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Handbook of Composite Fabrication

Rapra Technology Limited Handbook of
Rapra Technology is the leading independent
international organisation with over 80 years of
experience providing technology, information and
Composite
Fabrication
consultancy on all aspects of rubbers and plastics.

The company has extensive processing, analytical

and testing laboratory facilities and expertise,
and produces a range of engineering and
data management software products, and
computerised knowledge-based systems.

Rapra also publishes books, technical journals,

reports, technological and business surveys,
conference proceedings and trade directories.
These publishing activities are supported by
an Information Centre which maintains and

Editor: Güneri Akovali

develops the world’s most comprehensive Editor: Güneri Akovali
database of commercial and technical
information on rubbers and plastics.

Shawbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY4 4NR, UK

Telephone: +44 (0)1939 250383 Fax: +44 (0)1939 251118
http://www.rapra.net
 Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................... 1

1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Definition and classifications .................................................................... 3
1.2 Structure of the matrix ............................................................................. 6
1.2.1 MMC ............................................................................................ 7
1.2.2 Ceramic matrix composite ............................................................. 9
1.2.3 CMC ........................................................................................... 11
1.2.4 PMC ............................................................................................ 11
1.2.5 Hybrid composite material (HCM) ............................................. 14
1.3 Reinforcement forms .............................................................................. 15
1.3.1 Geometry of reinforcing materials ............................................... 15
1.3.1.1 Particulate Reinforced Composite Systems...................... 16
1.3.1.2 Fibre reinforced composite (FRC) systems ...................... 17

2 Constituent Materials .................................................................................... 21

2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 21
2.2 Matrix polymers ..................................................................................... 21
2.2.1 Thermosets .................................................................................. 23
2.2.1.1 Epoxy ............................................................................. 24
2.2.1.2 Polyester (unsaturated) ................................................... 27
2.2.1.3 Polyimides and bismaleimides ......................................... 29
2.2.2 Thermoplastics ............................................................................ 31
2.2.2.1 Thermoplastic polyesters (TPE) ...................................... 31
2.2.2.2 Polyamides (PA) .............................................................. 33
2.2.2.3 Polyaryl ethers ................................................................ 34

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 Handbook of Composite Fabrication

2.2.2.4 Thermoplastic polyimides ............................................... 35

2.2.2.5 Polyaryl sulphides ........................................................... 36
2.3 Reinforcing agents .................................................................................. 37
2.3.1 Particulate reinforcing agents ...................................................... 37
2.3.2 Fibre reinforcing agents ............................................................... 37
2.3.2.1 Glass fibres ..................................................................... 38
2.3.2.2 Carbon fibres .................................................................. 39
2.3.2.3 Aramid/Kevlar fibres ...................................................... 40
2.3.2.4 Boron fibres .................................................................... 41
2.3.2.5 Other polymeric fibres .................................................... 41
2.3.2.6 Ceramic fibres ................................................................ 41
2.3.2.7 Metallic fibres ................................................................. 42
2.4 Fibre forms ............................................................................................. 42
2.4.1 Rovings ....................................................................................... 43
2.4.2 Yarns ........................................................................................... 44
2.4.3 Chopped strands.......................................................................... 44
2.4.4 Mats ............................................................................................ 44
2.4.5 Woven rovings ............................................................................. 45
2.4.6 Woven yarns ................................................................................ 46
2.4.7 Braids .......................................................................................... 47
2.4.8 Knits ............................................................................................ 49
2.4.9 Preforms ...................................................................................... 50
2.5 Fibre-matrix combination forms ............................................................. 50
2.5.1 Moulding compounds ................................................................. 50
2.5.1.1 Sheet moulding compounds (SMC) ................................. 51
2.5.1.2 Bulk moulding compounds (BMC) ................................. 52
2.5.1.3 Thick moulding compounds (TMC) ............................... 52
2.5.2 Prepregs ....................................................................................... 52

3 Open Mould Processes ................................................................................... 57

3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 57

ii

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 Contents

3.2 Wet lay-up processes ............................................................................... 58

3.2.1 Hand lay-up ................................................................................ 58
3.2.2 Automation in lay-up .................................................................. 61
3.2.3 Spray-up ...................................................................................... 62
3.2.4 Automation in spray-up .............................................................. 64
3.3 Bag moulding and curing processes ........................................................ 65
3.3.1 Vacuum bag moulding ................................................................. 65
3.3.2 Pressure bag moulding ................................................................. 66
3.3.3 Curing ......................................................................................... 66
3.4 Autoclave moulding process ................................................................... 67
3.4.1 Autoclave cure systems ................................................................ 67
3.4.2 Materials to be used .................................................................... 69
3.4.2.1 Fibres .............................................................................. 70
3.4.2.2 Matrix ............................................................................ 74
3.4.3 Analysis of the process .................................................................. 74
3.4.3.1 Lay-up process ................................................................ 75
3.4.3.2 Curing process ................................................................ 77
3.4.3.3 Cure cycle development and quality control ................... 80
3.4.3.4 Tooling ........................................................................... 81
3.4.4 Future development of autoclave moulding process models ........ 82
3.4.5 Applications ................................................................................ 83
3.4.6 Advantages and disadvantages .................................................... 84

4 Closed Mould (Matched Die) Processes ......................................................... 87

4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 87
4.2 Transfer moulding .................................................................................. 88
4.2.1 Introduction ................................................................................ 88
4.2.2 Materials and processes ............................................................... 88
4.2.3 Kinetics of resin curing ................................................................ 89
4.2.4 Rheological analysis .................................................................... 90
4.2.5 Resin flow through the fabric ...................................................... 91

iii

Comp. Fab. Contents 3 31/7/01, 2:37 pm

 Handbook of Composite Fabrication

4.3 Compression moulding ........................................................................... 92

4.3.1 Introduction ................................................................................ 92
4.3.2.1 Resins ............................................................................. 93
4.3.2.2 Catalysts and accelerators ............................................... 93
4.3.2.3 Fillers .............................................................................. 93
4.3.2.4 Glass fibres ..................................................................... 94
4.3.2.5 Thickeners ...................................................................... 94
4.3.2.6 Miscellaneous additives .................................................. 94
4.3.2.7 Formulations .................................................................. 94
4.3.2.8 Properties of BMC and SMC systems ............................. 96
4.3.3 Modelling compression moulding................................................ 97
4.4 Injection moulding .................................................................................. 98
4.4.1 Introduction ................................................................................ 98
4.4.2 Materials and processes ............................................................... 99
4.4.3 Fibre orientation in injection moulding of thermosets ................. 99

5 Filament Winding......................................................................................... 103

5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 103
5.2 Constituent materials ............................................................................ 105
5.2.1 Reinforcements .......................................................................... 105
5.2.2 Resin systems............................................................................. 107
5.3 Manufacturing ...................................................................................... 109
5.3.1 Winding methods ...................................................................... 110
5.3.2 Fibre placement machines and tooling ....................................... 113
5.3.3 Winding mandrels ..................................................................... 114
5.3.4 Resin application and curing
(wet-dry winding-post impregnation) ........................................ 115
5.3.5 Process control .......................................................................... 117
5.4 Mechanical properties .......................................................................... 118
5.4.1 General ...................................................................................... 118
5.4.2 Design and analysis methods ..................................................... 119

iv

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 Contents

5.4.3 Test methods ............................................................................. 122

5.5 Current situation and future perspectives ............................................. 122

6 Pultrusion and Other Shaping Processes ...................................................... 127

6.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 127
6.1.1 Process description .................................................................... 128
6.1.2 Pultrusion modelling ................................................................. 131
6.1.2.1 The thermokinetic and chemorheological properties
of thermosets ................................................................ 131
6.2 Thermoplastic pultrusion...................................................................... 143
6.2.1 Thermoplastic pultrusion modelling .......................................... 144
6.2.2 Factors that affect thermoplastics pultrusion processes ............. 150
6.3 Pullshaping ........................................................................................... 151
6.4 Pullforming ........................................................................................... 152
6.5 Pullwinding .......................................................................................... 153
6.6 Pultruded articles .................................................................................. 154
6.7 Other shaping processes ....................................................................... 155
6.7.1 Centrifugal casting .................................................................... 155
6.7.2 Tube rolling ............................................................................... 155
6.7.3 Continuous laminating .............................................................. 156
6.7.4 Blow moulding .......................................................................... 156
6.7.5 Extrusion ................................................................................... 157
6.7.6 Sandwich foam coextrusion ....................................................... 158

7 Machining and Joining Process .................................................................... 163

7.1 Cutting and trimming ........................................................................... 163
7.1.2 Water-jet cutting technique ........................................................ 172
7.1.3 Laser cutting .............................................................................. 173
7.2 Joining Techniques................................................................................ 174
7.2.1 Mechanical joint techniques ...................................................... 174

Comp. Fab. Contents 5 31/7/01, 2:37 pm

 Handbook of Composite Fabrication

7.2.1.1 Joint geometry .............................................................. 175

7.2.1.2 Fasteners for mechanical joints ..................................... 176
7.2.1.3 Joint failure modes ....................................................... 176
7.2.2 Bonded joints............................................................................. 178
7.2.2.1 Adhesive materials ........................................................ 179
7.2.2.2 Curing .......................................................................... 179

Abbreviations and Acronyms............................................................................. 183

Contributors ...................................................................................................... 185

Name Index ....................................................................................................... 187

Main Index ........................................................................................................ 191

vi

Comp. Fab. Contents 6 31/7/01, 2:37 pm

 Preface

This book is designed as a handbook with some basic information on polymeric composite
fabrication. It is prepared by considering beginners as well as technical personnel already
working in this area. For this reason, it contains basic principles as well as an up-to-
date information on various aspects, including applications.

