Samaria

A watch-mountain or a watch-tower. In the heart of the mountains of Israel, a few miles north-west of Shechem, stands the “hill of Shomeron,” a solitary mountain, a great “mamelon.” It is an oblong hill, with steep but not inaccessible sides, and a long flat top. Omri, the king of Israel, purchased this hill from Shemer its owner for two talents of silver, and built on its broad summit the city to which he gave the name of “Shomeron”, i.e., Samaria, as the new capital of his kingdom instead of Tirzah (1 Kings 16:24). As such it possessed many advantages. Here Omri resided during the last six years of his reign. As the result of an unsuccessful war with Syria, he appears to have been obliged to grant to the Syrians the right to “make streets in Samaria”, i.e., probably permission to the Syrian merchants to carry on their trade in the Israelite capital. This would imply the existence of a considerable Syrian population. “It was the only great city of Palestine created by the sovereign. All the others had been already consecrated by patriarchal tradition or previous possession. But Samaria was the choice of Omri alone. He, indeed, gave to the city which he had built the name of its former owner, but its especial connection with himself as its founder is proved by the designation which it seems Samaria bears in Assyrian inscriptions, Beth-khumri (‘the house or palace of Omri’).”, Stanley. Samaria was frequently besieged. In the days of Ahab, Benhadad II. came up against it with thirty-two vassal kings, but was defeated with a great slaughter (1 Kings 20:1-21). A second time, next year, he assailed it; but was again utterly routed, and was compelled to surrender to Ahab (20:28-34), whose army, as compared with that of Benhadad, was no more than “two little flocks of kids.” In the days of Jehoram this Benhadad again laid siege to Samaria, during which the city was reduced to the direst extremities. But just when success seemed to be within their reach, they suddenly broke up the seige, alarmed by a mysterious noise of chariots and horses and a great army, and fled, leaving their camp with all its contents behind them. The famishing inhabitants of the city were soon relieved with the abundance of the spoil of the Syrian camp; and it came to pass, according to the word of Elisha, that “a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barely for a shekel, in the gates of Samaria” (2 Kings 7:1-20). Shalmaneser invaded Israel in the days of Hoshea, and reduced it to vassalage. He laid siege to Samaria (B.C. 723), which held out for three years, and was at length captured by Sargon, who completed the conquest Shalmaneser had begun (2 Kings 18:9-12; 17:3), and removed vast numbers of the tribes into captivity. (See SARGON.) This city, after passing through various vicissitudes, was given by the emperor Augustus to Herod the Great, who rebuilt it, and called it Sebaste (Gr. form of Augustus) in honour of the emperor. In the New Testament the only mention of it is in Acts 8:5-14, where it is recorded that Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached there. It is now represented by the hamlet of Sebustieh, containing about three hundred inhabitants. The ruins of the ancient town are all scattered over the hill, down the sides of which they have rolled. The shafts of about one hundred of what must have been grand Corinthian columns are still standing, and attract much attention, although nothing definite is known regarding them. (Comp. Micah 1:6.) In the time of Christ, Western Palestine was divided into three provinces, Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. Samaria occupied the centre of Palestine (John 4:4). It is called in the Talmud the “land of the Cuthim,” and is not regarded as a part of the Holy Land at all. It may be noticed that the distance between Samaria and Jerusalem, the respective capitals of the two kingdoms, is only 35 miles in a direct line.

(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

On the return from the Exile, the Jews refused the Samaritans participation with them in the worship at Jerusalem, and the latter separated from all fellowship with them, and built a temple for themselves on Mount Gerizim. This temple was razed to the ground more than one hundred years B.C. Then a system of worship was instituted similar to that of the temple at Jerusalem. It was founded on the Law, copies of which had been multiplied in Israel as well as in Judah. Thus the Pentateuch was preserved among the Samaritans, although they never called it by this name, but always “the Law,” which they read as one book. The division into five books, as we now have it, however, was adopted by the Samaritans, as it was by the Jews, in all their priests’ copies of “the Law,” for the sake of convenience. This was the only portion of the Old Testament which was accepted by the Samaritans as of divine authority. The form of the letters in the manuscript copies of the Samaritan Pentateuch is different from that of the Hebrew copies, and is probably the same as that which was in general use before the Captivity. There are other peculiarities in the writing which need not here be specified. There are important differences between the Hebrew and the Samaritan copies of the Pentateuch in the readings of many sentences. In about two thousand instances in which the Samaritan and the Jewish texts differ, the LXX. agrees with the former. The New Testament also, when quoting from the Old Testament, agrees as a rule with the Samaritan text, where that differs from the Jewish. Thus Ex. 12:40 in the Samaritan reads, “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel and of their fathers which they had dwelt in the land of Canaan and in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years” (comp. Gal. 3:17). It may be noted that the LXX. has the same reading of this text.

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—


Samaritans

The name given to the new and mixed inhabitants whom Esarhaddon (B.C. 677), the king of Assyria, brought from Babylon and other places and settled in the cities of Samaria, instead of the original inhabitants whom Sargon (B.C. 721) had removed into captivity (2 Kings 17:24; comp. Ezra 4:2, 9, 10). These strangers (comp. Luke 17:18) amalgamated with the Jews still remaining in the land, and gradually abandoned their old idolatry and adopted partly the Jewish religion. After the return from the Captivity, the Jews in Jerusalem refused to allow them to take part with them in rebuilding the temple, and hence sprang up an open enmity between them. They erected a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, which was, however, destroyed by a Jewish king (B.C. 130). They then built another at Shechem. The bitter enmity between the Jews and Samaritans continued in the time of our Lord: the Jews had “no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:9; comp. Luke 9:52, 53). Our Lord was in contempt called “a Samaritan” (John 8:48). Many of the Samaritans early embraced the gospel (John 4:5-42; Acts 8:25; 9:31; 15:3). Of these Samaritans there still remains a small population of about one hundred and sixty, who all reside in Shechem, where they carefully observe the religious customs of their fathers. They are the “smallest and oldest sect in the world.”

