Volume 1

A dictionary of the Bible : dealing with its language, literature, and contents, including the Biblical theology / edited by James Hastings ; with the co-operation of John A. Selbie.

Date:: 1909-10

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: A dictionary of the Bible : dealing with its language, literature, and contents, including the Biblical theology / edited by James Hastings ; with the co-operation of John A. Selbie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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$sheba, whose fears he easily awakened by pointing out the danger to which her own life and that of Solomon would be exposed if the attempt of Adonijah should succeed. Bathsheba, who seems to have already obtained from David a promise that Solomon should succeed Iiim on the throne, immediately sought an interview with the aged king, and informed him of what was transpiring at En-Rogel; while Nathan, in accordance with a prearranged plan, came in opportunely to confirm her story. The prophet-counsellor played his part with consummate skill, notably when (1 K 1-'') he expressed surprise that the king, if he had sanc- tioned the action of Adonijah, had not taken his old friends and counsellors into his confidence. Yielding to the representations of the queen and the prophet, David renewed his oath to Bathsheba in favour of her son, and took prompt measures to secure the accession of the latter. At such a jimcture the support of the royal bodyguard was all-important, and fortunately their loyalty was beyond suspicion. Their commander was ordered by David to escort the youthful Solomon, mounted upon his father's mule, to Gihon, and to have him anointed king by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet. This commission was executed amidst the enthusiasm of the people, who rent tlie air with shouts of ' God save King Solomon !' The unwonted noise reached the ears of Adonijah's guests at En-Rogel, causing astonishment, which passed into consternation when Jonathan the son of Abiathar hurried in M itli the news that David had chosen Solomon to succeed him. The com- pany broke up in confusion, and Adonijah himself was so much alarmed that he fled for protection to the altar. Solomon, however, agreed to sjjare his life on condition of future loyalty. If Adonijah disf)layed no conspicuous wisdom in his attempt to seize the crown, his next act, which cost him his life, is hard to explain, except on the principle. Quern Deus vult perdere prius demented,. After the death of his father he actually requested Solomon to bestow upon him in marriage Abishag the Shunammite, the maiden who had attended upon David during his declining years. And as advo- cate for him in this delicate matter he chose Bathsheba! No one who is acquainted with the notions of Eastern courts can wonder at the resentment of Solomon, or that he construed this request as an act of treason. Considering the re- lation in which Abishag had stood to David, the people would certainly infer that Adonijah in taking her for his wife still asserted his right to the crown. (Compare the story of Abner and Ishbosheth in 2 S 3', and of Absalom in 2 S 16='.) Speedily was sentence pronounced, ' Adonijah hath spoken this word against his own life; surely he shall be put to death this day'; and the sentence was immediately executed by the captain of the guard. 2. One of the Levites who, according to the Chronicler, was sent by Jehosliaphat to teach in the cities of Judah (2 Ch 17**). 3. One of the 'chiefs of the people' who sealed the covenant (Neh W% Same as Adonikam (Ezr 21^ 8, Neb 7'^). J. A. Selbie. ADONIKAM (dp':-in 'my Lord has arisen'), Ezr 2 8, Neh 7^8, i Es 5 8'». The head of a Jewish family after the Exile ; in Neh 10'^ Adonijah. H. A. White. ADONIRAM, ADORAM (d-i;:i>^, n■^■^^|).—The latter name occurs 2 S 20-^, 1 K 12'^, and is probably a corruption of Adoniram. The LXX supports this view, reading 'MwvupaiJ., 2 S 20^, 1 K ¥ 5 (Heb. DTjitj), 1 K 12^8 (B 'Apa/j., A 'ASwvipafj.), and in the parallel 2 Ch 10^'^ 'Aowyetpa/x (Heb. Qlin, Hadoram). A. was 'over the levy,' that is, he superintended the levies employed in the public works during the reigns of David, Solomon, and Rehoboani. He was stoned to death by the rebellious Isr. when sent to them by Rehoboam (1 K 12^8). J. F. Stenning. ADONIS.—Strictly not a name but a title, I'nNi 'Adon, 'Lord,' of the god Tammuz (which see). Is 17 RVra ' plantings of Adonis' (o'i^-jj 'j;pj nit's naamdntm, text ^pleasant plants') and the setting of ' vine slips of a stranger' (strange god), is mentioned as the result of having 'forgotten the God of thy salvation.' So Ewald, Lagarde, Cheyne. With ' plantings of Adonis,' cf. the Gr. 'ASoiytSos KrjTToi, quick-growing plants reared in pots or baskets (Plato, Phaedr. 276 B), and oifered to Aphrodite as emblems of her lover's beauty and early death (Theocr. 15. 113). The meaning of naamdntm is, however, doubtfuL Na aman \s,probahly the name of a god ; cf. the name of the Syrian general (2 K 5'), and Ar. Nu'mAn, a king's name (Tebrizi's scholia to Hamdsa). The river Belus is now called Nahr Naanidn. Lagarde {Sem. i. 32) quotes Arab, name of the red anemone, ShakaHlm-n-N^Cmdn, explaining as ' the wound of Adonis'; but see Wellhausen, Sldezen, iii. p. 7. C. F. Burney. ADONI-ZEDEK (pi^ ' Lord of righteousness,' AV Adoni-zedec), king of Jerusalem at the time of the invasion of Canaan by the Israelites under Joshua. After the Gibeonites had succeeded in making a league with Israel, he induced four other kings, those of Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, to unite with him against the invaders. First they attacked, as traitors to the common cause, the Gibeonites, who appealed to Joshua for help. By a rapid night march from Gilgal, Joshua came unexpectedly upon the allied kings, and utterly routed them [Joshua, Beth-horon]. Adoni-'zedek and his associates sought refuge in a cave at Makkedah, but were taken and brought before Joshua. The Heb. chiefs set their feet upon their necks in token of triumph. They were then slain, and their bodies hung up until the evening, when they were taken down and flung into the cave where they had hid themselves, the mouth of which was filled up with great stones (Jos IQi--'). In Jos 10«- LXX reads 'ASwvi^l^eK, and some have identified the latter with Adonibezek of Jg 1^ (See Kittel, Hist, of Heb. i. 307 ; Budde, Bicht. u. Sam. 63 f. ; Wellh. Einleit.'^ [Bleek] 182.) R. M. Boyd. ADOPTION (vlodeala) is a word used by St. Paul to designate the privilejje of sonship bestowed by God on His people. While Jesus Himself and the New Testament writers all speak frequently and emphatically of our blessings and duties as sons or children of God, no other of them employs this special term, which occurs in five places in the Epistles of St. Paul (Gal 4^ Ro S'^' 9S Eph_ P). It seems to express a distinct and definite idea in that apostle's mind; and since adoption was, in Roman law, a technical term for an act that had specific legal and social effects, there is much probability that he had some reference to that in his use of the word. The Romans maintained in a very extreme way the rights of fathers over their children as practically despotic; and these did not cease when the sons came of age, or had families of their own, but while the father lived could only be terminated by certain legal proceedings, analogous to those by which slaves were sold or redeemed. The same term (manci- patio) was applied to a process of this kind, whether a man parted Avith liis son, or his slave, or his goods. Hence a man could not be transferred from one family to another, or put into the position of a son to any Roman citizen, without a formal legal act, which was a quasi sale by his natural father, and buving out by tlie person who adopted$