the capital of his kingdom, and there he was buried, after an eventful reign
of twenty-four years (1 Kings 15:33). On account of his idolatries his
family was exterminated, according to the word of the prophet Jehu (1
Kings 16:3, 4, 10-13).
- BABE used of children generally (Matthew 11:25; 21:16; Luke 10:21;
Romans 2:20). It is used also of those who are weak in Christian faith and
knowledge (1 Corinthians 3:1; Hebrews 5:13; 1 Peter 2:2). In Isaiah 3:4 the
word “babes” refers to a succession of weak and wicked princes who
reigned over Judah from the death of Josiah downward to the destruction
of Jerusalem. - BABEL, TOWER OF the name given to the tower which the primitive
fathers of our race built in the land of Shinar after the Deluge (Genesis
11:1-9). Their object in building this tower was probably that it might be
seen as a rallying-point in the extensive plain of Shinar, to which they had
emigrated from the uplands of Armenia, and so prevent their being
scattered abroad. But God interposed and defeated their design by
condounding their language, and hence the name Babel, meaning
“confusion.” In the Babylonian tablets there is an account of this event,
and also of the creation and the deluge. (See CHALDEA.)
The Temple of Belus, which is supposed to occupy its site, is described
by the Greek historian Herodotus as a temple of great extent and
magnificence, erected by the Babylonians for their God Belus. The
treasures Nebuchadnezzar brought from Jerusalem were laid up in this
temple (2 Chronicles 36:7).
The Birs Nimrud, at ancient Borsippa, about 7 miles south-west of Hillah,
the modern town which occupies a part of the site of ancient Babylon, and
6 miles from the Euphrates, is an immense mass of broken and fire-blasted
fragments, of about 2,300 feet in circumference, rising suddenly to the
height of 235 feet above the desert-plain, and is with probability regarded
as the ruins of the tower of Babel. This is “one of the most imposing ruins
in the country.” Others think it to be the ruins of the Temple of Belus.
- BABYLON the Greek form of BABEL; Semitic form Babilu, meaning
“The Gate of God.” In the Assyrian tablets it means “The city of the
dispersion of the tribes.” The monumental list of its kings reaches back to
B.C. 2300, and includes Khammurabi, or Amraphel (q.v.), the
contemporary of Abraham. It stood on the Euphrates, about 200 miles