might have learned when he drove his camels to the fairs of Syria, is introduced as a Divine revelation into the Koran. The story of the Seven Sleepers has been adopted and adorned by the nations from Bengal to Africa who profess the Mahometan religion, and some vestiges of a similar tradition have been discovered in the remote extremities of Scandinavia."

In A.D. 431, the heads of the Church, in obedience to the imperial mandate, repaired to Ephesus, and deposed Nestorius, the bishop of Constantinople, for heresy. The principal cause of offence to the orthodox was his warm opposition to the title Toxos, Mother of God, given to the Virgin Mary, who was then beginning to receive idolatrous honours, and his defending the opinion of the presbyter Anastasius, that XeToToxos, Mother of Christ, was a more appropriate title, since the Deity can neither be said to be born nor to die. The prelate was degraded from his ecclesiastical dignities and confined in a monastery, then banished to the Libyan Oasis—a miserable spot surrounded by sandy deserts, where he died of grief. A malignant tale was afterwards propagated that his tongue was eaten by worms. At the commencement of the sixth century Ephesus, like the other Asiatic churches, had lost almost every trace of its "first love," and the streams of divine truth circulated by St Paul, St John, and St Polycarp, became gradually corrupted by error and superstition. "At this era," says Mr Milner, "the number of monks multiplied prodigiously in the East, invited to inaction and repose by its warm climate and sunny skies; and the myrtlecrowned valleys of Asia Minor were crowded with fanatics, eager to arrive at spiritual perfection by the constant practice of bodily ease. The North, with its snows and mountains, had indeed its monasteries, but the great hive was in the East, where balmy breezes and everripening fruits ministered to sensual gratification; the religious flocked to the plains of Syria-the country of Paul's

labours more abundant—to dream away existence; and the beautiful valleys of Greece and Anatolia swarmed with a race whose pretensions to piety were laziness and superstition."

EPHRA, a city of Ephraim, and the birth-place of Gideon, thought to be the same with Ophrah, Judges vi. 11.

EPHRAIM, that brings fruit, or that grows, a province of Palestine belonging to the tribe of that name, so called from Ephraim, Joseph's second son by Asenath, daughter of the priest of On. When Jacob blessed Manasseh and Ephraim, he put his right hand on the head of the latter, and Joseph, thinking it was done in mistake, interfered, saying, "Not so, my father, for this is the first born; put thy right hand upon his head." The aged Patriarch replied, "I know it, my son, I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." Moses mentions the "thousands of Manasseh," but they are limited when he compares them to the "ten thousands of Ephraim," Deut. xxxiii. 17. How rapidly this tribe increased in population we may judge from the pedigree of Joshua, who was in the tenth generation, 1 Chron. vii. 20-27. Ephraim is designated the tribe of Joseph, Numb. i. 32, 34; Rev. vii. 8; and the Prophet Isaiah (vii. 5) makes it to comprehend the whole kingdom of Israel on account of its containing Samaria, the capital of the Ten Tribes. The territory or province was bounded by the Mediterranean on the west, and the river Jordan, which separated it from Gad, on the east; on the south by the territory of Benjamin and part of Dan; and on the north by its kindred half-tribe of Manasseh. Some parts of the country were rocky and mountainous, but these were covered with good pasture, and occasionally with fine trees, while the valleys and plains were rich, fertile, and luxuriant. Its cities and towns were numerous, large, well-built, and populous. The ark and tabernacle remained in it at

Shiloh a considerable time. The tribe produced several distinguished persons, among whom Joshua is eminently conspicuous. Ephraim is repeatedly mentioned by the Prophets, who by it comprehend all the Ten Tribes. The territory of Ephraim was very limited, and we find both them and Manasseh complaining to Joshua of the narrowness of their allotment, which was increased by the Canaanites still retaining a portion of it. But Joshua remained firm in his impartiality; he told them that they must enlarge the district by their valour, and by expelling their enemies from the rocky and woody parts, and making these habitable for themselves, Josh. xvii. 14, 17.

EPHRAIM, MOUNT, a hilly part of the tribe of Ephraim, which Joshua consented to add to their territory, because, as its limits were settled by a divine decree, it could not be enlarged any other way. He advised them to cut down the wood, and otherwise to provide accommodation for their increasing numbers. It afterwards contained places of importance. Joshua was buried" in the border of his own inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the Mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash," Judges ii. 9.

