is a most signal and extraordinary epitaph. It seems to have been
designed as a useful _memento mori_, [memento of death,] for Alexander
the Great, in the full pride of conquest, “whose coming” it predicts
with a prophetic spirit, “For come I know thou wilt.” But how could
Cyrus know of his coming?--Very easily. Daniel the Archimagus, his
venerable friend, who warned the haughty Nebuchadnezzar, that “head of
gold,” or founder of the Babylonian empire, that it should be subverted
by “the breast and arms of silver,” Dan. ii, 37, 39, or “the Mede and
the Persian,” Darius and Cyrus, as he more plainly told the impious
Belshazzar, Dan. v, 28, we may rest assured, communicated to Cyrus also,
the founder of the Persian empire, the symbolical vision of the goat,
with the notable horn in his forehead, Alexander of Macedon coming
swiftly from the west, to overturn the Persian empire, Daniel viii, 5,
8, under the last king Codomannus, the fourth from Darius Nothus, as
afterward more distinctly explained, Dan. xi, 1, 4. Cyrus, therefore,
decidedly addresses the short-lived conqueror, _O man, whoever thou art,
&c._
“Juvenal, in that noble satire, the tenth, verse 168, has a fine
reflection on the vanity of Alexander’s wild ambition to conquer worlds,
soon destined himself to be confined in a narrow coffin; by a pointed
allusion to the epitaph on the tomb of Cyrus:--
_Unus Pellæo Juveni non sufficit orbis;
Æstuat, infelix angusto limite mundi:
Cum tamen a figulis munitam intraverit urbem,
Sarcophago contentus erit.--Mors sola fatetur
Quantula sint hominum corpuscula!_”
‘A single globe suffices not the Pellæan youth;
Discontented, he scorns the scanty limits of the world;
As if within a prison’s narrow bounds confined:
But when he shall enter the _brick-walled_ city, [Babylon,]
A coffin will content him.--_The epitaph alone owns,
How small are the diminutive bodies of men!_’
“The emotion of Alexander, on visiting the tomb, and reading the
inscription, is not less remarkable. He evidently applied to himself, as
the destroyer, the awful rebuke of the founder of the Persian empire,
for violating the sanctity of his tomb, from motives of profane
curiosity, and perhaps of avarice. And we may justly consider the
significant act of laying down his golden crown upon the tomb itself, as
an _amende honorable_, a homage due to the offended shade of the pious
and lowly-minded Cyrus the Great.” These reflections must close our
account of one of the most remarkable characters that ever appeared
among the eastern conquerors.
DAGON, דגון, _corn_, from דגן, or דג, _a fish_, god of the Philistines.
It is the opinion of some that Dagon was represented like a woman, with
the lower parts of a fish, like a triton or syren. Scripture shows
clearly that the statue of Dagon was human, at least, the upper part of
it, 1 Sam. v, 4, 5. A temple of Dagon at Gaza was pulled down by Samson,
Judges xvi, 23, &c. In another, at Ashdod, the Philistines deposited the
ark of God, 1 Sam. v, 1–3. A city in Judah was called Beth-Dagon; that
is, the house, or temple, of Dagon, Joshua xv, 41; and another on the
frontiers of Asher, Joshua xix, 27.
DALMANUTHA. St. Mark says that Jesus Christ embarked with his disciples
on the lake of Tiberias, and came to Dalmanutha, Mark viii, 10, but St.
Matthew calls it Magdala, Matt. xv, 39. It seems that Dalmanutha was
near to Magdala, on the western side of the lake.
DALMATIA, a part of old Illyria, lying along the gulf of Venice. Titus
preached here, 2 Tim. iv, 10.
DAMASCUS, a celebrated city of Asia, and anciently the capital of Syria,
may be accounted one of the most venerable places in the world for its
antiquity. It is supposed to have been founded by Ux, the son of Aram;
and is, at least, known to have subsisted in the time of Abraham, Gen.
xv, 2. It was the residence of the Syrian kings, during the space of
three centuries; and experienced a number of vicissitudes in every
period of its history. Its sovereign, Hadad, whom Josephus calls the
first of its kings, was conquered by David, king of Israel. In the reign
of Ahaz, it was taken by Tiglath Pileser, who slew its last king, Rezin,
and added its provinces to the Assyrian empire. It was taken and
plundered, also, by Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, the generals of
Alexander the Great, Judas Maccabeus, and at length by the Romans in the
war conducted by Pompey against Tigranes, in the year before Christ, 65.
