THE AGES DIGITAL LIBRARY REFERENCE CYCLOPEDIA of BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL and ECCLESIASTICAL LITERATURE Ajala Martin Perez De- Andrew Bishop Of Samosata by James Strong & John McClintock To the Students of the Words, Works and Ways of God: Welcome to the AGES Digital Library. We trust your experience with this and other volumes in the Library fulfills our motto and vision which is our commitment to you: MAKING THE WORDS OF THE WISE AVAILABLE TO ALL — INEXPENSIVELY. AGES Software Rio, WI USA Version 1.0 © 2000 2 Ajala Martin Perez De, a Spanish prelate, was born in the diocese of Carthagena in 1504. He first taught grammar in order to support his family. He was sent by Charles V as theologian to the Council of Trent, and. obtained successively two bishoprics and finally the archbishopric of Valence. He died in 1566. He prepared a Latin translation of the Apostolical Traditions (Paris, 1562, 10 vols.). See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v. Ajataa in the mythology of the Finns, was an evil female spirit that led all those to ruin to whom she appeared. She led travellers into wrong paths or into swamps to suffocate them, or into woods, where they died of hunger or became a prey to wolves. Ajoutre St. SEE ADJUTO. Ajzat is a name of the sections into which the Koran is usually divided, each of them twice as long as the Ahzab (q.v.), and subdivided into four parts. These divisions are for the use of the readers in the royal mosques and the adjoining chapels, where emperors and other great men are buried. Aka is one of the mystical deities of the Egyptian Ritual of the Dead. Akabja, Ben-Mahalaleel, a celebrated Tanaite, who probably lived in the 2d century, is known for his learning and probity, and the attitude he took against his colleagues. He had made decisions in regard to four Halachas in a manner unpalatable to the sages. As nothing could shake his testimony, an attempt was made to bribe him into compliance with the theological wishes of the rabbins by the tempting offer of raising him to the office of ab-beth-din. But he remained firm. “Rather,” exclaimed he, “may I be termed a fool all my life than for one hour stand as a transgressor before God!” (Eduyoth, 5, 6). Argument failing, he was excommunicated, and in conviction of the righteousness of his cause, he patiently bore this sentence to the day of his death. But before 3 his decease, Akabja admonished his son to submit to the Sanhedrim. He could not have done so, as he had received the traditions from more than one rabbi; but his son had only heard them from the lips of his father. Before expiring, the rabbi also directed his son not to seek the patronage of men, but the recommendation of deeds which would deserve the praise of others. This was his maxim: “Ponder on three things, and thou wilt be kept from committing sin. Consider whence thou comest, whither thou goest, and in whose presence thou must shortly render an account” (Pirke Aboth, 3, 1). See Frankel, Darke Mishna, s.v. “Akabja;” Gratz, Gesch. d. Juden, 4, 59; Jost, Gesch. d. Judenth. u. s. Sekten, 2, 34; Hamburger, Real- Encyklop. s.v. (B. P.) Akakia (ajkaki>a, guilelessness ) a Greek name for the purple bag, filled with dust or earth, which the Greek emperor anciently carried, in token of humility, at his coronation. Akals is a name given among the Druses on Mount Lebanon to ecclesiastics. They are distinguished from the seculars by their white dress, and particularly the white turban, which they wear as a symbol of their purity. They despise all employments of honor in the world, believing that on the return of Hakem, the personification of deity, they shall be kings, viziers, and pashas. They do not marry the daughters of seculars, and they refuse to eat with the sheiks and emirs of their own nation. Akals eat only with Akals, and with the peasants and humble laborers. They superintend divine worship in the chapels and instruct the children in a kind of catechism. They are obliged to abstain from swearing and all abusive language, and dare not wear any article of gold, or silk in their dress. There are different degrees of Akals, and women are also admitted into the order-a privilege of which many avail themselves, as they are thus exempted from wearing: the expensive head-dress and rich silks fashionable among them. The order is estimated to number about ten thousand. Akambue in the mythology of the Caribbeans, is a general name for the spirits, good and evil. 4 Akar is a mystical name of a region of the Egyptian Hades, which is mentioned in the Ritual of the