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160 — Aryeh Loeb

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Asaiah

Emet," p. timony of

Lemberg,

According to the tesJacob Emden (see the latter 's autobiography, "Megillat Sefer," pp. 21, 68, "Warsaw, 1896), he was a man of mediocre abilities, whose scientific attainments were not above the practical requirements for the rabbinical office. Of his sons, one, Saul Aryeh, was his successor, while the 16,

1877).

his brother-in-law,

who called himself Hirschel Lewin, was rabbi in Berlin. The son of the latter was Chief Rabbi Solomon Herschell of London. See Amster-

•other,

dam. Bibliography: Buber, Anshe Shem,

pp. 37 etseq., Cracow,

1895.

D.

ARYEH LOEB OF SPOLA. Spola. ARYEH LOEB THEOMIM.

See

Loeb op

See Theomim,

Loeb.

ARZA in Tirzah, xvi.

The steward of King Elah at

.

where Elah was

the palace,

by Zimri

killed

(I

Kings

9).

G. B. L.

jr.

j.

ARZARETH great river, far



The name of

away from

the land beyond the the habitation of man, in

the Ten Tribes of Israel will dwell, observing the laws of Moses, until the time of the restoration, according to IV Esd. xiii. 45. Columbus identified America with this land. (See Kayserling's "Christopher Columbus," translated by Dr. 0. Gross, p.

which

15.)

has been suggested by Schiller-Szinessy, is taken from Deut. xxix. 24-27, "Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord and went and the Lord rooted them out served other gods and cast them into another land of their land This passage is made to [erez aheret] as this day." refer (in Mishnah Sanh. x. 3) to the Ten Tribes (compare Tosef., Sanh. xiii. 12; Bab. ib. 110* Yer. ib. x. 29c; Ab. B. N., ed. Schechter, A, xxxvi. 108, and Baeher, " Agada der Tannaiten," i. 143). But different opinions are expressed by Akiba and Eliezer— the traditions are rather confused as to the names whether the Ten Tribes may be expected to return or not, since this point is not determined in the One of them takes the words "as Scriptural verse. this day " to signify that " as the day goeth, but doth not return, so shall they who are cast off not return " the other explains the words " as the day begins with the darkness of the night, but turns into day, so shall the darkness of their banishment be turned into bright daylight" (Mishnah Sanh. I.e.). The fourth Book of Esdras took the latter view, which was adopted also by R. Judah ha-Nasi in the Tosefta it

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.







(I.e.),

who

refers to Isa. xxvii. 13.

Bibliography



114; Neubauer,

Schiller-Szinessy, in

In Rabbinical Literature According to the Rabbis, Asa was one of the five men who were distinguished by certain physical perfections possessed by Adam, but were, on account of their having abused them, afflicted in these very parts of their body. Samson was distinguished by his strength, and behold, "his strength went from him" (Judges xvi. Saul by towering with his neck above the rest, 19) and behold, " he took a sword and fell upon it " (I Sam. xxxi. 4) Absalom by his long hair, and behold, " his head caught of the oak " (II Sam. x viii. 9) Zedekiah by his eyes, and behold, " they put out the eyes of r " Zedekiah (II Kings xxv. 7) Asa b} his feet (compare as to Adam B. B. 58a; Tan., Ahare Mot, ed. Buber, 3) and behold, " in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet" (I Kings xv. 23); that is, he was afflicted with gout. And the reason for this affliction of Asa was that, when enlisting the whole of Judah in war he " exempted none " (I Kings xv. 22), but forced also the students of the Law nay, even newly married husbands, whom the Law (Deut. xx. 7) exempts to march along (Sotah 10a). [Pirke Rabbenu ha-Kadosh, v. 14, ed. Gruenhut.'p. 72, has Asahel the light-footed (II Sam. ii. 18-23) instead of Asa. Compare Pirke R. Eliezer liii. where, instead of five, six are mentioned, Josiah being added as the sixth, as boasting of and afflicted in his nostrils (II Chron. xxxv. 22, 23; Ta'an. 22*) whereas Tan., Wa'ethanan, ed. Buber, 1, has seven instead of five.] The chronological discrepancy between II Chron.

Jew. Quart. Bev.

i.

111.

16.

K.

JR.

ASA:

1. A Levite, father of Berechiah; found genealogy of the Levites in I Chron. ix. 16. 2. See Asa, Third King op Judah.

G. B. L.

jr.

—

ASA

(abbreviation of Asayah.). Biblical Third king of Judah son of Abijam and grandson of Rehoboam; reigned 917-876 B.C. (I

Data













—

—

,

Journal of Philology,

in the

j.

Kings xv. 7-9). The most important event of his reign was the deliverance of Judah from Baasha, king of Israel, under whom the superior strength of the northern kingdom assumed a threatening aspect. Baasha raised a fortress at Raman, four miles from Jerusalem; and, in order to secure immunity from his attacks, Asa was obliged to obtain the help of Ben-hadad I. of Damascus, thus involving the Arameans of Syria for the first time in the affairs of Ben-hadad invaded the most northerly terIsrael. ritory of Israel northwest of the Sea of Galilee, and annexed it to his own dominions. The price paid to the Syrian king by Asa was taken from the store of silver in the Temple and the royal palace. Baasha was forced to retire; and Asa, using the material of the ruined fortress of Raman, built Geba and Mizpah for the defense of his northern frontier Asa also repelled a raid of (I Kings xv. 16-22). Egyptians and Ethiopians under Zerah (Osorkon II.) According to the narrator in (II Chron. xiv. 9-15). I Kings, Asa was a religious reformer, putting down impure worship with an unsparing hand (I Kings xv. 11-15); but, while he was on the whole a wise and successful ruler, the picture given of him is somewhat vague. His religious reforms, more particularly, can hardly have been thorough, in so far as no traces of them are to be observed in the reigns of his successors. See Baasha and Ben-hadad. j. jr. J. F. McC.

The name,

J.

160

and I Kings xvi. 8 is readjusted by the interpretation That the thirty -sixth year of Chronicles refers to the thirty-six years of the secession of the xvi. 1

northern kingdom, which was a punishment for the thirty-six years of Solomon's marriage to the