Difference between revisions of "Plains"

<p> '''Plains.''' This one term does duty, in the Authorized Version, for no less than eight distinct [[Hebrew]] words. </p> <p> 1. [[Abel]] . ''(meadow).'' This word perhaps answers more nearly to our word, ''"meadow"'' than any other. It occurs in the names of Abel-maim Abel-meholah, Abel-shittim and is rendered "plain" in &nbsp;Judges 11:33 - "plain of vineyards." ''See '' '''Abel, 2''' ''.'' </p> <p> 2. '''Bik'ah''' or '''Bik'a''' . ''(to cleave, a valley).'' Fortunately, we are able to identify the most remarkable of the '''bik'ahs''' of the Bible, and thus, to ascertain the force of the term. The great plain or valley of Coele-Syria, the ''"hollow land"'' of the Greeks, which separates the two ranges of [[Lebanon]] and Anti-Lebanon, is the most remarkable of them all. Out of Palestine, we find denoted by the word, '''bik'ah''' , the "plain of the land of Shiner," &nbsp;Genesis 11:2, the "plain of Mesopotamia," &nbsp;Ezekiel 3:22-23; &nbsp;Ezekiel 8:4; &nbsp;Ezekiel 37:1-2, and the "plain in the province of Dura." &nbsp;Daniel 3:1. </p> <p> 3. '''Ha arabah''' . ''(dry region).'' The peculiar name of the valley of the Jordan. </p> <p> 4. '''Hak kikkar''' . ''(ciccar),'' ''(to move in a circle, as a coin'' or ''a loaf).'' The plain around Jericho. &nbsp;Genesis 13:10). </p> <p> 5. '''Ham mishor''' . ''(oven place, plain).'' In &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:10, it refers to the region now called ''El Belka'' , the high level table-lands, (of Moab), east of the [[Dead]] Sea. </p> <p> 6. '''Ha shefelah''' . ''(a low plain).'' The invariable designation of the depressed, flat or gently-undulating region which intervened between the highlands of Judah and the Mediterranean, and was commonly in possession of the Philistines. </p> <p> 7. [[Elon]] . ''(oak,'' or ''grove of oaks).'' Our translators have uniformly rendered this word "plain;" but this is not the verdict of the majority or the most trustworthy of the ancient versions. They regard the word as meaning an ''"oak"'' or ''"grove of oaks",'' a rendering supported by nearly all the commentators and lexicographers of the present day. The passages in which the word occurs erroneously translated "plain" are as follows: plain [oak or grove] of Moreh, &nbsp;Genesis 12:6; &nbsp;Genesis 11:30, plain [oak grove] of Mamre, &nbsp;Genesis 13:18; &nbsp;Genesis 14:13; &nbsp;Genesis 18:1, plain [grove of the wanderers] of Zaanaim, "wanders", &nbsp;Judges 4:11, plain [oak of the covenant, or monumental oak] of the pillar, &nbsp;Judges 9:6, plain [grove] of Meonenim, ''"magicians"'' , &nbsp;Judges 9:37, plain [oak or grove] of Tabor, &nbsp;1 Samuel 10:5. </p> <p> 8. '''Emek''' . ''(valley).'' As applied to the Plain of [[Esdraelon]] and other valleys or plains, as Achor, Ajalon, Baca, Berachah, Bethrehob, Elah, Gibeon, Hebron, Jehoshaphat, Keziz, Rephaim, Shaveh, Siddim, and Succoth, besides the valley of "decision" in &nbsp;Joel 3:14. </p>

<p> abel ("meadow"; compare [[Abel]] [[Meholah.)]] Βiqu'ah , the great, plain Coele ("hollow") Syria between Lebanon and Antilebanon; Βikath Αven , &nbsp;Amos 1:5; "the valley (Βiqa'ath ) of Lebanon" (&nbsp;Joshua 11:17; &nbsp;Joshua 12:7), Βiqua'ath Μizpeh (&nbsp;Joshua 11:8); still called ''el Bekaa'' , 60 miles long, five broad. Also &nbsp;2 Chronicles 35:22; &nbsp;Genesis 11:2; &nbsp;Nehemiah 6:2; &nbsp;Daniel 3:1. Ηac [[Ciccar]] , the region round about the [[Jordan]] valley (&nbsp;Genesis 13:10; &nbsp;Genesis 19:17; &nbsp;Genesis 19:25-29). Ηam Μishor (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:10; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 4:43), the smooth (from yaashar , "straight") downs of [[Moab]] stretching from Jordan [[E.]] of [[Jericho]] into the [[Arabian]] desert, contrasting with the rugged country [[W.]] of Jordan and with the higher lands of [[Bashan]] and Argob. </p> <p> The Belka pasture, regular in its undulations, good in its turf (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 26:10). Ηa 'Αrabah , the Jordan valley and its continuation [[S.]] of the Dead Sea. Ηa shephelah , the undulating, rolling, "low hills" between the mountainous part of Judah and the coast plain of the [[Mediterranean]] (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 1:7, "the vale"; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 28:18, "the low country"); [[Seville]] in Spain is derived from it. 'Εlon ought to be translated "oak" or "oaks" (&nbsp;Genesis 12:6; &nbsp;Genesis 13:18; &nbsp;Judges 4:11; &nbsp;Judges 9:6; &nbsp;Judges 9:37; &nbsp;1 Samuel 10:3). Emek the valley of [[Jezreel]] (Esdraelon), the eastern part, [[Megiddo]] the western part, of the one plain. </p>