START OF AGRICULTURAL YEAR

Whereas Abib (or Nisan) became the first month of the year in the sacred Jewish calendar following the exodus from Egypt, Ethanim continued to be viewed as the first month in a secular or agricultural sense. With this month, almost all the harvesting had been completed, marking the conclusion of the agricultural year. The early rains that thereafter fell softened the ground for the plowing that would follow, and which would denote the initiation of new agricultural operations. Jehovah referred to Ethanim as the turning point of the year when speaking of the festival of ingathering as being “at the outgoing of the year,” and “at the turn of the year.” (Ex. 23:16; 34:22) It is also notable that it was not in the month of Abib but in this month of Ethanim that the Jubilee year began.—Lev. 25:8-12.

The later name applied to the month, Tishri, means “beginning” or “opening,” and Tishri 1 is still observed by the Jews as their New Year’s Day or Rosh Hashanah (“head of the year”).

FESTIVAL MONTH

Ethanim was also a month of festivals. The first day was the “day of the trumpet blast.” (Lev. 23:24; Num. 29:1) Since each new moon was normally announced with a trumpet blast, this day likely was one of additional or extensive trumpeting. (Num. 10:10) On the tenth of Ethanim the annual day of atonement was observed. (Lev. 16:29, 30; 23:27; Num. 29:7) From the fifteenth to the twenty-first occurred the festival of booths or festival of ingathering, followed on the twenty-second day by a solemn assembly. (Lev. 23:34-36) Thus, a large part of the month of Ethanim was taken up by these festival seasons.

EVENTS OCCURRING IN ETHANIM

Since the Bible, from its first book forward, presents chronological data, and since the first mention of years of life is in connection with the life of Adam, it would seem that the ancient use of the month called “Ethanim” as the initial month of the year would give some basis for believing that Adam’s start of life was in this month. (Gen. 5:1-5) It was on the first day of Ethanim that Noah, after having already spent over ten months within the ark, removed the ark’s covering and observed that the floodwaters had drained off the ground. (Gen. 8:13) Over 1,300 years later Solomon inaugurated the completed temple at Jerusalem in Ethanim. (1 Ki. 8:2; 2 Chron. 5:3) After Jerusalem’s destruction in 607 B.C.E., the killing of Governor Gedaliah and the subsequent flight to Egypt of the remaining Israelites in the month of Ethanim marked the full desolation of Judah. (2 Ki. 25:25, 26; Jer. 41:1, 2) These events were involved in the reasons for the “fast of the seventh month” mentioned at Zechariah 8:19. Seventy years later, by this very same month, the released Israelite exiles had returned from Babylon to begin the restoration of Jerusalem.—Ezra 3:1, 6.

The evidence also indicates that Jesus’ birth took place during this month, as well as his subsequent baptism and anointing.—See JESUS CHRIST.

ETHBAAL

(Eth·baʹal) [with Baal].

King of the Sidonians, the father of Jezebel the wife of King Ahab. (1 Ki. 16:31) By giving his daughter in marriage to Ahab, Ethbaal entered into a political alliance with him. Ethbaal is evidently the Ithobalus mentioned in Josephus’ quotation of historian Menander as being the priest of the goddess Astarte (Ashtoreth). This priest got the kingship by murdering Pheles, a descendant of Hiram the king of Tyre with whom Solomon had dealings in connection with the building of the temple. Ethbaal is said to have ruled for thirty-two of the sixty-eight years of his life. (Against Apion, Book I, par. 18) Indicative of the commercial expansion carried on during his reign is Menander’s reference to Ethbaal’s building Auza in Libya. Menander also mentions that a one-year drought occurred during Ethbaal’s reign.—Antiquities of the Jews, Book VIII, chap. XIII, par. 2.

ETHER

(Eʹther) [riches; fullness; abundance; or perhaps, (place of) prayer].

A city of the Shephelah in the territory of Judah, but allotted to Simeon. (Josh. 15:33, 42; 19:1-9) Today it is generally identified with Khirbet el-ʽAter, about one mile (1.6 kilometers) NW of Beit Jibrin (Eleutheropolis). The account at Joshua 19:7 is nearly parallel with that of 1 Chronicles 4:32 and in this latter text Ether appears to be referred to as Tochen.

Some reference works consider that there were two Ethers, that at Joshua 15:42 being located between Libnah and Mareshah (at Khirbet el-ʽAter, above mentioned), and the other, referred to at Joshua 19:7, being situated near Ziklag to the S. While the other towns referred to in Joshua 19:7 are all in the S and many of those at Joshua 15:42 are more to the N, it may be noted, nevertheless, that in both texts the town of Ashan is mentioned, so that any clear division becomes difficult.

