ubim were over the cover. It had four rings of gold, two on each side, through which staves were put, by which it was carried, Exod. xxv. 10-22. After the passage of the Jordan, the Ark continued some time at Gilgal; (Josh. iv. 19.) whence it was removed to Shiloh, 1 Sam. i. 3. From hence the Israelites took it to their camp; but when they gave battle to the Philistines, it was taken by the enemy, chap. iv. The Philistines, oppressed by the hand of God, however, returned the Ark, and it was lodged at Kirjath-jearim, chap. vii. 1. It was afterwards, in the reign of Saul, at Nob. David conveyed it from Kirjath-jearim to the house of Obed-Edom; and from thence to his palace at Sion; (2 Sam. vi.) and, lastly, Solomon brought it into the temple at Jerusalem, 2 Chron. v. 2. (See ARMIES.) It remained in the temple with all suitable respect, till the times of the later kings of Judah, who, abandoning themselves to idolatry, were so daring as to establish their idols in the holy place itself. The priests, unable to endure this profanation, removed the Ark, and carried it from place to place, to preserve it from the pollution and impiety of these princes. Josiah commanded them to bring it back to the sanctuary, and forbade them to carry it, as they had hitherto done, into the country, 2 Chron. xxxv. 3. most sacred things. Apuleius says, that in processions in Egypt there was a chest-bearer, who carried a box, enclosing the richest things for their religious uses. Plutarch, on the rites of Isis and Osiris, says the same. Pausanias mentions a chest, in which the Trojans locked up their mysteries, which, at the siege of Troy, fell to Euripulus's share. The ancient Etrurians had also cista; so had the Greeks and Romans: but these chests often enclosed things profane, superstitious, and ridiculous; whereas the Ark of God contained the most sacred and serious things in the world. ARKITES, (Gen. x. 17.) and ARCHITES, (1 Chron. i. 15.) a Canaanitish tribe inhabiting the city Arca ("Aox) in Syria, some miles north of Tripolis. Arca was the birth-place of Alexander Severus. Burckhardt found here ruins, which serve to show its ancient importance. Travels in Syr. p. 162, or Germ. ed. p. 520, with Gesenius's note. ARM. This word is frequently used in the Scriptures in a metaphorical sense, to denote power, as 1 Sam. ii. 31; Ps. x. 15; Ezek. xxx. 21. Hence, any remarkable or striking manifestation of God's power is referred to his arm, Exod. vi. 6; Ps. xliv. 3; xcviii. 1; Luke i. 51; Acts xiii. 17. The prophet represents God as the arm of his people, (Isa. xxxiii. 2. in affording them strength and protection. In allusion to the ancient custom of warriors making bare the arm when closely engaged in combat, God is said to "make bare his arm," when in any signal manner he interposes his power for the deliverance of his people, and the destruction of his enemies, Isa. lii. 10. ARMAGEDDON, (mountain of Megiddo,) a place mentioned Rev. xvi. 16. Megiddo is a city in the great plain, at the foot of mount Carmel, which had been the scene of much slaughter. Under this character it is referred to in the above text, as the place in which God will collect together his enemies for destruction. See MEGIDDO. ARMENIA, a considerable province of Asia; having Media on the east, Cappadocia on the west, Colchis and Iberia on the north, Mesopotamia on the south, and the Euphrates and Syria on the southwest. Care should be taken to distinguish Armenia from Aramæa, or Syria, with which it has been sometimes confounded. It is doubted, with good reason, whether the Ark was replaced in the temple, after the return of the Jews from Babylon. Dr. Prideaux is of opinion, that as the Jews found it necessary, for the celebration of their worship in the second temple, to have a new altar of incense, a new shew-bread table, and a new candlestick, they had likewise a new Ark; and he asks, Since the holy of holies, and the veil drawn before it, were wholly for the sake of the Ark, what need had there been of these in the second temple, if there had not been the Ark also to which they referred? Some think that Nebuchadnezzar conveyed the Ark to Babylon, among the spoil of rich vessels carried off by him from the temple; others, that Manasseh, having set up idols in the temple, took away the Ark, which was not returned during his reign. The author of Esdras (2 Esd. x. 22.) represents the Jews lamenting, that the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Chaldeans, among the plunder of the temple. The Gemara of Jerusalem, and that of Babylon, both acknowledge, that the Ark of the Covenant was one of the things wanting in the second temple. The Jews flatter themselves, that it will be restored by their Messiah, says Abarbanel; but Jeremiah, (chap. iii. 16.) speaking of the time of the Messiah, says, they shall neither talk nor think of the Ark, nor remember it any more. Esdras, Nehemish, the Maccabees, and