Encyclodaedia biblica; a critical dictionary of the literaty, political and religious hisrory, the archaeology, geography, and natural history of the Bible

BOZEZ

Is.

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

below.

The Hebrew word was formerly explained

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

form any inference from this

etymology.2

indeed, rejecting the traditional

suggests that it is philologically akin to

(Del. Par.

Aram.

If this

were made out we should be tolerably certain that

the

or a

tree

but the philological step

Cheyne

SBOT

‘can hardly doubt that the

obscure

Is.

is a corruption of

sherbin.’

If so,

would seem

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.

[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

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

the other on the

side of the

gorge

(

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

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.

and

in chap. 60

(unless

of its order). Pesh. also is defective in

Is.

19, giving for

simply ‘goodly cypresses’

while in

Is.

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.

with the single root (meaning ‘ t o go’

‘step‘)

which appears in Ar.

and Syr.

still main-

tains a second root, akin to

Ar.

while Lagarde ex-

plains

(Ps.

etc.) by invoking a third Ar. root

of his tract ‘Weber

(in

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

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

(

)

of Bozkath was

the grandfather of King Josiah

K. 221

BOZRAH

in Gen.

Ch.],

in Is.]).

Elsewhere

translates :

Jer. 49

Am. 1

Mic. 2

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

Jobab b. Zerah, king of Edom, and

less certainly, though still probably, under the name

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

pre-exilic document.

Bozrah is the

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

Buhl,

Doughty,

Des.

(Jer.

4824.)

See

EZER

T. K.

BRACELETS.

Bracelets were worn to protect the

exposed parts,

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.

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

ING

). Bracelets were worn

and women

the finer

were among the

insignia of royalty and the adornments

brides (for

references see below).

Five words have to be considered.

Of these we may first of all reject two words,

(Ex.

and

(Gen. 38 18

which are wrongly rendered

bracelet in AV.

See

and cp C

ORD

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.

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

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.,

2 357,

and

see

fig.

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,’

‘ankle-chains’) and

(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

50) regards

as also

That kings went into battle with various ornaments

well

attested (see

) ; this is

supported

K. 22 30.

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

(WRS,

n.).

Text doubtful

see

EXT

64,

and cp

602

The root is

twist.

In the Mishnah

BRAMBLE

however, obtained much the same sense by connecting

with

‘ornament.’ The

renders

which is usually applied

the

phylactery (Dt.

phylactery

was,

however,

also worn

the left

arm.

is apparently connected with

(occurring

only

in Is.

into which

emendation reduces

If the

ar-

rangement

Is. 3

suggested

the

natural order of

t h e parts

of the

body,

may

ornament rather of the

arm than

the leg. Barth,

N B

compares Ar.

arm,’

which

removes

some

the difficulty presented

the

usual

derivation from

to step

or walk. See, however, A

NKLETS

1. A.

BRAMBLE

has in EV three meanings.

Gen.

(EV

Judg.

EV ‘brambles,’ and Ps.

58 9 [

thorns.’

It is

genuine

Semitic word, found

also

Aramaic

as’

Syriac

Arabic

Fr.),

The root with which it appears

to he connected

has

the sense of ‘uttering

though not

sound

;

and the possibility

of a

connection

with

the

sense

pricking

tearing like

thorn

apparent.

There is

general agreement that

was

equivalent

the

modern botanical

Rhamnus.

Dioscorides distinguished

three sorts

(cp Fraas,

Plant.

Class.); while

in modern times Tristram

(FFP

has

sixteen species of

found in

Palestine.

Perhaps the most likely identification for

is with

Rhamnus

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

Greece and S. Europe.

very frequent; EV usually ‘thorn’

‘thistle,’

once (Is.34

13)

‘bramble.’ It denotes

plant of the thorn

or perhaps

of the

thistle

kind :

see T

HORN

which occurs seven

times

(in

six

these

the

rendering

and

five

times in NT, is once (Lk.

644)

rendered ‘bramble bush,’ elsewhere B

[I]).

BRAN

[BAQ]).

‘burning of bran

for incense’

;

is mentioned

in Bar.

(Ep. Jer.)

one of the incidents in

the unchaste idolatrous worship of the women of

Babylon.

See

RAZEN

SEA

see

AVER

BRASEN SERPENT

See

BRASIER

Jer.

RV.

BRASS,

BRASEN,

rendering

(Gen.

and often),

(Lev.

etc.),

(Dan.

etc.),

(Mt.

1 0

Cor.

Rev.

and

7 4 ) .

EV invariably renders thus except in Ezra

(see

OPPER

), in

S. 22 35

AV, where

is rendered

‘steel,’

and in Jer.

has

see

RON

Tim.

4 14,

where

‘coppersmith.

Gen.

gives

and

elsewhere’

as a

note

‘brass.

Ezek.

1 7

rightly rendered

brass’

Tg. below),

also

Rev.

