Smith's Bible Dictionary (s)

Sabachthani, Or Sabachthani

(why hast thou forsaken me?), part of Christ's fourth cry on the cross. (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34) This, with the other words uttered with it, as given in Mark, is Aramaic (Syro-Chaldaic), the common dialect of the people of palestine in Christ's time and the whole is a translation of the Hebrew (given in Matthew) of the first words of the 22d Psalm. - ED.

Sabaoth, The Lord Of

occurs in (Romans 9:29; James 5:4) but is more familiar through its occurrence in the Sanctus of Te Deum - "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth." Sabaoth is the Greek form of the Hebrew word tsebaoth "armies," and is translated in the Authorized Version of the Old Testament by "Lord of hosts," "Lord God of hosts." In the mouth and the mind of an ancient Hebrew, Jehovah-tsebaoth was the leader and commander of the armies of the nation, who "went forth with them" (Psalms 44:9) and led them to certain victory over the worshippers of Baal Chemosh. Molech, Ashtaroth and other false gods.

Sabbath

(shabbath), "a day of rest," from shabath "to cease to do to," "to rest"). The name is applied to divers great festivals, but principally and usually to the seventh day of the week, the strict observance of which is enforced not merely in the general Mosaic code, but in the Decalogue itself. The consecration of the Sabbath was coeval with the creation. The first scriptural notice of it, though it is not mentioned by name, is to be found in (Genesis 2:3) at the close of the record of the six-days creation. There are not wanting indirect evidences of its observance, as the intervals between Noah's sending forth the birds out of the ark, an act naturally associated with the weekly service, (Genesis 8:7-12) and in the week of a wedding celebration, (Genesis 29:27,28) but when a special occasion arises, in connection with the prohibition against gathering manna on the Sabbath, the institution is mentioned as one already known. (Exodus 16:22-30) And that this (All this is confirmed by the great antiquity of the division of time into weeks, and the naming the days after the sun, moon and planets.) was especially one of the institutions adopted by Moses from the ancient patriarchal usage is implied in the very words of the law "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." But even if such evidence were wanting, the reason of the institution would be a sufficient proof. It was to be a joyful celebration of God's completion of his creation. It has indeed been said that Moses gives quite a different reason for the institution of the Sabbath, as a memorial of the deliverance front Egyptian bondage. (5:15) The words added in Deuteronomy are a special motive for the joy with which the Sabbath should be celebrated and for the kindness which extended its blessings to the slave and the beast of burden as well as to the master: "that thy man servant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thought. (5:14) These attempts to limit the ordinance proceed from an entire misconception of its spirit, as if it were a season of stern privation rather than of special privilege. But in truth, the prohibition of work is only subsidiary to the positive idea of joyful rest and recreation in communion with Jehovah, who himself "rested and was refreshed." (Exodus 31:17) comp. (Exodus 23:12) It is in (Exodus 16:23-29) that we find the first incontrovertible institution of the day, as one given to and to be kept by the children of Israel. Shortly afterward it was re-enacted in the Fourth Commandment. This beneficent character of the Fourth Commandment is very apparent in the version of it which we find in Deuteronomy. (5:12-15) The law and the Sabbath are placed upon the same ground, and to give rights to classes that would otherwise have been without such - to the bondman and bondmaid may, to the beast of the field-is viewed here as their main end. "The stranger," too is comprehended in the benefit. But the original proclamation of it in Exodus places it on a ground which, closely connected no doubt with these others is yet higher and more comprehensive. The divine method of working and rest is there propose to work and to rest. Time then to man as the model after which presented a perfect whole it is most important to remember that the Fourth Commandment is not limited to a mere enactment respecting one day, but prescribes the due distribution of a week, and enforces the six days' work as much as the seventh day's rest. This higher ground of observance was felt to invest the Sabbath with a theological character, and rendered if the great witness for faith in a personal and creating God. It was to be a sacred pause in the ordinary labor which man earns his bread the curse the fall was to be suspended for one and, having spent that day in joyful remembrance of God's mercies, man had a fresh start in his course of labor. A great snare, too, has always been hidden in the word work, as if the commandment forbade occupation and imposed idleness. The terms in the commandment show plainly enough the sort of work which is contemplated-servile work and business. The Pentateuch presents us with but three applications of the general principle - (Exodus 16:29; 35:3; Numbers 15:32-36) The reference of Isaiah to the Sabbath gives us no details. The references in Jeremiah and Nehemiah show that carrying goods for sale, and buying such, were equally profanations of the day. A consideration of the spirit of the law and of Christ's comments on it will show that it is work for worldly gain that was to be suspended; and hence the restrictive clause is prefaced with the restrictive command. "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;" for so only could the sabbatic rest be fairly earned. Hence, too, the stress constantly laid on permitting the servant and beast of burden to share the rest which selfishness would grudge to them. Thus the spirit of the Sabbath was joy, refreshment and mercy, arising from remembrance of God's goodness as Creator and as the Deliverer from bondage. The Sabbath was a perpetual sign and covenant, and the holiness of the day is collected with the holiness of the people; "that ye may know that I am Jehovah that doth sanctify you." (Exodus 31:12-17; Ezekiel 20:12) Joy was the key-note Of their service. Nehemiah commanded the people, on a day holy to Jehovah "Mourn not, nor weep: eat the fat, and drink: the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared." (Nehemiah 8:9-13) The Sabbath is named as a day of special worship in the sanctuary. (Leviticus 19:30; 26:2) It was proclaimed as a holy convocation. (Leviticus 23:3) In later times the worship of the sanctuary was enlivened by sacred music. (Psalms 68:25-27; 150:1)... etc. On this day the people were accustomed to consult their prophets, (2 Kings 4:23) and to give to their children that instruction in the truths recalled to memory by the day which is so repeatedly enjoined as the duty of parents; it was "the Sabbath of Jehovah" not only in the sanctuary, but "in all their dwellings." (Leviticus 23:3) When we come to the New Testament we find the most marked stress laid on the Sabbath. In whatever ways the Jew might err respecting it, he had altogether ceased to neglect it. On the contrary wherever he went its observance became the most visible badge of his nationality. Our Lord's mode of observing the Sabbath was one of the main features of his life, which his Pharisaic adversaries meet eagerly watched and criticized. They had invented many prohibitions respecting the Sabbath of which we find nothing in the original institution. Some of these prohibitions were fantastic and arbitrary, in the number of those "heavy burdens and grievous to be borne" while the latter expounders of the law "laid on men's shoulders." Comp. (Matthew 12:1-13; John 5:10) That this perversion of the Sabbath had become very general in our Saviour's time is apparent both from the recorded objections to acts of his on that day and from his marked conduct on occasions to which those objections were sure to be urged. (Matthew 12:1-16; Mark 3:2; Luke 6:1-5; 13:10-17; John 6:2-18; 7:23; 9:1-34) Christ's words do not remit the duty of keeping the Sabbath, but only deliver it from the false methods of keeping which prevented it from bestowing upon men the spiritual blessings it was ordained to confer.

Sabbathdays Journey

(Acts 1:12) The law as regards travel on the Sabbath is found in (Exodus 16:29) As some departure from a man's own place was unavoidable, it was thought necessary to determine the allowable amount, which was fixed at 2000 paces, or about six furlongs from the wall of the city. The permitted distance seems to have been grounded on the space to he kept between the ark and the people, (Joshua 3:4) in the wilderness, which tradition said was that between the ark and the tents. We find the same distance given as the circumference outside the walls of the Levitical cities to be counted as their suburbs. (Numbers 33:5) The terminus a quo was thus not a man's own house, but the wall of the city where he dwelt.

Sabbatical Year

Each seventh year, by the Mosaic code, was to be kept holy. (Exodus 23:10,11) The commandment is to sow and reap for six years, and to let the land rest on the seventh, "that the poor of thy people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the held shall eat. It is added in (15:1) ... that the seventh Year should also be one of release to debtors. (15:1-11) Neither tillage nor cultivation of any sort was to be practiced. The sabbatical year opened in the sabbatical month, and the whole law was to be read every such year, during the feast of Tabernacles, to the assembled people. At the completion of a week of sabbatical years, the sabbatical scale received its completion in the year of jubilee. [Jubilee, The Year Of] The constant neglect of this law from the very first was one of the national sins that were punished by the Babylonian captivity. Of the observance of the sabbatical year after the captivity we have a proof in 1 Macc. 6:49.

Sabeans

[Sheba]

Sabtah

(striking), (Genesis 10:7) or Sab'ta, (1 Chronicles 1:9) the third in order of the sons of Cush. (B.C. 2218.)

Sabtecha, Or Sabtechah

(striking), (Genesis 10:7; 1 Chronicles 1:9) the fifth in order of the sons of Cush. (B.C. 2218.)

Sacar

(wages).

A Hararite, father of Ahiam. (1 Chronicles 11:35)

The fourth son of Obed-edom. (1 Chronicles 26:4)

Sackbut

(Daniel 3:5,7,10,15) the rendering in the Authorized Version of the Chaldee sacbbeca . If this music instrument be the same as the Greek and Latin sabbeca, the English translation is entirely wrong. The sackbut was a wind instrument [see Music]; the sambuca was a triangular instrument, with strings, and played with the hand.

Sackcloth

cloth used in making sacks or bags, a coarse fabric, of a dark color, made of goat's hair, (Isaiah 50:3; Revelation 6:12) end resembling the eilicium of the Romans. It, was used also for making the rough garments used by mourners, which were in extreme cases worn next the skin. (1 Kings 21:27; 2 Kings 6:30; Job 16:15; Isaiah 32:11)

Sacrifice

The peculiar features of each kind of sacrifice are referred to under their respective heads. I. (A) ORIGIN OF SACRIFICE. - The universal prevalence of sacrifice shows it to have been primeval, and deeply rooted in the instincts of humanity. Whether it was first enjoined by an external command, or whether it was based on that sense of sin and lost communion with God which is stamped by his hand on the heart of man, is a historical question which cannot be determined. (B) ANTE-MOSAIC HISTORY OF SACRIFICE. - In examining the various sacrifices recorded in Scripture before the establishment of the law, we find that the words specially denoting expiatory sacrifice are not applied to them. This fact does not at all show that they were not actually expiatory, but it justified the inference that this idea was not then the prominent one in the doctrine of sacrifice. The sacrifices of Cain and Abel are called minehah, tend appear to have been eucharistic. Noah's, (Genesis 8:20) and Jacob's at Mizpah, were at the institution of a covenant; and may be called federative. In the burnt offerings of Job for his children (Job 1:5) and for his three friends ch. (Job 42:8) we for the first time find the expression of the desire of expiation for sin. The same is the case in the words of Moses to Pharaoh. (Exodus 10:26) Here the main idea is at least deprecatory. (C) THE SACRIFICES OF THE MOSAIC PERIOD. - These are inaugurated by the offering of the Passover and the sacrifice of (Exodus 24:1) ... The Passover indeed is unique in its character but it is clear that the idea of salvation from death by means of sacrifice is brought out in it with a distinctness before unknown. The law of Leviticus now unfolds distinctly the various forms of sacrifice: (a) The burnt offering : Self-dedicatory. (b) The meat offering : (unbloody): Eucharistic. (c) The sin offering ; the trespass offering: Expiatory. To these may be added, (d) The incense offered after sacrifice in the holy place and (on the Day of Atonement) in the holy of holies, the symbol of the intercession of the priest (as a type of the great High Priest) accompanying and making efficacious the prayer of the people. In the consecration of Aaron and his sons, (Leviticus 8:1) ... we find these offered in what became ever afterward their appointed order. First came the sin offering, to prepare access to God; next the burnt offering, to mark their dedication to his service; and third the meat offering of thanksgiving. Henceforth the sacrificial system was fixed in all its parts until he should come whom it typified. (D) POST-MOSAIC SACRIFICES. - It will not be necessary to pursue, in detail the history of the Poet Mosaic sacrifice, for its main principles were now fixed forever. The regular sacrifices in the temple service were - (a) Burnt offerings. 1, The daily burnt offerings, (Exodus 29:38-42) 2, The double burnt offerings on the Sabbath, (Numbers 28:9,10) 3, The burnt offerings at the great festivals; (Numbers 26:11; Numbers 29:39) (b) Meat offerings . 1, The daily meat offerings accompanying the daily burnt offerings, (Exodus 29:40,41) 2, The shewbread, renewed every Sabbath, (Leviticus 24:6,9) 3, The special meat offerings at the Sabbath and the great festivals, (Numbers 28:1; Numbers 29:1) ... 4, The first-fruits, at the Passover, (Leviticus 23:10-14) at Pentecost, (Leviticus 23:17-20) the firstfruits of the dough and threshing-floor at the harvest time. (Numbers 15:20,21; 26:1-11) (c) Sin offerings . 1, Sin offering each new moon (Numbers 28:15) 2, Sin offerings at the passover, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets and Tabernacles, (Numbers 28:22,30; 29:5,16,19,22,25,28,31,34,38) 3, The offering of the two goats for the people and of the bullock for the priest himself, on the Great Day of Atonement. (Leviticus 16:1) ... (d) Incense . 1, The morning and evening incense (Exodus 30:7,8) 2, The incense on the Great Day of Atonement. (Leviticus 16:12) Besides these public sacrifices, there were offerings of the people for themselves individually. II. By the order of sacrifice in its perfect form, as in (Leviticus 8:1) ... it is clear that the sin offering occupies the most important: place; the burnt offering comes next, and the meat offering or peace offering last of all. The second could only be offered after the first had been accepted; the third was only a subsidiary part of the second. Yet, in actual order of time it has been seen that the patriarchal sacrifices partook much more of the nature of the peace offering and burnt offering, and that under the raw, by which was "the knowledge of sin," (Romans 3:20) the sin offering was for the first time explicitly set forth. This is but natural that the deepest ideas should be the last in order of development. The essential difference between heathen views of sacrifice and the scriptural doctrine of the Old. Testament is not to be found in its denial of any of these views. In fact, it brings out clearly and distinctly the ideas which in heathenism were uncertain, vague and perverted. But the essential points of distinction are two. First, that whereas the heathen conceived of their gods as alienated in jealousy or anger, to be sought after and to be appeased by the unaided action of man, Scripture represents God himself as approaching man, as pointing out and sanctioning the way by which the broken covenant should be restored. The second mark of distinction is closely connected with this, inasmuch as it shows sacrifice to he a scheme proceeding from God, and in his foreknowledge, connected with the one central fact of all human history. From the prophets and the Epistle to the Hebrews we learn that the sin offering represented that covenant as broken by man, and as knit together again, by God's appointment through the shedding of the blood, the symbol of life, signified that the death of the offender was deserved for sin, but that the death of the victim was accepted for his death by the ordinance of God's mercy. Beyond all doubt the sin offering distinctly witnessed that sin existed in man. that the "wages of that sin was death," and that God had provided an atonement by the vicarious suffering of an appointed victim. The ceremonial and meaning of the burnt offering were very different. The idea of expiation seems not to have been absent from it, for the blood was sprinkled round about the altar of sacrifice; but the main idea is the offering of the whole victim to God, representing as the laying of the hand on its head shows, the devotion of the sacrificer, body and soul. to him. (Romans 12:1) The death of the victim was, so to speak, an incidental feature. The meat offering, the peace or thank offering, the firstfruits, etc., were simply offerings to God of his own best gifts, as a sign of thankful homage, and as a means of maintaining his service and his servants. The characteristic ceremony in the peace offering was the eating of the flesh by the sacrificer. It betokened the enjoyment of communion with God. It is clear from this that the idea of sacrifice is a complex idea, involving the propitiatory, the dedicatory and the eucharistic elements. Any one of these, taken by itself, would lead to error and superstition. All three probably were more or less implied in each sacrifice. each element predominating in its turn. The Epistle to the Hebrews contains the key of the whole sacrificial doctrine. The object of the epistle is to show the typical and probationary character of sacrifices, and to assert that in virtue of it alone they had a spiritual meaning. Our Lord is declared (see) (1 Peter 1:20) "to have been foreordained" as a sacrifice "before the foundation of the world," or as it is more strikingly expressed in (Revelation 13:8) "slain from the foundation of the world." The material sacrifices represented this great atonement as already made and accepted in God's foreknowledge; and to those who grasped the ideas of sin, pardon and self-dedication symbolized in them, they were means of entering into the blessings which the one true sacrifice alone procured. They could convey nothing in themselves yet as types they might, if accepted by a true though necessarily imperfect faith be means of conveying in some degree the blessings of the antitype. It is clear that the atonement in the Epistle to the Hebrews as in the New Testament generally, is viewed in a twofold light. On the one hand it is set forth distinctly as a vicarious sacrifice, which was rendered necessary by the sin of man and in which the Lord "bare the sins of many." It is its essential characteristic that in it he stands absolutely alone offering his sacrifice without any reference to the faith or the conversion of men. In it he stands out alone as the mediator between God and man; and his sacrifice is offered once for all, never to be imitated or repeated. Now, this view of the atonement is set forth in the epistle as typified by the sin offering. On the other hand the sacrifice of Christ is set forth to us as the completion of that perfect obedience to the will of the Father which is the natural duty of sinless man. The main idea of this view of the atonement is representative rather than vicarious. It is typified by the burnt offering. As without the sin offering of the cross this our burnt offering would be impossible, so also without the burnt offering the sin offering will to us be unavailing. With these views of our Lord's sacrifice oil earth, as typified in the Levitical sacrifices on the outer alter, is also to be connected the offering of his intercession for us in heaven, which was represented by the incense. The typical sense of the meat offering or peace offering is less connected the sacrifice of Christ himself than with those sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving, charity and devotion which we, as Christians, offer to God, and "with which he is well pleased," (Hebrews 13:15,16) as with an odor of sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable to God." (Philemon 4:28)

Sadducees

(followers of Zadok), (Matthew 3:7; 16:1,6,11,12; 22:23,31; Mark 12:18; Luke 20:27; Acts 4:1; 5:17; 23:6,7,8) a religious party or school among the Jews at the time of Christ, who denied that the oral law was a revelation of God to the Israelites. and who deemed the written law alone to be obligatory on the nation, as of divine authority. Except on one occasion. (Matthew 16:1,4,6) Christ never assailed the Sadducees with the same bitter denunciations which he uttered against the Pharisees. The origin of their name is involved in great difficulties, but the most satisfactory conjecture is that the Sadducees or Zadokites were originally identical with the sons of Zadok, and constituted what may be termed a kind of sacerdotal aristocracy, this Zadok being the priest who declared in favor of Solomon when Abiathar took the part of Adonijah. (1 Kings 1:32-45) To these sons of Zadok were afterward attached all who for any reason reckoned themselves as belonging to the aristocrats; such, for example, as the families of the high priest, who had obtained consideration under the dynasty of Herod. These were for the most part judges, and individuals of the official and governing class. This explanation elucidates at once (Acts 5:17) The leading tenet of the Sadducees was the negation of the leading tenet of their opponents. As the Pharisees asserted so the Sadducees denied, that the Israelites were in possession of an oral law transmitted to them by Moses, [Pharisees] In opposition to the Pharisees, they maintained that the written law alone was obligatory on the nation, as of divine authority. The second distinguishing doctrine of the Sadducees was the denial of man's resurrection after death . In connection with the disbelief of a resurrection by the Sadducees, they likewise denied there was "angel or spirit," (Acts 23:8) and also the doctrines of future punishment and future rewards. Josephus states that the Sadducees believed in the freedom of the will, which the Pharisees denied. They pushed this doctrine so far as almost to exclude God from the government of the world. Some of the early Christian writers attribute to the Sadducees the rejection of all the sacred Scriptures except the Pentateuch ; a statement, however, that is now generally admitted to have been founded on a misconception of the truth, and it seems to have arisen from a confusion of the Sadducees with the Samaritans. An important fact in the history of the Sadducees is their rapid disappearance from history after the first century, and the subsequent predominance among the Jews of the opinions of the Pharisees. Two circumstances contributed, indirectly but powerfully, to produce this result: 1st. The state of the Jews after the capture of Jerusalem by Titus; and 2d. The growth of the Christian religion. As to the first point, it is difficult to overestimate the consternation and dismay which the destruction of Jerusalem occasioned in the minds of sincerely-religious Jews. In their hour of darkness and anguish they naturally turned to the consolations and hopes of a future state; and the doctrine of the Sadducees, that there was nothing beyond the present life, would have appeared to them cold, heartless and hateful. Again, while they were sunk in the lowest depths of depression, a new religion, which they despised as a heresy and a superstition, was gradually making its way among the subjects of their detested conquerors, the Romans. One of the causes of its success was undoubtedly the vivid belief in the resurrection of Jesus and a consequent resurrection of all mankind, which was accepted by its heathen converts with a passionate earnestness of which those who at the present day are familiar from infancy with the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead call form only a faint idea. To attempt to chock the progress of this new religion among the Jews by an appeal to the temporary rewards and punishments of the Pentateuch would have been as idle as an endeavor to check an explosive power by ordinary mechanical restraints. Consciously, therefore, or unconsciously, many circumstances combined to induce the Jews who were not Pharisees, but who resisted the new heresy, to rally round the standard of the oral law, and to assert that their holy legislator, Moses, had transmitted to his faithful people by word of mouth, although not in writing, the revelation of a future state of rewards and punishments.

Sadoc

(Greek form of Zadok, just).

Zadok the ancestor of Ezra. 2 Esd. 1:1; comp. (Ezra 7:2)

A descendant of Zerubbabel in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 1:14) (B.C. about 280.)

Saffron

(yellow). (Song of Solomon 4:14) Saffron has front the earliest times been in high esteem as a perfume. "It was used," says Rosenmuller, "for the same purposes as the modern pot-pourri." The word saffron is derived from the Arabic zafran, "yellow." (The saffron (Crocus sativus) is a kind of crocus of the iris family. It is used its a medicine, as a flavoring and as a yellow dye. Homer, Virgil and Milton refer to its beauty in the landscape. It abounds in Palestine name saffron is usually applied only to the stigmas and part of the style, which are plucked out and dried. - ED.)

Sala, Or Salah

(sprout), the son of Arphaxad, and father of Eber. (Genesis 10:24; 11:18-14; Luke 3:35) (B.C. 2307.)

Salamis

(suit), a city at the east end of the island of Cyprus, and the first place visited by Paul and Barnabas, on the first missionary journey, after leaving the mainland at Seleucia. Here alone, among all the Greek cities visited by St. Paul, we read expressly of "synagogues" in the plural, (Acts 13:5) hence we conclude that there were many Jews in Cyprus. And this is in harmony with what we read elsewhere. Salamis was not far from the modern Famagousta, it was situated near a river called the Pediaeus, on low ground, which is in fact a continuation of the plain running up into the interior toward the place where Nicosia, the present capital of Cyprus, stands.

Salathiel

(I have asked of God). (1 Chronicles 3:17) The Authorized Version has Salathiel in (1 Chronicles 3:17) but everywhere else in the Old Testament Shealtiel.

Salcah, Or Salchah

(migration), a city named in the early records of Israel as the extreme limit of Bashan, (3:10; Joshua 13:11) and of the tribe of Gad. (1 Chronicles 5:71) On another occasion the name seems to denote a district rather than a town. (Joshua 12:5) It is identical with the town of Sulkhad (56 miles east of the Jordan, at the southern extremity of the Hauran range of mountains. The place is nearly deserted, though it contains 800 stone houses, many of them in a good state of preservation.-ED.)

Salem

(peace).

The place of which Melchizedek was king. (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews 7:1,2) No satisfactory identification of it is perhaps possible. Two main opinions have been current from the earliest ages of interpretation: (1). That of the Jewish commentators, who affirm that Salem is Jerusalem, on the ground that Jerusalem is so called in (Psalms 76:2) Nearly all Jewish commentators hold this opinion. (2). Jerome, however, states that the Salem of Melchizedek was not Jerusalem, but a town eight Roman miles south of Scythopolis, and gives its then name as Salumias, and identifies it with Salem, where John baptized.

(Psalms 76:2) it is agreed on all hands that Salem is here employed for Jerusalem.

Salim

(peace), a place named (John 3:23) to denote the situation of AEnon, the scene of St. John's last baptisms; Salim being the well-known town, and AEnon a place of fountains or other waters near it. [Salem] The name of Salim has been discovered by Mr. Van Deuteronomy Velde in a position exactly in accordance with the notice of Eusebius, viz., six English miles south of Beisan (Scythopolis), end two miles west of the Jordan. Near here is an abundant supply of water.

Salma, Or Salmon

(garment), (Ruth 4:20,21; 1 Chronicles 2:11,51,54; Matthew 1:4,5; Luke 3:32) son of Nahshon. the prince of the children of Judah, and father of Boat, the husband of Ruth. (B.C. 1296.) Bethlehem-ephratah, which was Salmon's inheritance, was part of the territory of Caleb, the grandson of Ephratah; and this caused him to be reckoned among the sons of Caleb.

Salmon

the father of Boar. [Salma, Or Salmon]

a hill near Shechem, on which Abimelech and his followers cut down the boughs with which they set the tower of Shechem on fire. (Judges 9:48) Its exact position is not known. Referred to in (Psalms 68:14)

Salmone

(clothed), the east point of the island of Crete. (Acts 27:7) It is a bold promontory, and is visible for a long distance.

Salome

(peaceful).

The wife of Zebedee, (Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40) and probably sister of Mary the mother of Jesus, to whom reference is made in (John 19:25) The only events recorded of Salome are that she preferred a request on behalf of her two sons for seats of honor in the kingdom of heaven, (Matthew 20:20) that she attended at the crucifixion of Jesus, (Mark 15:40) and that she visited his sepulchre. (Mark 16:1) She is mentioned by name on only the two latter occasions.

The daughter of Herodias by her first husband, Herod Philip. (Matthew 14:6) She married in the first the tetrarch of Trachonitis her paternal uncle, sad secondly Aristobulus, the king of Chalcis.

Salt

Indispensable as salt is to ourselves, it was even more so to the Hebrews, being to them not only an appetizing condiment in the food both of man, (Job 11:6) and beset, (Isaiah 30:24) see margin, and a valuable antidote to the effects of the heat of the climate on animal food, but also entering largely into the religious services of the Jews as an accompaniment to the various offerings presented on the altar. (Leviticus 2:13) They possessed an inexhaustible and ready supply of it on the southern shores of the Dead Sea. [Sea, The Salt, THE SALT] There is one mountain here called Jebel Usdum, seven miles long and several hundred feet high, which is composed almost entirely of salt. The Jews appear to have distinguished between rock-salt and that which was gained by evaporation as the Talmudists particularize one species (probably the latter) as the "salt of Sodom." The salt-pits formed an important source of revenue to the rulers of the country, and Antiochus conferred a valuable boon on Jerusalem by presenting the city with 375 bushels of salt for the temple service. As one of the most essential articles of diet, salt symbolized hospitality; as an antiseptic, durability, fidelity and purity. Hence the expression "covenant of salt," (Leviticus 2:13; Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5) as betokening an indissoluble alliance between friends; and again the expression "salted with the salt of the palace." (Ezra 4:14) not necessarily meaning that they had "maintenance from the palace," as Authorized Version has it, but that they were bound by sacred obligations fidelity to the king. So in the present day, "to eat bread and salt together" is an expression for a league of mutual amity. It was probably with a view to keep this idea prominently before the minds of the Jews that the use of salt was enjoined on the Israelites in their offerings to God.

Salt Sea, Or Dead Sea

[Sea, The Salt, THE SALT]

Salt, City Of

the fifth of the six cities of Judah which lay in the "wilderness." (Joshua 15:62) Mr. Robinson expresses his belief that it lay somewhere near the plain at the south end of the Salt Sea.

Salt, Valley Of

a valley in which occurred two memorable victories of the Israelite arms:

That of David over the Edomites. (2 Samuel 8:13; 1 Chronicles 18:12)

That of Amaziah. (2 Kings 14:7; 2 Chronicles 25:11) It is perhaps the broad open plain which lies at the lower end of the Dead Sea, and intervenes between the lake itself and the range of heights which crosses the valley at six or eight miles to the south. This same view is taken by Dr. Robinson. Others suggest that it is nearer to Petra. What little can be inferred from the narrative as to its situation favors the latter theory.

Salu

(weighed), the father of Zimri the prince of the Simeonites who was slain by Phinehas. (Numbers 25:14) Called also Salom. (B.C.1452.)

Salutation

Salutations may be classed under the two heads of conversational and epistolary. The salutation at meeting consisted in early times of various expressions of blessing, such as "God be gracious unto thee," (Genesis 43:29) "The Lord be with you;" "The Lord bless thee." (Ruth 2:4) Hence the term "bless" received the secondary sense of "salute." The salutation at parting consisted originally of a simple blessing, (Genesis 24:60) but in later times the form "Go in peace," or rather "Farewell" (1 Samuel 1:17) was common. In modern times the ordinary mode of address current in the East resembles the Hebrew Es-selam aleykum, "Peace be on you," and the term "salam," peace, has been introduced into our own language to describe the Oriental salutation. In epistolary salutations the writer placed-his own name first, and then that of the person whom he sainted. A form of prayer for spiritual mercies was also used. The concluding salutation consisted generally of the term "I salute," accompanied by a prayer for peace or grace.

Samaria

(watch mountain). This city is situated 30 miles north of Jerusalem and about six miles to the northwest of Shechem, in a wide basin-shaped valley, six miles in diameter, encircled with high hills, almost on the edge of the great plain which borders upon the Mediterranean. In the centre of this basin, which is on a lower level than the valley of Shechem, rises a less elevated hill, with steep yet accessible sides and a long fiat top. This hill was chosen by Omri as the site of the capital of the kingdom of Israel. He "bought the hill of Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of the owner of the hill, Samaria." (1 Kings 16:23,24) From the that of Omri's purchase, B.C. 925, Samaria retained its dignity as the capital of the ten tribes, and the name is given to the northern kingdom as well as to the city. Ahab built a temple to Baal there. (1 Kings 16:32,33) It was twice besieged by the Syrians, in B.C. 901, (1 Kings 20:1) and in B.C. 892, (2 Kings 6:24-7; 2 Kings 6:20) but on both occasions the siege was ineffectual. The possessor of Samaria was considered Deuteronomy facto king of Israel. (2 Kings 15:13,14) In B.C. 721 Samaria was taken, after a siege of three years, by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, (2 Kings 18:9,10) and the kingdom of the ten tribes was put an end to. Some years afterward the district of which Samaria was the centre was repeopled by Esarhaddon. Alexander the Great took the city, killed a large portion of the inhabitants, and suffered the remainder to set it at Shechem. He replaced them by a colony of Syro-Macedonians who occupied the city until the time of John Hyrcanus, who took it after a year's siege, and did his best to demolish it entirely. (B.C. 109.) It was rebuilt and greatly embellished by Herod the Great. He called it Sebaste=Augusta, after the name of his patron, Augustus Caesar. The wall around it was 2 1/2 miles long, and in the centre of the city was a park 900 feet square containing a magnificent temple dedicated to Caesar. In the New Testament the city itself does not appear to be mentioned; but rather a portion of the district to which, even in older times it had extended its name. (Matthew 10:5; John 4:4,5) At this clay the city is represented by a small village retaining few vestiges of the past except its name, Sebustiyeh, an Arabic corruption of Sebaste. Some architectural remains it has, partly of Christian construction or adaptation, as the ruined church of St. John the Baptist, partly, perhaps, traces of Idumaean magnificence, St. Jerome, whose acquaintance with Palestine imparts a sort of probability to the tradition which prevailed so strongly in later days, asserts that Sebaste, which he invariably identifies with Samaria was the place in which St. John the Baptist was imprisoned and suffered death. He also makes it the burial-place of the prophets Elisha and Obadiah.

Samaria, Country Of

Samaria at first included all the tribes over which Jeroboam made himself king, whether east or west of the river Jordan. (1 Kings 13:32) But whatever extent the word might have acquired, it necessarily be came contracted as the limits of the kingdom of Israel became contracted. In all probability the territory of Simeon and that of Dan were very early absorbed in the kingdom of Judah. It is evident from an occurrence in Hezekiah's reign that just before the deposition and death of Hoshea, the last king of Israel, the authority of the king of Judah, or at least his influence, was recognized by portions of Asher, Issachar and Zebulun and even of Ephraim and Manasseh. (2 Chronicles 30:1-26) Men came from all those tribes to the Passover at Jerusalem. This was about B.C. 728. Samaria (the city) and a few adjacent cities or villages only represented that dominion which had once extended from Bethel to Dan northward, and from the Mediterranean to the borders of Syria and Ammon eastward. In New Testament times Sa maria was bounded northward by the range of hills which commences at Mount Carmel on the west, and, after making a bend to the southwest, runs almost due east to the valley of the Jordan, forming the southern border of the plain of Esdraelon. It touched toward the south, is nearly as possible, the northern limits of Benjamin. Thus it comprehended the ancient territory of Ephraim and that of Manasseh west of Jordan. The Cuthaean Samaritans, however, possessed only a few towns and villages of this large area, and these lay almost together in the centre of the district. At Nablus the Samaritans have still a settlement, consisting of about 200 persons. [Shechem]

Samaritan Pentateuch

a recension of the commonly received Hebrew text of the Mosaic law, in use among the Samaritans, and written in the ancient Hebrew or so-called Samaritan character. The origin of the Samaritan Pentateuch has given rise to much controversy, into which we cannot here enter. The two most usual opinions are -

That it came into the hands of the Samaritans as an inheritance from the ten tribes whom they succeeded.

That it was introduced by Manasseh at the time of the foundation of the Samaritan sanctuary on Mount Gerizim. It differs in several important points from the Hebrew text. Among these may be mentioned -

Emendations of passages and words of the Hebrew text which contain something objectionable in the eyes of the Samaritans, On account either of historical probability or apparent want of dignity in the terms applied to the Creator. Thus in the Samaritan Pentateuch no one in the antediluvian times begets his first son after he has lived 150 years; but one hundred years are, where necessary, subtracted before, and added after, the birth of the first son. An exceedingly important and often-discussed emendation of this class is the passage in (Exodus 12:40) which in our text reads, "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years." The Samaritan has "The sojourning of the children of Israel [and their fathers who dwelt in the Land of Cannaan and in the land of Egypt ] was four hundred and thirty years;" an interpolation of very late date indeed. Again, in (Genesis 2:2) "And God [?] had finished on the seventh day," is altered into "the sixth " lest God's rest on the Sabbath day might seem incomplete.

Alterations made in favor of or on behalf of Samaritan theology, hermeneutics and domestic worship.

