APPLE OF THE EYE

of gold in pictures of silver' (Pr 25"). Unfortunately there is considerable doubt whether this tree, a native of China, was known in Palestine much before the Christian era. A fourth fruit has been suggested, namely, the quince. This is certainly a native of the land, and is common all over Palestine. The fruit, when ripe, though smelling pleasantly, is not 'sweet' according to our ideas, but even to-day is much appre-ciated. It is a great favourite when cooked, and is extensively used for making a delicious confection. The quince, along with the true apple, was sacred to Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

E. W. G. Mastehman.

APPLE OF THE EYE (Ut. 'child or daughter of the eye,' i.e. that which is most precious [the organ of sight], and most carefully guarded [by the projecting bone, protecting it as far as possible from injury]). — A figure of God's care of His people (Dt 32'", Ps IT*, Zee 28), and of the preciousness of the Divine law (Pr T). In La 2" it is the source of tears. C. W. Emmet.

APRON.— See Dress.

AQITILA AMD PEISOIILA.— The names of a married couple first mentioned by St. Paul in 1 Co 16", and by St. Luke in Ac 18^. Only in these passages do the names occur in this order; in later references the order is always 'Priscilla and Aquila' (Ac 18"- ^e^ rq 16', 2 11 4"). A natural inference from this fact is that Priscilla was a more active worker in the Christian Church than her husband. In favour of this view is the statement of Chrysostom (i. 306 D, 177 A, iii. 176 B, C) that it was Priscilla's careful expositions of ' the way of God' (Ac 182«) that proved so helpful to Apollos. On this testimony Harnack bases his ingenious but doubtful theory that Priscilla was the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. From the prominence given in Roman inscriptions and legends to the name Prisca (St. Paul) or its diminutive Priscilla (St. Luke), Hort concludes that she belonged to a distinguished Roman family (Rom. and Eph. p. 12 ft.). Aquila was a Jew of Eastern origin — 'a man of Pontus by race' (Ac 18^).

From Rome, Aquila and PrisciUa were driven by the edict of Claudius (a.d. 52). As the unrest among the Jews, which led to their expulsion, arose ' through the instigation of Chrestus,' it is not improbable that Aquila and Priscilla were at least sympathizers with Christianity before they met St. Paul. On this supposition their ready welcome of the Apostle to their home at Corinth is most easily explained. Their hospitality had a rich reward; both in private and in public they were privi-leged to listen to St. Paul's persuasive reasonings (Ads'"). Nor was the advantage all on one side; from these ' fellow- workers in Christ Jesus' (Ro 16') it is probable, as Ramsay suggests (Hastings' DB i. p. 482), that the Apostle of the Gentiles learnt ' the central importance of Rome in the development of the Church. . . . We may fairly associate with this friendship the maturing of St. Paul's plan for evangelizing Rome and the West, which we find already fully arranged a little later (Ac 19", Ro 15«).'

At the close of St. Paul's eighteen months' residence in Corinth, Aquila and Priscilla accompanied him to Ephesus. At their house Christians assembled for worship, and, according to an early gloss (DG ai) on 1 Co 16", the Apostle again lodged with them. At Ephesus they remained whilst St. Paul visited Jerusalem ; there Apollos, the eloquent Alexandrian, profited greatly from their ripe Christian experience, and learnt, from one or both of them, the secret of power in ministering the gospel of grace (Ac 18^^); there also it is probable that they made 'the churches of the Gentiles' their debtors by risking their lives in defence of St. Paul. The allusion to this courageous deed is in Ro 16', and from this passage we learn that Aquila and Priscilla sojourned for a while in Borne, where once more their hospitable home became a rendezvous for Christians.

ARABIA, ARABS

This statement affords no ground for disputing the integrity of the Epistle. Their former connexion with Rome, their interest in the Church of Christ in the imperial city, and their migratory habits, rather furnish presumptive evidence in favour of such a visit. From these trusted friends St. Paul may have received the encouraging tidings which made him 'long to see' his fellow-beUevers in Rome (Ro 1"). The last NT ref-erence to this devoted pair shows that they returned to Ephesus (2 Ti 4"); their fellowship with Timothy would, doubtless, tend to his strengthening 'in the grace that is in Christ Jesus' (2'). J. G. Taskeb.

AQUILA'S VERSION.— See Gbeek Vehsions.

AR. — A city on the Arnon, the border between Moab and the Amorites (Nu 21'', Dt 2=), now Wady MBjib. It is called Ar Moab (Nu 212«, Is 15'), '/ Moab (Nu 22»), and 'the city that is in the valley' (Dt 2'» etc.). It is possibly the ruin seen by Burckhardt in the valley below the junction of the Lejjnn and the MSjib.

W. EWINQ.

ARA.— A descendant of Asher (1 Ch 7'*).

ARAB (Jos 15*2). — A city of Judah in the mountains near Dumah. Perhaps the ruin er-Rabiyah near Domeh.

ARABAH. — The name given by the Hebrews to the whole of the great depression from the Sea of Galilee to the Gulf of Akabah. (For the part N. of the Dead Sea, see Johdan.) The name is now applied only to the southern part, extending from a line of white cliffs that cross the valley a few miles S. of the Dead Sea. The floor of the valley, about 10 miles broad at the N. end, gradually rises towards the S., and grows narrower, until, at a height of 2000 feet above the Dead Sea, nearly opposite Mt. Hor, the width is only about i mile. The average width thence to Akabah is about 5 miles. The surface is formed of loose gravel, stones, sand, with patches of mud. Up to the level of the Red Sea everything indicates that we are traversing an old sea- bottom. Apart from stunted desert shrub and an occasional acacia, the only greenery to be seen is around the springs on the edges of the valley, and in the wadys which carry the water from the adjoining mountains into the Wady el-Jaib, down which it flows to the Dead Sea. The great limestone plateau, et- Tlh, the Wilderness of Paran, forms the western boundary, and the naked crags of Edom the eastern. Israel traversed the Arabah when they went to Kadesh-barnea, and again when they returned to the south to avoid passing through the land of Edom (Nu 20» 21S Dt 2»).

W. EWINQ.

APABTa, ARABS. — In the present article ws have to do not with the part played by the Arabs in history, or with the geography of the Arabian peninsula, but only with the emergence of the Arab name and people in Bible times.

'Arab (for which we should have expected rather 'SrSb) is scarcely at first a proper name, but stands merely for 'waste,' 'desolation.' So in Is 21" (which may really belong to Isaiah himself, but should perhaps be ascribed to a later hand): 'Bivouac in the copse (made up of thorn-bushes, something like an Italian macchia], in the waste, ye caravans of Dedan.' In this passage the title massd ba'rab, which in any case is late and wanting in the ancient Gr. version, incorrectly takes ' arab as a proper name [we need not stop to notice the false interpretation of this word adopted by the LXX here and in other passages]. More commonly the word used for 'waste' is the fem. form 'arabah (e.g. Is 35', Job 246 396 etc.), which, preceded by the art. (.hd-'ArdbHh), stands for the deep gorge which, com-mencing to the north of the Dead Sea and including the latter, stretches to the Red Sea (Dt 2« etc.). Whether 'araftl in Is IS^" and Jer 3^ means simply an inhabitant of the desert, or should be taken as a proper name, is

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