The descendants of a man, however remote, are called his
children; as, "the children of Edom," "the
children of Moab," "the children of Israel."
In the earliest times mothers did not wean their children
till they were from thirty months to three years old; and
the day on which they were weaned was kept as a festival
day (Gen. 21:8; Ex. 2:7, 9; 1 Sam. 1:22-24; Matt. 21:16).
At the age of five, children began to learn the arts and
duties of life under the care of their fathers (Deut.
6:20-25; 11:19).
To have a numerous family was regarded as a mark of divine
favour (Gen. 11:30; 30:1; 1 Sam. 2:5; 2 Sam. 6:23; Ps.
127:3; 128:3).
Figuratively the name is used for those who are ignorant or
narrow-minded (Matt. 11:16; Luke 7:32; 1 Cor. 13:11).
"When I was a child, I spake as a child."
"Brethren, be not children in understanding" (1
Cor. 14:20). "That we henceforth be no more children,
tossed to and fro" (Eph. 4:14).
Children are also spoken of as representing simplicity and
humility (Matt. 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17).
Believers are "children of light" (Luke 16:8; 1
Thess. 5:5) and "children of obedience" (1 Pet.
1:14).
The Sea of Chinnereth (Num. 34:11; Josh. 13:27), or of
Chinneroth (Josh. 12: 3), was the "lake of
Gennesaret" or "sea of Tiberias" (Deut.
3:17; Josh. 11:2). Chinnereth was probably an ancient
Canaanitish name adopted by the Israelites into their
language.
The references elsewhere made to Chittim (Isa. 23:1, 12;
Jer. 2:10; Ezek. 27:6) are to be explained on the ground
that while the name originally designated the Phoenicians
only, it came latterly to be used of all the islands and
various settlements on the sea-coasts which they had
occupied, and then of the people who succeeded them when
the Phoenician power decayed. Hence it designates generally
the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean and the races
that inhabit them.
The Messiah is the same person as "the seed of the
woman" (Gen. 3:15), "the seed of Abraham"
(Gen. 22:18), the "Prophet like unto Moses"
(Deut. 18:15), "the priest after the order of
Melchizedek" (Ps. 110:4), "the rod out of the
stem of Jesse" (Isa. 11:1, 10), the
"Immanuel," the virgin's son (Isa. 7:14),
"the branch of Jehovah" (Isa. 4:2), and "the
messenger of the covenant" (Mal. 3:1). This is he
"of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did
write." The Old Testament Scripture is full of
prophetic declarations regarding the Great Deliverer and
the work he was to accomplish. Jesus the Christ is Jesus
the Great Deliverer, the Anointed One, the Saviour of men.
This name denotes that Jesus was divinely appointed,
commissioned, and accredited as the Saviour of men (Heb.
5:4; Isa. 11:2-4; 49:6; John 5:37; Acts 2:22).
To believe that "Jesus is the Christ" is to
believe that he is the Anointed, the Messiah of the
prophets, the Saviour sent of God, that he was, in a word,
what he claimed to be. This is to believe the gospel, by
the faith of which alone men can be brought unto God. That
Jesus is the Christ is the testimony of God, and the faith
of this constitutes a Christian (1 Cor. 12:3; 1 John 5:1).
The contents of these books are comprehended under four
heads. (1.) The first nine chapters of Book I. contain
little more than a list of genealogies in the line of
Israel down to the time of David. (2.) The remainder of the
first book contains a history of the reign of David. (3.)
The first nine chapters of Book II. contain the history of
the reign of Solomon. (4.) The remaining chapters of the
second book contain the history of the separate kingdom of
Judah to the time of the return from Babylonian Exile.
The time of the composition of the Chronicles was, there is
every ground to conclude, subsequent to the Babylonian
Exile, probably between 450 and 435 B.C. The contents of
this twofold book, both as to matter and form, correspond
closely with this idea. The close of the book records the
proclamation of Cyrus permitting the Jews to return to
their own land, and this forms the opening passage of the
Book of Ezra, which must be viewed as a continuation of the
Chronicles. The peculiar form of the language, being
Aramaean in its general character, harmonizes also with
that of the books which were written after the Exile. The
author was certainly contemporary with Zerubbabel, details
of whose family history are given (1 Chr. 3:19).
