A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK

A Dictionary of the Bible — Volume 1

James Hastings · 1,192,276 words · 1189 reading sections

SECTION 841

Section 841

'Disputation' occurs in AV, Ac 15' (TR o-ufiirTjffis, edd. ^rrnjcyis, RV ' questioning '), and Ro 14^ ' Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations ' (eis SioKp/ffcu SiaKor/iijfjLuii' ; lit. ' unto discussions of doubts ' ; RVm ' for de- cisions of doubts'; see Sanday-Headlam in loc). Bp.…

924 words
SECTION 842

Section 842

Amongst this class of diviners we must place the sacred scribes of Gn 41' and the ' magicians ' of Ex 7", as also the Sibyl of Virgil or the Pytliia of Delphi, and the inspired priests or ' divine kings ' of savages all over the world. All are believed by themselves and their fellow-worshippers to be in- spired by one …

900 words
SECTION 843

Section 843

finiishcd oar account of the superuataral methods i until he finds out their incorrectness, they are to of divination, and may sum it up in tabular form him just as scientihc as the rest of his stock of as follows : — I acquired and inherited knowledge ; and conse- Supenifttural Melboda I Udt 1 Objectively reli^'i…

1,074 words
SECTION 844

Section 844

the oblique case of . j possessor of (often in names of places) ; but it is not apparent how an Arabic j__^j ,J would become in Hebrew 3■^l■^, the j being representcil dill'erently in the two parts of the name. Jerome, in rendering ' nbi auri est jilitriinutn,' probably thought jf 'l, constr. of '3 enough. S. U. Drivk…

1,137 words
SECTION 845

Section 845

DOCTOR, DOCTRINE.— Doctor is used in the old Eng. sense of ' teacher' in Lk 2" (SiiiaKa\o%) ; and ' doctor of the law ' for ' teacher of the law ' in Lk 5", Ac 6** (vop.oSi.5iaKa\o^). Cf. MelvilVs Diary (Wodrow, p. 95), ' to the Doctor is giffen the word of knawlage, to open upe, be simple doctrine, the mysteries of fa…

933 words
SECTION 846

Section 846

A. Stkwakt. DOD&I.— See D . DODANIM (n-jil, LXX 'PMio., Gn 10«).— Fourth •on of Javan (lonians, Greeks), and therefore undoubtedly intended to designate a Gr. tribe or colony. Tliere can be no connexion, beyond an accidents- similarity in sound, with the inland town of Dodona in Kpirus. Nor can it mean Danlanians, as…

946 words
SECTION 847

Section 847

The street dog is 2 to 3 ft. long, exclusive of his tail, and from 18 inches to 2 ft. high, usually tawny in colour, but often cream-coloured, whit«, or black, with short, stiff fur, small eyes, and usually with little or no bushiness to the tail. These dogs usually occupy defined quar- ters of the towns, and any dog i…

1,196 words
SECTION 848

Section 848

DOOM DORCAS 617 belief in such gradations may be traced to the OT, with its Eloliim and sons of Eloliiai (Pss58 and 82), the mighty beings of the same class as God, yet ruled by Him (Ps 103""), His host, led by His captain (Jos 5^**** dpxttrrpdTTjyo^ Swifjieojs KvpioUf cf. ipxdyye\oi, 1 Th 4"). Being originally, in …

1,023 words
SECTION 849

Section 849

C. R. Conder. DORCAS.—' Tabitha, which is by interpretation called Dorcas ' (Ac 9*") ; Kn'jo is Aram, for Heb. "5:;, by regular interchange of D for s (see Driver, Hebrew Tennes', y. 225 f. ). When occurring as the name of an animal, it is tr"* in AV ' roebuck ' or 'roe,' in RV 'gazelle.' Aop/cds is the Gr. equivalent…

911 words
SECTION 850

Section 850

DOTHAN (r^i and i;i, A«9(£cim), Gn ZV' (Dothaim, in Jth 4* etc.), now Tell DothSn, was an ancient town situated 10 miles N. of Samaria. Thither Joseph followed his brethren from Shechem (Gn 37'''). The pasturage about it is still the best and freshest in a time of drought (Thomson, Land and Book, p. 400). The site of D…

1,054 words
SECTION 851

Section 851

For the doubt of the distracted mind the NT appears to have two expressions, lUTcupl^eadai (Lk 12-^) and iiariitio (Mt 14" 28"). This .state of mind is .superinduced on faith, and is a witness to the faith which lies behind it ; only those who have faith can waver or be distracted from it. Hut the faith to which it wit…

