Abel

ABEL, Abila, Hobal, or Hoba, or Abelbeth-Maacah, or Abel-maim, a Town situated to the left, that is, to the North of Damascus, between Libanus and Antilibanus. It is the same with Abila, under the Government of Lysanias, mentioned by St. Luke. Joab besieged it, during the Revolt of Sheba, Son of Bichri. Eusebius¹ places this Town between Paneas and Damascus. We are not to be surprized to see the same Place described under so many different Names; many Examples of the same nature will be seen in the Course of this Work. Antoninus, in his Itinerary, fixes it between Damascus and Heliopolis. Josephus and others call it sometimes Abilla in Libanus.

We have related the Occasion of the War carried on by Joab against Sheba, under the Article SHEBA; we shall here only make some Observations on the Siege abovementioned.

The investing of Places, and Lines of Circumvallation, against the Attacks of those without, as well as Lines of Contravallation against the Enemy within, are so ancient that it is to no purpose to enquire after their Original in the Authors of Sacred and Prophane Antiquity, no more than of infinite other Practices attributed to the Greeks and Romans, or even to the Moderns themselves, which are not of a less elder Date than the Lines wherewith Places are environed. Herodotus asserts, in his first Book, that Harpagus the General, who commanded Cyrus’s Army, was the Inventor of this kind of Lines, made use of to cut off all Hopes of Succour to the besieged, and prevent Attempts upon the Camp of the Besiegers. He tells us expressly, that the first City which was taken by this Invention was Phocæa in Ionia. But herein he is very wide of the Truth, for they were in use many Ages, even before the Persians were known in the World. When the Scripture speaks of investing Cities, we see no Particular whereby we may judge that this was the first time, or that the doing so was any thing new, or very uncommon. We can be sure therefore of nothing in this respect, since the Original of such Practices is not discovered to us.

We are farther to observe in this Siege, that the City was not only invested, but that a Ditch was dug in the Ground close to that belonging to the City, where the Archers made their Discharges without Annoyance from the Besieged, while they thus prevented any from appearing on the Walls, and so covered their Miners. So that Attacks carried on by crown’d Works were in use among the Hebrews long before the Greeks and Romans. Dom Calmet believes that they raised Terrasses or Cavaliers against the Walls: I am not of his Opinion; nor was it indeed possible, by Reason of the Greatness of the Work, which would have been exceeding tedious. This Terras was nothing else but a Ditch carried on near the Sides of the Counterscarp, and like our Trenches.

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