of Haman, and had him and his family the Assyrians. With the help of this destroyed. Soon after this, Mordecai king, he laid Syria waste, took Damasbecame his prime minister. cus, and slew their king, and laid much of the land of Israel waste, and took many captives out of it. At the close of the war he returned to Jerusalem, a worshiper of false gods, and continued to be, we suppose, until he died.

Ahasuerus laid a tax upon his inland territories, and on that part of Lesser Asia and the Islands which belonged to him. He obliged the inhabitants of India to pay him yearly three hundred and sixty-five talents of silver.

He had frequent wars with the Greeks and Athenians, which generally resulted in his loss and disgrace.

He died after a reign of thirty-six years, and was succeeded by Xerxes, his son.

AHAZ—[A ́-haz,] one that takes and

possesses.

For the impiety which he practiced, he was in dishonor with his people, and they would not, when he was dead, give him a burial with the kings. 2d Chron. xxviii: 27. "And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem: but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel."

Ahaziah imitated his father in the worship of Baal and Achtaroth, which had been introduced into Israel by Jezebel, his mother, for she was one of another nation than Israel, and Ahab had married her in violation of Israelitish law.

ALAZ, the son of Jotham, king of AHAZIAH, 1-[A-ha-zy'-ah,] posses Judah, ascended the throne when about sion, vision of the Lord. twenty years of age. He married Abi- AHAZIAH was the son of Ahab, king jah, the daughter of Zachariah, by of Israel. During the last year of his whom he had his son Hezekiah. In father's life, he was associated with imitation of the kings of Israel, he him, reigning in Israel at the time of gave himself up to the most abomina- the war at Ramoth Gilead, and he blo idolatries. He proved himself most reigned about one year after Ahab's impious towards God and a transgressor death, so that two years was the extent of the laws of his country. He reared of his reign, and one year of that time altars in Jerusalem, and offered sacri- he was nothing more than an associate fices upon them to idols. He even of the king. made his own children pass through the fire; or, as the Jewish historian has it, he offered his own son as a burnt offering, according to the practice of the Canaanites. He shut up the temple, and destroyed its sacred vessels. He ordered Urijah, the Priest, to build an altar, probably like an altar he had The Moabites, who had been tribuseen among the idolatrous Syrians; for tary to the kings of Israel from the time it is said, in 2d Chron. xxviii: 23, &c., that they revolted and separated from "He sacrificed to the gods of Damas- Judah during the reign of Ahab, reeus; and he said, because the gods of volted and refused any longer to pay the kings of Syria help them, I will tribute. Ahaziah had not the time, sacrifice to them, that they may help nor had he the power, to subdue them, me. And he made high places to burn and make them yield yet longer to incense to other gods in every city of tribute. In 2d Kings, i: 1, we have Judah." He changed the house of the the account of Moab's rebellion. About Lord so as to make it conform to the the time of this revolt, he had the misidolatrous temples which he saw, and fortune to fall through a lattice from he aimed to model the divine worship the top of his house, and by the fall he after the worship of idolaters. In a was considerably injured. Fearing the word, he proposed to honor and wor-consequence, he sent messengers to ship the gods of Syria, and not the God of Heaven. Thus he offered contempt to the true God and provoked him to anger.

In war with Pekah, king of Israel, assisted by the king of Syria, Ahaz was miserably beaten. Whereupon he procured help of Tilgath Pilneser, king of

Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to know whether he should recover from the injury. The fearless and faithful servant of God, Elijah, met the messengers of Ahaziah, and informed them that he should certainly die. Elijah charged upon Ahaziah his sin of inquiring of a false god, as though there was no God

in Israel. Ahaziah, learning where the Prophet Elijah was, with a hostile intent sent a company of fifty men to take him and bring him into his presence. But God, who knew the feelings and intent of the wicked king, sent fire from heaven to consume the company. And, again, another company of fifty men were sent and consumed. A third company was sent, and with them Elijah came down under the direction of his master, and stood in the presence of the king, and declared to him the decree, "Thou shalt die;" and he did die in a short time afterwards. 1st Kings, xxii; and 2d Chron. xxii.

and he sunk down dead in his chariot. Ahaziah fled for his life, for he understood the sentence to be against him as one of the house of Ahab, as well as against his kinsman, who had fallen. Jehu's soldiers followed him in his flight, and overtook him at the going up of Gur, and they mortally wounded him. But with failing strength, he continued his flight until he reached Megiddo, where he died. And his servants carried him to Jerusalem in a chariot, and buried him in his sepulcher with his fathers in the city of David." 2d Kings, viii, &c.; 2d Chron. xxii.

AHAZIAH, 2-Possession, vision of AHBAN-[Ah'-ban.] the Lord.

