themselves pretty far into Arabia Petræa; for Jethro, the priest of
Midian, and father-in-law to Moses, was a Kenite, Judges i, 16; 1 Chron.
ii, 55; 1 Sam. xv, 6. When Saul was sent to destroy the Amalekites, the
Kenites, who had joined them, perhaps by compulsion, were ordered to
depart from them, that they might not share in their fate; and the
reason assigned was, that they “showed kindness to the children of
Israel when they came up out of Egypt,” 1 Sam. xv, 6. Which, according
to the margin of our Bible, is to be understood of the father-in-law of
Moses and his family. From the story of Jethro, who is expressly said to
be a Midianite, they appear to have retained the worship of the true God
among them; for which, and their kindness to the Israelites when passing
their country, they were spared in the general destruction of the
nations bordering on Canaan. Of these Kenites were the Rechabites, the
Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Suchathites, mentioned in 1 Chron.
ii, 55, whose chief office was that of scribes. (See _Rechabites_.)
Balaam, when invited by Balak, king of Moab, to curse Israel, stood upon
a mountain, whence he addressed the Kenites, and said, “Strong is thy
dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock; nevertheless, the
Kenite shall be wasted until Ashur shall carry thee away captive,” Num.
xxiv, 21, 22. The Kenites dwelt in mountains and rocks almost
inaccessible. They were conquered and carried into captivity by
Nebuchadnezzar. After Saul the Kenites are not mentioned; but they
subsisted, being mingled among the Edomites and other nations of Arabia
Petræa.
KENIZZITES, an ancient people of Canaan, whose land God promised to the
descendants of Abraham, Gen. xv, 19. It is thought that this people
dwelt in the mountains south of Judea.
KETURAH, the name of Abraham’s second wife. Abraham married Keturah,
when he was one hundred and forty years of age, and by her he had six
sons, Zimram, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Some
chronologers, as Bishop Clayton, Hallet, &c, thinking it improbable that
Abraham should marry again at such an advanced age, have dislocated the
chronology of this period, by supposing that Abraham took Keturah as a
concubine, in consequence of his wife Sarah’s barrenness, even before he
left Charran; and that Keturah’s children were among the souls born to
him and Lot during their residence in that country. But it seems evident
from the whole tenor of the history, that Abraham was childless until
the birth of Ishmael, Gen. xv, 2, 3; that he had no other son than
Ishmael when he received the promise of Isaac, Gen. xvii, 18; and that
Isaac and Ishmael jointly, as his eldest sons, celebrated his funeral,
Gen. xxv, 9. His second marriage, at the age of one hundred and forty
years, shows his faith in the divine promise, that he should be “a
father of many nations;” for which purpose his constitution might be
miraculously renewed, as Sarah’s was. Beside, Abraham himself was born
when his father Terah was one hundred and thirty years of age. Abraham
settled the sons of Keturah in the east country of Arabia, near the
residence of Ishmael.
KEY is frequently mentioned in Scripture, as well in a natural as in a
figurative sense. The keys of the ancients were very different from
ours; because their doors and trunks were closed generally with bands,
and the key served only to loosen or fasten these bands in a certain
manner. In a moral sense key has many significations: “And the key of
the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder: so he shall open, and
none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open,” Isaiah xxii,
22,--he shall be grand master and principal officer of his prince’s
house. Christ promises to St. Peter, that he should first open the gate
of his kingdom, both to Jew and Gentile, in making the first converts
among them, Matt. xvi, 19. It is observable that no supremacy is here
given to St. Peter; as the power of binding and loosing belonged equally
to all the Apostles, Matt. xviii, 18. The term binding and loosing was
customarily applied by the Jews to a decision respecting doctrines or
rites, establishing which were lawful and which unlawful. (See _Bind_.)
And it may also denote, to bind with sickness, and to loose by restoring
to health. Jesus Christ says that he has the key of death and hell, Rev.
i, 18; that is, it is in his power to bring to the grave, or to deliver
from it; to appoint to life or to death.
KIBROTH HATAAVAH, one of the encampments of the Israelites in the
wilderness, Numbers xi, 34, 35.
