BIBLES NET. COM
Dictionary]
Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Remaliah – adorned by the Lord,
the father of Pekah, who conspired successfully against
Pekahiah (2 Kings 15:25, 27, 30, 32, 37; Isa. 7:1, 4, 5, 9;
8:6).
Remeth – another form of Ramah
(q.v.) or Ramoth (1 Chr. 6:73; Josh. 19:21), and probably
also of Jarmuth (Josh. 21:29).
Remmon-methoar – (Josh. 19:13),
rendered correctly in the Revised Version, “Rimmon,
which stretcheth unto Neah,” a landmark of Zebulun;
called also Rimmon (1 Chr. 6:77).
“Rephan”). In Amos 5:26 the Heb. Chiun (q.v.) is
rendered by the LXX. “Rephan,” and this name is
adopted by Luke in his narrative of the Acts. These names
represent the star-god Saturn or Moloch.
Rent – (Isa. 3:24), probably a
rope, as rendered in the LXX. and Vulgate and Revised
Version, or as some prefer interpreting the phrase,
“girdle and robe are torn [i.e., are ‘a rent’]
by the hand of violence.”
Greek words used in the New Testament to denote repentance.
(1.) The verb metamelomai is used of a change of
mind, such as to produce regret or even remorse on account
of sin, but not necessarily a change of heart. This word is
used with reference to the repentance of Judas (Matt.
27:3).
(2.) Metanoeo, meaning to change one’s mind and
purpose, as the result of after knowledge. This verb, with
(3) the cognate noun metanoia, is used of true
repentance, a change of mind and purpose and life, to which
remission of sin is promised.
Evangelical repentance consists of (1) a true sense of
one’s own guilt and sinfulness; (2) an apprehension of
God’s mercy in Christ; (3) an actual hatred of sin (Ps.
119:128; Job 42:5, 6; 2 Cor. 7:10) and turning from it to
God; and (4) a persistent endeavour after a holy life in a
walking with God in the way of his commandments.
The true penitent is conscious of guilt (Ps. 51:4, 9), of
pollution (51:5, 7, 10), and of helplessness (51:11;
109:21, 22). Thus he apprehends himself to be just what God
has always seen him to be and declares him to be. But
repentance comprehends not only such a sense of sin, but
also an apprehension of mercy, without which there can be
no true repentance (Ps. 51:1; 130:4).
Rephael – healed of God, one of
Shemaiah’s sons. He and his brethren, on account of
their “strength for service,” formed one of the
divisions of the temple porters (1 Chr. 26:7, 8).
(Gen. 14:5; 2 Sam. 21:16, 18, marg. A.V., Rapha, marg.
R.V., Raphah; Deut. 3:13, R.V.; A.V., “giants”).
The aborigines of Palestine, afterwards conquered and
dispossessed by the Canaanite tribes, are classed under
this general title. They were known to the Moabites as
Emim, i.e., “fearful”, (Deut. 2:11), and to the
Ammonites as Zamzummim. Some of them found refuge among the
Philistines, and were still existing in the days of David.
We know nothing of their origin. They were not necessarily
connected with the “giants” (R.V.,
“Nephilim”) of Gen. 6:4.
Rephaim, Valley of – (Josh. 15:8;
18:16, R.V.). When David became king over all Israel, the
Philistines, judging that he would now become their
uncompromising enemy, made a sudden attack upon Hebron,
compelling David to retire from it. He sought refuge in
“the hold” at Adullam (2 Sam. 5:17-22), and the
Philistines took up their position in the valley of
Rephaim, on the west and south-west of Jerusalem. Thus all
communication between Bethlehem and Jerusalem was
intercepted. While David and his army were encamped here,
there occurred that incident narrated in 2 Sam. 23:15-17.
Having obtained divine direction, David led his army
against the Philistines, and gained a complete victory over
them. The scene of this victory was afterwards called
Baalperazim (q.v.).
A second time, however, the Philistines rallied their
forces in this valley (2 Sam. 5:22). Again warned by a
divine oracle, David led his army to Gibeon, and attacked
the Philistines from the south, inflicting on them another
severe defeat, and chasing them with great slaughter to
Gezer (q.v.). There David kept in check these enemies of
Israel. This valley is now called el-Bukei’a.
Rephidim – supports, one of the
stations of the Israelites, situated in the Wady Feiran,
near its junction with the Wady esh-Sheikh. Here no water
could be found for the people to drink, and in their
impatience they were ready to stone Moses, as if he were
the cause of their distress. At the command of God Moses
smote “the rock in Horeb,” and a copious stream
flowed forth, enough for all the people. After this the
Amalekites attacked the Israelites while they were here
encamped, but they were utterly defeated (Ex. 17:1, 8-16).
They were the “first of the nations” to make war
against Israel (Num. 24:20).
Leaving Rephidim, the Israelites advanced into the
wilderness of Sinai (Ex. 19:1, 2; Num. 33:14, 15), marching
probably through the two passes of the Wady Solaf and the
Wady esh-Sheikh, which converge at the entrance to the
plain er-Rahah, the “desert of Sinai,” which is
two miles long and about half a mile broad. (See SINAI
MERIBAH.)
rejected on account of its own worthlessness (Jer. 6:30;
Heb. 6:8; Gr. adokimos, “rejected”). This word is
also used with reference to persons cast away or rejected
because they have failed to make use of opportunities
offered them (1 Cor. 9:27; 2 Cor. 13:5-7).
troops in the rear of an army on the march, the rear-guard.
This word is a corruption of the French arriere-garde.
During the wilderness march the tribe of Dan formed the
rear-guard (Num. 10:25; comp. 1 Sam. 29:2; Isa. 52:12;
58:8).
bridle, one of Nimrod’s cities (Gen. 10:12),
“between Nineveh and Calah.” It has been supposed
that the four cities named in this verse were afterwards
combined into one under the name of Nineveh (q.v.). Resen
was on the east side of the Tigris. It is probably
identified with the mound of ruins called Karamless.
equivalent to the Hebrew word noah (Heb. 4:1).
(2.) Gr. anapausis, “rest from weariness” (Matt.
11:28).
(3.) Gr. anesis, “relaxation” (2 Thess. 1:7).
(4.) Gr. sabbatismos, a Sabbath rest, a rest from all work
(Heb. 4:9; R.V., “sabbath”), a rest like that of
God when he had finished the work of creation.
Resurrection of Christ – one of
the cardinal facts and doctrines of the gospel. If Christ
be not risen, our faith is vain (1 Cor. 15:14). The whole
of the New Testament revelation rests on this as an
historical fact. On the day of Pentecost Peter argued the
necessity of Christ’s resurrection from the prediction
in Ps. 16 (Acts 2:24-28). In his own discourses, also, our
Lord clearly intimates his resurrection (Matt. 20:19; Mark
9:9; 14:28; Luke 18:33; John 2:19-22).
The evangelists give circumstantial accounts of the facts
connected with that event, and the apostles, also, in their
public teaching largely insist upon it. Ten different
appearances of our risen Lord are recorded in the New
Testament. They may be arranged as follows:
(1.) To Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre alone. This is
recorded at length only by John (20:11-18), and alluded to
by Mark (16:9-11).
(2.) To certain women, “the other Mary,” Salome,
Joanna, and others, as they returned from the sepulchre.
