieftain of the tribe of Simeon.​—1Ch 4:24, 36-38.

3. A son of Becher and a descendant of Benjamin.​—1Ch 7:6, 8.

4. A priest of “the sons of Pashhur” among those heeding Ezra’s exhortation to send their foreign wives away.​—Ezr 2:36, 38; 10:18, 19, 22.

5. A descendant of Zattu. Elioenai was among those dismissing their foreign wives in Ezra’s time.​—Ezr 10:27, 44.

6. One of the priests with trumpets who were in the procession arranged for by Nehemiah at the inauguration of the wall of Jerusalem.​—Ne 12:27, 31, 40, 41.

(E·liʹphal) [possibly, My God Has Arbitrated].

The son of Ur listed among the mighty men of David’s military forces. Eliphal may be the Eliphelet of 2 Samuel 23:34.​—1Ch 11:26, 35.

(Elʹi·phaz).

1. Firstborn son of Esau, by his Canaanite wife Adah. Six or seven of Eliphaz’ sons, including Teman, Omar, and Amalek, became sheiks of Edomite tribes.​—Ge 36:4, 10-12, 15, 16; 1Ch 1:35, 36; see SHEIK.

2. One of Job’s three companions. (Job 2:11) A Temanite, he was likely a descendant of No. 1 above, therefore a descendant of Abraham and distantly related to Job. He and his posterity boasted of their wisdom. (Jer 49:7) Of the three “comforters,” Eliphaz stands out as the most important and influential, suggesting that he may also have been the oldest. He speaks first in the three rounds of the debate, and his speeches are longer.

Eliphaz’ reasoning in his first speech went like this: “Who that is innocent has ever perished? And where have the upright ever been effaced?” Hence, the conclusion he draws is that Job must have done something wicked to receive God’s punishment. (Job chaps 4, 5) In his second upbraiding Eliphaz ridicules Job’s wisdom: “Will a wise person himself answer with windy knowledge, or will he fill his belly with the east wind? . . . What do you actually know that we do not know?” “Over the Almighty,” Eliphaz implies, Job “tries to show himself superior.” Concluding his second smear of Job’s virtues, the Edomite paints righteous Job as an apostate, living in tents of bribery, a man full of deceit. (Job 15) Finally Eliphaz torments Job for the third time, falsely accusing him of all sorts of crimes​—extortion, withholding water and bread from the needy, and oppressing widows and orphans.​—Job 22.

Following Eliphaz’ second tirade Job answers well: “All of you are troublesome comforters! Is there an end to windy words?” (Job 16:2, 3) At the conclusion of the debates Jehovah himself addresses Eliphaz: “My anger has grown hot against you and your two companions, for you men have not spoken concerning me what is truthful as has my servant Job.” Eliphaz is told that they should offer up a sacrifice and that Job will then pray in their behalf.​—Job 42:7-9.

(E·liphʹe·le·hu) [possibly, May God Make Him Distinct].

A Levite musician of the second division who acted as one of the directors in playing the harp at the time the sacred Ark was transferred from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem.​—1Ch 15:17, 18, 21.

(E·liphʹe·let) [My God Is Escape; God of Escape].

1. Son of Ahasbai; one of David’s mighty men. (2Sa 23:34) Eliphelet possibly is the Eliphal of 1 Chronicles 11:35.

2. A son born to David in Jerusalem (1Ch 3:5, 6), also called Elpelet at 1 Chronicles 14:5.

3. The last-named son of David to be born in Jerusalem. (2Sa 5:16; 1Ch 3:8; 14:7) Commentators who do not view the repetition of the name in the Chronicles account to be a scribal error suggest that this second Eliphelet was born after the death of the first son by that name.

4. The third son of Eshek, a descendant of King Saul.​—1Ch 8:33, 39.

5. A descendant of Adonikam who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon with Ezra.​—Ezr 8:1, 13.

6. A man listed among those having taken foreign wives but who, in compliance with Ezra’s exhortation, sent them away.​—Ezr 10:33, 44.

(E·liʹsha) [God Is Salvation].

