Ahoah - brotherly, one of the sons of Bela, the son of Benjamin (1 Chr. 8:4). He is also called Ahiah (ver. 7) and Iri (1 Chr. 7:7). His descendants were called Ahohites (2 Sam. 23:9,2 Sam. 23:28).

Ahohite - an epithet applied to Dodo, one of Solomon's captains (1 Chr. 27:4); to his son Eleazar, one of David's three mightiest heroes (2 Sam. 23:9; 1 Chr. 11:12); and to Zalmon, one of the thirty (2 Sam. 23:28; 1 Chr. 11:29), from their descent from Ahoah.

Aholah - she has her own tent, a name used by Ezekiel 1 Chr 23:4,1 Chr 23:5,1 Chr 23:36,1 Chr 23:44) as a symbol of the idolatry of the kingdom of Israel. This kingdom is described as a lewdwoman, an adulteress, given up to the abominations and idolatries of the Egyptians and Assyrians. Because of her crimes, she was carried away captive, and ceased to be a kingdom. (Comp. Ps. 78:67-69; 1 Kings 12:25-33; 2 Chr. 11:13-16.)

Aholiab - tent of the father, an artist of the tribe of Dan, appointed to the work of preparing materials for the tabernacle ( Ex. 31:6;Ex 35:34;Ex 36:1,Ex. 31:2;Ex 38:23).

Aholibah - my tent is in her, the name of an imaginary harlot, applied symbolically to Jerusalem, because she had abandoned the worship of the true God and given herself up to the idolatries of foreign nations. ( Ezek. 23:4,Ezek. 23:11,Ezek. 23:22,Ezek. 23:36,Ezek. 23:44).

Aholibamah - tent of the height, the name given to Judith, the daughter of Beeri = Anah ( Gen. 26:34;Gen 36:2), when she became the wife of Esau. A district among the mountains of Edom, probably near Mount Hor, was called after her name, or it may be that she received her name from the district. From her descended three tribes of Edomites, founded by her three sons.

Ai - ruins. (1.) One of the royal cities of the Canaanites ( Josh. 10:1; Gen. 12:8; Gen 13:3). It was the scene of Joshua's defeat, and afterwards of his victory. It was the second Canaanite city taken by Israel ( Josh. 7:2-5;Josh 8:1-29). It lay rebuilt and inhibited by the Benjamites ( Ezra 2:28; Neh. 7:32; Neh 11:31). It lay to the east of Bethel, "beside Beth-aven." The spot which is most probably the site of this ancient city is Haiyan, 2 miles east from Bethel. It lay up the Wady Suweinit, a steep, rugged valley, extending from the Jordan valley to Bethel.

(2.) A city in the Ammonite territory ( Jer. 49:3). Some have thought that the proper reading of the word is Ar ( Isa. 15:1).

Aijeleth Shahar - hind of the dawn, a name found in the title of Ps. 22. It is probably the name of some song or tune to the measure of which the psalm was to be chanted. Some, however, understand by the name some instrument of music, or an allegorical allusion to the subject of the psalm.

Air - the atmosphere, as opposed to the higher regions of the sky (1 Thess. 4:17; Rev. 9:2; Rev 16:17). This word occurs once as the rendering of the Hebrew ruah ( Job 41:16); elsewhere it is the rendering of shamaiyim, usually translated "heavens."

The expression "to speak into the air" (1 Cor. 14:9) is a proverb denoting to speak in vain, as to "beat the air" (1 Cor. 9:26) denotes to labour in vain.

Ajalon - and Aij'alon, place of deer. (1.) A town and valley originally assigned to the tribe of Dan, from which, however, they could not drive the Amorites ( Judg. 1:35). It was one of the Levitical cities given to the Kohathites (1 Chr. 6:69). It was not far from Beth-shemesh (2 Chr. 28:18). It was the boundary between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and is frequently mentioned in Jewish history (2 Chr. 11:10; 1 Sam. 14:31; 1 Chr. 8:13). With reference to the valley named after the town, Joshua uttered the celebrated command, "Sun, stand thou still on Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon" ( Josh. 10:12). It has been identified as the modern Yalo, at the foot of the Beth-horon pass (q.v.). In the Tell Amarna letters Adoni-zedek (q.v.) speaks of the destruction of the "city of Ajalon" by the invaders, and describes himself as "afflicted, greatly afflicted" by the calamities that had come on the land, urging the king of Egypt to hasten to his help.