The book has seven chapters. Each of these were prepared by a group of experts from
different parts of the world. The first chapter, the introduction, gives some definitions
and classifications with some depth on the matrices and reinforcements for all types of
composite structures, including polymeric, metallic and ceramic matrix composites. More
detailed information about constituent materials (matrices and reinforcements) is provided
in chapter 2. Different processing techniques of polymer composites are discussed in the
following chapters, briefly: open mould (in Chapter 3) and closed mould (matched die)
processes, filament winding (Chapter 4) and pultrusion (Chapter 5). The book ends with
the machining and joining processes commonly used for polymer composite structures.

I would like to thank each of the contributing chapter editors for preparing such a fine
work, for being timely and cooperative. My thanks are also due to the commissioning
editors Ms Frances Powers and Dr Arshad Makhdum of Rapra Technology Ltd for
their ever-encouraging efforts and unceasing supports given during the preparation of
the book. I should also like to extend my gratitude to Ms Claire Griffiths and Mr Steve
Barnfield for their skillful typesetting and desk-top publishing of the text.

Finally, I should admit that, I greatly enjoyed editing this book. I hope the readers will
enjoy using it at least as much, benefit from it and keep it as a valuable source book.

Professor Güneri Akovali, Editor

5 June 2001
Ankara

1CompFab PREFACE 1 31/7/01, 2:37 pm

 Handbook of Composite Fabrication

Acknowledgement

Tiǵmur Akgül would like to thank Marcel Dekker Incorporated for permission to reprint
material from M.K. Mallick, Fiber Reinforced Composites, Materials Manufacturing,
and Design, 1988, p.332-335, ©1988, which appears on p.78-80 of this book.

1CompFab PREFACE 2 31/7/01, 2:37 pm

 1
Introduction

G. Akovali and N. Uyanik

1.1 Definition and classifications

A composite, in general, is defined as a combination of two or more components differing

in form or composition on a macroscale [1], with two or more distinct phases having
recognisable interfaces between them [1, 2].

Proper combination of materials into composites gives rise to properties which transcend
those of the constituents, as a result of the principle of combined action. Materials of
biological origin are generally composites. Bone, for instance, achieves its combination
of lightness and strength by combining crystals of apatite (a compound of calcium) with
fibres of the protein collagen, whereas wood contains cellulose fibres surrounded by
lignin and hemicellulose. Crushed rock aggregate used in concrete produces a composite
structure, which reduces the cost and helps to improve the compressive strength. Structural
weight savings (while retaining the reliability and strength), are achieved for aerospace,
rocket applications etc. by the use of composite materials.

Composites are produced to optimise material properties, mechanical (mainly strength),

chemical and/or physical properties. In the latter, optimisation of thermal (thermal
expansion/thermal conduction, specific heat, softening and melting points) as well as
electrical (electrical conductivity/electrical permittivity, dielectric loss), as well as optical
and acoustical properties can be noted. Since the early 1960s, there has been an increasing
demand for materials that are stiffer and stronger, yet lighter in aeronautic, energy, civil
engineering and in various structural applications. Unfortunately, no monolithic
engineering material available is able to satisfy them. This need and demand certainly
led to the concept of combining different materials in an integral composite structure.

Composites usually consist of a reinforcing material embedded in a matrix (binder). The

effective method to increase the strength and to improve overall properties is to incorporate
dispersed phases into the matrix, which can be an engineering material such as ceramic,
metal or polymer. Hence, ceramic matrix composites, metal matrix composites (MMC)
or polymer matrix composites (PMC)—or ceramic/metal/polymer composites—, carbon
matrix composites (CMC) or even hybrid composites are obtained. In a composite,
matrices, in general, are of low modulus, while reinforcing elements are typically 50

Chapter 1 3 31/7/01, 2:38 pm

 Handbook of Composite Fabrication

times stronger and 20–150 times stiffer. MMC and CMC structures are developed to
provide rather high temperature applications (> 316 ºC), where PMC are usually
inadequate. Furthermore, since metals are more conductive (electrically and thermally),
MMCs are also used in heat dissipation/electronic transmission applications. Each matrix
type has a different impact on the processing technique.

Composites are usually used for their structural properties where the most commonly
employed reinforcing component is in particulate or fibrous form and hence the definition
above can be restricted to such systems that contain a continuous/discontinuous fibre or
particle reinforcement, all in a continuous supporting core phase, the matrix. A
reinforcement phase usually exists with substantial volume fractions (10% or more).
Hence, three common types of composites can be described as: (a) particle strengthened,
(b) discontinuous fibre reinforced and/or (c) continuous fibre reinforced composites;
depending on the size and/or aspect ratio and volume fraction(s) of reinforcing phase(s).
In these, the function of each component can be different: in particle-strengthened
composites, the matrix bears the main load and small dispersed particles obstruct the
motion of dislocations in the matrix; and the load is distributed between the matrix and
particles. In fibre reinforced composites (FRC), the fibres bear the main load and the
function of the matrix is confined mainly to load distribution and its transfer to the
fibres. In addition to these types of composites, one should also note the existence of
another group of composite system, laminar composites (or simply laminates); where
reinforcing agents are in the form of sheets bonded together and are often impregnated
with more than one continuous phase in the system [3]. Feldman [4], narrows the broad
classification for composites given above simply into two groups: macrocomposites and
microcomposites. This classification depends on whether there are one or more dispersed
distinguishable phases (i.e., each larger than 1 mm) and on whether there is more than
one continuous phase present (for macrocomposites), or whether all dispersed phases
are between 10–1000 nm in size and there is only one continuous phase (for
microcomposites). If the size of reinforcing component of a microcomposite is in the
form of ‘quantum dots’ (i.e., being much smaller than 25 nm) then a new specific term is
assigned to it by calling it a nanocomposite. The term flexible composite is used to
identify composites based on elastomeric polymers where the usable range of deformation
is much larger than conventional thermoplastic or thermosetting composites [5].

High tensile and/or high modulus fibres (such as carbon, boron, silicon carbide and
alumina) emerged in the 1970s, and were used to reinforce high-performance polymer,
metal or ceramic matrices. A new group of advanced composite materials (ACM) [6],
were then developed which were, in general, extremely strong and stiff. The matrix is
one of the key factors to reach to proper ACM structures. To have advanced material
properties, firstly densities of matrices should be as small as possible with as high as
application temperatures for the material. There usually exists a relationship between

Chapter 1 4 31/7/01, 2:38 pm

 Introduction

density and service temperature for different materials, as presented in Figure 1.1. As the
figure shows, titanium and steel are not considered as advanced because of their relatively
high densities. The arrow in the figure indicates the trend for advanced materials which
has its peak at high application temperatures and low densities (two important criteria
for the next generation spacecrafts being lighter and faster); hence silicone carbide ceramics
and carbon-carbon composites are expected to be examples of such advanced materials.

Figure 1.1 Density versus maximum use temperature for some materials

The unique properties of ACM make them special for different applications. For example,
advanced polymer composites are not only lightweight, but also offer excellent strength,
stiffness and design versatility, which are particularly important in aerospace applications.
Some speciality polymers also have good chemical resistance and dielectric strength, like
aramids, which gave rise to their use as electrical insulators in generators and transformers.
Advanced ceramic materials provide a unique combination of high-temperature
resistances, in addition to excellent wear and corrosion resistance and dimensional stability
which are particularly important for parts which will be subjected to wear and cutting
tools. Advanced metal composites and alloys obtained by rapid cooling of the melt have
better strength and better electrical properties as well as improved corrosion resistance
and enhanced magnetic properties.

The interfaces and interphases between different components in the composite, which is
the boundary surface with a discontinuity, has a vital importance in determining the

Chapter 1 5 31/7/01, 2:38 pm

 Handbook of Composite Fabrication

structural properties of the composite. The interfaces and interphases are expected to be
proper, i.e., the interaction and adhesion between the components should be at the
optimum level [7] in order to distribute the load that is borne by the composite evenly.

Finally, one should mention the three main factors that may affect the competition between
composites and traditional engineering materials, both with similar mechanical properties:
they are the cost, the reliability and the degree of complexities involved. The cost barrier
in these is usually overcome by mass production and the degree of complexity is certainly
more critical for composites which is due to the unisotropy existing (at least on microscale)
for these structures. It is known that, in composites, thermoelastic properties as well as
strength and failure modes have strong directional dependencies.

1.2 Structure of the matrix

The matrix usually comprises 30%–40% of composite structure. It has a number of functions:

a) it binds the components together and determines the thermo-mechanical stability of

the composite,

b) it protects the reinforcements from wear/abrasion and environment,

c) it helps to distribute the applied load by acting as a stress-transfer medium,

d) it provides durability, interlaminar toughness and shear/compressive/transverse

strengths to the system in general, and,

e) it maintains the desired fibre orientations and spacings in specific structures.

