A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK

A Dictionary of the Bible — Volume 2

James Hastings · 1,212,658 words · 1201 reading sections

SECTION 1

Section 1

C yLL^^^*'''*^^ ' A Dictionary of the Bible A Dictionary of the Bible DEALING WITH ITS LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, AND CONTENTS INCLUDING THE BIBLICAL THEOLOGY EDITED BY JAMES HASTINGS, M.A., D.D. WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF JOHN A. SELBIE, M.iV. AND, CHIEPI-T IN THE REVISION OF THE PROOFS, OP A. B. DAVIDSON, D.D., L…

1,043 words
SECTION 2

Section 2

•,• Messrs. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, have the sole right of publication of thla Dictionary of the Bible in the United States and Canada. SCHEME OF TRANSLITERATION ai;aiiic. IlEIiltinV. \ « b ,_! 1' 1 t ^:^> « :i th jj- ^i -r j ~ 1' rr u - u, w 1 kh t. i' t (1 J i.i n (Ih J t n J i. y ••…

900 words
SECTION 3

Section 3

PSBA = Proceedings of Soc. of Bibl. Archseology. i'iJ.E = Real-Encyclopadie fiir protest. Theologie und Kirche. 9P/J = Queen's Printers' Bible. JiEJ= Revue des Etudes Juives. i?/'= Records of the Past. i?ii' = Religion of the Semites. 6'/?0r= Sacred Books of Old Test. kJA'=Studien und Kritiken. 5/" = Sinai and Palest…

908 words
SECTION 4

Section 4

Eduard Konig, Ph.D., D.D., Professor of Old Testament Exegesis in the University of Rostock. Rev. John Laidlaw, M.A., D.D., Professor of Systematic Theology in the New College, Edinburgh. Rev. Walter Lock, M.A., D.D., Warden of Keble College, and Dean Ireland's Professor of New Testament Exegesis in the University…

920 words
SECTION 5

Section 5

Rev. Newport J. D.White, M.A., B.D., Librarian of Archbishop Marsh's Library, and Assistant Lecturer in Divinity and Hebrew in the University of Dublin. Rev. Owen C. Whitehouse, M.A., Principal and Professor of Biblical Exegesis and Theology, Clieshunt College, Herts. Rev. A. LuKYN W1LLIAM.S, M.A., Vicar of Guildeu M…

999 words
SECTION 6

Section 6

We first hear of Felix in connexion with the disorders in Samaria under his predecessor Ven- tidius Cumanus. The latter refusing to punish the Samaritans for the murder of some Galihvan pilgrims, the Zealots ma.ssacred many Samaritans, and were in turn massacred by Cumanus. Both sides appealed to Ummidius Quadratus, le…

935 words
SECTION 7

Section 7

This meaning of ' fellow * may be illustrated by the foil, pam- gmph from T. Adams, // Peter (.Sherman's ed. p. 42) :— ' As fellows, in due measure, with God himself : "Tnily ovir fellow- ship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ," 1 Jn 18. We may have a society with man, this is requi-site, for we are all…

993 words
SECTION 8

Section 8

For Fellowship, see Communion. J. Hastings. FENCE.-^Tliis Eng. word is not used in NT. In AV of UT it translates various Hebrew words. In the case of three of these, the tr. is a mistake, and is changed in RV (Is 5=, 2 S 23', Job 10"). The words from the stems zur and bAzar, nis and ns;, denote fortifications or fort…

945 words
SECTION 9

Section 9

The bulwarks of the fenced cities of Palestine, so far back as the time of the Jewish kings, ajipenr to have consisted of a solid mns(mry wall of cut stone, with parapets and battUiiiiiits, and willi towers at intervals from which the foot of the wall could be seen (2 Ch 32». Jer 31^). In the walls wer* FERRET FESTUS…

1,395 words
SECTION 10

Section 10

FETCH FIGS arrived in 60, the 8<«Tia SXt) of Ac 28** ends about February 63 ; between this and the Neroniau perse- cution of midsummer 64, to which Harnack would again bring back St. Paul's death, there is sufii- cient though hardly ample time for the events presupposed in the Epp. to Timothy and Titus (see Schiirer,…

917 words
SECTION 11

Section 11

Fet and Fetch were synonymous In meaning, aa we may see from Tindale, whose tm (1534) of Mt 24i'- is &, ' And let him which is on the housse toppe not come downe to fet (.ccpau) eny thinge out of his housse. Nether let him which is in the felde retume backe to fetche (J^m) his clothes.' Fet gradually gave way to fetch.…

