Smith's Bible Dictionary - T

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TAANACH


(sandy), an ancient Canaanitish city whose king is enumerated among
the thirty-one kings conquered by Joshua. (Joshua 12:21) It came into the
half tribe of Manasseh, (Joshua 17:11; 21:25; 1 Chronicles 7:29) and was
bestowed on the Kohathite Levites. (Joshua 21:25) Taanach is almost always
named in company with Megiddo, and they were evidently the chief towns of
that fine rich district which forms the western portion of the great plain
of Esdraelon. (1 Kings 4:12) It is still called Ta’annuk,
and) stands about four miles southeast of Lejjun and 13 miles
southwest of Nazareth.


TAANATHSHILOH


(approach to Shiloh), a place named once only -- (Joshua 16:6) --
as one of the landmarks of the boundary of Ephraim. Perhaps Taanath was
the ancient Canaanite name of the place, and Shiloh the Hebrew name.


TABBAOTH


(rings). The children of Tabbaoth were a family of Nethinim who
returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:43; Nehemiah 7:46) (B.C. before
536.)


TABBATH


(celebrated), a place mentioned only in (Judges 7:25) in describing
the flight of the Midianite host after Gideon's night attack; (probably
the present Tubukhat-Fahil, a very striking natural bank 600 feet
high, with a long horizontal top, embanked against the western face of the
mountains east of the Jordan, and descending with a steep front to the
river. -- Robinson, Bib. Res.)


TABEAL


(God is good). The son of Tabeal was apparently an Ephraimite in
the army of Pekah the son of Remaliah, or a Syrian in the army of Rezin,
when they went up to besiege Jerusalem in the reign of Ahaz. (Isaiah 7:6)
The Aramaic form of the name favors the latter supposition. (B.C. before
738.)


TABELEL


(God is good), an officer of the Persian government in Samaria in
the reign of Artaxerxes. (Ezra 4:7) His name appears to indicate that he
was a Syrian. (B.C.519.)


TABERAH


the name of a place in the wilderness of Paran. (Numbers 11:3; 9:22) It
has not been identified.


TABERING


an obsolete English word used in the Authorized Version of (Nahum 2:7) The
Hebrew word connects itself with toph, "a timbrel." The Authorized
Version reproduces the original idea. The "tabour" or "tabor" was a
musical instrument of the drum type which with the pipe formed the band of
a country village. To "tabour," accordingly, is to beat with loud strokes,
as men beat upon such an instrument.


TABERNACLE


The tabernacle was the tent of Jehovah, called by the same name as the
tents of the people in the midst of which it stood. It was also called the
sanctuary and the tabernacle of the congregation. The first ordinance
given to Moses, after the proclamation of the outline of the law from
Sinai, related to the ordering of the tabernacle, its furniture and its
service as the type which was to be followed when the people came to their
own home and "found a place" for the abode of God. During the forty days
of Moses’ first retirement with God in Sinai, an exact pattern of
the whole was shown him, and all was made according to it. (Exodus
25:9,40; 26:30; 39:32,42,43; Numbers 8:4; Acts 7:44; Hebrews 8:5) The
description of this plan is preceded by an account of the freewill
offerings which the children of Israel were to be asked to make for its
execution. I. THE TABERNACLE ITSELF. --

  2. Its name. -- It was first called a tent or
    dwelling, (Exodus 25:8) because Jehovah as it were, abode there.
    It was often called tent or tabernacle from its external appearance.

  4. Its materials. -- The materials were -- (a) Metals: gold,
    silver and brass. (b) Textile fabrics: blue, purple, scarlet and fine
    (white) linen, for the production of which Egypt was celebrated; also a
    fabric of goat's hair, the produce of their own flocks. (c) Skins: of the
    ram, dyed red, and of the badger. (d) Wood the shittim wood, the timber of
    the wild acacia of the desert itself, the tree of the "burning bush." (e)
    Oil, spices and incense for anointing the priests and burning in the
    tabernacle. (f) Gems: onyx stones and the precious stones for the
    breastplate of the high priest. The people gave jewels, and plates of gold
    and silver and brass; wood, skins, hair and linen; the women wove; the
    rulers offered precious stones, oil, spices and incense; and the artists
    soon had more than they needed. (Exodus 25:1-8; 35:4-29; 36:5-7) The
    superintendence of the work was intrusted to Bezaleel, of the tribe of
    Judah, and to Aholiab, of the tribe of Dan, who were skilled in "all
    manner of workmanship." (Exodus 31:2,6; 35:30,34)

  6. Its structure. -- The tabernacle was to comprise three main
    parts, -- the tabernacle more strictly so called, its tent and its
    covering. (Exodus 35:11; 39:33,34; 40:19,34; Numbers 3:25) etc. These
    parts are very clearly distinguished in the Hebrew, but they are
    confounded in many places of the English version. The tabernacle itself
    was to consist of curtains of fine linen woven with colored figures of
    cherubim, and a structure of boards which was to contain the holy place
    and the most holy place; the tent was to be a true tent of goat's hair
    cloth, to contain and shelter the tabernacle; the covering was to be of
    red ram-skins and seal-skins, (Exodus 25:5) and was spread over the goat's
    hair tent as an additional protection against the weather. It was an
    oblong rectangular structure, 30 cubits in length by 10 in width (45 feet
    by 15), and 10 in height; the interior being divided into two chambers,
    the first or outer, of 20 cubits in length, the inner, of 10 cubits, and
    consequently and exact cube. The former was the holy place, or
    first tabernacle, (Hebrews 9:2) containing the golden candlestick
    on one side, the table of shew-bread opposite, and between them in the
    centre the altar of incense. The latter was the most holy place,
    or the holy of holies, containing the ark, surmounted by the
    cherubim, with the two tables inside. The two sides and the farther or
    west end were enclosed by boards of shittim wood overlaid with gold,
    twenty on the north and twenty on the south side, six on the west side,
    and the corner-boards doubled. They stood upright, edge to edge, their
    lower ends being made with tenons, which dropped into sockets of silver,
    and the corner-boards being coupled at the tope with rings. They were
    furnished with golden rings, through which passed bars of shittim wood,
    overlaid with gold, five to each side, and the middle bar passing from end
    to end, so as to brace the whole together. Four successive coverings of
    curtains looped together were placed over the open top and fell down over
    the sides. The first or inmost was a splendid fabric of linen, embroidered
    with figures of cherubim in blue, purple and scarlet, and looped together
    by golden fastenings. It seems probable that the ends of this set of
    curtains hung down within the tabernacle, forming a sumptuous
    tapestry. The second was a covering of goats’ hair; the third, of
    ram-skins dyed red and the outermost, of badger-skins (so called in our
    version; but the Hebrew word probably signifies seal-skins). It has been
    commonly supposed that these coverings were thrown over the wall, as a
    pall is thrown over a coffin; but this would have allowed every drop of
    rain that fell on the tabernacle to fall through; for, however tightly the
    curtains might be stretched, the water could never run over the edge, and
    the sheep-skins would only make the matter worse as when wetted their
    weight would depress the centre and probably tear any curtain that could
    be made. There can be no reasonable doubt that the tent had a ridge, as
    all tents have had from the days of Moses down to the present time. The
    front of the sanctuary was closed by a hanging of fine linen, embroidered
    in blue, purple and scarlet, and supported by golden hooks on five pillars
    of shittim wood overlaid with gold and standing in brass sockets; and the
    covering of goat's hair was so made as to fall down over this when
    required. A more sumptuous curtain of the same kind, embroidered with
    cherubim hung on four such pillars, with silver sockets, divided the holy
    from the most holy place. It was called the veil, (Sometimes the second
    veil, either is reference to the first, at the entrance of the holy place,
    or as below the vail of the second sanctuary;) (Hebrews 9:3) as it hid
    from the eyes of all but the high priest the inmost sanctuary, where
    Jehovah dwells on his mercy-seat, between the cherubim above the ark.
    Hence "to enter within the veil" is to have the closest access to God. It
    was only passed by the high priest once a year, on the Day of Atonement in
    token of the mediation of Christ, who with his own blood hath entered for
    us within the veil which separates God's own abode from earth. (Hebrews
    6:19) In the temple, the solemn barrier was at length profaned by a Roman
    conqueror, to warn the Jews that the privileges they had forfeited were
    "ready to vanish away;" and the veil was at last rent by the hand of God
    himself, at the same moment that the body of Christ was rent upon the
    cross, to indicate that the entrance into the holiest of all is now laid
    open to all believers by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which
    he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh."
    (Hebrews 10:19,20) The holy place was only entered by the priests daily,
    to offer incense at the time of morning and evening prayer, and to renew
    the lights on the golden candlesticks; and on the sabbath, to remove the
    old shew-bread, and to place the new upon the table. II. THE SACRED
    FURNITURE AND INSTRUMENTS OF THE TABERNACLE. -- These are described in
    separate articles, and therefore it is only necessary to give a list of
    them here.

  8. In the outer court. The altar of burnt offering and the
    brazen laver. [ALTAR; LAVER]

  10. In the holy place. The furniture of the court was connected with
    sacrifice; that of the sanctuary itself with the deeper mysteries of
    mediation and access to God. The first sanctuary contained three objects:
    the altar of incense in the centre, so as to be directly in front
    of the ark of the covenant (1 Kings 6:22) the table of shew-bread on its
    right or north side, and the golden candlestick on the left or south side.
    These objects were all considered as being placed before the presence of
    Jehovah, who dwelt in the holiest of all, though with the veil between.
    [ALTAR; SHEW-BREAD; CANDLESTICK, CANDLESTICK]

  12. In the holy of holies, within the veil, and shrouded in darkness,
    there was but one object, the ark of the covenant, containing the two
    tables of stone, inscribed with the Ten Commandments. [ARK OF THE
    COVENANT] III. THE COURT OF THE TABERNACLE, in which the tabernacle itself
    stood, was an oblong space, 100 cubits by 50 (i.e. 150 feet by 75), having
    its longer axis east and west, with its front to the east. It was
    surrounded by canvas screens -- in the East called kannauts -- 5
    cubits in height, and supported by pillars of brass 5 cubits apart, to
    which the curtains were attached by hooks and filets of silver. (Exodus
    27:9) etc. This enclosure was broken only on the east side by the
    entrance, which was 20 cubits wide, and closed by curtains of fine twined
    linen wrought with needlework and of the most gorgeous colors. In the
    outer or east half of the court was placed the altar of burnt offering,
    and between it and the tabernacle itself; the laver at which the priests
    washed their hands and feet on entering the temple. The tabernacle itself
    was placed toward the west end of this enclosure. IV. HISTORY. -- "The
    tabernacle, as the place in which Jehovah dwelt, was pitched in the centre
    of the camp, (Numbers 2:2) as the tent of a leader always is in the East;
    for Jehovah was the Captain of Israel. (Joshua 5:14,15) During the marches
    of Israel, the tabernacle was still in the centre. (Numbers 2:1) ... The
    tribes camped and marched around it in the order of a hollow square. In
    certain great emergencies led the march. (Joshua 3:11-16) Upon the
    tabernacle, abode always the cloud, dark by day and fiery red by night,
    (Exodus 10:38) giving the signal for the march, (Exodus 40:36,37; Numbers
    9:17) and the halt. (Numbers 9:15-23) It was always the special
    meeting-place of Jehovah and his people. (Numbers 11:24,25; 12:4; 14:10;
    16:19,42; 20:6; 27:2; 31:14) "During the conquest of Canaan the tabernacle
    at first moved from place to place, (Joshua 4:19; 8:30-35; 9:6; 10:15) was
    finally located at Shiloh. (Joshua 9:27; 18:1) Here it remained during the
    time of the judges, till it was captured by the Philistines, who carried
    off the sacred ark of the covenant. (1 Samuel 4:22) From this time forward
    the glory of the tabernacle was gone. When the ark was recovered, it was
    removed to Jerusalem, and placed in a new tabernacle (2 Samuel 6:17; 1
    Chronicles 15:1) but the old structure still had its hold on the
    veneration of the community and the old altar still received their
    offerings. (1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29) It was not till the temple was
    built, and a fitting house thus prepared for the Lord, that the ancient
    tabernacle was allowed to perish and be forgotten. V. SIGNIFICANCE. --
    (The great underlying principles of true religion are the same in all ages
    and for all men; because man's nature and needs are the same, and the same
    God ever rules over all. But different ages require different methods of
    teaching these truths, and can understand them in different degrees. As we
    are taught in the Epistle to the Hebrews, the tabernacle was part of a
    great system of teaching by object-lessons, and of training the world to
    understand and receive the great truths which were to be revealed in Jesus
    Christ and thus really to save the Jews from sin By Jesus dimly seen in
    the future, as we clearly see him in the past. (1) The tabernacle and its
    services enabled the Jews, who had no visible representation of God, to
    feel the reality of God and of religion. (2) The tabernacle as the most
    beautiful and costly object in the nation and ever in the centre of the
    camp, set forth the truth that religion was the central fact and the most
    important, in a persons life. (3) The pillar of cloud and of fire was the
    best possible symbol of the living God, -- a cloud, bright, glowing like
    the sunset clouds, glorious, beautiful, mysterious, self-poised, heavenly;
    fire, immaterial, the source of life and light and comfort and cheer, but
    yet unapproachable, terrible, a consuming fire to the wicked. (4) The
    altar of burnt offering, standing before the tabernacle was a perpetual
    symbol of the atonement, -- the greatness of sin, deserving death, hard to
    be removed and yet forgiveness possible, and offered freely, but only
    through blood. The offerings, as brought by the people were a type of
    consecration to God, of conversion and new life, through the atonement.
    (6) This altar stood outside of the tabernacle, and must be passed before
    we come to the tabernacle itself; a type of the true religious life.
    Before the tabernacle was also the laver, signifying the same thing that
    baptism does with us, the cleansing of the heart and life. (8) Having
    entered the holy place, we find the three great means and helps to true
    living, -- the candlestick, the light of God's truth; the shew-bread,
    teaching that the soul must have its spiritual food and live in communion
    with God; and the altar of incense, the symbol of prayer. The holy of
    holies, beyond, taught that there was progress in the religious life, and
    that progress was toward God, and toward the perfect keeping of the law
    till it was as natural to obey the law as it is to breathe; and thus the
    holy of holies was the type of heaven. -- ED.)


