ABUNDANCE. This word is used with great freedom in AV, translating about twenty Heb. and nearly as many Gr. words. Each occurrence should be considered in relation to the orig. word. Here it is necessary only to draw attention to the obs. use of a. to signify superfluity: Mk 124 All they did cast in of their a' (RV superfluity,' Gr. rò reporevov, as opp. to vorépmois, 'deficiency,' said of the widow; so Lk 21'); Ps 1050 Their land brought forth frogs in a.' (RV 'swarmed with frogs,' Heb. ; so Ex 83, and cf. Gn 120.21 97); 2 Co 127 through the a. of the revelations' (Gr. væepßoλh, RV 'exceeding greatness').

J. HASTINGS.

ABUSE, ABUSER. — 1. In NT abuse is used twice (as tr. of κaтaxpdoμai) when the meaning is not a. but use to the full' regardless of consequences (see Thayer, N.T. Lex.): 1 Co 781 Those that use the world as not abusing it' (RV m. 'using it to the full '); 918 that I a. not my power in the gospel' (RV 'so as not to use to the full my right in the gospel '). 2. In OT a. is found thrice (as tr. of 4) with a person as object. In 1 S 31 and 1 Ch 10 the meaning is insult or dishonour, as in Milton, Sam. Ag. i. 36—

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ABYSS.-The translation (in RV, not in AV) of aẞuroos, a word compounded from a intensive and Buoobs, Ionic form of Bulbs, depth (2 Co 1125), and connected (see Curtius) with Balus, deep, and the Eng. bath; primarily and classically an adj. very deep, or even bottomless; applied to the yawning gulfs of Tartarus (Eur. Phon. 1605) and, metaph., to a sea of calamity (Esch. Suppl. 470): in profane Greek used as a subst. by Diog. Laert. only (iv. 5. 27), on an epitaph, the black abyss of Pluto.' (Comp. Job 41 LXX Tòv TáрTарor Ts dúorov.) Once (perhaps twice) in LXX it is an adj. (Wis 1019 the bottomless deep of the Red Sea: possibly also Job 3616 metaph.boundless): elsewhere, LXX, NT, and eccl. Gr., a subst.; in LXX the trans., with few exceptions, of tehom, the tumultuous water-deep (some thirty times), and, once each, of mězúlah, sea-deep (Job 4131), of zulah (Is 44%), the deep flood (of Euphrates) and of rahabh, spacious place (Job 3616 if subst.). Primarily in LXX it signifies (with tehom) the waters beneath, by which the earth was at first covered (Gn 13, Ps 1046-9), but on which it was afterwards made to rest (Jon 26; see Ps 24°), and

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from which its springs and rivers welled up (Gn 711 4925, Dt 87; cf. Rev 91 øpéap). Not unnatur ally it denoted also the upper seas and rivers connected with the subterraneous waters (Ps 10720 1069), the original notion of tumultuousness in těhôm (Ps 427) being overlaid by that of depth in Burros (Sir 242, Jon 26, Ps 367). Secondarily, from the notion of subterraneousness and depth, it is the place after death, but is never in LXX the actual translation of Sheol (though this etymologi. cally depth, Ps 7120; cf. Ps 861); in this sense, apparently, it is not justifiable to eliminate altogether the connotation of raging waters. [Comp. the contrast with heaven in Gn 7a (xnyal áßúcσOU) with that in Ps 1398 (Sheol) and in Ro 10 (aßvoros); also Job 4123 LXX, and Job 265. (daros).] The relation to Sheol, with its dull, shadowy monotony and even misery, coupled with the OT idea of Sheol as a pit dungeon (Is 2422), and with pre-NT apocalyptic usage (Enoch 101 chasm of fire; 211o prison of the angels; 1811 abyss), prepared for the NT use of the word. It occurs only twice outside Rev: in Ro 107 it is simply the abode of the dead; in Lk 8a1 it is the prison destined for evil spirits. In seven passages of Rev (chs. 9. 11. 17. 20) it is a prison in which evil powers are confined (2013), and out of which they can at times be let loose (117 178), but is not the lake of fire (202 10); nor is Satan regarded as himself cast into this prison, but only to be so cast (2013) for 1000 years. J. MASSIE.