1,345 words
SECTION 12

Section 12

The failure of the fig and vine was a sign of great di.stresa (Jer 5" 8", Jl !'■ '-, llab 3"- '»). Kigs were dried and pressed into cakes for food (I S 25'°). These were used as poultices (2 K 2U', Is 38-'). Fig leaves are thick, palmately lol)ed, and often a span or more across. There is no good reason to doubt the id…

1,035 words
SECTION 13

Section 13

7. 1 Co 4' ' And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos ' (/t«rfcrx';Mii''i(ra). The Gr. verb tr^ 'in a figure transferred ' elsewhere means to change one's form or appearance (trx^^o) into some other form, 2 Co Il>3-i4- " (AV ' transform,' RV 'fashion into' or ' fashion as ') a…

917 words
SECTION 14

Section 14

A fillet is a little thread (Lat. filum, a tliread, Fr. fl, dim. flet). Its oldest and commonest appli- cation is to a ribbon for binding the hair, 'llius Spenser, FQ l. iii. 4 — • From her faire head her fillet she undigbt' ; and Fuller, Holy Warre, 125, ' They pleaded that the Crown was tied on Guys head with a wom…

1,181 words
SECTION 15

Section 15

FIK of Samuel. Should we also adopt it, there would no lon^r be any necessity to consider the adapta- tion of the biriish to the manufacture of musical instruments (see Wellh. and Driver, ad loc. ). Finns Halepensis, Mill., has been proposed a« the equivalent of bgrdsh. But its wood is not durable, and would hardly h…

1,351 words
SECTION 16

Section 16

10 FIKEBRAXD FIRST-FRUITS and provision was made in the law (Ex 22") for making good the damage done by fire accidentally raised, l-'irc was a convenient method of destroy- ing obnoxious writings (Jer 36^, 1 Mac l'^). The disposal of human bodies by burning was quite exceptional among the Hebrews (1 S 31", Am 0'"), …

941 words
SECTION 17

Section 17

The Heb. first-fruits belong to the latter class ; tiiey are tribute, not the staple of a sacramental meal. The history is not in all points clear, partly owing to the shifting sense of the terminology. It is essential, if confusion is to be avoided, to keep the regulations of the codes distinct, and take them in their…

945 words
SECTION 18

Section 18

(/) In the later period a distinction was made between the bikkurim and the terimMh (nicnn oblations) ; the fullest treatment of tlie subject ia in the two tracts of the Mishna which bear these names. The bikkurim were taken from wheat, barley, grapes, figs, ijomcgranatcs, olives, and honey. The fruits were offered fre…

964 words
SECTION 19

Section 19

FISHER.— Fisher, says Bradley (Oxf. En{j. Diet.), is now archaic, being superseded in ordinary use by ' fisherman.' AV has lollowed previous versions in giving 'fisher' in Is 19^, Jer IG'", Ezk 47'° (Jn, only plu.), Mt 4i8-'», Mk I"-" (dXiei'.!), though 'it has ' nslierman ' after Tind. and the others (except Wye. and …

918 words
SECTION 20

Section 20

(2) The seine, nnbDO (Is 19') or nny^p (Hab 1'°), aaynvrf. This was used in two ways — either let down into the deep and drawn together in a narrowing circle and then dra\vn into the boat or boats (Lk 5*"°), or as a semicircle drawn to the shore (Mt 13"). Both these methods are seen daily. (3) The hook, n^n (Is 19», J…

937 words
SECTION 21

Section 21

t Properly ' beer,* which was a favourite Egyptian beverage. have the authority of the LXX that the g6rm was the -iravvpos, papyrus, and the 'dhu, ^oiroiiov, which some believe to be Cypenu esculenlus, L., the edible galingale, and others Butomus umbel- latus, L., the flowering rush, both swamp plants. !nx (Gn 41'' '*…

991 words
SECTION 22

Section 22

G. E. Post. FLESH, represented by lirj, ik-^ in OT, and by adp( and Kp^as in NT. iK:f occurs very seldom in comp. witli the constant word is-2, but seems to cover some of the same meanings, particularly flesh for food, and flesh of consanguinity. Cf. Ps 73-' •jjjM. 27_ pr 1117^ jer 5135^ Lv 25". Kp4at is only used twi…

981 words
SECTION 23

Section 23

S. Its ethical or doctrinal sense. Besides the morally indifferent applications of flesh already dis- cussed, there is in the NT, and esp. in the Pauline writings, a use of it which is charged with ethical or doctrinal content. It is thus used once in contrast with ' mind ' (Ro 7''), more frequently with 'spirit' (Ro 8…

