ESH'COL {clnster), one of Abraham's allies. Gen. 14:13,24.

ESH'COL {clnster), one of Abraham's allies. Gen. 14:13,24.

Second Esdras is of less value than First. It exists in a Latin translation. The Greek original has not been found. It is, however, curious as a revelation of the Jewish mind of the day upon their future. It purports to contain a series of visions vouchsafed to Ezra. They are upon certain mysteries in the moral world and the final triumph of the righteous. The book was written in Egypt, probably before Christ, but interpolated bv Christians.

E'SEK {strife), a well in the valley of Gerar, dug by Isaac's herdsmen. Gen. 26:20.

ESH'-BA'AL {Baal's man), the same with Ishbosheth. 1 Chr. 8 : 33 : 9 : 39, See Ishbosheth.

ESH'-BAN {wise man), a descendant of Seir the Horite. Gen. 36:26; 1 Chr. 1:41.

ESH'COL {clnster), one of Abraham's allies. Gen. 14:13,24.

ESH'COL. (/^»»cA, or cluster), THE VALLEY OF, a valley in the land of Canaan, Num, 13 : 23, 24 ; 32 : 9 ; Deut. 1: 24. It has been placed at 'Ain el-Khashkali, north of Hebron, but Palmer and Drake would place it at Telilat el-'Anab, or " gra])e-mounds," near Beer-sheba. Van Lennep has found clusters of grapes 18 inches in length,

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and it is said that bunches weighing from 12 to 20 pounds are still found in southern Palestine.

E'SHE AN, a ])lace in the mountains of Judah. Josh. 15 : 52. Van de Velde suggests the ruins of Khursa, near Hebron, as its site; Knobel would identify it with Shema, 1 Chr. 2:43; Conder identifies it with CH-Slmia.

E'SHEK {oppression), a descendant of Saul. 1 Chr. 8 : ;!9.

ESH'TAOL {recess, or hollow way), a town in the lowlands of Judah, Josh. 15 : 33 ; given to Dan. 19 : 41. It was the region of Samson's boyhood and burial. Jud. 13 : 25 ; 16 : 31. ' The Dan-ites went out from thence. 18: 2-11. Robinson and others suggest Yeshua as its site ; Black proposes Eshua, 1 mile east of Snra {Zoreah); and Grove proposes Kustul, east of Kitriet-el-Enab.

ESHTE.>10'A {obedience), a descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4: 19.

ESHTEMO'A, or ESHTEM'-OA {woman of renowu ?), a town in the hill-country of Judah; given to the priests, Josh. 21:14; 1 Chr. 6:57; visited by David, 1 Sam. 30 : 31 ; now called Semu'a a village of about 200 inhabitants. Among its houses are ruins and ancient hewn stones. It was also called Eshtemoh. Josh. 15 : 50.

ESH'TEMOH. See Eshtemoa.

ESH'TON {effeminate). It is usu-all}^ taken as the name of a descendant of Judah, but Grove thinks it was probably a place in Judah. 1 Chr. 4:11, 12.

ES 'Li I {reserved by Jehovah), a person in Christ's genealogy. Luke 3 : 25.

ESPOUSE'. See Betroth.

ES'ROM. Matt. 1:3; Luke 3 : 33. The same with Hezron. Gen. 46 : 12.

ESSE'NES. This Jewish sect is not mentioned in the N. T., because they lived in retired communities, and hence Christ and his apostles did not encounter them. They represent the mystic and ascetic forms of Judaism, while the Pharisees represented the orthodox, and the Sadducees the rationalistic and lati-tudinarian, forms. Their origin is unknown. Some think they started in the time of the Maccabees, about B. c. 150, while others trace them back to the Rechabites. Their name has never been satisfactorily explained. Some think it means "the retiring" or "the puritan;" others, " the healers." Bishop 286

Lightfoot prefers the meaning "pious;" Philo makes it mean " holy ;" Josephus considers it equivalent to " oracle."

From the two last-mentioned authors we derive our information, which, though not extensive, is sufficient to give us a vivid picture of their mode of life. In Josephus's day most of the Essenes lived in small colonies or villages at long distances from the towns, principally in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea, although some lived in the cities. They diifered likewise in regard to marriage, the laxer practising it, but the stricter being celibates. Inasmuch as the latter were really the majority, our attention will be limited to them.

"Ascetic communism expresses the peculiarity of the Essenic movement." They had all things common. Philo says: " There is no one who has a house so absolutely his own private property that it does not in some sense also belong to every one; for besides that they all dwell together in companies, the house is open to all those of the same notions who come to them from other quarters. There is one storehouse among them all; their expenses are all in common, as are their garments and food. They do not retain their wages as their own, but bring it into the common stock. They take care of their sick and honor their elders." Each settlement had near it a room in which the members assembled at regular hours. Each Essene rose before sunrise, and said his morning praj'er with his face turned toward the East. At daybreak they went to work: farming, cattle-i'aising, bee-keeping, and such-like peaceful operations, were their occupations. They shunned commerce, war, and trade. They dressed simply— not for show, but for decency and comfort; in the winter in a hairy mantle, and in the warm season in an undergarment without sleeves. Besides, at all times, they wore a leathern apron and carried little spades. They worked until 11 A.M.—the fifth hour—then bathed, dressed themselves in white linen (the dress of the sect), and then assembled for the meal. A priest said grace before and after the meal, which was always extremely simple, since they abstained from meat and wine. Then, having sung a hymn, they resumed their work, and worked until sunset. The seventh

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day of tbe week was kept as an absolute rest, the time passed in the reading and exposition of the Law and their own peculiar books. While observing the Law in many points, they broke it in one important particular: they did not go to the feasts to sacrifice in Jerusalem, though they regularlj^ sent gifts. This imumaly has been explained by their circumstances: their asceticism prevented them from partaking of the feasts, their mode of worship prevented them from entering the temple.

Since they abjured marriage, they recruited their ranks by adopting children, whom they took great pains in teaching. But they were never numerous. Philo states that in his time they did not number more than 4000. He who would join them had to endure a three years' novitiate, during which he was excluded from their society, but was compelled all this while to live on their spare diet and observe their rules. In the first year the novice wore the apron and the white linen garment and carried the spade. At the end of the year he was made a "partaker of. the waters of purification." At the end of the third, after he had bound himself with tremendous oaths—though at other times oaths were absolutely forbidden— to be worthy of the order and obedient to its rulers, and especially ''to keep the books of the order and the names of the angels," he was admitted into full membership. The " books " contained probably speculations in regard to the future, inasmuch as the Essenes enjoyed distinction from the number of their prophets. The''names of the angels" may have been magic formula?, since the Essenes practised magic. Banishment from the order was equivalent to starvation if the banished man desired reinstatement, since their peculiar notions would prevent him receiving food from any one not an Essene.

In regard to theology, the Essenes believed in unconditional Providence, the immortality of the soul, but not in the resurrection of the body, in future rewards to the righteous, and in future punishment to the wicked, who are *' banished to a cold and dark corner, where they suffer unspeakable torments." They believed they had among them prophets, and indeed this was the

popular opinion. Their celibacy, sun-homage, and abstinence from sacrifice were their non-Jewish qualities, derived from the Zoroastrian religion ; to these must be added their magical rites and intense striving after purity.

In their life the Essenes were noted for their kindness to the sick and the poor. They opposed slavery. They made medicines from herbs which were healing. Modest and retiring, they shrank from participation in public affairs. According to Philo, their conduct generally was directed by three rules—" the love of God, the love of virtue, and the love of man."

It was the notion of some rationalists that Jesus derived his theology from them. But this opinion, which never had any foundation, is now given up by the rationalists themselves.

Bishop Lightfoot {Com. on Colossians, " Introd." p. 98) maintains, with many German commentators, that the Colos-sian heresy which Paul combats in his Epistle was a form of Essene Judaism which was Gnostic in its character. The Essenes disappear from history after the destruction of Jerusalem. See De Quin-cey's Essays on the Essenes.

ESTATE' is the general name for an order or class of men in society or government, Mark 6 : 21, as in Great Britain the lords and commons are called the "estates" of the realm.

ESTATE' OF THE ELD'-ERS, Acts 22 : 5, means the eldership, the elders of the Jews, a distinct body from the Sanhedrin, but co-operating with it.

ES'THER (star), called also in Hebrew HADAS'SAH {the^ wyrtle), an eminent Jewess, wife of Xerxes. She was an orphan child of the tribe of Benjamin, and cousin to Mordecai, who adopted her and brought her up very tenderly. When Ahasuerus—who was Xerxes—put away Queen Vashti, he chose Esther, who had already been selected, on account of her beauty and her worth, to fill the vacant place, b. c. 479. Having learned through her cousin, Mordecai, who held some office in the palace of Shushan, or Susa, the winter and favorite palace of the Persian kings, that ILaman, the prime minister, had procured the roj-al permission to kill all the Jews in the kingdom, Esther had the

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faith and the courage to carry out the plan suggested by Mordecai, and succeeded not only in executing the author of the infamous plot, but in getting permission for the Jews, upon the appointed day of slaughter, to defend themselves and take vengeance upon all who dared molest them, and for the Jews in Shushan to repeat the slaughter on the next day.

Esther, Book of, a narrative of the startling deliverance of the Jews through the agency of Esther and her cousin, Mordecai, and of the origin of the Purim festival. Ilaman, prime minister of Ahasuerus, had formed the wicked design to extirpate the Jews in the empire in revenge upon Mordecai, who refused to pay him the customary homage, and whom he had been compelled by the king to lead through the streets in recognition of Mordecai's services in saving the king's life. But his design was frustrated by the bravery of Esther, and the day fixed for the Jews' slaughter was for them a day of revenge. In memory of this deliverance the festival of Purim ("lots") was instituted, and so called in remembrance of llaman's casting of lots. Esth. 3 : 7 : 9 : 24, 26. It is annually observed on the 14th and 15th Adar, which month begins with the new moon of February and lasts till the new moon in March. At this festival the book is read, and it is the custom, in " some synagogues, whenever the name of Haman is pronounced, to hiss and stamp and clench the fist and cry, 'Let his name be blotted out! May the name of the wicked rot!' It is said also that the names of Ilanian's sons are all read in one breath, to signify that they all expired at the same instant of time."

The book is written upon a single roll. It is greatly admired by the Jews. This saying is attributed to one of their greatest men: " In the days of the Messiah the prophetical books and the Ha-giographa will be done away with, excepting only Esther, which will endure together with the Pentateuch." Its literary character is fully equal to the best of the other historical books of the canon. The style is lively, and almost dramatic. But the peculiarity of the book is that the name of God does not occur in any form. The omission was probably intentional, and in order to permit the reading of Esther at 288

the joyous, even hilarious, festival of Purim, without irreverence. It is worthy of notice, in this connection, that in Solomon's Song the name of God occurs only once in the Hebrew, 8 : 6, where the A. Y. translates '" a most vehement flame." The book of Esther is full of a most intense Judaism, and incidentally exhibits great familiarity with Persian manners and customs. Its incidents are thoroughly in keeping with the known character of Xerxes.

The book furnishes a striking illustration of an all-ruling Providence in controlling human passions, frustrating wicked designs, punishing sinners, and delivering God's people from their enemies even in a foreign land. This is the chief practical value of the book. It is likewise a divine sanction to the virtue of patriotism.

The language of the book contains several Persian words, translated '' satrap," " post," " edict," '' royal " (not'' camel;" 8 : 10 and 14 read: "coursers of the roijnl stud"), "cotton," "crown," "nobles," "a copy," and "lot."

The circumstantial minuteness of detail, the vividness of the portraits, the Persian words, and the whole tone of the book indicate that the author was a Jew who lived about the time of the events recorded, at the court of Persia, where he had access to the official documents of the kingdom. Professor Raw-linson assigns the book to a period from 20 to 30 years after Xerxes's death, B. c. 444-4?,4.

E'TAM. 1. A place in Simeon, 1 Chr. 4 : 32; jierhaps the modern 'Ai-tun.

2. A place in Judah, 2 Chr. 11: fi • the source of the water for Solomon's gardens and the temple, according to Josephus. It has been identified with Urtns, near Bethlehem ; but Drake suggests the spring 'Ain 'Atdii, a few hundred yards south-east of Solomon's pools.

E TAM, THE ROCK, Samson's retreat after the slaughter of the Philistines. Jud. 15 : 8, 11. Condor locates it at Beit 'Atdh, a little north of Eshii'a (Eshtaol), which he thinks fully meets all the requisites of the case. It has clefts, caves, and a rock-tunnel which would so effectually conceal one that those not acquainted with the place might not find him, nor even the en-

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trance to the tunnel except by accident. {Tent-Life, vol. i. p. 275.) ETERNAL, ETERNITY.

The word translated "eternity" is in Hebrew okivi, which means *' hidden ;" in Greek, aiou, which has primary reference to a period as " a lifetime." The dift'erence between them consists in the fact that olain usually means the world in time, although the only place where it is so rendered in our version is Eccl. 3 : 11. But Ps. 90 :1 is literally " from world to world," Ps. 145 : 13, " kingdom of all worlds," Deut. 33 : 27 ; " the arms of the world" (English Version, "everlasting arms "). The underlying thought in these passages is that of immense time-movements exhibiting God's great work.

The Hebrew and Greek words both had plurals, which proves that they did not in themselves denote absolute endlessness. They are likewise applied to finite things. Gen. 17:8; 49:26; Ex. 12 : 14. When they are applied to God and spiritual things they indicate the endless succession of ages, which is the popular and necessary conception of eternity. The idea of absolute eternity is impressed in the Bible by language which implies finality. It is this which renders Matt. 25: 46 so impressive. The verse sets forth the last act of the great drama of human life, and the rewards and penalties are awarded irreversibly. Here the curtain falls.

E'THAM {houinlan/ of the sea), a Station of the Israelites " in the edge of the wilderness." Ex. 13 : 20 ; Num. 33 : 6, 7. Canon Cook would identify it with Pithnm or ancient Hiei-apolis; others with Selia Beer, " seven wells," about 3 miles west of the Red Sea; Trumbull, with a " wall" from the Red to the Great Sea.

E'THAN (Jinn, strong). 1. The "Ezrahite," Ps. 89, title, was of the tribe of Levi, and was remarkable for his wisdom. 1 Kgs. 4:31: 1 Chr. 2: 6. He is supposed to have written Ps. 89.

2. Son of Kishi, a Merarite Levite, head of that family in the time of David, and spoken of as a " singer." 1 Chr. 6:44; 15:17, 19.

3. A Gershonite Levite, ancestor of Asaph, the Psalmist. 1 Chr. 6 : 42.

ETH'ANIM. See Months. ETH'BAAL {with Baal; i. e. favored by him), king of the Zidonians 19

and father of Jezebel. 1 Kgs. 16 : 31. In secular history he is known as Itho-balus, a priest of Astarte, as well as king. He usurped the throne of Tyre after having murdered the reigning king. He reigned 32 years, b. c. 940-908.

E'THER {abundance), a town in the lowlands of Judah, .Josh. 15:42; given to Simeon, 19:7. In 1 Chr. 4: 32, Tochen is put in the place of Ether. Van de Velde suggested Tell Athar, and Wilton, Attdrah. Conder proposes, as the corresponding name, 'Atr.

ETHIO'PIA {burnt-faces), called CUSH by the Hebrews, a country south of Egypt, Ezr. 29 : 10, which embraced in its more extended sense modern Nubia, Sennaar, Kordofan, and northern Abyssinia. Sometimes it represented the whole of Africa beyond Egypt. In the Scriptures "Ethiopia" usually refers to the region extending from Egypt southward beyond the junction of the White and Blue Nile. This was Seba, Isa. 43 : 3, and known to the Romans as the kingdom of Meroe. The country is rolling and mountainous, the elevation increasing toward the south, until it reaches a height of about 8000 feet in Abyssinia.

Scrijjture History. —Frequent notices of this country and its people are found in the Bible. It was settled by the children of Ham, Gen. 10 : 6, dark-skinned men of stature. Jer. 13 : 23 : Isa. 45 : 14. They were selected as members of royal households. Jer. 38 : 7-13. The treasurer of its queen, Candace, was baptized by Philip. Acts 8 : 27-38. It is noticed in connection with Egvpt. Isa. 20 : 4; 43 : 3; 45 : 14; with Libya (Phut), Jer. 46:9; Lydia and Chub (Lub and Lud), Eze. 30:5, and the Sukkiim. 2 Chr. 12 : 3. Moses married an Ethiopian, Num. 12 : 1 ; Ethiopians were in Shishak's army, 2 Chr. 12:3; Zerah, an Ethiopian king, had an army of a million soldiers, 2 Chr. 14 : 9-12 ; Job mentioned the precious stones of Ethiopia, Job 28:19; the Israelites were familiar with the merchandise of that country, Isa. 45:14; and Isaiah foretold the subjugation of Ethiopia by the Assyrians. Isa. 20:4, 5. Among the Assyrian inscriptions of Assur-banipal, now in the British Museum, George Smith deciphered several which

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especially illustrate and confirm the fulfilment of this prophecy. Among other prophecies in respect to Ethiopia are Ps. 68:31: 87:4; Isa. 45:14; Eze. 30 : 4-9 ; Dan. 11: 43; Hab. 3:7; Zeph. 2:12; Nah. 3:8-10.