The time of the composition being determined, the question
of the authorship may be more easily decided. According to
Jewish tradition, which was universally received down to
the middle of the seventeenth century, Ezra was regarded as
the author of the Chronicles. There are many points of
resemblance and of contact between the Chronicles and the
Book of Ezra which seem to confirm this opinion. The
conclusion of the one and the beginning of the other are
almost identical in expression. In their spirit and
characteristics they are the same, showing thus also an
identity of authorship.
In their general scope and design these books are not so
much historical as didactic. The principal aim of the
writer appears to be to present moral and religious truth.
He does not give prominence to political occurences, as is
done in Samuel and Kings, but to ecclesiastical
institutions. "The genealogies, so uninteresting to
most modern readers, were really an important part of the
public records of the Hebrew state. They were the basis on
which not only the land was distributed and held, but the
public services of the temple were arranged and conducted,
the Levites and their descendants alone, as is well known,
being entitled and first fruits set apart for that
purpose." The "Chronicles" are an epitome of
the sacred history from the days of Adam down to the return
from Babylonian Exile, a period of about 3,500 years. The
writer gathers up "the threads of the old national
life broken by the Captivity."
The sources whence the chronicler compiled his work were
public records, registers, and genealogical tables
belonging to the Jews. These are referred to in the course
of the book (1 Chr. 27:24; 29:29; 2 Chr. 9:29; 12:15;
13:22; 20:34; 24:27; 26:22; 32:32; 33:18, 19; 27:7; 35:25).
There are in Chronicles, and the books of Samuel and Kings,
forty parallels, often verbal, proving that the writer both
knew and used these records (1 Chr. 17:18; comp. 2 Sam.
7:18-20; 1 Chr. 19; comp. 2 Sam. 10, etc.).
As compared with Samuel and Kings, the Book of Chronicles
omits many particulars there recorded (2 Sam. 6:20-23; 9;
11; 14-19, etc.), and includes many things peculiar to
itself (1 Chr. 12; 22; 23-26; 27; 28; 29, etc.). Twenty
whole chapters, and twenty-four parts of chapters, are
occupied with matter not found elsewhere. It also records
many things in fuller detail, as (e.g.) the list of
David's heroes (1 Chr. 12:1-37), the removal of the ark
from Kirjath-jearim to Mount Zion (1 Chr. 13; 15:2-24;
16:4-43; comp. 2 Sam. 6), Uzziah's leprosy and its
cause (2 Chr. 26:16-21; comp. 2 Kings 15:5), etc.
It has also been observed that another peculiarity of the
book is that it substitutes modern and more common
expressions for those that had then become unusual or
obsolete. This is seen particularly in the substitution of
modern names of places, such as were in use in the
writer's day, for the old names; thus Gezer (1 Chr.
20:4) is used instead of Gob (2 Sam. 21:18), etc.
The Books of Chronicles are ranked among the
khethubim or hagiographa. They are alluded to, though
not directly quoted, in the New Testament (Heb. 5:4; Matt.
12:42; 23:35; Luke 1:5; 11:31, 51).
Hence in constructing a system of Biblecal chronology, the
plan has been adopted of reckoning the years from the ages
of the patriarchs before the birth of their first-born sons
for the period from the Creation to Abraham. After this
period other data are to be taken into account in
determining the relative sequence of events.
As to the patriarchal period, there are three principal
systems of chronology: (1) that of the Hebrew text, (2)
that of the Septuagint version, and (3) that of the
Samaritan Pentateuch, as seen in the scheme on the opposite
page.
The Samaritan and the Septuagint have considerably modified
the Hebrew chronology. This modification some regard as
having been wilfully made, and to be rejected. The same
system of variations is observed in the chronology of the
period between the Flood and Abraham. Thus:
| Hebrew Septuigant Samaritan | From the birth of |
Arphaxad, 2 years | after the Flood, to | the birth of
Terah. 220 1000 870 | From the birth of | Terah to the
birth | of Abraham. 130 70 72
The Septuagint fixes on seventy years as the age of Terah
at the birth of Abraham, from Gen. 11:26; but a comparison
of Gen. 11:32 and Acts 7:4 with Gen. 12:4 shows that when
Terah died, at the age of two hundred and five years,
Abraham was seventy-five years, and hence Terah must have
been one hundred and thirty years when Abraham was born.
