. A dictionary of the Bible .. . they were trained , however, the wild and intractablenature of eagles, it is very improbable that thiswas the case. The representation of these birds wasdoubtless intended to portray the common featurein Eastern battle-field scenery, of birds of preyawaiting to satisfv their hunger on the bodies ofthe slain. ^ It is necessary to remember that no true eagle willkill for himself if lie can find dead fiesU. [H. B. T.] EBONY EBONY ^D^Jin, hobntrn: koi to7s elcrayo- fievots; e^fuovs, Symm.: (denies) hehehinos)occurs only in Ez. sxvii. 15, as one of
. A dictionary of the Bible .. . they were trained , however, the wild and intractablenature of eagles, it is very improbable that thiswas the case. The representation of these birds wasdoubtless intended to portray the common featurein Eastern battle-field scenery, of birds of preyawaiting to satisfv their hunger on the bodies ofthe slain. ^ It is necessary to remember that no true eagle willkill for himself if lie can find dead fiesU. [H. B. T.] EBONY EBONY ^D^Jin, hobntrn: koi to7s elcrayo- fievots; e^fuovs, Symm.: (denies) hehehinos)occurs only in Ez. sxvii. 15, as one of the valuablecommodities imported into Tyre by the men ofDedan. [Dedan.] It is mentioned together with horns of ivory, and it may hence be reasonablyconjectured that ivory and ebony came from thesame country. The best kind of ebony is yieldedby the Diospyros ebenum, a tree which grows inCeylon and Southern India; but there are manytrees of the natural order Ebenaceoe which producethis material. Ebony is also yielded by trees be-. longing to diflerent natural f:\milies in other paiisof the world, as in Africa. The ancients held theblack heart-wood in high esteem. Herodotus () mentions ebony {(paKayyas ifievov) as one ofthe precious substances presented by the people ofEthiopia to the king of Persia. Dioscorides (i. 130)speaks of two kinds of ebony, an Indian and anEthiopian ; he gives the preference to the latter is not known what tree yielded the Ethiopianebony. Royle says no Abyssinian ebony is atpresent imported. This, however, is more likely tobe owing to the diflerent routes which commercehas taken, but which is again returning to itsancient channels, than to the want of ebony inancient Ethiopia. There can be little doubt thatthe tree which yielded Ethiopian ebony is distinctfrom the Diospijros ebenum, and probably belongsto another genus altogether. Virgil (Georg. ii. 116)says that India alone produces the black ebony;and Theophrastus (Hist. Plant, iv. 4, §6)
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