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-Aaron: from American Tract Society Bible Dictionary:."The son of Amram and Jochabed, of the tribe of Levi and brother of Moses and his sister Miriam:.Exodus 6:20. Born about the year B.C.E. 1574, he was three years older than Moses:.Exodus 7:7. He was the spokesman and assistant of Moses in bringing Israel out of Egypt:.Exodus 4:16. His wife was Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and his sons were, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. He was 83 years old when God summoned him to join Moses in the desert near Horeb. Cooperating with his brother in the exodus from Egypt, he held up his hands in the battle with Amalek:.Exodus 17:8-16. Aaron ascended Mount Sinai with his brother Moses to see the glory of God:.Exodus 24:1,2,9-11

"Aaron's chief distinction consisted in the choice of him and his male posterity for the priesthood. He was consecrated the first high priest by God's directions:.Exodus 28:1 to 29:46; Leviticus 8:1-36."

-Abijah: Son of Jeroboam I. Jeroboam I was a king of Israel before the split. Abijah, his son, died young and much beloved and lamented, for in him there was found 'some good thing towards the Lord':.1Kings 14:13.

He never got to reign as king. 

On account of Abijah's severe illness when a youth, his father Jeroboam I sent his wife to consult the prophet.Ahijah regarding his recovery.

Abijah's mother disguised herself.(didn't want anyone to recognize her as the king's wife who had this issue with her child's health).and went to Ahijah the prophet to inquire whether her child should recover from his sickness.

The prophet, though blind with old age, knew the wife of Jeroboam I as soon as she approached, because God revealed to the prophet who it was that was on the way to see him. Ahijah announced to her that inasmuch as in Abijah, her son, alone of all the house of Jeroboam there was found."some good thing toward the Lord", he would come to his grave soon, but in peace, as compared to what was to happen to others of the house of Jeroboam, Abijah was to have a proper burial.

What was this good thing toward the Lord that others noticed in this child if not the innocence and peace from birth which carried on as he continued to grow? Innocence and peace are of the high consciousness of God. The verse also shows he would die anyway, not from anything he did, but the weight of his parents' lives would affect him. How could this have been different?

In mercy Abijah was taken from the coming judgment on Jeroboam I and his house, all in it, including his other offspring.

As his mother arrived back home from her trip seeing the prophet Ahijah and came to the threshold of the door, the child Abijah died: 1Kings 14:1-17. With his death, the hope of the dynasty perished.


-Abijam: Second of the kings of ancient Judah.(map), also called.Abijah.and in the New Testament he is called Abia:.Matthew 1:7.

His father was Rehoboam, whom he succeeded:.1Kings 14:31 "And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his.(Rehoboam).mother's.(actually his grandmother as Naamah was one of the many wives of Solomon:.1Kings 11:1).name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. And.Abijam.his son reigned in his stead."

In the parallel account in Chronicles, Abijam is called Abijah:.2Chronicles 12:16 "And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David and.Abijah.his son reigned in his stead."

Rehoboam was the first king of Judah and a son of Solomon, who was a son David, so Abijam was a great-grandson of David.

Abijam began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam I.and reigned only three years. He followed the evil example of his father and Abijam's mother Maachah was not much of an influence for good either:.1Kings 15:1-3. Note the conflicting names of the mother; in 1Kings 15:1-3 she is called Maachah and above where she is called Naamah. Actually Naamah was his grandmother.

Abijam had eighteen wives, which may have been a snare to him:.2Chronicles 11:21.

2Chronicles 13:1-2."Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam I, king of.Israel.(B.C.E. 958) began Abijah to reign over Judah. He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam."

Abijam tried unsuccessfully to bring back the ten tribes into one nation again. Judah had the regular temple service and priesthood.(2Kings 23:1,2), whereas Israel had made golden calves their idols and had cast out the priests; therefore Abijam said in his address to Jeroboam I."fight not you against the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper"

400,000 men are assigned to Abijah's army, 800,000 to Jeroboam's. His address to."Jeroboam and all Israel",.before encountering them in battle, is worthy of being specially noticed:.2Chronicles 13:4-12. It was a very bloody battle, no fewer than 500,000 of Jeroboam's army of Israel having perished on the field.

God had given the kingdom to David and his sons forever."by a covenant of salt":.2Chronicles 13:5. As such, a win by Jeroboam would have not been in accord with the split of Israel into two nations continuing as it was, as God wanted and expressed through the prophet Ahijah. As it ended up after the battle and victory by Judah, things remained as they were before. The split remained.