1,089 words
SECTION 852

Section 852

B. B. WarfieM). DOVE C^,''" y'lnith, irepiGTcpi, columhn). — There are several species of wild doves in Bible lands, which all go by the name of /lamam in Arabic. (1) The ring dove or wood pigeon (Co/h»i/<(i I'nhimhufi, L.), which appears twice a year, at the spring and autumn migration, in all the wooded districts of…

1,013 words
SECTION 853

Section 853

The 'angels' hymn' (Lk 2'^), Gloria in Excelsis, etc., has been made the foundation of another doxology by the addition of several non-biblical sentences. This, which is known liturgically as the ' greater do.Kology,' occurs in one of its forma in the Psalter of Codex A (LXX), while the ' lesser' {Gloria Patri, etc.) i…

924 words
SECTION 854

Section 854

DRAGON'S WELL.— See Jerusalem and Well. DRAM.— See Money. DRAUGHT, DRAUGHT HODSE.— The 'dranghf (i.<t>tipuv) of Mt 15", Mk 7'" is a privy, as in Burton, Anat. of Mel. 165 : ' Muck hills, araughts, sinks, where any carcasses or carrion lies.' And the ' d. house ("Hjn.qr) of 2 K 10" is the same (lit. ' place of lulri,'…

866 words
SECTION 855

Section 855

DREAMS are regarded by men in the lowest stage of culture ns objective realities, and all dreams are to them equally true : in the case of every dream the savage believes tiiat he really visits the places he dreams of, or is visited by the persons of whom he dreams. Hence those savages whose gods are, for instance, ani…

1,071 words
SECTION 856

Section 856

Thus far we have said nothing of the psycho- logical and physiological laws of dreams. The connexion between bodily states and dreams is recognized in practice if not in theory by the savage who induces dreams by fasting or the use of drugs. CiWlized man, even in the prescientitic period, further recognizes that the ex…

961 words
SECTION 857

Section 857

for food, 13»' meat, 19" the feet=wash, 1 K 17" a cake, 18^- ^- '^ a bullock for sacrifice. The other words are ij;' 'AbhadU, to ' work,' Gn 2" the garden of Eden (in 2= tr. ' till '), Dt 28=* vineyards ; cf. Lk 13' aixiriXovfribt, AV ' dresser of his vineyard,' R V ' vinedresser ' ; 7eiip7ioi' ivKov, Sir 27', AV ' if …

1,002 words
SECTION 858

Section 858

When worn with other garments it took the form of a night shirt, of white cotton or linen, or coarse silk, reaching below the knees. It was made by town under conditions of trade and agriculture. The alterations consisted in having the entire front cut open, long sleeves attached, and the shape more adapted to the fig…

912 words
SECTION 859

Section 859

(/*) T\'^zx> simWi, IiiAtiov. This was the largest am! heaviest article of Oriental dress, being the dress of travel, of the sheiilierd, worn for protection against cold and rain, and used as a covering during sleep (Kx 22-"). It consisted of a jiicce of cloth about 7 ft. from right to left, and 4J from top to bottom. …

1,075 words
SECTION 860

Section 860

UAX.E JIEAD-DRBS3 (1. PASTORAL. 2. PERSIAN. 3. SYRIAN PEASANT). Embroidery). The military girdle (2 S 20«) was a baldrick, often set with gems. The girdle was not used to bind up the loose outer garment for pur- see Bevan, ad loc.) may have been the Persian fez, named from the mould in which the felt was pressed. In …

908 words
SECTION 861

Section 861

The veils (ctti Is 3^) were the largest envelop- inir veils, now called by the Arabs izars, mach; of 628 DRESS DRESS •white cotton, black twilled silk, or rich silk stvifls | for women, and the love of respectful attention of the brightest colours and of highly ornamental | and dignity makes the third equally so fo…

963 words
SECTION 862

Section 862

DROPST.— See Medicikk. DROSS (I'p, Kethibh no, sing, only in Ezk 22"*, elsewhere always plur. D-j-p, D')p, c':p). — For the process whereby dross was separated from the pure metal, see Furnace, Refiner. The word is severcJ times used in the OT metaphorically for what is base and worthless, e.g. Ps 119"' (of the wicked…

929 words
SECTION 863

Section 863

These various canon, or apocr. passages mention abundantly many of the familiar physical effects of drunkenness ; staggering, reefing, dizziness, incoherent speech, redness of eyes, vomiting, stupid sleep, insensibility to blows, insatiable appetite for more stimulant. They speak of its mental effects : exhilaration, j…