Samaritans

Strictly speaking, a Samaritan would be an inhabitant of the city of Samaria, but the term was applied to all the people of the kingdom of Israel. After the captivity of Israel, B.C. 721, and in our Lord's time, the name was applied to a peculiar people whose origin was in this wise. At the final captivity of Israel by Shalmaneser, we may conclude that the cities of Samaria were not merely partially but wholly depopulated of their inhabitants in B.C. 721, and that they remained in this desolated state until, in the words of (2 Kings 17:24) "the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and front Cuthah, and from Av. (Ivah,) (2 Kings 18:34) and from Hamath, and front Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof." Thus the new Samaritans were Assyrians by birth or subjugation. These strangers, whom we will now assume to hare been placed in "the cities of Samaria" by Esar-haddon, were of course idolaters, and worshipped a strange medley of divinities. God's displeasure was kindled, and they were annoyed by beasts of prey, which had probably increased to a great extent before their entrance upon the land. On their explaining their miserable condition to the king of Assyria, he despatched one of the captive priests to teach them "how they should fear the Lord." The priest came accordingly, and henceforth, in the language of the sacred historian, they "Feared the Lord, and served their graven images, both their children and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do the unto this day." (2 Kings 17:41) A gap occurs in their history until Judah has returned from captivity. They then desire to be allowed to participate in the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem; but on being refused, the Samaritans throw off the mask, and become open enemies, frustrate the operations of the Jews through the reigns of two Persian kings, and are only effectually silenced in the reign of Darius Hystaspes, B.C. 519. The feud thus unhappily begun grew year by year more inveterate. Matters at length came to a climax. About B.C. 409, a certain Manasseh, a man of priestly lineage, on being expelled from Jerusalem by nehemiah for an unlawful marriage, obtained permission from the Persian king of his day, Darius Nothus, to build a temple on Mount Gerizim for the Samaritans, with whom he had found refuge. The animosity of the Samaritans became more intense than ever. They are sid to have done everything in their power to annoy the Jews. Their own temple on Gerizim they considered to be much superior to that at Jerusalem. There they sacrificed a passover. Toward the mountain, even after the temple on it had fallen, wherever they were they directed their worship. To their copy of the law they arrogated an antiquity and authority greater than attached to any copy in the possession of the Jews. The law (i.e. the five books of Moses) was their sole code; for they rejected every other book in the Jewish canon. The Jews, on the other hand, were not more conciliatory in their treatment of the Samaritans. Certain other Jewish renegades had from time to time taken refuge with the Samaritans; hence by degrees the Samaritans claimed to partake of jewish blood, especially if doing so happened to suit their interest. Very far were the Jews from admitting this claim to consanguinity on the part of these people. The traditional hatred in which the jew held the Samaritan is expressed in Ecclus. 50:25,26. Such were the Samaritans of our Lord's day; a people distinct from the jews, though lying in the very midst of the Jews; a people preserving their identity, though seven centuries had rolled away since they had been brought from Assyria by Esar-haddon, and though they had abandoned their polytheism for a sort of ultra Mosaicism; a people who, though their limits had gradually contracted and the rallying-place of their religion on Mount Gerizim had been destroyed one hundred and sixty years before by John Hyrcanus (B.C. 130), and though Samaria (the city) had been again and again destroyed, still preserved their nationality still worshipped from Shechem and their impoverished settlements toward their sacred hill, still retained their peculiar religion, and could not coalesce with the Jews.

Samgarnebo

(sword of Nebo), one of the princes or generals of the king of Babylon. (Jeremiah 39:3)

Samlah

(garment), (Genesis 36:36,37; 1 Chronicles 1:47,48) one of the kings of Edom, successor to Hadad or Hadar.

Samos

a Greek island off that part of Asia Minor where Ionia touches Caria. Samos comes before our notice in the detailed account of St. Paul's return from his third missionary journey. (Acts 20:15)

Samothrace

In the Revised Version for Samothracia.

Samothracia

Mention is made of this island in the account of St. Paul's first voyage to Europe. (Acts 16:11; 20:6) Being very lofty and conspicuous, it is an excellent landmark for sailors, and must have been full in view, if the weather was clear throughout that voyage from Troas to Neapolis.

Samson

(like the sun), son of Manoah, a man of the town of Zorah in the tribe of Dan, on the border of Judah. (Joshua 15:33; 19:41) (B.C. 1161). The miraculous circumstances of his birth are recorded in Judges 13; and the three following chapters are devoted to the history of his life and exploits. Samson takes his place in Scripture, (1) as a judge - an office which he filled for twenty years, (Judges 15:20; 16:31) (2) as a Nazarite, (Judges 13:5; 16:17) and (3) as one endowed with supernatural power by the Spirit of the Lord. (Judges 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14) As a judge his authority seems to have been limited to the district bordering upon the country of the Philistines. The divine inspiration which Samson shared with Othniel, Gideon and Jephthah assumed in him the unique form of vast personal strength, inseparably connected with the observance of his vow as a Nazarite: "his strength was in his hair." He married a Philistine woman whom he had seen at Timnath. One day, on his way to that city, he was attacked by a lion, which he killed; and again passing that way he saw a swarm of bees in the carcass of the lion, and he ate of the honey, but still he told no one. He availed himself of this circumstance, and of the custom of proposing riddles at marriage feasts, to lay a snare for the Philistines. But Samson told the riddle to his wife and she told it to the men of the city, whereupon Samson slew thirty men of the city. Returning to his own house, he found his wife married to another, and was refused permission to see her. Samson revenged himself by taking 300 foxes (or rather jackals) and tying them together two by two by the tails, with a firebrand between every pair of tails, and so he let them loose into the standing corn of the Philistines, which was ready for harvest, The Philistines took vengeance by burning Samson's wife and her father; but he fell hip upon them in return, and smote them with a great slaughter," after which he took refuge on the top of the rock of Etam, in the territory of Judah. The Philistines gathered an army to revenge themselves when the men of Judah hastened to make peace by giving up Samson, who was hound with cords, these, however, he broke like burnt flax and finding a jawbone of an ass at hand, he slew with it a thousand of the Philistines. The supernatural character of this exploit was confirmed by the miraculous bursting out of a spring of water to revive the champion as he was ready to die of thirst. This achievement raised Samson to the position of a judge, which he held for twenty years. After a time he began to fall into the temptations which addressed themselves to his strong animal nature; but he broke through every snare in which he was caught so long as he kept his Nazarite vow. While he was visiting a harlot in Gaza, the Philistines shut the gates of the city, intending to kill him in the morning; but at midnight he went out and tore away the gates, with the posts and bar and carried them to the top of a hill looking toward Hebron. Next he formed his fatal connection with Delilah, a woman who lived in the valley of Sorek. Thrice he suffered himself to be bound with green withes, with new ropes, but released himself until finally, wearied out with her importunity, he "told her all his heart," and while he was asleep she had him shaven of his seven locks of hair. His enemies put out his eyes, and led him down to Gaza, bound in brazen fetters, and made him grind in the prison. Then they held a great festival in the temple of Dagon, to celebrate their victory over Samson. They brought forth the blind champion to make sport for them, end placed him between the two chief pillars which supported the roof that surrounded the court. Samson asked the lad who guided him to let him feel the pillars, to lean upon them. Then, with a fervent prayer that God would strengthen him only this once, to be avenged on the Philistines, he bore with all his might upon the two pillars; they yielded, and the house fell upon the lords and all the people. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life." In (Hebrews 11:32) his name is enrolled among the worthies of the Jewish Church.

Samuel

was the son of Elkanah and Hannah, and was born at Ramathaim-zophim, among the hills of Ephraim. [Ramah No. 2] (B.C. 1171.) Before his birth he was dedicated by his mother to the office of a Nazarite and when a young child, 12 years old according to Josephus he was placed in the temple, and ministered unto the Lord before Eli." It was while here that he received his first prophetic call. (1 Samuel 3:1-18) He next appears, probably twenty years afterward, suddenly among the people, warning them against their idolatrous practices. (1 Samuel 7:3,4) Then followed Samuel's first and, as far as we know, only military achievement, ch. (1 Samuel 7:5-12) but it was apparently this which raised him to the office of "judge." He visited, in the discharge of his duties as ruler, the three chief sanctuaries on the west of Jordan - Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpeh. ch. (1 Samuel 7:16) His own residence was still native city, Ramah, where he married, and two sons grew up to repeat under his eyes the same perversion of high office that he had himself witnessed in his childhood in the case of the two sons of Eli. In his old age he shared his power with them, (1 Samuel 8:1-4) but the people dissatisfied, demanded a king, and finally anointed under God's direction, and Samuel surrendered to him his authority, (1 Samuel 12:1) ... though still remaining judge. ch. (1 Samuel 7:15) He was consulted far and near on the small affairs of life. (1 Samuel 9:7,8) From this fact, combined with his office of ruler, an awful reverence grew up around him. No sacrificial feast was thought complete without his blessing. Ibid. (1 Samuel 9:13) A peculiar virtue was believed to reside in his intercession. After Saul was rejected by God, Samuel anointed David in his place and Samuel became the spiritual father of the psalmist-king. The death of Samuel is described as taking place in the year of the close of David's wanderings. It is said with peculiar emphasis, as if to mark the loss, that "all the Israelites were gathered together" from all parts of this hitherto-divided country, and "lamented him," and "buried him" within his own house, thus in a manner consecrated by being turned into his tomb. (1 Samuel 25:1) Samuel represents the independence of the moral law, of the divine will, as distinct from legal or sacerdotal enactments, which is so remarkable a characteristic of all the later prophets. He is also the founder of the first regular institutions of religious instructions and communities for the purposes of education.

Samuel, Books Of

are not separated from each other in the Hebrew MSS., and, from a critical point of view, must be regarded as one book. The present, division was first made in the Septuagint translation, and was adopted in the Vulgate from the Septuagint. The book was called by the Hebrews: "Samuel," probably because the birth and life of Samuel were the subjects treated of in the beginning of the work. The books of Samuel commence with the history of Eli and Samuel, and contain all account of the establishment of the Hebrew monarchy and of the reigns of Saul and David, with the exception of the last days of the latter monarch which are related in the beginning of the books of Kings, of which those of Samuel form the previous portion. [Kings, First And Second Books Of, B00KS OF] Authorship and date of the book, -

As to the authorship. In common with all the historical books of the Old Testament, except the beginning of Nehemiah, the book of Samuel contains no mention in the text of the name of its author. It is indisputable that the title "Samuel" does not imply that the prophet was the author of the book of Samuel as a whole; for the death of Samuel is recorded in the beginning of the 25th chapter. In our own time the most prevalent idea in the Anglican Church seems to have been that the first twenty-four chapters of the book of Samuel were written by the prophet himself, and the rest of the chapters by the prophets Nathan and Gad. This, however, is doubtful.

But although the authorship cannot be ascertained with certainty, it appears clear that, in its present form it must have been composed subsequent to the secession of the ten tribes, B.C. 975. This results from the passage in (1 Samuel 27:6) wherein it is said of David, "Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah to this day:" for neither Saul, David nor Solomon is in a single instance called king of Judah simply. On the other hand, it could hardly have been written later than the reformation of Josiah, since it seems to have been composed at a time when the Pentateuch was not acted on as the rule of religious observances, which received a special impetus at the finding of the Book of the Law at the reformation of Josiah. All, therefore, that can be asserted with any certainty is that the book, as a whole, can scarcely have been composed later than the reformation of Josiah, and that it could not have existed in its present form earlier than the reign of Rehoboam. The book of Samuel is one of the best specimens of Hebrew prose in the golden age of Hebrew literature. In prose it holds the same place which Joel and the undisputed prophecies of Isaiah hold in poetical or prophetical language.

Sanballat

(strength), a Moabite of Horonaim. (Nehemiah 2:10,13; 13:28) He held apparently some command in Samaria at the time Nehemiah was preparing to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, B.C. 445, (Nehemiah 4:2) and from the moment of Nehemiah's arrival in Judea he set himself to oppose every measure for the welfare of Jerusalem. The only other incident in his life is his alliance with the high priest's family by the marriage of his daughter with one of the grandsons of Eliashib; but the expulsion from the priesthood of the guilty son of Joiada by Nehemiah promptly followed. Here the scriptural narrative ends.

Sandal

was the article ordinarily used by the Hebrews for protecting the feet. It consisted simply of a sole attached to the foot by thongs. We have express notice of the thong (Authorized Version "shoe latchet") in several passages, notably (Genesis 14:23; Isaiah 5:27; Mark 1:7) Sandals were worn by all classes of society in Palestine, even by the very poor; and both the sandal and the thong or shoe-latchet were so cheap and common that they passed into a proverb for the most insignificant thing. (Genesis 14:23) Ecclus. 46;13, They were dispensed with in-doors, and were only put on by persons about to undertake some business away from their homes. During mealtimes the feet were uncovered. (Luke 7:38; John 13:5,6) It was a mark of reverence to cast off the shoes in approaching a place or person of eminent sanctity. (Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15) It was also an indication of violent emotion, or of mourning, if a person appeared barefoot in public. (2 Samuel 15:30) To carry or to unloose a person's sandal was a menial office, betokening great inferiority on the part of the person performing it. (Matthew 3:11)

Sanhedrin

(from the Greek sunedrion, "a council-chamber" commonly but in correctly Sanhedrim), the supreme council of the Jewish people in the time of Christ and earlier.

The origin of this assembly is traced in the Mishna to the seventy elders whom Moses was directed, (Numbers 11:16,17) to associate with him in the government of the Israelites; but this tribunal was probably temporary, and did not continue to exist after the Israelites had entered Palestine. In the lack of definite historical information as to the establishment of the Sanhedrin, it can only be said in general that the Greek etymology of the name seems to point to a period subsequent to the Macedonian supremacy in Palestine. From the few incidental notices in the New Testament, we gather that it consisted of chief priests, or the heads of the twenty-four classes into which the priests were divided, elders, men of age and experience, and scribes, lawyers, or those learned in the Jewish law. (Matthew 26:57,59; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66; Acts 5:21)

The number of members is usually given as 71. The president of this body was styled nasi, and was chosen in account of his eminence in worth and wisdom. Often, if not generally, this pre-eminence was accorded to the high priest. The vice-president, called in the Talmud "father of the house of judgment," sat at the right hand of the president. Some writers speak of a second vice-president, but this is not sufficiently confirmed. While in session the Sanhedrin sat in the form of half-circle.

The place in which the sessions of the Sanhedrin were ordinarily held was, according to the Talmad, a hall called Gazzith, supposed by Lightfoot to have been situated in the southeast corner of one of the courts near the temple building. In special exigencies, however, it seems to have met in the residence of the high priest. (Matthew 26:3) Forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem, and consequently while the Saviour was teaching in Palestine, the sessions of the Sanhedrin were removed from the hall Gazzith to a somewhat greater distance from the temple building, although still on Mount Moriah. After several other changes, its seat was finally established at tiberias, where it became extinct A.D. 425. As a judicial body the Sanhedrin constituted a supreme court, to which belonged in the first instance the trial of false prophets, of the high priest and other priests, and also of a tribe fallen into idolatry. As an administrative council, it determined other important matters. Jesus was arraigned before this body as a false prophet, (John 11:47) and Peter, John, Stephen and Paul as teachers of error and deceivers of the people. From (Acts 9:2) it appears that the Sanhedrin exercised a degree of authority beyond the limits of Palestine. According to the Jerusalem Gemara the power of inflicting capital punishment was taken away from this tribunal forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem. With this agrees the answer of the Jews to Pilate. (John 19:31) The Talmud also mentions a lesser Sanhedrin of twenty-three members in every city in Palestine in which were not less than 120 householders.

Sansannah

(palm branch), one of the towns in the south district of Judah, named in (Joshua 15:31) only.

Saph

(tall), one of the sons of the giant slain by Sibbechai the Hushathite. (2 Samuel 21:18) In (1 Chronicles 20:4) he is called Sippai. (B.C. about 1050.)

Saphir

(fair), one of the villages addressed by the prophet Micha, (Micah 1:11) is described by Eusebius and jerome as "in the mountain district between Eleutheropolis and Ascalon," perhaps represented by the village es-Sawafir, seven or eight miles to the northeast of Ascalon.

Sapphira

[Ananias]

Sapphire

(Heb. sappir), a precious stone, apparently of a bright-blue color, set: (Exodus 24:10) the second stone in the second row of the high priest's breastplate, (Exodus 28:18) extremely precious, (Job 28:16) it was one of the precious stones that ornamented the king of Tyre. (Ezekiel 28:13) The sapphire of the ancients was not our gem of that name, viz. the azure or indigo-blue, crystalline variety of corundum, but our lapis lazuli (ultra-marine).

Sara

Greek form of Sarah.

Sarah

(princess).

The wife and half-sister, (Genesis 20:12) of Abraham, and mother of Isaac. Her name is first introduced in (Genesis 11:29) as Sarai. The change of her name from Sarai, my princess (i.e. Abraham's), to Sarah, princess (for all the race), was made at the same time that Abram's name was changed to Abraham, - on the establishment of the covenant of circumcision between him and God. Sarah's history is of course that of Abraham. [Abraham] She died at Hebron at the age of 127 years, 28 years before her husband and was buried by him in the cave of (B.C. 1860.) She is referred to in the New Testament as a type of conjugal obedience in (1 Peter 3:6) and as one of the types of faith in (Hebrews 11:11)

Sarah, the daughter of Asher. (Numbers 26:46)

Sarai

(my princess) the original name of Sarah wife of Abraham.

Saraph

(burning) mentioned in (1 Chronicles 4:22) among the descendants of Judah.

Sardine, Sardius

(red) (Heb. odem) the stone which occupied the first place in the first row of the high priest's breastplate. (Exodus 28:27) The sard, which is probably the stone denoted by odem, is a superior variety of agate, sometimes called camelian, and has long been a favorite stone for the engraver's art. Sardis differ in color: there is a bright-red variety, and perhaps the Hebrew odem from a root means "to be red," points to this kind.

Sardis

a city of Asia Minor and capital of Lydia, situated about two miles to the south of the river Hermus, just below the range of Tmolus, on a spur of which its acropolis was built. It was 60 miles northeast of Smyrna. It was the ancient residence of the kings of Lydia, among them Croesus, proverbial for his immense wealth. Cyrus is said to have taken,000,000 worth of treasure form the city when he captured it, B.C. 548. Sardis was in very early times, both from the extremely fertile character of the neighboring region and from its convenient position, a commercial mart of importance. The art of dyeing wool is said to have been invented there. In the year 214 B.C. it was taken and sacked by the army of Antiochus the Great. Afterward it passed under the dominion of the kings of Pergamos. Its productive soil must always have continued a source of wealth; but its importance as a central mart appears to have diminished from the time of the invasion of Asia by Alexander. The massive temple of Cybele still bears witness in its fragmentary remains to the wealth and architectural skill of the people that raised it. On the north side of the acropolis, overlooking the valley of the Hermus, is a theatre near 400 feet in diameter, attached to a stadium of about 1000. There are still considerable remains of the ancient city at Sert-Kalessi . Travellers describe the appearance of the locality as that of complete solitude. The only passage in which it is mentioned in the Bible is (Revelation 3:1-6)

Sardites, The

descendants of Sered the son of Zebulun. (Numbers 26:26) (In the Revised Version of (Revelation 4:3) for sardine stone. The name is derived from Sardis, where the stone was first found.)

Sardonyx

a name compounded of sard and onyx, two precious stones, varieties of chalcedony or agate. The sardonyx combines the qualities of both, whence its name. It is mentioned only in (Revelation 21:20) The sardonyx consists of "a white opaque layer, superimposed upon a red transparent stratum of the true red sard." It is, like the sard, merely a variety of agate, and is frequently employed by engravers for signet-rings.

Sarepta

[Zarephath]

Sargon

(prince of the sea), one of the greatest of the Assyrian kings, is mentioned by name but once in Scripture - (Isaiah 20:1) He was the successor of Shalmaneser, and was Sennacherib's father and his reigned from B.C. 721 to 702, and seems to have been a usurper. He was undoubtedly a great and successful warrior. In his annals, which cover a space of fifteen years, from B.C. 721 to 706, he gives an account of his warlike expeditions against Babylonia and Susiana on the south, Media on the east, Armenia and Cappadocia toward the north, Syria, Palestine, Arabia and Egypt toward the west and southwest. In B.C. 712 he took Ashdod, by one of his generals, which is the event which causes the mention of his name in Scripture. It is not as a warrior only that Sargon deserves special mention among the Assyrian kings. He was also the builder of useful works, and of one of the most magnificent of the Assyrian palaces.

Sarid

(survivor), a chief landmark of the territory of Zebulun. (Joshua 19:10,12) All that can be gathered of its position is that it lay to the west of Chislothtabor.

Saron

the district in which Lydda stood, (Acts 9:35) only; the Sharon of the Old Testament. [Sharon]

Sarothie

are among the sons of the servants of Solomon who returned with Zerubbabel. 1 Esd. 6:34.

Sarsechim

(prince of the eunuchs), one of the generals of Nebuchadnezzar's army at the taking of Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 39:3) (B.C. 588.)

Saruch

(Luke 3:25) Serug the son of Reu.

Satan

The word itself, the Hebrew satan, is simply an "adversary," and is so used in (1 Samuel 29:4; 2 Samuel 19:22; 1 Kings 6:4; 11:14,23,25; Numbers 22:22,33; Psalms 109:6) This original sense is still found in our Lord's application of the name to St. Peter in (Matthew 16:23) It is used as a proper name or title only four times in the Old Testament, vis. (with the article) in (Job 1:6; 12; 2:1; Zechariah 2:1) and without the article in (1 Chronicles 21:1) It is with the scriptural revelation on the subject that we are here concerned; and it is clear, from this simple enumeration of passages, that it is to be sought in the New rather than in the Old Testament. I. The personal existence of a spirit of evil is clearly revealed in Scripture; but the revelation is made gradually, in accordance with the progressiveness of God's method. In the first entrance of evil into the world, the temptation is referred only to the serpent. In the book of Job we find for the first time a distinct mention of "Satan" the "adversary" of Job. But it is important to remark the emphatic stress laid on his subordinate position, on the absence of all but delegated power, of all terror and all grandeur in his character. It is especially remarkable that no power of spiritual influence, but only a power over outward circumstances, is attributed to him. The captivity brought the Israelites face to face with the great dualism of the Persian mythology, the conflict of Ormuzd with Ahriman, the co-ordinate spirit of evil; but it is confessed by all that the Satan of Scripture bears no resemblance to the Persian Ahriman. His subordination and inferiority are as strongly marked as ever. The New Testament brings plainly forward the power and the influence of Satan, From the beginning of the Gospel, when he appears as the personal tempter of our Lord through all the Gospels, Epistles, and Apocalypse, it is asserted or implied, again and again, as a familiar and important truth. II. Of the nature and original state of Satan, little is revealed in Scripture. He is spoken of as a "spirit" in (Ephesians 2:2) as the prince or ruler of the "demons" in (Matthew 12:24-26) and as having "angels" subject to him in (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 12:7,9) The whole description of his power implies spiritual nature and spiritual influence. We conclude therefore that he was of angelic nature, a rational and spiritual creature, superhuman in power, wisdom and energy; and not only so, but an archangel, one of the "princes" of heaven. We cannot, of course, conceive that anything essentially and originally evil was created by God. We can only conjecture, therefore, that Satan is a fallen angel, who once had a time of probation, but whose condemnation is now irrevocably fixed. As to the time cause and manner of his fall Scripture tells us scarcely anything; but it describes to us distinctly the moral nature of the evil one. The ideal of goodness is made up of the three great moral attributes of God - love, truth, and purity or holiness; combined with that spirit which is the natural temper of the finite and dependent we find creature, the spirit of faith. We find, accordingly, opposites of qualities are dwelt upon as the characteristics of the devil. III. The power of Satan over the soul is represented as exercised either directly or by his instruments. His direct influence over the soul is simply that of a powerful and evil nature on those in whom lurks the germ of the same evil. Besides this direct influence, we learn from Scripture that Satan is the leader of a host of evil spirits or angels who share his evil work, and for whom the "everlasting fire is prepared." (Matthew 25:41) Of their origin and fall we know no more than of his. But one passage (Matthew 12:24-26) - identifies them distinctly with the "demons" (Authorized Version "devils") who had power to possess the souls of men. They are mostly spoken of in Scripture in reference to possession; but in (Ephesians 6:12) find them sharing the enmity to God and are ascribed in various lights. We find them sharing the enmity to God and man implied in the name and nature of Satan; but their power and action are little dwelt upon in comparison with his. But the evil one is not merely the "prince of the demons;" he is called also the "prince of this world" in (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and even the. "god of this world" in (2 Corinthians 4:4) the two expressions being united in (Ephesians 6:12) This power he claimed for himself, as the delegated authority, in the temptation of our Lord, (Luke 4:6) and the temptation would have been unreal had he spoken altogether falsely. The indirect action of Satan is best discerned by an examination of the title by which he is designated in Scripture. He is called emphatically ho diabolos, "the devil." The derivation of the word in itself implies only the endeavor to break the bonds between others and "set them at variance;" but common usage adds to this general sense the special idea of "setting at variance by slander." In the application of the title to Satan, both the general and special senses should be kept in view. His general object is to break the bonds of communion between God and man, and the bonds of truth and love which bind men to each other. The slander of God to man is best seen in the words of (Genesis 3:4,5) They attribute selfishness and jealousy to the Giver of all good. The slander of man to God is illustrated by the book of Job. (Job 1:9-11; 2:4,5) IV. The method of satanic action upon the heart itself. It may be summed up in two words - temptation and possession. The subject of temptation is illustrated, not only by abstract statements, but also by the record of the temptations of Adam and of our Lord. It is expressly laid down, as in (James 1:2-4) that "temptation," properly so called, i.e. "trial," is essential to man, and is accordingly ordained for him and sent to him by God, as in (Genesis 22:1) It is this tentability of man, even in his original nature, which is represented in Scripture as giving scope to the evil action of Satan. But in the temptation of a fallen nature Satan has a greater power. Every sin committed makes a man the "servant of sin" for the future, (John 8:34; Romans 6:16) it therefore creates in the spirit of man a positive tendency to evil which sympathizes with, and aids, the temptation of the evil one. On the subject of possession, see Demoniacs.

Satyr

(sa'tyr or sat'yr), a sylvan deity or demigod of Greek mythology, represented as a monster, part man and part goat. (Isaiah 13:21; 34:14) The Hebrew word signifies "hairy" or "rough," and is frequently applied to "he-goats." In the passages cited it probably refers to demons of woods and desert places. Comp. (Leviticus 17:7; 2 Chronicles 11:15)

Saul

(desired), more accurately Shaul.

One of the early kings of Edom, and successor of Samlah. (Genesis 36:37,38; 1 Chronicles 1:48) (B.C. after 1450.)

The first king of Israel, the son of Kish, and of the tribe of Benjamin. (B.C, 1095-1055.) His character is in part illustrated by the fierce, wayward, fitful nature of the tribe and in part accounted for by the struggle between the old and new systems in which he found himself involved. To this we must add a taint of madness. which broke out in violent frenzy at times leaving him with long lucid intervals. He was remarkable for his strength and activity, (2 Samuel 1:25) and, like the Homeric heroes, of gigantic stature, taller by head and shoulders than the rest of the people, and of that kind of beauty denoted by the Hebrew word "good," (1 Samuel 9:2) and which caused him to be compared to the gazelle, "the gazelle of Israel." His birthplace is not expressly mentioned; but, as Zelah in Benjamin was the place of Kish's sepulchre. (2 Samuel 21:14) it was probable; his native village. His father, Kish, was a powerful and wealthy chief though the family to which he belonged was of little importance. (1 Samuel 9:1,21) A portion of his property consisted of a drove of asses. In search of these asses, gone astray on the mountains, he sent his son Saul It was while prosecuting this adventure that Saul met with Samuel for the first time at his home in Ramah, five miles north of Jerusalem. A divine intimation had made known to him the approach of Saul, whom he treated with special favor, and the next morning descending with him to the skirts of the town, Samuel poured over Saul's head the consecrated oil, and with a kiss of salutation announced to him that he was to be the ruler of the nation. (1 Samuel 9:25; 1 Samuel 10:1) Returning homeward his call was confirmed by the incidents which according to Samuel's prediction, awaited him. (1 Samuel 10:9,10) What may be named the public call occurred at Mizpeh, when lots were cast to find the tribe and family which was to produce the king, and Saul, by a divine intimation was found hid in the circle of baggage which surrounded the encampment. (1 Samuel 10:17-24) Returning to Gibeah, apparently to private life, he heard the threat issued by Nahash king of Ammon against Jabesh-gilead. He speedily collected an army, and Jabesh was rescued. The effect was instantaneous on the people, and the monarchy was inaugurated anew at Gilgal. (1 Samuel 11:1-15) It should be, however, observed that according to (1 Samuel 12:12) the affair of Nahash preceded and occasioned the election of Saul. Although king of Israel, his rule was at first limited; but in the second year of his reign he began to organize an attempt to shake off the Philistine yoke, and an army was formed. In this crisis, Saul, now on the very confines of his kingdom at Gilgal, impatient at Samuel's delay, whom he had directed to be present, offered sacrifice himself. Samuel, arriving later, pronounced the first curse, on his impetuous zeal. (1 Samuel 13:5-14) After the Philistines were driven back to their own country occurred the first appearance of Saul's madness in the rash vow which all but cost the life of his soil. (1 Samuel 14:24; 44) The expulsion of the Philistines, although not entirely completed, ch. (1 Samuel 14:52) at once placed Saul in a position higher than that of any previous ruler of Israel, and he made war upon the neighboring tribes. In the war with Amalek, ch. (1 Samuel 14:48; 15:1-9) he disobeyed the prophetical command of Samuel, which called down the second curse, and the first distinct intimation of the transference of the kingdom to a rival. The rest of Saul's life is one long tragedy. The frenzy which had given indications of itself before now at times took almost entire possession of him. In this crisis David was recommended to him. From this time forward their lives are blended together. [David] In Saul's better moments he never lost the strong affection which he had contracted for David. Occasionally, too his prophetical gift returned, blended with his madness. (2 Samuel 19:24) But his acts of fierce, wild zeal increased. At last the monarchy itself broke down under the weakness of his head. The Philistines re-entered the country, and just before giving them battle Saul's courage failed and he consulted one of the necromancers, the "Witch of Endor," who had escaped his persecution. At this distance of time it is impossible to determine the relative amount of fraud or of reality in the scene which follows, though the obvious meaning of the narrative itself tends to the hypothesis of some kind of apparition. ch. (2 Samuel 19:28) On hearing the denunciation which the apparition conveyed, Saul fell the whole length of his gigantic stature on the ground, and remained motionless till the woman and his servants forced him to eat. The next day the battle came on. The Israelites were driven up the side of Gilboa. The three sons of Saul were slain. Saul was wounded. According to one account, he fell upon his own sword, (1 Samuel 31:4) and died. The body on being found by the Philistines was stripped slid decapitated, and the headless trunk hung over the city walls, with those of his three sons. ch. (1 Samuel 31:9,10) The head was deposited (probably at Ashdod) in the temple of Dagon (1 Chronicles 10:10) The corpse was buried at Jabesh-gilead. (1 Samuel 31:13)

The Jewish name of St. Paul.

Saw

Egyptian saws, so far as has yet been discovered, are single-handed. As is the case in modern Oriental saws, the teeth usually incline toward the handle, instead of away from it like ours. They have, in most cases, bronze blades, apparently attached to the handles by leathern thongs. No evidence exists of the use of the saw applied to stone in Egypt, but we read of sawn stones used in the temple. (1 Kings 7:9) The saws "under" or "in" which David is said to have placed his captives were of iron. The expression in (2 Samuel 12:31) does not necessarily imply torture, but the word "cut" in (1 Chronicles 20:3) can hardly be understood otherwise.

Scapegoat

[Atonement, The Day Of, Day OF]

Scarlet

[Colors]

Sceptre

This word originally meant a rod or staff . It was thence specifically applied to the shepherd's crook, (Leviticus 27:32; Micah 7:14) and to the wand or sceptre of a ruler. The allusions to it are all of a metaphorical character, and describe it simply as one of the insignia of supreme power. (Genesis 49:10) We are consequently unable to describe the article from any biblical notice we may infer that it was probably made of wood. The sceptre of the Persian monarch is described as "golden" i.e. probably of massive gold. (Esther 4:11)

Sceva

a Jew residing at Ephesus at the time of St. Paul's second visit to that town. (Acts 19:14-16) (A.D. 52.)

Schools

(In the early ages most of the instruction of young children was by the parents. The leisure hours of the Sabbaths and festival days brought the parents in constant contact with the children. After the captivity schools came more into use, and at the time of Christ were very abundant. The schools were in connection with the synagogues, which were found in every village of the city and land. Their idea of the value of schools may be gained from such sayings from the Talmud as "The world is preserved by the breath of the children in the schools;" "A town in which there are no schools must perish;" "Jerusalem was destroyed because the education of children was neglected." Josephus says, "Our principal care is to educate our children." The Talmud states that in Bechar there were 400 schools, having each 400 teachers, with 400 children each and that there were 4000 pupils in the house of Rabban Simeon Ben-Gamaliel. Maimonides thus describes a school: "The teacher sat at the head, and the pupils surrounded him as the crown the head so that every one could see the teacher and hear his words. The teacher did not sit in a chair while the pupils sat on the ground but all either sat on chairs or on the ground." The children read aloud to acquire fluency. The number of school-hours was limited, and during the heat of the summer was only four hours. The punishment employed was beating with a strap, never with a rod. The chief studies were their own language and literature the chief school-book the Holy Scriptures; and there were special efforts to impress lessons of morality and chastity. Besides these they studied mathematics, astronomy and the natural sciences. Beyond the schools for popular education there were higher schools or colleges scattered throughout the cities where the Jews abounded. - ED.)

Scorpion

(Heb. 'akrab), a well known venomous insect of hot climates, shaped much like a lobster. It is usually not more than two or three inches long, but in tropical climates is sometimes six inches in length. The wilderness of Sinai is especially alluded to as being inhabited by scorpions at the time of the exodus, and to this day these animals are common in the same district, as well as in some parts of Palestine. Scorpions are generally found in dry and in dark places, under stones and in ruins. They are carnivorous in the habits, and move along in a threatening attitude, with the tail elevated. The sting, which is situated at the end of the tail, has at its base a gland that secretes a poisonous fluid, which is discharged into the wound by two minute orifices at its extremity. In hot climates the sting often occasions much suffering, and sometimes alarming symptoms. The "scorpions" of (1 Kings 12:1,14; 2 Chronicles 10:11,14) have clearly no allusion whatever to the animal, but to some instrument of scourging - unless indeed the expression is a mere figure.

Scourging

The punishment of scourging was common among the Jews. The instrument of punishment in ancient Egypt, as it is also in modern times generally in the East, was usually the stick, applied to the soles of the feet - bastinado. Under the Roman method the culprit was stripped, stretched with cords or thongs on a frame and beaten with rods. (Another form of the scourge consisted of a handle with three lashes or thongs of leather or cord, sometimes with pieces of metal fastened to them. Roman citizens were exempt by their law from scourging.)