Matthew (28:1-10) alone gives an account of this. (Comp.
Mark 16:1-8, and Luke 24:1-11.)
(3.) To Simon Peter alone on the day of the resurrection.
(See Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5.)
(4.) To the two disciples on the way to Emmaus on the day
of the resurrection, recorded fully only by Luke (24:13-35.
Comp. Mark 16:12, 13).
(5.) To the ten disciples (Thomas being absent) and others
“with them,” at Jerusalem on the evening of the
resurrection day. One of the evangelists gives an account
of this appearance, John (20:19-24).
(6.) To the disciples again (Thomas being present) at
Jerusalem (Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:33-40; John 20:26-28. See
also 1 Cor. 15:5).
(7.) To the disciples when fishing at the Sea of Galilee.
Of this appearance also John (21:1-23) alone gives an
account.
(8.) To the eleven, and above 500 brethren at once, at an
appointed place in Galilee (1 Cor. 15:6; comp. Matt.
28:16-20).
(9.) To James, but under what circumstances we are not
informed (1 Cor. 15:7).
(10.) To the apostles immediately before the ascension.
They accompanied him from Jerusalem to Mount Olivet, and
there they saw him ascend “till a cloud received him
out of their sight” (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50-52; Acts
1:4-10).
It is worthy of note that it is distinctly related that on
most of these occasions our Lord afforded his disciples the
amplest opportunity of testing the fact of his
resurrection. He conversed with them face to face. They
touched him (Matt. 28:9; Luke 24:39; John 20:27), and he
ate bread with them (Luke 24:42, 43; John 21:12, 13).
(11.) In addition to the above, mention might be made of
Christ’s manifestation of himself to Paul at Damascus,
who speaks of it as an appearance of the risen Saviour
(Acts 9:3-9, 17; 1 Cor. 15:8; 9:1).
It is implied in the words of Luke (Acts 1:3) that there
may have been other appearances of which we have no record.
The resurrection is spoken of as the act (1) of God the
Father (Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:24; 3:15; Rom. 8:11; Eph. 1:20;
Col. 2:12; Heb. 13:20); (2) of Christ himself (John 2:19;
10:18); and (3) of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 3:18).
The resurrection is a public testimony of Christ’s
release from his undertaking as surety, and an evidence of
the Father’s acceptance of his work of redemption. It
is a victory over death and the grave for all his
followers.
The importance of Christ’s resurrection will be seen
when we consider that if he rose the gospel is true, and if
he rose not it is false. His resurrection from the dead
makes it manifest that his sacrifice was accepted. Our
justification was secured by his obedience to the death,
and therefore he was raised from the dead (Rom. 4:25). His
resurrection is a proof that he made a full atonement for
our sins, that his sacrifice was accepted as a satisfaction
to divine justice, and his blood a ransom for sinners. It
is also a pledge and an earnest of the resurrection of all
believers (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 6:14; 15:47-49; Phil. 3:21; 1
John 3:2). As he lives, they shall live also.
It proved him to be the Son of God, inasmuch as it
authenticated all his claims (John 2:19; 10:17). “If
Christ did not rise, the whole scheme of redemption is a
failure, and all the predictions and anticipations of its
glorious results for time and for eternity, for men and for
angels of every rank and order, are proved to be chimeras.
‘But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the
first-fruits of them that slept.’ Therefore the Bible
is true from Genesis to Revelation. The kingdom of darkness
has been overthrown, Satan has fallen as lightning from
heaven, and the triumph of truth over error, of good over
evil, of happiness over misery is for ever secured.”
Hodge.
With reference to the report which the Roman soldiers were
bribed (Matt. 28:12-14) to circulate concerning
Christ’s resurrection, “his disciples came by
night and stole him away while we slept,” Matthew
Henry in his “Commentary,” under John 20:1-10,
fittingly remarks, “The grave-clothes in which Christ
had been buried were found in very good order, which serves
for an evidence that his body was not ‘stolen away
while men slept.’ Robbers of tombs have been known to
take away ‘the clothes’ and leave the body; but
none ever took away ‘the body’ and left the
clothes, especially when they were ‘fine linen’ and
new (Mark 15:46). Any one would rather choose to carry a
dead body in its clothes than naked. Or if they that were
supposed to have stolen it would have left the
grave-clothes behind, yet it cannot be supposed they would
find leisure to ‘fold up the linen.'”
Resurrection of the dead – will
be simultaneous both of the just and the unjust (Dan. 12:2;
John 5:28, 29; Rom. 2:6-16; 2 Thess. 1:6-10). The qualities
of the resurrection body will be different from those of
the body laid in the grave (1 Cor. 15:53, 54; Phil. 3:21);
but its identity will nevertheless be preserved. It will
still be the same body (1 Cor. 15:42-44) which rises
again.
As to the nature of the resurrection body, (1) it will be
spiritual (1 Cor. 15:44), i.e., a body adapted to the use
of the soul in its glorified state, and to all the
conditions of the heavenly state; (2) glorious,
incorruptible, and powerful (54); (3) like unto the
glorified body of Christ (Phil. 3:21); and (4) immortal
(Rev. 21:4).
Christ’s resurrection secures and illustrates that of
his people. “(1.) Because his resurrection seals and
consummates his redemptive power; and the redemption of our
persons involves the redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8:23).
(2.) Because of our federal and vital union with Christ (1
Cor. 15:21, 22; 1 Thess. 4:14). (3.) Because of his Spirit
which dwells in us making our bodies his members (1 Cor.
6:15; Rom. 8:11). (4.) Because Christ by covenant is Lord
both of the living and the dead (Rom. 14:9). This same
federal and vital union of the Christian with Christ
likewise causes the resurrection of the believer to be
similar to as well as consequent upon that of Christ (1
Cor. 15:49; Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2).” Hodge’s
Outlines of Theology.
eldest son of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 29:32). His sinful
conduct, referred to in Gen. 35:22, brought down upon him
his dying father’s malediction (48:4). He showed
kindness to Joseph, and was the means of saving his life
when his other brothers would have put him to death
(37:21,22). It was he also who pledged his life and the
life of his sons when Jacob was unwilling to let Benjamin
go down into Egypt. After Jacob and his family went down
into Egypt (46:8) no further mention is made of Reuben
beyond what is recorded in ch. 49:3,4.
Reuben, Tribe of – at the Exodus
numbered 46,500 male adults, from twenty years old and
upwards (Num. 1:20, 21), and at the close of the wilderness
wanderings they numbered only 43,730 (26:7). This tribe
united with that of Gad in asking permission to settle in
the “land of Gilead,” “on the other side of
Jordan” (32:1-5). The lot assigned to Reuben was the
smallest of the lots given to the trans-Jordanic tribes. It
extended from the Arnon, in the south along the coast of
the Dead Sea to its northern end, where the Jordan flows
into it (Josh. 13:15-21, 23). It thus embraced the original
kingdom of Sihon. Reuben is “to the eastern tribes
what Simeon is to the western. ‘Unstable as water,’
he vanishes away into a mere Arabian tribe. ‘His men
are few;’ it is all he can do ‘to live and not
die.’ We hear of nothing beyond the multiplication of
their cattle in the land of Gilead, their spoils of
‘camels fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand’
(1 Chr. 5:9, 10, 20, 21). In the great struggles of the
nation he never took part. The complaint against him in the
song of Deborah is the summary of his whole history.