ACACIA.-See SHITTIM.

ACCABA (Β 'Ακκαβά, Α Γαβά, AV Agaba), 1 Es 50.-His descendants returned among the 'temple servants' under Zerubbabel. Called Hagab (137), Ezr 246; Hagaba, Neh 748.

ACCAD, ACCADIANS.-Accad (or Akkad), with Babel, Erech, and Calneh, was one of the chief cities in the land of Shinar. These four constituted the beginning of the kingdom of Nimrod (Gn 1010). The LXX reads 'Apxáo. The Bab.-Assyr. inscriptions are the source of all our information on this name. It was at first supposed that Akkadû, occurring so frequently in the inscriptions in connexion with Sumer, referred only to a district or province. But it is now known that there was a city of that name (Hilprecht, Freibrief Neb. i. col. ii. L. 50). Its form is

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and is read al Akkad (or 'non-Sem.' Agade), city of Accad, the name under which the city was for long centuries known. It was the residence of the first historical ruler of all Babylonia, Sargon I., whose activity dates from 3800 B.C., according to the statement of Nabonidus (555-538 B.C.), an inscrip. tion discovered in 1881 on the site of Sippar. Frequent references to two Sippars, 'Sippar of the Sun-god' and 'Sippar of Anunit,' indicate some strange fortunes in connexion with this site. The worship of Ishtar of Accad was replaced by that of Anunit of Sippar. In very early times Sippar was the chief seat of sun-worship, and Accad of Ishtar worship. Gradually there was a political absorption, and all references seem to justify the assumption that of those two cities lying close together, Sippar with its Sun-god became the more powerful, and practically absorbed Accad. The worship of Ishtar, however, did not lose its identity, but was continued under the name of Sippar of Anunit (McCurdy, Hist. Prophecy and the Monuments, § 94). It is possible, but still unproved, that the city of Accad lay opposite to Sippar on the left bank of the Euphrates. Its exact site is a matter of doubt, but it is thought to have been located near Abu-habba, about fifteen

miles west of Baghdad. Delitzsch conjectures that it may have been one of the two cities which bore the name of Sepharvaim, but McCurdy locates this double city in N. Syria (§ 349). The Wolfe expedition to Babylonia in 1884-85 (cf. Report, pp. 24, 25) located it at Anbar, on the Euphrates, N.W. of the ruins of Babylon. It was probably the capital city of mát Akkadi. (Consult for greater fulness the literature named below.)

From ancient times the kings of Babylonia, and the kings of Assyria who ruled over this territory, appended to their names šar Šumeri u Akkadi, king of Sumer and Akkad. Now, what was the origin of this double title? It was probably not indicative of the two regions of Babylonia, S. and N., as kings who ruled only over S. Babylonia claimed it. It was also claimed by conquerors who had not advanced farther S. than Nippur (cf. Winckler, Untersuch. z. altorient. Ges. 65 H.). It seems, then, that 'Sumer and Accad,' in the titles of kings, may have been no more than a claim to the ancient territory and city of Accad, with additional territory (cf. McCurdy, § 110). (For other views of the question, cf. Schrader, Keilinschriften u. Geschichtsf. p. 533 f.; Delitzsch, Paradies, p. 198; Tiele, Gesch. Babyl.-Assyriens, part i. p. 76 f.) Upon the identification of these names with specific localities has been built up the theory of the so-called Sumerians and Accadians. To the consideration of this theory we will now turn our attention.

