Bible Dictionaries
No-Amon

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Nitre

Next Entry
Noah

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

Additional Links

Concordances
Nave Topical Bible
• Zuzims
• Zurishaddai
• Zuriel
•   (only first 3 shown)

No-amon (nô-â'mon), portion, or, temple of Amon? A large and most important city of Egypt. Nahum 3:8-10. This city was as mighty as Nineveh; yet judgment and ultimate desolation were threatened against it. There can be no doubt that the city intended was that called Thebes, in upper Egypt, seated on both banks of the Nile, renowned for its hundred gates and vast population, and as being the principal seat of the worship of the god Amon. Some of the mightiest Egyptian dynasties reigned at Thebes, and embellished it with crowds of unrivalled palaces and temples. But the voice of prophecy proclaimed that it should be "rent asunder." This doom began to be fulfilled first by the Assyrians. See Isaiah 20:1-6. It is evident from the words of Nahum that Thebes fell earlier than Nineveh. Nahum 1:1. According to Sir H. Rawlinson, Esar-haddon and his son Assur-bani-pal both conquered Egypt, and the latter took Thebes twice. Cambyses, king of Persia, ruthlessly destroyed it and burnt and mutilated its remaining monuments; and its ruin was completed by Ptolemy Lathyrus, about 81 b.c. The remains of this vast city, which appears to have been quadrangular, four miles by two, still astonish those who visit them. They lie 260 miles south of Cairo, including Karnak and Luxor. Fragments of colossal obelisks, pillars, and statues are scattered over the wide space. The grand hall of the temple at Karnak is described as "170 feet by 329, supported by a central avenue of twelve massive columns, 66 feet high—without the pedestal and abacus—and 12 in diameter, besides 122 of smaller or rather less gigantic dimensions, 41 feet 9 inches in height, and 27 feet 6 inches in circumference, distributed in seven lines on either side of the former." Pictured records and hieroglyphic inscriptions abound in the temples and the tombs; and when these shall be fully deciphered we may hope for much additional information in regard to Egyptian history and customs, illustrating and corroborating the sacred books.