The giraffe fulfils the conditions of being tall, erect, and incapable of such domestication as would render it available for field labour; it was frequently brought down as a tribute to the Pharaohs, and very probably | Paul, are those which do not tend to edification in sound and substantial religious knowledge. C. UPHAZ. This place is mentioned by Jeremiah efforts were made to domesticate it both in Egypt and (10. 9), and by Daniel' (10. 5), as a city, or country, Idumea which proved abortive. T. UNION, HYPOSTATICAL. This is a theological term devised by the old divines to express the union of the human nature of Christ with the divine in one person. It must be observed that this union is not consubstantial, as of the three Persons in one Godhead; nor physical, as soul and body united in one person; nor mystical, as between Christ and believers; but so as that the manhood subsists in the second person, yet without making confusion, both forming but one person. C. UNION WITH CHRIST. This is described by the sacred writers in the strongest expressions of which human nature is capable, and is described as the highest privilege of a believer. Theologians generally state it thus;-1. An union of natures, (Heb. 2. 11;) 2. Of actions, his obedience being imputed to us, and our sins reckoned to him, (2Cor. 5. 21;) 3. Of life, (Col. 3. 4;) 4. Of sentiment, (2Cor. 5. 17;) 5. Of interest, (Matt. 25. 34;) 6. Of affection, (2Cor. 5. 14;) and 7. Of residence, (John 17. 24.) The advantages of this union are,-1. Knowledge, (Ephes. 1. 18;) 2. Fellowship, (1 Cor. 1. 9;) 3. Security, (John 15. 1;) 4. Felicity, (1 Peter 1. 8;) 5. Spirituality, (John 15. 8;) and, indeed, all the rich communications of blessings both here and hereafter. (Col. 1. 22.) The evidences of union to Christ are,—1. Light in the understanding, (1 Peter 2. 9;) 2. Affection to Christ, (John 14. 21;) 3. Frequent communion with Him, (1John 1. 3;) 4. Delight in his words, ordinances, and people, (Psalm 37. 4;) 5. Submission to his will and conformity to his image. (1John 2. 5.) C. UNITY. This theological term is employed to signify a oneness whether of sentiment, affection, or behaviour. (Psalm 133. 1.) The "unity of the faith" is an equal belief of the same great truths of God, and the possession of the grace of faith in a similar form and degree. (Ephes. 4. 13.) The "unity of the spirit" is that union between Christ and His saints, by which the same divine Spirit dwells in both, and they have the same disposition and aims; and that unity of the saints among themselves, by which being joined to the same Head, and having the same Spirit dwelling in them, they have the same graces of faith, hope, love, &c., and are rooted and grounded in the same doctrine of Christ, and bear a mutual affection to each other. C. UNITY OF GOD. The unity of the Deity is argued from his necessary existence, self-sufficiency, perfection, independence, and omnipresence: from the unity of design in the works of nature, and from there But being no necessity of having more Gods than one. it is from Scripture that we derive the most important evidence of this sublime doctrine, for "the world by wisdom, knew not God.” See particularly Deuteronomy 6. 4; Isaiah 43. 10; John 17. 3; and Romans 3. 30. C. UNLEARNED. This term in its primary sense is applied to those who have received slender instruction in literature and science, (Acts 4. 13;) but it is also used to describe to those who are little acquainted with the mind of God and the teaching of His Spirit. (2Peter 3. 16.) The "unlearned questions" mentioned by St. productive of very fine gold. Its exact situation cannot now be determined; but Calmet, on plausible grounds, identifies it with the river Phasis and the surrounding country on the east side of the Black Sea. UPPER ROOM. The principal rooms anciently in Judea were those above, as they are to this day at Aleppo and Cairo, the ground floor being chiefly made use of by the inhabitants for their horses and servants. (See arts. HOUSE, DWELLINGS, and ROOM.) In Cairo, the streets are very narrow, the houses are generally two or three stories high, and the windows projecting one above the other. Lane tells us, that the projecting windows on opposite sides of a street often nearly meet each other; almost entirely excluding the sun, and thus producing an agreeable coolness in the summer months. "The house at which I am at present living," says Jowett, "gives what seems to be a correct idea of the scene of Eutychus falling from the upper loft while St. Paul was preaching. (Acts 20. 