‘By the streams of Reuben,’ i.e., by the fresh
streams which descend from the eastern hills into the
Jordan and the Dead Sea, on whose banks the Bedouin chiefs
met then as now to debate, in the ‘streams’ of
Reuben great were the ‘desires'”, i.e.,
resolutions which were never carried out, the people idly
resting among their flocks as if it were a time of peace
(Judg. 5:15, 16). Stanley’s Sinai and Palestine.
All the three tribes on the east of Jordan at length fell
into complete apostasy, and the time of retribution came.
God “stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria,
and the spirit of Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria,”
to carry them away, the first of the tribes, into captivity
(1 Chr. 5:25, 26).
Reuel – friend of God. (1.) A son
of Esau and Bashemath (Gen. 36:4, 10; 1 Chr. 1:35). (2.)
“The priest of Midian,” Moses’ father-in-law
(Ex. 2:18)=Raguel (Num. 10:29). If he be identified with
Jethro (q.v.), then this may be regarded as his proper
name, and Jether or Jethro (i.e., “excellency”)
as his official title. (3.) Num. 2:14, called also Deuel
(1:14; 7:42).
bringing to light of that which had been previously wholly
hidden or only obscurely seen. God has been pleased in
various ways and at different times (Heb. 1:1) to make a
supernatural revelation of himself and his purposes and
plans, which, under the guidance of his Spirit, has been
committed to writing. (See WORD OF GOD.) The Scriptures are not merely the
“record” of revelation; they are the revelation
itself in a written form, in order to the accurate
presevation and propagation of the truth.
Revelation and inspiration differ. Revelation is the
supernatural communication of truth to the mind;
inspiration (q.v.) secures to the teacher or writer
infallibility in communicating that truth to others. It
renders its subject the spokesman or prophet of God in such
a sense that everything he asserts to be true, whether fact
or doctrine or moral principle, is true, infallibly true.
Apocalypse, the closing book and the only prophetical book
of the New Testament canon. The author of this book was
undoubtedly John the apostle. His name occurs four times in
the book itself (1:1, 4, 9; 22:8), and there is every
reason to conclude that the “John” here mentioned
was the apostle. In a manuscript of about the twelfth
century he is called “John the divine,” but no
reason can be assigned for this appellation.
The date of the writing of this book has generally been
fixed at A.D. 96, in the reign of Domitian. There are some,
however, who contend for an earlier date, A.D. 68 or 69, in
the reign of Nero. Those who are in favour of the later
date appeal to the testimony of the Christian father
Irenaeus, who received information relative to this book
from those who had seen John face to face. He says that the
Apocalypse “was seen no long time ago.”
As to the relation between this book and the Gospel of
John, it has been well observed that “the leading
ideas of both are the same. The one gives us in a
magnificent vision, the other in a great historic drama,
the supreme conflict between good and evil and its issue.
In both Jesus Christ is the central figure, whose victory
through defeat is the issue of the conflict. In both the
Jewish dispensation is the preparation for the gospel, and
the warfare and triumph of the Christ is described in
language saturated with the Old Testament. The difference
of date will go a long way toward explaining the difference
of style.” Plummer’s Gospel of St. John, Introd.
Revelation of Christ – the second
advent of Christ. Three different Greek words are used by
the apostles to express this, (1) apokalupsis (1 Cor. 1;7;
2 Thess. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:7, 13); (2) parousia (Matt. 24:3,
27; 1 Thess. 2:19; James 5:7, 8); (3) epiphaneia (1 Tim.
6:14; 2 Tim. 1:10; 4:1-8; Titus 2:13). There existed among
Christians a wide expectation, founded on Matt. 24:29, 30,
34, of the speedy return of Christ. (See MILLENNIUM.)
Rezeph – solid; a stone, (2 Kings
19:12; Isa. 37:12), a fortress near Haran, probably on the
west of the Euphrates, conquered by Sennacherib.
Rezin – firm; a prince, a king of
Syria, who joined Pekah (q.v.) in an invasion of the
kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 15:37; 16:5-9; Isa. 7:1-8). Ahaz
induced Tiglath-pileser III. to attack Damascus, and this
caused Rezin to withdraw for the purpose of defending his
own kingdom. Damascus was taken, and Rezin was slain in
battle by the Assyrian king, and his people carried into
captivity, B.C. 732 (2 Kings 16:9).
Rezon – prince, son of Eliadah.
Abandoning the service of Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, on
the occasion of his being defeated by David, he became the
“captain over a band” of marauders, and took
Damascus, and became king of Syria (1 Kings 11:23-25; 2
Sam. 8:3-8). For centuries after this the Syrians were the
foes of Israel. He “became an adversary to Israel all
the days of Solomon.”
Rhegium – breach, a town in the
south of Italy, on the Strait of Messina, at which Paul
touched on his way to Rome (Acts 28:13). It is now called
Rheggio.
Zorobabel, mentioned in the genealogy of our Lord (Luke
3:27).
Rhoda – a rose, the damsel in the
house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. She came to hearken
when Peter knocked at the door of the gate (Acts
12:12-15).
Rhodes – a rose, an island to the
south of the western extremity of Asia Minor, between Coos
and Patara, about 46 miles long and 18 miles broad. Here
the apostle probably landed on his way from Greece to Syria
(Acts 21:1), on returning from his third missionary
journey.
town on the northern frontier of Palestine, 35 miles
north-east of Baalbec, and 10 or 12 south of Lake Homs, on
the eastern bank of the Orontes, in a wide and fertile
plain. Here Nebuchadnezzar had his head-quarters in his
campaign against Jerusalem, and here also Necho fixed his
camp after he had routed Josiah’s army at Megiddo (2
Kings 23:29-35; 25:6, 20, 21; Jer. 39:5; 52:10). It was on
the great caravan road from Palestine to Carchemish, on the
Euphrates. It is described (Num. 34:11) as “on the
eastern side of Ain.” A place still called el Ain,
i.e., “the fountain”, is found in such a position
about 10 miles distant.
Riddle – (Heb. hodah). The oldest
and, strictly speaking, the only example of a riddle was
that propounded by Samson (Judg. 14:12-18). The parabolic
prophecy in Ezek. 17:2-18 is there called a
“riddle.” It was rather, however, an allegory.
The word “darkly” in 1 Cor. 13:12 is the
rendering of the Greek enigma; marg., “in a
riddle.”
JUSTIFICATION.
Rimmon – pomegranate. (1.) A man
of Beeroth (2 Sam. 4:2), one of the four Gibeonite cities.
(See Josh. 9:17.)
(2.) A Syrian idol, mentioned only in 2 Kings 5:18.
(3.) One of the “uttermost cities” of Judah,
afterwards given to Simeon (Josh. 15:21, 32; 19:7; 1 Chr.
4:32). In Josh. 15:32 Ain and Rimmon are mentioned
separately, but in 19:7 and 1 Chr. 4:32 (comp. Neh. 11:29)
the two words are probably to be combined, as forming
together the name of one place, Ain-Rimmon=the spring of
the pomegranate. It has been identified with Um er-Rumamin,
about 13 miles south-west of Hebron.
