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Smith's Bible Dictionary
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Table of
Contents Ucal
(I am strong). According to the received text of (Proverbs
30:1) Ithiel and Ucal must be regarded as proper names; and if
so, they must be the names of disciples or sons of Agur the son
of Jakeh, an unknown sage among the Hebrews. But there is great
obscurity about the passage. Ewald considers both Ithiel and
Ucal as symbolical names, employed by the poet to designate two
classes of thinkers to whom he addresses himself.
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Table of
Contents Uel
(will of God), one of the family of Bani, who during the
captivity had married a foreign wife. (Ezra 10:34) (B.C. 458.)
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Contents Uknaz
In the margin of (1 Chronicles 4:16) the words "even Kenaz" in
the text are rendered "Uknaz," as the proper name.
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Table of
Contents Ulai
(pure water) is mentioned by Daniel, (Daniel 8:2,16) as a river
near to Susa, where he saw his vision of the ram and the
he-goat. It has been generally identified with the Eulaeus of
the Greek and Roman geographers, a large stream in the
immediate neighborhood of that city. The Eulseus has been by
many identified with the Choaspes, which is undoubtedly the
modern Kerkhah, an affluent of the Tigris, flowing into it a
little below Kurnah . Recent surveys show that the Choarspes
once divided into two streams about 20 miles above Susa. The
eastern was the Ulai. This bifurcation explains (Daniel 8:16)
Ulam
(porch).
+ A descendant of Gilead, the grandson of Manasseh and father
of Bedan. (1 Chronicles 7:17) (B.C. 1450.)
+ The first-born of Eshek, a descendant of the house of Saul.
(1 Chronicles 8:39,40) (B.C. 588.)
Ulla
(yoke), an Asherite, head of a family in his tribe. (1
Chronicles 7:30) (B.C. about 1014.)
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Table of
Contents Ummah
(union), one of the cities of the allotment of Asher. (Joshua
10:30) only. Probably 'Alma, in the highlands of the coast,
about five miles east-northeast of Ras en-Nakhura .
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Table of
Contents Unclean Meats
These were things strangled, or dead of themselves or through
beasts or birds of prey; whatever beast did not both part the
hoof and chew the cud; and certain other smaller animals rated
as "creeping things;" certain classes of birds mentioned in
Levi 11 and Deuteronomy 14 twenty or twenty-one in all;
whatever in the waters had not both fins and scales whatever
winged insect had not besides four legs the two hindlegs for
leaping; Besides things offered in sacrifice to idols; and ail
blood or whatever contained it (save perhaps the blood of fish,
as would appear from that only of beast and bird being
forbidden,) (Leviticus 7:26) and therefore flesh cut from the
live animal; as also all fat, at any rate that disposed in
masses among the intestines, and probably wherever discernible
end separable among the flesh. (Leviticus 3:14-17; 7:23) The
eating of blood was prohibited even to "the stranger that
sojourneth among you." (Leviticus 17:10; 12:14) As regards
blood, the prohibition indeed dates from the declaration to
Noah against "flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood
thereof" in (Genesis 9:4) which was perhaps by Moses as still
binding upon all Noah's descendants. It is noteworthy that the
practical effect of the rule laid down is to exclude all the
carnivora among quadrupeds, and, so far as we can interpret the
nomenclature the raptores among birds. They were probably
excluded as being not averse to human carcasses, and in most
eastern countries acting as the servitors of the battle-field
and the gibbet. Among fish those which were allowed contain
unquestionably the most wholesome varieties, save that they
exclude the oyster. Practically the law left among the allowed
Meats an ample variety. As Orientals have minds sensitive to
teaching by types, there can be little doubt that such cere
menial distinctions not only tended to keep Jew and Gentile
apart (and so prevented the Jews from becoming contaminated
with the idolatry of the Gentiles), but were a perpetual
reminder to the former that he and the latter were not on one
level before God. Hence, when that ceremony was changed we find
that this was the very symbol selected to instruct St. Peter in
the truth that God was not a "respecter of persons." It remains
to mention the sanitary aspect of the case. Swine are said to
peculiarly liable to disease in their own bodies. This probably
means that they are more easily led than other creatures to the
foul feeding which produces it. As regards the animals allowed
for food, comparing them with those forbidden, there can be no
doubt on which side the balance of wholesomeness lies.