EPHRAIM, a city of Ephraim, situated in the mountainous country near the Wilderness of Judea, and on the border of the territory towards Benjamin, to which it is supposed our Saviour retired before his Passion, John xi. 54.

EPHRAIM, FOREST OF, an extensive forest near the Jordan, where David abode while the battle was fought which decided the fate of Absalom.

EPHRATAH, or EPHRATH, abundance, or bearing fruit, or increasing, the ancient name of Bethlehem, on the way to which Rachel was buried.

EPHRON, dust, a city mentioned in 1 Macc. v. 46, as a place of considerable importance, was situated in the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh near the Jabbok. It was taken and razed to the foundations by Judas Maccabæus. St Jerome and Eusebius mention a place of

this name about fifteen miles from Jerusalem, in the tribe of Judah.

EPICUREANS, a sect of Grecian philosophers with whom St Paul held conferences at Athens, Acts xvii. 18, who received the appellation from Epicurus their founder, an Athenian of a noble but reduced family, who was born near Athens about 342 years before the Christian era. The leading tenet in his philosophy was the notion that the happiness of man consisted in pleasure, not such as arises from selfish gratifications or vice, but from the enjoyments of the mind and the practice of virtue. His followers were numerous in every age and country, and his doctrines were rapidly disseminated; but his application of them was completely perverted, and the public morals were undermined and corrupted. Epicurus, whose name has become proverbial to express debasing habits and pursuits, was man of exemplary life. He died of a retention of urine, which had long subjected him to the most excruciating torture, in the seventy-second year of his age, B.C. 270.

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ERECH, length, or which lengthens, otherwise, health, physic, a city built by Nimrod, Gen. x. 10. The Rabbins assert that it is the same as the present Orfah, the Ur of the Scriptures, but this is unreasonably distant from Babel, and would make the kingdom of Nimrod too extensive. Nothing is known of it beyond conjecture.

ESDRAELON, a village of Palestine which gives name to a plain extending east and west from Scythopolis to Mount Carmel, sometimes designated the Great Plain, the Plain of Esdraelon, and the Valley of Jezreel. See JEZREEL.

ESEK, a well so called dug by the Patriarch Isaac, Gen. xxvi. 20.

ESHCOL, VALLEY OF, situated in the neighbourhood of Hebron, so named from the bunch of grapes cut by the spies, Numb. xiii. 24.

ESHEAN, a town of Judah, Josh.

xv. 52.

ESHTAOL, stout, strong woman, a town which first belonged to the tribe of

Judah, and afterwards to that of Dan, Josh. xv. 33. It is thought to be the same as the village now called Esdad by the Arabs a wretched place, composed of a few mud huts.

ESHTEMOA, or ESHTEMOTH, which is heard, or the bosom of a woman, one of the towns to which David sent a portion of the spoils of the Amalekites, 1 Sam. xxx. 28. It was ceded to the priests, 1 Chron. vi. 57.

ESNA, a town in the territory of Judah.

of Egypt, including Nubia and Abyssinia, under the general name Ethiopia; and at other times they restricted it to the country bounded on the north by Egypt, on the west by Libya, on the east by the Red Sea, and on the south by the unknown and unexplored African regions. This territory included the kingdoms of Dongola, Sennaar, and Abyssinia, withpart of Adel, or Zeila. The term Ethiopia was applied in a still more limited sense to Meroë, situated in the present kingdom of Sennaar, which is sometimes

ETAM, their bed, or their covering, a rock in the tribe of Judah between Bethlehem and Tekoah. This rock, to which Samson retired, Judges xv. 8, was probably near a city of Judah, between Bethlehem and Tekoah, built by Rehoboam, 1 Chron. iv. 3, 32; 2 Chron. xi. 6. Josephus mentions a place called Hethan, about five leagues distant from Jerusalem, which Solomon frequently visited.

ETHAM, their strength, their sign, a place on the "edge of the Wilderness" where the Israelites encamped after their journey from Succoth, when they departed from Egypt. The site of Etham is commonly placed at Adjerood, but everything as to its exact locality depends on the limit at which the waters of the Red Sea then terminated. If we conclude, with Lord Valentia, that the inlet of Suez at that time extended to the salt marsh, between twenty and thirty miles more to the north than at present, Etham must have been considerably more northward than the modern village of Adjerood.

