Lydda

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

In Hebrew Lud or Lod, 1 Chronicles 8:12; Ezra 2:33 , and by the Greeks called Diospolis, was a city nine miles east of Joppa, on the way to Jerusalem. Here Peter healed Aeneas, Acts 9:33,34 . It was destroyed not long after Jerusalem; but was soon rebuilt, and became the seat of a famous Jewish school. A Christian church was here organized, and was in existence A. D. 518. Lydda is often mentioned in the history of the crusades. It was situated in the midst of fine and extensive plains, the soil of which is a rich black mould, that might be rendered exceedingly fertile. It is at present only a miserable village called Ludd. The ruins of a stately church of the middle ages, called the church of St. George, preserve the name of a saint and martyr said to have been buried here in the third century. The English crusaders adopted him as the "patron" of England, and many fabulous legends are told of his exploits.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Acts 9:32,35,381 Chronicles 8:12

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

(See LOD.) The result of Peter's cure of the paralytic Aeneas, one of the "saints which dwelt at Lydda," was, "all that dwelt in Lydda and Saron (the adjoining maritime plain, Sharon) saw him and turned to the Lord" (Acts 9:32-35). Now Ludd, nine miles from Jaffa, the first town on the northernmost of the two roads between Jaffa and Jerusalem. The Benjamites occupied and built, i.e. fortified and enlarged, it originally (1 Chronicles 8:12) and reoccupied it after the return from Babylon (Ezra 2:33; Nehemiah 11:35). The Romans named it Diospolls. It became the seat of a bishopric. Here was buried, and probably born, George, England's legendary patron saint and martyr; a church in his honour was erected over his remains, the beautiful ruin of which is still standing.

Holman Bible Dictionary

1 Chronicles 8:12Ezra 2:33 Nehemiah 7:37Nehemiah 11:35Acts 9:32

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

Here Peter came and healed Æneas. (Acts 9:32-34)

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

LYDDA. See Lod.

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

(Λύδδα, Heb. Lôd , Ar. Ludd )

Lydda was a town about 10 miles S.E. of Joppa, on the line where the Maritime Plain of Palestine merges into the Shephçlah or Lowlands of Judaea . Its importance was largely due to its position at the intersection of two highways of intercourse and traffic-the road from Joppa up to Jerusalem by the Vale of Ajalon, and the caravan route from Egypt to Syria and Babylon. Re-occupied by the Jews after the Exile (Nehemiah 11:35), it was nevertheless governed by the Samaritans till the time of Jonathan Maccabaeus, when the Syrian king Demetrius II. made it over to Judaea (1 Maccabees 11:34). In the time of Christ it was the capital of one of the eleven toparchies ‘of which the royal city of Jerusalem was the supreme’ (Jos. Bellum Judaicum (Josephus) iii. iii. 5). During the civil strife of the Romans (circa, about45 b.c.) Cassius sold the inhabitants of Lydda into slavery for refusing the sinews of war, but Antony gave them back their liberty ( Ant. XIV. xi. 2, xii. 2-5). Lydda was visited by St. Peter, whose preaching, aided by the miraculous healing of aeneas, is said, ‘in a popular hyperbolical manner’ (Meyer on Acts 9:35), to have resulted in a general conversion of the Jewish population to Jesus as the Messiah. From this town the Apostle was called to Joppa on behalf of Dorcas (Acts 9:36). In the Jewish Wars Lydda was a centre of strong national feeling. It was captured and burned by the Syrian governor, Cestius Gallus, on his march to Jerusalem (a.d. 65), and it surrendered without a struggle to Vespasian in 68 ( Bellum Judaicum (Josephus) ii. xix. 1, iv. viii. 1]). After the fall of the holy city it became one of the refuges of Rabbinical learning. Later, it was known as Diospolis, though its old name was never displaced, and it became the seat of a bishop. At the Council of Diospolis in a.d. 415 the heresiarch Pelagius was tried, but managed to procure his acquittal. By this time Lydda had begun to have a wide fame as the reputed burial-place of a Christian soldier named Georgios, who in Nicomedia had torn down Diocletian’s edict against Christianity and welcomed martyrdom. His relics were taken to Lydda, and round his name was gradually woven a tissue of legend, in which the Greek myth of Perseus and Andromeda (see Joppa), the Moslem idea of Elijah (or alternatively of Jesus) as the destined destroyer of the Impostor ( al-dajjâl ) or Antichrist, and the old Hebrew story of the fall of Dagon before the ark, were all inextricably intertwined, till Lydda became the shrine of St. George the Slayer of the Dragon, whom the English Crusaders made the patron-saint of their native land.

