Scripture were evidently a nation, or perhaps a wandering horde, such as
fell upon Job’s cattle, Job i, 15; men of stature, Isa. xiv, 14; a
people afar off, Joel iii, 8. But we speak here of the Zabians as a
sect, probably the first corrupters of the patriarchal religion; and so
called, as is believed, from _tsabiim_, the “hosts,” that is, of heaven;
namely, the sun, moon, and stars, to whom they rendered worship; first
immediately, and afterward through the medium of images; this
particularly distinguished them from the magi, whose idolatry was
confined to the solar orb, and its earthly representative, the fire. If
the above derivation be right, the Zabians were originally Chaldeans,
though afterward the same sect arose in Arabia. Their study of the
heavenly bodies led them, not only to astronomy, but to astrology, its
degenerate daughter, which was for many ages the favourite pursuit of
the oriental nations.
The following account is abridged from Dr. Townley’s “Essays;”--The
Zabii, or Zabians, were a sect of idolaters who flourished in the early
ages of the world, considerable in their numbers, and extensive in their
influence. The denomination of Zabii, given to these idolaters, appears
to have been derived from the Hebrew צבא, a _host_; with reference to
the צכא השמים or, _host of heaven_, which they worshipped; though others
have derived it from the Arabic _tsaba_ “to apostatize,” “to turn from
one religion to another;” or from צביים, or the Arabic _Tsabin_,
“Chaldeans,” or “inhabitants of the east.” Lactantius considers Ham, the
son of Noah, as the first seceder from the true religion after the
flood; and supposes Egypt, which was peopled by his descendants, to have
been the country in which Zabaism, or the worship of the stars, first
prevailed. That the worship of the heavenly bodies prevailed in the east
at a very early period, is certain from the words of Job, who thus
exculpates himself from the charge of idolatry: “If I beheld the sun
when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness, and my heart hath
been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand; this also were
an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the
God that is above,” Job xxii, 26–28. It would appear that the idolatrous
opinions of the Zabii originated with the posterity of Ham, at a very
early period after the flood, in Egypt or Chaldea; but spread so rapidly
and extensively, that in a very short time nearly the whole of the
descendants of Noah were infected with their pestiferous sentiments and
practices. Maimonides says, “This people,” that is, the Zabii, “had
filled the whole world.” Their first and principal adoration was
directed to the host of heaven, or the stars. They were _ignicolæ_, or
“worshippers of fire.” The city of Ur, in Chaldea, seems to have had its
name from the inhabitants being devoted to the worship of fire. They
dedicated images to the sun and the other celestial orbs, supposing
that, by a formal consecration of them to those luminaries, a divine
virtue was infused into them, by which they acquired the faculty of
understanding, and the power of conferring prophecy and other gifts upon
their worshippers. These images were formed of various metals, according
to the particular star to which any of them was dedicated. They also
regarded certain trees as being appropriated to particular stars, and,
when idolatrously dedicated, as being possessed of very singular
virtues. From these opinions sprang the adoption of astrology by them,
in all its various forms. They maintained the doctrine of the eternity
of the world. “All the Zabii,” says Maimonides, “believe in the eternity
of the world; for, according to them, the heavens are God.” Holding the
eternity of the world, they easily became Pre-Adamites, affirming that
Adam was not the first man. They also fabled concerning him, that he was
the apostle of the moon, and the author of several works on husbandry.
Of Noah, they taught, that he was a husbandman, and was imprisoned for
dissenting from their opinions. They add, that Seth was another of those
who forsook the worship of the moon. They held agriculture in the
highest estimation, regarding it as intimately connected with the
worship of the heavenly bodies. On this account, it was deemed criminal,
by the major part of them, to slay or feed upon cattle. Goats were also
reputed to be sacred animals, because the demons whom they worshipped
were said to appear in the woods and deserts in the forms of goats or of
satyrs. Of their superstitious practices, some were dangerous, as the
sacrifices of lions, tigers, and other wild beasts. Certain of their
rites were cruel, as the passing of their children through the fire, and
branding themselves also with fire. Some of their practices were
loathsome and disgustful; such as eating blood, believing it to be the
food of demons, &c. Others were frivolous and tedious; as offering bats
and mice to the sun, various and frequent ablutions, lustrations, &c.