Uncleanness
The distinctive idea attached to ceremonial uncleanness among
the Hebrews was that it cut a person off for the time from
social privileges, and left his citizenship among God's people
for the while in abeyance. There is an intense reality in the
fact of the divine law taking hold of a man by the ordinary
infirmities of flesh, and setting its stamp, as it were, in the
lowest clay of which he is moulded. The sacredness attached to
the human body is parallel to that which invested the ark of
the covenant itself. It is as though Jehovah thereby would
teach men that the "very hairs of their head were all numbered"
before him and that "in his book were all their members
written." Thus was inculcated so to speak a bodily holiness.
Nor were the Israelites to be only "separated from other
people," but they were to be "holy to God," (Leviticus
20:24,26) "a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." The
importance to physical well-being of the injunctions which
required frequent ablution, under whatever special pretexts,
can be but feebly appreciated in our cooler and damper climate.
Uncleanness, as referred to men, may be arranged in three
degrees:
+ That which defiled merely "until even." and was removed by
bathing and washing the clothes at the end of it; such were
all contacts with dead animals.
+ That graver sort which defiled for seven days, and was
removed by the use of the "water of separation;" such were
all defilements connected with the human corpse.
+ Uncleanness from the morbid perpetual or menstrual state,
lasting as long as that morbid state lasted; and in the case
of leprosy lasting often for life. As the human person was
itself the seat of a covenant token, so male and female had
each their ceremonial obligations in proportion to their
sexual differences. There is an emphatic reminder of human
weakness in the fact of birth and death-man's passage alike
into and out of his mortal state-- being marked with a stated
pollution. The corpse bequeathed a defilement of seven days
to all who handled it, to the "tent" or chamber of death, and
to sundry things within it. Nay, contact with one slain in
the field of battle or with even a human bone or grave, was
no less effectual to pollute than that with a corpse dead by
the course of nature. (Numbers 19:11-18) This shows that the
source of pollution lay in the mere fact of death. The
duration of defilement caused by the birth of a female infant
being double that due to a male, extending respectively to
eighty and forty days in All, (Leviticus 12:2-5) may perhaps
represent the woman's heavier share in the first sin and
first curse. (Genesis 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:14) Among causes of
defilement should be noticed the fact that the ashes of the
red heifer burnt whole which were mixed with water and became
the standing resource for purifying uncleanness in the second
degree, themselves became a source of defilement to all who
were clean, even as of purification to the unclean, and so
the water. Somewhat similarly the scapegoat, who bore away
the sins of the people, defiled him who led him into the
wilderness, and the bringing forth aid burning the sacrifice
on the Great Day of Atonement had a similar power. This
lightest form of uncleanness was expiated by bathing the body
and washing the clothes. Besides the water of purification
made as afore said, men and women, in their "issues," were,
after seven days, reckoned from the cessation of the
disorder, to bring two turtle-doves or young pigeons to be
killed by the priests. All these kinds of uncleanness
disqualified for holy functions: as the layman so affected
might not approach the congregation and the sanctuary, so any
priest who incurred defilement must abstain from holy things.
(Leviticus 22:2-8) [[1251]Leper, Leprosy] The religion of the
persians shows a singularly close correspondence with the
Levitical code.
Undergirding
(Acts 27:17) [[1252]Ship]
Unicorn
the rendering of the Authorized Version of the Hebrew reem, a
word which occurs seven times in the Old Testament as the name
of some large wild animal. The reem of the Hebrew Bible,
however, has nothing at all to do with the one-horned animal of
the Greek and Roman writers, as is evident from (33:17) where
in the blessing of Joseph it is said; "his glory is like the
firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of a
unicorn ;" not, as the text of the Authorized Version renders
it, "the horns of unicorns ." The two horns of the ram are "the
ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh." This
text puts a one-horned animal entirely out of the question.