948 words
SECTION 24

Section 24

Eower and skill, it is said that the miner puts forth is hand upon the flinty rock, and overturns the mountains. The hoofs of the Assyrian horses are compared to flint (Is 5^), which is also an emblem of prophetic resoluteness (Is 50', Ezk 3'). I' lint is a form of silica, a mineral which occurs in its purest conditio…

916 words
SECTION 25

Section 25

p g»-22 ^e. 11. U-U*. 18-21 ^S4«_g2a g3b-B. 13a. 14-19 gl-l? (qjj 7'-' see below). It wUl be suificient to notice that in P we find the minute directions regarding the construction and size of the ark, the blessing of Noah, the laws against murder and eating blood, the covenant of the rainbow ; in J only we have the p…

1,027 words
SECTION 26

Section 26

FLOOD FLOOD 17 quired very different conditions from the tiger or the Ijoa-constrictor. How, again, is it conceivable that eiglit persons should have been suificient to attend to the wants of all these animals, as well as to their own ? But besides all this, there is no pro- vision for making the ark seaworthy. It i…

1,144 words
SECTION 27

Section 27

This story is .said by experts to be as old at least as 3000 years B.C. That the early Hebrews derived the story from Babylonia, and not riceversd, may be considered a practical certainty. While Babylonia from the days of the Patriarchs was highly ad- vanced in civilization, the Jews, even far down into their history, …

1,111 words
SECTION 28

Section 28

3. Not infrequently, and sometimes in con- nexion with one or more of the causes already mentioned, the Flood story appears to have originated in an attempt to account for some otherwise unexplained fact, as — (a) The dispersion of peoples and difference of language. This is especially frequent among, if not indeed pec…

1,112 words
SECTION 29

Section 29

FLOOD 19 corresponding with the Bible story break the context, and do not fit in well with tlie rest. This is obviously the case with a story of the Algocquins (an Indian tribe of N. America), preserved in a very curious pictographic document, where, in the middle of a passage tlescriliing how some of the people were…

920 words
SECTION 30

Section 30

(2) The reasons for the Flood AreA\Sex&DX\j ^ve.n. Very frequently to get rid of these monstrous forms of life (in the Bundehesh a second Flood is necessary to purifv the world of the poison which the monsters still left behind them) ; as in the Bible, to punish men for their wickedness (An- damanese) ; or, more freque…

1,119 words
SECTION 31

Section 31

FLOOD FLOOD 21 % nnt-shell, which conveniently fell from a god, who was eating nuts in heaven during the Flood, on to the topmost peak of a mountain, whither men had fled for refuge (Lithuanians). Usually, as in the Accadian and Bible stories, the ark lands on a mountain ; but, curiously enough, in some of the Persi…

1,105 words
SECTION 32

Section 32

It is of the greatest importance to notice that this second class of similarities is by no means confined to features contained in the Bible story. Those who argue for the truth of the latter on the ground that several of its details are confirmed by other legends, are in danger of proWng too much. The same argument ma…

938 words
SECTION 33

Section 33

the evidence of the Flood traditions of different peoples, to wliich Professor Prestwich himself appeals to fortify his case. Had this view been correct, we should certainly have expected to find wide recollections of the Flood throughout the region where it occurred, and more faint traditions in other parts. Hut this …

991 words
SECTION 34

Section 34

1. A stream : Job 14" (ndlt&r, usual word for ' river,' RV ' river ') ; 20" ' the floods, the brooks of honey and butter' {ndhAr, RV 'the flowing streams'); 28" 'he bindeth the floods from over- flowing' (ndhAr, RV ' the streams that they trickle not,' RVm ' Heb. from weeping,' the allusion is to the use of lime or cla…

1,113 words
SECTION 35

Section 35

5. It is only in poetic parallelism that 'flood' is used of the sea : I's 24- — ' He bath founded it (the earth] upon the sew. And established it upon the floods ' ; P393' '"-, Jon 2-' (all ndhAr) ; and Ex 15» (n^zlllm, of the waters of the Rod Sea). In Apocr., 2 Es 415.17. 19. ai (jlitctus, RV 'waves'). • So plainl…

1,073 words
SECTION 36

Section 36

J. Hastings. FLOWERS. — Visitors to Palestine unite in their enthusiasm over the flowers. Everywhere they brighten the landscape with their brilliant colours, white, yellow, blue, violet, purple, maroon, crim- son, scarlet, brown, and even black. Fields, many acres in extent, are aglow with anemones, ranun- culi, poppi…