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.


Samgar-nebo

Be gracious, O Nebo! or a cup-bearer of Nebo, probably the title of Nergal-sharezer, one of the princes of Babylon (Jer. 39:3).


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

An island in the AEgean Sea, which Paul passed on his voyage from Assos to Miletus (Acts 20:15), on his third missionary journey. It is about 27 miles long and 20 broad, and lies about 42 miles south-west of Smyrna.

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

An island in the AEgean Sea, off the coast of Thracia, about 32 miles distant. This Thracian Samos was passed by Paul on his voyage from Troas to Neapolis (Acts 16:11) on his first missionary journey. It is about 8 miles long and 6 miles broad. Its modern name is Samothraki.

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

Of the sun, the son of Manoah, born at Zorah. The narrative of his life is given in Judg. 13-16. He was a “Nazarite unto God” from his birth, the first Nazarite mentioned in Scripture (Judg. 13:3-5; comp. Num. 6:1-21). The first recorded event of his life was his marriage with a Philistine woman of Timnath (Judg. 14:1-5). Such a marriage was not forbidden by the law of Moses, as the Philistines did not form one of the seven doomed Canaanite nations (Ex. 34:11-16; Deut. 7:1-4). It was, however, an ill-assorted and unblessed marriage. His wife was soon taken from him and given “to his companion” (Judg. 14:20). For this Samson took revenge by burning the “standing corn of the Philistines” (15:1-8), who, in their turn, in revenge “burnt her and her father with fire.” Her death he terribly avenged (15:7-19). During the twenty years following this he judged Israel; but we have no record of his life. Probably these twenty years may have been simultaneous with the last twenty years of Eli’s life. After this we have an account of his exploits at Gaza (16:1-3), and of his infatuation for Delilah, and her treachery (16:4-20), and then of his melancholy death (16:21-31). He perished in the last terrible destruction he brought upon his enemies. “So the dead which he slew at his death were more [in social and political importance=the elite of the people] than they which he slew in his life.” “Straining all his nerves, he bowed: As with the force of winds and waters pent, When mountains tremble, those two massy pillars With horrible convulsion to and fro He tugged, he shook, till down they came, and drew The whole roof after them, with burst of thunder Upon the heads of all who sat beneath, Lords, ladies, captains, counsellors, or priests, Their choice nobility and flower.” Milton’s Samson Agonistes.

(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

Heard of God. The peculiar circumstances connected with his birth are recorded in 1 Sam. 1:20. Hannah, one of the two wives of Elkanah, who came up to Shiloh to worship before the Lord, earnestly prayed to God that she might become the mother of a son. Her prayer was graciously granted; and after the child was weaned she brought him to Shiloh nd consecrated him to the Lord as a perpetual Nazarite (1:23-2:11). Here his bodily wants and training were attended to by the women who served in the tabernacle, while Eli cared for his religious culture. Thus, probably, twelve years of his life passed away. “The child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men” (2:26; comp. Luke 2:52). It was a time of great and growing degeneracy in Israel (Judg. 21:19-21; 1 Sam. 2:12-17, 22). The Philistines, who of late had greatly increased in number and in power, were practically masters of the country, and kept the people in subjection (1 Sam. 10:5; 13:3). At this time new communications from God began to be made to the pious child. A mysterious voice came to him in the night season, calling him by name, and, instructed by Eli, he answered, “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.” The message that came from the Lord was one of woe and ruin to Eli and his profligate sons. Samuel told it all to Eli, whose only answer to the terrible denunciations (1 Sam. 3:11-18) was, “It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good”, the passive submission of a weak character, not, in his case, the expression of the highest trust and faith. The Lord revealed himself now in divers manners to Samuel, and his fame and his influence increased throughout the land as of one divinely called to the prophetical office. A new period in the history of the kingdom of God now commenced. The Philistine yoke was heavy, and the people, groaning under the wide-spread oppression, suddenly rose in revolt, and “went out against the Philistines to battle.” A fierce and disastrous battle was fought at Aphek, near to Ebenezer (1 Sam. 4:1, 2). The Israelites were defeated, leaving 4,000 dead “in the field.” The chiefs of the people thought to repair this great disaster by carrying with them the ark of the covenant as the symbol of Jehovah’s presence. They accordingly, without consulting Samuel, fetched it out of Shiloh to the camp near Aphek. At the sight of the ark among them the people “shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.” A second battle was fought, and again the Philistines defeated the Israelites, stormed their camp, slew 30,000 men, and took the sacred ark. The tidings of this fatal battle was speedily conveyed to Shiloh; and so soon as the aged Eli heard that the ark of God was taken, he fell backward from his seat at the entrance of the sanctuary, and his neck brake, and he died. The tabernacle with its furniture was probably, by the advice of Samuel, now about twenty years of age, removed from Shiloh to some place of safety, and finally to Nob, where it remained many years (21:1). The Philistines followed up their advantage, and marched upon Shiloh, which they plundered and destroyed (comp. Jer. 7:12; Ps. 78:59). This was a great epoch in the history of Israel. For twenty years after this fatal battle at Aphek the whole land lay under the oppression of the Philistines. During all these dreary years Samuel was a spiritual power in the land. From Ramah, his native place, where he resided, his influence went forth on every side among the people. With unwearied zeal he went up and down from place to place, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting the people, endeavouring to awaken in them a sense of their sinfulness, and to lead them to repentance. His labours were so far successful that “all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.” Samuel summoned the people to Mizpeh, one of the loftiest hills in Central Palestine, where they fasted and prayed, and prepared themselves there, under his direction, for a great war against the Philistines, who now marched their whole force toward Mizpeh, in order to crush the Israelites once for all. At the intercession of Samuel God interposed in behalf of Israel. Samuel himself was their leader, the only occasion in which he acted as a leader in war. The Philistines were utterly routed. They fled in terror before the army of Israel, and a great slaughter ensued. This battle, fought probably about B.C. 1095, put an end to the forty years of Philistine oppression. In memory of this great deliverance, and in token of gratitude for the help vouchsafed, Samuel set up a great stone in the battlefield, and called it “Ebenezer,” saying, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us” (1 Sam. 7:1-12). This was the spot where, twenty years before, the Israelites had suffered a great defeat, when the ark of God was taken. This victory over the Philistines was followed by a long period of peace for Israel (1 Sam. 7:13, 14), during which Samuel exercised the functions of judge, going “from year to year in c

