ZE – ZU

Volume III, pages 201–218 of the 1732 edition, from ZE to ZU: everything printed on these pages, in order.

Continued from Zedekiah (1)

against Zedekiah, and took all the fortified Places of his Kingdom, except Lachish, Azekah, and Jerusalem.

He lay down before Jerusalem on the tenth Day of the tenth Month of the Holy Year, which answers to the Month, or rather the Moon, of our January. Some time afterwards Pharaoh Hophrah, King of Egypt, took the Field, to come to the Assistance of Zedekiah.¹ Then Nebuchadnezzar left the Siege of Jerusalem, and went to meet him, gave him Battel, defeated him, and obliged him to return into Egypt; after which he returned to the Siege of Jerusalem. In the mean while the People of Jerusalem, thinking themselves freed from the Fear of Nebuchadnezzar, took the Slaves again which they had before set at liberty, which drew upon them great Reproaches and Threatnings from Jeremiah.² During the Siege Zedekiah often consulted with Jeremiah, who always advised him to surrender, and pronounced the greatest Woes against him if he should persist in his Rebellion:³ But that unfortunate Prince had neither Patience to hear, nor Resolution to follow, good Counsels. Lastly, in the eleventh Year of Zedekiah,⁴ on the ninth Day of the fourth Month, which answers to the Month of July, the City of Jerusalem was taken. Zedekiah, and all his People, endeavoured to escape by the favour of the Night, but the Chaldean Troops pursuing them, they were overtaken in the Plain of Jericho.

He was taken, and carried to Nebuchadnezzar, who was then at Riblah, a City of Syria. There, the King of Chaldea reproaching him with his Perfidy, caused all his Children to be slain before his Face, and then had his Eyes put out; and, loading him with Chains of Brass, he ordered him to be sent to Babylon.⁵ Thus was brought to pass the Accomplishment of two Prophecies, which seemed contradictory to each other; one of Jeremiah, who said, that Zedekiah should see, and yet not see Nebuchadnezzar with his Eyes,⁶ and the other of Ezekiel,⁷ which intimated, that he should not see Babylon, tho’ he should die there. The Year of his Death is not known: The Rabbins⁸ say he died of Grief: For, having been invited to a Feast that Nebuchadnezzar made for his Friends, Zedekiah was there made drunk, and in his Drunkenness he com-

VOL. III. mitted several indecent Actions, unworthy his Birth and the Condition he was in; for which he afterwards conceived such Remorse, that he died upon it. But these Traditions are of no great Authority, and learned Men are agreed, that they have no Right to bear the Name of St. Jerome. Jeremiah had assured him,⁹ that he should die in Peace, that his Body should be burnt, as those of the Kings of Judah had us’d to be burnt; that they should mourn for him, by saying, Alas, my Lord!

The Rabbins say, that at the Obsequies of Zedekiah they cried out, Alas! King Zedekiah is dead, who has drank up the Dregs of all Ages; that is, who has suffered the Punishment due to all his Predecessors. They said also, that he made his Escape from Jerusalem by a subterraneous Passage, which led from the King’s Palace to the Plains of Jericho; but that a Hind following him without, and going just the same Pace above Ground as the King went under Ground, and the Chaldeans following the Hind, they came upon the King at unawares, just as he came out of his subterraneous Passage. Josephus relates,¹⁰ that Zedekiah, to save the City and the Temple, made choice of a voluntary Exile and Captivity: But this is only to disguise the Truth. Zedekiah’s Flight was not a voluntary Act to save his Country; but he might have saved it, if he had followed the Advice of Jeremiah, and had sincerely submitted himself to the Chaldeans. He reigned eleven Years at Jerusalem, and after him the Kingdom of Judah was entirely suppressed.

2. ZEDEKIAH, the second Son of King Jekoiakim, 1 Chron. iii. 16.

3. ZEDEKIAH, Son of Chenaanah, and a false Prophet of Samaria. As King Ahab was once with Jehoshaphat King of Judah, near the Gate of Samaria,¹¹ deliberating about the War they had undertaken against the City of Ramoth-Gilead; Zedekiah the Son of Chenaanah put Iron Horns upon his Head, and said to Ahab King of Israel, Thus saith the Lord, you shall beat Syria, and toss it up into the Air with these Horns. But the Prophet Micaiah, the Son of Imlah, being sent for, and denouncing the direct contrary to this, Zedekiah came near him, and giving him a Slap on the Face, said to him, Which way went the Spirit of

the Lord from me, to speak to you? Then Micaiah told him, you will see that when you shall be obliged to hide yourself in an inward Chamber. It is not said what became of Zedekiah; but all the Prophecies of Micaiah were proved true by the Event. See his Article.

4. ZEDEKIAH, Son of Maaseiah, a false Prophet, who always opposed Jeremiah.Jerem. xxix. 21, 22. Against him, and against Ahab the Son of Kolaiah, Jeremiah pronounced this terrible Prophecy: Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophecy a lye unto you in my Name, Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the King of Babylon roasted in the fire. Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours wives, and have spoken lying words in my Name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness saith the Lord. And this is all that the Scripture informs us about these two false Prophets. The Rabbins, with some Commentators,¹² are of opinion, that they were the same as the two Elders who attempted the Chastity of Susanna, and whose Wickedness was discovered by Daniel: But this Opinion is not probable: the Calumniators of Susanna were boiled to death in a Caldron of scalding Oil.

5. ZEDEKIAH, Son of Asadias, and Father of Maaseiah Grandfather of Baruch, Baruch i. 1.

ZEDEKIEL. The Name of an Angel of the first Order. His Name signifies, the Justice of God. The Jews make him to have been the Preceptor of Abraham. See Fabricius, Tom. 1. p. 4. Apocryph. Veter. Testam.

Josh. xviii. 28.ZEEB, or Zeb, one of the Princes of Midian. He was found in a Wine-press, and put to death by the Ephraamites,¹³ who took off his Head, and sent it to Gideon beyond Jordan, whither they pursued their Enemies.

ZELAH, or Sela, a City of the Tribe of Benjamin. We read in the Hebrew of 2 Sam. xxi. 14. that Saul was buried at Zelah, in the Tomb of his Father Kish.

ZELEK, or Selec, an Ammonite, one of the Heroes of David’s Army, 2 Sam. xxiii. 37. 1 Chron. xi. 39.

ZELOPHEHAD, or Salphaad, Son of Hepher, of the Tribe of Manasseh. He died without Male Children, but left five Daughters Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, who received their Portion in the Land of Promise with the rest of their Tribe, Numb. xxvi. 33. xxvii. 2.

ZELOTES, Simon Zelotes. See SIMON.

ZELOTS, or Zealots. This Name was given to certain Jews who appeared in Judea about the Year 66 of the Vulgar Æra, and four or five Years before the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans. They had the Name of Zealots from that furious and mad Zeal they pretended to have for the Liberty of their Country. They had also at the same time the Name of Sicarii, or Assassins, because of the frequent Butcheries they committed with their short Daggers, called in Latin, Sica. We think ‘em to be the same as the Herodians mentioned in the Gospel:¹⁴ See the Articles HERODIANS and GALILEANS. All these kind of People were Followers of Judas the Galilean,¹⁵ Author of a fourth Sect among the Jews, different from that of the Pharisees, Sadduces, and Essenians. Josephus¹⁶ imputes to the Disciples of Judas all the Calamities that happened to Judea under the Government of Florus, and its entire Destruction by the Roman Armies. See the Article of JUDAS the Galilean, and Josephus, in his 18th Book of the Antiquities, and his whole Work of the Wars of the Jews. See also ZEAL, before.

ZEMARAIM, or Samaraim, a City of Benjamin, near Bethel, Josh. xviii. 22. See also 2 Chron. xiii. 4. according to the Hebrew, the Mount of Zemaraim.

1 Kings xvi. 24.ZEMARITE, Samarœus. The tenth Son of Canaan was Father of the Zemarites, whom we think to have inhabited Simyra, a City of Phœnicia, near Orthosia. The two Chaldee Paraphrases, and St. Jerome, will have it, that they dwelt at Emesa in Syria. Some have imagin’d that they gave Name to the Mountain of Shomeron, upon which Samaria was afterwards built. But they did not observe the Difference between the Names Shomeronim,¹⁷ the Samaritans, and Zomerim,¹⁸ the Zemarites.

ZEMARAIM, Semeron, or Shomeron. This Name is given to the Moun

tain of Shemer, now mentioned, 2 Chron. xiii. 4.

ZEMIRA, or Zamira, Son of Becher of the Tribe of Benjamin, 1 Chron. vii. 8.

ZENAN, or Sanan, a City of the Tribe of Josh. xv. 37.Judah.

ZENAS, a Doctor of the Law,¹⁹ and Disciple of St. Paul. We know nothing else of him, but that he was an Apostolical Man, well instructed in the Jewish Law, and very well esteemed by St. Paul. This Apostle sends word to Titus that he would have Zenas come to him to Nicepholis, as also Apelles, and that he should take care that nothing may be wanting to them for this Journey. Dorotheus Bishop of Tyre makes him Bishop of Diospolis in Palestine.