Elated by success of battle, not by success of amalgamation,, Abijah multiplied his wives like Solomon had done earlier and by Abijah's 14 wives taken from those conquered, he had 22 sons and 16 daughters in addition to what he already had:.2Chronicles 11:21

Abijam started off young, well and good and with the name Abijah:.2Chronicles 13:1,2. But, he soon allowed evil to creep into his life and became known as Abijam:.1Kings 15:1-3; 1Kings 22:52,53.

2Chronicles 14:1 "So Abijah slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years."
 


-Ahab: means 'father's brother'. The son of Omri, whom he succeeded as the seventh king of Israel:.1Kings 16:29,30

1Kings 16:28 "So Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria and Ahab his son reigned in his stead."

Ahab's history is recorded in.1Kings chapters 16-22. He reigned  B.C.E. 918 to 897. His son was Jehoram/Joram.

His wife was the bitch Jezebel who exercised an evil influence over him:.1Kings 19:1,2. To the calf worship introduced by Jeroboam I he added the worship of Baal.

The cult of the Asherah, a form of Canaanite.idolatry was introduced by Ahab:.1Kings 16:33.

He was severely admonished by Elijah for his wickedness. Elijah was regarded as the 'troublemaker' of Israel back then. Ahab's anger was on this account kindled against the prophet and Ahab sought to kill him.

Ahab undertook three war campaigns against the Syrians who were ruled by the.horribly corrupt.Ben-hadad II, king of Damascus:.1Kings 20:1-28..

In the first two, which were defensive, he gained a complete victory over Benhadad.(a common name for kings of Syria), who fell into his hands and was afterwards released on the condition of his restoring all the cities of Israel he then held and granting certain other concessions to Ahab.

After three years of peace and for some cause, Ahab renewed war.(1Kings 22:3).with Benhadad by assaulting the city of Ramoth-gilead, even though the prophet Micaiah warned him that he would not succeed and that the 400 false prophets who encouraged him were only leading him to his ruin.

Micaiah was imprisoned for thus venturing to dissuade Ahab from his purpose. Ahab went into the battle disguised, that he might if possible escape the notice of his enemies, but an arrow from a bow 'drawn at a venture'.(1Kings 22:34).pierced him and though he stayed up in his chariot for a time he died towards evening and Elijah's earlier prophecy to Ahab.(1Kings 21:19), before Micahah's, was fulfilled.
   That rather.h u m o r ou s t o r y.is.here...

Ahab reigned twenty three years. Because of his idolatry, lust and covetousness, Ahab is referred to as a wicked king:.2Kings 8:18; 2Chronicles 22:3; Micah 6:16.

The pronouncements God made through Elijah were in part deferred by Ahab's later humiliation:.1Kings 21:25-29.

1Kings 22:40 "So Ahab slept with his fathers and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead."


-Ahaz: This Ahaz was the son of the prophet Micah/Micaiah, the prophet who advised Ahab regarding his going up to battle:.1Kings 22:8-18

-Ahaz: 12th king of Judah B.C.E. 742-727, son and successor of Jotham. He ascended the throne at twenty years of age and reigned sixteen years:.2Kings 16:1,2,20. Some say he ascended the throne at 25 years of age, but that's an error by the transcriber.

2Kings 15:38 "And Jotham slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead." 2Kings 16:1 "In the seventeenth year of Pekah.(of.Israel).the son of Remaliah.(a captain in the Syrian army), Ahaz the son of Jotham king of.Judah.began to reign."

He was distinguished for his idolatry and contempt of the true God. Here's the story in scripture:.2Chronicles 28:1-27.

He erected molten images for Baalim, made his children pass through the fire.(burnt them to death in the fire as a sacrifice to his satanic God).to idols and gave himself up to open idolatry:.2Kings 16:2-20; 2Chronicles 28:1-5.

He introduced the Syrian Gods into Jerusalem, altered the temple after the Syrian model and even closed it altogether. Having thus forfeited the aid of the true God, he met various repulses in battle with Pekah and Rezin. The Edomites revolted and the Philistines harassed his borders.

He turned yet more away from God in his distress and sought aid from Pul, king of Assyria. The further he went from God, the more his trouble increased. He became tributary to Pul and to Tiglath-pileser successor of Pul. Ahaz was reduced to great extremities in buying off the Assyrians, but became more infatuated in idolatry and dying in his impiety at the age of thirty-six, was refused a burial with the kings his ancestors:.2Chronicles 28:27.