Thus, including the two years from the Flood to the birth
of Arphaxad, the period from the Flood to the birth of
Abraham was three hundred and fifty-two years.
The next period is from the birth of Abraham to the Exodus.
This, according to the Hebrew, extends to five hundred and
five years. The difficulty here is as to the four hundred
and thirty years mentioned Ex. 12:40, 41; Gal. 3:17. These
years are regarded by some as dating from the covenant with
Abraham (Gen. 15), which was entered into soon after his
sojourn in Egypt; others, with more probability, reckon
these years from Jacob's going down into Egypt.)
In modern times the systems of Biblical chronology that
have been adopted are chiefly those of Ussher and Hales.
The former follows the Hebrew, and the latter the
Septuagint mainly. Archbishop Ussher's (died 1656)
system is called the short chronology. It is that given on
the margin of the Authorized Version, but is really of no
authority, and is quite uncertain.
In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek
word ecclesia, which is synonymous with the Hebrew
kahal of the Old Testament, both words meaning simply
an assembly, the character of which can only be known from
the connection in which the word is found. There is no
clear instance of its being used for a place of meeting or
of worship, although in post-apostolic times it early
received this meaning. Nor is this word ever used to denote
the inhabitants of a country united in the same profession,
as when we say the "Church of England," the
"Church of Scotland," etc.
We find the word ecclesia used in the following senses in
the New Testament: (1.) It is translated
"assembly" in the ordinary classical sense (Acts
19:32, 39, 41).
(2.) It denotes the whole body of the redeemed, all those
whom the Father has given to Christ, the invisible catholic
church (Eph. 5:23, 25, 27, 29; Heb. 12:23).
(3.) A few Christians associated together in observing the
ordinances of the gospel are an ecclesia (Rom. 16:5; Col.
4:15).
(4.) All the Christians in a particular city, whether they
assembled together in one place or in several places for
religious worship, were an ecclesia. Thus all the disciples
in Antioch, forming several congregations, were one church
(Acts 13:1); so also we read of the "church of God at
Corinth" (1 Cor. 1:2), "the church at
Jerusalem" (Acts 8:1), "the church of
Ephesus" (Rev. 2:1), etc.
(5.) The whole body of professing Christians throughout the
world (1 Cor. 15:9; Gal. 1:13; Matt. 16:18) are the church
of Christ.
The church visible "consists of all those throughout
the world that profess the true religion, together with
their children." It is called "visible"
because its members are known and its assemblies are
public. Here there is a mixture of "wheat and
chaff," of saints and sinners. "God has commanded
his people to organize themselves into distinct visible
ecclesiastical communities, with constitutions, laws, and
officers, badges, ordinances, and discipline, for the great
purpose of giving visibility to his kingdom, of making
known the gospel of that kingdom, and of gathering in all
its elect subjects. Each one of these distinct organized
communities which is faithful to the great King is an
integral part of the visible church, and all together
constitute the catholic or universal visible church."
A credible profession of the true religion constitutes a
person a member of this church. This is "the kingdom
of heaven," whose character and progress are set forth
in the parables recorded in Matt. 13.
The children of all who thus profess the true religion are
members of the visible church along with their parents.
Children are included in every covenant God ever made with
man. They go along with their parents (Gen. 9:9-17; 12:1-3;
17:7; Ex. 20:5; Deut. 29:10-13). Peter, on the day of
Pentecost, at the beginning of the New Testament
dispensation, announces the same great principle. "The
promise [just as to Abraham and his seed the promises were
made] is unto you, and to your children" (Acts 2:38,
39). The children of believing parents are
"holy", i.e., are "saints", a title
which designates the members of the Christian church (1
Cor. 7:14).
The church invisible "consists of the whole number of
the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into
one under Christ, the head thereof." This is a pure
society, the church in which Christ dwells. It is the body
of Christ. it is called "invisible" because the
greater part of those who constitute it are already in
heaven or are yet unborn, and also because its members
still on earth cannot certainly be distinguished. The
qualifications of membership in it are internal and are
hidden. It is unseen except by Him who "searches the
heart." "The Lord knoweth them that are his"
(2 Tim. 2:19).
The church to which the attributes, prerogatives, and
promises appertaining to Christ's kingdom belong, is a
spiritual body consisting of all true believers, i.e., the
church invisible.
(1.) Its unity. God has ever had only one church on earth.