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

The LXX. translators regarded the books of Samuel and of Kings as forming one continuous history, which they divided into four books, which they called “Books of the Kingdom.” The Vulgate version followed this division, but styled them “Books of the Kings.” These books of Samuel they accordingly called the “First” and “Second” Books of Kings, and not, as in the modern Protestant versions, the “First” and “Second” Books of Samuel. The authors of the books of Samuel were probably Samuel, Gad, and Nathan. Samuel penned the first twenty-four chapters of the first book. Gad, the companion of David (1 Sam. 22:5), continued the history thus commenced; and Nathan completed it, probably arranging the whole in the form in which we now have it (1 Chr. 29:29). The contents of the books. The first book comprises a period of about a hundred years, and nearly coincides with the life of Samuel. It contains (1) the history of Eli (1-4); (2) the history of Samuel (5-12); (3) the history of Saul, and of David in exile (13-31). The second book, comprising a period of perhaps fifty years, contains a history of the reign of David (1) over Judah (1-4), and (2) over all Israel (5-24), mainly in its political aspects. The last four chapters of Second Samuel may be regarded as a sort of appendix recording various events, but not chronologically. These books do not contain complete histories. Frequent gaps are met with in the record, because their object is to present a history of the kingdom of God in its gradual development, and not of the events of the reigns of the successive rulers. It is noticeable that the section (2 Sam. 11:2-12: 29) containing an account of David’s sin in the matter of Bathsheba is omitted in the corresponding passage in 1 Chr. 20.

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,—


Sanballat

Held some place of authority in Samaria when Nehemiah went up to Jerusalem to rebuild its ruined walls. He vainly attempted to hinder this work (Neh. 2:10, 19; 4:1-12; 6). His daughter became the wife of one of the sons of Joiada, a son of the high priest, much to the grief of Nehemiah (13:28).

(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.


Sanctification

Involves more than a mere moral reformation of character, brought about by the power of the truth: it is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul in regeneration. In other words, sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man (Rom. 6:13; 2 Cor. 4:6; Col. 3:10; 1 John 4:7; 1 Cor. 6:19). It is the special office of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work (1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13). Faith is instrumental in securing sanctification, inasmuch as it (1) secures union to Christ (Gal. 2:20), and (2) brings the believer into living contact with the truth, whereby he is led to yield obedience “to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come.” Perfect sanctification is not attainable in this life (1 Kings 8:46; Prov. 20:9; Eccl. 7:20; James 3:2; 1 John 1:8). See Paul’s account of himself in Rom. 7:14-25; Phil. 3:12-14; and 1 Tim. 1:15; also the confessions of David (Ps. 19:12, 13; 51), of Moses (90:8), of Job (42:5, 6), and of Daniel (9:3-20). “The more holy a man is, the more humble, self-renouncing, self-abhorring, and the more sensitive to every sin he becomes, and the more closely he clings to Christ. The moral imperfections which cling to him he feels to be sins, which he laments and strives to overcome. Believers find that their life is a constant warfare, and they need to take the kingdom of heaven by storm, and watch while they pray. They are always subject to the constant chastisement of their Father’s loving hand, which can only be designed to correct their imperfections and to confirm their graces. And it has been notoriously the fact that the best Christians have been those who have been the least prone to claim the attainment of perfection for themselves.”, Hodge’s Outlines.


Sanctuary

Denotes, (1) the Holy Land (Ex. 15:17; comp. Ps. 114:2); (2) the temple (1 Chr. 22:19; 2 Chr. 29:21); (3) the tabernacle (Ex. 25:8; Lev. 12:4; 21:12); (4) the holy place, the place of the Presence (Gr. hieron, the temple-house; not the naos, which is the temple area, with its courts and porches), Lev. 4:6; Eph. 2:21, R.V., marg.; (5) God’s holy habitation in heaven (Ps. 102:19). In the final state there is properly “no sanctuary” (Rev. 21:22), for God and the Lamb “are the sanctuary” (R.V., “temple”). All is there hallowed by the Divine Presence; all is sancturary.


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)


Sandals

Mentioned only in Mark 6:9 and Acts 12:8. The sandal was simply a sole, made of wood or palm-bark, fastened to the foot by leathern straps. Sandals were also made of seal-skin (Ezek. 16:10; lit. tahash, “leather;” A.V., “badger’s skin;” R.V., “sealskin,” or marg., “porpoise-skin”). (See SHOE.)


