death' (76^«^-)-
There is nothing of this arraignment of Provi- dence in the Apocalypse of Baruch. When the author thinks for a moment about the fate of apostate Israelites, he falls into intentional ob- scurity (xlii. 4, 5). In general, he is quite content to nerve himself to believe that the Mighty One will ultimately make the Israelites triumph in this world, and that, after that, in the world to come, the righteous will be abundantly rewarded and the sinners tormented. His main interests are immediate and practical. He has a definite mes- sage for his countrymen. Let those who are left in the Holy Land stJay there (Ixxvii. 6), and let one and all, especiallj' the exiles, hold fast by the Law, though the Temple be destroyed. ' Zion hath been taken from us, and we have nothing now save the Mighty One and His Law' (Ixxxv. 3) ; but ' if ye have respect to the Law and are intent upon wis- dom, the lamp will not fail, and the shepherd will not depart, and the fountain will not run dry' (Ixxvii. 16). This is the message of the last of the great series of Jewish Apocalypses. As Daniel shows us what was the spirit that nerved the Hastclim to resist Antiochus, so Baruch lets us see in Avhat frame of mind it was possible for the Rabbis under Johanan ben Zakkai and his succes- sors to sit down and adapt the religion and the hopes of Israel to the times of the long dominion of the Gentiles.
Cf. also art. EsDRAS (Second).
LiTERATTRE. — This is sufficiently indicated in the first para- graph of this article. In addition, since this article was written, the Apocalypse of Baruch has been re-edited by R. H. Charles in The Apocrypha and Psetidepigrapka of the OT, Oxford, 1913, ii. 470-526 ; but the positions adopted in that edition only differ in unimportant details from the separate edition of 1S96, to which Charles frequently refers back for the discussion ot details. J?, C. BUKKITT.
BASKET.— Two different words for 'basket' are used in connexion with St. Paul's escape from Damascus, one, a-fpvpis or o-irvpls (Ac 9^^), being the same as is found in tlie miracle of feeding the 4000 (Mt 15^^, Mk S^), the other, (rapydPTj, being peculiar to the Apostle's own version of the incident (2 Co IP^). The former kind of basket plays an import- ant part in relation to the miracles of feeding, and the argument for its larger size as compared with K6<pivos is supported by a reference to its use in facilitating St. Paul's escape (but see DCG, art. ' Basket'). The latter calls for detailed treatment here. It has been thought of: (1) as flexible, coming near the idea of reticule or net ; (2) as rigid : either braid- work (used especially of lish-
Epistle may have half fancied that the Epistle of Baruch was addressed to their own ancestors.
BEAST
BED, COUCH
145
baskets [EBi]), or -wicker-work. This last seems to be nearest the truth. In Jewish usage the root J1D (niD) attaches to weaving in the rigid form (e.g. basket-making) as opposed to the flexible (e.g. spinning). One species of work-stool is called J'jid. The basket-making industry was located in the neighbourhood of the Sea of Galilee, with head- quarters at Scytliopolis, and a ready outlet for the manufactured article was found in Damascus (see S. Krauss, Talmud. Archdologie, ii. [Leipzig, 1911] 269 f., where many kinds are speciiied).
In the absence of knowledge as to the nature and size of the window (dvpis), and other details of St. Paul's escape, we cannot hope to attain to a pre- cise result regarding the structure of the a-apydv-r]. It need not be said that present-day traditions in Damascus are of little value. Only the lower half of the wall dates possibly from NT' times (see EBi, art. 'Damascus'). For the device of letting a person down through a Avindow, see Jos 2'» and 1 S 19^^; cf. also Josephus, BJ I. xvi. 4.
W. Cruickshank. BEAST. — The word appears with three references. — 1. It signifies simply an irrational animal (2 P 2^); abeast of burden (Ac23-*) ; an animal used for food (Rev 18"), or for sacrifice (He 13'^); or it is used as symbolizing Nature in its highest forms of nobility, strength, wisdom, and swiftness (Rev 4*'^ ; cf. Ezk 1 and Is 6). — 2. St. Paul writes that he fought Avith 'beasts' at Ephesus (1 Co 15^^). If these were actual beasts, then the Apostle, who had come off conqueror in tlie fight, instead of being handed over to the executioner, Avas set free by the provincial magistrate (cf. C. v. Weizsacker, Das apostol. Zeitalter, 1886, p. 328 [Eng. tr., The Apostolic Age, i. (1894) 385]; A. C. McGifiert, The Apostolic Age, 1897, p. 280 ti'.). The uncertainties and difficulties of this position are, hoAvever, so serious that it is commonly abandoned in favour of a metaphorical interpretation, and for these reasons : (a) St. Paul Avas a Roman citizen ; (h) neither in Acts nor in 2 Cor. is there any allusion to an actual conflict Avith beasts ; (c) had he so fought, he would not have survived. Ignatius, referring to his journey to Rome Avhere he Avas to sufler martyrdom, Avrote, ' I am bound to ten leopards, that is, a troop of soldiers . . . ' (ad Rom. 5). Some explain St. Paul's allusion by Ac 19 ; but this tumult Avas probably later, and such explanation disagrees Avith 1 Co 16^- ^ Ramsay alleges a mixture of Greek and Roman ideas — in the Greek lecture-room St. Paul A\'ould become familiar with the Platonic comparison of the mob Avith a dangerous beast, and as a Roman citizen he would often have seen men fiaht Avith beasts in the circus (St. Patil, 1895, p. 230 f.). :Max Krenkel (Beitrdge zur Atifhellung der Gesch. und der Brief e des Apost. Paulus, BruusAvick, 1890, pp. 126-152) suggests that Christians used ' beast ' (cf. Rev. 13) Avith a cryptic reference to Rome's power (cf. the four beasts in Dn 8"*^-). We are certain only that St. Paul referred to some extreme danger from men through Avhich he had passed in Ephesus, of which the Corinthians had heard (P. W. Schmiedel, Hand-Koimnentar zum Neuen Testament, Freiburg i. B., 1893, p. 198).— 3. In Rev. (IF 131^-) two beasts are described, one (13'-i»; cf. Dn V^-) sym- bolizing the hostile political Avorld-poAver of Rome and the kings of Rome as vassals of Satan, the other (13"-^8) ^jjg hostile religious poAver of false prophecy (cf. le^^ 19-» 20i«) and magic, enlisted as ally of the political poAver— a false Christ or Antichrist, by Avhich the Avorship of the Caesar Avas imposed on the provinces. See, further, art. Apocalypse. C. A. Beckwith.