We sometimes speak of the Old Testament Church and of the
New Testament church, but they are one and the same. The
Old Testament church was not to be changed but enlarged
(Isa. 49:13-23; 60:1-14). When the Jews are at length
restored, they will not enter a new church, but will be
grafted again into "their own olive tree" (Rom.
11:18-24; comp. Eph. 2:11-22). The apostles did not set up
a new organization. Under their ministry disciples were
"added" to the "church" already
existing (Acts 2:47).
(2.) Its universality. It is the "catholic"
church; not confined to any particular country or outward
organization, but comprehending all believers throughout
the whole world.
(3.) Its perpetuity. It will continue through all ages to
the end of the world. It can never be destroyed. It is an
"everlasting kindgdom."
As a rite of the church it ceased when the New Testament
times began (Gal. 6:15; Col. 3:11). Some Jewish Christians
sought to impose it, however, on the Gentile converts; but
this the apostles resolutely resisted (Acts 15:1; Gal.
6:12). Our Lord was circumcised, for it "became him to
fulfil all righteousness," as of the seed of Abraham,
according to the flesh; and Paul "took and
circumcised" Timothy (Acts 16:3), to avoid giving
offence to the Jews. It would render Timothy's labours
more acceptable to the Jews. But Paul would by no means
consent to the demand that Titus should be circumcised
(Gal. 2:3-5). The great point for which he contended was
the free admission of uncircumcised Gentiles into the
church. He contended successfully in behalf of Titus, even
in Jerusalem.
In the Old Testament a spiritual idea is attached to
circumcision. It was the symbol of purity (Isa. 52:1). We
read of uncircumcised lips (Ex. 6:12, 30), ears (Jer.
6:10), hearts (Lev. 26:41). The fruit of a tree that is
unclean is spoken of as uncircumcised (Lev. 19:23).
It was a sign and seal of the covenant of grace as well as
of the national covenant between God and the Hebrews. (1.)
It sealed the promises made to Abraham, which related to
the commonwealth of Israel, national promises. (2.) But the
promises made to Abraham included the promise of redemption
(Gal. 3:14), a promise which has come upon us. The covenant
with Abraham was a dispensation or a specific form of the
covenant of grace, and circumcision was a sign and seal of
that covenant. It had a spiritual meaning. It signified
purification of the heart, inward circumcision effected by
the Spirit (Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Ezek. 44:7; Acts 7:51; Rom.
2:28; Col. 2:11). Circumcision as a symbol shadowing forth
sanctification by the Holy Spirit has now given way to the
symbol of baptism (q.v.). But the truth embodied in both
ordinances is ever the same, the removal of sin, the
sanctifying effects of grace in the heart.
Under the Jewish dispensation, church and state were
identical. No one could be a member of the one without also
being a member of the other. Circumcision was a sign and
seal of membership in both. Every circumcised person bore
thereby evidence that he was one of the chosen people, a
member of the church of God as it then existed, and
consequently also a member of the Jewish commonwealth.
Empty cisterns were sometimes used as prisons (Jer. 38:6;
Lam. 3:53; Ps. 40:2; 69:15). The "pit" into which
Joseph was cast (Gen. 37:24) was a beer or dry well.
There are numerous remains of ancient cisterns in all parts
of Palestine.
The right of citizenship under the Roman government was
granted by the emperor to individuals, and sometimes to
provinces, as a favour or as a recompense for services
rendered to the state, or for a sum of money (Acts 22:28).
This "freedom" secured privileges equal to those
enjoyed by natives of Rome. Among the most notable of these
was the provision that a man could not be bound or
imprisoned without a formal trial (Acts 22:25, 26), or
scourged (16:37). All Roman citizens had the right of
appeal to Caesar (25:11).
A fenced city was a city surrounded by fortifications and
high walls, with watch-towers upon them (2 Chr. 11:11;
Deut. 3:5). There was also within the city generally a
tower to which the citizens might flee when danger
threatened them (Judg. 9:46-52).
A city with suburbs was a city surrounded with open
pasture-grounds, such as the forty-eight cities which were
given to the Levites (Num. 35:2-7). There were six cities
of refuge, three on each side of Jordan, namely, Kadesh,
Shechem, Hebron, on the west of Jordan; and on the east,
Bezer, Ramoth-gilead, and Golan. The cities on each side of
the river were nearly opposite each other. The regulations
concerning these cities are given in Num. 35:9-34; Deut.
