BOZEZ

Is.

41

60

is by several modern scholars

identified as the ‘sherbin‘

(Ar.

and Syr.), a kind of

juniper, =Ass.

(see below).

and

however, give cypress

the sherbin resembles the

cypress in its habit and general appearance (Tristram).
Cp note

4,

below.

The Hebrew word was formerly explained

as

derived from the

root

(akin to

Ar.

‘

to be straight (Ges. Thes.)

and so as denoting a

straight

such different

have recently been put forward as to the affinities and meaning
of the root that it is

to

form any inference from this

etymology.2

indeed, rejecting the traditional

of

suggests that it is philologically akin to

(Del. Par.

Aram.

or

If this

were made out we should be tolerably certain that

is

the

or a

tree

but the philological step

is

Cheyne

SBOT

‘can hardly doubt that the

obscure

in

Is.

is a corruption of

sherbin.’

If so,

would seem

to

he distinct from the sherbin.

The interesting mention of this tree in Ezek. 276

(RV

‘box-wood’) is concealed in AV by a false division

of the word in

the second clause most probably

means ‘ t h y deck they have made of ivory inlaid in

from Cyprus (see

It is clear from

Is.

6 0 1 3

that

was a familiar tree

in the forest growth of Lebanon

this favours the

identification with the box

which

grows there as a small tree about

2 0

ft. high (Tristram,

339). In support of this Rosenmuller

and But.

of

[ET],

aptly compares Verg.

quale per

buxo

. .

.

lucet

with Ezek.

Others

have

thought that the latter reference rather points to
tree, so often used in antiquity for ship-building but

is at least distinct from

(fir) and

(pine

?),

along with which it is twice mentioned in

Is.

4 0 - 6 6 .

The

according to Tristram

is

but in the Survey of W. Palestine h e expressly says of this

ndr does it, according to the authorities, grow on

Lebanon.

It seems more

that the

oxycedrus,

which is known to grow on Lebanon.

On the whole there

no sufficient reason for

abandoning the tradition that

is the box.

M.-W.

T.-D.

BOZEZ

and

Seneh

two rocky points, one on the

N.

the other on the

S.

side of the

gorge

(

I

S.

See

BOZKATH,

and

221

BDB

Lex.

quotes Ar.

an elevated region covered

with volcanic stones). One of the towns of the lowland
of Judah mentioned between Lachish and Eglon, but

as

rendering of Is.

is so defective that it is im-

possible to tell which Greek word represents

hut in 60

it is

Aq. and The. simply transliterate

Sym. has

in chap.

41

and

in chap. 60

(unless

is

of its order). Pesh. also is defective in

Is.

41

19, giving for

simply ‘goodly cypresses’

while in

Is.

13

is rendered cypresses.’

Targ. has in both places

trees’

the Jewish

commentators);

renders

in 41

19,

in 60

See

especially NO. in

Hommel

Lag. fibers.

connects all Heb.

of

with the single root (meaning ‘ t o go’

or

‘step‘)

which appears in Ar.

and Syr.

still main-

tains a second root, akin to

?&

Ar.

while Lagarde ex-

plains

(Ps.

I

etc.) by invoking a third Ar. root

P.

27

of his tract ‘Weber

(in

d.

vol. 36).

Low

holds that the two Syr. words do not mean

quite the same tree : that the former is
the

(fem. in form

is the ordinary cypress

he does not make out a clear

case. Boissier

5

under

a locality- Persia borealis in

audit.’ This looks as if it might be philologically

akin to

and

For

read

to Sir

the wood of

is still prized in

for making domestic utensils

and inlaid wood.

BRACELETS

yet unidentified

(Josh.

[B],

[L],

[A]).

A certain Adaiah

(

I

)

of Bozkath was

the grandfather of King Josiah

K. 221

BOZRAH

in Gen.

Ch.],

in Is.]).

Elsewhere

translates :

Jer. 49

Am. 1

Mic. 2

I.

A capital of the land of Edom (Am.

1 Is.

3 4 6

Jer.

also mentioned in

Gen.

3 6 3 3

om.

Ch.

[L]) as the city

of

Jobab b. Zerah, king of Edom, and

less certainly, though still probably, under the name

M

IBZAR

in Gen.

3642.

All these passages may

be exilic or even post-exilic but it is hardly safe to infer
that Bozrah was not known to the Jews before the
Exile

indeed, Gen.

3 6 3 3

may be ultimately derived

from

a

pre-exilic document.

Bozrah is the

of

2 3 2 5 8

described as ‘in the

mountains of

It seems to be the modern

in the district of

northward

from Petra, and

honrs

SSW.

from Tafileh, called

little Bozrah to distinguish it from the more

in the

So

Buhl,

37

cp

Doughty,

A

Y

.

Des.

(Jer.

4824.)

See

B

EZER

,

T. K.

C.

BRACELETS.

Bracelets were worn to protect the

exposed parts,

of

the arm and hand against physical

injury, and as amulets against the malign influences
which were believed to affect the organs of action

(WRS,

453).

They served also as ornaments.

They were made of gold (Gen.

Nu.

31

50)

but

doubtless, like other ancient peoples, the Hebrews em-
ployed other less precious materials, as horn and
enamelled earthenware.

Signet rings were sometimes

worn round the wrist

(see

R

ING

). Bracelets were worn

by

and women

the finer

were among the

insignia of royalty and the adornments

of

brides (for

references see below).

Five words have to be considered.

Of these we may first of all reject two words,

(Ex.

35

and

(Gen. 38 18

which are wrongly rendered

bracelet in AV.

See

H

O

O

K

,

R

I

NG

,

I

,

and cp C

ORD

.

3.

etc. Nu. 31

Ezek. 1611 2342

E V

cp Ass.

to bind on the same

root

appears

in the Heh.

yoke. Golden

weighing

ten shekels were given to Rebekah by Eleazar, who placed them
on

hands.

So

in Ezek. 16

the bracelets are

worn on both hands.

In Nu.

is conjoined with

and the Commentators mostly explain the former a s

a n

for the wrist, the latter for the upper part of the

arm. Targ. usually renders

by

chains.’ T h e form

of these bracelets varied, a

device being the serpent.

On Egyptian bracelets see Wilk.,

Eg. 2 342 on Assyrian,

Per. and Chip.,

in

2 357,

and

see

fig.