Josephus, never mention the Ark in the second temple; and Josephus says expressly, that when Jerusalem was taken by Titus, there was nothing in the sanctuary. Lastly, the rab- ARMIES. The Lord, in Scripture, assumes the bins agree in saying, that, after the captivity of Baby-name "Jehovah of Hosts:" man'. The Hebrew lon, the Ark was not at Jerusalem; and that the nation, in many places, is called the "army of the foundation-stone, which they believe to be the cen- Lord," because God was considered as its head and tre of the holy mountain, was placed in the sanc- general; who named the captains of its armies; tuary in its room. The fathers, and Christian com- who ordained war and peace; whose priests sounded mentators, agree generally with the Jews on this the trumpets, &c. The armies of Israel were not point. composed of regular troops kept constantly in pay; the whole nation were fighting men, ready to march as occasion required. The army expected no reward beside honor, and the spoils taken, which were divided by the chiefs. Each soldier furnished himself with arms and provisions, and their wars were generally of short duration: they fought on foot, having no horse, till the reign of Solomon. David is Beside the tables of the covenant, placed by Moses in the sacred coffer, God appointed the blossoming rod of Aaron to be lodged there, (Numb. xvii. 10.) and the omer of manna which was gathered in the wilderness, Exod. xvi. 33, 34. The heathen, likewise, had, in their religious rites, little chests, or cista, in which they locked up their The name Armenia is probably derived from Harminni, the mountainous country of the Minni, or Mineans, who are noticed Jer. li. 27. In Gen. viii. 4, Moses says the ark rested on the mountains of Armenia; in the Hebrew, the mountains of Ararat: and in 2 Kings xix. 37, it is said the two sons of Sennacherib, after having killed their father, escaped into Armenia; in the Hebrew, the land of Ararat. the first who had regular troops; his successors, for to be two." p. 216. "All which Tamerlane, walkthe most part, had only militia, excepting their body-ing this night vp & down in his campe, heard, and guards, which were not numerous. When they much reioiced to see the hope that his soldiers had expected to give battle, proclamation was made at alreadie in general conceiued of the victorie. Who the head of every battalion, according to Deut. xx. after the second watch returning vnto his pauillion, 5. (See WAR.) The ark of God was often borne and there casting himself upon a carpet, had thought in the army, (1 Sam. iv. 4, 5; 2 Sam. xi. 11; xv. to haue slept a while; but his cares not suffering him 24.) and the Israelites of the ten tribes, in imitation so to do, he then, as his manner was, called for a booke, of Judah, carried their golden calves with them in wherein was contained the lives of his fathers and antheir camp, as the Philistines did their idols, 1 Chron.cestors, and of other valiant worthies, the which he vsed xiv. 12; 2 Chron. xiii. 8. Few things in history are more surprising than the great numbers which are recorded as forming eastern armies; even the Scripture accounts of the armies that invaded Judea, or were raised in Judea, often excite the wonder of their readers. To parallel these great numbers by those of other armies, is not ALL that is acceptable to the inquisitive; it is requisite also to show how so small a province as the Holy Land really was, could furnish such mighty armies of fighting men; with the uncertainty of the proportion of these fighting men to the whole number of the nation; in respect to which many unfounded conjectures have escaped the pens of the learned. With a view to this, Mr. Taylor has attempted, by adducing instances of numerous armies which have been occasionally raised, to show what may be done by despotic power, or the impulse of military glory; and also that the composition of Asiatic armies is such as may render credible those numbers which express their gross amount; while no just inference respecting the entire population of a country can be drawn from the numbers stated as occasionally composing its armies. ordinarily to read, as he then did: not as therwith vainly to deceiue the time, but to make vse thereof, by the imitation of that which was by them worthily done, & declining of such dangers as they by their rashness or ouersight fel into." p. 218. [See the same kind of occupation of Ahasuerus, Esther vi. 1.] "My will is, said Tamerlane, that my men come forward vnto me as soon as they may, for I will aduance forward with an hundred thousand footmen, fiftie thousand vpon each of my two wings, and in the middest of them forty thousand of my best horsemen. My pleasure is, that after they haue tried the force of these men, that they come vnto my avauntgard, of whom I wil dispose, & fifty thousand horse more in three bodies, whom thou shalt command: which I wil assist with 80,000 