(m) Afcalon; Heb. i. e. An ignominious Fire; or from Afcalus a Lydian, who is faid to have founded it. Another of the chief Cities of the Philiftines, on the fame Sea, 30 Miles from Jerufalem to the Weft. It was famous for a celebrated Temple of the Idol Dagon there. The Scythians or Tartars in an Expedition, about 640 Years before the Incarnation, demolish'd an antient and stately Temple of Venus, and fome of them fettled in it; therefore it is call'd Scythopolis, Gr. i. e. the City of the Scythians, Judith 3. 10. Holofernes laid it in Ruins, and fo did Saladine in the Holy War. But Richard I. King of England repair'd it, and Joppa, Cefarea, &c. A. D. 1192. The Turks call it Scalona, by a Corruption of the Word.

(n) Accaron or Ecron; Heb. i. e. Barrenness; because it was rear'd in an unfruitful Soil. A City on the South of Gath, about 36 Miles from Jerufalem to the West. It was once a Place of great Wealth and Power, fo that it held out a long Time against the victorious Jews, Judg. 1. But now it is a poor defpicable Village.

(0) Gaza now Gazra; Perf. i. e. The Place of Treasure; because thither Cambyfes of Perfia fent thofe Treasures, which he had prepar'd for the Egyptian War. But it was call'd so many

Ages before, Gen. 10. 19. or rather Heb. i. e. A ftrong Tower, being a very strong and rich Place; and alfo Conftantia, becaufe Conftantine the Great gave it to his Sifter Conftantia. It ftands about two Miles from the Sea on the River Bezor, near Egypt; therefore our Author here calls it the Frontier Bounds of those Countries; 40 Miles from Jerufalem towards the SouthWeft, and was one of the best Cities the old Philiftines poffeffed. Here they had a very magnificent Temple to their God Dagon, call'd Beth-Dagon, Heb. i. e. The Houfe or Temple of Dagon, capacious to receive 5000 People at once, and stood upon two main Columns, fo artfully contriv'd, that Samfon could grafp them in his two Hands, and pull the whole Fabrick upon them and himself, Judg. 16. 21. Beth-Dagon stood about 2000 Years, 'till Jonathan the Brother of Judas Maccabeus fet the City on Fire, and burnt that Temple, with all those his Enemies, who fled thither for Sanctuary, Mac. 10. 34. 11. 4. And fo long did a patient Deity wink at that Wickedness, before he punish'd them. Alexander the Great took this City in two Months, but it cost Alexander the third Son of Hyrcanus a whole Year, before he became Mafter of it, 1 Maccab. 13. 61, 62.

(p) Damafcus; Heb. i. e. Drinking Blood; because there Cain flew his Brother; or the Habitation of Sem, because he dwelt thereabout; as alfo Adam and Eve, when they were expelled Paradife, as it is reported: Or from Eliezer of Damafcus, Abraham's chief Servant, Gen. 15. 2. whom others take to be the Founder of it. The Metropolis of all Syria, 160 Miles from Jerufalem to the North, very beautiful, pleasant, fertile, and well water'd by seven Rivulets. It is the oldeft City upon Earth, built foon after the Flood, and was in the early Days of A. braham; but now it is forely decay'd, and call'd Damas by the Turks, by a Contraction of the old Name.

(q) Abbana or Abana; Heb. i. e. Stony; because it runs down Mount Libanus among many Rocks and Stones, is very rapid, broad, and turbid. The chief River that runs by the Weft and South Sides of Damafcus and thro' it, into a great Lake hard by. The Fish in it are unwholefome. It is mention'd, 2 Kings 5. 12. and is the Orontes in Latin, now Oronz, from the Name

of him who built the firft Bridge over it.

Ano

(r) Pharphar, or Parpar, Heb. i. e. Fructifying. ther of the Rivers of Damafcus, or rather one of the three Arms of the Abbana, now the Farfar and Chryforrhoes, Gr. i. e. Running with Gold, because Gold is found in the Sands of that River. Some say these are but two Branches of the Barraday.

(s) Leper; Fr. Ital. Span. Lat. from the Gr. i. e. A Leprous Man, full of Scabs or Scales; one that is infected with the Leprofy, Gr. i. e. A burning or very hot Disease. Here, Naaman the Syrian. This whole History is recorded 2 Kings 5. 1.

(t) Abax; Heb. i. e. Taking Poffeffion. An idolatrous King of Judah, and the Father of good Hezekiah. He was the XIVth King, about A. M. 3205, 762 Years before Jefus Chrift, and reign'd 16 Years. He caused Uriah the chief Prieft to fet up an Idolatrous Altar, clofe by the Altar of God, whereof he took the Pattern from that at Damafcus, which was ftrictly forbidden by the divine Law. See 2 Kings 16. 10,

(u) Ofiris. X. An Egyptian Word, i. e. A great Eye; because of his vaft Wisdom and Knowledge. A King and Philofopher of Egypt, about A. M. 2500, who first taught the Egyptians Hufbandry, Tillage, &c. for which they built him a Temple at Memphis, and worshipp'd him under the Form of an Ox. Some think this was Mizraim their Father and Founder. He is the fame as Bacchus among the Greeks and Romans; and Adam, wrapt up in a Fable.