4.

Is. 3

(EV bracelets,’

chain.’ Targ.

‘chains of the bands’). Cp modern Arabic ornament

56).

Perhaps a row

of spirals made of twisted gold is meant.
is applied to chains round the necks of horses and also to
bracelets worn by women.

This word occurs in M T in Nu. 31 5 0

(AV ‘chains,’

RV

‘ankle-chains’) and

S.

1

I

O

(EV ‘bracelet’;

in both places

Wellhausen’s suggestion to read

after Is.

has been widely accepted;

Nestle

defends M T and supposes that Saul was despoiled

by the Amalekite of only one of the several bracelets that h e
wore.

Budde in S B O T accepts Wellhausen’s correction, but

(on the basis of

31

50) regards

as also

That kings went into battle with various ornaments

is

well

attested (see

C

R

O

WN

) ; this is

supported

I

K. 22 30.

It

may be that Saul‘s bracelet contained his signet (King

Gems, 138).

As with

so with

the

and bracelet are associated as

insignia if [with We.)

is read for

K.

11

(WRS,

n.).

Text doubtful

:

see

T

EXT

,

64,

and cp

602

The root is

lo

twist.

In the Mishnah

5.

BRAMBLE

however, obtained much the same sense by connecting

with

‘ornament.’ The

on

S.

1

IO

renders

which is usually applied

to

the

phylactery (Dt.

A

phylactery

was,

however,

also worn

on

the left

arm.

is apparently connected with

(occurring

only

in Is.

3

into which

emendation reduces

If the

ar-

rangement

in

Is. 3

is

suggested

the

natural order of

t h e parts

of the

body,

may

be

an

ornament rather of the

arm than

of

the leg. Barth,

N B

compares Ar.

arm,’

which

removes

some

of

the difficulty presented

the

usual

derivation from

to step

or walk. See, however, A

NKLETS

.

1. A.

BRAMBLE

has in EV three meanings.

Gen.

50

(EV

in

Judg.

9

EV ‘brambles,’ and Ps.

58 9 [

IO

],

EV

thorns.’

It is

a

genuine

Semitic word, found

also

in

Aramaic

as’

or

in

Syriac

as

(?

in

Arabic

as

Fr.),

in

as

The root with which it appears

to he connected

has

the sense of ‘uttering

a

though not

sound

;

and the possibility

of a

connection

with

the

sense

of

pricking

or

tearing like

a

thorn

is

apparent.

There is

general agreement that

was

equivalent

to

the

modern botanical

Rhamnus.

Dioscorides distinguished

three sorts

(cp Fraas,

Plant.

Class.); while

in modern times Tristram

(FFP

has

sixteen species of

as

found in

Palestine.

Perhaps the most likely identification for

is with

Rhamnus

(Boiss.), which represents in Syria the R .

of

Greece and S. Europe.

very frequent; EV usually ‘thorn’

or

‘thistle,’

AV

once (Is.34

13)

‘bramble.’ It denotes

a

plant of the thorn

or perhaps

of the

thistle

kind :

see T

HORN

.

3

which occurs seven

times

in

(in

six

of

these

as

the

rendering

of

and

five

times in NT, is once (Lk.

644)

rendered ‘bramble bush,’ elsewhere B

U

S

H

I

[I]).

N.

T.

BRAN

[BAQ]).

‘burning of bran

for incense’

;

to

is mentioned

in Bar.

6

(Ep. Jer.)

as

one of the incidents in

the unchaste idolatrous worship of the women of

Babylon.

See

8.

S

EA

,

B

RAZEN

.

2.

SEA

K

.

25

see

L

AVER

BRASEN SERPENT

K.

See

BRASIER

Jer.

RV.

BRASS,

or

BRASEN,

rendering

of

(Gen.

and often),

(Lev.

etc.),

(Dan.

2

32

etc.),

(Mt.

1 0

I

Cor.

13

I

,

Rev.

18

and

7 4 ) .

EV invariably renders thus except in Ezra

8

AV

(see

C

OPPER

), in

S. 22 35

AV, where

is rendered

‘steel,’

and in Jer.

15

12

AV

has

see

I

RON

cp

2

Tim.

4 14,

where

is

‘coppersmith.

In

Gen.

gives

and

so

elsewhere’

as a

note

on

‘brass.

Ezek.

1 7

is

rightly rendered

brass’

Tg. below),

as

also

is

Rev.

1

2

In Ezra

8

27

is

qualified

the epithet

(RV

‘bright’),

which

we

should probably point

Ezek.

for

‘polished’).

which follows (EV

‘fine’),

arises out

of dittography, and should not be rendered

(Che.).

That copper is meant

is

shown by the words, out

of

whose hills thou

dig brass’ (Dt.

;

cp the

chapter in Holland’s

headed ‘Mines

of

Brass.’

See C

OPPER

and cp

E

GYPT

,

end.

This the Syriac lexicographers render into Arabic

as

which

means

a

‘thorny shrub ’(this is the right meaning of our

word

see

Skeat,

From

t h e

loudness

in the sound is derived the

sense

of

a

‘

whisper and thence

‘

softness,’

‘stillness.

3

It should

be

noticed

that

the

ad

confirms the identification of

and

hy the gloss

probably Carthaginians)

See C

OAL

,

3.

See

also

D

IVINATION

,

4,

BREAD

BREAD.

From

the earliest ‘times of which we have

ny record, bread was the principal article of food

among the Hebrews,

a

fact which ex-

’’

plains

use of

both for bread and

for food in general.

T h e primitive

of

making the ears of wheat and barley more

by the simple process of roasting

parched

I

S.

17

etc.

)

was still common in historical

imes.

For the preparation of bread, however; the

must be crushed or ground so as to admit of

into

a

paste.

In

early times the

flour

vas

produced by crushing the ears between two stones

see illustrations

of

these primitive

corn-grinders

in Palestine in Bliss,

Cities,

85).

process common in Egypt under the Old Empire and

(see

Egypt,

and still practised in

he East.

The mortar and pestle were a later

nent.

The preparation

of flour

by pounding the ears

n

a

mortar

Nu.

1 1 8 )

a

familiar scene on

monuments. T h e flour obtained

these

must have been

of

a

coarser grain

than that

by the use of the

see M

ILL

).