horse, wherein shal be mine own person: hauing 100,000 footmen behind me, who shal march in two squadrons : and for my arereward I appoint 40,000 horse, and fiftie thousand footmen, who shal not march but to my aid. And I wil make choice of 10,000 of my best horse, whom I wil send into eury place where I shal thinke needfull within my armie, for to impart my commands." p. 218. It is impossible, on this occasion, not to recollect the immense army led by Napoleon into Russia, exceeding six hundred thousand troops; also, the forces engaged around Leipsic; amounting (including both sides) to half a million of men. The account given by Knolles, in his "History of the Turks," of the contending armies of Bajazet and Tamerlane, is no bad specimen of the "I will" of military power, of the cares and anxieties attending on the station of command, and of the feelings of great minds on great occasions. "So, marching on, But it may be said, that "such mighty empires Tamerlane at length came to Bachichich, where he may well be supposed to raise forces, to which the staid to refresh his army eight daies, and there againe small state of Judea was incompetent." This may took a generall muster thereof, wherein were found safely be admitted; but what was, in all probability, (as most write) four hundred thousand horse, and six the nature and composition of the Jewish, as of other hundred thousand foot; or, as some others that were eastern armies, we may learn from the following there present affirme, three hundred thousand horse- relations; which contribute to strengthen the credmen, and five hundred thousand foot of al nations. ibility of the greater numbers recorded as composVnto whom he there gaue a generall pay, and, as ing them. Baron du Tott reports as follows of the his manner was, made vnto them an oration, inform- armies raised by the Cham of the Crimea: "It may ing them of such orders as he would haue kept, to be presumed that the rustic frugal life which these the end they might the better obserue the same: pastoral people lead favors population, while the with much other militarie discipline, whereof he was wants and excesses of luxury, among polished navery curious with his captains. At which time, also, tions, strike at its very root. In fact, it is observed, it was lawfull for euery common soldier to behold that the people are less numerous under the roofs him with more boldness than on other daies, foras- of the Crimea, and the province of Boodjack, than much as he did for that time, and such like, lay in the tents of the Noguais. The best calculation aside imperial majestie, and shew himselfe more fa- we can make, is from a view of the military forces miliar unto them." p. 215. "Malcozzius hauing which the Cham is able to assemble. We shall made true relation vnto Baiazet, was by him de- soon see this prince raising three armies at the same manded 'whether of the two armies he thought big-time; one of a hundred thousand men, which he comger or stronger? for now Baiazet had assembled a manded in person; another of sixty thousand, commightie armie of three hundred thousand men, or, as manded by the Calga; and a third of forty thousand, some report, of three hundred thousand horsemen and by the Nooradin. He had the power of raising two hundred thousand foot. Whercunto Malcozzius, double the number, without prejudice to the necessary hauing before craued pardon, answered, "That it labors of the state." (Vol. i. p. 113.) "The invasion could not be, but that Tamerlane might in reason of New Servia, which had been determined on at haue the greater number, for that he was a com- Constantinople, was consented to in the assembly of mander of farre greater countries.' Wherewith the Grand Vassals of Tartary, and orders were exproud Baiazet offended, in great choller replied, pedited, throughout the provinces, for the necessary Out of doubt, the sight of the Tartarian hath made military supplies. Three horsemen were to be furthis coward so affraid, that he thinketh euery enemie│nished by eight families; which number was estimat and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine ed to be sufficient for the three armies, which were all to begin their operations at once. That of the Nooradin, consisting of forty thousand men, had orders to repair to the Little Don; that of the Calga, of sixty thousand, was to range the left coast of the Boristhenes, till they came beyond the Orela; and that which the Cham commanded in person, of a hundred thousand, was to penetrate into New Servia." (Vol. i. p. 150.) The following descriptive account of Asiatic armies is from Volney:-"Sixty thousand men, with them, are very far from being synonymous with sixty thousand soldiers, as in our armies. That of which we are now speaking affords a proof of....for to this day all the inhabitants of Asia, in time this: it might amount, in fact, to forty thousand men, of war, attend the service accompanied with what which may be classed as follows:-Five thousand they value most; and they say, that they fight the Mamlouk cavalry, which was the whole effective army; better when the objects most dear to them are presabout fifteen hundred Barbary Arabs, on foot, and ent." Herodotus (Polhymnia, cap. 39.) narrates the no other infantry, for the Turks are acquainted with following history: "Pythius, the Lydian, had highly none; with them the cavalry is every thing. Be-honored king Xerxes by contributions, entertainsides these, cach Mamlouk having in his suite two ments, &c.