Some of them were obscene and beastly, as the rites practised on
engrafting a tree, or to obtain rain. Many of the rites were magical.
These Maimonides divides into three kinds:--“The first is that which
respects plants, animals, and metals. The second consists in the
limitation and determination of the times in which certain works ought
to be performed. The third consists in human gestures and actions, as
leaping, clapping the hands, shouting, laughing, lying down, or
stretching at full length upon the ground, burning particular things,
raising a smoke, and, lastly, repeating certain intelligible or
unintelligible words. Some things cannot be completed without the use of
all these rites.” It is generally acknowledged that some traces of
Zabianism are still to be found both among the Hindoos and Chinese in
the east, and the Mexicans and other nations in the south. The Guebres,
or Parsees, who inhabit Persia, and are scattered through various parts
of Hindostan, are the acknowledged worshippers of fire, or the supreme
Deity under that symbol. “That the Persians,” says Hyde, “were formerly
Sabians or Zabii, is rendered probable by Ibn Phacreddin Angjou, a
Persian, who, in his book ‘_Pharhangh Gjihanghiri_,’ treating of the
Persians descended from Shem, says in the preface, ‘Their religion, at
that time, was Zabianism; but at length they became magi, and built fire
temples.’ And the author of the book ‘_Mu’gjizat Pharsi_,’ adopts the
same opinion: ‘In ancient times, the Persians were of the Zabian
religion, worshipping the stars, until the time of Gushtasp, son of
Lohrasp.’ For then Zoroaster reformed their religion.” The modern
Sabians, who inhabit the country round about Mount Libanus, believe the
unity of God, but pay an adoration to the stars, or the angels and
intelligences which they suppose reside in them, and govern the world
under the supreme Deity. They are obliged to pray three times a day, and
they fast three times a year. They offer many sacrifices, but eat no
part of them; and abstain from beans, garlic, and some other pulse and
vegetables. They greatly respect the temple of Mecca and the pyramids of
Egypt, fancying these last to be the sepulchres of Seth, and of Enoch
and Sabi, his two sons, whom they look on as the first propagators of
their religion. At these structures, they sacrifice a cock and a black
calf, and offer up incense. Their principal pilgrimage, however, is to
Haran, the supposed birth place of Abraham. Such is the account of this
sect given by Sale, D’Herbelot, and Hyde.
ZACCHEUS, chief of the publicans; that is, farmer general of the
revenues, Luke xix, 1, &c. This is all that is known concerning this
person. See PUBLICANS and SYCAMORE.
ZADOK, son of Ahitub, high priest of the Jews, of the race of Eleazar.
At the death of Ahimelech, or Abiathar, he came to the pontificate, A.
M. 2944. For some time there were two high priests in Israel, 2 Sam.
viii, 17; xv, 24, &c; xix, 11, 12; 1 Kings i, 8, &c. After the death of
David, 1 Kings ii, 35, Solomon excluded Abiathar from the high
priesthood, because he espoused the party of Adonijah, and made Zadok
high priest alone.
ZAMZUMMIM, or ZUZIM, a gigantic race of people, who, together with the
Rephaim and Emim, men of like stature, occupied, in the time of Abraham,
the country east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, where they were routed by
Chedorlaomer, and from which they were afterward expelled by the
Ammonites, Deut. ii, 20, 21. These, together with the Anakim, another
family of giants, were all evidently of a race foreign to the original
inhabitants of the countries where they were found; they were probably
tribes of invading Cushites. The Vulgate and the Septuagint say, they
were conquered with the Rephaim in Ashteroth-Karnaim. The Chaldee
interpreters have taken Zuzim in the sense of an appellative, for stout
and valiant men; and the Septuagint have rendered the word Zuzim, ἔθνη
ἰσχυρὰ, _robust nations_. We meet with the word Zuzim only in Gen. xiv,
5.
ZEAL. The original word, in its primary signification, means heat; such
as the heat of boiling water. When it is figuratively applied to the
mind, it means any warm emotion or affection. Sometimes it is taken for
envy: so we render it, Acts v, 17, where we read, “The high priest, and
all that were with him, were filled with envy,” ἐπλήσθησαν ζήλου:
although it might as well be rendered, “were filled with zeal.”