4

still finer quality than the ordinary

was named

In the earliest times bread was entirely unleavened.

The requisite quantity of flour or barley-meal, which

naturally, according to the size of the household,

placed in a shallow wooden basin

(

-earthenware, for obvious reasons,
nomads-well mixed with water and kneaded.

Salt

was

no doubt added when procurable (cp Lev.

2

13

When the kneading was completed, the dough

was

ready for the firing.

thus prepared were named

‘unleavened cakes,’ and these still form the

bread of the Bedouin.

In

a

more advanced

stage of society, the bread was made in this way only
in cases of emergency

or

for purposes of

ritual, as at the Passover.

The ordinary bread of the

Hebrews was made lighter by fermentation. A
piece of to-day’s batch’ was laid aside, and when the
time for the next baking arrived this piece of leaven

was broken down into the water in the

the

flour was mixed therewith, and the whole thoroughly
kneaded and allowed to

’till the whole was

leavened.

T h e next stage

is

the process of firing, or rendering

the dough more digestible by the
application

of

heat.

Three modes of

firing are found in the OT,

as

in the

East a t the present day.

( a )

The simplest method is that still in use among

the Bedouin.

A fire of wood, or of wood

with

camel‘s dung, is kindled on the

sand,

or

on

ised hearthstones.

When these have been well heated,

the embers are raked aside, and the flat pieces of
dough laid on the hot stones and covered with the
ashes

removed.

After a few minutes, the ashes

are again raked aside, the cakes turned, and the ashes
replaced.

In a few minutes more the cakes are ready

(see Rob.

2

Doughty,

Des.

1

etc.).

Such

‘ a

cake baked

on

the coals’ was termed

1 9 6 ;

cp Gen.

186

Hos.

78,

by the Vg. correctly rendered

ash cakes

A second mode of firing bread

is

one much in

vogue

at the present day among Bedouin and fellahin

alike. A girdle or thin iron plate

Lev.

Ezek.

4 3 ,

slightly convex in shape,

is

laid over a small fire-pit, in which

a

fire has been

as

before, and

on

this plate or girdle the cakes

are fired. Its Syrian name is

(Landberg,

Prov.

et

14).

Cakes baked in this way

(see

F

O

OD

,

3

[a]).

BREAKFAST

seem to have been called, by the .Hebrews

( I

Ch.

(c)

The most usual mode of firing, however, especially

in towns, was no doubt by means of the oven
T h e

then

as

now, was a large earthenware jar

in the bottom of which the fire was placed.

As

represented on Egyptian monuments, the cakes
fired by being applied

to

the

outside

of the jar (Wilkinson

2

34

Erman,

The usual method at the

present day, however, is to allow the fire to burn down,
and, while the embers are still glowing, to apply the
cake to the

inside

of the jar.

The dough

is

first

pressed into flat round cakes (like a Scotch bannock);
each of these in its turn is made to revolve by

a

rapid

movement of the hands, till it has expanded to a
diameter of about

inches, and become

as

thin

as

a

sheet of thick paper.

I t is then laid on a cushion, by

means

of

which it is applied to the wall of the

These thin wafer-cakes are called

in

the

O T

(in

Syria,

The

may be, larger, and

consist of a pit, wider at the bottom and narrowing
towards the top, plastered with clay. T h e ovens used
by the bakers of the street in Jerusalem named after
them (Jer.

37

were probably of this sort.

(For

further details see

F

URNACE

,

5).

The preparation of the daily supply of bread for

the household was essentially the care of the

186

I

S.

2 8 2 4

etc.).

In the wealthier households

this duty would devolve on slaves, male and female

(I

In later times baking became

a

special

trade in the cities (Jos.

Ant.

xv.

and especially

in

Jerusalem (see above and cp the

‘

oven tower,’

where the large influx of pilgrims

the great

festivals would promote the industry.

It is impossible

to identify the various species of

cakes mentioned in the

OT.

If

to

those mentioned in

the course of this article we add

the ordinary round

cake or

( I

S.

the etymology of

which points to its being pricked or perforated, like
the modern

calces, we have exhausted the

varieties that can be identified with any approach to
certainty.

See further

also

F

OOD

,

A.

R.

S.

BREASTPLATE

that the heavy coat of mail worn by Goliath resembled
the Egyptian cuirass worn by a royal personage, in
which yellow, blue, red, and green metallic scales were
tastefully arranged in symmetrical rows (Weiss,

Abth.

156).

Wilkinson has ,described the

Egyptian cuirass,

as

consisting

of

about eleven horizon-

tal rows of metal plates well secured by bronze pins.’
At the hollow of the throat a narrower range of plates
was introduced.

The breadth of each plate or scale

was little more than

an

inch, twelve of them sufficing to

cover the front of the body, and the sleeves, which were
sometimes so short as to extend less than half-way to
the elbow, consisted of two rows of similar plates.’

The Assyrian warriors in earlier times wore a heavy

coat of mail covering the’ entire body with the exception
of the arms.

Occasionally the coat of mail did not

reach farther than the knees.

I n later times the leading

warriors were protected by jackets made of leather or

of

stout material, on which metal plates were sewn or
rivetted (or they were provided with iron or bronze

Broad girdles were used for tying in the long

coats of mail.

Upon a bas-relief, from

portrayed in

work we see ,an Assyrian chariot

in which the bowman is mail-clad even around his neck
and ears. I t

is

not improbable that Ahab wore

a

heavy

coat of mail somewhat .,resembling the Assyrian (but
shorter),

as

we know that he took every precaution for

personal protection,

T h e statement

he was mortally wounded by an arrow

which pierced ‘between

and the coat of mail’ has been

variously interpreted.
does not yield any satisfactory sense. The

of

in Is. 417

and the fundamental signification of the root,

point to ‘rivets’ as a

rendering, if it could yield any

adequate sense in the context. Thenius and other authorities

follow Luther in holding that what is meant here is an attach-
ment or appendage to the coat of mail.

T h e coat of mail

protected the breast, whereas the appendage guarded the lower
portion of the body and the arrow penetrated through the
interval that

(so

Riehm,

This appears

to

he the only intelligible explanation, and etymology warrants

the rendering of the word

by ‘attachments’or

to

the cuirass).