—whom he thus addressed: 'Sir, I have footmen, armed with staves, these would form a body five sons, who are all with you in this Grecian expeof ten thousand valets, besides a number of servants dition; I would entreat you to pity my age, and and serradgis, or attendants on horseback, for the dispense with the presence of the eldest. Take with Bey and Kachefs, which may be estimated at two you the four others, but leave this to manage my thousand all the rest were sutlers, and the usual affairs.'-Xerxes in great indignation made this train of followers. Such was this army, as described reply: Infamous man! you see me embark my all to be in Palestine, by persons who had seen and in this Grecian war; myself, my children, my brothfollowed it." (Travels, vol. i. p. 124.) "The Asiatic ers, my domestics, and my friends;-how dare you, armies are mobs, their marches ravages, their cam- then, presume to mention your son, you who are my paigns mere inroads, and their battles bloody frays. slave, and whose duty it is to accompany me on The strongest, or the most adventurous party, goes this occasion—with all your family, and even your in search of the other, which not unfrequently flies wife?" We may now form a better notion of the without offering resistance: if they stand their policy of Barak, in stipulating for the presence of the ground, they engage pell-mell, discharge their car- prophetess who judged Israel with his army. She bines, break their spears, and hack each other with was a public person, was well known to all Istheir sabres; for they rarely have any cannon, and rael, and her appearance would no less stimulate when they have, they are but of little service. A the valor of the troops to "fight the better for panic frequently diffuses itself without cause: one an object most dear to them," than it would sancparty flies; the other pursues, and shouts victory; tion the undertaking determined on and executed the vanquished submits to the will of the conqueror, against an oppressor so powerful as Jabin, king of and the campaign often terminates without a battle." Canaan. p. 126. It appears, by these extracts, that the numbers which compose the gross of Asiatic armies are very far from denoting the true number of soldiers, fighting men of that army; in fact, when we deduct those whose attendance is of little advantage, it may be not very distant from truth, if we say nine out of ten are such as, in Europe, would be forbidden the army; nor is the suggestion absolutely to be rejected, that when we read 40, instead of 400, the true fighting corps of soldiers only are reckoned and stated. However that may be, these authorities are sufficient to justify the possibility of such numbers as Scripture has recorded, being assembled for purposes of warfare; of which purposes plunder is not one of the least in the opinion of those who usually attend a camp. It follows, also, that no conclusive estimate of the population of a kingdom can be drawn from such assemblages, under such circumstances; and, therefore, that no calculation ought to be hazarded on such imperfect data. But there is another circumstance connected with eastern armies that ought not to be lost sight of, especially as it affords an opportunity for illustrating a passage of Scripture. We mean, the apparently singular request made by Barak, the general of the Israelites, to Deborah the prophetess, Judg. iv. 6. Deborah commanded him in the name of the Lord to encamp on mount Tabor, with ten thousand men: "And I will draw unto thee, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots This notion may be extended somewhat further; for Deborah, in her triumphant song, supposes that Sisera's mother attributed the delay in his return to the great number of captives-female captivestaken from the enemy-"to every man a damsel, or two ;"-families of the warriors of Israel, taken prisouers in their camp, equally with seizures made in the villages and towns. Whether this be correct or not, no striking objection seems to oppose it-and we are sure that the presence of women of rank in the camps of the orientals was not uncommon. Every body is acquainted with the generosity of Alexander in the tent of Darius, when the royal family of Persia became his captives; and the story of Panthea is so beautifully told by Xenophon, (Cyrop. lib. v.) that if it be