Aphar'sites (Chald. Apharsaye', אֲפִרסָיֵא; Sept. Α᾿φαρσαῖοι), the name of a tribe removed along with the Apharsachites (q.v.) to Samaria by the king of Assyria, and forming one of the opponents of the Jews after the captivity (Ezr 4:9). Hiller (Onomnast.) regards them as the Parrhasii, a tribe of Eastern Media, and Gesenius (Thes. Heb. p. 143) thinks they are the Persians, to whose name theirs certainly bears a much greater affinity, especially in the prolonged form of the latter found in Da 6:28 (Chald. Parsaya', פִּרסָיָא). The presence of the proper name of the Persians in Ezr 1:1; Ezr 4:3, must throw some doubt. upon Gesenius' conjecture; but it is very possible that the local name of the tribe may have undergone alteration, while the official and general name was correctly given.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More