Secular History. —Ethiopia became one of the most powerful and civilized nations of the world as early as B. c. 1000. The ruling class was of the priests. In the eighth century b. c. an Ethiopian dynasty reigned in Lower Egypt. Its first king was Sabaco, whose son was So of the Bible, 2 Kgs. 17: 4, an ally of Hoshea, king of Israel. It is said that in the reign of the Egyptian king Psarametichus, B. c. 630, 240,000 of the military class migrated into Ethiopia. In b. c. 530, Cambyses, king of Persia, invaded Egypt, and, according to Josephus, conquered Me-roe or Ethiopia. The Romans, in the reign of Augustus Ctesar, b. c. 22, defeated Candace, queen of Ethiopia, and made the country tributary to Rome.

ETHIOPIAN EU'NUCH, THE, the Jewish proselyte who, returning from some feast in Jerusalem, was met by Philip the evangelist and baptized. Acts 8: 26 fi". He was a eunuch in the strict sense, not in its official sense of "courtier," and the treasurer of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. Candace was the name of a dynasty, and not of individual monarchs.

ETHIOPIAN WO MAN, the name by which the wife of Moses is called in Num. 12 : 1. She was probably his second wife, married after the death of Zijjporah, who was a Midian-ite.

ETH'NAN [hire ; e.g. of a harlot), a descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4: 7.

ETH'NI {munificent), a Gershonite Levite. 1 Chr. 6:41.

EUBU'LUS (prudent), a Roman Christian who greeted Timothy. 2 Tim. 4:21.

EUNI'CE, OR EU'NICE {happily victorious), the mother of the evangelist Timothy. She was by birth a Jewess, but married a Gentile. Acts 16 : 1; 2 Tim. 1 : 5,

EU'NUCH {bed-keeper, chamberlain). Such persons have long been, and are still, employed about Eastern courts as guards and attendants in harems. 2 Kgs. 9: 32; Esth. 2:3; and 290

others of this class hold oftentimes the principal offices. They are often cowardly, jealous, intriguing, the tool of despots and libertines, ready for any evil work, being shameless and remorseless. They are also peculiarly liable to be melancholy, and, as the only way of ridding themselves of the burden of life, to commit suicide. Eunuchs are the natural consequence of polygamy, and they are numerous in the Eastern cities. In ancient Rome there were many ; so in Greece during the Byzantine period. There are even to-day in Rome a few who sing soprano in the Sistine chapel —the only instance in Christian lands.

According to the law of Moses, no eunuch could enter into the congregation of the Lord, Deut. 23:1; nor could a mutilated animal be otfered in sacrifice. Lev. 22 : 24. Eunuchs existed in the various foreign courts of which we read in the Bible. Herod had them, and so Queen Candace. Acts 8: 27.

The word " eunuch " is employed by Christ, Matt. 19 : 12, in various senses to designate: 1. Those who are natu-rallj'incapacitated; 2. Those who have been mutilated; 3. Those who voluntarily abstain from marriage in order to devote themselves more exclusively to the interests of the kingdom of God.

EUO'DIAS {frar/rant), a Christian woman of Philippi. Phil. 4 : 2.

EUPHRA'TES {the abounding), a noted river, the largest in western Asia, rises in Armenia in two sources. One, on the northern side of the mountain of Ararat, runs in a south-easterly course, receives many tributaries in its winding course along the borders of Syria, and skirting the Arabian desert passes through the middle of Babylon to the sea. Its whole length is 1780 miles. It is navigable for large ships to Bassora, 70 miles above its mouth; a steamer drawing 4 feet of water has ascended to Bir, 1197 miles. It flows in a broad, deep current, filled to the level of its banks, and at Babylon is considerably less than a mile in width. For the last 800 miles of its course it does not receive a single tributary. The quantity of water discharged by the river at Hit is estimated at 72,804 cubic feet per second. The Tigris flows in a narrower channel, with deeper banks and a less rapid current. The country

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between the two rivers slopes toward the Tigris, and thus greatly favors the draining oft" of the superfluous waters of the Euphrates.

The Euphrates overflows its banks in the spring of every year, when the snow of the Armenian mountains dissolves, and it sometimes rises 12 feet. It swells in March, and sinks in July. Dykes, lakes, and canals constructed at vast expense preserved the water for irrigation during the dry season, and i)re-vented its carrying away the soil.

History. —Euphrates is named as one of the rivers of Eden, Gen. 2:13; called '' the great river," Gen. 15 : 18 ; Deut. 1:7; noted as the eastern boundary of the Promised Land, Deut. 11: 24 ; Josh. 1:4; 1 Chr. 5:9; and of David's conquests, 2 Sam. 8:3; 1 Chr. 18 : 3 ; of those of Babylon from Egypt, 2 Kgs. 24:7; is referred to in prophecy, Jer. 13 : 4-7 ; 46 : 2-10 ; 61 : 63, and in Revelation, 9:14; 16 : 12. In upward of 26 other passages it is spoken of as " the river." By this stream the captive Jews wept. Ps. 137:1. It is now called the Frat by the natives. For a sketch-map of the course of the Euphrates see Assyria.

The Murad-chai, a branch of the Euphrates, was crossed by Xenophon, B. c. 410. After this unites with the other chief stream, forming the Euphrates, the river is 120 yards wide. It was used to irrigate the valley around Babylon by means of numerous canals, dykes, and aqueducts, making the plain one of the most fertile spots in the world. It was announced in 1879 that a railroad had been projected along the Euphrates from Damascus to Bagdad. See Babylon and Chald.'ka.

EUROC'LYDON. Acts 27 : 14. A very tempestuous wind on the Mediterranean ; now known under the name of a " Levanter." It blows from all points, and its danger results from its violence and the uncertainty of its course.

EU'TYCHUS {fortunate), the name of a young man who fell from the third story of a house where Paul was preaching in Troas, and was restored by him to life. Acts 20 : 9.

EVAN'GELIST (a messenger of good tidings). In the N. T. the word jueans a preacher of the gospel who

was not fixed in any place, but who travelled as a missionary to preach the gospel and establish churches. Acts 21: 8 ; Eph. 4:11:2 Tim. 4: 5. The evangelists seem to have been an order of ministers standing between the apostles and the pastors and teachers. They could not impart the Holy Ghost. Acts 8: 15. They were liable to be sent upon sudden errands. Acts 8 : 26. They might be ofiicers in a particular church, yet evangelists, as was the case with Philip, who is the best known of the class. Acts 6 :5. We find the evangelists commonly in the service of the apostles as their " helpers " and " fellow-laborers." Paul made most use of them, as was to be expected ; on his last journey to Jerusalem he was accompanied by no less than seven of them. Acts 20 : 4, 5. They were the "vicegerents" of the apostles. Thus, Timothy was sent by Paul to report the condition of the Philippian church, Phil. 2 : 19-23, completed the organization of the Ephesian church, and repressed the growth of errors during the absence of Paul. 1 Tim. 1 : 3 ; 3 : 14, 15 ; 4:13. The discourses of the evangelists were historical in their matter and turned chiefly upon the main facts of Christ's life.

This fact gave rise to the later application of the term to the authors of our written Gospels, who are commonly called "the four Evangelists." To Matthew is assigned as symbol the face of a man (because he traces the human descent of Christ, the Son of man); to Mark the lion, (because he sketches Christ as the conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah); to Luke the ox (with reference to Christ as the Victim slain fof the sins of the world): and to John the eagle (because of his bold flight and steady gaze at the eternal Son of God).

EVE {lifp)- The name was applied by Adam to his wife because "she was the mother of all living." Gen. 3 : 20. She was formed out of a rib of Adam, taken while he slept—a fact which teaches the identity of nature and the oneness of the origin of man and woman, and stamps the divine disap])roval u})on any degradation of women. In the language of Matthew Henry, "the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam ; not made out of his head to top

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him, not out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, from under his arm to be protected, and from near his heart to be beloved."

Eve was Adam's helpmeet and his equal in sinless purity. But her weaker nature afforded Satan's opportunity. Overcome by his sophistry, she ate of the forbidden fruit, and then in turn became a tempter, by her persuasion inducing Adam to share her sin, and thus brought death into the world and all our woe. For her prominent part in the Fall, God said to her, " I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception ; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children ; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and, he shall rule over thee." Gen. 3 : 16. But it was the seed of Eve which was to bruise the serpent's head, and thus the unhappy author of human sin was to be the blessed mother of sin's destroyer. The remarkable sayings of Eve's at the birth of her three known sons have been preserved, and make up all that is known of her. She welcomed the first, Cain (Heb. possession), as the promised one : *' I have gotten a man, even the Lord." But, soon undeceived, she said of Abel {vanity), " Vanity ;" and while her heart was made heavy by the experience of crime, she said of Seth (compensation): "God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." The Scripture account of Eve closes with the birth of Seth. She is twice mentioned by Paul, once as the subject of the serpent's guile, 2 Cor. 11:3, and once as the second created, in an argument for the silence of women. 1 Tim. 2 : 13.

E'VENING, Ps. 55 : 17, E'VEN-TIDE. Gen. 24 : 63. The Hebrews reckoned two evenings, one commencing at sunset and embracing the period of twilight, and the other commencing at dark. Some suppose that the first evening commenced as early as 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and the second at sunset. It was in the interval between the two evenings, at whichever of these periods it occurred, that the passover was to be killed and the daily sacrifice offered. See marginal reading of Ex. 12 : 6 ; Num. 9:3; 28:4. " Eventide " is the same with "evening-time." 292

E'VI (desire), a king of Midian slain by the Israelites. Num. 31 : 8 ; Josh. 13:21.

E'VIL-MERO'DACH, son and

successor of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. 2 Kgs. 25 : 27. Soon after his accession to the throne he released Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from prison, and treated him with great regard through life. Jer. 52 : 31-34. He began his reign B. c. 561, but in b. c. 559 he fell a victim to a conspiracy formed among his own kindred, headed by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar—probably the Nergal-sharezer of Jer. 39 : 3, 13— who succeeded him.

EXCHAN'GERS. See Changers OF Money.

EXCOMMUNICA'TION. The writings of the Rabbins mention the various offeuces for which men were cut off from the privileges of the synagogue, and even from social life. Our Lord is supposed to refer to the excommunications practised—" the simple separation, the additional malediction, and the final exclusion"—when he said, " Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach yon, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake." Luke 6 : 22. Another and yet more evident reference to these Jewish ceremonies is that in John's story of the man born blind. John 9 : 22, 23, 34, 35. Rabbinical excommunication does not rest upon the Law of Moses. It is the natural outgrowth of a Avell-organized society, which keeps itself clear of all obnoxious persons. In its mildest form it was a prohibition from "the use of the razor, the bath, or the convivial table, and all who had to do with the offender were commanded to keep him at four cubits' distance." It lasted 30 days, but might be renewed for an equal period. In case of continued rebellion, the second step was taken. In a solemn manner the offender was cursed, and prohibited from teaching or being taught, hiring or being hired, and from " performing any commercial transactions beyond purchasing the necessaries of life." The third and last step was entire exclusion from the congregation.

It was to be expected that in the Christian Church the practice of excommuni-

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cation would be continued. Its institution by our Lord is recorded in Matt. 18 : 15, IS, and the practice and commands of Paul are given in 1 Tim. 1: 20 ; 1 Cor. 6:11:2 Cor. 2 : 5-10 ; Tit. 3 : 10. Christian excommunication, as we gather from these Pauline Epistles, was a purely spiritual penalty, inflicted for the good of the sufferer and in order that the church might be protected. The sentence might be increased or lightened according to circumstances. Repentance was the condition of restoration : and as the exclusion of the offender from the temporal body of Christ was a public and congregational act, so the reception of the excommunicated member was of the same character.

EXECU TIONER. In 0. T. times the post was honorable. The executioner of Mark 6 : 27 belonged to the king's body-guard.

EX'ODUS, the second book of the Pentateuch. The word is Greek for "going out" or " departing," and is an appropriate, title to the book, which contains an account of the going out of the Israelites from the land of Egypt. It may be divided into two parts: 1. The historical, chs. 1-18 : 27 ; 2. The legislative, ch. 19 to the end.

In the historical portion we have an account of the depressed condition of the people under the king " who knew not Joseph" (Rameses II.), the birth, education, flight, and return of Moses, the attempts, at first disastrous to the Hebrews, to secure the king's permission to their temporary exodus, the plagues wrought by the Lord's power, culminating in the death of the firstborn, the journey of the Israelites from Goshen to Sinai, with all the important incidents and miracles. This portion closes with the Israelites before Mount Sinai, encamped upon the ground they were to occupy for a year.

2. In the legislative part are related the giving of the Law, and the sin of the golden calf; then follow the text of the ten commandments, the various laws for the governance of the people, the full directions for the priesthood and all their appointments. And lastly there are described the erection of the tabernacle and the inauguration of the service. In this book the Bible is brought into contact with Egyptology

and much light has been thrown upon it from modern discoveries and researches confirming the Mosaic narrative. See Pentatkiich.

EX'ODUS, THE. The date, the geography, and the history of this " great turning-point in biblical history " will be considered.

1. Date. — There is a difference of opinion among biblical scholars as to the name of the two kings who oppressed the Israelites and are mentioned in the book of Exodus under the generic name of Pharaoh.

(1) Some hold that Amosis or Aahmes I. was the Pharaoh of the Oppx'ession, and that Thothmes or Tutmes II. was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, who perished in the Red Sea. The latter reigned about a century later, b. c. 1485. His reign is known to have been short and inglorious. But the difficulties in the way of this view are numerous.

(2) According to the other theory, now held by the majority of Egyptologists and biblical scholars, Rameses II., the Great—the Sesostris of the Greeks —was the Pharaoh who " knew not Joseph," Ex. 1 : 11 (b. c. 1388 to 1325), and his son, Menephthah II., was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Menephthah was the thirteenth son of Rameses, and began to rule probably B. c. 1325 or 1322. He marks a period of decline in which the conquests of his two great predecessors were gradually lost. Few monuments were erected in his reign, and even his father's tomb was left unfinished. This is just what we would expect after the catastrophe in the Red Sea. Herodotus tells us that the son of Sesostris (Rameses, whom he calls Pheron) undertook no warlike expeditions, and was smitten with blindness for 10 years because " he impiously hurled his spear into the overflowing waves of the river, which a sudden wind caused to rise to an extraordinary height." This reads like a confused reminiscence of the overthrow in the Red Sea. Taking this view, we may, with Lepsius and Ebers, set the Exodus in B. c. 1317, on the fifteenth day of the first month, A bib or Nisan, our April.

2. Gufxjvaphy. — The Scripture data about the Exodus are as follows : The children of Israel proceeded from Rameses to Succoth, Ex. 12 : 37; thence tu

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Etham, "in the edge of the wilderness," 13 : 20 ; here they were to ''turn and encamp, before Pi-hahiroth, between Mig-dol and the sea, over against Baal-ze-phon." 14 : 2. With these notices must be compared the list of camping-stations which Moses gives. Num. 33 : 2-10. When the Egyptians came upon the track of the Israelites they said, " They are entangled in the land ; the wilderness is closed against them," Ex. 14 : 3— i. e. "They cannot get out of Egypt; they must either return or cross the sea." Moses intended to go by the way of the wilderness, but when he turned southward, by divine command, he was shut in by the waters of the Red Sea, which then probably extended farther north, to the Bitter Lakes. We may thus identify the places mentioned in the itinerary. Rameses, the place of general rendezvous, is Zoan ( Tanis). Suc-coth, which Ebers considers an Egyptian word {field>i), must have been halfway between Rameses and Etham. Etham was probably Pithom (Pitum); Pi-hahiroth is.4/r»f?or^l^rMr?, a fortress on the way from Etham to Suez; Mig-dol is Bir Sitweis, about 2 miles from Suez ; Baal-zephon is perhaps identical with Mount Atakah. Baal was the chief deity of the Phoenicians, who had at a very early period a settlement in Lower Egypt.

