FIK
of Samuel. Should we also adopt it, there would no lon^r be any necessity to consider the adapta- tion of the biriish to the manufacture of musical instruments (see Wellh. and Driver, ad loc. ).
Finns Halepensis, Mill., has been proposed a« the equivalent of bgrdsh. But its wood is not durable, and would hardly have been cliosen for the beams of the temple. Two other trees have been proposed as the equivalent of bcrCsh, either of which would meet all the requirements : Juni- perus excelsa, M.B. , and Cuprcsstis sempervirens, L. The former is called in Arab. Uzz&b and
•JUNTPERUS BXCBLSA.' TALL JUNIPER.
skerMn. It grows in the alpine and sub-alpine regions of Lebanon and Antilebanon, up to an alti- tude of 9000 ft. Its comus, when not hackp<l by the woodman, is ovate-lanceolate. Its trunk is straight, and its wood very solid and durable. It has dense ascending branches, small appressed leaves, and black berries as large as a marrowfat pea. The wood is well stored with resin^-a fact which threatens the tree with extinction, as the remaining forests are fast being cut down by the tar smelters. Its trunks make solid and inde- structible beams, and its wood, which is reddish and fragrant, is suitable for boards, planks, ship timber, and other purposes. But, notAvithstanding the suitableness of the juniper as a tree to the requirements of the case, the weight of evidence is in favour of the cypress, Cupressiis scmpervirens, L. This tree has qualities resembling those of the last named. It has a straight trunk, hori- zontal, somewhat straggling branches, forming an ovate-oblong comus, small appressed leaves, and globul.ar galbules, about an inch in diameter, com- posed of woody, shield-shaped scales. Its wood is useful for all the purposes indicated for the fir. Its name, /tmrdpiiTo-os, is one of the most frequent
translations of it in the LXX. It is called in Arab, saru and sherbin, both of which are the equivalent of cypress in that language. Contrary to an opinion cited in Oxf. Ueb. Lex., under the bead Fii?, it is found in abundance in Lebanon and Antllebanon. A variety of it, with ascend-
•COPRESaUS BEMPERVlREys. WILD C7PRES8.
ing branches, forming' a lanceolate comus, is the familiar cemetery cypresa, so common in the neigh- bourhood of Oriental cities. Many of these have tall straight trunks, which would make massive beams and ship timbers. G. E. Post.
FIRE (in OT most commonly oh, irvf, iri;piff/i6s, also -nN, naN, n-iya ; in Dn occurs Aram. 113 ; in NT Tvp, also rvpd, 0iit) denotes primarily the ordinary
firocess of combustion, with its accompaniments of ight and heat. The Scripture references to it are too numerous to cla.ssify exhaustively. Those which deserve special attention fall into two groups, according as the word is used in a literal or in a figurative sense.
I. Literal Usage. — Here we may distinguish — 1. Kire accompanying God's presence. Besides numerous metaphorical allusions in connexion with theophanies, there are several references to fire as a physical phenomenon appearing on such occasions. See On 1.5", Kx 3^ (the burning bush). Ex 19", I)t 4» (Mt. Sinai), Ex 4U^, Nu 9", Dt 1=^, Ps 78" lO.I* (the guiding pillar). 2. Sacrificial fire, (a) Sacrifice by fire was a primitive mode of worship (Gn 8'-" 22*). (i) Under the Mosaic law fire was a most important means of ofl'ering the various prescribed sacrifices, wliich are described as ' oll'enngs miule by fire unto J".' For this pur- pose n fire was kept continually burning on the altar of bumt-oflering (Lv 6", 1 Es 6»*). Accord-