1. ZEPHANIAH, or Sophonias, Son of Maseiah; he is called, 2 Kings xxv. 18. the second Priest, while the High-Priest Seraiah performed the Functions of the High-Priesthood, and the first Priest. ‘Tis thought that Zephaniah was as his Deputy, to discharge the Duty when the High-Priest was sick, or that any other Accident happened to him, to hinder him from performing his Office. After the taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, Seraiah and Zephaniah were taken and sent to Nebuchadnezzar, who was then at Riblah, and caused them to be put to death; in the Year of the World 3416, before Christ 584, before the Vulgar Æra 588. Zephaniah was sent more than once by Zedekiah,²⁰ to consult Jeremiah about what should happen to the City. I know not whether Josiah and Hen, mentioned in Zech. vi. 10, 14. were the Sons of this Zephaniah, or of some other.

2. ZEPHANIAH, a Levite, of the Family of Kohath, 1 Chron. vi. 36.

3. ZEPHANIAH, Son of Cushi, and Grandson of Gedaliah; he was of the Tribe of Simeon, according to Epiphanius, and of the Mountain of Sarabata, a Place not mentioned in Scripture. The Jews are of opinion,²¹ that the Ancestors of Zephaniah, recited at the Beginning of his Prophecy, were all Prophets themselves. Some have pretended, without any Foundation for it, that he was of an illustrious Family. We have no exact Knowledge, either of his Actions, or the Time of his Death. He lived under King Josiah, who began to reign in the Year of the World 3363, before Christ 637, before the Vulgar Æra 641. The

3 Description that Zephaniah gives of the Disorders that prevailed in his Time in Judah, gives occasion to judge, that he prophesied before the eighteenth Year of Josiah; that is, before this Prince had reformed the Abuses and Corruptions that prevailed in his Dominions.²² Besides, he foretels the Destruction of Nineveh,²³ which could not fall out before the sixteenth Year of Josiah, by allowing, with Berosus, twenty-one Years to the Reign of Nabopolassar over the Chaldeans. Therefore we must necessarily place the Beginning of Zephaniah’s Prophecy at the Beginning of the Reign of Josiah.

The first Chapter of this Prophet is a general Threatning against all the People whom the Lord had appointed to the Slaughter; against Judah, against those that step over the Threshold, by which he means the Philistines. (See 1 Sam. v. 5. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, unto this day.) Then in the Second Chapter he inveighs against Moab, against Ammon, against Cush, against the Phœnicians and Assyrians. There he foretels the Fall of Nineveh, which happened in the Year of the World 3378. The Third and last Chapter has two Parts: The first contains Invectives and Threatnings against Jerusalem; and the second gives comfortable Assurances of a Return from the Captivity, and of a happy and flourishing Condition.

ZEPHATH, or Sephaat,²⁴ a City of the Tribe of Simeon, Judg. i. 17. ‘Tis probably the same as Zephattah, which was near Mareshah, in the Southern Parts of Judah, 2 Chron. xiv. 10. It was called Hormah, or Anathema, after the Victory obtained by the Israelites over the King of Arad, Numb. xxi. 3. Judg. i. 17.

ZEPHATHAH, or Sephata. The Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah, is mentioned in 2 Chron. xiv. 10. Perhaps this is the Vale that was near the City of Zephath or Hormah. Or, perhaps, it should be read Shephalah, instead of Zephathath. See SEPHALA.

ZEPHI, Zepho, or Sephi, the third Son of Eliphaz, the Son of Esau.²⁵

ZEPHON, or Sephron, the Son of Gad, Chief of the Family of the Zephonites, Josh. xix. 35.Numb. xxvi. 15.

ZER, or Ser, a City of the Tribe of Naphtali.

ZERA, or Zara, of Bozrah, Son of Reuel, and Grandson of Esau, and Father of Jobad, Gen. xxxvi. 13, 17, 33.

1. ZERAH, or Zara, Son of Simeon, and Grandson of Jacob, Father of the Family of the Zarbites, Numb. xxvi. 13.

2. ZERAH, King of Ethiopia, or, rather, King of the Country of Cush, in Arabia Petrea, upon the Red Sea, and bordering upon Egypt.²⁶ This Prince came to fight with Asa King of Judah, with an Army of a Million of Foot, and three hundred Chariots of War. Advancing as far as Mareshah, Asa went out to meet him, and set his Army in Battel-array in the Valley of Zephathah, near Mareshah. He called upon the Lord, who cast Terror and Consternation into the Hearts of the Ethiopians, and made them run away. Asa and his whole Army pursued them as far as Gerar, plundered their Cities, and brought back a great Booty.

We have given an Account of this famous Victory under the Article ASA: We shall here propose some new Conjectures concerning the Country of Zerah, and the Causes of so formidable a War, carried on with such Rapidity, and of so short Continuance.

At his first setting out, Asa furnishes us Observations upon the Battel of Zephathah, near to Mareshah, 2 Chron. xiv.with an excellent Lesson, in the seventh and eighth Verses of the fourteenth Chapter of the Second Book of Chronicles. He causes his Cities to be repaired, he adds new Fortifications to ‘em: He raises an Army of three hundred thousand chosen Men; and all this while his Kingdom is in Peace. This is an admirable Instruction for Princes, and those to whom the Government of Nations is committed.

Tho’ the Scripture generally acquaints us with the several Occasions of the Wars of the People of God against their Enemies, yet the sacred Author says nothing of the Cause of this between Zerah King of Ethiopia, and Asa King of Judah: Nor by the Beginnings or Prosecution of this War can we observe any thing that may teach us the Order or Manner in which these two Armies fought with each other. This is the Divining Rod of Nebuchadnezzar, which the Author does not take from me so often as to give me reason to complain; as may be perceived from the several Observations I have made upon the several Battels of the Scriptures. This Event, which happened a long time after the Siege of Troy, is founded only upon the Relation of the sacred Author. But of what Credit ought this Relation to be; since we have it from the Mouth of Truth itself? This shews how little the Greek Historians knew of the Wars of the People of Asia, tho’ they were their Neighbours, and had sent several Colonies into this Country; which I conceive to be much more ancient than the Reign of Solomon, and the time of Homer, who was born 168 Years after the taking of Troy, according to the Julian Period.

It is surprizing that Herodotus, who has wrote of the Wars of Greece and Asia, should have had no better Information. To read his Book one would imagine, that he had travelled over all Asia, and had read all the Historians of that Country; yet never any Historian, that undertook so great a Design, has travelled less, or read less, than he did. For what Countries did he see? Only Egypt; and of this indeed he speaks as a Man that had not lost his Time. But we plainly see, that he went thither by Sea, and that he returned into his own Country again the same way; and that he was never acquainted with the Jews, nor their Histories, nor with those of the neighbouring Nations, nor with their Language, nor with those of the other People of Asia, nor even with that of the Egyptians. We must not therefore wonder if we have no other Testimony than that of the sacred Books for the great Actions of the Hebrews: For if this Author had understood their Language, would he have omitted to inform us something of their Wars, or, at least, of their most remarkable Events? And, without doubt, the Battel of Zephathah near Mareshah could not have escaped the Pen of so great and so judicious a Writer. From hence we are to conclude, that the Historians are ignorant of the Affairs of Asia, though this Part of the World, as we have observed before, was full of Grecian Colonies along the Sea-shore, and in Inland Places of this Country. This Digression appeared to me to be necessary, to evince the Truth of the History of the Jewish Nation, though standing upon its own Authority, and that of the Religion of the People that composed it, as a celebrated Author²⁷ has very well observed.

Tho’ the Causes of the War of Zerah against Asa are unknown to us, yet I shall venture to propose my Conjectures, since the Commentators have not attempted it. Asa might have drawn it upon himself upon two Accounts, which to me appear very probable, and almost convincing. The sacred Author seems to suggest them himself, when he says,

Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and broke down the images, and cut down the groves. And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law, and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images; and the kingdom was quiet before him for ten Years. Was not this a sufficient Reason for a Quarrel with a neighbouring People, whom before they looked upon as their Allies, when they overthrew the Temples of their common Gods? These Principles and Motives are no new ones; and in those Days, as well as in ours, they did not look upon such as unjust Wars. God himself always commanded them, against People that had such ridiculous Objects of Worship; and the World was at that time so full of them, that the Supreme Being was known and served only in a small Corner of the Earth: He that had done so many Prodigies in favour of his People, which yet so often fell into Idolatry. Can we therefore be surprized at those dreadful Chastisements with which he so severely punished them?

A second Reason that might have occasioned this War, was purely Political; and even at this Day our Casuists and Military Lawyers allow it to be lawful, as indeed it is. ‘Tis an Instruction to Princes to be upon their guard, to take the Advantage of Opportunities for securing themselves against the Attempts of their Enemies, and to provide for War in time of Peace.

Ibid. 7.For the sacred Author goes on; Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side: So they built, and prospered.

Asa easily foresaw, that by pulling down the Temples and Altars of false Gods in his Country, he should provoke and enrage his Enemies against him, especially his Neighbours that made Profession of Idolatry; and that when any one undertakes a Reformation of this kind, he must be upon his guard, and in a Condition to maintain a War. Therefore he took all the necessary Precautions, and prepared himself for what might happen. He fortified his Frontier Towns, to oppose the first Attacks of his Enemies, and to give him Time, if it should be necessary, of raising a good Army to withstand their Progress, and to defeat their Projects by some notable Action.

Father Calmet says, that Interpreters are divided about the Territories of this King, whom the Scripture calls a King of Ethiopia; nor am I surprized at it. Yet I am not a little surprized that some Interpreters should think that this formidable Army came out of Egypt; except Zerah had first begun by making a Conquest of that Country, which does not at all appear from Profane History, which carries us much higher than the Reign of Asa: Nor indeed has any one of the Learned advanced this yet as an Opinion, which would be liable to great Absurdity.

