E´lath, now called Ailah. It was a city of Idumea, having a port on the eastern arm or gulf of the Red Sea, which thence received the name of Sinus Elaniticus (Gulf of Aqaba). According to Eusebius, it was ten miles east from Petra. It lies at the extremity of the valley of Elghor, which runs at the bottom of two parallel ranges of hills, north and south, through Arabia Petraea, from the Dead Sea to the northern parts of the Elanitic Gulf.
The first time that it is mentioned in the Scriptures is in , where, in speaking of the journey of the Israelites towards the Promised Land, these words occur—'When we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongeber.' These two places are mentioned together again in , in such a manner as to show that Elath was more ancient than Eziongeber, and was of so much repute as to be used for indicating the locality of other places: the passage also fixes the spot where Elath itself was to be found: 'and King Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Elath, on the shore () of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.' The use which David made of the vicinity of Elath shows that the country was at that time in his possession. Accordingly, in , we learn that he had previously made himself master of Idumaea, and garrisoned its strong-holds with his own troops. Under his successor, Joram (), the Idumeans revolted from Judah, and elected a king over themselves. Joram thereupon assembled his forces, 'and all the chariots with him,' and, falling on the Idumeans by night, succeeded in defeating and scattering their army. The Hebrews, however, could not prevail, but 'Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day;' thus exemplifying the striking language employed () by Isaac—'by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother: and it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.' From , however, it appears that Uzziah recovered Elath, and, having so repaired and adorned the city as to be said to have built, that is rebuilt, it, he made it a part of his dominions. This connection was not of long continuance; for in of the same book, we find the Syrian king Rezin interposing, who captured Elath, drove out the Jews, and annexed the place to his Syrian kingdom, and 'the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.' At a later period it fell under the power of the Romans, and was for a time guarded by the tenth legion, forming part of Palestina Tertia. It subsequently became the residence of a Christian bishop. In the days of its prosperity it was much distinguished for commerce, which continued to flourish under the auspices of Christianity. In the sixth century it is spoken of by Procopius as being inhabited by Jews subject to the Roman dominion. In A.D. 630, the Christian communities of Arabia Petraea found it expedient to submit to Mohammed, when John, the Christian governor of Ailah, became bound to pay an annual tribute of 300 gold pieces. Henceforward, till the present century, Ailah lay in the darkness of Islamism. Mounds of rubbish alone mark the site of the town, while a fortress, occupied by a governor and a small garrison under the Pasha of Egypt, serves to keep the neighboring tribes of the desert in awe, and to minister to the wants and protection of the annual Egyptian Hajj, or pilgrim caravan. This place has always been an important station upon the route of the Egyptian Hajj. Such is the importance of this caravan of pilgrims from Cairo to Mecca, both in a religious and political point of view, that the rulers of Egypt from the earliest period have given it convoy and protection. For this purpose a line of fortresses similar to that of Aqaba has been established at intervals along the route with wells of water and supplies of provisions.
This Encyclopedia of Biblical Literature is a 6 volume set in 1 book. It has over 2Read More
John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
Wikipedia