International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Bought (2) — Builder

Bought (2)

Bought (2) - bot (adj. and vb.).

Bounds - boundz: gabhal = "to twist" (as a rope), "to make an enclosure" (as by a line) occurs in Exodus 19:12, 23; Psalms 104:9; gebhul = "a cord," hence, "a boundary," "territory" (Exodus 23:31 the King James Version), with its feminine form gebhulah (Deuteronomy 32:8; Isaiah 10:13); choq = "enactment," "appointment" (of time, space, quantity, labor, or usage), hence, "commandment," "decree," "ordinance" (Job 14:5; 26:10 the King James Version); in the Greek, horothesia, in the sense of "a limit," "boundary line," occurs in Acts 17:26.

Bountifulness; Bounty

Bountifulness; Bounty - boun'-ti-fool-nes, boun'-ti (haplotes, "singleness," "benevolence," 2 Corinthians 9:11 the King James Version; Tobh, "to be good" (Proverbs 22:9); eulogia, "good speech," "blessing" (2 Corinthians 9:6); gamal, "to treat well" (Psalms 119:17); shoa`, "to be liberal" (Isaiah 32:5); yadh, "hand," "power"): Paul speaks of the church at Corinth "being enriched in everything unto all liberality" (the King James Version "bountifulness," 2 Corinthians 9:11). The offering of the church at Corinth for the Christians of Judea is termed a "bounty," a blessing, liberally given: "and not of extortion" (the King James Version "of covetousness," 2 Corinthians 9:5-6). The word occurs also in 1 Kings 10:13: "Besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty," literally "according to the hand of King Solomon."

L. Kaiser

Bow

Bow - bo.

See ARCHERY.

Bow, in the Cloud

Bow, in the Cloud - bo: Reference to the promise made to Noah (Genesis 9:13) preserved in the Constellation figures.

See ASTRONOMY, sec. II, 4.

Bow; Bowing

Bow; Bowing - bou, bou'-ing.

See ADORATION; ATTITUDES.

Bowels

Bowels - bou'-elz (me`ah, plural me`im, rechem, plural rachamim; splagchnion):

(1) Literal: The literal meaning of these words is intestines, then the abdomen, the womb (matrix and uterus). As will be seen there is not much definiteness in the use of these expressions from the standpoint of physiology; but not less so than in modern oriental languages and even in many occidental languages, as popularly used. The remarkable phrases used in 2 Chronicles 21:18-19, "Yahweh smote him in his bowels" and "His bowels fell out by reason of his sickness," refer to a severe and fatal case of hemorrh oids.

(2) Figurative: In figurative language these words denote deep emotions of various kinds. As in physiology we speak of the "nervus sympathicus," the ancients expressed by these terms "affection," "sympathy" and "mercy," feelings of distress and sorrow, as in Job 30:27 the King James Version; Lamentations 1:20 the King James Version; Lamentations 2:11 the King James Version. In one passage we have to translate me`im by "heart," being the seat of affection and devotion (Psalms 71:6): "Thy law is within my heart" (Psalms 40:8). In the New Testament (Revised Version) the word is only given in Acts 1:18.

H. L. E. Luering

Bowing

Bowing - bou'-ing (naTah, "to incline," "bulge"): The Psalmist's assailants expected that he would be "like a leaning (the King James Version "bowing") wall" (Psalms 62:3) before their united attack, as when an ill-built, bulging wall gives way under a sudden and heavy fall of rain (compare Ezekiel 13:11; 38:22).

Bowl

Bowl - bol:

(1) The primitive Hebrews, like the wandering Bedouin of today, probably used bowls of wood, as less breakable than earthenware. Some hollow dish of the sort would be indispensable, even in the lowest stage of nomad life, to receive the milk of the flock, and as the common dish in which to serve the family meal. We have abundant proof, however, that vessels of earthenware of various sorts were in use by the settled peoples of Canaan in the earliest times. Many interesting specimens, characteristic of different peoples and ages, have been found by excavators of the PEF, especially recently by Flinders Petrie and Fred. Bliss at Tell el-Hesy (see Tell el-Hesy (Lachish), by Petrie, andA Mound of Many Cities, by Bliss) and by Macalister and others at Gezer, Taanach, Megiddo, etc. (see PEFS ).

It was probably in some such dish--"a bowl fit for lords" (English Versions, "a lordly dish")--that Jael offered. Sisera a draught of sour milk (Judges 5:25; compare Arabic leben), and the bowl into which Gideon wrung the water from his fleece (Judges 6:38) is denoted by the same word (cephel; Septuagint lekane), though this may have been of earthenware instead of wood. Certainly the cephel was a dish of goodly size.

(2) Another word rendered sometimes "bowl" and sometimes "basin" is mizraq. It is used of the large silver bowls presented by "the princes of the congregation" (Numbers 7:13 f). See BASIN. It is also applied by Amos (Numbers 6:6) to the costly bowls used by the nobles of Samaria in their debaucheries.

(3) A still larger bowl is mentioned by Jer (35:5), the King James Version "pot" (gabhia`). This same word is used of Joseph's cup (Genesis 44:2 f): "Put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth." As used at banquets it corresponds to the crater, from which the drinking cups (kocoth) were replenished. The material seems to have been uniformly silver. But see (4).

(4) Bowl is used in the King James Version to translation gabhia`, "the bowls made like almonds" (Exodus 25:33 the King James Version), as applied to the "cups" (Revised Version), or calyxes, used to ornament the golden candlestick (see TABERNACLE). It seems to have been an elastic term.

(5) The bowl of Zechariah 4:3 (gullah, found also in Zechariah 5:2 correct text), is represented as the receptacle for oil in the candlestick of the prophet's vision. It is likewise used of "the lamp of life" (Ecclesiastes 12:6) and to designate the bowl-shaped capitals of Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:41-42; 2 Chronicles 4:12-13).

(6) Bowl is found in Isaiah 51:17, 22 the Revised Version (British and American), "bowl of the cup" (the King James Version "dregs of the cup"). Some think the second word here (qubba`ath koc) is a gloss to explain the unusual preceding word.

(7) In Rev where the King James Version has "vial" (phiale) the Revised Version (British and American) has "bowl."

See BASIN.

George B. Eager

Bowman

Bowman - bo'-man: Israel seems not to have been equal to the surrounding peoples in the use of the bow. The battle of Gilboa was clearly lost through the superior skill of the Philistine bowmen. This seems to have moved David to encourage archery practice in Judah (2 Samuel 1:18; compare Driver in the place cited.). It is thought probable that the revival of Israel's military power under Jeroboam, son of Joash, was due to improvement in archery. Hosea, a contemporary, speaks of the bow as the national weapon of Israel (2 Samuel 1:5, 7) . The most skilled bowmen of antiquity were the Assyrians (compare Isaiah 5:28; 37:33). From Assyrian reliefs it seems that it was their practice to overwhelm their enemies with the bow, and to use sword and spear only when the foe had been demoralized and put to flight.

See ARCHERY.

George B. Eager

Bowshot

Bowshot - bo'-shot: Found only in Genesis 21:16 in the account of Hagar and her child: "And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot," literally "stretchings of a bow," a typical oriental way of indicating distance.

Box

Box - The passages in which this word occurs are 2 Kings 9:1, 3 (Hebrew pakh, "cruet," "flask," the Revised Version (British and American) vial) and the synoptic passages Matthew 26:7 the King James Version; Mark 14:3 the King James Version; Luke 7:37 the King James Version (Greek alabastron). "Perfume-boxes" are mentioned in Isaiah 3:20; in the New Testament passages the Revised Version (British and American) renders "alabaster cruse." "Alabaster" was a white stone much used in ornamentation; and out of it small vessels we re made for holding precious ointment. "She brake the cruse" (Mark 14:3), i.e. the seal, not the vessel.

In Isaiah 41:19 and Isaiah 60:13, "box" is found in connection with "tree," as "box-tree" (which see).

Boxing

Boxing - See GAMES.

Box-tree

Box-tree - box'-tre (te'ashshur; Isaiah 41:19; 60:13, "boxwood" Ezekiel 27:6): A tree of uncertain identity, which must once have been common in the forests of Lebanon. According to Post (HDB, I, 313), "The only species of box found in Bible lands is Buxus longifolia, which is a shrub from 2 to 3 ft. high. It does not grow South of Mt. Cassius and it is unlikely that it did in historical times."

As an alternative to the box the cypress, Cupressus sempervirens--known in Arabic as Sherbin--has been suggested. It is a fine tree and was probably once plentiful, but as it seems to answer to the berosh (see FIR), it cannot well be the te'ashshur. There is nothing certain to go upon.

E. W. G. Masterman

Boy

Boy - (yeledh, "child," na`ar, "lad," "youth"; ho pais and he pais): Refers to a child of any age, and is sometimes used of either sex: Joel 3:3; Zechariah 8:5; Matthew 17:18; Luke 2:43; 51, 54 fem.; Luke 9:42. In the East the word applies also to an adult who is a servant (Matthew 8:6 the Revised Version, margin). The boy occupied a place of special importance in the family life of all ancient people. In Syria the father even was called by the name of his son. He was known as the father of Joseph, or whatever the n ame might be. As is true among all oriental people, while the father had absolute control in his case as well as in the case of the rest of the household, yet the boy received a consideration and advantages not accorded to the daughter. In the Jewish family his religious life began at the fourth year. He was expected to learn the Scriptures at five, the Mishna at ten, and to fulfill the whole law at thirteen. At twelve years he was expected to learn a trade, and attained to something of independence at that age, though he did not come into full rights as a citizen until he was twenty. Among many nations there was special rejoicing at the birth of the boy, and sometimes a feast. One of the most ancient customs was the planting of a cedar tree on this occasion.

See CHILD; FAMILY; SON.

Jacob W. Kapp

Bozcath

Bozcath - boz'-kath (botsqath).

See BOZKATH.

Bozez

Bozez - bo'-zez (botsets; Bazes, probably from an obsolete root batsats, corresponding to the Arabic batstsa, "to shine" or "to ooze"): The name of the northern of the two cliffs that stand one on each side of the gorge of Michmash (1 Samuel 14:4). It catches the sun during most of the day, while the southern cliff is in the shade. To this circumstance it may owe its name, "shining." "The contrast is surprising and picturesque between the dark coal color of the south side, and the ruddy or tawny tints of the northern cliff, crowned with the gleaming white of the upper chalky strata. The picture is unchanged since the day when Jonathan looked over to the white camping ground of the Philistines, and Bozez must have then shone as brightly as it does now, in the full light of an eastern sun" (Conder, Tent Work, 256).

W. Ewing

Bozkath

Bozkath - boz'-kath (botsqath, "stony"; Septuagint Basedoth): A town in the Shephelah of Judah named between Lachish and Eglon (Joshua 15:39). It was the birthplace of Adaiah the mother of King Josiah (2 Kings 22:1; the King James Version "Boscath"). The site is not identified.

Bozrah

Bozrah - boz'-ra (botsrah, "sheepfold"; Bosorrha, Bosor):

(1) The capital of Edom, a city of great antiquity (Genesis 36:33; 1 Chronicles 1:44; Isaiah 34:6; 63:1; Jeremiah 49:13; Amos 1:12). It may be identical with Buceirah, which lies about 7 miles Southwest of Tufileh, on the main road to Petra.

(2) A city in Moab mentioned in Jeremiah 48:24. It is probably identical with Bezer, the city of refuge. It may be represented today by Qusur Bashair, which towers lie some 15 miles Southeast of Dibon. In this case Beth-gamul would be identical with Jemail, 8 miles East of Dibon, and Beth-meon with Ma`in, Southwest of Medebah.

W. Ewing

Bracelet

Bracelet - bras'-let ('ets`adhah, chach, tsamidh, pathil, sheroth): Used to translate a number of Hebrew words, only one of which means a band for the arm ('ets`adhah), as in 2 Samuel 1:10, "the bracelet that was on his arm." In Exodus 35:22, where both men and women are said to have brought as offerings among other "jewels of gold" "bracelets" (the Revised Version (British and American) "brooches"), another word (chach) is used, meaning most likely nose-rings (see RING). The bracelet asked of Judah by Tamar as a pledge ("Thy signet, and thy b., and thy staff that is in thy hand," Genesis 38:18, 25 the King James Version) was probably the cord of softly-twisted wool for the shepherd's headdress (pathil; the Revised Version (British and American) "cord"). The bracelets ("two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold") which Abraham's servant gave to Rebekah stand for still another word (tsamidh). These "bracelets" are always spoken of as "bracelets for the hands," or as "put upon the hands" (Genesis 24:47, compare Ezekiel 16:11; 23:42). Isaiah, predicting the day when Yahweh will smite the haughty daughters of Zion, who "walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet," says, "In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets .... the bracelets" (3:19, sheroth) etc., where some translate "twisted ornaments," leaving it uncertain as to just what is specifically meantú In 2 Samuel 1:10 the bracelet appears with the crown as one of the royal insignia. In 2 Kings 11:12, according to Wellhausen, W. R. Smith (OTJC2, 311n.) and oth ers, we should read, "Then he brought out the king's son, and put the crown upon him and gave him bracelets" ... for "testimony" ... See DB .