As regards the toughness and strength of the composite, the role of the matrix is more
subtle and complex than that of the reinforcements involved. Most of the reinforcing
components like glass, graphite and boron fibres, are all linear elastic and brittle solids,
and whenever the stress on them is sufficient to cause unstable flaw growth, they fail
catastrophically. And although both reinforcing component and the matrix are brittle,
their combination can produce a material that is quite tough (at least much tougher than
either of both components alone) via a synergism achieved by a combination of
mechanisms that tends to keep cracks and flaws small, isolated and that dissipates
mechanical energy effectively.

In the following sections, only brief definitions and some basic information in relation to
matrix materials will be given. Some more detailed information for these will be presented
in Chapter 2.

Chapter 1 6 31/7/01, 2:38 pm

 Introduction

1.2.1 MMC

Metals are chosen as the matrix material in MMC structures mainly because of the
following characteristics:

a) they have higher application temperature ranges,

b) they have higher transverse stiffnesses and strengths,

c) in general, they have high toughness values,

d) when present in metal matrices, the moisture effects and the danger of flammability
are absolutely absent and they have high radiation resistances,

e) they have high electric and thermal conductivities,

f) MMC have higher strength-to-density, stiffness-to-density ratios, as well as better

fatigue resistances, lower coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) and better wear
resistances as compared with monolithic metals, and

g) they can be fabricated with conventional metal working equipment.

However, on the negative side, the following disadvantages can also be mentioned
for MMC:

a) most metals are heavy (titanium and stainless steel are not considered in the advanced
group due to their high densities, Figure 1.1)

b) metals are susceptible to interfacial degradation at the reinforcement and matrix

interface and are susceptible to corrosion [2], and

c) MMC usually have high material and fabrication costs and the related composite
technology is not yet well matured.

Some typical properties of some metals and some of their alloys are listed in Table 1.1
and the typical engineering stress-strain curves of steel and aluminium (with large plastic
strains) are presented in Figure 1.2.

The most common metals employed in MMC are aluminium, copper and magnesium.
Within these, aluminium has an application temperature at and above 300 ºC and its
alloys are normally used with boron or borsic filaments (silicon carbide coated boron),
and 6061 aluminium (which provides a good combination of strength, toughness and
corrosion resistance) is used more frequently than either 2024 (provides the highest

Chapter 1 7 31/7/01, 2:38 pm

 Handbook of Composite Fabrication

Table 1.1 Some typical properties of some metals and their alloys
Density Young’s Yield Tensile
ρ (g cm-3) Modulus Strength Strength
(GPa) (MPa) (MPa)
Pure metals
Aluminium 2.7 70 40 200
Copper 8.9 120 60 400
Nickel 8.9 210 70 400
Ti-6A1-4V 110 900 1000
Aluminium alloys
(high strength/low strength) 70 100–380 250–480
Stainless steel (304) 195 240 365
Plain carbon steel 7.9 210 250 420
Ti-6Al-4V: titanium-aluminium-vanadium

Figure 1.2 Stress-strain curves of aluminium and steel both with large plastic strains

strength) or 1100 (pure aluminium with high charpy impact resistance). Titanium can be
used at 800 ºC, usually as a matrix for borsic fibres [8]. Magnesium alloys are usually
used with graphite reinforcements (with longitudinal tensile strength and moduli values
of 177 MPa and 90 GPa for the composite, respectively. For the monolithic magnesium,
tensile strength and moduli values are 65 MPa and 45 GPa, respectively. Magnesium

Chapter 1 8 31/7/01, 2:38 pm

 Introduction

matrices with boron fibres exhibit excellent interfacial bond and outstanding load
redistribution characteristics.

Copper MMC are particularly of interest for materials with high thermal conductivities,
e.g., for the need of an actively-cooled skin structure for the National Aerospace Plane of
the USA (NASP) [9]. The high density and limited upper-application-temperature values
of monolithic copper can be compensated by the introduction of graphite fibres, which
give rise to MMC with reduced density, increased stiffness, increased application
temperatures and improved thermal conductivities.

Discontinuously dispersed niobium (particle) reinforced copper composites are found to

maintain the high thermal conductivity of the copper matrix with improved tensile strengths.

For advanced gas turbine engine component applications, aluminide matrices (i.e., FeAl,
FeCrAlY or NiAl) are usually used, and are also called intermetallics. In general, they have
excellent oxidation resistance, low density and high melting temperature. To have successful
composites of intermetallics, the reinforcing fibres are expected to provide both toughening
and strengthening to the system and for this, they must be chemically compatible with the
matrix and should have similar CTE with the matrix. For example, Al2O3 fibres tested are
found to create brittle and poorly-bonded reinforcements, while molybdenum and tungsten
fibres, in general, give rise to a ductile and strongly-bonded composite [8].

In principle, all metals exhibit degradation of properties at very high temperatures, hence
there is a thermal limitation in use even for the MMC as well.

1.2.2 Ceramic matrix composite

Ceramics are composed of metallic and non-metallic elements. Ceramics are chosen as
the matrix material mainly because of following facts:

a) they have a very high application temperature range (>2000 ºC), hence they provide
advanced heat engine applications,

b) they have low densities, and

c) they usually have very high elastic modulus values.

The major disadvantage to ceramic matrix materials is their brittleness, which makes them
easily susceptible to flaws. Besides being brittle, they usually lack uniformity in properties
and have low thermal and mechanical shock resistances, as well as low tensile strengths.
Hence the major disadvantage of ceramics is their brittleness—existence of even minor

Chapter 1 9 31/7/01, 2:38 pm

 Handbook of Composite Fabrication

surface flaws, scratches or internal defects (pores, microcracks) can result in disaster. In
fact, one of the driving forces in this field is the production of tough ceramic materials.

Commonly used ceramic matrix materials can be categorised in the following four
main groups:

a) glass ceramics (such as lithium aluminosilicate),

b) oxides [such as alumina and mullite (Al6Si2O13)],

c) nitrides (such as silicone nitride, Si3N4), and

d) carbides (such as silicone carbide, SiC).

Some authors [2, 9] consider carbon to be categorised as the fourth group.

Silicone nitride matrices are specifically used for the production of ceramic matrix
composite systems where strong, tough, oxidation resistant and very high temperature/
high heat flux resistant materials are needed, e.g., for advanced heat engines. For these
kind of applications, high temperature resistant fibres are being employed (30% aligned
SiC, i.e., ‘SiCS6’ fibres) in ceramic matrices.

Table 1.2 Typical examples of some ceramic matrices

Density Young’s Yield CTE
ρ (g cm-3) Modulus Strength (10-6 K-1)
(GPa) (MPa)
Borosilicate glass 2.2 60 100 3.5
Soda glass 2.5 60 100 8.9
Mullite 143 83 5.3
MgO 3.6 210–300 97–130 13.8
Si3N4 3.2 310 410 2.25–2.87
Al2O3 3.9–4.0 360–400 250–300 8.5
SiC 3.2 400–440 310 4.8
Glass – ceramics:
Lithium aluminosilicate 2.0 100 100–150 1.5
Magnesium aluminosilicate 2.6–2.8 120 100–170 2.5–5.5

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 Introduction

Unidirectional and two dimensional SiCS6/silicone nitride laminates are shown to exhibit
high specific stiffness and strengths in addition to high toughnesses, notch insensitivity, creep
resistance and thermal shock resistances up to 1400 ºC. Also, significant matrix strength
enhancements are predicted for this system with SiC fibres less than 40 mm in diameter [10].
In addition, gas turbine engines of supersonic aircrafts opened up the possibilities of use of
ceramic matrix composites composed of SiC both as matrix and reinforcing fibres, which led
to composite systems with high strength, high toughness, high oxidation resistance and high
thermal conductivities for structural applications at temperatures above 1400 ºC [11]. Also,
the use of ‘reaction-formed’ silicone carbide reinforcement is claimed to have certain
advantages. Properties of some ceramics are given in Table 1.2.

1.2.3 CMC

Carbon, as the matrix material, is usually used with carbon fibres in composite systems.
The main advantage of the carbon matrix and its carbon/carbon (C/C) composite is its
resistance to high temperatures in excess of 2200 ºC, and the fact that it gains extra
strength at elevated temperatures.

C/C composites have high strength-to-weight and high stiffness-to-weight values, have
high dimensional stabilities and high resistance to fatigue. Hence, C/C composites are used
in structural and non-structural applications where temperatures involved are high (e.g.,
on the leading edge and on the rocket engine nozzles of the NASA space shuttle where
there are very high temperatures observed during flight and re-entry, as well as in the brake
system of airplanes). In addition to the extensive use of this composite for very high
temperature applications, specific applications in the medical field are also being developed;
since carbon is chemically and biologically inert, it can be kept sterile inside the human
body and can be used as prosthetic devices. Additionally, this composite is considered to be
very similar to bone and has been used for some time in replacement hips or joints. Many
internal or surgical implant devices are already being produced, preferably from carbon
composites, because they also exhibit greater corrosion resistance and chemical resistance
than stainless steel or selective metal alloys, in addition to their inherent satisfactory fatigue
and toughness characteristics. Conversely, the main disadvantage of using C/C composite
is the cost, i.e., the cost of the materials used and the cost of the fabrication of the composite.

1.2.4 PMC

Polymers are mostly organic compounds based on carbon, hydrogen and other non-
metallic elements. PMC are the most developed composite materials group and they
have found widespread applications. PMC can be easily fabricated into any large complex
shape, which is an advantage.

