t Properly ' beer,* which was a favourite Egyptian beverage.
have the authority of the LXX that the g6rm was the -iravvpos, papyrus, and the 'dhu, ^oiroiiov, which some believe to be Cypenu esculenlus, L., the edible galingale, and others Butomus umbel- latus, L., the flowering rush, both swamp plants. !nx (Gn 41'' '*) should be rendered ' in the flower- ing rushes,' or 'in the sedges,' or 'in the fens.' Similarly, the doubtful D-n^ 'dhtm (Hos 13"). The same indefiniteness is found in the Arab, term rabi', which means literally 'spring,' and refers to 'spring herbage,' and half, which refers to GraminecB and Cyperaceoe in general. It is also found in the English 'grass.'
2. I'D (suph, l\o!, carectum) is used (a) of the sedgy or reedy plants on a river's bank (Ex 2*-', Is 19') ; (b) of weeds (Jn 2'), meaning sea-weeds. From the presence of these, and perliaps of other marine growths, as of coral, the Red Sea was named 1)dx; (yam-^uph). G. E. POST.
FLAGON occurs five times in AV, but in only
one of these instances is the tr° retained by RV, namely Is 22^, where both VSS tr. D-^p^jn -S^ by ' vessels of flagons.' ^3} or V51 (when not used foi a musical instrument) generally means a leather pitcher. Here it is perhaps an earthenware bottle. On the other hand, RV introduces ' flagons ' in two instances where it is not found in AV, namely Ex 25** 37" (in both nij;-,?). This tr" is probably correct (see CuP), although RV gives 'cups' for the same Heb. word in Nu 4'. In all these three passages A V has ' covers. ' In the remaining four in- stances where AV gives ' flagons,' the Heb. is t^'j'n (2 S 0'^ 1 Ch \&, Hos 3' [D-;:y^ -s'-;^!;], Ca 2' [ni!7-;^K]'; cf. ny-iq TiJ -p-^'N ' the raisin-cakes [AV ' founda- tions '] of Kir-hareseth,' Is 16'). The meaning of this word is a ' pressed cake . . . composed of meal, oU, and dibs' (W. R. Smith, OJJ'C 434. n. 7). Hence in 2 S 6'^ 1 Ch W, RV gives 'cake of raisins ' for AV ' flagon [of \vine],' in Hos 3' 'cakes of raisins' for 'flagons of wine,' and in Ca 2' ' raisins ' (RVm ' cakes of raisins ') for ' flagons.' The LXX has in 2 S 6'" Xa7a^o» djrd TTiyavov, in 1 Ch 16' iiiofxlr-q, in Hos 3' iri/iiiara lirra <rra<pi5os, and in Ca 2* fivpoi. Luther, who like AV adopted a false Rabbinical derivation and interpretation of nf^vt?, tr. in 2 S 6" and 1 Ch 16' ein Nossel Wein, and in Hos 3' eine Kanne Weins. In Ca 2° he has Blumen. In Kautzsch's .i4T we find for 2 S 6'" and 1 Ch 16' Rosinenkuclien, and for Hos 3' and Ca 2° Traubenkuchen. See further under FooD, p. 32''. J. A. Selbie.
FLAX (■ii?y'9 pishtdh, \lyoy, linum). — The Heb. and its equivalents in Gr., Lat., and Eng. are used (1) for the growing plant (Ex 9^') ; (2) for the stalks when cut (Jos 2* yjin '£1^5, XivoKaKapnj, stipulm lini ); (3) for a wick made of the fibres (Is 42> 43", AV ' tow,' RV ' flax,' marg. ' a wick '). The root form nyj pesheth, with sullix '.^fs pishti, LXX 6$6vid /lov, is also used for the flax fibres (Hos 2'-"). The plural of the same, c-ks nishtim, is used for the liackled flbres (Pr 31'^ Is 19») ; these are twisted into cords (Jg 15") or woven intostutt(nt 22"). The shorter fibres are called T\->j;i ni'Crcth = tow (Jg 16», Is 1"). The plural pisntim is also used for linen (Lv 13**-"), as well as for linen garments (vv.*'-°', LXX liiarlif imv- icvlvif, Ezk 44" (TToXdj Xifas).
Flax, Linum satitnim, L., is a plant of the order Linacere, which has been cultivnted from the earliest periods of the world's history. It is a perennial, with slender stalks, 2 to 3 tt. high, linear-lanceolate leaves, and showy blue flowers. Its stalks produce the strong fibres out of which linen is manufactured. These stalks were dried on the flat roofs of the hou.ses (Jos '2*), then steeped in water to cause the decay of the pulp,
14
FLAYING
FI.ESH
then Iiackled (Is 19') to straiKhten tbe fibres and comb out the shorter ones, wliitli are tow (Jg 10", Is 1"'). It was regarded as a crop of importance (Ex 9", Hos 2'). Linen garments were used by the priests, etc. (Lv IS"- ") ; the material is usually spoken of as e*«* sfifsh (a name still retained in the Arab, s/idsh, wliich is used for the grade of cotton cloth known in English as cheese-clvth). The mum- mies of Kgj'pt were swathed in linen bandages.
G. E. Post. FLAYING.— See Crimes and Punishments.
FLEA (e'inj par'osh, ^vXKot, ^ttlex). — An insect, Pulex irritans, L., universal in warm climates, and a great pest to man and the animals which it infesta. Insignificant as it is, its bite is very irritating, often causing considerable swelling and intolerable itching, which robs its victim of many an hour of sleep, and makes him ridiculous in hia frequently vain etlbrts to catch his tormentor. The habit of the natives of the East of sleeping in the same clothes which they wear by day, and spreading their beds on the mats on which they sit, contributes much to the multiplication of the insect in their houses and camps. I'leas swarm esp. in the filthy tents of the Bedawin, and in stables and dog kennels. The flea is mentioned by David (1 S '24'''),* who compares hira.self to this contemptible insect, in order to ridicule the insensate character of Saul's persecution by liken- ing it to the vain hunt above alluded to. In Ex 8" RVm has ' fleas ' for ' lice ' (wh. see).