TABERNACLES, THE FEAST OF


(Exodus 23:16) ("the feast of ingathering"), the third of the three great
festivals: of the Hebrews, which lasted from the 15th till the 22d of
Tisri.

  2. The following are the principal passages in the Pentateuch which refer
    to it: (Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 23:34-36; 39-43; Numbers 29:12-38;
    16:13-15; 31:10-13) In Nehe 8, there is an account of the observance of
    the feast by Ezra.

  4. The time of the festival fell in the autumn, when the whole of the
    chief fruits of the ground, the corn, the wine and the oil, were gathered
    in. (Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 23:39; 15:13-15) Its duration was strictly
    only seven days, (16:13; Ezekiel 45:25) but it was followed by a day of
    holy convocation, distinguished by sacrifices of its own, which was
    sometimes spoken of as an eighth day. (Leviticus 23:36; Nehemiah 8:18)
    During the seven days the Israelites were commanded to dwell in booths or
    huts formed of the boughs of trees. The boughs were of the olive palm,
    pine, myrtle and other trees with thick foliage. (Nehemiah 8:15,16)
    According to rabbinical tradition each Israelite used to tie the branches
    into a bunch, to be carried in his hand to which the name lulab was
    given. The burnt offerings of the Feast of Tabernacles were by far more
    numerous than those of any other festival. There were offered on each day
    two rams, fourteen lambs and a kid for a sin offering. But what was most
    peculiar was the arrangement of the sacrifices of bullocks, in amounting
    to seventy. (Numbers 29:12-38) The eighth day was a day of holy
    convocation of peculiar solemnity. On the morning of this day the Hebrews
    left their huts and dismantled them, and took up their abode again in
    their houses. The special offerings of the day were a bullock a ram, seven
    lambs and a goat for a sin offering. (Numbers 29:36,38) When the Feast of
    Tabernacles fell on a sabbatical year, portions of the law were read each
    day in public, to men, women, children and strangers. (31:10-13) We find
    Ezra reading the law during the festival "day by day, from the first day
    to the last day." (Nehemiah 8:18)

  6. There are two particulars in the observance of the Feast of
    Tabernacles which appear to be referred to in the New Testament, but are
    not noticed in the Old. These were the ceremony of pouring out some water
    of the pool of Siloam and the display of some great lights in the court of
    the women. We are told that each Israelite, in holiday attire, having made
    up his lulab, before he broke his fast repaired to the temple with
    the lulab in one hand and the citron in the other, at the time of
    the ordinary morning sacrifice. The parts of the victim were laid upon the
    altar. One of the priests fetched some water in a golden ewer from the
    pool of Siloam, which he brought into the court through the water-gate. As
    he entered the trumpets sounded, and he ascended the slope of the altar.
    At the top of this were fixed two silver basins with small openings at the
    bottom. Wine was poured into that on the eastern side, and the water into
    that on the western side, whence it was conducted by pipes into the
    Cedron. In the evening, both men and women assembled in the court of the
    women, expressly to hold a rejoicing for the drawing of the water of
    Siloam. At the same time there were set up in the court two lofty stands,
    each supporting four great lamps. These were lighted on each night of the
    festival. It appears to be generally admitted that the words of our
    Saviour, (John 7:37,38) -- "If a man thirst, let him come unto me drink.
    He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall
    flow rivers of living water" -- were suggested by the pouring out of the
    water of Siloam. But it is very doubtful what is meant by "the last day,
    that great day of the feast." It would seem that either the last day of
    the feast itself, that is, the seventh, or the last day of the religious
    observances of the series of annual festivals, the eighth, must be
    intended. The eighth day may be meant and then the reference of our Lord
    would be to an ordinary and well-known observance of the feast, though it
    was not, at the very time, going on. We must resort to some such
    explanation if we adopt the notion that our Lord's words (John 8:12) -- "I
    am the light of the world " -- refer to the great lamps of the
    festival.

  8. Though all the Hebrew annual festivals were seasons of rejoicing, the
    Feast of Tabernacles was, in this respect, distinguished above them all.
    The huts and the lulabs must have made a gay end striking spectacle
    over the city by day, and the lamps, the flambeaux, the music and the
    joyous gatherings in the court of the temple must have given a still more
    festive character to the night. The main purposes of the Feast of
    Tabernacles are plainly set forth in (Exodus 23:16) and Levi 23:43 It was
    to be at once a thanksgiving for the harvest and a commemoration of the
    time when the Israelites dwelt in tents during their passage through the
    wilderness. In one of its meanings it stands in connection with the
    Passover. as the Feast of Abib, and with Pentecost, as the feast of
    harvest; in its other meaning, it is related to the Passover as the great
    yearly memorial of the deliverance from the destroyer and from the tyranny
    of Egypt. But naturally connected with this exultation in their regained
    freedom was the rejoicing in the more perfect fulfillment of God's promise
    in the settlement of his people in the holy blessing. But the culminating
    point of was the establishment of the central spot of the national worship
    in the temple at Jerusalem. Hence it was evidently fitting that the Feast
    of Tabernacles should be kept with an unwonted degree of observance at the
    dedication of Solomon's temple, (1 Kings 8:2,65) Joseph. Ant. viii. 4,5;
    again, after the rebuilding of the temple by Ezra, (Nehemiah 8:13-18) and
    a third time by Judas Maccabaeus when he had driven out the Syrians and
    restored the temple to the worship of Jehovah. 2 Macc. 10:5-8.


TABITHA


(gazelle), also called Dorcas by St. Luke, a female disciple of
Joppa, "full of good works" among which that of making clothes for the
poor is specifically mentioned. While St. Peter was at the neighboring
town of Lydda, Tabitha, died; upon which the disciples at Joppa sent an
urgent message to the apostle begging him to come to them without delay.
Upon his arrival Peter found the deceased already prepared for burial, and
laid out in an upper chamber, where she was surrounded by the recipients
and the tokens of her charity after the example of our Saviour in the
house of Jairus, (Matthew 9:25; Mark 5:40) "Peter put them all forth,"
prayed for the divine assistance, and then commanded Tabitha to arise.
Comp. (Mark 5:41; Luke 8:51) She opened-her eyes and sat up, and then,
assisted by the apostle, rose from her couch. This great miracle, as we
are further told produced an extraordinary effect in Joppa, and was the
occasion of many conversions there. (Acts 9:38-42) The name "Tabitha" is
an Aramaic word signifying a "female gazelle." St. Luke gives "Dorcas" as
the Greek equivalent of the name.


TABOR


(a mound), or Mount Tabor, one of the most interesting and
remarkable of the single mountains in Palestine. It rises abruptly from
the northeastern arm of the plain of Esdraelon, and stands entirely
insulated, except on the west where a narrow ridge connects it with the
hills of Nazareth. It presents to the eye, as seen from a distance, a
beautiful appearance, being symmetrical in its proportions and rounded off
like a hemisphere or the segment of a circle, yet varying somewhat as
viewed from different directions. The body of the mountain consists of the
peculiar limestone of the country. It is now called Jebel-et-Tur.
It lies about six or eight miles almost due east from Nazareth. The ascent
is usually made on the west side, near the little village of
Deburieh -- probably the ancient Daberath, (Joshua 19:12) -- though
it can be made with entire ease in other places. It requires three
quarters of an hour or an hour to reach the to the top. The top of Tabor
consists of an irregular platform, embracing a circuit of half an hour's
walk, and commanding wide views of the subjacent plain from end to end.
Tabor does not occur in the New Testament, but makes a prominent figure in
the Old. The book of Joshua (Joshua 19:22) mentions it as the boundary
between Issachar and Zebulun, See ver. 12. Barak, at the command of
Deborah, assembled his forces on Tabor, and descended thence, with "ten
thousand men after him," into the plain, and conquered Sisera on the banks
of the Kishon. (Judges 4:6-15) The brothers of Gideon each of whom
"resembled the children of a king," were murdered here by Zebah and
Zalmunna. (Judges 8:18,19) There are at present the ruins of a fortress
round all the summit of Tabor. The Latin Christians have now an altar here
at which their priests from Nazareth perform an annual mass. The Greeks
also have a chapel, where, on certain festivals they assemble for the
celebration of religious rites. The idea that our Saviour was transfigured
on Tabor prevailed extensively among the early Christians, and still
reappears often in popular religious works. It is impossible, however, to
acquiesce in the correctness of this opinion. It can be proved from the
Old Testament and from later history that a fortress or town existed on
Tabor from very early times down to B.C. 53 or 50; and as Josephus says
that he strengthened the fortifications there about A.D. 60, it is morally
certain that Tabor must have been inhabited during the intervening Period
that is in the days of Christ. Tabor, therefore, could not have been the
Mount of Transfiguration [see HERMON]; for when it is said that Jesus took
his disciples "up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before
them (Matthew 17:1,2) we must understand that he brought them to the
summit of the mountain, where they were alone by themselves.


TABOR


is mentioned in the lists of 1Chr 6 as a city of the Merarite Levites, in
the tribe of Zebulun. ver. (1 Chronicles 6:77) The list of the towns of
Zebulun. Josh 19 contains the name of Chisloth-tabor. ver. (Joshua 19:12)
It is, therefore, possible, either that Chisloth-tabor is abbreviated into
Tabor by the chronicler, or that by the time these later lists were
compiled the Merarites had established themselves on the sacred mountain,
and that Tabor is Mount Tabor.


TABOR, THE PLAIN OF


This is an incorrect translation, and should be THE OAK OF TABOR, TABOR.
It is mentioned in (1 Samuel 10:3) only, as one of the points in the
homeward journey of Saul after his anointing by Samuel.


TABRET


[TIMBREL, TABRET]


TABRIMON


(properly Tabrimmon, i.e. good is Rimmon, the Syrian god) the
father of Ben-hadad I., king of Syria in the reign of Asa. (1 Kings 15:18)
(B.C. before 928.)


TACHE


The word thus rendered occurs only in the description of the structure of
the tabernacle and its fittings, (Exodus 26:6,11,33; 35:11; 36:13; 39:33)
and appears to indicate the small hooks by which a curtain is suspended to
the rings from which it hangs, or connected vertically, as in the case of
the veil of the holy of holies, with the loops of another curtain.


