"The city of destruction" (Isaiah 19:18). Smitten with "terror" at Jehovah's judgments, Egypt shall be converted to Him. "Five cities shall speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts." Some think the five are Heliopolis, Leontopolis, Migdol, Daphne (Tahpanhes), and Memphis. Leontopolis is perhaps "the city of destruction," so-called in disparagement, because here Onias, who had failed to get the high priesthood at Jerusalem, built a temple in rivalry of that at Jerusalem which was the only lawful one. Onias read "city of the sun" (ha-heres ), i.e. On or Heliopolis, in the nome (prefecture) of which he persuaded Ptolemy Philometer (149 B.C.) to let him build the temple, in order to tempt the Jews to reside there. He alleged that this site was foreappointed by Isaiah's prophecy 600 years before.
So 16 manuscripts, also Vulgate. The conversion (through the Jewish settlement in Egypt and the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament) of many Ethiopians to the God of the Jews (Acts 2:6; Acts 2:10-11), e.g. Queen Candace's chamberlain whom Philip met on his return from worshipping at Jerusalem, is an earnest of a fuller conversion to come (Zephaniah 3:9; Zechariah 14:9; Revelation 7:9). The "altar" and "pillar" foretold (Isaiah 19:19-20) are memorial and spiritual (Joshua 22:22-26; Genesis 28:18; Malachi 1:11); for one only sacrificial altar was lawful, namely, that at Jerusalem. Alexander the Great, the temporal "saviour" of Egypt from the Persians, was a type of the true Saviour. Onion, a Jewish city in Egypt, is supposed in Smith's Bible Dictionary to be "the city of destruction"; its destruction by Titus being thus foretold.
From the co-author of the classic Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary, Fausset's Bible Dictionary stands as one of the best single-volume Bible encyclopedias ever written for general use. The author's writing style is always clear and concise, and he tackles issues important to the average student of the Bible, not just the Biblical scholars. This makes Fausset an excellent tool for both everyday Bible study and in-depth lesson or sermon preparation.Wikipedia
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