The Name of Ethiopia is not perhaps so ambiguous as is commonly said: This Empire was so formidable, and of so vast an Extent, that it might even stretch out into Arabia, and Zerah might come out of this Country to make War with Judah. This Conjecture to me seems probable: But it may be asked, how could an Army of a Million of Men pass through the Desarts between Arabia and Judea, where neither Provision, nor Forage, nor Water, nor Trees, were to be found? in a word, nothing but Sands and Rocks? But I shall ask again, How could Alexander the Great pass over those immense Desarts, in some Places, at least, which lie between Persia and the Indies? It will be replied, that this may be true, but great Allowances must be made, if we compare the Forces of Alexander the Great with those of this King of Ethiopia. But I say, not; since, by the way of Caravans, every one might provide his own Victuals, Water, Forage, &c. as much as was required for travelling through those Desarts. Let us come nearer our own Times: The Army of Timurbec, or Tamerlain, was not much less numerous than that here mentioned in Scripture; yet with an incredible Diligence it passed through the Desarts of Segestin, and a great many others, that were more than twenty Marches in extent.

Asa, who in time of Peace had provided for War, was not at all surprized. He even went out to meet the Enemy; so bold and intrepid is a Prince who is upon his guard, and is ready armed. The sacred Author says, Asa went out against him, and they set the battel in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. He was at the head of an army of men that bore targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand, and out of Benjamin, that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: All these were mighty men of valour. Here are Troops well armed, stout and resolute, led on by a Prince of great Courage and Prudence, as may easily be perceived by the Situation

he put himself in. For the Apprehension of being surrounded by such a Multitude of Enemies, made him post his Army in the Valley, supporting the Wings of his Army by the two sides of the neighbouring Mountains; so that the Enemy could not fight but in a Front of the same extent. This is what always renders an Army useless, when too much incumbered with Multitudes.

As the People of Asia used to fight in Phalanx, and in a very great Depth, I can hardly be mistaken in the Disposition of the two Armies. I am persuaded that the Ethiopians observed the same Method as the Jews.

Zerah had three hundred Chariots of War; they were generally ranged at the head of the Line. But I could never find that they were of any great Service in a Battel. It appears here, on the contrary, that the Hebrews were not much terrified by them, but easily knew how to avoid them. In this place the Scripture takes no notice of any Cavalry; yet it mentions 2 Chron. xvi. 8.them elsewhere. But the chief Forces of the People of Asia consisted in Infantry. In an Army of sixty thousand Men, it was rare to find six thousand Horse. The Greeks and Romans, those great Masters in the Art Military, seldom had more. The over great number of Cavalry was introduced in barbarous times, and of all Armies is the most ruinous to a State, and seldom decides the Fate of an Action. For this I appeal to the skilful in these Matters.

ZERAHIAH, or Zaraias, Son of the High-Priest Uzzi, and Father of Meraioth. See 1 Chron. vi. 6.

ZEREDA, or Sareda, a City of the Tribe of Ephraim, the Place of Nativity of 1 Kings xi. 26.Jeroboam the Son of Nebat. Perhaps the same as Zeradatha, or Zarthan; which see.

2 Chron. iv. 17. 1 Kings vii. 46.ZEREDATHAH, otherwise called Zarthan, a City of the Tribe of Ephraim, in which were cast the great Works of Brass that Hiram made for Solomon’s Temple. The Waters of Jordan flowed up as far as Zarthan, or Zaretan, at the time that the Hebrews passed over this River, under the Conduct of Joshua.

ZERESH, or Zares, the Wife of Haman, who advised her Husband to the Destruction of Mordecai. a

ZERETH, an Hebrew Measure of Length, which was half a Cubit, or 1022⁄89 Inches. St. Jerome translates it by Palmus, 1 Sam. xvii. 4. The High-Priest’s Breast-plate was a Zereth,²⁸ or half a Cubit square, Exod. xxviii. 16. and xxxix. 9. Isaiah seems to say, that in respect of God the Heavens are but a Zereth in length; Et Cœlos palmo ponderavit: The Hebrew says, in Zereth direxit, Isai. xl. 12. But in this Passage Zereth rather stands for the Hand extended.

ZERI, or Sori, or Isri, Son of Jeduthun. His Family was the fourth among the twenty-four Families of the Levites, which attended in the Temple, 1 Chron. xxv. 3, 11.

ZEROR, or Seror, Son of Bechorah, Great-grandfather of Saul, 1 Sam. ix. 1.

ZERUBBABEL, or Zorobabel, Son of Salathiel, of the Royal Race of David. St. Matthew²⁹ and the Chronicles, make Jeconiah King of Judah, to be Father to Salathiel; but they do not agree as to the Father of Zerubbabel. The Chronicles will have Pedaiah to be Father of Zerubbabel; but St. Matthew, St. Luke, Esdras and Haggai, constantly make Salathiel his Father. We must therefore take the Name of Son in the Sense of Grandson, and say that Salathiel having taken care of the Education of Zerubbabel, he was always afterwards looked upon as his Father. Some think that Zerubbabel had also the Name of Sheshbazzar, and that he is pointed out by this Name in Ezra. See the Article SHESHBAZZAR, before. Josephus,³⁰ and the First Book of Esdras, will have Zerubbabel to have been one of the three famous Body-guards of Darius Son of Hystaspes; and that in the Dispute they had to know which of these four Things was the most powerful and prevalent, the King, Women, Wine, or the Truth? Zerubbabel maintained it was the Truth, and obtained the Victory in the Judgment of the King and his Counsellors. But this Story must be looked upon as very Apocryphal. Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem a long time before the Reign of Darius the Son of Hystaspes. He returned immediately after the Beginning of the Reign of Cyrus, in the Year of the World 3468, before Christ 532, before the Vulgar Æra 536, and 15 Years before Darius.

This is what the Scripture informs us concerning Zerubbabel. Cyrus committed to his care the sacred Vessels of the Temple, which he sent back to Jerusalem.³¹ He is always named first, as being the chief of the Jews that returned back into their own Country.³² He laid the Foundations of the Temple,³³ and there restored³⁴

restored the Worship of the Lord, and the usual Sacrifices. When the Samaritans offered themselves to rebuild the Temple of the Lord in conjunction with the Jews, Zerubbabel and the principal Men of Judah made them this Answer, that they could not let any other share with them in this Honour, since Cyrus had granted his Commission to the Jews only.

Ezr. iv. 2, 3.When this Work was discontinued for a good while, the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah were inspired of the Lord,³⁵ to encourage Zerubbabel and the other Jews to reassume the Work; which they did, in the second Year of Darius Son of Hystaspes, in the Year of the World 3485, before Christ 515, before the Vulgar Æra 519. When the Lord shew’d the Prophet Zechariah two Olive-trees, near the Golden Candlestick with seven Branches, Zech. iv. 6, 7, 8.the Angel that was sent to explain this Vision to the Prophet, let him know, that these two Olive-trees, which supplied Oil to the great Candlestick, were the Prince Zerubbabel, and Joshua the High-Priest, the Son of Josedech. The Scripture tells us nothing of the Death of Zerubbabel, but it informs us in the Chronicles that he left seven Sons and one Daughter. These were 1 Chron. iii. 19.Meshullam, Hananiah, and Shelomith their Sister, Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed. St. Matthew makes the Name of one of his Sons to be Abiud, Matth. i. 13.and St. Luke makes it Rhesa. Consequently one of the Sons of Zerubbabel here Luke iii. 27.enumerated must have more than one Name.

Some would make a Distinction of two Zerubbabels, the second of which was the Son of Pedaiah, mentioned in 1 Chron. iii. 19. But we think it needless to have recourse to this Solution of the Difficuly; and that it is sufficient to say, that Pedaiah was Son to Salathiel, and Father to Zerubbabel; and that the Scripture gives generally to Zerubbabel the Name of the Son of Salathiel, only because Salathiel, his Grandfather, was the more eminent, and perhaps had adopted him, and took the chief care of his Education.

Others, to reconcile the First Book of Esdras with Sacred History, pretend, that Zerubbabel might have dwelt at Jerusalem for seventeen Years, from the first Year of Cyrus to the second of Darius Son of Hystaspes, and then might return to Babylon, where he discharged the Office of a Life-Guard-Man to Darius. But nothing obliges us to receive as true History, the improbable Story of Darius’s three Life-guard-Men, which in itself includes several Marks of Fiction and Imposture.

ZERUIAH, or Sarvia, the Sister of David, and Mother of Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, 2 Sam. ii. 18. 1 Chron. ii. 16.

1. ZETHAN, or Zetham, Son of Bilhan, Son of Jediael, of the Tribe of Benjamin, 1 Chron. vii. 10.

2. ZETHAN, Son of Laadan, of the Tribe of Levi, and of the Family of Gershom, 1 Chron. xxiii. 8. He was one of the Treasurers of the Temple, 1 Chron. xxvi. 22.

ZETHAR, one of the seven Eunuchs, or of the seven Principal Officers of Abasuerus, Esth. i. 10.