TACHMONITE, THE


"The Tachmonite that sat in the seat," chief among David's captains, (2
Samuel 23:8) Isa in 1Chr 11:11 Called "Jashobeam an Hachmonite," or, as
the margin gives it, "son of Hachmoni." Kennicott has shown that the words
translated "he that sat in the seat" are a corruption of Jashobeam, and
that "the Tachmonite" is a corruption of the "son of Hachmoni," which was
the family or local name of Jashobeam. Therefore he concludes "Jashobeam
the Hachmonite" to have been the true reading.


TADMOR


(city of palms), called "Tadmor in the wilderness," is the same as
the city known to the Greeks and Romans under the name of Palmyra. It lay
between the Euphrates and Hamath, to the southeast of that city, in a
fertile tract or oasis of the desert. Being situated at a convenient
distance from both the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf, it had
great advantages for caravan traffic. It was built by Solomon after his
conquest of Hamath-zobah. (1 Kings 9:18; 2 Chronicles 8:4) As the city
is-nowhere else mentioned in the Bible, it would be out of place to enter
into a detailed history of it. In the second century A.D. it seems to have
been beautified by the emperor Hadrian. In the beginning of the third
century -- 211-217 A.D. -- it became a Roman colony under Caracalla.
Subsequently, in the reign of Gallienus, the Roman senate invested
Odenathus, a senator of Palmyra, with the regal dignity, on account of his
services in defeating Sapor, king of Persia. On the assassination of
Odenathus, his wife, Zenobia, seems to have conceived the design of
erecting Palmyra into an independent monarchy; and in prosecution of this
object, she for a while successfully resisted the Roman arms. She was at
length defeated and taken captive by the emperor Aurelian, A.D. 273, who
left a Roman garrison in Palmyra. This garrison was massacred in a revolt;
and Aurelian punished the city by the execution not only of those who were
taken in arms, but likewise of common peasants, of old men, women and
children. From this blow Palmyra never recovered, though there are proofs
of its having continued to be inhabited until the downfall of the Roman
empire. The grandeur and magnificence of the ruins of Palmyra cannot be
exceeded, and attest its former greatness. Among the most remarkable are
the Tombs, the Temple of the Sun and the Street of Columns.


TAHAN


(camp), a descendant of Ephraim. (Numbers 26:35) In (1 Chronicles
7:25) he appears as the son of Telah.


TAHANITES, THE


(Numbers 26:35) [TAHAN]


TAHATH


(station).

  2. A Kohathite Levite, ancestor of Samuel and Heman. (1 Chronicles
    6:22,37; 9:22) (B.C. about 1415.)

  4. According to the present text, son of Bered, and great-grandson of
    Ephraim. (1 Chronicles 7:20) Burrington, however, identifies Tahath with
    Tahan, the son of Ephraim.

  6. Grandson of the preceding, as the text now stands. (1 Chronicles 7:20)
    But Burrington considers him as a son of Ephraim.


TAHATH


the name of a desert station of the Israelites between Makheloth and
Tarah. (Numbers 33:26) The site has not been identified.


TAHPANHES, TEHAPHNEHES, TAHAPANES


a city of Egypt, mentioned in the time of the prophets Jeremiah and
Ezekiel. The name is evidently Egyptian, and closely resembles that of the
Egyptian queen Tahpenes. It was evidently a town of lower Egypt, near or
on the eastern border. When Johanan and the other captains went into Egypt
"they came to Tahpanhes." (Jeremiah 43:7) The Jews in Jeremiah's time
remained here. (Jeremiah 44:1) It was an important town, being twice
mentioned by the latter prophet with Noph or Memphis. (Jeremiah 2:16;
46:14) Here stood a house of Pharaoh-hophra before which Jeremiah hid
great stones. (Jeremiah 43:8-10)


TAHPENES


an Egyptian queen, was wife of the Pharaoh who received Hadad the Edomite,
and who gave him her sister in marriage. (1 Kings 11:18-20) (B.C. about
1000.)


TAHREA


(cunning), son of Micah and grandson of Mephibosheth. (1 Chronicles
9:41) (B.C. after 1057.)


TAHTIMHODSHI


(lowlands of Hodshi?), The land of, one of the places
visited by Joab during his census of the land of Israel. It occurs between
Gilead and Dan-jaan. (2 Samuel 24:6) The name has puzzled all the
interpreters, (Kitto says it was probably a section of the upper valley of
the Jordan, now called Ard el-Huleh, lying deep down at the
western base of Hermon. -- ED.)


TALENT


[WEIGHTS AND MEASURES AND MEASURES]


TALITHA CUMI


two Syriac words, (Mark 5:41) signifying damsel, arise.


TALMAI


(bold).

  2. One of the three sons of "the Anak" who were slain by the men of
    Judah. (Numbers 13:22; Joshua 15:14; Judges 1:10) (B.C. 1450.)

  4. Son of Ammihud king of Geshur. (2 Samuel 3:3; 13:37; 1 Chronicles 3:2)
    He was probably a petty chieftain, dependent on David. (B.C. 1040.)


TALMON


(oppressor), the head of a family of door-keepers in the temple,
"the porters for the camps of the sons: of Levi." (1 Chronicles 9:17;
Nehemiah 11:19) (B.C. 1013.) Some of his descendants returned with
Zerubbabel, (Ezra 2:43; Nehemiah 7:45) and were employed in their
hereditary office in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra. (Nehemiah 12:25)


TALMUD


(i.e. doctrine, from the Hebrew word "to learn") is a large
collection of writings, containing a full account of the civil and
religious laws of the Jews. It was a fundamental principle of the
Pharisees, common to them with all orthodox modern Jews, that by the side
of the written law, regarded as a summary of the principles and general
laws of the Hebrew people, there was an oral law, to complete and to
explain the written law. It was an article of faith that in the Pentateuch
there was no precept, and no regulation, ceremonial, doctrinal or legal,
of which God had not given to Moses all explanations necessary for their
application, with the order to transmit them by word of mouth. The
classical subject is the following in the Mishna on this wing: "Moses
received the (oral) law from Sinai, and delivered it to Joshua, and Joshua
to the elders, and the elders to the prophets and the prophets to the men
of the Great Synagogue." This oral law, with the numerous commentaries
upon it, forms the Talmud. It consists of two parts, the Mishna and
Gemara.

  2. The MISHNA, or "second law," which contains a compendium of the whole
    ritual law, was reduced to writing in its present form by Rabbi Jehuda the
    Holy, a Jew of great wealth and influence, who flourished in the second
    century of the Christian era. Viewed as a whole, the precepts in the
    Mishna treated men like children, formalizing and defining the minutest
    particulars of ritual observances. The expressions of "bondage," or "weak
    and beggarly elements," and of "burdens too heavy for men to bear,"
    faithfully represent the impression produced by their multiplicity. The
    Mishna is very concisely written, and requires notes.

  4. This circumstance led to the commentaries called GEMARA (i.e.
    supplement, completion), which form the second part of the Talmud,
    and which are very commonly meant when the word "Talmud" is used by
    itself. There are two Gemaras; one of Jerusalem, in which there is said to
    be no passage which can be proved to be later than the first half of the
    fourth century; and the other of Babylon, completed about 500 A.D. The
    latter is the more important and by far the longer.


TAMAH


(laughter). The children of Tamah or Thamah, (Ezra 2:53) were among
the Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel. (Nehemiah 7:55)


TAMAR


(palm tree).

  2. The wife successively of the two sons of Judah, Er and Onan. (Genesis
    38:8-30) (B.C. about 1718.) Her importance in the sacred narrative depends
    on the great anxiety to keep up the lineage of Judah. It seemed as if the
    family were on the point of extinction. Er and Onan had successively
    perished suddenly. Judah's wife, Bathshuah, died; and there only remained
    a child, Shelah, whom Judah was unwilling to trust to the dangerous union
    as it appeared, with Tamar, lest he should meet with the same fate as his
    brothers. Accordingly she resorted to the desperate expedient of
    entrapping the father himself into the union which he feared for his son.
    The fruits of this intercourse were twins, Pharez and Zarah, and through
    Pharez the sacred line was continued.

  4. Daughter of David and Maachah the Geshurite princess, and thus sister
    of Absalom. (2 Samuel 13:1-32; 1 Chronicles 3:9) (B.C. 1033.) She and her
    brother were alike remarkable for their extraordinary beauty. This fatal
    beauty inspired a frantic passion in her half-brother Amnon, the oldest
    son of David by Ahinoam. In her touching remonstrance two points are
    remarkable: first, the expression of the infamy of such a crime "in
    Israel" implying the loftier standard of morals that prevailed, as
    compared with other countries at that time; and second, the belief that
    even this standard might be overborne lawfully by royal authority --
    "Speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from thee." The intense
    hatred of Amnon succeeding to his brutal passion, and the indignation of
    Tamar at his barbarous insult, even surpassing her indignation at his
    shameful outrage, are pathetically and graphically told.

  6. Daughter of Absalom, (2 Samuel 14:7) became, by her marriage with
    Uriah of Gibeah, the mother of Maachah, the future queen of Judah or wife
    of Abijah. (1 Kings 15:2) (B.C. 1023.)

  8. A spot on the southeastern frontier of Judah, named in (Ezekiel 47:19;
    48:28) only, evidently called from a palm tree. If not Hazazon-tamar, the
    old name of Engedi, it may he a place called Thamar in the
    Onamasticon [HAZAZON-TAMAR), a day's journey south of Hebron.


TAMMUZ


(sprout of life), properly "the Tammuz," the article indicating
that at some time or other the word had been regarded as an appellative.
(Ezekiel 8:14) Jerome identifies Tammuz with Adonis, of Grecian mythology,
who was fabled to have lost his wife while hunting, by a wound from the
tusk of a wild boar. He was greatly beloved by the goddess Venus, who was
inconsolable at his loss. His blood according to Ovid produced the
anemone, but according to others the adonium, while the anemone sprang
from the tears of Venus. A festival in honor of Adonis was celebrated at
Byblus in Phoenicia and in most of the Grecian cities, and even by the
Jews when they degenerated into idolatry. It took place in July, and was
accompanied by obscene rites.


TANACH


a slight variation of the name TAANACH. (Joshua 21:26)


TANHUMETH


(consolation), the father of Seraiah in the time of Gedaliah. (2
Kings 25:23; Jeremiah 40:8) (B.C. before 582.)


TAPHATH


(ornament), the daughter of Solomon, who was married to
ben-Abinadab. (1 Kings 4:11) (B.C. about 1000.)


TAPHON


one of the cities in Judea fortified by Bacchides. 1 Macc. 9:50. It is
probably the Beth-tappuah of the Old Testament.


TAPPUSH


(the apple-city).

  2. A city of Judah, of the Shefelah or lowland. (Joshua 15:34)

  4. A place on the boundary of the "children of Joseph." (Joshua 16:8;
    17:8) Its full name was probably En-tappuah. (Joshua 17:7) ("Around the
    city was a district called the land of Tappuah; the city belonged to
    Ephraim and the land to Manasseh. (Joshua 17:8) " -- Schaff.)

  6. One of the sons of Hebron, of the tribe of Judah. (1 Chronicles 2:43)
    It is doubtless the same as Beth-tappuah. (B.C. before 1450.)


TARAH


(delay), a desert-station of the Israelites between Tahath and
Mithcah. (Numbers 33:27)


TARALAH


(reeling), one of the towns in the allotment of Benjamin. (Joshua
18:27)


TAREA


the same as Tahreah, the son of Micah. (1 Chronicles 8:35)


TARES


There can be little doubt that the zizania of the parable, (Matthew
13:25) denotes the weed called "darnel" (Lolium temulentum). The
darnel before it comes into ear is very similar in appearance to wheat;
hence the command that the zizania should be left to the harvest,
lest while men plucked up the tares "they should root up also the wheat
with them." Dr. Stanley, however, speaks of women and children picking up
from the wheat in the cornfields of Samaria the tall green stalks, still
called by the Arabs zuwan. "These stalks," he continues, "if sown
designedly throughout the fields, would be inseparable from the wheat,
from which, even when growing naturally and by chance, they are at first
sight hardly distinguishable." See also Thomson ("The Land and the Book"
p. 420): "The grain is in just the proper stage to illustrate the parable.
In those parts where the grain has headed out, the tares have done
the same, and then a child cannot mistake them for wheat or barley; but
where both are less developed, the closest scrutiny will often fail to
detect them. Even the farmers, who in this country generally weed
their fields, do not attempt to separate the one from the other." The
grains of the L. temulentum, if eaten, produce convulsions, and
even death.