During the time of the emperors, it was one of their principal arsenals
in Asia, and is celebrated by the emperor Julian as, even in his day,
“the eye of the whole east.” About the year 634, it was taken by the
Saracen princes, who made it the place of their residence, till Bagdad
was prepared for their reception; and, after suffering a variety of
revolutions, it was taken and destroyed by Tamerlane, A. D. 1400. It was
repaired by the Mamelukes, when they gained possession of Syria; but was
wrested from them by the Turks, in 1506; and since that period has
formed the capital of one of their pachalics. The modern city is
delightfully situated about fifty miles from the sea, in a fertile and
extensive plain, watered by the river which the Greeks called
Chrysorrhoras, or “Golden River,” but which is known by the name of
Barrady, and of which the ancient Abana and Pharpar are supposed to have
been branches. The city is nearly two miles in length from its
north-east to its north-west extremity; but of very inconsiderable
breadth, especially near the middle of its extent, where its width is
much contracted. It is surrounded by a circular wall, which is strong,
though not lofty; but its suburbs are extensive and irregular. Its
streets are narrow; and one of them, called Straight, mentioned in Acts
ix, 11, still runs through the city about half a mile in length. The
houses, and especially those which front the streets, are very
indifferently built, chiefly of mud formed into the shape of bricks, and
dried in the sun; but those toward the gardens, and in the squares,
present a more handsome appearance. In these mud walls, however, the
gates and doors are often adorned with marble portals, carved and inlaid
with great beauty and variety; and the inside of the habitation, which
is generally a large square court, is ornamented with fragrant trees and
marble fountains, and surrounded with splendid apartments, furnished and
painted in the highest style of luxury. The market places are well
constructed, and adorned with a rich colonnade of variegated marble. The
principal public buildings are, the castle, which is about three hundred
and forty paces in length; the hospital, a charitable establishment for
the reception of strangers, composing a large quadrangle lined with a
colonnade, and roofed in small domes covered with lead; and the mosque,
the entrance of which is supported by four large columns of red granite;
the apartments in it are numerous and magnificent, and the top is
covered with a cupola ornamented with two minarets.
Damascus is surrounded by a fruitful and delightful country, forming a
plain nearly eighty miles in circumference; and the lands, most adjacent
to the city, are formed into gardens of great extent, which are stored
with fruit trees of every description. “No place in the world,” says Mr.
Maundrell “can promise to the beholder at a distance a greater
voluptuousness;” and he mentions a tradition of the Turks, that their
prophet, when approaching Damascus, took his station upon a certain
precipice, in order to view the city; and, after considering its
ravishing beauty and delightful aspect, was unwilling to tempt his
frailty by going farther; but instantly took his departure with this
remark, that there was but one paradise designed for man, and that, for
his part, he was resolved not to take his in this world. The air or
water of Damascus, or both, are supposed to have a powerful effect in
curing the leprosy, or, at least, in arresting its progress, while the
patient remains in the place.
The Rev. James Conner visited Damascus in 1820, as an agent of the
Church Missionary Society. He had a letter from the archbishop of Cyprus
to Seraphim, patriarch of Antioch, the head of the Christian church in
the east, who resides at Damascus. This good man received Mr. Conner in
the most friendly manner; and expressed himself delighted with the
system and operations of the Bible Society. He undertook to encourage
and promote, to the utmost of his power, the sale and distribution of
the Scriptures throughout the patriarchate; and, as a proof of his
earnestness in the cause, he ordered, the next day, a number of letters
to be prepared, and sent to his archbishops and bishops, urging them to
promote the objects of the Bible Society in their respective stations.
DAMN, and DAMNATION, are words synonymous with condemn and condemnation.
Generally speaking, the words are taken to denote the final and eternal
punishment of the ungodly. These terms, however, sometimes occur in the
New Testament in what may be termed a less strict, or secondary sense.
Thus, when the Apostle says to the Romans, “He that doubteth,” namely,
the lawfulness of what he is doing, “is _damned_ if he eat,” Rom. xiv,
23; the meaning is, he stands condemned in his own mind. Again: when St.