Sanhedrim

More correctly Sanhedrin (Gr. synedrion), meaning “a sitting together,” or a “council.” This word (rendered “council,” A.V.) is frequently used in the New Testament (Matt. 5:22; 26:59; Mark 15:1, etc.) to denote the supreme judicial and administrative council of the Jews, which, it is said, was first instituted by Moses, and was composed of seventy men (Num. 11:16, 17). But that seems to have been only a temporary arrangement which Moses made. This council is with greater probability supposed to have originated among the Jews when they were under the domination of the Syrian kings in the time of the Maccabees. The name is first employed by the Jewish historian Josephus. This “council” is referred to simply as the “chief priests and elders of the people” (Matt. 26:3, 47, 57, 59; 27:1, 3, 12, 20, etc.), before whom Christ was tried on the charge of claiming to be the Messiah. Peter and John were also brought before it for promulgating heresy (Acts. 4:1-23; 5:17-41); as was also Stephen on a charge of blasphemy (6:12-15), and Paul for violating a temple by-law (22:30; 23:1-10). The Sanhedrin is said to have consisted of seventy-one members, the high priest being president. They were of three classes (1) the chief priests, or heads of the twenty-four priestly courses (1 Chr. 24), (2) the scribes, and (3) the elders. As the highest court of judicature, “in all causes and over all persons, ecclesiastical and civil, supreme,” its decrees were binding, not only on the Jews in Palestine, but on all Jews wherever scattered abroad. Its jurisdiction was greatly curtailed by Herod, and afterwards by the Romans. Its usual place of meeting was within the precincts of the temple, in the hall “Gazith,” but it sometimes met also in the house of the high priest (Matt. 26:3), who was assisted by two vice-presidents.


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.


Sansannah

A palm branch, or a thorn bush, a town in the south (the negeb) of Judah (Josh. 15:31); called also Hazarsusah (19:5), or Hazar-susim (1 Chr. 4:31).

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


Saph

Extension, the son of the giant whom Sibbechai slew (2 Sam. 21:18); called also Sippai (1 Chr. 20:4).

(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

Beautiful, a town of Judah (Micah 1:11), identified with es-Suafir, 5 miles south-east of Ashdod.

(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

Beautiful, the wife of Ananias (q.v.). She was a partner in his guilt and also in his punishment (Acts 5:1-11).

[Ananias]


Sapphire

Associated with diamonds (Ex. 28:18) and emeralds (Ezek. 28:13); one of the stones in the high priest’s breastplate. It is a precious stone of a sky-blue colour, probably the lapis lazuli, brought from Babylon. The throne of God is described as of the colour of a sapphire (Ex. 24:10; comp. Ezek. 1:26).

(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 at the same time the half-sister of Abraham (Gen. 11:29; 20:12). This name was given to her at the time that it was announced to Abraham that she should be the mother of the promised child. Her story is from her marriage identified with that of the patriarch till the time of her death. Her death, at the age of one hundred and twenty-seven years (the only instance in Scripture where the age of a woman is recorded), was the occasion of Abraham’s purchasing the cave of Machpelah as a family burying-place. In the allegory of Gal. 4:22-31 she is the type of the “Jerusalem which is above.” She is also mentioned as Sara in Heb. 11:11 among the Old Testament worthies, who “all died in faith.” (See ABRAHAM.)

(princess).


Sarai

My princess, the name originally borne by Sarah (Gen. 11:31; 17:15).

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


Saraph

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


Sardine stone

(Rev. 4:3, R.V., “sardius;” Heb. ‘odhem; LXX., Gr. sardion, from a root meaning “red”), a gem of a blood-red colour. It was called “sardius” because obtained from Sardis in Lydia. It is enumerated among the precious stones in the high priest’s breastplate (Ex. 28:17; 39:10). It is our red carnelian.


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

The metropolis of Lydia in Asia Minor. It stood on the river Pactolus, at the foot of mount Tmolus. Here was one of the seven Asiatic churches (Rev. 3:1-6). It is now a ruin called Sert-Kalessi.

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

(Rev. 21:20), a species of the carnelian combining the sard and the onyx, having three layers of opaque spots or stripes on a transparent red basis. Like the sardine, it is a variety of the chalcedony.

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

(Luke 4:26). See ZAREPHATH.

[Zarephath]


Sargon

(In the inscriptions, “Sarra-yukin” [the god] has appointed the king; also “Sarru-kinu,” the legitimate king.) On the death of Shalmaneser (B.C. 723), one of the Assyrian generals established himself on the vacant throne, taking the name of “Sargon,” after that of the famous monarch, the Sargon of Accad, founder of the first Semitic empire, as well as of one of the most famous libraries of Chaldea. He forthwith began a conquering career, and became one of the most powerful of the Assyrian monarchs. He is mentioned by name in the Bible only in connection with the siege of Ashdod (Isa. 20:1). At the very beginning of his reign he besieged and took the city of Samaria (2 Kings 17:6; 18:9-12). On an inscription found in the palace he built at Khorsabad, near Nieveh, he says, “The city of Samaria I besieged, I took; 27,280 of its inhabitants I carried away; fifty chariots that were among them I collected,” etc. The northern kingdom he changed into an Assyrian satrapy. He afterwards drove Merodach-baladan (q.v.), who kept him at bay for twelve years, out of Babylon, which he entered in triumph. By a succession of victories he gradually enlarged and consolidated the empire, which now extended from the frontiers of Egypt in the west to the mountains of Elam in the east, and thus carried almost to completion the ambitious designs of Tiglath-pileser (q.v.). He was murdered by one of his own soldiers (B.C. 705) in his palace at Khorsabad, after a reign of sixteen years, and was succeeded by his son Sennacherib.