It is maintained by a certain school of Oriental historians and linguists, that the lower Mesopotamian valley was at an early day populated by the Accadians, who were originally related to the Sumerians. They spoke, it is said, an agglutinative language. In the midst of these peoples Sem. tribes settled down, and adopted the language and customs of their foresettlers. Step by step the Sem. language gained ascendency, and about 1200 B.C. the native tongue died out, except as a sacred and literary vehicle, in which capacity it served until a late date. It is claimed that those early non-Sem. peoples reached a high degree of civilisation, that they left many traces of their culture in their monuments of art and language, and that we can readily interpret them. This supposed prehistoric people and their language are termed among Eng. Assyriologists, Accadians,' among French and German 'Sumerians,' derived from the supposedly most important localities where the most ancient inscriptions are found.

On the other hand, there is a growing school which maintains that the Semites, whom we know as possessing the cuneiform characters, were the inventors of these last and the developers of Sem. culture, and that the so-called 'Sumerians' and 'Accadians' are but figments of an over-zealous scientific spirit. A few only of the points can be noticed. We find in the inscriptions of Assyria and Babylonia word-lists which give a twofold, and sometimes a threefold, explanation of cuneiform ideograms. These ideograms are found in all stages of the Bab.-Assyr. language. In these lists one column of explanations gives us regular Sem. words, and another, words somewhat unfamiliar in sound, which are supposed to be of non-Sem. origin. But careful scrutiny shows that these strange words yield to Sem. roots, and that even the most unfamiliar are simply made up of possible word-forms of the same idiom, disguised according to regular ascertainable methods. Again, what can be said of so-called bilingual or unilingual texts? In both cases we meet with an abundance of these disguised Sem. words, and of Sem. grammatical constructions and modes of thought. The evidence of the slight remains of prehistoric art in Babylon is not decisive. Again, the Sem. Baby

lonians never in any way speak of or allude to any such people as the supposed Sumerians or Accadians. Still, the same language was used in Babylon dowr to the latest period of its history, with no name, nor even a tradition, of that supposed great and influential nation whose heritage fell to the Semites. Other peoples who came into contact with the Babylonians, and who exercised considerable influence on them, e.g. the Elamites, receive frequent mention, but there is not the slightest allusion to an Accadian race. It is not impossible that new discoveries may remedy this defect, but it is certainly amazing that what is assumed to have been the most influential factor in early Bab. civilisation is entirely unmentioned. When we find that Sem. documents date from as early a period as the earliest so-called 'Accadian,' and that this hypothetical language was used alongside of the regular Sem. for nearly 3000 years, we are inclined to ask, 'What does this mean?' In an examination of the language, we find many Sem. words and values which at first sight do not admit of such an explanation. But it is a fact that the number which do admit of it is continually increasing. Out of 395 phonetic values, Prof. Delitzsch names 106 which he regards as demonstrably Sem. (Assyrische Grammatik, § 25). Prof. McCurdy adds more than 40 others, running up the list to about 150 values. It is not impossible that further investigation may greatly increase the number.

But do not the inscriptions from Telloh, which are plainly ideographic, furnish conclusive proof of the soundness of the Accadian theory? So one might expect; but we are already finding in them actual Sem. words, disguised under the forms which are found in later bilingual texts. Besides, it is found that the oldest kings of Ur of the Chaldees,' the founders of the first Bab. kingdom, knew how to write Sem. as well as 'Accadian' inscriptions.

