TOPHET mph; Sept. Tay510 ; Vulg. Topheth), a place very near to Jenisalem, on the south-east, in the valley of the children of Hinnom, where the ancient Canaanites, and afterwards the apostate Israelites, made their children to pass through the fire to Moloch (comp. Ps. cvi. 38 ; Jer. vii. 31). It is first mentioned, in the order of time, by Isaiah, who alludes to it as deep and large, and having an abundance of fuel (ch. xxx. 33). He here evi dently calls the place where Sennacherib's army was destroyed (n.c. 71o) Tophet, by a metonymy ; for it was probably overthrown at a greater distance from Jerusalem, and quite on the opposite side of it, since Nob is mentioned as the last station from which the king of Assyria should threaten Jerusalem (ch. x. 32), where the prophet seems to have given a very exact chorographical description of his march in order to attack the city (Lowth's Translation, Notes on xxx. 33). In the reformation of religion by king Josiah p.c. 624), he caused Topheth to be defiled in order to suppress idolatry (2 Kings xxiii. ro). The means he adopted for this purpose are not specified, whether by throwing all manner of filth into it, as well as by overthrowing the altars, etc., as the Syriac and Arabic versions seem to un derstand it. The prophet Jeremiah was ordered by God to announce from this spot (ch. xix. 14) the approaching captivity, and the destruction, both by the siege of the city and by famine, of so many of the people, whose carcases should be here buried, as that it should no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of daughter' (ch. vii. 31, 32 ; xix. 6, 11-14). The name of this place is generally derived from a drum,' because, it is said, the rites of Moloch were accompanied with the sound of that instrument ; but, in the absence of any other evidence, this as. sertion must be considered a mere Rabbinical con jecture, derived from the etymon. Some, with more probability, derive the word from Chald. 'to spit out,' or vomit ;' hence ntn, that which causes loathing or abhorrence' (comp. Job xvii. 16, Hebrew). Others derive it from the fire-stove (1M11) in which the children were burnt to Moloch (2 Chron. xxviii. 3). The place might be called, even by the idolaters themselves, the place of burning.' With regard to its locality, Jerome, on Jer. vii. 31, remarks : Tophet signifies that place which is watered by the streams of Siloam ; it is pleasant and woody, affording horticultural pleasures.' Eusebius, in his Onontasticon, under the word eas6e0,' says : In the suburbs of Allah is still shown the place so called, to which is adjacent the fuller's pool and the potter's field, or the parcel of ground Acheldarnach.' For an account of the modern aspect of the place, see Kitto's Physical IIistory of Palestine (pp. 122, 123). After the re turn from the captivity, the Jews resumed the ancient name for the whole valley—viz. the valley of Hinnom—called in our Lord's time by the Greek name Ge Hinnom, by corruption reErvva [GEHEN NA]; and in order to perpetuate the disgrace of idolatry, they made it the common receptacle of the filth, etc., of the city, in which fires' were continually kept burning, to consume the carcases of animals, executed criminals, etc., the uncon sumed portions of which, as well as the offscour ings in general, became the nidus of insects, whose larvm, or worms,' revelled in the corruption.
These circumstances furnished the most apt repre sentation to the Jewish mind of future punishment (comp. Judith xvi. 17 ; Ecclus. vii. ; see also Chaldee Par. on Is. xxxiii. 14, where rbv 1-pn, everlasting burnings,' is rendered tbe Gehenna of everlasting fire'). Some writers, however, re strict our Lord's allusions to Gehenna (Matt. v. 22) entirely to temporal punishments. Thus, who soever is angry with his brother without a cause' —i.e. captious, peevish, arbitrary, irascible—' shall be in danger of the judgment ;' that is, by in dulging such an unreasonable disposition shall be in danger of committing some act for which he shall be cited before the judgment,' an inferior court, consisting of seven presidents—taken before the magistrates for an assault, as we should say : and whosoever shall say to his brother Raca'—i. e. worthless, dissolute shall be in danger of the council,' or Sanbedrim—shall render himself liable, by the indulgence of such a rancor ous disposition, and by the use of such injurious language, to be called to trial for slander—cited before the spiritual court, as we should say, for defamation : 'but whosoever shall say, Moreh,' thou atheistic wretch !' boxos ecrrat EIS AP 'ygeP yap -roi3 rup6s, will betray a likelihood of incurring capital punishment—come to the gallows, as we say—through violence of disposition, and of his body being cast into Gehenna, and exposed to its fire' and worm.' Our Lord's object in the use of these several figures is simply to exem15/zZy the danger of unrestrained anger. So also his illustra tion of the evil of unrestrained concupiscence, etc. (AWL v. 27-31), is to be understood. The prin.
ciple on which he reasons is no doubt applicable to future punishment ; namely, that self-denial, at any cost, is preferable to the evils incurred by the neglect of it.—J. F. D.
TOR rptrythv ; Dirtier) occurs in Gen. xv.
9 ; Lev. i. ; v. 7, II, etc. ; Luke ii. 24.
The birds of this subgenus are invariably smaller than pigeons properly so called ; they are mostly marked with a patch of peculiarly coloured scute lated feathers on the neck, or with a-collar of black, and have often other markings on the smaller wing covers. The species Columba Turlur, with several varieties merely of colour, extends from the west of Europe through the north of Africa to the islands south of China. The turtle-dove of Pales tine is specifically the same ; but there is also a second, we believe local : both migmte further south in winter, but return very early ; when their cooing voice in the woods announces the spring. In the rites of the Hebrew law, full-grown or old turtle-doves might be offered in pairs, but only (gozal) the young of pigeons not full grown. They were the usual offering of the poor, a circum stance, Bochart remarks, indicating the humble station of the Virgin Mary, since at her purification she offered a pair of turtle-doves instead of a lamb This, however, was the usual practice on that and sundry other occasions : indeed, so constantly was either one or other species wanted. that dealers in doves and turtle-doves abounded within the pre cincts of the temple, and had an overseer appointed to superintend what concerned them.—C. H. S.