Paul tells the Corinthians, that “he that eateth and drinketh” of the
Lord’s Supper “unworthily, eateth and drinketh _damnation_ to himself,”
1 Cor. xi, 29; the original word, κρίμα, there is thought by many to
import no more than temporal judgments, and that the Apostle explains
himself in the same sense when he says, “For this cause many among you
are weak and sickly, and many sleep,” or die. This is at least one mode
of interpreting the “damnation” of which St. Paul here speaks; but
probably the true sense is the bringing guilt upon the conscience, and
thereby a liability, without remission, to future judgment.
DAN, the fifth son of Jacob, Gen. xxx, 1–6. Dan had but one son, whose
name was Hushim, Gen. xlvi, 23; yet he had a numerous posterity; for, on
leaving Egypt, this tribe consisted of sixty-two thousand seven hundred
men able to bear arms, Num. i, 38. Of Jacob’s blessing Dan, see Gen.
xlix, 16, 17. They took Laish, Judges xviii, 1; Joshua xix, 47. They
called the city Dan, after their progenitor. The city of Dan was
situated at the northern extremity of the land of Israel: hence the
phrase, “from Dan to Beersheba,” denoting the whole length of the land
of promise. Here Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, set up one of his golden
calves, 1 Kings xii, 29; and the other at Bethel.
DANCING. It is still the custom in the east to testify their respect for
persons of distinction by music and dancing. When Baron Du Tott, who was
sent by the French government to inspect their factories in the Levant,
approached an encampment of Turcomans, between Aleppo and Alexandretta,
the musicians of the different hordes turned out, playing and dancing
before him all the time he and his escort were passing by their camp.
Thus, it will be recollected, “the women came out of all the cities of
Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets, with joy,
and with instruments of music,” when he returned in triumph from the
slaughter of the Philistines. In the oriental dances, in which the women
engage by themselves, the lady of highest rank in the company takes the
lead, and is followed by her companions, who imitate her steps, and if
she sings, make up the chorus. The tunes are extremely gay and lively,
yet with something in them wonderfully soft. The steps are varied
according to the pleasure of her who leads the dance, but always in
exact time. This statement may enable us to form a correct idea of the
dance, which the women of Israel performed under the direction of
Miriam, on the banks of the Red Sea. The prophetess, we are told, “took
a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her, with
timbrels and dances.” She led the dance, while they imitated her steps,
which were not conducted according to a set, well-known form, as in this
country, but extemporaneous. The conjecture of Mr. Harmer is extremely
probable, that David did not dance alone before the Lord, when he
brought up the ark, but, as being the highest in rank, and more skilful
than any of the people, he led the religious dance of the males.
DANIEL was a descendant of the kings of Judah, and is said to have been
born at Upper Bethoron, in the territory of Ephraim. He was carried away
captive to Babylon when he was about eighteen or twenty years of age, in
the year 606 before the Christian æra. He was placed in the court of
Nebuchadnezzar, and was afterward raised to situations of great rank and
power, both in the empire of Babylon and of Persia. He lived to the end
of the captivity, but being then nearly ninety years old, it is most
probable that he did not return to Judea. It is generally believed that
he died at Susa, soon after his last vision, which is dated in the third
year of the reign of Cyrus. Daniel seems to have been the only prophet
who enjoyed a great share of worldly prosperity; but amidst the
corruptions of a licentious court he preserved his virtue and integrity
inviolate, and no danger or temptation could divert him from the worship
of the true God. The book of Daniel is a mixture of history and
prophecy: in the first six chapters is recorded a variety of events
which occurred in the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius;
and, in particular, the second chapter contains Nebuchadnezzar’s
prophetic dream concerning the four great successive monarchies, and the
everlasting kingdom of the Messiah, which dream God enabled Daniel to
interpret. In the last six chapters we have a series of prophecies,
revealed at different times, extending from the days of Daniel to the
general resurrection. The Assyrian, the Persian, the Grecian, and the
Roman empires, are all particularly described under appropriate
characters; and it is expressly declared that the last of them was to be
divided into ten lesser kingdoms; the time at which Christ was to appear
is precisely fixed; the rise and fall of antichrist, and the duration of
his power, are exactly determined; and the future restoration of the
Jews, the victory of Christ over all his enemies, and the universal
prevalence of true religion, are distinctly foretold, as being to
precede the consummation of that stupendous plan of God, which “was laid
before the foundation of the world,” and reaches to its dissolution.