TARGUM


[See VERSIONS, ANCIENT, OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, VERSIONS,
AUTHORIZED]


TARPELITES, THE


A race of Assyrian colonists who were planted int he cites of Samaria
after the captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel. (Ezra 4:9) They
have not been identified with any certainty.


TARSHISH


(established).

  2. Probably Tartessus, a city and emporium of the Phoenicians in the
    south of Spain, represented as one of the sons of Javan. (Genesis 10:4; 1
    Kings 10:22; 1 Chronicles 1:7; Psalms 48:7; Isaiah 2:16; Jeremiah 10:9;
    Ezekiel 27:12,25; Jonah 1:3; 4:2) The identity of the two places is
    rendered highly probable by the following circumstances: 1st. There is a
    very close similarity of name between them, Tartessus being merely
    Tarshish in the Aramaic form. 2nd. There seems to have been a special
    relation between Tarshish and Tyre, as there was at one time between
    Tartessus and Phoenicians. 3rd. The articles which Tarshish is stated by
    the prophet Ezekiel, (Ezekiel 27:12) to have supplied to Tyre are
    precisely such as we know, through classical writers, to have been
    productions of the Spanish peninsula. In regard to tin, the trade of
    Tarshish in this metal is peculiarly significant, and, taken in
    conjunction with similarity of name and other circumstances already
    mentioned, is reasonably conclusive as to its identity with Tartessus. For
    even not when countries in Europe or on the shores of the Mediterranean
    Sea where tin is found are very few; and in reference to ancient times, it
    would be difficult to name any such countries except Iberia or Spain,
    Lusitania, which was somewhat less in extent than Portugal, and Cornwall
    in Great Britain. In the absence of positive proof, we may acquiesce in
    the statement of Strabo, that the river Baetis (now the Guadalquivir) was
    formerly called Tartessus, that the city Tartessus was situated between
    the two arms by which the river flowed into the sea, and that the
    adjoining country was called Tartessis.

  4. From the book of Chronicles there would seem to have been a Tarshish
    accessible from the Red Sea, in addition to the Tarshish of the south of
    Spain. Thus, with regard to the ships of Tarshish, which Jehoshaphat
    caused to be constructed at Ezion-geber on the Elanitic Gulf of the Red
    Sea, (1 Kings 22:48) it is said in the Chronicles, (2 Chronicles 20:36)
    that they were made to go to Tarshish; and in like manner the navy of
    ships, which Solomon had previously made in Ezion-geber, (1 Kings 9:26) is
    said in the Chronicles, (2 Chronicles 9:21) to have gone to Tarshish with
    the servants of Hiram. It is not to be supposed that the author of these
    passages in the Chronicles contemplated a voyage to Tarshish in the south
    of Spain by going round what has since been called the Cape of Good Hope.
    The expression "ships of Tarshish" originally meant ships destined to go
    to Tarshish; and then probably came to signify large Phoenician ships, of
    a particular size the description, destined for long voyages, just as in
    English "East Indiaman" was a general name given to vessels, some of which
    were not intended to go to India at all. Hence we may infer that the word
    Tarshish was also used to signify any distant place, and in this case
    would be applied to one in the Indian Ocean. This is shown by the nature
    of the imports with which the fleet returned, which are specified as
    "gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks." (1 Kings 10:22) The
    gold might possibly have been obtained form Africa, or from Ophir in
    Arabia, and the ivory and the apes might likewise have been imported from
    Africa; but the peacocks point conclusively, not to Africa, but to India.
    There are only two species known: both inhabit the mainland and islands of
    India; so that the mention of the peacock seems to exclude the possibility
    of the voyage having been to Africa.


TARSUS


the chief town of Cilicia, "no mean city" in other respects, but
illustrious to all time as the birthplace and early residence of the
apostle Paul. (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3) Even in the flourishing period of
Greek history it was a city of some considerable consequence. In the civil
wars of Rome it took Caesar's aide, sad on the occasion of a visit from
him had its name changed to Juliopolis. Augustus made it a "free city." It
was renowned as a place of education under the early Roman emperors.
Strabo compares it in this respect to Athens unto Alexandria. Tarsus also
was a place of much commerce. It was situated in a wild and fertile plain
on the banks of the Cydnus. No ruins of any importance remain.


TARTAK


(prince of darkness), one of the gods of the Avite or Avvite
colonists of Samaria. (2 Kings 17:31) According to rabbinical tradition,
Tartak is said to have been worshipped under the form of an ass.


TARTAN


which occurs only in (2 Kings 18:17) and Isai 20:1 Has been generally
regarded as a proper name; like Rabsaris and Rabshakeh, it is more
probably an official designation, and indicates the Assyrian
commander-in-chief.


TATNAI


(gift), satrap of the province west of the Euphrates in the time of
Darius Hystaspes. (Ezra 5:3,6; 6:6,13) (B.C. 520.) The name is thought to
be Persian.


TAVERNS, THE THREE


[THREE TAVERNS TAVERNS]


TAXES


I. Under the judges, according to the theocratic government contemplated
by the law, the only payments incumbent upon the people as of permanent
obligation were the Tithes, the Firstfruits, the Redemption-money of the
first-born, and other offerings as belonging to special occasions. The
payment by each Israelite of the half-shekel as "atonement-money," for the
service of the tabernacle, on taking the census of the people, (Exodus
30:13) does not appear to have had the character of a recurring tax, but
to have been supplementary to the freewill offerings of (Exodus 25:1-7)
levied for the one purpose of the construction of the sacred tent. In
later times, indeed, after the return from Babylon, there was an annual
payment for maintaining the fabric and services of the temple; but the
fact that this begins by of a shekel, (Nehemiah 10:32) shows that till
then there was no such payment recognized as necessary. A little later the
third became a half, and under the name of the didrachma, (Matthew
17:24) was paid by every Jew, in whatever part of the world he might be
living. II. The kingdom, with centralized government and greater
magnificence, involved of course, a larger expenditure, and therefore a
heavier taxation, The chief burdens appear to have been -- (1) A tithe of
the produce both of the soil and of live stock. (1 Samuel 8:15,17) (2)
Forced military service for a month every year. (1 Samuel 8:12; 1 Kings
9:22; 1 Chronicles 27:1) (3) Gifts to the king. (1 Samuel 10:27; 16:20;
17:18) (4) Import duties. (1 Kings 10:15) (5) The monopoly of
certain-branches of commerce. (1 Kings 9:28; 22:48; 10:28,29) (6) The
appropriation to the king's use of the early crop of hay. (Amos 7:1) At
times, too, in the history of both the kingdoms there were special
burdens. A tribute of fifty shekels a head had to be paid by Menahem to
the Assyrian king, (2 Kings 16:20) and under his successor Hoshea this
assumed the form of an annual tribute. (2 Kings 17:4) III. Under the
Persian empire the taxes paid by the Jews were, in their broad outlines,
the same in kind as those of other subject races. The financial system
which gained for Darius Hystaspes the name of the "shopkeeper king"
involved the payment by each satrap of a fixed sum as the tribute due from
his province. In Judea, as in other provinces, the inhabitants had to
provide in kind for the maintenance of the governor's household, besides a
money payment of forty shekels a day. (Nehemiah 5:14,15) In Ezra 4:13,20;
7:24 We get a formal enumeration of the three great branches of the
revenue. The influence of Ezra secured for the whole ecclesiastical order,
from the priests down to the Nethinim, an immunity from all three (Ezra
7:24) but the burden pressed heavily on the great body of the people. IV.
Under the Egyptian and Syrian kings the taxes paid by the Jews became yet
heavier. The "farming" system of finance was adopted in its worst form.
The taxes were put up to auction. The contract sum for those of Phoenicia,
Judea and Samaria had been estimated at about 8000 talents. An
unscrupulous adventurer would bid double that sum, and would then go down
to the province, and by violence and cruelty, like that of Turkish or
Hindoo collectors, squeeze out a large margin of profit for himself. V.
The pressure of Roman taxation, if not absolutely heavier, was probably
more galling, as being more thorough and systematic, more distinctively a
mark of bondage. The capture of Jerusalem by Pompey was followed
immediately by the imposition of a tribute, and within a short time the
sum thus taken from the resources of the country amounted to 10,000
talents. When Judea became formally a Roman province, the whole financial
system of the empire came as a natural consequence. The taxes were
systematically farmed, and the publicans appeared as a new curse to the
country. The portoria were levied at harbors, piers and the gates
of cities. (Matthew 17:24; Romans 13:7) In addition to this there was the
poll-tax paid by every Jew, and looked upon, for that reason, as the
special badge of servitude. United with this, as part of the same system,
there was also, in all probability, a property tax of some kind. In
addition to these general taxes, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were subject
to a special house duty about this period.


TAXING


The English word now conveys to us more distinctly the notion of a tax or
tribute actually levied; but it appears to have been used in the sixteenth
century for the simple assessment of a subsidy upon the property of a
given county, or the registration of the people for the purpose of a
poll-tax. Two distinct registrations, or taxings, are mentioned in the New
Testament, both of them by St. Luke. The first is said to have been the
result of an edict of the emperor Augustus, that "all the world (i.e. the
Roman empire) should be taxed," (Luke 2:1) and is connected by the
evangelist with the name of Cyrenius Quirinus. [CYRENIUS] The second and
more important, (Acts 6:37) is distinctly associated, in point of time,
with the revolt of Judas of Galilee.


TEBAH


(slaughter), eldest of the sons of Nahor by his concubine Reumah.
(Genesis 22:24) (B.C. 1872.)


TEBALIAH


(purified), third son of Hosah of the children of Merari. (1
Chronicles 26:11) (B.C. 1014.)


TEBETH


[MONTH]


TEHINNAH


(supplication), the father or founder of Ir-nahash, the city of
Nahash, and son of Eshton. (1 Chronicles 4:12) (B.C. about 1083.)


TEIL TREE


[OAK]


TEKOA, OR TEKOAH


(a stockade).

  2. A town in the tribe of Judah. (2 Chronicles 11:6) on the range of
    hills which rise near Hebron and stretch eastward toward the Dead Sea.
    Jerome says that Tekoa was six Roman miles from Bethlehem, and that as he
    wrote he had that village daily before his eyes. The "wise woman" whom
    Joab employed to effect a reconciliation between David and Absalom was
    obtained from this place. (2 Samuel 14:2) Here also Ira the son of Ikkesh,
    one of David's thirty, "the mighty men," was born, and was called on that
    account "the Tekoite," (2 Samuel 23:26) It was one of the places which
    Rehoboam fortified, at the beginning of his reign, as a defence against
    invasion from the south. (2 Chronicles 11:6) Some of the people from Tekoa
    took part in building the walls of Jerusalem, after the return from the
    captivity. (Nehemiah 3:6,27) In (Jeremiah 6:1) the prophet exclaims, "Blow
    the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem." But
    Tekoa is chiefly memorable as the birthplace (Amos 7:14) of the prophet
    Amos. Tekoa is still as Teku’a. It lies on an elevated hill,
    which spreads itself out into an irregular plain of moderate extent.
    Various ruins exist, such as the walls of houses, cisterns, broken columns
    and heaps of building-stones.

  4. A name occurring in the genealogies of Judah, (1 Chronicles 2:24; 4:5)
    as the son of Ashur. There is little doubt that the town of Tekoa is
    meant.


TEKOITE, THE


Ira ben-Ikkesh, one of David's warriors, is thus designated. (2 Samuel
23:26; 1 Chronicles 11:28; 27:8) The common people among the Tekoites
displayed great activity in the repairs of the wall of Jerusalem under
Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 3:6,27)


TELABIB


(cornhill) was probably a city of Chaldaea or Babylonia, not of
upper Mesopotamia as generally supposed. (Ezekiel 3:16) The whole scene of
Ezekiel's preaching and visions seems to have been Chaldaea proper; and
the river Chebar, as already observed, was not the Khabour, but a branch
of the Euphrates.


