Smith's Bible Dictionary.pdf - Online Christian Library

Smith's Bible Dictionary
two, then Mount Seir cannot fail to be the ridge which lies between the Wady Aly and the Wady
Ghurab . In a pass of this ridge is the modern village of Seir.
Seirath
(the shaggy), the place to which Ehud fled after his murder of Eglon. (Judges 3:26,27) It was
in “Mount Ephraim,” ver. 27, a continuation, perhaps, of the same wooded, shaggy hills which
stretched even so far south as to enter the territory of Judah, (Joshua 15:10) (It is probably the same
place as Mount, Mount, Mountain Seir, 2.)
Sela, Or Selah
(the rock), (2 Kings 14:7; Isaiah 16:1) so rendered in the Authorized Version in Judges city
later (2 Chronicles 25:12) probably known as Petra, the ruins of which are found about two days
journey north of the top of the Gulf of Akabah and three or four south from Jericho and about
halfway between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the northern end of the Gulf of Akabah. It
was in the midst of Mount Seir, in the neighborhood of Mount Hor, and therefore Edomite territory,
taken by Amaziah, and called Joktheel. In the end of the fourth century B.C. it appears as the
headquarters of the Nabatheans, who successfully resisted the attacks of Antigonus. About 70 B.C.
Petra appears as the residence of the Arab princes named Aretas. It was by Trajan reduced to
subjection to the Roman empire. The city Petra lay, though at a high level, in a hollow three quarters
of a mile long and from 800 to 1500 feet wide, shut in by mountain cliffs, and approached only by
a narrow ravine, through which, and across the city’s site, the river winds. There are extensive ruins
at Petra of Roman date, which have been frequently described by modern travellers.
Selah
This word, which is found only in the poetical books of the Old Testament, occurs seventy-one
times in the Psalms and three times in Habakkuk. It is probably a term which had a meaning in the
musical nomenclature of the Hebrews, though what that meaning may have been is now a matter
of pure conjecture. (Gesenius and Ewald and others think it has much the same meaning as our
interlude,—a pause in the voices singing, while the instruments perform alone.)
Selahammahlekoth
(the cliff of escapes or of divisions), a rock or cliff in the wilderness of Maon, southeast of
Hebron, the scene of one of those remarkable escapes which are so frequent in the history of Saul’s
pursuit of David. (1 Samuel 23:28)
Seled
(exultation), one of the sons of Nadab, a descendant of Jerahmeel: (1 Chronicles 2:30) (B.C.
after 1450.)
Seleucia, Or Seleucia
(named after its founder, Seleucus), near the mouth of the Orontes, was practically the seaport
of Antioch. The distance between the two towns was about 16 miles. St. Paul, with Barnabas, sailed
from Seleucia at the beginning of his first missionary circuit. (Acts 13:4) This strong fortress and
convenient seaport was constructed by the first Seleucus, and here he was buried. It retained its
importance in Roman times and in St. Paul’s day it had the privileges of a free city. The remains
are numerous.
Seleucus
the name of five kings of the Greek dominion of Syria who are hence called Seleucidae . Only
one—the fourth—is mentioned in the Apocrypha.
Seleucus Iv
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William Smith