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 Handbook of Composite Fabrication

In PMC applications, thermosetting or thermoplastic polymers can be used as the matrix

component. PMC (also called reinforced plastics) are, in general, a synergistic combination
of high performance fibres and matrices. In these systems, the fibre provides the high
strengths and moduli while the polymer matrix spreads the load and helps resistance to
weathering and to corrosion. Thus, in PMC, strength is almost directly proportional to
the basic fibre strength and it can be further improved at the expense of stiffness.
Optimisation of stiffness and fibre strength is still one of the unresolved main objectives
and is under serious consideration. In some cases, mainly due to the differences in
flexibilities between reinforcing fibres intra- and inter-fibrillar amorphous zones, severe
shear stresses can result in the system, eventually leading to a fatigue crack.

Thermoplastic PMC soften upon heating at the characteristic glass transition temperature
(Tg) of the polymer which, usually, are not too high (upwards of 220 ºC). Hence, for
thermoplastic PMC:

a) the application temperatures are rather limited,

b) they can be readily processed by use of conventional plastics processing techniques,

such as injection moulding, extrusion and blow moulding, and

c) they can be reshaped easily with heat and pressure, in addition to the fact that they
offer the potential for the higher toughness and the low cost-high volume processing
of composite structures, and

d) one of the main disadvantages of considering thermoplastics as a matrix material is

their rather large CTE values, which may lead to a mismatch in their composites and
their sensitivities towards environmental-mostly hygrothermal-effects (i.e., absorption
of moisture causes swelling as well as reduction in Tg, leading to severe internal
stresses in the composite structure).

The most commonly used thermoplastic matrix materials are polyolefinics (polyethylene,
polypropylene), vinylic polymers (polyvinyl chloride (PVC)), polyamides (PA), polyacetals,
polyphenylenes (polyphenylene sulphide (PPS)), polysulphone and polyetheretherketone
(PEEK). Some of their characteristic properties are presented in Table 1.3.

Conversely, thermosetting PMC are crosslinked and shaped during the final fabrication
step, after which they do not soften by heating. They have a covalently-bonded, insoluble
and infusible three-dimensional network structure. In order to promote processability,
thermosetting resins are typically available in the special B-stage, which refers to a partially
cured and usually vitrified system below the gel point. The combination of reinforcement
and B-staged resin, usually in sheet form of approximately 1 mm thick, is termed prepreg
(an abbreviation for pre-impregnation). The final, fully cured resin is referred to as the C

12

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Chapter 1
Table 1.3 Typical properties of some thermoplastic and thermosetting matrices

13
Property Epoxy Thermosetting PEEK Polyamide- Polyether Poly- PPS
polyimides imide imide sulphone
Density (g cm-3) 1.15–1.4 1.43–1.46 1.30 1.38 1.25 1.32
Elastic Modulus (GPa) 2.8–4.2 3.2
Flexural Modulus (MPa) 15–35 35 40 50 35 28 40
Tensile Strength (MPa) 35–130 55–120 92 95 105 75 70
Compressive Strength (MPa) 140 187
CTE (10-5 °C) 4.5–11 5–9 6.3 5.6 9.4–10 9.9
Thermal Conductivity 0.17–0.2 0.36
(W m-1 K-1)
Water Absorption (24 h, %) 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.2
Tg (°C) 130–250 370

31/7/01, 2:38 pm
Continuous Service 25–85 260–300 310 170 175–190 260
Temperature (°C)

