Yulg. Remmon, A mthar ; A. V. " Remmon-methoar '), a Hebrew's attire, inasmuch as it containeil his signet, and place which formed one of the landmarks of the east- : g^.^^ „,,,g^, j^g ^a^^^ t„ t,,jg circumstance, the term tab- ern boundary of the territory of Zebulun (Josh, xix, j^^^,^/^ ^^^^^^ derived from a root signifving "to impress 13 only). It occurs between Eth-Katsin and Neah. ^ seal." It was hence the symbol of authority, and as Methoar does not really form a part of the name, but such was presented by Pharaoh to Joseph (Gen. xli. 42), is the Piial of "XP, to stretch, and should be translated by Ahasuerus to Ilaman (Esth. iii, 10), by Antiochus to accordingly (as in the margin of the A.V.) — "Rimmon which reaches to Neah." The object of the sacred writer is to descrilje as minutely as possible the exact course of the bor- der-line. This is the judgment of (iesenius, Thesaiir.col. 1292a; Riidi- ger, ?W(/. 1491 a; Fiirst, llamhrb. ii, 512 a; and Buiisen, as well as of the ancient Jewish commentator Raslii, who quotes as his aiilhurity the Targum of Jonathan, tlie text of which has, however, been subse- quently altered, since in its present state it agrees with the \.\. in not translating the word. The latter
course is taken by the Sept. and jj.j|,^,^ ^^ ^ Wooden Ficnie ofa Woman (on the lid of a mnmmy-case in the \ ulg. as above, and by the Peshito, British Museum). 1, the left ; 2, the rii^ht haud.
RING
31
RING
Philip (1 Mace, vi, 15), and bj' the father to the prodi- gal son in the parable (Luke xv, 22). It was treasured accordingly, and became a proverbial expression tor a most valued object (Jer. xxii, 24 ; Ilagg. ii, 23 ; Eceliis. xlix, II). Such rings were worn not only by men, but by women (Isa. iii, 21; IMishna, iSabb. G, § o), and are enumerated among the articles presented by men and women for the service of the tabernacle (Exod. xxxv, 22). The signet-ring was worn on the right hand (Jer. loc. cit.). We may conclude, from Exod. xxviii, 11, that the rings contained a stone engraven with a device, or with the owner's name. — Smith. See Okxament.
The ancient Egyptians wore many rings, sometimes two and tiiree on the same finger. The left was consid- ered the hand peculiarly privileged to bear those orna- ments; and it is remarkable that its third finger was dec- orated with a greater number tlian any other, and was considered by them, as by us, par excellence the ring finger, though there is no evidence of its having been so honored at the marriage ceremony. They even wore a ring on the thumb. Some rings were very simple ; oth- ers were made with a scaraba^us, or an engraved stone; and they were occasionally in the form of a shell, a knot, a snake, or some fancy device. They were mostly of gold, and this metal seems to have always been preferred to silver for rings. Silver rings, however, are occasion- ally met with. Bronze was seldom used for rings, though frequently- for signets. Some have been discovered of brass and iron (the latter of a Roman time) ; but ivory and blue porcelain were the materials of which those worn bj' the lower classes were usually made. The
Ancient Egyptian Finger-rings.
1, a ^old ring ; 2, the engraved fare of it ; 3, pold rinj? with two asps ; 4, 5, rings of porcelain or blue glazed pottery.
scarabffius was the favorite form for rings; in some the stone, flat on both faces, turned on pins, like many of our seals at the present day, and the ring itself was Ijound round at each end, where it was inserted into the stone, with gold wire. This was common not only to rings, but to signets, and was intended for ornament as well as security. Numerous specimens of Egyptian rings have been discovered, most of them made of gold, very massive, and containing either a scarabreus or an engraved stone (Wilkinson, . I hc. Egypt, ii, 337). The ancient Assyrians seem to have been equally fond of similar ornaments. The same profusion was exhibited also by the Greeks and Komans, particularly by men
Aucieut Assyrian Fiiiger-riiigs (now in the British Mu- seum). 1, of glass; 2, of bronze.
(Smith, Z^iW. o/'.hi^jj. s.v. "Rings"). It appears also to have prevailed among the Jews of the apostolic age ; for in James ii, 2, a rich man is described as xpt'ToSaKrv- Xioc, meaning not simply "with a gold ring," as in the A. v., but "golden-ringed" (like the xpuffiix^p, "gold- en-handed," of Lucian, Tiiiwn, 20), implying etpially well the presence of several gold rings. See Jewkl.
The principal information we have about ancient rings is derived from Pliny. He says that Alexander the Great sealed all important documents in Europe with his own ring, and in Asia with that of Darius. He states that the Romans derived the custom of wearing rings from the Sabines, and they from the (ireeks; hence there occurs no mention of Roman rings earlier
than the reign of Numa Pompilius. The rings then worn were generally of iron, and sometimes engraved. In process of time silver rings were adopted bj' free citi- zens, and tiiose of iron were abandoned to slaves. (ioUl rings could, in the earlier ages of the republic, only be worn by senators; and even in tiieir case the use of the gold ring was to be confined to puljlic occasions. Ma- rius, in his third consulate, is said to have worn one habitually; but if this accotnit be correct, it must have been a ring of some special kind, for more than a cen- tury earlier the equestrian order had the privilege of wearing gold rings, since Hannibal, after the l)attle of Cannse, sent as a troph\^ to Carthage three bushels of gold rings, taken from the fingers of the Roman knights slain in the battle. It is clear that the equestrian ring was not allowed to be indiscriminately worn, for Horace informs us that he did so himself by the express permis- sion of Augustus (Horace, Saf. II, vii, bi). It maj' be that the passage in James's epistle refers to the eques- trian ring as a token of Roman rank. The ring was generally worn on the fourth finger of the left hand, and Aulus Gellius gives as a reason for this that there is a vein from that finger running directly to the heart. To wear rings on the right hand was regarded as a mark of effeminac}', but they were not unfrequently worn in considerable numbers on the left. This was a practice among men of fashion at Rome (Martial, £jnff. xi, 60), as it had been at Athens so far back as the age of Aris- tophanes (Aristoph. Niihes). Lampridius informs us that Heliogabalus, whose fingers were always covered with rings, never wore the same twice; and a part of the fop- pery of the age consisted in having rings of different weights for summer and winter. Wedding-rings, often of large size, were in use among the Jews, and from them Christians have borrowed the practice ; and the ring has from a very early period formed a part of the episcopal costume, as indicating that the bishop was wedded to his Church. So long ago as the Council of Toledo (A.D. G33), a deposed bishop was restored by returning to him his episcopal ring. — Fairbairn. See Signet.