(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

Adversary; accuser. When used as a proper name, the Hebrew word so rendered has the article “the adversary” (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). In the New Testament it is used as interchangeable with Diabolos, or the devil, and is so used more than thirty times. He is also called “the dragon,” “the old serpent” (Rev. 12:9; 20:2); “the prince of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30); “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2); “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4); “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). The distinct personality of Satan and his activity among men are thus obviously recognized. He tempted our Lord in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11). He is “Beelzebub, the prince of the devils” (12:24). He is “the constant enemy of God, of Christ, of the divine kingdom, of the followers of Christ, and of all truth; full of falsehood and all malice, and exciting and seducing to evil in every possible way.” His power is very great in the world. He is a “roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Men are said to be “taken captive by him” (2 Tim. 2:26). Christians are warned against his “devices” (2 Cor. 2:11), and called on to “resist” him (James 4:7). Christ redeems his people from “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14). Satan has the “power of death,” not as lord, but simply as executioner.

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 “


Satyr

Hairy one. Mentioned in Greek mythology as a creature composed of a man and a goat, supposed to inhabit wild and desolate regions. The Hebrew word is rendered also “goat” (Lev. 4:24) and “devil”, i.e., an idol in the form of a goat (17:7; 2 Chr. 11:15). When it is said (Isa. 13:21; comp. 34:14) “the satyrs shall dance there,” the meaning is that the place referred to shall become a desolate waste. Some render the Hebrew word “baboon,” a species of which is found in Babylonia.

(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

Asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48. (2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, “asked for”), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Jewish nation. The singular providential circumstances connected with his election as king are recorded in 1 Sam. 8-10. His father’s she-asses had strayed, and Saul was sent with a servant to seek for them. Leaving his home at Gibeah (10:5, “the hill of God,” A.V.; lit., as in R.V. marg., “Gibeah of God”), Saul and his servant went toward the north-west over Mount Ephraim, and then turning north-east they came to “the land of Shalisha,” and thence eastward to the land of Shalim, and at length came to the district of Zuph, near Samuel’s home at Ramah (9:5-10). At this point Saul proposed to return from the three days’ fruitless search, but his servant suggested that they should first consult the “seer.” Hearing that he was about to offer sacrifice, the two hastened into Ramah, and “behold, Samuel came out against them,” on his way to the “bamah”, i.e., the “height”, where sacrifice was to be offered; and in answer to Saul’s question, “Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is,” Samuel made himself known to him. Samuel had been divinely prepared for his coming (9:15-17), and received Saul as his guest. He took him with him to the sacrifice, and then after the feast “communed with Saul upon the top of the house” of all that was in his heart. On the morrow Samuel “took a vial of oil and poured it on his head,” and anointed Saul as king over Israel (9:25-10:8), giving him three signs in confirmation of his call to be king. When Saul reached his home in Gibeah the last of these signs was fulfilled, and the Sprit of God came upon him, and “he was turned into another man.” The simple countryman was transformed into the king of Israel, a remarkable change suddenly took place in his whole demeanour, and the people said in their astonishment, as they looked on the stalwart son of Kish, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”, a saying which passed into a “proverb.” (Comp. 19:24.) The intercourse between Saul and Samuel was as yet unknown to the people. The “anointing” had been in secret. But now the time had come when the transaction must be confirmed by the nation. Samuel accordingly summoned the people to a solemn assembly “before the Lord” at Mizpeh. Here the lot was drawn (10:17-27), and it fell upon Saul, and when he was presented before them, the stateliest man in all Israel, the air was rent for the first time in Israel by the loud cry, “God save the king!” He now returned to his home in Gibeah, attended by a kind of bodyguard, “a band of men whose hearts God had touched.” On reaching his home he dismissed them, and resumed the quiet toils of his former life. Soon after this, on hearing of the conduct of Nahash the Ammonite at Jabeshgilead (q.v.), an army out of all the tribes of Israel rallied at his summons to the trysting-place at Bezek, and he led them forth a great army to battle, gaining a complete victory over the Ammonite invaders at Jabesh (11:1-11). Amid the universal joy occasioned by this victory he was now fully recognized as the king of Israel. At the invitation of Samuel “all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal.” Samuel now officially anointed him as king (11:15). Although Samuel never ceased to be a judge in Israel, yet now his work in that capacity practically came to an end. Saul now undertook the great and difficult enterprise of freeing the land from its hereditary enemies the Philistines, and for this end he gathered together an army of 3,000 men (1 Sam. 13:1, 2). The Philistines were encamped at Geba. Saul, with 2,000 men, occupied Michmash and Mount Bethel; while his son Jonathan, with 1,000 men, occupied Gibeah, to the south of Geba, and seemingly without any direction from his father “smote” the Philistines in Geba. Thus roused, the Philistines, who gathered an army of 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and “people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude,” encamped in Michmash, which Saul had evacuated for Gilgal. Saul now tarried for seven days in Gilgal before making any movement, as Samuel had appointed (10:8); but becoming impatient on the seventh day, as it was drawing to a close, when he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared and warned him of the fatal consequences of his act of disobedience, for he had not waited long enough (13:13, 14). When Saul, after Samuel’s departure, went out from Gilgal with his 600 men, his followers having decreased to that number (13:15), against the Philistines at Michmash (q.v.), he had his head-quarters under a pomegrante tree at Migron, over against Michmash, the Wady esSuweinit alone intervening. Here at Gibeah-Geba Saul and his army rested, uncertain what to do. Jonathan became impatient, and with his armour-bearer planned an assault against the Philistines,

(desired), more accurately Shaul.


Saviour

One who saves from any form or degree of evil. In its highest sense the word indicates the relation sustained by our Lord to his redeemed ones, he is their Saviour. The great message of the gospel is about salvation and the Saviour. It is the “gospel of salvation.” Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ secures to the sinner a personal interest in the work of redemption. Salvation is redemption made effectual to the individual by the power of the Holy Spirit.