Scribes

(Heb.sopherim), I. Name . - (1) Three meanings are connected with the verb saphar, the root of sopherim - (a) to write, (b) to set in order, (c) to count. The explanation of the word has been referred to each of these. The sopherim were so called because they wrote out the law, or because they classified and arranged its precepts, or because they counted with scrupulous minuteness every elapse and letter It contained. (2) The name of Kirjath-sepher, (Joshua 15:15; Judges 1:12) may possibly connect itself with some early use of the title, and appears to point to military functions of some kind. (Judges 5:14) The men are mentioned as filling the office of scribe under David and Solomon. (2 Samuel 8:17; 20:25; 1 Kings 4:3) We may think of them as the king's secretaries, writing his letters, drawing up his decrees, managing his finances. Comp (2 Kings 12:10) In Hezekiah's time transcribed old records, and became a class of students and interpreters of the law, boasting of their wisdom. (Jeremiah 8:8) After the captivity the office became more prominent, as the exiles would be anxious above all things to preserve the sacred books, the laws, the hymns, the prophecies of the past. II. Development of doctrine . - Of the scribes of this period, with the exception of Ezra and Zadok, (Nehemiah 13:13) we have no record. A later age honored them collectively as the men of the Great Synagogue. Never perhaps, was so important a work done so silently. They devoted themselves to the careful study of the text, and laid down rules for transcribing it with the most scrupulous precision. As time passed on the "words of the scribes" were honored above the law. It was a greater crime to offend against them than against the law. The first step was taken toward annulling the commandments of God for the sake of their own traditions. (Mark 7:13) The casuistry became at once subtle and prurient, evading the plainest duties, tampering with conscience. (Matthew 15:1-6; 23:16-23) We can therefore understand why they were constantly denounced by our Lord along with the Pharisees. While the scribes repeated the traditions of the elders, he "spake as one having authority," "not as the scribes." (Matthew 7:29) While they confined their teachings to the class of scholars, he "had compassion on the multitudes." (Matthew 9:36) While they were to be found only in the council or in their schools, he journeyed through the cities and villages. (Matthew 4:23; 9:35) etc. While they spoke of the kingdom of God vaguely, as a thing far off, he proclaimed that it had already come nigh to men. (Matthew 4:17) In our Lord's time there were two chief parties:

the disciples of Shammai, conspicuous for their fierceness, appealing to popular passions, using the sword to decide their controversies. Out of this party grew the Zealots.

The disciples of Hillel, born B.C. 112, and who may have been one of the doctors before whom the boy Jesus came in the temple, for he lived to be 120 years old. Hillel was a "liberal conservative, of genial character and broad range of thought, with some approximations to a higher teaching." In most of the points at issue between the two parties, Jesus must have appeared in direct antagonism to the school of Shammai, in sympathy with that of Hillel. So far, on the other hand, as the temper of the Hillel school was one of mere adaptation to the feeling of the people, cleaving to tradition, wanting in the intuition of a higher life, the teaching of Christ must have been felt as unsparingly condemning it. III. Education and life. - The special training for a scribe's office began, probably, about the age of thirteen. The boy who was destined by his parents to the calling of a scribe went to Jerusalem and applied for admission in the school of some famous rabbi. After a sufficient period of training, probably at the age of thirty the probationer was solemnly admitted to his office. After his admission there was a choice of a variety of functions, the chances of failure and success. He might give himself to any one of the branches of study, or combine two or more of them. He might rise to high places, become a doctor of the law, an arbitrator in family litigations, (Luke 12:14) the head of a school, a member of the Sanhedrin. He might have to content himself with the humbler work of a transcriber, copying the law and the prophets for the use of synagogues, or a notary, writing out contracts of sale, covenants of espousals, bills of repudiation. The position of the more fortunate was of course attractive enough. In our Lord's time the passion for distinction was insatiable. The ascending scale of rab, rabbi, rabban, presented so many steps on the ladder of ambition. Other forms of worldliness were not far off. The salutations in the market-place, (Matthew 23:7) the reverential kiss offered by the scholars to their master or by rabbis to each other the greeting of Abba, father (Matthew 23:9) the long robes with the broad blue fringe, (Matthew 23:5) - all these go to make up the picture of a scribe's life. Drawing to themselves, as they did, nearly all the energy and thought of Judaism, the close hereditary caste of the priesthood was powerless to compete with them. Unless the Priest became a scribe also, he remained in obscurity. The order, as such, became contemptible and base. For the scribes there were the best places at feasts, the chief seats in synagogues. (Matthew 23:6; Luke 14:7)

Scrip

The Hebrew word thus translated appears in (1 Samuel 17:40) as a synonym for the bag in which the shepherds of Palestine carried their food or other necessities. The scrip of the Galilean peasants was of leather, used especially to carry their food on a journey, and slung over their shoulders. (Matthew 10:10; Mark 6:8; Luke 9:3; 22:35) The English word "scrip" is probably connected with scrape, scrap, and was used in like manner for articles of food.

Scripture

[See Bible]

Scythian

occurs in (Colossians 3:11) as a generalized term for rude, ignorant, degraded. The name often included all the nomadic tribes, who dwelt mostly on the north of the Black and the Caspian Sea, stretching thence indefinitely into inner Asia, and were regarded by the ancients as standing extremely low In point of intelligence and civilization.

Scythopolis

[BETH-SHEAN]

Sea

The sea, yam, is used in Scripture to denote -

"The gathering of the waters," "the Ocean." (Genesis 1:2,10; 30:13) etc.

Some portion of this, as the Mediterranean Sea, called the "hinder," the "western" and the "utmost" sea, (11:24; 34:2; Joel 2:20) "sea of the Philistines," (Exodus 23:31) "the great sea," (Numbers 36:6,7; Joshua 15:47) "the sea." Genesis49:13; Psal 80:11 Also frequently of the Red Sea. (Exodus 15:4) [Red Sea SEA]

Inland lakes termed seas, as the Salt or Dead Sea. [See the special article]

Any great collection of waters, as the river Nile (Isaiah 19:5) and the Euphrates. (Jeremiah 51:36)

Sea, Molten

In the place of the laver of the tabernacle Solomon caused a laver to be cast for a similar purpose, which from its size was called a sea. It was made partly or wholly of the brass, or rather copper, which was captured by David from "Tibhath and Chun, cities of Hadarezer king of Zobah." (1 Kings 7:23-26; 1 Chronicles 18:8) It is said to have been 15 feet in diameter and 7 1/2 feet deep, and to have been capable of containing 2000, or according to (2 Chronicles 4:5) 3000 Baths (16,000 to 24,000 gallons). The lever stood on twelve oxen three toward each quarter of the heavens, and all looking outward. It was mutilated by Ahaz by being removed from its basis of oxen and placed on a stone base, and was finally broken up by the Assyrians. (2 Kings 16:14,17; 25:13)

Sea, The Salt

the usual and perhaps the most ancient name for the remarkable lake which to the western world is now generally known as the Dead Sea. I. Names. - (1) The Salt Sea, (Genesis 14:3) (2) Sea of the Arabah (Authorized Version "sea of the plain," which is found in (4:49)); (3) The East Sea (Joel 2:20) (4) The sea, (Ezekiel 47:8) (5) Sodomitish Sea, 2 Esdras; (6) Sea of Salt and Sea of Sodom, in the Talmud; (7) The Asphaltic Lake, in Josephus; (8) The name "Dead Sea" appears to have been first used in Greek by Pausanias and Galen, and in Latin (mare mortuum) by Justin xxxvi. 3,6, or rather by the older historian Trogus Pompeius (cir. B.C. 10), whose work he epitomized. (9) The Arabic name is Bahr Lut, the "Sea of Lot." II Description . - The so-called Dead Sea is the final receptacle of the river Jordan, the lowest and largest of the three lakes which interrupt the rush of its downward course. It is the deepest portion of that very deep natural fissure which runs like a furrow from the Gulf of Akabah to the range of Lebanon, and from the range of Lebanon to the extreme north of Syria. Viewed on the map, the lake is of an oblong form, of tolerably regular contour, interrupted only by a large and long peninsula which projects from the eastern shore near its southern end, and virtually divides the expanse of the water into two portions, connected by a long, narrow and somewhat devious passage. Its surface is from north to south as nearly as possible 40 geographical or 46 English miles long. Its greatest width is about 9 geographical or 10 1/2 English miles. Its area is about 250 geographical square miles. At its northern end the lake receives the stream of the Jordan; on its eastern side the Zurka Ma'in (the ancient Callirrhoe, and possibly the more ancient en-Eglaim), the Mojib (the Arnon of the Bible), and the Beni-Hemad ; on the south the Kurahy or el-Ahsy ; and on the west that of Ain Jidy . The depression of its surface, and the depth which it attains below that surface, combined with the absence of any outlet, render it one of the most remarkable spots on the globe. The surface of the lake in May, 1848, was 1316.7 feet below the level of the Mediterranean at Jaffa. Its depth, at about one third of its length from the north end, is 1308 feet. The water of the lake is not less remarkable than its other features. Its most obvious peculiarity is its great weight. Its specific gravity has been found to be as much as 12.28; that is to say, a gallon of it would weigh over 12 1/4 lbs., instead of 10 lbs., the weight of distilled water. Water so heavy must not only be extremely buoyant, but must possess great inertia. Its buoyancy is a common theme of remark by the travellers who have been upon it or in it. Dr. Robinson "could never swim before, either in fresh or salt water," yet here he "could sit, stand, lie or swim without difficulty." (B.R.i.506.) The remarkable weight of the water is due to the very large quantity of mineral salts which it holds in solution. Each gallon of the water, weighing 12 1/4 lbs., contains nearly 3 1/3 lbs. of matter in solution - an immense quantity when we recollect that seawater, weighing 10 1/4 lbs. per gallon, contains less than 1/2 a lb. Of this 3 1/2 lbs. nearly 1 lb. is common salt (chloride of sodium), about 2 lbs. chloride of magnesium, and less than 3 a lb. chloride of calcium (or muriate of lime). The most usual ingredient is bromide of magnesium, which exists in truly extraordinary quantity. It has been long supposed that no life whatever existed in the lake; but recent facts show that some inferior organizations do find a home even in these salt and acrid waters. The statements of ancient travellers and geographers to the effect that no living creature could exist on the shores of the lake, or bird fly across its surface, are amply disproved by later travellers. The springs on the margin of the lake harbor snipe, partridges, ducks, nightingales and other birds as well as frogs; and hawks, doves and hares are found along the shore. The appearance of the lake does not fulfill the idea conveyed by its popular name. "The Dead Sea," says a recent traveller, "did not strike me with that sense of desolation and dreariness which I suppose it ought. I thought it a pretty, smiling lake - a nice ripple on its surface." The truth lies, as usual, somewhere between these two extremes. On the one hand, the lake certainly is not a gloomy, deadly, smoking gulf. In this respect it does not at all fulfill the promise of its name. At sunrise and sunset the scene must be astonishingly beautiful. But on the other hand, there is something in the prevalent sterility and the dry, burnt look of the shores, the overpowering heat, the occasional smell of sulphur, the dreary salt marsh at the southern end, and the fringe of dead driftwood round the margin, which must go far to excuse the title which so many ages have attached to the lake, and which we may be sure it will never lose. The connection between this singular lake and the biblical history is very slight. In the topographical records of the Pentateuch and the book of Joshua it forms one among the landmarks of the boundaries of the whole country, as well as of the inferior divisions of Judah and Benjamin. As a landmark it is once named in what to be a quotation from a lost work of the prophet Jonah, (2 Kings 14:25) itself apparently a reminiscence of the old Mosaic statement. (Numbers 34:8,12) Besides this the name occurs once twice in the imagery of the prophets the New Testament there is not even an allusion to it. There is however, one passage in which the "Salt Sea" is mentioned in a manner different from any of those already quoted viz. as having been in the time of Abraham the vale of Siddim. (Genesis 14:3) In consequence of this passage it has been believed that the present lake covered a district which in historic times had been permanently habitable dry land. But it must not he overlooked that the passage in question is the only one in the whole Bible to countenance the notion that the cities of the plain were submerged; a notion which does not date earlier than the Christian era. [Sodom; Zoar] The belief which prompted the idea of some modern writers that the Dead Sea was formed by the catastrophe which overthrew the "cities of the plain" is a mere assumption. It is not only unsupported by Scripture, but is directly in the teeth of the evidence of the ground itself of the situation of those cities, we only know that, being in the "plain of the Jordan, they must have been to the north of the lake. Of the catastrophe which destroyed them we only know that it is described as a shower of ignited sulphur descending from the skies. Its date is uncertain, but we shall be safe in placing it within the Limit of 2000 years before Christ. (It is supposed that only the southern bay of the Dead Sea was formed by the submergence of the cities of the plain, and is still probable. If Hugh Miller's theory of the flood in correct - and it is the most reasonable theory yet propounded - then the Dead Sea was formed by the depression of that part of the valley through which the Jordan once flowed to the Red Sea. But this great depression caused all the waters of the Jordan to remain without outlet, and the size of the Dead Sea must be such that the evaporation from its surface just balances the amount of water which flows in through the river. This accounts in part for the amount of matter held in solution by the Dead Sea waters; for the evaporation is of pure water only, while the inflow contains more or less of salts and other matter in solution. This theory also renders it probable that the lake was at first considerably larger than at present, for in earlier times the Jordan had probably a larger flow of water. - ED.) The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah may have been by volcanic action, but it may be safely asserted that no traces of it have yet been discovered, and that, whatever it was, it can have had no connection with that far vaster and far more ancient event which opened the great valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, and at some subsequent time cut it off from communication with the Red Sea by forcing up between them the tract of the Wady Arabah .

Seal

The importance attached to seals in the East is so great that without one no document is regarded as authentic. Among the methods of sealing used in Egypt at a very early period were engraved stones, graved stones, pierced through their length and hung by a string or chain from the arm or neck, or set in rings for the finger. The most ancient form used for this purpose was the scarabaeus, formed of precious or common stone, or even of blue pottery or porcelain, on the flat side of which the inscription or device was engraved. In many cases the seal consisted of a lump of clay, impressed with the seal and attached to the document, whether of papyrus or other material, by strings. In other cases wax was used. In sealing a sepulchre or box, the fastening was covered with clay or wax, and the impression from a seal of one in authority was stamped upon it, so that it could not be broken open without discovery. The signet-ring was an ordinary part of a man's equipment. (Genesis 38:18) The ring or the seal as an emblem of authority in Egypt, Persia and elsewhere is mentioned in (Genesis 41:42; 1 Kings 21:8; Esther 3:10,12; 8:2; Daniel 6:17) and as an evidence of a covenant, in (Jeremiah 32:10,44; Nehemiah 9:38; 10:1; Haggai 2:23) Engraved signets were in use among the Hebrews in early times. (Exodus 28:11,36; 39:6)

Seba

(pl. Sebaim ; in Authorized Version incorrectly rendered Sabeans) heads the list of the sons of Cush. Besides the mention of Seba in the lists of the pens of Cush, (Genesis 10:7; 1 Chronicles 1:9) there are but three notices of the nation - (Psalms 72:10; Isaiah 43:3; 45:14) These passages seem to show that Seba was a nation of Africa bordering on or included in Cush, and in Solomon's time independent and of political importance. It may perhaps be identified with the island of Meroe. Josephus says that Saba was the ancient name of the Ethiopian island and city of Meroe, but he writes Seba, in the notice of the Noachian settlements, Sabas. The island of Meroe lay between the Astaboras, the Atbara, the most northern tributary of the Nile, and the Astapus, the Bahr el-Azrak, "Blue River," the eastern of its two great confluents.

Sebat

(a rod). [Month]

Secacah, Or Secacah

(thicket), one of the six cities of Judah which were situated in the Midbar ("wilderness"), that is, the tract bordering on the Dead Sea. (Joshua 15:61) Its portion is not known.

Sechu

(the watch-tower), a place mentioned once only - (1 Samuel 19:22) - apparently as lying on the route between Saul's residence, Gibeah, and Ramah (Ramathaim-zophim), that of Samuel. It was notorious for "the great well" (or rather cistern) which it contained. Assuming that Saul started from Gibeah (Tuleil el-Ful), and that Neby Samwil is Ramah, then Bir Nebolla (the well of Neballa) just south of Beeroth, alleged by modern traveller to contain a large pit would be in a suitable position for the great well of Sechu.

Secundus

(fortunate), a Thessalonian Christian. (Acts 20:4) (A.D. 55.) Seer, [Prophet]

Segub

(elevated).

The youngest son of Hiel the Hethelite who rebuilt Jericho. (1 Kings 18:34) (B.C. about 910.)

Son of Hezron. (1 Chronicles 2:21,28) (B.C. about 1682.)

Seir

(hairy, Shaggy),

We have both "land of Seir," (Genesis 32:3; 36:50) and "Mount Seir." (Genesis 14:6) It is the original name of the mountain range extending along the east side of the valley of Arabah, from the Dead Sea to the Elanitic, Golf. The Horites appear to have been the chief of the aboriginal inhabitants, (Genesis 36:20) but it was ever afterward the possession of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau. The Mount Seir of the: Bible extended much farther south than the modern province, as is shown by the words of (2:1-8) It had the Arabah on the west, vs. 1 and 8; it extended as far south as the head of the Gulf of Akabah, ver. 8; its eastern border ran along the base of the mountain range where the plateau of Arabia begins. Its northern, order is not so accurately determined. There is a line of "naked" white hills or cliffs which run across the great valley about eight miles south of the Dead Sea, the highest eminence being Mount Hor, which is 4800 feet high.

Mount Seir, an entirely different place from the foregoing; one of the landmarks on the north boundary of the territory of Judah. (Joshua 15:10) only. It lay westward of Kirjath-jearim, and between it and Beth-shemesh. If Kuriel el-Enab be the former and Ain-shems the latter of these two, then Mount Seir cannot fail to be the ridge which lies between the Wady Aly and the Wady Ghurab . In a pass of this ridge is the modern village of Seir.

Seirath

(the shaggy), the place to which Ehud fled after his murder of Eglon. (Judges 3:26,27) It was in "Mount Ephraim," ver. 27, a continuation, perhaps, of the same wooded, shaggy hills which stretched even so far south as to enter the territory of Judah, (Joshua 15:10) (It is probably the same place as Mount, Mount, Mountain Seir, 2.)

Sela, Or Selah

(the rock), (2 Kings 14:7; Isaiah 16:1) so rendered in the Authorized Version in Judges city later (2 Chronicles 25:12) probably known as Petra, the ruins of which are found about two days journey north of the top of the Gulf of Akabah and three or four south from Jericho and about halfway between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the northern end of the Gulf of Akabah. It was in the midst of Mount Seir, in the neighborhood of Mount Hor, and therefore Edomite territory, taken by Amaziah, and called Joktheel. In the end of the fourth century B.C. it appears as the headquarters of the Nabatheans, who successfully resisted the attacks of Antigonus. About 70 B.C. Petra appears as the residence of the Arab princes named Aretas. It was by Trajan reduced to subjection to the Roman empire. The city Petra lay, though at a high level, in a hollow three quarters of a mile long and from 800 to 1500 feet wide, shut in by mountain cliffs, and approached only by a narrow ravine, through which, and across the city's site, the river winds. There are extensive ruins at Petra of Roman date, which have been frequently described by modern travellers.

Selah

This word, which is found only in the poetical books of the Old Testament, occurs seventy-one times in the Psalms and three times in Habakkuk. It is probably a term which had a meaning in the musical nomenclature of the Hebrews, though what that meaning may have been is now a matter of pure conjecture. (Gesenius and Ewald and others think it has much the same meaning as our interlude, - a pause in the voices singing, while the instruments perform alone.)

Selahammahlekoth

(the cliff of escapes or of divisions), a rock or cliff in the wilderness of Maon, southeast of Hebron, the scene of one of those remarkable escapes which are so frequent in the history of Saul's pursuit of David. (1 Samuel 23:28)

Seled

(exultation), one of the sons of Nadab, a descendant of Jerahmeel: (1 Chronicles 2:30) (B.C. after 1450.)

Seleucia, Or Seleucia

(named after its founder, Seleucus), near the mouth of the Orontes, was practically the seaport of Antioch. The distance between the two towns was about 16 miles. St. Paul, with Barnabas, sailed from Seleucia at the beginning of his first missionary circuit. (Acts 13:4) This strong fortress and convenient seaport was constructed by the first Seleucus, and here he was buried. It retained its importance in Roman times and in St. Paul's day it had the privileges of a free city. The remains are numerous.

Seleucus

the name of five kings of the Greek dominion of Syria who are hence called Seleucidae . Only one - the fourth - is mentioned in the Apocrypha.

Seleucus Iv

(Philopator), son of Antiochus the Great, whom he succeeded B.C. 187 "king of Asia," 2 Macc. 3:3, that is, of the provinces included in the Syrian monarchy, according to the title claimed by the Seleucidae, even when they had lost their footing in Asia Minor. He took part in the disastrous battle of Magnesia, B.C. 190, and three years afterward, on the death of his father, ascended the throne. He was murdered B.C. 175 after a reign of twelve years, by Heliodorus, one of his own courtiers. (Daniel 11:20) His son Demetrius I. (Soter) whom he had sent while still a boy, as hostage to Rome, after a series of romantic adventures, gained the crown in 162 B.C. 1 Macc. 7:1; 2 Macc. 14:1. The general policy of Seleucus toward the Jews, like that of his father, 2 Macc. 3:2,3, was conciliatory, and he undertook a large share of expenses of the temple service. 2 Macc. 3:3,6.

Sem

Shem the patriarch. (Luke 3:36)

Semachiah

(Jehovah sustains him) one of the sons of SKEMAIAH, 9. (1 Chronicles 26:7)

Semei

(the Greek form of Shimei).

Shimei, 14. 1 Esd. 9:33.

Shimei, 16. (Esther 11:2)

The father of Mattathias in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. (Luke 3:26)

Semein

In the Revised Version of (Luke 3:26) for Semei.

Semitic Languages

[Shemitic Languages LANGUAGES; Hebrew Language]

Senaah

(thorny). The "children (i.e. the inhabitants) of Senaah" are enumerated among the "people of Israel" who returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:35; Nehemiah 7:38) (B.C. 536.) The Magdal Senna of Eusebius and Jerome denotes a town seven miles north of Jericho ("Senna").

Seneh

(thorn), the name of one of the two isolated rocks which stood in the "passage of Michmash," (1 Samuel 14:4) 6 1/2 Miles north of Jerusalem.

Senir

(snow mountain), (1 Chronicles 5:23; Ezekiel 27:5) the Amorite name for Mount Hermon.

Sennacherib, Or Sennacherib

(sin, the moon, increases brothers), was the son and successor of Sargon. [Sargon] His name in the original is read as Tsinakki-irib, the meaning of which, as given above indicates that he was not the first-born of his father. Sennacherib mounted the throne B.C. 702. His efforts were directed to crushing the revolt of Babylonia, which he invaded with a large army. Merodach-baladan ventured on a battle, but was defeated and driven from the country. In his third year, B.C. 700, Sennacherib turned his arms toward the west, chastised Sidon, and, having probably concluded a convention with his chief enemy finally marched against Hezekiah, king of Judah. It was at this time that "Sennacherib came up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them." (2 Kings 18:13) There can be no doubt that the record which he has left of his campaign against "Hiskiah" in his third year is the war with Hezekiah so briefly touched in vs. 13-16 of this chapter. In the following year (B.C. 699) Sennacherib made his second expedition into Palestine. Hezekiah had again revolted, and claimed the protection of Egypt. Sennacherib therefore attacked Egypt, and from his camp at Lachish and Libnah he sent an insulting letter to Hezekiah at Jerusalem. In answer to Hezekiah's prayer an event occurred which relieved both Egypt and Judea from their danger. In one night the Assyrians lost, either by a pestilence or by some more awful manifestation of divine power, 185,000 men! The camp immediately broke up; the king fled. Sennacherib reached his capital in safety, and was not deterred by the terrible disaster which had befallen his arms from engaging in other wars, though he seems thenceforward to have carefully avoided Palestine. Sennacherib reigned 22 years and was succeeded by Esar-haddon, B.C. 680. Sennacherib was one of the most magnificent of the Assyrian kings. Seems to have been the first who fixed the seat of government permanently at Nineveh, which he carefully repaired and adorned with splendid buildings. His greatest work is the grand palace Kouyunjik. Of the death of Sennacherib nothing is known beyond the brief statement of Scripture that "as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword and escaped into the land of Armenia." (2 Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38)

Senuah

(bristling, properly Hassenuah, with the definite article), a Benjamite. (Nehemiah 11:9)

Seorim

(barley), the chief of the fourth of the twenty-four courses of priests. (1 Chronicles 24:8)

Sephar

(a numbering). It is written after the enumeration of the sons of Joktan, "And their dwelling was from Mesha as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east." (Genesis 10:30) The Joktanites occupied the southwestern portion of the peninsula of Arabia. The undoubted identifications of Arabian places and tribes with their Joktanite originals are included within these limits, and point to Sephar, on the shore of the Indian Ocean, as the eastern boundary. The ancient seaport town called Zafar represents the biblical site or district.

Sepharad

(separated), a name which occurs in (Obadiah 1:20) only. Its situation has always been a matter of uncertainty.

Sepharvaim

(the two Sipparas) is mentioned by Sennacherib in his letter to Hezekiah as a city whose king had been unable to resist the Assyrians. (2 Kings 19:13; Isaiah 37:13) comp. 2Kin 18:34 It is identified with the famous town of Sippara., on the Euphrates above Babylon, which was near the site of the modern Mosaib. The dual form indicates that there were two Sipparas, one on either side of the river. Berosus celled Sippara "a city of the sun;" and in the inscriptions it bears the same title, being called Tsipar sha Shamas, or "Sippara of the Sun" - the sun being the chief object of worship there. Comp. (2 Kings 17:31)

Sephela

the Greek form of the ancient word has-Shefelah, the native name for the southern division of the low-lying flat district which intervenes between the central highlands of the holy land and the Mediterranean, the other and northern portion of which was known as Sharon. The name occurs throughout the topographical records of Joshua. The historical works, and the topographical passages in the prophets always with the article prefixed, and always denoting the same region. In each of these passages, however, the word is treated in the Authorized Version not as a proper name, analogous to the Campagna, the Wolds, the Carse, but as a mere appellative, and rendered "the vale," "the valley," "the plain," "the low plains," and "the low country." The Shefelah was and is one of the most productive regions of the holy land. It was in ancient times the cornfield of Syria, and as such the constant subject of warfare between Philistines and Israelites, and the refuge of the latter when the harvests in the central country were ruined by drought. (2 Kings 8:1-3)

Septuagint

(The seventy). The Septuagint or Greek version of the Old Testament appears at the present day in four principal editions: -

Biblia Polyglotta Complutensis, A.D. 1514-1617,

The Aldine Edition, Venice, A.D. 1518.

The Roman Edition, edited under Pope Sixtus V., A.D. 1587.

Fac-simile Edition of the Codex Alexandrinus, by H. H. Baber, A.D. 1816. [TARGUMS] The Jews of Alexandria had probably still less knowledge of Hebrew than their brethren in Palestine their familiar language was Alexandrian Greek. They had settled in Alexandria in large numbers soon after the time of Alexander, and under the early Ptolemies. They would naturally follow the same practice as the Jews in Palestine; and hence would arise in time an entire Greek version. But the numbers and names of the translators, and the times at which different portions were translated are all uncertain. The commonly-received story respecting its origin is contained in an extant letter ascribed to Aristeas, who was an officer at the court of Ptolemy Philadelphus. This letter which is dressed by Aristeas to his brother Philocrates, gives a glowing account of the origin of the Septuagint; of the embassy and presents sent by King Ptolemy to the high priest at Jerusalem, by the advice of Demetrius Phalereus, his librarian, 30 talents of gold and 70 talents of silver, etc.; the Jewish slaves whom he set free, paying their ransom himself the letter of the king: the answer of the high priest; the choosing of six interpreters from each of the twelve tribes and their names; the copy of the law, in letters of gold; the feast prepared for the seventy two, which continued for seven days; the questions proposed to each of the interpreters in turn, with the answers of each; their lodging by the seashore and the accomplishment of their work in seventy. two days, by conference and comparison. This is the story which probably gave to the version the title of the Septuagint, and which has been repeated in various forms by the Christian writers. But it is now generally admitted that the letter is spurious and is probably the fabrication of an Alexandrian Jew shortly before the Christian era. Still there can be no doubt that there was a basis of fact for the fiction; on three points of the story there is no material difference of opinion and they are confirmed by the study of the version itself: -

The version was made at Alexandria.

It was begun in the time of the earlier Ptolemies, about 280 B.C.

The law (i.e. the Pentateuch) alone was translated at first. The Septuagint version was highly esteemed by the Hellenistic Jews before the coming of Christ. Wherever, by the conquests of Alexander or by colonization, the Greek language prevailed wherever Jews were settled and the attention of the neighboring Gentiles was drawn to their wondrous history and law there was found the Septuagint, which thus became, by divine Providence the means of spreading widely the knowledge of the one true God and his promises of it Saviour to come, throughout the nations. To the wide dispersion of this version we may ascribe in great measure that general persuasion which prevailed over the whole East of the near approach of the Redeemer, and led the Magi to recognize the star which, reclaimed the birth of the King of the Jews. Not less wide was the influence of the Septuagint in the spread of the gospel. For a long period the Septuagint was the Old Testament of the far larger part of the Christian Church. Character of the Septuagint. The Septuagint is faithful in substance but not minutely accurate in details. It has been clearly shown by Hody, Frankel and others that the several books were translated by different persons, without any comprehensive revision to harmonize the several parts. Names and words are rendered differently in different books. Thus the character of the version varies much in the several books, those of the Pentateuch are the best. The poetical parts are, generally speaking, inferior to the historical, the original abounding with rarer words and expressions. In the major prophets (probably translated nearly 100 years after the Pentateuch) some of the most important prophecies are sadly obscured. Ezekiel and the minor prophets (generally speaking) seem to be better rendered. Supposing the numerous glosses and duplicate renderings, which have evidently crept from the margin into the text, to be removed and forming a rough estimate of what the Septuagint was in its earliest state, we may perhaps say of it that it is the image of the original seen through a glass not adjusted to the proper focus; the larger features are shown, but the sharpness of definition is lost. The close connection between the Old and the New Testament makes the study of the Septuagint most valuable, and indeed indispensable, to the theological student. It was manifestly the chief storehouse from which the apostles drew their proofs and precepts.

Sepulchre

[Burial, Sepulchres]

Serah

the daughter of Asher, (Genesis 46:17; 1 Chronicles 7:30) called in (Numbers 26:46) Sarah. (B.C. about 1700.)

Seraiah

The king's scribe or secretary in the reign of David. (2 Samuel 8:17) (B.C. 1043.)

The high priest in the reign of Zedekiah. (2 Kings 25:18; 1 Chronicles 6:14; Jeremiah 52:24) (B.C. 594.)

The son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite. (2 Kings 25:23; Jeremiah 40:8)

The son of Kenaz and brother of Othniel. (1 Chronicles 4:13,14)

Ancestor of Jehu a Simeonite chieftain. (1 Chronicles 4:35)

One of the children of the province who returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:2) (B.C. 536.)

One of the ancestors of Ezra the scribe. (Ezra 7:1)

A priest, or priestly family, who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:2)

A priest, the son of Hilkiah. (Nehemiah 11:11)

The head of a priestly house which went up from Babylon with Zerubbabel. (Nehemiah 12:12)

The son of Neriah and brother of Baruch. (Jeremiah 51:59,61) He went with Zedekiah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (B.C. 594.) Perhaps he was an officer who took charge of the royal caravan on its march, and fixed the places where it should halt.

Seraphim

(burning, glowing), an order of celestial beings, whom Isaiah beheld in vision standing above Jehovah as he sat upon his throne. (Isaiah 6:2) They are described as having each of them three pairs of wings, with one of which they covered their faces (a token of humility); with the second they covered their feet (a token of respect); while with the third they flew. They seem to have borne a general resemblance to the human figure. ver. 6. Their occupation was two fold to celebrate the praises of Jehovah's holiness and power, ver. 3 and to act as the medium of communication between heaven and earth. ver. 6.

Sered

(fear), the first-born of Zebulun. (Genesis 46:14; Numbers 26:26) about 1700.)

Sergius Paulus

was the proconsul of Cyprus when the apostle Paul visited that island with Barnabas on his first missionary tour. (Acts 13:7) seq. (A.D. 44.) He is described as an intelligent man, truth-seeking, eager for information from all sources within his reach. Though at first admitting to his society Elymas the magician, he afterward, on becoming acquainted with the claims of the gospel, yielded his mind to the evidence of its truth.

Serpent

The Hebrew word nachash is the generic name of any serpent. The following are the principal biblical allusions to this animal its subtlety is mentioned in (Genesis 3:1) its wisdom is alluded to by our Lord in (Matthew 10:18) the poisonous properties of some species are often mentioned, see (Psalms 58:4; Proverbs 25:32) the sharp tongue of the serpent is mentioned in (Psalms 140:3; Job 20:16) the habit serpents have of lying concealed in hedges and in holes of walls is alluded to in (Ecclesiastes 10:8) their dwelling in dry sandy places, in (8:10) their wonderful mode of progression did not escape the observation of the author of (Proverbs 30:1) ... who expressly mentions it as "one of the three things which were too wonderful for him." ver. 19. The art of taming and charming serpents is of great antiquity, and is alluded to in (Psalms 58:5; Ecclesiastes 10:11; Jeremiah 8:17) and doubtless intimated by St. James, (James 3:7) who particularizes serpents among all other animals that "have been tamed by man." It was under the form of a serpent that the devil seduced Eve; hence in Scripture Satan is called "the old serpent." (Revelation 12:9) and comp. 2Cor 11:3 Hence, as a fruit of the tradition of the Fall, the serpent all through the East became the emblem of the spirit of evil, and is so pictured even on the monuments of Egypt. It has been supposed by many commentators that the serpent, prior to the Fall, moved along in an erect attitude. It is quite clear that an erect mode of progression is utterly incompatible with the structure of a serpent; consequently, had the snakes before the Fall moved in an erect attitude they must have been formed on a different plan altogether. The typical form of the serpent and its mode of progression were in all probability the same before: the Fall as after it; but subsequent to the Fall its form and progression were to be regarded with hatred and disgust by all mankind, and thus the animal was cursed above all cattle," and a mark of condemnation was forever stamped upon it. Serpents are said in Scripture to "eat dust," see (Genesis 3:14; Isaiah 65:25; Micah 7:17) these animals which for the most part take their food on the ground, do consequently swallow with it large portions of sand and dust. Throughout the East the serpent was used as an emblem of the evil principle, of the spirit of disobedience and contumacy. Much has been written on the question of the "fiery serpents" of (Numbers 21:6,8) with which it is usual to erroneously identify the "fiery flying serpent" of (Isaiah 14:29) and Isai 30:6 The word "fiery" probably signifies "burning," in allusion to the sensation produced by the bite. The Cerastes, or the Naia haje, or any other venomous species frequenting Arabia, may denote the "serpent of the burning bite" which destroyed the children of Israel. The snake that fastened on St. Paul's hand when he was at Melita, (Acts 28:5) was probably the common viper of England, Pelias berus . (See also Adder; Asp] When God punished the murmurs of the Israelites in the wilderness by sending among them serpents whose fiery bite was fatal, Moses, upon their repentance, was commanded to make a serpent of brass, whose polished surface shone like fire, and to set it up on the banner-pole in the midst of the people; and whoever was bitten by a serpent had but to look up at it and live. (Numbers 21:4-9) The comparison used by Christ, (John 3:14,15) adds a deep interest to this scene. To present the serpent form, as deprived of its power to hurt, impaled as the trophy of a conqueror was to assert that evil, physical and spiritual, had been overcome, and thus help to strengthen the weak faith of the Israelites in a victory over both. Others look upon the uplifted serpent as a symbol of life and health, it having been so worshipped in Egypt. The two views have a point of contact, for the serpent is wisdom . Wisdom, apart from obedience to God, degenerates to cunning, and degrades and envenoms man's nature. Wisdom, yielding to the divine law, is the source of healing and restoring influences, and the serpent form thus became a symbol of deliverance and health; and the Israelites were taught that it would be so with them in proportion as they ceased to be sensual and rebellious. Preserved as a relic, whether on the spot of its first erection or elsewhere the brazen serpent, called by the name of Nehushtan, became an object of idolatrous veneration, and the zeal of Hezekiah destroyed it with the other idols of his father. (2 Kings 18:4) [Nehushtan]

Serug

(branch), son of Reu and great grandfather of Abraham. His age is given in the Hebrew Bible as 230 years. (Genesis 11:20-23) (B.C. 2180.)