1. ZIA, Ziba, Zie, Siha, or Siaba, a City beyond Jordan, five Miles from Philadelphia, towards the West. Euseb. in Zem.

2. ZIA, a Canton of the City of Nehem. xi. 21.Jerusalem, where the Nethenims dwelt, or those that served in the Temple.

3. ZIA, Son of Abihail, of the Tribe of Gad, 1 Chron. v. 13.

4. ZIA, Son of Hasupha, of the Race of Ezr. ii. 43.the Nethinims.

ZIBA, or Siba, a Servant to Saul.³⁶ King David having resolved to shew some Kindness to some one of the Race of Saul, he ordered Ziba to come to him, and asked him, if there was any one remaining of the House of Saul, to whom he might shew some Kindness, for the sake of Jonathan. Ziba told him, that there was still one of Jonathan’s Sons left; whose Name was Mephibosheth, who was lame, and dwelt it the House of Machir, at Lodebar. David sent for him, and told him he should have the Privilege of sitting at his Table all the rest of his Life. He said moreover to Ziba, I have given Mephibosheth all that belonged to Saul; therefore make the best of his Estate, that your Master may have a sufficient Subsistance. Ziba replied, My Lord, and my King, your Servant will obey your Commands; and Mephibosheth shall be served at my Table, when he shall please to be there, as one of the King’s Sons. Now Ziba had fifteen Sons, and twenty Servants, who were all employed to attend Mephibosheth, and to make the best of his Estate. But Mephibosheth eat at the King’s Table, tho’ he dwelt with Ziba.

Some Years after,³⁷ when David was forced to leave Jerusalem, because of the Rebellion of his Son Absalom, Ziba went out to meet David, with two Asses loaded with Provisions. The King asked him, what do you mean by these? Ziba answered, the Asses are to mount some of the King’s Officers, and the Provisions are for those that attend you. David then

asked him, where is Mephibosheth? Ziba replied, he continues at Jerusalem, with this Notion, saying, the House of Israel will now restore me to the Kingdom of my Father. The King then said to Ziba, I will give you all that belongs to Mephibosheth. Ziba replied, all that I desire, my Lord, and my King, is, to have some share in your Favour.

2 Sam. xix. 17, 24.After the Defeat of Absalom, Ziba came to meet the King, with his fifteen Sons and twenty Servants, who made haste to pass over the Jordan, that they might be serviceable to the King and his People, at their passing over the Ford of the River. Mephibosheth also came to meet the King and in such a Plight as sufficiently shew’d his Trouble for the King’s Absence. For from the time of David’ Flight, he had neither washed his Feet nor trimm’d his Beard, or taken any care of his Dress. And being admitted to pay his Compliments to the King at Jerusalem, David asked him, Mephibosheth, why did you not go along with me, but stay here at Jerusalem? To which Mephibosheth replied, My Lord, and my King, my Servant Ziba deceived me: For being, as you know, lame of my Feet, I bid him prepare me an Ass, to follow you; but, instead of that, he went himself, to accuse me falsly to my Lord the King. He went on to vindicate himself, but the King interrupted him, and said, It is enough; say no more of it: What I have already determined shall obtain; do you and Ziba divide the Estate between you. David did not think proper to make a stricter Scrutiny into this Matter, perhaps out of consideration for Mephibosheth. For it is hardly to be supposed that David would have confirmed Ziba in the Possession of half Saul’s Estate, if he had thought him to have been guilty of Calumny, and Disobedience to his Master. It is therefore believed, that David made up to Mephibosheth the Moiety of his Estate that was given to Ziba.

ZIBEON, or Sebeon, a Hivite, Father of Anab, and Grandfather of Abolibamah, the Wife of Esau, Gen. xix. 24.

1. ZIBIAH, or Sebia, of Beer-sheba, Mother of Jehoash King of Judah, 2 Kings xii. 1.

2. ZIBIAH, Son of Hodesh, 1 Chron. viii. 9.

1. ZICHRI, or Zechri, Son of Izhar, and Grandson of Kohath, Exod. vi. 21.

2. ZICHRI, of the Tribe of Ephraim, a very stout and valiant Man. He killed Maaseiah, the Son of King Ahaz, Arikam, the Governor of the Palace, and Elkanah, who was second after the King, 2 Chron. xxviii. 7.

ZIDDIM, or Assedim, a City of the Tribe of Naphtali, Josh. xix. 35. The Hebrew of the Passage quoted from Joshua reads it thus: The fortified Cities of the Tyrians are Tyre and Hamah. a

ZIF. See ZIPH.

Josh. xix. 5.ZIKLAG, or Siceleg, a City that Achish King of Gath gave to David,³⁸ while he took shelter in the Land of the Philistines, and which after that time always remained as a Domain to the Kings of Judah. The Amalekites took it, and plundered it, in the absence of David. Joshua had allotted it to the Tribe of Simeon. Eusebius says it lay in the Southren Part of the Land of Canaan. The Hebrews call it Tziklag.³⁹

ZILLAH, or Sella, the Wife of Lamech the Bigamous. She was Mother to Tubal-cain and Naamah. See Gen. iv. 21, 22. See also LAMECH.

ZILPAH, or Zelpha, Leah’s Maid, who became Wife of the second Degree to the Patriarch Jacob, and was Mother to Gad and Asher, Gen. xxx. 9 xlvi. 18.

ZIMMAH, or Zemma, a Levite, Father to Joash, of the Race of Gershom, 2 Chron. xxix. 12.

ZIMRAM, or Zamram, the first Son of Keturah and of Abraham. He dwelt in Arabia with his Brethren, Gen. xxv. 2.

1. ZIMRI, Zamri, or Zambri, Son of Zerah, and Grandson of Judah and Tamar, 1 Chron. ii. 6.

2. ZIMRI, Son of Salu, Prince of the Tribe of Simeon, who went publickly into the Tent of Cozbi, a Midianitish Woman, and was followed by Phinehas, the Son of Eleazar the High-Priest, and there stabbed by him along with Cozbi, in the midst of their lewd Embraces.⁴⁰

3. ZIMRI. He was General to one half of the Cavalry of Elah King of Israel,⁴¹ when he rebelled against his King. For while this King was making merry at Tirzah, Zimri fell upon him, killed him, and usurped his Kingdom. He entirely cut off the whole Family of his Master, without sparing any of his Relations or Friends; all which he did to fulfil the Word of the Lord, as it was denounced to Baasha, the Father of Elah, by the Prophet Jehu. Zimri reigned but seven Days; for the Army of Israel, that

then was besieging Gibbethon, a City of the Philistines, made their General Omri King, and came and besieged Zimri in the City of Tirzah. Zimri, seeing the City was just upon the point of being taken, burnt himself in the Palace, with all the Riches that were therein. He did Evil before the Lord, and was cut off in his Iniquity. The rest of his Actions, his Conspiracy and Tyranny, were recorded at length in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

ZIN, Sin, or Senna, a City to the South of the Land of Promise, Numb. xxxiv. 4. Perhaps this may be the same as Senaah, Ezr. ii. 35. or Zin, Josh. xv. 3. Eusebius mentions a Place called Migdal-Senna, or the Tower of Senna, eight Miles from Jericho towards the North. This cannot be the Zin or Sennah taken notice of in the Passages of Numbers or Joshua; but may it not be that of Ezra? See SIN.

ZINA, or Zizah, the Son of Shimei, a 1 Chron. xxiii. 10.Levite.

ZION, or Sion, a Mountain upon which the Temple of the Lord was built in Jerusalem by Solomon, and where David built the City of David, over against and to the North of the ancient Jebus,⁴² or Jerusalem, which stood upon the Hill opposite to Zion. The Scripture generally puts Mount Zion for the Place where the Temple of the Lord stood; but strictly it 2 Chron. iii. 1.was rather upon Mount Moriah, which was one of the Hills of which Mount Zion was composed. Mr. Reland pretends,⁴³ that Mount Zion was to the South of Jerusalem, and not to the North. The Reader may see his Reasons.

Josh. xv. 54.ZIOR, or Sior, a City of the Tribe of Judah.

1. ZIPH, Zif, or Zio, the second Month of the Holy Year of the Hebrews. This is the same that was afterwards called Jiar, and answers to the Moon of April. We find the Name Zif only in 1 Kings vi. 1.

2. ZIPH, or Zipha, Son of Jehaleleel, of the Tribe of Judah, and of the Family of Caleb, 1 Chron. iv. 16. It was he probably who gave his Name to the City of Ziph, lying in the Tribe of Judah.

3. ZIPH, a City of the Tribe of Judah.Josh. xv. 24. St. Jerome says, that even in his Time they shewed the Village of Ziph, eight Miles from Hebron Eastward. David kept himself concealed for some time in the Wilderness of Ziph, 1 Sam.

Vol. III. xxiii. 14, 15. in the Wilderness of Ziph, 1 Sam. xxiii. 14, 15.

4. ZIPH. It appears that there was still another City called Ziph, near Maon and Carmel of Judah.

ZIPHION, or Sephion, the eldest Son Josh. xv. 55. Genesis xlvi. 16.of Gad.

ZIPPOR, or Sephor, Father of Balak King of Moab, Numb. xxii. 2, &c.

ZIPPORAH, or Sephora, Daughter of Jethro, and Wife of Moses, and Mother of Eliezer and Gershom. When Moses was forced to fly out of Egypt,⁴⁴ he withdrew into the Country of Midian; and there having stood up in the defence of the Daughters of Jethro, the Priest or Prince of the City of Midian, against the Shepherds who would have hinder’d them from watering their Flocks; Jethro took him into his House, and gave him his Daughter Zipporah in Marriage, by whom he had two Sons, Eliezer and Gershom.

Several Years after,⁴⁵ when Moses, in obedience to the Commands of the Lord, set out to return into Egypt, with Zipporah and his two Sons, when they were in a publick Inn, the Angel of the Lord was about to put him to death: But it is not clearly expressed in the Text, whether it was Moses or Eliezer that the Angel was to put to Death. Upon which Zipporah took a sharp Stone, and having circumcised her Son, she laid hold of the Feet of Moses, saying, You are a bloody Husband unto me. After which the Angel quitted Moses, or Eliezer; and Zipporah, with her two Sons, went back to her Father Jethro.

