Seirah (Hastings' Dictionary)

The place to which Ehud escaped after killing Eglon, king of Moab (Jg 3-"). It \\as in the hill-country of Epliraim, and appar- ently not very far from Gilgal. Its site was un- known to Eusebius and Jerome {Onom. Seipwfli, Sirotha), and it has not yet been identified. C. W. Wilson. SELA (yljo 'the clilf ; irH-pa, Is 16' 42" ; y^^n, i, irirpa, Jg l^*, 2 K 14').— The capital of Edom or Mt.

Seir, situated in a valley amidst the Edoraite moun- tains, five days' journey {of 12 miles each) by the Arabah from 'Akabah (Elath), and 6 from the Dead Sea by the same route.* Its identification as the capital of Edom may also be inferred from its proximity to Mount Hor (if we are right in identifying this with Jcbel Haronn), which rises in a grand escarpment immediately to the N.W.

of the ancient city, and whicli, as observed by Dean Stanley, is one of the few spots connected with the wanderings of the Israelites which admit of no reasonable doubt (Sinai and Palestine, 86). According to Strabo, Petra was the metropolis of the Nabatffians, and it is described as a city situated in a valley, decorated with gardens and toimtains, but bounded on all sides by rocks.f Description.

— Petra is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable of the ancient cities of the East, not only for its position, shut in by mountains and formidable rocky precipices from the outer world, but for the peculiar character of its archi- tecture and the degree of preservation in which the structures themselves have come down to us through many centuries.

It lies along the course of the Wady Masa,t a stream which descends by a narrow gorge called the StK from the tableland of Edom at the margin of the great Arabian desert, and which ultimately finds its way into the wady el-Jeib, and thus to the Dead Sea, in a north-westerly direction. On issuing from the Sik, the valley suddenly opens out into a plain, about 1000 yards across,§ bounded by stupendous cliffs of red and variegated .

sandstone, into which several other valleys enter from the north, west, and south, also lined by lofty clifls, through one of which the river escapes by a channel almost as narrow as that by which it entered. This central plain, of a rudely quadrangular form, contains several ruined temples and foundations of habitations.

On all sides the nearly vertical walls of rock are covered by works of art — not * There is no doubt in the mind of the present writer that Petra of tlio present day is the Sela of the OT, the Greelt name being the equivalent of the Semitic ; and the importance of the place in ancient times, together with its situation, point to it afi the capital of that part of Arabia. But see Moore, Judges, 56 f., and cf. art. Rock, No. 4.

t Urbum in rejfiorie plana, et hortis fontibusque instructom, cinctam tamen rupibiis undique (lib. xvi.) t How this stream obtained its name, unless from the fancy of the Arabs, it is impossible to say ; but it cannot be admitted that it ever had any connexion with Moses, the Israelitish leader. It is one of the (grounds on which Dean Stanley (Sinni, p. 92) endeavours to make out that Petra is Kadesh-barnea ; but to this point we shall rttum further on.

i Measured by scale from Laborde's plan near the centre of the quadrangle. built up of hewn stone, but cut out of the living rock itself ; while a few ruined structures occupy sites rising directly from the valley. This style of architecture, not unknown in other Eastern countries, siuh as the Valley of the Nile, Penin- sular Indi.

t, and Asia Minor, here attains a variety and magnificence elsewhere unreached ; and as tlie tombs appear to predominate in number above other kinds of structures, — not excepting the temples, — Petra has been likened by travellers to a vast necropolis, where the inhabitants could never issue fortli from their dwellings without being confronted with monuments of death.

It would be out of place here to attempt to describe even some of the finest examples of ancient architecture to be found in Petra, which call to mind the varied styles of Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

We will only observe that in hewing out the porticoes, columns, and architraves or crowning parts of the buildings, the architects commenced at the top and worked downwards ; so that, as the face of the rock was not absolutely vertical, the hewn portions became more and more deeply set into the mass of the rock itself.

To this protection, caused by the projection of the original face on either side, as well as sometimes overhead, may be attributed the degree of pre- servation of the structures themselves.

