A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK

A Dictionary of the Bible — Volume 4

James Hastings · 1,396,759 words · 1386 reading sections

SECTION 841

Section 841

T.;:,tpres:nted parallel phenomena. Divination andt-he practice of occult sciences prevailed in t e Dlains of the Nile as much as in those of the Snates In E.TPt the division of time among the hit'her divine powers was earned to such an Pv?en["that even every hour of day and night 'vas° Uotttl to some goddess (thougli …

957 words
SECTION 842

Section 842

To this special function of the Babylonian temple ollicials we have reference in Dn 2^, where they are summoned by Nebuchadnezzar to discharge the per[)lexing ta.sk of not only interprei inj; but also of first recalling a dream which the monarch had forgotten (cf. Gn 41*''-). iris is the proper word in Hell, for interp…

1,196 words
SECTION 843

Section 843

LiTKUATi'KK. — This has been Indicated In the course of the article. The reader eliouki consult art. ' WahrsuKerei ' in Kiclnn's ItW'B'^; Nowack's and Hciizinjfcr's Heb. Ar<^h.; art. * Oivinatiun ' in Knci/c. liil'lica ; Snicnd, A T JUtijjiousnt'Sih. pp. 78 ff., 113, 178, 10,'), 27(1. 200; W. K. Smith, ap. Driver on Ul…

914 words
SECTION 844

Section 844

Again we have an instructive example of the all-prevailing faith in magic in the case of the afflicted woman who came to Jesus in the midst of the crowd, believing that His garments were possessed of mysterious healing virtue (Lk 8", see Plummer, ad loe.). The same idea underlies the narrative of Ac 19'^, where we read…

1,035 words
SECTION 845

Section 845

Ancient Jewish magic, to which Blau has devoted a special treatise, presents many features which are analogous to those of early Arabia just described. Indeed it is by no means an easy problem to determine how much of the latter came from Jewish, Babylonian, and Aramaic •O'lrces, and how far the .Jewish in ttirn became…

926 words
SECTION 846

Section 846

Simon ben .Jochai had the reputation of being a magician, and tradition relates that when he with- drew from his cave, after residing there for thirteen years, he transformed every one upon whom he gazed into a heap of bones ; and it is reported that he destroyed a heretic in this way (Pcsilta 90i, 137a). Amulets were…

926 words
SECTION 847

Section 847

Belief in the power of the eyil eye was just as prevalent in Semitic lands as in those of classical antiquity. Especially were women with an ugly squint or strange look or contracted heavy eye- brows considered to possess powers of the evil eye (see art. Magic, vol. iii. p. 208'). Tradition ascribed the belief in the …

905 words
SECTION 848

Section 848

ment of incantations and of formula?, spoken or written, a.s well as the close relations which in ancient culture undoubtedly subsisted between magic and reli;;ion, the priest combining in his own person tlie normal functions of worship with those of soothsaying and magic? But our critici.sm does not in reality obscure…

1,051 words
SECTION 849

Section 849

The Heb. name for the spirit to whom the summons was given was din, a word which is prob- ably no other than that which is used in Job 32'" for a skin-bag for holding water. The term would lie a}>pliod to the spirit on account of the mysterious hollow sound which he was supposed to make, as though speaking from some ho…

956 words
SECTION 850

Section 850

Thus the adj. comes first, and its primary mean- ing is painful, which is the only sense it now retains. Job 5" ' For he maketh sore, and bindeth up' (n"Nj:, LXX d\7fri' TToie?). But this literal meaning is rare, the word having early adopted • Comp. the similar use of D'n^K in 1 S 281>. t These verses (i.«. '8 20) ar…

920 words
SECTION 851

Section 851

The ' valley of Sorek ' oilers an easy and natural line of approach to Jerus. and the highlands of Judah. I'lie Philistines followed it in the days of t!ie Judges and of David ; up it the kine, lowing as they went, dragged the cart with the ark to Beth-snemesh ; and, at the present day, it is followed by the railway fr…