AHBAN was the son of Abishur, by his wife, Abihail. He was of the tribe of Judah. 1st Chron. ii: 29.

AHI, 1-[A'-hi,] my brother, my brethren.

AHI was a Gadite, and chief of a family who lived in Gilead of Bashan in the days of Jotham, king of Judah. 1st Chron. v: 15.

AHI, 2—My brother, my brethren.
A was a descendant of Shamer,
and of the tribe of Asher. 1st Chron.

AHAZIAH was a king of Judah. He was the son of Jehoram and Athaliah. His mother was of the family of Ahab, and probably kept up the idolatry that had been introduced by Jezebel in all its enormity. His reign, like that of Ahaziah, the king of Israel, was short, for he reigned but one year, beginning when he was at the age of twenty-two. When Joram, the king of Israel, went to war with Hazael, king of Syria, at Ramoth Gilead, he was dangerously wounded, and, at his own instance, taken to Jezreel, for the purpose of vii : 34. surgical advice and assistance. Ahaziah was of the same family relation and friendly to Joram, and, indeed, he had probably been engaged in the AHIAH was the son of Ahitub, the war with him in which he was wound-high priest of the family of Eli and his ed. He went to Jezreel to see him, and while there with him, Jehu, the son of Nimshi, an officer in Joram's army, under the appointment of God, rebelled against the king his master, and set himself to destroy utterly the house of Ahab.

AHIAH, 1--[A-hi'-ah,] brother of the
Lord.

successor in office. 1st Sam. xiv: 3.

AHIAH, 2—Brother of the Lord.

AHIAH was the son of Shisha and the brother of Elijah. He was a secretary to King Solomon. 1st Kings, iv: 3.

AHIAM-[A-hi'-am,] brother of the mother, brother of the nation. AHIAM, the son of Sharah, the Hararite, was one of David's mighty men. 2d Sam. xxiii: 33.

AHIEZER, 1-[A-hi-e-zer,] brother of assistance.

AHIEZER was the son of Ammishaddai, of the tribe of Dan. He was chief of his tribe, and was associated with Moses and Aaron in managing the business of their nation at the time of their exodus from the land of Egypt.

ses, as it is called in 2d Chronicles,
xxxiv: 14, “Hilkiah, the priest, found
a book of the law of the Lord given by
Moses."
It is said that Ahaz, Man-
asseh and Amnon, destroyed all the
copies of the law that they found, ex-
cept this copy found by Hilkiah.
found by Hilkiah. The
simple fact probably is that this was
the original copy of the covenant re-
newed by Moses with the people, and
it was laid up by the ark, and now it is
unexpectedly found. Its great age,
with the fact that it was not a copy of
it, but the original, made it an object
of great interest. But then its invect-
ives against the corrupters of God's
word were calculated to produce just
such an effect in the mind of the young
King Josiah (devoted as he was to the
service of God) as it did produce. The
manuscript was taken by the prince of
Judah, Ahikam, and his associates, to
Huldah, and they heard her words and
prophecy regarding it.

AHILUD-[A-hi-lud,] a brother born.
AHILUD was the father of Jehosha-
phat, who was recorder for King David
and the writer of the Chronicles. 2d
Sam. viii: 16.

AHIMAAZ-[A-him'-a-az,] brother of the council.

they learned that they were being followed, they determined to hide themselves, and, in order to do this, they entered into a man's house at Bahurim and made known their business, probably, when they were hidden in a well in the court, and the woman of the house spread a covering over the well's mouth and spread ground corn thereon so that their hiding place would not be detected when their pursuers came up. Absalom's servant came on and enquired of the woman of the house where Ahimaaz and Jonathan were. She remained true to the servants of David, and the consequence was, they sought ineffectually for them, and returned to Jerusalem, when they came up out of the well and went to David to deliver their message.

After the battle that resulted in the death of Absalom was over, Ahimaaz desired of Joab that he might carry the tidings to David; but, for some cause, Joab preferred to send by Cushi, promising Ahimaaz that he should be the bearer of intelligence on some other occasion; but this did not satisfy him, and, soon after Cushi started, he applied to Joab again, earnestly entreating him to allow him to run after Cushi, when Joab gave him leave, thinking, probably, that Cushi would AHIMAAZ was the son of Zadok, the arrive before him, and so be the first to high priest, and succeeded his father give the news to King David; but in in that important office. They were this he was mistaken, for Ahimaaz, ministering together in the time of being swift on foot, and probably takDavid; and when Absalom rebelled and ing a shorter route, for he ran by the David found it necessary to leave Jeru- way of the plain, outran Cushi and salem, Zadok and Abiather would take came to David first with intelligence. the ark of the covenant of the Lord It is true he did not know that Absaalong with David; but the king com-lom was dead, but he knew that manded them to return with it to David's troops had obtained a victory. Jerusalem, and they did so, taking Ahimaaz with them.