already familiar to the reader, he cannot be displeased with its repetition. The generosity of Alexander might emulate, but it could not excel, the generosity of Cyrus. we first entered her tent (that of Panthea) we did not know her; for she was sitting on the ground, with all her women-servants round her, and was dressed in the same manner as her servants were: but when we looked around, being desirous to know which was the mistress, she immediately appeared to excel all the others, though she was sitting with a veil over her, and looking down upon the ground. When we bid her arise, she and the servants around her rose. Standing in a dejected posture, her tears fell at her feet," &c. This idea of women attending "When soldiers contributes an illustration to a verse in that | tine history; yet the armor of these people has sufficiently obscure effusion, Psalm lxviii. 12. been studied for this figure. Kings of armies did flee, did flee, And she who tarried at home divided the spoil. [Here the phrase "she that tarries at home," or, more properly, "that abides in the house," is poetically put for female; since in the East it is customary for the women to remain within doors. The distribution of the plunder is here, therefore, attributed to the women; and appropriately; for it was enough for the men to have vanquished the enemies and conquered in battle; the spoil, obtained through their valor, was left to the equitable division of others; and who more proper for this than the females? Comp. Judg. v. 24. R. ARMS, MILITARY, and ARMOR. The He brews used in war offensive arms of the same kinds as were employed by other people of their time, and of the East; swords, darts, lances, javelins, bows, arrows, and slings. For defensive arms, they used helmets, cuirasses, bucklers, armor for the thighs, &c. At particular periods, especially when under servitude, whole armies of Israelites were without good weapons. In the war of Deborah and Barak against Jabin, there were neither shields nor lances among 40,000 men, Judg. v. 8. In the time of Saul (1 Sam. xiii. 22.) none in Israel, beside Saul and Jonathan, was armed with swords and spears; because the Philistines, who were then masters of the country, forbade the Hebrews using the trades of armorers and sword cutlers; and even obliged them to employ Philistines to sharpen their tools of husbandry; but these, being their masters, would make no arms for them. We have in Scripture, not only histories in which armor and some of its parts are described, but also allusions to complete suits of armor, and to the pieces which composed them. Without any formal attempt to expose the errors of critics, whose information on this article might have been improved by greater accuracy, the following remarks may contribute to our better acquaintance with the subject. The following figure, which is from Calmet, is usually offered, by way of illustrating the armor of the famous champion Goliath. As it is drawn from the description given of him, and according to the signification of the words used to describe each separate part, it may be something like the original. It should be observed, however, (1.) that swords so long as this are not known in antiquity; and that had it been of the length here represented, David would have found it cumbersome to use afterwards, constantly, as we learn he did; (2.) that this figure is composed on the principle that the armor was worn without any other dress, which we think may be questioned, and is not easily determined; (3.) that the forms of Roman or Greek armor are not decidedly applicable to the Pales The next is a soldier in armor, from the column usually called that of Antoninus, but perhaps more properly referred to Aurelius. The apostle (Eph. vi. 13, 14.) advises believers to "take unto themselves the whole armor of God;" and he separates this panoply into its parts: "your loins," says he, "girt about with truth." Now, this figure has a very strong composition of cinctures round his waist (loins); and if we suppose them to be of steel, as they appear to be, the defence they form to his person is very great; such a defence to the mind is truth. Undoubtedly there were, as we shall see, other kinds of girdles; but none that could be more thoroughly defensive than that of this soldier. Moreover, these cinctures surround the person, and go over the back, also. So truth defends on all sides. The remark that "Paul names no armor for the back," is also somewhat impaired; because if this part of the dress was what he referred to by requeri, "girded round about," then its passing round the back, pretty high up, at least, was implied.