TELAH


(vigor), a descendant of Ephraim, and ancestor of Joshua. (1
Chronicles 7:25) (B.C. before 1491.)


TELAIM


(lambs), the place at which Saul collected and numbered his forces
before his attack on Amalek, (1 Samuel 16:4) may be identical with TELEM,
which see.


TELASEAR


(Assyrian hill) is mentioned in (2 Kings 19:12) and in Isai 37:12
As a city inhabited by "the children of Eden," -- which had been conquered
and was held in the time of Sennacherib, by the Assyrians. it must have
been in western Mesopotamia, in the neighborhood of Harran and Orfa.


TELEM


(oppression).

  2. One of the cities in the extreme south of Judah, (Joshua 15:24)
    probably the same as Telaim. The name Dhullam is found in Van
    Deuteronomy Velde's map, attached to a district immediately to the north
    of the Kubbet el-Baul, south of el Milh and
    Ar’arah -- a position very suitable.

  4. A porter or doorkeeper of the temple in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 10:24)
    He is probably the same as TALMON in (Nehemiah 12:25)


TELHARSA, OR TELHARESHA


(hill of the artificer), one of the Babylonian towns or villages
mentioned in (Ezra 2:59; Nehemiah 7:61) along with Tel-melah and Cherub,
probably in the low country near the sea.


TELMELAH


[TEL-HARSA]


TEMA


(a desert), the ninth son of Ishmael, (Genesis 25:15; 1 Chronicles
1:30) whence the tribe called after him, mentioned in (Job 6:19; Jeremiah
25:23) and also the land occupied by this tribe. (Isaiah 21:13,14) (B.C.
after 1850.) The name is identified with Teyma, a small town on
the confines of Syria.


TEMAN


(the south).

  2. A son of Eliphaz, son of Esau by Adah. (Genesis 36:11,15,41; 1
    Chronicles 1:36,53) (B.C. about 1792.)

  4. A country, and probably a city, named after the Edomite phylarch, or
    from which the phylarch took his name. The Hebrew signifies "south," etc.,
    see (Job 9:9; Isaiah 43:6) and it is probable that the land of Teman was a
    southern portion of the land of Edom, or, in a wider sense, that of the
    sons of the east. Teman is mentioned in five places by the prophets, in
    four of which it is connected with Edom and in two with Dedan. (Jeremiah
    49:7,8; Ezekiel 25:13) Eusebius and Jerome mention Teman as a town in
    their day distant 15 miles from Petra, and a Roman post.


TEMANI


[TEMAN]


TEMANITE


an inhabitant of Teman.


TEMENI


son of Ashur the father of Tekoa, by his wife Naarah. (1 Chronicles 4:6)
(B.C. about 1450.)


TEMPLE


There is perhaps no building of the ancient world which has excited so
much attention since the time of its destruction as the temple which
Solomon built by Herod. Its spoils were considered worthy of forming the
principal illustration of one of the most beautiful of Roman triumphal
arches, and Justinian's highest architectural ambition was that he might
surpass it. Throughout the middle ages it influenced to a considerable
degree the forms of Christian churches, and its peculiarities were the
watchwords and rallying-points of all associations of builders. When the
French expedition to Egypt, int he first years of this century, had made
the world familiar with the wonderful architectural remains of that
country, every one jumped to the conclusion that Solomon's temple must
have been designed after an Egyptian model. The discoveries in Assyria by
Botta and Layard have within the last twenty years given an entirely new
direction to the researches of the restorers. Unfortunately, however, no
Assyrian temple has yet been exhumed of a nature to throw much light on
this subject, and we are still forced to have recourse to the later
buildings at Persepolis, or to general deductions from the style of the
nearly contemporary secular buildings at Nineveh and elsewhere, for such
illustrations as are available. THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON. -- It was David who
first proposed to replace the tabernacle by a more permanent building, but
was forbidden for the reasons assigned by the prophet Nathan, (2 Samuel
7:5) etc.; and though he collected materials and made arrangements, the
execution of the task was left for his son Solomon. (The gold and silver
alone accumulated by David are at the lowest reckoned to have amounted to
between two and three billion dollars, a sum which can be paralleled from
secular history. -- Lange.) Solomon, with the assistance of Hiram king of
Tyre, commenced this great undertaking int he fourth year of his reign,
B.C. 1012, and completed it in seven years, B.C. 1005. (There were 183,000
Jews and strangers employed on it -- of Jews 30,000, by rotation 10,000 a
month; of Canaanites 153,600, of whom 70,000 were bearers of burdens,
80,000 hewers of wood and stone, and 3600 overseers. The parts were all
prepared at a distance from the site of the building, and when they were
brought together the whole immense structure was erected without the sound
of hammer, axe or any tool of iron. (1 Kings 6:7) -- Schaff.) The building
occupied the site prepared for it by David, which had formerly been the
threshing-floor of the Jebusite Ornan or Araunah, on Mount Moriah. The
whole area enclosed by the outer walls formed a square of about 600 feet;
but the sanctuary itself was comparatively small, inasmuch as it was
intended only for the ministrations of the priests, the congregation of
the people assembling in the courts. In this and all other essential
points the temple followed the model of the tabernacle, from which it
differed chiefly by having chambers built about the sanctuary for the
abode of the priests and attendants and the keeping of treasures and
stores. In all its dimensions, length, breadth and height, the sanctuary
itself was exactly double the size of the tabernacle, the ground plan
measuring 80 cubits by 40, while that of the tabernacle was 40 by 20, and
the height of the temple being 30 cubits, while that of the tabernacle was
15. [The readers would compare the following account with the article
TABERNACLE] As in the tabernacle, the temple consisted of three parts, the
porch, the holy place, and the holy of holies. The front of the porch was
supported, after the manner of some Egyptian temples, by the two great
brazen pillars, Jachin and Boaz, 18 cubits high, with capitals of 5 cubits
more, adorned with lily-work and pomegranates. (1 Kings 7:15-22) The
places of the two "veils" of the tabernacle were occupied by partitions,
in which were folding-doors. The whole interior was lines with woodwork
richly carved and overlaid with gold. Indeed, both within and without the
building was conspicuously chiefly by the lavish use of the gold of Ophir
and Parvaim. It glittered in the morning sun (it has been well said) like
the sanctuary of an El Dorado. Above the sacred ark, which was placed, as
of old, in the most holy place, were made new cherubim, one pair of whose
wings met above the ark, and another pair reached to the walls behind
them. In the holy place, besides the altar of incense, which was made of
cedar overlaid with gold there were seven golden candlesticks in stead of
one, and the table of shew-bread was replaced by ten golden tables,
bearing, besides the shew bread, the innumerable golden vessels for the
service of the sanctuary. The outer court was no doubt double the
size of that of the tabernacle; and we may therefore safely assume that if
was 10 cubits in height, 100 cubits north and south, and 200 east and
west. If contained an inner court, called the "court of the priests;" but
the arrangement of the courts and of the porticos and gateways of the
enclosure, though described by Josephus, belongs apparently to the temple
of Herod. The outer court there was a new altar of burnt offering, much
larger than the old one. [ALTAR] Instead of the brazen laver there was "a
molten sea" of brass, a masterpiece of Hiram's skill for the ablution of
the priests. It was called a "sea" from its great size. [SEA, MOLTEN,
MOLTEN] The chambers for the priests were arranged in successive stories
against the sides of the sanctuary; not, however, reaching to the top, so
as to leave space for the windows to light the holy and the most holy
place. We are told by Josephus and the Talmud that there was a
superstructure on the temple equal in height to the lower part; and this
is confirmed by the statement in the books of Chronicles that Solomon
"overlaid the upper chambers with gold." (2 Chronicles 3:9)
Moreover, "the altars on the top of the upper chamber," mentioned in the
books of the Kings, (2 Kings 23:12) were apparently upon the temple. The
dedication of the temple was the grandest ceremony ever performed under
the Mosaic dispensation. The temple was destroyed on the capture of
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, B.C. 586. TEMPLE OF ZERUBBABEL. -- We have
very few particulars regarding the temple which the Jews erected after
their return from the captivity (about B.C. 520), and no description that
would enable us to realize its appearance. But there are some dimensions
given in the Bible and elsewhere which are extremely interesting, as
affording points of comparison between it and the temple which preceded it
and the one erected after it. The first and most authentic are those given
in the book of Ezra, (Ezra 6:3) when quoting the decree of Cyrus, wherein
it is said, "Let the house be builded, the place where they offered
sacrifices and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height
thereof three-score cubits. and the breadth thereof three-score cubits,
with three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber." Josephus quotes
this passage almost literally, but in doing so enables us to translate
with certainty the word here called row as "story" -- as indeed the
sense would lead us to infer. We see by the description in Ezra that this
temple was about one third larger than Solomon's. From these dimensions we
gather that if the priests and Levites and elders of families were
disconsolate at seeing how much more sumptuous the old temple was than the
one which on account of their poverty they had hardly been able to erect,
(Ezra 3:12) it certainly was not because it was smaller; but it may have
been that the carving and the gold and the other ornaments of Solomon's
temple far surpassed this, and the pillars of the portico and the veils
may all have been far more splendid; so also probably were the vessels and
all this is what a Jew would mourn over far more than mere architectural
splendor. In speaking of these temples we must always bear in mind that
their dimensions were practically very far inferior to those of the
heathen. Even that of Ezra is not larger than an average parish church of
the last century; Solomon's was smaller. It was the lavish display of the
precious metals, the elaboration of carved ornament, and the beauty of the
textile fabrics, which made up their splendor and rendered them so
precious in the eyes of the people. TEMPLE OF EZEKIEL. -- The vision of a
temple which the prophet Ezekiel saw while residing on the banks of the
Chebar in Babylonia, in the twenty-fifth year of the captivity, does not
add much to our knowledge of the subject. It is not a description of a
temple that ever was built or ever could be erected at Jerusalem, and can
consequently only be considered as the beau ideal of what a
Shemitic temple ought to be. TEMPLE OF HEROD. -- Herod the Great announced
to the people assembled at the Passover, B.C. 20 or 19, his intention of
restoring the temple; (probably a stroke of policy on the part of Herod to
gain the favor of the Jews and to make his name great.) if we may believe
Josephus, he pulled down the whole edifice to its foundations, and laid
them anew on an enlarged scale; but the ruins still exhibit, in some
parts, what seem to be the foundations laid by Zerubbable, and beneath
them the more massive substructions of Solomon. The new edifice was a
stately pile of Graeco-Roman architecture, built in white marble gilded
acroteria. It is minutely described by Josephus, and the New
Testament has made us familiar with the pride of the Jews in its
magnificence. A different feeling, however, marked the commencement of the
work, which met with some opposition from the fear that what Herod had
begun he would not be able to finish. he overcame all jealousy by engaging
not to pull down any part of the existing buildings till all the materials
for the new edifice were collected on its site. Two years appear to have
been occupied in preparations -- among which Josephus mentions the
teaching of some of the priests and Levites to work as masons and
carpenters -- and then the work began. The holy "house," including the
porch, sanctuary and holy of holies, was finished in a year and a half,
B.C. 16. Its completion, on the anniversary of Herod's inauguration, was
celebrated by lavish sacrifices and a great feast. About B.C. 9 -- eight
years from the commencement -- the court and cloisters of the temple were
finished, and the bridge between the south cloister and the upper city
(demolished by Pompey) was doubtless now rebuilt with that massive masonry
of which some remains still survive. (The work, however, was not entirely
ended till A.D. 64, under Herod Agrippa II. So the statement in (John
2:20) is correct. -- Schaff.) The temple or holy "house" itself was in
dimensions and arrangement very similar to that of Solomon, or rather that
of Zerubbabel -- more like the latter; but this was surrounded by an inner
enclosure of great strength and magnificence, measuring as nearly as can
be made out 180 cubits by 240, and adorned by porches and ten gateways of
great magnificence; and beyond this again was an outer enclosure measuring
externally 400 cubits each way, which was adorned with porticos of greater
splendor than any we know of as attached to any temple of the ancient
world. The temple was certainly situated in the southwest angle of the
area now known as the Haram area at Jerusalem, and its dimensions were
what Josephus states them to be -- 400 cubits, or one stadium, each way.
At the time when Herod rebuilt it, he enclosed a space "twice as large" as
that before occupied by the temple and its courts -- an expression that
probably must not be taken too literally at least, if we are to depend on
the measurements of Hecataeus. According to them, the whole area of
Herod's temple was between four and five times greater than that which
preceded it. What Herod did apparently, was to take in the whole space
between the temple and the city wall on its east side, and to add a
considerable space on the north and south to support the porticos which he
added there. As the temple terrace thus became the principal defence of
the city on the east side, there were no gates or openings in that
direction, and being situated on a sort of rocky brow -- as evidenced from
its appearance in the vaults that bounded it on this side -- if was at all
later times considered unattackable from the eastward. The north side,
too, where not covered by the fortress Antonia, became part of the
defenses of the city, and was likewise without external gates. On the
south side, which was enclosed by the wall of Ophel, there were notable
gates nearly in the centre. These gates still exist at a distance of about
365 feet from the southwestern angle, and are perhaps the only
architectural features of the temple of Herod which remain in situ
. This entrance consists of a double archway of Cyclopean architecture on
the level of the ground, opening into a square vestibule measuring 40 feet
each way. From this a double funnel nearly 200 feet in length, leads to a
flight of steps which rise to the surface in the court of the temple,
exactly at that gateway of the inner temple which led to the altar, and is
one of the four gateways on this side by which any one arriving from Ophel
would naturally wish to enter the inner enclosure. We learn from the
Talmud that the gate of the inner temple to which this passage led was
called the "water gate;" and it is interesting to be able to identify a
spot so prominent in the description of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 12:37) Toward
the west there were four gateways to the external enclosure of the temple.
The most magnificent part of the temple, in an architectural point of
view, seems certainly to have been the cloisters which were added to the
outer court when it was enlarged by Herod. The cloisters in the west,
north and east sides were composed of double rows of Corinthian columns,
25 cubits or 37 feet 6 inches in height, with flat roof, and resting
against the outer wall of the temple. These, however, were immeasurably
surpassed in magnificence by the royal porch or Stoa Basilica, which
overhung the southern wall. It consisted of a nave and two aisled, that
toward the temple being open, that toward the country closed by a wall.
The breadth of the centre aisle was 95 feet of the side aisles, 30 from
centre to centre of the pillars; their height 50 feet, and that of the
centre aisle 100 feet. Its section was thus something in excess of that of
York Cathedral, while its total length was one stadium or 600 Greek feet,
or 100 feet in excess of York or our largest Gothic cathedrals. This
magnificent structure was supported by 162 Corinthian columns. The porch
on the east was called "Solomon's Porch." The court of the temple was very
nearly a square. It may have been exactly so, for we have not the details
to enable us to feel quite certain about it. To the eastward of this was
the court of the women. The great ornament of these inner courts seems to
have been their gateways, the three especially on the north end south
leading to the temple court. These according to Josephus, were of great
height, strongly fortified and ornamented with great elaboration. But the
wonder of all was the great eastern gate leading from the court of the
women to the upper court. It was in all probability the one called the
"beautiful gate" in the New Testament. immediately within this gateway
stood the altar of burnt offerings. Both the altar and the temple were
enclosed by a low parapet, one cubit in height, placed so as to keep the
people separate from the priests while the latter were performing their
functions. Within this last enclosure, toward the westward, stood the
temple itself. As before mentioned, its internal dimensions were the same
as those of the temple of Solomon. Although these remained the same,
however, there seems no reason to doubt that. the whole plan was augmented
by the pteromata, or surrounding parts being increased from 10 to
20 cubits, so that the third temple, like the second, measured 60 cubits
across and 100 cubits east and west. The width of the facade was also
augmented by wings or shoulders projecting 20 cubits each way, making the
whole breadth 100 cubits, or equal to the length. There is no reason for
doubting that the sanctuary always stood on identically the same spot in
which it had been placed by Solomon a thousand years before it was rebuilt
by Herod. The temple of Herod was destroyed by the Romans under Titus,
Friday, August 9, A.D. 70. A Mohammedan mosque now stands on its site.