13
Introduction
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proposing to march through Judea, after he had received orders
from Tiberius to attack Aretas, king of Petra. The people supplicated
and remonstrated, and induced Pilate to remove the army, and
Vitellius to march his troops another way. The Jews applied the
above passage of Daniel to the Romans, as we are informed by
Jerome. The learned Mr. Mede concurs in the same opinion. Sir Isaac
Newton, Obs. on Daniel ix, xii, observes, that in the sixteenth year of
the emperor Adrian, B. C. 132, the Romans accomplished the
prediction of Daniel by building a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus,
where the temple of God in Jerusalem had stood. Upon this occasion
the Jews, under the conduct of Barchochab, rose up in arms against
the Romans, and in the war had fifty cities demolished, nine hundred
and eighty-five of their best towns destroyed, and five hundred and
eighty thousand men slain by the sword; and in the end of the war,
B. C. 136, they were banished from Judea upon pain of death; and
thenceforth the land remained desolate of its old inhabitants. Others
again have applied the prediction of Daniel to the invasion and
desolation of Christendom by the Mohammedans, and to their
conversion of the churches into mosques. From this interpretation
they infer, that the religion of Mohammed will prevail in the east one
thousand two hundred and sixty years, and be succeeded by the
restoration of the Jews, the destruction of antichrist, the full
conversion of the Gentiles to the church of Christ, and the
commencement of the millennium.
In general, whatever is morally or ceremonially impure, or leads to
sin, is designated an abomination to God. Thus lying lips are said to
be an abomination to the Lord. Every thing in doctrine or practice
which tended to corrupt the simplicity of the Gospel is also in
Scripture called abominable; hence Babylon is represented, Rev. xvii,
4, as holding in her hand a cup “full of abominations.” In this view,
to “work abomination,” is to introduce idolatry, or any other great
corruption, into the church and worship of God, 1 Kings xi, 7.
ABRAM, ‫אברם‬, a high father; and ABRAHAM, ‫אבררם‬, father of a
great multitude, the son of Terah, born at Ur, a city of Chaldea, A. M.
2008. The account of this eminent patriarch occupies so large a part
of the book of Genesis, and stands so intimately connected with
both the Jewish and Christian dispensations,--with the one by a
political and religious, and with the other by a mystical, relation,--
that his history demands particular notice. Our account may be
divided into his personal history, and his typical, and mystic
character.
I. Abraham’s PERSONAL history.
1. Chaldea, the native country of Abraham, was inhabited by a
pastoral people, who were almost irresistibly invited to the study of
the motions of the heavenly bodies, by the peculiar serenity of the
heavens in that climate, and their habit of spending their nights in
the open air in tending their flocks. The first rudiments of astronomy,
as a science, is traced to this region; and here, too, one of the
earliest forms of idolatry, the worship of the host of heaven, usually
called Tsabaism, first began to prevail. During the three hundred and
fifty years which elapsed between the deluge and the birth of
Abraham, this and other idolatrous superstitions had greatly
corrupted the human race, perverted the simple forms of the
patriarchal religion, and beclouded the import of its typical rites. The
family of Abraham was idolatrous, for his “fathers served other gods
beyond the flood,” that is, the great river Euphrates; but whether he
himself was in the early period of his life an idolater, we are not
informed by Moses. The Arabian and Jewish legends speak of his
early idolatry, his conversion from it, and of his zeal in breaking the
images in his father’s house; but these are little to be depended
upon. Before his call he was certainly a worshipper of the true God;
and that not in form only, but “in spirit and in truth.” Whilst Abraham
was still sojourning in Ur, “the God of glory” appeared to him, and
said unto him, “Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred,
and go into the land which I shall show thee;” and so firm was his
faith in the providence and care of God, that although the place of
his future abode was not indicated, nor any information given of the
nature of the country, or the character of its inhabitants, he
nevertheless promptly obeyed, and “went out, not knowing whither
he went.” Terah his father, Nahor his brother, and Lot his nephew,
the son of Haran his deceased brother, accompanied him; a
circumstance which indicates that if the family had formerly been
idolatrous it had now received the faith of Abraham. They first
migrated to Haran, or Charran, in Mesopotamia, a flat, barren region
westward of Ur; and after a residence there of a few years, during
which Terah had died, Abraham left Haran to go into Palestine,
taking with him Sarah his wife, who had no child, and Lot, with his
paternal property. Nahor appears to have been left in Haran. To this
second migration he was incited also by a Divine command,
accompanied by the promises of a numerous issue, that his seed
should become a great nation, and, above all, that “in him all the
families of the earth should be blessed;” in other words, that the
Messiah, known among the patriarchs as the promised “seed of the
woman,” should be born in his line. Palestine was then inhabited by
the Canaanites, from whom it was called Canaan. Abraham, leading
his tribe, first settled at Sechem, a valley between the mountains
Ebal and Gerizim, where God appeared to him and promised to give
him the land of Canaan, and where, as in other places in which he
remained any time, he built an altar to the Lord. He then removed to
a hilly region on the north of Jericho; and as the pastures were
exhausted, migrated southward, till a famine drove him into Egypt,
probably the earliest, certainly the most productive, corn country of
the ancient world.
2. Here it may be observed, that the migrations of Abraham and
his sons show the manner in which the earth was gradually covered
with people. In those ages some cities had been built, and the
country to some extent about them cultivated; but wide spaces of
unoccupied land lay between them. A part of society following
therefore the pastoral life, led forth their flocks, and, in large family
tribes, of which the parent was the head, uniting both the sovereign
power and the priesthood in himself, and with a train of servants
attached to the tribe by hereditary ties, pitched their camps
wherever a fertile and unappropriated district offered them pasture.
A few of these nomadic tribes appear to have made the circuit of the
same region, seldom going far from their native seats; which would
probably have been the case with Abraham, had he not received the
call of God to depart to a distant country. Others, more bold,
followed the track of rivers, and the sweep of fertile valleys, and at
length some built cities and formed settlements in those distant
regions; whilst others, either from attachment to their former mode
of life, or from necessity, continued in their pastoral occupations, and
followed the supplies afforded for their flocks by the still expanding
regions of the fertile earth. Wars and violences, droughts, famines,
and the constant increase of population, continued to impel these
innumerable, but at first, small streams of men into parts still more
remote. Those who settled on the sea coast began to use that
element, both for supplying themselves with a new species of food,
and as a medium of communication by vessels with other countries
for the interchange of such commodities as their own lands afforded
with those offered by maritime states, more or less distant. Thus
were laid the foundations of commerce, and thus the maritime cities
were gradually rendered opulent and powerful. Colonies were in time
transported from them by means of their ships, and settled on the
coasts of still more distant and fertile countries. Thus the migrations
of the three primitive families proceeded from the central regions of
Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria; and in succession they
established numerous communities,--the Phenicians, Arabians,
Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Lybians southward;--the Persians,
Indians, and Chinese eastward;--the Scythians, Celts, and Tartars
northward;--and the Goths, Greeks, and Latins westward, even as
far as the Peruvians and Mexicans of South America, and the Indians
of North America.
3. Abraham, knowing the dissolute character of the Egyptians,
directed Sarah to call herself his sister, which she was, although by
another mother; fearing that if they knew her to be his wife, they
would not only seize her, but kill him. This circumstance indicates the
vicious state of morals and government in Egypt at this early period.
In this affair Abraham has been blamed for want of faith in God; but
it was perhaps no more than an act of common prudence, as the
seraglio of the Egyptian monarch was supplied by any means,
however violent and lawless. Sarah, upon the report of her beauty,
was seized and taken into his harem; and God sent great plagues
upon his house, which, from their extraordinary character, he
concluded to be divine judgments. This led to inquiry, and on
discovering that he was detaining another man’s wife by violence, he
sent her back, and dismissed Abraham laden with presents.
4. After the famine Abraham returned to Canaan, and pitched his
tents between Bethel and Hai, where he had previously raised an
altar. Here, as his flocks and herds, and those of Lot, had greatly
increased, and strifes had arisen between their herdsmen as to
pasturage and water, they peaceably separated. Lot returning to the
plain of the Jordan, which before the destruction of Sodom was as
“the garden of God,” and Abraham to Mamre, near Hebron, after
receiving a renewal of the promise, that God would give him the
whole land for a possession. The separation of Abraham and Lot still
farther secured the unmingled descent of the Abrahamitic family.
The territories of the kings of the cities of the plain were a few years
afterward invaded by a confederacy of the petty kings of the
Euphrates and the neighbouring countries, and Lot and his family
were taken prisoners. This intelligence being brought to Abraham,
he collected the men of his tribe, three hundred and eighteen, and
falling upon the kings by night, near the fountains of Jericho, he
defeated them, retook the spoil, and recovered Lot. On his return,
passing near Salem, supposed to be the city afterward called
Jerusalem, he was blessed by its king Melchizedec, who was priest
of the most high God; so that the knowledge and worship of
Jehovah had not quite departed at that time from the Canaanitish
nations. To him Abraham gave a tithe of the spoil. The rest he
generously restored to the king of Sodom, refusing, in a noble spirit
of independence, to retain so much as a “shoe lachet,” except the
portion which, by usage of war, fell to the young native sheiks, Aner,
Eschal, and Mamre, who had joined him in the expedition.
5. After this he had another encouraging vision of God, Gen. xv, 1;
and to his complaint that he was still childless, and that his name
and property would descend to the stranger Eliezer, who held the
next rank in his tribe, the promise was given, that he himself should
have a son, and that his seed should be countless as the stars of
heaven. And it is emphatically added, “He believed in the Lord, and
he counted it to him for righteousness.” He was then fully assured,
that he stood before God, a pardoned and accepted man, “whose
iniquities were forgiven,” and to whom “the Lord did not impute sin.”
Still the fulfilment of the promise of a son was delayed; and Sarah,
perhaps despairing that it would be accomplished in her person, and
the revelation which had been made merely stating that this son
should be the fruit of Abraham’s body, without any reference to her,
she gave to him, according to the custom of those times, one of her
handmaids, an Egyptian, to be his secondary wife, who brought
forth Ishmael. Children born in this manner had the privileges of
legitimacy; but fourteen years afterward, when Abraham was a
hundred years old, and Sarah ninety, the Lord appeared to him
again, established his covenant with him and with his seed, changed
his name to Abraham, “the father of many nations,” promised that
Sarah herself should bring forth the son to whom the preceding
promises had referred; instituted circumcision as the sign of the
covenant; and changed the name of his wife from Sarai, my
princess, to Sarah, the princess, that is, of many people to descend
from her.
6. At this time Abraham occupied his former encampment near