986 words
SECTION 37

Section 37

2. 31V 'ArObh, Km6iima, omne genus muscarum, EV Ex 8»'-" swarms of flies, AV Ps 78" 105" divers sorts of Hies, RV swarms of flies. In all three passages LXX gives (cw6/niiia, dog fly, a word the significance of which in Greek is not clear. The Kabbins interpret 'ArOhh as referring to a mix- ture of noxious insects, as …

914 words
SECTION 38

Section 38

26 FOLDEX FOLLOW, FOLLOWER FOLDEN.— This earlier ptcp. of tlie verb to fold is found in Nali 1" ' while they be foldcn together as thorns ' (RV ' like tan^ded [Amer. UV entangled] thorns'). The meaning is that the thorns are intertwined so as to form an impenetrable hedge. The tr° comes from the Geneva Bible, ' For …

1,032 words
SECTION 39

Section 39

In 2 Mac 4''' irpoayopeiui in its solitary occurrence in bibl. Greek is tr^ in AV 'followed the matter ' (ol irpoTryoprfiaavTe^, RV ' they that were spokesmen '). The word is common enough in class. Greek in the sense here intended, viz. to speak for, or claim a right, in public. The Eng. of AV means to pursue the matt…

957 words
SECTION 40

Section 40

In 1 P 313 the edd. prefer ?nX«T«; aft«r the beet MSS to tM^riTdt of TR, hence ' zealous ' in RV for AV ' followers.' J. Hastings. FOLLY.— See Fool. FOOD. — I. The material eaten for the sustenance of the body is often mentioned in the Bible, in AV most commonly as bread, but often as meat, occasionally as food or vi…

928 words
SECTION 41

Section 41

(b) The leguminous plants, beans and lentiles, form an important part of the diet of the Western Asiatics. These were probably included in the D'jni zeri'i'im, or pulse of I)n 1'^, which was despised but sufficient nourishment (v.'"- '*) ; in Tlieod. the word is (Ttr/pfrnTa (LXX tairpia, RVm lierbs), which meant any ve…

951 words
SECTION 42

Section 42

(c) Of cucurbitaceous plants, melons, cucumbers, and gourds are mentioned in the Bible. The two former are fruits much relished in Egypt (Nu 11»). Cucumbers (d'nb'p kishshu'lm, LXX aUvot.) are the fruit of Cucumis c/iate (the khnta of the Arabs) and C. sativua, tlie common cucumber. Both species grow freely in Egypt (…

994 words
SECTION 43

Section 43

Leeks (Tsn hazir, LXX jrpdffa). The Heb. name u.sed in Nu 11° literally means 'green herb,' and is rendered grass, hay, or green herb in 15 other passages ; but as these are not human food, the translators have here followed the LXX, leeks being supposed to resemble grass in habit and colour. Leeks are eaten raw with b…

923 words
SECTION 44

Section 44

Apples (n^Dn tiippiin/i, LXX n^Xov), mentioned in Ca2^'>7«8», Prt>5", Jl 1'^ cannot be the fruit to which we give this name, as it does not grow freely in Palestine, of which country it is not a native (see H. C. Hart, PEFSt, 188.">, isS). Thomson says that he has seen it growing luxuriantly (i. 17'2), but Tristram bel…

921 words
SECTION 45

Section 45

The first crop, called !ri«5 bikkilrAh, vpbSpoixoi, begins to redden in March and is ripe by June ; unripe figs are called o'j? paggim (hence the place-name Bethphage, ' house of green figs '). LXX calls the unripe figs in Ca 2'^ (AvfdoL ; hut according to Theophrastus (vi. 8) and Hippocrates (574. 23) these are winter…

1,083 words
SECTION 46

Section 46

rotates. In old presses the pressure of the level was supplemented by heavy stones (Thomson, i. 286). The oil is allowed to stand until the sedi- ment subsides, and it is then poured oft"; sometimes salt is used to clarify it. Among those who have no oil pre.sses the Pulp is put in hot water and the oil skimmed oS". Th…

977 words
SECTION 47

Section 47

In preparing the vineyard, the stones had to be gathered out of the soU (Is 5^). This is noticed by Cato {De lie Riistica, 46), who says that the vine- yard should be 'bipalio delapidato.' It needed also to be fenced with a hedge (Mt 21^^), a stone wall (Nu 22-^), or a ditch, to protect it from the wild beasts, such as…

935 words
SECTION 48

Section 48

The grape gatherers were forbidden to glean, the nWSy 'dlelGth or gleanings being left for the stranger, the widow, and the fatherless. In the prophetic picture of rebellious Jerusalem as a vine, the fruit la described as being completely gleaned, the gatherer turning his hand baclc into the tendrils of the vine (Jer 6…