1,121 words
SECTION 864

Section 864

J. Hastings. DULCIMER See Music. DUMAH (ncn).— 1. Son of Ishmael (Gn 25", 1 Ch l"), representing some Arabian tribe or locality. There are many places of this name mentioned by the Arabian geographers, its signification in Arabic (daumun, nom. unit. dau!natun)hemg the branched wild nut, common in Arabia Deserta (Dough…

929 words
SECTION 865

Section 865

DURE.— The simple vb. 'dure' (fr. Lat. durare, be hard,' 'last') is nowobsol., its place being filled by ' endure.' It occurs in AV Mt 13=' only : ' Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while ' (RV ' endureth for a while,' Gr. rpocKaipoi 4m, lit. 'is temporary'; Wye. 'is tempera!,' Rhem. ' is for a time' …

936 words
SECTION 866

Section 866

It is also used for the true eagles, of which there are eight species in the Holy Land. (1) Aquila ehrysietus, L., the ospray of AV, which is the golden eagle, n-ysj 'ozniyydh. (2) A. heliaca, Sar., the imperial eagle. (3) A. clanga, Pall.', the greater spotted eagle, and perhaps .(4 . poT/iartmi, Brehra, the lesser sp…

912 words
SECTION 867

Section 867

EAR.— To 'ear' is to plough (Old Eng. erian, connected with ipbtir ana arare), as 'After that he tempereth it with dong, then eareth it, soweth it, and haroweth it' (/%r. Perf. 1526, n. 23); ' A silver saucer . . . was eared up by a plough ' (Harrison, England, i. 361). In AV, Dt 21' 'A rough valley, which is neither e…

913 words
SECTION 868

Section 868

G. M. Mackie. EARTH is the tr. of varions Heb. and Gr. terms, the most notable of which are — 1. no-i^ (deriv. uncertain, perhaps from a root containing notion of being tilled, or of smootMy covering and closely fitting. See Oxf. Heb. Lex. ».v. ), which with its LXX and NT equivalent yv la used (1) of the earth as til…

920 words
SECTION 869

Section 869

(h) Earthquake at Philippi. This has often been considered a miraculous manifestation of divine power, called forth for the release from prison of St. Paul and Silas, a.d. 51. * In Keith Johnston's Phyrical Atlas, u also lo Prestwlch's Mcu) aj Active and Extinct Volcanoes {Geology, vol. 1.), the region of Pal. and Syr…

976 words
SECTION 870

Section 870

E. Hull. EASE. — The subst. is found chiefly in the phrase ' at ease,' which has both a good and a bad meaning : Ps 25" ' His soul shall dwell at ease ; and his seed shall inherit the earth' (ato^i 'in eood ') ; but Am 6' ' Woe to them that are at ease in Zion ' {c'jjKjn), so Job 12», Ps 123*, Is 32»- ", Zee I" with sa…

1,030 words
SECTION 871

Section 871

EBAL (Sj'j, Arab, el - Islamiyeh). — Ebal and Gerizim, the mounts of Cursing and Blessing, form the most conspicuous and important summits of the hills of Samaria. This distinction is due partly to their superior height and to their central posi- tion in the whole land, but chiefly to the deep cleft between them which …

1,041 words
SECTION 872

Section 872

LlTERATlTRB. — RobinsOQ, BRP\ Stanley, Sinai and Pal.) Thomson, Land and Book ; Smith, UUt. Geog. ; Murray's and Bsdeker'a Guide Books. Q. M. MaCKIE. EBED (njj;).— 1. The father of Gaal, who headed the rebellion against Abimelech (Jg Q^-"). 2. One of those who returned from Babylon with Ezra (Ezr 8«), called in 1 Es 8…

922 words
SECTION 873

Section 873

ECBATANA.— See Achmetha. ECCLESIASTES (n^np Kohehtk, LXX "EkkX.,*!- a<rri)t, Aq. KuW9).— 1,'Th'e TiTLK.— This pre.sents some difficulties, which have scarcely as yet been satisfactorily exjilained. The word is a fem. part. of the Qal conj. The verb is not found elsewhere in this conj. In the Hiph. the word means ' to …

938 words
SECTION 874

Section 874

The objections to tlie Solomonic authorship are overwhelming. The verj' language quoted to prove it is seen on e.xamination to be unfavourable to it. Solomon can hardly have said 'I was king,' as if he had ceased to be so, for he reigned till his death. The words 'over Israel in Jerus.' are most naturally explained by …

