LIBRARY.—See WritIna. LIBYA, LIBYANS.—See Lusim.
LICE (0:3, 0%3 kinnim, 03> kinndm, σκνίφες, κνίπες, sciniphes, cinifes).—The usual meaning of σκνίψ τεκνίψ is plant-louse. It is also used for various species of gnats. Some have supposed it to designate a species of worm. Whether it can be understood of the louse also is not clear. The tr. in the text of EV (Ex 8 RVm ‘sandflies’ or ‘fleas,’ 17-18, Ps 105%) ‘lice’ is based upon the authority of the Talmud; on the fact that the insects alluded to sprang from the dust, not from the water; that the lice were in, not on men and beasts, i.e. in their hair; that the Targum, Syriac, and Arabic VSS tr. the word by one which appears to mean dice rather than gnats. Scholars are still divided on the subject (see MEDICINE, p- 330), but the weight of evidence seems to be in tavour of lice as the third of the plagues of Egypt. Lice swarm on the persons of uncleanly people in the East. The better classes of the ancient Egyp- tians, however, were scrupulously clean; and Hero- dotus says that the priests shaved all the hair from their heads and bodies every third day, lest they should harbour any of these unclean insects, and so defile the temples. Such a pest, therefore, would be peculiarly abhorrent to them. See, on the whole subject, Dillm. on Ex 8%,
G. E. Post.
LICENCE is simply ‘ permission’ in all its occur- rences in AV, where its spelling is indifferently ‘licence’ (1 Mac 1, 2 Mac 4°, Ac 21% 9516), or ‘license’ (Jth 114, Sir 15%), and the verb does not occur. RV retains ‘licence’ (spelling so always), except in 2 Mac 4°, AV ‘if he might have licence to set him up a place for exercise’ (ἐὰν συγχωρηθῇ διὰ τῆς ἐξουσίας αὐτοῦ, RV ‘if it might be allowed
LIE, LYING him through the king’s authority’); Ac 919 AV ‘And when he had given him licence’ (ἐπιτρέψαν τος δὲ αὐτοῦ, RV ‘ And when he had given him leave’) ; and 25' AV ‘have licence to answer’ (τόπον ἀπο- λογίας, RV ‘have had opportunity to make his defence’). AV had already changed ‘licence’ of earlier versions into ‘leave,’ as Jn 1938 Tind. ‘ And Pylate gave him licence.’ The verb was once common in the same sense, as Ac 22 ding Rhem, ‘Being licensed by the Tribune to speake to the neople’; Elyot, Governour, ii. 294, ‘he licenced lato to departe without damage.’ Milton uses both subst. and vb. in their modern meaning in Areopagitica (Clar. Press ed. p. 6), ‘But lest I should be condemn’d of introducing licence, while I oppose Licencing.’ J. HASTINGS.
LIDEBIR (7379).—Proposed in RVm of Jos 13” as alternative rendering to of Debir (text). See Desbrr No. 2 and LODEBAR.
LIE, LYING, and the many other words of the group, describe various forms of the sin against truth, and serve to illustrate an important element of the biblical morality.
The principal Heb. and Greek terms are the following :— 1. 7py ‘lie’ (Qal and Pi.). 7p ‘falsehood’ (Jer 1014), ‘a lie’ (Ps 11999), frequently preceded by 7237, also used adverbially =‘ falsely’ (2 S 1813),
2, 313 (root meaning quite uncertain) ‘to speak falsely,’ esp. in Pi. (with ? or 3 pointing to the person addressed) ; Niph. ‘to be found or show oneself a liar’ (Pr 306), Hiph. ‘make or make out a liar’ (Job 2425), 313 ‘a lie’; ‘> wx ‘a liar’ (Pr 1922); cf. 31> Jer 1518 (of failing, deceptive brook, cf. vb. in Is 5711), Mic 114,
3. UND ‘to be lean,’ ‘become emaciated’ (Ps 109%); Pé. with ὃ or 2 ‘to lie to one’ (1 K 1318, Jer 512); Niph. ‘to feign obedience’ (Dt 3329). υπ3 ‘leanness’ (Job 168), usually ‘alie,’ ‘a calumny’ (Hos 1013), w> ‘deceitful’ (Is 809), The root mean- ing is uncertain, possibly that of failing.
4.73, only in plur. 0°73 (root 773, i.e. 813 ‘to invent’) ‘empty or boastful talk’ (Job 113), thence applied to utterers of such, as liars, diviners (Is 44%, Jer 5035),
5. s)y ‘emptiness,’ ‘vanity’ (Ps 6011), thence applied to things of no substance or injurious, as the falsehood, the idol, the wicked or criminal act (Pr 308, Ps 244 264, Job 1111); cf. Ny Jy ‘a hollow, insincere witness’ (Dt 520) with 7py πὰ ‘a false witness’ (Ex 2016),
6. In NT the subject is handled by the use of the peels of words connected with Ψεύδω, here used only in the middle voice. wWsidertos is used abs. (Mt 511, 2 Co 11%! etc.); with acc, of person lied to (Ac 5%); with dat. (Ac 54); εἰς τινά (Col 89); κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας (Ja 314), The list includes ψεύστης ‘a de- ceiver’ (Jn 84 etc.), ‘a false teacher’ (1 Jn 222); ψευδής ‘ false,’ ‘wicked’ (Ac 613, Rev 218); ψεῦδος ‘lying,’ ‘a lie,’ esp. of false religion (Jn 84, Ro 125); sicue ‘a falsehood’ (Ro 37); ἀψευδής of God ‘that cannot lie’ (Tit 12); Ψευδολόγος ‘ teaching falsely’ (1 Ti 42); and various compounds descriptive of enemies of the faith, as Ψευδάδελφος (Gal 24), Ψενδαπόστολος (2 Co 1113), Ψευδο- προφήτης (Mt 715 etc.), Ψευνδοδιδάσχαλος (2P 21), Ψευδόχριστος (Mt 2424, Mk 1322),
1. The biblical writers describe various types of lying. In its most general aspect—the saying what we know to be false with intent to deceive —it is clear that it was reprobated by the common conscience of Israel (cf. Pr 1933 30°), and it is ex- pressly condemned in the ancient Law of Holiness (Ly 194-3), Usually, however, in the legislation, including the Decalogue, special cognizance is taken of lying of the criminal kind—consisting either in the perjured testimony which procures an unjust sentence (Dt 191, ef. Ex 201), or in the false statement which is the instrument of fraudulent dealing (Lv 6"). In the prophetical writings lying is conceived, not merely as a prin- cipal kind, but almost as the soul, of wickedness, and so sometimes appears as the symbol of all moral evil (Hos 12, ef. Is 65). At a later period ‘lie’ is a favourite description of the message of the false prophets (Jer 27"), and of the utterances of soothsayers (Is 4455), and the same idea is often expressed in the designation of idols and idolatry