(4.) “Rock of,” to which the Benjamites fled
(Judg. 20:45, 47; 21:13), and where they maintained
themselves for four months after the fearful battle at
Gibeah, in which they were almost exterminated, 600 only
surviving out of about 27,000. It is the present village of
Rummon, “on the very edge of the hill country, with a
precipitous descent toward the Jordan valley,”
supposed to be the site of Ai.
breach, or Rimmon of the breach, one of the stations of the
Israelites in the wilderness (Num. 33:19, 20).
decorate the fingers, arms, wrists, and also the ears and
the nose. Rings were used as a signet (Gen. 38:18). They
were given as a token of investment with authority (Gen.
41:42; Esther 3:8-10; 8:2), and of favour and dignity (Luke
15:22). They were generally worn by rich men (James 2:2).
They are mentioned by Isiah (3:21) among the adornments of
Hebrew women.
second son (Gen. 10:3), supposed to have been the ancestor
of the Paphlagonians.
Rissah – heap of ruins; dew, a
station of the Israelites in the wilderness (Num. 33:21,
22).
Rithmah – wild broom, a station
in the wilderness (Num. 33:18, 19), the “broom
valley,” or “valley of broombushes,” the
place apparently of the original encampment of Israel, near
Kadesh.
properly the channel or ravine that holds water (2 Sam.
22:16), translated “brook,” “river,”
“stream,” but not necessarily a perennial stream
(Ezek. 6:3; 31:12; 32:6; 34:13).
(2.) Heb. nahal, in winter a “torrent,” in summer
a “wady” or valley (Gen. 32:23; Deut. 2:24; 3:16;
Isa. 30:28; Lam. 2:18; Ezek. 47:9).
These winter torrents sometimes come down with great
suddenness and with desolating force. A distinguished
traveller thus describes his experience in this matter:,
“I was encamped in Wady Feiran, near the base of Jebel
Serbal, when a tremendous thunderstorm burst upon us. After
little more than an hour’s rain, the water rose so
rapidly in the previously dry wady that I had to run for my
life, and with great difficulty succeeded in saving my tent
and goods; my boots, which I had not time to pick up, were
washed away. In less than two hours a dry desert wady
upwards of 300 yards broad was turned into a foaming
torrent from 8 to 10 feet deep, roaring and tearing down
and bearing everything upon it, tangled masses of
tamarisks, hundreds of beautiful palmtrees, scores of sheep
and goats, camels and donkeys, and even men, women, and
children, for a whole encampment of Arabs was washed away a
few miles above me. The storm commenced at five in the
evening; at half-past nine the waters were rapidly
subsiding, and it was evident that the flood had spent its
force.” (Comp. Matt. 7:27; Luke 6:49.)
(3.) Nahar, a “river” continuous and full, a
perennial stream, as the Jordan, the Euphrates (Gen. 2:10;
15:18; Deut. 1:7; Ps. 66:6; Ezek. 10:15).
(4.) Tel’alah, a conduit, or water-course (1 Kings
18:32; 2 Kings 18:17; 20:20; Job 38:25; Ezek. 31:4).
(5.) Peleg, properly “waters divided”, i.e.,
streams divided, throughout the land (Ps. 1:3); “the
rivers [i.e., ‘divisions’] of waters” (Job
20:17; 29:6; Prov. 5:16).
(6.) Ye’or, i.e., “great river”, probably
from an Egyptian word (Aur), commonly applied to the Nile
(Gen. 41:1-3), but also to other rivers (Job 28:10; Isa.
33:21).
(7.) Yubhal, “a river” (Jer. 17:8), a full
flowing stream.
(8.) ‘Ubhal, “a river” (Dan. 8:2).
River of Egypt – (1.) Heb. nahar
mitsraim, denotes in Gen. 15:18 the Nile, or its eastern
branch (2 Chr. 9:26). (2.) In Num. 34:5 (R.V., “brook
of Egypt”) the Hebrew word is nahal, denoting a
stream flowing rapidly in winter, or in the rainy season.
This is a desert stream on the borders of Egypt. It is now
called the Wady el-‘Arish. The present boundary between
Egypt and Palestine is about midway between this wady and
Gaza. (See Num. 34:5; Josh. 15:4, 47; 1 Kings 8:65; 2 Kings
24:7; Isa. 27:12; Ezek. 47:19. In all these passages the
R.V. has “brook” and the A.V.
“river.”)
River of Gad – probably the Arno
(2 Sam. 24:5).
opposed to earthly streams, denoting that the divine
resources are inexhaustible, or the sum of all fertilizing
streams that water the earth (Gen. 2:10).
Rivers of Babylon – (Ps. 137:1),
i.e., of the whole country of Babylonia, e.g., the Tigris,
Euphrates, Chalonas, the Ulai, and the numerous canals.
Rivers of Damascus – the Abana
and Pharpar (2 Kings 5:12).
Rivers of Judah – (Joel 3:18),
the watercourses of Judea.
daughter of Aiah, and one of Saul’s concubines. She was
the mother of Armoni and Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 3:7; 21:8,
10, 11).
It happened that a grievous famine, which lasted for three
years, fell upon the land during the earlier half of
David’s reign at Jerusalem. This calamity was sent
“for Saul and for his bloody house, because he slew
the Gibeonites.” David inquired of the Gibeonites what
satisfaction they demanded, and was answered that nothing
would compensate for the wrong Saul had done to them but
the death of seven of Saul’s sons. David accordingly
delivered up to them the two sons of Rizpah and five of the
sons of Merab (q.v.), Saul’s eldest daughter, whom she
bore to Adriel. These the Gibeonites put to death, and hung
up their bodies before the Lord at the sanctuary at Gibeah.
Rizpah thereupon took her place on the rock of Gibeah
(q.v.), and for five months watched the suspended bodies of
her children, to prevent them from being devoured by the
beasts and birds of prey, till they were at length taken
down and buried by David.
Her marriage to Abner was the occasion of a quarrel between
him and Ishbosheth, which led to Abner’s going over to
the side of David (2 Sam. 3:17-21).
“raid”), an inroad, an incursion. This word is
never used in Scripture in the sense of a way or path.
Ishmaelites (Gen. 16:12), the Chaldeans and Sabeans (Job
1:15, 17), and the men of Shechem (Judg. 9:25. See also 1
Sam. 27:6-10; 30; Hos. 4:2; 6:9). Robbers infested Judea in
our Lord’s time (Luke 10:30; John 18:40; Acts 5:36, 37;
21:38; 2 Cor. 11:26). The words of the Authorized Version,
“counted it not robbery to be equal,” etc. (Phil.
2:6, 7), are better rendered in the Revised Version,
“counted it not a prize to be on an equality,”
etc., i.e., “did not look upon equality with God as a
prize which must not slip from his grasp” = “did
not cling with avidity to the prerogatives of his divine
majesty; did not ambitiously display his equality with
God.”
“Robbers of churches” should be rendered, as in
the Revised Version, “of temples.” In the temple
at Ephesus there was a great treasure-chamber, and as all
that was laid up there was under the guardianship of the
goddess Diana, to steal from such a place would be
sacrilege (Acts 19:37).
Rock – (Heb. tsur), employed as a
symbol of God in the Old Testament (1 Sam. 2:2; 2 Sam.