Some time after this, when Moses had brought the People of Israel out of Egypt, and they were advanced as far as the Camp of Sinai,⁴⁶ Jethro came to meet Moses, and brought with him Zipporah and her two Sons. Moses received them with all possible Demonstrations of Joy and Affection. See the Articles JETHRO and MOSES. The Scripture tells us no other Particulars of the Life of Zipporah; only we see, that a Quarrel arose between her, Aaron, and Miriam. The Matter is thus related in the Book of Numbers:⁴⁷ And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses, because of the Ethiopian Woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman (or Cushite). And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not also spoken by us? And the Lord heard it. Now the man Moses was very meek,

above all the men which were upon the

ZIPHRON, or Zephronia, a City which was to the North of the Land of Promise, Numb face of the earth. And the Lord spake sudxxxiv. 9. It is now quite unknown. St. Jerome upon Ezek. lxvii. says, that it is Zephyrium denly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and in Cilicia. unto Miriam, Come out ye three, into the tabernacle of the congregation. Thither they went, where God reproved Aaron and Miriam, and justified the Conduct of Moses. Zipporah seems to have been quite out of the question. And this is all we find of her in Scripture. The Rabbins tell us, that Jethro at first had Moses clapt into Prison, with an Intention of sending him back to Pharoah; but that Zipporah falling in love with Moses, procured his Liberty. Jethro then consented that Moses should have Zipporah in Marriage, if he could pull up a Twig of Saphir that was planted in his Garden. For Jethro had published through the whole Country, that whoever could pluck up that Twig should marry his Daughter. Many had offered themselves, and had attempted it in vain: No one could pull up this Twig: But Moses did it presently, and obtained Zipporah for his Wife. The Twig of Sapkir, here spoke of, was, as they say, inscribed with the sacred Name Jehovah; and it was the same that Moses used as a Wand, by which he performed all the Miracles related in Scripture. The same Authors tell us, that the Murmuring of Aaron and Miriam, now mentioned, was occasioned by this, because Moses had separated himself from his Wife, who was a very handsome Woman. Some think, that the Wife, who gave occasion to this Murmuring, was not Zipporah the Daughter of Jethro, but Tharbis, the Wife of the King of Ethiopia, whom Moses had forsaken. Lastly, others will have it, that Aaron and Miriam were uneasy, because Moses had married Zipporah, who was a Stranger, fearing that such an Example would be attended with evil Consequences in Israel. They called her Cushite, or Ethiopian, because Midian was either in the Land of Cush, or very near it. Hab. iii. 7.Habakkuk seems to put Cushan, or Cush, as synonymous to Midian. But, finally, others, with more Reason, are of opinion, that Zipporah herself had given occasion to this Quarrel, valuing herself upon the Favours that God vouchsafed to Moses. The Answer of Moses and Miriam seems to insinuate something like this, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not also spoken by us? See the Commentators upon Numb. xii. 1, 2, 3.

ZIZ, or Sis. King Jehoshaphat obtained a compleat Victory over the Ammonites and 2 Chron. xx. 16.Moabites, near the Desart of Ziz, or Clif of Ziz. It was probably near Ziza, which Ptolemy places in Arabia Petrea.

1. ZIZA, Son of Shiphi, 1 Chron. iv. 37.

2. ZIZA, Son of Rehoboam King of Judah, and of Maachah Daughter or Grand-daughter of Absalom, 2 Chron. xi. 20.

ZIZITH. Thus the Jews called the Tufts or Fringes that they wore heretofore, at the four Quarters of their upper Garments,⁴⁸ and which now they only wear under their Cloaths, fixed to a square Piece of Cloth, which represents the Garment they anciently wore in their own Country, before their Dispersion. The Zizith of the modern Jews is a Tuft made of eight Threads of Yarn, spun on purpose for this use, each having five Knots, which take up half the Length. That which is not knotted being furled out, makes a kind of Tuft or Fringe.⁴⁹ See before, the Articles GARMENT and TALED.

ZOAR, Zoara, Segor, or Bela; a City of Pentapolis, lying on the Southern Extremity of the Dead Sea. It was intended, as the other five Cities, to be consumed by Fire from Heaven; but at the Intercession of Lot, who desired it for a Place of Refuge, it was Genesis xix. 22. Genesis xiv. 2.preserved; it was called Bela before; but when Lot desired of the Angel that he might retire to it, and often insisted on the Smallness of this City, it had the Name Zoar⁵⁰ given it; which in Hebrew signifies small, or little. See the Article BELA. The Romans kept a Garison at Zoar, or Segor.⁵¹ St. Jerome observes,⁵² that the Name of Bela was given to this City, because as soon as Lot was gone out of it, it was swallowed up by an Earthquake. Bela in Hebrew signifies to swallow up. Theodoret⁵³ mentions the same Tradition. The same St. Jerome also tells us, that the Hebrews think Zoar bears also the Name of Shalisha, 1 Sam. ix. 4. and that of the heifer of three years old, Vitula conternans, Isai. xlviii. 34. They pretend that this City has often been demolished by Earthquakes.

1. ZOHAR, Sohar, or Seor; Father of Ephron the Hittite, of the City of Hebron. See Gen. xxiii. 8.

2. ZOHAR, the fifth Son of the Patriarch Simeon, Gen. xlvi. 10. He is called Zerah, 1 Chron. iv. 24.

ZOHELETH.

ZOHELETH. The Stone of Zoheleth was near the Fountain Rogel, or En-rogel, 1 Kings i. 9.just under the Walls of Jerusalem. The Rabbins tell us, that this Stone served as an Exercise to the young Men, who tried their Strength by throwing it, or rather rolling it or lifting it. Others think it was useful to the Fullers, or Whitsters, to beat their Cloaths upon, after they had washed them.

ZOHETH, Son of Ishi, of the Tribe of 1 Chron. iv. 20.Simeon.

ZOLEIKA, Daughter of Pharaoh, and Wife of Potiphar. The irregular Passion which this Woman conceived for Joseph, is sufficiently known from the sacred Books. The Mussulman Authors, and the Orientals in general, have often recourse to the Example of these two Lovers, as they call them, to recommend Sentiments of Love, not only what is natural and human, but also that which is supernatural and divine: Something like what obtains among Christians, when they use the Sentiments of the Spouse in the Canticles of Solomon, to raise up the Soul to God, and to inspire it with such Transports as it ought to have towards its Creator. The Reader may see what we have said of this Woman under the Article JOSEPH.

ZOPHAH, or Supha, Son of Helem, of the Tribe of Asher. Zophah was the Father of Suah, Harnepher, Shual, and several others, 1 Chron. vii. 35, 36.

ZOPHAI, Sophai, or Zuph, Son of Elkanah, of the Family of Kohath, 1 Chron. vi. 26.

ZOPHAR, or Sophar, the Naamathite, one of the Friends of Job, Job ii. 11. The Seventy call him Sophar, King of the Mineans; the Interpreter of Origen makes him King of the Nomades. We cannot tell whether Naamath be the Name of his Country, or of his Father.

ZOPHIM, or Sophim. This is the plural Number of Zoph, or Zuph, one of the Descendants of Kohath, of the Race of the Levites, 1 Chron. vi. 26. The Descendants of Zoph, or the Zophim, dwelt at Ramath, the Country of Samuel; whence it had the Name of Ramath of the Zophim; which Denomination was extended to all the Canton, thence called the Land of Zuph, 1 Sam. ix. 5.

1. ZORAH, or Saraa, a City of Judah, which was built or fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chron. xi. 10.

2. ZORAH, a City belonging to the Tribe of Dan,a and the Birth-place of Samson. It was upon the Frontier of this Judg. xix. 41.Tribe and that of Judah, not far from Esthaal. Eusebius places it ten Miles from Josh. xv. 33.Eleutheropolis, towards Nicopolis, and not far from Kaphar-sorek.⁵⁴ I think the Zorites, 1 Chron. ii. 54. and the Zorathites, 1 Chron. iv. 2. are the Inhabitants of Zorah.

ZOREAH, or Sarea, a City of the Tribe of Judah.

ZORITES, and Zorathites. See ZORAH, before.

ZOROASTER. I should not speak of this famous Man here, had not he been confounded with Abraham; and if in Scripture there had not been mention made of the Chamanims, or Temples consecrated to Fire, which was the principal Object of the Worship of the Disciples of Zoroaster.

The Learned are much divided as to the Time in which Zoroaster lived. We shall first propose the Opinions of the Orientals, and then those of the Greeks and Latins. The Orientals generally call him Zerdasht, or Zaradasht, or Zerdoust. The Work entituled, The Book of the Philosopher Giamasb,⁵⁵ says, that in the Year 1300 after the Deluge, Zoroaster began to appear, and to instruct Men in the Worship and Adoration of Fire. That after his Death, Kistab the Son of Lohorasb, who reigned in Persia, embraced his Religion, and continued firmly attached to it.

Under the Reign of this Prince lived the great Philosopher Giamasb, surnamed the Magian, who in his Book of the great Conjunctions, says, that during the great Conjunction of the Planets, which happened 1300 Years after the Deluge, in the Month Schebat, under the Reign of Feridoun King of Persia, of the first Dynasty; God sent the Prophet Zerdasche, or Zoroaster.