There are two prominent theories about the locality and mode of the miraculous passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea: (1) The usual theor}', which locates the passage several miles south of Suez, where the sea is about 10 miles broad. This theory fits in best with the literal meaning of the narrative, for in this case the waters must have been actually divided for several miles, and have stood like walls on either hand. But the difficulties the view raises are more numerous than those it solves. Could the host of Israel, encumbered as they were, have crossed in one night through such a channel? Would the Egyptians have followed them through the deep sea, and in view of such an amazing interposition of God ? Could any wind have had such an effect upon so wide a sea? And if not, why is it mentioned at all as an agent? An accumulation of miracles is called for by 294

this theory. (2) The second theory puts the crossing at the head of the gulf, near or some distance north of Suez. In Moses's time the gulf may have extended as a reedy marsh as far as the Bitter Lakes. The crossing was made possible by a special providence and a miraculous adaptation of the laws of nature. The east, or rather north-east, wind drove off the waters from the small arm of the sea which runs up by Suez; this would leave the water on the more northern j^art of the arm, so that there would be waters on both sides to serve as an entrenchment. This would meet the exi-

Sketch-map of the Koute of the Exodus.

gences of the narrative, Ex. 14 : 22. But even in this case the passage of two millions of people, with all their cattle, was an astounding miracle. It has its counterpart in the crossing of the river Jordan at the end of the journey through the wilderness. For a third theory advocated b\' Brugsch Bey, and more recently by Prof. A. H. Sayce, see Red Sea. 3. History. —The Exodus was the execution of a divine plan. God sent ten

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plagues upon the land in punishment. The last was the severest: the first-born in every house lay dead. But while the destroying angel went through the midst of Egypt the Israelites were gathered in their respective houses, ready at any moment to hear the command, " Go ! begone !" their loins girded, their shoes on their feet,their staffs in their hands, eating hastily the lamb which they had roasted. Thus they observed the Passover. " Dimly we see and hear in the darkness and confusion of that night the stroke which at last broke the heart of the king and made him let Israel go." " And Pharaoh in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead." Then followed in quick succession the midnight call of Pharaoh for Moses and Aaron, the command to depart, the urgent co-operation of the nation to hasten their departure, and the actual leaving of the house of bondage and start upon the momentous journey.

4. Practical Lesson. — The history of the exodus of the Israelites from the land of bondage—their wanderings through the dreary wilderness under the guidance of the Law of God, the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, with many resting-places in delightful oases, and the constant services of the tabernacle, and their final entrance into the Promised Land—has always been regarded as a most instructive type and illustration of the history of the Christian Church and of the individual believer, his deliverance from the bondage of sin, and his passage to the heavenly land of rest and peace.

EXOR'CISTS, those who, by the use of the name of God, attempted to expel evil spirits from places or persons of whom they had possession. It was not an uncommon profession among the Jews, as we may infer from Matt. 12: 27; Mark 9:38; Acts 19 : 13. They were popularly believed to have gotten their power by their study of magic formulas written out by Solomon, of drugs and charms, by the use of spells and in-cantationS; but they were impostors.

EXPIA'TION, FEAST OF.

See Fkasts; Atonement, Day of.

EYES. It was part of the cruelty which distinguished ancient warfare to put out the eyes of prisoners, particularly those who were prominent or dangerous. This custom is referred to in Jud. 16 : 21 ; 1 Sam. 11: 2 ; 2 Kgs. 25 : 7.

The custom of adorning the eyelids in any way for effect is not known among us, but is often alluded to in the 0. T., 2 Kgs. 9 : 30 ; Jer. 4 : 30 ; Eze. 23 : 40, and prevails extensively now among Eastern women, especially among Mohammedans. The hair and edges of the eyelids are tinged with a fine black powder moistened with oil or vinegar, which causes a small black line to appear around the edge, and at a distance (and especially by candlelight) gives a heavy, dark shade to the ej^es. A smooth cylindrical piece of silver or ivory, shaped like a quill and about 2 inches long, is dipped into the composition and placed within the eyelashes, which are closed over it.

The figurative use of the word "eye" to indicate alacritvand vigilance occurs Eze. 1:18; 10:12; Rev. 4 : 6, 8.

EVE'-SERVICE, in Col. 3:22; Eph. 6 : 6, means " service performed only as it were under the master's eye— I. e. reluctant and mercenary."

E'ZAR {treasure). 1 Chr. 1: 38. See

EZKU.

EZ'BAI (shmiiuj), the father of one of David's warriors. 1 Chr. 11 : 37. KZ'BON {splendor). 1. One of the

EZE

EZE

sons of Gad, Gen. 46 : 16; called Ozni. Num. 26:16.

2. A Beniiunite. 1 Chr. 7 : 7.

EZEKI'AS, the Greek form of Hez-ekiah. used in Matt. 1:9, 10.

EZE'KIEL {God will Htrengthen, or the 8treu<ith of God), the son of a priest named Buzi. was born and spent his earlier years in Judaea. He was carefully educated, but carried by Nebuchadnezzar into captivity with Jehoi-achin, king of Judah, B. c. 598, 11 years before the destruction of Jerusalem, and placed with a Jewish community by the river Chebar, in Chalda^a. See Chebar. He prophesied over 22 years, B. c. 595-573, till the fourteenth year after the final captivity of Jerusalem. From incidental allusions we learn that he had a house. 8:1, and had lost his wife very suddenly, 24:16-18. He was held in great esteem and frequently consulted by the elders, 8:1; 11: 25 ; 14 : 1; 20 : 1. It is said that he kept up an intimate friendship with Jeremiah, and even that they exchanged prophecies. At all events, they echo one another's grief and lament over the ruined city, and both pierce through the gloom of the present distress and see the light of a new dispensation when the Law shall be written in the heart. Eze. 11: 19 5 18 : 31; cf. Jer. 31: 33. We do not know how or when his death occurred. Tradition states he was murdered. His reputed tomb is shown near Bagdad.

Ezekiel was stern, inflexible, an earnest Jewish patriot, devoted to the rites and ceremonies of his religion, and uncompromisingly opposed to all forms of evil. He no doubt contributed much to the formation of the intense nationality of the Jews during that period. Prof. J. T. Hyde says: " He is not so much of a counsellor and seer as Isaiah, nor so much of a reformer and intercessor as Jeremiah, nor so much of a prince and statesman as Daniel, but more of a priest in his general spirit and bearing. More than a hundred times is he called ' son of man,' a title given to no other prophet except Daniel, and to him onl}' once, Dan. 8 : 17, signifying, doubtless, that 'to them of the captivity'he was not only a living witness for God, but a priestly mediator, with somewhat of the distant dignity of the great ' Son of man' himself." 296

Prophecy op. The book of Ezekiel is arranged in regular chronological order, and presents a great variety of visions, symbolical actions, parables, proverbs, allegories, and direct prophecies. Many of the symbolic acts were probably not literally performed by the prophet, but described in this manner for rhetorical effect. He is especially familiar with architecture, from which he often draws his illustrations. He is somewhat obscure by reason of the strange things he describes—"wheels within wheels, with living creatures wedded." The Jews reckoned his prophetical writings among those portions of Scripture which were not allowed to be read till the age of 30. His imagery and symbolism derive much light from the recently-discovered Assyrian monuments. We there find reproduced the strange forms he brings to our view—the eagle-winged lion and the human-headed bull. His visions give us "the last glimpse of these gigantic emblems, which vanished in the prophet's lifetime, only to reappear in our own age from the long-lost Nineveh." (Stanley.)

The book is divided into two parts, of which the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar is the turning-point. (1) Chs. 1-24 contain predictions before that event; these are arranged in chronological order from the fifth year of the Captivity to the ninth. (2) Chs. 25-48 contain prophecies and visions after Jerusalem's fall, including denunciations against Amnion, Moab, Edoin, the Philistines, Tyre, Zidon, and Egypt, 30-32 ; predictions of the re-establishment of the theocracy, 35-48. Ch. 35 is the judgment of Seir. The second part is also arranged chronologically. Ezekiel himself is the apparent editor of his book.

There are no direct quotations of Ezekiel in the N. T., but many parallels and obvious allusions to the later chapters in the book of Revelation.

The Vision of the Temj)le. —This section, the last nine chapters, 40-48, is so remarkable that it arrests the attention of every reader and constitutes the unique feature of Ezekiel's book. It is a magnificent vision and description of the new temple which Ezekiel saw from a high mountain in the twenty-fifth year of the Captivity and the

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fourteenth after the destruction of the holy city. Although a few commentators maintain it was but a description from memory of Solomon's temple, the majority hold that it has to do with future events. These latter difler according as they sec in it a mere prophetic picture of Zerubbabel's temple, or a vague announcement of some future blessing, or, as is altogether the best view, a Messianic prophecy. It is most probably a grand symbol of the future Church of Uod. Its historical foundation is undoubtedly the first temple and the hidden springs of the sacred mount, but upon this foundation the inspired prophet builds a glorious superstructure of allegory which sets forth the whole scheme of redemption.

E'ZEL(rfpi>fn7Hre), THE STONE, near Saul's residence, and noted as the place where Jonathan and David parted. 1 Sam. 20 : 19.

E'ZEM {hone), a city of Simeon, 1 Chr. 4 : 29; also called Azem. Josh. 19 :8.

E'ZER [treasure), a "duke" of the Horites. Gen. 36 : 21,27,30; 1 Chr. 1 : 42.

E'ZER (help). 1. A descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4:4.

2. A son of Ephraim. 1 Chr. 7:21.

3. A (xadite chief who joined David. 1 Chr. 12 : 9.

4. A Levite who assisted in repairing the wall. Neh. 3:19.

5. A priest who took part in its dedication. Neh. 12 : 42.

E'ZION-GA'BERjOR GE'BER (giant's backbone), a city on the Red Sea, the last station of the Israelites before they came to the wilderness of Zin, Num."33 : 35 ; Deut. 2:8; the station of Solomon's navy, 1 Kgs. 9 : 26 ; 2 Chr. 8:17, and of Jehoshaphat's navy. 1 Kgs. 22:48. Probably it was at 'Ain el-GhufJydn, about 10 miles up what is now the dry bed of the Arabah. Kie-pert and Robinson suppose that the northern end of the gulf anciently flowed up to this point.

EZ'RA (helji). 1. A descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4:17.

2. A Jewish priest and scholar who lived in Babylon during the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, over whom he had such influence that in his seventh year he obtained permission to head a large company of persons and

go to Jerusalem, b. c. 457. Ezr. 7. The journey was completed in four months. In addition to the treasure brought, Ezra had other sujiplies, for he had permission to draw on the king's treasures. In Jerusalem he carried through the reforms he had intended, particularly the separation of the " strange wives." Ezr. 10. With an account of this important measure the book of Ezra ends. The next notice is in Nchemiah, 8: 1, thirteen years after this. It is in every way likely that his first residence in Jerusalem was temporary, and that after effecting the various reforms and appointing proper persons to maintain them he returned to Babylon. Nehe-miah was governor when Ezra entered Jerusalem the second time ; accordingly, he attended only to priestly duties, such as teaching. Neh. 8:1. It is unknown when he died.

Jewish tradition elevates him to a level with Moses and Elijah, and makes him the founder of the great synagogue, the collector of the books of the Bible, the introducer of the Chaldee character instead of the old Hebrew, the author of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, and lastly, the originator of synagogue-worship. And it is very likely that he was the author of these changes, or at all events that they occurred in his time.

Ezra, the Book of, covers about 79 years, and should be read in connection with the prophecies of Ilaggai and Zechariah. It contains, (1) chs. 1-6, an account of the return of 50,000 Jews under Zerubbabel in the first year of Cyrus, the rebuilding of the temple, and the interference of the Samaritans; (2) chs. 7-10, the history of Ezra's immigration and his reforms, particularly in regard to the strange wives.

The book of Ezra is written in Chaldee from ch. 4: 8 to 6 : 19, narrating the attempt of the Samaritans to hinder the building of the temple, and from the beginning of ch. 7 to the twenty-seventh verse. The people recently returned from the Captivity were more conversant with the Chaldee than even with the Hebrew tongue. Ezra is the author of at least the greater part of the book. The date may be given as b. c. 456.

EZ'RI [helj) of Jehovah), David's superintendent of those who "did the work of the field." 1 Chr. 27:26.

FAB

FAI

F.

FA'BLE is a form of narrative in which plants and animals, or even lifeless objects, are represented as endowed with some of the attributes of man, as the gift of speech and rational action. Sometimes the fable is designed to teach moral and practical truths, and sometimes only to interest and entertain. It differs from the parable in this : what the fable relates is not real and cannot occur, as trees speaking, Jud. 9:8; while that which the parable relates may and does take place, as the sower sowing seed in soil of various degrees of productiveness. Matt. 13 : 3. The fable was often used in ancient heathen as in modern Christian literature. In the Bible there is only one fable, Jud. 9: 7-15, where Jotham represents the trees as seeking a king and asking, one by one, the olive and others to reign over them, till the bramble finally consents. This is often erroneously called a parable.

Fables are referred to in the N. T., 1 Tim. 1:4, etc., as ''cunningly devised," etc. Here '' fables " mean false stories or foolish systems and opinions.

FACE. Gen. 3 : 19. See Blackness. Whatever of a thing is most exposed to view is called its face; hence we read of the face of the country, field, gate, house, wilderness, water, sky, etc.

" Face,'' when applied to God, denotes, (1) His omniscience, 1 Sam. 26: 20, and to ''provoke him to the face" is to act very openly and impudentl3^ Isa. 65 : 3. (2) The brighter displays of his glory, which cannot be enjoyed in this world. Ex. 33:20; ITim. 6: 16. (3) His favor and love, and the gracious displays thereof: this is always meant when his face is said to " shine," or it is represented as a mercy to behold and enjoy it or a misery to be deprived of it.'2"Chr. 30:9; Ps. 31 : 16 ; 80 : 7 ; Dan. 9 : 17. (4) His wrath, and the providential displays thereof. Ps. 34:16. Christ's "face'" denotes, (1) His person and ofiice as the image of the invisible God. 2 Cor. 4:6. (2) His gracious, glorious, or terrible appearances. Rev. 20 : 11. 298

FAIR HA'VENS, a harbor on the southern shore of the island of Crete. Acts 27 : 8-10, 21. It is about midway between the eastern and western ends of the island, and is still known as Kalous Limionas, or "Fair Havens." It is a fair winter harbor, though not as good as Phoenice, 40 miles westward.

FAIRS. The word occurs in Eze. 27 : 12, 14, 16, 22, 27, 33. In v. 33 the Hebrew word is translated " wares," and this is probably the true meaning in all the passages.

FAITH. The word in the N. T, denotes (1) the truth of the gospel of Christ and the kingdom of God. Acts 6:7; Rom. 1:5; Gal. 1: 23; 1 Tim. 3 : 9; Jude, ver. 3 ("the faith which was once delivered to the saints").

(2) The act by which we lay hold of and appropriate the truths of the gospel and Jesus Christ, and rely for salvation upon the work done by him in our stead. This is the prevailing sense of the word. Matt. 8:10; John 3:16; Rom. 1: 16, etc., and all through John and the Pauline Epistles.

The verb corresponding to the noun "faith" is "believe." Acts 16 : 31. The word occurs only a few times in the 0. T., but the' principle is there designated by other terms, such as to " look " to God, Isa. 45 : 22, to " wait on" him, Ps. 27 : 14, and to "trust" in him, Nah. 1: 7. Abraham is "the father of the faithful," because unbounded trust in God was the very essence of his piety. Comp. Rom. 4: 1. Paul derives the theme of his Epistle to the Romans from the passage of Habakkuk : " The just shall live by faith." Rom. 1 : 17; comp. Hab. 2:4. The Epistle to the Hebrews gives a bright catalogue of the heroes of faith under the old dispensation. 11: 1 ff.

The nature of saving faith is threefold. It includes a cnnviction of the understanding, assent of the will, and trust of the heart. The principal element of faith is trust when its object is Christ. But it is impossible for us to trust in him without first being con-

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vinced of the genuineness of his claims. We believe a thing when we are assured of its reality ; in a person when we add to this assurance trust. Faith apprehends Christ, and takes actual hold of him and all his benefits. Hence he who believes in Christ has already eternal life. John 3 : 36. Faith is opposed to doubt, Matt. 21 : 21, and to sight, 2 Cor. 5 : 7. Things which are the objects of faith we do not see. Ileb. 11: 1.