(2.) A city in the tribe of Zebulun ( Judg. 12:12), the modern Jalun, three miles north of Cabul.

Akkub - (another form of Jacob). (1.) The head of one of the families of Nethinim ( Ezra 2:45).

(2.) A Levite who kept the gate of the temple after the return from Babylon (1 Chr. 9:17; Ezra 2:42; Neh. 7:45).

(3.) A descendant of David (1 Chr. 3:24).

Akrabbim - scorpions, probably the general name given to the ridge containing the pass between the south of the Dead Sea and Zin, es-Sufah, by which there is an ascent to the level of the land of Palestine. Scorpions are said to abound in this whole district, and hence the name ( Num. 34:4). It is called "Maaleh-acrabbim" in Josh. 15:3, and "the ascent of Akrabbim" in Num. 34:4.

Alabaster - occurs only in the New Testament in connection with the box of "ointment of spikenard very precious," with the contents of which a woman anointed the head of Jesus as he sat at supper in the house of Simon the leper ( Matt. 26:7; Mark 14:3; Luke 7:37). These boxes were made from a stone found near Alabastron in Egypt, and from this circumstance the Greeks gave them the name of the city where they were made. The name was then given to the stone of which they were made; and finally to all perfume vessels, of whatever material they were formed. The woman "broke" the vessel; i.e., she broke off, as was usually done, the long and narrow neck so as to reach the contents. This stone resembles marble, but is softer in its texture, and hence very easily wrought into boxes. Mark says Luke 14:5) that this box of ointment was worth more than 300 pence, i.e., denarii, each of the value of sevenpence halfpenny of our money, and therefore worth about 10 pounds. But if we take the denarius as the day's wage of a labourer ( Matt. 20:2), say two shillings of our money, then the whole would be worth about 30 pounds, so costly was Mary's offering.

Alamoth - virgins, a musical term (1 Chr. 15:20), denoting that the psalm which bears this inscription (Ps. 46) was to be sung by soprano or female voices.

Alarm - a particular quivering sound of the silver trumpets to give warning to the Hebrews on their journey through the wilderness ( Num. 10:5,Num. 10:6), a call to arms, or a war-note ( Jer. 4:19;Jer 49:2; Zeph. 1:16).

Alemeth - covering. (1.) One of the nine sons of Becher, the son of Benjamin (1 Chr. 7:8).

(2.) One of the sons of Jehoadah, or Jarah, son of Ahaz (1 Chr. 8:36).

(3.) A sacerdotal city of Benjamin (1 Chr. 6:60), called also Almon ( Josh. 21:18), now Almit, a mile north-east of the ancient Anathoth.

Alexander - man-defender. (1.) A relative of Annas the high priest, present when Peter and John were examined before the Sanhedrim ( Acts 4:6).

(2.) A man whose father, Simon the Cyrenian, bore the cross of Christ ( Mark 15:21).

(3.) A Jew of Ephesus who took a prominent part in the uproar raised there by the preaching of Paul ( Acts 19:33). The Jews put him forward to plead their cause before the mob. It was probably intended that he should show that he and the other Jews had no sympathy with Paul any more than the Ephesians had. It is possible that this man was the same as the following.

(4.) A coppersmith who, with Hymenaeus and others, promulgated certain heresies regarding the resurrection (1 Tim. 1:19; 2 Tim. 4:14), and made shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience. Paul excommunicated him (1 Tim. 1:20; comp. 1 Cor. 5:5).

Alexander the Great - the king of Macedonia, the great conqueror; probably represented in Daniel by the "belly of brass" ( Dan. 2:32), and the leopard and the he-goat ( Dan 7:6;Dan 11:3,Dan 7:4). He succeeded his father Philip, and died at the age of thirty-two from the effects of intemperance, B.C. 323. His empire was divided among his four generals.