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

Lev. 16:8-26; R.V., “the goat for Azazel” (q.v.), the name given to the goat which was taken away into the wilderness on the day of Atonement (16:20-22). The priest made atonement over the scapegoat, laying Israel’s guilt upon it, and then sent it away, the goat bearing “upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited.” At a later period an evasion or modification of the law of Moses was introduced by the Jews. “The goat was conducted to a mountain named Tzuk, situated at a distance of ten Sabbath days’ journey, or about six and a half English miles, from Jerusalem. At this place the Judean desert was supposed to commence; and the man in whose charge the goat was sent out, while setting him free, was instructed to push the unhappy beast down the slope of the mountain side, which was so steep as to insure the death of the goat, whose bones were broken by the fall. The reason of this barbarous custom was that on one occasion the scapegoat returned to Jerusalem after being set free, which was considered such an evil omen that its recurrence was prevented for the future by the death of the goat” (Twenty-one Years’ Work in the Holy Land). This mountain is now called el-Muntar.

[Atonement, The Day Of, Day OF]


Scarlet

This dye was obtained by the Egyptians from the shell-fish Carthamus tinctorius; and by the Hebrews from the Coccus ilicis, an insect which infests oak trees, called kermes by the Arabians. This colour was early known (Gen. 38:28). It was one of the colours of the ephod (Ex. 28:6), the girdle (8), and the breastplate (15) of the high priest. It is also mentioned in various other connections (Josh. 2:18; 2 Sam. 1:24; Lam. 4:5; Nahum 2:3). A scarlet robe was in mockery placed on our Lord (Matt. 27:28; Luke 23:11). “Sins as scarlet” (Isa. 1:18), i.e., as scarlet robes “glaring and habitual.” Scarlet and crimson were the firmest of dyes, and thus not easily washed out.

[Colors]


Sceptre

(Heb. shebet = Gr. skeptron), properly a staff or rod. As a symbol of authority, the use of the sceptre originated in the idea that the ruler was as a shepherd of his people (Gen. 49:10; Num. 24:17; Ps. 45:6; Isa. 14:5). There is no example on record of a sceptre having ever been actually handled by a Jewish king.

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

An implement, a Jew, chief of the priests at Ephesus (Acts 19:13-16); i.e., the head of one of the twenty-four courses of the house of Levi. He had seven sons, who “took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus,” in imitation of Paul. They tried their method of exorcism on a fierce demoniac, and failed. His answer to them was to this effect (19:15): “The Jesus whom you invoke is One whose authority I acknowledge; and the Paul whom you name I recognize to be a servant or messenger of God; but what sort of men are ye who have been empowered to act as you do by neither?” (Lindsay on the Acts of the Apostles.)

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


Schism

A separation, an alienation causing divisions among Christians, who ought to be united (1 Cor. 12:25).


Schoolmaster

The law so designated by Paul (Gal. 3:24, 25). As so used, the word does not mean teacher, but pedagogue (shortened into the modern page), i.e., one who was intrusted with the supervision of a family, taking them to and from the school, being responsible for their safety and manners. Hence the pedagogue was stern and severe in his discipline. Thus the law was a pedagogue to the Jews, with a view to Christ, i.e., to prepare for faith in Christ by producing convictions of guilt and helplessness. The office of the pedagogue ceased when “faith came”, i.e., the object of that faith, the seed, which is Christ.


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.)


Schools of the Prophets

(1 Sam. 19:18-24; 2 Kings 2:3, 5, 7, 12, 15) were instituted for the purpose of training young men for the prophetical and priestly offices. (See PROPHET; SAMUEL.)


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.


Scorpions

Mentioned along with serpents (Deut. 8:15). Used also figuratively to denote wicked persons (Ezek. 2:6; Luke 10:19); also a particular kind of scourge or whip (1 Kings 12:11). Scorpions were a species of spider. They abounded in the Jordan valley.


Scourging

(1 Kings 12:11). Variously administered. In no case were the stripes to exceed forty (Deut. 25:3; comp. 2 Cor. 11:24). In the time of the apostles, in consequence of the passing of what was called the Porcian law, no Roman citizen could be scourged in any case (Acts 16:22-37). (See BASTINADO.) In the scourging of our Lord (Matt. 27:26; Mark 15:15) the words of prophecy (Isa. 53:5) were fulfilled.

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

Anciently held various important offices in the public affairs of the nation. The Hebrew word so rendered (sopher) is first used to designate the holder of some military office (Judg. 5:14; A.V., “pen of the writer;” R.V., “the marshal’s staff;” marg., “the staff of the scribe”). The scribes acted as secretaries of state, whose business it was to prepare and issue decrees in the name of the king (2 Sam. 8:17; 20:25; 1 Chr. 18:16; 24:6; 1 Kings 4:3; 2 Kings 12:9-11; 18:18-37, etc.). They discharged various other important public duties as men of high authority and influence in the affairs of state. There was also a subordinate class of scribes, most of whom were Levites. They were engaged in various ways as writers. Such, for example, was Baruch, who “wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord” (Jer. 36:4, 32). In later times, after the Captivity, when the nation lost its independence, the scribes turned their attention to the law, gaining for themselves distinction by their intimate acquaintance with its contents. On them devolved the duty of multiplying copies of the law and of teaching it to others (Ezra 7:6, 10-12; Neh. 8:1, 4, 9, 13). It is evident that in New Testament times the scribes belonged to the sect of the Pharisees, who supplemented the ancient written law by their traditions (Matt. 23), thereby obscuring it and rendering it of none effect. The titles “scribes” and “lawyers” (q.v.) are in the Gospels interchangeable (Matt. 22:35; Mark 12:28; Luke 20:39, etc.). They were in the time of our Lord the public teachers of the people, and frequently came into collision with him. They afterwards showed themselves greatly hostile to the apostles (Acts 4:5; 6:12). Some of the scribes, however, were men of a different spirit, and showed themselves friendly to the gospel and its preachers. Thus Gamaliel advised the Sanhedrin, when the apostles were before them charged with “teaching in this name,” to “refrain from these men and let them alone” (Acts 5:34-39; comp. 23:9).