The son of Shaphat and a prophet of Jehovah in the tenth and ninth centuries B.C.E.; successor to the prophet Elijah. Elijah was directed by Jehovah to anoint Elisha from Abel-meholah. Finding Elisha plowing, Elijah threw his official garment over him, designating an appointment. (1Ki 19:16) Elisha was plowing behind 12 spans of bulls, “and he with the twelfth.” It is of interest that in the 19th century William Thomson in The Land and the Book (1887, p. 144) reported that it was a custom among the Arabs to work together with their small plows, and one sower could easily sow all that they plowed in a day. Elisha, in the rear of the group, would be able to stop without disrupting the work of the rest. The fact that he sacrificed a span of the bulls and used the implements as fuel speaks for Elisha’s promptness, decisiveness, and appreciativeness for Jehovah’s call. After preparing a meal, Elisha immediately left to follow Elijah.​—1Ki 19:19-21.

For perhaps six years Elisha served as Elijah’s attendant. Elijah served as head prophet, and Elisha worked closely with him, being known as the one who “poured out water upon the hands of Elijah” when Elijah washed his hands.​—2Ki 2:3-5; 3:11.

Elisha, from the time he joined Elijah, did prophetic work in Israel during the reigns of Kings Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehoram, Jehu, and on into the reign of Jehoash. Ruling at this time in Judah were Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, Jehoash, and, likely, Amaziah. Elisha enjoyed about 60 years of ministry by himself after Elijah’s departure.​—MAP, Vol. 1, p. 949.

The record of Elisha’s prophetic activity in Second Kings does not appear to be altogether in chronological order. For example, in chapter 5, Gehazi is struck with leprosy, which would exclude him from normal society. Yet, in chapter 8, he is speaking in a friendly way to Jehoram of Israel. Also, the death of King Jehoash of Israel is recorded in chapter 13, but this is followed by a record of his last interview with Elisha. (2Ki 13:12-21) In some parts of the account the works and miracles of Elisha seem to be grouped according to their nature or likeness, for example: (1) those that were for the good of the prophets and private persons (2Ki 4:1–6:7), then (2) those that had to do with the nation and the king.​—2Ki 6:8–7:20.

Succeeds Elijah. Elisha’s activity as successor to Elijah commences about 917 B.C.E. or shortly thereafter, at the time of Elijah’s ascension in a windstorm to the heavens. (2Ki 1:17; 2:1, 11, 12) Before Elijah leaves, Elisha asks him for “two parts in [his] spirit,” that is, a double part, which was due the firstborn son. This position he occupies because of his official appointment as Elijah’s successor at the time that Elijah threw his official garment over him. (2Ki 2:9) Elijah, realizing that this is not his to give, tells Elisha that, if he sees Elijah when taken from him, his desire will be granted. Jehovah confirms this by permitting Elisha to see Elijah ascend in a windstorm to the heavens. As Elijah departs, his rough mantle, his official garment, falls from him. Elisha picks it up, thereby identifying himself as Elijah’s successor. At the shore of the Jordan River, Jehovah shows that he is with Elisha when he miraculously divides the Jordan waters as Elisha strikes them with the garment.​—2Ki 2:9-15.

Crossing the Jordan, Elisha returns to the group of the sons of the prophets at Jericho. Further establishing Elisha as the head of God’s company of prophets is his healing of the water supply of the city of Jericho, which has been bad and has been causing miscarriages. Going to the source of the water, he throws salt from a small new bowl into it, and “the water continues healed down to this day.”​—2Ki 2:19-22.

From Jericho, Elisha climbs to Bethel, about 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level, where he had previously visited a group of the sons of the prophets in company with Elijah. (2Ki 2:3) On the way, a band of juvenile delinquents comes out and shows great disrespect both to him and his office as prophet. “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” they jeer. They mean for him either to keep on going up to Bethel or to get off the earth just as his predecessor was supposed to have done. (2Ki 2:11) To teach these boys and their parents respect for the prophet of Jehovah, he turns and calls down evil upon them in Jehovah’s name. Suddenly two she-bears come out from the woods and tear to pieces 42 of their number.​—2Ki 2:23, 24.

