OT tuiagr.— In the OT there is a very large variety of mean- int,'s attachiiii; to the word 'hand' and to expressions and phrases in which it occurs ; a detailed consideration of these is not necessarv here,* but a brief reference seems appropriate in view of the fact that NT usaRe is to some extent based, through the LXX, on that of the OT. In its origin the Hebrew word probably meant 'strength' (cf. Assyr. trfu=' strength'),! and it is used in this figurative sense in Jos S"> (' there was not in them strength [lit. hands] to Hee'), Ps 765 ('none of the mighty men have found their hands,' i.e. they are powerless). The word is used in a number of other figurative senses, see the Oxford Heb. Lexicon under T. Instructive is the passage Ex 14» ' the children of Israel went out with a high hand' (cf. Ex 156- 12, Nu ir« 3'6') ; the reference is to the hand of Jehovah ('with a high hand' = with the help of the high hand, a mean- ing which the preposition 3 frequently has) ; the ' hand,' strictly speaking, the ' right hand ' (j'p;), of God is the planet Venus ; t this antique conception is much softened down, though a literal, anthropomorphic sense is still implied in the use of 'hand' in Ps 10225 'The heavens are the work of thy hands.'
In reference to man the word is used (just as is the case in the NT) in a variety of senses, according to the phrase in which it is found : ' to put one's life into one's hand' (Jg 12^), means to be ready to jeopardize one's life ; ' to clap the hands ' is a sign of joy (2 K 1112) ; ' to fill the hand ' (RV ' consecrate ') is to instal in office (Jg 17512);§ 'to lift up the hand ' (whether towards heaven or towards the altar is not always certain, see Nowack, Heb. Arch. ii. 260) was a symbolic action which accompanied an oath, it implied the calling of the Deity to witness II (Dt 32-'»); the same action, witli both hands, 'was the attitude adopted when blessing (Ps l:J42) ; 'to open the hand' is to show generosity (Dt 1511); to place the hands upon the head was a sign of grief (2 S 1319) ; to kiss the hand towards was a sign of homage (to a heathen deity in Job 312?) ; • to lay the hand upon the mouth' was done in token of humility (Pr 3032, cf. Is 5215) ; ' to strike hands ' meant to go surety for some- one (Pr 61). AH these symbolic actions with the hand were common in the time of Christ, as they are at the present day also in Syria, Arabia, etc.
There is one other use of the word in the OT which demands a passing notice ; it means a sign or monument (1 S 1512, 2 S I8I8, cf. Gn 351^) ; according to Schwally,^ it was originally so called because a hand was depicted upon the monument or pillar, this hand being a token of that wherewith the vow had been made (the uplifted hand), or perhaps wherewith an offering had been brought ; in view, however, of what has been said above, it is more likely that this handlwas a representation of the hand of the Deity.
Usage in the Gospels. — In a very large number of case.s in which ' hand ' occurs, it is used in the ordinary literal sense ; there is no need to give references for these. Not infrequently there is the expression ' at hand ' in the EV where in the original x«''p does not occur : e.g. ' the kingdom of heaven is at hand ' {ijyyiKey) ; such passages do not properly belong to this article, and are not taken into account.
1. All those things which are done by means of the hand, or in which the visible part is done by the hand (such as the working of miracles, or taking hold of a person or thing) are described as being performed 5ii x^'/"^'. ^'°- ''"i" X^'P^"' ^'^ x"/"^" Til-OS, Mk 6= etc. ; iwl X"?"", Mt 4^, Lk 4" ; ti's t Xeipa, Lk 15'-. 'Hand' is used frequently as synonym for ' power' (Mt 17", Mk 9^', Lk 1'^ 9") ; in the slightly ditlerent sense of ' protecting power ' (Lk 23*) ; still in the sense of power but coupled as used ' further'
ance ' ; then, again, it is used loosely,** in the sense of 'finger,' in Lk 15^ ('put a ring on his hand'); lastly, it is referred to (in a peculiarly Oriental manner) as though it had, metapliorically speak- ing, sense : ' if thine hand offend thee ' (ffKavdaUa-ri),
* See art. ' Hand ' in Hastings' DB.
t Oxford Heb. Lexicon, s.v.
; For the proof of this statement see Nielsen, Die Altarabische MondreWjion vnd die Mosaische Ueherliefcrung (Strassburg, 1904), pp. Ill, 154 ff., where illustrations of S, Arabian cylinder
seals are also given, showing ' the hand of God' wi
Venus above it ; the Divine hand has seven fingers,
§ On this idiom see Eimjc. Bibl. ii. col. 1051.
II A later custom was to place the left hand on a tomb and