Baalis
King of the Ammonites at the time of the Babylonian captivity ( Jer. 40:14 ). He hired Ishmael to slay Gedaliah who had been appointed governor over the cities of Judah.
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Matthew George Easton
Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition (1897) · 3,964 entries on site
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Babel, tower of
The name given to the tower which the primitive fathers of our race built in the land of Shinar after the Deluge ( Gen. 11:1-9 ). Their object in building this tower was probably that it might be seen as a rallying-point in the extensive plain of Shinar, to which they had emigrated from the uplands of Armenia, and so prevent their being scattered abroad. But God interposed and defeated their design by condounding their language, and hence the name Babel, meaning “confusion.” In the Babylonian tablets there is an account of this event, and also of the creation and the deluge. (See CHALDEA .) The Temple of Belus, which is supposed to occupy its site, is described by the Greek historian Herodotus as a temple of great extent and magnificence, erected by the Babylonians for their god Belus. The treasures Nebuchadnezzar brought from Jerusalem were laid up in this temple ( 2 Chr. 36:7 ). The Birs Nimrud, at ancient Borsippa, about 7 miles south-west of Hillah, the modern town which occupies a part of the site of ancient Babylon, and 6 miles from the Euphrates, is an immense mass of broken and fire-blasted fragments, of about 2,300 feet in circumference, rising suddenly to the height of 235 feet above the desert-plain, and is with probability regarded as the ruins of the tower of Babel. This is “one of the most imposing ruins in the country.” Others think it to be the ruins of the Temple of Belus.
Babylon
The Greek form of BABEL; Semitic form Babilu, meaning “The Gate of God.” In the Assyrian tablets it means “The city of the dispersion of the tribes.” The monumental list of its kings reaches back to B.C. 2300, and includes Khammurabi, or Amraphel (q.v.), the contemporary of Abraham. It stood on the Euphrates, about 200 miles above its junction with the Tigris, which flowed through its midst and divided it into two almost equal parts. The Elamites invaded Chaldea (i.e., Lower Mesopotamia, or Shinar, and Upper Mesopotamia, or Accad, now combined into one) and held it in subjection. At length Khammu-rabi delivered it from the foreign yoke, and founded the new empire of Chaldea (q.v.), making Babylon the capital of the united kingdom. This city gradually grew in extent and grandeur, but in process of time it became subject to Assyria. On the fall of Nineveh (B.C. 606) it threw off the Assyrian yoke, and became the capital of the growing Babylonian empire. Under Nebuchadnezzar it became one of the most splendid cities of the ancient world. After passing through various vicissitudes the city was occupied by Cyrus, “king of Elam,” B.C. 538, who issued a decree permitting the Jews to return to their own land ( Ezra 1 ). It then ceased to be the capital of an empire. It was again and again visited by hostile armies, till its inhabitants were all driven from their homes, and the city became a complete desolation, its very site being forgotten from among men. On the west bank of the Euphrates, about 50 miles south of Bagdad, there is found a series of artificial mounds of vast extent. These are the ruins of this once famous proud city. These ruins are principally (1) the great mound called Babil by the Arabs. This was probably the noted Temple of Belus, which was a pyramid about 480 feet high. (2) The Kasr (i.e., “the palace”). This was the great palace of Nebuchadnezzar. It is almost a square, each side of which is about 700 feet long. The little town of Hillah, near the site of Babylon, is built almost wholly of bricks taken from this single mound. (3) A lofty mound, on the summit of which stands a modern tomb called Amran ibn-Ali. This is probably the most ancient portion of the remains of the city, and represents the ruins of the famous hanging-gardens, or perhaps of some royal palace. The utter desolation of the city once called “The glory of kingdoms” ( Isa. 13:19 ) was foretold by the prophets ( Isa. 13:4-22 ; Jer. 25:12 ; 50:2 , 3 ; Dan. 2:31-38 ). The Babylon mentioned in 1 Pet. 5:13 was not Rome, as some have thought, but the literal city of Babylon, which was inhabited by many Jews at the time Peter wrote. In Rev. 14:8 ; 16:19 ; 17:5 ; and 18:2, “Babylon” is supposed to mean Rome, not considered as pagan, but as the prolongation of the ancient power in the papal form. Rome, pagan and papal, is regarded as one power. “The literal Babylon was the beginner and supporter of tyranny and idolatry...This city and its whole empire were taken by the Persians under Cyrus; the Persians were subdued by the Macedonians, and the Macedonians by the Romans; so that Rome succeeded to the power of old Babylon. And it was her method to adopt the worship of the false deities she had conquered; so that by her own act she became the heiress and successor of all the Babylonian idolatry, and of all that was introduced into it by the immediate successors of Babylon, and consequently of all the idolatry of the earth.” Rome, or “mystical Babylon,” is “that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (17:18).