KID, גדי, the young of the goat. Among the Hebrews the kid was reckoned
a great delicacy; and appears to have been served for food in preference
to the lamb. (See _Goat_.) It continues to be a choice dish in the
neighbouring countries. “After drinking,” says Salt, “_café à la
Sultane_, as it is termed by French writers, hookahs were offered to us;
and soon afterward, to my great surprise, dinner was announced. We
accordingly retired with the dola of Aden to another apartment, where a
kid, broiled and cut into small pieces, with a quantity of pillaued
rice, was served up to us, agreeably to the fashion of the country. No
people in the world is more straitened than the Abyssinians with respect
to the necessaries of life: a little juwarry bread, a small quantity of
fish, an adequate supply of goat’s and camel’s milk, and a kid on very
particular occasions, constitute the whole of their subsistence. As soon
as we arrived at the village of Howakil, a very neat hut was prepared
for me; and as the evening was far advanced, I consented to stay for the
night. Nothing could exceed the kindness of these good people; a kid was
killed, and a quantity of fresh milk was brought and presented in straw
baskets made of the leaves of the doom tree, seared over with wax, a
manufacture in which the natives of these islands particularly excel.”
The village of Engedi, situate in the neighbourhood of Jericho, derives
its name from the Hebrew word עין, _a fountain_, and גדי, _a kid_. It is
suggested by the situation among lofty rocks, which, overhanging the
valleys, are very precipitous. A fountain of pure water rises near the
summit, which the inhabitants called Engedi, “the fountain of the goat,”
because it is hardly accessible to any other creature.
KINGDOM, in Scripture, is a term of frequent occurrence, and variously
applied. Thus we read of the kingdom of God, Psalm ciii, 19; Dan. iv, 3;
or his universal empire and dominion over all creatures; in reference to
which it is said, “Jehovah is a great God, and a great King above all
gods,” Psalm xcv, 3. “His throne is established in the heavens, and his
kingdom ruleth over all.” Again: we frequently read in the evangelists
of the kingdom of heaven; a phrase, says Dr. Campbell, in which there is
a manifest allusion to the predictions in which the dispensation of the
Messiah was revealed by the prophets in the Old Testament, particularly
by Daniel, who mentions it as “a kingdom which the God of heaven would
set up, and which should never be destroyed,” Dan. ii, 44. The same
prophet also speaks of it as a kingdom to be given, with glory and
dominion over all people, nations, and languages, to one like unto the
Son of man, Dan. vii, 13, 14. And the Prophet Micah, speaking of the
same era, represents it as a time when Jehovah, having removed all the
afflictions of his people, would reign over them in Mount Zion
thenceforth even for ever, Micah iv, 6, 7. According to the prophecy of
Daniel, this kingdom was to take place during the existence of the Roman
empire, the last of the four great monarchies that had succeeded each
other, Dan. ii, 44. And as it was set up by the God of heaven, it is, in
the New Testament, termed “the kingdom of God,” or “the kingdom of
heaven.” It was typified by the Jewish theocracy, and declared to be at
hand by John the Baptist, and by Christ and his Apostles also in the
days of his flesh; but it did not come with power till Jesus rose from
the dead and sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, Acts ii,
32–37. Then was he most solemnly inaugurated, and proclaimed King of the
New Testament church, amidst adoring myriads of attendant angels, and
“the spirits of just men made perfect.” Then were fulfilled the words of
Jehovah by the Psalmist David, “I have set my King upon my holy hill of
Zion,” Psalm ii, 6. This is that spiritual empire to which he himself
referred when interrogated before Pontius Pilate, and in reference to
which he said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” John xviii, 36, 37.