TEN COMMANDMENTS


The popular name in this, as in so many instances,is not that of
Scripture. There we have the "TEN WORDS," (Exodus 34:28; 4:13; 10:4) the
"COVENANT," Ex., Deut. 11. cc.; (1 Kings 8:21; 2 Chronicles 6:11) etc.,
or, very often as the solemn attestation of the divine will, the
"TESTIMONY." (Exodus 25:16,21; 31:18) etc. The circumstances in which the
Ten great Words were first given to the people surrounded them with
an awe which attached to no other precept. In the midst of the cloud and
the darkness and the flashing lightning and the fiery smoke and the
thunder like the voice of a trumpet, Moses was called to Mount Sinai to
receive the law without which the people would cease to be a holy nation.
(Exodus 19:20) Here, as elsewhere, Scripture unites two facts which men
separate. God, and not man was speaking to the Israelites in those
terrors, and yet, in the language of later inspired teachers, other
instrumentality was not excluded. No other words were proclaimed in like
manner. And the record was as exceptional as the original revelation. Of
no other words could it be said that they were written as these were
written, engraved on the Tables of Stone, not as originating in man's
contrivance or sagacity, but by the power of the Eternal Spirit, by the
"finger of God." (Exodus 31:18; 32:16) The number Ten was, we can hardly
doubt, itself significant to Moses and the Israelites. The received
symbol, then and at all times, of completeness, it taught the people that
the law of Jehovah was perfect. (Psalms 19:7) The term "Commandments" had
come into use in the time of Christ. (Luke 18:20) Their division into two
tables is not only expressly mentioned but the stress is upon the
two leaves no doubt that the distinction was important, and that
answered to that summary of the law which was made both by Moses and by
Christ into two precepts; so that the first table contained
Duties to God, and the second, Duties to our Neighbor.
There are three principal divisions of the two tables:

  2. That of the Roman Catholic Church, making the first table contain
    three commandments and the second the other seven.

  4. The familiar division, referring the first four to our duty toward God
    and the six remaining to our duty toward man.

  6. The division recognized by the old Jewish writers, Josephus and Philo,
    which places five commandments in each table. It has been maintained that
    the law of filial duty, being a close consequence of God's fatherly
    relation to us, maybe referred to the first table. But this is to place
    human parents on a level with God, and, by purity of reasoning the Sixth
    Commandment might be added to the first table, as murder is the
    destruction of God's image in man. Far more reasonable is the view which
    regards the authority of parents as heading the second table, as the
    earthly reflex of that authority of the Father of his people and of all
    men which heads the first, and as the first principle of the whole law of
    love to our neighbor; because we are all brethren and the family is, for
    good and ill the model of the state. "The Decalogue differs from all the
    other legislation of Moses: (1) It was proclaimed by God himself in a most
    public and solemn manner. (2) It was given under circumstances of most
    appalling majesty and sublimity. (3) It was written by the finger of God
    on two tables of stone. (5:22) (4) It differed from any and all other laws
    given to Israel in that it was comprehensive and general rather than
    specific and particular. (6) It was complete, being one finished whole to
    which nothing was to be added, from which nothing was ever taken away. (6)
    The law of the Ten Commandments was honored by Jesus Christ as embodying
    the substance of the law of God enjoined upon man. (7) It can scarcely be
    doubted that Jesus had his eye specially if not exclusively on this law,
    (5:18) as one never to be repealed from which not one jot or tittle
    should ever pass away. (8) It is marked by wonderful simplicity and
    brevity such a contrast to our human legislation, our British statute-book
    for instance, which it would need an elephant to carry and an OEdipus to
    interpret."


TENT


Among the leading characteristics of the nomad races, those two have
always been numbered whose origin has been ascribed to Jabal the son of
Lameth, (Genesis 4:20) viz., to be tent-dwellers and keepers of cattle.
The same may be said of the forefathers of the Hebrew race; nor was it
until the return into Canaan from Egypt that the Hebrews became
inhabitants of cities. An Arab tent is called beit, "house;" its
covering consists of stuff, about three quarters of a yard broad, made of
black goat's-hair, (Solomon 1:5) laid parallel with the tent's length.
This is sufficient to resist the heaviest rain. The tent-poles or columns
are usually nine in number, placed in three groups; but many tents have
only one pole, others two or three. The ropes which hold the tent in its
place are fastened, not to the tent-cover itself, but to loops consisting
of a leathern thong tied to the ends of a stick, round which is twisted a
piece of old cloth, which is itself sewed to the tent-cover. The ends of
the tent-ropes are fastened to short sticks or pins, which are driven into
the ground with a mallet. (Judges 4:21) Round the back and sides of the
tent runs a piece of stuff removable at pleasure to admit air. The tent is
divided into two apartments, separated by a carpet partition drawn across
the middle of the tent and fastened to the three middle posts. When the
pasture near an encampment is exhausted, the tents are taken down, packed
on camels and removed. (Genesis 26:17,22,25; Isaiah 38:12) In choosing
places for encampment, Arabs prefer the neighborhood of trees, for the
sake of the shade and coolness which they afford. (Genesis 18:4,8)


TERAH


(station), the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran, and through them
the ancestor of the great families of the Israelites, Ishmaelites,
Midianites, Moabites and Ammonites. (Genesis 11:24-32) The account given
of him in the Old Testament narrative is very brief. We learn from it
simply that he was an idolater, (Joshua 24:2) that he dwelt beyond the
Euphrates in Ur of the Chaldees, (Genesis 11:28) and that in the
southwesterly migration, which from some unexplained cause he undertook in
his old age, he went with his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and
his grandson Lot, "to go into the land of Canaan, and they came unto
Haran, and dwelt there." (Genesis 11:31) And finally, "the days of Terah
were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran." (Genesis 11:32)
(B.C. 1921.)


TERAPHIM


This word occurs only in the plural, and denotes images connected with
magical rites. The derivation of the name is obscure. In one case -- (1
Samuel 19:13,16) -- a single statue seems to be intended by the plural.
The teraphim, translated "images" in the Authorized Version, carried away
from Laban by Rachel were regarded by Laban as gods, and it would
therefore appear that they were used by those who added corrupt practices
to the patriarchal religion. Teraphim again are included among Micah's
images. (Judges 17:3-5; 18:17,18,20) Teraphim were consulted for oracular
answers by the Israelites, (Zechariah 10:2) comp. Judg 18:5,6; 1Sam
15:22,23; 19:13,16, LXX., and 2Kin 23:24 And by the Babylonians in the
case of Nebuchadnezzar. (Ezekiel 21:19-22)


TERESH


(strictness), one of the two eunuchs whose plot to assassinate
Ahasuerus was discovered by Mordecai. (Esther 2:21; 6:2) He was hanged.
(B.C. 479.)


TERTIUS


(third), probably a Roman, was the amanuensis of Paul in writing
the Epistle to the Romans. (Romans 16:22) (A.D. 55.)


TERTULLUS


(diminutive from Tertius), "a certain orator," (Acts 24:1) who was
retained by the high priest and Sanhedrin to accuse the apostle Paul at
Caesarea before the Roman procurator Antonius Felix. He evidently belonged
to the class of professional orators. We may infer that Tertullus was of
Roman, or at all events of Italian, origin. (A.D. 55.)


TESTAMENT, NEW


[NEW TESTAMENT; BIBLE] NEW TESTAMENT - 3186


TESTAMENT, OLD


[OLD TESTAMENT; BIBLE] OLD TESTAMENT - 3249


TETRARCH


properly the sovereign or governor of the fourth part of a country.
(Matthew 14:1; Luke 3:1; 9:7; Acts 13:1) The title was, however, often
applied to any one who governed a Roman province, of whatever size. The
title of king was sometimes assigned to a tetrarch. (Matthew 14:9; Mark
6:14,22)


THADDEUS


one of the twelve apostles. (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18) From a comparison
with the catalogue of St. Luke, (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13) it seems scarcely
possible to doubt that the three names, of Judas, Lebbeus and Thaddeus
were borne by one and the same person. [See JUDE, OR JUDAS]


THUHASH


(badger), son of Nahor by his concubine Reumah. (Genesis 22:24)
(B.C. 1880.)