ETHIOPIA

(E·thi·oʹpi·a), Ethiopian (E·thi·oʹpian) [Gr., Ai·thi·o·piʹa, meaning “region of burnt faces”].

Ethiopia was the name applied by the ancient Greeks to the region of Africa S of Egypt. It thus corresponded generally with the Hebrew “Cush,” which embraced primarily the present Sudan and the northern part of modern Ethiopia. In Egyptian texts this region was likewise known by the name “Keesh.” When the Septuagint translation was made, the translators used the Greek “Ethiopia” to render the Hebrew “Cush” in all but two passages (Gen. 10:6-8; 1 Chron. 1:8-10). The Authorized Version follows this rendering in all cases except Isaiah 11:11, where it uses “Cush” instead of “Ethiopia”; the Revised Standard Version likewise follows the Septuagint except at Genesis 2:13 and Ezekiel 38:5. Some other translations (NW, JB) prefer Cush in yet other texts where the identification with ancient Ethiopia is not made certain by the context. As shown in the article on CUSH, the name “Cush” can also apply to peoples of Arabia.

The area originally designated by the name “Ethiopia” now consists of semiarid plains in the N, savannas and plateau land in the central region and tropical rain forest toward the S. One-time capitals of ancient Ethiopia were Napata and Meroe. Meroe was the seat of a kingdom in which the right of kingship was carried through the female line rather than the male. The queen mother was thus the one from whom her kingly son derived his right to the throne and at times may have been the virtual ruler of the land. The name Candace is mentioned by Greek and Latin writers as a title used by several such Ethiopian queens, evidently including the one referred to at Acts 8:27.

THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH

The Ethiopian eunuch who was ‘over the treasures’ of Queen Candace, and to whom Philip preached, was obviously a circumcised Jewish proselyte. (Acts 8:27-39) He was thus not viewed as a Gentile and hence did not precede Cornelius as the first uncircumcised Gentile convert to Christianity. (Acts chap. 10) For him to engage in worship at the temple in Jerusalem would require that the Ethiopian have been converted to the Jewish religion and aIso his having been circumcised. (Ex. 12:48, 49; Lev. 24:22) In view of the Mosaic law forbidding the entry of castrated persons into the congregation of Israel (Deut. 23:1), it is evident that the Ethiopian was not a eunuch in a fleshly sense. The Hebrew word for “eunuch” (sa·risʹ) in a broad or special sense also meant an officer, as at Genesis 39:1, where an officer of Pharaoh, Potiphar, a married man, is called a sa·risʹ. Had he been an actual eunuch the Ethiopian officer would not have been a proselyte and, if not a proselyte, Philip would not have baptized him, since the good news had not yet begun to be extended to the uncircumcised Gentiles.

Ethiopia (Cush) is one of the lands among which the Jewish exiles were scattered after the Babylonian conquest of Judah. (Isa. 11:11) Hence, this Ethiopian official may have had association with Jewish persons in his area or perhaps in Egypt, where many Jews resided. His copy of the scroll of Isaiah was likely a copy of the Greek Septuagint translation, originally made in Alexandria, Egypt. Since the Ethiopian kingdom had become partly Hellenized from the time of Ptolemy II (309-246 B.C.E.), this official’s being able to read the Greek language would not be unusual. His becoming a Jewish proselyte and his subsequent conversion to Christianity were in fulfillment of Psalm 68:31.

ETHIOPIAN LANGUAGE

The original language of Ethiopia is undetermined; by the close of the eighth century B.C.E. Egyptian hieroglyphic writing was being used for official Ethiopian inscriptions. A native language and script called Meroitic is known from the century prior to the start of the Common Era and for some centuries thereafter. The language called Ethiopic was the vernacular language during the Common Era up until the fourteenth century. It is of Semitic origin as is the present-day language of modern Ethiopia called Amharic. The Encyclopedia Americana (1956 ed., Vol. 10, p. 547) states that during the time of Roman control there was a great influx of Arabian peoples into this region and that the population continued to be mainly Arabian from the fourth century C.E. on.

ETH-KAZIN

(Eth-kaʹzin).

A site marking the boundary of Zebulun. (Josh. 19:10, 13) Though its exact location is today unknown, some tentatively identify it with modern Kefr Kenna about thirteen and a half miles (21.7 kilometers) W of the Sea of Galilee.

ETHNAN

(Ethʹnan) [gift, hire].

A son of Ashhur by his wife Helah. Ethnan was of the tribe of Judah and of the family of Hezron.—1 Chron. 2:3-5, 9, 24; 4:5, 7.

ETHNI

(Ethʹni) [gift, hire].

A descendant of Levi through his son Gershom; the son of Zerah and the forefather of the musician Asaph.—1 Chron. 6:39-43.

EUBULUS

(Eu·buʹlus) [well-advised, prudent].