22:3; Isa. 17:10; Ps. 28:1; 31:2,3; 89:26; 95:1); also in
the New Testament (Matt. 16:18; Rom. 9:33; 1 Cor. 10:4). In
Dan. 2:45 the Chaldaic form of the Hebrew word is
translated “mountain.” It ought to be translated
“rock,” as in Hab. 1:12 in the Revised Version.
The “rock” from which the stone is cut there
signifies the divine origin of Christ.
Roe – (Heb. tsebi), properly the
gazelle (Arab. ghazal), permitted for food (Deut. 14:5;
comp. Deut. 12:15, 22; 15:22; 1 Kings 4:23), noted for its
swiftness and beauty and grace of form (2 Sam. 2:18; 1 Chr.
12:8; Cant. 2:9; 7:3; 8:14).
The gazelle (Gazella dorcas) is found in great numbers in
Palestine. “Among the gray hills of Galilee it is
still ‘the roe upon the mountains of Bether,’ and I
have seen a little troop of gazelles feeding on the Mount
of Olives close to Jerusalem itself” (Tristram).
The Hebrew word (‘ayyalah) in Prov. 5: 19 thus rendered
(R.V., “doe”), is properly the “wild
she-goat,” the mountain goat, the ibex. (See 1 Sam.
24:2; Ps. 104:18; Job 39:1.)
Gilead, the residence of Barzillai the Gileadite (2 Sam.
17:27; 19:31), probably near to Mahanaim.
Roll – the common form of ancient
books. The Hebrew word rendered “roll” or
“volume” is meghillah, found in Ezra 6:2;
Ps. 40:7; Jer. 36:2, 6, 23, 28, 29; Ezek. 2:9; 3:1-3; Zech.
5:1, 2. “Rolls” (Chald. pl. of sephar,
corresponding to Heb. sepher) in Ezra 6:1 is rendered in
the Revised Version “archives.” In the New
Testament the word “volume” (Heb. 10:7; R.V.,
“roll”) occurs as the rendering of the Greek
kephalis, meaning the head or top of the stick or cylinder
on which the manuscript was rolled, and hence the
manuscript itself. (
Romamti-ezer – elevation of help,
one of the sons of Heman, “the king’s seer in the
words of God, to lift up the horn.” He was head of the
“four-and-twentieth” course of singers (1 Chr.
25:4, 31).
epistle was probably written at Corinth. Phoebe (Rom. 16:1)
of Cenchrea conveyed it to Rome, and Gaius of Corinth
entertained the apostle at the time of his writing it
(16:23; 1 Cor. 1:14), and Erastus was chamberlain of the
city, i.e., of Corinth (2 Tim. 4:20).
The precise time at which it was written is not mentioned
in the epistle, but it was obviously written when the
apostle was about to “go unto Jerusalem to minister
unto the saints”, i.e., at the close of his second
visit to Greece, during the winter preceding his last visit
to that city (Rom. 15:25; comp. Acts 19:21; 20:2, 3, 16; 1
Cor. 16:1-4), early in A.D. 58.
It is highly probable that Christianity was planted in Rome
by some of those who had been at Jerusalem on the day of
Pentecost (Acts 2:10). At this time the Jews were very
numerous in Rome, and their synagogues were probably
resorted to by Romans also, who in this way became
acquainted with the great facts regarding Jesus as these
were reported among the Jews. Thus a church composed of
both Jews and Gentiles was formed at Rome. Many of the
brethren went out to meet Paul on his approach to Rome.
There are evidences that Christians were then in Rome in
considerable numbers, and had probably more than one place
of meeting (Rom. 16:14, 15).
The object of the apostle in writing to this church was to
explain to them the great doctrines of the gospel. His
epistle was a “word in season.” Himself deeply
impressed with a sense of the value of the doctrines of
salvation, he opens up in a clear and connected form the
whole system of the gospel in its relation both to Jew and
Gentile. This epistle is peculiar in this, that it is a
systematic exposition of the gospel of universal
application. The subject is here treated argumentatively,
and is a plea for Gentiles addressed to Jews. In the
Epistle to the Galatians, the same subject is discussed,
but there the apostle pleads his own authority, because the
church in Galatia had been founded by him.
After the introduction (1:1-15), the apostle presents in it
divers aspects and relations the doctrine of justification
by faith (1:16-11:36) on the ground of the imputed
righteousness of Christ. He shows that salvation is all of
grace, and only of grace. This main section of his letter
is followed by various practical exhortations (12:1-15:13),
which are followed by a conclusion containing personal
explanations and salutations, which contain the names of
twenty-four Christians at Rome, a benediction, and a
doxology (Rom. 15:14-ch. 16).
Rome – the most celebrated city
in the world at the time of Christ. It is said to have been
founded B.C. 753. When the New Testament was written, Rome
was enriched and adorned with the spoils of the world, and
contained a population estimated at 1,200,000, of which the
half were slaves, and including representatives of nearly
every nation then known. It was distinguished for its
wealth and luxury and profligacy. The empire of which it
was the capital had then reached its greatest
prosperity.
On the day of Pentecost there were in Jerusalem
“strangers from Rome,” who doubtless carried with
them back to Rome tidings of that great day, and were
instrumental in founding the church there. Paul was brought
to this city a prisoner, where he remained for two years
(Acts 28:30, 31) “in his own hired house.” While
here, Paul wrote his epistles to the Philippians, to the
Ephesians, to the Colossians, to Philemon, and probably
also to the Hebrews. He had during these years for
companions Luke and Aristarchus (Acts 27:2), Timothy (Phil.
1:1; Col. 1:1), Tychicus (Eph. 6: 21), Epaphroditus (Phil.
4:18), and John Mark (Col. 4:10).
Beneath this city are extensive galleries, called
“catacombs,” which were used from about the time
of the apostles (one of the inscriptions found in them
bears the date A.D. 71) for some three hundred years as
places of refuge in the time of persecution, and also of
worship and burial. About four thousand inscriptions have
been found in the catacombs. These give an interesting
insight into the history of the church at Rome down to the
time of Constantine.
Rose – Many varieties of the rose
proper are indigenous to Syria. The famed rose of Damascus
is white, but there are also red and yellow roses. In Cant.
2:1 and Isa. 35:1 the Hebrew word habatstseleth
(found only in these passages), rendered “rose”
(R.V. marg., “autumn crocus”), is supposed by
some to mean the oleander, by others the sweet-scented
narcissus (a native of Palestine), the tulip, or the daisy;
but nothing definite can be affirmed regarding it.
The “rose of Sharon” is probably the cistus or
rock-rose, several species of which abound in Palestine.
“Mount Carmel especially abounds in the cistus, which
in April covers some of the barer parts of the mountain
with a glow not inferior to that of the Scottish
heather.” (See MYRRH ¯T0002632 [2].)
Rosh – (Ezek. 38:2, 3; 39:1) is
rendered “chief” in the Authorized Version. It is
left untranslated as a proper name in the Revised Version.
Some have supposed that the Russians are here meant, as one
of the three Scythian tribes of whom Magog was the prince.
They invaded the land of Judah in the days of Josiah.
Herodotus, the Greek historian, says: “For
twenty-eight years the Scythians ruled over Asia, and
things were turned upside down by their violence and
contempt.”