Considering that the reem is spoken of as a two-horned animal
of great strength and ferocity, that it was evidently well
known and often seen by the Jews, that it is mentioned as an
animal fit for sacrificial purposes, and that it is frequently
associated with bulls and oxen we think there can be no doubt
that, some species of wild ox is intended. The allusion in
(Psalms 92:10) "But thou shalt lift up, as a reeym, my horn,"
seems to point to the mode in which the Bovidae use their
horns, lowering the head and then tossing it up. But it is
impossible to determine what particular species of wild ox is
signified probably some gigantic urus is intended. (It is
probable that it was the gigantic Bos primigeniua, or aurochs,
now extinct, but of which Caesar says, "These uri are scarcely
less than elephants in size, but in their nature, color and
form are bulls. Great is their strength and great their speed;
they spare neither man nor beast when once; they have caught
sight of them"--Bell. Gall. vi. 20.-ED.)
Unni
(depressed).
+ One of the Levite doorkeepers in the time of David. (1
Chronicles 15:18,20) (B.C. 1043.)
+ A second Levite (unless the family of the foregoing be
intended) concerned in the sacred office after the return
from Babylon. (Nehemiah 12:9) (B.C. 535.)
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Table of
Contents Uphaz
(Jeremiah 10:9; Daniel 10:5) [[1253]Ophir]
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Contents Ur
was the land of Haran's nativity, (Genesis 11:28) the place
from which Terah and Abraham started "to go into the land of
Canaan." (Genesis 11:31) It is called in Genesis "Ur of the
Chaldaeans," while in the Acts St. Stephen places it, by
implication, in Mesopotamia. (Acts 7:2,4) These are all the
indications which Scripture furnishes as to its locality. It
has been identified by the most ancient traditions with the
city of Orfah in the highlands of Mesopotamia, which unite the
table-land of Armenia to the valley of the Euphrates. In later
ages it was called Edessa, and was celebrated as the capital of
Abgarus or Acbarus who was said to have received the letter and
portrait of our Saviour. "Two, physical features must have
secured Orfah, from the earliest times, as a nucleus for the
civilization of those regions. One is a high-crested crag, the
natural fortifications of the crested citadel....The other is
an abundant spring, issuing in a pool of transparent clearness,
and embosomed in a mass of luxuriant verdure, which, amidst the
dull brown desert all around, makes and must always have made,
this spot an oasis, a paradise, in the Chaldaean wilderness.
Round this sacred pool,'the beautiful spring Callirrhoe,' as it
was called by the Greek writers, gather the modern traditions
of the patriarch."--Stanley, Jewish Church, part i.p.7. A
second tradition, which appears in the Talmud, finds Ur in
Warka, 120 miles southeast from Babylon and four east of the
Euphrates. It was the Orchoe of the Greeks, and probably the
Ereck of Holy Scripture. This place bears the name of Huruk in
the native inscriptions, and was in the countries known to the
Jews as the land of the Chaldaeans. But in opposition to the
most ancient traditions, many modern writers have fixed the
site of Ur at a very different position, viz. in the extreme
south of Chaldaea, at Mugheir, not very far above-- and
probably in the time of Abraham actually upon--the head of the
Persian Gulf. Among the ruins which are now seen at the spot
are the remains of one of the great temples, of a model similar
to that of Babel, dedicated to the moon, to whom the city was
sacred. (Porter and Rawlinson favor this last place.)
Urbane, Or Urbane
(of the city; polite), the Greek form of the Latin Urbanus, as
it is given in the Revised Version. He was a Christian disciple
who is in the long list of those whom St. Paul salutes in
writing to Rome. (Romans 16:9) (A.D. 55.)
Urbanus
the form given in the Revised Version for Urbane.
Uri
(fiery).
+ The father of Bezaleel, one of the architects of the
tabernacle. (Exodus 31:2; 35:30; 38:22; 1 Chronicles 2:20; 2
Chronicles 1:5) He was of the tribe of Judah, and grandson of
Caleb ben-Hezron. (B.C. 1491.)