The importance of faith consists in this—that without faith we cannot become partakers of the merits and righteousness of Christ. As by the hand we lay hold of a treasure, and as by the eye we perceive the beauties of scenery, so by faith we lay hold of Christ. We who come within hearing of the gospel must exercise faith in order to become heirs of salvation. By faith we *' put on ■' Christ. It is by faith that we are

justified, and not by works. The work of salvation was all accomplished when the Saviour uttered the words, " It is finished." But a living faith will be accompanied by works, as much as a rose must diffuse perfume, and a good tree bring forth good fruit. As our Lord said,'' Thy faith hath made thee whole," so Paul says, " By grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves : it is the gift of God," Eph. 2 : 8. But "faith without works is dead." Jas. 2 : 26. Faith is operative in love. Gal. 5 : 6.

The " faith of God," Rom. 3 :3, means his faithfulness.

FAITH'FULNESS is a divine attribute, and denotes the certainty of the accomplishment of all that the divine Being has declared. Num. 23:19; Ps. 89 : 1, 33, 34 ; Heb. 10 : 23.

FAL'LOW-DEER. "Deer" is

The Bubale, or Fallow-Deer of Scripture. (After Wood.) a general name of a class of quadrupeds, i etc., but the animal is never mentioned fis the stag, fallow-deer, reindeer, elk, | by this generic pame in the Bible.

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The deer mentioned in 1 Kgs. 4 : 23 was, by the Levitical law, a clean animal. Deut. 14: 5. It was formerly supposed to be the European red deer, called fallow from its pale-red or yellow color. Tristram and other late authorities make it the bubale (Alcephalua biibalis) or " wild cow " of the Arabs. This deer, from its heavy, calf-like build, was classed by Orientals among cattle. It was valued for its venison, is still found in northern Africa and Arabia, and probably once dwelt in Palestine.

Lieut. Conder has recently found a kind of deer in the vicinity of Mount Carmel which is called by the Arabs yahmfir —precisely the Hebrew word translated '* fallow-deer." Naturalists who have examined the skin which Lieut. Conder brought to England state that this animal does not differ perceptibly from the European roebuck, which is therefore seemingly the animal that furnished Solomon's table with choice venison. See Roe.

FAL'LOW-GROUND,afield ploughed, but un-sowed (figuratively, Jer. 4:3; Hos. 10 : 12; literally, "tillage." Prov. 13 : 23). See Agriculture.

FAL'IiOW-YEAR. See Sabbatical Year.

FAMIL'IAR SPIR'ITS (from the Yi'diixv familiar-18, " a household servant"). The phrase expressed the idea that necromancers had spirits at their command to wait upon them as servants. See Divina-

TIOX.

FAM'INE. We have an account of at least 8 famines in Palestine and the neighboring countries. They were among the judgments of God for national sins, and were often prophetically announced. Two famines occurred in the lifetimes of Abraham and Isaac, Gen. 12 : 10; 26 : 1 ; another in Jacob's time, 300

Gen. 41: 56 ; and the most remarkable one was that of 7 years while Joseph was governor in Egypt. But in severity it was surpassed by the famine of 2 Kgs. 7, when people resorted to the dunghills for food.

Two very severe and prolonged seasons of famine in Egypt have been noted by Arabian historians—one in A. D. 1200, the other lasting from a. d. 1064-107L

Famine was produced by a variety of causes, as when the Nile did not overflow in Egypt, or rains did not fall in Jud^a, at the customary season, or when caterpillars, locusts, or other insects destroyed the fruits.

FAN. This was probably a broad shovel used to toss the threshed grain against the breeze for the purpose of separating the chaif from the grain. Isa. 30:24. The "shovel" mentioned in the same passage seems to have been a

Winnowing-Fans.

narrower implement, or, as some think, a fork or bread-basket used in a similar way. Jer. 15 : 7 ; Matt. 3 : 12. See Thresh, Winnow.

FAR'THING. Two Greek words are translated " farthing" in the N. T.: (1) the kodvdntes, worth about three-eighths of a cent; (2) the assarion,

FAS

FAT

A Faithiii

worth about a cent and a half. See Money.

FASTS, There was only one day appointed as a fast by the Mosaic code, the day of atonement, Lev. 16 : 29, sq., where the expression " Ye shall afflict your souls" probably refers to fasting. During and after the Babylonian captivity four special fast-days were observed. Zech. 7 : 5. Subsequent tradition relates that fasts commemorated the breaking of the tables of the Law by Moses, Ex. 32, and the siege of Jerusalem, Jer. 52 : 4, sq. ; the return of the spies. Num. 13 : 25 ; the burning of the tem})le by Nebuchadnezzar; the sack of Jerusalem and the death of Gedaliah, 2 Kgs. 25 : 13, sq. ; and the reception by Ezekiel and others in Babylon of the intelligence of the destruction of Jerusalem.

Public fasts were proclaimed at special seasons by Nehemiah, 9 :1, Jehosh-aphat, 2 Chr. 20 : 3, the Jews at Shushan, Esth. 4:16, and others. The appointment of fasts by individuals for themselves was not uncommon, Neh. 1:4; 2 Sam. 1: 12, and also, in the N. T., Luke 2: 37, etc.

Fasts indicate humility and a sense of dependence on the Almighty, and were observed on solemn occasions, such as the death of a prominent personage (Saul, 1 Sam. 31: 13 ; 2 Sam. 1: 12), an impending calamity, Jon. 3:5; Esth. 4: 3, before a war, 2 Chr. 20 : 3 ; Jud. 20 : 26, and before a journey. Ezr. 8 : 21.

The Jewish fasts were kept with great strictness, and generally from evening to evening. The body was clothed with sackcloth, ashes were sprinkled on the head, the hands were left unwashed, the head was unanointed, and the air was filled with the voice of supplication and the sobs of grief and penitence. Isa. 22 : 12; Joel 2:15-17.

At the time of our Lord fasting was a very prominent religious observance and the occasion of much hypocrisy and j)a-

rade. Matt. 6:16. The fast spoken of in Acts 27 :1' was the day of n tenement. The weekly fasts were upon the second and fifth days of the week. Fasts were not observed upon the Sabbath, the new moons, the great festivals, or the feasts of Purim and dedication. John the Baptist and his disciples fasted, but we have no account that our Lord observed periodic fasts, although that he fasted is proved by Matt. 4:2; cf. Matt. 9: 14. After the Lord's ascension Christians fasted, 2 Cor. 6:5, and the N. T. recommends fasting as a means of Christian growth. Mark 9 : 29 ; 1 Cor. 7 :5, etc.

The N. T. leaves the times of fasting to the full choice and ap])ointment of the individual. In Matt. 9:15 our Saviour teaches that fasting follows and springs from affliction, rather as a consequence than a cause, and then may be a means of grace.

FAT. The Hebrews distinguished between the suet or pure fat of an animal and the fat which was intermixed with the lean. Neh. 8:10. Some parts of the former were forbidden to be eaten in the case of animals sacrificed, Lev. 3 : 3, 9, 17 ; 7 : 3, 23, on the ground that the richest pai't of the animal belonged to Jehovah. Lev. 3 : 16. The Hebrews had, however, their stalled oxen, appreciating the luxury of fat meat. 1 Kgs. 4 : 23 ; Luke 16 : 23.

FAT {i.e. ''vat"). See AViNE-PRESS. The word is used in the A. V. only in Joel 2:24: 3:13.

FA'THER. This word is used in the Bible in several senses besides its usual one.

1. It is applied to any ancestor, and in the plural to ancestors in general. Dan. 5:2; Deut. 1:11; Matt. 23 : 30.

2. As a title of respect, especially to kings, prophets, and priests. Jud. 17 : 10 ; 1 Sam. 10 : 12 ; 2 Kgs. 2:12; Acts 7:2; 1 Cor. 4 : 15. Also of protector or guardian. Ps. 68 : 5.

3. The author, source, or beginning of anything. Gen. 4:21; Rom. 4:12.

4. God is called " Father." Deut. 32: 6 ; Ps. 89 : 26 ; Matt. 6 : 4, 9 ; Rom. 1 : 7.

The position of father was one of great dignity and authority. Laws were enacted to secure this. Ex. 22 : 17 ; Lev. 20 : 9. The father had, however, no ])ower over the life of his child. Deut. 21: 18-21. Both his blessing and his

FEE

curse were especially efficacious. Gen. 9:25,26; 27:27-40. The fifth commandment was the only one to whose obedience a blessing was especially promised. Ex. 20:12; Eph. 6 : 2. Disrespect toward parents was one of the worst of crimes. Ex. 21: 15-17 : 1 Tim. 1: 9. The father, as the head of the family, was, in patriarchal times, the priest. Gen. 8 : 20 ; Job 1:5. " It is a beautiful circumstance in the law of Moses that this filial respect is exacted for the mother as well as for the father." See Children.

FATH'OM. See Measures.

FEAR. " The fear of the Lord " is a common expression in the 0. T. Job 28 : 28 ; comp. Acts 9 : 31. It refers to awe and reverence for piety rather than to dread of God. The love of God is not so plainly revealed in the 0. T. as in the New. The attributes of God's holiness and power are most strongly emphasized. Hence the frequent exhortation to fear God.

Fear has its fit place also under the gospel dispensation. Paul exhorts Christians, Phil. 2 : 12, ''work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." If it is a " fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," Heb. 10 : 31, and "if the righteous scarcely be saved," 1 Pet. 4: 18, we ought ever to remember the punishment due to us for sin and God's abhorrence of it, and in view of the punishment pass our time in a proper state of godly fear, which, however, is not slavish, but consistent with assurance of faith and with love for God as our Father. Comp. Rom. 8:15: 1 John 4:18.

FEAST, Luke 14:13, FEASTS. Lev. 23 : 2. We often read in the Bible of feasts or sumptuous entertainments, and of the customs pertaining to them. They were generally given to celebrate or commemorate some important or joyful event. Gen. 21 : 8 ; 29 : 22 : 40 : 20; Eccl. 10 : 19. On such occasions the guests amused themselves with stories or sallies of humor, and sometimes with enigmatical questions, Jud. 14:12, or dancing, Mark 6: 22, and music, Isa. 5:12,- 24: 7-9.

As among the Romans, so among the Jews at the time of our Lord, the guests at feasts reclined upon couches, and did not sit upright, as we do. 302

The most honorable place or seat, or "uppermost room," as it is called. Matt. 23:6, or "highest" or " chief room," Luke 14:7, 8, was the middle couch, and the middle of that; and lying below one at table is to lie as it were in or upon his bosom. John 13 : 23. See Eating.

The "ruler" or "governor of the feast," John 2: 8, was the superintendent of the servants, and at the same time the one who controlled all the arrangements for the festivity. It was his office to test the meats and drinks that were ofi"ered to the guests. John 2:9.

Feasts, Religious. The stated religious festivals among the Jews may be divided into the following classes: (1) The Sabbath, the feast of new moons, the sabbatical year, and the year of jubilee. (2) The Passover, Pentecost, and the feast of tabernacles. (3) The feasts of Purim and of the dedication. The first two classes of feasts were established by the Law of Moses; the last did not come into existence till after the Babylonish captivity. At each of the feasts of the first two classes the males were to "appear before the Lord " and to make their offerings with rejoicing. Deut. 27:7.

There was a suspension of labor on the principal feast-days. Ex. 12:16; Lev. 23:21, 24, etc. But inasmuch as the festival of the Passover lasted through a whole week, only the first and the seventh days were included under this restriction. Ex. 12:16. A particular description of each feast is given in its proper place.

Feasts of Charity or Love. These are mentioned in Jude 12, and are supposed to refer to the social interviews established among the early Christians, in imitation, perhaps, of the Jewish, Deut. 12 : 18 ; 26 : 12, or Gentile observances of like character. They were held in the assembly or church, either after or before the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Similar observances are customary at the present day among some Christian denominations.

FEET. To remove the shoes from the feet was regarded as a token of reverence, and also of mourning. Ex. 3:5; Eze. 24 : 17. It is supposed that the priests officiated with naked feet^^

FEL

FIE

and in modern times, among heathen nations and some nominal Christians, it is customary to enter the place of worship with the shoes off and the feet washed. To wash tlie feet was a common mark of hospitality, Gen. 18 : 4, and was usually done by a servant, 1 Sam. 25 : 41 ; John 13 : 5, 6. This custom still prevails in the East. At Smyrna the washing of the priests' feet by the bishop is a distinct and very imposing ceremony, and is designed to be an exact imitation of Christ's example. See Clothes, Dlst, Foot.

Foot-chains are supposed to be meant by the word "chains " in Num. 31 : 50 and Isa. 3:19. They were worn around the ankles, and caused the wearer to observe a certain measured pace. The same ornaments are now worn by the women of Syria and Arabia. Little rings are hung upon them, which tinkle when the foot is in motion, and they are often richly ornamented.

FE'JLIX [hnjipy), the Roman governor of Judaea, A. D. 52-60, was a profligate and cruel man. Acts 23 : 26. He was married three times. His third wife was Drusilla, whom he persuaded to leave her husband and marry him, and they were residing at Caesarea when Paul was brought there in custody.

He is specially known for the manner in which he treated the exhortations and warnings of Paul, Acts 24: 26, who preached before him a most practical sermon, arraigning his crimes and urging upon him the duty of rejjentance in view of future judgment.

The sermon made an impression, for "Felix trembled," but it was transient. He kept the apostle imprisoned for 2 years, and postponed the inquiry respecting his own salvation until a "convenient season," which, so far as we know, never came. Felix was superseded by Porcius Festus 2 years after this event, and tried at Rome before Nero for malversation of office, but escaped punishment through the intervention of Pallas, the freedman of Claudius and his successor, Nero.

FENCED CIT'Y. See Cities.

FER'RET, an animal of the weasel family tamed in Europe and used for catching rats. It has long been agreed that" the creature which sighs or groans" (Heb. andkdh, "to groan "j is not the fer-

ret. Lev. 11 : 30. Older writers considered it the shrew-mouse or the hedgehog, both of which abound in Palestine. The belief is now almost universal that it is some animal of the lizard

The Gecko, or Ferret.

tribe. Several of these reptiles make a mournful cry or wail, especially the//et'/>r>, which is very common in Palestine and Egypt among ruins, and is remarkable not only for the clucking note which its name imitates, but for its fan-like toes, whereby it is able to run up the smoothest wall, and even on ceilings. Of these small lizards there are several species.

FESTIVALS, RELIGIOUS. See Feasts.

FES'TUS, POR'CIUS, succeeded Felix, A. D. 60, in the government of Judgea, and died in 62. Acts 24: 27. Paul had a hearing before him on sundry charges, and Festus would have released him if Paul had not appealed to the emperor. Acts 26 : .32. Josephus gives him a good character as an efficient ruler, especially because he did his best to rid the country of robbers.

FET'TERS. See Chains.

FIELD. The Hebrew word translated " field " conveys a contrary idea to ours, inasmuch as it implies the absence of enclosure. Thus the " field " is often contrasted with portions of land that are enclosed, such as a vineyard, Ex. 22:5; Lev. 25:3, 4: a garden or a walled town, Deut. 28: 3, 16; " un-walled villages or scattered houses ranked in the eye of the law as fields." Lev. 25:31. "Field "means the open country apart from habitations, in Gen. 25:27; 37:15. Stones were used to separate one plot of ground from another ; curses were threatened for removing these landmarks. Deut. 19 . 14 ; 27 : 1 : Job 24 : 2 ; Prov. 22 : 28.

FIE

FIG

If such unfenced fields were pasture-grounds, the herd or flock would require constant watching. Ex. 22 : 5. A piece of ground of any size, from the mere land around a cave, Gen. 23 : 13, 17, to an entire inheritance, Ruth 4 : 5, was called a "field." In the N. T. the Greek for " fields " occasionally means farm-houses or hamlets, in distinction from villages and towns, but in the A. V. it is rendered "country." Mark 5 : U ; 6 : 36, 56. The knowledge of these unenclosed fields throws light upon the parable of the Sower. Some of the seed scattered as he draws near the end of his lot is certain to fall beyond the ploughed portion, and the birds will devour it. Again, the custom of running footpaths between, and not over, fields explains the Sabbath-walk of our Lord and his disciples. Luke 6 :1. The little band did not trample down the ripened grain. They merely walked between the fields and plucked the wheat on either hand. The complaint was not brought against them because they took the wheat, but because they broke the Sabbath.

FI'ERYSER'PENTS. See Serpents.

FIG, FIG' TREE. The fig tree {Ficus caricn) has been cultivated in Palestine from remote times, Deut. 8 : 8; Isa. 34 : 4, and is also found in a wild state. It does not grow to a great height, but throws out a profusion of very spreading branches, and the trunk is often 3 feet in diameter. Pive-lobed leaves luxuriantly clothe these limbs, and often convert this tree into a beautiful natural arbor. 1 Kgs. 4 : 25 ; 2 Kgs. 18:31; Isa. 36:16; Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3 : 10; John 1:48.

