540
RULER
SABBATH
moreover, their being under His shepherd-rule will be the blessedness and joy of His people to all eternity (Rev 7^').
It is well known that ToiiJ.x..nty is a favourite figure with Greek writers to denote the kingly office. Plato is very fond of the comparison ; see Rep. 343 A with the note in Adam's ed. (Camb. 1902). In a passage in the Nicom. Ethics (viii. 11), Aristotle refers to Homer's well-known words, vj ykp tmu rou;
urTTep vo^svT Tpo^acTOttv' htliv y.cLi "Ou^'^po^ TOv Aya.^tfj(,\ova, nroipcivcA XxHv I'lT-ev. ' It seems to me desirable,' Dr. Adam observes, ' whenever possible, to quote classical Greek parallels to the figures of the NT, as well as parallels from the Hebrew : the use of figures already familiar to the Greeks cannot but have made the NT writing's more acceptable to Greek readers.'
jAMf:s Donald. RULER. — This word is used in AV of the Gospels to tr. six different Greek words, and it is there- fore necessary to classify the instances according to the word represented. (1) In Mk IS^ and Lk 2V" r]ye/xuv (RV 'governor'), for which see art. GOVER- NOR. (2) In Mt 24«(-") 2521(23)^ Lk 12^2 H^) Kvpios, which means an owner of property, especially of slaves. It is hardly too much to say that the word K^pLos suggests the word 5ov\os, 'slave.' The one word is correlative to the other. A Kvpios is one who possesses slaves ; a dovXos is one who belongs to and is bound to serve an owner. St. Paul, for example, regarded himself as standing in that relation to Jesus Christ. (3) In one passage, Jn 4* (AVm), jSacriXtKoj, a general term, not infrequently found, to indicate any one in the service of a royal person. In this passage a man in the service of Herod, tetrarcii of Galilee, is doubtless meant. The word appears to be used only of those in the service of Eastern potentates, antl never in connexion Avith the Roman Emperor. (4) In Jn 2'' the expression ' ruler of the feast ' occurs. This is a tr. of the compound word apxt-rpiKXtvos, lit. ' ruler of the dining-room' (with three dining-couches). His
position at a dinner or banquet corresponded very much to that of a head-waiter at a modern public dinner. He had to see to the arrangement of the dining-couches, the laying of the table, the supply of food and drink ; in short, to supervise every- thing connected with the comfort of the guests and the success of the banquet. (5) In the great bulk of the instances the word ' ruler ' represents apx^v, a more or less vague term which generally answers to the English {city) magistrate. In the following jjassages it indicates a member or ofticer of the Sanhedrin (m h. see) : Lk 23i=*- =*» 24^", Jn 3'. In Mt 9"*'-^, if Ave compare the parallel narratives (Mk 5--, Lk 8^1), it Avould appear to mean ' ruler of the synagogue,' as in Jn 12'*^, the context of Avhich seems to settle the question. We are probably to understand this implication also in Lk 18^*, Jn 72ii.j8_ (6) The title 'ruler of the synagogue' {apxt-(^wdyujyos) is explicitly iised in Mk 5"- ^°- 3G. 3s^ Lj^ 8-41. jy 1314 (j„ j^ji j-ije passages except the
last it is Jairus that is referred to). The name was applied in Palestine to the chief official of the synagogue as a place of Avorshij). He had, for example, to maintain order in the building, and had to select those who were to take part in the service. Outside Palestine the title Avas fre- quently honorary, and carried no duties Avith it.
A. SOUTER.
RUST (/SpuJcrts [fr. ^L^pihdKb), Lat. voro, 'to eat.' Properly the act of eating, and so ' corrosion '], Mt e^"*-'; also used for 'food,' Jn 4''2 6-'- ^s). —The corroding influence liable to tarnish treasures or precious metals, Avhich in Eastern countries Avere often stored in the ground (Mt \Z**) or on in- habited premises (Lk 15*).
C. H. Prichard.
RUTH. — Named in our Lord's genealogy (Mt P), probably for the reason noted in art. Rahab.
S
SABBATH (Heb. n:^p, Gr. o-d^/Jaroi').— 1. Sabbath observance in the time of Christ.— Although the Mishna dates from c. 200 A.D., many of the pro- visions there recorded Avere current at a much earlier time ; hence Ave may often use it to illus- trate JcAvish life in the time of Christ. Tavo of its treatises, Shahbath and Erubin, besides portions of others, deal Avith the observance of the Sabbath. Shahbath is concerned Avith regulations respecting Avhat is lawful or unlaAvful on that day, and Erubin treats of modifications of the laAvs concern- ing travelling or moving anything from one place to another on the Sabbath.
In accordance with the JeAvish custom (derived from the recurring expression ' the evening and the morning Avere the . . . day' in Gn 1, see Erubin, v. 5), the Sabbath Avas considered to begin at sunset on the Friday and to end at sunset on the Saturday. The day preceding the Sabbath (or other feast) Avas called the day of the Prepara- tion, irapacTKevf) (Lk 23^^ Jn W^-*'^), on Avhich all work must be finished, and nothing fresh at- tempted, unless there Avas time enough to com- plete it before sunset. For instance, a tailor must not go out carrying his needle near dusk on the Friday, lest through forgetfulness he should carry it on the Sabbath {Shahbath, i. 3) ; and meat, onions, or eggs must not be fried unless they can be quite done before the sunset at Avhicli the Sabbath begins {ib. i. 10). This explains the request of the JeAvs to Pilate that the bodies of Jesus and the