+ The father of Geber, Solomon's commissariat officer in
Gilead. (1 Kings 4:19) (B.C. before 1010.)
+ One of the gatekeepers of the temple in the time of Ezra.
(Ezra 10:24) (B.C. 458.)
Uriah
(light of Jehovah).
+ One of the thirty commanders of the thirty bands into which
the Israelite army of David was divided. (1 Chronicles 11:41;
2 Samuel 23:39) Like others of David's officers he was a
foreigner--a Hittite. His name, however and his manner of
speech (2 Samuel 11:11) indicate that he had adopted the
Jewish religion. He married Bath-sheba a woman of
extraordinary beauty, the daughter of Eliam--possibly the
same as the son of Ahithophel, and one of his brother
officers, (2 Samuel 23:34) and hence, perhaps, Uriah's first
acquaintance with Bath-sheba. It may be inferred from
Nathan's parable, (2 Samuel 12:3) that he was passionately
devoted to his wife, and that their union was celebrated in
Jerusalem as one of peculiar tenderness. In the first war
with Ammon, B.C. 1035, he followed Joab to the siege, and
with him remained encamped in the open field. (2 Samuel
12:11) He returned to Jerusalem, at an order from the king on
the pretext of asking news of the war--really in the hope
that his return to his wife might cover the shame of his own
crime. The king met with an unexpected obstacle in the
austere, soldier-like spirit which guided all Uriah's
conduct, and which gives us a high notion of the character
and discipline of David's officers. On the morning of the
third day David sent him back to the camp with a letter
containing the command to Joab to cause his destruction in
the battle. The device of Joab was to observe the part of the
wall of Rabbath-ammon where the greatest force of the
besieged was congregated, and thither, as a kind of forlorn
hope to send Uriah. A sally took place. Uriah and the
officers with him advanced as far as the gate of the city,
and were there shot down by the archers on the wall. Just as
Joab had forewarned the messenger, the king broke into a
furious passion on hearing of the loss. The messenger, as
instructed by Joab, calmly continued, and ended the story
with the words, "Thy servant also Uriah the Hittite, is
dead." In a moment David's anger is appeased. It is one of
the touching parts of the story that Uriah falls unconscious
of his wife's dishonor.
+ High priest in the reign of Ahaz. (Isaiah 8:2; 2 Kings
16:10-16) He is probably the same as Urijah the priest, who
built the altar for Ahaz. (2 Kings 16:10) (B.C. about 738.)
+ A priest of the family of Hakkoz, the head of the seventh
course of priests. (Ezra 8:33; Nehemiah 3:4,21) (B.C. 458.)
Urias
+ Uriah, the husband of Bath-sheba. (Matthew 1:6)
+ [1254]Urijah
+ 1 Esdr. 9:43.
Uriel
+ A Kohathite Levite, son of Tahath. (1 Chronicles 6:24)
+ Chief of the Kohathites in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles
15:5,11) (B.C. 1043.)
+ Uriel of Gibeah was the father of Maachah or Michaiah the
favorite wife of Rehoboam and mother of Abijah. (2 Chronicles
13:2) (B.C. before 973.) In (2 Chronicles 11:20) she is
called "Maachah the daughter of Absalom." Probably her
mother, Tamer, was the daughter of Absalom.
(the fire of God), an angel named only in 2 Esdr. 4:1,36; 5:20;
10:28.
Urijah
(light of Jehovah).
+ Urijah the priest in the reign of Ahaz, (2 Kings 16:10)
probably the same as [1255]Uriah,
+ A priest of the family of Koz or Hakkoz, the same as
[1256]Uriah,
+ One of the priests who stood at Ezra's right hand when he
read the law to the people. (Nehemiah 8:4) (B.C. 458.)