THAMAH


(daughter). "The children of Thamah" were a family of Nethinim who
returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:53)


THAMAR


TAMAR, 1. (Matthew 1:3)


THANK OFFERING, OR PEACE OFFERING


the properly eucharistic offering among the Jews, in its theory resembling
the meat offering and therefore indicating that the offerer was
already reconciled to and in covenant with God. Its ceremonial is
described in (Leviticus 3:1) ... The peace offerings, unlike other
sacrifices, were not ordained to be offered in fixed and regular course.
The only constantly-recurring peace offering appears to have been that of
the two firstling lambs at Pentecost. (Leviticus 23:19) The general
principle of the peace offering seems to have been that it should be
entirely spontaneous, offered as occasion should arise, from the feeling
of the sacrificer himself. (Leviticus 19:5) On the first institution,
(Leviticus 7:11-17) peace offerings are divided into "offerings of
thanksgiving" and "vows or freewill offerings;" of which latter class the
offering by a Nazarite on the completion of his vow is the most
remarkable. (Numbers 6:14) We find accordingly peace offerings offered for
the people on a great scale at periods of unusual solemnity or rejoicing.
In two cases only -- (Judges 20:26; 2 Samuel 24:26) -- peace offerings are
mentioned se offered with burnt offerings at a time of national sorrow and
fasting.


THARA


Terah the father of Abraham. (Luke 3:34)


THARRA


(Esther 12:1) a corrupt form of Teresh.


THARSHISH


  2. In this more accurate form the translators of the Authorized Version
    have given in two passages -- (1 Kings 10:22; 22:48) -- the name elsewhere
    presented as Tarshish.

  4. A Benjamite, one of the family of Bilhan the house of Jediael. (1
    Chronicles 7:10) only.


THEATRE


For the explanation of the biblical allusions, two or three points only
require notice. The Greek term, like the corresponding English term,
denotes the place where dramatic performances are exhibited, and also the
scene itself or spectacle which is witnessed there. It occurs in the first
or local sense in (Acts 19:29) The other sense of the term "theatre"
occurs in (1 Corinthians 4:9)


THEBES


(Authorized Version No, the multitude of No. populous No), a chief cite of
ancient Egypt, long the capital of the upper country, and the seat of the
Diospolitan dynasties, that ruled over all Egypt at the era of its highest
splendor. It was situated on both sides of the Nile, 400 or 500 miles from
its mouth. The sacred name of Thebes was P-amen "the abode of
Amon," which the Greeks reproduced in their Diospolis, especially
with the addition the Great. No-amon is the name of Thebes in the
Hebrew Scriptures. (Jeremiah 46:25; Nahum 3:8) Ezekiel uses No
simply to designate the Egyptian seat of Amon. (Ezekiel 30:14,16)
[NO-AMON] its origin and early allusions to it. -- The origin of
the city is lost in antiquity. Niebuhr is of opinion that Thebes was much
older than Memphis, and that, "after the centre of Egyptian life was
transferred to lower Egypt, Memphis acquired its greatness through the
ruin of Thebes." But both cities date from our earliest authentic
knowledge of Egyptian history. The first allusion to Thebes in classical
literature is the familiar passage of the Iliad (ix. 381-385): "Egyptian
Thebes, were are vast treasures laid up in the houses; where are a hundred
gates, and from each two hundred men to forth with horses and chariots."
In the first century before Christ, Diodorus visited Thebes, and he
devotes several sections of his general work to its history and
appearance. Though he saw the city when it had sunk to quite secondary
importance, he confirms the tradition of its early grandeur -- its circuit
of 140 stadia, the size of its public edifices, the magnificence of its
temples, the number of its monuments, the dimensions of its private
houses, some of them four or five stories high -- all giving it an air of
grandeur and beauty surpassing not only all other cities of Egypt, but of
the world. Monuments. -- The monuments of Thebes are the most
reliable witnesses for the ancient splendor of the city. These are found
in almost equal proportions upon both sides of the river. The plan of the
city, as indicated by the principal monuments, was nearly quadrangular,
measuring two miles from north to south and four from east to west. Its
four great landmarks were, Karnak and Luxor upon the eastern or Arabian
side, and Qoornah and Medeenet Haboo upon the western or Libyan side.
There are indications that each of these temples may have been connected
with those facing it upon two sides by grand dromoi, lined with
sphinxes and other colossal figures. Upon the western bank there was
almost a continuous line of temples and public edifices for a distance of
two miles,from Qoonah to Medeenet Haboo; and Wilkinson conjectures that
from a point near the latter, perhaps in the line of the colossi, the
"Royal street" ran down to the river, which was crossed by a ferry
terminating at Luxor, on the eastern side. Behind this long range of
temples and palaces are the Libyan hills, which for a distance of five
miles are excavated to the depth of several hundred feet for sepulchral
chambers. Some of these, in the number and variety of their chambers, the
finish of their sculptures, and the beauty and freshness of their
frescoes, are among the most remarkable monuments of Egyptian grandeur and
skill. The eastern side of the river is distinguished by the remains of
Lurer and Karnak, the latter being of itself a city of temples. The
approach to Karnak from the south is marked by a series of majestic
gateways and towers, which were the appendages of later times to the
original structure. The temple properly faces the river, i.e. toward the
northwest. The courts land properly connected with this structure occupy a
space nearly 1800 feet square, and the buildings represent almost very
dynasty of Egypt. Ezekiel proclaims the destruction of Thebes by the arm
of Babylon, (Ezekiel 30:14-16) and Jeremiah predicted the same overthrow,
(Jeremiah 46:25,26) The city lies to-day a nest of Arab hovels amid
crumbling columns and drifting sands. The Persian invader (Cambyses, B.C.
525) completed the destruction that the Babylonian had begun.


THEBEZ


(conspicuous), a place memorable for the death of the brave
Abimelech, (Judges 9:50) was known to Eusebius and Jerome, in whose time
it was situated "in the district of Neapolis," 13 Roman miles therefrom,
on the road to Scythopolis. There it still is, its name -- Tubas --
hardly changed.


THELASAR


[TEL-ASSAR]


THEOPHILUS


(friend of God) the person to whom St. Luke inscribes his Gospel
and the Acts of the Apostles. (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1) From the honorable
epithet applied to him in (Luke 1:3) it has been argued with much
probability that he was a person in high official position. All that can
be conjectured with any degree of safety concerning him comes to this,
that he was a Gentile of rank and consideration who came under the
influence of St. Luke or under that of St. Paul at Rome, and was converted
to the Christian faith.


THESSALONIANS, FIRST EPISTLE TO THE


was written by the apostle Paul at Corinth, a few months after he had
founded the church at Thessalonica, at the close of the year A.D. 62 or
the beginning of 53. The Epistles to the Thessalonians, then (for the
second followed the first after no long interval), are the earliest of St.
Paul's writings -- perhaps the earliest written records of Christianity.
It is interesting, therefore, to compare the Thessalonian epistles with
the later letters, and to note the points of These differences are mainly

  2. In the general style of these earlier letters there is greater
    simplicity and less exuberance of language.

  4. The antagonism to St. Paul is not the same. Here the opposition
    comes from Jews. A period of five years changes the aspect of the
    controversy. The opponents of St. Paul are then no longer Jews so much as
    Judaizing Christians.

  6. Many of the distinctive doctrines of Christianity were yet not evolved
    and distinctly enunciated till the needs of the Church drew them out into
    prominence at a later date. It has often been observed, for instance, that
    there is in the Epistles to the Thessalonians no mention of the
    characteristic contrast of "faith and works;" that the word
    "justification" does not once occur; that the idea of dying with Christ
    and living with Christ, so frequent in St. Paul's later writings, is
    absent in these. In the Epistles to the Thessalonians, the gospel preached
    is that of the coming of Christ, rather than of the cross of Christ. The
    occasion of this epistle was as follows: St. Paul had twice attempted to
    re-visit Thessalonica, and both times had been disappointed. Thus
    prevented from seeing them in person, he had sent Timothy to inquire and
    report to him as to their condition. (1 Thessalonians 3:1-6) Timothy
    returned with more favorable tidings, reporting not only their progress in
    Christian faith and practice, but also their strong attachment to their
    old teacher. (1 Thessalonians 3:6-10) The First Epistle to the
    Thessalonians is the outpouring of the apostle's gratitude on receiving
    this welcome news. At the same time there report of Timothy was not
    unmixed with alloy. There were certain features in the condition of the
    Thessalonian church which called for St. Paul's interference and to which
    he addresses himself in his letter.

  8. The very intensity of their Christian faith, dwelling too exclusively
    on the day of the Lord's coming, had been attended with evil consequences.
    On the other hand, a theoretical difficulty had been felt. Certain members
    of the church had died, and there was great anxiety lest they should be
    excluded from any share in the glories of the Lord's advent. ch. (1
    Thessalonians 4:13-18)

  10. The Thessalonians needed consolation and encouragement under
    persecution. ch. (1 Thessalonians 2:14; 3:2-4)

  12. An unhealthy state of feeling with regard to spiritual gifts was
    manifesting itself. ch. (1 Thessalonians 6:19,20)

  14. There was the danger of relapsing into their old heathen profligacy.
    ch. (1 Thessalonians 4:4-8) Yet notwithstanding all these drawbacks, the
    condition of the Thessalonian church was highly satisfactory, and the most
    cordial relations existed between St. Paul and his converts there. This
    honorable distinction it shares with the other great church of Macedonia,
    that of Philippi. The epistle is rather practical than doctrinal. The
    external evidence in favor of the genuineness of the First Epistle
    to the Thessalonians is chiefly negative, but this is important enough.
    There is no trace that it was ever disputed at any age or in any section
    of the Church, or even by any individual till the present century. Toward
    the close of the second century from Irenaeus downward. we find this
    epistle directly quoted and ascribed to Paul. The evidence derived from
    the character of the epistle itself is so strong that it may fairly be
    called irresistible.


THESSALONIANS, SECOND EPISTLE TO THE


appears to have been written from Corinth not very long after the first,
for Silvanus and Timotheus were still with St. Paul. (2 Thessalonians 1:1)
In the former letter we saw chiefly the outpouring of strong personal
affection, occasioned by the renewal of the apostle's intercourse with the
Thessalonians, and the doctrinal and hortatory portions are there
subordinate. In the Second Epistle, on the other hand, his leading motive
seems to have been the desire of correcting errors in the church of
Thessalonica. We notice two points especially which call for his rebuke:
-- First, it seems that the anxious expectation of the Lord's
advent. Instead of subsiding, had gained ground since the writing of the
First Epistle. Second, the apostle had also a personal
ground of complaint. His authority was not denied by any, but it was
tampered with, and an unauthorized use was made of his name. It will be
seen that the teaching of the Second Epistle is corrective of or rather
supplemental to that of the first, and therefore presupposes it. This
epistle, in the range of subject as well as in style and general character
closely resembles the first; and the remarks made on that epistle apply
for the most part equally well to this. The structure is somewhat similar
the main body of the epistle being divided into two parts in the same way,
and each part closing with a prayer. ch. (2 Corinthians 2:16,17; 3:16) The
epistle ends with a special direction and benediction. ch. (2 Corinthians
3:17,18) The external evidence in favor of the Second Epistle is somewhat
more definite than that which can be brought in favor of the first. The
internal character of the epistle too, as in the former case, bears the
strongest testimony to its Pauline origin. Its genuineness, in fact, was
never questioned until the beginning of the present century.


THESSALONICA


The original name of this city was Therma; and that part of the Macedonian
shore on which it was situated retained through the Roman period the
designation of the Thermaic Gulf. Cassander the son of Antipater rebuilt
and enlarged Therma, and named it after his wife Thessalonica, the sister
of Alexander the Great. The name ever since, under various slight
modifications, has been continuous, and the city itself has never ceased
to be eminent. Saloniki is still the most important town of
European Turkey, next after Constantinople. Strabo in the first century
speaks of Thessalonica as the most populous city in Macedonia. Visit of
Paul. -- St. Paul visited Thessalonica (with Silas and Timothy)
during his second missionary journey, and introduced Christianity there.
The first scene of the apostle's work at Thessalonica was the synagogue.
(Acts 17:2,3) It is stated that the ministrations among the Jews continued
for three weeks. ver. 2. Not that we are obliged to limit to this time the
whole stay of the apostle at Thessalonica. A flourishing church was
certainly formed there; and the epistles show that its elements were more
Gentile than Jewish. [For persecution and further history see PAUL]
Circumstances which led Paul to Thessalonica. -- Three
circumstances must here be mentioned which illustrate in an important
manner this visit and this journey as well as the two Epistles to the
Thessalonians.