The fruit is pear-shaped, and the small green figs appear before the leaves. When these figs have attained some size, their interior will be found filled with minute white flowers. This curious provision leads to the common impression that this tree never blossoms. When the leaves have appeared, if there be no fruit among tliem, the fig tree will be barren for the present season. Matt. 21:19.

Figs are much used as food in all

Eastern lands. Two kinds of this fruit

are mentioned in the Bible. 1. The

early fig, or boccore, of which a few

304

ripen and are gathered in June, Isa. 28 : 4; Hos. 9 : 10; Mic. 7 : 1, while the most of this early fruit falls ofi" before it is perfected. Rev. 6 : 13. 2. The main crop, or kermouse, ordinarily does

Figs and Fig-Leaves.

not ripen till August. These are the " green figs " of Song Sol. 2 : 13. " Beth-phage " means " house of green figs." A long dark-colored kermouse sometimes hangs upon the trees all winter.

These various kinds of figs are eaten as they come from the tree, and are also dried in masses or cakes. 1 Sam. 25 : 18. They seem to have been an ordinary article of food, and to have possessed medicinal properties. 2 Kgs. 20 : 7 ; 1 Chr. 12 : 40.

The putting forth of the fig tree was one of the earliest indications of summer. Song Sol. 2:13; Matt. 24:32; Luke 21 : 29; and a failure of its fruit was a great calamitj'. Jer. 5:17; 8:13; Joel 1:7, 12; Hab. 3:17, 18.

The cursing of the fig tree by our Saviour, Mark 11 : 13, 21, has occasioned great perplexity. This incident occurred about the beginning of April, when, as the evangelist states, the time for figs had not come. Why, then, should Christ seek figs upon the tree and, as it were, blame its barrenness ? The best reply seems to be. Because the tree was in leaf; and when the tree was in this state, abnormal though it were, fruit might be expected. Dr. Thomson, as the result of his observation, considers it not at all impossible that the early

FIL

FIR

variety of this tree might have ripe fruit in the warm, sheltered ravines of Olivet at Easter: " If there was no fruit on tliis leafy tree, it might justly be condemned as barren; and hence the propriety of the lesson it was made to teach—that those who put forth in profusion only the leaves of empty profession are nigh unto cursing."

FILE. The word occurs only once in the A. V. 1 Sam. 13: 21. The preceding verse is connected with it, and they are best rendered: " But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen [their tools] whenever there was bluntness of edge to their shares and coulters and prong-forks and axes, and to point their goads."

FIRE was of course used for cooking and for wai-mth. We find reference to the latter use in Jer. 36 : 22 ; Luke 22 : 55; John 18 : 18. See Fuel. A hearth with lighted wood or a pan with burning charcoal is mentioned in the passages specified as the sources of the heat. Fire was used in the service of God to consume the sacrifices partially or entirely. There may be a question whether Abel offered a burnt-sacrifice. Gen. 4: 4, but surely, from the time of Noah, fire was used with the sacrifices. The Mosaic law prescribes its use. Lev. 1: 7, and this burnt-altar fire was to be kept ever burning. Lev. 6 : 9, 13.

Fire was the sign of the divine presence and acceptance. Thus, the heavenly fire which came down upon the altar of burnt-offering on the occasion of the first sacrifice after the giving of the Law, Lev. 9 : 24, indicated Jehovah's gracious pleasure in the service. To the same end fire was sent in other instances, Jud. 6:21; 1 Kgs. 18 : 38; I Chr. 21: 26. Fire was used as a purifier. Num.31:22, 23; cf. Zech.l3:8, 9. The victims slain for sin-offerings were afterward consumed by fire. Lev. 4:12, 21 ; 6:30; 16:27. The Nazarite marked the conclusion of his vow by shaving his head and casting the hair into the fire on the altar of burnt-offering. Num. 6:18. It was forbidden by the Law to kindle a fire on the Sabbath, Ex. 35 : 3 ; Num. 15 : 32 ; but some maintain that the prohibition applies to the ])repara-tion, and not to the heating, of food. Consequently, by having the principal meal, which was always eaten in the 20

evening, a little earlier on Friday and a little later on S.aturday, the Jew could have a hot meal every day in the week.

The law held him who wilfull}'^ or carelessly set fire to ripe or harvested fields on which the grain yet stood pecuniarily liable for damages. Ex. 22: (i. The punishment of death by fire was inflicted in early times. Jer. 29 : 22 ; Dan. 3:20,21. See FiiKNACE. It is enjoined by the Law in the ease of incest with a mother-in-law, and of unchastity on the part of the daughter of a priest. Lev. 20 : 14 ; 21: 9. But it is reasonable to suppose that in both these cases the condemned were first killed by stoning or strangling, and then their bodies burnt. To fire the gates was one way of ending a siege. Jud. 9 : 49, 52.

Fire is the comparison of intense love, Song Sol. 8:6; of the injuring tongue, Ps. 120 : 4; Prov. 16 : 27 ; Jas. 3 : 5, and of godlessness, Isa. 9 : 18. The anger of God burns as fire, Ps. 79 : 5 ; 89 : 46 ; Nah. 1: 6. His word is like fire, Jer. 23 : 29. Yea, he himself is a consuming fire, Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29. The word is frequently used metaphorically. The " strange fire," Lev. 10 : 1, is generally explained as common fire, not taken from the holy fire of the altar. But inasmuch as no express law forbade the burning of incense by ordinary fire, it is very probable that the offence consisted in presenting an incense-offering not commanded in the law in an improper, merely vainglorious spirit. The time and manner of the ofiering were *' strange," not the fire.

FIRE'-PAN, one of the vessels of the temple-service. Ex. 27:3; 38:3; 2 Kgs. 25 : 15; Jer. 62 : 19. The same word is elsewhere rendered "snuff-dish," Ex. 25 : 38 ; 37 : 23 ; Num. 4 : 9, and "censer." Lev. 10:1; 16:12; Num. 16 : 6 ff. These utensils were probably shallow metal vessels which served either to catch the snuff of the lamps when they were trimmed or to burn small quantities of incense.

FIR'KIN. See Measures.

FIR'MAMENT. The word "expansion " would more perfectly convey the meaning of the original word. Gen. 1: 17. A similar idea is suggested Ps. 104 : 2 ; Isa. 40 : 22, and the same word is used to denote a "covering," Num. 16 : 38, 39, or a " spreading over," Isa.

FIR

FIR

40 : 19, or "spread forth." Isa. 42 : 5. The Jews probably understood the word " firmament" to denote an immense arch or canopy sprung from one side of the horizon to the other, studded with stars and forming a sort of separating wall between the upper and lower waters. See Ps. 19 : 1: Dan. 12 : 3. The stars are represented as dropping from their settings in it. Isa. 34 : 4; Matt. 24 : 29.

FIRST'-BORN. The first-born male of every Jewish family and of all beasts was consecrated to God in commemoration of the judgment which God brought upon the first-born of Egypt. Ex. 13 : 2. Several provisions of the Jewish law relate to the first-born. He received a double portion of the estate, Deut. 21: 17, and officiated as priest of the family in the father's absence or death. The privileges of the first-born were obviously great in the cases of Esau and Reuben, Gen. 27 : 29, 36 ; 1 Chr. 5 :1, 2, but might be forfeited, as these two cases show. The religious pre-eminence of the first-born ceased when the priesthood was committed exclusively to the tribe of Levi. Num. 3: 12, 13. It was then required that a certain piece of money (5 shekels, about $2.50) should be paid for the redemption of all the first-born of succeeding generations; and this redemption-money became part of the sacred revenue. Num. 8:17; 18 : 16. The first-born of all beasts used in sacrifice were devoted to the Lord, Ex. 13 : 2, but the first-born of unclean animals might be redeemed with the addition of one-fifth of the value, Lev. 27 : 13; otherwise, they were sold, exchanged, or destroyed. Ex. 13 : 13 ; Lev. 27 : 27. It is supposed that dogs were never redeemed, Deut. 23 : 18.

The titles " the first-born of every creature," Col. 1:15, and " the first-begotten " of God, Heb. 1 : 6, belong exclusively to Christ. The first of the two might be translated the " firstborn " or begotten (not created) "before every creature," and both expressions denote a dignity superior to men and angels and the whole creation.

FIRST'-FRUITS. The first-fruits of harvest, of the vintage, the threshing-floor, the wine-press, the oil-press, the first baked bread of the new crop, and the first fleeces of the flock, were required by God to be given for the 306

use of his ministers, the priests. Ex. 23 : 19 ; Num. 15 : 19-21; 18 : 12, 13. These offerings were brought to the temple. By making this consecration of the first-fruits the entire produce was consecrated, as the nation had been by the consecration of the first-born. No particular quantity was designated, but it is supposed a sixtieth part of the whole was the least measure.

The manner of offering the first-fruits is prescribed Lev. 23 : 10-14. A sheaf of the first ripe barley was brought on the morrow after the Passover Sabbath, and waved by the priest before the Lord; and after being threshed in a court of the temple, a handful of it was cleansed and roasted and pounded in a mortar. Oil was mingled with it, and it was then waved before the Lord in the name and behalf of the nation, as an acknowledgment of dependence and gratitude. Until this was done the harvest remained untouched.

During the times of apostasy after Solomon this ordinance was neglected, but Hezekiah awakened the national conscience on this subject, 2 Chr. 31 : 5-12. After the Captivity, Nehemiah appointed places for the reception of the first-fruits of both kinds (raw produce and prepared produce). Neh. 10: 35, 37 : 12 : 44. The prophets insist on the dutv of offering them. Eze. 20 : 40 ; 44 : 30 : 48 : 14 ; comp. Rev. 14:4. Fruit trees were unplucked for three years. The fourth year's yield was given to God as the first-fruits, but from the fifth year the fruit was the owner's, Lev. 19: 23-25.

The first-fruits were emblematical of abundance and excellence, Rom. 8 : 23, and also the earnest or sample of a full harvest at hand, 1 Cor. 16 : 20.

FIR' TREE, probably the Aleppo pine {Pinus halepensis), which is almost as large as the cedar, is now found on Lebanon, and was formerly doubtless abundant through Palestine, Hos. 14: 8. Sometimes the cypress and juniper may have been included under this name, as well as other pines found here.

The fir was used for shipbuilding, Eze. 27 : 5, musical instruments, 2 Sam. 6 : 5, and in the frame-, and ornamental, work of costly edifices, 1 Kgs. 5:8, 10: 6: 15, 34; 9:11; 2 Chr. 2:8; 3:5; Song Sol. 1: 17. The fir is still

FIS

FIS

of the shoals "can scarcely be conceived by those who have not witnessed them. Frequently these shoals cover an acre or more of the surface, and the fish, as they slowly move along in masses, are so crowded, with their back-fins, just appearing on the level of the water, that the appearance at a little distance is that of a violent shower of rain pattering on the surface. We obtained 14 species of fishes in the lake, and probably the number inhabiting it is at least three times as great."

But not all of these fish of Galilee arc savory eating. Matt. 13 : 47, 48. On

used in the manufacture of harps, lutes, guitars, etc. It was a tall, straight tree, of fine appearance, in the tops of which the storks built their nests, Ps. 104 : 17. Hence it is used to illustrate power or grandeur, 2 Kgs. 19 : 23 ; Isa. 14 : 8; 37 : 24: and in Nah. 2 : 3 the brandishing of weapons of war is compared to the shaking of the tops of fir trees by a violent wind. The springing up of the fir is emblematical of verdure and j^lenty, Isa. 41 :19; 55:1:^; 60:1:-!.

FISH. The rapid multiplication of fish finds recognition in the root-meaning of their Hebrew name, " to increase." See also Gen. 48 : 16, margin. They are mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis (vs. 20,26, 28) and in Ps. 8 : 8 as one of the chief classes of living creatures, and as placed under the dominion of man. In the Law, Lev. 11 : 9-12, distinction of them is made into clean and unclean, according as they have fins and scales or are without them. Of the numerous species of fish which inhabit the lakes and rivers of Palestine and the adjacent sea, Solomon possessed some knowledge, 1 Kgs. 4: 33, but not a single variety has its name recorded in the Bible. (The whale is not a fish!)

An aggravation of the first plague of Egypt was the destruction offish—an important part of the food

of the people. In the wil Fishes of the Sea of Galilee. (After Tnstram.)

derneSS the Israelites mur- !• Chromis Nllotlca. 2. Clarias Macracanthus. 3. Labeobarbus Canis.

mured for the fish of their old home. Num. 11 : 5. It was a sad prophecy for Egypt that by the failing of her waters the fishermen should mourn, and that they should be disappointed who make ponds and sluices for fish. Isa. 19 : 5-10 ; comp. Eze. 29:4-10.

Most of the still and running waters of Palestine swarm with fish. Josephus first called attention to the similarity of the fish of the Sea of Galilee and those of the Nile. Of those in the former water Tristram says : the density

this lake four of the disciples toiled as fishermen. Matt. 4:18-21, References to the " fish-gate," 2 Chr. 33 : 14, etc., of Jerusalem show that the city was probably supplied with a market for this kind of food. The product of the Mediterranean was doubtless then, as now, brought from Joppa, the port of Jerusalem. The Phoenicians were es-jjecially engaged in the capture and sale of fish, Eze. 26 : 5, 14 ; Neh. 13 : 16, and the Hebrew name, Zidon, signifies "fishing."

FIS

FIT

The fish was frequently worshipped from Egypt to Assyria and India. Deut. 4 : 18. Dagon, the Philistine idol, 1 Sam. 5:4, was half fish, half man. On early Christian monuments, especially in the Catacombs of Rome, the fish itself or its Greek name was often carved, because that name, ichthus, is formed of the first letters of the confession : "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour."

Fish are often carried by the Jordan and smaller streams into the Dead Sea, but soon perish in its acrid element. In the mystical vision of Ezekiel waters were seen issuing from under the house of God, carrying fertility along the Ke-dron valley, and pouring into this sea of death, whose waters were healed : '*And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim ; they shall be a place to spread forth nets ; their fish shall be according to their kinds as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many." Eze. 47:1-10.

" Fish is an article of diet of which the Orientals are passionately fond. It brings a high price, unless some extraordinary haul has exceptionally cheapened the market. The government derives a considerable revenue from the tax on fish sold in the market. Every beach on the sea-coast of Syria is enlivened with trawl-ing-nets and cast-nets and fishing-boats, and fishermen, standing often knee-deeji or waist-deep, casting their pole-lines into the surf. Fish swarm in the warm water of this latitude, and every variety, even to dog-fish and octopods, are greedily eaten. The word ' smack'or ' boat' would better express the kind of craft in which the great draught of fishes was caught, Luke 6 : 2."— Dr. Post, of Beirut.

FISH'-GATE, agate in Jerusalem. 2 Chr. 33 : 14, etc. Dr. Barclay thinks it was near the "Fish-Pool." See Jerusalem.

FISH'-HOOKS. Am. 4: 2; comp. Jer. 16: 16. The method of taking fish with hooks was doubtless known in the early ages of the world. Job 41 : 1. The spear was also used. Job 41: 7.

The usual way, however, was by a net—either a casting-net, Eze. 26 : 5 ; 47 : 10 ; Hab. 1:15; Matt. 4 : 20, 21 ; Mark 1 : 18, 19 ; Luke 5:2; John 21 : 6 flF., or a drag-net. Isa. 19 : 8 : Hab. 1 : 15 ; Matt. 13:47. In the latter case a 308

boat was necessarily used. Such fishing was done, by preference, at night. Luke 5 : 5. Angling was a favorite recreation in ancient Egypt. The reference in Job 41: 2 is to the custom of putting a ring through the gill of a fish, and then by a line attaching it to a stake, the object being to keep it alive in the water until required for use. Besides amateur there were professional fishermen. Such were many of the apostles.

FISH-POOLS OF HESH'-BON, a mistranslation for "pools" simply. Song Sol. 7 : 4. There is no reference to fish. See Heshbon.

FITCH'ES, a plant [Niyella sa-tiva) of the buttercup family. Isa. 28 : 25. Some species are cultivated in our

Fennel Flower, or Fitches. {Nigella Sativa. After Carruthers.)

flower-gardens under such names as " love-in-a-mist." Fitches are grown for their small black, hot-tasting seeds, which are sprinkled over the flat cakes of the Syrians before they are baked

FLA

FLI

These tender seeds are still beaten out with a stout staff, as described in Isa. 28 : 27. " Fitches," in Eze. 4 : 9, should read, as in the margin, " spelt." See Rye.

FLAG. Probably used, as by us, somewhat indefinitely. Ex. 2 : 3. If any special plant was intended, it may have been the edible rush or the flowering rush, both of which abound in Eg3'pt, and the latter in Palestine.