King Jehoram of Israel, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the king of Edom become trapped in a waterless wilderness during an expedition to put down a revolt by King Mesha of Moab (who erected what has been called the Moabite Stone). King Jehoshaphat calls for a prophet of God. Not for Jehoram’s benefit, but out of respect for Jehoshaphat, who is in Jehovah’s favor, Elisha calls for a stringed instrument player, that under the influence of music he may receive inspiration from Jehovah. (Compare 1Sa 10:5, 6.) Elisha has the people dig ditches. The next morning they are full of water. As the early morning sun shines upon the water in the ditches it appears to the Moabites to be blood. Thinking that Israel and their allies have been slaughtered in confused fighting among themselves, the Moabites rush in to carry away the booty. But to their surprise Israel rises up and defeats them. (2Ki 3:4-27) This event takes place between 917 and 913 B.C.E.

A series of miracles of a domestic nature now appear in Elisha’s record. A widow of one of the former sons of the prophets is in dire need. Elisha miraculously multiplies her meager oil supply and saves her sons from being taken into slavery to her creditor. (2Ki 4:1-7) This miracle is parallel to the second miracle of Elijah, where he multiplied the flour and oil of the widow of Zarephath.​—1Ki 17:8-16.

At Shunem in the Valley of Jezreel a prominent woman shows unusual hospitality to Elisha because she recognizes him as “a holy man of God,” even providing a room for him as he frequently passes by her home. For her kindness Elisha promises her a son, though her husband at that time is old. True to his promise, a son is born about a year later, but he dies while still a child. Elisha now performs his first resurrection, bringing the boy back to life as Elijah similarly raised the son of the widow in Zarephath. (2Ki 4:8-37; 1Ki 17:17-24) For her kindness to a prophet of God, she is richly rewarded.​—Compare Mt 10:41.

Elisha returns to Gilgal, N of Bethel in the mountains, to the sons of the prophets there. A famine is on. As a stew is being prepared someone unwittingly puts in some poisonous gourds. Immediately upon tasting the stew, they shout: “There is death in the pot, O man of the true God.” Since it would not do to waste food during the famine, Elisha calls for some flour, putting it into the pot and making the stew edible so that “nothing injurious [proves] to be in the pot.”​—2Ki 4:38-41.

During the critical times of the famine, a faithful remnant of Israelite worshipers who have not bent down to Baal appreciate the efforts of Jehovah’s prophets and supply material food to them. When a man brings 20 barley loaves and some grain, Elisha gives orders that this small supply be fed to all. But there are 100 men of “the sons of the prophets” to be fed. Despite the doubts of the one doing the serving, all eat to satisfaction, after which there are leftovers.​—2Ki 4:42-44; compare Mr 6:35-44.

Heals Naaman. During his reign, King Ben-hadad II of Syria sends his highly respected army chief Naaman, a leper, to the king of Israel to be healed of his leprosy. This valiant man had, although leprous, saved Syria. Evidently the leprous condition of Naaman does not bar him from holding such a high office in Syria, whereas it would have removed him from holding such office in Israel. (Le 13:46) King Ben-hadad’s action in sending Naaman comes about because of the testimony of a young Israelite girl who is a captive and who is serving in the house of Naaman. This young girl trusts in Jehovah and tells her mistress of Jehovah’s prophet Elisha of Israel. The king of Israel feels sure that Ben-hadad is picking a fight with him, for, as he says: “Am I God, to put to death and to preserve alive?” Elisha, hearing of the king’s distress, tells the king, “Let him come, please, to me that he may know that there exists a prophet in Israel.”​—2Ki 5:1-8.

Elisha does not come out to see Naaman, but he sends instructions through his attendant for Naaman to bathe seven times in the Jordan River. At first this enrages Naaman, but finally he humbles himself to perform the simple procedure and becomes clean. Naaman returns to Elisha and vows that from now on he will serve Jehovah the God of Israel faithfully. He takes back with him some Israelite soil, “the load of a pair of mules,” upon which he will sacrifice to Jehovah, without doubt looking toward the temple of Jerusalem. As an officer of the king of Syria he will carry on his work, which includes going with the king into the house of the false god Rimmon. As the king is supported by him he will have to bow with the king, but he says he will no longer worship Rimmon. He will be performing, not a religious duty, but only his duty in service of the king. He offers Elisha a gift, which is refused. This harmonizes with the principle that the miracle is by Jehovah’s power, not his, and he will not profit from the office Jehovah has given him.​—2Ki 5:9-19; compare Mt 10:8.