His empire, indeed, extends to every creature; for all authority is
committed into his hands, both in heaven and on earth,” and he is head
over all things to the church;” but his kingdom primarily imports the
Gospel church, which is the subject of his laws, the seat of his
government, and the object of his care; and, being surrounded with
powerful opposers, he is represented as ruling in the midst of his
enemies. This kingdom is not of a worldly origin, or nature, nor has it
this world for its end or object. It can neither be promoted nor
defended by worldly power, influence, or carnal weapons, but by bearing
witness unto the truth, or by the preaching of the Gospel with the Holy
Ghost sent down from heaven. Its real subjects are only those who are of
the truth, and hear Christ’s voice; for none can enter it but such as
are born from above, John iii, 3–5; nor can any be visible subjects of
it, but such as appear to be regenerated, by a credible profession of
faith and obedience. Its privileges and immunities are not of this
world, but such as are spiritual and heavenly; they are all spiritual
blessings in heavenly things in Christ Jesus, Ephesians i, 3.
KINGS. This word does not always imply the same degree of power, nor the
same degree of importance; nor does it imply the magnitude of the
dominion or territory of these officers. In Scripture many persons are
called kings, whom we should rather denominate chiefs or leaders; and
many single towns, or, at most, together with their adjacent villages,
are said to have had kings. Not aware of this lower sense of the word
king, or unwilling to adopt it, many persons have been embarrassed by
the following passage: Moses commanded us a law,--he was king in
Jeshurun,” Deut. xxxiii, 4, 5, or king among the Israelites; that is, he
was the principal among the assembly of the superiors of the Israelites.
Some refer this to Jehovah. Moses was the chief, the leader, the guide
of his people, fulfilling the duties of a king; but he was not king in
the same sense as David or Solomon was afterward. This remark reconciles
the following observation: These kings reigned in Edom, before there
reigned any king over the children of Israel,” Gen. xxxvi, 31; for
Moses, though he was king in an inferior sense, did not reign, in the
stronger sense, over the children of Israel, their constitution not
being monarchical under him. Beside, we find in Joshua, that almost
every town in Canaan had its king; and we know that the territories of
these towns must have been very inconsiderable, Joshua xii, 9–24.
Adonizedek, himself no very powerful king, mentions seventy kings whom
he had subdued and mutilated.
[Illustration:
MAP OF
JUDAH AND ISRAEL.
Illustrating the
BOOKS OF KINGS.
]
KINGS, BOOKS OF. The first book of Kings commences with an account of
the death of David, and contains a period of a hundred and twenty-six
years, to the death of Jehoshaphat; and the second book of Kings
continues the history of the kings of Israel and Judah through a period
of three hundred years, to the destruction of the city and temple of
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. These two books formed only one in the
Hebrew canon, and they were probably compiled by Ezra from the records
which were regularly kept, both in Jerusalem and Samaria, of all public
transactions. These records appear to have been made by the contemporary
prophets, and frequently derived their names from the kings whose
history they contained. They are mentioned in many parts of Scripture;
thus 1 Kings xi, 41, we read of the book of the Acts of Solomon, which
is supposed to have been written by Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo, 2 Chron.
ix, 29. We elsewhere read that Shemaiah the prophet, and Iddo the seer,
wrote the Acts of Rehoboam, 2 Chron. xii, 15; that Jehu wrote the Acts
of Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. xx, 34; and Isaiah those of Uzziah and
Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxvi, 22; xxxii, 32. We may therefore conclude, that
from these public records, and other authentic documents, were composed
the two books of Kings; and the uniformity of their style favours the
opinion of their being put into their present shape by the same person.
KISHON. That ancient river, the river Kishon,” falls into the bay of
Acre, and has its source in the hills to the east of the plain of
Esdraelon, which it intersects. Being enlarged by several small streams,
it passes between Mount Carmel and the hills to the north, and then
falls into the sea at this point. In the condition we saw it, says
Maundrell, its waters were low and inconsiderable; but in passing along
the side of the plain, we discerned the tracts of many lesser torrents,
falling down into it from the mountains, which must needs make it swell
exceedingly upon sudden rains, as doubtless it actually did at the
destruction of Sisera’s host.
KISS, a mode of salutation, and token of respect, which has been
practised in all nations. It was also in ordinary use among the Jews;
hence Judas in this way saluted his Master. But there was also the kiss
of homage, as one of the ceremonies performed at the inauguration of the
kings of Israel. The Jews called it the kiss of majesty. Psalm ii, 12,
seems to be an allusion to this. St. Paul speaks frequently of the kiss
of peace, which was in use among believers, and was given by them to one
another as a token of charity and union, publicly in their religious
assemblies, Heb. xiii, 24. Kissing the feet is in eastern countries
expressive of exuberant gratitude or reverence.