FLAG'ON. The Hebrew word so translated in 2 Sam. 6 : 19; 1 Chr. 16 : 3 ; Song Sol. 2 : 5 j Hos. 3 :1 (cf. margin) means a "cake," ordinarily of compret-sed raisins. The last-quoted text shows that such cakes were offered to idols. But in Isa. 22 : 24 the word "flagon" is the correct translation of the Hebrew.

FLAX, a well-known plant, which furnishes the material of linen stuffs of every variety, Ex. 9:31. It was produced of the best quality in Egypt, Isa. 19 : 9, and was an article of extensive commerce.

At the present day, as in ancient times, flax is laid upon the housetop in the heat of the sun to dry, Josh. 2:6.

Flax. {After Tristram.)

Lamp-wicks were made of this material, Isa. 42 : 3. The spinning of flax was

Preparation of Flax. (From the Egyptian Monuments. After Wilkinson.)

anciently the labor of the most noble ladies. Prov. 31: 13, 19, 24. See Linen and Distaff.

FLEA, a small insect mentioned as the most insignificant of creatures. 1 Sam. 24 : 14 ; 26 : 20. Residents and travellers in warm climates are too well acquainted with it.

FLESH is usedfigurativelyfor everything living, Gen. 6 : 13, 17, 19; sometimes mankind, 6:12; sometimes the body as distinguished from the soul or

spirit. Col. 2 : 5 ; 1 Pet. 4:6. In a theological sense, " the flesh " is the natural man. including the unrenewed will and mind, moving in the world of self and sense only. Rom. 7:6; 8 : 1, 5, 9; Gal. 5:17, 19 ; Eph. 2 : 3. Self-imposed ordinances gratify the flesh— i. e, self— whilst seemingly mortifying it.

FLINT, a hard and well-known stone very abundant in Palestine and adjacent districts, Ps. 114: 8. The figurative use of the word in Deut. 32 : 13

FLO

FLY

represents the great abundance of oil, and in Isa. 50 :7 and Eze. 3:9 it is used to denote firmness and constancy.

FLOATS, rafts by which the timbers already fitted for the building might be floated to Joppa, and then carried overland to Jerusalem. 1 Kgs. 5:9; 2 Chr. 2: 16.

FLOCK. See Sheep.

FLOOD, one of the most remarkable events in the history of our world. It occurred 2500 years before the birth of Christ, and was a judgment upon the world for the great wickedness of its inhabitants, only 8 of whom were saved— Noah and his family. Gen. 6 : 17 flF. Noah obeyed the divine injunction to build the ark and put into it pairs of all the land-animals. The waters of the flood increased for 150 d^ys, until the mountains were covered and the waters attained the depth of 15 cubits, or 22J feet. In consequence, " all flesh died that moved upon the earth," and only those animals were saved which were confined in the ark. At the end of this period the waters began to assuage, and the ark rested on Mount Ararat. Noah sent out in turn a raven and, on two occasions, a dove. The second time the dove returned with an olive-leaf. Gen. 8:11, which was the best evidence of the abatement of the waters. The biblical narrative is given in Gen. 6-8.

The description of a vast flood is not confined to the Old Testament. Many peoples have preserved a tradition of the event. And not only do we find traditions to this efi"ect on the tablets of Assyria and in the literature of Greece, but also among the Chinese and among the aborigines of North and South America and Mexico. The prevalence of a belief in the occurrence of a great deluge confirms the account of Genesis.

It is not necessary to assume that the Flood extended over all the earth, although it did most likely destroy all human life except the family of Noah. Such expressions as " all the high hills . . . were covered," Gen. 7 : 19, do not oblige us to go beyond those portions of the earth which were then inhabited by men. Similar expressions are used where the event referred to was only partial in extent. See, for example, Gen. 41: 57; Luke 2": 1. Opinions still diff"er as to 310

whether the Flood was universal or only

partial.

The Deluge is referred to in the N. T. Matt. 24 : 37 ; 2 Pet. 2:5; 3:6.

The account of the Flood upon the Assyrian tablets has been deciphered by Mr. George Smith and published in his work, The Chaldsean Account of Genesis (London and New York, 1876). We quote a portion of the interesting story, pp. 270, 271:

" On the seventh day in the course of it I sent forth a dove and it left. The

dove went and turned, and a resting-place it did not find, and it

returned. I sent forth a swallow and it left. The

swallow went and turned, and a resting-place it did not find, and it

returned. I sent forth a raven and it left. The raven went, and the decrease of the

water it saw, and it did eat, it swam, and wandered away,

and did not return. I sent the animals forth to the four

winds, I poured out a libation, I built an altar on the peak of the

mountain, by seven herbs I cut, at the bottom of them I placed reeds,

pines, and simgar. The gods collected at its savor, the

gods collected at its good savor; the gods like flies over the sacrifice

gathered From of old also Rubat in her course The great brightness of Anu had created. When the glory of those gods on the charm round my

neck I would not leave."

FLOOR. See Threshing.

FLUTE. See Pipe.

FLUX, BLOODY, or dysentery, Acts 28:8.

FLY, the name of a large tribe of insects, some of which are exceedingly annoying and destructive, Isa. 7 : 18. They abound in Egypt and Palestine. One species, which is found by modern travellers in the vicinity of the Nile, and called the Abyssinian fly, is as large as a bee, and is such an annoyance to cattle and other large animals as to oblige them to forsake their pastures and ranges, and to flee to some place where they can roll themselves in the mud or sand. Hence we may judge of the ter-

FOL

FOR

rible nature of the judgments mentioned in Ex. 8 : 24; Isa. 7:18; in which last passage we are informed that the fly shall be found in the very places to which the cattle resort to rid themselves of its presence.

FOLD. See Sheep.

FOL'LY, Gen. 34 : 7, FOOL, Prov. 15 : 5. These terms are used by the sacred writers sometimes to denote weakness of understanding, Ps. 14 : 1; 1 Cor. 1: 27 ; 4 : 10^ and sometimes sin or wickedness. Ps. 38 : 5 ; Josh. 7 : 15. The transgression and disobedience of Adam were the height of folly, as is the sin of humanity generally. Foolish talking, jesting, foolish and unlearned questions, etc., 2 Tim. 2 : 23, are such as are vain, frivolous, or have no useful tendency.

The phrase " Thou fool," Matt. 5 : 22, implies not only an angry temper, but probably also impiety and wickedness, in allusion to Ps. 14 :1, where the atheist is called a fool.

FOOD. Gen. 3:6. We may form some judgment of the ancient diet from what we know of that of the modern Orientals. Vegetable food is much more common than animal. Instead of butter, lard, and suet, they use olive-oil. A soup, or rather pottage, of beans and lentiles, seasoned with garlic and oil, is still, as it was of old, a favorite dish. The "red pottage of lentiles" for which Esau sold his birti^-ight was something of this kind. Eggs, honey, milk (especially sour milk), and garden-productions of every kind afford the principal materials of Eastern diet. The most common dish at this day in the East is the ]nlan, which consists of rice cooked with meat so as to make a sort of broth, seasoned variously and colored blue, red, or yellow.

We do not find the use of animal food often occurring, except upon the occasion of entertainments, or the exhibition of hospitality to a friend, Gen. 18: 7; Luke 15: 23, or upon the tables of the rich. The animals used for this purpose, especially neat cattle, were often "stalled" and "fattened." 1 Sam. 16 : 20 ; 28 : 24; 1 Kgs. 4 : 23 ; Neh. 5:18; Isa. 1: il; 11 : 6 ; Jer. 46 : 21; Eze. 39 : 18; Am. 6:4; Mai. 4 : 2.

Wild game, lambs, and kids constituted the favorite viands in the East.

At this day beef is not much used, though from some texts above and other similar authorities we learn that the flesh of young bullocks and stall-fed oxen was highly prized. Prov. 15 : 17; Matt. 22 : 4.

In very ancient times it was always the piaster of the house, whether he were rich or poor, who slew the animal. Jud. 6 : 19. Grecian and Roman writers mention a like custom of later times. The preparation of the food by cooking was the business of the mistress. The shoulder was probably the choicest part.

1 Sam. 9 : 24.

It is customary for the Arabs to serve up at one meal the whole of any animal which they have killed. This is occasioned in some measure by the difficulty of preserving fresh meat in the Eastern climate. Gen. 18 : 7 : Luke 15 : 23.

The people of the East are particularly fond of fish, and in Egypt this constitutes a very important part of their subsistence. Num. 11 : 5. See Fish.

FOOT'MAN. The term sometimes means soldiers on foot or infantry. At other times it has special reference to the king's guard. 1 Sam. 22 : 17. The word there translated " footman " is rendered "guard" in other passages. 1 Kgs. 14 : 28; 2 Kgs. 11 : 4, etc.

FOOT'STOOL. 2 Chr. 9 : 18. Kings and other rulers sitting in state required a stool ujjon which to rest their feet. The divine glory, which resided symbolically in the holy place between the cherubim above the ark, is supposed to use the ark as a footstool. 1 Chr. 28:

2 ; Ps. 99 : 5. So the earth is called God's footstool by the same expressive figure which represents heaven as his throne.

FOOT, WA'TERING WITH THE, a phrase used of Egypt in Deut. 11:10, because the "Egyptians watered with the foot in two ways—by the tread-wheel working sets of pumps, and by means of artificial channels connected with reservoirs, and opened, turned, or closed by the feet."— Bible Commentary.

FORD, a word frequently used to designate the crossing of any stream, but especially of the Jordan, as Josh. 2:7: Jud. 3 : 28; 12 : 5, 6; of the Jabbok, Gen. 32 : 22 ; of the Arnon, Isa. 16 : 2; of the Euphrates. Jer. 51: 32. Until recently

FOE

FOU

the fords of the Jordan were supposed to be only 8 or 10 in number, but the British Palestine Survey has noted about 50.

FORE'HEAD. Inasmuch as modest women kept the forehead covered with a veil, not to do so was indicative of shamelessness. Jer. 3 : 3. Jewels for the forehead, Eze. 16 : 12, were nose-jewels, although at the present day in the East women wear jewels and strings of coins across their foreheads. To mark the forehead with the device of a god denoted the consecration of the intellect unto it. Thus, the mark of the beast was upon the forehead. Rev. 13 : 16. So God's name is upon the saint's forehead. Rev. 22 : 4.

FOR'EIGNER, any one not of the genuine Hebrew stock. Ex. 12 : 45; comp. Eph. 2 : 12.

FOREKNOWL'EDGE, a peculiar and essential attribute of God, referring to his knowledge of the future and of future events. Acts 2 : 23; 15: 18. Believers are said to be "elect according to the foreknowledge of God." 1 Pet. 1:2.

FORERUN'NER. Heb. 6 : 20. The term, as used of the entrance of our Saviour within the veil, refers to one who not only goes before to a particular place to make arrangements for his successors, but who leads or prepares the way.

FOR'EST. 1 Sam. 22 : 5. Several tracts of country were designated in this way ; as, *'the forest of Hareth," that of " Ephraim," "■ the wood of Ziph," etc. It is known that in the tenth century A. D. there was a fir-wood between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Not a trace of these forests remains. One of the chief causes of the present desolation of the Holy Land is the disappearance of forests. The "house of the forest of Lebanon," which was built by Solomon, and which was magnificent in size and style, 1 Kgs. 7 : 2, was so called probably from the great quantity of cedar which was used in the construction of it.

FORGIVE'NESS is an act of God toward man, and of man toward his fellow. To forgive sin is the exclusive prerogative of God, of whose law sin is the transgression. Ps. 130 : 4. Our Lord, by virtue of his divine nature, assumed the prerogative and exer-312

cised the power of forgiving sins, which the scribes and Pharisees, viewing him merely as a man, made the occasion of a charge of blasphemy, Mark 2 : 5. The gospel makes known not only that there is forgiveness with God, but also how such forgiveness is made compatible with the divine justice.

Forgiveness, full, free, and everlasting, is offered to all who will believe and obey the gospel. Acts 13 : 38, 39 ; 1 John 2 : 12. The duty of mutual forgiveness is urged upon man with the most solemn sanctions. Matt. 6 : 14, 15 ; 18 : 22 ; Luke 17 : 3, 4.

FORKS, mentioned in 1 Sam. 13: 21, were used, not in eating (for the Orientals eat without forks), but in taking the meat out of the vessels in which it was cooked, or else in husbandry. See Eat, Eating.

FORNICA'TION. This word, as used by the sacred writers, denotes various acts of lewdness and inconti-nency; and it is also figuratively applied to idolatry, or the mingling of the pure worship of God with the impure rites of heathenism. Matt. 5 : 32, etc.

FORSWEAR'. See Oath.

FORTUNA'TUS, one of the three Corinthians, the others being Stephanus and Achaieus, who were at Ephesus when Paul wrote his first Epistle to the Corinthians, and who are mentioned in the postscript as the bearers of the Epistles. 1 Cor. 16:17.

FOUNT'AIN. Springs of water are often mentioned in the Bible. Palestine, in contrast with Egypt, was a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, Deut. 8 : 7. Hundreds of fountains may be counted with ease on either side of the Jordan. Some have peculiar properties. There are intermittent, thermal, brackish, sulphur, and hot springs. Perpetual fountains or springs of living water were greatly valued. Ps. 36 : 8, 9 ; Isa. 49 : 10 ; Jer. 2:13: Joel 3 : 18 ; Zech. 13 : 1; John 4:10: Rev. 7 : 17.

In the expressive language of the Hebrews and the modern Arabs, a fountain is the " eye " of the locality. The importance of water is attested by the numerous names of localities into which enters the Hebrew en or the Arabic ain, " fountain," such as " En-rogel," " En-gedi" (Arabic 'Ain-jidy), "En-had-

FOW

FOX

dah." Damascus is the best supplied with water of all. the Eastern cities; Jerusalem also had so abundant a supply that during its numerous sieges there was never a complaint on this score. Public fountains are frequent in the towns. The " fountain sealed" of Song Sol. 4 : 12 is a well-spring covered with a stone and sealed with the king's own signet. The word " fountain " was used figuratively; thus, Deut. 33 : 28 and Ps. 68 : 26, it is applied to Israel as the ancestor of the chosen people of God, and in Prov. 5 : 18 to a beloved wife.

FOWL. See Bird.

FOX. Neh. 4 : 3. Under this term the jackal is included—indeed, most of the references seem to be to that animal. The Orientals at the present time do not distinguish in common language between the two creatures. Both are common in Palestine. The fox ( Vulpes vulgaris) is smaller than the jackal

{Cam's aureus), and is of a reddish hue, while the latter is yellowish ; hence its scientific name, meaning *'the golden dog." It is the latter also, and not the fox, which devours the dead and follows armies that he may feed on human bodies left behind. Ps. 63 : 10. Both animals are omnivorous, but the jackal, which goes in packs, is even more destructive to the vineyards than the other. Song Sol. 2:15. The crafty, artful nature of the fox is proverbial. Eze. 13:4; Luke 13 : 32. He prowls singly for his prey of birds or small quadrupeds, which he takes by stratagem. Jackals are concealed by hundreds among the ruins, caves, and gardens of Syria. Lam. 5 : 18. At sunset they come forth, and both then and at intervals through the night the traveller hears their cry, resembling the confused wailing of many infants.

Evidently, the ''foxes" which Sam-

The Syrian Fox.

son caught (Jud. 15 : 4) were jackals. On this Tristram judiciously remarks : while Samson could not have caught so many foxes, " he might easily have ' snared,' as the Hebrew expresses it, 300 jackals, which hunt in large packs, and which are still most numerous in southern Palestine. It is not necessary to assume that the whole 300 were caught at once or turned loose in the same place, but rather that Samson, having taken them, turned them loose in many difiFerent places, so as to make I

150 incendiary fires, and to cause the widest possible injury to the standing crops of the Philistines. The brands would be attached at some distance from the tails of the animals, and jackals, accustomed to run together, would not, unless very tightly fastened, pull in opposite directions, as foxes or dogs would ; but the terrified animals would, so soon as ever they were let go, rush as fast as possible from their captor, and carry the devastation far and wide before the brand was extinguished."

FRA

FRO

FRANKIN'CENSE {ichite), a dry, resinous, aromatic substance of a white or yellowish color, bitter and acrid to the taste, burning for a long time with a clear, steady, and very odoriferous flame. Several trees (of the genus Boswellia) which grow in India, Arabia, and Africa yield this gum from incisions in the bark. Along the coast of Hadramaut, a district of Arabia, as Carter has shown, frankincense (the olibanum of commerce) is produced, as was affirmed by Herodotus, Celsius, other ancient writers, and the Bible. Isa. 60: 6; Jer. 6 : 20, The Arabian species {B. Carterii) somewhat resembles, especially in its

Boswellia Thurifera. {Colehrooke. Supposed Frankincense. After Dr. Birdwood.)

pinnate leaves when young, the mountain-ash. This gum, in the above and other passages, is mentioned simply as "incense." It is csbUed frank because of the freeness with which it burns and gives forth its odors; and the pure incense is that which is first obtained, and is freest from foreign admixture. " Sweet incense," Ex. 30 : 7, might as 314

well be rendered " incense of spices," and is the composition mentioned in Ex.' 30 : 34.