Elisha’s attendant Gehazi, greedy for selfish gain, overtakes Naaman and asks for some of the gifts that Elisha refused. Lyingly he tries to conceal the matter from Elisha. As a due punishment, Elisha tells him, “the leprosy of Naaman will stick to you and your offspring to time indefinite.”​—2Ki 5:20-27.

It becomes necessary for the sons of the prophets with whom Elisha is associated to move to more spacious quarters. They are at the Jordan River cutting beams for their new housing. One of the prophets is using a borrowed ax, and the axhead comes off and falls into the water. Elisha, apparently concerned that no reproach come upon the prophets, throws a piece of wood into the water where the axhead had fallen, and the axhead floats to the top. Jehovah thereby proves that he is backing up his prophets.​—2Ki 6:1-7.

Israel Delivered From Syria. During the reign of King Jehoram of Israel, Syria plans a surprise attack upon Israel. More than once maneuvers of Ben-hadad II are frustrated by Elisha, who reveals to King Jehoram every move of the Syrians. At first Ben-hadad thinks that there is a traitor in his own camp. But when he finds out the real source of his difficulty, he sends a military force to Dothan, surrounding it with horses and war chariots to get Elisha. (PICTURE, Vol. 1, p. 950) Elisha’s attendant is struck with fear, but Elisha prays to God to open the attendant’s eyes, “and, look! the mountainous region [is] full of horses and war chariots of fire all around Elisha.” Now, as the Syrian hosts close in, Elisha prays for the opposite kind of miracle, “Please, strike this nation with blindness.” Elisha says to the Syrians, “Follow me,” but he does not have to lead them by the hand, indicating that it is mental rather than physical blindness. They do not recognize Elisha, whom they came to take, nor do they know where he is taking them.​—2Ki 6:8-19.

With what sort of blindness did Jehovah strike the Syrians who tried to seize Elisha?

As to this form of blindness, William James, in his Principles of Psychology (1981, Vol. 1, p. 59), states: “A most interesting effect of cortical disorder is mental blindness. This consists not so much in insensibility to optical impressions, as in inability to understand them. Psychologically it is interpretable as loss of associations between optical sensations and what they signify; and any interruption of the paths between the optic centres and the centres for other ideas ought to bring it about.”

Bringing the Syrians to Samaria, Elisha prays that Jehovah open their eyes, and the Syrians find themselves right in the middle of Samaria before King Jehoram himself. Elisha manifests faith in Jehovah’s power and shows complete lack of vindictiveness when he prevents the king of Israel from killing the Syrians, for, says he, they are like captives of war. He instructs the king to feed them, and they are feasted and sent home. The result is: “Not once did the marauding bands of the Syrians come again into the land of Israel.”​—2Ki 6:20-23.

However, later on, Ben-hadad II invades, not with sporadic marauding forays, but in force and lays siege to Samaria. The siege is so severe that at least one case is reported to the king in which a woman eats her own son. As the offspring of Ahab, the “son of a murderer,” King Jehoram swears to kill Elisha. But the rash oath is not carried out. Arriving at the prophet’s house with his adjutant, Jehoram states that he has lost all hope of aid from Jehovah. Elisha assures the king that food supplies will be abundant the next day. The king’s adjutant scoffs at this prediction, causing Elisha to tell him: “Here you are seeing it with your own eyes, but from it you will not eat.” By a noise that Jehovah causes to be heard in the camp of the Syrians, they are led to believe that a great army of combined nations is advancing against them, and they flee, leaving the camp intact with all its food supplies. When the king finds out about the desertion of the Syrians, he puts the adjutant in charge of guarding the gate of Samaria, and there he is trampled to death when the starving crowd of Israelites rush out to plunder the camp. He sees the food but does not eat from it.​—2Ki 6:24–7:20.

Hazael, Jehu, Named as Kings. Our attention now swings to Damascus in Syria, where King Ben-hadad II lies near death. The king’s envoy Hazael meets Elisha and inquires if his master will revive. Jehovah’s spirit becomes operative and enables Elisha to see a bitter picture, saddening to Elisha: Hazael as supplanter of Ben-hadad will in time mete out unspeakable injury to Israel, although it is a just punishment from Jehovah for their sins. He tells Hazael to say to Ben-hadad: “‘You will positively revive,’ and Jehovah has shown me that he will positively die.” Hazael reports the first part in words but the second part by actions, suffocating the king under a wet coverlet and taking the throne of Syria.​—2Ki 8:7-15.