Respecting the coats of mail or corslets with which

is said to have provided his troops

Ch.

26

14)

we have not definite information or any sufficient clue to
guide us.

The corslets (AV hrigandines’) which

Jeremiah

( 4 6 4 )

bids the cavalry of Pharaoh Necho

on may have consisted of

some

thick woven

material covered with metal scales but here, as in the
case of Neh.

4

[

IO

],

we are left in much uncertainty.

For Neh. 416

[

I

O]

a

useful hint may he derived from

Herod.

763,

where we learn that the Syrian (or Assyrian)

contingent

of

army wore

which

were probably close-fitting sleeveless jackets of coarse
felt.

Probably the

AV

habergeon,’

RV

coat-of-mail,’ of Ex.

2 8 3 2

3923,

both passages

from

P),

was

a

corslet of this character.

Etymology here does not help

us

as the word

is

from the

Aramaic

root

‘to

fight’) and therefore means

simply ‘fighting garb.’ Targ. Onk. renders it

46

(Ex. 28 28)

is

based on another text. Knohel is on the

right track when he says in his comment (cited

ad

:

We are reminded of the

of the Greeks (ZZ. 2529 830).

Egypt excelled

its manufacture.

I n the Greek period

(300

B

.

C

.

and later), the ordinary

heavy-armed soldiers wore coats of fine iron chain-mail

a series of links connected into a

continuous chain (Rich).

It is significant that

gives this interpretation

I

S.

1 7 5 ,

and we may conclude from

I

Macc.

635

that

during the entire Greek period this was the kind of
cuirass usually worn.

What form of breastplate was

pictured before Paul’s imagination

as

a

symbol for the

righteousness of a Christian warrior (Eph.

cp

Is.

5917 and

I

Macc. 58)-whether a corslet of scale

armour (column of Antoninus), or a cuirass of broad
metal plates across the chest and long flexible hands

606

BREAKFAST

[Ti.

WH]), Lk.

See

M

EALS

,

2.

BREASTPLATE, COAT

MAIL

I

Is.

or

Jer.

Syr.

We find the

mentioned

as

part of the

defensive armour of Goliath and David. That it was

worn by Israelite kings is evident from

I

K.

( 2

Ch.

1833).

In

the description of Goliath’s

armour in

I

S.

17

5

EV) the addition

of the word

to

gives

a

valuable clue:

Goliath’s coat of mail was covered with bronze scales.

This meaning is certified by Dt.

(Lev. 11

where

the scales of a fish. Moreover, it is derived from a root,

that signifies rubbing or peeling off. Ar.

in conj.

iv.

the peeling off of skin during recovery from

The weight of Goliath’s armour, according to

I

S.

5,

was

5000

shekels, which may be roughly computed

as

about zoo lbs.

The close intercourse that there was

between Egypt and

it

not

improbable

is

taken by

Vg., and Targum

and modern comm., including Ew.,

have adopted this view. Some colour

given to this inter-

pretation

n.

(Heh.) which describes the scales of Levia-

than, which the coat of h a i l of the enemy might be held to
resemble;

but this is too slight as an argument.

T h e

immediate context suggests weapons of

and if

is

correct in translating the preceding

by

we

have a fair presumption that Del.

is

right in comparing Ar.

or

‘pointed dart’ or ‘arrow,’ with the word

in this passage (so

RV). Duhm

follows

Hoffm. and reads

‘javelin cp Syr.

In

the word

Meyer,

2388,

BREASTPLATE

BRICK

of

steel over the shoulders' (depicted on

the column of

only be conjectured.

Excellent woodcuts representing both may be found
in Rich's

R o m a n

and

Greek

also Warre-Cornish's

Concise

Greek

and R o m a n

Antiquities.

0 .

c.

w.

BREASTPLATE

, Priestly

TO

TO

[L],

'oracle'; but twice

( 7 )

358

has

where

M T

or

BREAST-

A.

TU

N

[BAL];

often in

an object

worn on the ephod of the High Priest.

It seems to

have been a square piece attached by its corners to the
shoulder-straps of the ephod (see

E

PHOD

,

3 )

and of

like material-probably a species of pocket whose outer
side was adorned with precious stones. The etymology
of the word is uncertain.

rejects the probable derivation from the root

' t o

be beautiful,' and would prefer to connect it with

sinus or

fold' in which something

is

carried cp

A

On the stones in the breastplate, see

P

RE

C

I

O

US

S

TONES

, and

cp

A N D

and Nowack,

H A

2

BREECHES,

in the proper usage of the word, denotes

the divided garment reaching from the waist to just
below the knees, equivalent

to

the Lat.

and Gr.

as distinguished from

or

which reached to the ankles

garment ordinarily denoted by the word hosen

a t the time when the AV was made.

The earliest

form of the garment seems to have been simply a loin
cloth

G

IRDLE

,

I

).

Generally, however, the long

mantle worn in the East made a special covering for
the legs unnecessary, and even the warriors who are
depicted upon the monuments with their short
have the leg below the knee wholly bare with the
exception of sandals.

Noteworthy, on the other hand,

are the lacings which protect the

and knees of the

follower of

(Per. and Chip.,

pl.

x.

)

see further S

H

O

ES

.

Breeches, in fact,

seem to he a distinctively Persian dress (see Herod.

and do not appear to have been known among

the Israelites-at all events not before the

Apart

from the characteristic priestly

(see below, 3 ) ,

garments of this nature are mentioned only in

321

I

.

RV

sup-

ported by a consensus of opinion (Theod., Aq., Sym.
Pesh., Hi., Ew., Behrmann, etc.).

In

this case the word is derived from Gr.

207,

of

Pers.

mod.

Pers.

I n Targ. and

on the

hand,

(originally not connected with the above) denotes

a mantle';

so Jewish exegetes (Aben-Ezra, etc.) and AV

('coats,' mg. 'mantles') in this passage.

For

more than one reason the

AV is

probably

better.

Coats or mantles suits the climax in

27,

which describes the powerlessness of the fire over the
Three, better than RV-their bodies were uninjured
nor was their hair singed their mantles (flowing loose
robes, easily inflammable) were unchanged, nor had the

of fire passed on them.

. -

in

(or rather

[Ra.

Dan. 3

is

an exceedingly obscure term

for

which are

offered such diverse renderings as hosen (AV), tunics

PLATE O

F JUDGMENT

;

0.

c.