Babylonish garment
A robe of rich colours fabricated at Babylon, and hence of great value ( Josh. 7:21 ).
Babylon, kingdom of
Called “the land of the Chaldeans” ( Jer. 24:5 ; Ezek, 12:13), was an extensive province in Central Asia along the valley of the Tigris from the Persian Gulf northward for some 300 miles. It was famed for its fertility and its riches. Its capital was the city of Babylon, a great commercial centre ( Ezek. 17:4 ; Isa. 43:14 ). Babylonia was divided into the two districts of Accad in the north, and Summer (probably the Shinar of the Old Testament) in the south. Among its chief cities may be mentioned Ur (now Mugheir or Mugayyar), on the western bank of the Euphrates; Uruk, or Erech ( Gen. 10:10 ) (now Warka), between Ur and Babylon; Larsa (now Senkereh), the Ellasar of Gen. 14:1 , a little to the east of Erech; Nipur (now Niffer), south-east of Babylon; Sepharvaim ( 2 Kings 17:24 ), “the two Sipparas” (now Abu-Habba), considerably to the north of Babylon; and Eridu, “the good city” (now Abu-Shahrein), which lay originally on the shore of the Persian Gulf, but is now, owing to the silting up of the sand, about 100 miles distant from it. Another city was Kulunu, or Calneh ( Gen. 10:10 ). The salt-marshes at the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris were called Marratu, “the bitter” or “salt”, the Merathaim of Jer. 50:21 . They were the original home of the Kalda, or Chaldeans. The most famous of the early kings of Babylonia were Sargon of Accad (B.C. 3800) and his son, Naram-Sin, who conquered a large part of Western Asia, establishing their power in Palestine, and even carrying their arms to the Sinaitic peninsula. A great Babylonian library was founded in the reign of Sargon. Babylonia was subsequently again broken up into more than one state, and at one time fell under the domination of Elam. This was put an end to by Khammu-rabi (Amraphel), who drove the Elamites out of the country, and overcame Arioch, the son of an Elamite prince. From this time forward Babylonia was a united monarchy. About B.C. 1750 it was conquered by the Kassi, or Kosseans, from the mountains of Elam, and a Kassite dynasty ruled over it for 576 years and 9 months. In the time of Khammu-rabi, Syria and Palestine were subject to Babylonia and its Elamite suzerain; and after the overthrow of the Elamite supremacy, the Babylonian kings continued to exercise their influence and power in what was called “the land of the Amorites.” In the epoch of the Kassite dynasty, however, Canaan passed into the hands of Egypt. In B.C. 729, Babylonia was conquered by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III.; but on the death of Shalmaneser IV. it was seized by the Kalda or “Chaldean” prince Merodach-baladan ( 2 Kings 20:12-19 ), who held it till B.C. 709, when he was driven out by Sargon. Under Sennacherib, Babylonia revolted from Assyria several times, with the help of the Elamites, and after one of these revolts Babylon was destroyed by Sennacherib, B.C. 689. It was rebuilt by Esarhaddon, who made it his residence during part of the year, and it was to Babylon that Manasseh was brought a prisoner ( 2 Chr. 33:11 ). After the death of Esarhaddon, Saul-sumyukin, the viceroy of Babylonia, revolted against his brother the Assyrian king, and the revolt was suppressed with difficulty. When Nineveh was destroyed, B.C. 606, Nabopolassar, the viceroy of Babylonia, who seems to have been of Chaldean descent, made himself independent. His son Nebuchadrezzar (Nabu-kudur-uzur), after defeating the Egyptians at Carchemish, succeeded him as king, B.C. 604, and founded the Babylonian empire. He strongly fortified Babylon, and adorned it with palaces and other buildings. His son, Evil-merodach, who succeeded him in B.C. 561, was murdered after a reign of two years. The last monarch of the Babylonian empire was Nabonidus (Nabu-nahid), B.C. 555-538, whose eldest son, Belshazzar (Bilu-sar-uzur), is mentioned in several inscriptions. Babylon was captured by Cyrus, B.C. 538, and though it revolted more than once in later years, it never succeeded in maintaining its independence.