1,187 words
SECTION 875

Section 875

The most plausible ai^uraent In favour of the laWr date li derived from the supposed influence of Gr. philosojihy. Tyler waa the first to work out in detail the supposed influences of post-.Aristotelian philosophy, and he was followed by Plumptre m his Commentary. A full and ai)p,irently conclusive refutation may be fo…

994 words
SECTION 876

Section 876

were another than himself, in order to keep up the assumption of Solomonic authorship. The other alleged interpolations raise a much more difficult question. 12"- '* are suspected partly on account of their general tenor, partly from their reference to the judgment. It seems strange to announce as the conclusion of th…

1,051 words
SECTION 877

Section 877

These views, and they are shared by other critics, are of weight. Yet it is doubtful if they do justice to the phenomena on the other side. It is very significant that the author's meditations end as they began — 'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.' Would this have been so if he had really fought his way back to the fa…

1,027 words
SECTION 878

Section 878

fierish and are forgotten alike (2"""). The accuniu- ation of wealth is vanity, for the man who has gathered it by toil and wisdom must die and le.ave it to another, it may be to a fool (2"'^). The best thing in life is to eat and drink, as God permits. Yet even this is vanity (2"'^). A time is allotted for everything.…

974 words
SECTION 879

Section 879

calamity. Do the work you have to do without waiting for the exact circumstances you woulil like. The laws of nature are above you, and the attempt to attain too close conformity with them is likely to paralyze industry (1 !'■«). Life is sweet, but let man remember also the days of darkness that await him after death. …

1,037 words
SECTION 880

Section 880

frim reason that ' the living know that they shall ie ; but the dead know not anything.' There is no fundamental inconsistency ; both life and death were so evil, that there was little to choose between them, and now one, now the other, might according to his mood be esteemed the worse. It would be different if we coul…

1,016 words
SECTION 881

Section 881

* This location U required by the whole t«nor of the narrative. The west bank is sugrpested by v. 10 in its present form, and maintained also by UV in v. 11, by a translation of doubtful admissibility, ' in tne forefront of the land of Canaan, ork tJie tid* thai pertaineth to the chiUiren of Itrofl.' See further th« Co…

1,137 words
SECTION 882

Section 882

The statement of Genesis, that the river which went out of Eden was parted into four heads, is explained by the fact that the Persian Gulf was held to be a river by the Babylonians, and was accordingly called by them nar marratum, ' the bitter river.' In the second millennium B.C., not only the Tigris and Euphrates, bu…

952 words
SECTION 883

Section 883

The word 'edification' seems to have been introduced into Enj;. direct from the Lat. (pdijicatio, but ' edify ' more probably through the Vr. Miner. They were used early, and probably first of all in a literal sense. Thus Paston, Lett. (1462), ' A plase late be the said Sir John edified at Caster' ; Thomas, Hist. Jtal.…

906 words
SECTION 884

Section 884

The kings of Edom who reigned ' before there reigned any king over the children of Israel ' are enumerated; in (U\ SG^''**. The first, Hela the son of Beor, seems to be identical witli Bahiam the son of Beor, the seer of Petbor. If so, this would account for his having been slain in the war with the Miilianites (Nu 31"…

971 words
SECTION 885

Section 885

.ssyri ead ; but when Sennacherib marched into Pales- ^ tine, A-rammu of Edom submitted like thokini^H of Moab and Amnion. Esarhaddon caused kaus- gabri, ' king of the city of Edom,' together with the other va-ssal kings of the west, including Manasseh of ' the city of Judah ' and the king of ' the city of Moab,' to…

1,085 words
SECTION 886

Section 886

We propose here to study the educational methods ot the Israelites historically. For this purpose it will be convenient to group the material at our disposal under three historical periods, as follows : — i. Hebrew Education from the Conquest to THE Exile. — When the Hebrews came to settle in the valleys west of the J…

1,150 words
SECTION 887

Section 887

• See cap. Ktienen's cla«4[ca1 eewiy, 'On the Men of the (}rc»t BynogOL^ie,' now occeSHiblo in Gennon in Buddo'l GwamintiU A'lhaTtdlungen, tte., von Dr. A. A'ii«n<n (1804). doubt, however, that one of the oldest institutions of Judaism, the synagogue, goes back to the time of tzra, if not indeed to the days of the exi…

1,281 words
SECTION 888

Section 888

For our present jmrpose the final answer to our query regarding the personnel of the sages is immaterial ; for whether we hold that they are identical with the Sopherim or book-men, or regard them as forming a distinct but allied class in the pre-Maccab.'ean community, the fact remains that the sages represent a great …