Many of the prophecies of Isaiah deal with Ahaz in the time of Pekah, both of whom are named in it, beginning at.Isaiah 7:1. The spiritual and moral deterioration of the people under Ahaz is the frequent theme of Isaiah's prophecy. Isaiah was prophet in the days of Ahaz, but the king heeded not his instructions.

At the age of thirty-six Ahaz died in B.C.E. 715:.2Kings 16:20. His son Hezekiah was one of the best kings ever, thanks to the mother..


-Amaziah:.2Chronicles 25:1,2. The eighth king of Judah, son of Jehoash/Joash and reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem from his accession to the throne in the 25th year of his life, B.C.E. 838-810. He had with a good heart at the commencement of his reign, but decided on an evil course later.

2Kings 14:1 "In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah."

There was a Joash king of Israel and a Joash king of Judah.
2Chronicles 25:25 "And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years."

2Kings 14:1-4 "In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of.Israel.reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of.Judah. He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like David his father. He did according to all things as Joash his father did. Howbeit the high places were not taken away, as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places."

There's a lesson for us in Amaziah's life about trusting in God.

He did well in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart. Having established himself in his throne and slain the murderers of his father.(2Chronicles 25:3,4), he mustered a host of 300,000 men of Judah and hired 100,000 men of Israel, for a war upon Edom.

These hired forces he reluctantly.dismissed at the command of God, who gave him the victory without their aid:.2Chronicles 25:5-13. One doesn't need massive armies when trusting in God:.Judges 7:2-7. Is there anything God can't do?.(*)

Feeling on top of things, he makes another mistake in addition to the one about not removing the high places; this one being that of getting Judah into idolatry.

He carried home with him the idols of Edom and set them up to be his Gods:.Exodus 20:5; Numbers 14;22. For this defiance of God, he was threatened with destruction.(2Chronicles 25:15).by a prophet of the Lord and soon after, went headlong into war with Israel, in which he was defeated and humbled:.2Kings 14:8; Fifteen years after, he was slain by conspirators after hightailing it off to a city called Lachish to escape them:.2Kings 14:19; 2Chronicles 25:27,28.

And being tricked by the hubris of his ego, he makes yet another mistake:.2Chronicles 25:17.

2Kings 14:13 "And Jehoash king of.Israel.took Amaziah king of.Judah, the son of.Jehoash.(also known as Joash).the son of Ahaziah, at Bethshemesh and came to Jerusalem and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits." 2Chronicles 25:23 "And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash.(also known as Jehoash), the son of Jehoahaz, at Bethshemesh and brought him to Jerusalem and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits."

Amaziah's son was Azariah.(also known by the name of Uzziah; see at the Azariah link):.2Kings 15:1-3 "In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam I king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done." 2Chronicles 26:1 "Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah."


-Ammonites: The descendants of Ammon also called Ben-Ammi, a son of Lot, Abraham's nephew. Moab and Ammon were the sons of Lot by an incestuous relationship on the part of his daughters:.Genesis 19:30-38

The Ammonites have a history of cruelty:.1Samuel 11:2; Amos 1:13.

The Ammonites destroyed an ancient race of giants called Zamzummim and seized their country which lay east of Judea.(map):.Deuteronomy 2:10,11,20,21

From the very beginning of their history till they are lost sight of, the Ammonite tribe is closely associated with the Moabites:.2Chronicles 20:1; Zephaniah 2:8. Both of these tribes hired Balaam to curse Israel. 

The Ammonites were probably more of a predatory tribe, moving from place to place, while the Moabites were more settled. They inhabited the country east of the Jordan and north of Moab and the Dead Sea.(map), from which they had expelled the Zamzummims or Zuzims.

The Ammonites are known as the Beni-ammi:.Genesis 19:38. The main God these people gave obeisance to was Ammi or Ammon. They were of Semitic origin and closely related to the Hebrews in blood and language. They showed no kindness to the Israelites when passing through their territory. They became hostile to Israel:.Judges 3:11-14. Jephthah.(the ninth judge of the Israelites).waged war against them and."took twenty cities with a very great slaughter":.Judges 11:32,33. They were again signally defeated by Saul:.1Samuel 11:1-11. David also defeated them and their allies the Syrians:.2Samuel 10th chapter. One of Solomon's wives was Naamah, an Ammonite. She was the mother of Rehoboam

The national idol worshipped by the Ammonites was Molechor Milcom, at whose altar they offered human sacrifices:.1Kings 11:5,7,33. The high places built for this idol by Solomon, at the instigation of his Ammonitish wives, were not destroyed till the time of Josiah.