Servant

[Slave]

Seth

(compensation), (Genesis 4:25; 6:3; 1 Chronicles 1:1) the third son of Adam, and father of Enos. (B.C. 3870.) Adam handed down to Seth and his descendants the promise of mercy, faith in which became the distinction of God's children. (Genesis 4:26)

Sethur

(hidden), the Asherite spy, son of Michael. (Numbers 13:13) (B.C. 1490.)

Seven

The frequent recurrence of certain numbers in the sacred literature of the Hebrews is obvious to the most superficial reader, but seven so far surpasses the rest, both in the frequency with which it recurs and in the importance of the objects with which it is associated, that it may fairly be termed the representative symbolic number. The influence of the number seven was not restricted to the Hebrews; it prevailed among the Persians, ancient Indians, Greeks and Romans. The peculiarity of the Hebrew view consists in the special dignity of the seventh, and not simply in that of seen. The Sabbath being the seventh day suggested the adoption of seven as the coefficient, so to say, for their appointment of all sacred periods; and we thus find the 7th month ushered in by the Feast of Trumpets, and signalized by the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Great Day of Atonement; 7 weeks as the interval between the Passover and the Pentecost; the 7th year as the sabbatical year; and the year: succeeding 7X7 years as the Jubilee year. Seven days were appointed as the length of the feasts of Passover and Tabernacles; 7 days for the ceremonies of the consecration of priests, and so on; 7 victims to be offered on any special occasion, as in Balaam's sacrifice. (Numbers 23:1) and especially at the ratification of a treaty, the notion of seven being embodied in the very term signifying to swear, literally meaning to do seven times. (Genesis 31:28) Seven is used for any round number, or for completeness, as we say a dozen, or as a speaker says he will say two or three words.

Shaalbim, Or Shaalabbin

(home of foxes), a town in the allotment of Dan. (Joshua 19:42; Judges 1:35; 1 Kings 4:9) By Eusebius and Jerome it is mentioned in the Onomasticon as a large village in the district of Sebaste (i.e. Samaria), and as then called Selaba.

Shaalbonite, The

Eliahba the Shaalbonite was one of David's thirty seven heroes. (2 Samuel 23:32; 1 Chronicles 11:33) He was a native of a place named Shaalbon, but where it was is unknown. (B.C. 1048.)

Shaaph

(division).

The son of Jahdai. (1 Chronicles 2:47)

The son of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel, by his concubine Maachah. (1 Chronicles 2:49) (B.C. after 1445.)

Shaaraim

(two gates), a city in the territory allotted to Judah, (Joshua 15:36) in Authorized Version incorrectly Sharaim. (1 Samuel 17:52) Shaaraim one of the towns of Simeon, (1 Chronicles 4:31) must be a different place.

Shaasgaz

(servant of the beautiful), the eunuch in the palace of Xerxes who had the custody of the women in the second house. (Esther 2:14)

Shabbethai

(sabbatical) a Levite in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 10:15) It is apparently the same who with Jeshua and others instructed the people in the knowledge of the law. (Nehemiah 8:7) (B.C. 450.)

Shachia

(announcemant) a son of Shaharaim by his wife Hodesh. (1 Chronicles 8:10)

Shaddai

(the Mighty), an ancient name of God, rendered "Almighty" everywhere in the Authorized Version, is found in connection with el, "God," El Shaddai being then rendered "God Almighty." By the name or in the character of El-Shaddai God was known to the patriarchs, (Genesis 17:1; 28:3; 43:14; 48:3; 40:25) before the name Jehovah, in its full significance, was revealed. (Exodus 6:3) [God]

Shadrach

(royal, or the great scribe) the Hebrew, or rather Chaldee, name of Hananiah. The history of Shadrach or Hananiah, as told in Dani 1-3 is well known. After their deliverance from the furnace, we hear no more of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, except in (Hebrews 11:33,34) but there are repeated allusions to them in the later apocryphal books, and the martyrs of the Maccabaean period seem to have been much encouraged by their example.

Shage

(erring), father of Jonathan the Hararite, one of David's guard. (1 Chronicles 11:34) [See Shammah, 5] (B.C. about 1050.)

Shaharaim

(double dawn) a Benjamite. (1 Chronicles 8:8) (B.C. about 1546.)

Shahazimah

(toward the heights), one of the towns of the allotment of Issachar. (Joshua 10:22) only.

Shalem

(safe). (Genesis 33:18) Probably not a proper name, but a place. It is certainly remarkable that there should be a modern village hearing the name of Salim three miles east of Nablus, the ancient Shechem.

Shalim, The Land Of

(the land of foxes), a district through which Saul passed on his journey in quest of his father's asses. (1 Samuel 9:4) only. It probably was east of Shalisha.

Shalisha, The Land Of

one of the districts traversed by Saul when in search of the asses of Kish. (1 Samuel 9:4) only. It was a district near Mount Ephraim. In it perhaps was situated the place called Baal-shalisha, (2 Kings 4:42) 15 Miles north of Lydda.

Shallecheth

(overthrow), The gate, one of the gates of the "house of Jehovah." (1 Chronicles 26:16) It was the gate "to the causeway of the ascent." As the causeway is actually in existence, the gate Shallecheth can hardly fail to be identical with the Bab Silsileh or Sinsleh which enters the west wall of the Haram about 600 feet from the southwest corner of the Haram wall.

Shallum

(retribution).

The fifteenth king of Israel, son of Jabesh, conspired against Zachariah, killed him, and brought the dynasty of Jehu to a close, B.C. 770. Shallum, after reigning in Samaria for a month only, was in his turn dethroned and killed by Menahem. (2 Kings 15:10-14)

The husband of Huldah the prophetess, (2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:23) in the reign of Josiah. (B.C. 830.)

A descendant of Shesham. (1 Chronicles 2:40,41)

The third son of Josiah king of Judah, known in the books of Kings and Chronicles as Jehoahaz. (1 Chronicles 3:15; Jeremiah 22:11) [Jehoahaz] (B.C. 610.)

Son of Shaul the son of Simeon. (1 Chronicles 4:25)

A high priest. (1 Chronicles 6:12,13; Ezra 7:2)

A son of Naphtali. (1 Chronicles 7:13)

The chief of a family of porters or gate-keepers of the east gate of the temple. (1 Chronicles 9:17) (B.C. 1050.)

Son of Kore, a Korahite. (1 Chronicles 9:19,31)

Father of Jehizkiah, an Ephraimite. (2 Chronicles 28:12)

One of the porters of the temple who had married a foreign wife. (Ezra 10:24)

One of the sons of Bani. (Ezra 10:42)

The son of Halohesh and ruler of a district of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 3:12)

The uncle of Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 32:7) perhaps the same as 2.

Father or ancestor of Maaseiah (Jeremiah 35:4) perhaps the same as 9. (B.C. 630.)

Shallun

(retribution), the son of Cohozeh, and ruler of a district of the Mizpah. (Nehemiah 3:15)

Shalmai

(my thanks). The children of Shalmai were among the Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:46; Nehemiah 7:48) In Nehemiah SALMAI. (B.C. 536.)

Shalman

(fire-worshipper), a contraction for Shalmaneser king of Assyria. (Hosea 10:14) Others think it the name of an obscure Assyrian king, predecessor of Pul.

Shalmaneser

(fire-worshipper) was the Assyrian king who reigned probably between Tiglath-Pileser and Sargon, B.C. 727-722. He led the forces of Assyria into Palestine, where Hoshea, the last king of Israel, had revolted against his authority. (2 Kings 17:3) Hoshea submitted and consented to pay tribute; but he soon after concluded all alliance with the king of Egypt, and withheld his tribute in consequence. In B.C. 723 Shalmaneser invaded Palestine for the second time, and, as Hoshea refused to submit, laid siege to Samaria. The siege lasted to the third year, B.C. 721, when the Assyrian arms prevailed. (2 Kings 17:4-6; 18:9-11) It is uncertain whether Shalmaneser conducted the siege to its close, or whether he did not lose his crown to Sargon before the city was taken.

Shama

(obedient), one of David's guard. (1 Chronicles 11:44) (B.C. 1020.)

Shamariah

(kept by Jehovah), son of Rehoboam. (2 Chronicles 11:19)

Shamed

(keeper), properly Shamer or Shemer; one of the pens of Elpaal the Benjamite. (1 Chronicles 8:12)

Shamer

(keeper).

Merarite Levite. (1 Chronicles 6:46)

Shomer, an Asherite. (1 Chronicles 7:34)

Shamgar

(sword), son of Anath, judge of Israel. When Israel was in a most depressed condition, Shamgar was raised up to be a deliverer. With no arms in his hand but an ox-goad, (Judges 3:31) comp. 1Sam 13:21 He made a desperate assault upon the Philistines, and slew 600 of them. (B.C. about 1290.)

Shamhuth

(desolation), the fifth captain for the fifth month in David's arrangement of his army. (1 Chronicles 27:8) (B.C. 1020.)

Shamir

(n point or thorn.)

A town in the mountain district of Judah. (Joshua 15:48) only. It probably lay some eight or ten miles south of Hebron.

A place in Mount Ephraim, the residence and burial-place of Tola the judge. (Judges 10:1,2) Perhaps Samur, half-way between Samaria and Jenin .

A Kohathite, son of Micah or Michal, the first-born of Uzziel. (1 Chronicles 24:24)

Shamma

(astonishment), one of the sons of Zophar, an Asherite. (1 Chronicles 7:37)

Shammah

(astonishment).

The son of Reuel the son of Esau. (Genesis 36:13,17; 1 Chronicles 1:37) (B.C. about 1700.)

The third son of Jesse, and brother of David. (1 Samuel 16:9; 17:13) Called also Shimea., Shimeah and Shimma.

One of the three greatest of David's mighty men. (2 Samuel 23:11-17) (B.C. 1061.)

The Harodite, one of David's mighties. (2 Samuel 23:25) He is called "Shammoth the Harorite" in (1 Chronicles 11:27) and "Shamhuth the Izrahite" ibid. (1 Chronicles 27:8)

In the list of David's mighty men in (2 Samuel 23:32,33) we find "Jonathan, Shammah the Hararite;" while in the corresponding verse of (1 Chronicles 11:34) it is Jonathan.

Shammai

(desolate).

The son of Onam. (1 Chronicles 2:28,32)

Son of Rekem. (1 Chronicles 2:44,45)

One of the descendants of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:17)

Shammoth

[Shammah]

Shammua

(renowned).

Reubenite spy, son of Zaccur. (Numbers 13:4) (B.C. 1490.)

Son of David, by his wife Bathsheba. (1 Chronicles 14:4) (B.C. 1045.)

A Levite, the father of Abda. (Nehemiah 11:17) The same as Shemaiah, 6.

The representative of the priestly family of Bilgah or Bilgai, in the days of Joiakim. (Nehemiah 12:18) (B.C. about 500.)

Shammuah

son of David, (2 Samuel 5:14) elsewhere called Shammua and Shimea.

Shamsherai

(sunlike), a Benjamite. (1 Chronicles 8:26)

Shapham

(bold), a Gadite of Bashan. (1 Chronicles 5:12) (B.C. 750.)

Shaphan

(coney), the scribe or secretary of King Josiah. (2 Kings 22:3,14; 2 Chronicles 34:8,20) (B.C. 628.) He appears on an equality with the governor of the city and the royal recorder. (2 Kings 22:4; 2 Chronicles 34:9)

Shaphat

(judge). 1.The Simeonite spy, son of Hori. (Numbers 13:5) (B.C. 1490).

The father of the prophet Elisha. (1 Kings 19:18,19; 2 Kings 3:11; 6:31) (B.C. before 900.)

One of the six sons of Shemaiah in the royal line of Judah. (1 Chronicles 3:22) (B.C. 350.)

One of the chiefs of the Gadites in Bashan. (1 Chronicles 5:12) (B.C. 750.)

The son of Adlai, who was over David's oxen in the valleys. (1 Chronicles 27:29) (B.C. 1020.)

Shapher

(brightness), Mount, (Numbers 33:23) the name of a desert station where the Israelites encamped during the wanderings in the wilderness.

Sharai

(releaser), one of the sons of Bani. (Ezra 10:40) (B.C. 457.)

Sharaim

[Shaaraim]

Sharar

(strong), the father of Ahiam the Hararite. (2 Samuel 23:33) In (1 Chronicles 11:35) he is called Sacar. (B.C. 1040.)

Sharezer

(prince of fire) was a son of Sennacherib, whom, In conjunction with his brother Adrammelech, he murdered. (2 Kings 19:37) (B.C. after 711.)

Sharon

(a plain), a district of the holy land occasionally referred to in the Bible. (1 Chronicles 5:16; Isaiah 33:9) In (Acts 9:35) called Saron. The name has on each occurrence with one exception only, (1 Chronicles 5:16) the definite article; it would therefore appear that "the Sharon" was some well-defined region familiar to the Israelites. It is that broad, rich tract of land which lies between the mountains of the central part of the holy land and the Mediterranean - the northern continuation of the Shefelah. [Palestina And Palestine] The Sharon of (2 Chronicles 5:16) to which allusion has already been made, is distinguished front the western plain by not having the article attached to its name, as the other invariably has. It is also apparent from the passage itself that it was some district on the east of the Jordan, in the neighborhood of Gilead and Bashan. The name has not been met with in that direction.

Sharonite

(belonging to Sharon), The Shitrai, who had charge of the royal herds in the plain of Sharon, (1 Chronicles 27:29) is the only Sharonite mentioned in the Bible.

Sharuhen

(refuge of grace), a town named in (Joshua 19:6) only among those which were in Jadah to Simeon. It is identified with Sheriah a large ruin in the south country, northwest of Beersheba.

Shashai

(noble), one of the sons of Bani in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 10:40) (B.C. 457.)

Shashak

(longing), a Benjamite, one of the sons of Beriah. (1 Chronicles 8:14,25) (B.C. after 1450.)

Shaul

(asked).

The son of Simeon by a Canaanitish woman, (Genesis 48:10; Exodus 6:15; Numbers 26:13; 1 Chronicles 4:24) and founder of the family of the Shaulites. (B.C. 1712.)

One of the kings of Edom. (1 Chronicles 1:48,49) In the Authorized Version of (Genesis 36:37) he is less accurately called Saul.

Shaveh

(plain), The valley of, described (Genesis 14:17) as "the valley of the king," is mentioned again in (2 Samuel 18:18) as the site of a pillar set up by Absalom.

Shaveh Kiriathaim

(plain of the double city), mentioned (Genesis 14:5) as the residence of the Emim at the time of Chedorlaomer's incursion. Kiriathaim is named in the later history, though it has not been identified; and Shaveh Kiriathaim was probably the valley in or by which the town lay.

Shavsha

(nobility), the royal secretary in the reign of David, (1 Chronicles 18:16) called also Seraiah in (2 Samuel 8:17) And Sheva in (2 Samuel 20:25) End in (1 Kings 4:3) Shisha.

Shawm

In the Prayer-book version of (Psalms 98:6) "with trumpets also stands also and shawms " is the rendering of what stands in the Authorized Version "with trumpets and sound of cornet ." The Hebrew word translated cornet is treated under the head. The "shawm" was a musical instrument resembling the clarinet.

Sheal

(asking), one of the sons of Bani who had married a foreign wife. (Ezra 10:29) (B.C. 452.)

Shealtiel

(asked of God), father of Zerubbabel. (Ezra 3:2,8; 5:2; Nehemiah 12:1; Haggai 1:1,12,14; 2:2,23) (B.C. about 580.)

Sheariah

(valued by Jehovah), one of the six sons of Azel a descendant of Saul. (1 Chronicles 8:38; 9:41)

Shearinghouse, The

a place on the road between Jezreel and Samaria, at which Jehu, on his way to the latter, encountered forty-two members of the royal family of Judah, whom he slaughtered. (2 Kings 10:12,14) Eusebius mentions it as a village of Samaria "in the great plain [of Esdraelon], 15, miles from Legion."

Shearjashub

(lit. a remnant shall return), the symbolical name of the son of Isaiah the prophet. (Isaiah 7:3)

Sheba

one of the towns of the allotment of Simeon, (Joshua 19:2) probably the same as Shema. (Joshua 15:26)

(seven, or all oath).

A son of Raamah son of Cush. (Genesis 10:7; 1 Chronicles 1:9)

A soil of Joktan. (Genesis 10:28; 1 Chronicles 1:22)

A son of Jokshan son of Keturah. (Genesis 25:3; 1 Chronicles 1:32) We shall consider, first, the history of the Joktanite Sheba; and secondly, the Cushite Sheba and the Keturahite Sheba together. I. The Joktanites were among the early colonists of southern Arabia, and the kingdom which they there founded was for many centuries called the kingdom of Sheba, after one of the sons of Joktan. The visit of the queen of Sheba to King Solomon. (1 Kings 10:1) is one of the familiar Bible incidents. The kingdom of Sheba embraced the greater part of the Yemen, or Arabia Felix. It bordered on the Red Sea, and was one of the most fertile districts of Arabia. Its chief cities, and probably successive capitals, were Seba, San'a (Uzal), and Zafar (Sephar). Seba was probably the name of the city, and generally of the country and nation. II. Sheba, son of Raamah son of Cush settled somewhere on the shores of the Persian Gulf. It was this Sheba that carried on the great Indian traffic with Palestine, in conjunction with, as we hold, the other Sheba, son of Jokshan son of Keturah, who like Dedan appears to have formed, with the Cushite of the same name, one tribe.

(on oath), the son of Bichri, a Benjamite, (2 Samuel 20:1-22) the last chief of the Absalom insurrection. The occasion seized by Sheba was the emulation between the northern and southern tribes on David's return. (2 Samuel 20:1,2) Sheba traversed the whole of Palestine apparently rousing the population, Joab following in full pursuit to the fortress Abel Beth-maachah, where Sheba was beheaded. (2 Samuel 20:3-22)

Shebah

(an oath), the famous well which gave its name to the city of Beersheba. (Genesis 26:53) [Beersheba, Or Beersheba]

Shebam

(fragrance), one of the towns in the pastoral district on the east of Jordan; demanded by and finally ceded to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. (Numbers 32:3) It is probably the same as Shibmah, (Numbers 32:38) and Sibmah. (Joshua 13:13; Isaiah 16:8,9; Jeremiah 48:32)

Shebaniah

(increased by Jehovah).

A Levite in the time of Ezra. (Nehemiah 9:4,5) He sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:10) (B.C. 459.)

A priest or priestly family who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:4; 12:14) Called Shechaniah, Shechaniah in (Nehemiah 12:3)

Another Levite who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:12)

One of the priests appointed by David to blow with the trumpets before the ark of God. (1 Chronicles 15:24) (B.C. 1043.)

Shebarim

(the breaches), a place named in (Joshua 7:5) only, as one of the points in the flight from Ai.

Sheber

(breaking), son of Caleb ben-Hezron by his concubine Maachah. (1 Chronicles 2:48) (B.C. after 1690.)

Shebna

(vigor), a person of high position in Hezekiah's court, holding at one time the office of prefect of the palace, (Isaiah 22:15) but subsequently the subordinate office of secretary. (Isaiah 36:3; 2 Kings 19:2) (B.C. 713.)

Shebuel, Or Shebuel

(captive of God).

A descendant of Moses, (1 Chronicles 23:16; 26:24) called also Shubael. (1 Chronicles 24:20) (B.C. 1013).

One of the fourteen sons of Heman the minstrel, (1 Chronicles 25:4) called also Shubael. (1 Chronicles 25:20) (B.C. 1013.)

Shechaniah

(dweller with Jehovah).

A descendant of Zerubbabel. (1 Chronicles 3:21,22)

Some descendants of Shechaniah returned with Ezra. (Ezra 8:3)

The sons of Shechaniah were another family who returned with Ezra. (Ezra 8:5) (B.C. 459.)

The son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam. (Ezra 10:2)

The father of Shemaiah, 2. (Nehemiah 3:29)

The son of Arah. (Nehemiah 6:18)

The head of a priestly family who returned with Zerubbabel. (Nehemiah 12:3)

(dweller with Jehovah).

The tenth in order of the priests who were appointed by lot in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles 24:11) (B.C. 1014.)

A priest in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 31:15) (B.C. 925.)

Shechem

(back or shoulder).

An important city in central Palestine, in the valley between mounts Ebal and Gerizim, 34 miles north of Jerusalem and 7 miles southeast of Samaria. Its present name, Nablus, is a corruption of Neapolis, which succeeded the more ancient Shechem, and received its new name from Vespasian. On coins still extant it is called Flavia Neapolis. The situation of the town is one of surpassing beauty. It lies in a sheltered valley, protected by Gerizim on the south and Ebal on the north. The feet of these mountains, where they rise from the town, are not more than five hundred yards apart. The bottom of the valley is about 1800 feet above the level of the sea, and the top of Gerizim 800 feet higher still. The sit of the present city, which was also that of the Hebrew city, occurs exactly on the water-summit; and streams issuing from the numerous springs there flow down the opposite slopes of the valley, spreading verdure and fertility in every direction. Travellers vie with each other in the language which they employ to describe the scene that here bursts so suddenly upon them on arriving in spring or early summer at this paradise of the holy land. "The whole valley," says Dr. Robinson, "was filled with gardens of vegetables and orchards of all kinds of fruits, watered by fountains which burst forth in various parts and flow westward in refreshing streams. it came upon us suddenly like a scene of fairy enchantment. We saw nothing to compare with it in all Palestine." The allusions to Shechem in the Bible are numerous, and show how important the place was in Jewish history. Abraham, on his first migration to the land of promise, pitched his tent and built an altar under the oak (or terebinth) of Moreh at Shechem. "The Canaanite was then in the land;" and it is evident that the region, if not the city, was already in possession of the aboriginal race. See (Genesis 12:6) At the time of Jacob's arrival here, after his sojourn in Mesopotamia, (Genesis 33:18; 34) Shechem was a Hivite city, of which Hamor, the father of Shechem, was the headman. it was at this time that the patriarch purchased from that chieftain "the parcel of the field" which he subsequently bequeathed, as a special patrimony, to his son Joseph. (Genesis 33:19; Joshua 24:32; John 4:5) The field lay undoubtedly on the rich plain of the Mukhna, and its value was the greater on account of the well which Jacob had dug there, so as not to be dependent on his neighbors for a supply of water. In the distribution of the land after its conquest by the Hebrews, Shechem fell to the lot of Ephraim, (Joshua 20:7) but was assigned to the Levites, and became a city of refuge. (Joshua 21:20,21) It acquired new importance as the scene of the renewed promulgation of the law, when its blessings were heard from Gerizim and its curses from Ebal, and the people bowed their heads and acknowledged Jehovah as their king and ruler. (27:11; Joshua 24:23-25) it was here Joshua assembled the people, shortly before his death, and delivered to them his last counsels. (Joshua 24:1,25) After the death of Gideon, Abimelech, his bastard son, induced the Shechemites to revolt from the Hebrew commonwealth and elect him as king. (Judges 9:1) ... In revenge for his expulsion after a reign of three years, Abimelech destroyed the city, and as an emblem of the fate to which he would consign it, sowed the ground with salt. (Judges 9:34-45) It was soon restored, however, for we are told in (1 Kings 12:1) ... that all Israel assembled at Shechem, and Rehoboam, Solomon's successor, went thither to be inaugurated as king. here, at this same place, the ten tribes renounced the house of David, and transferred their allegiance to Jeroboam, (1 Kings 12:16) under whom Shechem became for a time the capital of his kingdom. From the time of the origin of the Samaritans, the history of Shechem blends itself with that of this people and of their sacred mount, Gerizim. [Samaria] Shechem reappears in the New Testament. It is the Sychar of (John 4:5) near which the Saviour conversed with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. The population of Nablus consists of about 5000, among whom are 500 Greek Christians, 150 Samaritans, and a few Jews. The enmity between the Samaritans and jews is as inveterate still as it was in the days of Christ. The Mohammedans, of course, make up the bulk of the population. The well of Jacob and the tomb of Joseph are still shown in the neighborhood of the town. The well of Jacob lies about a mile and a half east of the city, close to the lower road, and just beyond the wretched hamlet of Balata . The Christians sometimes call it Bir es-Samariyeh - "the well of the Samaritan woman." The well is deep - 75 feet when last measured - and there was probably a considerable accumulation of rubbish at the bottom. Sometimes it contains a few feet of water, but at others it is quite dry. It is entirely excavated in the solid rock, perfectly round, 9 feet in diameter, with the sides hewn smooth and regular. Of all the special localities of our Lord's life, this is almost the only one absolutely undisputed. The tomb of Joseph lies about a quarter of a mile north of the well, exactly in the centre of the opening of the valley. It is a small between Gerizim and Ebal. It is a small, square enclosure of high whitewashed walls, surrounding a tomb of the ordinary kind, but with the peculiarity that it is placed diagonally to the walls, instead of parallel as usual. A rough pillar used as an altar and black with the traces of fire is at the head and another at the foot of the tome. In the walls are two slabs with Hebrew inscriptions, and the interior is almost covered with the names of pilgrims in Hebrew Arabic and Samaritan. Beyond this there is nothing to remark in the structure itself. The local tradition of the tomb, like that of the well is as old as the beginning of the fourth century.

The son of Hamor, the chieftain of the Hivite settlement of Shechem at the time of Jacob's arrival. (Genesis 33:19; 34:2-26; Joshua 24:32; Judges 9:28)

A man of Manasseh, of the clan of Gilead. (Numbers 26:31)

A Gileadite, son of Shemida, the younger brother of the foregoing. (1 Chronicles 7:19)

Shechemites, The

the family of Shechem son of Gilead. (Numbers 26:31) comp. Josh 17:2

Shechinah

(dwelling). This term is not found in the Bible. It was used by the later Jews, and borrowed by Christians from them, to express the visible majesty of the divine Presence especially when resting or dwelling between the cherubim on the mercyseat. In the tabernacle and in the temple of Solomon, but not in the second temple. The use of the term is first found in the Targums, where it forms a frequent periphrasis for God, considered its dwelling among the children of Israel. The idea which the different accounts in Scripture convey is that of a most brilliant and glorious light, enveloped in a cloud, and usually concealed by the cloud, so that the cloud itself was for the most part alone visible but on particular occasions the glory appeared. The allusions in the New Testament to the shechinah are not unfrequent. (Luke 2:9; John 1:14; Romans 9:4) and we are distinctly taught to connect it with the incarnation and future coming of the Messiah as type with antitype.

Shedeur

(darter of light), the father of Elizur, chief of the tribe of Reuben at the time of the exodus. (Numbers 1:5; 2:10; 7:30,35; 10:18) (B.C. 1491.)

Sheep

Sheep were an important part of the possessions of the ancient Hebrews and of eastern nations generally. The first mention of sheep occurs in (Genesis 4:2) They were used in the sacrificial offering,as, both the adult animal, (Exodus 20:24) and the lamb. See (Exodus 29:28; Leviticus 9:3; 12:6) Sheep and lambs formed an important article of food. (1 Samuel 25:18) The wool was used as clothing. (Leviticus 13:47) "Rams skins dyed red" were used as a covering for the tabernacle. (Exodus 25:5) Sheep and lambs were sometimes paid as tribute. (2 Kings 3:4) It is very striking to notice the immense numbers of sheep that were reared in Palestine in biblical times. (Chardin says he saw a clan of Turcoman shepherds whose flock consisted of 3,000,000 sheep and goats, besides 400,000 Feasts of carriage, as horses, asses and camels.) Sheep-sheering is alluded to (Genesis 31:19) Sheepdogs were employed in biblical times. (Job 30:1) Shepherds in Palestine and the East generally go before their flocks, which they induce to follow by calling to them, comp. (John 10:4; Psalms 77:20; 80:1) though they also drive them. (Genesis 33:13) The following quotation from Hartley's "Researches in Greece and the Levant," p. 321, is strikingly illustrative of the allusions in (John 10:1-16) "Having had my attention directed last night to the words in (John 10:3) I asked my man if it was usual in Greece to give names to the sheep. He informed me that it was, and that the sheep obeyed the shepherd when he called them by their names. This morning I had an opportunity of verifying the truth of this remark. Passing by a flock of sheep I asked the shepherd the same question which I had put to the servant, and he gave me the same answer. I then had him call one of his sheep. He did so, and it instantly left its pasturage and its companions and ran up to the hands of the shepherd with signs of pleasure and with a prompt obedience which I had never before observed in any other animal. It is also true in this country that a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him. The shepherd told me that many of his sheep were still wild, that they had not yet learned their names, but that by teaching them they would all learn them." The common sheer, of Syria and Palestine are the broad-tailed. As the sheep is an emblem of meekness, patience and submission, it is expressly mentioned as typifying these qualities in the person of our blessed Lord. (Isaiah 53:7; Acts 8:32) etc. The relation that exists between Christ, "the chief Shepherd," and his members is beautifully compared to that which in the East is so strikingly exhibited by the shepherds to their flocks [Shepherd]

Sheepgate, The

one of the gates of Jerusalem as rebuilt by Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 3:1,32; 12:39) It stood between the tower of Meah and the chamber of the corner, ch. (Nehemiah 3:1,32) or gate of the guard-house, ch. (Nehemiah 12:39) Authorized Version, "prison-gate." The latter seems to have been at the angle formed by the junction of the wall of the city of David with that of the city of Jerusalem proper, having the sheep-gate on the north of it. The position of the sheep-gate may therefore have been on or near that of the Bab el Kattanin.

Sheepmarket, The

(John 5:2) The world "market" is an interpolation of our translators. We ought probably to supply the word "gate."

Shehariah

(dawning of Jehovah), a Benjamite, son of Jehoram. (1 Chronicles 8:26) (B.C. 588.)

Shekel

[Money]

Shelah

(a petition).

The youngest son of Judah. (Genesis 38:5,11,14,26; 46:10; Numbers 26:20; 1 Chronicles 2:3; 4:21) (B.C. before 1706.)

The proper form of the name of Salah. (1 Chronicles 1:18,24)

Shelanites, The

the descendants of Shelah. 1. (Numbers 26:20)

Shelemiah

(repaid by Jehovah).

One of the sons of Bani in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 10:30) (B.C. 458.)

The father of Hananiah. (Nehemiah 3:30)

A priest in the time of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 13:13)

The father of Jehueal, or Jucal, in the time of Zedekiah. (Jeremiah 37:3)

The father of Irijah, the captain of the ward who arrested Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 37:13) (B.C. before 589.)

The same as Meshelemiah and Shallum, 8. (1 Chronicles 26:14)

Another of the sons of Bani in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 10:41)

Ancestor of Jehudi in the time of Jehoiakim. (Jeremiah 36:14)

Son of Abdeel; one of those who received the orders of Jehoiakim to take Baruch and Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 36:26) (B.C. 604.)

Sheleph

(a drawing forth), the second in order of the sons of Joktan. (Genesis 10:26; 1 Chronicles 1:20)

Shelesh

(might), son of Helem. (1 Chronicles 7:35)

Shelomi

(peaceful), an Asherite, father of Ahihud. (Numbers 34:27) (B.C. before 1450.)

Shelomith

(peaceful).

The daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. (Leviticus 24:11)

The daughter of Zerubbabel. (1 Chronicles 3:19) (B.C. after 536.)

Chief of the Izharites. (1 Chronicles 23:18)

A descendant of Eliezer the son of Moses, in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles 26:25,26,28) (B.C. 1013.)

A Gershonite. (1 Chronicles 23:9)

One whose sons returned from Babylon with Ezra. (Ezra 8:10)

Shelomoth

the same as Shelomith, 3. (1 Chronicles 24:22)

Shelumiel

(friend of God), the son of Zurishaddai, and prince of the tribe of Simeon at the time of the exodus. (Numbers 1:6; 2:12; 7:36,41; 10:19) (B.C. 1431.)

Shem

(name), the eldest son of Noah. (Genesis 5:32) He was 98 years old, married, and childless at the time of the flood. After it, he, with his father, brothers, sisters-in-law and wife, received the blessing of God, (Genesis 9:1) and entered into the covenant. With the help of his brother Japheth, he covered the nakedness of their father and received the first blessing. (Genesis 9:25-27) He died at the age of 630 years. The portion of the earth occupied by the descendants of Shem, (Genesis 10:21,31) begins at its northwestern extremity with Lydia, and includes Syria (Aram), Chaldaea (Arphaxad), parts Of Assyria (Asshur), of Persia (Elam), and of the Arabian peninsula (Joktan). Modern scholars have given the name of Shemitic or Semitic to the languages spoken by his real or supposed descendants. [Hebrew Language]

Shema

A Reubenite, ancestor of Bela. (1 Chronicles 5:8) (B.C. before 1090.)

Son of Elpaal. (1 Chronicles 8:13) Probably the same as Shimhi. (B.C. after 1450.)

One of those who stood at Ezra's right hand when he read the law to the people. (Nehemiah 8:4) (B.C. 458.)

(Joshua 15:26) [Sheba]

Shemaah

(the rumor), a Benjamite of Gibeah, and father of Ahiezer and Joash. (1 Chronicles 12:3) (B.C. before 1054.)

Shemaiah

(heard by Jehovah).

A prophet in the reign of Rehoboam. (1 Kings 12:22; 2 Chronicles 11:2) (B.C. 972.) He wrote a chronicle containing the events of Rehoboam's reign. (2 Chronicles 12:5,15)

The son of Shechaniah, among the descendants of Zerubbabel. (1 Chronicles 3:23; Nehemiah 3:28)

A prince of the tribe of Simeon. (1 Chronicles 4:27)

Son of Joel, Reubenite. (1 Chronicles 5:4) (B.C. after 1706.)

Son of Hasshub, a Merarite Levite. (1 Chronicles 9:14; Nehemiah 11:15)

Father of Obadiah or Abda, a Levite. (1 Chronicles 9:16)

Son of Elizaphan, and chief of his house in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles 15:8,11) (B.C. 1043.)

A Levite, son of Nethaneel and also a scribe in the time of David. (1 Chronicles 24:6) (B.C. 1014.)

The eldest son of Obed-edom the Gittite. (1 Chronicles 26:4,6,7) (B.C. 1014.)

