It was made of gold and ivory, and was nearly forty feet high. The goddess was represented erect, covered with her ægis, holding in one hand a lance, and in the other a figure of victory. At the foot of the Acropolis, on one side was the Odeum, or music-hall, and the theatre of Bacchus on the other side was the Prytaneum, where the chief magistrates and most meritorious citizens were entertained at a table furnished at the public expense. A small valley, called Cole (the hollow), lay between the Acropolis and the hill on which the Areopagus held its sessions; it also separated the Areopagus from the Pnyx, a small rocky hill, on which the general assemblies of the people were held. It was remarkable only for the meanness and simplicity of its furniture, which formed a striking contrast to the grandeur of the surrounding buildings. Here the spot is yet pointed out from which the eminent orators addressed the people. It is cut in the natural rock. Beyond the Pnyx lay the Ceramicus, or pottery-ground, containing the market-place. This was a large square, surrounded on all sides with statues and public buildings. There were three principal places of public exercise, near the city, where the philosophers and rhetoricians delivered their lectures. The most celebrated of these was the Academy, deriving its name from its having been the country-seat of Academus, who spent the greater part of his fortune in ornamenting this place. Here Plato delivered his lectures, and hence his followers are called Academics. The Lyceum, on the opposite side of the city, was chosen by Aristotle for his school. He generally instructed his pupils while walking about the groves and avenues of this place; and hence his followers are called Peripatetics. Cynosarges was about a mile from the Lyceum, and was the residence of Antisthenes, the founder of the Cynic sect. It may at once be concluded, that such a magnificent city would rank high in political eminence and in military fame, would be greatly distinguished for the learning, the eloquence, and the polished refinement of its inhabitants, and indeed for all that was elegant in every branch of science, art, or literature. It was to this place that St. Paul came, about A.D. 52, and found the people sunk in idolatry. It was "wholly given to idolatry." Almost every object of worship belonging to every nation had a niche in its Pantheon. There are said to have been more images and statues here than in all the rest of Greece put together; which gave occasion to one of the humorous satirists to say, that "in Athens a god was more easily found than a man.' See Acts xvii. 16-23. The modern city is in many places a collection of huts. Many Turkish houses were burned by the Greeks in the first siege of the citadel. Many Greek houses were destroyed during the occupation of the place by Omer Brioni, and many more have fallen down through mere decay or neglect. ATONEMENT, is the satisfaction offered to divine justice, for the sins of mankind, by the death of Jesus Christ, by virtue of which all true penitents who believe in Christ are reconciled to God, are freed from the penalty of their sins, and are entitled to eternal life. Our English word seems to be thus formed, at-onement. The word in its popular use has a variety of significations, such as reconciliation, satisfaction, expiation. It occurs often in the Old Testament, but only once in the New, though the subject itself, under other names, is presented and illustrated in every variety of form, and by all the force of repeated and emphatic expression, both in the Gospels and Epistles. It is the great lesson of the Bible. And any one who could contrive to strip the Bible of the doctrine of atonement by vicarious sacrifice, must have a mind so singularly constituted that it may be safely pronounced to be impossible to convey to him any divine discovery at all. If atonement be explained in accordance with the above definition, it implies two parties at variance. To God, men sustain the relation of creatures, and of subjects of his moral government. They are under law; that law is protected by penal sanctions. All have violated that law. It is impossible that the violation of the law could destroy its | sacrifice is not only of divine appointobligation, or man's responsibility. ment, but is strictly and properly Sin is the transgression of the law, itself divine. It is true, divinity and all unpardoned sin involves an could not suffer: in making expiation, accumulation of guilt and of liability suffering could be endured by the to punishment. The law only provides manhood alone. The person, whose for the honour of the lawgiver, by manhood suffered, was "Immanuel, the penalty annexed to it. It is im- God with