The fol- lowing are the more important of the monuments as known by their present names : — (1) el-Khnznf, a portico of a tomb with Corinthian columns at the entrance to the Sik ; (2) the Theatre ; (3) the Tomb, or Temple of the Urn ; (4) Corinthian Tomb ; (5) Great Tomb, with three rows of columns; (6) Tomb with Latin inscription*; (7) Ruin of Triumphal Arch ; (8) Ruined Basilica (Zob Phiroun) ; (9) Temple {Serail Pliirown) ; (10) Large Tomb (cd-Deir) ; (11) Isolated Column.

All the lateral valleys entering the great central plain have their walls perforated with tombs, and a few habitations, the entrances to which are adorned with soilptured facades, while niches for statues are to be observed at intervals.

Amongst the most interesting objects is the Roman Theatre, cut out of the solid rock on the western side of the city, and estimated to have aHbrded seats for 3000 sjiectators ; and lastly, the Circular Arch, which spans the Sik high above the floor, which was doubtless constructed as part of an aqueduct to carry the waters of the brook to the higher parts of the citv.t For figure of the recently dis- covered higli pU'i; e of Petra, see SANCTUARY, p. 396*. Outline of the history of Petra.

— The history of Petra has yet to be written. The following are some of the leading historical events : — (1) Its history commences in the time of Abra- ham, when Chedorlaomer, king of Elara, with his allies, swept over the region of Mount Seir, then inhabited by the Sorites (or cave-dwellers), Gn 14". (2) Esau settled in Mount Seir on separating from his brother Jacob, and the country was henceforth ruled by his descendants, the Edomites (Gn 36').

(3) At the time of the Exodus the Edomites appear to have been a powerful nation under a king ; and on the Israelites requesting permission to pass through Mount Seir, by the king's higli- way, on their journey towards the plains of Moab, they were refused, and the Edoiiiites made a demon- stration of force to resist the passage (Nu 20"'"). • Oi\'ing the name of the Roman ^vernor, Quintus P™- textus Florentinus. who died in the city probably in the rei^ of Hadrian, a.d. 117-180.

t A rude plan of the city is riven by Burckhardt : but a mucb more full and perfect one by Laborde, together with numerous views and illustrations of the works of art. The beautiful draw- ing's of David Roberts need only be referred to.

The wonderful colouration of the sandstone rock (' the Nubian sandaUine ' of the Cretaceous age), in which the prevalent red is varied by wavy hands of pink and yellow in one direction and of purple to blus in the other, has called forth the admiration of all travellers. 4 SELA SELAH 431 (4) In later times they were suHiciently powerful to maintain wars with the kings of Israel and Judah.

At an early stace they were brought into subjection by David, who put garrisons in the Edoiiiite strongholds (2 S 8") ; but, in the days of Joraiii, Edoiu revolted from the rule of .ludali (2 K >)-■"), and, altliough defeated, maintained their independence and set a kin^ over themselves. After their defeat by Amazian in a great battle in the Valley of Salt on the shore of the Dead Sea, Sela, the capital, was captured, and re-nanied by the conqueror Jokthecl (? ' protection of God '), 2 K 14'.

At the end of the 4th cent. li.C. Edom came into possession of the Xabatwans, one of the two chief tribes descended from Ishmacl. These established a powerful dynasty, successfully re- sisting the attacks of Antigonus (Diod. Sic. xix. 731, ed. 1604), and encouraging commerce and works of art. One of their kings, Aretas, was father-in-law of Herod Antipas, and durin" tlieir sway many of the monuments of Petra which have come down to the present day were constructed.

(5) The sway of the Nabatieans was terminated by the capture of the city, and the reduction of Arabia Petr.-ca to a Koman province by Trajan's general, Hadrian, from wlioiii the capital received the name of Hadriana, as appears from the legend on the coins of this period (Dion Cass. lib. 68). Under the fostering care of the empire it prob- ably attained to the summit of its commeicial prosperity and grandeur.