A descendant of Jeduthun the singer who lived in the reign of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:14)

One of the sons of Adonikam who returned with Ezra. (Ezra 5:13)

One of Ezra's messengers. (Ezra 8:16)

A priest of the family of Harim, who put away his foreign wife at Ezra's bidding. (Ezra 10:21) (B.C. 455.)

A layman of Israel son of another Harim, who had also married a foreigner. (Ezra 10:31) (B.C. 458.)

Son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, a prophet in the time of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 6:10) (B.C. 446.)

The head of a priestly house who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:8; 12:6,18) (B.C. 410.)

One of the princes of Judah at the time of the dedication of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 12:34)

One of the choir on the same occasion. (Nehemiah 12:38)

A priest. (Nehemiah 12:42)

A false prophet in the time of Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 29:24-32)

A Levite in the reign of Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 17:8) (B.C. 909.)

A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 31:15) (B.C. 726.)

A Levite in the reign of Josiah. (2 Chronicles 35:9) (B.C. 628.)

The father of Urijah of Kirjath-jearim. (Jeremiah 26:20) (B.C. before 608.)

The father of Delaiah. (Jeremiah 36:12) (B.C. before 605.)

Shemariah

(kept by Jehovah).

A Benjamite warrior who came to David at Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 12:5) (B.C. 1054.)

One of the family of Harim, a lay man of Israel who put away his foreign wife in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 10:32) (B.C. 658.)

Another who did the same. (Ezra 10:41)

Shemeber

(lofty flight), king of Zeboim, and ally of the king of Sodom when he was attacked by Chedorlaomer. (B.C. 1912.)

Shemer

(preserved), the owner of the hill on which the city of Samaria was built. (1 Kings 16:24) (B.C. 917.) [Samaria]

Shemida

(wise), a son of Gilead. (Numbers 26:32; Joshua 17:2) (B.C. after 1690.)

Shemidah

Shemida the son of Gilead. (1 Chronicles 7:19)

Shemidaites, The

the descendants of Shemida the son of Gilead. (Numbers 26:32)

Sheminith

(eighth), a musical term found in the title of (Psalms 6:1) A similar direction is found in the title of (Psalms 12:1) Comp. 1Chr 15:21 It seems most probable that Sheminith denotes a certain air known as the eighth, or a certain key in which the psalm was to be sung.

Shemitic Languages

the family of languages spoken by the descendants of Shem, chiefly the Hebrew, Chaldaic, Assyrian, Arabic Phoenician and Aramaic or Syriac. The Jews in their earlier history spoke the Hebrew, but in Christ's time they spoke the Aramaic, sometimes called the Syro-Chaldaic.

Shemuel

(heard by God).

A commissioner appointed from the tribe of Simeon to divide the land of Canaan. (Numbers 34:20) (B.C. 1450.)

Samuel the prophet. (1 Chronicles 6:33)

Son of Tola, and one of the chiefs of the tribe of Issachar, (1 Chronicles 7:2) (B.C. 1014.)

Shen

(tooth), a place mentioned only in (1 Samuel 7:12) Nothing is known of it.

Shenazar

(splendid leader), son of Salathiel or Shealtiel. (1 Chronicles 3:18) (B.C. after 606.)

Shenir

[Senir]

Shepham

(fruitful), a place on the eastern boundary of the promised land. (Numbers 34:10,11)

Shephathiah

a Benjamite, father of Meshullam 6. (1 Chronicles 9:8)

Shephatiah

(judged by Jehovah).

The fifth son of David. (2 Samuel 3:4; 1 Chronicles 3:3) (B.C. about 1050.)

The family of Shephatiah, 372 in number, returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:4; Nehemiah 7:9) see also Ezra 8:8 (B.C. 536.)

The family of another Shephatiah, who came up with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:4)

A descendant of Judah. (Nehemiah 11:4)

One of the princes of Judah who counselled Zedekiah to put Jeremiah in the dungeon. (Jeremiah 38:1) (B.C. 589.)

One of the Benjamite warriors who joined David in his retreat at Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 12:5) (B.C. 1054.)

Chief of the Simeonites in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles 37:16)

Son of Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 21:2) (B.C. 887.)

Shepherd

In a nomadic state of society every man, from the sheikh down to the slave, is more or less a shepherd. The progenitors of the Jews in the patriarchal age were nomads, and their history is rich in scenes of pastoral life. The occupation of tending the flocks was undertaken,not only by the sons of wealthy chiefs, (Genesis 30:29) ff.; Genesis37:12 ff., but even by their daughters. (Genesis 29:6,8; Exodus 2:10) The Egyptian captivity did march to implant a love of settled abode, and consequently we find the tribes which still retained a taste for shepherd life selecting their own quarters apart from their brethren in the transjordanic district. (Numbers 32:1) ff. Thenceforward in Palestine proper the shepherd held a subordinate position. The office of the eastern shepherd, as described in the Bible, was attended with much hardship, and even danger. He was exposed to the extremes of heat and cold, (Genesis 31:40) his food frequently consisted of the precarious supplies afforded by nature, such as the fruit of the "sycamore" or Egyptian fig, (Amos 7:14) the "husks" of the carob tree, (Luke 15:16) and perchance the locusts and wild honey which supported the Baptist, (Matthew 3:4) he had to encounter the attacks of wild beasts, occasionally of the larger species, such as lions, nerves, panthers and bears, (1 Samuel 17:34; Isaiah 31:4; Jeremiah 5:6; Amos 5:12) nor was he free from the risk of robbers or predators hordes. (Genesis 31:39) To meet these various foes the shepherd's equipment consisted of the following articles: a mantle, made probably of sheep skin with the fleece on, which he turned inside out in cold weather, as implied in the comparison in (Jeremiah 43:12) (cf. Juv. xiv. 187.); a scrip or wallet, containing a small amount of food (1 Samuel 17:40) a sling, which is still the favorite weapon of the Bedouin shepherd, (1 Samuel 17:40) and lastly, a which served the double purpose of a weapon against foes and a crook for the management of the flock. (1 Samuel 17:40; Psalms 23:4; Zechariah 11:7) If the shepherd was at a distance from his home, he was provided with a light tent, (Song of Solomon 1:8; Jeremiah 35:7) the removal of which was easily effected. (Isaiah 38:12) In certain localities, moreover, towers were erected for the double purpose of spying an enemy at a distance and of protecting the flock; such towers were erected by Uzziah and Jotham, (2 Chronicles 26:10; 27:4) while their existence in earlier times is testified by the name Migdal-edar (Genesis 35:21) Authorized Version "a tower of Edar;" (Micah 4:8) Authorized Version "tower of the flock." The routine of the shepherd's duties appears to have been as follows: In the morning he led forth his flock from the fold (John 10:4) which he did by going before them and calling to them, as is still usual in the East; arrived at the pasturage he watched the flock with the assistance of dogs, (Job 30:1) and should any sheep stray, he had to search for it until he found it, (Ezekiel 34:12; Luke 15:4) he supplied them with water, either at a running stream or at troughs attached to wells, (Genesis 29:7; 30:38; Exodus 2:16; Psalms 23:2) at evening he brought them back to the fold, and reckoned them to see that none were missing, by passing them "under the rod" as they entered the door of the enclosure (Leviticus 27:32; Ezekiel 20:37) checking each sheep, as it passed, by a motion of the hand, (Jeremiah 33:13) and, finally, he watched the entrance of the fold throughout the night, acting as porter. (John 10:3) [See Sheepfold, under Sheep] The shepherd's office thus required great watchfulness, particularly by night. (Luke 2:8) cf. Nahu 3:18 It also required tenderness toward the young and feeble, (Isaiah 40:11) particularly in driving them to and from the pasturage. (Genesis 33:13) In large establishments there are various grades of shepherds, the highest being styled "rulers," (Genesis 47:6) or "chief shepherds," (1 Peter 5:4) in a royal household the title of abbir "mighty," was bestowed on the person who held the post. (1 Samuel 21:7) [Sheep]

Shephi

(bareness), son of Shobal. of the sons of Seir. (1 Chronicles 1:40) Called also Shepho. (Genesis 36:23)

Shepho

(Genesis 36:23) [Shephi]

Shephuphan

(an adder), one of the sons of Bela the first-born of Benjamin. (1 Chronicles 8:5) His name is also written SHEPHUPNAM (authorized Version "Shupham"), (Numbers 26:39) Shuppim (1 Chronicles 7:12,15) and Muppim. (Genesis 46:21) [Muppim]

Sherah

(kinswoman), daughter of Ephraim, (1 Chronicles 7:24) and foundress of the Beth-horons and of a town called after her Uzzen-sherah, (B.C. about 1445.)

Sherebiah

(heat of Jehovah) a Levite in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 8:18,24) (B.C. 459.) When Ezra read the law to the people, Sherebiah was among the Levites who assisted him. (Nehemiah 8:7) He signed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:12)

Sheresh

(root), son of Machir the son of Manasseh by his wife Manchah. (1 Chronicles 7:16) (B.C. before 1419.)

Sherezer

(prince of fire), one of the people's messengers mentioned in (Zechariah 7:2)

Sheshach

(from the goddess Shach, reduplicated) is a term which occurs only in (Jeremiah 25:26; 51:41) where it is evidently used as a synonym for either Babylon or Babylonia.

Sheshai

(noble), one of the three sons of Anak who dwelt in Hebron. (Numbers 13:22) (B.C. 1445.)

Sheshan

(Noble), a descendant of Jerahmeel the son of Hezron. (1 Chronicles 2:31,34,35) (B.C. after 1690.)

Sheshbazzar

(worshipper of fire), the Chaldean or Persian name given to Zerubbabel in (Ezra 1:8,11; 6:14,18) [Zerubbabel]

Sheth

(compensation).

The patriarch Seth. (1 Chronicles 1:1)

In the Authorized Version of (Numbers 24:17) not a proper name, but there is reason to regard it as an appellative. Read instead of "the sons of Sheth." "the suns of tumult." Comp. (Jeremiah 48:45)

Shethar

(Pers. a star), one of the seven princes of Persia and Media. (Esther 1:14) (B.C. 483.)

Shetharboznai

(Pers. star of splendor), a Persian officer of rank in the reign of Darius Hystaspes. (Ezra 5:3,6; 6:6,13) (B.C. 320.)

Sheva

(Jehovah contends).

The scribe or royal secretary of David. (2 Samuel 20:26) He is called elsewhere Meraiah, (2 Samuel 8:17) Shisha, (1 Kings 4:3) And SHANSHA. (1 Chronicles 18:16) (B.C. 1015.)

Son of Caleb ben-Hezron by his concubine Maachah. (1 Chronicles 2:49) (B.C. about 1445.)

Shewbread

(Exodus 25:30; 35:13; 39:36) etc. literally "bread of the face" or "faces." Shew-bread was unleavened bread placed upon a table which stood in the sanctuary together with the seven-branched candlestick and the altar of incense. See (Exodus 25:23-30) for description of this table. Every Sabbath twelve newly baked loaves, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, were put on it in two rows, six in each, and sprinkled with incense, where they remained till the following Sabbath. Then they were replaced by twelve new ones, the incense was burned, and they were eaten by the priests in the holy place, out of which they might not be removed, The title "bread of the face" seems to indicate that bread through which God is seen, that is, with the participation of which the seeing of God is bound up, or through the participation of which man attains the sight of God whence it follows that we have not to think of bread merely as such as the means of nourishing the bodily life, but as spiritual food as a means of appropriating and retaining that life which consists In seeing the face of God.

Shibboleth

(a stream), (Judges 12:6) is the Hebrew word which the Gileadites under Jephthah made use of at the passage of the Jordan, after a victory over the Ephraimites, to test the pronunciation of the sound sh by those who wished to cross over the river. The Ephraimites, it would appear, in their dialect substituted for sh the simple sound s ; and the Gileadites, regarding every one who failed to pronounce sh as an Ephraimite and therefore an enemy, put him to death accordingly. In this way there fell 42,000 Ephraimites. There is no mystery in this particular word. Any word beginning with the sound sh would have answered equally well as a test.

Shibmah

(properly Sibmah). [Shebam]

Shicron

(drunkenness), one of the landmarks at the western end of the north boundary of Judah. (Joshua 15:11) only. It lay between Ekron (Akir) and Jabneel (Yebna).

Shield

The ordinary shield consisted of a framework of wood covered with leather; it thus admitted of being burnt. (Ezekiel 39:9) It was frequently cased with metal, either brass or copper; its appearance in this case resembled gold when the sun shone on it, 1 Macc. 6:39 and to this, rather than to the practice of smearing blood on the shield we may refer the redness noticed by. Nahum. (Nahum 2:3) The surface of the shield was kept bright by the application of oil as implied in (Isaiah 21:5) The shield was worn on the left arm, to which it was attached by a strap. Shields of state were covered with beaten gold. Shields were suspended about public buildings for ornamental purposes. (1 Kings 10:17) In the metaphorical language of the Bible the shield generally represents the protection of God: e.g. (Psalms 3:3; 28:7) but in (Psalms 47:9) it is applied to earthly rulers and in (Ephesians 6:18) to faith. [Arms, Armor]

Shiggaion

(Psalms 7:1) a particular kind of psalm, the specific character of which is now not known perhaps a "wild, mournful ode."

Shihon

(ruin), a town of Issachar, named only in (Joshua 19:19) Eusebius mentions it as then existing "near Mount Tabor."

Shihor Of Egypt

[Sihor]

Shihorlibnath

(black of whiteness), named only in (Joshua 19:26) as one of the landmarks of the boundary of Asher. (probably the little stream called on the map of Pal. Ord. Survey Wady en Nebra, "which enters the Mediterranean a little south of Athlit." The name would come from the turgid character of the stream contrasted with the white and glistening sands of its shore. - ED.)

Shilhi

(armed), the father of Azubah the mother of Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:42; 2 Chronicles 20:31) (B.C. before 946.)

Shilhim

(fountains), one of the cities in the southern portion of the tribe of Judah. (Joshua 15:32)

Shillem

(requital), son of Naphtali and an ancestor of the family of the Shillemites. (Genesis 46:24; Numbers 26:49)

Shillemites, The

[Shillem]

Shiloah, The Waters Of

a certain soft-flowing stream, (Isaiah 8:6) better known under the later name of Siloam -the only perennial spring of Jerusalem.

Shiloh

(place of rest), a city of Ephraim. In (Judges 21:19) it is said that Shiloh is "on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem and on the south of Lebonah." In agreement with this the traveller of our own city, going north from Jerusalem, lodges the first night at Beitin, the ancient Bethel; the next day, at the distance of a few hours, turns aside to the right, in order to visit Seilun, the Arabic for Shiloh; and then passing through the narrow wady which brings him to the main road, leaves el-Lebban, the Lebonah of Scripture, on the left, as he pursues "the highway" to Nublus, the ancient Shechem. [Shechem] Shiloh was one of the earliest and most sacred of the Hebrew sanctuaries. The ark of the covenant, which had been kept at Gilgal during the progress of the conquest, (Joshua 17:1) seq., was removed thence on the subjugation of the country, and kept at Shiloh from the last days of Joshua to the time of Samuel. (Joshua 18:10; Judges 18:31; 1 Samuel 4:3) It was here the Hebrew conqueror divided among the tribes the portion of the west Jordan region which had not been already allotted. (Joshua 18:10; 19:51) In this distribution, or an earlier one, Shiloh fell within the limits of Ephraim. (Joshua 16:5) The ungodly conduct of the sons of Eli occasioned the loss of the ark of the covenant, which had been carried into battle against the Philistines, and Shiloh from that time sank into insignificance. It stands forth in the Jewish history as a striking example of the divine indignation. (Jeremiah 7:12)

In the Authorized Version of the Bible Shiloh is once used as the name of a person, in a very difficult passage, in (Genesis 49:10) "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Supposing that the translation is correct, the meaning of the word is peaceable or pacific, and the allusion is either to Solomon, whose name has a similar signification, or to the expected Messiah, who in (Isaiah 9:6) is expressly called the Prince of Peace. [Messiah] Other interpretations, however, of the passage are given, one of which makes it refer to the city of this name. [See the following article] It might be translated "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, till he shall go to Shiloh." In this case the allusion would be to the primacy of Judah in war, (Judges 1:1,2; 20:18; Numbers 2:3; 10:14) which was to continue until the promised land was conquered and the ark of the covenant was solemnly deposited at Shiloh.

Shiloni

This word occurs in the Authorized Version only in (Nehemiah 11:5) where it should be rendered - as it is in other cases - "the Shilonite," that is the descendant of Sheluh the youngest son of Judah.

Shilonite, The

that is, the native or resident of Shiloh; a title ascribed only to Ahijah. (1 Kings 11:29; 12:15; 15:29; 2 Chronicles 9:29; 10:15)

Shilonites, The

are mentioned among the descendants of Judah dwelling in Jerusalem at a date difficult to (1 Chronicles 8:5) They are doubtless the members of the house of Shelah, who in the Pentateuch are more accurately designated Shelanites.

Shilshah

(strong), son of Zophah of the tribe of Asher. (1 Chronicles 7:37) (B.C. before 1015.)

Shimea

(fame).

Son of David by Beth-shean. (1 Chronicles 3:5) (B.C. 1045.)

A Merarite Levite. (1 Chronicles 6:30) (15).

A Gershonite Levite, ancestor of Asaph the minstrel. (1 Chronicles 6:39) (24). (B.C. before 1200.)

The brother of David, (1 Chronicles 20:7) elsewhere called Shamma, Shimma and Shimeah.

Shimeah

Brother of David, and father of Jonathan and Jonadab, (2 Samuel 21:21) called also Shammah, Shimea, and Shimma. (B.C. about 1060.)

A descendant of Jehiel, the father or founder of Gibeon. (1 Chronicles 8:32) (B.C. perhaps 536.)

Shimeam

(their fame), a descendant of Jehiel, the founder or prince of Gibeon. (1 Chronicles 9:38) Called Shimeah in (1 Chronicles 8:32)

Shimeath

(feminine of Shimeah), an Ammonitess, mother of Jozachar or Zabad, one of the murderers of King Joash. (2 Kings 12:21) (22); 2Chr 24:26 (B.C. 809.)

Shimei

(renowned).

Son of Gershon the son of Levi, (Numbers 3:18; 1 Chronicles 6:17,29; 23:7,9,10; Zechariah 12:13) called Shimi in (Exodus 6:17) (B.C. after 1706.)

Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of the house of Saul, who lived at Bahurim. (B.C. 1023.) When David and his suite were seen descending the long defile, on his flight from Absolom, (2 Samuel 16:5-13) the whole feeling of the clan of Benjamin burst forth without restraint in the person of Shimei. He ran along the ridge, cursing and throwing stones at the king and is companions. The next meeting was very different. The king was now returning from his successful campaign. Just as he was crossing the Jordan, (2 Samuel 19:18) the first person to welcome him was Shimei who threw himself at David's feet in abject penitence. But the king's suspicions were not set at rest by this submission; and on his death-bed he recalls the whole scene to the recollection of his son Solomon. Solomon gave Shimei notice that from henceforth he must consider himself confined to the walls of Jerusalem, on pain of death. (1 Kings 3:36,37) For three years the engagement was kept. At the end of that time for the purpose of capturing two slaves who had escaped to Gath, he went out on his ass, and made his journey successfully. Ibid. (1 Kings 2:40) On his return the king took him at his word, and he was slain by Benaiah. Ibid. (1 Kings 2:41-46)

One of the adherents of Solomon at the time of Adonjah's usurpation. (1 Kings 1:8) (B.C.1015.)

Solomon's commissariat officer in Benjamin. (1 Kings 4:18)

Son of Pedaiah, and brother of Zerubbabel. (1 Chronicles 3:19) (B.C. 536.)

A Simeonite, son of Zacchur. (1 Chronicles 4:26,27)

Son of Gog, a Reubenite. (1 Chronicles 5:4)

A Gershonite Levite, son of Jahath. (1 Chronicles 6:42)

Son of Jeduthun, and chief of the tenth division of the singers. (1 Chronicles 25:17)

The Ramathite who was over David's vineyards. (1 Chronicles 27:27)

A Levite of the sons of Heman, who took part in the purification of the temple under Zedekiah. (2 Chronicles 29:14) (B.C. 726.)

The brother of Cononiah the Levite, in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 31:12,13) Perhaps the same as the preceding.

A Levite in the time of Ezra who had married a foreign wife. (Ezra 10:23)

One of the family of Hashum, who put away his foreign wife at Ezra's command. (Ezra 10:33)

A son of Bani, who had also married a foreign wife, and put her away. (Ezra 10:38) (B.C. 459.)

Son of Kish, a Benjamite, and ancestor of Mordecai. (Esther 2:5) (B.C. before 479).

Shimeon

(hearing (prayer), a lay man of Israel, of the family of Harim, who had married a foreign wife, and divorced her in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 10:31) (B.C. 458.)

Shimhi

(renowned), a Benjamite, apparently the same as Shema the son of Elpaal. (1 Chronicles 8:21)

Shimi

= Shimei, 1. (Exodus 6:17)

Shimites, The

the descendants of Shimei the son of Gershon. (Numbers 3:21)

Shimon

(desert). The four sons of Shimon are enumerated in an obscure genealogy of the tribe of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:20)

Shimrath

(guard), a Benjamite, of the sons of Shimhi. (1 Chronicles 8:21)

Shimri

(vigilant).

A Simeonite son of Shemaiah. (1 Chronicles 4:37) (B.C. after 1450.)

The father of Jediael, one of David's guard. (1 Chronicles 11:45) (B.C. before 1043.)

A Kohathite Levite in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 29:13) (B.C. 726.)

Shimrith

(feminine of Shimri, vigilant), a Moabitess, mother of Jehozabad, one of the assassins of King Joash. (2 Chronicles 24:26) In (2 Kings 12:21) she is called Shomer. (B.C. 839.)

Shimrom

(1 Chronicles 7:1) [Shimron]

Shimron

(watch-height).

A city of Zebulun. (Joshua 11:1; 19:15) Its full appellation was perhaps Shimron-meron.

The fourth son of Issachar according to the lists of Genesis, (Genesis 46:13) and Numbers, (Numbers 26:24) and the head of the family of the Shimronites.

Shimronites, The

[Shimron]

Shimronmeron

(watch-height of Meron). The king of Shimron-meron is mentioned as one of the thirty-one kings vanquished by Joshua. (Joshua 12:20) It is probably the complete name of the place elsewhere called Shimron, a city of Zebulun. (Joshua 11:1; 19:15)

Shimshai, Or Shimshai

(sunny), the scribe or secretary of Kehum, who was a kind of satrap of the conquered province of Judea and of the colony of Samaria, supported by the Persian court. (Ezra 4:8,13,17,23) He was apparently an Aramaean, for the letter which he wrote to Artaxerxes was in Syriac. (Ezra 4:7) (B.C. 529.)

Shinab

(splendor of the father, i.e. God), the king of Admah in the time of Abraham. (Genesis 14:2) (B.C. 1912.)

Shinar

(country of two rivers), the ancient name of the great alluvial tract through which the Tigris and Euphrates pass before reaching the sea - the tract known in later times as Chaldaea or Babylonia. It was a plain country, where brick had to be used for stone and slime for mortar. (Genesis 11:3) Among the cities were Babel (Babylon), Erech or Orech (Orchoe), Calneh or Calno (probably Niffer), and Accad, the site of which is unknown. It may be suspected that Shinar was the name by which the Hebrews originally knew the lower Mesopotamian country where they so long dwelt, and which Abraham brought with him from "Ur of the Chaldees."

Ship

No one writer in the whole range of Greek and Roman literature has supplied us with so much information concerning the merchant-ships of the ancients as St. Luke in the narrative of St. Paul's voyage to Rome. Acts 27,28. It is important to remember that he accomplished it in three ships: first, the Adramyttian vessel which took him from Caesarea to Myra, and which was probably a coasting-vessel of no great size, (Acts 27:1-6) secondly, the large Alexandrian corn-ship, in which he was wrecked on the coast of Malta (Acts 27:6-28) :1; and thirdly, another large Alexandrian corn-ship, in which he sailed from Malta by Syracuse and Rhegium to Puteoli. (Acts 28:11-13)

Size of ancient ships . - The narrative which we take as our chief guide affords a good standard for estimating this. The ship, in which St. Paul was wrecked had persons on board, (Acts 27:37) besides a cargo of wheat, ibid. (Acts 27:10,38) and all these passengers seem to have been taken on to Puteoli in another ship, ibid, (Acts 28:11) which had its own crew and its own cargo. Now, in modern transport-ships, prepared far carrying troops, it is a common estimate to allow a toll and a half per man. On the whole, if we say that an ancient merchant-ship might range from 500 to 1000 tons, we are clearly within the mark.

Steering apparatus . - Some commentators have fallen into strange perplexities from observing that in (Acts 27:40) ("the fastenings of the rudders") St. Luke uses the plural. Ancient ships were in truth not steered at all by rudders fastened or hinged to the stern, but by means of two paddle-rudders one on each quarter, acting in a rowlock or through a port-hole as the vessel might be small or large.

Build and ornaments of the hull. - It is probable that there was no very marked difference between the bow and the stern. The "hold," (Jonah 1:5) would present no special peculiarities. That personification of ships which seems to be instinctive led the ancients to paint an eye on each side of the bow. Comp. (Acts 27:15) An ornament of the ship which took Paul from Malta to Pozzuoli is more explicitly referred to. The "sign" of that ship, (Acts 28:11) was Castor and Pollux; and the symbols of those heroes were doubtless painted or sculptured on each side of the bow.

Under-girders . - The imperfection of the build, and still more (see below, 6) the peculiarity of the rig, in ancient ships, resulted in a greater tendency than in our times to the starting of the pranks and consequently to leaking and foundering. Hence it was customary to take on board peculiar contrivances, suitable called helps," (Acts 27:17) as precautions against such dangers. These were simply cables or chains, which in case of necessity could be passed round the frame of the ship, at right angles to its length, and made tight.

Anchors. - Ancient anchors were similar in form to those which we use now. except that they were without flukes. The ship in which Paul was sailing had four anchors on board. The sailors on this occasion anchored by the stern. (Acts 27:29)

Masts, sails, ropes and yards . -The rig of an ancient ship was more simple and clumsy than that employed in modern times. Its great feature was one large mast, with one large square sail fastened to a yard of great length. Hence the strain upon the hull, and the danger of starting the planks, were greater than under the present system, which distributes the mechanical pressure more evenly over the whole ship. Not that there were never more masts than one, or more sails than one on the same mast, in an ancient merchantman; but these were repetitions, so to speak, of the same general unit of rig. Another feature of the ancient, as of the modern, feature of the ancient, as of ship is the flag at the top of the mast. Isai l.c., and (Isaiah 30:17) We must remember that the ancients had no compass, and very imperfect charts and instruments, if any at all.

Rate of sailing . - St. Paul's voyages furnish excellent data for approximately estimating this; and they are quite in harmony with what we learn from other sources. We must notice here, however - what commentators sometimes curiously forget-that winds are variable. That the voyage between Troas and Philippi, accomplished on one occasion, (Acts 16:11,12) in two days, occupied on another occasion, (Acts 20:6) five days. With a fair wind an ancient ship would sail fully seven knots an hour.

Sailing before the wind. - The rig which has been described is, like the rig of Chinese junks, peculiarly favorable to a quick run before the wind. (Acts 16:11; 27:16) It would, however, be a great mistake to suppose that ancient ships could not work to windward. The superior rig and build, however, of modern ships enable them to sail nearer to the wind than was the case in classical times. A modern ship, if the weather is not very boisterous, will sail within six points of the wind. To an ancient vessel, of which the hull was more clumsy and the yards could not be braced so tight, it would be safe to assign seven points as the limit. Boats on the Sea Of Galilee . - In the narrative of the call of the disciples to be "fishers of men," (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16,20; Luke 5:1-11) there is no special information concerning the characteristics of these. With the large population round the Lake of Tiberias, there must have been a vast number of both fighting-boats and pleasure-boats, and boat-building must have been an active trade on its shores.

Shiphi

(abundant), a Simeonite, father of Ziza, a prince of the tribe in the time of Hezekiah. (1 Chronicles 4:37) (B.C. 726.)

Shiphmite The

probably, though not certainly, the native of Shepham. (1 Chronicles 27:27)

Shiphrah

(brightness), (Exodus 1:15) the name of one of the two midwives of the Hebrews who disobeyed the command of Pharaoh to kill the mule children. vs. (Exodus 1:15-21) (B.C. 1570.)

Shiphtan

(judicial), father of Kemuel, a prince of the tribe of Ephraim. (Numbers 34:24) (B.C. before 1450.)

Shiramoth

(name of heights, i.e. Jehovah).

A Levite of the second degree in the choir formed by David. (1 Chronicles 15:18,20; 16:5) (B.C. 104.)

A Levite in the reign of Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 17:8) (B.C. 909.)

Shisha

(Jehovah contends), father of Elihoreph and Ahiah, the royal secretaries in the reign of Solomon. (1 Kings 4:3) He is apparently the same as Shavsha, who held the same position under David. (B.C. 1000.)

Shishak

king of Egypt, the Sheshonk I. of the monuments, first sovereign of the Bubastite twenty-second dynasty. His reign offers the first determined syncronism of Egyptian and hebrew history. The first year of Shishak would about correspond to the 26th of Solomon (B.C. 989), and the 20th of shishak to the 5th of Rehoboam. Shishak at the beginning of his reign received the fugitive Jeroboam, (1 Kings 11:40) and it was probably at the instigation of Jeroboam that he attacked Rehoboam. "He took the fenced cities which [pertained] to Judah, and came to Jerusalem." he exacted all the treasures of his city from Rehoboam, and apparently made him tributary. (1 Kings 14:25,26; 2 Chronicles 12:2-9) Shishak has left a record of this expedition sculptured on the wall of the great temple of El-Karnak. It is a list of the countries, cities and tribes conquered or ruled by him, or tributary to him.

Shittah Tree, Shittim

(Heb. shittah, the thorny), is without doubt correctly referred to some species of Acacia, of which three or four kinds occur in the Bible lands. The woof of this tree - perhaps the Acacia seyal is more definitely signified - was extensively employed in the construction of the tabernacle. See Exod 25,26,36,37,38. (This tree is sometimes three or four feet in diameter (Tristram). The wood is close-grained and hard, of a fine orange-brown color, and admirably adapted to cabinet work. - ED.) The A. seyal is very common in some parts of the peninsula of Sinai. It yields the well-known substance called gum arabic, which is obtained by incisions in the bark, but it is impossible to say whether the ancient Jews were acquainted with its use. From the tangled thicket into which the stem of this tree expands, Stanley well remarks that hence is to be traced the use of the plural form of the Heb. noun shittim, the singular number occurring once only in the Bible. This acacia must not be confounded with the tree (Robinia pseudo-acacia) popularly known by this name in England, which is a North American plant, and belongs to a different genus and suborder. The true acacias belong to the order Leguminosae, sub-order Mimoseae .

Shittim

(the acacias), the place of Israel's encampment between the conquest of the transjordanic highlands and the passage of the Jordan. (Numbers 25:1; 33:49; Joshua 2:1; 3:1; Micah 6:5) Its full name appears to be given in the first of these passage - Abel has-Shittim, "the meadow, or moist place, of the acacias." it was "in the Arboth-moab, by Jordan-Jericho," (Numb 22:1; 26:3; 31:12; 33:48,49 That is to say, it was in the Arabah or Jordan valley, opposite Jericho.

Shiza

(splendor), a Reubenite, father of Adina, (1 Chronicles 11:42) one of David's warriors. (B.C. 1043.)

Shoa

(rich), a proper name which occurs only in (Ezekiel 23:23) in connection with Pekod and Koa. The three apparently designate districts of Assyria with which the southern kingdom of Judah has been intimately connected, and which were to be arrayed against it for punishment.

Shobab

(rebellious).

Son of David by Bath-sheba. (2 Samuel 5:14; 1 Chronicles 3:5; 14:4) (B.C. about 1046.)

Apparently the son of Caleb the son of Hezron by his wife Azubah. (1 Chronicles 2:18) (B.C. after 1706.)

Shobach

(expansion), the general of Hadarezer king of the Syrians of Zoba, who was defeated by David. (2 Samuel 10:15-18) In (1 Chronicles 19:16) he is called Shophach. (B.C. 1034.)

Shobai

(glorious). The children of Shobai were a family of the door-keepers of the temple, who returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45) (B.C. before 536.)

Shobal

(flowing).

Second son of Seir the Horite, (Genesis 36:20; 1 Chronicles 1:38) and one of the "dukes" of the Horites (Genesis 36:29)

Son of Caleb the son of Hur and founder or prince of Kirjath-jearim. (1 Chronicles 2:50,52) (B.C. about 1445.)

In (1 Chronicles 4:1,2) Shobal appears with Hur among the sons of Judah. He is possibly the same as the preceding.

Shobek

(free), one of the heads of the people who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:24) (B.C. 446.)

Shobi

(glorious) son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon. (2 Samuel 17:27) He was one of the first to meet David at Mahanaim on his flight from Absalom. (B.C. 1023.)

Shocho

(2 Chronicles 28:18) one of the four varieties of the name Socoh.

Shochoh

(1 Samuel 17:1) same as Socoh.

Shoco

(2 Chronicles 11:7) a variation in the Authorized Version of the name Socoh.

Shoe

[Sandal]

Shoham

(onyx), a Merarite Levite, son of Jaaziah. (1 Chronicles 24:27) (B.C.1043.)

Shomer

(keeper).

An Asherite, (1 Chronicles 7:32) also called Shamer. ver. (1 Chronicles 7:34)

The father (mother ?) of Jehozabad who slew King Joash. (2 Kings 12:21) In the parallel passage in (2 Chronicles 24:26) the name is converted into the feminine form Shimrith, who is further described as a Moabitess. [Shimrith] (B.C. 839.)

Shophach

(expansion), Shobach, the general of Hadarezer. (1 Chronicles 19:16,18) (B.C. 1034.)

Shophan

(bareness), one of the fortified towns on the east of Jordan which were taken possession of and rebuilt by the tribe of Gad. (Numbers 32:35)

Shoshannim

(lilies). "To the chief musician upon Shoshannim" is a musical direction to the leader of the temple choir which occurs in (Psalms 45:1; 69:1) and most probably indicates the melody "after" or "in the manner of" (Authorized Version upon") which the psalms were to be sung. Shoshannim-eduth occurs in the same way in the title of (Psalms 80:1) ... As the words now stand they signify "lilies, a testimony," and the two are separated by a large distinctive accent. In themselves they have no meaning in the present text, and must therefore be regarded as probably a fragment of the beginning of an older psalm with which the choir were familiar.

Shuah

(wealth).

Son of Abraham by Keturah. (Genesis 25:2; 1 Chronicles 1:32).) (B.C. before 1820.)

Properly Shuchah brother of Chelub. (1 Chronicles 4:11)

The father of Judah's wife, (Genesis 38:2,12) called also Shua in the Authorized Version. (B.C. before 1725.)

Shual

(a jackal), son of Zophah, an Asherite. (1 Chronicles 7:36) (B.C. after 1445.)