[NOTE BY EDITOR.-Professor Price has been permitted to state his view of this question unreservedly. For he is himself an accomplished student of Assyriology, and he has the support of some eminent scholars (see especially McCurdy, History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, i. 87 ff.). But the Editor thinks it necessary to say that the weight of authority is undoubtedly on the other side, leading Assyriologists everywhere having come to the conclusion that the view which Professor Price combats is substantially true. The reader should, however, consult the literature which Professor Price has given below, representing both sides of the question, and the articles ASSYRIA and BABYLONIA.] LITERATURE.-Schrader, Zur Frage nach d. Urspr. d. altbab. Kultur, 1883; Haupt, Akkadische und Sumerische Keilschrift Die Sumerisch-Akkadische Sprache, Verh. texte, 1881 1.; bten Or. Cong. ii. pp. 249-287; Die Sumerischen Familiengesetze, 1879; Hommel, Zeitsch. f. Keilschriftforschung, vol. 1. p. 2141.; Zimmern, Babylonische Busspsalmen, 1885, P. 711.; Hommel, Ges. Bab.-A. 1885, 240 ff.; Tiele, Bab.-As. Ges. 18861., 68; Halévy, Aperçu grammatical de l'Allographie as.-bab. 1883; Mélanges de critique et d'histoire relatifs aux peuples sémitiques, 1883; Delitzsch, 48. Grammatik, 1889, 25; McCurdy, Presb. and Ref. Review, Jan. 1891, pp. 58-81; Sumerische Lesestücke, 1894; several articles in Zeitschrift für Hist. Proph. and Mon. 1894, 1. §8 79-85; Hommel, Assyriologis, by Halévy, Guyard, and others. IRA M. PRICE.

ACCEPT, ACCEPTABLE, ACCEPTATION. 1. Besides other meanings, accept is used in the sense of 'receive with favour': Gn 47 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?' Dt 3311 Bless, Lord, his substance, and a. the work of his hands." It is then sometimes followed by 'of': Gn 320 I will appease him with the present peradventure he will a. of me' (RV accept me'); 2 Mac 13 And the king accepted well of Maccabæus.' Accept or accept the person' is often the translation of Heb. ' to lift up the face,' i.e. to look favourably on: Job 429 * The

Lord also accepted Job'; Pr 185 It is not good to a. the person of the wicked.' This Heb. idiom has been tr. into Gr., and is found in the NT as роowo Xaμßávw, always in a bad sense, partiality,' 'respect of persons.' Lk 2021 Neither acceptest thou the person of any'; Gal 26 God accepteth no man's person.' Then this phrase is turned into рoowwoλhμnтns (Ac 10 respecter of persons'), poowroλnμπτew (Ja 29 have respect to persons, RV of persons'), and роowоnula ('respect of persons Ro 211, Eph 69, Col 325, Ja 2), three words found nowhere but in the NT and (thence) in eccles. writers. The English 'accept the person' is derived from the eccles. Lat. acceptare personam. 2. Acceptable is used in the sense of favourable': Is 498 In an a. time have I heard thee'; 61a To proclaim the a. year of the Lord' (i.e. the year of Jehovah's favour). 3. Acceptation-favourable reception, is found in 1 Ti 116 49' worthy of all a.'

LITERATURE-Lightfoot on Gal 26; Sanday and Headlam on

Bo 211.

J. HASTINGS. ACCEPTANCE.-Accept and cognate words are used in Scripture to denote the relation of favour and approval in which one man may stand to other men, and especially to God. Of the various phrases employed to convey the idea, those of most frequent occurrence are in OT, to raise,' and my to associate with, have pleasure in,' and in NT, evapéσros, 'well pleasing.' The conditions of A. with God appear in OT partly as ceremonial, partly as moral and religious. Purifications and sacrifices (which see) are necessary in view of human ignorance and sin. But the sacrifices must be offered in a spirit free from greed or deceit. To enforce the moral disposition which must accompany every offering, is one of the great functions of the prophets. When the covenant has been established between God and Israel, entrance into it becomes a condition of receiving, and especially of having a joyful assurance of, the divine grace and favour. Similarly in NT, A. is set forth as only in Jesus Christ and for His sake (Eph 16, 1 P 25); | and, as the history of the patriarchs presents us with living pictures of what is acceptable to God under the old covenant, so Jesus is Himself the Beloved Son in whom the Father is well pleased (Mt 317 17), and the type of all that God receives and approves. A. STEWART.