Part of this book is written in the Chaldaic language, namely, from the
fourth verse of the second chapter to the end of the seventh chapter;
these chapters relate chiefly to the affairs of Babylon, and it is
probable that some passages were taken from the public registers. This
book abounds with the most exalted sentiments of piety and devout
gratitude; its style is clear, simple, and concise; and many of its
prophecies are delivered in terms so plain and circumstantial, that some
unbelievers have asserted, in opposition to the strongest evidence, that
they were written after the events which they describe had taken place.
With respect to the genuineness and authenticity of the hook of Daniel,
there is abundance both of external and internal evidence; indeed all
that can well be had or desired in a case of this nature: not only the
testimony of the whole Jewish church and nation, who have constantly
received this book as canonical, but of Josephus particularly, who
recommends him as the greatest of the prophets; of the Jewish Targums
and Talmuds, which frequently cite and appeal to his authority; of St.
Paul and St. John, who have copied many of his prophecies; and of our
Saviour himself, who cites his words, and styles him, “Daniel the
prophet.” Nor is the internal less powerful and convincing than the
external evidence; for the language, the style, the manner of writing,
and all other internal marks and characters, are perfectly agreeable to
that age; and finally he appears plainly and undeniably to have been a
prophet by the exact accomplishment of his prophecies.
DARIUS was the name of several princes in history, some of whom are
mentioned in Scripture.
1. DARIUS the Mede, spoken of in Daniel v, 31; ix, 1; xi, 1, &c, was the
son of Astyages, king of the Medes, and brother to Mandane, the mother
of Cyrus, and to Amyit, the mother of Evil-merodach, and grandmother of
Belshazzar. Darius the Mede, therefore, was uncle by the mother’s side
to Evil-merodach and Cyrus. The Septuagint, in Daniel vii, give him the
name of Artaxerxes; the thirteenth, or apocryphal chapter of Daniel,
calls him Astyages; and Xenophon designates him by the name of Cyaxares.
He succeeded Belshazzar, king of Babylon, his nephew’s son, or his
sister’s grandson, in the year of the world, 3448, according to Calmet,
or in 3468, according to Usher. Daniel does not inform us of any
previous war between them; but the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah supply
this deficiency. Isa. xiii, xiv, xlv, xlvi, xlvii; Jer. l, li.
2. DARIUS, the son of Hystaspes, has been supposed by some, on the
authority of Archbishop Usher and Calmet, to be the Ahasuerus of
Scripture, and the husband of Esther. But Dr. Prideaux thinks, that
Ahasuerus was Artaxerxes Longimanus. This prince recovered Babylon after
a siege of twenty months. This city, which had been formerly the capital
of the east, revolted from Persia, taking advantage of the revolutions
that happened, first at the death of Cambyses, and afterward on the
massacre of the Magi. The Babylonians employed four years in
preparations, and when they thought that their city was furnished with
provisions for a long time, they raised the standard of rebellion.
Darius levied an army in great haste, and besieged Babylon. The
Babylonians shut themselves up within their walls, whose height and
thickness secured them from assault; and as they had nothing to fear but
famine, they assembled all their women and children, and strangled them,
each reserving only his most beloved wife, and one servant. Thus was
fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, xlvii, 7–9. Some believe that the Jews
were either expelled by the Babylonians, as being too much in the
interest of Darius; or that, in obedience to the frequent admonitions of
the prophets, they quitted that city when they saw the people determined
to rebel, Isa. xlviii, 20; Jer. l, 8; li, 6–9; Zech. xi, 6, 7. Darius
lay twenty months before Babylon, without making any considerable
progress; but, at length, Zopyrus, one of his generals, obtained
possession of the city by stratagem. Darius ordered the hundred gates of
brass to be taken away, according to the prediction of Jeremiah, li, 58,
“Thus saith the Lord, The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly
broken, and her high gates shall be burnt with fire, and the people
shall labour in vain.” This is related in Herodotus.
