LiTKRATtmK. — The Literature relating to the first part of this article will be found in connexion with the several special articles (Ca>'ON, Tk.\t, etc.) to which reference is made. On the subjects of Revelation and Inspiration, any of the great dog- matic works, or any History of Doctrines, may be consulted, as well as articles in such Encyclopedias as the Eiioicl. Brit., Herzog, LichteiiberQer. Among monographs may be mentioned : Lee, Inspiratii'71 of Holy Scripture ; liannerman. Inspiration ; Gaussen, Th/opiwujitie ; Jamieson, Baird Lecture* ; Horton, Uevetatum and the Bible ; and Sanday, Bampton Lectures, in which, after dealing with the early history and application of the doctrine, the writer compares in his concluding Lecture the traditional and inductive Theories of Inspiration.
A. Stewart.
BICHRI (-1^3). —In 2 S 20' Sheba is called 'the son of Bichri' ; translate rather 'the Bichrite,' i.e. a member of the clan which traced its descent to Becher, the son of Benjamin (Gn 46-').
J. F. Stenning.
BID, bade, bid (2 K 5", Zeph 1') or bidden (Mt and Lk passim), ' to invite' to a feast, etc. (now archaic or local) ; 1 S 9"- » (ki;;), Zeph 1' ' he hath bid his guests ' (c'-iF'"', RV ' sanctified ' with a ref. to 18 16°); Mt 22* ' sent for his servants to call (/taX^u) them that were bidden (also KaMu, but in perf. ptcp.) to the wedding ' (RV ' marriage feast '). In 1 Co 10" ' If any of tliem that believe not bid you to a feast' (itaX^aj, with no word for ' feast') ; Lk 14" ' lest they also bid thee again ' (oKTiitaX^w).
To bid = to command, is common ; but notice Lk 9", Ac 18'' ' bid farewell ' {diroTd<rtro/jLat, used in Mk 6" ' when he had sent them away,' RV ' taken leave of them ' ; Ac 18" ' took liis leave of ' ; 2 Co 2" ' taking my leave of ' ; Lk W ' forsaketh,' RV ' renounceth '). J. Hastings.
BIDE, Wis 8" 'they shall bide my lei.sure' (wepiiiivu, translated ' wait for ' Ac 1*, so RV here). ' Bide ' is mostly replaced in mod. En", by ' abide ' (which see). J. Hastings.
BIDKAR (^P13, possibly for ii37I5 ; but this and similar contractions are highly uncertain). — A chief officer of Ahab and subsequently of Jehu (2 K 9^).
C. F. BURNEY.
BIER.— See Burial.
BIGTHA (xn:; Est I'").— One of the seven eunuchs or chamberlains of king Ahasuerus. For the name compare Abagtha (ii.) and Bigthan ('2-'). In tlio LXX the names are different, Rapafi, Buipof^ B, 'Oapf/Sud A, taking the place of Bigtlia.
II. A. White.
BIGTHAN (ni:3 Est 2='), BIGTHANA (Kjnsa 6-').— One of two chamberlains or eunuchs of Aliasuerus (.Xerxes) who conspired again.st the king's life. Their treachery was discovered and foiled by Mordecai. R. M. Boyd.
BIGVAI ('iij).— 1. A companion of Zenib. (Ezr 2» = Neh 7', cf. F,zr2'« = Nch 7", Ezr 8", where the natne appears as the heail of a family of rotiiiiiiug exiles). 2. One of those who sealed the covenant (Neh 10"). See GENEALOGY. J. A. Selbie.
300
BILDAD
BIRTH
BILDAD (ni^S, LXX BaXSdS, ' Bel hath loved'?). — Described in Job 2" as one of Job's three friends. He is called ' the Shuhite,' indicating his descent from Shuah (rHd), son of Abraham and Keturah (Gn 25'). Abraham is described aa sending Shuah, with other sons of concubines, to ' the East country,' and his descendants probably lived in a district of Arabia not far from Idumsea. The region is not to be confounded with the trans- Hauran Schakka, or the ZaKxaia of Ptolemy, to the east of Batana^. The LXX describes B. as tCiv Zairxaluv rvpavpot. For a description of the part taken by B. in the colloquies, see Job, Book of. It may be here brieflj' said that his position is in every sense intermediary between Eliphaz and Zopliar. He speaks after the one and before the other; his speeches are shorter than those of Eliphaz, longer than those of Zophar. He is also more violent than the older and graver Eliphaz, but less blunt and coarse than the third spokesman wlio follows him. He speaks threa time.s, in chapters 8, 18, and 25, the last time very briefly. W. T. Davison.
BILEAM (cv^3), 1 Ch 6™.— A Levitical city of Manasseh, thesameas Ibloam of Jos 17", Jg 1", 2 K 9" ; prob. the mod. Bel'ame (see Moore on Jg 1").
C. R. CONDER.
BILGAH (ns^j 'cheerfulness').—!. Head of the 15th course of priests (1 Ch 24"). 2. A priest who returned with Zerub. (Neh 12°-"). The same as Bilgai (Neh 10»). H. A. White.
BILGAI.— See Bilqah.
BILHAH, Person (m):}, BdUa ; in B of 1 Ch 7" Ba\o/i ; Bala, Bara). — A slave-girl given to Rachel by Laban, Gn 29^ (P), and by her to Jacob as a concubine, Gn SO^- * (JE) ; the mother of Dan and Naphtali, Gn 31)^' (JE) ia^ (?) 46=» (R), 1 Ch 7". She was guilty of incest with Reuben, Gn 35** (P). The etymology is uncertain. These narratives and genealogies are to be regarded as embodying early traditions as to the origin and mutual rela- tions of the tribes, rather than personal history. Tribes are traced to a concubine ancestress, because they were a late accession to Israel.