855 words
SECTION 889

Section 889

to exalt the study of Holy Scripture above the secular learning of the Greek ecfiools. However this may be, Ben-Sira was still true to Jewish traditions and uninlluenced by Hellenistic culture. He had travelled in other countries, and studied perhaps in other literatures, but he remained ' a true "scribe," and gloried …

903 words
SECTION 890

Section 890

HI. From Simon hkn-Shbtacii (c. b.c. 75) to THE END OF THK JEWI.SH STATE (A.D. 70).— Just as the synagogue was the novel feature of the preceding period from the educational point of view, so is the elementary school the feature of this third period. Such, at least, is the tradition preserved in the so-called Talmud …

946 words
SECTION 891

Section 891

The opinion just stated, that in the time of our Saviour every place of any size in the country was provided with an elementary school, does not quite coincide with that of the Jewish doctors of a later day, unless we suppose (as is not unreason- able) that the political and religious troubles of the period injuriously…

1,070 words
SECTION 892

Section 892

The Latin maxim, ' repetitio mater studiorum,' may be taken as the keynote of Jewish educational method. So great was the importance attached to constant repetition, that the verb njp 'to repeat' came ultimately to mean both ' to learn ' and ' to teach.' J After the letters were mastered § the teacher copied a verse wh…

916 words
SECTION 893

Section 893

LiTKRATUKl. — A critii^l history of Hebrew education is still a desideratum. The 8tiin(lard works of the hiHturians, Jewish and ChrlKtian, contain only in<MdfnLul rcferctioes. Professor Laurie's Ilintorual Surt'ei/ 0/ Pre-Christian Education, 1S95, pp. OD-105, (fives a good account of the subject from the con- servativ…

1,017 words
SECTION 894

Section 894

* Having given ' earnest ' as one meaning of ' effectual ' when used of prayers, the Oi^f. Eng. Diet. («.p.) adds: 'Of. Anglo- Lat. effectuose suirplicantfs "earnestly entreating," a.d. 1229 in Rymer, I. 308. Perhaus this use was originally due to confusion with affectual; but the translators of AV ingeniously availed …

999 words
SECTION 895

Section 895

LmmiTCiti.— Robinson, BRP U. 49 ; Porter, Giant Citiei of Bathan, 808 ; PBF St (1895), 166 ; BUm, A Hound qf ilany CUitt (IBM), Ui. A. HkNDEBSOM. EGYPT.- L Name. li. Physical ohirTtw, UL Fauna. It. Flora. ▼. Ethnology, t1 Lan^a^. TiL Chronology, tUL History. Ix. Relations with Asia. s. Religion. L Name. — The na…

911 words
SECTION 896

Section 896

History is concerned during the earlier periods almost exclusively with the upper valley ; the Delta was evidently still but partially reclaimed, though certain towns there are already met with in the myths and in the earliest liiatory. Phj-sical contrasts are coincident with that divi.sion into Upper and Lower Egy|)t …

1,197 words
SECTION 897

Section 897

The texts show us several insects, notably the scarabmus -h^etXe, regarded, especially in later times, as a symbol of eternity and of the sun-god, and the bee, associated in writing from the remot- est times with royalty in Lower Egypt. Fish are often represented. The most peculiar is the oxyrrhynchus, the badge of th…

1,230 words
SECTION 898

Section 898

vi. Lanquaoe. — The relative position of the Egyptian language among its neighbours is a question closely associated with that as to the racial connexions of the people. Our means of comparison with the surrounding idioms are not of eqiial value. For the Semitic languages— for the Mesopotamian dialects at least — we ha…

912 words
SECTION 899

Section 899

The signs are pictures of material obiect*- natural and artificial,-^r of parts of such o^je«t8. PrimarUy, each sign must have had for i.t« P'^o^^t J value merely the name of the object depicted. But since no provision was thus made for expr^sing abstract Weas or the grammatical needs of the language, a secondary use o…

931 words
SECTION 900

Section 900

Many scholars have occupied tliemselves with these Greek chronologists. Hbckh sought to demonstrate an astronomical era as the basis of Manetlio's calculations. Lepsius appealed to the ' Sothis ' book, — a Christian forgery, — which ascribed 35.55 years as total duration to the Egyptian monarchy ; while, according to U…

960 words
← PreviousPage 15 of 20Next →

Source & rights

Public-domain historical reference work (1898–1905); OCR text from Internet Archive. Historical scholarship and terminology reflect its era; OCR may contain errors. Verify quotations and current scholarly claims independently.

Project Gutenberg source record →

Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.