6-12.) According to our idea of houses, the scene is very far from intelligible, and besides this, the circumstance of preaching generally leaves on the mind of cursory readers the notion of a church. To describe this house, which is not many miles distant from the Troad, and perhaps from the unchanging character of Oriental customs, nearly resembles the houses then built, will fully illustrate the narrative. On entering my host's door, we find the first floor entirely used as a store, it is filled with large barrels of oil, the produce of the rich country for many miles round; this space, so far from being habitable, is sometimes so dirty with the dripping of the oil, that it is difficult to pick out a clean footing from the door to the first step of the staircase. On ascending, we find the first floor consisting of an humble suite of rooms not very high; these are occupied by the family for their daily use. It is on the next story that all their expense is lavished; here my courteous host has appointed my lodging; beautiful curtains and mats, and cushions to the divan, display the respect with which they mean to receive their guest. Here, likewise, their splendour, being at the top of the house, is enjoyed by the poor Greeks with more retirement and less chance of molestation from the intrusion of the Turks: here, when the professors of the college waited upon me to pay their respects, they were received in ceremony, and sat at the window. The room is both higher and larger than those below, it has two projecting windows, and the whole floor is so much extended in front beyond the lower part of the building, that the projecting windows considerably overhang the street. "In such an upper room, secluded, spacious, and com modious, St. Paul was invited to preach his parting dis course. The divan, or raised seat with mats or cushions, encircles the interior of each projecting window, and I have remarked that when the company is numerous they sometimes place large cushions behind the company seated on the divan, so that a second tier of company, with their feet upon the seat of the divan, are sitting behind higher than the front row. Eutychus thus sitting would be on a level with the open window, and, being overcome with sleep, he would easily fall out from the third loft of the house into the street, and be almost certain from such a height to lose his life. Thither St. Paul went down and comforted the alarmed company by bringing up Eutychus alive. It is noted UPPER ROOM URIM. that there were many lights in the upper chamber.' The very great plenty of oil in this neighbourhood would enable them to afford many lamps, the heat of these, and so much company, would cause the drowsiness of Eutychus at that late hour, and be the occasion likewise of the windows being open." In 2Kings 1. 2, we are told that Ahaziah "fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria." Indeed it is likely that those accidents were by no means rare in the East. The upper room was used for devotional purposes, probably from being out of the way of interruptions; it was especially adapted for the members of a persecuted religion to worship in, as on any alarm being given, they could make their escape by the roofs, which were flat, and in some parts laid out like terraces. A. UR, of the Chaldees, an ancient city of Mesopotamia, the abode of Terah and Abraham. As there has been much difficulty in determining the situation of Ur, we will quote from Mr. Ainsworth's very valuable Researches in Assyria, Babylonia, and Chaldea, in which he says, "The city of Ur, which was in Ur of the Chaldees, and the seat of the nativity of Abraham and of the death of Haran, is to the present day denominated by the Syrians Urhoi, by the Arabs corrupted into 'Urfúh, or 'Örfáh. It is at the foot of the mountains of Osroene, and at the head of the same great and fertile plain which contains the seats of the patriarchs of the faimly of Shem, Haran and Seruj. Tradition has consecrated Urfáh as the birth-place of the father of Isaac, and the Bírket el Ibrahím el Khalil is still supposed to contain the descendants of the fish loved by the Prophet. 'Urfáh is also celebrated as the residence of Akbár, commonly called Agbarus, by Herodotus Avyapos, who is said to have written a letter to Our Saviour." Ur was not only "Ur of the Chaldees," (Gen. 11. 28; Aben Ezra, in Gen.; Bochart, lib. i.; Phaleg, x.; and Hugo Grotius, in Gen.;) but is more particularly described as in the land of the Chaldeans, (Josephus, lib. i.; Antiq., vii.;) and by Eusebius as "Ur oppidum regni Chaldæorum," that is, of the kingdom founded by Chesid; the same author also says: "In urbe Camarina seu Urie quæ Græcis dicta Chaldæopolis." Oriental historians conduct the patriarch Abraham, in his migration to the land of Canaan, from Haran to 、 Berza, or Beroe, the modern Aleppo; and Ahmíd Ibu Yusúf, and Abu Mohammed Mustafah, identify Ur with Roha, the modern 'Urfah. From the records of the Holy Writ we gather (Gen. 11. 