[104] See Dulaure, op. cit., vol. i., as to the primeval Hermes.
[105] Smith’s “Dictionary of Mythology”—Art., “Hermes.”
[106] Gen., xxxi. 45-53.
[107] Linga means a “sign” or “token.” The truth of the statement in the text would seem to follow, moreover, from the fact that the figure is sacred only after it has undergone certain ceremonies at the hands of a priest.
[108] Or tamarisk tree.
[109] Gen., xxi. 33.
[110] Dr. Inman suggests that ashera is the female counterpart of Asher. See under these names in “Ancient Faiths,” vol. i.
[111] Even if the statement of this event be an interpolation, the argument in the text is not affected. The statement is not inconsistent with the form of worship traditionally assigned to Abraham.
[112] Bætylia were “stones having souls.”
[113] Rawlinson’s “Five Ancient Monarchies,” vol. i., p. 617; vol. ii., p. 247.