924 words
SECTION 49

Section 49

heart (Pr 31«), but its use had to be limited, for it was intoxicating, as in the cases of Nabal (1 S 25"), Lot (Gn 19*-), Amnon (2 S 13^), the drunkards of Ephraim (Is 28'). It was the wine used by Job's family (Job 1"") ; but king Lemuel was dissuaded from its use, because it is said to prevent judgment (Pr 3P), and …

934 words
SECTION 50

Section 50

\~'n homcz, or vinegar, is sour wine, the common refreshing drink for labourers, forbidden to the Nazirite while under his vow (Nu 6"), used in the harvest field (Ru 2"), and prophetically mentioned in Ps 69-'. In Pr 10-" LXX renders it «M0a?, an unripe grape. In NT tlie word commonly vised is orcos, as at the marriag…

956 words
SECTION 51

Section 51

The Yine of Sodom (Dt 32'=) is probably, as Seetzen and Robinson have supposed, the 'iis/icr or Caloirupis procern, an asclepiadaceous plant, whose fruit looks attractive, but is full of dry cottony hairs. These are the 'grapes of gall.' Pococke supposed that it referred to diseased pomegranates, and Hooker conjectures…

944 words
SECTION 52

Section 52

The permitted mammals named in Dt are ten. (a) The three domestic groups, oxen, sheep, and goats. The first group was called in general nc,-ij behanAh, or cattle (Dt \i*), neat cattle being distin- guished as -if3= hakdr, LXX/Sofs, tr. the herd, as dis- tinguished from the flock. The calf is in Heb. Vv 'cgel (Is 27'") …

1,005 words
SECTION 53

Section 53

Milk IS used as a drink with meals (Gn 18', Ezk 25^), and so is coupled with Avine (Ca 5', Is 55J). When the pasturage is good, sweet milk is still handed round after an Arab meal. It is also offered as refreshment to travellers. Jael opened for Sisera a nod, or leathern bottle of milk (Jg 4'"), which Deborah ( Jg 5^) …

1,156 words
SECTION 54

Section 54

they are called aptiu and terpu. They were ap- parently not domesticated, but caught in nets, fattened and eaten (Lepsius, ii. 46 and 132). (6) Fowl in Neh 5" n'TEi- zipjidrtm, were probably domestic fowl introduced from Babylonia, to which they had been brought from India, their native country. In NT times they had be…

1,112 words
SECTION 55

Section 55

Honey took the place of sugar in cookery, either the natural product (1 S 14^, Mt 3^ Lk 24*^, AV, not RV) or the artificial (/i;6smadeofgrapesordate3,descri bed above. True honey is collected by the bee. Apis fascinta (see Bke). It is found in hollows in rocks (I)t 32'», Ps 81'«) or in hollow trees (1 S 14*), from whic…

987 words
SECTION 56

Section 56

real meaning is better conveyed by the AV than by the RV literal reading. The following fruits or herbs are used with meats as condiments : — Anise or dill (-Mt 23^), an umbelliferous plant, Ancthum graveolens, whose fruits were used as a carminative. It is a native of Palestine. The allied Pimpinella anisum is the a…

1,117 words
SECTION 57

Section 57

Swine, forbidden as food to the Jews, were eaten by the surrounding peoples in general. The Egj'ptians also considered the pig unclean (Herod. ii. 47), for a reason the Greek author forbears to mention, but which we learn from the Book of the Dead, as the demon Set once appeared in the form of a pip. Hence they are nev…

916 words
SECTION 58

Section 58

Boiling was the ordinary method of cooking, hence '?►; bCtshal, to boil, is used of cooking in general (2 S IS'^ The vessels used for this purpose were pots or caldrons of different kinds, ■which are called by six different names (see below). Some of the Bacnlices were boiled, havin" first been flayed, the fat alone b…

917 words
SECTION 59

Section 59

The ih]!p or flesh hook was a brazen fork (Ex 27'), which had three teeth (1 S 2"). The hooks of Ezk 40" for hanging up the slaughtered carcases of the offered animals are called D:ri5;f' shlphattaim. The firepan or chafing dish of 2 K 25'° .inn? mnhtAh was used for carrying burning coals. These vessels were of gold i…

908 words
SECTION 60

Section 60

.iii^s zelah&h, a dish or bowl in which sacrifices were boiled as in 2 Ch 35", or a flat saucer for salt 2 K 2'-» 21'\ Pr 19=-' 26". njvjv zinzeneth, in Ex 16", was the pot in which the manna was laid up, a vase or jar according to Abu'l Walid and Sa'adya. 'A\d^ao-Tpof of Mt 26' was a vessel made of satin spar or Ori…

1,035 words
Page 1 of 21Next →

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.