us:" "God manifest in the possible that it should make provision flesh" "The brightness of his Fafor the forgiveness of sin. "The soul ther's glory." The design, then, of that sinneth shall die." "Cursed is the substitution refers to God as well every one that continueth not in all as to man. It is the public vindicathings which are written in the book tion of the divine righteousness; the of the law to do them." Then look at maintenance, in all its unsullied the case of God. He is the righteous brightness, of the honour of the lawgiver and judge. He fixed the divine throne. Now, God can be penalty for the infraction of this law. just in bestowing mercy on the peniHis authority has been violated. tent sinner. Our limited space Justice can only condemn the wicked forbids us to bring out the Scripture and acquit the righteous. The hon- argument at any length. We must our of God, the dignity and stability request the reader to pay a special of his throne, demand that the au- regard to the force of the scriptures thority of his law be maintained referred to below. The subject is the inviolate, and that the breach do not lesson of the Bible. The seed of the pass with impunity. Man, the sinner, woman crushing the head of the serleft in the hands of justice, must die. pent, is the first intimation. Then The unconditional absolution of the follows the divine institution of anisinner would be an outrage on the mal sacrifices. The sacrifice of Abel claims of justice; the annihilation of accepted, while that of Cain was man would be an evasion of those rejected. See ABEL. The Mosaic claims; and the law taking its course, dispensation, in which previous types everlasting death must be endured. were embodied, and new ones introWhat then is to be done? Here is the duced, was a system of prefiguration, place for atonement. It has been thus in which one great truth was always well put,-"In its simplest form, the prominent: Without shedding of problem of a religion may be thus ex-blood there is no remission." See pressed: Given, a supreme Deity, the Isai. liii.; John i. 29; Matt. xx. 28; Creator and Governor of all things, 1 Peter ii. 24; iii. 18; i. 18, 19; and an intelligent creature in a state 1 John i. 7; ii. 2; Rom. v. 10; of alienation and estrangement from iii., iv; Eph. i. 7; Rev. iv., v. As to his Creator; to determine the means the extent of the atonement, the whereby a reconciliation may be Scriptures speak very clearly. It is effected, and the creature restored to unlimited. It reaches to all the the favour and service of God." It sinning race of Adam. If any perish, is thus expressed by another eminent it is because they will not be saved. theologian, "Such act or acts as Christ by his atonement has reshall accomplish all the moral pur- moved every barrier out of the way poses, which to the infinite wisdom of of the sinner's approach to God for God appear fit and necessary under a salvation, not by suffering just as system of rectoral holiness, and which much as all the world of sinners must must otherwise have been accom- have suffered, had the law taken its plished by the exercise of retributive course; but by presenting a sacrifice justice upon transgressors in their own of infinite worth, arising from the persons.' The mode in which this divinity of his person. A limited glorious purpose is fulfilled is by the atonement is an absurdity. It is substitution of the Son of God in the limiting infinity. After all the vain place of sinners. By the sacrifice of philosophy and speculation of Deists himself, Christ puts away sin. The and Socinians to destroy or modify this doctrine, the atonement, by the infinitely valuable sacrifice of Jesus the Saviour, remains, and will for ever remain, the essential principle of the Bible. It will always illustrate the sinfulness of sin, the infinite holiness, justice, and mercy of God, and the love of Christ. There is no other foundation. Reader, see that you build upon it. There is no other mode of escape from the penalty of sin. If you reject this, you trample under foot the blood of Christ. Accept the Saviour, and live. towards the veil of the tabernacle eight times; and having mixed it with the blood of the bullock, he sprinkled again towards the horns of the altar of incense seven times, and once above it towards the east; after which he poured out the whole on the floor of the altar of burnt-offering, having again left the sanctuary and taken with him the basins of blood. The fourth time he entered to fetch back the censer and vessel of incense; and having returned, he washed his hands and performed the other ceremonies of the day. The ceremony of the scape-goat took place on this day. Two goats were set aside, one of which was