Siph'moth ( Heb. Siphmoth', n'lTiSb, fruitful [ Fiirst ] ; Sept. Srt^Et v. r. ^nfcifiioQ ; Vulg. Sepha- moth), one of the places in the south of Judah which David frequented during his freebooting life, and to his friends in which he sent a portion of the spoil taken from the Amalekites (I Sam. xxx, 28). It is not named by Eusebius or Jerome. It is perhaps the present ruined site Kasi esSir in a wady of the same name not far south-east of Arair, or Aroer (Palmer, Desert of the Exo- dus, p. 341).
Si'phori, a sect found imder this name in Genna- dius .Massiliensis, but it is supposed to be a misreading for Saccopiioki (q. v.).
Siphra (also compoimded Re-siphra, De-siphra), from the Heb. "^Sp, "a book," is an expression used by the Masorites to denote a certain book to which refer- ence is made, and it is generally i[uoted with the prefix 3 and 1, X"iSD3, X~iSD'1, and is also abbreviated in 'eD3, 03. Thus, on bzT in Gen. ii, 5, the Masora Par- va remarks X1S02 s'~i H, i.e. "^31 occurs five times as the beginning of a verse in this book," viz. Genesis. Where books consist of two, as Samuel, Kings, Ezra, and Chronicles [ Kzra and Nehcmiah f<)rming, according to the Jewish canon, but one book], they are only (juoted as one. Thus, on SlVn in 1 Kings ii, the Masorah re- marks X1SD3 Cxbia t'S i.e. "the word Xlbn occurs seventeen times written plene in that book," i. e. in 1 and 2 Kings. Tiie same is the case with the twelve minor prophets, which are also regarded as one book. Thus, on "i^S ns in Amos iii, 12, the Masoretic note is !!<"iSD3 n"I33 H, i.e. "the word "'CX ilD occurs five times in that book [viz. in the twelve minor prophets] with tlie accent." Hence the Masora Magna laid down the following rule: S<:"'n ^D -JTi3 xbbs "^Xn Uip3
bz iiai-i-'B x-isoa "i"j;5 inna mora "p-.sxn :
■1C3 "^in ISO, i.e." take this rule into thine hand: where in the Masorah the twelve minor prophets are
spoken of as 'in the book,' the whole book of the minor prophets is to be understood." Thus, on CZ^n^X in Zech. i, 2 the note is X~iSD3 Cxb^a a, i.e. "the word C-Til^X is written three times plene in the book," viz. in the minor prophets; or DXI in xiv, 18, S 1 3 X1SD3, i. e. " CXI occurs three times at the beginning of a verse in the book," i. e. not in Zechariah alone, but also in all the other books constituting the minor proph- ets. It must, however, be observed that when the Ma- sora Parva on the word onx in Lev. xv, 29 remarks X"iED3 B'^xb'a b M, i.e. "there are thirty-nine instances where CPIX is written j)lene in this book," viz. in the Pentateuch, this is a mistake, since X"1SD3 is never used for the "Pentateuch," but always n"nr3. "With the servile T=:X1EDT we read on Gen. xxxiv, 25, on
the word n^3. x"isoT xnn3nx3 ■pnr.s p in, i. e.
" it is one of the words written with a Pattach and Ath- nach in that book." To understand this remark, we must call attention to the laws of the vowel-points, viz. that when .1 thnach and Soph-pasuk come under Pattach and Seffol, they convert the latter into a long Kamets. Some instances, however, are left in each book of the Bible which have not been thus converted, and these are called XIEDI nr<ti=Pattach de-Siphra, i.e." Pattach of the book;" and to this the Masoretic remark alludes. See Buxtorf, Tiberias seu Commentarins Massoreticus, p. 2G2 sq. ; Levita, Massoreth Ha-Massoreth (ed. Gins- burg), p. 234 sq., 197 ; Frensdorff, Alassora Magna, p. 9 sq. (B.P.)
Sip'pai (Heb. Sippay', "^SD, my bowls or sills; Sept. '2a(povT v. r. St^^i; Vulg. Saphai), one of the sons of the Rephaim, or " the giants," slain by Sibbechai the Hushathite at Gezer (1 Chron. xx, 4), called in the parallel passage (2 Sam. xxi, 18) by the equivalent name Saph (i\. v.).
Siproetes, in Grecian mythology, was a Cretan youth who accidentally observed Diana while the god- tless was bathing, and who was accordingly transformed into a girl.
Sip^lus, in Grecian mythology, was one of the sons of Ami)hion and Niobe, who vainly tried to avoid the fatal arrows of Apollo (Apollod. iii, 5, C ; Ovid, J/t ^ vi, 231).
Si quis (Lat. if any one), the name of a notice, so called from its first two words, put forth for any objector to dispute the fitness of a candidate for holy orders. It was formerly posted up on the church doors, but now is read from the altar, and is as follows : " Notice is hereby given that A B, now resident in this parish, in- tends to offer himself a candidate for the holy office of deacon (or priest) at the ensuing ordination of the lord
bishop of , and if any person knows any just
cause or impediment for which he ought not to be ad- mitted into holy orders, he is now to declare the same, or to signify the same forthwith to the bishop." In the case of a bishop, the si quis is affixed to the door of Bow Church by an officer of the Court of Arches. This no- tice corresponds to the prcedicatio of the primitive Church and the epikeruxis of Chalcedon (451). See Eadie, Eccles. Cyclop, s. v. ; Walcott, Sac. Archwol. s.v.