  2. This was the chief station on the great Roman road called the Via
    Egnatia    , which connected Rome with the whole region to the north of
    the AEgean Sea.

  4. Placed as if was on this great road, and in connection with other
    important Roman ways. Thessalonica was an invaluable centre for the spread
    of the gospel. In fact it was nearly if not quite on a level with Corinth
    and Ephesus in its share of the commerce of the Levant.

  6. The circumstance noted in (Acts 17:1) that here was the synagogue of
    the Jews in this part of Macedonia, had evidently much to do with the
    apostle's plans,and also doubtless with his success. Trade would
    inevitably bring Jews to Thessalonica; and it is remarkable that they have
    ever since had a prominent place in the annals of the city. Later
    ecclesiastical history    . -- During several centuries this city was the
    bulwark not simply of the later Greek empire, but of Oriental Christendom,
    and was largely instrumental in the conversion of the Slavonians and
    Bulgarians. Thus it received the designation of "the orthodox city;" and
    its struggles are very prominent in the writings of the Byzantine
    historians.


THEUDAS


(God-given), the name of an insurgent mentioned in Gamaliel's
speech before the Jewish council, (Acts 6:35-39) at the time of the
arraignment of the apostles. He appeared, according to Luke's account, at
the head of about four hundred men. He was probably one of the
insurrectionary chiefs or fanatics by whom the land was overrun in the
last year of Herod's reign. Josephus speaks of a Theudas who played a
similar part in the time of Claudius, about A.D. 44; but the Theudas
mentioned by St. Luke must be a different person from the one spoken of by
Josephus.


THIEVES, THE TWO


The men who under this name appear in the history of the crucifixion were
robbers rather than thieves, belonging to the lawless bands by which
Palestine was at that time and afterward infested. Against these brigands
every Roman procurator had to wage continual war. It was necessary to use
an armed police to encounter them. (Luke 22:62) Of the previous history of
the two who suffered on Golgotha we know nothing. They had been tried and
condemned, and were waiting their execution before our Lord was accused.
It is probable enough, as the death of Barabbas was clearly expected at
the same time that they had taken part in his insurrection had expected to
die with Jesus Barabbas. They find themselves with one who bore the same
name, but who was described in the superscription on his cross as Jesus of
Nazareth. They could hardly have failed to hear something of his fame as a
prophet, of his triumphal entry as a king; They catch at first the
prevailing tone of scorn. But over one of them there came a change. He
looked back upon his past life, and saw an infinite evil. He looked to the
man dying on the cross beside him, and saw an infinite compassion. There
indeed was one unlike all other "kings of the Jews" whom the robber had
ever known. Such a one must be all that he had claimed to be. To be
forgotten by that king seems to him now the most terrible of all
punishments; to take part in the triumph of his return, the most blessed
of all hopes. The yearning prayer was answered, not in the letter, but in
the spirit.


THIMNATHAH


a town in the allotment of Dan. (Joshua 19:43) only. It is named between
Elon and Ekron. The name is the same as that of the residence of Samson's
wife. [See TIMNA, OR TIMNAH]


THISTLE


[THORNS AND THISTLES]


THOMAS


(a twin), one of the apostles. According to Eusebius, his real name
was Judas. This may have been a mere confusion with Thaddeus, who is
mentioned in the extract. But it may also be that; Thomas was a surname.
Out of this name has grown the tradition that he had a twin-sister, Lydia,
or that he was a twin-brother of our Lord; which last, again, would
confirm his identification with Judas. Comp. (Matthew 13:55) He is said to
have been born at Antioch. In the catalogue of the apostles he is coupled
with Matthew in (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15) and with Philip in
(Acts 1:13) All that we know of him is derived from the Gospel of St.
John; and this amounts to three traits, which, however, so exactly agree
together that, slight as they are they place his character before us with
a precision which belongs to no other of the twelve apostles except Peter,
John and Judas Iscariot. This character is that of a man slow to believe,
seeing all the difficulties of a case, subject to despondency, viewing
things on the darker side, yet full of ardent love of his Master. The
latter trait was shown in his speech when our Lord determined to face the
dangers that awaited him in Judea on his journey to Bethany. Thomas said
to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." (John
11:16) His unbelief appeared in his question during the Last Supper:
"Thomas saith unto him Lord we know not whither thou goest, and how can
we: know the way?" (John 14:5) It was the prosaic, incredulous doubt as to
moving a step in the unseen future, and yet an eager inquiry as to how
this step was to be taken. The first-named trait was seen after the
resurrection. He was absent -- possibly by accident, perhaps
characteristically -- from the first assembly when Jesus had appeared. The
others told him what they had seen. He broke forth into an exclamation,
the terms of which convey to us at once the vehemence of his doubt, and at
the same time the vivid picture that his mind retained of his Master's
form as he had last seen him lifeless on the cross. (John 20:25) On the
eighth day he was with them st their gathering, perhaps in expectation of
a recurrence of the visit of the previous week; and Jesus stood among
them. He uttered the same salutation, "Peace be unto you;" and then
turning to Thomas, as if this had been the special object of his
appearance, uttered the words which convey as strongly the sense of
condemnation and tender reproof as those of Thomas had shown the sense of
hesitation and doubt. The effect on him was immediate. The conviction
produced by the removal of his doubt became deeper and stronger than that
of any of the other apostles. The words in which he expressed his belief
contain a far higher assertion of his Master's divine nature than is
contained in any other expression used by apostolic lips -- "My Lord and
my God." The answer of our Lord sums up the moral of the whole narrative:
"Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have
not seen me, and yet have-believed." (John 20:29) In the New Testament we
hear of Thomas only twice again, once on the Sea of Galilee with the seven
disciples, where he is ranked next after Peter, (John 21:2) and again in
the assemblage of the apostles after the ascension. (Acts 1:13) The
earlier traditions, as believed in the fourth century, represent him as
preaching in Parthia or Persia, and as finally buried at Edessa. The later
traditions carry him farther east, His martyrdom whether in Persia or
India, is said to have been occasioned by a lance, and is commemorated by
the Latin Church on December 21 the Greek Church on October 6, and by the
Indians on July 1.


THORNS


and Thistles. There appear to be eighteen or twenty Hebrew words
which point to different kinds of prickly or thorny shrubs. These words
are variously rendered in the Authorized Version By "thorns," "briers,"
"thistles," etc. Palestine abounded in a great variety of such plants.
("Travellers call the holy land ’a land of thorns.’ Giant
thistles, growing to the height of a man on horseback, frequently spread
over regions once rich and fruitful, as they do on the pampas of South
America; and many of the most interesting historic spats and ruins are
rendered almost inaccessible by thickets of fiercely-armed buckthorns.
Entire fields are covered with the troublesome creeping stems of the
spinous ononis, while the bare hillsides are studded with the
dangerous capsules of the puliuris and tribulus. Roses of
the most prickly kinds abound on the lower slopes of Hermon; while the
sub-tropical valleys of Judea are choked up in many places by the thorny
lycium." -- Biblical Things not generally Known.) Crown
of thorns. -- The crown which was put in derision upon our Lord's head
before his crucifixion, is by some supposed to have been the
Rhamnus, or Spina Christi ; but although abundant in the
neighborhood of Jerusalem, it cannot be the plant intended, because its
thorns are so strong and large that it could not have been woven into a
wreath. The large-leaved acanthus (bear's-foot) is totally unsuited for
the purpose. Had the acacia been intended, as some suppose, the phrase
would have been ex akanthes. Obviously some small, flexile, thorny
shrub is meant; perhaps Cappares spinosae. Hasselquist ("Travels,"
p. 260) says that the thorn used was the Arabian nabk. "It was
very suitable for their purpose, as it has many sharp thorns, which
inflict painful wounds; and its flexible, pliant and round branches might
easily be plaited in the form of a crown." It also resembles the rich dark
crown green of the triumphal ivy-wreath, which would give additional
pungency to its ironical purpose.


THREE TAVERNS


A station on the Appian Road, along which St. Paul travelled from Puteoli
to Rome. (Acts 28:15) The distances, reckoning southward from Rome are
given as follows in the Antonine Itinerary: "to Aricia, 16 miles; to Three
Taverns, 17 miles; to Appii Forum, 10 miles;" and, comparing this with
what is still observed along the line of road, we have no difficulty in
coming to the conclusion that "Three Taverns" was near the modern
Cisterna. Just at this point a road came in from Antium on the
coast. There is no doubt that "Three Taverns" was a frequent meeting-place
of travellers.


THRESHING


[AGRICULTURE]


THRESHOLD


Of the two words so rendered is the Authorized Version,
one,miphthan,,seems to mean sometimes a projecting beam or corbel.
(Ezekiel 9:3; 10:4,18)


THRESHOLDS, THE


This word, Asuppe, appears to be inaccurately rendered in
(Nehemiah 12:25) though its real force has perhaps not yet been
discovered. The "house of Asuppim," or simply "the Asuppim," is mentioned
in (1 Chronicles 26:15,17) as a part, probably a gate of the enclosure of
the "house of Jehovah," apparently at its southwest corner. The allusion
in (Nehemiah 12:29) is undoubtedly to the same place. [GATE]


THRONE


The Hebrew word so translated applies to any elevated seat occupied by a
person in authority, whether a high priest, (1 Samuel 1:9) a judge,
(Psalms 122:5) or a military chief (Jeremiah 1:16) The use of a chair in a
country where the usual postures were squatting and reclining was at all
times regarded as a symbol of dignity. (2 Kings 4:10; Proverbs 9:14) In
order to specify a throne in our sense of the term, it was necessary to
add to the word the notion of royalty; hence the frequent occurrence of
such expressions as "throne of the kingdom." (17:18; 1 Kings 1:46; 2
Chronicles 7:18) The characteristic feature in the royal throne was its
elevation: Solomon's throne was approached by six steps, (1 Kings 10:19; 2
Chronicles 9:18) and Jehovah's throne is described as "high and lifted
up." (Isaiah 6:1) The materials and workmanship of Solomon's throne were
costly. It was made of wood inlaid with ivory and then covered with gold
except where the ivory showed. It was furnished with arms or "stays." The
steps were also lines with pairs of lions. As to the form of chair, we are
only informed in (1 Kings 10:19) that "the top was round behind." The king
sat on his throne on state occasions. At such times he appeared in his
royal robes. The throne was the symbol of supreme power and dignity.
(Genesis 41:40) Similarly, "to sit upon the throne" implied the exercise
of regal power. (17:18; 1 Kings 16:11)


THUMMIM


[URIM AND THUMMIM AND THUMMIM]


THUNDER


is hardly ever heard in Palestine form the middle of April to the middle
of September; hence it was selected by Samuel as a striking expression of
the divine displeasure toward the Israelites. (1 Samuel 12:17) Rain in
harvest was deemed as extraordinary as snow in summer, (Proverbs 26:1) and
Jerome states that he had never witnessed it in the latter part of June or
in July. Comm. on (Amos 4:7) In the imaginative philosophy of the Hebrews,
thunder was regarded as the voice of Jehovah, (Job 37:2,4,5; 40:9; Psalms
18:13; 29:3-9; Isaiah 30:30,31) who dwelt behind the thunder-cloud.
(Psalms 81:7) Thunder was, to the mind of the Jew, the symbol of divine
power (Psalms 29:3) etc., and vengeance. (1 Samuel 2:10; 2 Samuel
22:14)


THYATIRA


a city on the Lycus, founded by Seleucus Nicator, lay to the left of the
road from Pergamos to Sardis, 27 miles from the latter city, and on the
very confines of Mysia and Ionia, so as to be sometimes reckoned within
the one and sometimes within the other. Dyeing apparently formed an
important part of the industrial activity of Thyatira, as it did of that
of Colossae and Laodicea. It is first mentioned in connection with Lydia,
"a seller of purple." (Acts 16:14) One of the Seven Churches of Asia was
established here. (Revelation 2:18-29) The principal deity of the city was
Apollo; but there was another superstition, of an extremely curious nature
which seems