Ease (Hastings' Dictionary)

The subst. is found chiefly in the phrase ' at ease,' which has both a good and a bad meaning : Ps 25" ' His soul shall dwell at ease ; and his seed shall inherit the earth' (ato^i 'in eood ') ; but Am 6' ' Woe to them that are at ease in Zion ' {c'jjKjn), so Job 12», Ps 123, Is 32»- ", Zee I" with same Hebrew. Once 'ease' means ' relief,' Sir 38" ' that which they give for ease and remedy to prolong life' {avdravaif, RV 'relief'). Elsewhere 'rest' or 'enjoyment,' as Dt 28" ' amon" these nations shall thou find no ease' (Vj-jri iiV) ; Jth 1" ' there he took his ease, and banqueted ' (^v ixel jia.8vpiuiv) ; Lk 12'" ' take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry ' (ivairavov). But in Apocr. the word occurs as the opposite of diffi- culty, as 2 Mac 2 ' that they that are desirous to commit to memory might have ease ' (eiKorrla), 2" ' it is no ease ' (oix eixepi^). In these places we should now use the adverb 'easily.' But we stUl have ' with ease,' as in Jg 20* ' they . . . chased them, and trod them down with ease ' (1151:9, RV ' at their resting place '). But the meanine of this passage Is uncertain ; Moore thinks the Heb. is corrupt. The word m^tthdh means ' a resting place,' as Nu 10>3, and is often translated ' rest ' (see Cox on Ru l) ; but It may be a olace-name here, as AVm ' from Menuchah,' RVm at Menuhan': there is, however, no prep. In the Heb. The older versions are at a loss. The AV rendering is from the Geneva Bible 'chased them at ease,' with riiarx. Mrove them from their reste.' Tavemer K^^'es 'chased them to Menoah' Cov. ' folowed upon them unto Menuah'; Bishops' 'chased themdilif;entty,'m. 'from their rest' ; Wye, Douay, 'neither was there any rest of men d>-ing,' Bft«r Vulg. ' nee erat ulla requies morientium.' The LXX Is «n N.W ; I.uther ' bis gen Menuah ' ; Ostervald 'depuis M^nuha.' On the whole it seems best, if we are to accept the text, to take the word as a place-name ; and then Ostervald is probably nearest the mark 'depuis M^nuha Jusqu' 4 ropposite de Quibba.' The verb has always the meaning of ' give relief; but that may be either by lightening a burden, as 2 Ch 10 ' ease thou somewhat the (frievous servitude of thy father ' ; or by removing it altogether, as Is l" ' 1 will ease me of mine adversaries' (crjf), 2 Es 7 'if he did not so of his goodness, that they which have committed iniquities might be eased of them, the ten thou- «indlli |>art of men should not remain living '(«/ Meventur). Cf. Jer. Taylor (1630), Works, iii. 90, ■I am no sooner eased of him, but Gregory CJandergoose . . . catches me by the goU ' ; and I'ope, Vdyss. xxi. 342, ' Ease your bosoms of a fear so vain.' Tindale meant to express tlie removal of the burden when he tr^ Mt U" 'Come unto me all ye that laboure and are laden, and I will ease you'; and so llos 11' Cov. 'their pro- • The theory of Mr. B. Mallet differs somewhat from the above ; briefly stated, he considers that earthquakes orlgitmte In shocks caused by the strain oven-oming the resistance along lines of fracture traversing the earth's crust : this strain being due to the secular uooling of the crust and oonaequent con- traction (Trans. Roy. Jriih Acad. voL xxLX phetes laye the yocke vpon them, but they ease them not of their burthen.' J. HASTINGS. EAST, CHILDREN OF THE {cyrt?, trfa iyaroXwy). — A general name for the inhabitants of the country east of Palestine, especially the Syrian desert, but also including what was known of Arabia ; in Jg 6» 7" and 8", the ChUdren of the East are coupled with Midian and Anialek ; in Jer 49^ with Kedar. The mention of their nirp, or Bedawin encampments (Ezk 25*-"'), which they are to erect on the lands of Moab and Ammon, identifies them with the Ishmaelites, of whom the same technical term is used. To their proverbial wisdom reference is made in 1 K 5'° and Is 19", and it is probably the reason why the author of the Book of Job made his hero one of them (Job 1»). In Gn 29' ' the land of the children of the E.' might seem to be Mesopotamia ; but it is more probable that ditl'erent views of the habitation of Laban are conflated in that chapter. D. S. Margoliouth.