He says a little farther; after Zoroaster, and since the building of the Pyræa, or Temples appointed for the Worship of Fire, there happened the second Conjunction, called a very great one, and there then came out of the Mountains of the third Climate a Person named The Master of the Virgin, (meaning Moses) who founded another Religion differing from that of Zoroaster. This is the oldest Account we have of Zoroaster. The Book of Giamasb is not suppositious, no more than another which is ascribed to Zoroaster himself, and which bears the Name of Kesab-al -Keranat. This observes, as well as the first, that the Master of the Virgin, or Moses, appeared under the second great Conjunction of the Planets; and they agree in this with the Sentiments of the ancient Persians, who all contend that Zoroaster was more ancient than Moses.⁵⁶

Upon this Supposition Zoroaster must have appeared in the World thirteen hundred Years after the Deluge; that is to say, according to the Chronology which we follow, in the Year of the World 2956, before Christ 1044, before the Vulgar Æra 1048. And, consequently, a great while after Moses, who came out of Egypt in the Year of the World 2513, before Christ 1487, before the Vulgar Æra 1491. Thus the Chronology of the Persians must be erroneous, who will have Zoroaster to be much more ancient than Moses, and yet believe that he appeared 1300 Years after the Deluge. It must therefore be admitted, that he did not begin to appear till the Beginning of the Reign of David over Israel, after the Death of Ishbosheth.

The Magians of Persia,a to procure the greater Authority to their Doctrine, maintain that their Master Zoroaster is the same as the Patriarch Abraham; who having been cast into a burning Furnace by the Order of Nimrod, whose Idolatry he had condemned, was miraculously delivered from thence, without suffering the least harm. The Sight of this Miracle converted a great number of Persons, and drew after Abraham, whom now they called Abraham Zerdascht, which is, Abraham a Friend of Fire, an infinite number of Followers, who were easily persuaded by him to pay their Adoration to the Fire. Therefore it was in Mesopotamia and Chaldea, that the first Pyræa, or Temples of Fire, were set up.

But this Opinion is still more insupportable than the former, upon many Accounts. First, from Chronology: Nimrod was born soon after the Deluge; for the Scripture represents him as building Cities, and founding a great Monarchy, quickly after the raising of the Tower of Babel. Therefore, if we place his Birth about the Year of the World 1660, four or five Years after the Deluge, he must be 423 Years old at the time that Abraham came out of the City of Ur, to go into the Land of Canaan, in the Year of the World 2083, before Christ 1917, before the Vulgar Æra 1921. But it would be a rare Example of Longevity to find any that were born after the Deluge to arrive to such an Age.

But if we grant that Nimrod might have known and persecuted Abraham; what Proof is there that he ordered him to be cast into the Fire, and that he came out of it again safe and sound? ‘Tis true, the Jews and Orientals affirm this; but upon what Foundation? It is because the Scripture says, he came out of Ur: Ur is the Hebrew Word for Fire, and therefore he came out of the Fiery Furnace. Would Moses have related a Fact of such Consequence in so slight and superficial a manner? The very way in which he relates this, does it not prove that Ur stands for a City? And Haran died before his father Gen. Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of xi. 28,

31. the Chaldees. And afterwards, And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. And in another place, I am the Lord that Gen. brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees. Do xv. 7. not all these Passages concur to prove, that Ur is the Name of a City; for who ever supposed, that Terah, Abram, Lot, and Sarai were all thrown into the Fire by the Chaldeans? Indeed St. Jerome has translated that of Nehemiah ix. 7. by, Thou broughtest Abram forth out of the fire of the Chaldees, because he thought proper to render Ur in a literal manner: But in his Hebrew Questions he treats all that as a Fable, which the Jews had advanced of Abraham’s being delivered out of the Fire.

It would be doing an Injury to Religion, and to the Piety of Abraham, to imagine, that he could have established or promoted the Worship of Fire in the East. It does not appear from his true History, as it is related in Genesis, that he ever paid any particular Honour to this Element, or that he ever recommended it to his Children, to express any Devotion towards it. The ancient Israelites, who, doubtless, were well instructed in the Sentiments of their Father, have always had this Worship in abhorrence, as well as the Worship of any other Creatures. I shall not enquire, whether the Followers of Zoroaster have either heretofore, or do at this present, pay an absolute Adoration to the Element of Fire, or only a relative one. It is sufficient for my purpose to shew, that Abraham never did or taught any thing like it, and consequently he was a Person very different from Zoroaster.

The other Oriental Authors⁵⁷ make Zoroaster to have lived a long time after Abraham. Kendomir, in the Life of Kischstab Son of Loborasb says, that Zoroaster having learned by the Rules of Astrology, that a great Prophet was to be born; he took it in his head to persuade the World that he himself was that Prophet. To succeed in this he often raised the Devil, who appeared to him in the midst of a Fire, and communicated a kind of luminous Brightness to his Body. This Splendor in which he appeared from time to time, and the Boldness a D’Herbelot. p. 931. b D’Herbelot. Bibl. Orient. p. 931.

Boldness with which he affirmed himself to be a Messenger from God, procured him much Credit from many. He composed a Book by the Name of Zend, which contained his whole Doctrine, and all that the Devil had instructed him in out of the Fire, being transformed into an Angel of Light. The same Author says, that those who will not allow Zoroaster to be so old as this, will have him to have learned out of the Books of the Hebrews, that after Moses there was to come another great Prophet, described by Balaam under the Image of a Star, and a Light; and that he undertook to put himself upon the World as this Light.

The Tarik Monsheheb teaches us, that Zoroaster was a Disciple of the Prophets Elijah and Elisha, and of the Rechabites, from whom he learned the Secret of the Prophecies of the Jews; but that corrupting them by a mixture of his own particular Fancies, he composed from thence his Book of Life. He was the first, as the same Author says, who started the Doctrine of the two Principles of Good and Evil; and that the Name of Megiousch, or Magians, which is given to his Disciples, is a Word corrupted from the Persian Word Meikousch, which signifies bitter-sweet, because of the two Principles of Good and Evil, which he introduced.

According to the two Persian Authors before quoted, Zoroaster was cotemporary with Kischtasb, Son of Lohorasb, the fifth King of Persia of the Dynasty of the Caianians; that this Prince espoused the Doctrine of this Impostor, caused it to be embraced by all his Subjects, and built Pyræa throughout all Persia. But King Kischtasb is the same as Hystaspes, or Darius Son of Hystaspes, of the Greeks, and consequently that Zoroaster could not live till after the Captivity of Babylon. Others make him cotemporary with Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezra, and make his Father Lohorasb cotemporary with Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. All this brings down Zoroaster very much below the time of Abraham.

The Christiansa make Oriental Zoroaster to have been cotemporary with Cambyses. Some of them make him a Native of Media, and others of Assyria, and will have him to have been a Disciple of Elijah, probably because this Prophet was 2 Kings ii. 11.taken up into a fiery Chariot, and that he made Fire to fall down upon those who were sent to apprehend him, and afterwards 10, 12. 2 Kings xviii. 38.upon the Victims that he offer’d to the Lord upon Mount Carmel. Moreover, it is said by Abulfarage, that Zoroaster foretold to his Followers the Coming of the Messiah, informed them that a new

a Apud Abulpharag. 5 Dynastic. Star should appear at his Birth; that this Messiah was to be born of a Virgin; and that they should have the first Information of it, and that they should not fail to go to offer him their Presents. To this the Magi were obedient, who went to worship Jesus Christ at Bethlehem. The Anachronism is very apparent, that makes Zoroaster to have lived at the same time as Cambyses and Elijah, who lived at times very distant from each other. Cambyses died in the Year of the World 3483, and Elijah was taken out of the World about the Year 3108.

Ebn-Batrick, otherwise Eutychius, Patriarch of Alexandria, thinks that Zoroaster was cotemporary with Smerdis, the Successor of Cambyses, Predecessor to Darius Son of Hystaspes, and that he lived under Thamurah King of Persia, of the first Dynasty of the Pischdadians. The Author of Tarik Montekeb seems to think that Zoroaster was the same as Smerdis now mentioned, and Chief of the Sect of the Guebres, whom the Magians placed upon the Throne. For the Persian Name of Mikhousch, which is an Abridgment of Mickgousch, very well agrees with Smerdis, who had his Ears cut off.

Ben-schunah pretends, that Zoroaster was a Disciple of Esdras, and that this Prophet gave him his Curse, because he maintained Opinions that were very contrary to Judaism. That to punish him for his Impiety, God struck him with a Leprosy, as he did Gehazi formerly: And that on this account being drove away from Jerusalem, he withdrew into Persia, where he became the Head of a new Religion. The Persians were then Zabians, he taught them the Worship of Fire, and made a Mixture of Zabiism and Magism, of which he was the first Inventor. Hence it is that many confound the Zabians with the Magians.

Other Persian Authors will have it, that Zoroaster was of the Number of those who undertook to build the Tower of Babel. Others confound him with Dobac; one of the Kings of Persia of the first Dynasty of the Pischdadians; others make him to descend from Manougeher King of Persia of the same Dynasty; so little are the Persians themselves agreed about the Age of this famous Impostor.