948 words
SECTION 852

Section 852

^Sit^ ^-^^^^'^^"^^^ ^^ Svvf • L^% soul • P. 107», Pr 27V : in Is 6H ,t is said that •Iheol enlarged her appetiu'imi ^■^^V- «■">' -'.v .t .s he ■ '•'"'='• ,f -??"'. , '■''^ m"^' nl ,i.«Aj ™is assimilated in meaning Stt 'i r'ti i';^la"de^■^nt°eL'cr^n|«Sl a. wen aa feeUog (.,. Dt 4=9 2616, 1 K 8«, 2 K 23^). See Heart. ^…

932 words
SECTION 853

Section 853

The other Scripture references to Spain are few, and in all of them liravla, a form of the Roman name, takes the place of the older Greek ones. 1 Mac 8' refers to the Roman conquest, and to the acquisition of the gold and sliver mines. On his third Missionary Journey the Apostle Paul formed the purpose of extending his…

961 words
SECTION 854

Section 854

610 SPEAEMEN SPICE 2. The lance (n-h romah, cf. Arab, ntinh), perliaps a lighter weapon than the spear proper. In 1 Iv lS'-«"roma/i. is tr" in AV 'lancets' (' lancers in the earlier editions). See, further, Driver's note on Jl 3'". 3. The spear (proper)— once a tr. of i:s kayin (2 S 21'« where H. P. Smith accejjts…

1,163 words
SECTION 855

Section 855

3. n«Dj nekijth. This w.as a substance or sub- stances carried by the Ishmaelite traders from GU^ad't^ Egyptian 37-). -^ a1"rM'is':^^' sent some as a present to Joseph 43"). It is asso- ciated ^n both^^^ages with balm and ladanum (see artt. on tbese words), and, in the latter, with honey, pistachio nuts, and almonds, w…

947 words
SECTION 856

Section 856

SPINNING.— The notices of spinning in the Bible are very meagre, being found only in Ex 35^- -° P ( nip 'spui.'and ni^? 'yarn') and Mttj-", Lk 12-'' (vtiOui'') ; but the art is implied in many other passages, such as where the curtains and hangings of the taber- nacle are mentioned ; and the various garments, the mater…

965 words
SECTION 857

Section 857

Sufficient attention has already been called to the frequent and intimate association of the two terms ' Soul ' and ' Spirit ' (see art. SoUL) occurring so often in the Bible as nearly parallel psyclio- logical expre.ssions ; yet each implying all tnrough the characteristic distinction : 'soul,' the individual and pers…

1,036 words
SECTION 858

Section 858

G. E. Post. SPRING.— See Fountain, vol. iL p. 62. SPY.— See Ebpy, vol. i. p. 767. STACHYS STEPHEN 613 STACHYS (i:Tdxi'r).— The name of a Christian greeted by St. Paul in Ko IG-', and described as ' my beloved.' The name is rare, but found among members of the Imperial household (OIL vi. 8GU7). He -s commemorated …

908 words
SECTION 859

Section 859

James Patrick. STEPHANAS (Sre^oi'as, Step/uina.<: ; the name occurs CIO ii. 3378).— A Christian of Corinth, 1 Co J 16 igi5. 17. St. Paul mentions the household of Stephanas as one of the few exceptions to the practice which he had followed of not personally baptizing his converts. At the end of the Epistle the same ho…

906 words
SECTION 860

Section 860

The vividness of the narrative hardly leaves room for tiie Bupposition that tlie stoninjj of Stephen was a lef,'al execution, i,e. one carried out with tlie sanction of the Roman authorities, or, indeed, that it was other than a murder. But the Sanhe- diin may have been able to represent the whole incident as a mere tv…