Baladan
He has given a son, the father of the Babylonian king ( 2 Kings 20:12 ; Isa. 39:1 ) Merodach-baladan (q.v.).
Bani
Built. (1.) 1 Chr. 6:46 . (2.) One of David’s thirty-seven warriors, a Gadite ( 2 Sam. 23:36 ). (3.) Ezra 2:10 ; 10:29 , 34 , 38 . (4.) A Levite who was prominent in the reforms on the return from Babylon ( Neh. 8:7 ; 9:4 , 5 ). His son Rehum took part in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem ( Neh. 3:17 ).
Baruch
Blessed. (1.) The secretary of the prophet Jeremiah (32:12; 36:4). He was of the tribe of Judah (51:59). To him Jeremiah dictated his prophecies regarding the invasion of the Babylonians and the Captivity. These he read to the people from a window in the temple in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah ( Jer. 36 ). He afterwards read them before the counsellors of the king at a private interview; and then to the king himself, who, after hearing a part of the roll, cut it with a penknife, and threw it into the fire of his winter parlour, where he was sitting. During the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, he was the keeper of the deed of purchase Jeremiah had made of the territory of Hanameel ( Jer. 32:12 ). Being accused by his enemies of favouring the Chaldeans, he was cast, with Jeremiah, into prison, where he remained till the capture of Jerusalem (B.C. 586). He probably died in Babylon. (2.) Neh. 3:20 ; 10:6 ; 11:5 .
Battle-axe
A mallet or heavy war-club. Applied metaphorically ( Jer. 51:20 ) to Cyrus, God’s instrument in destroying Babylon.
Bel
The Aramaic form of Baal, the national god of the Babylonians ( Isa. 46:1 ; Jer. 50:2 ; 51:44 ). It signifies “lord.” (See BAAL .)
Belshazzar
Bel protect the king!, the last of the kings of Babylon ( Dan. 5:1 ). He was the son of Nabonidus by Nitocris, who was the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar and the widow of Nergal-sharezer. When still young he made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and when heated with wine sent for the sacred vessels his “father” ( Dan. 5:2 ), or grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from the temple in Jerusalem, and he and his princes drank out of them. In the midst of their mad revelry a hand was seen by the king tracing on the wall the announcement of God’s judgment, which that night fell upon him. At the instance of the queen (i.e., his mother) Daniel was brought in, and he interpreted the writing. That night the kingdom of the Chaldeans came to an end, and the king was slain ( Dan. 5:30 ). (See NERGAL-SHAREZER .) The absence of the name of Belshazzar on the monuments was long regarded as an argument against the genuineness of the Book of Daniel. In 1854 Sir Henry Rawlinson found an inscription of Nabonidus which referred to his eldest son. Quite recently, however, the side of a ravine undermined by heavy rains fell at Hillah, a suburb of Babylon. A number of huge, coarse earthenware vases were laid bare. These were filled with tablets, the receipts and contracts of a firm of Babylonian bankers, which showed that Belshazzar had a household, with secretaries and stewards. One was dated in the third year of the king Marduk-sar-uzur. As Marduk-sar-uzar was another name for Baal, this Marduk-sar-uzur was found to be the Belshazzar of Scripture. In one of these contract tablets, dated in the July after the defeat of the army of Nabonidus, we find him paying tithes for his sister to the temple of the sun-god at Sippara.