Shual, The Land Of

a district named in (1 Samuel 13:17) only. It is pretty certain from the passage that it lay north of Michmash. If therefore it be identical with the "land of Shalim" (1 Samuel 9:4) - as is not impossible - we have the first and only clue yet obtained to Saul's journey in quest of the asses. The name Shual has not yet been identified.

Shubael

Shebuel the son of Gershon. (1 Chronicles 24:20)

Shebuel the son of Heman the minstrel. (1 Chronicles 25:20)

Shuham

(pit-digger) son of Dan and ancestor of the Shuhamites. (Numbers 26:42)

Shuhamites, The

[Shuham]

Shuhite

(decendant of Shuah). This ethnic appellative "Shuhite" is frequent in the book of Job, but only as the apithet of one person, Bildad The local indications of this book point to a region on the western side of Chaldea, bordering on Arabia; and exactly in this locality, above Hit and on both sides of the Euphrates, are found, in the Assyrian inscriptions, the Tsahi, a powerful people. It is probable that these were the Shuhites.

Shulamite, The

one of the personages in the poem of Solomon's (Song of Solomon 6:13) The name denotes a woman belonging to a place called Shulem, which is probably the same as Shunem. [Shunem] If, then, Shulamite and Shunammite are equivalent, we may conjecture that the Shunammite who was the object of Solomon's passion was Abishag, the most lovely girl of her day, and at the time of David's death the most prominent person at Jerusalem.

Shumathites, The

one of the four families who sprang from Kirjath-jearim. (1 Chronicles 2:53)

Shunammite, The

i.e. the native of Shunem, is applied to two persons: Abishag, the nurse of King David, (1 Kings 1:3,15; 2:17,21,22) and the nameless hostess of Elisha. (2 Kings 4:12,25; 36)

Shunem

(double resting-place), one of the cities allotted to the tribe of Issachar. (Joshua 13:18) It is mentioned on two occasions - (1 Samuel 23:4; 2 Kings 4:8) It was besides the native place of Abishag. (1 Kings 1:3) It is mentioned by Eusebius as five miles south of Mount Tabor, and then known us Sulem. This agrees with the position of the present Solam, a village three miles north of Jezreel and five from Gilboa.

Shuni

(fortunate), son of Gad, and founder of the family of the Shunites. (Genesis 46:16; Numbers 26:15) (B.C. 1706.)

Shunites, The

the descendants of Shuni.

Shupham

[Shuppim]

Shuphamites, The

the descendants of Shupham or Shephupham, the Benjamite. (Numbers 26:3)

Shuppim

(serpents). In the genealogy of Benjamin "Shuppim and Huppim, the children of Ir," are reckoned in (1 Chronicles 7:12) It is the same as Iri the son of Bela the son of Benjamin, so that Shuppim was the great-grandson of Benjamin.

Shur

(a wall), a place just without the eastern border of Egypt. Shur is first mentioned in the narrative of Haggar's flight from Sarah. (Genesis 16:7) Abraham afterward "dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar." (Genesis 20:1) It is also called Ethami. The wilderness of Shur was entered in the Israelites after they had crossed the Red Sea. (Exodus 15:22,23) It was also called the wilderness of Etham. (Numbers 33:8) Shur may have been a territory town east of the ancient head of the Red Sea; and from its being spoken of as a limit, it was probably the last Arabian town before entering Egypt.

Shushan, Or Susa

(a lily), is said to have received its name from the abundance of the lily (shushan or shushanah) in its neighborhood. It was originally the capital of the country called in Scripture Elam, and by the classical writers Susis or Susiana. In the time of Daniel Susa was in the possession of the Babylonians, to whom Elam had probably passed at the division of the Assyrian empire made by Cyaxares and Nabopolassar. (Daniel 8:2) The conquest of Babylon by Cyrus transferred Susa to the Persian dominion; and it was not long before the Achaemenian princes determined to make it the capital of their whole empire and the chief place of their own residence. According to some writers the change was made by Cyrus; according to others it had at any rate taken place before the death of Cambyses; but, according to the evidence of the place itself and of the other Achaemenian monuments, it would seem most probable that the transfer was really the work of Darius Hystaspes. Nehemiah resided here. (Nehemiah 1:1) Shushan was situated on the Ulai or Choaspes. It is identified with the modern Sus or Shush, its ruins are about three miles in circumference. (Here have been found the remains of the great palace build by Darius, the father of Xerxes, in which and the surrounding buildings took place the scenes recorded in the life of Esther. The great central hall was 343 feet long by 244 feet wide. The king's gate, says Schaff, where Mordecai sat, "was probably a hall 100 feet square, 150 feet from the northern portico. Between these two was probably the inner court, where Esther appeared before the king." - ED.)

Shushaneduth

(the lily of testimony), (Psalms 60:1) ... is probably an abbreviation of "Shoshannim-eduth." (Psalms 80:1) ... [Shoshannim]

Shuthalhites, The

[Shuthelah]

Shuthelah

(noise of breaking), head of an Ephraimite family, called after him Shuthalhites, (Numbers 26:35) and lineal ancestor of Joshua the son of Numb (1 Chronicles 7:20-27)

Sia

The "children of Sia" were a family of Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel. (Nehemiah 7:47) The name is written Siaha in (Ezra 2:44) and SUD in 1 Esd. 5:29.

Siaha

- Sia. (Ezra 2:44)

Sibbecai

= Sibbechai the Hushathite.

Sibbechai

(a weaver), one of David's guard, and eighth captain for the eighth month of 24,000 men of the king's 1043.) He belonged to one of the principal families of Judah, the Zarhites or the descendants of Zerah, and is called "the Hushathite," probably from the place of his birth. Sibbechai's great exploit, which gave him a place among the mighty men of David's army, was his single combat with Saph or Sippai, tire Philistine giant, in the battle at, Gezer or Gob. (2 Samuel 21:18; 1 Chronicles 20:4)

Sibboleth

the Ephraimite pronunciation of the word Shibboleth. (Judges 12:6) [Shibboleth]

Sibmah

[Shebam]

Sibraim

(twofold hope), one of the landmarks on the northern boundary of the holy land as stated by Ezekiel. (Ezekiel 47:16) It has not been identified.

Sichem

(Genesis 12:6) [Shechem]

Sicyon

(sish'eon), 1 Macc. 15:23, a celebrated Greek city in Peloponnesus, upon the Corinthian Gulf.

Siddim

(field, plain), The vale of, a place named only in one passage of Genesis - (Genesis 14:3,8,10) It was one of that class of valleys which the Hebrews designated by the word emek . This term appears to have been assigned to a broad, flattish tract, sometimes of considerable width, enclosed on each side by a definite range of hills. It has so far a suitable spot for the combat between the four and five kings, ver. 8; but it contained a multitude of bitumen-pits sufficient materially to affect the issue of the battle. In this valley the kings of the five allied cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Bela seem to, have awaited the approach of the invaders. It is therefore probable that it was in the neighborhood of the "plain or circle of Jordan" in which those cities stood. If we could venture, as some have done, to interpret the latter clause of ver. 3 "which is near," or "which is at, or by, the Salt Sea," then we might agree with Dr. Robinson and others in identifying the valley of Siddim with the enclosed plain which intervenes between the south end of the lake and the range of heights which terminate the Ghor and commence the Wady Arabah . But the original of the passage seems to imply that the Salt Sea covers the actual space formerly occupied by the vale of Siddim. [Sea, The Salt, THE SALT]

Side

a city on the coast of Pamphylia, 10 or 12 miles to the east of the river Eurymedon. It is mentioned in 1 Macc. 15:23, and was a colony of Cumaeans.

Sidon

the Greek form of the Phoenician name Zidon. [Zidon, Or Sidon]

Sidonians

the Greek form of the word Zidonians, usually so exhibited in the Authorized Version of the Old Testament. It occurs (3:9; Joshua 13:4,6; Judges 3:3; 1 Kings 5:6) [Zidon, Or Sidon]

Sihimma

the third son of Jesse, and brother of David. (1 Chronicles 2:13) Same as Shimeah.

Sihon

(warrior) king of the Amorites when Israel arrived on the borders of the promised land. (Numbers 21:21) (B.C. 1451.) Shortly before the time of Israel's arrival he had dispossessed the Moabites of a splendid territory, driving them south of the natural bulwark of the Amen. Ibid. (Numbers 21:26-29) When the Israelite host appeared, he did not hesitate or temporize like Balak, but at once gathered his people together and attacked them. But the battle was his last. He and all his host were destroyed, and their district from Amen to Jabbok became at once the possession of the conqueror.

Sihor

(dark), accurately Shi'hor, once The Shihor, or Shihor of Egypt, when unqualified a name of the Nile. It is held to signify "the black" or "turbid." In Jeremiah the identity of Shihor with the Nile seems distinctly stated. (Jeremiah 2:18) The stream mentioned in (1 Chronicles 13:5) is possibly that of the Wadi l' Areesh .

Silas

(contracted form of Silvanus, woody), an eminent member of the early Christian Church, described under that name in the Acts but as Silvanus in St. Paul's epistles. He first appears as one of the leaders of the church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:22) holding the office of an inspired teacher. (Acts 15:32) His name, derived from the Latin silva, "wood," betokens him a Hellenistic Jew, and he appears to have been a Roman citizen. (Acts 16:37) He was appointed as a delegate to accompany Paul and Barnabas on their return to Antioch with the decree of the Council of Jerusalem. (Acts 15:22,32) Having accomplished this mission, he returned to Jerusalem. (Acts 15:33) He must, however, have immediately revisited Antioch, for we find him selected by St. Paul as the companion of his second missionary journey. (Acts 15:40; Acts 17:10) At Berea he was left behind with Timothy while St. Paul proceeded to Athens, (Acts 17:14) and we hear nothing more of his movements until he rejoined the apostle at Corinth. (Acts 18:5) His presence at Corinth is several times noticed. (2 Corinthians 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1) Whether he was the Silvanus who conveyed St. Peter's first epistle to Asia Minor, (1 Peter 5:12) is doubtful the probabilities are in favor of the identity. A tradition of very slight authority represents Silas to have become bishop of Corinth.

Silk

The only undoubted notice of silk in the Bible occurs in (Revelation 18:12) where it is mentioned among the treasures of the typical Babylon. It is however, in the highest degree probable that the texture was known to the Hebrews from the time that their commercial relations were extended by Solomon. The well-known classical name of the substance does not occur in the Hebrew language.

Silla

(a highway). "The house of Millo which goeth down to Silla" was the scene of the murder of King Joash. (2 Kings 12:20) What or where Sills was is entirely matter of conjecture. Some have suggested the pool of Siloam.

Siloah, The Pool Of

properly "the pool of Shelach." (Nehemiah 3:15) [Siloam]

Siloam

(sent). Shiloach, (Isaiah 8:6) Siloah, (Nehemiah 3:15) Siloam, (John 9:11) Siloam is one of the few undisputed localities in the topography of Jerusalem; still retaining its old name (with Arabic modification, Silwan), while every other pool has lost its Bible designation. This is the more remarkable as it is a mere suburban tank of no great size, and for many an age not particularly good or plentiful in its waters, though Josephus tells us that in his day they were both "sweet and abundant." A little way below the Jewish burying-ground, but on the opposite side of the valley, where the Kedron turns slightly westward and widens itself considerable, is the fountain of the Virgin, or Um'ed'Deraj, near the beginning of that saddle-shaped projection of the temple hill supposed to be the Ophel of The Bible and the Ophlas of Josephus. At the back part of this fountain a subterraneous passage begins, through which the water flows, and through which a man may make his way, sometimes walking erect, sometimes stooping, sometimes kneeling, and sometime crawling, to Siloam. This conduit is 1708 feet long, 16 feet high at the entrance, but only 16 inches at its narrowest tributaries which sent their waters down from the city pools or temple wells to swell Siloam. It enters Siloam at the northwest angle; or rather enters a small rock-cut chamber which forms the vestibule of Siloam, about five or six feet broad. To this you descend by a few rude steps, under which the water pours itself into the main pool. This pool is oblong, about 52 feet long, 18 feet broad and 19 feet deep; but it is never filled, the water either passing directly through or being maintained at a depth of three or four feet. The present pool is a ruin, with no moss or ivy to make it romantic; its sides fallen in; its pillars broken; its stair a fragment; its walls giving way; the edge of every stone was round or sharp by time; in some parts mere debris, though around its edges wild flowers, and among other plants the caper trees, grow luxuriantly. The present pool is not the original building; it may be the work of crusaders, perhaps even improved by Saladin, whose affection for wells and pools led him to care for all these things. Yet the spot is the same. This pool, which we may call the second, seems anciently to have poured its waters into a third before it proceeded to water the royal gardens. This third is perhaps that which Josephus calls "Solomon's pool," and which nehemiah calls the "king's pool." (Nehemiah 2:14) The expression in (Isaiah 8:6) "waters of Shiloah that go softly," seems to point to the slender rivulet, flowing gently though once very profusely out of Siloam into the lower breadth of level where the king's gardens, or royal paradise, stood, and which is still the greenest spot about the holy city. Siloam is a mere spot even to the Moslem; much more to the Jew. It was to Siloam that the Levite was sent with the golden pitcher on the "last and great day of the feast" of Tabernacles; it was from Siloam that he brought the water which was then poured over the sacrifice, in memory of the water from the rock of Rephidim; and it was to this Siloam water that the Lord pointed when he stood in the temple on that day and cried, "If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink." The Lord sent the blind man to wash, not in, as our version has it, but at (eis), the pool of siloam; for it was the clay from his eyes that was to be washed off.

Siloam, Tower, In

(Luke 13:4) Of this we know nothing definitely beyond these words of the Lord. In connection with Ophel, there is mention made of "a tower that lieth out," (Nehemiah 3:26) and there is no unlikelihood in connecting this projecting tower with the tower in Siloam, while one may be almost excused for the conjecture that its projection was the cause of its ultimate fall.

Silvanus

[Silas]

Silver

In very early times silver was used for ornaments, (Genesis 24:53) and for vessels of various kinds. Images for idolatrous worship were made of silver or overlaid with it, (Exodus 20:23; Hosea 13:2); Habb 2:19 Bar. 6:39, and the manufacture of silver shrines for Diana was a trade in Ephesus. (Acts 19:24) But its chief use was as a medium of exchange, and throughout the Old Testament we find "silver" used for money, like the French argent . Silver was brought to Solomon from Arabia, (2 Chronicles 9:14) and from Tarshish, (2 Chronicles 9:21) which supplied the markets of Tyre. (Ezekiel 27:12) From Tarshish it came int he form of plates, (Jeremiah 10:9) like those on which the sacred books of the Singhalese are written to this day. Spain appears to have been the chief source whence silver was obtained by the ancients. Possibly the hills of Palestine may have afforded some supply of this metal. Silvers mixed with alloy is referred to in (Jeremiah 6:30) and a finer kind, either purer in itself or more thoroughly purified, is mentioned in (Proverbs 8:19)

Silverlings

a word used once only in the Authorized Version, (Isaiah 7:23) as a translation of the Hebrew word elsewhere rendered "silver" or "money."

Simeon

(heard).

The second of Jacob's son by Leah. His birth is recorded in (Genesis 29:33) The first group of Jacob's children consists, besides Simeon, of the three other sons of Leah - Reuben, Levi, Judah. Besides the massacre of Shechem, (Genesis 34:25) the only personal incident related of Simeon is the fact of his being selected by Joseph as the hostage for the appearance of Benjamin. (Genesis 42:19,24,36; 43:23) The chief families of the tribe of Simeon are mentioned int he lists of (Genesis 46:10) At the census of Sinai Simeon numbered 59,300 fighting men. (Numbers 1:23) When the second census was taken, at Shittim, the numbers had fallen to 22,200, and it was the weakest of all the tribes. This was no doubt partly due to the recent mortality following the idolatry of Peor, but there must have been other causes which have escaped mention. To Simeon was allotted a portion of land out of the territory of Judah, on its southern frontier, which contained eighteen or nineteen cities, with their villages, spread round the venerable well of Beersheba. (Joshua 19:1-8; 1 Chronicles 4:28-33) Of these places, with the help of Judah, the Simeonites possessed themselves, (Judges 1:3,17) and there they were found, doubtless by Joab, residing in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles 4:31) What part of the tribe took at the time of the division of the kingdom we are not told. The only thing which can be interpreted into a trace of its having taken any part with the northern kingdom are the two casual notices of (2 Chronicles 15:9) and 2Chr 34:6 Which appear to imply the presence of Simeonites there in the reigns of Asa and Josiah. On the other hand the definite statement of (1 Chronicles 4:41-43) proves that at that time there were still some of them remaining in the original seat of the tribe, and actuated by all the warlike, lawless spirit of their progenitor.

A devout Jew, inspired by the Holy Ghost, who met the parents of our Lord in the temple, took him in his arms, and gave thanks for what he saw and knew of Jesus. (Luke 2:25-35) There was a Simeon who succeeded his father Hillel as president of the Sanhedrin about A.D. 13, and whose son Gamaliel was the Pharisee at whose feet St. Paul was brought up. (Acts 22:3) It has been conjectured that he may be the Simeon of St. Luke.

Simeon Niger

(Acts 13:1) [Niger]

Simon

(contracted form of Simeon, a hearing).

Son of Mattathias. [Maccabees]

Son of Onias the high priest, whose eulogy closes the "praise of famous men" in the book of Ecclesiasticus, ch. 4. (B.C. 302-293.)

A "governor of the temple" in the time of Seleucus Philopator, whose information as to the treasures of the temple led to the sacrilegious attach of Heliordorus. 2 Macc. 3:4, etc. (B.C. 175.)

Simon the brother of Jesus. The only undoubted notice of this Simon occurs in (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3) He has been identified by some writers with Simon the Canaanite, and still more generally with Symeon who became bishop of Jerusalem after the death of James, A.D. 62. The former of these opinions rests on no evidence whatever, nor is the later without its difficulties.

Simon the Canaanite, one of the twelve apostles, (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18) otherwise described as Simon Zelotes, (Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13) (A.D. 28.) The latter term, which is peculiar to Luke, is the Greek equivalent for the Chaldee term preserved by Matthew and Mark. [Canaanite, The] Each of these equally points out Simon as belonging to the faction of the Zealots, who were conspicuous for their fierce advocacy of the Mosaic ritual.

Simon of Cyrene, a Hellenistic Jew, born at Cyrene, on the north coast of Africa, who was present at Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus, either as an attendant at the feast, (Acts 2:10) or as one of the numerous settlers at Jerusalem from that place. (Acts 6:9) (A.D. 30.) Meeting the procession that conducted Jesus to Golgotha, as he was returning from the country, he was pressed into the service to bear the cross, (Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26) when Jesus himself was unable to carry it any longer. Comp. (John 19:17) Mark describes him as the father of Alexander and Rufus, perhaps because this was the Rufus known to the Roman Christians, (Romans 16:13) for whom he more especially wrote.

Simon, a resident at Bethany, distinguished as "the leper." It is not improbable that he had been miraculously cured by Jesus. In his house Mary anointed Jesus preparatory to his death and burial. (Matthew 26:6) etc.; Mark 14:3 etc.; John 12:1 etc.

Simon Magus, a Samaritan living in the apostolic age, distinguished as a sorcerer or "magician," from his practice of magical arts. (Acts 8:9) According to ecclesiastical writers he was born at Gitton, a village of Samaria, and was probably educated at Alexandria in the tenets of the Gnostic school. He is first introduced to us as practicing magical arts in a city of Samaria, perhaps Sychar, (Acts 8:5) comp. John 4:5 And with such success that he was pronounced to be "the power of God which is called great." (Acts 8:10) The preaching and miracles of Philip having excited his observation, he became one of his disciples, and received baptism at his hands, A.D. 36,37. Subsequently he witnessed the effect produced by the imposition of hands, as practiced by the apostles Peter and John, and, being desirous of acquiring a similar power for himself, he offered a sum of money for it. His object evidently was to apply the power to the prosecution of magical arts. The motive and the means were equally to be reprobated; and his proposition met with a severe denunciation from Peter, followed by a petition on the part of Simon, the tenor of which bespeaks terror, but not penitence. (Acts 8:9-24) The memory of his peculiar guilt has been perpetuated in the word simony, as applied to all traffic in spiritual offices. Simon's history, subsequent to his meeting with Peter, is involved in difficulties. Early Church historians depict him as the pertinacious foe of the apostle Peter, whose movements he followed for the purpose of seeking encounters, in which he was signally defeated. He is said to have followed the apostle to Rome. His death is associated with this meeting. According to Hippolytus, the earliest authority on the subject, Simon was buried alive at his own request, in the confident assurance that he would rise on the third day.

Simon Peter. [Peter]

Simon, a Pharisee, in whose house a penitent woman anointed the head and feet of Jesus. (Luke 7:40)

Simon the tanner, a Christian convert living at Joppa, at whose house Peter lodged. (Acts 9:43) The house was near the seaside, (Acts 10:6,32) for the convenience of the water. (A.D. 37.)

Simon the father of Judas Iscariot. (John 6:71; 13:2,26)

Simri

(vigilant), properly Shimri, son of Hosah, a Merarite Levite in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles 26:10)

Sin

a city of Egypt, mentioned only by Ezekiel. (Ezekiel 30:15,16) The name is Hebrew, or at least Semitic, perhaps signifying clay . It is identified in the Vulgate with Pelusium, "the clayey or muddy" town. Its antiquity may perhaps be inferred from the mention of "the wilderness of Sin" in the journeys of the Israelites. (Exodus 16:1; Numbers 33:11) Ezekiel speaks of Sin as "Sin the strongholds of Egypt." (Ezekiel 30:15) This place was held by Egypt from that time until the period of the Romans. Herodotus relates that Sennacherib advanced against Pelusium, and that near Pelusium Cambyses defeated Psammenitus. In like manner the decisive battle in which Ochus defeated the last native king, Nectanebes, was fought near this city.

Sin Offering

The sin offering among the Jews was the sacrifice in which the ideas of propitiation and of atonement for sin were most distinctly marked. The ceremonial of the sin offering is described in Levi 4 and 6. The trespass offering is closely connected with the sin offering in Leviticus, but at the same time clearly distinguished from it, being in some cases offered with it as a distinct part of the same sacrifice; as, for example, in the cleansing of the leper. Levi 14. The distinction of ceremonial clearly indicates a difference in the idea of the two sacrifices. The nature of that difference is still a subject of great controversy. We find that the sin offerings were -

Regular . (a) For the whole people, at the New Moon, Passover, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets and Feast of Tabernacles, (Numbers 28:15-29; 38:1) ... besides the solemn offering of the two goats on the Great Day of Atonement. Levi 16 (B) For the priests and Levites at their consecration, (Exodus 29:10-14,36) besides the yearly sin offering (a, bullock) for the high priest on the Great Day of Atonement. (Leviticus 16:2) Special . For any sin of "ignorance" and the like recorded in Levi 4 and 5. It is seen that in the law most of the sins which are not purely ceremonial are called sins of "ignorance," see (Hebrews 9:7) and in Numb 15:30 It is expressly said that while such sins call be atoned for by offerings, "the soul that doeth aught presumptuously " (Heb. with a high hand) "shall be cut off from among his people." "His iniquity shall he upon him." Comp. (Hebrews 10:20) But here are sufficient indications that the sins here called "of ignorance" are more strictly those of "negligence" or "frailty" repented of by the unpunished offender, as opposed to those of deliberate and unrepentant sin. It is clear that two classes of sacrifices, although distinct, touch closely upon each other. It is also evident that the sin offering was the only regular and general recognition of sin in the abstract and accordingly was for more solemn and symbolical in it's ceremonial; the trespass offering was confined to special cases, most of which related to the doing of some material damage, either to the holy things or to man. Josephus declares that the sin offering is presented by those "who fall into sin in ignorance." and the trespass offering by "one who has sinned and is conscious of his sin. But has no one to convict him thereof." Without attempting to decide so difficult and so controverted a question, we may draw the following conclusions. First, that the sin offering was for the more solemn and comprehensive of the two sacrifices. Secondly, that the sin offering looked more to the guilt of the sin done, irrespective of its consequences, while the trespass offering looked to the evil consequences of sin, either against the service of God or against man, and to the duty of atonement, as far as atonement was possible. Thirdly, that in the sin offering especially we find symbolized the acknowledgment of sinfulness as inherent in man, and of the need of expiation by sacrifice to renew the broken covenant between man and God. In considering this subject, it must he remembered that the sacrifices of the law had a temporal as well as a spiritual significance and effect. They restored sin offender to his place in the commonwealth of Israel; they were therefore an atonement to the King of Israel for the infringement of his low.

Sin, Wilderness Of

a tract of the wilderness which the Israelites reached after leaving the encampment by the Red Sea. (Numbers 33:11,23) Their next halting-place, (Exodus 16:1; 17:1) was Rephidim, probably the Wady Feiran [Rephidim]; on which supposition it would follow that Sin must lie between that way and the coast of the Gulf of Suez, and of course west of Sinai. In the wilderness of Sin the manna was first gathered, and those who adopt the supposition that this was merely the natural product of the tarfa bush find from the abundance of that shrub in Wady es-Sheikh, southeast of Wady Ghurundel, a proof of local identity.

Sina, Mount

the Greek form of the well-known name Sinai. (Acts 7:30,38)

Sinai, Or Sinai

(thorny). Nearly in the centre of the peninsula which stretches between the horns of the Red Sea lies a wedge of granite, grunstein and porphyry rocks rising to between 8000 and 9000 feet above the sea. Its shape resembles st scalene triangle. These mountains may be divided into two great masses-that of Jebel Serbal (8759 feet high), in the northwest above Wady Feiran, and the central group, roughly denoted by the general name of Sinai. This group rises abruptly from the Wady es-Sheikh at its north foot, first to the cliffs of the Ras Sufsafeh, behind which towers the pinnacle of Jebel Musa (the Mount of Moses), and farther back to the right of it the summit of Jebel Katerin (Mount St. Catherine, 8705 feet) all being backed up and. overtopped by Um Shamer (the mother of fennel, 9300 feet), which is the highest point of the whole peninsula.

Names . - These mountains are called Horeb, and sometimes Sinai. Some think that Horeb is the name of the whole range, and Sinai the name of a particular mountain; others, that Sinai is the range and Horeb the particular mountain; while Stanley suggests that the distinction is one of usage, and that both names are applied to the same place.

The mountain from which the law was given . - Modern investigators have generally come to the conclusion that of the claimants Jebel Serba, Jebel Musa and Ras Sufsafeh, the last the modern Horeb of the monks - viz. the northwest and lower face of the Jebel Musa, crowned with a range of magnificent cliffs, the highest point called Ras Sufsafeh, as overlooking the plain er Rahah - is the scene of the giving of the law, and that peak the mountain into which Moses ascended. (But Jebel Musa and Ras Sufsafeh are really peaks of the Same mountain, and Moses may have received the law on Jebel Musa, but it must have been proclaimed from Ras Sufsafeh. Jebel Musa is the traditional mount where Moses received the law from God. It is a mountain mass two miles long and one mile broad, The southern peak is 7363 feet high; the northern peak, Ras Sufsafeh is 6830 feet high. It is in full view of the plain er Rahah, where the children of Israel were encamped. This plain is a smooth camping-ground, surrounded by mountains. It is about two miles long by half a mile broad, embracing 400 acres of available standing round made into a natural amphitheatre by a low semicircular mount about 300 yards from the foot of the mountain. By actual measurement it contains over 2,000,000 square yards, and with its branches over 4,000,000 square yards, so that the whole people of Israel, two million in number, would find ample accommodations for seeing and hearing. In addition to this, the air is wonderfully clear, both for seeing and hearing. Dean Stanley says that "from the highest point of Ras Sufsafeh to its lower peak, a distance of about 60 feet, the page of a book distinctly but not loudly read was perfectly audible." It was the belief of the Arabs who conducted Niebuhr that they could make themselves heard across the Gulf of Akabah, - a belief fostered by the great distance to which the voice can actually be carried. There is no other place known among all these mountains so well adapted for the purpose of giving and receiving the law as this rocky pulpit of Ras Sufsafeh and the natural amphitheatre of er Rahah.

Sinim

a people noticed in (Isaiah 49:12) as living at the extremity of the known world. They may be identified with the classical Sinoe, the inhabitants of the southern part of China.

Sinite

a tribe of Canaanites, (Genesis 10:17; 1 Chronicles 1:15) whose position is to be sought for in the northern part of the Lebanon district.

Sion

(lofty), Mount.

One of the various names of Mount Hermon. (4:48) only.

The Greek form of the Hebrew name Zion, the famous mount of the temple. 1 Macc. 4:37,60; 5:54; 6:48,62; 7:33; 10:11; 14:27; (Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 14:1) [Jerusalem]

Siphmoth

(fruitful), one of the places in the south of Judah which David frequented during his freebooting life. (1 Samuel 30:28)

Sippai

(threshold), Saph, one of the sons of Rephaim, or "the giants," slain by Sibbechai at Gezer. (1 Chronicles 20:4) (B.C. about 1050.)

Sirach

the father of Jesus (Joshua), the writer of the Hebrew original of the book of Ecclesiasticus. (B.C. 310-220.)

Sirah

(the turning), The well of, from which Abner was recalled by Joab to his death at Hebron. (2 Samuel 3:26) only. It was apparently on the northern road from Hebron. There is a spring and reservoir on the western side of the ancient northern road, about one mile out of Hebron, which is called Ain Sara.

Sirion

(breastplate), one of the various names of Mount Hermon, that by which it was known to the Zidonians. (3:9) The use of the name in (Psalms 29:6) (slightly altered in the original - Shirion instead of Sirion) is remarkable.

Sisamai

a descendant of Sheshan in the line of Jerahmeel. (1 Chronicles 2:40) (B.C. about 1450.)

Sisera

(battle array).

Captain of the army of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. He himself resided in Harosheth of the Gentiles. The particulars of the rout of Megiddo and of Sisera's flight and death are drawn out under the heads of Barak, Deborah, Jael, Kishon. (B.C. 1296.)

After a long interval the name appears in the lists of Nethinim who returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:53; Nehemiah 7:55) It doubtless tells of Canaanite captives devoted to the lowest offices of the temple. (B.C. before 536.)

Sitnah

(strife), the second of the two wells dug by Isaac in the valley of Gerar, the possession of which the herdmen of the valley disputed with him. (Genesis 26:21)

Sivan

[Month]

Slave

The institution of slavery was recognized, though not established, by the Mosaic law with a view to mitigate its hardship and to secure to every man his ordinary rights. I. Hebrew slaves. -

The circumstances under which a Hebrew might be reduced to servitude were - (1) poverty; (2) the commission of theft; and (3) the exercise of paternal authority. In the first case, a man who had mortgaged his property, and was unable to support his family, might sell himself to another Hebrew, with a view both to obtain maintenance and perchance a surplus sufficient to redeem his property. (Leviticus 25:25,39) (2) The commission of theft rendered a person liable to servitude whenever restitution could not be made on the scale prescribed by the law. (Exodus 22:1,3) The thief was bound to work out the value of his restitution money in the service of him on whom the theft had been committed. (3) The exercise of paternal authority was limited to the sale of a daughter of tender age to be a maidservant, with the ulterior view of her becoming the concubine of the purchaser. (Exodus 21:7)

The servitude of a Hebrew might be terminated in three ways: (1) by the satisfaction or the remission of all claims against him; (2) by the recurrence of the year of jubilee, (Leviticus 25:40) and (3) the expiration of six years from the time that his servitude commenced. (Exodus 21:2; 15:12) (4) To the above modes of obtaining liberty the rabbinists added, as a fourth, the death of the master without leaving a son, there being no power of claiming the salve on the part of any heir except a son. If a servant did not desire to avail himself of the opportunity of leaving his service, he was to signify his intention in a formal manner before the judges (or more exactly at the place of judgment), and then the master was to take him to the door-post, and to bore his ear through with an awl, (Exodus 21:6) driving the awl into or "unto the door," as stated in (15:17) and thus fixing the servant to it. A servant who had submitted to this operation remained, according to the words of the law, a servant "forever." (Exodus 21:6) These words are however, interpreted by Josephus and by the rabbinsts as meaning until the year of jubilee.

The condition of a Hebrew servant was by no means intolerable. His master was admonished to treat him, not "as a bond-servant, but as an hired servant and as a sojourner," and, again, "not to rule over him with rigor." (Leviticus 25:39,40,43) At the termination of his servitude the master was enjoined not to "let him go away empty," but to remunerate him liberally out of his flock, his floor and his wine-press. (15:13,14) In the event of a Hebrew becoming the servant of a "stranger," meaning a non-Hebrew, the servitude could be terminated only in two ways, viz. by the arrival of the year of jubilee, or by the repayment to the master of the purchase money paid for the servant, after deducting a sum for the value of his services proportioned to the length of his servitude. (Leviticus 25:47-55) A Hebrew woman might enter into voluntary servitude on the score of poverty, and in this case she was entitled to her freedom after six years service, together with her usual gratuity at leaving, just as in the case of a man. (15:12,13) Thus far we have seen little that is objectionable in the condition of Hebrew servants. In respect to marriage there were some peculiarities which, to our ideas, would be regarded as hardships. A master might, for instance, give a wife to a Hebrew servant for the time of his servitude, the wife being in this case, it must be remarked, not only a slave but a non-Hebrew. Should he leave when his term had expired, his wife and children would remain the absolute property of the master. (Exodus 21:4,5) Again, a father might sell his young daughter to a Hebrew, with a view either of marrying her himself or of giving her to his son. (Exodus 21:7-9) It diminishes the apparent harshness of this proceeding if we look on the purchase money as in the light of a dowry given, as was not unusual, to the parents of the bride; still more, if we accept the rabbinical view that the consent of the maid was required before the marriage could take place. The position of a maiden thus sold by her father was subject to the following regulations: (1) She could not "go out as the men-servants do," i.e. she could not leave at the termination of six years, or in the year of jubilee, if her master was willing to fulfill the object for which he had purchased her. (2) Should he not wish to marry her, he should call upon her friends to procure her release by the repayment of the purchase money. (3) If he betrothed her to his son, he was bound to make such provision for her as he would for one of his own daughters. (4) If either he or his son, having married her, took a second wife, it should not be to the prejudice of the first. (5) If neither of the three first specified alternatives took place, the maid was entitled to immediate and gratuitous liberty. (Exodus 21:7-11) The custom of reducing Hebrews to servitude appears to have fallen into disuse subsequent to the Babylonish captivity. Vast numbers of Hebrews were reduced to slavery as war-captives at different periods by the Phoenicians, (Joel 3:6) the Philistines, (Joel 3:6; Amos 1:6), the Syrians, 1 Macc. 3:42; 2 Macc. 8:11, the Egyptians, Joseph Ant. xii. 2,3, and above all by the Romans. Joseph. B.C. vi. 9,3. II. Non-Hebrew slaves. -

The majority of non-Hebrew slaves were war-captives, either of the Canaanites who had survived the general extermination of their race under Joshua or such as were conquered from the other surrounding nations. (Numbers 31:26) ff. Besides these, many were obtained by purchase from foreign slave-dealers, (Leviticus 25:44,45) and others may have been resident foreigners who were reduced to this state by either poverty or crime. The children of slaves remained slaves, being the class described as "born in the house," (Genesis 14:14; 17:12; Ecclesiastes 2:7) and hence the number was likely to increase as time went on. The average value of a slave appears to have been thirty shekels. (Exodus 21:32)

That the slave might be manumitted appears from (Exodus 21:26,27; Leviticus 19:20)

The slave is described as the "possession" of his master, apparently with a special reference to the power which the latter had of disposing of him to his heirs, as he would any other article of personal property. (Leviticus 25:45,46) But, on the other hand, provision was made for the protection of his person. (Exodus 21:20; Leviticus 24:17,22) A minor personal injury, such as the loss of an eye or a tooth, was to be recompensed by giving the servant his liberty. (Exodus 21:26,27) The position of the slave in regard to religious privileges was favorable. He was to be circumcised, (Genesis 17:12) and hence was entitled to partake of the paschal sacrifice, (Exodus 12:44) as well as of the other religious festivals. (12:12,18; 16:11,14) The occupations of slaves were of a menial character, as implied in (Leviticus 25:39) consisting partly in the work of the house and partly in personal attendance on the master. It will be seen that the whole tendency of the Bible legislation was to mitigate slavery, making it little than hired service, and to abolish it, as indeed it was practically abolished among the Jews six hundred years before Christ.