There is yet an unfinished work of Elijah for Elisha to carry out, namely, the anointing of Jehu as God’s executioner against the wicked house of Ahab. (2Ki 9:1-10) He carries it out over 18 years after Jehovah gave the command to Elijah. Elisha gets to see the fulfillment of the prophecies at 1 Kings 19:15-17 and 21:21-24.

At the time of Jehu’s anointing, Jehoram rules in Israel and Ahaziah his nephew rules in Judah. The Syrian Hazael afflicts Israel greatly during his rule, wounding Jehoram in battle at Ramoth-gilead. (2Ki 9:15) Jehu wastes no time in carrying out his commission to wipe out the evil house of Ahab, letting no survivor remain. (2Ki 10:11) He goes first after King Jehoram of Israel, who is recuperating in Jezreel. In fulfillment of Elijah’s prophecy, Jehoram is met outside the city and put to death and thrown into the tract of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. (2Ki 9:16, 21-26) Entering Jezreel, Jehu kills wicked Jezebel, mother of Jehoram of Israel and grandmother of Ahaziah of Judah. Jehu would have her buried, but Jehovah sees to it that the dogs eat up her fleshy parts just as his prophet Elijah had foretold, so that she can have no tomb to memorialize her. (2Ki 9:30-37) Ahab’s 70 sons are beheaded. Ahaziah, Ahab’s grandson, is killed (2Ki 10:1-9; 9:27, 28), and 42 brothers of Ahaziah are slaughtered by Jehu’s executional sword.​—2Ki 10:12-14; 1Ki 21:17-24.

Baal Worship Destroyed. Continuing his ride up to Samaria the capital city, Jehu meets Jehonadab, who fully supports his execution of Baal worship, and the two ride on to Samaria to see the final stroke that will wipe Baalism entirely from Israel. Through strategy Jehu has all the Baal worshipers gather to the house of Baal and put on their garments of identification. The house is filled from end to end, and no worshipers of Jehovah are among them. Jehu gives the command, and his men slaughter every Baal worshiper, tearing down their sacred pillars and pulling down Baal’s house, setting the area aside for privies.​—2Ki 10:15-27.

Elisha, therefore, completes the work started by Elijah. Baal worship is annihilated out of Israel. Elisha does not experience being carried in a windstorm to the heavens to be taken to another location before his death, as was Elijah. During the reign of King Jehoash of Israel, Elisha dies a natural death. While he is on his deathbed, trouble appears for Israel again from Syria. King Jehoash approaches Elisha and makes an apparent appeal for military help against the Syrians when he addresses Elisha with the words: “My father, my father, the war chariot of Israel and his horsemen!” Upon Elisha’s request, Jehoash strikes the earth with his arrows. But as he does this with lack of real zeal, only three times, Elisha tells him that as a consequence he will be granted only three victories over Syria. This is fulfilled.​—2Ki 13:14-19, 25.

Work Accomplished. Through God’s spirit upon Elisha, he had performed 15 miracles up to this point. But even after his death he is used by Jehovah for a 16th miracle. Elisha had been faithful till death, approved by God. The record relates that after Elisha’s burial another man was being buried when a marauding band of Moabites caused the burial party to throw the man into Elisha’s burial place and flee. Upon touching Elisha’s bones, the dead man came to life and stood upon his feet.​—2Ki 13:20, 21.

Jesus calls Elisha a prophet at Luke 4:27, and he is undoubtedly alluded to along with Elijah at Hebrews 11:35, both having performed resurrections. Elijah had come into his prophetic work at a time when Israel was steeped in Baal worship, and this required zeal for true worship. He accomplished a great work in turning the hearts of many back to Jehovah. Elisha took up where Elijah left off, and while his ministry itself was more peaceable, he saw to it that the work started by Elijah was thoroughly carried out, and he lived to see it done. He is credited with 16 miracles as compared with Elijah’s 8. Like Elijah, he showed great zeal for Jehovah’s name and true worship. He manifested patience, love, and kindness and yet was very firm when Jehovah’s name was involved; he did not hesitate to express God’s judgment against the wicked. He earned for himself a place among the “so great a cloud of witnesses” mentioned at Hebrews 12:1.