KITE, איה, Lev. xi, 14; Deut. xiv, 13; Job xxviii, 7. Bochart supposes
this to be the bird which the Arabians call the _ja-jao_, from its note;
and which the ancients named _æsalon_, the merlin,” a bird celebrated
for its sharp-sightedness. This faculty is referred to in Job xxviii, 7,
where the word is rendered vulture.” As a noun masculine plural, איים,
in Isaiah xiii, 22; xxxiv, 14; and Jer. 1, 39, Bochart says that jackals
are intended; but, by the several contexts, particularly the last, it
may well mean a kind of unclean bird, and so be the same with that
mentioned above.
KOHATH, the second son of Levi, and father of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and
Uzziel, Gen. xlvi, 11; Exod. vi, 18. Kohath’s family was appointed to
carry the ark and sacred vessels of the tabernacle, while the Israelites
marched through the wilderness, Num. iv, &c.
KORAH was the son of Izhar, of the race of Levi, and father of Asher,
Elkanah, and Aliasaph, and head of the Korites, a celebrated family
among the Levites. Korah, being dissatisfied with the rank he held among
the sons of Levi, and envying the authority of Moses and Aaron, formed a
party against them, in which he engaged Dathan, Abiram, and On, with two
hundred and fifty of the principal Levites, Num. xvi, 1–3, &c. Korah, at
the head of the rebels, went to Moses and Aaron, and complained that
they alone arrogated to themselves all the authority over the people of
the Lord. Moses falling with his face on the earth, answered them as
follows: Tomorrow, in the morning, the Lord will discover who are his.
Let every one of you take, therefore, his censer, and to-morrow he shall
put incense into it, and offer it before the Lord; and he shall be
acknowledged priest whom the Lord shall choose and approve.” The next
day, Korah, with two hundred and fifty of his faction, presenting
themselves with their censers before the Lord, the glory of the Lord
appeared visibly over the tabernacle, and a voice was heard to say,
Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume
them in a moment.” Upon this, Moses and Aaron, falling with their faces
to the ground, said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall
one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?” And the
Lord said unto Moses, Command all the people to depart from about the
tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” When, therefore, the people were
retired, Moses said, If these men die the common death of all men, then
the Lord hath not sent me; but if the earth open and swallow them up
quick, ye shall know that they have blasphemed the Lord.” As soon as he
had spoken, the earth opened from under their feet, and swallowed them
up with what belonged to them. There was one thing which added to this
surprising wonder, and which was, that when Korah was thus swallowed up
in the earth, his sons were preserved from his misfortunes. We know not
the exact year in which the death of Korah and his companions happened.
The sons of Korah continued as before to serve in the tabernacle of the
Lord. David appointed them their office in the temple, to guard the
doors, and sing the praises of God. To them are ascribed several psalms,
which are designated by the name of Korah; as the forty-second,
forty-fourth to the forty-ninth, eighty-fourth to the eighty-seventh; in
all, eleven psalms.
LABAN, the son of Bethuel, grandson of Nahor, brother to Rebekah, and
father of Rachel and Leah, Gen. xxviii, 2, &c. Of this man, the first
thing we hear is his entertainment of Abraham’s servant when he came on
his errand to Rebekah. Hospitality was the virtue of his age and
country. In his case, however, it seems to have been no little
stimulated by the sight of “the ear ring and the bracelets on his
sister’s hands,” which the servant had already given her, Gen. xxiv, 30;
so he speedily made room for the camels. He next is presented to us as
beguiling that sister’s son, who had sought a shelter in his house, and
whose circumstances placed him at his mercy, of fourteen years’ service,
when he had covenanted with him for seven only; endeavouring to retain
his labour when he would not pay him his labour’s worth, himself
devouring the portion which he should have given to his daughters,
counting them but as strangers, Gen. xxxi, 15. Compelled, at length, to
pay Jacob wages, he changes them ten times, and, in the spirit of a
crafty, griping worldling, makes him account for whatever of the flock
was torn of beasts or stolen, whether by day or night. When Jacob flies
from this iniquitous service with his family and cattle, Laban still
pursues and persecutes him, intending, if his intentions had not been
overruled by a mightier hand, to send him away empty, even after he had
been making, for so long a period, so usurious a profit of him.
