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Babel, tower of

The name given to the tower which the primitive fathers of our race built in the land of Shinar after the Deluge (Gen. 11:1-9). Their object in building this tower was probably that it might be seen as a rallying-point in the extensive plain of Shinar, to which they had emigrated from the uplands of Armenia, and so prevent their being scattered abroad. But God interposed and defeated their design by condounding their language, and hence the name Babel, meaning "confusion." In the Babylonian tablets there is an account of this event, and also of the creation and the deluge. (See [43]CHALDEA.) The Temple of Belus, which is supposed to occupy its site, is described by the Greek historian Herodotus as a temple of great extent and magnificence, erected by the Babylonians for their god Belus. The treasures Nebuchadnezzar brought from Jerusalem were laid up in this temple (2 Chr. 36:7). The Birs Nimrud, at ancient Borsippa, about 7 miles south-west of Hillah, the modern town which occupies a part of the site of ancient Babylon, and 6 miles from the Euphrates, is an immense mass of broken and fire-blasted fragments, of about 2,300 feet in circumference, rising suddenly to the height of 235 feet above the desert-plain, and is with probability regarded as the ruins of the tower of Babel. This is "one of the most imposing ruins in the country." Others think it to be the ruins of the Temple of Belus.

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Shinar, The Land of

LXX. and Vulgate "Senaar;" in the inscriptions, "Shumir;" probably identical with Babylonia or Southern Mesopotamia, extending almost to the Persian Gulf. Here the tower of Babel was built (Gen. 11:1-6), and the city of Babylon. The name occurs later in Jewish history (Isa. 11:11; Zech. 5:11). Shinar was apparently first peopled by Turanian tribes, who tilled the land and made bricks and built cities. Then tribes of Semites invaded the land and settled in it, and became its rulers. This was followed in course of time by an Elamite invasion; from which the land was finally delivered by Khammurabi, the son of Amarpel ("Amraphel, king of Shinar," Gen. 14:1), who became the founder of the new empire of Chaldea. (See [582]AMRAPHEL.)

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Asshur

Second son of Shem (Gen. 10:22; 1 Chr. 1:17). He went from the land of Shinar and built Nineveh, etc. (Gen. 10:11, 12). He probably gave his name to Assyria, which is the usual translation of the word, although the form Asshur is sometimes retained (Num. 24:22, 24; Ezek. 27:23, etc.). In Gen. 2:14 "Assyria" ought to be "Asshur," which was the original capital of Assyria, a city represented by the mounds of Kalah Sherghat, on the west bank of the Tigris. This city was founded by Bel-kap-kapu about B.C. 1700. At a later date the capital was shifted to Ninua, or Nineveh, now Koyunjik, on the eastern bank of the river. (See [36]CALAH; [37]NINEVEH.)

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Decalogue

The name given by the Greek fathers to the ten commandments; "the ten words," as the original is more literally rendered (Ex. 20:3-17). These commandments were at first written on two stone slabs (31:18), which were broken by Moses throwing them down on the ground (32:19). They were written by God a second time (34:1). The decalogue is alluded to in the New Testament five times (Matt. 5:17, 18, 19; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Rom. 7:7, 8; 13:9; 1 Tim. 1:9, 10). These commandments have been divided since the days of Origen the Greek father, as they stand in the Confession of all the Reformed Churches except the Lutheran. The division adopted by Luther, and which has ever since been received in the Lutheran Church, makes the first two commandments one, and the third the second, and so on to the last, which is divided into two. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house" being ranked as ninth, and "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife," etc., the tenth. (See [152]COMMANDMENTS.)

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Horites

Cave-men, a race of Troglodytes who dwelt in the limestone caves which abounded in Edom. Their ancestor was "Seir," who probably gave his name to the district where he lived. They were a branch of the Hivites (Gen. 14:6; 36:20-30; 1 Chr. 1:38, 39). They were dispossessed by the descendants of Esau, and as a people gradually became extinct (Deut. 2:12-22).

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Kenizzite

(1.) The name of a tribe referred to in the covenant God made with Abraham (Gen. 15:19). They are not mentioned among the original inhabitants of Canaan (Ex. 3:8; Josh. 3:10), and probably they inhabited some part of Arabia, in the confines of Syria. (2.) A designation given to Caleb (R.V., Num. 32:12; A.V., Kenezite).

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Rameses

"the land of" (Gen. 47:11), was probably "the land of Goshen" (q.v.) 45:10. After the Hebrews had built Rameses, one of the "treasure cities," it came to be known as the "land" in which that city was built. The city bearing this name (Ex. 12:37) was probably identical with Zoan, which Rameses II. ("son of the sun") rebuilt. It became his special residence, and ranked next in importance and magnificance to Thebes. Huge masses of bricks, made of Nile mud, sun-dried, some of them mixed with stubble, possibly moulded by Jewish hands, still mark the site of Rameses. This was the general rendezvous of the Israelites before they began their march out of Egypt. Called also Raamses (Ex. 1:11).

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