(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:


Scrip

A small bag or wallet usually fastened to the girdle (1 Sam. 17:40); “a shepherd’s bag.” In the New Testament it is the rendering of Gr. pera, which was a bag carried by travellers and shepherds, generally made of skin (Matt. 10:10; Mark 6:8; Luke 9:3; 10:4). The name “scrip” is meant to denote that the bag was intended to hold scraps, fragments, as if scraped off from larger articles, trifles.

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

Invariably in the New Testament denotes that definite collection of sacred books, regarded as given by inspiration of God, which we usually call the Old Testament (2 Tim. 3:15, 16; John 20:9; Gal. 3:22; 2 Pet. 1:20). It was God’s purpose thus to perpetuate his revealed will. From time to time he raised up men to commit to writing in an infallible record the revelation he gave. The “Scripture,” or collection of sacred writings, was thus enlarged from time to time as God saw necessary. We have now a completed “Scripture,” consisting of the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament canon in the time of our Lord was precisely the same as that which we now possess under that name. He placed the seal of his own authority on this collection of writings, as all equally given by inspiration (Matt. 5:17; 7:12; 22:40; Luke 16:29, 31). (See BIBLE; CANON.)

[See Bible]


Scythian

The Scythians consisted of “all the pastoral tribes who dwelt to the north of the Black Sea and the Caspian, and were scattered far away toward the east. Of this vast country but little was anciently known. Its modern representative is Russia, which, to a great extent, includes the same territories.” They were the descendants of Japheth (Gen. 9:27). It appears that in apostolic times there were some of this people that embraced Christianity (Col. 3:11).

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—


Sea of glass

A figurative expression used in Rev. 4:6 and 15:2. According to the interpretation of some, “this calm, glass-like sea, which is never in storm, but only interfused with flame, represents the counsels of God, those purposes of righteousness and love which are often fathomless but never obscure, always the same, though sometimes glowing with holy anger.” (Comp. Ps. 36:6; 77:19; Rom. 11:33-36.)


Sea of Jazer

(Jer. 48:32), a lake, now represented by some ponds in the high valley in which the Ammonite city of Jazer lies, the ruins of which are called Sar.


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

(Heb. yam), signifies (1) “the gathering together of the waters,” the ocean (Gen. 1:10); (2) a river, as the Nile (Isa. 19:5), the Euphrates (Isa. 21:1; Jer. 51:36); (3) the Red Sea (Ex. 14:16, 27; 15:4, etc.); (4) the Mediterranean (Ex. 23:31; Num. 34:6, 7; Josh. 15:47; Ps. 80:11, etc.); (5) the “sea of Galilee,” an inland fresh-water lake, and (6) the Dead Sea or “salt sea” (Gen. 14:3; Num. 34:3, 12, etc.). The word “sea” is used symbolically in Isa. 60:5, where it probably means the nations around the Mediterranean. In Dan. 7:3, Rev. 13:1 it may mean the tumultuous changes among the nations of the earth.


Sea, The molten

The great laver made by Solomon for the use of the priests in the temple, described in 1 Kings 7:23-26; 2 Chr. 4:2-5. It stood in the south-eastern corner of the inner court. It was 5 cubits high, 10 in diameter from brim to brim, and 30 in circumference. It was placed on the backs of twelve oxen, standing with their faces outward. It was capable of containing two or three thousand baths of water (comp. 2 Chr. 4:5), which was originally supplied by the Gibeonites, but was afterwards brought by a conduit from the pools of Bethlehem. It was made of “brass” (copper), which Solomon had taken from the captured cities of Hadarezer, the king of Zobah (1 Chr. 18:8). Ahaz afterwards removed this laver from the oxen, and placed it on a stone pavement (2 Kings 16:17). It was destroyed by the Chaldeans (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


Seah

In land measure, a space of 50 cubits long by 50 broad. In measure of capacity, a seah was a little over one peck. (See MEASURE.)


Seal

Commonly a ring engraved with some device (Gen. 38:18, 25). Jezebel “wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal” (1 Kings 21:8). Seals are frequently mentioned in Jewish history (Deut. 32:34; Neh. 9:38; 10:1; Esther 3:12; Cant. 8:6; Isa. 8:16; Jer. 22:24; 32:44, etc.). Sealing a document was equivalent to the signature of the owner of the seal. “The use of a signet-ring by the monarch has recently received a remarkable illustration by the discovery of an impression of such a signet on fine clay at Koyunjik, the site of the ancient Nineveh. This seal appears to have been impressed from the bezel of a metallic finger-ring. It is an oval, 2 inches in length by 1 inch wide, and bears the image, name, and titles of the Egyptian king Sabaco” (Rawlinson’s Hist. Illus. of the O.T., p. 46). The actual signet-rings of two Egyptian kings (Cheops and Horus) have been discovered. (See SIGNET.) The use of seals is mentioned in the New Testament only in connection with the record of our Lord’s burial (Matt. 27:66). The tomb was sealed by the Pharisees and chief priests for the purpose of making sure that the disciples would not come and steal the body away (ver. 63, 64). The mode of doing this was probably by stretching a cord across the stone and sealing it at both ends with sealing-clay. When God is said to have sealed the Redeemer, the meaning is, that he has attested his divine mission (John 6:27). Circumcision is a seal, an attestation of the covenant (Rom. 4:11). Believers are sealed with the Spirit, as God’s mark put upon them (Eph. 1:13; 4:30). Converts are by Paul styled the seal of his apostleship, i.e., they are its attestation (1 Cor. 9:2). Seals and sealing are frequently mentioned in the book of Revelation (5:1; 6:1; 7:3; 10:4; 22:10).