LACHISH, a city of Palestine, Joshua x, 23; xv, 39. Sennacherib besieged
Lachish, but did not make himself master of it. From thence it was that
he sent Rabshakeh against Jerusalem, 2 Kings xviii, 17; xix, 8; 2 Chron.
xxxii, 9.
LAMAISM, the religion of the people of Thibet. The _Delai Lama_, Grand
Lama,” is at once the high priest, and the visible object of adoration,
to this nation, to the hordes of wandering Tartars, and to the
prodigious population of China. He resides at Patoli, a vast palace on a
mountain near the banks of the Burampooter, about seven miles from
Lahasse. The foot of the mountain is surrounded by twenty thousand
lamas, or priests, in attendance on their sovereign pontiff, who is
considered as the viceregent of the Deity on earth; and the remote
Tartars are said to regard him absolutely as the Deity himself, and call
him God, the everlasting Father of heaven. They believe him to be
immortal, and endowed with all knowledge and virtue. Every year they
come up from different parts to worship, and make rich offerings at his
shrine. Even the emperor of China, who is a Mantchou Tartar, does not
fail in acknowledgments to him in his religious capacity; and entertains
in the palace of Pekin an inferior lama, deputed as his nuncio from
Thibet. The grand lama is only to be seen in a secret place of his
palace, amidst a great number of lamps, sitting cross-legged on a
cushion, and decked all over with gold and precious stones; while, at a
distance, the people prostrate themselves before him, it being not
lawful for any so much as to kiss his feet. He returns not the least
sign of respect, nor ever speaks, even to the greatest princes; but only
lays his hand upon their heads, and they are fully persuaded that they
thereby receive a full forgiveness of their sins. The _Sunniasses_, or
Indian pilgrims, often visit Thibet as a holy place; and the lama
entertains a body of two or three hundred in his pay. Beside his
religious influence and authority, he is possessed of unlimited power
throughout his dominions, which are very extensive. The inferior lamas,
who form the most numerous as well as the most powerful body in the
state, have the priesthood entirely in their hands, and, beside, fill up
many monastic orders, which are held in great veneration among them. The
whole country, like Italy, abounds with priests; and they entirely
subsist on the rich presents sent them from the utmost extent of
Tartary, from the empire of the great mogul, and from almost all parts
of the Indies. The opinion of the orthodox among the Thibetians is, that
when the grand lama seems to die, either of old age or infirmities, his
soul, in fact, only quits a crazy habitation to enter another, younger
and better; and is discovered again in the body of some child, by
certain tokens, known only to the lamas, or priests, in which order he
always appears. Almost all the nations of the east, except the
Mohammedans, believe the _metempsychosis_, or transmigration of the
soul, as the most important article of their faith; especially the
inhabitants of Thibet and Ava, the Peguans, the Siamese, the greater
part of the Chinese and Japanese, and the Monguls and Kalmucks.
According to their doctrine, the soul no sooner leaves her old
habitation than she enters a new one. The _delai lama_, therefore, or
rather the god Foe or Fuh, residing in the _delai lama_, passes to his
successor; and he being a god, to whom all things are known, the grand
lama is therefore acquainted with every thing which happened during his
residence in his former bodies. This religion, which was early adopted
in a large part of the globe, is said to have been of three thousand
years’ standing; and neither time, nor the influence of men, has had the
power of shaking the authority of the grand lama. This theocracy, which
extends as fully to temporal as to spiritual concerns, is professed all
over Thibet and Mongalia; is almost universal in Greater and Less
Bucharia, and several provinces of Tartary; has some followers in the
kingdom of Cashmere, in India; and is the predominant religion of China.