How long he served in the priesthood we do not know precisely, but he was succeeded by his son, Azariah. 2d Sam. xv: to xviii: 1st Chron. vi: 8, 9.

prepared.

Ahimaaz performed a very important piece of service for David here. He tarried at Enrogel or the foundation of Rogel without the city, with his com- AHIMAN-[A-hi'-man,] a brother panion, Jonathan. To that place a woman, a maid-servant, came to tell AHIMAN was a giant of the Anak them of the resolution which had been stock, who lived at Hebron, in the land made in Absalom's counsel under the of Canaan, before Israel possessed that advice of Hushai; whereupon they im land. When Moses sent the spies to mediately departed to give David the look at the land, and bring their brethintelligence. They had been discov-ren word as to the character of the ered, however, by a young man, who had given the information concerning them to Absalom, and that prince had sent orders to pursue them. When

country, Ahiman, as one of the race of giants, lived there. Numb. xiii: 22. This giant, with two of his brethren, Sheshai and Talmai, were expelled by

Joshua, the conqueror of Canaan. | hand upon eighty-five of them that Josh. xv: 14.

AHIMELECH, 1-[A-him-me-lck,]
my brother is a king.
AHIMELICH, the son of Ahitub and
brother of Ahiah, whom he succeeded
in the office of high priest. He is
called, in Mark, ii: 26, Abiathar, prob-
ably because Abiathar was the only one
of his family that was not put to death
by Saul, the king of Israel, and hence
the only one that continued in the
priesthood. He escaped the destruc-
tion of the house of Ahimelech and
fed to David, whom he served in the
office of high priest,

day, and slew them. Ahimelech was one of the first that was executed.

But Saul did not stop here. He sent a party of cruel men to Nob, who executed his cruel decree to slay men, women and children, and even the cattle, with the edge of the sword. There is supposed to have been no less than three or four hundred of the priests, with their families, that perished in the slaughter. 1st Sam. xxi.

AHIMELECH, 2- My brother is a king.

AHIMELECH was the son of Abiathar. He and Zadok, whom Saul had made high priests after the murder of the former Ahimelech, were second priests about the latter end of the reign of King David.

During the priesthood of Ahimelech, ho lived at Nob with other priests, where the tabernacle of God was. When Saul determined to destroy David, and Jonathan, his friend, informed him of Before Ahimelech and other persons it, he determined to fly the country, of note, Shemaiah, the scribe, wrote and in his flight he went to Nob, and down the orders and divisions of the asked of the high priest something to priests, singers, and Levites, and they eat. As Ahimelech had nothing save cast their lots for their turns of service the show bread, he gave him that. in the temple of God. The Levites Then he asked of him a sword, and he were divided into twenty-four orders, gave him the sword of Goliath, the and these were appointed to serve by Philistine giant, whom David had killed lot under the twenty-four orders of the several years before; for that sword priests. 1st Chron. xxiv: 3-31. had been kept under the charge of the

ing brother, a brother of a vow, a brother of the prince.

high priest from the time the giant was AHINADAB--[A-hina-dab,] a willkilled. Ahimelech, looking upon David as having a right to the use of a sword that he had taken himself, and believing that he was a faithful servant of Saul, and was on important business, probably, without any hesitancy, satisfied him with bread and the sword.

AHINADAB was son of Iddo, governor Mahanaim. He lived during the reign of Solomon. 1st Kings, iv: 14.

of

AHINOAM, 1-[A-hin'-no-am,] the

But not long after this, Doeg, the beauty and comeliness of the brother. Edomite, reported to King Saul how AHINOAM was the daughter of AhiAhimelech had received David in his maaz, and the wife of Saul. 1st Sam. flight and supplied his wants. Saul xiv: 50. We suppose this woman was became very much enraged, and called the only wife of Saul, and the mother the priests together, and when they of the children whose names are given. were all convened he made the charge Jonathan, Ishui, Malchishua, with Meagainst them of treason, and decided rab and Michal. She was also, it is that they should all be slain at once. The guards were unwilling to perform the task-probably they were satisfied that they had done nothing worthy of death, not even Ahimelech. They knew he was innocent of the crime with which the king charged him and his associates. When the guards refused to do it, the king ordered Doeg, who was their accuser, to become their executioner, and he, glad of the opportunity of becoming thus notorious, laid his sacrilegious

quite likely, the mother of Ishbosheth, who, it may be, as he is not named in the above passage, was not yet born; or if born, he was an infant, and is not numbered with his brothers, as he could not go with them to war.

AHINOAM, 2-The beauty and comeliness of the brother.

AHINOAM, the Jezreelite, was the wife of David. She is referred to in connection with Abigail, the Carmel