3. DARIUS CODOMANUS was of the royal family of Persia, but very remote
from the crown. He was in a low condition, when Bagoas, the eunuch, who
had procured the destruction of two kings, Ochus and Arses, placed him
on the throne. His true name was Codoman, and he did not take that of
Darius till he was king. He was descended from Darius Nothus, whose son,
Ostanes, was father to Arsames, that begat Codomanus. He was at first
only a courier to the emperor Ochus. But one day when he was at this
prince’s army, one of their enemies challenged the bravest of the
Persians. Codomanus offered himself for the combat, and overcame the
challenger, and was made governor of Armenia. From this situation,
Bagoas placed him on the throne of Persia. Alexander the Great invaded
the Persian empire, and defeated Darius in three successive battles.
After the third battle, Darius fled toward Media, in hopes of raising
another army. At Ecbatana, the capital of Media, he gathered the remains
of his forces, and some new levies. Alexander having wintered at Babylon
and Persepolis, took the field in search of Darius, who quitted
Ecbatana, with an intention of retreating into Bactria; but, changing
his resolution, Darius stopped short, and determined to hazard a battle,
though his army at this time consisted only of forty thousand men. While
he was preparing for this conflict, Bessus, governor of Bactria, and
Narbazanes, a grandee of Persia, seized him, loaded him with chains,
forced him into a covered chariot, and fled, carrying him with them
toward Bactria. If Alexander pursued them, they intended to purchase
their peace by delivering Darius into his hands; but if not, to kill
him, seize the crown, and renew the war. Eight days after their
departure, Alexander arrived at Ecbatana, and set out in pursuit of
them, which he continued for eleven days: at length he stopped at Rages,
in Media, despairing to overtake Darius. Thence he went into Parthia,
where he learned what had happened to that unfortunate prince. After a
precipitate march of many days, he overtook the traitors, who, seeing
themselves pressed, endeavoured to compel Darius to get upon horseback,
and save himself with them; but he refusing, they stabbed him in several
places, and left him expiring in his chariot. He was dead when Alexander
arrived, who could not forbear weeping at so sad a spectacle. Alexander
covered Darius with his own cloak, and sent him to Sisygambis his wife,
that she might bury him in the tombs of the kings of Persia. Thus were
verified the prophecies of Daniel, viii, who had foretold the
destruction of the Persian monarchy, under the symbol of a ram, which
butted with its horns westward, northward, and southward, and which
nothing could resist; but a goat which had a very large horn between his
eyes, and which denoted Alexander the Great, came from the west, and
overran the world without touching the earth; springing forward with
impetuosity, the goat ran against the ram with all his force, attacked
him with fury, struck him, broke his two horns, trampled him under foot,
and no one could rescue the ram. Nothing can be clearer than these
prophecies.
DARKNESS, the absence of light. “Darkness was upon the face of the
deep,” Gen. i, 2; that is, the chaos was immersed in thick darkness,
because light was withheld from it. The most terrible darkness was that
brought on Egypt as a plague; it was so thick as to be, as it were,
palpable; so horrible, that no one durst stir out of his place; and so
lasting, that it endured three days and three nights, Exod. x, 21, 22;
Wisdom xvii, 2, 3. The darkness at our Saviour’s death began at the
sixth hour, or noon, and ended at the third hour, or three o’clock in
the afternoon. Thus it lasted almost the whole time he was on the cross;
compare Matt. xxvii, 45, with John xix, 14, and Mark xv, 25. Origen,
Maldonatus, Erasmus, Vatablus, and others, were of opinion that this
darkness covered Judea only; which is sometimes called the _whole
earth_; that is, the whole country. Chrysostom, Euthymius, Theophylact,
and others, thought it extended over a hemisphere. Origen says it was
caused by a thick mist, which precluded the sight of the sun. That it
was preternatural is certain, for, the moon being at full, a natural
eclipse of the sun was impossible. Darkness is sometimes used
metaphorically for death. “The land of darkness” is the grave, Job x,
22; Psalm cvii, 10. It is also used to denote misfortunes and
calamities: “A day of darkness” is a day of affliction, Esther xi, 8.
“Let that day be darkness; let darkness stain it,”--let it be reckoned
among the unfortunate days, Job iii, 4, 5. The expressions, “I will
cover the heavens with darkness;” “The sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood,” &c, signify very great political
calamities, involving the overthrow of kings, princes, and nobles,
represented by the luminaries of heaven. In a moral sense, darkness
denotes ignorance and vice; hence “the children of light,” in opposition
to “the children of darkness,” are the righteous distinguished from the
wicked.