ALMUG

ALTAR

(RV). The writings of the prophets, also, are full of generous advocacy ot the rights of the poor. In the later pre-Christian centuries almsgiving became one of the most prominent of religious duties (Ps 112', Pr 14» 19" 312", Job 29'"). The sentiment of the 2nd cent. B.C. — by which time it is signiflcant that the Hebrew word for 'righteousness' had acquired the special sense of almsgiving as in the true text of Mt 6' (see RV) — is fully reflected in the Books of Sirach (7>» 17« 29"« ) and Tobit (see esp. 4'-"). From this time onwards, indeed, almsgiving was considered to possess an atoning or redemptive efficacy (Sir 38« 'alms (RV 'almsgiving'] maketh an atonement for sins,' To 4'° 12' 'alms de-livereth from death,' cf. Dn 4"). After the cessation of sacrifice, almsgiving appears to have ranked among the Jews as the first of religious duties, more meritorious even than prayer and fasting. Arrangements were made by the Jewish authorities for the systematic collection and distribution of the alms of the people. An offertory for the poor also formed a recognized part of the synagogue service.

Almsgiving occupies a prominent place in the teaching of our Lord, who rebukes the ostentatious charity of His day (Mt 6'-<), emphasizes the blessedness of giving (Ac 20»), its opportunities (Mt 25'"'-). and its highest motive, 'in my name' (Mk 9"). In the early Christian community of Jerusalem the needs of the poor were effectively supplied, for its members 'had all things common, neither was there among them any that lacked' (Ac i^- "). The need for careful distribution of the Church's alms led to the institution of the diaconate (Ac 6'S). The provision of a poor's fund for the behoof of the mother Church was much in the thoughts of the Apostle of the Gentiles (1 Co IS'"-, 2 Co 9'ff), and until a period wittun living memory the care of God's poor continued to be the almost exclusive privilege of the Christian Church. A. R. S. Kennedy.

ALMTTG, or ALGITM (1 K 10"- 12, 2 Ch 2' Q"- >';

the two names are probably variants of the same word, caused by transposition of letters, as is common in Heb. and Arabic). — This tree was imported by Solomon from Ophir (1 K 10"- i^) and from Lebanon (2 Ch 28) for staircases, balustrades, and musical instruments. There is nothing certain known of the nature of this wood, but as Jewish tradition states that it was a red wood, red sandal wood (.Pterocarpus santalinus) — now used chiefly for its colouring properties — has been very generally accepted. E. W. G. Masterman.

ALOES i'ahmim, Pr 7", Nu 24« ['lign aloes']; 'ahaloth, Ps 45«, Ca 4"; also alol, Jn 19^"). — This is the modern eagle-wood (a name derived from the Skr. aguTu); it has nothing to do with the familiar bitter aloes of medicine, or with the American aloe, now much cultivated in gardens in Palestine, but a recent importation. This eagle-wood is obtained from plants of the order Aquilariaceae, but the fragrant parts are those which are diseased; the odoriferous qualities are due to the infiltration with resin, and the best kinds sink when placed in water. The development of this change in the wood is hastened by burying it in the ground. A trade in this wood has gone on from early times; it comes from India, the Malay Peninsula, etc., and has long been a favourite with the Arabs, who call it el 'ud.

The use of the word (translated 'lign aloes,' Nu 24») by Balaam creates a difficulty. Either he must have referred to the tree '^om mere hearsay, or some other plant of the same name may at that time have grown in the Jordan valley, or, as seems most probable, the Heb. word has been wrongly transcribed. Both ' palms ' and 'terebinths' have been suggested as suitable alternatives. E. W. G. Mastehman.

ALPHA AND OMEGA.— A title of God in Rev 1' 21«, of Jesus in 22" [its presence in 1" AV is not Justified by the MSS]. Alpha was the first, and Omega the last letter of the Greek, as Aleph and Taw were the

first and the last of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Tal-mud, 'From Aleph to Taw' meant 'From first to last,' including all between. Cf. Shabb. 51. 1 (on Ezk 9"): 'Do not read "My Sanctuary," but "My saints," who are the sons of men who have kept the whole Law from Aleph to Taw.'

This explains the title. In each instance St. John defines it. Rev 1' 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty' (AV 'the beginning and the ending' is an interpolation from 21« 22"), i.e. the Eternal, the Contemporary ot every generation. Rev 21» 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end'; 22'^ 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last (cf. Is 44« 48'^), the beginning and the end,' i.e. He who comprehends and embraces ail things, from whom all come and to whom all return, the tons et clausula, the starting-point and the goal of history (cf. Col 1"). The ascription of this title to Jesus as well as to God in a writing so early as the Apocalypse strikingly attests the view of our Lord's Person which prevailed in the primitive Church.

Aurelius Prudentius makes fine use of the title in his hymn on The Lard's Nativity (' Corde natus ex parentis '), thus rendered by Neale:

'Of the Father's love begotten Ere the worlds began to be, He is Alpha and Omega,

He the source, the ending He, Of the things that are, that have been. And that future yeara shall see, Evermore and evermore,'

David Smith.

ALPHABET.— See Whiting.

ALPHfflUS.— 1. The father of James the Apostle (Mt 10s=Mk 3>8=Lk 6i5 = Ac I's), commonly identified with James the Little, son of Mary and brother of Joses or Joseph (Mk 15"=Mt 27"). The identification is confirmed by Jn W^, if it be allowed that Clopas is the same name as Alphaeus. And this is most likely. Both names probably represent the Aramaic Chaiphai (cf. 1 Mac 11'°). St. John's 'Clopas' is almost a trans-literation, while 'Alphseus' is the name in a Greek dress, the disguise being more apparent if it be written, with WH, ' Halphasus.'

2. The father of Levi the tax-gatherer (Mk 2"), after-wards Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist (Mt 9' 10*). It is remarkable that in Mk 2» Codex Bezae and some cursives read James for Levi, and there is a tradition (Chrysost. in Matih. xxxiii.) that the Apostles Matthew and James had both been tax-gatherers. It is perhaps possible that Alphseus the father of James was identical with Alphaeus the father of Levi, and that the two tax-gatherer Apostles were brothers. Nothing is recorded of Alphaeus; yet, if these identifications be allowed, great was his glory. He was evidently himself a believer; his son Joses, though undistinguished, was evidently a believer also; his son James was an Apostle; his son Matthew was an Apostle and an Evangelist; and his wife Mary was one of the faithful women who stood by the Cross and visited the Sepulchre (Mk 18').

David Smith.

ALTAB. — 1. The original purpose of an altar was to serve as a means by which the blood of an animal offered in sacrifice might be brought into contact with, or other-wise transferred to, the deity of the worshipper. For this purpose in the earliest period a single stone sufficed. Either the blood was poured over this stone, which was regarded as the temporary abode of the deity, or the stone was anointed with part, and the rest poured out at its base. The introduction of flre to consume the flesh in whole or in part belongs to a later stage in the history of sacrifice (wh. see). But even when this stage had long been reached, necessity might compel a temporary reversion to the earlier modus operandi, as we learn from Saul's procedure in 1 S 14"'- From the altar of a single 'great stone'

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