Alexandria - the ancient metropolis of Lower Egypt, so called from its founder, Alexander the Great (about B.C. 333). It was for a long period the greatest of existing cities, for both Nineveh and Babylon had been destroyed, and Rome had not yet risen to greatness. It was the residence of the kings of Egypt for 200 years. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and only incidentally in the New. Apollos, eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures, was a native of this city ( Acts 18:24). Many Jews from Alexandria were in Jerusalem, where they had a synagogue ( Acts 6:9), at the time of Stephen's martyrdom. At one time it is said that as many as 10,000 Jews resided in this city. It possessed a famous library of 700,000 volumes, which was burned by the Saracens (A.D. 642). It was here that the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek. This is called the Septuagint version, from the tradition that seventy learned men were engaged in executing it. It was, however, not all translated at one time. It was begun B.C. 280, and finished about B.C. 200 or 150. (See VERSION.)

Algum - (2 Chr. 2:8;2 Chr 9:10,2 Chr. 2:11), the same as almug (1 Kings 10:11).

Alien - a foreigner, or person born in another country, and therefore not entitled to the rights and privileges of the country where he resides. Among the Hebrews there were two classes of aliens.

(1.) Those who were strangers generally, and who owned no landed property.

(2.) Strangers dwelling in another country without being naturalized ( Lev. 22:10; Ps. 39:12).

Both of these classes were to enjoy, under certain conditions, the same rights as other citizens ( Lev. 19:33,Lev. 19:34; Deut. 10:19). They might be naturalized and permitted to enter into the congregation of the Lord by submitting to circumcision and abandoning idolatry ( Deut. 23:3-8).

This term is used ( Eph. 2:12) to denote persons who have no interest in Christ.

Allegory - used only in Gal. 4:24, where the apostle refers to the history of Isaac the free-born, and Ishmael the slave-born, and makes use of it allegorically.

Every parable is an allegory. Nathan (2 Sam. 12:1-4) addresses David in an allegorical narrative. In the eightieth Psalm there is a beautiful allegory: "Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt," etc. In Eccl. 12:2-6, there is a striking allegorical description of old age.

Alleluia - the Greek form ( Rev. 19:1,Rev. 19:3,Rev. 19:4,Rev. 19:6) of the Hebrew Hallelujah = Praise ye Jehovah, which begins or ends several of the psalms (106, 111, 112, 113, etc.).

Alliance - a treaty between nations, or between individuals, for their mutual advantage.

Abraham formed an alliance with some of the Canaanitish princes ( Gen. 14:13), also with Abimelech ( Gen 21:22-32). Joshua and the elders of Israel entered into an alliance with the Gibeonites ( Josh. 9:3-27). When the Israelites entered Palestine they were forbidden to enter into alliances with the inhabitants of the country ( Lev. 18:3,Lev. 18:4;Lev 20:22,Lev. 18:23).

Solomon formed a league with Hiram (1 Kings 5:12). This "brotherly covenant" is referred to 250 years afterwards ( Amos 1:9). He also appears to have entered into an alliance with Pharaoh (1 Kings 10:28,1 Kings 10:29).

In the subsequent history of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel various alliances were formed between them and also with neighbouring nations at different times.

From patriarchal times a covenant of alliance was sealed by the blood of some sacrificial victim. The animal sacrificed was cut in two (except birds), and between these two parts the persons contracting the alliance passed ( Gen. 15:10). There are frequent allusions to this practice ( Jer. 34:18). Such alliances were called "covenants of salt" ( Num. 18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5), salt being the symbol of perpetuity. A pillar was set up as a memorial of the alliance between Laban and Jacob ( Gen. 31:52). The Jews throughout their whole history attached great importance to fidelity to their engagements. Divine wrath fell upon the violators of them ( Josh. 9:18; 2 Sam. 21:1,2 Sam. 21:2; Ezek. 17:16).