ETHER, ATHAR, or AETHER, a city of Palestine, in the tribe of Simeon, Josh. xix. 7, which first belonged to Judah, Josh. xv. 42.

ETHIOPIA, black; in Hebrew CUSH, a name given to several countries of Asia and Africa, the inhabitants of which were either completely black, or of a swarthy complexion. Sometimes the ancients comprehended all Africa south

comprised within two streams rising in the mountains of the Moon about the seventh degree of north lat., and which either form the Nile, or contribute their waters to it. This kingdom, the capital of which was also called Meroë, extended to the source of the Nile, and in consequence of its proximity to Egypt, a close connection was always maintained between the two countries. Indeed, the identity of worship, the similarity of temples, the obelisks with hieroglyphics, the theocratie government, and the common foundation of the oracle in honour of Jupiter Ammon in the Libyan Deserts, demonstrate that the Egyptian states were colonies from Meroë.

We merely mention those countries termed Ethiopia in the Scriptures, and the people designated Ethiopians, for any extended investigation would plunge us into interminable details respecting the African tribes and nations inconsistent with the nature of this work. The first allusion made to the people is connected with the wife of Moses, the daughter of Jethro, whom Moses married when he was in exile in Midian. Miriam, the sister of Moses, and Aaron, "spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman he had married," Numb. xii. 1. A quarrel with or about this woman caused serious discontents and schisms among all the parties. Zipporah was not, strictly speaking, an African or Ethiopian, but a native of that part of Arabia called Midian, originally occupied by the descendants of Cush the son of Ham. In the

present instance it does not even follow that Zipporah was a Cushite by descent; she was merely born in a country called after Cush. We thus ascertain the very important fact, that those parts of Arabia, and those other countries settled by Cush and his descendants, are frequently designated Ethiopia in the Scriptures. A king of the Cushites in Arabia, named Tirhakah, is designated king of Ethiopia, 2 Kings xix. 9; Isa. xxxvii. 9. We may therefore easily understand the allusions in such passages as the following:"Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God," Psalm lxviii. 31. "I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me; behold Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there," Psalm lxxxvii. 4.

Isaiah expressly denounces the land "beyond the rivers of Ethiopia" (xviii. 1); and although this, as Bishop Lowth remarks, is one of the most obscure prophecies of Isaiah-the end and design of it, the people to whom it is addressed, the person who sends the messengers, and the nation to whom the messengers are sent, being all doubtful-the mention of the rivers of Ethiopia has induced all expositors to conclude that Egypt is the country alluded to. Here the Land of Cush, or that district of Arabia which his descendants first peopled, is evidently taken for a large tract of country exceeding the proper territory of the Cushites; so that," says Bishop Horsley, "according as we understand the Prophet to speak of the African or Asiatic Cush, the land beyond its rivers is to be looked for far to the west or far to the east of Palestine." The rivers of Ethiopia are mentioned by Zephaniah, in reference to the Jews who were dispersed throughout the most distant countries beyond Egypt, Zeph. iii. 10. Ethiopia is again mentioned in connection with Egypt as being overrun by Sennacherib, Isa. xx. 2-5, and here it unquestionably means either Cushite Arabia, or the country called Meroë. In the prophecy of the overthrow of Pharaoh-Necho's army at the

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Euphrates, we read of the "Ethiopians, and the Libyans that handle the shield, and the Lydians that handle and bend the bow," Jer. xlvi. 9. In the original these nations are designated Cush, Phut, and Lud-the first, the Cushite Arabs bordering on Egypt; the second, the Libyans, lay west of Egypt; and the Ludim, or Lydians-three allies of the Egyptians, as they are represented in Ezek. xxx. 5; and hence they are joined together as African nations because they inhabited the countries adjacent to Egypt. The Egyptians are sometimes comprehended under the general name of Ethiopians, on account of their allies, Zeph. ii. 12; Amos ix. 7; and the Persians are associated with them, Ezek. xxxviii. 5. Again, the African Nomades are specially alluded to, Nahum iii. 9-" Ethiopia and Egypt, Put and Lubim”—in a prophecy denounced against Nineveh. Zerah the Ethiopian is recorded as coming against king Asa, by whom he was completely defeated, 2 Chron. xiv. 9, 12, but this refers to the Arabian Ethiopians, who were different from those Arabians that were "near the Ethiopians," whom "the Lord stirred up against Jehoram," 2 Chron. xxi. 16. In short, there were two Ethiopias, both of which are often mentioned in Scripture-the one in Africa, which comprehends Abyssinia and other regions, or perhaps includes all Africa, colonized by the Nomade descendants of Ham; the other in Arabia, peopled by the descendants of Cush, which is the Ethiopia most frequently referred to by the sacred writers. In African Ethiopia we have the Ludim inhabiting the country of Abyssinia, the Pathrusim between the Ludim and the Mizraim, the Lubim in Libya, and Phut extending to the Barbary States on the coast of the Mediterranean. In Cushite Ethiopia, which consisted of a part of the Arabian peninsula, we have Dedan, Sheba, Seba, and perhaps Midian, and those Ethiopians, otherwise the Cushite tribes, bordering on Egypt. Hence, when the author of the Book of Esther informs us that Ahasuerus reigned "from India even unto Ethiopia over an hundred

