among the ancient Jews, were only, as they are to this
day in the east, round level plats of ground in the open air, where the
corn was trodden out by oxen, the _libycæ areæ_ of Horace. Thus,
Gideon’s floor, Judges vi, 37, appears to have been in the open air; as
was likewise that of Araunah the Jebusite; else it would not have been a
proper place for erecting an altar and offering sacrifice. In Hosea
xiii, 3, we read of the chaff which is driven by the whirlwind from the
floor. This circumstance of the threshing floor’s being exposed to the
agitation of the wind seems to be the principal reason of its Hebrew
name; which may be farther illustrated by the direction which Hesiod
gives his husbandman to thresh his corn in a place well exposed to the
wind. From the above account it appears that a threshing floor (rendered
in our textual translation “a void place”) might well be near the
entrance of the gate of Samaria, and that it might afford no improper
place in which the kings of Israel and Judah could hear the prophets, 1
Kings xxii, 10; 2 Chron. xviii, 9; Psalm i, 4.
THRONE is used for that magnificent seat on which sovereign princes
usually sit to receive the homage of their subjects, or to give audience
to ambassadors; where they appear with pomp and ceremony, and from
whence they dispense justice; in a word, the throne, the sceptre, the
crown, are the ordinary symbols of royalty and regal authority. The
Scripture commonly represents the Lord as sitting upon a throne;
sometimes it is said that the heaven is his throne, and the earth his
footstool, Isaiah lxvi, 1. The Son of God is also represented as sitting
upon a throne, at the right hand of his Father, Psalm cx, 1; Heb. i, 8;
Rev. iii, 21. And Jesus Christ assures his Apostles that they should sit
upon twelve thrones, to judge the twelve tribes of Israel, Luke xxii,
30. Though a throne and royal dignity seem to be correlatives, or terms
that stand in reciprocal relation to each other, yet the privilege of
sitting on a throne has been sometimes granted to those that were not
kings, particularly to some governors of important provinces. We read of
the throne of the governor of this side the river; the throne, in other
words, of the governor for the king of Persia of the provinces belonging
to that empire on the west of the Euphrates. So D’Herbelot tells us that
a Persian monarch of aftertimes gave the governor of one of his
provinces permission to seat himself in a gilded chair, when he
administered justice; which distinction was granted him on account of
the importance of that post, to which the guarding a pass of great
consequence was committed. This province, he tells us, is now called
Shirvan, but was formerly named Serir-aldhahab, which signifies, in
Arabic, “the throne of gold.” To which he adds, that this privilege was
granted to the governor of this province, as being the place through
which the northern nations used to make their way into Persia; on which
account, also, a mighty rampart or wall was raised there.
In the Revelation of St. John, we find the twenty-four elders sitting
upon as many thrones in the presence of the Lord; “and they fall down
before him that sat on the throne, &c, and cast their crowns before the
throne.” Many of the travellers in eastern countries have given
descriptions highly illustrative of this mode of adoration. Thus Bruce,
in his Travels, says, “The next remarkable ceremony in which these two
nations (of Persia and Abyssinia) agreed is that of adoration,
inviolably observed in Abyssinia to this day, as often as you enter the
sovereign’s presence. This is not only kneeling, but absolute
prostration; you first fall upon your knees, then upon the palms of your
hands, then incline your head and body till your forehead touches the
ground; and, in case you have an answer to expect, you lie in that
posture till the king, or somebody from him, desires you to rise.” And
Stewart observes, “We marched toward the emperor with our music playing,
till we came within about eighty yards of him, when the old monarch,
alighting from his horse, prostrated himself on the earth to pray, and
continued some minutes with his face so close to the earth, that, when
we came up to him, the dust remained upon his nose.”
The circumstance of “casting their crowns before the throne” may be
illustrated by several cases which occur in history. That of Herod, in
the presence of Augustus, has been already mentioned. (See _Herod_.)
Tiridates, in this manner, did homage to Nero, laying the ensigns of his
royalty at the statue of Cæsar, to receive them again from his hand.
