2. Aianv*!, lit. ' to nod throu^'h,' Lk 123 of Zacharias* beckon- ing (RV * making signs ') to the people, im perhaps expressing the range — not to one, but to many.
3. K«Tiic,(v«i, lit. * to nod down to,' Lk 6^ * they beckoned unto their partners in the other boat.'
Other compounds of »iy«, found in NT, but not tr* 'beckon,' are (1) ix>it/«, Jn 5^3 'Jesus had convei/e-d hiiTigflf atcay'; (2) (,viv«, Lk l''^ 'they made gigns to his father'; and (3) ivivii^o', Ac 1H2i> • he consented not.'
4. Then there is rtim 'to shake,' with its compounds u^atrtt'^^ Jiowri/*, xarei^tim, Of which Only the la.st is tr<i ' beckon,' to make signs with the hand, esp. before beginning to ad<lres8 an audi* enoe, Ac 12" 1318 1938 21«. J. HASTINGS.
BECOME.— 1. As tr. of rp4ir<o ' to be seemly,' 'appropriate,' 'b.' is found Mt 3", Eph 5», 1 Ti 2", Tit 2' (RV 'befit'). He 2'» 7» 'such an high priest became us.' In Tit 2' 'in behaviour as becometh holiness' (RV 'reverent in demean- our'), the Gr. is one word lepowpeir-fit, from Upds 'sacred' and irp^jrei 'it is becoming.' In Ro 16' ' as becometh saints ' the Gr. is d^lus tuv ayluv ' worthily of the saints' ; so in Ph 1*' ' as it becometh the gospel of Christ' (RV ' worthy of). 2. In Ear 3" occurs the obsolete phrase ' wliere is become,' for ' what is become of ' : ' Where are the princes of the heathen become?' (RV omits 'be- come'). Cf. Wither (1628), ' Wliv should the wicked . . . say. Where is their Got! become ? '
J. Hastings.
BECTILETH Plain (t4 ireStop BancTeiXaW), Jth 2". — lietween Nineveh and Cilicia. Perhaps the Bactiali of the Peutinger Tables, 21 miles from Antioch. The Syriac supposes an original reading, nSep n'3 ' house of slaughter ' (?). C. R. Conder.
BED (for which RV substitutes ' couch 'in 1 Cli 5', Est 1« 1\ Job 17", Ps 41', Pr 7'«, Ca 1", and ' litter ' in Ca 3') is AV tr. of the follo\ving Hob. words: — 1. sjfO (fr. 3;?' 'lie down ') 40 times. 2. ]in: (fr. ys; 'spread out') poet. 1 Ch 5' (fr. Gn 49*), Job 17", Ps 63' 132^ 3. VS? (fr. same root) Is 28**. 4. ••""!; ('flower-bed') twice, Ca 5" 6^ to which RV'adds Ezk 17'-". 5. na? (fr. .19; 'stretch out') 26 times. 6. leny (a four-post bed ?) 4 times. Job 7'», Ps 41», Pt V\ Ca 1". The last two words appear to be parallel in meaning in Am 6*, 'that lie upon beds (niap) of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches (dcicoj;).' Both are used also in the sense of ' bier,' .lao in 2 S 3*', bij; in Syr. (comp. 'arsd' in Lk ■?"), while 3;?*'? is applied in 2 Ch 16" to Asa's resting-place in his tomb. All this lends support to the opinion of thoae who interpret the ' bedstead ' of Og (Dt 3") of a sarcophagus (see Driver, ad loc). The word noD, written without vowel points, might be read either nep ' bed ' or ne? ' staff. Hence in Gn 47'^ we find, ' Israel bowed iiimself upon the bed's head, the tr. following MT (.lEpn oi^t^v), while in He IP' we have 'Jacob worshipped, leaning upon the top 0/ his staff,' which adopts the LXX iwl t6 iKpop riis pd^Sov avToO. See next article. J. A. Selbie.
BED. — The bed of the Hebrews did not difler in essential respects from that of otlier Oriental peoples. It consisted of a mat and quUt to lie upon, and a covering or coverlet. ' For tlie bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on it ; and tlie covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it' (Is 28-'°). The adjuncts were the pillow and the bedstead and its ornaments. Amongst all classes the custom was to sleep in the day-clothes without any material change of garments ; sheets were therefore superfluous. In Its simplest form the bed consisted only of the day- clothes and the outer garment or cloak. ' If tliou at all take thy neighbour's garment to pledge, thou shalt restore it to him by that the sun goeth down : for that is his only covering ; it is his garment for his skin : wherein shall he sleep?' (E.\ "22-'').
The ordinary bedding used througliout the East at the present day is probably similar in character to that which has been in use for centuries, and con- sists of (1) a mat of rushes or straw ; (2) skins, or a cloak or a quilt stuti'cd with dry herbs, hair, or vegetable libre to lie upon ; (3) a covering of light stuir in sunmier, or of skins or quilted stuH' in winter. The bedding is rolled up (Pr 22-'') in the morning, and, after being aired in the sun, is put away in a chamber or closet. Many of these beds are kept in a house, and, wlien the inmates are few, they are sometimes stacked one on another and form a temporary bedstead. There is little dill'er- ence between the bed for sleeping on and the divan or couch for resting on during the day. The bed is essentially an article tliat can be moved about readily from place to place. ' Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him (1 S 19'=). ' Beliold, men bring on abed a man that was palsied' (LkS""^).