sacrificed to the Lord Jehovah, while the other (azazel), which was determined by lot to be set at liberty, was sent into the desert burdened with the sins of the people. Lev. xvi. There is some difference of opinion as to the meaning and designation of the goat called AZAZEL. The language in the original is precise: "And Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one for Jehovah, one for azazel." Many of the ancients understand the name azazel to designate a person, and apply it to Satan. The objections to this view are very serious. The meaning which renders the word azazel expressive of the destination of the goat is much preferable. It may be translated, the goat of departure. It was sent off into the wilderness. This is in accordance with the history of the ceremony. ATONEMENT, DAY OF. A great fast instituted by Moses as a day of atonement for the sins of the Israelites. It took place on the 10th of Tisri, corresponding to our September. It commenced at sunset of the previous day, and lasted twenty-four hours. The ceremonies to be observed on this occasion are minutely described Lev. xvi. The most remarkable was the entrance of the high-priest into the sanctuary, a thing not allowed on other days. Heb. ix. 7. The expression of the apostle is not thought to convey the signification that the high-priest entered only once during that day, but to refer to the one day in the year when such a service took place. It is plain from the various rites enjoined, Lev. xvi. 12, 14, 15, that he must have entered more than once during the day. Maimonides says, he entered four times. The first time he was provided with a golden censer, and a vessel filled with incense; when, having entered, he placed the former between the two poles of the tabernacle, and put the incense on the coals. This done he went out, but so as not to turn his back on the sanctuary. At his second entrance, he took with him the blood of the bullock which he had offered in expiation of his own sins and those of the other priests, placed himself between the poles of the tabernacle, dipped his finger in the blood, and sprinkled it seven times below, and once above, the mercy-seat. This done, he left the basin of blood behind, and withdrew again. The third time he entered with the blood of the ram which he had offered for the sins of AVEN, iniquity, also virtue, and the nation, with which he sprinkled | metonymically idol. 1. A plain in ATTALIA. Acts xiv. 25. A city of Pamphylia, in Asia Minor. It derived its name from its founder, Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamos. It was visited by Paul and Barnabas. It is now called Adalia. AUGUSTUS, venerable. The nephew and successor of Julius Cæsar, and emperor of Rome at the time of the birth of Christ. Luke ii. 1. Though he was emperor for several years afterwards, yet his name has no connection with any scriptural events. He reigned forty-one years, and was succeeded by Tiberius Cæsar. Syria, called also the plain of Lebanon, because lying between the two ranges of the mountains of Lebanon. Amos i. 5; Josh. xi. 17. The site is supposed to be the same as Baalbec. 2. A city of Egypt, afterwards called Heliopolis or On. Ezek. xxx. 17. Heliopolis means city of the sun, and here there was a temple in his honour. AVEN, plain of the sun. 3. We find Bethel called Bethaven, or Aven, to denote the extreme wickedness of its inhabitants. BETHEL, the house of God. BETHAVEN, the house of an idol. Hos. x. 5. AVENGER OF BLOOD. The title given to him who pursued a manslayer to avenge the blood of one who had been slain. See GOEL, and CITIES OF REFUGE. AVIM. The same as Avites and Hivites, a people descended from Canaan. Gen. x. 17. They originally occupied the south portion of that territory in Palestine, along the coast of the Mediterranean, which the Caphtorim or Philistines, afterwards possessed. Deut. ii. 23. AZARIAH, whom Jehovah aids. Uzziah, king of Judah, son of Amaziah. He began his reign when only sixteen years of age, and was in many respects a good king. He was guilty of aspiring to execute the office of a priest, and to offer incense in the temple he was, consequently, smitten with leprosy, which broke out on his forehead, and remained upon him till the day of his death. 2 Chron. xxvi. 21. During the time of his sickness, his son, Jotham, acted as his father's viceroy, and succeeded him in the government. The name Azariah is very common among the Hebrews, and is borne by a considerable number of persons mentioned in Scripture. AZOTUS. See ASHDOD. B BAAL, lord, master. The term for God in many of the eastern languages. It was under this designation that several nations worshipped the sun. It was also applied to other objects of idolatrous worship. It is generally thought that the Phoenicians supposed the sun to be the only lord of heaven, calling him BAAL-SAMEN, lord of heaven. As he was worshipped under different forms in different places, he was designated by adding the name of the place, as Baal-berith, Baalgad, Baal-peor, &c., and these general names are included under the name of Baalim. Gesenius supposed the planet Jupiter to be represented by Baal: this, however, appears to be contradicted by Kings xxiii. 