ACCESS. This word (not found in OT) occurs in NT in Ro 53, Eph 218 313 as the rendering of Tроraywyh. The Gr. word may express either an actual bringing near,' or 'introduction,' or merely a 'means of access,' or 'a right to approach.' In class. Gr. the idea suggested might be that of 'introduction to the presence- chamber of a monarch.' The OT associations of the kindred verb poodye seem to connect the word rather with the peculiar relation in which Isr. stood to J", and to give the term a special appropriateness in describing the admission of Gentiles into a new covenant relation with God (Thν xáρ TαÚTηY, Ro 52, cf. Eph 217), cf. Ex 196 and 1 P 318; and the approach of Christian worshippers to the Father (Eph 218 312), cf. Lv 13 etc., Lv 44, Mal 1", Ezk 4418 etc. This last idea is worked out in detail in He 1019-22. Our 'right to approach' or 'our introduction' is uniformly described by St. Paul (cf. Jn 146) as given us by Christ.

J. O. F. MURRAY.

ACCO, AV Accho (y). This city, included in the lot of Asher (Jg 1), was never taken by Israel. Known at different times as Ptolemais (1 Mac and NT), St. Jean d'Acre, Accaron, Acon, etc., the old Heb. by 'Acco survives in the Arab 'Akka. Josephus calls it 'a maritime city of

Galilee' (BJ II. x. 2). It was important as com. manding the coast road, and affording easy access to the great routes crossing the plain of Esdraelon. From the promontory of Carmel the shore sweeps northward with a beautiful inward curve, forming the Bay of Acre, on the northern extremity of which the city stands. From Ras en-Nakúrah, in the north, the mountains recede some miles from the coast, leaving a fertile plain, which is bounded on the south by the Carmel range. It is watered by the Kishon (el Makatṭa') and Nahr Na'aman, the ancient Belus. The plain furnishes Haifa, Nazareth, Tiberias, and Safed with half their supply of fruit and vegetables, sending also much to Beyrout. Of the 10,000 or 12,000 inhabitants, two-thirds are Moslems, the remainder being Greek and Catholic Christians, with a few Jews and Persians. It is the seat of a provincial governor, under whom are the districts of Haifa, Nazareth, Tiberias, and Safed. The chief trade is the export of grain brought by camels from Haurân. About 1000 tons of oil from the olive groves of Galilee are also annually exported. Entered from the south by a single gate, it is defended to landward by a double rampart, to seaward by a strong wall. The ancient inner harbour has disappeared, and the outer is used only by smaller vessels, the neighbouring anchorage of Haifa being more safe and convenient for larger ships.

Few cities have had a stormier history. Allied with Sidon and Tyre in the days of Eluleus against Shalmaneser IV. (Ant. IX. xiv. 2), it was taken by Sennacherib, and given by Esarhaddon to the king of Tyre. Held in succession by Babylon and Persia (Strabo, xvi. 2. 25), on the division of Alexander's kingdom it fell to Ptolemy_Soter. Its strategic value was proved in the Syro-Egyp. wars. Betrayed to Antiochus the Great (B.c. 218), it was immediately recovered by Egypt. Simon Maccabæus defeated and drove the forces of Tyre, Sidon, and Ptolemais into the city (1 Mac 52; Ant. XII. viii. 2). Alex. Balas took it by treachery, and there married Cleopatra, daughter of Ptolemy Philometor (Ant. XIII. ii. 1, iv. 1, 2). Demetrius Nikator gave it to Jonathan 'for the necessary expenses of the temple' (1 Mac 10). Here Jonathan was perfidiously taken by Tryphon (Ant. XIII. vi. 2). Besieged by Alexander Jannæus, relieved by Ptolemy Lathyrus (Ant. XIII. xii. 4), it was captured by Cleopatra, who gave it to the Syrian monarchy (Ant. XIII. xiii. 2). Tigranes the Armenian having taken the city, at once retired (Ant. XIII. xvi. 4; BJ 1. v. 3). Falling to the Parthians (Ant. XIV. xiii. 3; BJ 1. xiii. 1), it finally passed under the power of Rome, and was raised to the rank of a colony, with the title, Colonia Claudii Cæsaris Ptolemais.' Herod built here a gymnasium (BJ I. xxi. 11). It is last mentioned in Scripture in connexion with St. Paul's visit (Ac 217). W. EWING.