and twenty-seven provinces," we can easily ascertain what is meant by the Ethiopian limits of the Persian Empire. Darius, the predecessor of Artaxerxes, conquered India; and the provinces just mentioned may either mean the Cushite Ethiopia near Egypt, or the African Ethiopia beyond that country-an immense extent of territory.

It thus appears that it is extremely incorrect to apply the term Ethiopia exclusively or even chiefly to Abyssinia, for that country, or perhaps Meroë, lying between it and Egypt, of which Candace was queen, is only directly mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. The Abyssinians indeed still designate their country Itiopia, and themselves Itiopiawan, but they prefer the name of Agazi or Ghez for the kingdom, and Agazian for themselves. The appellation of Habesh given them by the Mahometans, and from which the Europeans have coined such names as Abassi and Abyssini, is an Arabic term, signifying a mixed race, which the Abyssinians indignantly disclaim. The Ethiopia mentioned in the New Testament, a nobleman of which Philip baptized as the former was returning from Jerusalem in his chariot, is certainly the Ethiopia lying in the south of Africa; but whether it means Abyssinia, or should be restricted to Meroë, it is impossible to determine.

Many writers contend that this nobleman introduced Christianity into Abyssinia-a tradition readily built upon the story of his conversion and baptism recorded by the Evangelical writer; but a later period and other agents must be assigned for the true foundation of the Abyssinian Church, which, in its Apostolical constitution, and singular mixture of extraordinary ceremonies and Jewish rites, is one of the most interesting communions in the Christian world. It has alike resisted submission to the Arabian Prophet, and obedience to the Roman Pontiff. The bloody and protracted wars caused by the fierce propagators of the Moslem creed, and the ever-grasping policy of the pretended successors of St Peter,

were repelled by a nation who are deemed little better than barbarians. Christianity still exists as the established faith; and although it is obscured and adulterated by extravagant rites and absurd traditions, it is truly, feeble as it is, a 'light shining in a dark place," which may yet burst forth in meridian brightness on the northern half of the mighty continent of Africa, and plant Christianity from the Straits of Babel-Mandeb to the Mountains of Atlas.

It will thus be seen, with reference to the African Ethiopia, that there was an intimate intercourse between it and Arabia, both countries being merely separated by a narrow strait. The former extended its trade to India, while the latter "went down to the sea (the Indian Ocean) in ships;" but whether this was confined to coasting, or whether advantage was taken of the monsoons and vessels stretched across the sea, must be left to conjecture. But in proportion as we extend our researches into the primeval ages, the closer seems the connection between Egypt and Ethiopia; and we find Diodorus deriving from the latter country the civilization of the former-an opinion which, if true, can only be admitted in a very limited sense, since, though its first genius might have shot forth, the fruit did not ripen till transplanted into Egypt. "The Hebrew poets," says Heeren, "seldom mention the former without the latter; the inhabitants of both are drawn as commercial nations. When Isaiah, or rather a later poet in his name, celebrates the victories of Cyrus, their submission is spoken of as his most magnificent reward.

The trade of the Egyptians, and the merchandize of the Ethiopians, and of the tall men of Saba, will come over to thee, and become thine own.' When Jeremiah extols the great victory of Nebuchadnezzar over Pharaoh-Necho near Carchemish, the Ethiopians are allied to the Egyptians. When Ezekiel threatens the downfall of Egypt, he unites it with the more distant Ethiopia. Every page, indeed, of Egyptian history exhibits proofs of the close intimacy in