(E·liʹshah).

Son of Javan and a family head from whom “the population of the isles of the nations was spread about.” (Ge 10:4, 5; 1Ch 1:7) The only other Biblical mention of Elishah is in the dirge pronounced against Tyre, where the name appears as that of a land or region trading with Tyre. Tyre is represented as a figurative ship, outfitted by many nations, with “the islands of Elishah” providing the “blue thread and wool dyed reddish purple” for the ship’s deck covering (perhaps a type of awning to protect from sun and rain).​—Eze 27:1-7.

First-century Jewish historian Josephus applied the name of Halisas (Elishah) to the Halisaens (Aeolians), one of the parent branches of the Greek peoples. (Jewish Antiquities, I, 127 [vi, 1]) By Ezekiel’s time the name Aeolis had come to designate only a portion of the W coast of Asia Minor. A similarity to the name of Elishah is noted in the district of Elis on the NW coast of the Peloponnesus (the southern peninsula of Greece). The Greeks are also known to have established colonies in southern Italy and on the island of Sicily, and the Aramaic Targum in commenting on Ezekiel 27:7 identifies Elishah as “the province of Italy.” Any of these locations would fit the account in Ezekiel in the sense of being regions productive of the purple dye so highly prized, but nothing conclusive can be stated as to their definite connection with Elishah, except that the weight of evidence points in the direction of Greece rather than North Africa or Cyprus. It is also reasonable that the descendants of Elishah may not have remained fixed but that over the centuries the region of their settling may have altered or expanded and that the name of Elishah may thus have applied to different areas at different times.

(E·lishʹa·ma) [My God Has Heard (Listened)].

1. Son of Ammihud of the tribe of Ephraim; grandfather of Joshua. (Nu 1:10; 2:18; 1Ch 7:26, 27) Elishama was one of the 12 chieftains designated by Jehovah to assist Moses and Aaron in registering the sons of Israel for the army. He was also over the army of his tribe. (Nu 1:1-4, 17; 2:18; 10:22) Besides sharing in the group presentation made by the chieftains after the setting up of the tabernacle, Elishama thereafter presented his own offering on the seventh day for the inauguration of the altar.​—Nu 7:1, 2, 5, 10, 11, 48-53.

2. Son of Jekamiah of the tribe of Judah.​—1Ch 2:3, 41.

3. A son born to David in Jerusalem. This Elishama is listed as Elishua in 2 Samuel 5:15, in 1 Chronicles 14:5, and in two Hebrew manuscripts at 1 Chronicles 3:6. Elishua is generally considered to be the correct name, as the name Elishama appears again in 1 Chronicles 3:8 and therefore could easily have crept into verse 6 through a scribal error. However, since the Hebrew Masoretic text, the Greek Septuagint, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Latin Vulgate read “Elishama” at 1 Chronicles 3:6, this form of the name has been retained in the New World Translation as well as other translations.

4. Another son born to David in Jerusalem.​—2Sa 5:16; 1Ch 3:8; 14:7.

5. A priest in the days of King Jehoshaphat who, with other Levites and princes, “kept going around through all the cities of Judah and teaching among the people.”​—2Ch 17:1, 7-9.

6. A secretary in the court of King Jehoiakim.​—Jer 36:12, 20, 21.

7. Grandfather of Ishmael the assassin of the Jewish governor Gedaliah.​—2Ki 25:25; Jer 41:1-3.

(E·li·shaʹphat) [My God Has Judged].

One of the chiefs of hundreds whom Jehoiada the priest took into a covenant and who was among those afterward sent throughout Judah to collect the Levites and the heads of the paternal houses of Israel. (2Ch 23:1, 2) Elishaphat gave his support to Jehoiada in securing the kingship for Jehoash the rightful heir to the throne and in deposing the usurper Athaliah.

(E·liʹshe·ba) [My God Is Plenty; God of Plenty].

The daughter of Amminadab and the wife of Moses’ brother Aaron. Elisheba bore Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar to Aaron. Her brother Nahshon was the chieftain of the sons of Judah.​—Ex 6:23; Nu 2:3.

