ASCENT

a-sent':

(1) The rendering in the King James Version twice, the Revised Version (British and American) 14 times correctly, of Hebrew ma`aleh, "ascent," "pass," as a geographical term (the King James Version Numbers 34:4 2 Samuel 15:30; the Revised Version (British and American) Joshua 10:10 Judges 8:13, etc.).

(2) The rendering in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) of `olah in 1 Kings 10:5, "his ascent by which he went up unto the house of Yahweh"; but `olah everywhere else means "burnt-offering," and all ancient versions support the Revised Version, margin, "his burnt-offering which he offered" (caused to go up), etc.

(3) In 2 Chronicles 9:4 (parallel 1 Kings 10:5) a very slight textual correction (supported by Septuagint) gives us the same words as in 1 Kings instead of the difficult `aliyah, "upper chamber," not "ascent" as the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) render it against all usage elsewhere.

(4) In the Revised Version (British and American) Ezekiel 40:31, 34, 37 Nehemiah 12:37, of a flight of steps, stairs.

(5) In the Revised Version (British and American) (Hebrew `aliyah), Nehemiah 3:31, 32, margin "upper chamber" is to be preferred to text "ascent."

F. K. Farr

GUR; THE ASCENT, OF

gur, a-sent', (ma`-aleh ghur): The place where the servants of Jehu mortally wounded Ahaziah, king of Judah (2 Kings 9:27). The ascent (the King James Version "going up") was hard by Ibleam, the site of which is identified about 1/2 mile South of Jenin.

LUHITH, ASCENT OF

lu'-hith, loo'-hith, ma`-aleh ha-luchith): A place named in Isaiah 15:5 Jeremiah 48:5. It is clearly identical with the way, or descent, of Horonaim. Eusebius, Onomasticon places Luhith between Areopolis and Zoar. Some way is intended by which fugitives from the Arabah could reach the uplands of the Moabite plateau. Guthe thinks it may be the road which leads from the district of the ancient Zoar on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea to the uplands through Wady Bene Hammad. Along this track ran also a Roman road. If Horonaim were the higher of the two places, this might account for the way being called the "descent" of Horonaim as going down from that place, and the "ascent" of Luhith as going up thence. Neither place can as yet be identified with certainty.

W. Ewing

ZIZ, ASCENT OF

ziz (ma`aleh ha-tsits; Hasae, Hasisa): A pass in the wilderness of Judea (2 Chronicles 20:16) leading from Hazazon-tamar (En-gedi, 2 Chronicles 20:2). This is generally identified with Wady Chacaca, a valley by which the ancient road from En-gedi runs toward Jerusalem. At any rate, an echo of the ancient name survives here: possibly the actual ascent was the present steep pass from En-gedi to the plateau above. See PEF, Sh XXI.