The use of incense in the Jewish worship may be learned from Ex. 30 : 7 and Lev. 16 : 12, 13, and it is figuratively employed to represent lovely and agreeable qualities. Song Sol. 3:6; 4: 6, 14, and devotional fervor. Ps. 141:2; Mai. 1: 11 : Rev. 8:3.

FRANK'LY is used in Luke 7 : 42 in the sense of " freely."

FRIEND. Abraham is called " the friend of God." Isa. 41: 8 ; Jas. 2 : 23. Jesus called his disciples his friends. John 15:15. He used a diff'erent word in the Greek to Judas, Matt. 26 : 50, and one used more like our conventional " my good friend," implying kindly feeling, though no especial regard. FRIN'GES, a part of the outer garment, and the same as the hem or border of the garment. Deut. 22 : 12; Matt. 9:20; 14 : 36. See Clothes.

The children of Israel were enjoined to wear them by Moses, Num. 15: 38, and to place them on the four borders or edges of their outer garment, which was usually rectangular in shape. They were of a blue color.

The object of the fringes was to remind the children of Israel of the commandments of God. Num. 15 : 39. In the time of our Lord they had become objects of parade and show, so that he finds an evidence of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in their practice of " enlarging the borders of their garments." The *'hem of the garment" which the woman with the issue of blood touched. Matt. 9 : 20, was the ancient fringe enjoined by Moses.

They became with time, as did the rolls containing the Scriptures, phylacteries, and other things, objects of superstitious regard, and a Jewish commentator on Num. 15 says that any man clothed with this fringe is safe, and shall be delivered from all hurt and destruction.

FROG, a well-known amphibious reptile which lives on insects, worms, etCt

FRO

FUR

Ex. 8 : 2. But one species is found in the waters of Egypt {liana csctdenta). In Rev. 16 : 13 this creature is the symbol of uncleanness. Ex. 8 : 2 records the miraculous multiplication of frogs among the Egyptians in such numbers as to fill their beds, ovens, and knead-ing-troughs; and when they died, as they did in immense masses, they filled the land with an o8"ensive and pestilential effluvium.

FRONT'LETS. See Phylacteries.

FRUIT. The word is used in both a literal and figurative sense. ** The fruit of the ground" is the product of the ground; " the fruit of the body" signifies children. By "fruit" is sometimes meant reward or consequences. Prov. 1: 31. " The fruit of the lips " is service or thanksgiving. But used literally it is a comprehensive term. For the regulation in regard to fruit trees, see Tree,

FU'EL was so scarce in the East that the peopie resorted to almost every kind of combustible matter, such as the withered stalks of herbs and flowers, Matt. 6 : 28-30, thorns, Ps. 58 : 9 ; Eccl. 7 : 6, and even excrements. Eze. 4 : 12-16. See Dung.

FULFIL'LED. Matt. 2 : 17. This word is frequently used in reference to the accomplishment of prophecy. The expression, "that it might be fulfilled," Matt. 2 : 15, 23 ; 8 : 17 ; 12: 17, etc., etc., signifies that the events have fallen out in accordance with the prophecies of the 0. T. The word in this connection is almost synonymous with " verified."

In other connections. Gen. 25 : 24 ; Rev. 15 : 8, etc., the word means "completed" or "accomplished," as when Christ said, "The time is fulfilled," Mark 1:15.

FUL'LER. The Hebrew word comes from the verb " to tread," because originally the clothing was trodden upon in tubs of water until the soap which had been dissolved had cleansed it. The fuller did not simply full new cloth, but washed clothing that had been worn. Among the primitive Hebrews washing was done at home by the women. Ex. 19 : 10 ; Num. 19 : 7. It was obligatory in the case of the leper's clothing. Lev. 13 : 54. But in later times among the Hebrews, as among

the Egyptians, as the monuments testify, washing was an especial and important business of the men. 2 Kgs. 18 : 17 ; Isa. 7 : 3 ; 36 : 2 ; Mark 9 : 3. Mention is made in the Bible of the various substances used in this business, such as nitre, Prov. 26 : 20 ; Jer. 2:22; soap, probably the juice of some saponaceous plant, Mai. 3 : 2. Chalk was rubbed into clothes for the same purpose. Since the fullers occasioned ofi'ensive smells, they carried on their work outside the cities. West of Jerusalem was their field; its removed position and the supply of water from the upper Pool of Gihon rendered the place very fit. See Fullers' Field. En-rogel was the fullers' fountain.

FUL'LERS' FIELD, a spot close to the walls of Jerusalem, 2 Kgs. 18 : 17, 26; Isa. 36:2; 7:3. One resort of the fullers appears to have been En-rogel, below and south-east of Jerusalem, but the place where Rabshakeh stood was probably on the north of the city, or perhaps near the Jaffa gate, at the upper Gihon pool, where fullers now whiten their garments.

FULLNESS. Gal. 4:4. This expression has a peculiar meaning in some passages of the sacred writings. The " fulness of time," in relation to the Messiah, has the same meaning as the expression " when the measure of time was full"—that is, when the time had elapsed as appointed by God, and all the preparations for his coming were completed. So when the day of Pentecost was fully come. Acts 2:1. The same word is used, John 1: 16 and Col. 1:19, to signify the perfect and complete sufficiency of spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.

"Fulness of the Godhead," Col. 2: 9, denotes all the attributes of the divine nature in their entire and complete perfection. The " fulness of Deity " was in Christ.

FU'NERAL. See Bury.

FUR'LONG. See Measures.

FUR'NACE. Furnaces were used for melting the precious metals. Prov. 17: 3. They were also used to punish criminals. The furnace into which Nebuchadnezzar cast the young Hebrews who refused to worship his image, Dan. 3 : 22, 23 ; cf. Jer. 29 : 22, was probably a large furnace, like a brick-

FUR

FUR

kiln, with an opening at the top to cast in the materials ; a second, for the removal of slag, cinders, etc., or molten

Egyptian Fuiuace. (^Ayre.")

metal, was arranged below, in one of the sides, so that the material in the interior could be observed.

FUR'NITURE. To a European eye the best-furnished houses in the East appear empty. On the marble floors are rugs, on the divan are cushions of rich materials. But the great variety of furniture to which we are accustomed is unknown. The poor of course had correspondingly less. A mat or a skin to recline on during the day, a mattress to

sleep on at night, a stool, a little low table, and a brazier,—this would be the extent of the furniture. It is interesting to observe that the rich Shunam-mite furnished the room of Elisha with simply a bed—perhaps merely a mattress—a table, a stool (chair), and a candlestick. 2 Kgs. 4 : 10-13 . The word "furniture" is used in Gen. 31: 34 of the camel-trappings.

FURROW is the translation of diflferent words in the Hebrew. In Hos. 10 : 10 the word is properly "transgressions." The complaining of the furrows. Job 31 : 38, is mentioned in Hindoo proverbs.

FU'RY. Jer. 10 : 25. As the word is generally used, the prophet here attributes to God what is true only of man. We associate haste, impulse, thoughtlessness, and unkindness with fury. But in this sense God cannot have the emotion of fury. He has anger for sin, but this is a righteous and holy feeling, devoid of the bitterness by which men are most often actuated in their fury ; and when he is said to pour out his fury on a person or on a people, it is a figurative expression for dispensing afflictive judgments.

Modern Eastern Furniture. 1. A Village Table. 2. A Brazier, Tongs, etc. 3. Chairs, Persian Canopy Bed, a Couch and Wooden

Pillow.

GAA

GAD

G.

GA'AL {loathing), the son of Ebed, led a revolt against Abimelech, king of the Shechemites. Jud, 9 : 26-46. He was defeated and his partisans were scattered.

GA'ASH (earthquake), the hill where Joshua was buried. Josh. 24 : 30; Jud. 2:9. South of 7V6ne//, which is identified as Timnath-serah, is a hill, upon the north side of which are tombs ; hence it is supposed to be " the hill Gaash."

GA'BA. See Geba.

GAB'BAI {tax-gatherer), a Benja-mite living in Jerusalem. Neh. 11 : 8.

GAB'BATHA (j9^a(/orHi), the place of Pilate's judgment-seat; called also <' the pavement." John 19 : 13. The judgment-hall was the Prgetorium, on the western hill of Jerusalem, and the pavement, or Gabbatha, was a tesselated pavement outside the hall.

GA'BRIEL {mau of God), an angel specially charged with the message to Zacharias respecting the birth of John, and to Mary respecting the birth of Christ. Luke 1 : 19-26. At an earlier period he was sent to Daniel to unfold a vision. Dan. 8:16j 9 : 21. See Angels.

GAD {good fortune ?). 1. The seventh son of Jacob, and the first-born of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, Gen. 30: 11.

2. A prophet and particular friend of David, the history of whose reign he wrote. 1 Chr. 29 : 29. He came to David when the latter was in the cave Adul-1am. 1 Sam. 22 : 5. He then began his career of counsellor, under divine direction, which eventually won him the title of "the king's seer." 2 Sam. 24: 11, 13; 1 Chr. 21: 9. In Hezekiah's day he was remembered. 2 Chr. 29 : 25.

GAD, THE TRIBE OF. The territory, given to the tribe of Gad lay east of the Jordan, north of that allotted to Reuben, and south of that given to Manasseh on that side of the river. It extended from the .Jordan eastward to Aroer, Josh. 13 : 2.^, including half of Mount (iilead and half of Ammon. Deut. 3 : 12 ; Josh. 13 : 25. For physical features and history, see Gil-

KAD. Its chief cities were Ramoth-gil-ead, Mahanaim, llcshbon, and Aroer.

This tribe, in the Wilderness, Avas placed with Simeon and Reuben on the south of the tabernacle; with Reuben and the half of Manasseh, it occupied the pasture-grounds on the east of the Jordan. It was warlike, as is graphically stated, 1 Chr. 12: 8. Two famous men came from Gad—Barzillai, 2 Sam. 17: 27, and Elijah, 1 Kgs. 17 :1. The territory was the battle-field for wars between Syria and Israel. 2 Kgs. 10 : 33.

GAD'ARA. See Gadarenes.

GAD'ARENES, COUNTRY OF, possibly the same as that of the Gergesenes. Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8 : 26. A region about Gadara, an important city about 6 miles south-east of the Sea of Galilee, and 16 miles from Tiberias; now called Um Keis. The town is about 1215 feet above the sea-level, on the western crest of a mountain. The tomb-caverns are very numerous, and some of them are still inhabited by the Arabs, illustrating Matt. 8 : 28. The ruins of the ancient city cover a circuit of about 2 miles, including a street with basalt pavement having marks of chariot-wheels. There are rows of columns, two theatres.

The place of the miracle of Matt. 8: 28-33 has been in doubt, but it cannot be Gadara, which is too far from the lake for the herd of swine to rush into it precipitantly in one short movement. Recent explorations fix it, with some certainty, about midway of the Lake of Galilee, on its eastern side and near Gerasa, or modern Kersa. Between two wadys, Seniakh and File, which are 3 miles apart, the hills come within 40 feet of the lake, and present a steep slope, so that a herd of swine running swiftly down it would be carried on into the water. This identification is supported by W. M. Thomson, Tristram, and the menibers of the Palestine Exploration Survey. W. M. Thomson suggests that Matthew, writing for the Hebrews, who knew the country, notices the more exact but less known locality of Gergesa, while

GAD

GAL

Mark and Luke, writing for those at a distance, refer simply to the country of Gadara, which was more widely known as the capital of that region,

GAD'DI {fortunate), the spy from the tribe of Manasseh. Num. 13:11.

GAD'DIEL {fortune of God; i. e. sent from God), the spy from Zebulun. Nura". 13 : 10.

GA'DI (a (9«f/*7e), the father of Men-ahem, a king of Israel. 2 Kgs. 15 : 14,17.

GA'HAM {sunburnt), a son of Na-hor, nephew of Abraham. Gen. 22 : 24.

GA'HAR {Inrking-plnce), a Neth-inim. Ezr. 2 : 47 j Neh. 7:49.

GA^IUS. 1. A Macedonian, Acts 19 : 29, Paul's host at Corinth when the Epistle to the Romans was written, Rom. 16 : 23, and baptized with his household by Paul. 1 Cor. 1: 16. He accompanied Paul to Ephesus, and was seized by the mob. Acts 19 : 29. The association of his name with that of Aristarchus seems to identify him with the Gaius of Derbe. Acts 20 : 4. Opinions differ on this point.

2. To one of this name is addressed the third Epistle of John. 3 John 1.

GA'IiAL {influential). 1. A Levite. 1 Chr. 9: 15.

2. A Levite. 1 Chr. 9:16; Neh. 11 : 17.

GALiA'TIA, a central province of Asia Minor, subject to the Roman rule, bounded by Bithynia and Paphlagonia on the north, Pontus on the east, Cap-padocia and Lycaonia on the south, and Phrygia on the west. Its boundaries, however, were often changed. In Ptolemy's time it extended to the Euxine or Black Sea, and at one time included Lycaonia on the south. Its capitals were Tavium, Pessinus, and An-cyra. The country is chiefly high tableland between the two rivers Halys and Sangarius.

The Galatians were originally Gauls or Celts who 300 years before Christ moved from the regions of the Rhine back toward the east, and there mingled with Greeks and Jews. Their character resembled that of the modern French, and combined quick temper, prompt action, inconstancy, and change-ableness. So they appear in the Epistle of Paul to them.

Galatia was a part of Paul's missionary-field. He visited it once with Silas 318

and Timothy, Acts 16 : 6; again, on his

third tour, he '' went over all the country of Galatia," 18: 23, and received a collection for the saints from its churches, 1 Cor. 16 : 1. Crescens also appears to have been sent there near the close of Paul's life. 2 Tim. 4: 10.

GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO, written by Paul with his own hand (ch. 6:11) between A. d. 65-58. Its design is to diffuse true notions among the Galatian Christians concerning justification, the relation of the Mosaic economy to the Christian, and the authority of Paul as an apostle. The Galatians had received Paul with much enthusiasm when he first preached the gospel to them, ch. 4 : 15. After his departure teachers had disseminated the false idea that the obligation was incumbent upon the followers of Christ to practise the ceremonies and rites of the Mosaic code. With much vehemence and fervor Paul combats their Judaizing teachings, and enforces the doctrine that by faith alone are we justified. Faith constitutes one the child of Abraham, 3 : 9, and circumcision is not only not essential to salvation, but is in itself of no avail. 6 : 6. Chs. 1 and 2 are occupied mainly with a vindication of Paul's apostolic commission as of equal authority with that of the other apostles, and with an account of a debate concerning meats at the council of Jerusalem. Chs. 5 and 6 contain practical exhortations. The main argument, that we become partakers of salvation by faith, 3 : 26, is the same in the Epistle to the Galatians as in that to the Romans. The two Epistles were best understood in the time of the Reformation, and form the magna charta of evangelical Protestantism.

GAL'BAXUM, a resinous gum of dark-yellow color, produced in Syria and neighboring countries, Ex. 30 : 34. It burns with a pungent, disagreeable odor, was an ingredient of the sacred incense, and is still valued for its medicinal properties. There is uncertainty from what plant it is obtained, but that of Palestine is thought to be from one which botanists call Galbanum officinale.

GAL'EED {heap of witness), a place on Mount Gilead; named by Jacob, Gen, 31: 47, 48 ; probably near Tihneh.

GALILE'ANS, the inhabitants of

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the province of Galilee. Luke 13 : 1-3; Acts 2 : 7.

GAL'ILEE {circle, circuit), a name in the 0. T. for a small district in the northern mountains of Naphtali, around Kedesh-naphtali, and includinj^ 20 towns given by Solomon to Hiram, king of Tyre, Josh. 20: 7 ,• 21: 32 ; 1 Kgs. 9:11; 2 Kgs. 15 : 29, and called " Galilee of the nations" in Isa. 9 : 1. Devastated during the wars of the Captivity, it was repeopled by strangers. In the time of the Maccabees they probably outnumbered the Jewish population, and gave their new name to a much wider district.