31) that Terah, with Abraham and others of the family, went out of Ur to go into the land of Canaan, and they came into Haran, and dwelt there. It is evident that, had the Ur of the Chaldees been identical with the Ur of Babylonian Chaldea, (the Orchoe of Ptolemy and Pliny,) that the way of the patriarchs did not lie through Haran, in Mesopotamia; but even the direction of the journey is preserved in the amplitude of the sacred text, for we are expressly informed (Gen. 12. 9) that the patriarch "journeyed going on still towards the south." Ur, in the progress of corruption, became Urhoi, Roha, 'Orfáh, or 'Urfáh; and, with change of masters, Chaldæopolis, Antiochea, Callirhoe, and Edessa. Mr. Buckingham has, apparently, mistaken what Benjamin of Tudelah says of Dakia, or Rakkah, as belonging to 'Urfáh; and hence he makes Haran two days' journey from that city, from which it is in reality visible at almost all times, and a ride of only eight hours, or about twenty miles in direct distance. 1317 Ur, or 'Urfáh, after having passed successively through the hands of the Romans, the Saracens, the Crusaders, and the Tartars, was ultimately taken possession of by the Turks, under whose dominion it now remains. It is now the seat of a pashalic, and is a large and tolerably well-built town, containing a population which Buckingham states at 50,000,-an estimate which we have reason to believe much too large. It is a place of considerable trade, enjoying the advantage of being one of the principal stations on the great caravan route between Aleppo and Bagdad. A. Urim אורים ותמים,URIM and THUMMIM ve Thummin. (Exod. 28. 30.) The literal signification of these words is Lights and Perfections. The Septuagint render them Δηλωσις και Αληθεια, Delosis kai Aletheia, manifestation and truth; and the Vulgate Doctrina et Veritas, doctrine and truth. The Urim and Thummim were something appertaining to the pectoral, or breastplate, of the high-priest of the Israelites; but as Moses has left us no account of them, and has only briefly mentioned them, it is now impossible to determine what they were; and the subject has given rise to a vast variety of conjectures. No directions are given to Moses in Scripture relative to the making of the Urim and Thummim; though the other parts of the pontifical ornaments and dress are described with minuteness; whence Rabbi Menachem and some few other Jewish doctors infer, that they were not the work of any artificer, neither were they any part of the voluntary offerings of the Israelites, (Exod. 35,) but that they were a mystery delivered to Moses by the mouth of God, or were the work of God himself, (like the first two tables,) for Moses took the Urim and Thummim, and put them in the breastplate after he had put on Aaron the ephod and breastplate. (Levit. 8. 7,8.) Mede thought that as no command is specified for the making of the Urim and Thummim, and as Moses seems to allude to them as things well known to the Israelites, and needing no description, that they were not then first ordained with the rest of the pontifical garments, but had been in use among the patriarchs. This opinion, however, has been combated by Pococke, in his Commentary on Hosea. Some thought that the words Urim and Thummim, or lights and perfections, were engraved on a golden plate, and put into the breastplate, which was double. (Exod. 28. 16.) Menochius (Comment. in S. Scripturam,) thought that they were engraved on the breastplate, to signify illumination of doctrine, and integrity of life, as the qualities required in the high-priest, who was pastor, teacher, and prince. The Vulgate seems to take the same view, for in Ezra 2. 63, where the Hebrew and our version read, "Till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim," the Vulgate renders, "Till there stand up a priest learned and perfect:" Sacerdos doctus atque perfectus. And in Ecclesiasticus 45. 10, where our version reads of Aaron, that he had the breastplate of judgment with Urim and Thummim; the Vulgate reads concerning him, as of a wise man endued with judgment and truth: Viri sapientis, judicio et veritate præditi. (Eccles. 45. 