-Anger:.In Isaiah 57:16 God shows us that He is always in complete control, though He, like us, sometimes gets angry. On God's anger:.Ephesians 4:26.

Our anger comes from dissatisfaction with self, even though expressed towards an object removed from the self. More

It is born of immaturity and small mindedness. There is also an 'anger' where you are upset that another may be hurting his life. This is born of concern for another. The anger of the Creator comes from displeasure that man just refuses to 'come up higher' sometimes, as Moses, who 'just didn't get it'. 

-Anna:.means grace. An aged widow of Old Testament times, the daughter of Phanuel. She was a 'prophetess', like Deborah, Huldah and Miriam

After seven years of being with her husband, he died and during her long widowhood she daily attended temple services. When she was eighty four years old, she entered the temple at the moment when the aged Simeon.(Luke 2:25-27).uttered his memorable words of praise and thanks to God that He had fulfilled His ancient promise in sending His Son into the world.

And, about Anna:.Luke 2:36-38

-Asa: The third king of Judah after Solomon, so, he was great grandson to him and grandson to Rehoboam. Asa was the third king of Judah after the separation of Israel into what became the two nations of Judah and Israel.

2Chronicles 14:1 "So Abijah slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years."

Asa was son and successor of Abijam:.1Kings 15:8 "And Abijam slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David and Asa his son reigned in his stead."

He began to reign B.C.E..951 and reigned forty-one years at Jerusalem:.1Kings 15:9,10. Asa was a good king in spite of his bad mother Maachah:.1Kings 15:11-13.

The first part of Asa's reign was peaceful and prosperous:.2Chronicles 14:1 to 15:2.

He restored the pure worship of God and expelled those who displayed contempt for the things of God by prostituting themselves in honor of their false Gods.

He purified Jerusalem from the infamous practices attending the worship of idols and deprived his mother Maachah, the queen mother, the wife of Rehoboam and Asa's grandmother, of her office and dignity of queen, because she erected an idol to Astarte:.1Kings 15:12,13.

In the eleventh year of his reign, God gave him the victory over the vast army of the Cushite Pharaoh king Zerah

The prophet Azariah encouraged him to go on in his work of reform:.2Chronicles 15:1-3. And yet, when Baasha.king of Israel opposed this very work.(1Kings 15:17), Asa sought aid not from God, but from heathen Syria.

There was ill-will and strife between Asa and Baasha.(1Kings 15:16), as there was also earlier between these two kingdoms, with Rehoboam and Jereboam I:.1Kings 15:6.

As Asa aged and since he must have felt he did the best he could, he disliked any criticism in this regard and flew into a rage when God sent a message to him by way of Hanani the seer:.2Chronicles 16:7-11.

In the latter part of his life, he became diseased in his feet and Scripture reproaches him with having had recourse to the physicians, rather than to the Lord:.2Chronicles 16:12. Asa died after a reign of 41 years.

Yet his reign was, on the whole, one of the happiest which Judah enjoyed and the.Bible.repeatedly commends his piety as an example:.1Kings 22:43; 2Chronicles 20:31,32. Asa's funeral rites were celebrated with special magnificence:.2Chronicles 16:14.
 


-Assyrian Empire:
Descendents of ancient Egypt, Assyria and Israel.(and a map here.outlining what included ancient Assyria).will become top nations in the age we are moving into now:.Isaiah 19:23-25. Assyria expanded greatly during its historical growth and is known very approximately today as outlined in this map.

Assyria is traced to the various spellings of Asshur, Ashur, Assur:.Genesis 10:9-11. Asshur was a son of Shem.(map of Shem's location). In the Hebrew it is the same original for Asshur as it is for Assyria.

Assyria was an ancient empire in western Asia in the region of the upper Tigris River, located in what is now northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey.(map). Assyria had a string of strong kings, such as Tiglath-pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib and Esarhaddon. The Middle East area from Egypt to the Persian Gulf was ruled by the Assyrians. The last great Assyrian ruler was Ashurbanipal.

Asshur built the ancient city of Nineveh as well as other cities.

Also a city after his name, Asshur, was the first real city, B.C.E. 2300, now Ash Sharqâþ.