Tigranes, king of Armenia, did the same to Pompey. In the inauguration
of the Byzantine Cæsars, when the emperor comes to receive the
sacrament, he puts off his crown. “This short expedition,” says Malcolm,
“was brought to a close by the personal submission of Abool Fyze Khan,
who, attended by all his court, proceeded to the tents of Nadir Shah,
and laid his crown, and other ensigns of royalty, at the feet of the
conqueror, who assigned him an honourable place in his assembly, and in
a few days afterward restored him to his throne.”
day in the east, round level plats of ground in the open air, where the
corn was trodden out by oxen, the _libycæ areæ_ of Horace. Thus,
Gideon’s floor, Judges vi, 37, appears to have been in the open air; as
was likewise that of Araunah the Jebusite; else it would not have been a
proper place for erecting an altar and offering sacrifice. In Hosea
xiii, 3, we read of the chaff which is driven by the whirlwind from the
floor. This circumstance of the threshing floor’s being exposed to the
agitation of the wind seems to be the principal reason of its Hebrew
name; which may be farther illustrated by the direction which Hesiod
gives his husbandman to thresh his corn in a place well exposed to the
wind. From the above account it appears that a threshing floor (rendered
in our textual translation “a void place”) might well be near the
entrance of the gate of Samaria, and that it might afford no improper
place in which the kings of Israel and Judah could hear the prophets, 1
Kings xxii, 10; 2 Chron. xviii, 9; Psalm i, 4.
THRONE is used for that magnificent seat on which sovereign princes
usually sit to receive the homage of their subjects, or to give audience
to ambassadors; where they appear with pomp and ceremony, and from
whence they dispense justice; in a word, the throne, the sceptre, the
crown, are the ordinary symbols of royalty and regal authority. The
Scripture commonly represents the Lord as sitting upon a throne;
sometimes it is said that the heaven is his throne, and the earth his
footstool, Isaiah lxvi, 1. The Son of God is also represented as sitting
upon a throne, at the right hand of his Father, Psalm cx, 1; Heb. i, 8;
Rev. iii, 21. And Jesus Christ assures his Apostles that they should sit
upon twelve thrones, to judge the twelve tribes of Israel, Luke xxii,
30. Though a throne and royal dignity seem to be correlatives, or terms
that stand in reciprocal relation to each other, yet the privilege of
sitting on a throne has been sometimes granted to those that were not
kings, particularly to some governors of important provinces. We read of
the throne of the governor of this side the river; the throne, in other
words, of the governor for the king of Persia of the provinces belonging
to that empire on the west of the Euphrates. So D’Herbelot tells us that
a Persian monarch of aftertimes gave the governor of one of his
provinces permission to seat himself in a gilded chair, when he
administered justice; which distinction was granted him on account of
the importance of that post, to which the guarding a pass of great
consequence was committed. This province, he tells us, is now called
Shirvan, but was formerly named Serir-aldhahab, which signifies, in
Arabic, “the throne of gold.” To which he adds, that this privilege was
granted to the governor of this province, as being the place through
which the northern nations used to make their way into Persia; on which
account, also, a mighty rampart or wall was raised there.
In the Revelation of St. John, we find the twenty-four elders sitting
upon as many thrones in the presence of the Lord; “and they fall down
before him that sat on the throne, &c, and cast their crowns before the
throne.” Many of the travellers in eastern countries have given
descriptions highly illustrative of this mode of adoration. Thus Bruce,
in his Travels, says, “The next remarkable ceremony in which these two
nations (of Persia and Abyssinia) agreed is that of adoration,
inviolably observed in Abyssinia to this day, as often as you enter the
sovereign’s presence. This is not only kneeling, but absolute
prostration; you first fall upon your knees, then upon the palms of your
hands, then incline your head and body till your forehead touches the
ground; and, in case you have an answer to expect, you lie in that
posture till the king, or somebody from him, desires you to rise.” And
Stewart observes, “We marched toward the emperor with our music playing,
till we came within about eighty yards of him, when the old monarch,
alighting from his horse, prostrated himself on the earth to pray, and
continued some minutes with his face so close to the earth, that, when
we came up to him, the dust remained upon his nose.”
The circumstance of “casting their crowns before the throne” may be
illustrated by several cases which occur in history. That of Herod, in
the presence of Augustus, has been already mentioned. (See _Herod_.)
Tiridates, in this manner, did homage to Nero, laying the ensigns of his
royalty at the statue of Cæsar, to receive them again from his hand.
Tigranes, king of Armenia, did the same to Pompey. In the inauguration
of the Byzantine Cæsars, when the emperor comes to receive the
sacrament, he puts off his crown. “This short expedition,” says Malcolm,
“was brought to a close by the personal submission of Abool Fyze Khan,
who, attended by all his court, proceeded to the tents of Nadir Shah,
and laid his crown, and other ensigns of royalty, at the feet of the
conqueror, who assigned him an honourable place in his assembly, and in
a few days afterward restored him to his throne.”