.

.

'turbans'

probable (see T

URBAN

) for the rest cp Syr.

Turbans' may be safely dismissed as

and im-

( a ) Persian

tunic

( 6 ) breeches, also a kind of

(cp AV) see

Payne-Smith

The

Jew.-Aram.

occurs in only one

passage

of Dan. 3

and apparently denotes

Much later, in the Roman period,

and

all found their way into

d.

retained in its older sense. T h e modern hosen

is

applied to stockings.

87).

thing worn upon the feet hut the text

is

probably corrupt (see

although Kohut (Aruch

argues for its authenticity. I t is not improbable that

is a gloss t o

this is indirectly suggested by the

philological evidence

the

reads

two

of the

three terms), and is directly supported by quotations

in the old

Latin fathers. For a discussion of

and

see further

3.

The priestly linen breeches

to

cover,

hide],

transliterates

were to be worn along with the holy linen

coat, the linen girdle, and the linen turbnn by Aaron
on the Day of Atonement as he entered the holy place
within the curtain

It is probably

by an oversight that they are specially mentioned in
Ecclus.

458

along with the long robe and ephod

(or

the

and

so

Heb.) as part

his

apparel of honour.'

Ordinary priests also wore them

on sacrificial occasions (Ex. 2842

39

28

6

[all

Ezek.

44

[the

Zadok]).

According to os.

the

was

a

girdle

of fine twisted linen. It was

undermost

of the priestly garments and possibly the most primitive, since
the older law of Ex. 20

26

(J

E

[according to Bacon,

E])

seems to

imply that the wearing of the

was not originally

compulsory for priest or layman. T h e change seems to be due
to a primitive conception of holiness. Clothes which had come
in contact with a holy

or function became taboo (Ar.

and therefore

in ordinary life.

way to

avoid this misfortune

was

to

perform

ceremonies naked

as

the Bedouins made the sacred circuit of

at

Mecca in a nude condition), or in holy vestments borrowed from

the priests (cp

K.

T h e law of Ex.

is apparently

aimed against the former custom (for which see further

WRS,

See

D

RES

S

,

P

R

IE

S

T

.

I.

A.-S. A.

C.

BRETHREN

OF JESUS

(Mt.

1 2

47

Mk.

Lk. 8

3

JAMES,

3,

SIMON,

4.

derived by Gcs. from

'to be

white,' as if bricks were originally made of

a

whitish

clay; but

is a forced etymology;

The Hebrew word for brick

is not limited to sun-dried bricks.

There

is no douht, however, that the Israelites, like most
Eastern nations, used this kind almost exclusively in
Gen.

burning bricks is mentioned

as

a

foreign

custom, analogous to the use of asphalt (see
for mortar, and we may safely disregard

rendering

brickkiln' in

S.

Nah.

Sun-dried bricks

of a very early period have been found in Palestine
burnt bricks seem to date generally from the Roman
period.

It will he remembered that the houses of the

mass of the Israelites were made of sun-dried clay (see

it was of the same material that their bricks

were

T h e true

of brick-makers and brick-builders were

and Mesopotamia. I n Egypt,

not only all houses, but

also

all

palaces, many tombs (including several of the smaller

pyramids), and some temples, were

of Nile-mud

bricks.

The representations

of

brick-making which are to be

found in Egyptian wall- pictures are very instructive.

They not only show the process with great
clearness, but also illustrate most vividly
the serfdom of the Israelites on Egyptian

ground.

The most famous picture, for example, repre-

sents foreigners-chiefly of

a

Semitic type-at work,

W e are reminded of the manner in which the Ar.

has

evolved from the simple

see G

IRDLE I.

Some scholars consider

the

term for brick

to have been borrowed by the Greeks from the
the form

seems to

from

' t o throw down flat ; see

L

IBNAH

,

and c p Del.

the commentaries of Driver,

H.

Smith and

on

and on the whole

see

D

AVID

c.

Jer.

alters the unintelligible 'brickkiln'

into 'brick-

work.

4

Altars also

made of earth ; cp the obscure

Is.

(see

On the law in Ex. 20

(E?) see A

LTAR

.

C p the fact that the Eg. word for brick,

Coptic

took root in Asia

;

cp Arabic

(whence Ethiopic

Span.

adobe).

608

See

BRICK

BRIER

tiles were used much more rarely and always on

a

smaller scale.

Crude bricks, however, sometimes of

enormous size and always without straw,

the

common material, especially in the earlier times.
Hence we have brick stamps with, for example, the

of such old kings as Sargon of

and

Naram-sin.

I n Nineveh, sun-dried bricks seem to have been the

building material in general use.

On Ezek. 4

which

mentions Ezekiel as portraying the siege of Jerusalem
on clay-tiles,

see

Ezek.

(Eng.), p.

W.

M. M.

BRICKKILN

S.

Nah.

and (RV

BRIDE

Is.

625,

Bridegroom

Jer.

Brickwork)

er.

4 3 9 .

See above,

I

.

See M

ARRIAGE

.

superintended by Egyptian ‘task masters

with

sticks.

T h e analogy to the labour

of

Israel as described in Ex.

1

is

so striking that many writers have ventured

to

regard the picture

as

referring to the circumstances with which that record deals.

scene, however, represents brick-making for the great

magazine in Eastern Thehes’ (Opet, mod.

and the

explanatory legend states that the labourers are

‘captives

brought by his majesty (Dhutmose or Thotmes

for work

on

the temple of

; many (not the majority) of

men seem to be African captives.

making.

,

We

the labourers hoeing the ground with the wooden

Egyptian hoe (see A

GRICULTURE

fig.

3)

carrying the black

earth (Nile-mud deposited ‘at the

in

to a clean (sandy?) place, moistening it with water taken from
shallow ponds, evidently a t some distance from the Nile, and
kneading

it with their feet.

The wooden moulding-frame is

filled with material of the right consistency, and emptied on the

then

s

heaps of mud, placed

side by

side, are

to

These Egyptian bricks were usually twice the size

of

our modern ones.