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)


Seasons

(Gen. 8:22). See AGRICULTURE; MONTH.


Seba

(1.) One of the sons of Cush (Gen. 10:7). (2.) The name of a country and nation (Isa. 43:3; 45:14) mentioned along with Egypt and Ethiopia, and therefore probably in north-eastern Africa. The ancient name of Meroe. The kings of Sheba and Seba are mentioned together in Ps. 72:10.

(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

The eleventh month of the Hebrew year, extending from the new moon of February to that of March (Zech. 1:7). Assyrian sabatu, “storm.” (See MONTH.)

(a rod). [Month]


Secacah

Enclosure, one of the six cities in the wilderness of Judah, noted for its “great cistern” (Josh. 15:61). It has been identified with the ruin Sikkeh, east of Bethany.


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

A hill or watch-tower, a place between Gibeah and Ramah noted for its “great well” (1 Sam. 19:22); probably the modern Suweikeh, south of Beeroth.

(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.


Sect

(Gr. hairesis, usually rendered “heresy”, Acts 24:14; 1 Chr. 11:19; Gal. 5:20, etc.), meaning properly “a choice,” then “a chosen manner of life,” and then “a religious party,” as the “sect” of the Sadducees (Acts 5:17), of the Pharisees (15:5), the Nazarenes, i.e., Christians (24:5). It afterwards came to be used in a bad sense, of those holding pernicious error, divergent forms of belief (2 Pet. 2:1; Gal. 5:20).


Secundus

Second, a Christian of Thessalonica who accompanied Paul into Asia (Acts 20:4).

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


Seer

A name sometimes applied to the prophets because of the visions granted to them. It is first found in 1 Sam. 9:9. It is afterwards applied to Zadok, Gad, etc. (2 Sam. 15:27; 24:11; 1 Chr. 9:22; 25:5; 2 Chr. 9:29; Amos 7:12; Micah 3:7). The “sayings of the seers” (2 Chr. 33:18, 19) is rendered in the Revised Version “the history of Hozai” (marg., the seers; so the LXX.), of whom, however, nothing is known. (See PROPHET.)


Seethe

To boil (Ex. 16:23).


Seething pot

A vessel for boiling provisions in (Job 41:20; Jer. 1:13).


Segub

Elevated. (1.) The youngest son of Hiel the Bethelite. His death is recorded in 1 Kings 16:34 (comp. Josh. 6:26). (2.) A descendant of Judah (1 Chr. 2:21, 22).

(elevated).


Seir

Rough; hairy. (1.) A Horite; one of the “dukes” of Edom (Gen. 36:20-30). (2.) The name of a mountainous region occupied by the Edomites, extending along the eastern side of the Arabah from the south-eastern extremity of the Dead Sea to near the Akabah, or the eastern branch of the Red Sea. It was originally occupied by the Horites (Gen. 14:6), who were afterwards driven out by the Edomites (Gen. 32:3; 33:14, 16). It was allotted to the descendants of Esau (Deut. 2:4, 22; Josh. 24:4; 2 Chr. 20:10; Isa. 21:11; Exek. 25:8). (3.) A mountain range (not the Edomite range, Gen. 32:3) lying between the Wady Aly and the Wady Ghurab (Josh. 15:10).

(hairy, Shaggy),


Seirath

Woody district; shaggy, a place among the mountains of Ephraim, bordering on Benjamin, to which Ehud fled after he had assassinated Eglon at Jericho (Judg. 3:26, 27).

(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

=Se’lah, rock, the capital of Edom, situated in the great valley extending from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea (2 Kings 14:7). It was near Mount Hor, close by the desert of Zin. It is called “the rock” (Judg. 1:36). When Amaziah took it he called it Joktheel (q.v.) It is mentioned by the prophets (Isa. 16:1; Obad. 1:3) as doomed to destruction. It appears in later history and in the Vulgate Version under the name of Petra. “The caravans from all ages, from the interior of Arabia and from the Gulf of Persia, from Hadramaut on the ocean, and even from Sabea or Yemen, appear to have pointed to Petra as a common centre; and from Petra the tide seems again to have branched out in every direction, to Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, through Arsinoe, Gaza, Tyre, Jerusalem, and Damascus, and by other routes, terminating at the Mediterranean.” (See EDOM [2].)


Sela-hammahlekoth

Cliff of divisions the name of the great gorge which lies between Hachilah and Maon, south-east of Hebron. This gorge is now called the Wady Malaky. This was the scene of the interview between David and Saul mentioned in 1 Sam. 26:13. Each stood on an opposing cliff, with this deep chasm between.


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

A word frequently found in the Book of Psalms, and also in Hab. 3:9, 13, about seventy-four times in all in Scripture. Its meaning is doubtful. Some interpret it as meaning “silence” or “pause;” others, “end,” “a louder strain,” “piano,” etc. The LXX. render the word by daplasma i.e., “a division.”

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

The sea-port of Antioch, near the mouth of the Orontes. Paul and his companions sailed from this port on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:4). This city was built by Seleucus Nicator, the “king of Syria.” It is said of him that “few princes have ever lived with so great a passion for the building of cities. He is reputed to have built in all nine Seleucias, sixteen Antiochs, and six Laodiceas.” Seleucia became a city of great importance, and was made a “free city” by Pompey. It is now a small village, called el-Kalusi.