Today, as of old, the bracelet is multiform and a favorite ornament in the East. It is made of gold, silver, copper, brass, glass and even enameled earthenware, and in many designs: flat band, plain ring, interlinked rings, as well as of twisted wires, connected squares, solid or perforated, with or without pendants (Mackie).

When owned by women, bracelets had the special the commendation, along with other jewelry, of being inalienable--not to be taken by the husband in case of divorce, nor seized and sold for his debts. "Even now," says Rice (Orientalisms, etc., 41), "in Moslem lands a woman may be divorced without legal process, at the freak of her husband, but she can carry away undisputed any amount of gold, silver, jewels, precious stones, or apparel that she has loaded on her person; so she usually wears all her treasures on her person, not knowing when the fateful word may be spoken."

George B. Eager

Brag

Brag - (megalaucheo, "proud brags"): Occurs only in the Apocrypha (2 Maccabees 15:32), not being sufficiently dignified to be given a place in the canonical Scriptures by the King James translators (compare Judith 16:5).

Braided; Braiding

Braided; Braiding - brad'-ed, brad'-ing (to plegama, "that which is plaited," 1 Timothy 2:9; he emploke, "a plaiting," 1 Peter 3:3): Used with reference to Christian women in two passages where the apostles emphasized the superiority of good works and spiritual grace over outward adornment.

See EMBROIDERY.

Bramble

Bramble - bram'-b'-l.

See THORNS .

Bran

Bran - (ta pitura): The women of Babylon are described as burning "bran for incense" in their unchaste idolatrous worship (Baruch 6:43).

Branch ;Bough

Branch ;Bough - bransh: Represented by very many words in the Hebrew.

(1) zemorah used especially of a vine branch. The spies "cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes" (Numbers 13:23). See also Ezekiel 15:2; Nahum 2:2. "They put the branch to their nose" (Ezekiel 8:17), refers to some unknown idolatrous practice, as does also Isaiah 17:10, "thou plantest pleasant plants, and settest it with strange slips," or "vine slips of a strange (god)" the Revised Version, margin.

(2) yoneqeth, literally "a sucker." "The tender branch thereof will not cease" (Job 14:7). Used figuratively of Israel, Psalms 80:11 (the Revised Version (British and American) "shoots"); Ezekiel 17:22 the King James Version; Hosea 14:6, and of the wicked, Job 8:16 (the Revised Version (British and American) "shoots"), Job 15:30.

(3) kippah, Job 15:32. Isaiah 9:14; 19:15, the Revised Version (British and American) has "palm-branch," "Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day" (Isaiah 9:14).

(4) netser (of the same Hebrew root, according to many commentators, as Nazareth), literally "a little shoot springing from the root" ("out of a shoot from her roots," Daniel 11:7), which may be planted out to grow (Isaiah 11:1; 60:21), or may be rooted out and thrown away (Isaiah 14:19).

(5) tsemach. The "branch" of Messianic prophecy. See PROPHECY. "In that day shall the branch (m "shoot" or "sprout") of Yahweh be beautiful and glorious" (Isaiah 4:2); "a shoot out of the stock of Jesse" (Isaiah 11:1); "a righteous branch" (Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15): "my servant the Branch" (Zechariah 3:8); "the man whose name is the Branch" (Zechariah 6:12).

(6) qanah, is used for the "branches" of the golden candlesticks (Exodus 25:32; 37:18 ff). Literally, qanah means a "reed."

There are a number of words, less frequently used, meaning "branch":

(7) baddim (plural only used; Ezekiel 17:6; 19:14).

(8) dalith (plural only used; Jeremiah 11:16).

(9) maTTeh (Ezekiel 19:11).

(10) ca`iph (Isaiah 18:5; ce`appah (plural) (Ezekiel 31:6); car`appah (Ezekiel 31:5).

(11) `anaph (Malachi 4:1; Psalms 80:11); `anaph (Daniel 4:14, 21); `eneph (Ezekiel 36:8).

(12) pu'rah, "a bough" (Isaiah 10:33); po'roth (pl. only) (Ezekiel 31:5, 8).

(13) tsammereth, "foliage" or "boughs of trees," literally "locks" or "fleece" of trees (Ezekiel 17:3; 31:3).

(14) qatsir (collective) (Job 14:9), "boughs" (Psalms 80:11), "branches."

(15) shibbeleth, the two olive branches of Zechariah 4:12.

(16) soqch, root meaning "to interweave" (Judges 9:49); sokhah (Judges 9:48), "boughs."

(17) sarigh (pl. only, sarighim), "branches" (of the vine) (Genesis 40:10; Joel 1:7).

Represented in Greek in the New Testament:

(1) baion (John 12:13), "a palm branch."

(2) klados (Matthew 13:32; 21:8; 24:32; Mark 4:32; 13:28; Luke 13:19; Romans 11:16-17, 18-19, 21).

(3) klema, a slip or cutting of the vine, especially one cut off to be grafted into another plant (John 15:2, 4-5, 6).

(4) stibos (= stoibas), a "twig" or "bough" (Mark 11:8).

E. W. G. Masterman

Brand

Brand - In the double signification of an object on fire and of objects used to feed a fire. The first meaning is expressed by 'udh, "a bent stick" for stirring fire (Amos 4:11; Zechariah 3:2; compare Isaiah 7:4); the second by lappidh, in Judges 15:4-5. A third meaning is found in ziqah, indicating the brand as a spreader of fire (Proverbs 26:18).

Branding

Branding - See PUNISHMENTS.

Brasen

Brasen - bra'-z'-n.

See BRASS.

Brass; Brazen

Brass; Brazen - bras (nechosheth): The use of the word brass has always been more or less indefinite in its application. At the present time the term brass is applied to an alloy of copper and zinc or of copper, zinc and tin. The word translated "brass" in the King James Version would be more correctly rendered bronze, since the alloy used was copper and tin (Exodus 27:4). In some passages however copper is meant (Deuteronomy 8:9), as bronze is an artificial product. This alloy was known in Egypt in at least 1600 BC. It was probably known in Europe still earlier (2000 BC), which helps to answer the question as to the source of the tin. Bronze was probably of European origin and was carried to Egypt. At a later period the Egyptians made the alloy themselves, bringing their copper from Sinai, Cyprus or northern Syria (see COPPER), and their tin from the Balkan regions or from Spain or the British Isles (see TIN). When the Children of Israel came into the promised land, they found the Canaanites already skilled in the making and use of bronze instruments. This period marked the transition from the bronze age to the iron age in Palestine Museums possessing antiquities from Bible lands have among their collections many and varied bronze objects. Among the most common are nails, lamps, hand mirrors, locks, cutting instruments, etc. Within comparatively recent times brass, meaning an alloy of copper and zinc, has been introduced into Syria. The alloy is made by the native workmen (see CRAFTS). Sheet brass is now being extensively imported for the making of bowls, vases, etc. Bronze is practically unknown in the modern native articles

Figurative: "Brass," naturally, is used in Scripture as the symbol of what is firm, strong, lasting; hence, "gates of brass" (Psalms 107:16), "hoofs of brass" (Micah 4:13), "walls of brass" (Jeremiah is made as a "brazen wall," Jeremiah 1:16; 15:20), "mountains of brass" (Daniel 2:35, the Macedonian empire; the arms of ancient times were mostly of bronze). It becomes a symbol, therefore, of hardness, obstinacy, insensibility, in sin, as "brow of brass" (Isaiah 48:4); "they are brass and iron" (Jeremiah 6:28, of the wicked); "all of them are brass" (Ezekiel 22:18, of Israel).

James A. Patch

Bravery

Bravery - brav'-er-i: tiph'arah or `tiph'ereth = "beauty," "glory," "honor" and "majesty," hence, "splendor of bravery." "The bravery of their tinkling ornaments" (Isaiah 3:18 the King James Version), "the beauty of their anklets" (American Standard Revised Version). Compare bravado, bravura.

Brawler

Brawler - brol'-er (Qere midhyanim; Kethibh midhwanim, "quarrelsomeness"; amachos, "not fighting"): Spoken of the quarrelsome woman; "a contentious (the King James Version "brawling") woman" (Proverbs 21:9). He who seeks the office of a bishop should be "no brawler" (paroinos the King James Version "given to wine," Titus 1:7); "not contentious" (the King James Version "not a brawler," 1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 3:2).

Bray

Bray - bra (nahaq, "to bray," of the ass; kathash, "to pound in a mortar"): This word occurs with two distinct meanings: (a) The harsh cry of the ass (Job 6:5). Job argued that as the sounds instinctively uttered by animals denote their wants, even so his Words were but the natural expression of his longing for some adequate explanation of his sufferings, or, failing this, for death itself. Used figuratively of Job's mockers (Job 30:7). (b) "To beat small in a mortar," "to chastise." Proverbs 27:22 refers to a more elaborate process than threshing for separating grain (the English Revised Version "corn") from its husk and impurities; used figuratively of a thorough but useless course of discipline; or still more probably with reference to the Syrian custom of braying meat and bruised corn together in a mortar with a pestle, "till the meat and grain become a uniform indistinguishable pulp" (see The Expositor Times,VIII , 521).

M. O. Evans

Brazen

Brazen - bra'-z'-n.

See BRASS.

Brazen Sea

Brazen Sea - See SEA,THE MOLTEN .

Brazen Serpent

Brazen Serpent - See NEHUSHTAN.

Breach

Breach - brech: Represented by (1) perets = "a tear," "a rending asunder," "a break," hence, figuratively "enmity," "disruption," "strife" (Genesis 38:29; Judges 21:15; 2 Samuel 5:20; 1 Chronicles 15:13; Nehemiah 6:1; Job 16:14; Psalms 106:23; Isaiah 30:13; 58:12); (2) shebher = "fracture," "affliction," "bruise," "destruction" (Leviticus 24:20; Jeremiah 14:17; Lamentations 2:13; Psalms 60:2); (3) bedheq = "a gap" or "leak" (in a building or ship) occurring in 2 Kings 12:5-8, 12; 22:5; (4) tenu'ah = "alienation," "breach of promise" (Numbers 14:34 the King James Version); (5) miphrats = "a break" (in the shore), and hence, "a haven" (Judges 5:17, the Revised Version (British and American) "creeks").

Frank E. Hirsch

Breach of Covenant

Breach of Covenant - brech, kuv'-e-nant, kuv'-e-nant.

See CRIMES .

Breach of Ritual

Breach of Ritual - rit'-u-al.

See CRIMES .

Breach of Trust

Breach of Trust - See CRIMES .

Bread

Bread - bred (lechem; artos):

I. DIETARY PREEMINENCE

II. MATERIALS

1. Barley

2. Wheat

3. Three Kinds of Flour

III. BREAD-MAKING

1. Grinding

2. Kneading

3. Baking

(1) Hot Stones

(2) Baking Pans

4. Ovens

(1) The Bowl-Oven

(2) The Jar-Oven

(3) The Pit-Oven

5. Forms of Baked Bread

6. Work for Women

IV. SANCTITY AND SYMBOLISM OF BREAD

1. Sanctity

2. Symbolism

LITERATURE

The art of bread-making is very ancient. It was even known to the Egyptians at a very early day (Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians), to the Hebrews of the Exodus (Nowack, Lehrbuch der hebr. Archaologie) and, of course, to the Greeks and Romans of a later day. Bread played a large part in the vocabulary and in the life of the ancient Hebrews.

I. Dietary Preeminence. (1) In the East bread is primary, other articles of food merely accessory; while in the West meat and other things chiefly constitute the meal, and bread is merely secondary. Accordingly "bread" in the Old Testament, from Genesis 3:19 onward, stands for food in general. (2) Moreover in ancient times, as now, most probably, when the peasant, carpenter, blacksmith or mason left home for the day's work, or when the muleteer or messenger set out on a journey, he wrapped other articles of food, if there were any, in the thin loaves of bread, and thus kept them ready for his use as needed. (3) Often the thin, glutinous loaf, puffed out with air, is seen today, opened on one side and used so as to form a natural pouch, in which meat, cheese, raisins and olives are enclosed to be eaten with the bread (see Mackie inDCG , article "Bread"). The loaf of bread is thus made to include everything and, for this reason also, it may fitly be spoken of as synonymous with food in general. To the disciples of Jesus, no doubt, "Give us this day our daily bread" would naturally be a petition for all needed food, and in the case of the miraculous feeding of the multitude it was enough to provide them with "bread" (Matthew 14:15 ff).