Many of them (from dynasty 18

The picture illustrates the whole process of brick-

onwards) were stamped with the name
of a

to show that they belonged

to public buildings ; sometimes the

stamp shows the name of the building, and sometimes
in addition to this the name of the officer charged
with the construction of the

Stamps as

well as moulds have

preserved to modern ,times,

and bricks with the

of Rameses II.,

Pharaoh

of the oppression (but see E

GYPT

,

are shown

in our museums. W e

find chopped straw or reed

mixed with the mud to make it more consistent and to
prevent cracking

the drying.

According to

Ex.

5

18

the pharaoh showed his malice by doubling the

of the Israelites. Apparently we are to under-

stand that, instead of furnishing straw .from the royal
domains and from the magazines of a fifth part of the
other fields, he forced the oppressed strangers to gather
the straw from the fields themselves.

This, however,

they could not well accomplish during their scanty
leisure time ; besides, the stalks were used (and are
still used) as fodder, especially, when not quite dry.
Nor is it any easier to see how they could get old straw

of

the previous year (from the refuse heaps of

vards, etc. ?) in quantities sufficient for their

‘

tale of

For the rest, we frequently find not only

foreign captives, but also the Egyptian serfs, referred to
in Egyptian texts as making bricks under constraint.

W e now turn to the second brick-building

Mesopotamia.

Owing to the scarcity of stone in

proper,

was the only

building material, stone being reserved

for the ornamentation of edifices, and the

of

certain parts, such as the

B

ABYLONIA

,

Whilst in Egypt rain is

so

scarce that buildings of

dried brick have a certain durability, the climate of
Babylonia is less favourable. The Babylonians, accord-
ingly, made their constructions more solid.

They built

walls of an enormous thickness : for example, the great
enclosure of Babylon which Nebuchadrezzar erected
with the clay dug from the ditch of the city (cp
B

ABYLON

,

their nnfavourable climate

forced the Babylonians, though wood was at least as
scarce in their country as in Egypt, to use burnt bricks,
especially for the

layers of their thick walls.

This led to a high development of the art of glazing
and

bricks. W e find large walls covered with

elaborate paintings, whilst in Egypt

enamelled

[Does the phrase ‘his hands were freed from the

(Ps.

S16

RV;

‘

De

refer to these baskets?

Cp Del. ad

is

open to grave

suspicion

(see Che.

ad

The Egyptian method of representing objects in perspective

is likely to give the impression that the bricks are placed one
above another.

It has been inferred from this stamp that the government

manufactured bricks for sale. and even that it had a brick-
monopoly

;

but this is very improbable.

39

BRIDLE.

The various Heb. and Gr. words will be

I

.

Ps. 39

EV,

muzzle

Most-inappropriate

;

read

a guard’

dealt with in the articles specified below.

C

ATTLE

,

(Ps. 141 3

with Herz, Che.

Zech.

14

B

ELLS

3.

K.

19

Is.

37 29

Prov.

Cp the place-name in

4.

doubtful), Job3011

Perhaps ‘bit

Jas.

3

3

RV

AV ‘hit’

;

Rev. 14

E V (cp

BRIER.

Six Hebrew words have to be considered.

I.

(Judg.

8

7

are mentioned

along with thorns of the wilderness

as

the instruments

with which Gideon taught,’ or rather threshed’

(71.7

cp Moore’s

ad

the

of Succoth. T h e

etymology of the Hebrew word being unknown and
its occurrence so rare, it is scarcely worth while to
speculate as to the kind of thorn intended.

We may notice that according to Boissier, 3

6 0 2

(quoted by

Ascherson in

is in modern times an Arabic

name for

Boiss. The

with

‘thorns of the wilderness’ in

is enough

to

the

absurd idea invented by Michaelis and adopted by
that

meant threshing-wains.’ T h e method of torture

alluded to is that of

(see Moore).

occurs eight times in

Is.

(56

24

918

in seven

of

these along with

a

word of similar meaning.

is

a

genuine

Semitic word, and Celsius

188

cp

89)

pointed out its affinity with Ar.

some kind of

plant.

The Hebrew word seems a general’ one

for thorny plants,

of

which there are many kinds in

Palestine (Tristram enumerates sixteen species of

nee,

263

The ancient versions give

no

help towards a nearer determination of the species.

Is.

a

wilderness-plant, probably of the nettle kind, as its name
is apparently connected with

to burn.’

Theod. took it to be t h e ‘fleabane’ ; Sym.

the

‘nettle ; Pesh. renders

probably ‘savory. Any of

will suit the passage well enough;

the new dis-

pensation this plant was to give place to the myrtle.

rebels

[Sym.

Th.

Ezek.

is not a plant

name.

According to the testimony of all the ancient versions, the

word is almost certainly to be read as the participle

of

verb common in Aram., ‘to gainsay falsely’ or ‘idly’ ; and the

merely transliterates; in

v.

7

Aq. renders

and Sym.

(see F

IELD

,

ad

In the other three places where

17

I

Ezek.

Zech.

it is

rendered ‘diamond’ or ‘adamant’

(see

A

DAMANT

,

3).

EV is no doubt correct.

Ps.

32

Job 41 13

E V

be a better rendering.

;

cp

3.

4.

BRIGANDINE

BUKKI

E

X

.

See

E

MBROIDERY

,

I

;

T

UNIC

,

2.

BROIDERED WORK

Ezek.

See

BROOCHES

Ex.

35

RV AV bracelets

[see H

OOK

,

See also B

UCKLE

,

I

.

BROOK.

T h e Hebrew word usually thus rendered

is

cp in N T Jn.

which,

like the Ar.

denotes not only the flowing brook

itself (cp

Am.

but also, like the Ar.

the dried-up river bed

(cp

the term

1513).

Hence Job likens his unstable brethren to

a

brook whose supply of water cannot be counted on

In Is.

196,

brooks

of defence,’

means rather ‘streams of Egypt’

(

S O

a

word

which bears

both to the Eg.

river,’ and to

the

in

water-brooks,’

Ps.

Joellzo

is a poetical word

which, from its radical idea of holding or confining, denotes

’river

‘waters etc and occurs

in

various involved figurative

in

(AV ‘the mighty’),

(AV

‘strong

pieces’), 41

AV ‘scales’).

rendered ‘brook in

S.

17

is a word of un-

known etymological history (for Fr.

identification with the

Ass.

‘

a canal,’ cp Dr.

ad

and

40

724).