Rosin – found only in Authorized
Version, margin, Ezek. 27:17, Heb. tsori, uniformly
rendered elsewhere “balm” (q.v.), as here in the
text. The Vulgate has resinam, rendered “rosin”
in the Douay Version. As used, however, by Jerome, the Lat.
resina denotes some odoriferous gum or oil.
Ruby – (Heb. peninim), only in
plural (Lam. 4:7). The ruby was one of the stones in the
high priest’s breastplate (Ex. 28:17). A comparison is
made between the value of wisdom and rubies (Job 28:18;
Prov. 3:15; 8:11). The price of a virtuous woman is said to
be “far above rubies” (Prov. 31:10). The exact
meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Some render it
“red coral;” others, “pearl” or
“mother-of-pearl.”
Rudder bands – Ancient ships had
two great broad-bladed oars for rudders. These, when not in
use, were lifted out of the water and bound or tied up.
When required for use, these bands were unloosed and the
rudders allowed to drop into the water (Acts 27:40).
graveolens) which the Pharisees were careful to tithe (Luke
11:42), neglecting weightier matters. It is omitted in the
parallel passage of Matt. 23:23. There are several species
growing wild in Palestine. It is used for medicinal and
culinary purposes. It has a powerful scent, and is a
stimulant.
Rufus – red, the son of Simon the
Cyrenian (Mark 15:21), whom the Roman soldiers compelled to
carry the cross on which our Lord was crucified. Probably
it is the same person who is again mentioned in Rom. 16:13
as a disciple at Rome, whose mother also was a Christian
held in esteem by the apostle. Mark mentions him along with
his brother Alexander as persons well known to his readers
(Mark 15:21).
Ruhamah – having obtained mercy,
a symbolical name given to the daughter of Hosea (2:1).
Rumah – elevation, probably the
same as Arumah (Judg. 9:41; 2 Kings 23:36), near Shechem.
Others identify it with Tell Rumeh, in Galilee, about 6
miles north of Nazareth.
Rush – the papyrus (Job 8:11).
The expression “branch and rush” in
Isa. 9:14; 19:15 means “utterly.”
Ruth – a friend, a Moabitess, the
wife of Mahlon, whose father, Elimelech, had settled in the
land of Moab. On the death of Elimelech and Mahlon, Naomi
came with Ruth, her daughter-in-law, who refused to leave
her, to Bethlehem, the old home from which Elimelech had
migrated. There she had a rich relative, Boaz, to whom Ruth
was eventually married. She became the mother of Obed, the
grandfather of David. Thus Ruth, a Gentile, is among the
maternal progenitors of our Lord (Matt. 1:5). The story of
“the gleaner Ruth illustrates the friendly relations
between the good Boaz and his reapers, the Jewish land
system, the method of transferring property from one person
to another, the working of the Mosaic law for the relief of
distressed and ruined families; but, above all, handing
down the unselfishness, the brave love, the unshaken
trustfulness of her who, though not of the chosen race,
was, like the Canaanitess Tamar (Gen. 38:29; Matt. 1:3) and
the Canaanitess Rahab (Matt. 1:5), privileged to become the
ancestress of David, and so of ‘great David’s
greater Son'” (Ruth 4:18-22).
Ruth The Book of – was originally
a part of the Book of Judges, but it now forms one of the
twenty-four separate books of the Hebrew Bible.
The history it contains refers to a period perhaps about
one hundred and twenty-six years before the birth of David.
It gives (1) an account of Naomi’s going to Moab with
her husband, Elimelech, and of her subsequent return to
Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law; (2) the marriage of
Boaz and Ruth; and (3) the birth of Obed, of whom David
sprang.
The author of this book was probably Samuel, according to
Jewish tradition.
“Brief as this book is, and simple as is its story, it
is remarkably rich in examples of faith, patience,
industry, and kindness, nor less so in indications of the
care which God takes of those who put their trust in
him.”
found in Ex. 9:32; Isa. 28:25, in all of which the margins
of the Authorized and of the Revised Versions have
“spelt.” This Hebrew word also occurs in Ezek.
4:9, where the Authorized Version has “fitches’
(q.v.) and the Revised Version “spelt.” This,
there can be no doubt, was the Triticum spelta, a species
of hard, rough-grained wheat.
Sabachthani – thou hast forsaken
me, one of the Aramaic words uttered by our Lord on the
cross (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34).
Sabaoth – the transliteration of
the Hebrew word tsebha’oth, meaning
“hosts,” “armies” (Rom. 9:29; James
5:4). In the LXX. the Hebrew word is rendered by
“Almighty.” (See Rev. 4:8; comp. Isa. 6:3.) It
may designate Jehovah as either (1) God of the armies of
earth, or (2) God of the armies of the stars, or (3) God of
the unseen armies of angels; or perhaps it may include all
these ideas.
Sabbath – (Heb. verb shabbath,
meaning “to rest from labour”), the day of rest.
It is first mentioned as having been instituted in
Paradise, when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:2). “The
sabbath was made for man,” as a day of rest and
refreshment for the body and of blessing to the soul.
It is next referred to in connection with the gift of manna
to the children of Israel in the wilderness (Ex. 16:23);
and afterwards, when the law was given from Sinai (20:11),
the people were solemnly charged to “remember the
sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Thus it is spoken of as
an institution already existing.
In the Mosaic law strict regulations were laid down
regarding its observance (Ex. 35:2, 3; Lev. 23:3; 26:34).
These were peculiar to that dispensation.
In the subsequent history of the Jews frequent references
are made to the sanctity of the Sabbath (Isa. 56:2, 4, 6,
7; 58:13, 14; Jer. 17:20-22; Neh. 13:19). In later times
they perverted the Sabbath by their traditions. Our Lord
rescued it from their perversions, and recalled to them its
true nature and intent (Matt. 12:10-13; Mark 2:27; Luke
13:10-17).
The Sabbath, originally instituted for man at his creation,
is of permanent and universal obligation. The physical
necessities of man require a Sabbath of rest. He is so
constituted that his bodily welfare needs at least one day
in seven for rest from ordinary labour. Experience also
proves that the moral and spiritual necessities of men also
demand a Sabbath of rest. “I am more and more sure by
experience that the reason for the observance of the
Sabbath lies deep in the everlasting necessities of human
nature, and that as long as man is man the blessedness of
keeping it, not as a day of rest only, but as a day of
spiritual rest, will never be annulled. I certainly do feel
by experience the eternal obligation, because of the
eternal necessity, of the Sabbath. The soul withers without
it. It thrives in proportion to its observance. The Sabbath
was made for man. God made it for men in a certain
spiritual state because they needed it. The need,
therefore, is deeply hidden in human nature. He who can
dispense with it must be holy and spiritual indeed. And he
who, still unholy and unspiritual, would yet dispense with
it is a man that would fain be wiser than his Maker”
(F. W. Robertson).
The ancient Babylonian calendar, as seen from recently
recovered inscriptions on the bricks among the ruins of the
royal palace, was based on the division of time into weeks
of seven days. The Sabbath is in these inscriptions
designated Sabattu, and defined as “a day of rest for
the heart” and “a day of completion of
labour.”