Hebron. Here, as he sat in the door of his tent, three mysterious
strangers appeared. Abraham, with true Arabian hospitality, received
and entertained them. The chief of the three renewed the promise
of a son to be born from Sarah, a promise which she received with a
laugh of incredulity, for which she was mildly reproved. As Abraham
accompanied them toward the valley of the Jordan, the same divine
person, for so he manifestly appears, announced the dreadful ruin
impending over the licentious cities among which Lot had taken up
his abode. No passage, even in the sacred writings, exhibits a more
exalted view of the divine condescension than that in which
Abraham is seen expostulating on the apparent injustice of involving
the innocent in the ruin of the guilty: “Shall the city perish, if fifty, if
forty-five, if forty, if thirty, if twenty, if ten righteous men be found
within its walls?” “Ten righteous men shall avert its doom.” Such was
the promise of the celestial visitant; but the guilt was universal, the
ruin inevitable; and the violation of the sacred laws of hospitality and
nature, which Lot in his horror attempted to avert by the most
revolting expedient, confirmed the justice of the divine sentence.
 7. Sarah having conceived, according to the divine promise,
Abraham left the plain of Mamre, and went south to Gerar, where
Abimelech reigned; and again fearing lest Sarah should be forced
from him, and himself be put to death, her beauty having been, it
would appear, preternaturally continued, notwithstanding her age,
he here called her, as he had done in Egypt, his sister. Abimelech
took her to his house, designing to marry her; but God having, in a
dream, informed him that she was Abraham’s wife, he returned her
to him with great presents. This year Sarah was delivered of Isaac;
and Abraham circumcised him, according to the covenant
stipulation; and when he was weaned, made a great entertainment.
Sarah, having observed Ishmael, son of Hagar, mocking her son
Isaac, said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for
Ishmael shall not be heir with Isaac.” After great reluctance,
Abraham complied; God having informed him that this was according
to the appointments of his providence, with respect to future ages.
About the same time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his general, to
conclude an alliance with Abraham, who made that prince a present
of seven ewe lambs out of his flock, in confirmation that a well he
had opened should be his own property; and they called the place
Beer-sheba, or “the well of swearing,” because of the covenant there
ratified with oaths. Here Abraham planted a grove, built an altar, and
for some time resided, Gen. xx, xxi.
8. More than twenty years after this, (A. M. 2133,) God, for the
final trial and illustration of Abraham’s faith, directed him to offer up
his son Isaac. Abraham took his son, and two servants, and went
toward mount Moriah. When within sight of the mountain, Abraham
left his servants, and ascended it with his son only; and there having
bound him, he prepared for the affecting sacrifice; but when he was
about to give the blow, an angel from heaven cried out to him, “Lay
not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing to him. Now
I know that thou fearest God, since thou hast not withheld thine
only son from me.” Abraham, turning, saw a ram entangled in the
bush by his horns; and he offered this animal as a burnt offering,
instead of his son Isaac. This memorable place he called by the
prophetic name, Jehovah-jireh, or the Lord will see--or provide, Gen.
xxii, 1–14, having respect, no doubt, to the true sacrifice which, in
the fulness of time, was to be offered for the whole world upon the
same mountain.
9. Twelve years afterward, Sarah, wife of Abraham, died in
Hebron. Abraham came to mourn and to perform the funeral offices
for her. He addressed the people at the city gate, entreating them to
allow him to bury his wife among them; for, being a stranger, and
having no land of his own, he could claim no right of interment in
any sepulchre of that country. He, therefore, bought of Ephron, one
of the inhabitants, the field of Machpelah, with the cave and
sepulchre in it, at the price of four hundred shekels of silver, about
forty-five pounds sterling. And here Abraham buried Sarah, with due
solemnities, according to the custom of the country, Gen. xxiii. This
whole transaction impressively illustrates the dignity, courtesy, and
honour of these ancient chiefs; and wholly disproves the notion that
theirs was a rude and unpolished age.
10. Abraham, having grown old, sent Eliezer, his steward, into
Mesopotamia, with directions to obtain a young woman of his own
family, as a wife for his son Isaac. Eliezer executed his commission
with fidelity, and brought back Rebecca, daughter of Bethuel, grand-
daughter of Nahor, and, consequently, Abraham’s niece, whom Isaac
married. Abraham afterward married Keturah; by whom he had six
sons, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah; who
became heads of different people, which dwelt in Arabia, and around
it. He died, aged a hundred and seventy-five years, and was buried,
with Sarah his wife, in the cave of Machpelah, which he had
purchased of Ephron, Gen. xxiv, xxv, A. M. 2183, before Christ 1821.
II. From the personal history of Abraham we may now proceed to
the consideration of the TYPICAL circumstances which were connected
with it.
1. Abraham himself with his family may be regarded as a type of
the church of God in future ages. They indeed constituted God’s
ancient church. Not that many scattered patriarchal and family
churches did not remain: such was that of Melchizedec; and such
probably was that of Nahor, whom Abraham left behind in
Mesopotamia. But a visible church relation was established between
Abraham’s family and the Most High, signified by the visible and
distinguishing sacrament of circumcision, and followed by new and
enlarged revelations of truth. Two purposes were to be answered by
this,--the preservation of the true doctrine of salvation in the world,
which is the great and solemn duty of every branch of the church of
God,--and the manifestation of that truth to others. Both were done
by Abraham. Wherever he sojourned he built his altars to the true
God, and publicly celebrated his worship; and, as we learn from St.
Paul, he lived in tents in preference to settling in the land of Canaan,
though it had been given to him for a possession, in order that he
might thus proclaim his faith in the eternal inheritance of which
Canaan was a type; and in bearing this testimony, his example was
followed by Isaac and Jacob, the “heirs with him of the same
promise,” who also thus “confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims,” and that “they looked” for a continuing and eternal city in
heaven. So also now is the same doctrine of immortality committed
to the church of Christ; and by deadness to the world ought its
members to declare the reality of their own faith in it.
2. The numerous natural posterity promised to Abraham was also
a type of the spiritual seed, the true members of the church of
Christ, springing from the Messiah, of whom Isaac was the symbol.
Thus St. Paul expressly distinguishes between the fleshly and the
spiritual seed of Abraham; to the latter of which, in their ultimate
and highest sense, the promises of increase as the stars of heaven,
and the sands of the sea shore, are to be referred, as also the
promise of the heavenly Canaan.
3. The intentional offering up Isaac, with its result, was probably
that transaction in which Abraham, more clearly than in any other,
“saw the day of Christ, and was glad.” He received Isaac from the
dead, says St. Paul, “in a figure.” This could be a figure of nothing
but the resurrection of our Lord; and, if so, Isaac’s being laid upon
the altar was a figure of his sacrificial death, scenically and most
impressively represented to Abraham. The place, the same ridge of
hills on which our Lord was crucified; the person, an only son, to die
for no offence of his own; the sacrificer, a father; the receiving back,
as it were, from death to life; the name impressed upon the place,
importing, “the Lord will provide,” in allusion to Abraham’s own
words to Isaac, “the Lord will provide a lamb for a burnt offering;”
all indicate a mystery which lay deep beneath this transaction, and
which Abraham, as the reward of his obedience, was permitted to
behold. “The day” of Christ’s humiliation and exaltation was thus
opened to him; and served to keep the great truth in mind, that the
true burnt offering and sacrifice for sin was to be something higher
than the immolation of lambs and bulls and goats,--nay, something
more than what was merely human.
4. The transaction of the expulsion of Hagar was also a type. It
was an allegory in action, by which St. Paul teaches us to
understand that the son of the bondwoman represented those who
are under the law; and the child of the freewoman those who by
faith in Christ are supernaturally begotten into the family of God.
The bondwoman and her son being cast out, represented also the
expulsion of the unbelieving Jews from the church of God, which
was to be composed of true believers of all nations, all of whom,
whether Jews or Gentiles, were to become “fellow heirs.”
III. But Abraham appears before us invested with a MYSTIC
character, which it is of great importance rightly to understand.
1. He is to be regarded as standing in a federal or covenant
relation, not only to his natural seed, but specially and eminently to
all believers. “The Gospel,” we are told by St. Paul, “was preached to
Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” “Abraham
believed in God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness;” in
other words, he was justified. A covenant of gratuitous justification
through faith was made with him and his believing descendants; and
the rite of circumcision, which was not confined to his posterity by
Sarah, but appointed in every branch of his family, was the sign or
sacrament of this covenant of grace, and so remained till it was
displaced by the sacraments appointed by Christ. Wherever that sign
was it declared the doctrine, and offered the grace, of this covenant-
-free justification by faith, and its glorious results--to all the tribes
that proceeded from Abraham. This same grace is offered to us by
the Gospel, who become “Abraham’s seed,” his spiritual children with
whom the covenant is established, through the same faith, and are
thus made “the heirs with him of the same promise.”
2. Abraham is also exhibited to us as the representative of true
believers; and in this especially, that the true nature of faith was
exhibited in him. This great principle was marked in Abraham with
the following characters:--An entire unhesitating belief in the word of
God;--an unfaltering trust in all his promises;--a steady regard to his
almighty power, leading him to overlook all apparent difficulties and
impossibilities in every case where God had explicitly promised;--and
habitual and cheerful and entire obedience. The Apostle has
described faith in Heb. xi, 1; and that faith is seen living and acting
in all its energy in Abraham.
A few miscellaneous remarks are suggested by some of the
circumstances of Abraham’s history:--
1. The ancient method of ratifying a covenant by sacrifice is
illustrated in the account given in Gen. xv, 9, 10. The beasts were
slain and divided in the midst, and the persons covenanting passed
between the parts. Hence, after Abraham had performed this part of
the ceremony, the symbol of the Almighty’s presence, “a smoking
furnace, and a burning lamp, passed between the pieces,” verse 18,
and so both parties ratified the covenant.
2. As the beauty of Sarah, which she retained so long as quite to
conceal her real age from observers, attracted so much notice as to
lead to her forcible seizure, once by Pharaoh in Egypt, and again by
Abimelech in Palestine, it may appear strange, that, as in the east
women are generally kept in seclusion, and seldom appear without
veils, she exposed herself to observation. But to this day the Arab
women do not wear veils at home in their tents; and Sarah’s
countenance might have been seen in the tent by some of the
officers of Pharaoh and Abimelech, who reported her beauty to their
masters.
3. The intentional offering up of Isaac is not to be supposed as
viewed by Abraham as an act sanctioned by the Pagan practice of
human sacrifice. The immolation of human victims, particularly of
that which was most precious, the favourite, the first-born child,
appears to have been a common usage among many early nations,
more especially the tribes by which Abraham was surrounded. It was
the distinguishing rite among the worshippers of Moloch; at a later
period of the Jewish history, it was practised by a king of Moab; and