12, Vulgate version.) Epiphanius and Suidas thought that besides the twelve stones in the breastplate, bearing the names of the twelve tribes, there was a diamond of surpassing beauty, which by its increased splendour, indicated to the high-priest the pleasure of the Almighty on particular occasions. Arias Montanus and others thought that there were two gems, beside the usual twelve, and that they were the Urim and Thummim. This opinion is condemned by St. Augustin. Some suppose that the words Urim and Thummim were wrought on the embroidery of the breastplate, between rows of gems, or in the two borders, one above, the other below. Rabbi Solomon says, that the holy name Jehovah, written on a plate of gold, and added to the pectoral, was the Urim and Thummim. Spencer maintained the Urim and Thummin to have been two little images or teraphim, which were put into the doubling of the breastplate, as into a purse, and which gave answer by an articulate voice to the questions of the high-priest. But this idea savours so much of the heathen oracles, and is so contrary to the whole spirit of the Jewish Church, and to the general tenor of Scripture, that it cannot be considered without repugnance. It has been completely confuted by Pococke, (Comment. on Hosea,) and by Witsius in his Egyptiaca. The opinion of the Rabbins in general, of Josephus, and of many Christian commentators, ancient and modern, is, that the Urim and Thummim were the same as the precious stones, bearing the names of the twelve tribes, set in the high-priest's breastplate. (Exod. 28. 17-20.) They observe, that where the stones are mentioned, as in Exodus 39. 10, there is nothing said of Urim and Thummim; and where the latter are mentioned, as in Leviticus 8. 8, the stones are not spoken of; whence they conclude Urim and Thummim to have been epithets for the jewels, signifying shining and perfect stones. Braunius and Hottinger are of opinion, that when Moses was commanded to put Urim (lights) and Thummim (perfections) into the breastplate, (Exod. 28. 30,) it meant that he was to choose the most beautiful stones, and have them polished so as to give the most perfect splendour. But, however obscure may be the question of what Urim and Thummim were, we are informed by Scripture of their use; which was, to inquire of God, and receive an oracular answer of His will by them, as is said, (Numb. 27. 21,) that Eleazar the priest should ask counsel for Joshua, "after the judgment of Urim, before the Lord." The manner of consulting the Lord by Urim and Thummim, and the mode in which the answer was returned, are not explained in Scripture, and all we can say on the subject is from Rabbinical tradition. The Rabbins say, that the manner of inquiring was as follows: the priest put on his robes, and went (not into the sanctuary, where he could go but once a year,) but into the sanctum, or holy place, and stood before the curtain or veil, that divided the sanctuary from the sanctum. There he stood upright, facing towards the Ark of the Covenant, and behind him, stood the person for whom he inquired, in a right line with the priest, facing the back of the latter, but outside the sanctum. Then the priest inquired of God concerning the matter required, in a low voice, like one praying half audibly, and keeping his eyes upon the breastplate, he received by Urim and Thummim the answer to his question. Maimonides says, it was not lawful to inquire by this mode for private individuals, but only for the king, or for him on whom the affairs of the congregation lay. With respect to the mode in which the answer was returned, Prideaux, and some other Christian commentators, think that when the high-priest inquired of the Lord, standing in his robes before the vail, that an audible answer was returned from within. But the Rabbins say, that the answer was given by certain letters engraven on the stones in the breastplate becoming peculiarly, prominently lustrous, in proper order, so as to be read by the high-priest into words. For instance; when David inquired of God, whether he should go up to one of the cities of Judah, (2Sam. 2.1,) the answer was "go up," by alah, the letters y and became in order prominently lustrous, and thus formed the word. It has been objected, that the names of the twelve tribes engraved on the stones did not contain all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and consequently were not adapted to answer every question. To obviate this objection, the Rabbins say, that the names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were also engraven on the pectoral, over the name of Reuben, and under that of Benjamin; but as teth, would still be wanting, they say the words shible jah, were added, and thus the alphabet was complete. Josephus only says, that when the jewels shone with peculiar radiance, the answer was considered affirmative; but negative when they appeared dim. The Urim and Thummim was, according to the Rabbins, the degree of the Holy Ghost given under the Tabernacle; that degree which was given under the first Temple was prophecy, by the mouth of the prophets; and under the second Temple, the Bath-kol, or echo of a voice from heaven. (See art. BATH-KOL.) They say that the Urim and Thummin was a degree inferior to the Prophets, but superior to the Bath-kol. Scripture does not inform us at what period the answer by Urim and Thummim ceased; but we find no trace of its existence after the building of Solomon's Temple. It has been observed that this method of consulting God was on affairs concerning the common interest of the whole twelve tribes, whose names were engraved upon the breastplate. But these ceased to have an interest in common after the division of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah, under Jeroboam and Rehoboam; and the consulting by Urim and Thummim necessarily ceased. It is agreed by all, that the Urim and Thummim (at least the divine answering by them,) did not exist under the second Temple, after the return from Babylon. The Talmud treatise Joina says, concerning Haggai 1. 