1,038 words
SECTION 861

Section 861

STEPHEJf STOCKS 015 Temple, and had affirmed that Jesus would cliange the tustora>* of Moses, his adversaries would have been liis own < l.ristian brethren, whereas he was held in the hiyiiest repute by them. Further, Buch words aa 'the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands' can hardlv be taken as implyi…

903 words
SECTION 862

Section 862

In NT 'steward' is tr" of iviTponoi in Mt 20* (the steward of the lord of the vineyard), Lk 8* (Herod's steward). This word occurs also in Gal 4' (AV ' tutors,' RV 'guardians') and twice in Apocr., 2 Mac IP 13- (AV ' protector,' RV 'guardian'). Elsewhere in NT it is the tr" of olKovop.oi, which is used both literally a…

1,079 words
SECTION 863

Section 863

St. Paul then, coming from Tarsus, the home of BO many of the Stoics, was not likely to have been a stranger to their way of thinking. In his speech on the Areopagus he seems to have addressed himself more directly to the Stoic part of his audience. He deftly quoted part of a line with which they were familiar, ' His o…

905 words
SECTION 864

Section 864

LiTSRATCRB.— The chief ancient authorities for a knowledfre of the Stoics are Cicero's philosophical works, especially de l'\nibua, Book iii. ; I>iogeDe8 Laertius, Book vii.; Stobajus, Ect, Kth. pp. Ifi6-184 : PlutArch, de R^iujnantiU StoicU, and de Ptaeitts Fhiiotophwum ; Se.\tu8 Einpiricus, adversus ilathe- maticos. …

1,350 words
SECTION 865

Section 865

Among larger stones, besides niill-stonea (for 618 STONE STOXE which see MILL, vol. iii. p. 369), mny lie noticed ;hose which covered wells (Gii 29-'- '• iind de- posits of treasure (Sir 29'"), and those which closed the mouths of caves (Jos 10'*- "), pits used as dens ( On 6"), and rock-hewn tombs (Mt 27°"). Th…

1,149 words
SECTION 866

Section 866

4 or 5 ft. deep, and as great in diameter, from which millstones have been quarried (Merrill, E. of Jordan, p. 25). A few references to stone are of a symbolic character. Jeremiah was directed to hide some great stones in the clay of a brick-kiln at the entrance to Pharaoh's house at Tahpanhes, to be a foundation for …

901 words
SECTION 867

Section 867

The stones commonly known to the Egyptmna for jewellery and engraving are as follows, those not known as engraved being in brackets. These are arranged according to the colours, which would be natural cla.s»ification, and which shows wliat is lialile to be confounded under a single name. Tlio transparent stones are in …

904 words
SECTION 868

Section 868

(3) Smarcifjdos = bdrekcth. This is commonly supposed to be emerald ; but, as there is beryl also in the list, it is unlikely that a slight variety of purer and less pure colour should give occasion to repeat the same stone. There are two indications that in smaraydos is included rock-crystal. Pliny mentions the shorts…

949 words
SECTION 869

Section 869

iv. We now turn to the question of colour. The breastplate woirid apparently have stood thus — 3 White quartz 2 Yellow gerpentine 1 Red jasper 6 Green jasper 6 Blue lazuli 4 Red garnet 9 Purjtie amethyst 8 Red carnelian 7 Yellow ajjate 12 White and black 11 Green felspar 10 Yellow jasper onyx Here there is good c…

908 words
SECTION 870

Section 870

* And sythen his blissed body was in a ston byried. And descended a^ioune to the dark belle ' ; and by Coverdale in Is 51' 'Take hede unto the stone, wherout j'e are liewen, and to the grave wherout ye are digged.' 3. In Ezk 11'* 36-"" and Sir 17'" ' stony ' means ' hard as stone,' as in Shaks. Merch. of Venice, IV. i…