II. Materials. 1. Barley: Barley was in early times, as it is today, the main bread-stuff of the Palestine peasantry (see Judges 7:13; where "the cake of barley bread" is said to be "the sword of Gideon"), and of the poorer classes of the East in general (see John 6:13, where the multitude were fed on the miraculous increase of the "five barley loaves," and compare Josephus,BJ , V, x, John 2:1-25).

2. Wheat: But wheat, also, was widely used as a breadstuff then, as it is now, the wheat of the Syrian plains and uplands being remarkable for its nutritious and keeping qualities.

3. Three Kinds of Flour: Three kinds, or qualities, of flour, are distinguished, according to the way of making: (1) a coarser sort, rudely made by the use of pestle and mortar, the "beaten corn" of Leviticus 2:14, 16 (the Revised Version (British and American) "bruised"); (2) the "flour" or "meal" of ordinary use (Exodus 29:2; Leviticus 2:2; 6:15), and (3) the "fine meal" for honored guests (see Genesis 18:6, where Abraham commands Sarah to "make ready .... three measures of fine meal") with which we may compare the "fine flour" for the king's kitchen (1 Kings 4:22) and the "fine flour" required for the ritual meal offering, as in Leviticus 2:1; 5:11; 7:12; 14:10; 23:13; 24:5; etc.

III. Bread-Making. 1. Grinding: After thoroughly sifting and cleaning the grain, the first step in the process was to reduce it to "meal" or "flour" by rubbing, pounding, or grinding. (In Numbers 11:8 it is said of the manna "The people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in mortars.") It has been shown that by a process, which is not yet extinct in Egypt, it was customary to rub the grain between two the "corn-rubbers" or "corn grinders," of which many specimens have been found by Petrie, Bliss, Macalister and others, at Lachish, Gezer and elsewhere (PEFS, 1902, 326; 1903, 118; compare Erman, Egypt, 180, for illustrations of actual use). For detailed descriptions of the other processes, see MORTAR; MILL.

2. Kneading: The "flour" was then ordinarily mixed simply with water, kneaded in a wooden basin or kneading-trough (Exodus 8:3) and, in case of urgency, at once made into "cakes" and baked. (See Exodus 12:34, "And the people took their dough before it was leavened.") The Hebrews called such cakes matstsoth, and they were the only kind allowed for use on the altar during Passover, and immediately following the Feast of Unleavened Bread (also called Matstsoth). Commonly however the process was as follows: a lump of leavened dough of yesterday's baking, preserved for the purpose, was broken up and mixed with the day's "batch," and the whole was then set aside and left standing until it was thoroughly leavened (see LEAVEN).

3. Baking: We find in the Old Testament, as in the practice of the East today, three modes of firing or baking bread:

(1) Hot Stones: That represented by Elijah's cake baked on the hot stones (1 Kings 19:6 the Revised Version, margin; compare "the cakes upon the hearth," Genesis 18:6 the King James Version, and see Robinson, Researches,II , 406). The stones were laid together and a fire was lighted upon them. When the stones were well heated the cinders were raked off, and the cakes laid on the stones and covered with ashes. After a while the ashes were again removed and the cake was turned (see Hosea 7:8) and once more covered with the glowing ashes. It was thus cooked on both sides evenly and made ready for eating (compare the Vulgate, Panis subcineraris, and DeLagarde, Symmicta,II , 188, where egkouthia, is referred to as "the hiding" of the cakes under the ashes). Out of these primitive usages of the pastoral tribes and peasants grew other improved forms of baking.

(2) Baking Pans: An ancient method of baking, prevalent still among the Bedouin of Syria and Arabia, is to employ a heated convex iron plate, or griddle, what we would call a frying pan, in lieu of the heated sand or stones. The Hebrew "baking-pan" (machabhath, Leviticus 2:5; 7:9; compare Ezekiel 4:3) must have been of this species of "griddle." The reference in 1 Chronicles 9:31 is probably to bread baked in this way. There it is said that one of the sons of the priests "had the office of trust over the things that were baked in pans."

4. Ovens: tannur (compare Arabic), no doubt were used by the Hebrews, when they settled in Palestine, as they were used by the settled populations of the Orient in general, more and more as they approached civilized conditions. These "ovens" were of various kinds:

(1) The Bowl-Oven: The simplest used by the ancients were hardly more primitive than the kind quite commonly used in Palestine today. It may be called the "bowl-oven." It consists of a large clay-bowl, which is provided with a movable lid. This bowl is placed inverted upon small stones and then heated with a fuel distinctly oriental, consisting of dried dung heaped over and around it. The bread is baked on the stones, then covered by the inverted oven, which is heated by the firing of the fuel of dung on the outside of the cover.

(2) The Jar-Oven: The jar-oven is another form of oven found in use there today. This is a large earthen-ware jar that is heated by fuel of grass (Matthew 6:30), stubble (Malachi 4:1), dry twigs or thorns (1 Kings 17:12) and the like, which are placed within the jar for firing. When the jar is thus heated the cakes are stuck upon the hot inside walls.

(3) The Pit-Oven: The pit-oven was doubtless a development from this type. It was formed partly in the ground and partly built up of clay and plastered throughout, narrowing toward the top. The ancient Egyptians, as the monuments and mural paintings show, laid the cakes upon the outside of the oven (Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians); but in Palestine, in general, if the customs of today are conclusive, the fire was kindled in the inside of the pit-oven. Great numbers of such ovens have been unearthed in recent excavations, and we may well believe them to be exact counterparts of the oven of the professional bakers in the street named after them in Jerusalem "the bakers' street" (Jeremiah 37:21). The largest and most developed form of oven is still the public oven of the town or city of this sort; but the primitive rural types still survive, and the fuel of thorns, and of the grass, "which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven," are still in evidence.

5. Forms of Baked Bread: (1) The large pone or thick, light loaf of the West is unknown in the East. The common oriental cake or loaf is proverbially thin. The thin home-made bread is really named both in Hebrew and Arabic from its thinness as is reflected in the translation "wafer" in Exodus 16:31; 29:23; Leviticus 8:26; Numbers 6:19; 1 Chronicles 23:29. Such bread was called in Hebrew raqiq (raqiq; compare modern Arabic warkuk, from warak = "foliage," "paper").

(2) It is still significantly customary at a Syrian meal to take a piece of such bread and, with the ease and skill of long habit, to fold it over at the end held in the hand so as to make a sort of spoon of it, which then is eaten along with whatever is lifted by it out of the common dish (compare Matthew 26:23). But this "dipping in the common dish" is so accomplished as not to allow the contents of the dish to be touched by the fingers, or by anything that has been in contact with the lips of those who sit at meat (compare Mackie,DCG , article "Bread").

(3) Such "loaves" are generally today about 7 inches in diameter and from half an inch to an inch thick. Such, probably, were the lad's "barley loaves" brought to Christ at the time of the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:9, 13). Even thinner cakes, of both leavened and unleavened bread, are sometimes made now, as of old, especially at times of religious festivals. Often they are coated on the upper surface with olive oil and take on a glossy brown color in cooking; and sometimes they are sprinkled over with aromatic seeds, which adhere and impart a spicy flavor. They may well recall to us the "oiled bread" of Leviticus 8:26 and "the wafers anointed with oil" of Exodus 29:2 and Leviticus 2:4.

(4) Sometimes large discs of dough about 1 inch thick and 8 inches in diameter are prepared and laid in rows on long, thin boards like canoe paddles, and thus inserted into the oven; then, by a quick, deft jerk of the hand, they are slipped off upon the hot pavement and baked. These are so made and baked that when done they are soft and flexible, and for this reason are preferred by many to the thinner cakes which are cooked stiff and brown.

(5) The precise nature of the cracknels of 1 Kings 14:3 (the American Standard Revised Version "cakes") is not known. A variety of bakemeats (Genesis 40:17, literally "food, the work of the baker") are met with in the Old Testament, but only in a few cases is it possible or important to identify their nature or forms (see Encyclopedia Bibl, coll. 460 f). A cake used for ritual purposes (Exodus 29:2 and often) seems, from its name, to have been pierced with holes, like the modern Passover cakes (compare Kennedy, 1-volHDB , article " Bread").

6. Work for Women: (a) Every oriental household of importance seems to have had its own oven, and bread-making for the most part was in the hands of the women. Even when and where baking, as under advancing civilization, became a recognized public industry, and men were the professional bakers, a large part of the baker's work, as is true today, was to fire the bread prepared and in a sense pre-baked by the women at home. (b) The women of the East are often now seen taking a hand in sowing, harvesting and winnowing the grain, as well as in the processes of "grinding" (Ecclesiastes 12:3; Matthew 24:41; Luke 17:35), "kneading" (Genesis 18:6; 1 Samuel 28:24; 2 Samuel 13:8; Jeremiah 7:18) and "baking" (1 Samuel 8:13), and doubtless it was so in ancient times to an equal extent.

IV. Sanctity and Symbolism of Bread. 1. Sanctity: It would seem that the sanctity of bread remains as unchanged in the Orient as the sanctity of shrines and graves (compare Mackie,DCG , article "Bread," and Robinson's Researches). As in Egypt everything depended for life on the Nile, and as the Nile was considered "sacred," so in Palestine, as everything depended upon the wheat and barley harvest, "bread" was in a peculiar sense "sacred." The psychology of the matter seems to be about this: all life was seen to be dependent upon the grain harvest, this in turn depended upon rain in its season, and so bread, the product at bottom of these Divine processes, was regarded as peculiarly "a gift of God," a daily reminder of his continual and often undeserved care (Matthew 5:45 ff; consider in this connection the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread," Matthew 6:11; compare Luke 11:11). Travelers generally note as a special characteristic of the Oriental of today that, seeing a scrap of bread on the roadside, he will pick it up and throw it to a street dog, or place it in a crevice of the wall, or on a tree-branch where the birds may get it. One thing is settled with him, it must not be trodden under foot in the common dust, for, in the estimat ion of all, it has in it an element of mystery and sacredness as coming from the Giver of all good.

2. Symbolism: (a) In partaking of the hospitality of the primitive peasants of Palestine today, east and west of the Jordan, one sees what a sign and symbol of hospitality and friendship the giving and receiving of bread is. Among the Arabs, indeed, it has become a proverb, which may be put into English thus: "Eat salt together, be friends forever." Once let the Arab break bread with you and you are safe. You may find the bread the poorest barley loaf, still marked by the indentations of the pebbles, with small patches of the gray ash of the hearth, and here and there an inlaid bit of singed grass or charred thorn, the result of their primitive process of baking; but it is bread, the best that the poor man can give you, "a gift of God," indeed, and it is offered by the wildest Arab, with some sense of its sacredness and with somewhat of the gladness and dignity of the high duty of hospitality. No wonder, therefore, that it is considered the height of discourtesy, yea, a violation of the sacred law of hospitality, to decline it or to set it aside as unfit for use. (b) Christ must have been influenced by His knowledge of some such feeling and law as this when, on sending forth His disciples, He charged them to "take no bread with them" (Mark 6:8). Not to have expected such hospitality, and not to have used what would thus be freely offered to them by the people, would have been a rudeness, not to say an offense, on the part of the disciples, which would have hindered the reception of the good tidings of the Kingdom. (c) It has well been pointed out that God's gift of natural food to His people enters in for the praises of the Magnificat (Luke 1:53), and that when Christ called Himself "the bread of life" (John 6:35) He really appealed to all these endeared and indissoluble associations connected in the eastern mind with the meaning and use of bread. Most naturally and appropriately in the inauguration of the New Covenant Christ adopted as His memorial, not a monument of stone or brass, but this humble yet sacred article of food, familiar and accessible to all, to become, with the "wine" of common use, in the Lord's Supper, the perpetual symbol among His disciples of the communion of saints.

LITERATURE.

Wilkinson. Ancient Egypt, 1878, II, 34; Erman, Aegypten und aegyptisches Leben, 1885, 191 ff; Nowack, Lehrbuch der hebr. Archaologie, 1894; Maimonides, Yadh, Temidhin U-Mucaphin, v, 6-8; Bacher, Monats-schrift, 1901, 299; Mishna B.M., II, 1, 2; Robinson, Biblical Researches in Palestine, II, 416; Doughty, Travels in Arabia Deserta, I, 131; Josephus, BJ; and Bible Dicts. on "Bread," "Dietary Laws": "Matstsoth," "Challah," etc.

George B. Eager

Breadth

Breadth - bredth (rochabh, the root idea being to make wide, spacious): A term of expanse or measurement used of the ark (Genesis 6:15); of the tabernacle (Exodus 27:13); of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:2). platos, "breadth," as of the celestial city (Revelation 21:16). Figuratively, of the comprehensiveness of God's law (Psalms 119:96); of the heart (1 Kings 4:29, rendered "largeness of heart" English Versions); of God's immeasurable love (Ephesians 3:18).