་

ACCOMPLISH.-The primary meaning of a. is to bring to a successful issue. But the only examples of this in the AV are Ps 64°, Pr 1319, 1 Es 117, Ac 21°. Sometimes a. simply means to 'do,' perform': 1 K 59, Jth 213, Is 5511 it (God's word) shall a. that which I please.' It is occasionally used in the obsolete sense of 'to complete a period of time': Jer. 2512 when seventy years are accomplished'; Is. 40a her warfare is accomplished'; Job 146 till he shall a., as an hireling, his day.' From this arises its most frequent meaning, to bring to an ideal or divine completeness, to fulfil: (a) prophecy (once only), 2 Ch 3622; (b) God's wrath. La 411, Ezk 612 78 1315 208. 21; (c) Christ's work, Lk 931 1250 1831 2237, Jn 1928. sought to reserve this meaning fulfil,' but unsuccessfully.

The RV has for the word

J. HASTINGS

Investigation was made by lot to discover who had sinned, and Achan was singled out. He made full | confession of his guilt, and the stolen treasure was found hid under his tent. Instant execution followed. Not only Achan himself, but his tent, his goods, his spoil, his cattle, and his children, were taken to the valley, afterwards called the valley of Achor. There they stoned him, and all that belonged to him, afterwards consuming the whole with fire, and raising over the ashes a great heap of stones. This act of vengeance is represented as being in some measure an expiation of the crime. The Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger.' The supposition that his family were accessories to his crime finds no support in the narrative. The language of Jos 725 (all Israel stoned him with stones, and they burned them with fire') has been regarded as implying that Achan alone suffered the death penalty, the plural number referring to the oxen, asses, and sheep, and that his sons and daughters were brought to the valley merely as spectators, that they might have a terrible warning. It is doubt ful if the text will bear this construction, and the sweeping nature of the act of judgment recorded is rather to be explained by reference to the stage of moral development which Israel had reached at the time (Jos 71-25). R. M. BOYD.

David take part in the final campaign against
Saul.
J. F. STENNING.

ACHMETHA (ṛpṛx, 'E«ßdrava), the cap. of Media mentioned Ezr 62 as the place where State documents of the time of Cyrus were preserved. The Aram. form of the name employed in Ezr (LXX 'Auad) closely resembles the Pehlevi ¡ænл (Bundehesh, p. 23, i. 4), derived from the Old Pers. hangmatana (Behistan Inscr. II. xiii. 8), derived by Rawlinson from ham and gam, with the meaning meeting-place.' This Old Pers. form, accommodated to the Greek pronunciation, gave rise to the name Agbatana or Ecbatana (To 65, Jth 124), and survives in the modern Hamadan (34° 8′ N, 48° 3′ E), the cap. of the province of Persia bearing the same name, with which the ancient cap. of Media is ordinarily identified. Hamadan lies at the foot of Mt. Elwend, whence it derives a copious water supply, and in a plain thickly besprinkled with vineyards, orchards, and gardens, but whose elevation is 6000 ft. above the sea; it enjoys one of the finest situations in Persia' (Curzon, Persia, i. 566). This is clearly the Ecbatana of To 65, where it is represented as lying midway between Nineveh and Rhages; and also of Strabo, xi. 523, who knows of it as the summer residence of the Parthian kings; for which its elevation and consequently cool climate suited it. But the ancient Herodotus (i. 98, 99), by the first king Deioces (c. 700 B.C.), 'with walls of great size and strength, rising in circles one within the other,' each wall being coloured to correspond with one of the seven planets, is to be sought, acc. to Sir H. Rawlinson (JRGS x., art. 2, and ad .c. Herod.), not at Hamadan, but at Takht-i-Sulayman (36° 25′ N, 47° 10′ E) in Adherbijan, the ancient Atropatene, distinguished from Media Magna. The Armenian historian, Moses of Chorene (ii. 84, ed. Whiston), speaks of the second Ecbatana, the seven-walled city'; and in the very learned paper quoted, Rawlinson (1) identifies that city with the Gazaka of the Greeks and Ganzak of the Armenians; (2) identifies Ganzak with the Shiz of Mohammedan writers; and (3) localises Shiz at Takht-i-Sulayman, where a conical hill, surrounded by ruins, which enclose a lake that has attracted the observation of