(6) Christianity appears to have been introduced into Petra at an early date, though it is impossible tc verify the tradition that the city was visited by St. Paul on his retirement to Arabia after his conversion. Petra, however, became the seat of a bishopric, and Athanasius mentions Astcrius as bi.^hop of Petra early in the 4th cent. (loin, ad Antior.h. 10: 'AtrWpios Wfrpuiv t^s 'Apa^^ias, et al.)

; again we find Petra mentioned as the metropolis of the episcopal province of Palestina Tertia, which included a large number of towns or villages, all of which seeni to have since disappeared. {Ex- cerptn from MS in the Vatican, quoted by Keland, i 160). (7) With 'the decline and fall' of the Roman empire a period of decadence for Petra set in, which was hastened by the invasion of ChosroiJs, king of Persia, in the middle of the 6th cent.

; and its ruin was consummated by the desolating wave of Mohamme<lan conquest which swept over Arabia Petra-a from A.D. 629 to 632. The Christian inliabitants were either massacred or compelled to embrace the faith of the conqueror, and their temples and monasteries were reduced to ruins. Of the large number of ecclesiastical buildings which existed at the beginning of the 7th cent, in Arabia, only the monastery of Mount Sinai remains to the present day.

Henceforth Petra became a city of^ ruins, absolutely lost to the view and knowledge of the outer world for several centuries during the Middle Ages till rediscovered by Sultan Beybars of Egypt towards the close of the 13th cent. It is now only the home of the liedawin ; and the terrible predic- tions of the prophet, 'Thus will I make Mo)int Seir an astonishment and a desolation ' (E/.k 35'), have been lilenilly fulfilled.

Dean Hurgon has well expressed this desolation in the following lines: • How chanjfed— how fallen 1 All her (florv (led. The Widow'd City inouniB her many (k-au. Like eome fond ht-art which (ravuit disease hath loft Of all it livi'd for— all it loved— l.crclt ; Mute in iu an^iHh : struck wiih pane's too deep For wordji to utt«r, or lor teara to weep. Petra, 1846. * On the coins of Potra the dty ll represented as a veiled and tnrTcU-<l female sittinK on a roclt.

For other predictions of the desolation of tklom, see Is 84>'", Jer 4Bi^», Ob ixi. Petra and Kadesh-bamea. — The suggestion that these two places were identical comes from Dean Stanley, and would not have been considered worthy of notice had it emanated from a les." distinguishea writer. Both topographical and historical reasons are siilficiently clear to render the view untenable. (1) Kadesh was a place situ- ated in immediate proximity to the Canaanitish inhabitants (Nu 13^).

Tliis does not apply to Mount Seir, which was separated from them by the wide valley of the Arabah (wilderness of Zin). (2) Kadesh was in the wilderness of Paran (Nu 13^), a region Ij'ing to the west of the Arabah, and generally corresponding to the Badiet et-Tih of the present day (cf. On 21=', Nu lO"^ 12'"' 13="). This is in harmony with (1) above.

(3) As the king of Edom refused the Israelites a passage through his teiritory when about to leave his neighbourhood, is it conceivable that he would have permitted them to occupy the capital of his kingdom for a period of thirty-eight (or forty) years? Dean Stanley's main reason for his sug- gestion is the name Wady Mftsa (or Moses' Vallej-) attached to the stream along the banks of which Petra is situated.

But however dillicult it may be to account for the name, the reasons against the suggestion far outweigh whatever evidence may be derived from this source. See article Sanctuary. LiTERATi^s. — Burckhardt ('Sheikh Ibrahim"), Traveli in Si/ria arul the Holy Land (1S'.!2) ; de Laborde, Journal/ throuofi Arabia Petroea, etc., Eng. tr. 2nd ed.

(183S) ; Hull, Muunl Setr, Siiiai, and Wegtem Palestine {PEF, 1889) ; Reland, Palestina ex monumentis p«f«ri//u« iV^wfCraCa (Nuremberg, 1616) ; Stanley, SP (1860) ; JBL, 1899, p. 132 £f. E. H ULL.