T h e

word, if not corrupt (We. conjectures some such word

as

or

out of its place,

quite

For

Brook

of

Egypt

Is.

RV,

see

E

G

YPT

,

R

IVER

OR.

For

Brook of the Arabah

Am. 6

EMBROIDERY,

I.

stream,’ is applied usually to the

N

ILE

.

roperly a channel (cp

Is.

3 7). I t is otherwise rendered ‘stream,

RV,

see

B

R

OO

K O

F

THE

.

S.

A.

C .

BROOM

I

K.

AV J

UNIPER

.

BROTH

Judg.

Is.

See C

OOKING

,

BROWN

Gen.

AV ; see C

OLOURS

,

8.

BUCKET

cp Ar.

Ass.

Is.

15

in

[BAFL]),

figuratively of Israel’s prosperity. See A

GRICULTURE

,

I.

According to some authorities the

of Ex.

was

a

(AV

bracelets,’ RV brooches’). See R

ING

.

2.

So,

too, the

of

2

S.

1

I

O

.

See B

RACELET

3.

1444)

was

a

gold

buckle, bestowed in one instance as an honourable
distinction on Jonathan by king Alexander Balas, ‘ a s
the use is to give to such

as

are the kindred of the king

(

I

Macc.

3

SACRIFICE.

BUCKLE.

Such buckles or brooches formed the fastenings of the outer

garment on the breast

or

over the shoulder. They were of

various shapes the commonest being a flat circular ring with a
pin passing

the centre (Rawlinson). T h e use of

buckles (like that of the purple robe) was reserved to men of dis-
tinction (see passages cited, and cp Livy, 39

;

see

C

R

O

WN

,

4.

For

For

BUCKLER.

(Ps.

(Ps.

see

S

HIELD

.

(I

Ch.

1 2

see

S

PEAR

(so

RV).

AV.

See A

GAGITE

.

see

BUGEAN

Est.

126

BUKKI

abbreviated from

I

.

have been the fourth in descent from Aaron in the

line of Eleazar

I

Ch.

5

31

6

361

Bwe

;

rendered ‘valley’

:

cp,

Dt.

2 36

Ch. 20

16

33

in

RV.

The Targ. identifies

with the Jordan.

No

help can be

obtained from the Versions, unless the

of

be correct,

which case

may be a corruption of

some such word a s

or

(elsewhere late). See

also

P.

Smith, ad

612

.-

followingword,

is perhaps a mistake

for

(‘despising’)

or some such word so that the clause would read ‘though they
gainsay and

thee ‘(see

Co.

ad

There is

no support

anywhere for a word

meaning ‘briers.’

5.

Ezek.

is connected with

Jewish Aram.

Syr.

Ar.

( L o w ,

all of which mean a thorn or pricking

point.’

6.

Prov.

[where EV

thorns

7

is by Wellhausen

149)

connected with Ar.

an enclosed garden or

orchard he reads in Micah

ihr

Bester ist aus der Dornhecke und ihr

dem

Gestrupp

’),

thus producing a good parallelism. On the

other hand,

Low

following Celsius (ii.

ex-

plains the word by reference to

Ar.

which, accord-

ing to Lane

is

Tristram

368) identifies it with

sanctum,

L.

(sometimes called the apple of Sodom

:

see

152).

W e may at all events gather from

Prov.

15

that

a

thorny

capable of forming a hedge is intended.

For Heb.

68

see

T

HISTLE

BRIGANDINE

Jer.

RV

coats

of

mail’

see B

REASTPLATE

(i.).

BRIMSTONE

‘burning stone

T h e passages are Gen. 19 24 Dt. 29 23

Job

18

Ps.

11

6

Is.3033
21

is

apparently connected with

bitumen’

(cp the Aram. and Ar. forms with initial

but surely not

of

Bactrian origin, a s Lagarde supposed.

Almost invariably the passages in which brimstone

is

mentioned relate to divine judgments; there is no

direct

of any use to which sulphur was

put by the Hebrews. They

have known any-

thing of the industrial

of that mineral, which have

so

largely added to the wealth of the regions where it

is

most easily obtained

Sicily). T h e only objects to

which it was applied by the‘ ancients, according to Plin.

are the making of lamp wicks

the fumigation and cleansing

of

wool, certain medical

remedies, and, lastly, religious purifications (cp Od.

22

481483

after the slaughter of the suitors).

It

may be conjectured however that sulphur was used in

the so-called

T

O

PHETH

of

Valley of

(cp

Is.

and one conclusion may safely be drawn from the many

descriptions in which brimstone is referred to-that the Israelites
were not unacquainted with the volcanic phenomena known a s

‘solfatara or those known a s ‘fire-wells’ (as emanations of car-

buretted hydrogen when they take fire are frequently called).

These

‘

in many of

districts where

volcanoes appear, in Europe, Asia, and

N.

Reminis-

cences of phenomena of this kind apparently underlie certain
parts of the account of the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah

Gen. 19 and the other passages (see above) where the same

narrative is directly or indirectly alluded to.

I t is probable that the Hebrews, like the Greeks (see

and the.

(Plin.

35

associated the ozonic smell which often so perceptibly
accompanies lightning discharges with the presence

of

sulphur.

This may help to explain the passages which

describe or allude to the overthrow of Sodom and
Gomorrah

as

having been brought about by a rain

of

fire and brimstone from heaven (Job

18

15

Gen.

24

Ps.

116

Ezek.

3822

Lk.

BROIDERED COAT,

RV ‘coat of chequer work’

On

Ezek. 2

6

see above,

4.

T h e reading of

in Mic.

7

4

presupposes

a

reading

in

Probably from

same

root

a s

and wholly

N

. M.

S

U

LPH

U

R).

connected with

27

2

fcecuudo

Incenduntque

fumante bitumine venas.

See Sir

in

10

Fulmina, fnlgura quoque

a c

lux

ipsa eorum

est.

611

BUKKIAH

51

[BA]).

Nu.

3422

BUKKIAH

perhaps connected with the

verb

and,

if

pointed

signifying

has tested,’

39,

52);

one

of

the sons of

I

KOKK.

[A],

[L],

BUL

perhaps rain-month,’ from

cp in

Ph.

no.

31

its identification with the Palm.

divine name

etc.

)

is not certain

[BA],

I

K.

638.