1,052 words
SECTION 871

Section 871

Storywriter, for 'historian' (i.e. chronicler), occurs in 1 Es '2" (6 7/ja/i/xaTei)j ; RVm 'recorder'), and 2'-^ (6 ypdipuv t4 Trpoairlin-ovTa) ; in the latter verse ypap./j.aTeui is tr'' 'scribe.' J. Hastincs. STOUT, STOUTNESS.-^The modern meanijig of the Kng. word ' stout,' viz. solid, substantial (and then corpulen…

1,146 words
SECTION 872

Section 872

The same reudering would reproduce "!:: in Gn 31^ [but here, perhaps, in narrower sense of ' not of one's father's family '], Dt 14-' [II ii] 15' (of. '3 s'-x 17") 23" [o])p. 'thy brother'] 29'-' [+ ' who cometh from a far distant land '], Jg 17'- (defined liy ' who is not of the children of Israel'), Ru 210, 2S 15'^ […

938 words
SECTION 873

Section 873

It is most unfortunate and confusing that AV uses 'stranger' also to represent na or (thrice, Lv 2-,6. 4S. 47) ^ijg allied term Dv'''^, words whidi would be much more happily rendered 'sojourner.' 'Stranger' might suitably be retained as tr° of both ijj and i; in the few instances where their specific renderings ' fore…

1,009 words
SECTION 874

Section 874

TrXaTfia, in which the root idea is the same It applies to the open space at the gate (see Open Place) where assemblies met, cases were tried, and business done ; also to any square or open space in the city, as, e.g., before the house of God (Ezk 10>»). ?!!? occurs in Pr 7*, Ec 12*-», Ca 3-. In the first LXX renders 5…

933 words
SECTION 875

Section 875

5. In the Pref. to AV occurs the rare but intel- li<;ible phrase ' strike the stroke ' ; ' The vintage ofAbiezer, that strake the stroke j yet the glean- ing of grapes of Ephraim was not to be despised.' G. The verb ' to strike ' is used for the action of God's hand in disease or death, and the result is • 'stroke.' …

932 words
SECTION 876

Section 876

In 2 Ch 2 '""'""« 'stull' means 'materials' for building. Cf. Erasmu-s, Credc, 39, ' Certayne men . . . have taught that he dotli create wliicth doth brynge fortlie and make somewhat of nothyiige, which belongeth onely to God, and that he doth make which liameth or sliapeth ony thing of some niatere or stulle'; Ex 39° …

970 words
SECTION 877

Section 877

The passages where the name occurs are: Gn 331' ^xyiteti ; Josl327B^«X'>'<'<i>A^>a>X^> t.ui.'. ira.* ; JgS5-'8 B I«« jifl, in v.l« ■rf,! T(ii«,-, A lixxiS ; 1 K 7-'6 (v.ii in LXX) i«X"i' ; '- Ch 4l' B 1ixx^9<!), A S««x«9; Ps 608 B ,;, ,»„ir,, Aq. Tvn.»fi^,; Ps 10S8 N T»> r«ii>»/uT»>, ART mtSt. The passages in Joshua, …

1,003 words
SECTION 878

Section 878

A. H. SAVCE. SUDDENLY. — The adj. 'sudden' and the adv. • suddenly ' were often used formerly without the element of surpri.se which belongs to their root (Lat. stibitaneiis, from siihire, ' to come steathily '), and is always associated with their use in mod. English. Thus Shaks. u.ses ' sudden ' in the sense of soon…

1,061 words
SECTION 879

Section 879

Like all (joil's creatures, the .sun was altogether dependent on His will, and at His coinmand woidd cea.se to shine (Job 0") ; and, this being the ca.se, the sun could also undergo a change of his cour.se. of this there are two examples: Jo.shua's order to the sini to stand still (Jos. W^'*, Sir 4(i''), and the going …

992 words
SECTION 880

Section 880

Nevertheless, the Hebrews were attracted by the worship of the sun, under the influence of the heathen nations by whom they were surrounded. A common act of worship is that mentioned in Job SI'-"*-', in which the hand was kissed, and which Ls described as an iniquity to be punished by the judges. The law against idolat…