(x) Ifis. XI. Egypt, from the Heb. i. e. The Woman. The Wife of Ofiris, and Queen of Egypt, which were both deify'd after Death. They confecrated Cows, and the Females of all Cattle to her. She was the fame as Ceres and Cybele, viz. the Earth or Nature itfelf, aud was worhipp'd every where; because they thought he had invented the Ufe of Corn, Wine, &c. Some think they were the Sun and the Moon. She was full of Dugs, to fignify the Benefits that Men do receive from the happy Influence of the Moon.

From these the Ifraelites made their Golden Calf, and Jeroboam his two Idols. She was a Memorial of Eve. Tiberius order'd her Temple at Rome to be demolish'd, and her Image to be caft into the Tyber, because her Priests were very lewd; as fofephus relates. Her Temple at Paris was deftroy'd, when Chriftianity prevail'd there; but her Statue was preferv'd in the Abby of St. Germain des Pez, to the Year 1514.

(y) Orus. XII. Egypt, from the Heb. i. e. Light. The Son of Ifis, another King of Egypt, deify'd after his Death. He reprefented the Sun, prefided over the Hours, and was the God of Time: Therefore in the old E

gyptian Language he was call'd Horns, from whence came the Word Hora, i. e. an Hour, in the Greek, Latin, and English. The Greeks call'd him Apollo, i. e. A Destroyer; because he deftroy'd many Things by the exceffive Heat of his Rays, or difperfs'd Darkness and Clouds by his Light,

(z) Dan; Heb. i. e. A Judge. A City in the North of Canaan, at the Foot of Mount Libanus, and 104 Miles from Jerufalem. It was firft call'd Lefhem or Lais, Heb. i. e. A roaring Lion; because many Lions abounded thereabout. When the Danites took and demolish'd it, they called it Dan, in Memory of their Father, Judg. 18. 29. And the Canaanites Lefhem-Dan. This idolatrous King plac'd the other Calf there, on the other Extremity of his new Kingdom, to keep the People more attach'd to himself.

(a) Bethel; Heb. i. e. The Houfe of God. A City in the Tribe of Benjamin, eight Miles North from Jerufalem. At first it was call'd Luz, Heb. i. e. A Nut Tree, because many of them grew thereabout. But Jacob call'd it Bethel, in Memory of God's glorious Appearance to him there, Gen. 28. 19. In regard to that religious and antient Efteem of the Place, Jeroboam erected one of his Monuments of

Idolatry there. The Prophet 780 Years afterwards call'd it by Way of Contempt, Beth-aven, Heb. i. e. The House of Iniquity or Vanity, Hof. 4. 15. andAm. calls it Aven, i. e. Vanity, Ch. 1. 5. It was call'd Bethel in the Days of Abraham, Gen. 12. 8. Therewas an Academy or School of the Prophets, 2 Kings 2. 3.

(b) Jehovah. It denotes the Effence of God, is the peculiar and an ineffable and most mysterious Name of the Deity, and can hardly be translated into any Language. Ten Names are afcrib'd to him in the Hebrew, but this is the chief and most expreffive of his infinite Nature, if it could be exprefs'd. See Pfalm 83, 18. A Name that the Jers never pronounc'd, (left it should be profan'd) we tranflate it Lord. Hippocrat. ftiles it Euormoun, the great Mover of all Things.

(c) Eli, or Heli; Heb. i. e. Offering or lifting up. A Judge and High-Priest of Ifrael, about A. M. 1840. He was a good Man, but too indulgent to his

Sons,

Sons, Hophni and Phineas, which was their Destruction, 1 Sam. 2. 22, 23. He judged Ifrael forty Years, and died fuddenly, being Ninety-eight Years old, 1 Sam. 4. 15. 18.

(d) Sodom, or Sedom; Heb. i. e. A plain Field. The Capital of feveral Cities in the Plains of Jordan, which God destroyed by Fire and Brimstone from Heaven, as a juft Vengeance upon their Idolatry, Luxury, and fuch Wick

edness as the Laws of God made to be punished with the most ignominious Death, Gen. 19. OBS. That Plain was called Pentapolis. Gr. i. e. five Cities: because there were fo many Cities in it, viz. Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Zoar.

(e) Gibeah, or Gibeon; Heb. i. e. A Hill, A Metropolitan City of the Tribe of Benjamin,

fituated upon a Mountain four Miles from Jerufalem towards the North. The Citizens were Sons of Belial, most abominable and wicked Wretches, without the leaft Fear of God. This was the Birth-Place of Saul the firft King of Ifrael.

(f) Javan; Heb. i. c. Making fad. He was the fourth Son of Japhet, and the Grandson of Noah. He and his Pofterity first peopled that Part of Greece, which was called Ionia from him. So Alexander the Great is called the King of Javan, Dan. 8. 21. See Geu. 10. 2. And the Tartars call Greece, Javan from hence.

(g) Titan; XIV. Heb. i. e. Born of the Earth: Because he and all these other Gods were faid to be born of Heaven and Earth. This Fable fignifies the Sun.