19:1-13; Ex. 21:12-14.
When David reduced the fortress of the Jebusites which
stood on Mount Zion, he built on the site of it a palace
and a city, which he called by his own name (1 Chr. 11:5),
the city of David. Bethlehem is also so called as being
David's native town (Luke 2:4).
Jerusalem is called the Holy City, the holiness of the
temple being regarded as extending in some measure over the
whole city (Neh. 11:1).
Pithom and Raamses, built by the Israelites as
"treasure cities," were not places where royal
treasures were kept, but were fortified towns where
merchants might store their goods and transact their
business in safety, or cities in which munitions of war
were stored.
During the reign of this emperor, several persecutions of
the Christians by the Jews took place in the dominions of
Herod Agrippa, in one of which the apostle James was
"killed" (12:2). He died A.D. 54.
(2.) Claudius Lysias, a Greek who, having obtained by
purchase the privilege of Roman citizenship, took the name
of Claudius (Acts 21:31-40; 22:28; 23:26).
The Hebrews were prohibited from using as food certain
animal substances, such as (1) blood; (2) the fat covering
the intestines, termed the caul; (3) the fat on the
intestines, called the mesentery; (4) the fat of the
kidneys; and (5) the fat tail of certain sheep (Ex. 29:13,
22; Lev. 3:4-9; 9:19; 17:10; 19:26).
The chief design of these regulations seems to have been to
establish a system of regimen which would distinguish the
Jews from all other nations. Regarding the design and the
abolition of these regulations the reader will find all the
details in Lev. 20:24-26; Acts 10:9-16; 11:1-10; Heb.
9:9-14.
The word translated "cloke", i.e., outer garment,
in Matt. 5:40 is in its plural form used of garments in
general (Matt. 17:2; 26:65). The cloak mentioned here and
in Luke 6:29 was the Greek himation, Latin pallium, and
consisted of a large square piece of wollen cloth fastened
round the shoulders, like the abba of the Arabs. This could
be taken by a creditor (Ex. 22:26,27), but the coat or
tunic (Gr. chiton) mentioned in Matt. 5:40 could not.
The cloak which Paul "left at Troas" (2 Tim.
4:13) was the Roman paenula, a thick upper garment used
chiefly in travelling as a protection from the weather.
Some, however, have supposed that what Paul meant was a
travelling-bag. In the Syriac version the word used means a
bookcase.
Cloud, the pillar of, was the glory-cloud which indicated
God's presence leading the ransomed people through the
wilderness (Ex. 13:22; 33:9, 10). This pillar preceded the
people as they marched, resting on the ark (Ex. 13:21;
40:36). By night it became a pillar of fire (Num. 9:17-23).
Like most of Paul's epistles, this consists of two
parts, a doctrinal and a practical.
(1.) The doctrinal part comprises the first two chapters.
His main theme is developed in chapter 2. He warns them
against being drawn away from Him in whom dwelt all the
fulness of the Godhead, and who was the head of all
spiritual powers. Christ was the head of the body of which
they were members; and if they were truly united to him,
what needed they more?
(2.) The practical part of the epistle (3-4) enforces
various duties naturally flowing from the doctrines
expounded. They are exhorted to mind things that are above
(3:1-4), to mortify every evil principle of their nature,
and to put on the new man (3:5-14). Many special duties of
the Christian life are also insisted upon as the fitting
evidence of the Christian character. Tychicus was the
bearer of the letter, as he was also of that to the
Ephesians and to Philemon, and he would tell them of the
state of the apostle (4:7-9). After friendly greetings
(10-14), he bids them interchange this letter with that he
had sent to the neighbouring church of Laodicea. He then
closes this brief but striking epistle with his usual
autograph salutation. There is a remarkable resemblance
between this epistle and that to the Ephesians (q.v.). The
genuineness of this epistle has not been called in
question.
White occurs as the translation of various Hebrew words. It
is applied to milk (Gen. 49:12), manna (Ex. 16:31), snow
(Isa. 1:18), horses (Zech. 1:8), raiment (Eccl. 9:8).
Another Hebrew word so rendered is applied to marble
(Esther 1:6), and a cognate word to the lily (Cant. 2:16).
A different term, meaning "dazzling," is applied
to the countenance (Cant. 5:10).
