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 ISRAELITES

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ISRAELITES

ing of Ispahan by the Afghans in 1722 necessitated the closing of these CathoHc establisliments. In 1S3S, when Eugene Bore visited Ispahan, there were but few Cathohcs left. Propaganda re-established the mission in 1840, and it was placed in care of the Laz- arists. Their superior became Apostolic prefect; a school had ah-eady been estalslished at Ispahan. In 1852 liberty of conscience was granted. In 1874, when Rome created the Persian Apostolic Delegation for the Orientals, the Latin Diocese of Ispahan was removed from the jurisdiction of the See of Babylon, of which it had become a suffragan in 1S4S. To-day this diocese directly depends on the Holy See; Mgr Lesne, its administrator, who is titular Archbishop of Pliilippopolis and Apostolic delegate, resides at Our- miah. There are about 350 Catholics of the Latin Rite in Persia, out of a total population of over eight millions; they are under the care of fifteen Lazarist fathers. The Catholic Armenian Diocese of Ispahan, erected on 30 .\pril, 1850, is under the jurisdiction of Monsignor Paolo Pietro Sabbaghian, the Armenian Patriarch of Cilicia, and contains about 7700 Catho- lic Armenians, with eleven secular priests, four churches, and one convent. The faithful in Ispahan proper number 560, out of a population of 80,000 in- habitants; and there are still many in the region of Ourmiah. The Gregorian Armenians, about 50,000 in Persia, are quite numerous at Djulfa, a suburb of Ispahan, and have a bishop of that title.

Leqoien, Oriens Christianus, I, 1425; III, 1389-1392; Shih- LEY, Relations of his travels into Persia (London, 1613) ; Brieves relations des proffres de VEvangile au royaume des Perses (Li&ge, 1610); Relation du voyage de Perse, faict par le R. P. Pactfique de Provins {Paris. 1631); Berthold-Ignace, //isioiVe de Vetablissement de la Misaion de Perse (Paris, 1835); ScHE- FER, Eslat de la Perse en 1660 pur le P. Raphael du Mans (Paris, 1890). with abundant bibliographv; Piglet. Les missions catholiques /ranfaises au XIX' siicle. I ^Pa^i.s. 19—), 185-222; Missiones catholictB (Rome, 1907), 177, 179, 756; Annates de la Congrrgation de la Afissi'on (Paris), passim; Mxi^coiM, Sketches of Persia (Pliiladelphia, 1828).

S. Vailhe.

Israelites. — The word designates the descendants of the Patriarch Jacob, or Israel. It corresponds to the Hebrew appellation "JXIK" 'J3," children of Israel", a name by which — together with the sunple form ?X"lt^', " Israel " — the chosen people usually called themselves in Old-Testament times. Foreigners and Israelites speaking of themselves to foreigners used the term D'"l3y (Hebrews), commonly explained as denot- ing those who have come from " the other side " (135?) of the river (the Euphrates). Another synonym for Israelites is the term Jews (lovdatoi), especially used by classical authors, hut also often found in Josephua and in the New-Testament writings. The object of the present article is distinctly geographical and ethno- graphical, leaving, as far as possible, the other topics connected with the Israelites to be dealt with in the article on Jews .\nd Jud.vism, or in particular articles on the leading personages or events in Israel's history.

I. Semitic Rel.\tionship. — The IsraeUtes belong to the group of ancient peoples who are designated under the general name of Semites, and whose coun- tries extended from the Mediterranean Sea to the other side of the Euphrates and Tigris, and from the mountains of .Armenia to the southern coast of Arabia. According to the Biblical classification of the descen- dants of Noe (Gen., x), it is clear that the Semitic group included the Arabs, Babylonians, Assyrians, Ara- means, and Hebrews, to which peoples modern ethno- graphists add, chiefly on linguistic grounds, the Phoe- nicians and Chanaaneans. It thus appears that the Israelites of old claimed actual kinship with .some of the most powerful nations of the East, although the nearness or remoteness of this kinship cannot be de- termined at the present day. .\s might be expected, their ethnic relation to the Semitic tribes who, to- gether with the Israelites, make up the sub-group of VIIL— 13

the Terahites, is more definitely known. The close- ness of this relationship can easily be seen by means of the following table, the data of which are supplied by the earliest source embodied in the Book of Genesis: —

p- Moab ran — Lot

-Ismael— twelve sons

(Sinaitic nomads)

t— Madian et al. t — Bathuel — .\ram ' — -eleven other sons This table plainly shows that the Moabites, the

'-^Nachor

Ammonites, the Edomites, and the Israelites were tribes of kindred origin, a fact which is readily ac- knowledged by contemporary scholars. It shows no less plainly that the children of Israel were also con- scious of a close relationship with both the .\rameans (Syrians) to the north-east and the Sinaitic nomads tothe south of Palestine; and there is no doubt that, despite the rejection of Israel's kinship with .\ram by some recent critics, both the Aramean and the Arabian relationships of Israel should be admitted. In the ab- stract, these relationships are not exclusive of each other, for there is no reason to suppose that ancient Israel was more homogeneous than any other migra- tory and conquering people; and in the concrete, both the relationships in question are equally borne wit- ness to in the earliest historical records (cf. Gen., xxiv, 4, 10; xxvii, 43; xxix, 4, etc., in favour of Israel's rela- tionship with Aram).

II. E.\RLY MiGRATiox. — The history of the Israel- ites begins with the migration of the kindred tribes mentioned in the above taljle, in the person of their ancestor, Thare, from Babylonia. The starting-point of this memorable migration was, according to Gen., xi, 28, 31, "Ur of theChaldees", which has recently been identified with Mugheir {Muqayyar; Accadian Uriwa), an important city in ancient days, some six miles distant from the right bank of the Euphrates, and about 125 miles north-west of the Persian Gulf. Its actual goal, according to Gen., xi, 31, was "the land of Chanaan". The movement thus generally described is in distinct harmony with the well-ascer- tained fact that at an early date Babylonian enter- prise had penetrated to Palestine and thereby opened up to the Semitic element of Chaldea a track towards the region which at the present day is often regarded as the original centre of the dispersion of the Semites, viz. Northern Arabia. The cour.se taken was by way of Haran (in Aram), a city some 600 miles north-west of Ur, and its rival in the worship of the Moon-god, Sin. Not in worship alone, but also in culture, laws, and customs, Haran closely resembled Ur, and the call of Abraham — God's command bidding him to seek a new coimtry (Gen., xii, 1) — was doubtless welcome to one whose purer conception of the Deity made him dissatisfied with his heathen surroundings (cf. Jos., xxiv, 2 sq.). There is also reason to think that at this time Northern Babylonia was greatly disturbed by invading Kassites, a mountain race related to the Elamites. While, then, Thare's second son, Nachor, remained in Haran, where he originated the .\jamaic settlement, Abraham and Lot went forth, passed Da- mascus, and reached the goal of their journey. The settlements which Holy Writ connects with Abraham and Lot need only to be mentioned here. The tril>es directly related to Lot were those of Moab and Am- raon, of which the former established itself east of the Dead Sea, and the latter settled on the eastern side of