Dead. Akar is also a mystical reptile, called the “viper of Lot,” mentioned in ch. 94 of the Egyptian Ritual of the Dead. Akarkhentkats (wise one keeping her place), in Egyptian mythology, is the name of the third of the mystical cows, or Hathors. Akasmukhis a Hindu sect, who hold up their faces to the sky until the muscles of the back of the neck become contracted, and retain it in that position. They wear the jatu and allow the beard to grow, smearing the body with ashes. They subsist on alms. Ak-baba in Oriental mythology, is a fabulous bird mentioned in the stories of the Arabians, Turks, and Persians. It is said to live one thousand years. Akbrat a species of adoption permitted among Mohammedans and very common among the Turks. The ceremony by which this deed is confirmed consists in the person who is to be adopted putting on and going through the shirt of the person: who adopts him. SEE ADOPTION. Akdah in Oriental mythology. Prior to Mohammed, the Arabs made use of fortune-telling and of oracles. The oracles were especially noted for the seven holy arrows, which were called by the above term. Whoever desired to know anything, or was unable to arrive at a decision concerning something, went to the priests in the temple, where these seven Akdahs were kept. Three of the arrows were put into a bag. The priest would draw one, which would be the answer of the oracle. On the first arrow was 5 written “Do it;” on the second, “Do not do it;” and the third was blank, indicating that the undertaking might or might not be fortunate. Akerman, James an English Wesleyan minister, was born at Bromham, Wilts, June 28,1786. Although blessed with Christian parents, he was not converted until his twentieth year. He soon after commenced to preach, and in 1809 regularly entered the work of the ministry. On the Axminster and Exeter circuits he met with persecution from the magistrate and from mobs. On the Redruth Circuit a great revival attended his ministry, in which nearly two thousand souls were converted. A disease of the heart, to which he had been subject for many years, compelled him to leave the active work in 1829. His death at Penzance, April 13, 1848, was very sudden. Akerman’s character was one of peculiar amiability. See Minutes of British Conference, 1848; Wesleyan Methodist Magazine, 1851, p. 521. Akersloot, William a Dutch engraver, was born at Haarlem about 1600. His principal religious engravings are, Christ Taken in the Garden, after Hondius: — Christ Bound: — Peter Denying Christ, after Molyn. Akh (Intelligence), in Egyptian mythology, is one of the five component parts of the human being. It was also sometimes called Khu. Akh es-Samain (Brother of the Heavens) was an Arabian deity worshipped at the city of Irdah. Akhekh in Egyptian mythology, is one of the names of the mystical Serpent of Evil. Akhem in Egyptian mythology, is the sacred name of the Mummied Hawk. It was an emblem of the deity Sokari, or rather of the Memphite dwarf deity Pthah-Sokari-Osiris. 6 Akhuvitr (Or Akhvizr) an Etruscan goddess, who is represented as clothed like Alpanu, with the addition of a star behind her head. Akhvistr an Etruscan divinity, generally represented as a nude winged youth, with a long fillet in his hand, and an attendant upon Turan and Atunis (Adonis). Akka SEE ACCHO. Akkasi, Jacob Ben-Moses, of Huesca, lived towards the end of the 13th century. Nothing is known of him except that he translated the Mishna commentary to the treatise Nashim (µyvæn;) from the Arabic of Maimonides into Hebrew for the Jews of Rome in 1298. Gratz is of opinion that his name is not Akkasi, but Abbasi. See Furst, Bibl. Jud. i, 29; Gratz, Gesch. d. Juden, 7, 284. (B. P.) Aklima in Oriental mythology. According to the traditions and books of the Persians and Mohammedans, Eve had twins by Adam. Aklima was twin sister of Cain, and fondly loved by him; but Adam gave her to Abel, which caused the first fratricide. SEE ABEL. Akomano (the Evil Spirit), in Zendic mythology, is the first of the evil Darvands. Akrill, Joseph, an English Wesleyan minister, was born at Horncastle, May 15, 1817 He was converted in early life, was received on trial by the Conference, and sent to the Theological Institution at Hoxton. His abilities were of no ordinary character, and his ministry was increasingly spiritual and faithful. He was a diligent student. He died of a short but severe illness at Chester, Oct. 5, 1849. See Minutes of British Conference, 1850. 7 Akti (the Sunbeam) was the son of Helios, the sun, and is a mythical hero who was said by the Rhodians to have been the first astronomer.