Slime

translated bitumen in the Vulgate. The three instances in which it is mentioned in the Old Testament are illustrated by travellers and historians. It is first spoken of as used for cement by the builders in the plain of Shinar or Babylonia. (Genesis 11:3) The bitumen pits in the vale of Siddim are mentioned in the ancient fragment of Canaanitish history, (Genesis 14:10) and the ark of papyrus in which Moses was placed was made impervious to water by a coating of bitumen and pitch. (Exodus 2:3) Herodotus, i. 179, tells us of the bitumen found at Is, the modern Heet, a town of Babylonia, eight days journey from Babylon. (Bitumen, or asphalt, is "the product of the decomposition of vegetable and animal substances. It is usually found of a black or brownish-black color, externally not unlike coal, but it varies in a consistency from a bright, pitchy condition, with a conchoidal fracture, to thick, viscid masses of mineral tar." - Encyc. Brit. In this last state it is called in the Bible slime, and is of the same nature as our petroleum, but thicker, and hardens into asphalt. It is obtained in various places in Europe, and even now occasionally from the Dead Sea. - ED.)

Sling

[Arms, Armor]

Smith

[Handicraft]

Smyrna

(myrrh), a city of Asia Minor, situated on the AEgean Sea, 40 miles north of Ephesus. Allusion is made to it in (Revelation 2:8-11) It was founded by Alexander the Great, and was situated twenty shades (2 1/2 miles) from the city of the same name, which after a long series of wars with the Lydians had been finally taken and sacked by Halyattes. The ancient city was built by some piratical Greeks 1500 years before Christ. It seems not impossible that the message to the church in Smyrna contains allusions to the ritual of the pagan mysteries which prevailed in that city. In the time of Strabo the ruins of the old Smyrna still existed, and were partially inhabited, but the new city was one of the most beautiful in all Asia. The streets were laid out as near as might be at right angles. There was a large public library there, and also a handsome building surrounded with porticos which served as a museum. It was consecrated as a heroum to Homer, whom the Smyrnaeans claimed as a countryman. Olympian games were celebrated here, and excited great interest. (Smyrna is still a large city of 180,000 to 200,000 inhabitants, of which a larger proportion are Franks than in any other town in Turkey; 20,000 are Greeks, 9000 Jews, 8000 Armenians, 1000 Europeans, and the rest are Moslems. - ED.)

Snail

The Hebrew word shablul occurs only in (Psalms 58:8) The rendering of the Authorized Version is probably correct. The term would denote either a limax or a helix, which are particularly noticeable for the slimy track they leave behind them, by which they seem to waste themselves away. To this, or to the fact that many of them are shrivelled up among the rocks in the long heat of the summer, the psalmist refers.

The Hebrew word chomet occurs only as the name of some unclean animal in (Leviticus 11:30) Perhaps some kind of lizard may be intended.

Snow

This historical books of the Bible contain only two notices of snow actually falling - (2 Samuel 23:20) 1Macc 13:22; but the allusions in the poetical books are so numerous that there can be no doubt as to its being an ordinary occurrence in the winter months. (Psalms 147:16; 148:8) The snow lies deep in the ravines of the highest ridge of Lebanon until the summer is far advanced and indeed never wholly disappears; the summit of Hermon also perpetually glistens with frozen snow. From these sources probably the Jews obtained their supplies of ice for the purpose of cooling their beverages in summer. (Proverbs 25:13) The liability to snow must of course vary considerably in a country of such varying altitude as Palestine. At Jerusalem snow often falls to the depth of a foot or more in january or February, but it seldom lies. At Nazareth it falls more frequently and deeply,a nd it has been observed to fall even in the maritime plain of Joppa and about Carmel.

So

"So, king of Egypt," is once mentioned in the Bible - (2 Kings 17:4) So has been identified by different writers with the first and second kings of the Ethiopian twenty-fifth dynasty, called by Manetho, Sabakon (Shebek) and Sebichos (Shebetek).

Soap

The Hebrew term borith is a general term for any substance of cleansing qualities. As, however, it appears in (Jeremiah 2:22) in contradistinction to nether, which undoubtedly means "natron" or mineral alkali, it is fair to infer that borith refers to vegetable alkali, or some kind of potash, which forms one of the usual ingredients in our soap. Numerous plants capable of yielding alkalies exist in Palestine and the surrounding countries; we may notice one named hubeibeh (the Salsola kali of botanists) found near the Dead Sea, the ashes of which are called el-kuli, from their strong alkaline properties.

Socho

(bushy). (1 Chronicles 4:18) Probably one of the towns called Socoh, in Judah, though which of the two cannot be ascertained.

Sochoh

another form of the name which is more correctly given in the Authorized version as Socoh. The present one occurs in (1 Kings 4:10) and is therefore probably, though not certainly, Socoh, 1.

Socoh

the name of two towns in the tribe of Judah.

In the district of the Shefelah. (Joshua 15:35; 1 Samuel 17:1; 2 Chronicles 11:7; 8:18) In the time of Eusebius it bore the name of Socchoth, and lay between eight and nine Roman miles from Eleutheropolis, on the road to Jerusalem. It may be identified with esh-Shuweikeh, in the western part of the mountains of Judah. From this village probably came Antigonus of Soco, who lived about the commencement of the third century B.C.

Also a town of Judah, but in the mountain district. (Joshua 15:48) It has been discovered about 10 miles southwest of Hebron; bearing, like the other Socoh, the name of esh-Shuweikeh .

Sodi

(intimate), the father of Geddiel, the spy selected from the tribe of Zebulun. (Numbers 13:10) (B.C. 1490.)

Sodom

(burning), one of the most ancient cities of Syria. It is commonly mentioned in connection with Gomorrah, but also with Admah and Zeboim, and on one occasion - (Genesis 14:1) ... - with Bela or Zoar. Sodom was evidently the chief town in the settlement. The four are first named in the ethnological records of (Genesis 10:19) as belonging to the Canaanites. The next mention of the name of Sodom, (Genesis 13:10-13) gives more certain indication of the position of the city. Abram and Lot are standing together between Bethel and Ai, ver. 3, taking a survey of the land around and below them. Eastward of them, and absolutely at their feet, lay the "circle of Jordan." The whole circle was one great oasis - "a garden of Jehovah." ver. 10. In the midst of the garden the four cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim appear to have been situated. It is necessary to notice how absolutely the cities are identified with the district. In the subsequent account of their destruction, (Genesis 19:1) ... the topographical terms are employed with all the precision which is characteristic of such early times. The mention of the Jordan is conclusive as to the situation of the district, for the Jordan ceases where it enters the Dead Sea, and can have no existence south of that point. The catastrophe by which they were destroyed is described in (Genesis 19:1) ... as a shower of brimstone and fire from Jehovah. However we may interpret the words of the earliest narrative, one thing is certain - that the lake was not one of the agents in the catastrophe. From all these passages, though much is obscure, two things seem clear:

That Sodom and the rest of the cities of the plain of Jordan stood on the north of the Dead Sea;

That neither the cities nor the district were submerged by the lake, but that the cities were overthrown and the land spoiled, and that it may still be seen in its desolate condition. When, however, we turn to more modern views, we discover a remarkable variance from these conclusions.

The opinion long current that the five cities were submerged in the lake, and that their remains - walls, columns and capitals - might he still discerned below the water, hardly needs refutation after the distinct statement and the constant implication of Scripture. But,

A more serious departure from the terms of the ancient history is exhibited in the prevalent opinion that the cities stood at the south end of the lake. This appears to, have been the belief of Josephus and Jerome. It seems to have been universally held by the medieval historians and pilgrims, and it is adopted by modern topographers probably without exception. There are several grounds for this belief; but the main point on which Dr. Robinson rests his argument is the situation of Zoar. (a) "Lot," says he, "fled to Zoar, which was near to Sodom; and Zoar lay almost at the southern end of the present sea, probably in the month of Wady Kerak ." (b) Another consideration in favor of placing the cities at the southern end of the lake is the existence of similar names in that direction. (c) A third argument, and perhaps the weightiest of the three, is the existence of the salt mountain at the south of the lake, and its tendency to split off in columnar masses presenting a rude resemblance to the human form. But it is by no means certain that salt does not exist at other spots round the lake. (d) (A fourth and yet stronger argument is drawn from the fact that Abraham saw the smoke of the burning cities from Hebron. (e) A fifth argument is found in the numerous lime-pits found at that southern end of the Dead Sea. Robinson, Schaff, Baedeker, Lieutenant Lynch and others favor this view. - ED.) It thus appears that on the situation of Sodom no satisfactory conclusion can at present be readied: On the one hand, the narrative of Genesis seems to state positively that it lay at the northern end of the Dead Sea. On the other hand, long-continued tradition and the names of the existing spots seem to pronounce with almost equal positiveness that it was at its southern end. Of the catastrophe which destroyed the city and the district of Sodom we can hardly hope ever to form a satisfactory conception. Some catastrophe there undoubtedly was but what secondary agencies, besides fire, were employed in the accomplishment of the punishment cannot be safely determined in the almost total absence of exact scientific description of the natural features of the ground round the lake. We may suppose, however, that the actual agent in the ignition and destruction of the cities had been of the nature of a tremendous thunder-storm accompanied by a discharge of meteoric stones, (and that these set on fire the bitumen with which the soil was saturated, and which was used in building the city. And it may be that this burning out of the soil caused the plain to sink below the level of the Dead Sea, and the waters to flow over it - if indeed Sodom and its sister cities are really under the water. - ED.) The miserable fate of Sodom and Gomorrah is held up as a warning in numerous passages of the Old and New Testaments. (Mark 8:11; 2 Peter 2:6; Jude 1:4-7)

Sodoma

(Romans 2:29) In this place alone the Authorized Version has followed the Greek and Vulgate form of the well-known name Sodom.

Sodomites

This word does not denote the inhabitants of Sodom; but it is employed in the Authorized Version of the Old Testament for those who practiced as a religious rite the abominable and unnatural vice from which the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah have derived their lasting infamy.

Solomon

(peaceful). I. Early life and occasion to the throne . - Solomon was the child of David's old age, the last born of all his sons. (1 Chronicles 3:5) The yearnings of the "man of war" led him to give to the new-horn infant the name of Solomon (Shelomoth, the peaceful one). Nathan, with a marked reference to the meaning of the king's own name (David, the darling, the beloved one), calls the infant Jedidiah (Jedid'yah), that is, the darling of the Lord. (2 Samuel 11:24,25) He was placed under the care of Nathan from his earliest infancy. At first, apparently, there was no distinct purpose to make him the heir. Absalom was still the king's favorite son, (2 Samuel 13:37; 18:33) and was looked on by the people as the destined successor. (2 Samuel 14:13; 15:1-6) The death of Absalom when Solomon was about ten years old left the place vacant, and David pledged his word in secret to Bath-sheba that he, and no other, should be the heir. (1 Kings 1:13) The words which were spoken somewhat later express, doubtless, the purpose which guided him throughout. (1 Chronicles 28:9; 20) His son's life should not he as his own had been, one of hardships and wars, dark crimes and passionate repentance, but, from first to last, be pure, blameless, peaceful, fulfilling the ideal of glory and of righteousness after which he himself had vainly striven. The glorious visions of (Psalms 72:1) ... may be looked on as the prophetic expansion of these hopes of his old age. So far,all was well. Apparently his influence over his son's character was one exclusively for good. Nothing that we know of Bath-sheba lends us to think of her as likely to mould her son's mind and heart to the higher forms of goodness. Under these influences the boy grew up. At the age of ten or eleven he must have passed through the revolt of Absalom, and shared his father's exile. (2 Samuel 15:16) He would be taught all that priests or Levites or prophets had to teach. When David was old and feeble, Adonijah, Solomon's older brother attempted to gain possession of the throne; but he was defeated, and Solomon went down to Gihon and was proclaimed and anointed king. A few months more and Solomon found himself, by his father's death, the sole occupant of the throne. The position to which he succeeded was unique. Never before, and never after, did the kingdom of Israel take its place among the great monarchies of the East. Large treasures, accumulated through many years, were at his disposal. II. Personal appearance . - Of Solomon's personal appearance we have no direct description, as we have of the earlier kings. There are, however, materials for filling up the gap. Whatever higher mystic meaning may be latent in (Psalms 45:1) ... or the Song of Songs, we are all but compelled to think of them us having had at least a historical starting-point. They tell of one who was, in the eyes of the men of his own time, "fairer than the children of men," the face "bright, and ruddy" as his father's, (Song of Solomon 5:10; 1 Samuel 17:42) bushy locks, dark as the raven's wing, yet not without a golden glow, the eyes soft as "the eyes of cloves," the "countenance as Lebanon excellent as the cedars," "the chiefest among ten thousand, the altogether lovely." (Song of Solomon 5:13-18) Add to this all gifts of a noble, far-reaching intellect large and ready sympathies, a playful and genial humor, the lips "full of grace," and the soul "anointed" as "with the oil of gladness," (Psalms 45:1) ... and we may form some notion of what the king was like in that dawn of his golden prime. III. Reign . - All the data for a continuous history that we have of Solomon's reign are - (a) The duration of the reign, forty sears, B.C. 1015-975. (1 Kings 11:4) (b) The commencement of the temple in the fourth, its completion in the eleventh, year of his reign. (1 Kings 6:1,37,38) (c) The commencement of his own palace in the seventh, its completion in the twentieth, year. (1 Kings 7:1; 2 Chronicles 8:1) (d) The conquest of Hamath-zobah, and the consequent foundation of cities in the region of north Palestine after the twentieth year. (2 Chronicles 8:1-6) IV. Foreign policy . -

Egypt. The first act of the foreign policy of the new reign must have been to most Israelites a very startling one. He made affinity with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, by marrying his daughter (1 Kings 3:1) The immediate results were probably favorable enough. The new queen brought with her as a dowry the frontier city of Gezer. But the ultimate issue of alliance showed that it was hollow and impolitic.

Tyre. The alliance with the Phoenician king rested on a somewhat different footing. It had been a part of David's policy from the beginning of his reign. Hiram had been "ever a lover of David." As soon as he heard of Solomon's accession he sent ambassadors to salute him. A correspondence passed between the two kings, which ended in a treaty of commerce. The opening of Joppa as a port created a new coasting-trade, and the materials from Tyre were conveyed to that city on floats, and thence to Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 2:16) In return for these exports, the Phoenicians were only too glad to receive the corn and oil of Solomon's territory. The results of the alliance did not end here. Now, for the first time in the history of the Jews, they entered on a career as a commercial people.

The foregoing were the two most important to Babylon alliances. The absence of any reference to Babylon and Assyria, and the fact that the Euphrates was recognized as the boundary of Solomon's kingdom, (2 Chronicles 9:26) suggests the inference that the Mesopotamian monarchies were at this time comparatively feeble. Other neighboring nations were content to pay annual tribute in the form of gifts. (2 Chronicles 9:28)

The survey of the influence exercised by Solomon on surrounding nations would be incomplete if we were to pass over that which was more directly personal the fame of his glory and his wisdom. Wherever the ships of Tarshish went, they carried with them the report, losing nothing in its passage, of what their crews had seen and heard. The journey of the queen of Sheba, though from its circumstances the most conspicuous, did not stand alone. V. Internal history . -

The first prominent scene in Solomon's reign is one which presents his character in its noblest aspect. God in a vision having offered him the choice of good things he would have, he chose wisdom in preference to riches or honor or long life. The wisdom asked for was given in large measure, and took a varied range. The wide world of nature, animate and inanimate, the lives and characters of men, lay before him, and he took cognizance of all but the highest wisdom was that wanted for the highest work, for governing and guiding, and the historian hastens to give an illustration of it. The pattern-instance is, in all its circumstances, thoroughly Oriental. (1 Kings 3:16-28)

In reference to the king's finances, the first impression of the facts given us is that of abounding plenty. Large quantities of the precious metals were imported from Ophir and Tarshish. (1 Kings 9:28) All the kings and princes of the subject provinces paid tribute in the form of gifts, in money and in kind, "at a fixed rate year by year." (1 Kings 10:25) Monopolies of trade contributed to the king's treasury. (1 Kings 10:28,29) The total amount thus brought into the treasury in gold, exclusive of all payments in kind, amounted to 666 talents. (1 Kings 10:14)

It was hardly possible, however, that any financial system could bear the strain of the king's passion for magnificence. The cost of the temple was, it is true, provided for by David's savings and the offerings of the people; but even while that was building, yet more when it was finished one structure followed on another with ruinous rapidity. All the equipment of his court, the "apparel" of his servants was on the same scale. A body-guard attended him, "threescore valiant men," tallest and handsomest of the sons of Israel. Forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen made up the measure of his magnificence. (1 Kings 4:26) As the treasury became empty, taxes multiplied and monopolies became more irksome.

A description of the temple erected by Solomon is given elsewhere. After seven years and the work was completed and the day came to which all Israelites looked back as the culminating glory of their nation.

We cannot ignore the fact that even now there were some darker shades in the picture. He reduced the "strangers" in the land, the remnant of the Canaanite races, to the state of helots, and made their life "bitter with all hard bondage." One hundred and fifty-three thousand, with wives and children in proportion, were torn from their homes and sent off to the quarries and the forests of Lebanon. (1 Kings 5:15; 2 Chronicles 2:17,18) And the king soon fell from the loftiest height of his religious life to the lowest depth. Before long the priests and prophets had to grieve over rival temples to Molech, Chemosh, Ashtaroth and forms of ritual not idolatrous only, but cruel, dark, impure. This evil came as the penalty of another. (1 Kings 11:1-8) He gave himself to "strange women." He found himself involved in a fascination which led to the worship of strange gods. Something there was perhaps in his very "largeness of heart," so far in advance of the traditional knowledge of his age, rising to higher and wider thoughts of God, which predisposed him to it. In recognizing what was true in other forms of faith, he might lose his horror at what was false. With this there may have mingled political motives. He may have hoped, by a policy of toleration, to conciliate neighboring princes, to attract larger traffic. But probably also there was another influence less commonly taken into account. The widespread belief of the East in the magic arts of Solomon is not, it is believed, without its foundation of truth. Disasters followed before long as the natural consequence of what was politically a blunder as well as religiously a sin. VI. His literary works. - little remains out of the songs, proverbs, treatises, of which the historian speaks. (1 Kings 4:32,33) Excerpts only are given from the three thousand proverbs. Of the thousand and five songs we know absolutely nothing. His books represent the three stages of his life. The Song of Songs brings before us the brightness of his -youth. Then comes in the book of Proverbs, the stage of practical, prudential thought. The poet has become the philosopher, the mystic has passed into the moralist; but the man passed through both stages without being permanently the better for either. They were to him but phases of his life which he had known and exhausted, (Ecclesiastes 1:1; Ecclesiastes 2:1) ... and therefore there came, its in the confessions of the preacher, the great retribution.

Solomon, Wisdom Of

[Wisdom, The, Of Solomon, BOOK OF]

Solomons Porch

[Palace; Temple].

Solomons Servants

(Children OF). (Ezra 2:55,58; Nehemiah 7:57,60) The persons thus named appear in the lists of the exiles who returned from the captivity. They were the descendants of the Canaanites who were reduced by Solomon to the helot state, and compelled to labor in the king's stone-quarries and in building his palaces and cities. (1 Kings 5:13,14; 9:20,21; 2 Chronicles 8:7,8) They appear to have formed a distinct order, inheriting probably the same functions and the same skill as their ancestors.

Solomons Song

[Canticles]

Son

The term "son" is used in Scripture language to imply almost any kind of descent or succession, as ben shanah, "son of a year," i.e. a year old; ben kesheth, "son of a bow," i.e. an arrow. The word bar is often found in the New Testament in composition, as Bar-timaeus.

Soothsayer

[Divination]

Sop

In eastern lands where our table utensils are unknown, the meat, with the broth, is brought upon the table in a large dish, and is eaten usually by means of pieces of bread clipped into the common dish. The bread so dipped is called. "It was such a piece of bread a sop dipped in broth that Jesus gave to Judas, (John 13:26) and again, in Matt 26:23 It is said "he that dippeth his hand with me in the dish," i.e. to make a sop by dipping a piece of bread into the central dish.

Sopater

(saviour of his father), son or Pyrrhus or Berea, was one of the companions of St. Paul on his return from Greece into Asia. (Acts 20:4) (A.D. 55.)

Sophereth

(writing). "The children of Sophereth" were a family who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel among the descendants of Solomon's servants. (Ezra 2:55; Nehemiah 7:57) (B.C. before 536.)

Sorcerer

[Divination]

Sorek

(red), The valley of, a wady in which lay the residence of Delilah. (Judges 16:4) It was possibly nearer Gaza than any other of the chief Philistine cities, since thither Samson was taken after his capture at Delilah's house.

Sosipater

(saviour of his father), kinsman or fellow tribesman of St. Paul, (Romans 16:21) is probably the same person as Sopater of Berea. (A.D. 54.)

Sosthenes

(saviour of his nation) was a Jew at Corinth who was seized and beaten in the presence of Gallio. See (Acts 18:12-17) (A.D. 49.)

Sotai

(changeful). The children of Sotai were a family of the descendants of Solomon's servants who returned with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:55; Nehemiah 7:57) (B.C. before 536.)

South Ramoth

[Ramath Of The South OF THE SOUTH]

Sow

[Swine]

Sower, Sowing

The operation of a sowing with the hand is one of so simple a character as to need little description. The Egyptian paintings furnish many illustrations of the mode in which it was conducted. The sower held the vessel or basket containing the seed in his left hand, while with his right he scattered the seed broadcast. The "drawing out" of the seed is noticed, as the most characteristic action of the sower, in (Psalms 126:6) (Authorized Version "precious") and (Amos 9:13) In wet soils the seed was trodden in by the feet of animals. (Isaiah 32:20) The sowing season began in October and continued to the end of February, wheat being put in before, and barley after, the beginning of January. The Mosaic law prohibited the sowing of mixed seed. (Leviticus 19:19; 22:9)

Spain

1 Macc. 8:3; (Romans 15:24,28) The local designation, Tarshish, representing the Tartessus of the Greeks, probably prevailed until the fame of the Roman wars in that country reached the East, when it was superseded by its classical name. The mere intention of St. Paul to visit Spain (whether he really did visit it is a disputed question. - ED.) implies two interesting facts, viz., the establishment of a Christian community in that country, and that this was done by Hellenistic Jews resident there. The early introduction of Christianity into that country is attested by Irenaeus and Tertullian.

Sparrow

(Heb. tzippor, from a root signifying to "chirp" or "twitter," which appears to be a phonetic representation of the call-note of any passerine (sparrow-like) bird). This Hebrew word occurs upwards of forty times in the Old Testament. In all passages except two it is rendered by the Authorized Version indifferently "bird" or "fowl." and denotes any small bird, both of the sparrow-like species and such as the starling, chaffinch, greenfinch, linnet, goldfinch, corn-bunting, pipits, blackbird, song-thrush, etc. In (Psalms 84:3) and Psal 102:7 It is rendered "sparrow." The Greek stauthion (Authorized Version "sparrow") occurs twice in the New Testament, (Matthew 10:29; Luke 12:6,7) (The birds above mentioned are found in great numbers in Palestine and are of very little value, selling for the merest trifle and are thus strikingly used by our Saviour, (Matthew 10:20) as an illustration of our Father's care for his children. - ED.) The blue thrush (Petrocossyphus cyaneus) is probably the bird to which the psalmist alludes in (Proverbs 102:7) as "the sparrow that sitteth alone upon the house-top." It is a solitary bird, eschewing the society of its own species, and rarely more than a pair are seen together. The English tree-sparrow (Passer montanus, Linn.) is also very common, and may be seen in numbers on Mount Olivet and also about the sacred enclosure of the mosque of Omar. This is perhaps the exact species referred to in (Psalms 84:3) Dr. Thompson, in speaking of the great numbers of the house-sparrows and field-sparrows in troublesome and impertinent generation, and nestle just where you do not want them. They stop your stove - and water-pipes with their rubbish, build in the windows and under the beams of the roof, and would stuff your hat full of stubble in half a day if they found it hanging in a place to suit them."

Sparta

a celebrated city of Greece, between whose inhabitants and the Jews a relationship was believed to subsist. Between the two nations a correspondence ensued. - Whitney. The act of the Jews and Spartans, 2 Macc. 5:9 is an ethnological error, which it is difficult to trace to its origin.

Spear

[Arms, Armor]

Spearmen

(Acts 23:23) These were probably troops so lightly armed as to be able to keep pace on the march with mounted soldiers.

Spice, Spices

Heb. basam, besem or bosem . In (Song of Solomon 5:1) "I have gathered my myrrh with my spice," the word points apparently to some definite substance. In the other places, with the exception perhaps of (Song of Solomon 1:13; 6:2) the words refer more generally to sweet aromatic odors, the principal of which was that of the balsam or balm of Gilead; the tree which yields this substance is now generally admitted to be the Balsam-odendron opobalsamum . The balm of Gilead tree grows in some parts of Arabia and Africa, and is seldom more than fifteen feet high, with straggling branches and scanty foliage. The balsam is chiefly obtained from incisions in the bark, but is procured also from the green and ripe berries.

Necoth . (Genesis 37:25; 43:11) The most probable explanation is that which refers the word to the Arabic naku'at i.e. "the gum obtained from the tragacanth" (Astragalus).

Sammim, a general term to denote those aromatic substances which were used in the preparation of the anointing oil, the incense offerings, etc. The spices mentioned as being used by Nicodemus for the preparation of our Lord's body, (John 19:39,40) are "myrrh and aloes," by which latter word must be understood not the aloes of medicine, but the highly-scented wood of the Aquilaria agallochum .

Spider

The Hebrew word 'accabish in (Job 8:24; Isaiah 59:5) is correctly rendered "spider." Put semamith is wrongly translated "spider" in (Proverbs 30:28) it refers probably to some kind of lizard. (But "there are many species of spider in Palestine: some which spin webs, like the common garden spider; some which dig subterranean cells and make doors in them, like the well-known trap-door spider of southern Europe; and some which have no web, but chase their prey upon the ground, like the hunting-and the wolf-spider." - Wood's Bible Animals.)

Spikenard

(Heb. nerd) is mentioned twice in the Old Testament viz. in (Song of Solomon 1:12; 4:13,14) The ointment with which our Lord was anointed as he sat at meat in Simon's house at Bethany consisted of this precious substance, the costliness of which may be inferred from the indignant surprise manifested by some of the witnesses of the transaction. See (Mark 14:3-5; John 12:3,5) (Spikenard,from which the ointment was made, was an aromatic herb of the valerian family (Nardostachys jatamansi). It was imported from an early age from Arabia India and the Far East. The costliness of Mary's offering (300 pence=) may beat be seen from the fact that a penny (denarius, 15 to 17 cents) was in those days the day-wages of a laborer. (Matthew 20:2) In our day this would equal at least or .-ED.)

Spinning

The notices of spinning in the Bible are confined to (Exodus 35:25,26; Proverbs 31:19; Matthew 6:28) The latter passage implies (according to the Authorized Version) the use of the same instruments which have been in vogue for hand-spinning down to the present day, viz. the distaff and spindle. The distaff however, appears to have been dispensed with, and the term so rendered means the spindle itself, while that rendered "spindle" represents the whirl of the spindle, a button of circular rim which was affixed to it, and gave steadiness to its circular motion. The "whirl" of the Syrian women was made of amber in the time of Pliny. The spindle was held perpendicularly in the one hand, while the other was employed in drawing out the thread. Spinning was the business of women, both among the Jews and for the most part among the Egyptians.

Sponge

a soft, porous marine substance. Sponges were for a long time supposed to be plants, but are now considered by the best naturalists to belong to the animal kingdom. Sponge is mentioned only in the New Testament. (Matthew 27:48; Mark 15:36; John 19:29) The commercial value of the sponge was known from very early times; and although there appears to be no notice of it in the Old Testament, yet it is probable that it was used by the ancient Hebrews, who could readily have obtained it good from the Mediterranean, where it was principally found.

Spouse

[Marriage]

Stachys

a Christian at Rome, saluted by St. Paul in the Epistle to the Romans. (Romans 16:9) (A.D. 56.)

Stacte

(Heb. nataf) the name of one of the sweet spices which composed the holy incense. See (Exodus 30:34) - the only passage of Scripture in which the word occurs. Some identify the nataf with the gum of the storer tree (Styraz officinale), but all that is positively known is that it signifies an odorous distillation from some plant.

Standards

The Assyrian standards were emblematic of their religion, and were therefore the more valuable as instruments for leading and guiding men in the army. The forms were imitations of animals (1), emblems of deities (2), and symbols of power and wisdom (3). Many of them were crude, but others were highly artistic and of great cost. The Egyptian standards were designed in the same idea as those of the Romans, exhibiting some sacred emblem (5,6,8), or a god in the form of an animal (3,4), a group of victory (7), or the king's name or his portrait as (1), of lower, and (2) of upper, Egypt, or an emblematic sign, as No. 9.

Star Of The Wise Men

[Magi]

Stater

[Money]

Steel

In all cases were the word "steel" occurs in the Authorized Version the true rendering of the Hebrew is "copper." Whether the ancient Hebrews were acquainted with steel is not perfectly certain. It has been inferred from a passage in (Jeremiah 15:12) that the "iron from the north" there spoken of denoted a superior kind of metal, hardened in an unusual manner, like the steel obtained from the Chalybes of the Pontus, the iron smiths of the ancient world. The hardening of iron for cutting instruments was practiced in Pontus, Lydia and Laconia. There is, however, a word in hebrew, paldah, which occurs only in (Nahum 2:3) (4) and is there rendered "torches," but which most probably denotes steel or hardened iron, and refers to the flashing scythes of the Assyrian chariots. Steel appears to have been known to the Egyptians. The steel weapons in the tomb of Rameses III., says Wilkinson, are painted blue, the bronze red.

Stephanas

a Christian convert of Corinth whose household Paul baptized as the "first-fruits of Achaia." (1 Corinthians 1:16; 16:15) (A.D. 53.)

Stephen

the first Christian martyr, was the chief of the seven (commonly called Deacons) appointed to rectify the complaints in the early Church of Jerusalem, made by the Hellenistic against the hebrew Christians. His Greek name indicates his own Hellenistic origin. His importance is stamped on the narrative by a reiteration of emphatic, almost superlative, phrases: "full of faith and of the Holy Ghost," (Acts 6:5) "full of grace and power," ibid. (Acts 6:8) irresistible "spirit and wisdom," ibid (Acts 6:10) "full of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 7:55) He shot far ahead of his six companions, and far above his particular office. First, he arrests attention by the "great wonders and miracles that he did." Then begins a series of disputations with the Hellenistic Jews of north Africa, Alexandria and Asia Minor, his companions in race and birthplace. The subject of these disputations is not expressly mentioned; but from what follows it is obvious that he struck into a new vein of teaching, which evidently caused his martyrdom. Down to this time the apostles and the early Christian community had clung in their worship, not merely to the holy land and the holy city but to the holy place of the temple. This local worship, with the Jewish customs belonging to it, Stephen denounced. So we must infer from the accusations brought against him confirmed as they are by the tenor of his defence. He was arrested at the instigation of the Hellenistic Jews, and brought before the Sanhedrin. His speech in his defence, and his execution by stoning outside the gates of Jerusalem, are related at length in Acts 7. The frame work in which his defence is cast is a summary of the history of the Jewish Church. In the facts which he selects from his history he is guided by two principles. The first is the endeavor to prove that, even in the previous Jewish history, the presence and favor of God had not been confined to the holy land or the temple of Jerusalem. The second principle of selection is based on the at tempt to show that there was a tendency from the earliest times toward the same ungrateful and narrow spirit that had appeared in this last stage of their political existence. It would seem that, just at the close of his argument, Stephen saw a change in the aspect of his judges, as if for the first time they had caught the drift of his meaning. He broke off from his calm address, and tumult suddenly upon them in an impassioned attack, which shows that he saw what was in store for him. As he spoke they showed by their faces that their hearts "were being sawn asunder," and they kept gnashing their set teeth against him; but still, though with difficultly, restraining themselves. He, in this last crisis of his fate, turned his face upward to the; open sky, and as he gazed the vault of heaven seemed to him to part asunder; and the divine Glory appeared through the rending of the earthly veil - the divine Presence, seated on a throne, and on the right hand the human form of Jesus. Stephen spoke as if to himself, describing the glorious vision; and in so doing, alone of all the speakers and writers in the New Testament except, only Christ himself, uses the expressive phrase "the Son of man." As his judges heard the words, they would listen no longer. They broke into, a loud yell; they clapped their hands to their ears; they flew as with one impulse upon him, and dragged him out of the city to the place of execution. Those who took the lead in the execution were the persons wile had taken upon themselves the responsibility of denouncing him. (17:7) comp. John 8:7 In this instance they were the witnesses who had reported or misreported the words of Stephen. They, according to the custom, stripped themselves; and one, of the prominent leaders in the transaction was deputed by custom to signify his assent to the act by taking the clothes into his custody and standing over them while the bloody work went on. The person was officiated on this occasion was a young man from Tarsus, the future apostle of the Gentiles. [Paul] As the first volley of stones burst upon him, Stephen called upon the Master whose human form he had just seen in the heavens, and repeated almost the words with which he himself had given up his life on the cross, "O Lord Jesus receive my spirit." Another crash of stones brought him on his knees. One loud, piercing cry, answering to the shriek or yell with which his enemies had flown upon him, escaped his dying lips. Again clinging to the spirit of his Master's words, he cried "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" and instantly sank upon the ground, and, in the touching language of the narrator who then uses for the first time the words afterward applied to the departure of all Christians, but here the more remarkable from the bloody scenes in the midst of which death took place, fell asleep . His mangled body was buried by the class of Hellenists and proselytes to which he belonged. The importance of Stephen's career may be briefly summed up under three heads:

He was the first great Christian ecclesiastic, "the Archdeacon," as he is called in the eastern Church.