939 words
SECTION 881

Section 881

These idolatrous Jews of old are represented as worshipping the sun towards the east, i.e. at his ri.sing. This was a custom with the Persians, and also, in all probability, with all the nations which adored that luminary. At. the temple of Borsippa, which is generally regarded as the Tower of Babel, the worship of the…

910 words
SECTION 882

Section 882

J. A. SEI.IilE. SUPPER.— See FOOD, vol. ii. p. 41i> ; and for the ' Last Supper' see LoitD'S SfPPKU. SUR (B 'Affffoip, A Soup). — One of the towns on • For other fonns of the sun.god and snn-worshlp see tha articles Baal, Ciirmosii Moleoii, and Tam.muz. t Sip/i. Is attributed aiso to tho NUo In Ex 23J (cf. Is 196). …

1,100 words
SECTION 883

Section 883

' Surely ' is also the translation of certain Hebrew and Greek adverbs and other expressions some of which are very forcible. Thus (1) dA»w,*Gn28i» 'surely the Lord is in this place'; Ex '2'* ' surely • A rather leas emphatic particle is 'ot, the force of which ta well B«n in Pb S9»- S ", esTi" KV. In Ps 62 this word …

1,269 words
SECTION 884

Section 884

The Vulgate translates Theod. very accurately ; the chief aeviation being the »ddition ol one verse »t the end ; And kiiiir Astea-es was gathered to his fathers, and Cynis the Pe^ian took the kingdom.' This contradicts Dn I, where Daniel is '» young man' in 697, whereas Cyrus began to reign '"•The' Pcshitta is given,…

1,091 words
SECTION 885

Section 885

This assumes that the ' History ' is of Palestinian origin : and there is nothing against this. If it cannot be proved to have been originally written in Aramaic, it cannot be proved that it was not. An argument, as old as the time ot Origen, which has been Adduced in favour of a Greek original, seems to the present w…

959 words
SECTION 886

Section 886

The English words 'swaddle 'and 'swathe 'are merely diflerent spellings of Anglo-Sax. swethel or swethd. a strip of cloth for wrapping a child, or for bandaging in any way. Cf. Purchas, Pilgrirrutge, 446, ' Their feet to this end so straitly swadled in their infancie that they grow but little.' G. M. Mackie. SWALLOW.…

1,017 words
SECTION 887

Section 887

8T0KE KNITE FROM TELL KL-ESST (LACmSH). (By kind permission of the PEF). In size the herebh was probably quite short. Ehud's 'sword' (Jg 3" RV) was a cubit (about 17 inches) long, and Goliath's (1 S 21") was a possible weapon for David. The material of all weajjons of ortence was sometimes iron and sometimes bronze (…

975 words
SECTION 888

Section 888

BOIIAX DAOOES. (By kind permission of Messrs. VIeveg u. Sohn). • Of. Bab. Taliu. lii'rukhoth ^a, ' R. Isaac said. Every one who recites the Sh^ma (lit o-") upon his bed (P» 1495) ia aa if he held a two-edged sword in bis hand.' LiTKRATrRB.— Sir Richard Burton's Bookof the Stvord (Lonion, 1884) is a work of j,'reat b…

1,142 words
SECTION 889

Section 889

It is more logical to take Sychar to be another • AV tr. b6U» ifhikmKin, 'a gatherer of sycomore fruit,' RV *» dreaaer of sycomore trees.' It Is possilile that the Ileb. ex- pression (cf. LXX K»i?«#i., Vulp. VflticanM) ref*.T8 to the above- mentioned method ol improving the fruiU See, further, Driver, ad loc pl.ace i…

1,163 words
SECTION 890

Section 890

Another Gr. name for the synajrogue is irpoor- '^X'Hi which occurs especially in Philo (in Flaccum, § 6, 7, 14, Leg. ad Gaium, § 20, 23, 43, 46), but is found also elsewhere (3 Mac 7", Ac 16" ; Jos. Vita, 54 ; inscriptions ap. Schiirer, GJV* ii. 443). It appears m Latin (proseucha) in Juv. Sat. iii. 296. As auKaYuTi) i…