Break

Break - brak: shabhar = "break" (down, off, in pieces, up), "destroy," "quench" (Isaiah 14:25; Jeremiah 19:10-11; Ezekiel 4:16; Amos 1:5); paraq = "to break off" or "craunch"; figuratively "to deliver" (Genesis 27:40 the King James Version); `araph = "to break the neck," hence, "to destroy" (Exodus 13:13); harac = "to break through" (Exodus 19:21, 24); parats = "to break" (forth, away), occurs in Exodus 19:22, 24; 1 Samuel 25:10; "breaking faith," Hosea 4:2; parach = "to break forth as a bud" (Leviticus 13:12); nathats or nathaq = "destroy" (Ezekiel 23:34 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "gnaw"; see BREAST); chalal = "profane," "defile," "stain" (Numbers 30:2; Psalms 89:31, 34); baqa = "rip open" (2 Kings 3:26; Isaiah 58:8); ra`a` = "to spoil by breaking to pieces," "to make good for nothing" (Job 34:24; Psalms 2:9; Jeremiah 15:12, the King James Version "Shall iron break northern iron?"); patsach = "to break out" (in joyful sound), "break forth," "make a noise" (Isaiah 14:7, the nations rejoice in the peace which follows the fall of the oppressor); nir = "to glisten," "gleam" (as of a fresh furrow) (Jeremiah 4:3; Hosea 10:12); pathach = "to open wide," "loosen," "have vent" (Jeremiah 1:14); naphats = "to dash to pieces or scatter," "overspread," "scatter" (Jeremiah 48:12, the work usually done carefully shall be done roughly; Jeremiah 51:20-23, descriptive of the terrible fate appointed for Babylon); na'aph = "to break wedlock" (Ezekiel 16:38); tsalach or tsaleach = "break out," "come mightily" (Amos 5:6). The New Testament employs luo = "to loosen," "dissolve" (Matthew 5:19); diorusso = "to penetrate burglariously," "break through" (Matthew 6:19-20, Greek "dig through"); rhegnumi or rhesso = "to disrupt," "burst," "to utter with a loud voice" (Galatians 4:27); klao = "to break" (Acts 20:7, "to break bread," i.e. to celebrate the Lord's Supper; 1 Corinthians 10:16).

Break of Day

Break of Day - 'or, "to be light," "the light breaks" (2 Samuel 2:32); auge, "bright light," "radiance" (Acts 20:11).

See DAWN.

Breast

Breast - brest: Signifying the front view of the bust in humans and the corresponding portion of the body in animals. chazeh, occurs in Exodus 29:26-27; Leviticus 7:30-31, 34; 8:29; Leviticus 10:14-15; Numbers 6:20; 18:18; and chadhi, in Daniel 2:32. shadh or shodh = "breast" in the sense of pap of a woman or animal (Job 24:9; Song of Solomon 8:1, 8, 10; Isaiah 60:16; Lamentations 4:3). Only one word occurs with this signification in the New Testament: stethos = "bosom," "chest" (Luke 18:13; 23:48; John 13:25; 21:20).

See WAVE OFFERING.

Figurative: "The breasts of virginity," pressed and bruised (Ezekiel 23:3, 8 the King James Version), indicative of Ezekiel's belief that Israel practiced idolatry in Egypt (compare Ezekiel 20:8). "To tear (pluck off) thy breasts" (Ezekiel 23:34) denotes the anguish of the people in parting with their beloved sin (compare Hosea 2:2). "Its breast of silver" (Daniel 2:32) is possibly expressive of the humanity and wealth of the Medo-Persian empire.

Frank E. Hirsch

Breastplate

Breastplate - brest'-plat.

See ARMOR.

Breastplate of the High Priest

Breastplate of the High Priest - prest: The Hebrew word choshen, rendered in the King James Version "breastplate," means really a "pouch" or "bag." The references to it are found exclusively in the Priestly Code (Exodus 25:7; Exodus 28:1-43; 29:5; 9, 27; Exodus 39:1-43; Leviticus 8:8). The descriptions of its composition and particularly the directions with regard to wearing it are exceedingly obscure. According to Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65 the Urim and Thummim, which were called in the priestly pouch, were lost during the Babylonian exile. The actual pouch was a "span in length and a span in breadth," i.e. about 9 inch square. It was made, like the ephod, of "gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen" (Exodus 28:15 f). In it were twelve precious stones, in rows of four, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Apparently the pouch had two rings (perhaps four) through which passed two gold chains by which it was fastened to the ephod supplied for the purpose with ouches or clasps. The pouch was worn by the high priest over his heart when he entered the "holy place" "for a memorial before Yahweh." The presence of the high priest, the representative of the people, with the names of the separate tribes on his person, brought each tribe before the notice of Yahweh and thereby directed His attention to them. The full designation was choshen mishpaT, "pouch of judgment" or "decision." It was the distinctive symbol of the priest in his capacity as the giver of oracles. As already suggested the priestly pouch contained the Urim and Thummim which were probably precious stones used as lots in giving decisions. In all probability the restored text of 1 Samuel 14:41 preserves the true custom. On one side stood Saul and Jonathan, and the people on the other side. If the result was Urim, Saul and Jonathan would be the guilty parties. If the result was Thummim, the guilt would fasten on the people.

T. Lewis

Breath; Breathe; Breathing

Breath; Breathe; Breathing - breth, breth, breath'-ing: In the English Versions of the Bible of the Old Testament "breath" is the rendering of neshamah, and of ruach. These words differ but slightly in meaning, both signifying primarily "wind," then "breath," though the former suggests a gentler blowing, the latter often a blast. As applied to persons there is no very clear distinction between the words. Yet in general one may say that of the two neshamah is employed preferably of breath regarded physiologically: "vital breath," hence, the vital principle, "Soul (animal) life" (compare Genesis 2:7; 7:22; Job 27:3, where both words occur; Isaiah 42:25; Daniel 5:23); while ruach (though it, too, sometimes signifies "vital breath") is the word generally employed where the breath is regarded physically--breath or blast as an act or force--and so is related to the will or the emotions, whence the meaning "spirit," also sometimes "thought," "purpose" (compare Job 4:9; 9:18; Psalms 18:15; 146:4; Ezekiel 37:5-6, 8-9, 10). The examples cited, however, and other passages reveal a lack of uniformity of usage. Yet generally ruach is the expression, neshamah, the principle, of life. Yet when employed of God they of course signify the principle, not of His own life, but of that imparted to His creatures. "Breathe" in English Versions of the Bible of the Old Testament requires no remark except at Psalms 27:12 ("such as breathe out cruelty"), from yaphach, "to breathe hard," "to snort" (compare Acts 9:1). In the New Testament "breath" (pnoe) occurs once Acts 17:25 in the plain sense of vital principle, the gift of God. "Breathed" is employed in John 20:22 of our Lord's concrete symbolism of the giving of the Spirit. In Acts 9:1 Saul's "breathing threatening and slaughter" is literally "snorting," etc., and the nouns are partitive genitives, being the element of which he breathed.

Breeches

Breeches - brich'-iz, brech'-iz: A garment, extending from the waist to or just below the knee or to the ankle, and covering each leg separately. Breeches are not listed among the garments of an ordinary wardrobe, but the priests in later times (Exodus 20:26) wore a garment resembling modern trousers. These priestly linen breeches, mikhnece bhadh, were worn along with the linen coat, the linen girdle and the linen turban by Aaron on the Day of Atonement, when he entered the "holy place." (The word mikhnece is derived from a root, kanac = ganaz, "to cover up," "hide.") Ordinary priests also wore them on sacrificial occasions (Exodus 28:42; 39:28; Leviticus 6:10; Ezekiel 44:18). Apart from the breeches just referred to, the only reference to a similar garment among the Israelites is found in Daniel 3:21, where the carbal, the Revised Version (British and American) "hosen," is mentioned. (The King James Version translates "coats.") The rendering of the King James Version is the more likely, though the meaning of the Aramaic sarbal is obscure (compare the thorough discussion in Ges., Thesaurus). In Targum and Talmud (compare Levy,NHWB , under the word), and is so taken by the rabbinical commentators. Still, Aquila and Theodotion (sarabara), Septuagint in Daniel 3:27, Symmachus (anaxurides), Peshitta, express the meaning "trousers" (of a looser kind than those worn by us), a garment known (from Herodotus and other sources) to have been worn by the ancient Scythians and Persians, and to have been called by them sarabara. The word, with the same connotation, was brought into the Arabic in the form sirwal. In both these senses the word may be originally Persian: in that of mantle, meaning properly (according to Andreas) a "head-covering" (sarabara), for which in Persia the peasants often use their mantle; in that of "trousers," corresponding to the modern Persian shalwar, "under-breeches." Cook has pointed out that "mantles, long-flowing robes, and therefore extremely liable to catch the flames," are more likely to be especially mentioned in this chapter than trousers, or (Revised Version) "hosen."

The word paTish (Daniel 3:21), is also uncertain. The Septuagint and Theodotion render tiarai, "turbans"; Peshitta has the same word, which is variously taken by Syrian lexicographers as "tunic," "trousers," or a kind of "gaiter" (Payne Smith, Thes. Syriac., col. 3098). (For further discussion of these words, compare commentaries on Dan of Jour. Phil., XXVI, 307 if.)

In general, we must remember that a thorough discussion of Israelite "dress" is impossible, because of the limitations of our sources.

H. J. Wolf

Breed

Breed - bred: Found in the past tense in Exodus 16:20 as a translation of rum = "to bring up," "to rise." In this verse, the manna is said to have arisen, i.e. "become alive" (with worms), to indicate that God's gifts are spoiled by selfish and miserly hoarding. The pres. act. occurs in Genesis 8:17 for sharats = "to wriggle," "swarm," "abound," hence, "breed abundantly"; and in Deuteronomy 32:14 for ben = "son," "descendant," "child," "colt," "calf," "breed." The present participle is found in Zephaniah 2:9 the King James Version for mimshaq, a derivative of mesheq = "possession," "territory," "field." The passage in question should therefore be translated "field of nettles" (the Revised Version (British and American) "possession of nettles").

Frank E. Hirsch

Brethren

Brethren - breth'-ren.

See BROTHER.

Brethren of the Lord

Brethren of the Lord - In Matthew 12:46 ff; Mark 3:31 ff; Luke 8:19 ff, while Jesus was in the midst of an earnest argument with scribes and Pharisees, His mother and brothers sent a message evidently intended to end the discussion. In order to indicate that no ties of the flesh should interfere with the discharge of the duties of His Messianic office, He stretched His hands toward His disciples, and said: "Whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother." In Matthew 13:54 ff; Mark 6:2 ff, while He was teaching in His own town, Nazareth, His neighbors, who, since they had watched His natural growth among them, could not comprehend the extraordinary claims that He was making, declare in an interrogative form, that they know all about the entire family, mother, brothers and sisters. They name the brothers. Bengel suggests that there is a tone of contempt in the omission of the names of the sisters, as though not worth mentioning. In John 2:12, they are said to have accompanied Jesus and His mother and disciples from the wedding at Cana. In John 7:3 ff, they are described as unbelieving, and ridiculing His claims with bitter sarcasm. This attitude of hostility has disappeared, when, at Jerusalem, after the resurrection and ascension (Acts 1:14), in the company of Mary and the Eleven, and the faithful group of women, they "continued steadfastly in prayer," awaiting the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Their subsequent participation in the missionary activity of the apostolic church appea rs in 1 Corinthians 9:5: "Have we no right to lead about a wife that is a believer, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?" In Galatians 1:19, James, bishop of the church at Jerusalem, is designated "the Lord's brother," thus harmonizing with Matthew 13:55, where their names are recorded as James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. When, then, "Jude, .... brother of James" is mentioned (Jude 1:1), the immediate inference is that Jude is another brother of the Lord. In reading these passages, the natural inference is that these "brethren" were the sons of Joseph and Mary, born after Jesus, living with Mary and her daughters, in the home at Nazareth, accompanying the mother on her journeys, and called the "brethren" of the Lord in a sense similar to that in which Joseph was called His father. They were brethren because of their common relationship to Mary. This impression is strengthened by the fact that Jesus is called her prototokos, "first-born son" (Luke 2:7), as well as by the very decided implication of Matthew 1:25. Even though each particular, taken separately, might, with some difficulty, be explained otherwise, the force of the argument is cumulative. There are too many items to be explained away, in order to establish any other inference. This view is not the most ancient. It has been traced to Tertullian, and has been more fully developed by Belvidius, an obscure writer of the 4th century

Two other views have been advocated with much learning and earnestness. The earlier, which seems to have been prevalent in the first three centuries and is supported by Origen, Eusebius, Gregory of Nyssa and Ambrose, Epiphanius being its chief advocate, regards these "brethren" as the children of Joseph by a former marriage, and Mary as his second wife. Joseph disappears from sight when Jesus is twelve years old. We know nothing of him after the narrative of the child Jesus in the temple. That there is no allusion to him in the account of the family in Mark 6:3 indicates that Mary had been a widow long before she stood by the Cross without the support of any member of her immediate family. In the Apocryphal Gospels, the attempt is made to supply what the canonical Gospels omit. They report that Joseph was over eighty years of age at his second marriage, and the names of both sons and daughters by his first marriage are given. As Lightfoot (commentary on Galatians) has remarked, "they are pure fabrications." Theophylact even advanced theory that they were the children of Joseph by a levirate marriage, with the widow of his brother, Clopas. Others regard them as the nephews of Joseph whom, after the death of his brother Clopas, he had taken into his own home, and who thus became members of his family, and were accounted as though they were the children of Joseph and Mary. According to this view, Mary excepted, the whole family at Nazareth were no blood relatives of Jesus. It is a Docetic conception in the interest of the dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary. All its details, even that of the advanced age and decrepitude of Joseph, start from that premise.