This colour was an emblem of purity and innocence (Mark
16:5; John 20:12; Rev. 19:8, 14), of joy (Eccl. 9:8), and
also of victory (Zech. 6:3; Rev. 6:2). The hangings of the
tabernacle court (Ex. 27:9; 38:9), the coats, mitres,
bonnets, and breeches of the priests (Ex. 39:27,28), and
the dress of the high priest on the day of Atonement (Lev.
16:4,32), were white.
Black, applied to the hair (Lev. 13:31; Cant. 5:11), the
complexion (Cant. 1:5), and to horses (Zech. 6:2,6). The
word rendered "brown" in Gen. 30:32 (R.V.,
"black") means properly "scorched",
i.e., the colour produced by the influence of the sun's
rays. "Black" in Job 30:30 means dirty, blackened
by sorrow and disease. The word is applied to a
mourner's robes (Jer. 8:21; 14:2), to a clouded sky (1
Kings 18:45), to night (Micah 3:6; Jer. 4:28), and to a
brook rendered turbid by melted snow (Job 6:16). It is used
as symbolical of evil in Zech. 6:2, 6 and Rev. 6:5. It was
the emblem of mourning, affliction, calamity (Jer. 14:2;
Lam. 4:8; 5:10).
Red, applied to blood (2 Kings 3;22), a heifer (Num. 19:2),
pottage of lentils (Gen. 25:30), a horse (Zech. 1:8), wine
(Prov. 23:31), the complexion (Gen. 25:25; Cant. 5:10).
This colour is symbolical of bloodshed (Zech. 6:2; Rev.
6:4; 12:3).
Purple, a colour obtained from the secretion of a species
of shell-fish (the Murex trunculus) which was found in the
Mediterranean, and particularly on the coasts of Phoenicia
and Asia Minor. The colouring matter in each separate
shell-fish amounted to only a single drop, and hence the
great value of this dye. Robes of this colour were worn by
kings (Judg. 8:26) and high officers (Esther 8:15). They
were also worn by the wealthy and luxurious (Jer. 10:9;
Ezek. 27:7; Luke 16:19; Rev. 17:4). With this colour was
associated the idea of royalty and majesty (Judg. 8:26;
Cant. 3:10; 7:5; Dan. 5:7, 16,29).
Blue. This colour was also procured from a species of
shell-fish, the chelzon of the Hebrews, and the Helix
ianthina of modern naturalists. The tint was emblematic of
the sky, the deep dark hue of the Eastern sky. This colour
was used in the same way as purple. The ribbon and fringe
of the Hebrew dress were of this colour (Num. 15:38). The
loops of the curtains (Ex. 26:4), the lace of the high
priest's breastplate, the robe of the ephod, and the
lace on his mitre, were blue (Ex. 28:28, 31, 37).
Scarlet, or Crimson. In Isa. 1:18 a Hebrew word is used
which denotes the worm or grub whence this dye was
procured. In Gen. 38:28,30, the word so rendered means
"to shine," and expresses the brilliancy of the
colour. The small parasitic insects from which this dye was
obtained somewhat resembled the cochineal which is found in
Eastern countries. It is called by naturalists Coccus
ilics. The dye was procured from the female grub alone. The
only natural object to which this colour is applied in
Scripture is the lips, which are likened to a scarlet
thread (Cant. 4:3). Scarlet robes were worn by the rich and
luxurious (2 Sam. 1:24; Prov. 31:21; Jer. 4:30. Rev. 17:4).
It was also the hue of the warrior's dress (Nah. 2:3;
Isa. 9:5). The Phoenicians excelled in the art of dyeing
this colour (2 Chr. 2:7).
These four colours--white, purple, blue, and scarlet--were
used in the textures of the tabernacle curtains (Ex. 26:1,
31, 36), and also in the high priest's ephod, girdle,
and breastplate (Ex. 28:5, 6, 8, 15). Scarlet thread is
mentioned in connection with the rites of cleansing the
leper (Lev. 14:4, 6, 51) and of burning the red heifer
(Num. 19:6). It was a crimson thread that Rahab was to bind
on her window as a sign that she was to be saved alive
(Josh. 2:18; 6:25) when the city of Jericho was taken.
Vermilion, the red sulphuret of mercury, or cinnabar; a
colour used for drawing the figures of idols on the walls
of temples (Ezek. 23:14), or for decorating the walls and
beams of houses (Jer. 22:14).