He is the first martyr - the protomartyr. To him the name "martyr" is first applied. (Acts 23:20)

He is the forerunner of St. Paul. He was the anticipator, as, had he lived, he would have been the propagator, of the new phase of Christianity of which St. Paul became the main support.

Stocks

(An instrument of punishment, consisting of two beams, the upper one being movable, with two small openings between them, large enough for the ankles of the prisoner. - ED.) The term "stocks" is applied in the Authorized Version to two different articles one of which answers rather to our pillory, inasmuch as the body was placed in a bent position, by the confinement of the neck and arms as well as the legs while the other answers to our "stocks," the feet alone being confined in it. The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the first sort, (Jeremiah 20:2) which appears to have been a common mode of punishment in his day, (Jeremiah 29:26) as the prisons contained a chamber for the special purpose, termed "the house of the pillory." (2 Chronicles 16:10) (Authorized Version "prison-house"). The stocks, properly so called, are noticed in (Job 13:27; 33:11; Acts 16:24) The term used in (Proverbs 7:22) (Authorized Version "stocks") more properly means a fetter.

Stoics

The Stoics and Epicureans, who are mentioned together in (Acts 17:18) represent the two opposite schools of practical philosophy which survived the fall of higher speculation in Greece. The Stoic school was founded by Zeno of Citium (cir. B.C. 280) and derived its name from the painted "portico" (stoa) at Athens in which he taught. Zeno was followed by Cleanthes (cir. B.C. 260); Cleanthes by Chrysippus (cir. B.C. 240) who was regarded as the founder of the Stoic system. "They regarded God and the world as power and its manifestation matter being a passive ground in which dwells the divine energy. Their ethics were a protest against moral indifference, and to live in harmony with nature, conformably with reason and the demands of universal good, and in the utmost indifference to pleasure, pain and all external good or evil, was their fundamental maxim." - American Cyclopaedia. The ethical system of the Stoics has been commonly supposed to have a close connection with Christian morality; but the morality of stoicism is essentially based on pride, that of Christianity on humility; the one upholds individual independence, the other absolute faith in another; the one looks for consolation in the issue of fate, the other in Providence; the one is limited by Periods of cosmical ruin, the other is consummated in a personal resurrection. (Acts 17:18) But in spite of the fundamental error of stoicism, which lies in a supreme egotism, the teaching of this school gave a wide currency to the noble doctrines of the fatherhood of God, the common bonds of mankind, the sovereignty of the soul. Among their most prominent representatives were Zeno and Antipater of Tarsus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius.

Stomacher

The Hebrew word so translated, (Isaiah 3:24) describes some article of female attire, the character of which is a mere matter of conjecture.

Stones

Besides the ordinary uses to which stones were applied, we may mention that large stones were set up to commemorate any remarkable event. (Genesis 28:18; 35:14; 31:45; Joshua 4:9; 1 Samuel 7:12) Such stones were occasionally consecrated By anointing. (Genesis 28:18) Heaps of stones were piled up on various occasions, as in token of a treaty, (Genesis 31:47) or over the grave of some notorious offender. (Joshua 7:26; 8:29; 2 Samuel 18:17) The "white stone" noticed in (Revelation 2:17) has been variously regarded as referring to the pebble of acquittal used in the Greek courts; to the lot cast in elections in Greece to both these combined; to the stones in the high priest's breastplate; to the tickets presented to the victor at the public games; or, lastly, to the custom of writing on stones. The notice in (Zechariah 12:3) of the "burdensome stone" is referred by Jerome to the custom of lifting stones as an exercise of strength, comp. Ecclus. 6:21; but it may equally well be explained of a large corner-stone as a symbol of strength. (Isaiah 28:16) Stones are used metaphorically to denote hardness or insensibility, (1 Samuel 25:37; Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26) as well as firmness or strength. (Genesis 49:24) The members of the Church are called "living stones," as contributing to rear that living temple in which Christ, himself "a living stone," is the chief or head of the corner. (Ephesians 2:20-22; 1 Peter 2:4-8)

Stones, Precious

Precious stones are frequently alluded to in Scriptures; they were known and very highly valued in the earliest times. The Tyrians traded in precious stones supplied by Syria. (Ezekiel 27:16) The merchants of Sheba and Raamah in south Arabia, and doubtless India and Ceylon supplied the markets of Tyre with various precious stones. The art of engraving on precious stones was known from the very earliest times. (Genesis 38:18) The twelve atones of the breastplate were engraved each one with the name of one of the tribes. (Exodus 28:17-21) It is an undecided question whether the diamond was known to the early nations of antiquity. The Authorized Version gives if as the rendering of the Heb. yahalom, but it is probable that the jasper is intended. Precious stones are used in Scripture in a figurative sense, to signify value, beauty durability, etc., in those objects with which they are compared. See (Song of Solomon 5:14; Isaiah 54:11,12; Lamentations 4:7; Revelation 4:3; 21:10,21)

Stoning

[Punishments]

Stork

(Heb. chasidah), a large bird of passage of the heron family. The of the largest and most conspicuous of land birds, standing nearly four feet high, the jet black of its wings and its bright red beak and legs contrasting finely with the pure white of its plumage. (Zechariah 6:9) In the neighborhood of man it devours readily all kinds of offal and garbage. For this reason, doubtless it is placed in the list of unclean birds by the Mosaic law. (Leviticus 11:19; 14:18) The range of the white stork extends over the whole of Europe, except the British isles, where it is now a rare visitant, and over northern Africa and Asia as far at least as Burmah. The black stork (Ciconia nigra, Linn.), though less abundant in places, is scarcely less widely distributed, but has a more easterly range than its congener. Both species are very numerous in Palestine. While the black stork is never found about buildings, but prefers marshy places in forests and breeds on the tops of the loftiest trees, the white stork attaches itself to man and for the service which it renders in the destruction of reptiles and the removal of offal has been repaid from the earliest times by protection and reverence, The derivation of chasidah (from chesed, "kindness") points to the paternal and filial attachment of which the stork seems to have been a type among the Hebrews no less than the Greeks and Romans. It was believed that the young repaid the care of their parents by attaching themselves to them for life, and tending them in old age. That the parental attachment of the stork is very strong has been proved on many occasions, Few migratory birds are more punctual to the time of their reappearance than the white stork. The stork has no note, and the only sound it emits is that caused by the sudden snapping of its long mandibles.

Strain At

(So translated in the Authorized Version, but in the Revised Version "strain out," (Matthew 23:24) which is undoubtedly the true reading. - ED.)

Stranger

A "stranger," in the technical sense of the term, may be defined to be a person of foreign, i.e. non-Israelitish, extraction resident within the limits of the promised land. He was distinct from the proper "foreigner," inasmuch as the latter still belonged to another country, and would only visit Palestine as a traveller: he was still more distinct from the "nations," or non-Israelite peoples. The term may be compared with our expression "naturalized foreigner." The terms applied to the "stranger" have special reference to the fact of residing in the land. The existence of such a class of persons among the Israelites is easily accounted for the "mixed multitude" that accompanied them out of Egypt, (Exodus 12:38) formed one element the Canaanitish Population,which was never wholly extirpated from their native soil, formed another and a still more important one captives taken in war formed a third; fugitives, hired servants, merchants, etc., formed a fourth. With the exception of the Moabites and Ammonites, (23:3) all nations were admissible to the rights of citizenship under certain conditions. The stranger appears to have been eligible to all civil offices, that of king excepted. (17:15) In regard to religion, it was absolutely necessary that the stranger should not infringe any of the fundamental laws of the Israelitish state. If he were a bondman, he was obliged to submit to circumcision, (Exodus 12:44) if he were independent, it was optional with him but if he remained uncircumcised, he was prohibited from partaking of the Passover, (Exodus 12:48) and could not be regarded as a full citizen. Liberty was also given to an uncircumcised stranger in regard to the use of prohibited food. Assuming, however, that the stranger was circumcised, no distinction existed in regard to legal rights ha between the stranger and the Israelite; to the Israelite is enjoined to treat him as a brother. (Leviticus 19:34; 10:19) It also appears that the "stranger" formed the class whence the hirelings were drawn; the terms being coupled together in (Exodus 12:45; Leviticus 22:10; 25:6,40) The liberal spirit of the Mosaic regulations respecting strangers presents a strong contrast to the rigid exclusiveness of the Jews at the commencement of the Christian era. The growth of this spirit dates from the time of the Babylonish captivity.

Straw

Both wheat and barley straw were used by the ancient Hebrews chiefly as fodder for the horses cattle and camels. (Genesis 24:25; 1 Kings 4:28; Isaiah 11:7; 66:25) There is no intimation that straw was used for litter. It was employed by the Egyptians for making bricks, (Exodus 5:7,16) being chopped up and mixed with the clay to make them more compact and to prevent their cracking. [See Brick] The ancient Egyptians reaped their corn close to the ear, and afterward cut the straw close to the ground and laid it by. This was the straw that Pharaoh refused to give to the Israelites who were therefore compelled to gather "stubble" instead - a matter of considerable difficulty, seeing that the straw itself had been cut off near to the ground.

Stream Of Egypt

occurs once in the Old Testament - (Isaiah 27:12) [RIVER OF EGYPT] RIVER OF EGYPT - 3664

Street

The streets of a modern Oriental town present a great contrast to those with which we are familiar, being generally narrow, tortuous and gloomy, even in the best towns. Their character is mainly fixed by the climate and the style of architecture, the narrowness being due to the extreme heat, and the gloominess to the circumstance of the windows looking for the most part into the inner court. The street called "Straight," in Damascus, (Acts 9:11) was an exception to the rule of narrowness: it was a noble thoroughfare, one hundred feet wide. divided in the Roman age by colonnades into three avenues, the central one for foot passengers, the side passages for vehicles and horsemen going in different directions. The shops and warehouses were probably collected together into bazaars in ancient as in modern times. (Jeremiah 37:21) That streets occasionally had names appears from (Jeremiah 37:21; Acts 9:11) That they were generally unpaved may be inferred from the notices of the pavement laid by Herod the Great at Antioch, and by Herod Agrippa II. at Jerusalem. Hence pavement forms one of the peculiar features of the ideal Jerusalem. Tob. 13:17; (Revelation 21:21) Each street and bazaar in a modern town is locked up at night; the same custom appears to have prevailed in ancient times. (Song of Solomon 3:3)

Stripes

[Punishments]

Suah

(sweeping), son of Zophah an Asherite. (1 Chronicles 7:36) (B.C. about 1020.)

Succoth

(booths).

An ancient town, first heard of in the account of the homeward journey of Jacob from Padan-aram. (Genesis 35:17) The name is derived from the fact of Jacob's having there put up "booths" (succoth) for his cattle as well as a house for himself. From the itinerary of Jacob's return it seems that Succoth lay between Peniel, near the ford of the torrent Jabbok and Shechem. Comp. (Genesis 32:30) and Genesis33:18 In accordance with this is the mention of Succoth in the narrative of Gideon's pursuit of Zebah and Zalluunna. (Judges 5:5-17) It would appear from this passage that it lay east of the Jordan, which is corroborated by the fact that it was allotted to the tribe of Gad. (Joshua 13:27) Succoth is named once again after this - in (1 Kings 7:46; 2 Chronicles 4:17) - as marking the spot at which the brass founderies were placed for casting the metal work of the temple. (Dr. Merrill identifies it with a site called Tell Darala, one mile north of the Jabbok. - ED.)

The first camping-place of the Israelites when they left Egypt. (Exodus 12:37; 13:20; Numbers 33:5,6) This place was apparently reached at the close of the first days march. Rameses, the starting-place, was probably near the western end of the Wadi-t-Tumeylat . The distance traversed in each day's journey was about fifteen miles.

Succothbenoth

Occurs only in (2 Kings 17:30) It has generally been supposed that this term is pure Hebrew, and signifies the tents of daughters; which some explain as "the booths in which the daughters of the Babylonians prostituted themselves in honor of their idol," others as "small tabernacles in which were contained images of female deities." Sir H. Rawlinson thinks that Succoth-benoth represents the Chaldaean goddess Zerbanit, the wife of Merodach, who was especially worshipped at Babylon.

Suchathites

one of the families of scribes at Jabez. (1 Chronicles 2:55)

Sukkiim

(booth-dwellers), a nation mentioned (2 Chronicles 12:3) with the Lubim and Cushim as supplying part of the army which came with Shishak out of Egypt when he invaded Judah. The Sukkiim may correspond to some one of the shepherd or wandering races mentioned on the Egyptian monuments.

Sun

In the history of "greater light," of the creation the sun is described as "greater light," in contradistinction to the moon, the "lesser light," in conjunction with which it was to serve "for signs and for seasons, and for days, and for years," while its special office was "to rule the day." (Genesis 1:14-16) The "signs" referred to were probably such extraordinary phenomena as eclipses, which were regarded as conveying premonitions of coming events. (Jeremiah 10:2; Matthew 24:29) with Luke 21:25 The joint influence assigned to the sun and moon in deciding the "seasons," both for agricultural operations and for religious festivals, and also in regulating the length and subdivisions of the years "correctly describes the combination of the lunar and solar year which prevailed at all events subsequent to the Mosaic period. Sunrise and sunset are the only defined points of time in the absence of artificial contrivances for telling the hour of the day. Between these two points the Jews recognized three periods, viz., when the sun became hot, about 9 A.M. (1 Samuel 11:9; Nehemiah 7:3) the double light, or noon. (Genesis 43:16; 2 Samuel 4:5) and "the cool of the day," shortly before sunset. (Genesis 3:8) The sun also served to fix the quarters of the hemisphere, east, west north and south, which were represented respectively by the rising sun, the setting sun, (Isaiah 45:6; Psalms 50:1) the dark quarter, (Genesis 13:14; Joel 2:20) and the brilliant quarter, (33:23; Job 37:17; Ezekiel 40:24) or otherwise by their position relative to a person facing the rising sun - before, behind, on the left hand and on the right hand. (Job 23:8,9) The worship of the sun, as the most prominent and powerful agent in the kingdom of nature, was widely diffused throughout the countries adjacent to Palestine. The Arabians appear to have paid direct worship to it without the intervention of any statue or symbol, (Job 31:26,27) and this simple style of worship was probably familiar to the ancestors of the Jews in Chaldaea and Mesopotamia. The Hebrews must have been well acquainted with the idolatrous worship of the sun during the captivity in Egypt, both from the contiguity of On, the chief seat of the worship of the sun, as implied in the name itself (On being the equivalent of the Hebrew Bethshemesh, "house of the sun") (Jeremiah 43:13) and also from the connection between Joseph and Potipherah("he who belongs to Ela") the priest of On, (Genesis 41:45) After their removal to Canaan, the Hebrews came in contact with various forms of idolatry which originated in the worship of the sun; such as the Baal of the Phoenicians, the Molech or Milcom of the Ammonites, and the Hadad of the Syrians. The importance attached to the worship of the sun by the Jewish kings may be inferred from the fact that the horses sacred to the sun were stalled within the precincts of the temple. (2 Kings 23:11) In the metaphorical language of Scripture the sun is emblematic of the law of God, (Psalms 19:7) of the cheering presence of God, (Psalms 84:11) of the person of the Saviour, (John 1:9; Malachi 4:2) and of the glory and purity of heavenly beings. (Revelation 1:16; 10:1)

Suretyship

In the entire absence of commerce the law laid down no rules on the subject of suretyship; but it is evident that in the time of Solomon commercial dealings had become so multiplied that suretyship in the commercial sense was common. (Proverbs 6:1; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13) But in older times the notion of one man becoming a surety for a service to be discharged by another was in full force. See (Genesis 44:32) The surety of course became liable for his client's debts in case of his failure.

Susa

(Esther 11:3; 16:18) [Shushan, Or Susa].

Susanchites

is found once only - in (Ezra 4:9) There can be no doubt that it designates either the inhabitants of the city Susa or those of the country - Susis or Susiana. Perhaps the former explanation is preferable.

Susanna

(a lily).

The heroine of the story of the Judgment of Daniel. (The book which gives an account of her life is also called "The history of Susanna," and is one of the apocryphal books of the Bible.)

One of the women who ministered to the Lord. (Luke 8:3) (A.D. 28-30.)

Susi

the father of Gaddi the Manassite spy. (Numbers 13:11)

Swallow

Heb. deror in (Psalms 84:3; Proverbs 26:2) Heb. 'agur in (Isaiah 38:14; Jeremiah 8:7) but "crane" is more probably the true signification of 'agur [Crane]). The rendering of the Authorized Version for deror seems correct. The characters ascribed in the passages where the names occur are strictly applicable to the swallow, viz., its swiftness of flight, its meeting in the buildings of the temple, its mournful, garrulous note, and its regular migrations, shared indeed in common with several others. Many species of swallow occur in Palestine. All those common in England are found.

Swan

(Heb. tinshemeth), thus rendered by the Authorized Version in (Leviticus 11:18; 14:16) where it occurs in the list of unclean birds Rut either of the renderings "porphyrio" (purple water-hen) and "ibis" is more probable. Neither of these birds occurs elsewhere in the catalogue; both would be familiar to residents in Egypt, and the original seems to point to some water-fowl. The purple water-hen is allied to our corn-crake and water-hen, and is the largest and most beautiful of the family Rallidae . It frequents marshes and the sedge by the banks of rivers in all the countries bordering on the Mediterranean and is abundant in lower Egypt.

Swearing

[Oath]

Sweat, Bloody

One of the physical phenomena attending our Lord's agony in the garden of Gethsemane is described by St. Luke, (Luke 22:44) "His sweat was as it were great drops (lit. clots) of blood falling down to the ground." Of this malady, known in medical science by the term diapedesis, there have been examples recorded in both ancient and modern times. The cause assigned is generally violent mental emotion.

Swine

(Heb. chazir). The flesh of swine was forbidden as food by the Levitical law, (Leviticus 11:7; 14:8) the abhorrence which the Jews as a nation had of it may be inferred from (Isaiah 65:4) and 2 Macc 6:18,19. No other reason for the command to abstain from swine's flesh is given in the law of Moses beyond the general one which forbade any of the mammalia as food which did not literally fulfill the terms of the definition of a clean animal" viz,, that it was to be a cloven-footed ruminant. It is, however, probable that dietetical considerations may have influenced Moses in his prohibition of swine's flesh: it is generally believed that its use in hot countries is liable to induce cutaneous disorders; hence in a people liable to leprosy the necessity for the observance of a strict rule. Although the Jews did not breed swine during the greater period of their existence as a nation there can be little doubt that the heathen nations of Palestine used the flesh as food. At the time of our Lord's ministry it would appear that the Jews occasionally violated the law of Moses with regard to swine's flesh. Whether "the herd of swine" into which the devils were allowed to enter, (Matthew 8:32; Mark 5:13) were the property of the Jewish or of the Gentile inhabitants of Gadara does not appear from the sacred narrative. The wild boar of the wood, (Psalms 80:13) is the common Sus scrofa which is frequently met with in the woody parts of Palestine, especially in Mount Tabor.

Sword

[Arms, Armor]

Sycamine Tree

is mentioned only in (Luke 17:6) There is no reason to doubt that the sycamine is distinct from the sycamore of the same evangelist. (Luke 19:4) The sycamine is the mulberry tree (Morus). Both black and white mulberry trees are common in Syria and Palestine.

Sycamore

(Heb. shikmah). Although it may be admitted that the sycamine is properly, and in (Luke 17:6) the mulberry, and the sycamore the mulberry, or sycamore-fig (Ficus sycomorus), yet the latter is the tree generally referred to in the Old Testament and called by the Septuagint sycamine, as (1 Kings 10:27; 1 Chronicles 27:28; Psalms 78:47; Amos 7:14) The Sycamore or fig-mulberry, is in Egypt and Palestine a tree of great importance and very extensive use. It attains the size of a walnut tree has wide-spreading branches and affords a delightful shade. On this account it is frequently planted by the waysides. Its leaves are heart-shaped, downy on the under side, and fragrant. The Fruit grows directly from the trunk itself on little sprigs, and in clusters like the grape. To make It eatable, each fruit, three or four days before gathering, must, it is said, be punctured with a sharp instrument or the finger-nail. This was the original employment of the prophet Amos, as he says. (Amos 7:14) So great was the value of these trees that David appointed for them in his kingdom a special overseer, as he did for the olives (1 Chronicles 27:28) and it is mentioned as one of the heaviest of Egypt's calamities that her sycamore were destroyed by hailstones.

Sychar

a place named only in (John 4:5) Sychar was either a name applied to the town of Shechem or it was an independent place. The first of these alternatives is now almost universally accepted. [Shechem]

Sychem

the Greek form of the word Shechem. It occurs in (Acts 7:16) only. [Shechem]

Syene

properly Seventh a town of Egypt, on the frontier of Cush or Ethiopia, (Ezekiel 29:10; 30:6) represented by the present Aruan or Es-Suan.

Symeon

(The Jewish form of the name Simon, used in the Revised Version of (Acts 15:14) and referring to Simon Peter.-ED.)

Synagogue

History . - The word synagogue (sunagoge), which means a "congregation," is used in the New Testament to signify a recognized place of worship. A knowledge of the history and worship of the synagogues is of great importance, since they are the characteristic institution of the later phase of Judaism. They appear to have arisen during the exile, in the abeyance of the temple-worship, and to have received their full development on the return of the Jews from captivity. The whole history of Ezra presupposes the habit of solemn, probably of periodic, meetings. (Ezra 8:15; Nehemiah 8:2; 9:1; Zechariah 7:5) After the Maccabaean struggle for independence, we find almost every town or village had its one or more synagogues. Where the Jews were not in sufficient numbers to be able to erect and fill a building, there was the proseucha (proseuche), or place of prayer, sometimes open, sometimes covered in, commonly by a running stream or on the seashore, in which devout Jews and proselytes met to worship, and perhaps to read. (Acts 16:13) Juven. Sat. iii. 296. It is hardly possible to overestimate the influence of the system thus developed. To it we may ascribe the tenacity with which, after the Maccabaean struggle, the Jews adhered to the religion of their fathers, and never again relapsed into idolatry.

Structure . - The size of a synagogue varied with the population. Its position was, however, determinate. If stood, if possible, on the highest ground, in or near the city to which it belonged. And its direction too was fixed. Jerusalem was the Kibleh of Jewish devotion. The synagogue was so constructed that the worshippers, as they entered and as they prayed, looked toward it. The building was commonly erected at the cost of the district. Sometimes it was built by a rich Jew, or even, as in (Luke 7:5) by a friend or proselyte. In the internal arrangement of the synagogue we trace an obvious analogy to the type of the tabernacle. At the upper or Jerusalem end stood the ark, the chest which, like the older and more sacred ark contained the Book of the Law. It gave to that end the name and character of a sanctuary. This part of the synagogue was naturally the place of honor. Here were the "chief seats," for which Pharisees and scribes strove so eagerly, (Matthew 23:6) and to which the wealthy and honored worshipper was invited. (James 2:2,3) Here too, in front of the ark, still reproducing the type of the tabernacle, was the eight-branched lamp, lighted only on the greater festivals. Besides this there was one lamp kept burning perpetually. More toward the middle of the building was a raised platform, on which several persons could stand at once, and in the middle of this rose a pulpit, in which the reader stood to read the lesson or sat down to teach. The congregation were divided, men on one side, women on the other a low partition, five or six feet high, running between them. The arrangements of modern synagogues, for many centuries, have made the separation more complete by placing the women in low side-galleries, screened off a lattice-work.

Officers. - In smaller towns there was often but one rabbi. Where a fuller organization was possible, there was a college of elders, (Luke 7:3) presided over by one who was "the chief of the synagogue." (Luke 8:41,49; 13:14; Acts 18:8,17) The most prominent functionary in a large synagogue was known as the sheliach (= legatus), the officiating minister who acted as the delegate of the congregation and was therefore the chief reader of prayers, etc.., in their name. The chazzan or "minister" of the synagogue, (Luke 4:20) had duties of a lower kind, resembling those of the Christian deacon or sub-deacon. He was to open the doors and to prepare the building for service. Besides these there were ten men attached to every synagogue, known as the ballanim, ( - otiosi). They were supposed to be men of leisure not obliged to labor for their livelihood able therefore to attend the week-day as well as the Sabbath services. The legatus of the synagogues appears in the angel, (Revelation 1:20; 2:1) perhaps also in the apostle of the Christian Church.

Worship . - It will be enough, in this place, to notice in what way the ritual, no less than the organization, was connected with the facts of the New Testament history, and with the life and order of the Christian Church. From the synagogue came the use of fixed forms of prayer. To that the first disciples had been accustomed from their youth. They had asked their Master to give them a distinctive one, and he had complied with their request, (Luke 11:1) as the Baptist had done before for his disciples, as every rabbi did for his. "Moses" was "read in the synagogues every Sabbath day," (Acts 15:21) the whole law being read consecutively, so as to be completed, according to one cycle, in three years. The writings of the prophets were read as second lessons in a corresponding order. They were followed by the derash (Acts 13:15) the exposition, the sermon of the synagogue. The conformity extends also to the times of prayer. In the hours of service this was obviously the case. The third, sixth and ninth hours were in the times of the New Testament, (Acts 3:1; 10:3,9) and had been probably for some time before, (Psalms 55:17; Daniel 6:10) the fixed times of devotion. The same hours, it is well known, were recognized in the Church of the second century, probably in that of the first also. The solemn days of the synagogue were the second, the fifth and the seventh, the last or Sabbath being the conclusion of the whole. The transfer of the sanctity of the Sabbath to the Lord's day involved a corresponding change in the order of the week, and the first, the fourth the sixth became to the Christian society what the other days had been to the Jewish. From the synagogue, lastly, come many less conspicuous practices, which meet us in the liturgical life of the first three centuries: Ablution, entire or partial, before entering the place of meeting, (John 13:1-15; Hebrews 10:22) standing, and not kneeling, as the attitude of prayer, (Luke 18:11) the arms stretched out; the face turned toward the Kibleh of the east; the responsive amen of the congregation to the prayers and benedictions of the elders. (1 Corinthians 14:16)

Judicial functions . - The language of the New Testament shows that the officers of the synagogue exercised in certain cases a judicial power. If is not quite so easy, however to define the nature of the tribunal and the precise limits of its jurisdiction. In two of the passages referred to - (Matthew 10:17; Mark 13:9) - they are carefully distinguished from the councils. It seems probable that the council was the larger tribunal of twenty-three, which sat in every city, and that under the term synagogue we are to understand a smaller court, probably that of the ten judges mentioned in the Talmud. Here also we trace the outline of a Christian institution. The Church, either by itself or by appointed delegates, was to act as a court of arbitration in all disputes its members. The elders of the church were not however to descend to the trivial disputes of daily life. For the elders, as for those of the synagogue, were reserved the graver offences against religion and morals.

Synagogue, The Great

On the return of the Jews from Babylon, a great council was appointed according to rabbinic tradition, to reorganize the religious life of the people. It consisted of 120 members, and these were known as the men of the Great Synagogue, the successors of the prophets, themselves, in their turn, succeeded by scribes prominent, individually, as teachers. Ezra was recognized as president, Their aim was to restore again the crown, or glory, of Israel. To this end they collected all the sacred writings of the former ages and their own and so completed the canon of the Old Testament. They instituted the feast of Purim organized the ritual of the synagogue, and gave their sanction to the Shemoneh Esreh, the eighteen solemn benedictions in it. Much of this is evidently uncertain. The absence of any historical mention of such a body, not only in the Old Testament and the Apocrypha, but in Josephus, Philo, etc., has had some critics to reject the whole statement as a rabbinic invention. The narrative of (Nehemiah 8:13) clearly implies the existence of a body of men acting as councillors under the presidency of Ezra; and these may have been an assembly of delegates from all provincial synagogues-a synod of the national Church.

Syntyche

(with fate), a female member of the church of Philippi. (Philemon 4:2,3) (A.D.57).

Syracuse

the celebrated city on the eastern coast of Sicily. "The city in its splendor was the largest and richest that the Greeks possessed in any part of the world, being 22 miles in circumference." St. Paul arrived thither in an Alexandrian ship from Melita, on his voyage to Rome. (Acts 28:12) The site of Syracuse rendered it a convenient place for the African corn-ships to touch at, for the harbor was an excellent one, and the fountain Arethusa in the island furnished an unfailing supply of excellent water.

Syria

is the term used throughout our version for the Hebrew Aram, as well as for the Greek Zupia . Most probably Syria is for Tsyria, the country about Tsur or Tyre which was the first of the Syrian towns known to the Greeks. It is difficult to fix the limits of Syria. The limits of the Hebrew Aram and its subdivisions are spoken of under Aram. Syria proper was bounded by Amanus and Taurus on the north by the Euphrates and the Arabian desert on the east, by Palestine on the south, by the Mediterranean near the mouth of the Orontes, and then by Phoenicia on the west. This tract is about 300 miles long from north to south, and from 50 to 150 miles broad. It contains an area of about 30,000 square miles. General physical features . - The general character of the tract is mountainous, as the Hebrew name Aram (from a roof signifying "height") sufficiently implies. The most fertile and valuable tract of Syria is the long valley intervening between Libanus and Anti-Libanus. Of the various mountain ranges of Syria, Lebanon possesses the greatest interest. It extends from the mouth of the Litany to Arka, a distance of nearly 100 miles. Anti-Libanus, as the name implies, stands lover against Lebanon, running in the same direction, i.e. nearly north and south, and extending the same length. [Lebanon] The principal rivers of Syria are the Litany and the Orontes. The Litany springs from a small lake situated in the middle of the Coele-Syrian valley, about six miles to the southwest of Baalbek. It enters the sea about five miles north of Tyre. The source of the Orontes is but about 15 miles from that of the Litany. Its modern name is the Nahr-el-Asi, or "rebel stream," an appellation given to it on account of its violence and impetuosity in many parts of its course. The chief towns of Syria may be thus arranged, as nearly as possible in the order of their importance: 1, Antioch; 2, Damascus; 3, Apamea; 4, Seleucia; 5, Tadmor or Palmyra; 6, Laodicea; 7, Epiphania (Hamath); 8, Samosata; 9, Hierapolis (Mabug); 10, Chalybon; 11, Emesa; 12, Heliopolis; 13, Laodicea ad Libanum; 14, Cyrrhus; 15, Chalcis; 16, Poseideum; 17, Heraclea; 18, Gindarus; 19, Zeugma; 20, Thapsacus. Of these, Samosata, Zeugma and Thapsacus are on the Euphrates; Seleucia, Laodicea, Poseideum and Heraclea, on the seashore, Antioch, Apamea, Epiphania and Emesa (Hems), on the Orontes; Heliopolis and Laodicea ad Libanum, in Coele-Syria; Hierapolis, Chalybon, Cyrrhus, Chalcis and Gindarns, in the northern highlands; Damascus on the skirts, and Palmyra in the centre, of the eastern desert. History. - The first occupants of Syria appear to have been of Hamitic descent - Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, etc. After a while the first comers, who were still to a great extent nomads, received a Semitic infusion, while most Probably came to them from the southeast. The only Syrian town whose existence we find distinctly marked at this time is Damascus, (Genesis 14:15; 15:2) which appears to have been already a place of some importance. Next to Damascus must be placed Hamath. (Numbers 13:21; 34:8) Syria at this time, and for many centuries afterward, seems to have been broken up among a number of petty kingdoms. The Jews first come into hostile contact with the Syrians, under that name, in the time of David. (Genesis 15:18; 2 Samuel 8:3,4,13) When, a few years later, the Ammonites determined on engaging in a war with David, and applied to the Syrians for aid, Zolah, together with Beth-rehob sent them 20,000 footmen, and two other Syrian kingdoms furnished 13,000. (2 Samuel 10:6) This army being completely defeated by Joab, Hadadezer obtained aid from Mesopotamia, ibid. ver. 16, and tried the chance of a third battle, which likewise went against him, and produced the general submission of Syria to the Jewish monarch. The submission thus begun continued under the reign of Solomon. (1 Kings 4:21) The only part of Syria which Solomon lost seems to have been Damascus, where an independent kingdom was set up by Rezon, a native of Zobah. (1 Kings 11:23-25) On the separation of the two kingdoms, soon after the accession of Rehoboam, the remainder of Syria no doubt shook off the yoke. Damascus now became decidedly the leading state, Hamath being second to it, and the northern Hittites, whose capital was Carchemish, near Bambuk, third. [Damascus] Syria became attached to the great Assyrian empire, from which it passed to the Babylonians, and from them to the Persians, In B.C. 333 it submitted to Alexander without a struggle. Upon the death of Alexander, Syria became, for the first time the head of a great kingdom. On the division of the provinces among his generals, B.C. 321, Seleucus Nicator received Mesopotamia and Syria. The city of Antioch was begun in B.C. 300, and, being finished in a few years, was made the capital of Seleucus' kingdom. The country grew rich with the wealth which now flowed into it on all sides. Syria was added to the Roman empire by Pompey, B.C. 64, and as it holds an important place, not only in the Old Testament but in the New, some account of its condition under the Romans must be given. While the country generally was formed into a Roman province, under governors who were at first proprietors or quaestors, then procounsuls, and finally legates, there were exempted from the direct rule of the governor in the first place, a number of "free cities" which retained the administration of their own affairs, subject to a tribute levied according to the Roman principles of taxation; secondly, a number of tracts, which were assigned to petty princes, commonly natives, to be ruled at their pleasure, subject to the same obligations with the free cities as to taxation. After the formal division of the provinces between Augustus and the senate, Syria, being from its exposed situation among the province principis, were ruled by legates, who were of consular rank (consulares) and bore severally the full title of "Legatus Augusti pro praetore." Judea occupied a peculiar position; a special procurator was therefore appointed to rule it, who was subordinate to the governor of Syria, but within his own province had the power of a legatus. Syria continued without serious disturbance from the expulsion of the Parthians, B.C. 38, to the breaking out of the Jewish war, A.D. 66. in A.D. 44-47 it was the scene of a severe famine. A little earlier, Christianity had begun to spread into it, partly by means of those who "were scattered" at the time of Stephen's persecution, (Acts 11:19) partly by the exertions of St. Paul. (Galatians 1:21) The Syrian Church soon grew to be one of the most flourishing (Acts 13:1; 15:23,35,41) etc. (Syria remained under Roman and Byzantine rule till A.D. 634, when it was overrun by the Mohammedans; after which it was for many years the scene of fierce contests, and was finally subjugated by the Turks, A.D. 1517, under whose rule it still remains. - ED.)

Syrophoenician

occurs only in (Mark 7:26) The word denoted perhaps a mixed race, half Phoenicians and half Syrians; (or the Phoenicians in this region may have been called Syro-phoenicians because they belonged to the Roman province of Syria, and were thus distinguished from the Phoenicians who lived in Africa, or the Carthaginians. - ED.)

Syrtis, The

(Acts 27:17) in the Revised Version in place of "quicksands" in the Authorized Version. It was the well-known Syrtis Major, the terror of all Mediterranean sailors. "It is a dangerous shallow on the coast of Africa, between Tripoli and Barca, southwest of the island of Crete." The other Syrtis Syrtis Minor, was too far west to be feared by Paul's fellow voyagers. - ED.