One of the Christian brothers in Rome at the time of the apostle Paul’s last imprisonment and who is mentioned as sending greetings to Timothy.—2 Tim. 4:21.

EUNICE

(Euʹnice) [blessed with victory; good victory].

A believing Jewess, the daughter of Lois. She was the wife of an unbelieving Greek and the mother of Timothy. (Acts 16:1) Very likely the apostle Paul met Eunice at Lystra in Asia Minor on his first missionary tour, and it was then, as a result of his preaching, that she and her mother Lois became Christians. (Acts 14:4-18) The faith of Eunice was “without any hypocrisy.” (2 Tim. 1:5) Although married to a pagan husband, she was exemplary in teaching her son Timothy the “holy writings” from his “infancy” and, upon becoming a Christian, she doubtless instructed him accordingly. (2 Tim. 3:15) Since Eunice’s husband was a Greek, Timothy’s parents had not had him circumcised.—Acts 16:3.

EUNUCH

The Hebrew word sa·risʹ and the Greek word eu·nouʹkhos apply, when used in a literal sense, to a human male who has been castrated. Such were appointed in royal courts as attendants or caretakers of the queen, the harem and the women. (Esther 2:3, 12-15; 4:4-6, 9) Due to their closeness to the king’s household, eunuchs of ability often rose to high rank. In a broad sense the term also denoted any official assigned to duties in the court of the king, not indicating that these men were literal eunuchs.

Under the Law covenant, a eunuch was not allowed to become part of the congregation of God’s people. (Deut. 23:1) There is, accordingly, no indication that any of the Israelites or alien residents among them were made into eunuchs for service in the palace of Israelite kings. Under the Law, slaves were to be circumcised, not castrated. However, it was the custom of Eastern pagan nations to make eunuchs out of some of the children taken captive in war.

The court official in charge of the treasury of the queen of Ethiopia and to whom Philip preached is called a eunuch. He was a proselyte to the Jewish religion who had come to Jerusalem to worship God. But since a castrated person was not accepted into the congregation of Israel under the Law, the term eu·nouʹkhos would apply here not literally, but in its sense of “court official.” (Acts 8:26-39; Deut. 23:1) Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian who rescued the prophet Jeremiah from imprisonment in a cistern, was a eunuch in the court of King Zedekiah. It would appear that the term here applies in the frequent sense of officer also. Ebed-melech seems to have been a man of authority. He appealed directly to King Zedekiah in Jeremiah’s behalf and was given command over thirty men for the rescue operation.—Jer. 38:7-13.

Jehovah comfortingly foretold the time when eunuchs would be accepted by him as his servants and, if obedient, would have a name better than sons and daughters. With the abolition of the Law by Jesus Christ, all persons exercising faith, regardless of their former status or condition, could become spiritual sons of God. Fleshly distinctions were removed.—Isa. 56:4, 5; John 1:12; 1 Cor. 7:24; 2 Cor. 5:16.

Jesus Christ spoke of three classes of eunuchs at Matthew 19:12, saying: “For there are eunuchs that were born such from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs that were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs that have made themselves eunuchs on account of the kingdom of the heavens. Let him that can make room for it make room for it.” Those who are said to have “made themselves eunuchs” because of the kingdom are those who exercise self-control so as to apply themselves to the service of God. The apostle Paul recommends this as the “better” course for Christians who do not become “inflamed with passion.” These, he said, could serve the Lord more constantly “without distraction.” (1 Cor. 7:9, 29-38) Such “eunuchs” are not persons who have physically castrated themselves or have been emasculated; instead, these persons voluntarily remain in a state of singleness. No vow of celibacy is recommended by the Bible, and “forbidding to marry” is condemned as one of the marks of the apostasy. In fact, some of the apostles were married men.—1 Tim. 4:1-3; 1 Cor. 9:5; Matt. 8:14; Mark 1:30; Luke 4:38; see COURT OFFICIAL.

EUODIA

(Eu·oʹdi·a) [good journey, success].

A woman in the Christian congregation at Philippi who had fought side by side with the apostle Paul and others “in the good news.” Euodia was apparently having some difficulty in resolving a problem that had arisen between her and Syntyche, and Paul admonished these two Christian women “to be of the same mind in the Lord.”—Phil. 4:2, 3.

EUPHRATES

(Eu·phraʹtes) [Heb., P^erathʹ, from root meaning “to break forth”; Assyro-Babylonian, Purattu; Old Persian, Ufratu].

The longest and most important river of SW Asia, called the Firat in Arabic, a name closely resembling the Hebrew P^erath’. It is first mentioned at Genesis 2:14 as one of the four rivers once having had their source in Eden.

BOUNDARY OF ISRAEL’S ASSIGNED TERRITORY

In God’s statement to Abraham he covenanted to give Abraham’s seed the land “from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.” (Gen.