Lydda is now ‘a flourishing little town, embosomed in noble orchards of olive, fig, pomegranate, mulberry, sycamore, and other trees, and surrounded every way by a very fertile neighbourhood.’ The ruins of the Crusaders’ Church of St. George, have ‘a certain air of grandeur’ (W. M. Thomson, The Land and the Book , 1910, p. 523). The town has a station on the Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway.

Literature.-E. Robinson, Biblical Researches , 1841, iii. 49-55; C. Clermont-Ganneau, Horus et Saint Georges , 1877; G. A. Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land (G. A. Smith) , 1897, p. 160f.

James Strahan.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

See LOD.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Lydda (lyd'dah). Ezra 2:33. The Greek name for the Hebrew Lud, the present Lydd, now a village, but in ancient times a large town situated in the plain of Sharon, a few miles east of Joppa, on the road to Jerusalem. It was burnt several times by the.Romans, but again rebuilt. Here Peter healed the paralytic Æneas. Acts 9:32.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Lyd'da. (strife). The Greek form of the name, Acts 9:32; Acts 9:35; Acts 9:38, which appears, in the Hebrew records, as Lod, a town of Benjamin, founded by Shamed or Shamer. 1 Chronicles 8:12; Ezra 2:33; Nehemiah 7:37; Nehemiah 11:35. It is still called Lidd or Ludd, and stands in part of the great maritime plain which anciently bore the name of Sharon.

It is nine miles from Joppa, and is the first town on the northernmost of the two roads between that place and Jerusalem. The watercourse outside the town is said still to bear the name of Abi-Butrus (Peter), in memory the apostle. It was destroyed by Vespasian, and was probably not rebuilt till the time of Hadrian, when it received the name of Diospois.

When Eusebius wrote, (A.D. 320-330), Diospolis was a well-known and much-frequented town. The modern town is, for a Mohammedan place, big and prosperous.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

by the Greeks called Diospolis. It lay in the way from Jerusalem to Caesarea, four or five leagues to the east of Joppa. Lydda belonged to the tribe of Ephraim. It seems to have been inhabited by the Benjamites, at the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, Nehemiah 11:35 . St. Peter coming to Lydda, cured a sick man of the palsy named Eneas, Acts 9:33-34 .