8, that the word 718 echabda, "I will be glorified," wanting the letter he, which is the numeral for 5, shows that five things were wanting in the second Temple, which existed in the first: viz., 1. The ark, with the mercy-seat and cherubims; 2, The fire from heaven; 3, The Shechinah, or divine majesty; 4, The Holy Ghost (speaking by the Prophets); 5, The Urim and Thummim. Maimonides says, that under the second Temple they made Urim and Thummim, i. e., the breastplate with the precious stones, in order to make up the eight ornaments of the high-priest, without which he could not minister. But that they did not inquire by him, because the Holy Ghost was not there; and they used not to inquire by any priest with whom the Holy Ghost was not, and on whom the divine majesty did not rest. This ornament of the high-priest, as chief judge of the Jewish nation, appears to have been copied by other nations. Elian and Diodorus Siculus have related that the chief judge of the Egyptians, when a cause was brought before him, used to put a golden chain round his neck, to which was suspended a small figure of Truth, ornamented with precious stones. This was, in fact, a representation of the goddess who was worshipped under the double character of Truth and Justice, and whose name, Thonei, the Egyptian or Coptic name of Justice or Truth, has a resemblance to the Hebrew Thummim, rendered by the Septuagint Axŋeca, Truth, (Exod. 28. 30;) and bearing a farther analogy in its plural termination. The goddess frequently occurs in the Scriptures in this double capacity, represented by two figures exactly similar. She was represented as "having her eyes URIM closed," purporting that the duty of a judge was to weigh the question according to the evidence he had heard; and to trust rather to his mind than to what he saw; and was intended to remind him of that virtue (Truth) which the Deity peculiarly enjoined. Egyptian Thummim, or mystic figure of Truth. Bishop Patrick is of opinion that the use of this ornament among the Egyptians was not of so old a date as the time of Moses, for it is not mentioned by Herodotus; but that it was copied in later times by the Egyptians, when they had familiar intercourse with the Israelites on account of the marriage of Solomon with Pharaoh's daughter. The bishop also observes that the vestal virgins among the Romans, at least she that was called Maaima, wore on the breast a similar ornament of precious stones, as shown on a statue dug up at Rome; and that Gatherius has proved that these vestals sat in judgment and tried causes, as the Pontifex Maximus did. Ornaments resembling the Hebrew pontifical breastplate have been dug up in Ireland. Keating, in his History of Ireland, has described them. One of them, One of them, shaped like an officer's gorget, but larger, dug up in a bog in the county of Limerick, has been delineated by C. Vallancey, according to whom, they were worn by the Hibernian Druids, when they sat to administer justice; they were of pure gold, says he, and called Jodhan Morain; and no judge could give sentence without this ornament round his neck. It was believed to be miraculous; for if a judge gave a wrong sentence, it would instantly close round his neck and stop his breathing. (See Digby's Divinity Lectures.) is generally taken in an evil sense: viz., for an unlawful Usury with strangers is expressly allowed. (Deut. 23. 19,20.) "Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother, usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury. Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it." The Jews, therefore, in being the greatest usurers upon earth, do not transgress their law. Many of the laws of Moses, and this in particular, had reference to the Hebrews as a people. It is easy to show, that in the present state of society, a law prohibiting interest would be in the highest degree injurious to trade, and generally to that part of the population which has no such property in land as affords a continued interest on the money originally invested in its purchase. Without interest in money, a person possessing it dually exhausted; and he could not profitably engage must live upon his capital, which would become grain commerce, because in commercial transactions emergencies often arise, in which even a wealthy merchant has occasion for a larger sum of money than he can for the moment command, and which, on account of the risk attending commercial transactions, no one would be willing to lend him, were no interest allowed. The equity of taking interest, therefore, is manifest for many reasons. In the first place, a person lending ought to have some profit for the risk he runs; but, as every Israelite had property in land, and as, if he had not that, or any other property, the creditor might lay hold of his own person and the persons of his wife and children, the risk of losing the loan was much lessened. A Jew, therefore, even in comparatively low circumstances, had better security to offer than many wealthy European merchants can produce. In the second place, the lender ought to derive some benefit from the advantages which the borrower obtains by the use of his capital. This, also, does not apply. Moses represents the borrowers as poor persons compelled by necessity to request a loan, and who had generally sufficient security to offer for its repayment. That the wealthy should want to borrow money to make profit by it, was a case which he did not provide for, and which did not often arise, because the encouragement of commerce formed no part of his plan, which had agriculture for its basis; and such a borrower could not invest the money in the purchase of land, which was unalienably fixed, and, of course, could not become an object of purchase or barter. nations, however, living under a different system, as the commercial Phoenicians, for instance, might have occasion to borrow money for such purposes, and to them the Israelites might lend, and from them receive interest. Other To return to the Hebrew Urim and Thummim. The office of the high-priest and his dress, as well as the Tabernacle and its furniture and service, were all typical of the Christian dispensation, or of the office and person of Christ; in whom, also, the Urim and Thummim, as well as the other types and foreshadowings, were fulfilled. He was Light, Perfection, Manifestation, and Truth. He was the "True Light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world." (John 1. 9.) "Being made perfect, he became the Author of salvation to all that obey him." (Heb. 5. 9.) He was God manifest in the flesh." (1Tim. 3. 16.) He was “the Way, the Truth, and the Life," (John 14. 6,) and he came to bear witness to the Truth." (John 18. 37.) By Urim and Thummim a measure of the Holy Ghost was granted to the Jewish high-priest; Christ is a high-person might make by keeping his capital in his own priest in whom are all the gifts of the Holy Ghost without measure. (John 3.34.) "He put on righteousness as a breastplate," (Isai. 59. 19;) and by his merits and intercession as our continual High-priest, He has given to us to "put on the breastplate of faith and love." (1Thess. 5. 8.) M. The third great reason for the general equity of viz., that it is just that the profit which a power, should at least in part, be made good to him by the person to whom it is lent, is shown to be also inapplicable to the ancient Hebrews. The same causes which prevented a borrower engaging in speculations without affording a prospect of profit would equally operate in preventing the owner himself. And this brings it to the result, which is, that when a Hebrew out of the abundance of his inert property, which he was only interested in having securely kept, made a loan to a poor neighbour to relieve him from distress, and whose land or person formed a sufficient security for the ultimate repayment, the lender was not by demanding interest to make that profit which he would not have made if he had not lent it, and which could not be made by the person to whom it was lent. It would be easy to instance many other particulars in which this law was perfectly applicable to the condition of society among the Hebrews, and equally easy from ancient and modern history to show its inapplicability to any other condition of society than that. No one now contends that all the laws of Moses are necessarily binding upon all people. A. on a cart, or drawn by any animals, but to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites by means of staves, which precluded the ark itself from being handled by the bearers in its removals. Indeed in Numbers 4. 