+ The son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim. He prophesied in the
days of Jehoiakim, B.C. 600, and the king sought to put him
to death; but he escaped, and fled into Egypt. His retreat
was soon covered; Elnathan and his men brought him up out of
Egypt, and Jehoiakim slew him with the sword and cast his
body forth among the graves of the common people (Jeremiah
26:20-23)
Urim And Thummim
(light and perfection). When the Jewish exiles were met on
their return from Babylon by a question which they had no data
for answering, they agreed to postpone the settlement of the
difficulty till there should rise up "a priest with Urim and
Thummim." (Ezra 2:63; Nehemiah 7:65) The inquiry what those
Urim and Thummim themselves were seems likely to wait as long
for a final and satisfying answer. On every side we meet with
confessions of ignorance. Urim means "light," and Thummim
"perfection." Scriptural statements.--The mysterious words meet
us for the first time, as if they needed no explanation, in the
description of the high Priest's apparel. Over the ephod there
is to be a "breastplate of judgment" of gold, scarlet, purple
and fine linen, folded square and doubled, a "span" in length
and width. In it are to be set four rows of precious stones,
each stone with the name of a tribe of Israel engraved on it,
that Aaron "may bear them on his heart." Then comes a further
order. In side the breastplate, as the tables of the covenant
were placed inside the ark, (Exodus 25:16; 28:30) are to be
placed "the Urim and the Thummim," the light and the
perfection; and they too are to be on Aaron's heart when he
goes in before the Lord. (Exodus 28:15-30) Not a word describes
them. They are mentioned as things-already familiar both to
Moses and the people, connected naturally with the functions of
the high priest as mediating between Jehovah and his people.
The command is fulfilled. (Leviticus 8:8) They pass from Aaron
to Eleazar with the sacred ephod and other pontificalia .
(Numbers 20:28) When Joshua is solemnly appointed to succeed
the great hero-law-giver he is bidden to stand before Eleazar,
the priest, "who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment
of Urim," and this counsel is to determine the movements of the
host of Israel. (Numbers 27:21) In the blessings of Moses they
appear as the crowning glory of the tribe of Levi: "thy Thummim
and thy Urim are with thy Holy One." (33:8,9) In what way the
Urim and Thummim were consulted is quite uncertain. Josephus
and the rabbins supposed that the stones gave out the oracular
answer by preternatural illumination; but it seems to be far
simpler and more in agreement with the different accounts of
inquiries made by Urim and Thummim, (1 Samuel 14:3,18,19;
23:2,4,9,11,12; 28:6; Judges 20:28; 2 Samuel 5:23) etc., to
suppose that the answer was given simply by the word of the
Lord to the high priest comp. (John 11:51) when, clothed with
the ephod and the breastplate, he had inquired of the Lord.
Such a view agrees with the true notion of the breastplate.
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Table of
Contents Usury
(The word usury has come in modern English to mean excessive
interest upon money loaned, either formally illegal or at least
oppressive. In the Scriptures, however the word did not bear
this sense, but meant simply interest of any kind upon money.
The Jews were forbidden by the law of Moses to take interest
from their brethren, but were permitted to take it from
foreigners. The prohibition grew out of the agricultural status
of the people, in which ordinary business loans were not
needed. and loans as were required should be made only as to
friends and brothers in need.--ED.) The practice of mortgaging
land, sometimes at exorbitant interest, grew up among the Jews
during the captivity, in direct violation of the law.
(Leviticus 25:36,37; Ezekiel 18:8,13,17) We find the rate
reaching 1 in 100 per month, corresponding to the Roman
centisimae usurae, or 12 per cent. per annum.
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Table of
Contents Ut
(wooded).
+ A son of Aram, (Genesis 10:23; 1 Chronicles 1:17) end
consequently a grand son of Shem. (B.C. 2400-2300.)
+ A son of Nahor by Milcah. (Genesis 22:21) Authorized Version,
Huz. (B.C. about 1900.)
+ A son of Dishan, and grandson of Seir. (Genesis 36:28) (B.C.
after 1800.)