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

lid´a . See Lod .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Lyd´da, a town within the limits of the tribe of Ephraim, nine miles east of Joppa, on the road between that port and Jerusalem. It bore in Hebrew the name of Lod, and appears to have been first built by the Benjamites, although it lay beyond the limits of their territory; and we find it again inhabited by Benjamites after the Exile (;; ). It is mentioned in the Apocrypha , as having been taken from Samaria and annexed to Judea by Demetrius Nicator; and at a later date its inhabitants are named among those who were sold into slavery by Cassius when he inflicted the calamity of his presence upon Palestine after the death of Julius Caesar. In the New Testament the place is only noticed, under the name of Lydda, as the scene of Peter's miracle in healing Æneas . Some years later the town was reduced to ashes by Cestius Gallus, in his march against Jerusalem; but it must soon have revived, for not long after we find it at the head of one of the toparchies of the later Judea, and as such it surrendered to Vespasian. At that time it is described by Josephus as a village equal to a city; and the Rabbins have much to say of it as a seat of Jewish learning, of which it was the most eminent in Judea after Jabneh and Bethar. In the general change of names which took place under the Roman dominion, Lydda became Diospolis, and under this name it occurs in coins of Severus and Caracalla, and is often mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome. It was early the seat of a bishopric, and is known to have continued such until at least A.D. 518. Lydda early became connected with the homage paid to the celebrated saint and martyr St. George, who is said to have been a native of this place, and who was not less renowned in the east than afterwards in the west. A church was here erected in honor of him by the Emperor Justinian. This church, which stood outside the town, had just been leveled to the ground by the Muslims when the Crusaders arrived at Lydda; but it was soon rebuilt by them, and they established a bishopric of Lydda and Ramleh. The church was destroyed by Saladin in 1191; and there is no evidence that it was ever rebuilt, although there was in later centuries an unfounded impression that the church, the ruins of which were then seen, and which still exist, had been built by our King Richard. From that time there has been little notice of Lydda by travelers. It now exists, under its ancient name of Lud, as a considerable village of small houses, with nothing to distinguish it from ordinary Muslim villages, save the ruins of the celebrated church of St. George, which are situated in the eastern part of the town. The building must have been very large. The walls of the eastern end are standing only in the parts near the altar, including the arch over the latter; but the western end remains more perfect, and has been built into a large mosque, the lofty minaret of which forms the landmark of Lud.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Λύδδα, Acts 9:32; Acts 9:35; Acts 9:38; from the Heb. "Lod, לדֹ, strife; Sept. Λόδ v.r. Λώδ, 1 Chronicles 8:12; Λυδδών v.r. Λοδαδί and Λοδαδίδ, by union with the following name, Ezra 2:33; Nehemiah 7:37; Λύδδα, Nehemiah 11:35; 1 Maccabees 11:34; so also Josephus), a town within the limits of the tribe of Ephraim; according to Eusebius and Jerome, nine miles east of Joppa, on the road between that port and Jerusalem; according to the Antonine Itin., thirty-two miles from Jerusalem and ten from Antipatris. It bore in Hebrew the name of LOD, and appears to have been first built by the Benjamites, although it lay beyond the limits of their territory (1 Chronicles 8:12); and we find it again inhabited by Benjamites after the exile (Ezra 2:33; Nehemiah 11:35). In all these notices it is mentioned in connection with Ono. It likewise occurs in the Apocrypha (1 Maccabees 11:34) as having been taken from Samaria and annexed to Judaea by Demetrius Nicator; and at a later date its inhabitants are named among those who were sold into slavery by Cassius when he inflicted the calamity of his presence upon Palestine after the death of Julius Caesar (Josephus, Ant. 14:11, 2; 12:6). In the New Testament the place is only noticed under the name of Lydda, as the scene of Peter's miracle in healing AEneas (Acts 9:32; Acts 9:35). Some years later the town was reduced to ashes by Cestius. Gallus, in his march against Jerusalem (Josephus, War, 2:19, 1); but it must soon have revived, for not long after we find it at the head of one of the toparchies of the later Judaea, and as such it surrendered to Vespasian, who introduced fresh inhabitants from Galilee (Josephus, War, 3:3, 5; 4:8).

At that time it is described by Josephus (Ant. 20:6, 2) as a village equal to a city; and the Rabbins have much to say of it as a seat of Jewish learning, of which it was the most eminent in Judaea after Jabneh and Bether (Lightfoot, Parergon, § 8; Horae Heb. page 35 sq.; Otho, Lex. Rabb. page 399 sq.). About the time of the siege it was presided over by rabbi Gamaliel, second of the name (Lightfoot, Chor. Cent. 16). Some curious anecdotes and short notices from the Talmuds concerning it are preserved by Lightfoot. One of these states that "queen Helena celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles there!" In the general change of names which took place under the Roman dominion, Lydda became Diospolis (Ptolemy, 5:16, 6; Pliny, 5:15; see Reland, Palaest. page 877), and under this name it occurs in coins of Severus and Caracalla, and is often mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome. It was early the seat of a bishopric, and at the different councils the bishops are found to have subscribed their names variously, as of Lydda or Diospolis; but in the later ecclesiastical records the name of Lydda predominates.

