No
Summary
No, also called No-Amon, was the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, a famous and powerful city on the Nile that was used by the prophets as an example of divine judgment.
☩Identification
No was the Scripture name for Thebes, the great city of ancient Egypt built on both sides of the river Nile. The name is sometimes rendered more fully as No-Amon, meaning 'No of Amon,' referring to the Egyptian god Amon, the chief deity of Thebes. The Greeks called the city Diospolis, meaning 'city of Zeus.' The city was renowned in Homer's time for having 'a hundred gates,' and in its days of grandeur contained splendid temples, including the chief temple of Jupiter Ammon, whose numerous priests were famous for their astronomical knowledge.
☩Historical Significance
Thebes was one of the oldest cities in Egypt, and in very early times was the residence of the kings of Upper Egypt during several dynasties. Under the eighteenth dynasty it became the capital of all Egypt and remained so for centuries, swaying Libya and Ethiopia, and carrying its victorious arms into Syria, Media, and Persia. It retained its supremacy for 500 years until the royal residence was removed to Lower Egypt in the seventh century BC. The city then began to decline and eventually fell to invaders.
☩Prophetic References
The prophets used Thebes as an example of divine judgment. Nahum refers to a past desolation of the city, probably an attack by the Assyrian king Sargon, to warn Nineveh that it too would fall despite its apparent strength. The passage in Jeremiah speaks of the city being delivered into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, though afterwards it would be inhabited as in days of old. Ezekiel's prophecy that the city should be 'rent asunder' was fulfilled literally, with Amen's vast temple lying shattered as if by an earthquake. The perishable nature of human greatness is evidenced in the ruins of its colossal buildings.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "No," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Philip Schaff and Johann Herzog (ed.), "NO," in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. VIII (Funk and Wagnalls, 1908–1914).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "No," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).