It is worthy of notice that although Paul nowhere uses the
word paracletos, he yet presents the idea it embodies when
he speaks of the "intercession" both of Christ
and the Spirit (Rom. 8:27, 34).
The expression is used metaphorically of the introduction
of the gospel into any place (John 15:22; Eph. 2:17), the
visible establishment of his kingdom in the world (Matt.
16:28), the conferring on his people of the peculiar tokens
of his love (John 14:18, 23, 28), and his executing
judgment on the wicked (2 Thess. 2:8).
They are obviously "ten" in number, but their
division is not fixed, hence different methods of numbering
them have been adopted. The Jews make the
"Preface" one of the commandments, and then
combine the first and second. The Roman Catholics and
Lutherans combine the first and second and divide the tenth
into two. The Jews and Josephus divide them equally. The
Lutherans and Roman Catholics refer three commandments to
the first table and seven to the second. The Greek and
Reformed Churches refer four to the first and six to the
second table. The Samaritans add to the second that Gerizim
is the mount of worship.
The immediate cause of concubinage might be gathered from
the conjugal histories of Abraham and Jacob (Gen. 16;30).
But in process of time the custom of concubinage
degenerated, and laws were made to restrain and regulate it
(Ex. 21:7-9).
Christianity has restored the sacred institution of
marriage to its original character, and concubinage is
ranked with the sins of fornication and adultery (Matt.
19:5-9; 1 Cor. 7:2).
There are also the remains of a conduit which conducted
water from the so-called "Pools of Solomon,"
beyond Bethlehem, into the city. Water is still conveyed
into the city from the fountains which supplied these pools
by a channel which crosses the valley of Hinnom.
The animal intended by this name is known among naturalists
as the Hyrax Syriacus. It is neither a ruminant nor a
rodent, but is regarded as akin to the rhinoceros. When it
is said to "chew the cud," the Hebrew word so
used does not necessarily imply the possession of a
ruminant stomach. "The lawgiver speaks according to
appearances; and no one can watch the constant motion of
the little creature's jaws, as it sits continually
working its teeth, without recognizing the naturalness of
the expression" (Tristram, Natural History of the
Bible). It is about the size and color of a rabbit, though
clumsier in structure, and without a tail. Its feet are not
formed for digging, and therefore it has its home not in
burrows but in the clefts of the rocks. "Coney"
is an obsolete English word for "rabbit."
After the conquest of Canaan, the people were assembled
only on occasions of the highest national importance (Judg.
20; 2 Chr. 30:5; 34:29; 1 Sam. 10:17; 2 Sam. 5:1-5; 1 Kings
12:20; 2 Kings 11:19; 21:24; 23:30). In subsequent times
the congregation was represented by the Sanhedrim; and the
name synagogue, applied in the Septuagint version
exclusively to the congregation, came to be used to denote
the places of worship established by the Jews.
In Acts 13:43, where alone it occurs in the New Testament,
it is the same word as that rendered "synagogue"
(q.v.) in ver. 42, and is so rendered in ver. 43 in R.V.
Tubal-cain was the first artificer in brass and iron (Gen.
4:22). Hiram was noted as a worker in brass (1 Kings 7:14).
Copper abounded in Palestine (Deut. 8:9; Isa. 60:17; 1 Chr.
22:3, 14). All sorts of vessels in the tabernacle and the
temple were made of it (Lev. 6:28; Num. 16:39; 2 Chr. 4:16;
Ezra 8:27); also weapons of war (1 Sam. 17:5, 6, 38; 2 Sam.
21:16). Iron is mentioned only four times (Gen. 4:22; Lev.
26:19; Num. 31:22; 35:16) in the first four books of Moses,
while copper (rendered "brass") is mentioned
forty times.
We find mention of Alexander (q.v.), a
"coppersmith" of Ephesus (2 Tim. 4:14).
The coral is a cretaceous marine product, the deposit by
minute polypous animals of calcareous matter in cells in
which the animal lives. It is of numberless shapes as it
grows, but usually is branched like a tree. Great coral
reefs and coral islands abound in the Red Sea, whence
probably the Hebrews derived their knowledge of it. It is
found of different colours, white, black, and red. The red,
being esteemed the most precious, was used, as noticed
above, for ornamental purposes.