See M

ONTH

,

5.

BULL

Jer.

Gen.

Job21

Ps.

and

Heb.

9

13).

See

C

ATTLE

,

For the bull in mythological representa-

tions, see C

ALF

,

C

ATTLE

,

14

7

and

S

TARS

,

3

a.

For the brazen bulls

K.

see

S

EA

,

B

RAZEN

.

I t is worth adding that

bull-fights are often represented on wall-paintings in

Egyptian tombs (see P.

E.

Newberry,

pt.

p.

28, n.

I

) .

In

the name appears as Borith

one

of

the chiefs chosen to divide Canaan

See B

AKBUKIAH

.

BULLOCK

Ex.

BULL, WILD

(Kin),

Is.

51

AV RV A

NTELOPE

BULRUSH

(RV ‘rush‘), and

B

U

L

-

RUSHES

Ex.23 Is.

the latter ‘papy-

rus

’),

both words elsewhere R

USHES

For

(AV occasionally, RV

usually ‘rampart

see F

ORTRESS

,

5 for

Ch.

15

(RV

‘battlements,’ mg. ‘corner towers’), see B

ATTLE

.

MENT

and F

ORTRESS

,

5 ; for

and

(Dt.

see W

AR

.

‘intelligence’: cp in Palm.

Vog.

no.

3),

a

Jerahmeelite

BUNDLE

Gen.

of money; Ct.

113

of

myrrh

I

S.

25

of life.

BUNNI

and

79

cp B

ANI

).

See C

ATTLE

,

BULWARK.

See B

AG

(4).

I

.

A

Neh. 9 4

; transl.

see

E

Z R A

,

5

possibly identical with the signatory

the

covenant (see E

Z R A

,

7),

Neh. 10

15

or

whose name, however, is perhaps

to

of B

A N I

in

14

[

I

Another Levire, one

of the overseers

of

the temple, Neh.

11

(BHA

om.,

not

mentioned

in

I

Ch. 9

BURDEN

lifting up

hence

either burden or utterance’

to utter is to lift up

the voice

Burden in EV, when used

of

a

pro-

phetic revelation, should rather be

‘

oracle

’

(as

K.

etc.).

Cp P

ROPHECY

.

The term mass8

became

a

subject of popular derision in the time of

Jeremiah, owing to its double meaning (see above),

so

that Jeremiah pronounces

a

divine prohibition of its

use

It continued, however, to be used in

the headings of prophecy. As to the application of

once only it denotes divine judicial sentence

( z

9

2 5

cp Jer.

elsewhere there is no such

limitation of meaning.

I n Prov. 301 beyond doubt

should be emended to

in 311 to

(see

L

EMUEL

).

renders variously

(in the Minor Prophets

regularly),

(Is. 1 5

I

17

I

22

I

and

21

I

(Is. 21

I

also

151

221

231

and

(Is.

19 306).

BURIAL

Is.

See D

EAD

,

I

.

BURNING

See D

EAD

,

I

L

AW AND

J

USTICE

,

BUSH

BURNING AGUE

I

BURNT OFFERING (

Lev.

1 3

see

[? B]), Lev. 26

see D

ISEASES

,

6,

M

EDICINE

.

FICE.

BURN

T OFFERING, ALTAR OF

Ex.

see A

LTAR

,

S

ACRIFICE

.

BUSH

represents in AV three different Hebrew words.

I

.

rubus:

Ex. 32-4 Dt.

3316

Mk.

Lk. 644 [EV ‘bramble bush’]

denotes

a

rough thorny bush-which

the original sense of our
is shown by the use of the same word in

later Hebrew, in Aramaic, Arabic, and Assyrian, and
confirmed by the rendering of the ancient Versions.
Low

following

cxiii.),

identifies it with

Rubus

Some, on the

ground that the bramble is not found on Sinai, assume
that a kind of acacia is referred to.

These Hebrew and

Greek words are used in O T and N T respectively only
in connection with the theophany to Moses in Horeb

(Sinai), except in Lk.

In O T

(Ex.

Dt.

and in Acts7

’the term refers to the actual bush

in Mk.

(see RV) to the section of

Exodus containing the narrative (see below,

z).

EV ‘plant,’ Gen.

2 5 ;

EV ‘shrub,’ Gen.

also Job

is in Gen.

probably used in

a

general sense

of any wild-growing shrub in the other passages the
reference may be more specific. Low

who cites

the Syriac and Arabic

and

identifies it with

L,

but allows that

the Arabic word is used by Syriac lexicographers for
various species.

3.

AV bushes,’

RV

pastures,’ mg.

‘bushes,’ Is.

is almost

certainly connected with the root

Ar.

(see

Barth,

whose proper sense is that of leading

cattle to the drinking-place.

T h e noun, therefore,

means drinking-places

Ar.

or

This is better than the more general rendering

‘pastures.‘

rests on a false ety-

mology

and bushes (Saad.

AV)

is seemingly

due to conjecture (Ges..

Thes.

).

T h e theophany in the bush (Ex. 32-4) is remarkable.

Elsewhere the

of

is a

in human

See also Wetzstein,

41.

form

but here apparently (note

Y Y

.

3)

the only special appearance

is that of fire. The nearest parallel

is

where

angel ascends in

a

flame of

fire; but the human form of the appearance is there
unmistakable.

T h e story in the form which it assumes

in Exodus appears to have resulted from a fusion

of

two

widely current beliefs-that fire indicated the divine
presence (see

T

HEOPHANY

,

and that certain

trees were the permanent abodes of deities.

I t seems

probable from the character of the reference in Dt.

that there was current a different form of the

story, according to which the bush was
permanent dwelling

for the phraseology

‘who dwelt in the bush’) indicates the same per-

manency of the divine presence as was subsequently
supposed to characterise the temple.

Renan, however,

would read

‘who dwells in Sinai’ (cp

and

certainly in Exodus the fiery appearance

is

clearly re-

garded

as,

like other theophanies, temporary.

Robert-

son Smith

)

cites some parallels from

non-biblical sources, and argues that the original seat
of a conception like the burning bush, which must have
its physical basis in electrical phenomena, must

occurs also as the proper name of

a

Rock,

I

S.

(see

Where

has

led astray by the

likeness

of the word to the verb

but

and

Sym.

have

(in

7

Sym.