Tradition reports that the first bishop was "Zenas the lawyer" (Titus 3:13), originally one of the seventy disciples (Dorotheus, in Reland, page 879); but the first historical mention of the see is the signature of "Atius Lyddensis" to the acts of the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325; Reland, page 878). The bishop of Lydda, originally subject to Caesarea, became at a later date suffragan to Jerusalem (see the two lists in Von Raumer, page 401); and this is still the case. In the latter end of 415 a council of fourteen bishops was held here, before which Pelagius appeared, and by whom, after much tumultuous debate, and in the absence of his two accusers, he was acquitted of heresy, and received as a Christian brother (Milner, Hist. of Ch. of Christ, cent. 5, chapter 3). The latest bishop distinctly mentioned is Apollonius, in A.D. 518. Lydda early became connected with the homage paid to the celebrated saint and martyr St. George, who was not less renowned in the East than afterwards in the West. He is said to have been born at Lydda, and to have suffered martyrdom at Nicomedia in the earliest persecution under Diocletian and Maximian, at the end of the 3d century. His remains were transferred to his native place, and a church erected in honor of him by the emperor Justinian. This church, which stood outside the town, had just been leveled to the ground by the Moslems when the Crusaders arrived at Lydda; but it was soon rebuilt by them, and they established a bishopric of Lydda and Ramneh. Great honors were paid by them to St. George, and they invested him with the dignity of their patron: from this time his renown spread more widely throughout Europe, and he became the patron saint of England and of several other states and kingdoms.

The church was destroyed by Saladin in 1191, and there is no evidence that it was ever rebuilt, although there was in later centuries an unfounded impression that the church, the ruins of which were then seen, and which still exist, had been built by the English king Richard. From that time there has been little notice of Lydda by travelers. It now exists, in a fruitful plain, one mile north of Rama, and three east of Jaffa, under its ancient name of Lud or Ludda (Lidd in Tobler, Dritte Wanderung, pages 69, 456). Within a circle of four miles still stand Ono (Kefr Auna), Hadid (el-Hadithehs, and Neballat (Beit-Neballah) associated with Lod in the ancient records. The water-course outside the town is said still to bear the name of Abi-Butrus (Peter), in memory of the apostle (Tobler, page 471). The town is, for a Mohammedan place, busy and prosperous (see Van de Velde, Syr. and Palest. 1:244). Buried in palms, and with a large well close to the entrance, it looks from a distance inviting enough, but its interior is very repulsive on account of the extraordinary number of persons, old and young, whom one encounters at every step, either totally blind, or afflicted with loathsome diseases of the eyes. It is a considerable village of small houses, with nothing to distinguish it from ordinary Moslem villages save the ruins of the celebrated church of St. George, which are situated in the eastern part of the town. The building must have been very large. The walls of the eastern end are standing only in the parts near the altar, including the arch over the latter; but the western end remains more perfect, and has been built into a large mosque, the lofty minaret of which forms the landmark of Lud. As the city of St. George, who is one with the famous personage El-Khudr, Lydda is held in much honor by the Moslems. In their traditions the gate of the city will be the scene of the final combat between Christ and Antichrist (Sale's Koran, note to chapter 43; and Prel. Disc. 4, § 4; also Jalal ad-n, Temple of Jerusalem, page 434). See Raumer, Palastina, page 208; Robinson, Bib. Researches, 2:55; Sandys, Travailes; Cotovicus, Itiner. pages 137, 138; D'Arvieux, Memoires, 2:28; Pococke, Description, 2:58; Volney, Voyage, 1:278; Thomson, Land and Book, 2:291 sq.