ing to Lv 9^ it had a miraculous origin, and it was similarly rekindled in Solomon's temple (2 Ch 7'''). Some find a reference to this perpetual fire in Is 31° (but see Cheyne, Delitzsch, in Ion.), and in the name Ariel (the hearth of God?) applied to Jems, in Is 29'- 2'. In 2 Mac l'"-^- there is a legend about the hiding of the sacred fire at the fall of Jerus., and its discovery by Nehemiah after the Exile. For the story of a later rekindling see 2 Mac 10*. (c) Mention is made of special answers by fire when sacrifices were oU'ered elsewhere than at the regular sanctuary, as in the cases of Gideon (Jg 6-1), Elijah (1 K 185»), and David (1 Ch 21-<'). {(/) Fire was used for ottering incense. It was carried in censers (Lv 16'^- "), or placed on the altar of incense (Ex 30'-'), and the incense sprinkled upon it. To use any other than the sacred fire for this purpose was to offer ' strange fire,' the offence for which Nadab and Abihu perished ( Lv 10', Nu 3'' 26*1). (e) Human sacrifice, especially child sacrifice, by fire was practised by certain of Israel's neighbours (Dt 12^i, 2 K 17'i). It was strictly forbidden in the law (Lv I8-1, Dt ISi"), but is repeatedly mentioned as a sin of Israel (2 K 11", Jer 7'i 195 3'2», Ezk I6-1 20^- ^M, being carried on in particular by Ahaz (2 K 16', 2 Ch 28') and Manasseli (2 K 21«, 2 Ch 33*). The scene of these rites was Topheth in the valley of Hinnora (Jer 7'i). See W. R. Smith, ES, pp. 352, 353, and Driver, Deui. p. 222. 3. Lightning. In such expressions as 'fire from heaven,' 'the fire of God,' etc., which describe at times a destructive agency (Lv 10-, 2 K li'-i^, Job 11*), and at times the token by which sacrifice was approved (2 c, above), some such phenomenon as lightning is eviiiently to be understood, as also when ' fire and hail ' are men- tioned together (Ex g^'- ^, Ps 105''-' 148"). 4. Fire for domestic purposes. Its use in this respect waa twofold, (a) For the preparation of food, as for roasting flesh (Ex 12*, 2 Ch 35i', Is 44i*, 1 Es l'^), for broiling fish (Jn 2F), for baking (1 K I71-, Jer 71'). (6) For warmth, as in Is 44'*, Jer 36--, Mk 14", Lk 22^', Jn W\ Ac 28=. In Pal. fire is only occasionally used for heating, and there are no regular fireplaces except in kitchens, but portable braziers or 'fire-pans' are employed. The larger houses have special ' winter rooms ' (Jer 36-, Am 3"). In these a cavity is made in the middle of the floor, in which the ' stove ' (nx) is placed. When the fire has burnt out a wooden frame is placed over it, and this is covered with a carpet so as to retain the heat (Keil, Bib. Arch. ii. 107 ; Nowuc-k, Neb. Arch. 141 ; Benzinger, Ueb. Arch. 124), Tlie Arabs in the desert use as a hearth a liole lined with stones (Niebuhr, Travels in Arabia, i. 209). The use of fire on the Sabbath for domestic jmr- poses was forbidden in the law (Ex 35'; Jos. ]Vars, II. viii. 9). 5. Fire in metallurgy. Fire has been employed from the earliest times for refining, cast- ing, and forging metals. Among the Scriptiire allusions to tliis use are Ex 32'" (the golden calf), the various references to ' molten images,' and also Is 4413 54'*, 2 Es 16", Sir '2', 1 P P. 6. Fire as a destroying agent. Amon]^ the effects of fire de- struction IS naturally prominent. Death by lire (or po.ssibly V)urning«/^crexccution by another inetluid) was the penalty for certain offences (Lv 2iP''' 21", .los 71° ^), and was also a mode of inflicting vengeance (2S 12"[?],Jer29--, Dn3"i», 2Mac7''). Comiuerors burned the idols of vanquished nations (2 K 19'*, Is 37"), and the Israelites were specially enjoined so to destroy those of the Canaanites (Dt 7°, 1 Mac 5"'''). Fire was a common means of destroying cities and jiroperty taken in war; and hence 'a fire shall go forth, 'I will .send (or kindle) a lire,' are formula' which occur frequently in t)ie pro- phetical books. Setting a crop on fire was one way of provoking a quarrel (Jg 15* ', 2 S 14*),