Sometimes it is taken for anger and indignation; sometimes, for vehement
desire. And when any of our passions are strongly moved on a religious
account, whether for any thing good, or against any thing which we
conceive to be evil, this we term religious zeal. But it is not all that
is called religious zeal which is worthy of that name. It is not
properly religious or Christian zeal, if it be not joined with charity.
A fine writer (Bishop Sprat) carries the matter farther still. “It has
been affirmed,” says he, “no zeal is right, which is not charitable, but
is mostly so. Charity, or love, is not only one ingredient, but the
chief ingredient, in its composition.” May we not go farther still? May
we not say, that true zeal is not mostly charitable, but wholly so? that
is, if we take charity, in St. Paul’s sense, for love; the love of God
and our neighbour. For it is a certain truth, although little understood
in the world, that Christian zeal is all love. It is nothing else. The
love of God and man fills up its whole nature. Yet it is not every
degree of that love to which this appellation is given. There may be
some love, a small degree of it, where there is no zeal. But it is,
properly, love in a higher degree. It is fervent love. True Christian
zeal is no other than the flame of love. This is the nature, the inmost
essence of it. Phinehas is commended for having expressed much zeal
against those wicked persons that violated the law of the Lord, Num.
xxv, 11, 13; and in Psalm lxix, 9, the psalmist says, “The zeal of thine
house hath eaten me up;” my earnest desire to have all things duly
ordered about thy worship, and my just displeasure and indignation at
all abuses in it, have wasted my natural moisture and vital spirits.
ZEBOIM, one of the four cities of the Pentapolis, consumed by fire from
heaven, Gen. xiv, 2; xix, 24. Eusebius and St. Jerom speak of Zeboim as
of a city remaining in their time, upon the western shores of the Dead
Sea. Consequently, after the time of Lot this city must have been
rebuilt near the place where it had stood before. Mention is made of the
valley of Zeboim, 1 Sam. xiii, 18, and of a city of the same name in the
tribe of Benjamin, Neh. xi, 34.
ZEBULUN, the sixth son of Jacob and Leah, Gen. xxx, 20. He was born in
Mesopotamia, about A. M. 2256. His sons were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel,
Gen. xlvi, 14. Moses acquaints us with no particulars of his life; but
Jacob, in his last blessing, said of Zebulun, “Zebulun shall dwell at
the haven of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of ships; and his
border shall be unto Zidon,” Gen. xlix, 13. His portion extended along
the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, one end of it bordering on this sea,
and the other on the sea of Tiberias, Joshua xix, 10, &c. In the last
words of Moses, he joins Zebulun and Issachar together, saying, “Rejoice
Zebulun, in thy going out, and Issachar in thy tents. They shall call
the people unto the mountain, there shall they offer sacrifices of
righteousness. For they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of
treasures hid in the sand,” Deut. xxxiii, 18; meaning, that these two
tribes being at the greatest distance north, should come together to the
temple at Jerusalem, to the holy mountain, and should bring with them
such of the other tribes as dwelt in their way; and that being situated
on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, they should apply themselves to
trade and navigation, and to the melting of metals and glass, denoted by
those words, “treasures hid in the sand.” The river Belus, whose sand
was very fit for making glass, was in this tribe. When the tribe of
Zebulun left Egypt, it had for its chief Eliab the son of Elon, and
comprehended fifty-seven thousand four hundred men able to bear arms,
Num. i, 9–30. In another review thirty-nine years afterward, this tribe
amounted to sixty thousand five hundred men of age to bear arms, Num.
xxvi, 26, 27. The tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali distinguished
themselves in the war of Barak and Deborah against Sisera, the general
of the armies of Jabin, Judges iv, 5, 6, 10; v, 14, 18. It is thought
these tribes were the first carried into captivity beyond the Euphrates
by Pul and Tiglath Pileser, kings of Assyria, 1 Chron. v, 26. They had
also the advantage of hearing and seeing Jesus Christ in their country,
oftener and longer than any other of the twelve tribes, Isa. ix, 1;
Matthew iv, 13, 15.
ZECHARIAH, king of Israel, 2 Kings xiv, 29. He succeeded his father
Jeroboam II. A. M. 3220. He reigned but six months, and was murdered.
2. ZECHARIAH, son of Jehoiada, high priest of the Jews; probably the
same as Azariah, 1 Chron. vi, 10, 11. He was put to death by the order
of Joash, A. M. 3164, 2 Chron. xxiv, 20–22. Some think this is the
Zacharias mentioned Matt. xxiii, 35.