Berodach-baladan
The king of Babylon who sent a friendly deputation to Hezekiah ( 2 Kings 20:12 ). In Isa. 39:1 he is called Merodach-baladan (q.v.).
Besom
The rendering of a Hebrew word meaning sweeper, occurs only in Isa. 14:23 , of the sweeping away, the utter ruin, of Babylon.
Beth-haccerem
House of a vineyard, a place in the tribe of Judah ( Neh. 3:14 ) where the Benjamites were to set up a beacon when they heard the trumpet against the invading army of the Babylonians ( Jer. 6:1 ). It is probable that this place is the modern ‘Ain Karim, or “well of the vineyards,” near which there is a ridge on which are cairns which may have served as beacons of old, one of which is 40 feet high and 130 in diameter.
Bilgah
Cheerful. (1.) The head of the fifteenth sacerdotal course for the temple service ( 1 Chr. 24:14 ). (2.) A priest who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel ( Neh. 12:5 , 18 ).
Bittern
Is found three times in connection with the desolations to come upon Babylon, Idumea, and Nineveh ( Isa. 14:23 ; 34:11 ; Zeph. 2:14 ). This bird belongs to the class of cranes. Its scientific name is Botaurus stellaris. It is a solitary bird, frequenting marshy ground. The Hebrew word (kippod) thus rendered in the Authorized Version is rendered “porcupine” in the Revised Version. But in the passages noted the kippod is associated with birds, with pools of water, and with solitude and desolation. This favours the idea that not the “porcupine” but the “bittern” is really intended by the word.
Boaz
Alacrity. (1.) The husband of Ruth, a wealthy Bethlehemite. By the “levirate law” the duty devolved on him of marrying Ruth the Moabitess ( Ruth 4:1-13 ). He was a kinsman of Mahlon, her first husband. (2.) The name given (for what reason is unknown) to one of the two (the other was called Jachin) brazen pillars which Solomon erected in the court of the temple ( 1 Kings 7:21 ; 2 Chr. 3:17 ). These pillars were broken up and carried to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.
Bondage
Of Israel in Egypt ( Ex. 2:23 , 25 ; 5), which is called the “house of bondage” (13:3; 20:2). This word is used also with reference to the captivity in Babylon ( Isa. 14:3 ), and the oppression of the Persian king ( Ezra 9:8 , 9 ).
Branch
A symbol of kings descended from royal ancestors ( Ezek. 17:3 , 10 ; Dan. 11:7 ); of prosperity ( Job 8:16 ); of the Messiah, a branch out of the root of the stem of Jesse ( Isa. 11:1 ), the “beautiful branch” (4:2), a “righteous branch” ( Jer. 23:5 ), “the Branch” ( Zech. 3:8 ; 6:12 ). Disciples are branches of the true vine ( John 15:5 , 6 ). “The branch of the terrible ones” ( Isa. 25:5 ) is rightly translated in the Revised Version “the song of the terrible ones,” i.e., the song of victory shall be brought low by the destruction of Babylon and the return of the Jews from captivity. The “abominable branch” is a tree on which a malefactor has been hanged ( Isa. 14:19 ). The “highest branch” in Ezek. 17:3 represents Jehoiakim the king.
Bricks
The making of, formed the chief labour of the Israelites in Egypt ( Ex. 1:13 , 14 ). Those found among the ruins of Babylon and Nineveh are about a foot square and four inches thick. They were usually dried in the sun, though also sometimes in kilns ( 2 Sam. 12:31 ; Jer. 43:9 ; Nah. 3:14 ). (See NEBUCHADNEZZAR .) The bricks used in the tower of Babel were burnt bricks, cemented in the building by bitumen ( Gen. 11:3 ).