Another view, first propounded by Jerome when a very young man, in antagonizing Belvidius, but afterward qualified by its author, was followed by Augustine, the Roman Catholic writers generally, and carried over into Protestantism at the Reformation, and accepted, even though not urged, by Luther, Chemnitz, Bengel, etc., understands the word "brother" in the general sense of "kinsman," and interprets it here as equivalent to "cousin." According to this, these brethren were actually blood-relatives of Jesus, and not of Joseph. They were the children of Alpheus, otherwise known as Clopas (John 19:25), and the sister of Mary. This Mary, in Matthew 27:56, is described as "the mother of James and Joses," and in Mark 15:40, "the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome." This theory as completely developed points to the three names, James, Judas and Simon found both in the list of the apostles and of the "brethren," and argues that it would be a remarkable coincidence if they referred to different persons, and the two sisters, both named Mary, had found the very same names for their sons. The advocates of this theory argue also that the expression "James the less" shows that there were only two persons of the name James in the circle of those who were most closely connected with Jesus. They say, further, that, after the death of Joseph, Mary became an inmate of the home of her sister, and the families being combined, the presence and attendance of her nephews and nieces upon her can be explained without much difficulty, and the words of the people at Nazareth be understood. But this complicated theory labors under many difficulties. The identity of Clopas and Alpheus cannot be established, resting, as it does, upon obscure philological resemblances of the Aramaic form of the two names (see ALPHAEUS). The most that such argument affords is a mere possibility. Nor is the identity of "Mary the wife of Clopas" with the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus, established beyond a doubt. John 19:25, upon which it rests, can with equal correctness be interpreted as teaching that four women stood by the cross, of whom "Mary of Clopas" was one, and His mother's sister was another. The decision depends upon the question as to whether "Mary" be in apposition to "sister." If the verse be read so as to present two pairs, it would not be a construction without precedent in the New Testament, and would avoid the difficulty of finding two sisters with the same name--a difficulty greater yet than that of thre e cousins with the same name. Nor is the identity of "James the less" with the son of Alpheus beyond a doubt. Any argument concerning the comparative "less," as above explained, fails when it is found that in the Greek there is no comparative, but only "James the little," the implication being probably that of his stature as considerably below the average, so as to occasion remark. Nor is the difficulty less when it is proposed to identify three of these brethren of Jesus with apostles of the same name. For the "brethren" and the apostles are repeatedly distinguished. In Matthew 12:49, while the former stood without, the latter are gathered around Jesus. In John 2:12, we read: "his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples." In Acts 1:13 the Eleven, including James the son of Alpheus, and Simon, and Judas of James, and then it is said that they were accompanied by "his brethren." But the crowning difficulty of this hypothesis of Jerome is the record of the unbelief of the brethren and of their derision of His claims in John 7:3-5.

On the other hand, the arguments against regarding them as sons of Mary and Joseph are not formidable. When it is urged that their attempts to interfere with Jesus indicate a superiority which, according to Jewish custom, is inconsistent with the position of younger brothers, it may be answered that those who pursue an unjustifiable course are not models of consistency. When an argument is sought from the fact that Jesus on the cross commended His mother to John, the implication is immediate that she had no sons of her own to whom to turn in her grief and desolation; the answer need not be restricted to the consideration that unknown domestic circumstances may explain the omission of her sons. A more patent explanation is that as they did not understand their brother, they could not understand their mother, whose whole life and interests were bound up in her firstborn. But, on the other hand, no one of the disciples understood Jesus and appreciated His work and treasured up His words as did John. A bond of fellowship had thus been established between John and Mary that was closer than her nearer blood relationship with her own sons, who, up to this time, had regarded the course of Jesus with disapproval, and had no sympathy with His mission. In the home of John she would find consolation for her loss, as the memories of the wonderful life of her son would be recalled, and she would converse with him who had rested on the bosom of Jesus and whom Jesus loved. Even with the conversion of these brethren within a few days into faithful confessors, before the view of Jesus, provision was made for her deeper spiritual communion with her risen and ascended Son through the testimony of Jesus which John treasured in his deeply contemplative spirit. There was much that was alike in the characters of Mary and John. This may have had its ground in relationship, as many regard Salome his mother, the sister of the mother of Jesus mentioned in John 19:25.

Underneath both the stepbrother (Epiphanian) and the cousin (Hieronymian) theories, which coincide in denying that Mary was the actual mother of these brethren, lies the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary. This theory which has as its watchword the stereotyped expression in liturgy and hymn, "Maria semper Virgo," although without any support from Holy Scripture, pervades theology and the worship of the ancient and the medieval churches. From the Greek and Roman churches it has passed into Protestantism in a modified form. Its plea is that it is repugnant to Christian feeling to think of the womb of Mary, in which the Word, made flesh, had dwelt in a peculiar way, as the habitation of other babes. In this idea there lies the further thought, most prominent in medieval theology, of a sinfulness of the act in itself whereby new human lives come into existence, and of the inclination implanted from the creation, upon which all family ties depend. 1 Timothy 4:3-4; Hebrews 13:4 are sufficient answer. The taint of sin lies not in marriage, and the use of that which is included in its institution, and which God has blessed (compare Acts 10:15), but in its perversion and abuse. It is by an inconsistency that Protestants have conceded this much to theory of Rome, that celibacy is a holier estate than matrimony, and that virginity in marriage is better than marriage itself. The theory also is connected with the removal of Mary from the sphere of ordinary life and duties as too commonplace for one who i s to be surrounded with the halo of a demi-god, and to be idealized in order to be worshipped. The interpretation that they are the Lord's real brethren ennobles and glorifies family life in all its relations and duties, and sanctifies motherhood with all its cares and trials as holier than a selfish isolation from the world, in order to evade the annoyances and humiliations inseparable from fidelity to our callings. Not only Mary, but Jesus with her, knew what it was to grieve over a house divided concerning religion (Matthew 10:35 ff). But that this unbelief and indifference gave way before the clearer light of the resurrection of Jesus is shown by the presence of these brethren in the company of the disciples in Jerusalem (Acts 1:14). The reference to His post-resurrection appearance to James (1 Corinthians 15:7) is probably connected with this change in their attitude. 1 Corinthians 9:5 shows that at least two of these brothers were active as missionaries, undoubtedly within the Holy Land, and to Jews, according to the agreeme nt into which James entered in Galatians 2:1-21, and his well-known attitude on questions pertaining to the Gentiles. Zahn regards James as an ascetic and celibate not included in 1 Corinthians 9:5, which is limited then to Jude and Simon. Their marriage indicates "the absence in the Holy Family of that pseudo-asceticism which has so much confused the tradition concerning them" (Alford).

Bribery

Bribery - brib'-er-i (shochadh, "a gift," in a corrupt sense, "a bribe"): The Hebrew law condemns everything that would tend to impair the impartial administration of justice, particularly the giving and receiving of gifts or bribes, in order to pervert judgment (Exodus 23:8). Allusions are frequent to the prevailing corruption of oriental judges and rulers. "And fire shall consume the tents of bribery" (Job 15:34; 1 Samuel 8:3; Psalms 26:10; Isaiah 1:23; 33:15; Ezekiel 22:12). Samuel speaks of a "ransom" in the sense of a bribe: "Of whose hand have I taken a ransom (kopher, "covering," the King James Version "bribe") to blind mine eyes therewith?" (1 Samuel 12:3; Amos 5:12; compare Amos 2:6).

See CRIMES ; JUSTICE; PUNISHMENTS.

L. Kaiser

Brick

Brick - (lebhenah): The ancient Egyptian word appears in the modern Egyptian Arabic toob. In Syria the sun-baked bricks are commonly called libn or lebin, from the same Semitic root as the Hebrew word.

Bricks are mentioned only a few times in the Bible. The story of how the Children of Israel, while in bondage in Egypt, had their task of brick-making made more irksome by being required to collect their own straw is one of the most familiar of Bible narratives (Exodus 1:14; Exodus 5:7, 10-19).

Modern excavations at Pithom in Egypt (Exodus 1:11) show that most of the bricks of which that store-city was built were made of mud and straw baked in the sun. These ruins are chosen as an example from among the many ancient brick structures because they probably represent the work of the very Hebrew slaves who complained so bitterly of their royal taskmaster. In some of the upper courses rushes had been substituted for straw, and still other bricks had no fibrous material. These variations could be explained by a scarcity of straw at that time, since, when there was a shortage in the crops, all the straw (Arabic, tibn) was needed for feeding the animals. It may be that when the order came for the workmen to provide their own straw they found it impossible to gather sufficient and still furnish the required number of bricks (Exodus 5:8). However, the quality of clay of which some of the bricks were made was such that no straw was needed.

Brickmaking in early Egyptian history was a government monopoly. The fact that the government pressed into service her Asiatic captives, among whom were the Children of Israel, made it impossible for independent makers to compete. The early bricks usually bore the government, stamp or the stamp of some temple authorized to use the captives for brick manufacture. The methods employed by the ancient Egyptians differ in no respect from the modern procedure in that country. The Nile mud is thoroughly slipped or mixed and then rendered more cohesive by the addition of chopped straw or stubble. The pasty mass is next worked into a mould made in the shape of a box without a bottom. If the sides of the mould have been dusted with dry earth it will easily slip off and the brick is allowed to dry in the sun until it becomes so hard that the blow of a hammer is often necessary to break it.

When the children of Israel emigrated to their new country they found the same methods of brickmaking employed by the inhabitants, methods which are still in vogue throughout the greater part of Palestine and Syria. In the interior of the country, especially where the building stone is scarce or of poor quality, the houses are made of sun-baked brick (libn). Frequently the west and south walls, which are exposed most to the winter storms, are made of hewn stone and the rest of the structure of bricks. When the brick-laying is finished the house is plastered inside and outside with the same material of which the bricks are made and finally whitewashed or painted with grey- or yellow-colored earth. The outer coating of plaster must be renewed from year to year. In some of the villages of northern Syria the brick houses are dome-shaped, looking much like beehives. In the defiant assertion of Isaiah 9:10 the superiority of hewn stone over bricks implied a greater difference in cost and stability than exists between a frame house and a stone house in western lands today.

In the buildings of ancient Babylonia burnt bricks were used. These have been found by modern excavators, which confirms the description of Genesis 11:3. Burnt bricks were rarely used in Egypt before the Roman period and in Palestine their use for building purposes was unknown. Specimens of partially burnt, glazed bricks have been found in Babylonia and recently in one of the Hittite mounds of northern Syria. These were probably used for decorative purposes only. If burnt bricks had been generally used in Palestine, races of them would have been found with the pottery which is so abundant in the ruins (see POTTERY ).

The fact that unburnt bricks were so commonly used explains how the sites of such cities as ancient Jericho could have become lost for so many centuries. When the houses and walls fell they formed a heap of earth not distinguishable from the surrounding soil. The wood rotted and the iron rusted away, leaving for the excavator a few bronze and stone implements and the fragments of pottery which are so precious as a means of identification. The "tels" or mounds of Palestine and Syria often represent the ruins of several such cities one above the other.

LITERATURE.

H. A. Harper, The Bible and Modern Discoveries; Wilkinson, Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians; Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt; Hilprecht, Recent Research in Bible Lands.

James A. Patch

Brick-kiln

Brick-kiln - brik'-kil, -kiln (malben): The Hebrew word is better translated by "brickmould." In Syria the brickmould is still called milben. In Jeremiah 43:9 the American Standard Revised Version rendering is "brickwork" and the American Revised Version, margin "pavement." 2 Samuel 12:31 becomes much clearer if the American Revised Version, margin is incorporated. Being put to work at the brickmould was considered the task of those taken as slaves. The ancestors of the new taskmasters had themselves been put to similar toil.