3. ZECHARIAH, the eleventh of the twelve lesser prophets, was the son of
Barachiah, and the grandson of Iddo. He was born during the captivity,
and came to Jerusalem when the Jews were permitted by Cyrus to return to
their own country. He began to prophesy two months later than Haggai,
and continued to exercise his office about two years. Like his
contemporary Haggai, Zechariah begins with exhorting the Jews to proceed
in the rebuilding of the temple; he promises them the aid and protection
of God, and assures them of the speedy increase and prosperity of
Jerusalem; he then emblematically describes the four great empires, and
foretels the glory of the Christian church when Jews and Gentiles shall
be united under their great High Priest and Governor, Jesus Christ, of
whom Joshua the high priest, and Zerubbabel the governor, were types; he
predicts many particulars relative to our Saviour and his kingdom, and
to the future condition of the Jews. Many moral instructions and
admonitions are interspersed throughout the work. Several learned men
have been of opinion that the last six chapters were not written by
Zechariah; but whoever wrote them, their inspired authority is
established by their being quoted in three of the Gospels, Matt. xxvi,
31; Mark xiv, 27; John xix, 37. The style of Zechariah is so remarkably
similar to that of Jeremiah, that the Jews were accustomed to observe,
that the spirit of Jeremiah had passed into him. By far the greater part
of this book is prosaic; but toward the conclusion there are some
poetical passages which are highly ornamented. The diction is in general
perspicuous, and the transitions to the different subjects are easily
discerned.
ZEDEKIAH, or MATTANIAH, was the last king of Judah before the captivity
of Babylon. He was the son of Josiah, and uncle to Jehoiachin his
predecessor, 2 Kings xxiv, 17, 19. When Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem,
he carried Jehoiachin to Babylon, with his wives, children, officers,
and the best artificers in Judea, and put in his place his uncle
Mattaniah, whose name he changed into Zedekiah, and made him promise,
with an oath, that he would continue in fidelity to him, A. M. 3405, 2
Chron. xxxvi, 13; Ezek. xvii, 12, 14, 18. He was twenty-one years old
when he began to reign at Jerusalem, and he reigned there eleven years.
He did evil in the sight of the Lord, committing the same crimes as
Jehoiakim, 2 Kings xxiv, 18–20; 2 Chron. xxxvi, 11–13; and regarded not
the menaces of the Prophet Jeremiah, from the Lord; but hardened his
heart. The princes of the people, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
imitated his impiety, and abandoned themselves to all the abominations
of the Gentiles. In the first year of his reign, Zedekiah sent to
Babylon Elasah, the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah,
probably to carry his tribute to Nebuchadnezzar. By these messengers
Jeremiah sent a letter to the captives at Babylon, Jer. xxix, 1–23. Four
years afterward, either Zedekiah went thither himself, or at least he
sent thither; for the Hebrew text may admit either of these
interpretations, Jer. li, 59; Baruch i, 1; Jer. xxxii, 12. The chief
design of this deputation was to entreat Nebuchadnezzar to return the
sacred vessels of the temple, Baruch i, 8. In the ninth year of his
reign, he revolted against Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings xxv. It was a
sabbatical year, in which the people should set their slaves at liberty,
according to the law, Exod. xxi, 2; Deut. xv, 1, 2, 12; Jer. xxxiv,
8–10. Then King Nebuchadnezzar marched his army against Zedekiah, and
took all the fortified places of his kingdom, except Lachish, Azekah,
and Jerusalem. He sat down before the last-mentioned city on the tenth
day of the tenth month of the holy year, which answers to our January.