15, it is forbidden, on pain of death, that any of the holy things should be touched by the Levites; and we might expect to find this law the more rigidly enforced with respect to the ark, on account of the superior sanctity with which it was invested. The ark ought to have been wholly enveloped and concealed by the priests before the Levites approached, instead of which we find it openly drawn on a cart, and thereby assimilated to the processions of the heathen, who drew their gods about in carriages. The ark had indeed before been conveyed on a cart when returned by the Philistines, but that case was very different from the present. The Philistines could not be expected to know the proper and according ceremonies to be used in its conveyance, to their knowledge they endeavoured to show it every respect. In the case of Uzzah, the forms which the law required appear not to have been thought of, for we have no account of any priest attending the removal, and, in this instance, it could not have been a sin of UZZAH, son of Abinidab. As critics are divided ignorance, as Uzzah was a Levite, and consequently about the cause of the death of Uzzah, and as the his- must have known the proper rules to have been observed tory is related very succinctly, we will quote it, and in conducting the procession, and who must have been then make a few remarks. (2Sam. 6. 3,6,7.) "And aware of the awful judgment with which an intrusion they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought on the sanctity of the ark had been visited at Bethsheit out of the house of Abinidab, that was in Gibeah; mesh. (1Sam. 6. 17.) Probably the mode of conveyand Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinidab, drave the ance used by the Philistines on the occasion referred to, new cart. And when they came to Nachon's threshing-formed the bad and dangerous precedent adopted in the floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and present instance. Ahio being subordinate to Uzzah, took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. And the and probably younger than him, appears to have escaped anger the divine wrath. A. of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error, and there he died by the ark of God." UZ, the son of Shem, and grandson of Aram, who is supposed to have peopled the country round Damascus. UZ, LAND OF. Commentators are generally agreed that this country, the residence of the patriarch Job, was the same as Idumea, and that it derived its name from Uz, the grandson of Seir, the Horite. C. It will be observed that the whole process adopted in the removal of the ark is entirely contrary to the directions given in the Law. The ark was not to be conveyed UZZEN SHERAH, a city of the tribe of Ephraim, at no great distance from Beth-horon. It was built by Serah, the daughter, or grand-daughter, of Beriah. (1 Chron. 7. 24.) C. VAIL. See VEIL. VALE, VALLEY. Palestine is an uneven and irregular country, "a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven," (Deut. 11. 12;) hence we frequently find localities described as valleys; such as "the valley of Achor," where God promised Joshua that he would enable the Israelites to retrieve the defeat which they had received from the king of Ai, as a punishment for the sin of Achan; "the valley of Megiddo," in which King Josiah was slain; "the valley of Hinnom, or Tophet," where children were sacrificed to Moloch, and many others. In Isaiah 22. 2, Jerusalem is metaphorically termed "the valley of vision," because the schools of the prophets were for the most part established in the deep valley under the hill on which Solomon's Temple was erected. Some of the valleys in the remote parts of Palestine were overgrown with jungle and tangled brushwood, which made the paths through them dark and difficult, while the thickets afforded a covert for wild beasts: hence the Psalmist says,— Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee, diffi Every one of them in Zion appear before God. Baca appears to have been a rugged valley, embarrassed with bushes and stones, which could not be passed without labour and tears, so that it placed great culties in the way of the pilgrims who had to pass through it on their road to Jerusalem. Parkhurst justly observes, "A valley of this kind was a striking emblem of the vale of thorns, through which all believers must pass to the heavenly Jerusalem." "The valley of Jehoshaphat" (see JERUSALEM) is frequently used in a metaphorical sense for any place where God would signally execute vengeance on the oppressors his chosen people. C. of VAPOUR. Although the science of meteorology was not much cultivated in ancient times, it is obvious that atmospherical phenomena must ever have attracted a large share of public attention, particularly in the countries surrounding the Levant, where storms so fre There is a passage in Psalm 74. 5-7, relating to a quently come on without any premonitory symptoms, valley, which requires some explanation: and where the success of agricultural labour mainly |