ACHBOR ( 'mouse' or 'jerboa').—1. An Edomite (Gn 36). 2. A courtier under Josiah, mentioned as one of the deputation sent by the king to Huldah the prophetess; son of Micaiah (2 K 2212. 14), and father of Elnathan (Jer 2622 om. LXX, 3613). Called Abdon (2 Ch 3420).

C. F. BURNEY. ACHIACHARUS ('Axidxapos B, 'Axelxapos &, "ppa Aram. and Heb., w Syr.), the nephew of Tobit, was governor under Sarchedonus = Esarhaddon (To ia etc.), or, according to the Aramaic text, Rab over all that was his (the king's), and Shalit over all the land of Assyria'; cf. Dn 248. The nearest Hebrew name is Ahihud (g), 1 Ch 87. J. T. MARSHALL

ACHIM ('Axelu).-Perhaps a shortened form of Jehoiachim, an ancestor of our Lord (Mt 14). See GENEALOGY.

ACHIOR ('Axiop, brother of light').-1. In LXX Nu 3427 for Ahihud. 2. In Jth (5 etc.), a general of the Ammonites, spokesman for the Jewish cause, and afterwards convert (ch. 14). 3. In Vulg. To 1118 by mistake. F. C. PORTER.

ACHIPHA (B 'Axeißá, A 'Axıød, AV Acipha), 1 Es 5-His children were among the temple servants' or Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel. Called Hakupha, Ezr 251, Neh 758.

ACHISH (EN, ’Ayxoús).—The king of Gath to whom David fled for refuge after the massacre of the priests at Nob. Finding himself recognised as the slayer of Goliath, David feigned madness, and so escaped from the Phil. court (1 S 211). (This incident belongs to one of the later documents of Samuel.) In 1 S 273 (belonging to the Judaic or earliest document) A. is called the son of Maoch' (possibly='son of Maacah,'1 K 2), receives David with his band of 600 men, and assigns him the city of Ziklag in the S. of Judah. Despite the wishes of A., the other Phil. princes refuse to let

the description of Ecbatana given by Herodotus, as well as with what that historian tells us of the character of the surrounding country (i. 110). Hamadan, which lies at the foot of a mountain, would not admit of being fortified in the way described; and, though search has been made by numerous explorers (see Polak in Mittheilungen der Wiener Geograph. Gesellschaft, 1883, art. 1), no traces have been discovered of buildings such as Herodotus mentions. The description in Jth (114), to which no historical value attaches, would seem to refer to the same city as that of Herodotus; and another record of the impression created by the strength of its fortifications is, according to Rawlinson, to be found in the account of Var in the 2nd Fargard of the Vendidad. D. S. MARGOLIOUTH.

ACHOR VALLEY (ɔy ppy valley of trouble,' Jos 74. 26 157, Is 651o, Hos 215).—In the last passage the name may perhaps not be geographical. The valley was near Jericho, but its exact position is not quite certain. It appears, however, from its connexion with the border of Judah, to be probably Wady Kelt, a deep ravine close to the site of the Jericho of the Christian era. stream becomes a foaming torrent after rains, and, issuing into the plains, runs between steep banks south of modern Jericho to the Jordan (SWP vol. iii. sh. xviii.). C. R. CONDER.

The