(E·liʹshu·a) [God Is Salvation].

One of the sons born to King David in Jerusalem. (2Sa 5:15; 1Ch 14:5) Elishua is called Elishama at 1 Chronicles 3:6.​—See ELISHAMA No. 3.

(E·liʹud) [from Heb., meaning “My God Is Dignity; God of Dignity”].

An ancestor of Jesus’ adoptive father Joseph.​—Mt 1:15, 16.

(E·lizʹa·beth) [Gr., E·lei·saʹbet from Heb., ʼE·li·sheʹvaʽ, meaning “My God Is Plenty; God of Plenty”].

The God-fearing wife of the priest Zechariah and the mother of John the Baptizer. Elizabeth herself was of the priestly family of Aaron the Levite. Both she and her husband were well along in years when the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in the Holy of the temple and announced that Elizabeth would give birth to a son who was to be called John. Upon becoming pregnant, Elizabeth kept herself secluded for five months. In the sixth month of her pregnancy she was visited by her relative Mary. On that occasion the unborn John leaped in his mother’s womb, and Elizabeth, filled with holy spirit, blessed Mary and the fruit of her womb, calling her “the mother of my Lord.”​—Lu 1:5-7, 11-13, 24, 39-43.

(E·li·zaʹphan), Elzaphan (El·zaʹphan) [(My) God Has Concealed (Treasured Up)].

1. The son of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, who, along with his brother Mishael, at Moses’ direction, carried the bodies of Nadab and Abihu outside the camp. (Ex 6:22; Le 10:4; Nu 3:30) Elizaphan was the ancestral head of a Levitical family, members of which are specifically mentioned in the Bible as serving during the reigns of David and Hezekiah.​—1Ch 15:8; 2Ch 29:13.

2. The son of Parnach and the chieftain of the sons of Zebulun who was among those appointed at Jehovah’s direction to divide the Promised Land into inheritance portions.​—Nu 34:25.

(E·liʹzur) [My God Is a Rock].

Son of Shedeur of the tribe of Reuben; one of the 12 chieftains who assisted Moses and Aaron in numbering the sons of Israel. (Nu 1:1-3, 5, 17; 2:10; 10:18) In addition to sharing in the group presentation made by the chieftains after the setting up of the tabernacle, Elizur presented his own offering on the fourth day for the inauguration of the altar.​—Nu 7:1, 2, 10, 30-35.

(El·kaʹnah) [God Has Produced].

1. A Levite, a son of the rebellious Korah; he and his brothers, Assir and Abiasaph, did not share the fate of their father. (Ex 6:24; Nu 26:11) He is possibly the Elkanah mentioned in 1 Chronicles 6:23.

2. The second of four Levite Kohathites named Elkanah and listed in Chronicles. He is identified as the father of Amasai and Ahimoth, and he appears to have been the son of Joel.​—1Ch 6:25, 36.

3. The third of the above Levites; seemingly the son of Mahath.​—1Ch 6:26, 35.

4. The son of Jeroham and the father of Samuel the prophet, as well as of other sons and daughters. Elkanah was a resident of Ramah of the mountainous region of Ephraim. Hence he is called an Ephraimite, although genealogically he was a Levite. (1Sa 1:1; 1Ch 6:27, 33, 34) It was Elkanah’s practice to go from year to year to Shiloh “to prostrate himself and to sacrifice to Jehovah.” He had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Although Hannah continued barren, Elkanah loved her and tried to console her for being barren. Later, in answer to Hannah’s prayer, Jehovah blessed them with the birth of Samuel and still later with three sons and two daughters.​—1Sa 1:2, 3, 5, 8, 19; 2:21.

5. A Levite ancestor of a certain Berechiah.​—1Ch 9:16.

6. One of the Korahites who were apparently residing in the territory of Benjamin and who “came to David at Ziklag while he was still under restrictions because of Saul.”​—1Ch 12:1, 2, 6.

7. One of the gatekeepers for the Ark at the time David had it transferred to Jerusalem from the house of Obed-edom; possibly the same as No. 6.​—1Ch 15:23, 25.

8. An official who occupied a position next to King Ahaz of Judah and who was slain by Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, when Pekah the king of Israel invaded Judah.​—2Ch 28:6, 7.