it was undoubtedly derived by the Carthaginians from their
Phenecian ancestors on the shores of Syria. Where it was an
ordinary usage, as in the worship of Moloch, it was in unison with
the character of the religion, and of its deity. It was the last act of a
dark and sanguinary superstition, which rose by regular gradation to
this complete triumph over human nature. The god, who was
propitiated by these offerings, had been satiated with more cheap
and vulgar victims; he had been glutted to the full with human
suffering and with human blood. In general it was the final mark of
the subjugation of the national mind to an inhuman and domineering
priesthood. But the Mosaic religion held human sacrifices in
abhorrence; and the God of the Abrahamitic family, uniformly
beneficent, had imposed no duties which entailed human suffering,
had demanded no offerings which were repugnant to the better
feelings of our nature. The command to offer Isaac as “a burnt
offering,” was for these reasons a trial the more severe to Abraham’s
faith. He must therefore have been fully assured of the divine
command; and he left the mystery to be explained by God himself.
His was a simple act of unhesitating obedience to the command of
God; the last proof of perfect reliance on the certain accomplishment
of the divine promises. Isaac, so miraculously bestowed, could be as
miraculously restored; Abraham, such is the comment of the
Christian Apostle, “believed that God could even raise him up from
the dead.”
4. The wide and deep impression made by the character of
Abraham upon the ancient world is proved by the reverence which
people of almost all nations and countries have paid to him, and the
manner in which the events of his life have been interwoven in their
mythology, and their religious traditions. Jews, Magians, Sabians,
Indians, and Mohammedans have claimed him as the great patriarch
and founder of their several sects; and his history has been
embellished with a variety of fictions. One of the most pleasing of
these is the following, but it proceeds upon the supposition that he
was educated in idolatry: “As Abraham was walking by night from
the grotto where he was born, to the city of Babylon, he gazed on
the stars of heaven, and among them on the beautiful planet Venus.
‘Behold,’ said he within himself, ‘the God and Lord of the universe!’
but the star set and disappeared, and Abraham felt that the Lord of
the universe could not thus be liable to change. Shortly after, he
beheld the moon at the full: ‘Lo,’ he cried, ‘the Divine Creator, the
manifest Deity!’ but the moon sank below the horizon, and Abraham
made the same reflection as at the setting of the evening star. All
the rest of the night he passed in profound rumination; at sunrise he
stood before the gates of Babylon, and saw the whole people
prostrate in adoration. ‘Wondrous orb,‘ he exclaimed, ‘thou surely art
the Creator and Ruler of all nature! but thou, too, hastest like the
rest to thy setting!--neither then art thou my Creator, my Lord, or
my God!’”
ABRAHAMITES, reported heretical sects of the eighth and ninth
centuries, charged with the Paulician errors, and some of them with
idolatry. For these charges we have, however, only the word of their
persecutors. Also the name of a sect in Bohemia, as late as 1782,
who professed the religion of Abraham before his circumcision, and
admitted no scriptures but the decalogue and the Lord’s prayer. As
these were persecuted, they too were probably misrepresented, and
especially as their conduct is allowed to have been good, even by
their enemies.
ABSALOM, the son of David by Maachah, daughter of the king of
Geshur; distinguished for his fine person, his vices, and his unnatural
rebellion. Of his open revolt, his conduct in Jerusalem, his pursuit of
the king his father, his defeat and death, see 2 Sam. xvi-xviii, at
large.
ABSOLUTION, in the church of Rome, is a sacrament, in which the
priests assume the power of forgiving sins. The rite of absolution in
the church of England is acknowledged to be declarative only-
-“Almighty God hath given power and commandment to his ministers
to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the
absolution and remission of their sins: He pardoneth,” &c. In this
view it is innocent; and although any private Christian has a right to
declare and pronounce the same doctrine to his neighbour, the
official publication of the grace of the Gospel is the public duty of its
ministers in the congregation, since they are Christ’s “ambassadors.”
ABSTINENCE, forbearance of any thing It is generally used with
reference to forbearance from food under a religious motive. The
Jewish law ordained that the priests should abstain from the use of
wine during the whole time of their being employed in the service of
the temple, Lev. x, 9. The same abstinence was enjoined upon the
Nazarites, during the time of their Nazariteship, or separation, Num.
vi, 3. The Jews were commanded to abstain from several sorts of
animals. See Animal.
The fat of all sorts of animals that were sacrificed was forbidden
to be eaten, Lev. iii, 17; vii, 23; and the blood of every animal, in
general, was prohibited under pain of death. Indeed blood was
forbidden by the Creator, from the time of the grant of the flesh of
beasts to man for food; this prohibition was continued under the
Jewish economy, and transmitted to the Christian church by
Apostolic authority, Acts xv, 28, 29. (See Blood.) The Jews also
abstained from the sinew which is upon the hollow of the thigh, Gen.
xxxii, 25; because of the shrinking of the sinew of Jacob’s thigh
when touched by the angel, as though by that the part had been
made sacred.
Among the primitive Christians, some denied themselves the use
of such meats as were prohibited by the law; others treated this
abstinence with contempt. St. Paul has given his decision on these
questions in his epistles, 1 Cor. viii, 7–10; Rom. xiv, 1–3. The council
of Jerusalem, which was held by the Apostles, enjoined the Christian
converts to abstain from meats strangled, from blood, from
fornication, and from idolatry, Acts xv, 20.
The spiritual monarchy of the western world introduced another
sort of abstinence which may be termed ritual, and which consists in
abstaining from particular meats at certain times and seasons, the
rules of which are called rogations. The ancient Lent was observed
only a few days before Easter. In the course of the third century, it
extended at Rome to three weeks; and before the middle of the
succeeding age, it was prolonged to six weeks, and began to be
called quadragesima, or the forty days’ fast.
ABYSS, or DEEP, ἄβυσσος, without bottom. The chaos; the deepest
parts of the sea; and, in the New Testament, the place of the dead,
Rom. x, 7; a deep place of punishment. The devils besought Jesus
that he would not send them into the abyss, a place they evidently
dreaded, Luke viii, 31; where it seems to mean that part of Hades in
which wicked spirits are in torment. See Hell.
In the opinion of the ancient Hebrews, and of the generality of
eastern people at this day, the abyss, the sea, or waters,
encompassed the whole earth. This was supposed to float upon the
abyss, of which it covered a small part. According to the same
notion, the earth was founded on the waters, or at least its
foundations were on the abyss beneath, Psalm xxiv, 2; cxxxvi, 6.
Under these waters, and at the bottom of this abyss, they
represented the wicked as groaning, and suffering the punishment
of their sin. The Rephaim were confined there, those old giants,
who, whilst living, caused surrounding nations to tremble, Prov. ix,
18; xxi, 16, &c. Lastly, in these dark dungeons the kings of Tyre,
Babylon, and Egypt are described by the Prophets as suffering the
punishment of their pride and cruelty, Isaiah xxvi, 14; Ezek. xxviii,
10, &c.
These depths are figuratively represented as the abodes of evil
spirits, and powers opposed to God: “I saw,” says St. John, “a star
fall from heaven unto the earth, and to him was given the key of the
bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a
smoke out of it, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and
the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there
came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth. And they had a king
over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit,” Rev. ix, 1, 2,
11. In another place, the beast is represented as ascending out of
the bottomless pit, and waging war against the two witnesses of
God, Rev. xi, 7. Lastly, St. John says, “I saw an angel come down
from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain
in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which
is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast
him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon
him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand
years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little
season,” Rev. xx, 1–3.
ABYSSINIAN CHURCH, a branch of the Coptic church, in Upper
Ethiopia. The Abyssinians, by the most authentic accounts, were
converted to the Christian faith about the year 330; when
Frumentius, being providentially raised to a high office, under the
patronage of the queen of Ethiopia, and ordained bishop of that
country by Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, established
Christianity, built churches, and ordained a regular clergy to officiate
in them. The Abyssinian Christians themselves, indeed, claim a much
higher antiquity, having a tradition, that the doctrine of Christ was
first introduced among them by Queen Candace, Acts viii, 27; or
even preached there by the Apostles Matthew and Bartholomew; but
the former is supported by no collateral evidence, and the latter is in
opposition to high authority. Some of them claim relation to the
Israelites, through the queen of Sheba, so far back as the reign of
Solomon.
The Abyssinian Christians have always received their abuna, or
patriarch, from Alexandria, whence they sprang, and consequently
their creed is Monophysite, or Eutychian; maintaining one nature
only in the person of Christ, namely, the divine, in which they
considered all the properties of the humanity to be absorbed; in
opposition to the Nestorians.
On the power of the Saracens prevailing in the east, all
communication being nearly cut off between the eastern and
western churches, the Abyssinian church remained unknown in
Europe till nearly the close of the fifteenth century, when John II, of
Portugal, accidentally hearing of the existence of such a church, sent
to make inquiry. This led to a correspondence between the
Abyssinians and the church of Rome; and Bermudes, a Portuguese,
was consecrated by the pope patriarch of Ethiopia, and the
Abyssinians were required to receive the Roman Catholic faith, in
return for some military assistance afforded to the emperor. Instead
of this, however, the emperor sent for a new patriarch from
Alexandria, imprisoned Bermudes, and declared the pope a heretic.
About the middle of the sixteenth century, the Jesuits attempted a
mission to Abyssinia, in the hope of reducing it to the pope’s
authority; but without success. In 1588 a second mission was
attempted, and so far succeeded as to introduce a system of
persecution, which cost many lives, and caused many troubles to the
empire. In the following century, however, the Jesuits were all
expelled, Abyssinia returned to its ancient faith, and nothing more
was heard of the church of Abyssinia, till the latter part of the last
century.
After the expulsion of the Jesuits, all Europeans were interdicted;
nor does it appear that any one dared to attempt an entrance until
the celebrated Mr. Bruce, by the report of his medical skill, contrived
to introduce himself to the court, where he even obtained military
promotion; and was in such repute, that it was with great difficulty
he obtained leave to return to England.
Encouraged, perhaps, by this circumstance, the Moravian brethren
attempted a mission to this country, but in vain. They were
compelled to retreat to Grand Cairo, from whence, by leave of the
patriarch, they visited the Copts at Behrusser, and formed a small
society; but in 1783, they were driven thence, and compelled to
return to Europe. More recently, however, the late king of Abyssinia
(Itsa Takley Gorges) addressed a letter to Mr. Salt, the British consul
in Egypt, and requested copies of some parts of both the Old and
New Testaments. Copies of the Psalms, in Ethiopic, as printed by the
British and Foreign Bible Society, were also sent to him.
ACADEMICS, a name given to such philosophers as adopted the
doctrines of Plato. They were so called from the Academia, a grove
near Athens, where they frequently indulged their contemplations.
Academia is said to derive its name from one Academus, a god or
hero so called. Thus Horace,--

