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260 Atargatis Athanasius

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

In Rabbinical Literature

was

Atarali



a

Canaanite woman of rank, whom Jeralimeel married in order " to be crowned " through her that is to say, to be raised to nobility (mD]?, "crown," "decoration"). But she brought evil upon him,

and was therefore called " the mother of Onam " that is, "the mother of mourning" (D31N = plN, " mourner "). On account of this irregular marriage, a portion of the tribe of Judah did not recognize the children of Jerahmeel as of pure descent (Yer. Sanh.

ii.

20b;

Ruth

R., end).

sr.

J.

L. G.

ATARGATIS A

Syrian divinity referred to in the Apocrypha. A temple of Atargatis existed in Carnion or Carnaim (I Mace. v. 24; II Mace. xii. 26), on the east side of the Jordan. Just what goddess is meant by the name has not as yet been definitely ascertained. The first element of the name is evidently the Aramean equivalent of Astarte the second element may be the name of another goddess, Athe or Athah, who has been found in Phenician inscriptions. The chief temple of Atargatis in Palestine was the one in Ascalon. At Carnaim she had another, and it was in that sanctuary that Judah Maccabeus, without regard for the sanctity of the place, slew the inhabitants that had fled there for refuge. The temple with all its objects used in the cult was burned by him. Bibliography: Bathgen, Beitrdge zur Semitiselien Reli:



oumsgeschivhte, pp. 88

et acq., 256 et seq.



Baudissin, Atar-

gatis, in Herzog-Plitt, Real-Encykloplldie fur Protestantisehe Theolngie ; Robertson Smith, Religion of the Semites, 2d ed., pp. 172-175.

G. B. L.

jr.

J.

AT AROTH



District in Palestine, east of the Jor-

This place is mentioned along with Dibon and Jazer as a very fertile tract of land and good for raising cattle. Reuben and Gad both asked for the land. Gad received it (Num. xxxii. 3) and built a dan.

city there

(ib.

34).

G. B. L.

jr.

j.

ATAROTH

The name of several towns in Palestine 1 A city on the eastern side of the Dead Sea in the land taken from Moab and given to Gad (Num. xxxii. 3). From Num. xxxii. 34 it appears that the city was rebuilt by the Gadites: a fact which the Moabite Stone (line 10) confirms. It has been identified with the modern Attarus (Buhl,



.

"Geographic," p. 267). 2. A town on the border line between Ephraim

and Benjamin

(Josh. xvi.

disputes the site. 3. Atarotb Addar (Josh. xvi. oth,

4.

5, xviii.

though Buhl

(ib.

172)

13),

A border town

of

Ephraim

perhaps the same as Atar-

2.

Ataroth beth Joab

5. Ataroth.

the Gadites

Mentioned



(I

Shopban:

(Num.

Chron.

A

ii.

in the list of

54).

city in the

domain of

xxxii. 35).

G. B. L.

jr.

ATBASH.

numerous mounds covering the right bank of the

the

Volga, called also Atel 6riN, " Sefer ha-Kabbalah, in "Med. Jew. Chron." i. 78, 190). According to the Arabic writers, Ibn Pudlan, lbn Haukal, Ibn Khaldun, Mas'udi, and others, Atel was situated about sixty miles from the mouth of the Volga. The western part of the city was surrounded by a wall with four gates, one of which led to the river, and the others to the steppes. Here lived the hakam of the C'hazars, whose palace was the only building of brick in the city. The rest of the inhabitants dwelt in huts, or in tents of felt. Mas'udi, however, states that the palace of the hakams was situated not in the western part of the city, but on an island, and the city consisted of three parts. The eastern part, called Khazaran, was inhabited by merchants of various nationalities. Atel had a large population of Mohammedans, Christians, Jews, etc. The Turkish and Chazar languages predominated. Some of the inhabitants

were called "blacks," and the others " whites, " according to their complexions. The hakan and his staff were Jews. His suite, numbering fully 4,000 persons, was composed of representatives of differIn 969 the Russians destroyed the city. D. I. Chwolson, in Zhurnal Ministerstva

ent races.

Bibliography



Narodnavo Prosvyeshcheniya, 1,

1867,

1868, cxl. Yostok, 1886, No. No. 2; Astrakhanski Spravochny Llstok, 1869, Nos.

24, 27,

131, 133

52,



moslU

1884, No. 80; Regesty i Nadpisi, etc., Nos. 145, 150, 151, 153-155, St. Petersburg, 1899; Entziklopedichexki Slnvar, St. Petersburg, 1893 Cassel, Magyarisehe Alikerthttmer, p. 311.

Ii.,



H. R.

a.

ATER



1.

A

family that returned with Zerub-

babel (Ezra ii. 16; Neh. vii. 21), the head of which signed the covenant with Neherniah (Neh. x. 18). In I Esd. v. 15, Ater is called Aterezias. 2. Doorkeepers of the Temple, who returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra ii. 42 Neh. vii. 45) called " sons of Jatal " in I Esd. v. 28. J. jr. G. B. L.



ATHACH A

town in Judah, to the inhabitants of which David sent a part of the spoil taken from the Amalekites (I Sam. xxx. 30). It has not been

Several scholars consider Ath(inj?; Josh. xv. 42); if it be Ether, it is quite impossible to decide which reading is correct. The manuscripts of the Greek versions to the passages in question furnish addefinitely identified.

ach but

C"|ny) the

same as Ether

ditional variants.

Bibliography Wellhausen, Text der Bttcher Samuelis Budde, Jusua und Riehter Driver, Notes on the Books of Samuel. J. JR. G. B. L.

See Gematria.

ATHALIAH



Daughter of Ahab

(Idl, Itil, Etel)



The capital of theCha-

zars in the tenth century; situated about eight Together with the English miles from Astrakhan. city of Balanjara, which was equally renowned in ancient times, it is now buried under the highest of

(II

Kings viii.

presumably, of Jezebel; also called the daughter of Omri (II Chron. xxii. 2). The political alliance of Jehoshaphat, fourth king of Judah, with Ahab, king of Israel (I Kings xxii. 2-4; II Chron. xx. 35), resulted in a domestic alliance also between his son Jehoram and Ahab's daughter Athaliah (II Kings viii. 18-27 II Chron. xxi. 6). The death of Ahaziah, the only surviving son of Jehoram and Athaliah (II Chron. xxi. 16, 17), at the hand of Jehu (II Kings ix. 27; II Chron. xxii. 9), opened the way for the queen-mother to assert herself. She immediately slew " all " of royal blood 26) and,



ATEL



Astrakhanskiya Ghibernskiya Vyedo-





the descendants of Caleb

,i.

2),

260