disappearance of Noph (i.e., Memphis) is a fulfilment of Jeremiah 46:19,
Ezekiel 30:13.
- EHUD union. (1.) A descendant of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 7:10), his
great-grandson.
(2.) The son of Gera, of the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 3:15). After the
death of Othniel the people again fell into idolatry, and Eglon, the king of
Moab, uniting his bands with those of the Ammonites and the Amalekites,
crossed the Jordan and took the city of Jericho, and for eighteen years held
that whole district in subjection, exacting from it an annual tribute. At
length Ehud, by a stratagem, put Eglon to death with a two-edged dagger a
cubit long, and routed the Moabites at the fords of the Jordan, putting
10,000 of them to death. Thenceforward the land, at least Benjamin,
enjoyed rest “for fourscore years” (Judges 3:12-30). (See QUARRIES [2].)
But in the south-west the Philistines reduced the Israelites to great straits
(Judges 5:6). From this oppression Shamgar was raised up to be their
deliverer.
- EKRON firm-rooted, the most northerly of the five towns belonging to
the lords of the Philistines, about 11 miles north of Gath. It was assigned
to Judah (Joshua 13:3), and afterwards to Dan (19:43), but came again into
the full possession of the Philistines (1 Samuel 5:10). It was the last place
to which the Philistines carried the ark before they sent it back to Israel (1
Samuel 5:10; 6:1-8). There was here a noted sanctuary of Baal-zebub (2
Kings 1: 2, 3, 6, 16). Now the small village Akir. It is mentioned on
monuments in B.C. 702, when Sennacherib set free its king, imprisoned by
Hezekiah in Jerusalem, according to the Assyrian record. - ELAH terebinth or oak. (1.) Valley of, where the Israelites were
encamped when David killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17:2, 19). It was near
Shochoh of Judah and Azekah (17:1). It is the modern Wady es-Sunt, i.e.,
“valley of the acacia.” “The terebinths from which the valley of Elah takes
its name still cling to their ancient soil. On the west side of the valley, near
Shochoh, there is a very large and ancient tree of this kind known as the
‘terebinth of Wady Sur,’ 55 feet in height, its trunk 17 feet in
circumference, and the breadth of its shade no less than 75 feet. It marks
the upper end of the Elah valley, and forms a noted object, being one of the
largest terebinths in Palestine.” Geikie’s, The Holy Land, etc.
(2.) One of the Edomite chiefs or “dukes” of Mount Seir (Genesis 36:41).