Many Authors, both ancient and modern, among the Orientals, will have Zoroaster to have been, not the Inventor, but Reformer of Magism. And indeeed we read in the Histories of the most ancient Kings of Persia, that the Worship of Fire had commenced even from the times of Cavimarrath the first Founder of this great Monarchy of the Persians, accord

ing to the Orientals, or, rather, of the Assyrians, according to the Greeks and Latins. But, according to them, this was the Original of their Worship: Caiumarrath having lost his Son Siamek, who was assassinated by Robbers, he caused a great Funeral Pile to be erected and burnt on the Place where he was buried. All his Subjects, in Emulation one of another, lighted up also great Fires through all Persia, to shew their Concern for the Loss of this young Prince. These Fires by Degrees became the Object of their Worship, and the Foundation of their Religion.

Let us now come to such Greek Authors as have spoke of Zoroaster. Eudoxus a places him six thousand Years before the Death of Plato. Aristotle does the same. Hermodorus,⁵⁸ Hermippus,⁵⁹ and Plutarch,⁶⁰ will have him to have lived five thousand Years before the Trojan War. But Xanthus the Lydian,⁶¹ and another anonymous Author, followed by Suidas,⁶² are contented to place him, one of them five hundred Years before the Siege of Troy, and the other six hundred before the Expedition of Cyrus against Greece. This last Opinion is that of Xanthus the Lydian, whom Suidas supposes to have lived under the Reign of Darius the Son of Hystaspes, and whose Testimony would be much more weighty than it is, if we were sure, that the Writings which went under his Name were really his. But Atheneus,⁶³ acquaints us, that the Works that bear his Name were composed by a Greek called Dionysius Scythobrachion, who lived a little time before Julius Cæsar. Justin says,⁶⁴ that Zoroaster was King of Bactriana, and cotemporary with Ninus King of Assyria; that he invented the Magical Art, and was very skilful in Astronomy, and in the Knowledge of Antiquity; that Ninus made War upon him, conquered him, and took away his Life. Pliny⁶⁵ acknowledges two Zoroasters: One very ancient, one who lived, as he says, several thousands of Years before the Magical Sects of Moses, of Jamnes, and of Jotapus. This Zoroaster was of Persia, and is supposed to be the most ancient Inventor of Magick. The other was of Proconesus, and lived but a little while before Ostanes, who followed Xerxes in his Expedition against Greece. It is plain that it is impossible to reconcile, either the Oriental Authors with each other, or the Greek and Latin Authors among themselves, or with the Orientals; not even by admitting of two Zoroasters, or as many as you please.

John Cassian, Petrus Comestor, the spurious Berosus, Father Kircher, Father Scipio Sgambat, and some others,⁶⁶ have thought that Ham was the same as Zoroaster, the Inventor of Magick. The Author of the Recognitions that go under the Name of St. Clement,⁶⁷ thinks him to have been Mizraim the Son of Ham. The Author of the Paschal Chronicle has followed the same Opinion. Gregory of Tours has confounded Zoroaster with Cush the Son of Ham. He who has given us the pretended Writings of St. Clement confounds him with Nimrod; Franciscus Patricius with Japheth. The Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ informs us,⁶⁸ that the Magi who came to worship Christ at Bethlehem, had notice of his Birth from their Master Zoroaster. And George Hornius has pretended that Zoroaster was the same as Balaam, mentioned by Moses. It must be owned to be a very difficult Matter to make a judicious and secure Choice among all this Variety of Opinions; and that to undertake to reconcile them would be utterly impossible. Lastly, the greatest Proof of Uncertainty in Historical Facts, is the Diversity of Opinions, which cannot be greater in any thing than in the Subject before us.

Isai. xxvii. 9.If to pave a way for our selves to come to the Knowledge of Zoroaster, we should endeavour to trace out the Original of Fireworship, we should soon find our-selves surrounded by new Perplexities. For Moses, according to the Sentiments of several learned Men, has spoke of the Pyræa, or the Temples consecrated to the Worship of this Element. ‘Tis in Leviticus,⁶⁹ under the Word Chamanim. God there threatens the Israelites, if they should be disobedient to his Commands, to overthrow their High-places, and to destroy their Chamanim, or Places consecrated to the Worship of Fire, or of the Sun, and to throw their own Carkasses upon the Carkasses of their Gods of Dirt. Isaiah makes use of the same Word Chamanim; he likewise threatens the infidel Jews to overthrow their profane Groves, and their Chamanim.

2 Kings xxiii. 5. Hos. x. 5.There are some of opinion, that the Chamanim mentioned in the Second Book of Kings, in Hosea, and in Zephaniah,⁷⁰ are no other than the Priests, or Magi, who kept up the sacred Fire in the Pyræa⁷¹. The Word Chamanim signifies black or sooty,

a Name given in Derision to those Priests, who, like Colliers, were always employed in stirring up and maintaining the Fire. King 2 Chron. xxxiv. 4.Josiah destroyed the Altars of Baal, and overturned the Chamanim, which were above, or over them, and the Groves consecrated to false Gods. All this shews the Antiquity of this piece of Superstition and Idolatry.

Some think that the perpetual Fire which Moses ordered to be kept up upon the Altar of the Lord, was an Imitation of the Fire of the Magi, and a Condescension of Moses to the Weakness of the Hebrews, who had been long accustomed to see those sorts of Fires kept up in the Temples of the Pagans. Theophrastus, cited by Eusebius,⁷² puts the Custom of keeping a continual Fire in the Temples among the most ancient Practices of Religion. Ammianus Marcellinus says,⁷³ that the Magi pretended the Fire of their Temples descended from Heaven. They always carried Fire before the Kings of Persia. It cannot be said that Zoroaster and the Magians had borrowed this from the Jews, since Moses already mentioned the Chamanim, which subsisted still in Israel in the time of Isaiah, and after him under Josiah King of Judah.

If therefore Zoroaster be the first Author of the Worship of Fire, he must be acknowledged to be more ancient than Moses. If he be only the Reformer or Restorer of it, he may be put some time after Cyrus; and if there have been several Men under the Name Zoroaster, this will allow a greater Scope for Conjectures, and for a variety of Opinions concerning his Person. We therefore cannot espouse any Party, as to the precise Time in which he lived. But it seems plain to us, that the Zoroaster who appeared in Asia a little after Cyrus, and formed the Religion of the Magi, was a mere Pagan; that he paid an impious Worship to the Heavenly Bodies, and to Fire, and to the two Principles, one of which was subordinate to the other; and that this ancient Religion was very different from that of the modern Guebres, or Gaures, who call themselves Disciples of Zoroaster, and who worship the Fire; but with the ancient Religion of their Master they have mingled other Opinions, taken from the Jews and Christians. We have spoken of the ancient Magi, and of their Principles of Religion, under their respective Article. We shall now speak concerning the Guebres, or Fire-worshippers, which are found at present in the Indies and in Persia.

Dr. Hyde, who had much studied the old Religion of the Persians, pretends that Zoroaster was the greatest Impostor that ever appeared in the World; except Mahomet. This last was utterly ignorant, and could neither write nor read; whereas Zoroaster, according to him, was very well versed in all the Sciences of the Orientals, and especially in the Religion of the Jews, and in the Books of the Old Testament, which make him think he was originally a Jew, and born in the Holy Land. He imagines him to have been a Disciple of the Prophet Daniel, and that having observed this great Man to be advanced to the chief Dignities, he resolved also to raise himself up into a Prophet, and to endeavour by that to arrive at the same good Fortune. He did not found any new Religion; he only undertook to reform that of the Magians, which for several Ages had been the prevailing Religion of the Medes and Persians.

But it appears, that Dr. Hyde has suffered himself to be too much prepossessed in favour of the Disciples of Zoroaster; and that he has not enough distinguished between the Creed of the ancient Magians, and that of the modern Guebres, or Gaures. He pretends, that the old Persians had just Notions of the Deity; and that they admitted but of one God: That indeed they received two Principles, but one of them was uncreated, and the other created: That the Worship they paid to the Sun was merely Civil. But the ancient Authors who have spoke of the Religion of the Persians, are unanimously agreed, that they adored the Sun and Fire, each of them by the Name of Mithras. If the modern Fire-Worshippers explain themselves differently, and if they have espoused several Opinions taken from the Religion of the Jews, of the Mahometans, or of the Christians, we are not to charge that to the account of their Master Zoroaster.

The Guebres hold, for Example, that there is a Sovereign, Independant Being; which has existed of itself from all Eternity. That under this Being there are two Angels, one of Light, which is the Author of Good, and the other of Darkness, which is the Author of Evil. That these two Angels have formed all things that exist, from a Mixture of Light and Darkness. Anciently the Magians built their Temples uncovered, upon the Tops of Mountains, and upon other Eminences, in the open Air, which they consecrated to Fire. But as their sacred Fire was often extinguished by Rain, Storms, and Tempests, they built Temples over these Altars, that their consecrated Fires might not be put out, and that they might the better perform their Ceremonies therein.

It was before these Fires that they exercised all their Acts of Religion. The Ancients are universally agreed, that they paid them the highest Degree of Adoration: But those of this Age as constantly deny that they worship the Fire, but God only, under the Symbol of Fire. They always approach these Fires on the Western Side, so that they have always their Faces turned towards the Sun-rising and the Fire.

Ezek. viii. 16. Isai. xlv. 5, 6, 7.The Prophet Isaiah seems to have had in view the Error of the Magi concerning the two Principles, when he says, I am the Lord, and there is none else; there is no God besides me. I girded thee, though thou hast not known me. That they may know, from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. ‘Tis the God of Israel, who addresses these Words to Cyrus King of Persia. Ezekiel, speaking of these Idolaters, says, At the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs towards the temple of the Lord, and their faces towards the east; and they worshipped the sun towards the east. All this is a manifest Allusion to the Worship of the Magians, the Disciples of Zoroaster.

