BEATING.— The AV uses the word 'beat' to express some form of corporal punishment, without
A'OL. I. — lO
defining the particular mode of infliction. 1. In Ac S^** 221^ Avhen Sepco (' to scourge, so as to flay oft' the skin') is thus translated, the allusion is to the Jewish mode of eastigation, inflicted with a leathern scourge, in the former instance by the authority of the supreme Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, in the latter by that of the rulers of the synagogues, or local Sanhedrins, at the instigation of Saul. St. Paul himself, during the period of his apostolic career previous to the Avriting of 2 Cor., was subjected to this species of chastisement on no less than five occasions (2 Co ll'"), none of Avhich is referred to in the Acts.
2. In Ac 16-2, Avhen pa^Sifw is rendered by the verb ' beat,' the allusion is to the Roman punish- ment Avith rods. In defiance of the Roman LaAv, Avhich exempted every citizen from the disgrace of being scourged with rods or Avhips, the duumA-irs at Philippi subjected St. Paul and Silas to this cruel form of maltreatment. St. Paul sutt'ered from two other inflictions of the same sort, regard- ing which the Acts is silent.
3. In Acl8i^2P- the verb ti/tttw is used to denote another mode of beating, namely, that inflicted by mob violence. In the case of Sosthenes, the assault, apparently by members of the Greek loAA-er order, entailed no danger to the life or limb of the victim. In St. Paul's case, on the other hand, the onslaught by the fanatical Asiatic Joavs Avas of such a violent cliaracter that nothing but the timely intervention of the Roman tribune prevented a fatal result.
See, further, art. Scouegixg.
W. S. ^Montgomery. BEAUTIFUL GATE.— See Temple and Door.
BED, COUCH.— In the relevant section of the NT four difl'erent Greek Avords are translated ' bed.' In He 13'', Avhere the imperatiA'es of the RV should be noted, the marriage- bed (koLtti) is referred to, and is synonymous Avith the state of marriage itself. In Rev 2^ tlie clause jSdWcj auri^v et's k\Lvj]v is to be taken metaphorically, representing the enforced recumbent position of the sick (cf. Mt 9^, JNIk 7^", also Mt 8^ "), paralleled in the same verse by els 6\l\l/iv fieydX-qv, the portion of toOs /loixeiJoyTas fier aiiTrjs.
The remaining instances are concrete, involving Kkivaploiv ('beds') and KpaSdrruv ('couches') in Ac 5^^ and Kpa^drrov (this time translated ' bed,' both in AV and RV) in Ac 9^. Regarding the former of these Ave find that K\u>apiui>, the reading of the principal MSS, has replaced an earlier kXivQv. KpaSdTTwv (Vulg. grabatis) has equal MS authority Avith K\ivapiiai>, but Kpa^dKTov((A}v) and Kpa^^drov(cjv) are alternative spellings, particularly in Ac 9^. It is difficult to distinguish between the two kinds of beds. Kkivdpiov is a ' small bed,' Avith or Avithout reference to structure. In JcAvish usage Kpdj3arTos appears to be descriptive, and to have some con- nexion Avith the bands of leather that Avere used to fill up the frameAvork, by means of which a couch or seat by day could be converted into a bed by night. It is equated to o-kL/jlttovs, crKLfnrddiov, Avhich is defined as a mean bed for accommodating one person (Grimm-Thayer), but may Avith equal pro- priety be taken as akin to couch or sofa (see S. Krauss, Talmud. Archdologie, i. [Leipzig, 1910] p. 66). Each kind A\'as portable, and to this end a frameAvork of some sort Avould have been of service, but was not essential. Meyer justly refuses to accept a distinction Avhich makes the one Avord mean a soft, costly bed, and the other a poor, humble one. The story of yEneas (Ac 9^^- ^) suggests the presence of soft materials, Avhich could be smoothed out (arpQaov ; cf. Mk 14^=). The references to bed and couch are indicative of simplicity, not to say poverty (cf. the foenum, bed of hay, characteristic of the Jews [Juvenal, Sat. iii. 14 and vi. 541]).
14:6
JBEGINi^l^G AND END
BENEDICTION
The refined and luxurious modes that without doubt prevailed in the Grfeco- Roman world are only matter of inference from Rev 18'-.
Although there is no mention of bed in Ac 12^, the passage may be cited as affording a vivid picture of one rising up from sleep, ungirt, with sandals put off, and the upper garment laid aside or per- haps having been used as a covering by night. The passage He ll"-'^ may reasonably be brought within the scope of this article, since it is likely that 'staff'' should be rendered 'bed' (cf. Gn 47^i). See article Staff. W. Cruickshank.
BEGINNING AND END. -See Alpha and Omega.
BELIAL, BELIAR. — This word occurs only once in the NT (2 Co 6'^). To understand its meaning there we must trace its use in the OT. The word is Hebrew (hn'}?^), but its etymology is uncertain. The ordinary derivation (from '^3, ' without,' and rt. hi!\ which in Hiph. h'pn—' to profit') seems to be the best, and this makes the word mean ' wortli- lessness.' But T. K. Cheyne (Expos., 5th ser., i. [1895] 435 ff. ; cf. also art. 'Belial' in EBi) makes it mean 'one may not ascend' (so suiting Siieol in Ps IS**- ; see below), or ' hopeless ruin.' The Talmud makes it mean ' without the yoke ' (Viy 'V?). The Syriac lexicographers (see R. Payne Smith, Thcsaur. Syr., Oxford, 1879-1901, i. 53-4) understand it to mean ' jsrince of the air ' ; they seem to have de- rived it from '7i?3, ba'al, ' lord,' and the Syriac nxN = drip, 'air.' But the last two derivations are certainly wrong.