ACCESS

ACCESS (Gr. prosagSgl). — The word occurs only in Ro S', Eph 218 312, and the question (regarding which commentators are much divided) is whether it ought to be understood in the trans, sense as 'introduction,' the being brought near by another, or in the intrans. sense as 'access' or personal approach. The trans, sense is most in keeping with the ordinary use of the vb. prosagS in classical Gr. (cf. its use in 1 P 31^ 'that he might bring us to God') — the idea suggested being that of a formal introduction into a royal presence. ' Access,' moreover, does not so well express the tact that we cannot approach God in our own right, but need Christ to introduce us; cf. 'by [RV 'through'] whom' (Ro 5'), 'through him' (Eph 2i»), 'in whom' (3"). The word 'access' does not occur in Hebrews, but the writer has much to say on the subject of our approach to God through Christ, esp. for the purpose of prayer (4i'^) and worship (IQi'"')- J- C. Lambert.

ACCO.— Jg 1». See Ptolemais.

ACCOS (1 Mac S").— Grandfather of one of the envoys sent to Rome by Judas Maccabseus in B.C. 161. Accos represents the Heb. Hakkoz, the name of a priestly family (1 Ch 24i», Ezr 2").

ACCURSED.— See Ban.

ACELDAMA.— See Akeldama.

ACHAIA. — This name was originally applied to a strip of land on the N. coast of the Peloponnese. On annexing Greece and Macedonia as a province in b.c. 146, the Romans applied the name Achaia to the whole of that country. In b.c. 27 two provinces were formed, Macedonia and Achaia; and the latter included Thessaly, .ffitolia, Acarnania, and some part of Epirus, with Euboea and most of the Cyclades. It was governed In St. Paul's time by a proconsul of the second grade, with headquarters at Corinth (Ac ISi^). 'Hellas' (Ac 20') is the native Greek name corresponding to the Roman 'Achaia.' There were Jewish settlements in this province, at Corinth, Athens, etc. (Ac 17" IS'- '), and the work of St. Paul began amongst them and was carried on by Apollos (1 and 2 Cor. passim, Ac 17"«-

18. 191). A. SODTEE.

ACHAICUS.— The name of a member of the Church at Corinth. He was with Stephanas and Fortunatua (1 Co 16'") when they visited St. Paul at Ephesus and 'refreshed his spirit.' Nothing more is certainly known of him. As slaves were often named from the country of their birth, it is a probable conjecture that he was a slave, born in Achaia. J. G. Taskek.

ACHAN. — Son of Carmi, of the tribe of Judah (Jos 7'). It is brought home to Joshua (Jos T-") that the defeat at Ai was due to the fact of Jahweh's covenant hav-ing been transgressed. An inquiry is instituted, and Achan is singled out as the transgressor. He confesses that after the capture of Jericho he had hidden part of the spoil, the whole of which had been placed under the ban (cherem), i.e. devoted to Jahweh, and was therefore unlawful for man to touch. According to the usage of the times, both he and his family are stoned, and their dead bodies burned — the latter an even more terrible punishment in the eyes of ancient Israel. The sentence is carried out in the valley of Achor ('troubling'). According to Jos T^- *», this valley was so called after Achan, the 'troubler' of Israel. Later his name was changed to Achar to correspond more closely with the name of the valley (1 Ch 2'). W. O. E. Oesteelby.

ACHAR.— See Achan.

ACHBOR ('mouse' or 'jerboa'). — 1. An Edomite (Gn 36«»). 2. A courtier under Josiah, son of Micaiah (2 K 2212- "), and father of Elnathan (Jer 26^ om. LXX, 3612). Called Abdon (2 Ch 34").

ACHIACHARTJS, the nephew of Tobit, was governor under Sarchedonus = Esarhaddon (To l^i etc.). The nearest Hebrew name is Ahihud (1 Ch 8').

ACROSTIC

AOHIAS.— An ancestor of Ezra (2 Es l"), omitted in Ezr. and 1 Es.

ACHIM (perhaps a shortened form of Jehoiachim), an ancestor of our Lord (Mt 1").

ACHIOB ('brother of light').— A general of the Am-monites (Jtli 5' etc.), afterwards converted to Judaism (ch. 14).

ACHIFHA (1 Es 6").— His children were among the 'temple servants' or Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel; called Hakupha, Ezr 2«i, Neh 7^'.

ACmSH.— The king of Gath to whom David fled for refuge after the massacre of the priests at Nob (1 S 211"). In 1 S 272 he is called 'the son of Maoch' (possibly = 'son of Maacah,' 1 K 2''). He received David with his band of 600 men, and assigned him the city of Ziklag in the S. of Judah. Despite the wishes of Achish, the other Phil, princes refused to let David take part in the final campaign against Saul. ['Achish' should be read for ' Abimelech' in Ps 34 (title).]

ACHMETHA.— The Ecbatana of the Greeks and Romans, modern Hamadan. It was the capital of Media (in Old Persian Haghmatana). It is mentioned but once in the canonical books (Ezr 6^), as the place where the archives of the reign of Cyrus were deposited. It is several times mentioned in the Apocrypha (2 Mac 9'. To 3' 6' 14i3f-, Jth 11"). J. F. McCuEDY.

ACHOR Cemeq'akhBr, 'Vale of Grief ').— Here Achan (wh. see), with his famUy, was stoned to death. It lay on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin (Jos 15' etc.). Guthe identifies it with the plain south of Jericho, between the mountains on the west, and Jordan and the Dead Sea on the east. Wady Kelt, a tremendous gorge which breaks down from th^'ijipuntain W. of Jericho, probably formed the boundary between Judah and Benjamin. In the mouth of this valley, it seems likely, the execution took place. W. Ewing.

ACHSAH (1 Ch 2", AV Achsa).— The daughter of Caleb. Her father promised her in marriage to the man who should capture Debir or Kiriath-sepher — a feat accomplished by Othniel, the brother of Caleb. Her dowry of a south land (Negeb) was increased by the grant of 'the upper springs and the nether springs' (Jos 151= -1', Jg l?-i5).

ACHSHAPH.— About 17 miles E. of Tyre, now called Iksaf or Kesaf, on N.E. border of territory assigned to Asher (Jos 19^). Its king joined Jabin's confederacy, which was defeated by Joshua, and the ruler of Achshaph was amongst the slain (Jos lli 122°). J. Tayloe.

AOHZIB.— 1. A town in Asher (Jos 192'), from which the natives could not be dislodged (Jg I'l): it lay on the coast between Acre and Tyre. The early geographers called it Ekdippa; now ez-Zib. 2. In the S. of the Shephelah (Jos IS"), near Mareshah. Mic 1" predicts that Achzib shall be to the kings of Judah achzab ('deceptive'), a stream whose' waters fail when most needed (cf. Jer 15"). J. Tayloe.

ACRA. — See Jeeusalem, I. 3, II. 2.

ACRE. — See Weights and Measures.

ACROSTIC. — Acrostic poems, i.e. poems in which initial letters recurring at regular intervals follow some definite arrangement, occur to the number of 14 in the OT; another instance is Sir 511'-"°. All these are of a simple type, and are so planned that the initials re-curring at fixed intervals follow the order of the Hebrew alphabet; thus the first section of the poem begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, aleph; the second with the second letter, beth; and so on down to the twenty-second and last letter, taw. The interval between the several letters consists of a regular number of lines. In Pss 111. 112 this interval is one line; in Pss 25. 34. 145, Pr 31'«-8i, Sir 51is-«», and in the fragment, which does not clearly extend beyond the thirteenth letter, contained in Nah 1, the interval Is 2 lines; in La 4 it is