In the time of our Lord, Palestine was divided into three provinces, of which Galilee was the most northern. It included the whole region from the Plain of Jezreel to the Litany (Leontes) River, being about 50 miles long by 20 to 25 miles wide. The northern part was known as Upper and the southern part as Lower Galilee. These included the territories given to Asher, Naphtali, Zebulun, and Issachar. The country was famed for its fertility, rich pastures, and fine forests. The portion west of the lake was the most beautiful. In the Roman period the population was dense, Josephus estimating it at 2,000,000 or 3,000,000, though that is probably an exaggeration. It had a mixed population of heathens, foreigners, and Jews. The latter, having a strong, if not dominant, influence, were less strict and less acquainted with the Law than their southern Judaean neighbors, by whom they were little esteemed.

The noted mountains of Galilee were Carmel, Gilboa, and Tabor ; the towns were Nazareth, Cana, Tiberias, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Jesus spent the greater portion of his life and ministry in Galilee. Many of his most remarkable miracles, teachings, and labors were within this province of Galilee. His disciples were chiefly from this region. Acts 1:11. After the fall of Jerusalem, Galilee became the residence of celebrated rabbis and the centre of Jewish schools of learning.

GAI/ILEE OF THE GEX'-TILES. See Gamlee.

GALILEE, SEA OF, a small lake of deep interest to the Bible-reader as the scene of some of the most

remarkable works of Jesus. The lake is named from the district or province of Galilee. It was known by several other names, as the sea of Chinnereth, Num. 34: 11 ; Deut. 3 : 17, or Chinne-roth. Josh. 11 : 2 ; 12 : 3, or Cinneroth, 1 Kgs. 15 : 20, probably from a town of that name which stood on its shore. Josh. 19 : 35 ; the lake of Gennesaret,* Luke 5 :1, from the plain or land of that name on its north-western side. Matt. 14:34; Mark 6 : 53 ; the sea of Tiberias, from the celebrated city of that name, John 6:1; and the sea, Matt. 4:15. It is also called (Jennesar in the Apocryj)hal book of Maccabees, 1 Mace. 11: 67. Its present name is Bahr Tnhariyeh. It is worthy of note that all the towns whose names were applied to this lake were situated upon its western side.

Situation and Extent. —This sea is 60 miles north-east from Jerusalem, and 27 east of the Mediterranean Sea. Its form is an irregular oval or pear-shape, the broad end being toward the north. Its length is 12^ miles according to Wilson, 16i according to Baedeker, and its breadth from 4 to 7i miles. Its level varies at diff"erent seasons, and is from 600 to 700 feet below the Mediterranean, the mean depression being about 626 feet, and its depth 160 feet.

Physical Features. —The lake is surrounded by an almost continuous wall of hills, broken or receding occasionally, as at Tiberias, the plain of Gennesaret, and at the Jordan. The hills are of limestone, basalt, and volcanic rocks, indications of volcanic action being also specially abundant in the, Jordanic chasm, though Wilson sees nothing to indicate a volcanic origin of the lake. Hot springs abound ; earthquakes are frequent. The Jordan runs through the lake, coloring its water for a mile. The water of the lake is slightly salty, but drunk by the people. Fish abound, many species having been found. Tristram says : " The shoals were marvellous black masses of many hundred yards long, with the black fins projecting out of the water as thickly as they could pack. No wonder that any net should break which enclosed such a shoal ! Yet though the lake swarms with fish as

* " GennezaretA," which is a form of the name also given to the sea by many authors, is not found in the A. V. of our English Bible.

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I could not have believed water could swarm, there are but two boats existing on its whole extent besides a ferry-boat." ( La7id of hrael, p. 430.) Baedeker notes three miserable fishing-boats. These are all that are left to remind the traveller of the numerous boats which our Saviour saw on the Sea of Galilee. Josephus describes a naval engagement which took place on its waters between the Jews and the soldiers of Vespasian. Violent and

Sketcli-Map ot" the Sea of Galilee. (Palestine Exploration Fund.)

sudden storms are common now on the lake, as in our Lord's day.

Scripture History. —This lake is mentioned in the 0. T. but seldom, and then rather incidentally, as in Num. 34 : 11 ; Deut. 3:17; Josh. 11: 2; 12 : 3 ; 1 Kgs. 15 : 20. Its chief interest is its association with the public ministry of our Saviour. Upon its shores was '"'his own 320

city," Matt. 9:1; from fishing-boats on Galilee he called Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, and his partners James and John, who were thenceforth " to catch men," Matt. 4 : 18, 22; Mark 1 : 16-20; Luke 5 : 1-11; on it he stilled the tempest and made the winds and the sea obev him. Matt. 8 : 23-27 ; 14 : 22-33 ; see also 17 : 27 ; Mark 7 : 31-35 : at the Sea of Tiberias Christ also showed himself to the disciples after his resurrection. John 21. Of the nine or more populous cities which stood upon its shores, the more important were Bethsaida, Capernaum, Chorazin, Tiberias, and Magdala.

Present Ajjjjearance. — Porter gives an eloquent description of the lake as it appeared to him from his tent-door, on a lovely spot, at evening: " The silence was profound. Even Nature seemed to have fallen asleep. The river glided noiselessly past; the sea was spread before me like a polished mirror. . . . East of the lake the side of Bashan's lofty plateau rose as a mountain-chain, and at its northern end my eye rested on the very scene of that miracle of mercy where thousands were fed, and at its southern end on that of the miracle of judgment, where ' the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place, and perished in the waters.' Away to the west the shattered ramparts of Tiberias seemed to rise out of the bosom of the lake, and behind them a dark mountain, in whose caverned cliffs repose the ashes of many a learned rabbin, while over all appeared the graceful rounded top of Tabor. Farther to the right, on the white strand, I saw the huts of Magdala, with the coast of Gennesaret extending from it northward to Capernaum—Christ's own city."

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At the present time the hike is almost utterly forsaken : only three or four tisher-boats can be found there; while at the time of Christ it was covered with sailing-vessels, and the surrounding western shore (the plain of Gennesaret) was. according to the glowing description of Jo-sephus, a paradise of beauty and fertility. F. R. and C. R. Conder describe the

famous sea as pear-shaped, and resembling in size the English lake Windermere. They add: " It is surrounded with precipices of limestone, except on the north, where a shelving slope leads to the shore from a plateau of basalt extending from the foot of the highest range of Upper Galilee. The scenery of the lake is bare, and much tamer

The Sea of Galilee from Tiberias. (After orifjinal Photograph.)

than that of the Dead Sea. The beach is narrow except on the north-west, where the cliffs recede, leaving a fertile plain (Gennesaret), 2^ miles long and I mile broad, watered by several fine springs. The pebbly open shore on the north is broken into numerous bays, and is fringed with dark oleander bushes. On the south-eastern side is a palm-grove, and a few palms dot the western shore. The ruddy cliffs on the west and the steep slopes on the east are bare and desolate, but the sweet waters of the lake, in calm weather mirroring the surrounding hills and shining in the sun, present a beautiful scene, especially at evening. The sea is remarkable for its shoals of fish, for the vio-21

lence of its sudden thunder-storms, and for the hot springs along its shores. The neighborhood of the lake is also peculiarly subject to volcanic disturbances." —Handbook of the Bible, p. 215 (1879). The Rev. Dr. S. Manning encountered a sudden and violent storm on this lake, illustrating many of the details of N. T. history : " I had taken a boat, on a bright, cloudless morning, to explore the eastern shores and the point where the Jordan enters the lake. There was not a ripple on the water, not a perceptible current in the air. Almost without warning, the wind rose : the waves, crested with foam, began to break over the sides of the boat. I was sitting on a cushion, or 'pillow,' on the flat, raised stern, ' in the hinder-

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part of the ship,' and watched the crew 'toiling and rowing.' But all their efforts were in vain. They were unable to make any way, for ' the wind was contrary.* At length one of them jumped overboard, and, partly swimming, partly wading, towed the vessel ashore." —Hohi Fields, p. 205. Capt. Wilson experienced a similar sudden storm,

GALL19 BILi!E, an animal fluid, of exceedingly bitter taste, secreted by the liver. Ps. 69:21. Allusion is made to it in Job 16:13; 20:14, 25; Lam. 2:11, and elsewhere. But by the same word, in Ps. 69 : 21, reference is made to the extraction of a very bitter herb, Deut. 29:18; 32:32, perhaps hemlock. Hos. 10 :4. It was so bitter as to be used as a generic term for bitter substances ; as sour wine or sour cider, etc., is called " vinegar." Comp. Matt. 27 : 34 ; Mark 15 : 23 ; Acts 8 : 23. See Myrrh.

GALi'LiERYj a veranda common in Eastern houses. But the word in the A. V. is not a correct translation of the Hebrew, which means, according to the latest researches, the colonnade or else wainscoting. Song Sol. 1:17; Eze. 41: 15.

GAL'LEY. See Ship.

GAL'LIM {heaj)s), the home of David's wife, 1 Sam. 25 :44; a village of Benjamin, Isa. 10 : 30 ; now perhaps Khirhet es-Soma. Conder proposes Beit Jala.

GAL'LIO, proconsul of Achaia and brother of Seneca, the famous philosopher, who describes him as a man of great mildness and simplicity. Acts 18: 12. Paul was brought before his tribunal at Corinth by the Jews, who accused him of blasphemy. Acts 18 : 6. Gallio dismissed the case as one not cognizable by a Roman court. Acts 18 : 14, 15. He deemed the offence at best a trivial one. Like his brother Seneca, Gallio was executed at the command of Nero.

GAL'LOWS. See Punishments.

GAMA'LIEL {recomjienne of God). 1. The prince of Manasseh in the desert. Num. 1:10; 2 : 20 : 7 : 54, 59 ; 10 : 23.

2. A distinguished Jewish rabbi and prominent member of the Sanhedrin. Acts 5 : 34. He was for 32 years its president. He is first introduced to our notice in connection with the earlier attempts made at Jerusalem, a. d. 33, 322

to intercept the progress of the gospel. On one occasion, when the apostles, standing in the presence of the Sanhedrin, aroused the feelings of this body to such a pitch that they discussed measures for putting them to death, Acts 5 : 33, Gamaliel, one of their number, counselled more moderate and prudent action. He wisely advocated a policy which would not have interfered, for the time being, by violence, with the preaching of the cross. His words on this occasion are among the most famous that the opponents of Christianity uttereU in the early Church. Acts 5 : 38, 39. He was Paul's teacher at Jerusalem. Acts 22: 3. A tradition states that Gamaliel was baptized by Peter and John. This is very doubtful. Rather is the theory to be trusted which identifies him with that Gamaliel who was the grandson of Hillel, and who is referred to often as an authority in the Jewish Mishna.

GAMES. Doubtless the Hebrew children had playthings and sports, like all other children, but there is no more than a passing allusion to such things in the Bible, nor would more be expected. Zechariah, 8 : 5, declares that part of the outward evidence of the restoration of Jerusalem will be the public playing of the children. The same prophet, 12: 3, illustrates the divine care of Jerusalem by comparing the city to a stone of burden— i. e. heavy and difficult, if not dangerous, to lift; for the Lord would guard her against all attacks, so that man could not prevail against her. In this comparison commentators see an allusion to a practice, which Jerome reports to have prevailed in Judasa, of lifting heavy stones as a trial of strength. Our Lord likens his generation of the Jews to children playing in the market-place a game which consisted in imitating a funeral or a marriage. Matt. 11: 16. But the Hebrews had no public games such as the Greeks and Romans had. They did not fit in with the Hebrew character, particularly with their intense religious feeling. Besides, the three great annual religious festivals—the Passover, the feast of weeks, and that of tabernacles—drew the nation sufficiently together to prevent stagnation. It was quite characteristic that these festivals furnished the Jews

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with their needed diversion. So far from having public games, the Jews considered them disreputable, and even blaspjiemous. For the attempt of Jason to introduce the gi/nuHisiittn he is called an "ungodly wretch," 2 Mace. 4:13, and those who practised in it were said to have sold themselves to do mischief. 1 Mace. 1: 15. The building by Ilerod the Great of a theatre and amphitheatre in Jerusalem, as well as at Ca;sarea, excited the aversion of pious Jews, and any one who took part in the games was regarded as a renegade. And yet, doubtless, the Jews paid some attention to the development of their muscles. The fact that swiftness of foot was so much esteemed and that runners were employed to carry the news of battle would render it probable that there were competitive races. So the Psalmist, 19 : 5, speaks of the sun rejoicing "as a strong man to run a race," and in Eccl. 9:11 the Preacher uses the words, " The race is not to the swift." Then, too, the skill acquired in the use of the bow and the sling, 1 Sam. 20:20; Jud. 20:16; 1 Chr. 12 : 2, implies private if not public competition. The proposition of Abner, " Let the young men now arise, and play before us," 2 Sam. 2 : 14, its immediate acceptance, and its bloody end, indicate the training and skill of the young men, and suggest that the friendly contests of peace had been turned, on this occasion, into a deadly struggle. But such an interpretation may be too far-fetched. The games of private life such as are known to us were many of them familiar to the Egyptians, and are pictured on the monuments. Presuming that the Hebrews would learn these from their neighbors, if they did not invent them i )r themselves, we may fancy an ancient Hebrew amusing himself with " odd and even," "checkers," "graces," catching balls, etc.

But although the ancient Hebrews, as a nation, were opposed to public games, individuals among them entered into them with zest, and the Jews residing in foreign cities came into frequent contact with them. We find the Greek games frequently referred to by Paul, whose heroic nature seems to have been fired by the splendid triumphs of the arena. His metaphors are so frequently taken directly from these games

that his mind seems to run on them, as, in a modern parallel, F. W. Robertson used metaphors taken from soldier-life. Some of Paul's allusions are unhappily concealed from view in the A. V.

Nothing more than a brief handling of this iuteresting subject will be expected here. We follow, in the main, Dean Howson's Metaphors of St. Paul. The most noted of the Greek games were the Olympic, the Pythian, the Isthmian, and the Nemean. They bore the appellation of " sacred." They consisted of leaping, running, quoiting, wrestling, hurling the spear, and boxing; besides these, there were chariot-races. The Olympic games were held in the highest honor. The victors there were regarded as the happiest of mortals. They were crowned and led along the stadium, preceded by a herald, who proclaimed their names, parentage, and country. They were afterward solemnly received into their native cities. Poets sang their praise; statues were sometimes erected in their honor. These games were celebrated every five years at Olympia, in Elis, on the west side of the Peloponnesus; hence the epochs called "Olympiads." The other games were similar in toil and honor. The training preparatory to the contest in either was long and severe. Every care was taken to prevent foul play. The judges were strictly impartial. The prizes were of no intrinsic worth. At the Olympics the victors received each a wreath of wild-olive and a palm-branch; at the Pythian the crown or chaplet was made of laurel; at the Isthmian, of twigs of the pine tree ; at the Nemean, of parsley or ivy. Only one out of all the combatants in each contest received a prize.

The apostle Paul was doubtless brought frequently in contact with these games, which, although Greek in their origin, were yet fostered by Rome. He may have formed part of the throng which witnessed the Isthmian games, since these were celebrated near Corinth and Paul spent 18 months in that city. At all events, he had heard the scenes described, and had had pointed out to him the victors. The (/yinnasium, or place of training, and the stadium, or ground for running, were among the most conspicuous and the most frequented spots in the architecture and embellishment

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of the cities. That feature of these games which was the most exciting is the more frequently referred to—viz. the foot-race. Thus, Paul says : " None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, that I might finish my course [end my race] with joy." Acts 20 : 24. Again: I have fought the good fight [an athletic, not a warlike, contest]; I have ended my race; I have kept the faith ', henceforth

there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day. See 2 Tim. 4 : 7, 8. " The race is nearly run, the struggle is all but over; he is weary, as it were, and panting with the effort; but he is successful. The crown is in sight, and the Judge who cannot make a mistake is there, ready to place that bright wreath upon his head." To the Galatians he says:

Foot-race. {Adapted from a View of the Circus Flora at Rome. Montfaucon.)

"Ye did run well; who did hinder you. that ye should not obey the truth ?" Gal. 5 : 7. The magnificent outburst in the Epistle to the Philippians, 3 : 13, U —" I count not myself to have apprehended : but this one thing / do, farget-ting those things which are behincT, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,"—brings vividly before us a racer. The oft-quoted passage, 1 Cor. 9 : 24-27, receives a flood of light when we bear in mind the familiarity of the Corinthians with the Isthmian games. Paul alludes to the foot-race, out of which only one runner came as a victor, to the strict regimen requisite to success, to the vast superiority of the Christian's prize, and the shame it were if, while so much energy were put forth to gain a little reputation, the Christian should not strive to gain an unfading crown : " I so run, not as uncertainly." A man who does not know his own mind is seldom successful. But the runner keeps his eye fixed upon the goal, and bends all his energies to win it. And the apostle, almost in the same breath, alludes 324

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