1,042 words
SECTION 891

Section 891

2. In .Jenisalem itself, immediately before the destruction of the city by Titus, there were 394 (Hab. Kcthub. lOofi), or, according to another version (Jcrus. Mcgilla, 13d and oft.), 480 syna- gogues. Even if these figures are exaggerated, the number of synagogues in Jerusalem must be thoughc of as veiy large. Apart f…

1,055 words
SECTION 892

Section 892

638 SYNAGOGUE SYNAGOGUE the necessary copy of the Pentateuch and the Prophets for the synagogue (ib.). — Tlie members of the community belonging to tlie same synagogue are called noi^n -a ('sons of the synagogue'), a designation which has a special signiticance when there are a number of synagogues in the same place…

1,277 words
SECTION 893

Section 893

2. The style of building adopted in the ancient synagogues of Palestine is illustrated by the above- mentioned ruins in N. Galilee. 'Almost all these sjTiagogues lie north and south, so that the entrance is at the south. As a rule they appear to have had three doors in front — one principal entrance and two smaller sid…

1,053 words
SECTION 894

Section 894

In the graduated scale of consecration attaching to the synagogue and its furnishings, the press is holier than the building, the cloths for the Scrip- tures are holier than the press (Meg. iii. 1). In the hftlacha in question there is no mention of the chest (ffriKTi) ; hence it is probable that the ibdh p'n of Sluibb…

960 words
SECTION 895

Section 895

Characteristic is the anecdote of the woman who had become very old and longed to leave this worid- Wlien she went to Joae b. ChalaphtA(2nd cent.) witli her complaint, he asked her : *What luty art thou accustomed daily to perform?* She replied: *It is my custom to neglect even what is dearest to me, in order that I ma…

1,253 words
SECTION 896

Section 896

firayer, in virtue of his office ; i.e. the word hazzdn las the character whicli it gained in the period of the Gaons, and which it has retained down to the present day (see also Soph. x. end, xi. ad init. ; Firke R. Eliezer, xiii. end). Seeing that, as a rule, the instruction of children was also carried on in the sy…

1,015 words
SECTION 897

Section 897

The synagogue, as has been already: said, wa« called also aaff^areTov, because its principal purpose was to serve as the meeting-place of the congrega- tion for public worship ou Sabbaths (and festival 642 SYNAGOGUE S YXAGOGU E days). From the period when the temple and its sacrificial ciiltus still existed at Jeru…

912 words
SECTION 898

Section 898

(ii. § 2, ad mif.) regarding the synagogues of Jerusalem, each of these was provided with a sciiool for children and one for more advanced students. In a hyperbolical statement about Bethar, the capital of JudaBa in the time of Bar Cochba, it is sa'd {GH.tin, 58a) : 'There were 400 synagogues in Bethar, and in each of …

927 words
SECTION 899

Section 899

Ao Agadist of the 4th cenu attributes to the philosopher CEnomaus of Gatiara, known throuph his intercourse with the famous R. Meir, the sanni? that, so long as the * voice of Jacob' (Gn 27'^') sounds in synagoj,^e and sciiool, the ' hands of Esau' (Le. Rome) are powerless a^'ainst Israel (Gen. rob, 65 ; Pejiikta, l21a…

934 words
SECTION 900

Section 900

There is no mention of the Great Syn. in Philo, Josephus, or the Ajiocrypha, not to speak of the OT itself. Nothing can be built on 1 Mac 14-', where ixeyiXr] avfayayii is not a technical term, but means simply ' a great gathering.' Only once in the Mishna (Pirlfe Aboth, i. 1) are the Men of the Great Sj-nago^ue (i^";!…

944 words
← PreviousPage 15 of 24Next →

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.