The change of the day. Originally at creation the seventh
day of the week was set apart and consecrated as the
Sabbath. The first day of the week is now observed as the
Sabbath. Has God authorized this change? There is an
obvious distinction between the Sabbath as an institution
and the particular day set apart for its observance. The
question, therefore, as to the change of the day in no way
affects the perpetual obligation of the Sabbath as an
institution. Change of the day or no change, the Sabbath
remains as a sacred institution the same. It cannot be
abrogated.
If any change of the day has been made, it must have been
by Christ or by his authority. Christ has a right to make
such a change (Mark 2:23-28). As Creator, Christ was the
original Lord of the Sabbath (John 1:3; Heb. 1:10). It was
originally a memorial of creation. A work vastly greater
than that of creation has now been accomplished by him, the
work of redemption. We would naturally expect just such a
change as would make the Sabbath a memorial of that greater
work.
True, we can give no text authorizing the change in so many
words. We have no express law declaring the change. But
there are evidences of another kind. We know for a fact
that the first day of the week has been observed from
apostolic times, and the necessary conclusion is, that it
was observed by the apostles and their immediate disciples.
This, we may be sure, they never would have done without
the permission or the authority of their Lord.
After his resurrection, which took place on the first day
of the week (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1),
we never find Christ meeting with his disciples on the
seventh day. But he specially honoured the first day by
manifesting himself to them on four separate occasions
(Matt. 28:9; Luke 24:34, 18-33; John 20:19-23). Again, on
the next first day of the week, Jesus appeared to his
disciples (John 20:26).
Some have calculated that Christ’s ascension took place
on the first day of the week. And there can be no doubt
that the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost was on that
day (Acts 2:1). Thus Christ appears as instituting a new
day to be observed by his people as the Sabbath, a day to
be henceforth known amongst them as the “Lord’s
day.” The observance of this “Lord’s
day” as the Sabbath was the general custom of the
primitive churches, and must have had apostolic sanction
(comp. Acts 20:3-7; 1 Cor. 16:1, 2) and authority, and so
the sanction and authority of Jesus Christ.
The words “at her sabbaths” (Lam. 1:7, A.V.)
ought probably to be, as in the Revised Version, “at
her desolations.”
supposed to be a distance of 2,000 cubits, or less than
half-a-mile, the distance to which, according to Jewish
tradition, it was allowable to travel on the Sabbath day
without violating the law (Acts 1:12; comp. Ex. 16:29; Num.
35:5; Josh. 3:4).
Sabbatical year – every seventh
year, during which the land, according to the law of Moses,
had to remain uncultivated (Lev. 25:2-7; comp. Ex. 23:10,
11, 12; Lev. 26:34, 35). Whatever grew of itself during
that year was not for the owner of the land, but for the
poor and the stranger and the beasts of the field. All
debts, except those of foreigners, were to be remitted
(Deut. 15:1-11). There is little notice of the observance
of this year in Biblical history. It appears to have been
much neglected (2 Chr. 36:20, 21).
(Gen. 10:7); Africans (Isa. 43:3). They were “men of
stature,” and engaged in merchandise (Isa. 45:14).
Their conversion to the Lord was predicted (Ps. 72:10).
This word, in Ezek. 23:42, should be read, as in the margin
of the Authorized Version, and in the Revised Version,
“drunkards.” Another tribe, apparently given to
war, is mentioned in Job 1:15.
Sabtah – rest, the third son of
Cush (Gen. 10:7; 1 Chr. 1:9).
Sabtecha – the fifth son of Cush
(id.).
David’s heroes (1 Chr. 11:35); called also Sharar (2
Sam. 23:33).
(2.) A son of Obed-edom the Gittite, and a temple porter (1
Chr. 26:4).
sambuke), a Syrian stringed instrument resembling a harp
(Dan. 3:5, 7, 10, 15); not the modern sackbut, which is a
wind instrument.
Sackcloth – cloth made of black
goats’ hair, coarse, rough, and thick, used for sacks,
and also worn by mourners (Gen. 37:34; 42:25; 2 Sam. 3:31;
Esther 4:1, 2; Ps. 30:11, etc.), and as a sign of
repentance (Matt. 11:21). It was put upon animals by the
people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:8).
Sacrifice – The offering up of
sacrifices is to be regarded as a divine institution. It
did not originate with man. God himself appointed it as the
mode in which acceptable worship was to be offered to him
by guilty man. The language and the idea of sacrifice
pervade the whole Bible.
Sacrifices were offered in the ante-diluvian age. The Lord
clothed Adam and Eve with the skins of animals, which in
all probability had been offered in sacrifice (Gen. 3:21).
Abel offered a sacrifice “of the firstlings of his
flock” (4:4; Heb. 11:4). A distinction also was made
between clean and unclean animals, which there is every
reason to believe had reference to the offering up of
sacrifices (Gen. 7:2, 8), because animals were not given to
man as food till after the Flood.
The same practice is continued down through the patriarchal
age (Gen. 8:20; 12:7; 13:4, 18; 15:9-11; 22:1-18, etc.). In
the Mosaic period of Old Testament history definite laws
were prescribed by God regarding the different kinds of
sacrifices that were to be offered and the manner in which
the offering was to be made. The offering of stated
sacrifices became indeed a prominent and distinctive
feature of the whole period (Ex. 12:3-27; Lev. 23:5-8; Num.
9:2-14).
We learn from the Epistle to the Hebrews that sacrifices
had in themselves no value or efficacy. They were only the
“shadow of good things to come,” and pointed the
worshippers forward to the coming of the great High Priest,
who, in the fullness of the time, “was offered once
for all to bear the sin of many.” Sacrifices belonged
to a temporary economy, to a system of types and emblems
which served their purposes and have now passed away. The
“one sacrifice for sins” hath “perfected for
ever them that are sanctified.”
Sacrifices were of two kinds: 1. Unbloody, such as (1)
first-fruits and tithes; (2) meat and drink-offerings; and
(3) incense. 2. Bloody, such as (1) burnt-offerings; (2)
peace-offerings; and (3) sin and trespass offerings.
Sadducees – The origin of this
Jewish sect cannot definitely be traced. It was probably
the outcome of the influence of Grecian customs and
philosophy during the period of Greek domination. The first
time they are met with is in connection with John the
Baptist’s ministry. They came out to him when on the
banks of the Jordan, and he said to them, “O
generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the
wrath to come?” (Matt. 3:7.) The next time they are
spoken of they are represented as coming to our Lord
tempting him. He calls them “hypocrites” and
“a wicked and adulterous generation” (Matt.
16:1-4; 22:23). The only reference to them in the Gospels
of Mark (12:18-27) and Luke (20:27-38) is their attempting
to ridicule the doctrine of the resurrection, which they
denied, as they also denied the existence of angels. They
are never mentioned in John’s Gospel.
There were many Sadducees among the “elders” of
the Sanhedrin. They seem, indeed, to have been as numerous
as the Pharisees (Acts 23:6). They showed their hatred of
Jesus in taking part in his condemnation (Matt. 16:21;
26:1-3, 59; Mark 8:31; 15:1; Luke 9:22; 22:66). They
endeavoured to prohibit the apostles from preaching the
resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:24, 31, 32; 4:1, 2; 5:17,
24-28). They were the deists or sceptics of that age. They
do not appear as a separate sect after the destruction of
Jerusalem.