5. Every argument which goes to show that Ashtoreth represented the moon, will be a valid reason for assuming Baal to be the sun. The two gods were so closely correlated, that the meaning of the one must, by the force of analogy, lead to the signification of the other. See ASHTORETH. Baal was worshipped by the Babylonians, Carthaginians, Assyrians, and others. With some he is identified with Moloch, to whom the Ammonites made their bloody sacrifices. Human victims were offered to Baal. Jer. xix. 5. High places were selected for his worship, and the priests were very numerous. Even the tops of houses were selected for worship and sacrifice. 2 Kings xxiii. 12; Jer. xxxii. 29. The Israelites were repeatedly led into the sin of worshipping this idol. In the time of the Judges; chap. ii. 13: in the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh; 2 Chron. xxviii. 2; 2 Kings xxi. 3. Ahab, seduced by his wife, Jezebel, who was the daughter of the Sidonian king Ethbaal, appears to have made a systematic attempt to suppress the worship of Jehovah, and to substitute that of Baal. 1 Kings xvi. 31. The frantic character of the worship may be learned from the account of the manner in which the priests were confronted by Elijah. See 1 Kings xviii. The house of Baal, 1 Kings xvi. 32, means the temple where the idol was worshipped. BAAL-BERITH, covenant lord. The name of an idol worshipped by the Shechemites. Judges viii. 33. BAAL-GAD, Baal's troop. Josh. xi. 17; xii. 7. A city in the valley of Lebanon, supposed to have been at the foot of Mount Hermon, and per haps the same as Baal-hermon. Some have endeavoured to identify it with Baalbec; but of this there is considerable doubt. BAAL-MEON. Numb. xxxii. 38. Sometimes BETH-MEON, and BETHBAAL-MEON. A town in the tribe of Reuben, beyond the Jordan. The ruins have been discovered by modern travellers. BAAL-PEOR. An idol of the Moabites. Numb. xxv. 1-9; Deut. iv. 3; Psal. cvi. 28. It is supposed that this god was worshipped with obscene rites, and from the time of Jerome it has been customary to compare him to Priapus. Peor was a mountain, and Baal-peor the name of the god worshipped there. The Israelites received this idolatry from the women of Moab, and twenty-four thousand were smitten down by the plague. Some identify this god with Saturn; others, with Pluto; and others, again, with Adonis. BAAL-PERAZIM, place of breaches. The place where David put to flight the Philistines. 2 Sam. v. 20. The name was imposed in consequence of the victory; and hence the allusion, "The Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim." Isai. xxviii. 21. This gives some colour to the opinion of Gesenius, that where Baal is found as the first element in the names of places, it seldom, if ever, has any reference to the god of that name; but that it denotes a place that possesses, which is the abode of, the thing signified by the latter half of the compound. This is supported by the fact that the words Baal and Beth are sometimes used interchangeably of the same place. BAAL-ZEBUB. See BEEL-ZEBUB. BAAL-ZEPHON. A station of the Israelites, on the border of the Red Sea. The situation is uncertain, and can only be decided by the route taken by the Israelites on leaving Egypt. It was over against Baalzephon they were encamped, before crossing the Red Sea. Exod. xiv. 2. See RED SEA. BAASHA. The son of Ahijah, and commander-in-chief of the armies belonging to Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, king of Israel. Baasha killed his master treacherously, at the siege of Gibbethon, and usurped the throne, which he possessed twenty-four years. 1 Kings xv. 27. His reign was filled with war and treachery. To secure himself in the usurpation, he massacred all the relatives of his predecessor. This barbarous action proved the accomplishment of the prophecy denounced against the house of Jeroboam, by Ahijah the prophet. 1 Kings xiv. 1, &c. BABEL, TOWER OF, confusion. It appears, from the account given in Gen. xi. 1-9, that the primitive fathers of mankind, for some time after the deluge, wandered about without any fixed abode, and at length settled on the plain of Shinar. At this time they were of one language. Finding materials suitable for the construction of edifices, they |