Bride

Bride - brid.

See MARRIAGE.

Bride-chamber

Bride-chamber - brid'-cham-ber (numphon): The room in which the marriage ceremonies were held (Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34; compare Matthew 22:10).

See CHAMBER; MARRIAGE.

Bride-chamber, Sons (Children) of The

Bride-chamber, Sons (Children) of The - (hoi huioi tou numphonos): These were friends or companions of the bridegroom and were usually very numerous (Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34). Any wedding guest might be included in the expression, or anyone who took part in the bridal procession and remained for the wedding-feast (see MARRIAGE). In the above passages "the sons of the bride-chamber" are the disciples of Christ.

Bridegroom; Bridegroom, Friend of

Bridegroom; Bridegroom, Friend of - brid'-groom;

See MARRIAGE.

Bridge

Bridge - brij (gephura, 2 Maccabees 12:13 the King James Version; the Revised Version (British and American) GEPHYRUN): Does not occur in the canonical Scriptures, unless it be indirectly in the proper name Geshur (geshur, 2 Samuel 3:3; 13:37; 15:8; 1 Chronicles 2:23, and others). The so-called Jacob's bridge is said to mark the site where Jacob crossed the upper Jordan on his return from Paddan-aram, but, of course, does not date from the time of the patriarch. There are traces of ancient bridges across the Jordan in the vicinity of the Lake of Gennesaret, over the Arnon and over other rivers which enter the Jordan from the east; but none of them seem to date farther back than the Roman period. Nahum 2:6, in which the Chaldaic paraphrase renders "bridges," evidently refers to dikes or weirs. Judas Maccabeus is said to have planted a bridge in order to besiege the town of Casphor (2 Maccabees 12:13). Josephus (Ant., V, i, 3) tells us that the Jordan, before the passage of the Israelites, had never been bridged, evidently implying that in his own time bridges had been constructed over it, which was the case, under the Romans. The bridge connecting the temple with the upper part of the city of which Josephus speaks (War, VI, vi, 2; Ant, XV, xi, 5) probably was a viaduct.

Frank E. Hirsch

Bridle

Bridle - bri'-d'-l.

See BIT AND BRIDLE.

Brier

Brier - bri'-er.

See THORNS .

Brigandine

Brigandine - brig'-an-den.

See ARMS (Defensive, 5); COAT OF MAIL.

Brightness

Brightness - brit'-nes: Used by the King James Version in Hebrews 1:3 for "effulgence of his glory," as in the Revised Version (British and American) and the American Standard Revised Version. The Greek apaugasma may mean either "reflection" or "radiation." Patristic usage favors the latter; compare Wisdom of Solomon 7:26; also the Nicene Creed: "Light of Light," i.e. the Son not only manifests the Father, but is of the same substance. "What emanates from light, must have the nature of light" (Delitzsch).

Brim

Brim - qatseh or qetseh = "an extremity" (in a variety of applications and idioms), "border," "edge," "side," "shore" (Joshua 3:15 the King James Version; the Revised Version (British and American) "brink"); also saphah or sepheth = "edge," "lip" (1 Kings 7:23-24, 26; 2 Chronicles 4:2, 5). In John 2:7, the adverb ano, is used to emphasize the verb egemisan = "to fill," thus giving the idea of "filling to the top."

Brimstone

Brimstone - brim'-ston, brim'-stun (gophrith; to theion): The word translated "brimstone" probably referred originally to the pitch of trees, like the cypress. By analogy it has been rendered "brimstone" because of the inflammability of both substances. Sulphur existed in Palestine in early times and was known by most of the ancient nations as a combustible substance. In the vicinity of the Dead Sea, even at the present time, deposits of sulphur are being formed. Blanckenhorn (ZDPV, 1896) believes that this formation is due to the action of bituminous matter upon gypsum, as these two substances are found associated with each other in this district. Travelers going from Jericho to the Dead Sea may pick up lumps of sulphur, which are usually encrusted with crystals of gypsum. Deuteronomy 29:23 well describes the present aspect of this region. That the inhabitants of the land had experienced the terrors of burning sulphur is very probable. Once one of these deposits took fire it would melt and run in burning streams down the ravines spreading everywhere suffocating fumes such as come from the ordinary brimstone match. No more realistic figure could be chosen to depict terrible suffering and destruction. It is not at all unlikely that during some of the disastrous earthquakes which took place in this part of the world, the hot lava sent forth ignited not only the sulphur, but also the bitumen, and added to the horrors of the earthquake the destruction caused by burning pitch and brimstone.

The figurative use of the word brimstone to denote punishment and destruction is illustrated by such passages as Deuteronomy 29:23; Job 18:15; Psalms 11:6; Isaiah 30:33; Ezekiel 38:22; Luke 17:29; Revelation 9:17.

James A. Patch

Bring

Bring - dasha' = "to sprout," "spring" (Genesis 1:11 the King James Version); sharats = "to wriggle," "swarm" (Genesis 1:20 f; Genesis 9:7; Exodus 8:3); yaladh = "to bear," "beget" (Genesis 3:16; 2 Kings 19:3; Job 15:35; Job 39:1-2; "what a day may bring forth," Proverbs 27:1; "before the decree bring forth," Zephaniah 2:2); `anan = "to cloud over," "to darken" (Genesis 9:14); shalach = "to send on," "to escort" (Genesis 18:16); shubh = "to turn back," "bring" (again, back, home again), "fetch," "establish" (Genesis 24:5-6, 8; Job 10:9; Psalms 68:22; "bring him back to see," Ecclesiastes 3:22; Zechariah 10:6, 10); naghash = "present," "adduce" (an argument) (1 Samuel 13:9; 15:32; 23:9; 30:7; "bring forth your strong reasons," Isaiah 41:21-22); `asah = "to do," "cause to be," "accomplish" (Psalms 37:5); `alah = "to carry up," "exalt," "restore" (Genesis 46:4; Exodus 3:8, 17; 33:12; Psalms 71:20; Hosea 12:13); nagha` = "to touch," "lay hand upon," "reach to" (Leviticus 5:7); kabhadh, or kabhedh = "to be heavy" (causative "to make weighty"), "to be glorious" (Proverbs 4:8); kana` = "to bend the knee," hence "humiliate," "bring" (down, into subjection, under), "subdue" (Deuteronomy 9:3; Isaiah 25:5); zakhar = "to mark," "call to, put (put in) remembrance" (Psalms 38:1-22 title; Psalms 70:1-5 title); yabhal = "to flow," "bring" (especially with pomp) (Psalms 60:9; 68:29; 76:11; Zephaniah 3:10); chul, or chil = "to writhe in pain," "to be in travail" (Isaiah 66:8); tsa`adh = "to step regularly," "march," "hurl" (Job 18:14); halakh = "to walk," "get" (Hosea 2:14); gadhal = "bring up," "increase" (Hosea 9:12).

The New Testament employs telesphoreo = "to bring to maturity," "to ripen" (Luke 8:14); hupomimnesko = "to bring to mind," "suggest," "bring to remembrance" (John 14:26); douloo = "to enslave" (Acts 7:6); suntrophos = "brought up with" (Acts 13:1 the Revised Version (British and American), "the foster-brother of"): diasozo = "to save," "to care," "rescue" (Acts 23:24); atheteo = "to set aside" "cast off," "bring to naught" (1 Corinthians 1:19); katargeo = "to abolish," "destroy," "do away," "put away," "make void" (1 Corinthians 1:28); propempo = "to send forward," "bring forward" (1 Corinthians 16:6 the King James Version; Titus 3:13 the King James Version; 3 John 1:6 the King James Version); ektrepho = "to rear up to maturity," "to cherish," "nourish" (Ephesians 6:4 the King James Version).

Frank E. Hirsch

Brink

Brink - brink: saphah, or sepheth = "the lip," "margin," "bank," "edge" (Genesis 41:3; Exodus 2:3; 7:15); qatseh, or qetseh = "an extremity," "border," "brim" (Joshua 3:8, 15; Isaiah 19:7; Daniel 12:5).

See BRIM.

Broad

Broad - brod (rochabh, "width"; rechobh, "a broadway," "street," "court"; eurchoros, "spacious"): Occurs frequently as a term of dimension (Exodus 27:1; 1 Kings 6:6; Ezekiel 40:6, 43 the Revised Version (British and American), "handbreadth long") and as indicative of strength (Nehemiah 3:8; Jeremiah 51:58). The centers of communal life are called the "broad places," often rendered "streets" (Jeremiah 5:1; Song of Solomon 3:2; Nahum 2:4). A court before the temple: "the broad place on the east" (the King James Version "the east street," 2 Chronicles 29:4); "broad plates" (Numbers 16:38-39, the Revised Version (British and American) "beaten").

Figurative: Relief from distress: "Yea, he would have allured thee out of (Hebrew "the mouth of") distress into a broad place" (Job 36:16); the liberty of obedience or liberty within the law (Psalms 119:96, "broad," "roomy," "at liberty"); the all-sufficiency of God for His people (Isaiah 33:21). Jerusalem could not boast of a river or navy--Yahweh's presence with and within her would more than supply these deficiencies; the road to destruction: "Broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction" (Matthew 7:13); the ostentatious piety of the Pharisees: "They make broad (platuno, "widen") their phylacteries" (Matthew 23:5).

See CITY; GATE.

L. Kaiser

Broad Place

Broad Place - See CITY.

Broidered

Broidered - broid'-erd: (1) riqmah, "variegation of color" (Ezekiel 16:10, 13, 18; 26:16; 7, 16, 24); (2) tashbets, "checkered stuff" (as reticulated). The high priest's garments consisted of "a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat (Exodus 28:4 the King James Version; the Revised Version (British and American) "a coat of checker work"), a miter, and a girdle"; (3) plegma, "twined or plaited work" (1 Timothy 2:9 the King James Version).

See BRAIDED; EMBROIDERY.

Broken

Broken - bro'-k'-n: Occurs both as past participle of the verb translated "to break" and as an adjective, the former use will be dealt with here only so far as verbs occur which are thus translated but do not present the non-participial forms. Such are: meroach = "bruised," "emasculated" (Leviticus 21:20); chathath = "to frustrate," hence, "to break down" either by violence or by confusion and fear (1 Samuel 2:10; Jeremiah 48:20, 39); dakhah = "to collapse" (Psalms 44:19; 51:8); ratsats = "to crack in pieces" "crush" (Ecclesiastes 12:6); kathath = "to bruise or violently strike," "break in pieces" (Isaiah 30:14); Jeremiah 2:16 should evidently be rendered: "have grazed on the crown of thy head," instead of the King James Version "have broken," etc., for ra`ah = "to tend a flock," "pasture," "graze," but gives no hint of the meaning "to break"; `alah = "to arise," "depart" (Jeremiah 37:11); sunthlao = "to dash together," "shatter" (Matthew 21:44); exorusso = "to dig through," "to extract," "remove" (Mark 2:4).

See BREAK.

Frank E. Hirsch

Brokenfooted

Brokenfooted - bro'-k'-n-foot-ed (shebher reghel): In Leviticus 21:19, one of the blemishes which prevented a man of priestly descent from the execution of the priestly office.

Brokenhanded

Brokenhanded - bro'-k'-n-hand-ed (shebher yadh): In Leviticus 21:19 one of the blemishes which prevented a man of priestly descent from the execution of the priestly office.

Brokenhearted

Brokenhearted - bro'-k'-n-har-ted (shabhar lebh; suntetrimmenoi ten kardian; Psalms 69:20-21; Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18 the King James Version; "of a broken heart," Psalms 34:18; "broken in heart," Psalms 147:3): People who feel their spiritual bankruptcy and helplessness, and who long for the help and salvation of God. Such people are in the right condition to be met and blessed by God. Compare "of contrite spirit" (Psalms 31:18; Isaiah 66:2).

Brooch

Brooch - broch (chach): Used in plural by the Revised Version (British and American) (the King James Version "bracelets") for a class of "jewels of gold" brought as offerings by both men and women of Israel (Exodus 35:22). "Brooches," as Mackie says, is unoriental. The Hebrew word means most likely nose-rings.

See BRACELET; RING.

Brook

Brook - brook (nachal, 'aphiq, ye'or, mikhal; cheimarrhos): In Palestine there are few large streams. Of the smaller ones many flow only during the winter, or after a heavy rain. The commonest Hebrew word for brook is nachal, which is also used for river and for valley, and it is not always clear whether the valley or the stream in the valley is meant (Numbers 13:23; Deuteronomy 2:13; 2 Samuel 15:23). The Arabic wady, which is sometimes referred to in this connection, is not an exact parallel, for while it may be used of a dry valley or of a valley containing a stream, it means the valley and not the stream. 'Aphiq and ye'or are translated both "brook" and "river," ye'or being generally used of the Nile (Exodus 1:22, etc.), though in Daniel 12:5-7, of the Tigris. Cheirnarrhos, "winter-flowing," is applied in John 18:1 to the Kidron. Many of the streams of Palestine which are commonly called rivers would in other countries be called brooks, but in such a dry country any perennial stream assumes a peculiar importance.

