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Ar

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Arabia

Prophctiedes Joels; Hausbach, Die Stellung des Thomas v. Aqulna zu Maimonides, in Theol. QuartaUchrift, lxxxl. 553. The first three books of the Surnma were translated into Hebrew by Bishop Joseph Ciantes, Rome, 1657.

t.

AB,

I.

or

AR MO AB

Old Testament: Num. 29; Isa. xv.

1.

Hebrew "'&>"

Br.

the capital of Moab (Rabbat Moab) derives the name of Areopolis ("Onomastica Sacra," edited by Lagarde, p. 277).

Bibliography: Buhl, Geographic der Alien PaUlsUna,

pp.

269, 270.

Occurs as follows in the



xxi. 15, 28;

Deut.

It is generally identified

ii.

9, 18,

with the

"Ar Moab" would

be "city of Moab," a supposed ancient capital of the Moabites. But even if this interpretation be admissible in certain of the passages cited above, it would not be very appropriate in Deut. ii. 9, which reads " Distress not the Moabites, for I will not give thee of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession " or again, verse 18, "Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast (or the border) of Moab " or, finally, verse 29 " The children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and (city), so

40

that







P. Bu.

JR.

J.

ARAB AH



The Hebrew word Arabah (rmy) de-

notes desert, steppe. With the article, it refers especially to that extensive depression the center of which In some passages it is is marked by the Dead Sea. applied to the southern portion of this depression, namely, that between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Akabah (Deut. i. 1, ii. 8); in others to the northern part (Deut. iii. 17; Josh. xi. 2, 16; II Sam. iv. 7; II Kings xxv. 4; Ezek. xlvii. 8); again, to the district

Jordan (Josh. xii. 1, 3), and also to the Sam. ii. 29). The breadth varies from 3 to 14 miles. The whole formation of this depression is one of the remarkable phenomena of the earth's surface. At the northern end, north of the Sea of Galilee, the ground rises 500 feet above sea-level, then falls, within a distance of 118 miles, to 2,600 feet below it (the greatest depth of the Dead Sea bed) then rises south of that sea to an altitude of 800 feet, and falls away gradually to the Gulf of Akabah. On both banks of the Jordan and in the neighborhood of springs east of the

west

(II



for instance, near Jericho) the Arabah is covered with a luxuriant vegetation, otherwise it consists of blinding white desert without a leaf. South of the Dead Sea, the Arabah is covered with sand, gravel, and boulders, and is traversed by ridges of sandhills. The intense heat common to the whole de(as,

pression,

and which gives to the vegetation

its trop-

reaches in this section a degree that makes sojourn almost impossible. The old name El-Arabah is still applied to the southern portion between the Gulf of Akabah and the watershed south of the Dead Sea the northern portion is now called El-Ghor. ical character,



Bibliography: G. A. Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land, pp. 782-784 Buhl, Geographic der Alten PalOstina,

passim.

P. Bu.

JR.

J.

ARABAH. See Beth- Arabah. ARABARCH, THE. See Alabarch. ARABIA Peninsula lying between the

mainlands of Africa and Asia. It is separated from Africa on the south by the Red Sea and on the north by the Sinaitic peninsula and the strip of land which in modern times has been cut through for the Suez canal. On the south and southeast its shores are washed by the Indian Ocean, which has been constantly receding and allowing more of the land to emerge. On the east it is separated from Persia by the Persian Gulf, and on the north is bounded by the Syrian desert, which is but a continuation of the great desert lying in the heart of Arabia itself. This desert is relieved by a number of oases, on which grow palms and tamarisks in abundance, providing food and shade for the Bedouins. Arabia has no

Ruins (After Luynes, "

of

Ar Moab.

Voyage d'Exploration a

la

Mer Morte.")

the Moabites which dwell in Ar. " It is obvious that " Ar" here must stand either for the land of Moab, " or for the principal part of it if, therefore, " Ar were a city, it must here be used as representing It would be simpler, however, to rethe country gard " Ar " as the actual name of a country, and this is appropriate also in Isa. xv. 1, 2; Num. xxi. 15, 28. Note also that the Septuagint translates Isa. xv. 1, " v Mwa/3Zr<r." It is perhaps from this country that

rivers,

hut

the desert

is artificially is

very

irrigated.

fertile,

The land outside

especially on the western

it is known on this account as Arabia Felix. Arabia has an average width of 600 miles and a

side