Some time afterward, Pharaoh Hophrah, king of Egypt, marched to assist
Zedekiah, Jer. xxxvii, 3–5, 10. Nebuchadnezzar left Jerusalem, and went
to meet him, defeated him, and obliged him to return into Egypt; after
which he resumed the siege of Jerusalem. In the mean while, the people
of Jerusalem, as if freed from the fear of Nebuchadnezzar, retook the
slaves whom they had set at liberty, which drew upon them great
reproaches and threatenings from Jeremiah, xxxiv, 11, 22. During the
siege Zedekiah often consulted Jeremiah, who advised him to surrender,
and pronounced the greatest woes against him if he should persist in his
rebellion, Jer. xxxvii, 3, 10; xxi. But this unfortunate prince had
neither patience to hear, nor resolution to follow, good counsels. In
the eleventh year of Zedekiah, on the ninth day of the fourth month,
(July,) Jerusalem was taken, 2 Kings xxv, 2–4; Jer. xxxix, 2, 3; lii,
5–7. Zedekiah and his people endeavoured to escape by favour of the
night; but the Chaldean troops pursuing them, they were overtaken in the
plains of Jericho. He was seized and carried to Nebuchadnezzar, then at
Riblah, a city of Syria. The king of Chaldea, reproaching him with his
perfidy, caused all his children to be slain before his face, and his
eyes to be put out; then loading him with chains of brass, he ordered
him to be sent to Babylon, 2 Kings xxv, 4–7; Jer. xxxii, 4–7; lii, 4–11.
Thus were accomplished two prophecies which seemed contradictory: one of
Jeremiah, who said that Zedekiah should see and yet not see,
Nebuchadnezzar with his eyes, Jer. xxxii, 4, 5; xxxiv, 3; and the other
of Ezek. xii, 13, which intimated that he should not see Babylon, though
he should die there. The year of his death is not known. Jeremiah had
assured him that he should die in peace; that his body should be burned,
as those of the kings of Judah usually were; and that they should mourn
for him, saying, “Ah, lord!” Jer. xxxiv, 4, 5.
ZEPHANIAH was the son of Cushi, and was probably of a noble family of
the tribe of Simeon. He prophesied in the reign of Josiah, about B. C.
630. He denounces the judgments of God against the idolatry and sins of
his countrymen, and exhorts them to repentance; he predicts the
punishment of the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, and Ethiopians, and
foretels the destruction of Nineveh; he again inveighs against the
corruptions of Jerusalem, and with his threats mixes promises of future
favour and prosperity to his people; whose recall from their dispersion
shall glorify the name of God throughout the world. The style of
Zephaniah is poetical; but it is not distinguished by any peculiar
elegance or beauty, though generally animated and impressive.
ZERUBBABEL, or ZEROBABEL, was son of Salathiel, of the royal race of
David. St. Matthew, i, 12, and 1 Chron. iii, 17, 19, make Jeconiah king
of Judah to be father to Salathiel; but they do not agree as to the
father of Zerubbabel. The Chronicles say Pedaiah was father of
Zerubbabel; but St. Matthew, St. Luke, Ezra, and Haggai, constantly make
Salathiel his father. We must therefore take the name of son in the
sense of grandson, and say that Salathiel having educated Zerubbabel, he
was always afterward looked upon as his father. Some think that
Zerubbabel had also the name of Sheshbazzar, and that he has this name
in Ezra i, 8. Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem long before the reign of
Darius, son of Hystaspes. He returned at the beginning of the reign of
Cyrus, A. M. 3468, fifteen years before Darius. Cyrus committed to his
care the sacred vessels of the temple with which he returned to
Jerusalem, Ezra i, 11. He is always named first, as being the chief of
the Jews that returned to their own country, Ezra ii, 2; iii, 8; v, 2;
he laid the foundations of the temple, Ezra iii, 8, 9; Zech. iv, 9, &c;
and restored the worship of the Lord, and the usual sacrifices. When the
Samaritans offered to assist in rebuilding the temple, Zerubbabel and
the principal men of Judah refused them this honour, since Cyrus had
granted his commission to the Jews only, Ezra iv, 2, 3.
ZIKLAG, a city of the Philistines, first assigned to the tribe of Judah,
and afterward to that of Simeon, Joshua xv, 31; xix, 5; but it does not
appear that the Philistines were ever driven out; as, when David fled
into their country from Saul, Achish gave the city to him, 1 Sam. xxvii,
5, 6. It was afterward burned by the Amalekites, 1 Sam. xxx, 1. But it
appears to have been rebuilt, as the author of the First Book of Samuel,
when relating its being given to David, adds, that it pertained to the
kings of Judah in his time.
ZION. See SION.
ZUZIM. See ZAMZUMMIM.
AN ALPHABETICAL
TABLE OF THE PROPER NAMES
IN
THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS;
WITH
THEIR PRONUNCIATION,
AND
THE CHIEF MEANING OR LEADING SIGNIFICATION OF EACH WORD IN
ITS ORIGINAL LANGUAGE.