Alfred Ely Day

Brook of Egypt, The

Brook of Egypt, The - (nachal = "a flowing stream," "a valley"; best translated by the oriental word wady, which means, as the Hebrew word does, both a stream and its valley).

1. Name: The Brook of Egypt is mentioned six times in the Old Testament (Numbers 34:5; Joshua 15:4, 47; 1 Kings 8:65; Isaiah 27:12); once, Genesis 15:18, by another word, nahar. The Brook of Egypt was not an Egyptian stream at all, but a little desert stream near the borderland of Egypt a wady of the desert, and, perhaps, the dividing line between Canaan and Egypt. It is usually identified with the Wady el 'Arish of modern geography.

2. Description: The Brook of Egypt comes down from the plateau et Tih in the Sinai peninsula and falls into the Mediterranean Sea at latitude 31 5 North, longitude 33 42 East. Its source is at the foot of the central mountain group of the peninsula. The upper portion of the wady is some 400 ft. above the sea. Its course, with one sharp bend to the West in the upper part, runs nearly due North along the western slope of the plateau. Its whole course of 140 miles lies through the desert. These streams in the Sinai peninsula are usually dry water-courses, which at times become raging rivers, but are very seldom babbling "brooks." The floods are apt to come with little or no warning when cloudbursts occur in the mountain region drained.

3. Archaeology: The use of the Hebrew word nachal for this wady points to a curious and most interesting and important piece of archaeological evidence on the critical question of the origin of the Pentateuch. In the Pentateuch, the streams of Egypt are designated by an Egyptian word (ye'or) which belongs to Egypt, as the word bayou does to the lower Mississippi valley, while every other stream mentioned, not except this desert stream, "the Brook of Egypt," is designated by one or other of two Hebrew words, na chal and nahar. Each of these words occurs 13 times in the Pentateuch, but never of the streams of Egypt. The use of nahar in Exodus 7:19 in the account of the plagues is not really an exception for the word is then used generically in contrast with ye'or to distinguish between the "flowing streams," neharoth, and the sluggish irrigation branches of the Nile, ye'orim, "canals" (compare CANALS) (Isaiah 19:6; 33:21), while ye'or occurs 30 times but never of any other than the streams of Egypt. There is thus a most exa ct discrimination in the use of these various words, a discrimination which is found alike in the Priestly Code (P), Jahwist (Jahwist), and Elohim (E) of the documentary theory, and also where the editor is supposed to have altered the documents. Such discrimination is scarcely credible on the hypothesis that the Pentateuch is by more than one author, in later than Mosaic times, or that it is by any author without Egyptian training. The documentary theory which requires these instances of the use of these various words for "river" to have been recorded by several different authors or redactors, in different ages and all several centuries after the Exodus, far away from Egypt and opportunities for accurate knowledge of its language, seems utterly incompatible with such discriminating use of these words. And even if the elimination of all mistakes be attributed to one person, a final editor, the difficulty is scarcely lessened. For as no purpose is served by this discriminating use of words, it is evidently a natural phenomenon. In every instance of the use of ye'or, one or other of the usual Hebrew words, nachal or nahar would have served the purpose of the author, just as any foreign religious writer might with propriety speak of the "streams of Louisiana," though a Louisianian would certainly call them "bayous." How does the author come to use ye'or even where his native Hebrew words might have been used appropriately? Why never, where its appropriateness is even doubtful, not even saying ye'or for nachal of the "Brook of Egypt"? It is not art, but experience, in the use of a language which gives such skill as to attend to so small a thing in so extensive use without a single mistake. The only time and place at which such experience in the use of Egyptian words is to be expected in Israel is among the people of the Exodus not long subsequent to that event.

M. G. Kyle

Broom

Broom - broom: Occurs in 1 Kings 19:4 m ("broomtree"); Job 30:4, and Psalms 120:4 m as the translation of the Hebrew rothem, where the King James Version employed "juniper" which is retained in the Revised Version (British and American) text in 1 Kings 19:4 and Job 30:4. Juniper is certainly incorrect and broom is not a particularly happy rendering. The rothem was doubtless the shrub called by the Arabs ratam, a shrub which casts so little shadow that it would be used for shade only when there was no other refuge from the desert sun, and would be eaten only in case of the direst necessity, but which could be burned and used for the making of charcoal.

See JUNIPER.

David Foster Estes

Broth

Broth - broth (maraq): Equivalent to our "soup." When Gideon (Judges 6:19) made ready a kid, "the flesh he put in a basket," but, it is added, "he put the broth in a pot"; and he is told by the angel to "pour out the broth" (Judges 6:20). Isaiah (65:4) makes Yahweh speak of rebellious Israel as "a people that provoke me to my face continually sacrificing in gardens," and adds in description "that eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels" (maraq, paraq).

See FOOD.

Brother

Brother - bruth'-er ('ach; adelphos = kin by birth, from the same parents or parent): Used extensively in both Old Testament and New Testament of other relations and relationships, and expanding under Christ's teaching to include the universal brotherhood of man. Chiefly employed in the natural sense, as of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:8); of Joseph and his brethren (Genesis 42:3); of Peter and Andrew, of James and John (Matthew 10:2). Of other relationships: (1) Abram's nephew, Lot, is termed "brother" (Genesis 14:14); (2) Moses' fellow-countrymen are "brethren" (Exodus 2:11; Acts 3:22; compare Hebrews 7:5); (3) a member of the same tribe (2 Samuel 19:12); (4) an ally (Amos 1:9), or an allied or cognate people (Numbers 20:14); (5) used of common discipleship or the kinship of humanity (Matthew 23:8); (6) of moral likeness or kinship (Proverbs 18:9); (7) of friends (Job 6:15); (8) an equal in rank or office (1 Kings 9:13); (9) one of the same faith (Acts 11:29; 1 Corinthians 5:11); (10) a favorite oriental metaphor used to express likeness or similarity (Job 30:29, "I am a brother to jackals"); (11) a fellow-priest or office-bearer (Ezra 3:2); Paul called Sosthenes "brother" (1 Corinthians 1:1) and Timothy his spiritual son and associate (2 Corinthians 1:1); (12) a brother-man, any member of the human family (Matthew 7:3-5; Hebrews 2:17; 8:11; 1 John 2:9; 4:20); (13) signifies spiritual kinship (Matthew 12:50); (14) a term adopted by the early disciples and Christians to express their fraternal love for each other in Christ, and universally adopted as the language of love and brotherhood in His kingdom in all subsequent time (2 Peter 3:15; Colossians 4:7, 9, 15). The growing conception of mankind as a brotherhood is the outcome of this Christian view of believers as a household, a family (Ephesians 2:19; 3:15; compare Acts 17:26). Jesus has made "neighbor" equivalent to "brother," and the sense of fraternal affection and obligation essential to vital Christianity, and coextensive with the world. The rabbis distinguished between "brother" and "neighbor," applying "brother" to Israelites by blood, "neighbor" to proselytes, but allowing neither title to the Gentiles. Christ and the apostles gave the name "brother" to all Christians, and "neighbor" to all the world (1 Corinthians 5:11; Luke 10:29 ff). The missionary passion and aggressiveness of the Christian church is the natural product of this Christian conception of man's true relation to man.

Brotherhood

Brotherhood - bruth'-er-hood: The rare occurrence of the term (only Zechariah 11:14 and 1 Peter 2:17) in contrast with the abundant use of "brother," "brethren," seems to indicate that the sense of the vital relation naturally called for the most concrete expression: "the brethren." But in 1 Peter 2:17 the abstract is used for the concrete. In the Old Testament the brotherhood of all Israelites was emphasized; but in the New Testament the brotherhood in Christ is a relation so much deeper and stronger as to eclipse the other.

Brother-in-law

Brother-in-law - See RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY.

Brotherly

Brotherly - bruth'-er-li ('ach, "brother"; philadelphia, "brotherly love"): Like a brother in all the large human relationships indicated above; e.g. the early friendly and fraternal alliance between Tyre and Israel as illustrated by "brotherly covenant" between David and Solomon, and Hiram, king of Tyre (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5:12), and repudiated in a later generation by the treachery of Tyre (Amos 1:9).

See BROTHERLY KINDNESS ( LOVE).

Brotherly Kindness; Brotherly Love

Brotherly Kindness; Brotherly Love - kind'-nes (the King James Version 2 Peter 1:7), or LOVE (the King James Version Romans 12:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:1; philadelphia):

1. As Moral Ideal: In the Revised Version (British and American), "love of the brethren" in all places, and so in the King James Version of 1 Peter 1:22, thus defining the disposition as love, and its objects as brethren. Since God is Father and men are His sons, they are therefore brethren of one another. As sonship is the most essential factor in man's right relation to God, so is brotherhood in his relation to his fellow-man. Brotherhood is first known as the relation between sons of the same parent, a relation of tender affection and benevolence. It becomes gradually extended to kindred, and to members of the same tribe or nation. And the Christian ideal of society is that a similar relation should exist between all men without limit or distinction. Agape, "love" (see CHARITY), is the word in the New Testament that generally denotes this ideal. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" is the whole law of conduct as between man and man (Matthew 22:39-40); and neighbor includes every man within one's reach (Luke 10:29 ff), even enemies (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:35). Without the love of man, the love of God is impossible, but "he that abideth in love abideth in God" (1 John 4:16, 20).

2. As Actual Between Christians: But man's sonship to God may be potential or actual. He may not respond to God's love or know His Fatherhood. Likewise love to man may not be reciprocated, and therefore may be incomplete. Yet it is the Christian's duty, like God, to maintain his disposition of love and benevolence to those that hate and curse him (Luke 6:27-28). But within the Christian community, love should respond to love, and find its fulfillment, for there all men are, or should be, God's sons actually, "because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts, through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us" (Romans 5:5). And this mutual love within the Christian brotherhood (1 Peter 5:9) is called philadelphia.

3. Stoic Teaching: This twofold ideal of social morality as universal benevolence and mutual affection had been foreshadowed by the STOICS (which see). Men as citizens of the world should adopt an attitude of justice and mercy toward all men, even slaves; but within the community of the "wise" there should be the mutual affection of friendship.

4. Christian Advance on Heathen Thought: Christianity succeeded in organizing and realizing in intense and practical fellowship the ideal that remained vague and abstract in the Greek schools: "See how these Christians love one another." It was their Master's example followed, and His commandment and promise fulfilled: "Love one another .... as I have loved you ....; by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples" (John 13:14, 34-35). Paul in his earliest epistle bears witness that the Thessalonians practice love "toward all the brethren that are in all Macedonia," even as they had been taught of God, but urges them to "abound more and more" (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10). For the healing of differences, and to build up the church in order and unity, he urges the Romans "in love of the brethren (to) be tenderly affectioned one to another" (Romans 12:10). Christians must even "forbear one another in love" (Ephesians 4:2) and "walk in love, even as Christ also loved you" (Ephesians 5:2; Philippians 2:1-2). It involves some suffering and sacrifice. The author of the Epistle to the He recognizes the presence of "love of the brethren" and urges that it may continue (Hebrews 13:1). It is the direct result of regeneration, of purity and obedience to the truth (1 Peter 1:22-23). It proceeds from godliness and issues in love (2 Peter 1:7). "Love of the brethren" (agape) is the one practical topic of John's epistles. It is the message heard from the beginning, "that we should love one another" 1 John 3:11, 23. It is the test of light and darkness (1 John 2:10); life and death (1 John 3:14); children of God or children of the devil (1 John 3:10; 1 John 4:7-12). Without it there can be no knowledge or love of God (1 John 4:20), but when men love God and obey Him, they necessarily love His children (1 John 5:2). No man can be of God's family, unless his love extends to all its members.

