In Ned'irim, c. ix., retractation of, and absolu- tion from, vows is considered. The problem wa.'i a knotty one. Oblations were needed for the sanctuary, and vows were a fruitful source of income ; and besides this, Dt 2:!-'-^ most rigorously forbade any retractation of vows ; and therefore the Rabbis, while they did not encourage vows, ruled that when made they mu.it be kept. Here arises an extreme case. A man in haste or passion has vowed that nothing of his shall ever again go to the maintenance of his parents. Must that vow hold good? 'Certainly,' the Rabbissay. 'It is hard for the parents, but the law is clear, vows must be kept.' Thus, as often, did they allow the literal to override the ethical. Jesus revealed a different 'spirit,' as He rulid that 'duty to parents is a far higher law than fnllilinent of a rash vow.'
R. Eliezer ben llyrkanos (c. .\.l). 90), who felt in several ways the influence of Christianity, was apparently the first Rabbi to advocate retracta- tion of vows. I render Xedarim !>' thus : ' R. ICliezcr said that when rash vows infringe at all on parcnial obligations, Rabbis should suggest a retractation (lit. open a door) by apjiealing to the honour duo to pareliLs. The sages dissented. R. Zadok said, instead of appealing to the honour due to parents let them appeal to the honour due to God ; then might rash vows cease. The sages at li-ngth agreed with R. Kliezer, that if the case be directly between a man and his parents (as in Mt Lj"), they might suggest retractation by appealing to the honour due to parents.'
Litkhati'KE.— Tliobcstchiddntlon Is direct ft'om the Mishnn;
* In thlM 501190 very frequently tn Lv and Nu (all P), olsowkcro F.zk •-•(iM lo** only.
•• rnvuriqbl, 18*8, 6v
next fnim Kderslielm, Li/e ami Tinier nf .fmus, c. xx\i. ; Mt 1.V and Mk "" arc diversely discussed tiy Wctsadn, Grotius, LiKhtfoot {Uvr. IJtO.}, Morisoii, and in Wunselie's Krliiiiternng.
J. T. Marshall.
CORD. — 1. '^Pn, Arab, habl, the common name for rope in Syria. It is translated in RV 'cord' in Jos 2'^, Job ;i6» etc. ; 'line' in Jlic 2^ 2 S 8-, I's Ki'' 78''", Am 7", Zee 2' ; ' ropes ' in 1 K 20'*' ; and 'tacklings' in Is SS-". In Syria ropes and cords are made of goat's or camel's hair spun into threads, and then plaited or twisted. Sometimes they are made of strips of goat's skins or cow's hide twisted together. In modern times ropes of hemp are more commonly used. 2. '"'J.,, Arab, ruhiif, •band,' a binding or fastening. It is so translated in Ezk 3-», Job '89'', Hos ll* ; but 'ropes' in J" 1513. i»; 'cords' in Ps 118-: 129*; and 'cart rope' in Is 3'*. The word has the meaning of something interlaced or twisted. See Band. Besides the common ropes mentioned above, ropes for tempor- ary fastenings are often made from branches of vines interlaced or twisted together, and also from the bark of branches of the mulberry tree. 3. ">;'", Arab, alnab, lent ropes, trans, 'cords' in Ex 85"* 39-' ', Is 04-, and .Ter 10-'. Tent ropes, among the Bedawin, are made of goat's or camel's hair. 4. c;in, Arab, khait, line, tr. 'cord' in Ec 4'-. 5. "i.,",, Arab, iclttar, catgut. In Jg 10' this word is translated 'withes,' in RVm 'bowstring,' which is probably correct. In Job 30'i AV ' my cord' may mean 'bowstring' or the 'rein' of a bridle; in Ps U'-* -bowstring.' Catgut is often made in the villages of Lebanon. In the NT crxofwoi', ropes of rushes, is translated 'cord' in Jn 2''', and 'ropes' in Ac 2T'-. W. Cai:slaw.
CORIANDER SEED C? rind, Kbpiof, coriandrum). — The fruit of an umbelliferous plant, Coriandrum sativum, L., extensively cultivated in the East. It is an annual, with two kinds of leaves, the lower divided into two to three jiairs of ovate-cuneate, dentate segments, the upper much dissected into linear-setaceous lobes. The fruits are ovate- globular, straw-coloured, twice a.s large a.? a hemp seed, and striate. They have a warm, aromatic taste, and .stomachic, carminative properties. Avi- cenna recites (ii. 198) a long list of virtues attributed to it, in a variety of diseases. The only inemion of it in the Bible is in comparison with the size and colour of manna (Ex 10'", Nu 11"). The Arabic name of it is kuzbarah. G. E. Post.
••CORINTH (Kdioii-ffoO was in many respects the most im]iortant city of Greece (i.e. Achaia, accord- ing to the Rom. appellation, cf. Ac 20- with 19-') under the Rom. Empire. Whereas Athens wa.s the educational centre, the seat of the greatest university in the world at that time, and the city to which the memories of Greek freedom and oliler history clung most pereistently, C. was the capital of the Rom. province (see AcilAIA), the centre of government and commerce, of actual life and political development in the country ; while its situation, again, on the great central route between Rome and the East, made it one of the knots to- wards which converged a number of suhordinale roads. In this bust respect it was the next stai;e Xn Ephesus (wh. see) on this great highway, and nuist h.ave been in very close and fieiiuent eommuniea- tion w:th it. The situation of C. (jualified it to be the most important centre whence any new move- ment in thought or society might radiate over the entire province of Achaia; ami therefore it became one of the small list of cities (along with Syrian Antioeh and Ephesus) which were most closely connected with the early spread of Christianity towards the West. C. occupied a striking and powerful position. Charlu Serihiifr's ,'^ont