+ The country in which Job lived. (Job 1:1) As far as we can
gather, "the land of Uz" lay either east or southeast of
Palestine, (Job 1:3) adjacent to the Sabaeans and the
Chaldaeans, (Job 1:15,17) consequently north of the southern
Arabians and west of the Euphrates; and, lastly, adjacent to
the Edomites of Mount Seir, who at one period occupied Uz,
probably as conquerors, (Lamentations 4:21) and whose
troglodyte habits are described in (Job 30:6,7) From the
above data we infer that the land of Uz corresponds to the
Arabia Deserta of classical geography, at all events to so
much of it as lies north of the 30th parallel of latitude.
Uta
1 Esdr. 5:30. It appears to be a corruption of [1257]Akkub.
(Ezra 2:45)
Uthai
(helpful),
+ The son of Ammihud, of the children of Pharez the son of
Judah. (1 Chronicles 9:4) (B.C. 536.)
+ One of the sons of Bigvai, who returned in the second caravan
with Ezra. (Ezra 8:14) (B.C.459.)
Uthii
1 Esdr. 8:40. [[1258]Uthai,2]
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Table of
Contents Uzai
(strong), the father of Palal who assisted Nehemiah in
rebuilding the city wail. (Nehemiah 3:25) (B.C. before 446.)
Uzal
(separate), the sixth son of Joktan, (Genesis 10:27; 1
Chronicles 1:21) whose settlements are clearly traced in the
ancient name of San'a, the capital city of the Yemen (a
district of Arabia), which was originally Awzal . From its
position in the centre of the best portion of that kingdom it
must always have been an important city. (San'a is situated
about 150 miles from Aden and 100 miles from the coast of the
Red Sea. It is one of the most imposing cities of Arabia -ED.)
Uzza
(strength).
+ A Benjamite of the sons of Ehud. (1 Chronicles 8:7) (B.C.
1445.)
+ Elsewhere called [1259]Uzza, Or Uzzah. (1 Chronicles
13:7,9,10,11) [[1260]Uzza, Or Uzzah]
+ The children of Uzza were a family of Nethinim who returned
with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:49; Nehemiah 7:51) (B.C. before
536.)
+ Properly Uzzah. As the text now stands, Uzzah is a descendant
of Merari, (1 Chronicles 6:29) (14); but there appears to be
a gap in the verse. Perhaps he is the same as Zina or Zizah
the son of Shimei. (1 Chronicles 23:10,11) for these names
evidently denote the same person, and, in Hebrew character,
are not unlike Uzzah.
Uzza, Or Uzzah
(strength), one of the sons of Abinadab, in whose house at
Kirjath-jearim the ark rested for twenty years. Uzzah probably
was the second and Ahio the third. They both accompanied its
removal when David first undertook to carry it to Jerusalem.
(B.C. 1043.) Ahio apparently went before the new cart, (1
Chronicles 13:7) on which it was placed, and Uzzah walked by
the side. "At the threshing-floor of Nachon" (2 Samuel 6:6) or
Chidon (1 Chronicles 13:9) perhaps slipping over the smooth
rock oxen stumbled. Uzzah caught the ark to prevent its
falling. The profanation was punished by his instant death to
the great grief of David, who named the place Perez-uzzah (the
breaking-forth on Uzzah). But Uzzah's fate was not merely the
penalty of his own rashness. The improper mode of transporting
the ark, which ought to have been borne on the shoulders of the
Levites was the primary cause of his unholy deed; and David
distinctly recognized it as a punishment on the people in
general "because we sought him not after the due order."
Uzza, The Garden Of
the spot in which Manasseh king of Judah and his son Amon were
buried. (2 Kings 21:18,26) It was the garden attached to
Manasseh's palace. ver. 18. The fact of its mention shows that
it was not where the usual sepulchres of the kings were. No
clue, however, is afforded to its position.
Uzzensherah
(ear (or point) of Sherah) a town founded or rebuilt by Sherah,
an Ephraimite woman the daughter either of Ephraim himself or
of Beriah. It is named only in (1 Chronicles 7:24) in
connection with the two Beth-horons.
Uzzi
(strong).