Atque inter sylvas Academi quærere verum.

[And in the groves of Academus to search for truth.]
The academics are divided into those of the first academy, who
taught the doctrines of Plato in their original purity; those of the
second or middle academy, who differed materially from the first,
and inclined to skepticism; and those of the new academy. The
middle school laid it down as a principle, that neither our senses, nor
our reason, are to be trusted; but that in common affairs we are to
conform to received opinions. The new academy maintained that we
have no means of distinguishing truth, and that the most evident
appearances may lead us into error; they granted the wise man
opinion, but denied him certainty. They held, however, that it was
best to follow the greatest probability, which was sufficient for all the
useful purposes of life, and laid down rules for the attainment of
felicity. The difference betwixt the middle academy and the new
seems to have been this, that though they agreed in the imbecility of
human nature, yet the first denied that probabilities were of any use
in the pursuit of happiness; and the latter held them to be of service
in such a design: the former recommended a conformity with
received opinions, and the latter allowed men an opinion of their
own. In the first academy, Speusippus filled the chair; in the second,
Arcesilaus; and in the new or third academy, Carneades.
ACCAD, one of the four cities built by Nimrod, the founder of the
Assyrian empire. (See Nimrod.) “And the beginning of his kingdom
was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar,”
Gen. x, 10. Thus it appears that Accad was contemporary with
Babylon, and was one of the first four great cities of the world.
It would scarcely be expected that any thing should now remain to
guide us in our search for this ancient city, seeing that Babylon itself,
with which it was coeval, is reduced to heaps; and that it is not
mentioned under its ancient name by any profane author. But the
discoveries of modern travellers may be brought to aid us in our
inquiry. At the distance of about six miles from the modern town of
Bagdad, is found a mound, surmounted by a tower-shaped ruin,
called by the Arabs Tell Nimrood, and by the Turks Nemrood
Tepasse; both terms implying the Hill of Nimrod. This gigantic mass
rises in an irregularly pyramidal or turreted shape, according to the
view in which it is taken, one hundred and twenty-five or one
hundred and thirty feet above the gently inclined elevation on which
it stands. Its circumference, at the bottom, is three hundred feet.
The mound which constitutes its foundation is composed of a
collection of rubbish, formed from the decay of the superstructure;
and consists of sandy earth, fragments of burnt brick, pottery, and
hard clay, partially vitrified. In the remains of the tower, the different
layers of sun-dried brick, of which it is composed, may be traced
with great precision. These bricks, cemented together by slime, and
divided into courses varying from twelve to twenty feet in height, are
separated from one another by a stratum of reeds, similar to those
now growing in the marshy parts of the plain, and in a wonderful
state of preservation. The resemblance of this mode of building to
that in some of the structures at Babylon, cannot escape
observation; and we may reasonably conclude it to be the
workmanship of the same architects. The solidity and the loftiness of
this pile, unfashioned to any other purpose, bespeak it to be one of
those enormous pyramidal towers which were consecrated to the
Sabian worship; which, as essential to their religious rites, were
probably erected in all the early cities of the Cuthites; and, like their
prototype at Babylon, answered the double purpose of altars and
observatories. Here then was the site of one of these early cities. It
was not Babylon; it was not Erech; it was not Calneh. It might be
too much to say that therefore it must be Accad; but the inference is
at least warrantable; which is farther strengthened by the name of
the place, Akarkouff; which bears a greater affinity to that of Accad
than many others which are forced into the support of geographical
speculations, especially when it is recollected that the Syrian name
of the city was Achar.
ACCESS, free admission, open entrance. Our access to God is by
Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, Rom. v, 2; Eph. ii, 18.
Under the law, the high priest alone had access into the holiest of
all; but when the veil of the temple was rent in twain, at the death
of Christ, it was declared that a new and living way of access was
laid open through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. By his death, also,
the middle wall of partition was broken down, and Jew and Gentile
had both free access to God; whereas, before, the Gentiles had no
nearer access in the temple worship than to the gate of the court of
Israel. Thus the saving grace and lofty privileges of the Gospel are
equally bestowed upon true believers of all nations.
ACCHO, afterward called Ptolemais, and now Akka by the Arabs,
and Acre by the Turks. It was given to the tribe of Asher, Judges i,
31. Christianity was planted here at an early period, and here St.
Paul visited the saints in his way to Jerusalem, Acts xxi, 7. It is a
seaport of Palestine, thirty miles south of Tyre, and, in the first
partition of the holy land, belonged to the tribe of Asher; but this
was one of the places out of which the Israelites could not drive the
primitive inhabitants. In succeeding times it was enlarged by the first
Ptolemy, to whose lot it fell, and who named it after himself,
Ptolemais.
This city, now called Acre, which, from the convenience of its port,
is one of the most considerable on the Syrian coast, was, during
almost two centuries, the principal theatre of the holy wars, and the
frequent scene of the perfidies and treacheries of the crusaders.
Among its antiquities, Dr. E. D. Clarke describes the remains of a
very considerable edifice, exhibiting a conspicuous appearance
among the buildings on the north side of the city. “In this structure
the style of the architecture is of the kind we call Gothic. Perhaps it
has on that account borne among our countrymen the appellation of
‘King Richard’s Palace,’ although, in the period to which the tradition
refers, the English were hardly capable of erecting palaces, or any
other buildings of equal magnificence. Two lofty arches, and part of
the cornice, are all that now remain to attest the former greatness of
the superstructure. The cornice, ornamented with enormous stone
busts, exhibiting a series of hideous distorted countenances, whose
features are in no instances alike, may either have served as
allusions to the decapitation of St. John, or were intended for a
representation of the heads of Saracens suspended as trophies upon
the walls.” Maundrell and Pococke consider this building to have
been the church of St. Andrew; but Dr. E. D. Clarke thinks it was that
of St. John, erected by the Knights of Jerusalem, whence the city
changed its name of Ptolemais for that of St. John d’Acre. He also
considers the style of architecture to be in some degree the original
of our ornamented Gothic, before its translation from the holy land
to Italy, France, and England.
Mr. Buckingham, who visited Acre in 1816, says, “Of the
Canaanitish Accho it would be thought idle perhaps to seek for
remains; yet some presented themselves to my observation so
peculiar in form and materials, and of such high antiquity, as to
leave no doubt in my own mind of their being the fragments of
buildings constructed in the earliest ages.
“Of the splendour of Ptolemais, no perfect monument remains;
but throughout the town are seen shafts of red and grey granite,
and marble pillars. The Saracenic remains are only to be partially
traced in the inner walls of the town; which have themselves been
so broken down and repaired, as to leave little visible of the original
work; and all the mosques, fountains, bazaars, and other public
buildings, are in a style rather Turkish than Arabic, excepting only an
old, but regular and well-built khan or caravanserai, which might
perhaps be attributed to the Saracen age. The Christian ruins are
altogether gone, scarcely leaving a trace of the spot on which they
stood.”
Acre has been rendered famous in our own times by the
successful resistance made by our countryman Sir Sydney Smith,
aided by the celebrated Djezzar Pasha, to the progress of the French
under Buonaparte. Since this period, the fortifications have been
considerably increased; and although to the eye of an engineer they
may still be very defective, Acre may be considered as the strongest
place in Palestine.
Mr. Conner says, on the authority of the English consul, that there
are about ten thousand inhabitants in Acre, of whom three thousand
are Turks, and the remainder Christians, chiefly Catholics.
ACCUBATION, the posture used at table by the ancients. The old
Romans sat at meat as we do, till the Grecian luxury and softness
had corrupted them. The same custom, of lying upon couches at
their entertainments, prevailed among the Jews also in our Saviour’s
time; for having been lately conquered by Pompey, they conformed
in this, and in many other respects, to the example of their masters.
The manner of lying at meat among the Romans, Greeks, and more
modern Jews, was the same in all respects. The table was placed in
the middle of the room, around which stood three couches covered
with cloth or tapestry, according to the quality of the master of the
house; upon these they lay, inclining the superior part of their bodies
upon their left arms, the lower part being stretched out at full
length, or a little bent. Their heads were supported and raised with
pillows. The first man lay at the head of the couch; the next man lay
with his head toward the feet of the other, from which he was
defended by the bolster that supported his own back, commonly
reaching over to the middle of the first man; and the rest after the
same manner. The most honourable place was the middle couch--
and the middle of that. Favourites commonly lay in the bosom of
their friends; that is, they were placed next below them: see John
xiii, 23, where St. John is said to have lain in our Saviour’s bosom.
The ancient Greeks sat at the table; for Homer observes that when
Ulysses arrived at the palace of Alcinous, the king dispatched his son
Laodamas to seat Ulysses in a magnificent chair. The Egyptians sat
at table anciently, as well as the Romans, till toward the end of the
Punic war, when they began to recline at table.
ACCURSED, in the Scriptures, signifies that which is separated or
devoted. With regard to persons, it denotes the cutting off or
separating any one from the communion of the church, the number
of the living, or the privileges of society; and also the devoting an
animal, city, or other thing to destruction. Anathema was a species
of excommunication among the Jews, and was often practised after
they had lost the power of life and death, against those persons
who, according to the Mosaic law, ought to have been executed. A
criminal, after the sentence of excommunication was pronounced,
became anathema: and they had a full persuasion that the sentence
would not be in vain; but that God would interfere to punish the
offender in a manner similar to the penalty of the law of Moses: a
man, for instance, whom the law condemned to be stoned, would,
they believed, be killed by the falling of a stone upon him; a man to
be hanged, would be choked; and one whom the law sentenced to
the flames, would be burnt in his house, &c. Maranatha, a Syriac
word, signifying the Lord cometh, was added to the sentence, to
express their persuasion that the Lord God would come to take
vengeance upon that guilt which they, circumstanced as they were,
had not the power to punish, 1 Cor. xvi, 22.
According to the idiom of the Hebrew language, accursed and
crucified were synonymous terms. By the Jews every one who died
upon a tree was reckoned accursed, Deut. xxi, 23.
Excommunication is a kind of anathema also among some
Christians; and by it the offender is deprived, not only of
communicating in prayers and other holy offices, but of admittance
to the church, and of conversation with the faithful. The spirit of
Judaism, rather than that of the Gospel, has in this been imitated;
for among the Hebrews, they who were excommunicated could not
perform any public duty of their employments; could be neither
judges nor witnesses; neither be present at funerals, nor circumcise
their own sons, nor sit down in the company of other men, nearer
than within the distance of four cubits. If they died under
excommunication, they were denied the rites of burial; and a large
stone was left on their graves, or a heap of stones was thrown over
them, as over Achan, Joshua vii, 26. The Apostolical
excommunication was simply to deny to the offender, after
admonition, the right of partaking of the Lord’s Supper, which was
excision from the church of Christ.
ACELDAMA, a piece of ground without the south wall of
Jerusalem, on the other side of the brook Siloam. It was called the
Potter’s Field, because an earth or clay was dug in it, of which
pottery was made. It was likewise called the Fuller’s Field, because
cloth was dried in it. But it having been afterward bought with the
money by which the high priest and rulers of the Jews purchased
the blood of Jesus, it was called Aceldama, or the Field of Blood.
ACHAIA. This name is used to denote the whole of Greece, as it
existed as a Roman province; or Achaia Proper, a district in the
northern part of the Peloponnesus, on the bay of Corinth, and in
which the city of that name stood. It appears to have been used in
the former sense in 2 Cor. xi, 10; and in the latter, in Acts xix, 21.
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