Akin hereto is the cathartic or purificatory use of blood in the Jewish ceremonial system for cases of uncleanness of the highest degree, such as leprosy (Lv 14"- ""'•), the discussion of which belongs to the art. on Purification (which see al.so for the uncleanness caused by blood in the cases enumerated in Lv 12"'- IS""*).
For another and very ancient blood-rite, the essential significance of which survives even in the most .sacred rite of Christian worship (Mt 26*'), see Covena.vt.
Among all nations blood has played a conspicu- ous part in magical rites, but the only trace of its sii|ieistitious use in the OT seems to be the inci- dent recorded in 1 K 22**, and already exjilained in the art. liATlllN'i! (§ 3). (See Strack, Dcr Blitt- aberglaube; Trumbull, The Threshold Covenant.) A. R. S. Kennedy.
BLOOD, AVENGER OF.— See Goel.
BLOODGUILTINESS.— In AV only Ps 51" 'De- liver me from b., O God' (n-on, plu. of ci ' blood '). UV adds Ex 22»-> (Heb. v.'- »), 1 S 25-'«- '", the Heb. being the same. W. Ii. Smith (OTJC- p. 441) points to Ezk 18" as proving that the Heb. phrase does not necessarily mean the guilt of murder, but any mortal sin, such sin as, if it remains un- atoned, withdraws God's favour from His land and iicople (I)t 21'"', Is 1"), a remark which has an ouvioua bearing on the occasion of the 51st psalm. J. Hastings.
BLOOD, ISSUE OF.— See Medicine.
BLOODSHEDDING.— Sir 27" only {iKxtm, olyn- oTos) ; but He 9-" ' without shedding of blood is no remission ' (alM«r<itxw'o).
BLOODTHIRSTY.— In AV Pr 29" only, 'thei
hate the u[)right ' (c-^t VjU ' men of blood '). KV
308 BLOODY FLUX, BLOODY SWEAT
BOAZ
adds Ps 5' 65» 139", the Heb. being the same, AV ' bloody ' ; RV more literally ' man of blood ' 2 S 16'- «, 'men of blood' Ps 26». Cf. Ex 4"»-» ' bridegroom of blood ' ( AV ' bloody husband ').
J. Hastings. BLOODY FLUX, BLOODY SWEAT,— See Medi- cine.
BLOOM, as a trans, verb, occurs Nn 17' ' the rod of Aaron . . . bloomed blossoms.' Cf. —
* And all amid them stood the tree of life. High eminent, blooming amhroaial fruit Of TegetAble gold.*
Milton, Par. host. It. 218.
J. Hastings.
BLUE. — See Colours. • Blue ' is tr° of nS:ri tikhpleth in all its occurrences, and of i^s* shesh, Est 1« AV. Al.so Sir 451° ' b. silk ' (i.<i/ci»9o$, RV ' blue ') ; 6" (AVm, RV, Gr. iaKheivo^) ; and 23'° ' a blue mark ' {fMi\to^, RV ' a bruise ' ; cf. Sir 28" ' the stroke of a whip maketh marks in the flesh,' and 1 P 2" • stripes,^ same Greek, from Is 53" LXX).
Blueness, Pr 20'° ' the b. of a wound cleanseth away evil ' (nii^ij habbiirOth, ' stripes,' RV ' stripes that wound '). See Medicine. J. Hastings.
BOANERGES {poaw-npyis, deriv. uncertain, 'sons of thunder ') is the surname given by our Lord to His disciples James and John. Considerable obscurity gathers round the question why it was given to the sons of Zebedee. It is mentioned only in Mk 3", and never seems to have prevailed as Simon Peter's new name did. It is not likely either that it was meant as a perpetual rebuke of their un- regulated zeal (Mk ^ l(f", Lk 9**), or that it refers specially to their thundering forth the gospel. The likelihood is that it is both descriptive and prophetic of the union of the passionate and vehe- ment with the gentle and loving in their character, and of the fact that once and again tempests of long-restrained emotion would burst forth out of the deep stillness of their strong reserved natures. W. MuiR.
BOAB.— See Swink. BOAT.— See Ship.
BOAZ (tl!b= ' swiftness,' from a root tjii not occur- ring in Heb., not as was supposed iv '13 = ' in him is stren^h,' BAot, B4of). — The head of the Hezronites who lived at Beth-lehem-judah, after Elimeleeh's departure into the countryofMoab(Ru 2'). He is de- scribed as a mighty man of wealth (RVm ' valour '). His fields lay apparently at some little distance from Beth-lehem (v.*). It was in them that he first caught siglit of Ruth as she was gleaning. He had heard of her already as a faithful and loring daughter, and begged her to remain in his fields, assuring her of liis protection, and inviting her to partake of some food in the field (w.°°^). One night, whilst B. was sleeping in his threshing-floor, Ruth, instnicted by her mother - in - law, came, and by placing herself at his feet claimed to be taken under his protection. Thereupon he promised that if the kinsman who was nearer than ne would not do his duty to her as next of kin, he would take th.at duty upon himself (ch. 3). B. therefore bought the right of redemption from the next of kin, including in it the right to take Ruth to be his wife to raise up seed to Mahlon (4'"). The marriage was celebrated, and in due course a son was born to B. and Ruth, called Obed, who, according to the genealogy at the end of the Bk of Ruth and in 1 Ch 2'-"', was the grandfather of David. How far this is an instance of the use of what is called the law of the Levirate will be found discussed in another article (Ruth). B. has a further interest for us, as his name occurs in both the genealogies of our Lord (Mt 1', Lk 3"). According to the Jewish authori-