+ Son of Bukki and father of Zerahiah, in the line of the high
priests. (1 Chronicles 6:5,61; Ezra 7:4) Though Uzzi was the
lineal ancestor of Zadok, it does not appear that he was ever
high priest. He must have been contemporary with, but rather
earlier than, Eli. (B.C. before 1161.)
+ Son of Tola the son of Issachar. (1 Chronicles 7:2,3) (B.C.
1706.)
+ Son of Bela, of the tribe of Benjamin. (1 Chronicles 7:7)
(B.C. 1706.)
+ Another, or the same, from whom descended some Benjamite
houses, which were settled at Jerusalem after the return from
captivity. (1 Chronicles 9:8)
+ A Levite, son of Bani and overseer of the Levites dwelling at
Jerusalem, in the time of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 11:22)
+ A priest, chief of the father's house of Jedaiah, in the time
of Joiakim the high priest. (Nehemiah 12:19) (B.C. about
500.)
+ One of the priests who assisted Ezra in the dedication of the
wall of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 12:42) Perhaps the same as the
preceding. (B.C. 446.)
Uzzia
(strength of Jehovah), one of David's guard, and apparently a
native of Ashtaroth beyond Jordan. (1 Chronicles 11:44) (B.C.
1053.)
Uzziah
(strength of Jehovah).
+ King of Judah B.C. 809-8 to 757-6. In some passages his name
appears in the lengthened form Azariah: After the murder of
Amaziah, his son Uzziah was chosen by the people, at the age
of sixteen, to occupy the vacant throne; and for the greater
part of his long reign of fifty-two years he lived in the
fear of God, and showed himself a wise, active and pious
ruler. He never deserted the worship of the true God, and was
much influenced by Zechariah, a prophet who is mentioned only
in connection with him. (2 Chronicles 26:5) So the southern
kingdom was raised to a condition of prosperity which it had
not known since the death of Solomon. The end of Uzziah was
less prosperous than his beginning. Elated with his splendid
career, he determined to burn incense on the altar of God,
but was opposed by the high priest Azariah and eighty others.
See (Exodus 30:7,8; Numbers 16:40; 18:7) The king was enraged
at their resistance, and, as he pressed forward with his
censer was suddenly smitten with leprosy. This lawless
attempt to burn incense was the only exception to the
excellence of his administration. (2 Chronicles 27:2) Uzziah
was buried "with his fathers," yet apparently not actually in
the royal sepulchres. (2 Chronicles 26:23) During his reign a
great earthquake occurred. (Amos 1:1; Zechariah 14:5)
+ A Kohathite Levite, and ancestor of Samuel. (1 Chronicles
6:24) (9).
+ A priest of the sons of Harim, who had taken a foreign wife
in the days of Ezra. (Ezra 10:21) (B.C. 458.)
+ Father of Athaiah or Uthai. (Nehemiah 11:4)
+ Father of Jehonathan, one of David's overseers. (1 Chronicles
27:25) (B.C. about 1053.)
Uzziel
(my strength is God).
+ Fourth son of Kohath, father of Mishael, Eizaphan or
Elizaphan and Zithri, and uncle to Aaron. (Exodus 6:18,22;
Leviticus 10:4) (B.C. before 1491.)
+ A Simeonite captain, son of Ishi, in the days of Hezekiah. (1
Chronicles 4:42)
+ Head of a Benjamite house, of the sons of Bela. (1 Chronicles
7:7) (B.C. 1706.)
+ A musician, of the sons of Heman in David's reign. (1
Chronicles 25:4)
+ A Levite, of the sons of Jeduthun, in the days of Hezekiah.
(2 Chronicles 29:14,18) (B.C. 726.)
+ Son of Harhaiah, probably a priest in the days of Nehemiah,
who took part in repairing the wall. (Nehemiah 3:8) (B.C.
446.) He is described as "of the goldsmiths," i.e. of those
priests whose hereditary office it was to repair or make the
sacred vessels.
Uzzielites, The
the descendants of Uzziel, and one of the four great families
of the Kohathites. (Numbers 3:27; 1 Chronicles 26:23)