The connection with the parent country Syria was close, circa B.C.E. 2000.

Hammurabi, an Assyrian king in B.C.E. 1760, was over Assyria's area in the northern part of present day Iraq, where ancient Babylon was located. The Greeks called the area Mesopotamia

Shalmaneser I reigned over Assyria in B.C.E. 1274-1244. Together with Tukulti-Ninurta-I.(Assyrian ruler, reigned B.C.E. 1244-1207), was successful in extending the Assyrian boundaries and in keeping at bay their powerful neighbors, the Hittites.(Exodus 34:11), the Babylonians and others.

During its bitter struggle for existence, Assyria became the scourge and terror of the entire Middle East. Assyrian rulers began to make Assyria the center of a new empire by incorporating the conquered lands into their domain.

Ashurnasirpal II, the son of Tukulti-Ninurta-II.(who was son of Adad-nirari-II), ruled from B.C.E. 884 to 859 and extended Assyrian rule to the north and east.

In B.C.E. 745 the throne was occupied by Tiglath-pileser III, a ruler who consciously and deliberately decided to build Assyria into a world empire. He began by reasserting the authority of the throne and reducing the power of the troublesome court nobles.

He established a permanent army, consisting largely of foreign contingents and planned his campaigns with the objective of annexing enemy territory. The peoples he conquered were deported and resettled within the Assyrian domains in order to break their national consciousness and cohesion. He relieved Assyria from the pressure of the Aramaean tribes that were menacing the valley of the central Tigris, expelled the Urartians from Syria, annexed the Aramaean states of Arpad and Damascus, subjugated the cities of Palestine and made himself the ruler of Babylonia.

Sargon II ruled B.C.E. 722-705 and reigned 17-years. He followed Tiglath-pileser III's successor, Shalmaneser V, B.C.E. 727-722, to the throne, extended Assyrian domination in all directions, from southern Anatolia to the Persian Gulf.

At the beginning of the reign of Sargon II he deported the population of Israel, which Shalmaneser V had conquered shortly before his death. 

Sargon II delegated some of his own power to his son Sennacherib in B.C.E. 705-681. Toward the end of his reign Sargon II built a new city, Dur Sharrukin, erected his palace astride its city wall and adorned it with impressive bas-reliefs. He established a library in Nineveh and trade and agriculture were encouraged throughout the empire.

Under Sargon II the Assyrian Empire was more powerful and extensive than ever before. The peoples were closely knit in language and culture. 

The city of Assyria was founded about B.C.E. 1700. At a later date the capital was shifted to Ninua or Nineveh, now Koyunjik, on the eastern bank of the river. 

This was in in the time of Abraham and Moses. Tiglath-pileser III was a king of Assyria at this time.

Concise Bible Dictionary:."Babylon and Assyria are much blended together in history, sometimes being independent one of the other and at other times being tributary.to one another. In B.C.E. 745 Tiglath-pileser may be said to have founded the later kingdom of Assyria and among his victories he became master of Babylonia, as the kingdom of Babylon was called."

The Semitic Assyrians proceeding out of Babylonia founded Nineveh long after the Cushite foundation of the area called Babylon. The Babylonian shrines were those at which the Assyrians thought the Gods most accessible, regarding Babylon as the true home of their Gods.

According to the Greek historian.Herodotus and the Babylonian historian Berosus, we can infer the Babylonian empire began about B.C.E. 1228, 520 years before its decay through the revolt of subject nations, the Medes, etc.

The Assyrians knew the arch, the lever, the roller, gem engraving, tunneling, drainage. Their vases, bronze and ivory ornaments, bells and earrings, show considerable taste and skill. But their religion was sensual and their government rude.

The Assyrians through her various kings such Tiglath-pileser III, Shalmaneser, Sennacherib and Sargon served as God's scourge of Israel.(Isaiah 10:5,6).and they prepared the way for a more centralized and better organized government and a more spiritual religion, such as the Medo-Persians possessed.

However, never again did Assyria rise as a nation, for God had said."there is no healing of thy bruise":.Nahum 3:18,19. The last Assyrian king was Ashur-uballit II who reigned B.C.E. 612-609.

Assyria was used by God as to awaken ancient Israel and Judah from their wayward paths by sending them into captivity and this happened many times, as they would slip back into their old ways:.2Chronicles 36:10.

For more see.Shaff/Herzog Encyclopedia of Biblical Terms, available free with the free Online Bible, that you can put on your own computer and not need to be online to use it.

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