-The apostle proceeds to advise "having on the breastplate of righteousness," to defend the vital parts; as our figure has on a breast-plate; and as one below has a covering made in one piece for the whole upper part of his body. "Having the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;" not iron, not steel; but patient investigation, calm inquiry; assiduous, laborious, lasting; if not, rather, with firm footing in the gospel of peace. Whether the apostle here means stout, well-tanned leather, leather well prepared, by his "preparation of the gospel of peace," or shoes which had spikes in them, which, running into the ground, gave a steadfastness to the soldier who wore them, may come under remark hereafter. We shall only add, that Moses seems, at least according to our rendering, to have some allusion to shoes, either plated, or spiked, on the sole, when he says, (Deut. xxxiii. 25.) "Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days shall thy strength be."-" Above all taking the shield of faith" not above all in point of value; but of situation; over all-before all; as our soldier holds his shield; for his protection. Faith may be a prime grace, but if raised too high, like a shield over elevated, the parts it should defend may become exposed to the enemy. "Take the helmet of salvation;" security-safety. So far our figure applies; however, it has no sword: it had originally a spear, but that weapon has been destroyed by time. "Praying," says the apostle, "and watching;" these are duties of soldiers, especially of Christian soldiers, but they are not of a nature to be explained by this figure; however, we very frequently meet with them in monuments of antiquity: nothing is more common than sacrifices, &c. in camps, and the very first soldiers in the Antonine pillar are sentinels. It may be remarked, that this soldier has no armor for his legs, or thighs, or arms: they are merely sheltered by clothing, but are not defended by armor. We do not find that the apostle alludes to any pieces of defence for the legs, or the thighs, of his Christian warrior. This engraving shows the parts of a complete suit as this figure is represented, nor when addressing great execution expected to be done by them. See of armor, separately; from an ancient gem: as, (1.) the Leg-pieces, which not only cover the legs pretty low down, but also the thighs, up above the knee; (2.) the Spear stuck in the ground; (3.) the Sword, in this instance in its sheath; (4.) the Cuirass, or defence of the body: this appears to be made of leather, or some pliant material, capable of taking the form of the parts: (5.) the Shield; upon which, in our gem, is placed (6.) the Helmet, with its flow-sharp sword issuing out of the mouth of our Lord ing crest. The next is among the most curious statues of antiquity remaining, being a portrait of Alexander the Great fighting on horseback; and probably, also, a portrait of his famous horse Bucephalus. The figure has a girdle round his waist; in which it is rather singular; and close to this girdle falls the sheath for his sword; his loins are girt about with a single piece of armor, buckled at the sides; which answers the purposes of a breast-plate, by covering high up on the thorax: his feet are not only shod, but ornamented with straps, &c. a considerable way up the leg. He has neither shield nor helmet; and Mr. Taylor remarks, that he has not found a commanding officer-a general-with a helmet on, neither during his actual engagement in fighting, (Rev. ii. 12.) will be noticed elsewhere; we only observe here, that to imagine a long sword issuing out of the mouth of a person, suggests a very awkward image, or idea, to say the least; an idea which hardly could have its prototype in nature. The annexed figures represent Standards or Ensigns of the Roman legions; and explain on what principles the Jews might regard them as idolatrous, not only because they had been consecrated to idols, and by heathen priests, but as they have images on them; which, if they might be those of the emperor, might also be those of idol deities. The passage 2 Sam. i. 9. has divided interpreters: "Slay me," says Saul, "for anguish (vertigo) is come upon me so reads our translation, with the Vulgate; but the LXX and Syriac read, "deep darkness surrounds me;" the Chaldee paraphrast, "I am wholly terrified" and some rabbins, "I have the cramp." The Hebrew word (p, SHABATZ) signifies to surround-enclose-interweave: it occurs several times as descriptive of a coat, or covering; as Exod. xxviii. 4, 39: "And thou shalt make an embroidered coat;" a close coat, says the Vulgate, Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion; the LXX to the same effect, zooforo; and elsewhere: but perhaps, a coat wrought with eye-let (oilet, Fr.) holes; whence the word signifies, the holes in which jewels are set. Since, then, this word, or its derivatives, in more than a dozen places, describes a bodily vesture, and of a particular kind, should it in this passage be understood to signify mental sufferings? Should it not rather, as rabbi Levi Ben Gershon and M. Saurin think, be rendered a close coat, made of rings (oilets) in the nature of a coat of mail, worn by |