This Impostor feigned, that he had brought a sacred Fire from Heaven, and had deposited it upon the Altar of the first temple that he caused to be built in the City of Xiz, in Media, from whence it was propagated into all the other Temples which observed the Rites of the Magians. And such was the Respect that the Priests had for this pretended sacred Fire, that they watched it Night and Day, to keep it in, and never blowed it, either with their Mouth or Bellows, for fear of profaning it. This was forbid them on pain of Death; and they carried this Superstition so far, that the Priests could not so much as approach to this Fire, without a Linnen Cloth before their Mouths, for fear their Breath should pollute it. Thence it was also, that when they performed their Ceremonies, they rather muttered between their Teeth, than pronounced their Prayers in an intelligible and articulate manner.

From Media, Zoroaster passed into Bactriana, where he fixed his Abode in the City of Baleh; from thence he proceeded into the Indies, and became skilful in all the Sciences that were in request there. He returned to Baleh, which lies upon the River Oxus, in the Confines of Persia, the Indies, and Cowaresman, where he built the chief of his Temples, and ordered all his Followers to make their Pilgrimage thither. But after that Persia was ravaged by the Mahometans in the seventh Century, the Archimagus fixed his Residence at Kerman; and the Temple of this Place is not in less repute than that of Baleh was formerly.

The Magians have even at this Day a Book, which they pretend to have been composed by Zoroaster. He wrote it in a Cave whither he retired; it was wrote in twelve Volumes, each of which contained an hundred Skins of Vellum. This Book is called Zendavesta, and Zend by Contraction. This Word literally signifies Light-fire, and might with us stand for a Tinder-box. The first Part of this Book contains their Liturgy, which they now make use of in their Temples. The rest treats of other Matters of their Religion. The Magians have the same Respect for this Book as we have for our Bible: It is wrote in old Language, and in the old Persian or Chaldee Characters. Dr. Hyde offered himself to publish this Work, with a Latin Translation, if he could have been assisted in defraying the Expences of the Edition. But for want of this Assistance, his Project was never put in Execution.

In this Book we find many things taken out of the Old Testament, and a great part of the Psalms of David. Zoroaster there makes Adam and Eve to have been the first of Mankind. He there gives the History of the Creation of the World, very like to that of Moses, with this Difference, that whereas Moses says that God created the World in six Days, Zoroaster will have it to have been created at six different times, each made up of a certain number of Days, which in all come to three hundred and sixty-five Days, or a whole Year. He also speaks of Abraham, of Joseph, of Moses, and of Solomon, in the same manner as the Scriptures do. He calls his Book the Book of Abraham, and his Religion the Religion of Abraham. He gives the same Laws as Moses, concerning clean and unclean Animals, the Payment of Tythes to the Priests, the Care that must be used to avoid all kinds of Pollution, both internal and external, concerning the Manner of being purified after them; the Continuation of the Priesthood in the same Tribe; concerning the Ordination of an High-Priest. The rest of this Book contains the History of the Life and Prophecies of the Author, and Exhortations to Virtue. His Morality is pure, excepting that he looks upon Incest as an indifferent Matter.

All these Marks prove incontestably, that Zoroaster was after Moses; and other Particulars, which the Guebres relate of

the Author of their Sect, taken from the History of Jesus Christ, prove that they have mingled their old Superstitions with some Truths of the Christian Religion, and with some Christian Usages, which they have however altered and corrupted in several manners. They say, for example, that the Mother of the Prophet who was their Founder, found herself with Child after a Visit that she had received from an Angel; that the Astrologers knew by the Power of their Art, that the Son she should bring into the World would be a Prophet, who should form a new Sect. They gave notice of it to Neubrom, or Nimrod, who then reigned. This Prince gave Orders, that all the Women with Child then in his Empire should be put to death. This Order was put in execution; but the big Belly of the Prophet’s Mother not being discovered, she was saved. The Child was happily brought into the World, and was called Ebrahim-Zer-Atcuscht. The King being informed of his Birth, had him brought into his Presence, and drawing forth his Sabre, intended to kill him with his own Hand; but his Arm was presently dried up, and withered. He caused a great Fire to be lighted, and had the Infant thrown into it: But it took its Rest there, as if he had been on a Bed of Roses. After several other Miracles, the Prophet disappeared, and was taken up, according to some, both Body and Soul, into Heaven; according to others, he was laid upon an Iron Couch, and carried away by Angels.

After that Ebraim-Zer-Atcuscht was enter’d into Paradise, God sent to his Disciples, by his Means, Seven Books, which contained the true Religion; after them, seven others, of the Explication of Dreams; then seven others, of Physick. When Alexander became Master of the East, he had the seven first burnt, because no body understood the Language in which they were wrote, and kept the other fourteen for his own Use. After the Death of this Conqueror, the Gaures restored, as far as their Memories could assist them, the seven Books that had been burnt, and made them into one large Volume, which the Gaures still preserve, though they do not understand the Language of it, nor even the Character, which is different from the Arabick, the Persian, or the Indian. This is what we are told of it by certain modern Travellers, who were not so well informed concerning the Character and Language of the Books of Zoroaster, as the Authors we have quoted before.

The Guebres, or Gaures, have still a Respect for Fire; they still keep it with great Care, and distribute it every Month among those of their own Sect. They call it Heavenly Fire, and swear by this Element, but they do not worship it. They acknowledge but one only God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. They wash their Children after their Birth with warm Water, while the Magus, or Gazi, repeats some Prayer. When they are married, a Gazi rubs the Foreheads of the married Couple with a certain Water, over which the Gazi has said some Prayers. They believe the general Resurrection, and think that before that time all Nations will unite into one Religion, which will be that of their Prophet. All these Characters seem to be borrowed from Christianity. Every Gaure may have five Wives; but there is always one of these who has the Superiority over the rest: This is taken from Judaism.

The greatest part of those who have written about Pythagoras, will have him to have been a Disciple of Zoroaster at Babylon, and that he derived from him all that great Knowledge which afterwards made him so famous in the West. This is what is said by Apuleius,⁷⁴ Jamblicus,⁷⁵ Porphyry,⁷⁶ and Clemens Alexandrinus.⁷⁷ The Zabratus, or Zaratus, of Porphyry, and the Nazaratus of Clemens, are no other than Zoroaster. When Cambyses conquered Egypt, he there found Pythagoras travelling; he took him Prisoner, and, with other Captives, sent him to Babylon. There he became acquainted with Zoroaster, or Zabratus, who was there at that time.⁷⁸ Zabratus purified him from all the Defilements of his former Life, instructed him in such things as a virtuous Man should be possessed of; taught him the Secrets of Nature, and what are the Principles of the Universe. We shall not here enter upon an Examination of all these things: Perhaps here is already too much of them for a Dictionary of the Bible. The Reader may see, under the Article of EZEKIEL, that some have thought Pythagoras was acquainted with this Prophet, and that it was he whom the Ancients intended to mark out by the Name of Nazaratus, or Zaratus.

ZUAR, or Suar, the Father of Nethaneel, of the Tribe of Issachar, Numb.

ZUPH, Suph, or Soph, a Levite, the Great-grandfather of Elkanah,⁷⁹ the Father of Samuel, and Head of the Family of the Zuphim, who dwelt at Ramath; whence it had its Name of Ramathaim

Zophim, 1 Sam. i. 1. and the Name of the Land of Zuph, 1 Sam. ix. 5. which was given to the whole Canton.

1. ZUR, or Sur, a Prince of Midian, and Father of Cozbi, who, with Zimri, was killed by Phinehas, in the exercise of a shameful and criminal Action, Numb. xxv. 15. Zur was taken, and put to death with the other Princes of Midian, Numb. xxxi. 8. In the Year of the World 2553, before Christ 1447, before the Vulgar Æra 1451.

1 Chron. xi. 36. viii. 30.2. ZUR, Son of Jebiel and Maachah, of the Tribe of Benjamin, and Inhabitants of the City of Gibeon.

1. ZURIEL, the Name of an Angel, known only in the Books of the Jews, and in the Apocryphal Writings. The Hebrews say, that he is one of those who always see the Face of God, who are in his Presence, and whom he sends upon his most important Messages. I imagine Suriel to be the same as Uriel: He is invoked in the Oriental Liturgies. See M. Renaudot, T. 1. Liturg. Orient. p. 293. See URIEL, before.

2. ZURIEL, Son of Abihail, Chief

a Arab. Canon. Concil. Nicæni. of the Families of the Mahlites and the Mushites, Numb. iii. 33, 35.

ZURISHADDAI, or Surisaddai, Father of Shelumiel. This Shelumiel was Chief of the Tribe of Simeon at the time of the Departure out of Egypt, Numb. i. 6.

ZUZIM; certain Giants, who dwelt beyond Jordan, and who were conquer’d by Chedorlaomer and his Allies, in the Year of the World 2079, before Christ 1921, before the Vulgar Æra 1225. St. Jerome says, that the Hebrew reads, they were conquered at Hem: but the present Hebrew says at Ham. The Situation of this Place is unknown, granting it to be a Place. The Vulgate, and the Septuagint, say, they were conquered with the Rephaims in Ashteroth-Karnaim. The Chaldee and the Septuagint have taken Zuzim in the Sense of an Apellative, for stout and valiant Men. We conjecture the Zuzim to be the same as the Zamzummims in Deut. ii. 20. There is found one Severus who was Bishop of Zuzuma, under the Metropolis of Bostra, among those that subscribed to the First Council of Nice.a