Sadoc – just, mentioned in the
genealogy of our Lord (Matt. 1:14).
zafran (i.e., “yellow”), mentioned only in Cant.
4:13, 14; the Crocus sativus. Many species of the crocus
are found in Palestine. The pistils and stigmata, from the
centre of its flowers, are pressed into “saffron
cakes,” common in the East. “We found,” says
Tristram, “saffron a very useful condiment in
travelling cookery, a very small pinch of it giving not
only a rich yellow colour but an agreable flavour to a dish
of rice or to an insipid stew.”
Saint – one separated from the
world and consecrated to God; one holy by profession and by
covenant; a believer in Christ (Ps. 16:3; Rom. 1:7; 8:27;
Phil. 1:1; Heb. 6:10).
The “saints” spoken of in Jude 1:14 are probably
not the disciples of Christ, but the “innumerable
company of angels” (Heb. 12:22; Ps. 68:17), with
reference to Deut. 33:2.
This word is also used of the holy dead (Matt. 27:52; Rev.
18:24). It was not used as a distinctive title of the
apostles and evangelists and of a “spiritual
nobility” till the fourth century. In that sense it is
not a scriptural title.
Sala – a shoot, a descendant of
Arphaxed (Luke 3:35, 36); called also Shelah (1 Chr. 1:18,
24).
south-east coast of Cyprus (Acts 13:5), where Saul and
Barnabas, on their first missionary journey, preached the
word in one of the Jewish synagogues, of which there seem
to have been several in that place. It is now called
Famagusta.
Salathiel – whom I asked of God,
the son of Jeconiah (Matt. 1:12; 1 Chr. 3:17); also called
the son of Neri (Luke 3:27). The probable explanation of
the apparent discrepancy is that he was the son of Neri,
the descendant of Nathan, and thus heir to the throne of
David on the death of Jeconiah (comp. Jer. 22:30).
Bashan assigned to the half tribe of Manasseh (Deut. 3:10;
Josh. 12:5; 13:11), identified with Salkhad, about 56 miles
east of Jordan.
Salem – peace, commonly supposed
to be another name of Jerusalem (Gen. 14:18; Ps. 76:2; Heb.
7:1, 2).
Salim – peaceful, a place near
AEnon (q.v.), on the west of Jordan, where John baptized
(John 3:23). It was probably the Shalem mentioned in Gen.
33:18, about 7 miles south of AEnon, at the head of the
great Wady Far’ah, which formed the northern boundary
of Judea in the Jordan valley.
Benjamite (Neh. 11:8).
(2.) A priest in the days of Joshua and Zerubbabel (Neh.
12:20).
Sallu – weighed. (1.) A priest
(Neh. 12:7).
(2.) A Benjamite (1 Chr. 9:7; Neh. 11:7).
Nashon (Ruth 4:20; Matt. 1:4, 5), possibly the same as
Salma in 1 Chr. 2:51.
Salmon – shady; or Zalmon (q.v.),
a hill covered with dark forests, south of Shechem, from
which Abimelech and his men gathered wood to burn that city
(Judg. 9:48). In Ps. 68:14 the change from war to peace is
likened to snow on the dark mountain, as some interpret the
expression. Others suppose the words here mean that the
bones of the slain left unburied covered the land, so that
it seemed to be white as if covered with snow. The
reference, however, of the psalm is probably to Josh. 11
and 12. The scattering of the kings and their followers is
fitly likened unto the snow-flakes rapidly falling on the
dark Salmon. It is the modern Jebel Suleiman.
east of Crete, under which Paul sailed on his voyage to
Rome (Acts 27:7); the modern Cape Sidero.
Salome – perfect. (1.) The wife
of Zebedee and mother of James and John (Mat. 27:56), and
probably the sister of Mary, the mother of our Lord (John
19:25). She sought for her sons places of honour in
Christ’s kingdom (Matt. 20:20, 21; comp. 19:28). She
witnessed the crucifixion (Mark 15:40), and was present
with the other women at the sepulchre (Matt. 27:56).
(2.) “The daughter of Herodias,” not named in the
New Testament. On the occasion of the birthday festival
held by Herod Antipas, who had married her mother Herodias,
in the fortress of Machaerus, she “came in and danced,
and pleased Herod” (Mark 6:14-29). John the Baptist,
at that time a prisoner in the dungeons underneath the
castle, was at her request beheaded by order of Herod, and
his head given to the damsel in a charger, “and the
damsel gave it to her mother,” whose revengeful spirit
was thus gratified. “A luxurious feast of the
period” (says Farrar, Life of Christ) “was not
regarded as complete unless it closed with some gross
pantomimic representation; and doubtless Herod had adopted
the evil fashion of his day. But he had not anticipated for
his guests the rare luxury of seeing a princess, his own
niece, a grand-daughter of Herod the Great and of Mariamne,
a descendant, therefore, of Simon the high priest and the
great line of Maccabean princes, a princess who afterwards
became the wife of a tetrarch [Philip, tetrarch of
Trachonitis] and the mother of a king, honouring them by
degrading herself into a scenic dancer.”
Salt – used to season food (Job
6:6), and mixed with the fodder of cattle (Isa. 30:24,
“clean;” in marg. of R.V. “salted”).
All meat-offerings were seasoned with salt (Lev. 2:13). To
eat salt with one is to partake of his hospitality, to
derive subsistence from him; and hence he who did so was
bound to look after his host’s interests (Ezra 4:14,
“We have maintenance from the king’s palace;”
A.V. marg., “We are salted with the salt of the
palace;” R.V., “We eat the salt of the
palace”).
A “covenant of salt” (Num. 18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5)
was a covenant of perpetual obligation. New-born children
were rubbed with salt (Ezek. 16:4). Disciples are likened
unto salt, with reference to its cleansing and preserving
uses (Matt. 5:13). When Abimelech took the city of Shechem,
he sowed the place with salt, that it might always remain a
barren soil (Judg. 9:45). Sir Lyon Playfair argues, on
scientific grounds, that under the generic name of
“salt,” in certain passages, we are to understand
petroleum or its residue asphalt. Thus in Gen. 19:26 he
would read “pillar of asphalt;” and in Matt.
5:13, instead of “salt,” “petroleum,”
which loses its essence by exposure, as salt does not, and
becomes asphalt, with which pavements were made.
The Jebel Usdum, to the south of the Dead Sea, is a
mountain of rock salt about 7 miles long and from 2 to 3
miles wide and some hundreds of feet high.
Salt, The city of – one of the
cities of Judah (Josh. 15:62), probably in the Valley of
Salt, at the southern end of the Dead Sea.
Salt, Valley of – a place where
it is said David smote the Syrians (2 Sam. 8:13). This
valley (the’ Arabah) is between Judah and Edom on the
south of the Dead Sea. Hence some interpreters would insert
the words, “and he smote Edom,” after the words,
“Syrians” in the above text. It is conjectured
that while David was leading his army against the Ammonites
and Syrians, the Edomites invaded the south of Judah, and
that David sent Joab or Abishai against them, who drove
them back and finally subdued Edom. (Comp. title to Ps.
60.)
Here also Amaziah “slew of Edom ten thousand men”
(2 Kings 14:7; comp. 8: 20-22 and 2 Chr. 25:5-11).
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