ARBITE

Galilee survives in the modern Irbil or Irbid, a ruin on the S. lip of the gorge, Wady Hamam, which breaks westward troin Gennesaret. There is, however, no trace of a Mesaloth here, unless indeed Robinson's ingenious suggestion is right, that it may be the Heb. mesUllth, referring to the famous caverned cliffs in the gorge, whence Bacchides extirpated the refugees.

W. EWINQ.

AKBITE.— The LXX (2 S 23=5) apparently reads ' the Archite,' cf. Jos 16^ and ' Hushai the Arohite,' 2 S 15'=; but a place 'Arab, in the S. of Judah, is mentioned Jos 1552. In the parallel passage 1 Ch 11" we find 'the son of Ezbai,' a reading which is supported by several MSS of the LXX in 2 Sam. I.e., and is probably correct.

AEB0NAI(Jth2^). — A torrent apparently near Cilicia. It cannot be represented by the modern Nahr Ibrahim, since the ancient name of that river was the Adonis.

ARCH. — It is usually stated that the Hebrews were unacquainted with the architectural principle of the arch, but in view of the extreme antiquity of the arch in Babylonian mason work, as e.g. at Nippur, of the dis-covery of early arches by recent explorers, and of the vaulted roofs of later Jewish tombs, this view is now seen to be erroneous, although the arch is not mentioned in Scripture. The word 'arch' does, indeed, occur in the EV of Ezk 40"''-, but this is a mistake for 'porch,' 'porches.' See Temple. A. R. S. Kennedy.

ARCHANGEL.— See Angel.

ARCHELA0S.— Mt 2». See Herod, No. 2.

ARCHER. — See Ahmouh, Armt.

ARCHEVITES.— 'The people of Erech' (wh. see). Some of the inhabitants of Erech were deported as colonists to Samaria by king Ashurbanipal (668-626). Their name is mentioned in Ezr 4= along with dwellers in Babylon; and the deportation of Archevites most probably indicates that Erech sided with Babylon in the revolt of Samas-sum-ukin against the Assyr. king.

ARCHIPPUS (Philem «, Col 4") was evidently a member of the household of Philemon of Colossae, probably his son. He shared his spirit, since St. Paul, referring doubtless to his aid in missionary operations in those parts, styles him ' our fellow-soldier.' He had been entrusted with some important office in the Church, whether at ColossEe, or, as Lightfoot, in view of the preceding context, more probably supposes, at the neighbouring town of Laodicea; and, considering the spiritual atmosphere of the place (Rev 3"-"), one is not surprised that the Apostle should have thought it needful to exhort him to zeal in his ministry.

David Smith.

ARCHITE. — The native of a town [in Jos 16' read 'the Archites,' not 'Archi' as in AV] situated on the north border of Benjamin, possibly the modern 'Ain 'Arii:, west of Bethel. Hushai, David's friend (2 8 153'), belonged to this town.

ARCHITECTURE.— The Hebrews never developed a native style of architecture. The genius of the people lay elsewhere. Alike in civil, religious, and funerary architecture, they were content to follow alien models. David's palace in his new capital was probably the first building since the conquest which gave scope for archi-tectural display, and in this case workmen, plans, and decorative materials were all Phoenician (2 S 5"). The palace and temple of Solomon were likewise the work of Phoenician architects, and the former doubtless supplied the model for the more ambitious private buildings under the monarchy. Late Egyptian influence has been traced in the tombs of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, but the prevailing Influence from the beginning of the 3rd cent, onwards was undoubtedly Greek (cf. 1 Mac 1", 2 Mac 4''). The many magnificent buildings of Herod, for example, including the colonnades and gates of the Temple, were entirely built in the prevailing Grseco-Roman style. When the excavations at Gezer, — where

ARETAS

Mr. Macalister claims to have discovered, with much else of architectural interest, the palace of Simon MaccabsBus (1 Mac 13"), — Taanach, and Megiddo are finished and the results published in final form, and still more when other historical sites, such as Samaria (cf. Am 315, 1 K 2289), ghall have been similarly laid bare, it may be possible to write a history of Palestinian, including pre-Israelite or Amorite architecture, but that day is not yet. See, further. Fortification, Palace, Temple, Tomb. a. R. S. Kennedy.

ARCHIVES.— The 'house of the archives' (Ezr 6' RV; AV 'rolls') was a part of the 'treasure house' (5") of the Persian kings at Babylon, in which important State documents were preserved.

ARCTURUS.— See Stabs.

ARD. — Benjamin's son in Gn 46", but his grand-son in Nu 26" = 1 Ch 8= (Addar). Patronymic Ardites (Nu 26").

ARDAT (2 Es QM AV Ardath).— 'A field' in an unknown situation.

ARDITES.— Nu 26". See Ard.

ARDON.— A son of Caleb (1 Ch 2i8).

ARELI.— A son of Gad (Gn 46", Nu 26"). Pat-ronymic Arelites (Nu 26").

AREOPAGUS. — This is a compound name, which means ' Hill of Ares,' that is. Hill sacred to (or connected with) Ares, the Greek god of war, who corresponded to the Latin Mars. The hill referred to is a bare, shapeless mass of rock in Athens, about 380 feet high. It is due west of the Acropolis, and separated from it only by a ridge. From the earliest times known to us this hill was associated with murder trials, and a court known as the ' Council from the Areopagus ' met on or near it to try such cases. In the account in Acts (17"- ^) it is not the hill, but the ' Council ' itself that is referred to, the name of the hill being often used for the Council which met there. In Roman times the Council had power to appoint lecturers at Athens, and St. Paul appears before them to have his aptitude tested. The proceedings were audible to the surrounding crowd. St. Paul's claim was rejected, and only one member of the Council, Dionysius 'the Areopagite' (.17"), was convinced by his teaching. A. Souter.

ARES (1 Es 51").— 756 of his descendants returned with Zerub.: they correspond to the 775 (Ezr 2') or 652 (Neh 7i») chUdren of Arah.

ARETAS, — This is the dynastic name (Aram. Chareihath) of several kings of the Nabatsean Arabs whose capital was Petra (Sela), and whose language for purposes of writing and commerce was an Aramaic dialect, as is seen from the existing inscriptions. (Cooke, N. Semitic Inscr. p. 214 B.). The first of the line is mentioned in 2 Mac 5»; the fourth (whose personal name was jEneas) in 2 Co ll^s, where his 'ethnarch' is said to have ' guarded the city of the Damascenes in order to take' St. Paul; but the Apostle escaped. This was within three years after his conversion (Gal 1'"-, Ac 923ff). There is a difficulty here, for Damascus was ordinarily in the Roman province of Syria. Aretas in. had held it in B.C. 85; the Roman coins of Damascus end a.d. 34 and begin again a.d. 62-3. It has been supposed that the Nabatseans held the city during this interval. Yet before the death of Tiberius (a.d. 37) there could hardly have been any regular occupancy by them, as Vitellius, propraetor of Syria, was sent by that emperor to punish Aretas iv. for the vengeance that the latter had taken on Herod Antipas for divorcing his sister in favour of Herodias. It has therefore been thought that a.d. 37 is the earliest possible date for St. Paul's escape; and this will somewhat modify our view of Pauline chronology (see art. Paul the Apostle, § 4). Yet the allusion in 2 Co ll'''- does not necessarily imply anything like a permanent tenure of Damascus

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