T. Rees

Brother's Wife

Brother's Wife - (yebhemeth = "a sister-in-law," "brother's wife" (Deuteronomy 25:7, 9); 'ishshah = "a woman," "wife"; `esheth 'ach = "brother's wife" (Genesis 38:8-9; Leviticus 18:16;Leviticus 20:21); he gune tou adelphou = "the brother's wife" (Mark 6:18)): A brother's wife occupies a unique position in Hebrew custom and law, by virtue of the institution of the Levirate. The widow had no hereditary rights in her husband's property, but was considered a part of the estate, and the surviving brother of the deceased was considered the natural heir. The right to inherit the widow soon became a duty to marry her if the deceased had left no sons, and in case there was no brother-in-law, the duty of marriage devolved on the father-in-law or the agnate who inherited, whoever this might be. The first son of the Levirate marriage was regarded as the son of the deceased. This institution is found chiefly among people who hold to ancestral worship (Indians, Persians, Afghans, etc.), from which circumstances Benzinger (New Sch-Herz, IV, 276) derives th e explanation of this institution in Israel. The Levirate marriage undoubtedly existed as a custom before the Israelite settlement in Canaan, but after this received special significance because of the succession to the property of the first son of the marriage, since he was reckoned to the deceased, inherited from his putative, not from his real father, thus preventing the disintegration of property and its acquirement by strangers, at the same time perpetuating the family to which it belonged. While the law limited the matrimonial duty to the brother and permitted him to decline to marry the widow, such a course was attended by public disgrace (Deuteronomy 25:5 ff). By the law of Numbers 27:8, daughters were given the right to inherit, in order that the family estate might be preserved, and the Levirate became limited to cases where the deceased had left no children at all.

Frank E. Hirsch

Brow

Brow - brou: Is found in Isaiah 48:4, "thy brow brass" as the translation of metsch, meaning "to be clear," i.e. conspicuous. In Luke 4:29 "led him unto the brow of the hill" is the rendering of ophras, literally "the eyebrow," but used throughout Greek literature as any prominent point or projection of land (compare use of supercilium in Verg. Georg. i.108).

Brown

Brown - See COLORS .

Bruise; Bruised

Bruise; Bruised - brooz, broozd: The noun occurs in Isaiah 1:6 the King James Version, "bruises and putrifying sores," as the translation of chabbarah. The verb translations a number of Hebrew words, the principal ones being (1) shuph (Genesis 3:15 (twice)); (2) daqaq (Isaiah 28:28 (twice) (the American Standard Revised Version "ground," "and though the wheel of his cart and his horses scatter it, he doth not grind it" for the King James Version "nor break it with the wheels of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen")); (3) dakha', in the classical passage, Isaiah 53:5, "He was bruised for our iniquities," Isaiah 53:10, "Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him"; (4) ratsats, "A bruised reed shall he not break," Isaiah 42:3 (quoted in Matthew 12:20).

In the New Testament bruise is the translation of sparasso, "to rend" (the American Standard Revised Version "bruising him sorely") Luke 9:39; of suntribo, "to break to pieces" (Matthew 12:20); "shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly" (Romans 16:20); of thrauo in Luke 4:18 in the quotation from Isaiah 58:6, "to set at liberty them that are bruised" (WH omits the verse).

Arthur J. Kinsella

Bruit

Bruit - broot (shema`): A word no longer in common use (marked "archaic" and "obsolete" by Murray), signifying a rumor or report. The word occurs in the King James Version Jeremiah 10:22 (the Revised Version (British and American) "rumour"; the American Standard Revised Version "tidings") and the King James Version Nahum 3:19 (the Revised Version (British and American) "bruit," appendix. "report"; the American Standard Revised Version "report").

Brute; Brutish

Brute; Brutish - broot, brootish (ba`ar, "stupid"; alogos, "without speech," hence, irrational, unreasonable (Acts 25:27; 2 Peter 2:12; Jude 1:10 the King James Version)): The man who denies God acts in an irrational way. Such persons are described as brutish (Psalms 49:10; 92:6; 94:8; Jeremiah 10:14, 21; 51:17). These are stupid, unteachable. This is a graphic description of the atheist. The proverb, "No fool like the learned fool,' is especially true of the ignorance of the unbelievers of the Scriptures. Their obj ections to the Bible, as a rule, are utterly ridiculous. The word is occasionally used in the sense of thoughtless ignorance. Brutish counsel is counsel that is foolish, unreasonable (Isaiah 19:11). The term is used by Agur (Proverbs 30:2) to express the low estimate he has of himself and his conscious lack of knowledge.

Jacob W. Kapp

Bubastis

Bubastis - bu-bas'-tis.

See PI-BESETH.

Bucket

Bucket - buk'-et (deli): The word is found only in Isaiah 40:15; Numbers 24:7, in the latter passage in a figurative use. The bucket was doubtless a waterskin with two cross-pieces at the top to fit it for use in drawing water, like those now in use in Palestine. The ordinary word for water-skin is a different one (no'dh).

Buckle

Buckle - buk'-'-l (porpe): As a mark of favor Jonathan Maccabeus was presented by Alexander Balas with a buckle of gold (1 Maccabees 10:89), the wearing of which was restricted to the blood royal. The buckle was used for fastening the mantle or outer robe on the shoulder or chest.

Buckler

Buckler - buk'-ler: God is called a "buckler" (the Revised Version (British and American) "shield") to them that trust Him (Psalms 18:2, 30; 2 Samuel 22:31; Proverbs 2:7).

See ARMOR.

Bud

Bud - See FLOWERS.

Buffalo

Buffalo - buf'-a-lo.

See CATTLE.

Buffet

Buffet - buf'-et (kolaphizo, "to beat with the fist"): Refers to bodily maltreatment and violence: "Then did they spit in his face and buffet him" (Matthew 26:67; Mark 14:65; 1 Corinthians 4:11; 1 Peter 2:20). Paul speaks of "a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me" (2 Corinthians 12:7). Used figuratively of self-control: "I buffet (the King James Version keep under, the Revised Version, margin "bruise") my body, and bring it into bondage" (1 Corinthians 9:27). The Greek in this passage reads hupopiazo, literally "to give a blow beneath the eye." In Luke 18:5 the same word is rendered "wear out": "Lest she wear roe out by her continual coming" (the King James Version "weary me" the Revised Version, margin "bruise me") (see Pape's Lexicon, under the word).

L. Kaiser

Bugean

Bugean - bu-je'-an, ba'-je-an (Bougaios): An epithet given to Haman in Apocrypha, Additions to Esther (12:6, the Revised Version (British and American); the King James Version has "Agagite").

Build; Building

Build; Building - bild, bild'-ing (banah, binyah, once (Ezekiel 41:13); oikodomeo).

1. Building Conditions: The building conditions existing at the time of the Hebrew conquest were rude and untutored, and, with the exception of the work of the Solomonic period, there was still little or no effort made to introduce a higher state, until the time when Greek influence began to be felt (circa 3rd century BC). In localities where stone was not available, mud bricks were used, and their perishable nature being realized, stone slab facing came into use. These slabs were a protection against the weather and had no constructive value. Probably the hand of the "jerry" builder can be seen in an attempt to make such bad construction appear to be solid stone.

2. Masonry: In stone localities buildings were of stone, but the class of building was only that of the rude stone waller. Random rubble masonry, unskillfully laid, was the prevailing characteristic. Occasionally a piece of carefully dressed masonry is found, but it is the exception and is often a re-use of an earlier type akin to "sawed stone" (1 Kings 7:9). The remains of Jewish walls of the period of the early kings in Jerusalem show skill which does not appear to have existed elsewhere. The boss and margin stones, with wide mud joint, were, in part, the actual masonry of the early fortifications, and were re-used and imitated over and over again. The type crops up in feeble imitation at different sites throughout the country, but hammer-picked and rough hammer-dressed stones are also common. The fine comb pick and marginal dressing of the walls of the Temple area belong to the Herodian period (see Bliss and Dickie, "Excavations at Jerusalem," 273 ff,PEFS , 1898). The absence of lime is a striking characteristic. There is no distinctive type which can be named exclusively Jewish, although there is good reason for believing that the boss and margin type has a Jewish origin. Wilson (Golgotha, 124) points out that the projecting bosses had a defensive value, in breaking the force of the battering-ram, and here again the necessity of defense shows its vitality in the existence of such a well-engineered detail. The absence of the finer qualities of building craft can be traced to the same source.

3. Foundations: Foundations of fortifications were usually on rock which was sometimes squared for a bed, but more often leveled up with small stones. A portion of the South wall of Jerusalem, certainly late (5th century AD), was laid on a foundation of small rubble resting on debris, accumulated over an earlier wall. (See PlateIV , Excavations at Jerusalem, p. 29.) In smaller buildings, the foundations were usually laid on the debris of earlier structures. At Lachish mud brick walls were laid on a foundation of stone . A peculiar method of spreading a layer of sand under the foundations was also noted (see A Mound of Many Cities, 125-26).

4. Modern Methods: The native wall of today is less rudely built and is bedded in lime mortar. It is a broad wall usually about 3 ft. thick, with inner and outer faces of large stones, filled in between with small rubble without proper bond, somewhat in the manner of ancient building. To make up for the want of bond, it is a common habit to insert a piece of steel joint across the return angle (see BEAM). The building and hewing methods, in all probability, are the same as they were in early Jewish times. Hewers sit at their work, with the plane of the stone on which they operate, lying obliquely from them. Stones are conveyed from the quarry, if at a distance from the building site, on donkeys, thence on men's backs to the top of the wall, by rude gangways. Every man digs his "own cistern" (Isaiah 36:16), which is sunk in the rock under the site of the house, and used as a quarry from which stones for the building are supplied. If water is scarce, the cistern is sunk first, and the winter rains are allowed to collect and provide the necessary water for the building.

5. Figurative: To build up is often used in the sense of giving increase and prosperity, or of stablishing and strengthening. Thus in Job 22:23; Psalms 69:35; Jeremiah 18:9. A kindred sense is to restore what was decayed, as in Isaiah 58:12. To "build an house" for a person is to grant him children or a numerous posterity (Ruth 4:11; of David, 2 Samuel 7:27; 1 Chronicles 17:10). Spiritually, the word is used of one's work in life, or of the formation of character and habits. The main thing here is the foundation. Those who build on Christ's word build on rock; those who reject this word build on sand (Matthew 7:24-27). Christ is the sole true foundation; the work which a man builds on this will be tried by fire (1 Corinthians 3:9-15). The church is compared to a building (1 Corinthians 3:9; 1 Peter 2:4-6) reared on the foundation of apostles and prophets (their truths or teaching), Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone (Ephesians 2:20-22). Believers are "builded up" in Christ (Colossians 2:7), and are exhorted to build themselves up on their most holy faith (Jude 1:20).

See ARCHITECTURE; HOUSE; FORTIFICATION.

A. C. Dickie

Builder

Builder - bild'-er (banah; oikodomeo, technites): "To build," "builder," ete, are in the Old Testament commonly the translation of banah, "to build," occurring very frequently; see BUILD,BUILDING . The literal significance leads also to several figurative applications, especially to God as Divine Builder (1) as establishing, e.g. the nation (Psalms 69:35; 102:16; Jeremiah 12:16), the throne of David (Psalms 89:4), Jerusalem (Psalms 147:2); (2) in restoration--rebuilding (Isaiah 58:12; 61:4; 65:21; Jeremiah 31:4, 28; 42:10; Ezekiel 36:36; Amos 9:11; compare Acts 15:16); (3) as establishing in prosperity (Job 22:23; 1 Samuel 2:35; Jeremiah 24:6; compare Genesis 16:2 the Revised Version, margin, Hebrew, "be builded by her"); (4) the firm establishment of the Divine attributes (Psalms 89:2); (5) Divine opposition (Lamentations 3:5, "He hath builded against me"); compare Job 19:8; (6) the choosing of a corner-stone which the builders rejected (Psalms 118:22-23; quoted by Christ (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17); by Peter (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7)).

In the New Testament Christians are represented as being (1) built by God (1 Corinthians 3:9, 16) on Christ as the one foundation (Matthew 16:18, on Jesus as the Christ; 1 Peter 2:5 f; Acts 9:31 the Revised Version, margin; Romans 15:20; 1 Corinthians 3:10, 12, 14 (epoikodomo); Ephesians 2:20); (2) as being continuously and progressively built up in their faith and life (Acts 20:32; 1 Corinthians 8:1 the Revised Version, margin, "buildeth up"; 1 Corinthians 10:23 margin, Greek "build up"; 1 Corinthians 14:4, 17 m; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; compare Jude 1:20); (3) they are "builded togethe r" (sunoikodomeo) in Christ (Ephesians 2:22; Colossians 2:7 (epoikodomeo); compare 1 Corinthians 3:9); (4) "builded up" is used in a bad sense (1 Corinthians 8:10 the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), "emboldened," the Revised Version, margin "be builded up"); (6) in Hebrews 3:4 God is represented as the Builder (establisher) of all things, the Revised Version, margin "established," and in Hebrews 11:10 as the Builder (technites), of the New Jerusalem; in Hebrews 9:11 for "building" the Revised Version (British and American) has "creation" (ktisis); (7) in 1 Corinthians 3:10-14; Galatians 2:18, building represents constructing a system of teaching; Paul speaks of himself as "a wise master-builder" (sophos architekton).

W. L. Walker