In Ezra

qualified

the epithet

(RV

‘bright’),

which

should probably point

Ezek.

for

‘polished’).

which follows (EV

‘fine’),

arises out

of dittography, and should not be rendered

(Che.).

That copper is meant

shown by the words, out

whose hills thou

dig brass’ (Dt.

;

cp the

chapter in Holland’s

headed ‘Mines

Brass.’

See C

OPPER

and cp

GYPT

end.

This the Syriac lexicographers render into Arabic

which

means

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

word

see

Skeat,

From

t h e

loudness

in the sound is derived the

sense

‘

whisper and thence

‘

softness,’

‘stillness.

It should

noticed

that

the

confirms the identification of

and

hy the gloss

probably Carthaginians)

See C

OAL

See

also

IVINATION

BREAD

BREAD.

From

the earliest ‘times of which we have

ny record, bread was the principal article of food

among the Hebrews,

fact which ex-

’’

plains

use of

both for bread and

for food in general.

T h e primitive

making the ears of wheat and barley more

by the simple process of roasting

parched

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

paste.

early times the

flour

vas

produced by crushing the ears between two stones

see illustrations

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

mortar

Nu.

1 1 8 )

familiar scene on

monuments. T h e flour obtained

these

must have been

coarser grain

than that

by the use of the

see M

ILL

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.

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.

more advanced

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

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

the process of firing, or rendering

the dough more digestible by the
application

heat.

Three modes of

firing are found in the OT,

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,

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.

Doughty,

Des.

etc.).

Such

‘ a

cake baked

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

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,

laid over a small fire-pit, in which

fire has been

before, and

this plate or girdle the cakes

are fired. Its Syrian name is

(Landberg,

Prov.

14).

Cakes baked in this way

(see

[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

now, was a large earthenware jar

in the bottom of which the fire was placed.

represented on Egyptian monuments, the cakes
fired by being applied

the

outside

of the jar (Wilkinson

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

first

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

rapid

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

inches, and become

thin

sheet of thick paper.

I t is then laid on a cushion, by

means

which it is applied to the wall of the

These thin wafer-cakes are called

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.

were probably of this sort.

(For

further details see

URNACE

5).

The preparation of the daily supply of bread for

the household was essentially the care of the

186

2 8 2 4

etc.).

In the wealthier households

this duty would devolve on slaves, male and female

In later times baking became

special

trade in the cities (Jos.

Ant.

xv.

and especially

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.

those mentioned in

the course of this article we add

the ordinary round

cake or

( I

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

OOD

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,

consisting

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

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

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

not improbable that Ahab wore

heavy

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

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

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

he the only intelligible explanation, and etymology warrants

the rendering of the word

by ‘attachments’or

the cuirass).

Respecting the coats of mail or corslets with which

is said to have provided his troops

Ch.

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.

[

we are left in much uncertainty.

For Neh. 416

[

useful hint may he derived from

Herod.

763,

where we learn that the Syrian (or Assyrian)

contingent

army wore

which

were probably close-fitting sleeveless jackets of coarse
felt.

Probably the

habergeon,’

coat-of-mail,’ of Ex.

2 8 3 2

3923,

both passages

from

P),

was

corslet of this character.

Etymology here does not help

as the word

from the

Aramaic

root

‘to

fight’) and therefore means

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

(Ex. 28 28)

based on another text. Knohel is on the

right track when he says in his comment (cited

We are reminded of the

of the Greeks (ZZ. 2529 830).

Egypt excelled

its manufacture.

I n the Greek period

(300

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

1 7 5 ,

and we may conclude from

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

symbol for the

righteousness of a Christian warrior (Eph.

Is.

5917 and

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

EALS

BREASTPLATE, COAT

MAIL

Is.

Jer.

Syr.

We find the

mentioned

part of the

defensive armour of Goliath and David. That it was

worn by Israelite kings is evident from

( 2

Ch.

1833).

the description of Goliath’s

armour in

EV) the addition

of the word

gives

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

was

5000

shekels, which may be roughly computed

about zoo lbs.

The close intercourse that there was

between Egypt and

not

improbable

taken by

Vg., and Targum

and modern comm., including Ew.,

have adopted this view. Some colour

given to this inter-

pretation

(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

correct in translating the preceding

have a fair presumption that Del.

right in comparing Ar.

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

in this passage (so

RV). Duhm

follows

Hoffm. and reads

‘javelin cp Syr.

the word

Meyer,

2388,

BREASTPLATE

BRICK

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 .

BREASTPLATE

, Priestly

[L],

'oracle'; but twice

( 7 )

358

has

where

M T

BREAST-

[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

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

carried cp

On the stones in the breastplate, see

TONES

, and

A N D

and Nowack,

H A

BREECHES,

in the proper usage of the word, denotes

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

the Lat.

and Gr.

as distinguished from

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

IRDLE

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.

)

see further S

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

sup-

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

this case the word is derived from Gr.

207,

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.

. -

(or rather

[Ra.

Dan. 3

an exceedingly obscure term

for

which are

offered such diverse renderings as hosen (AV), tunics

PLATE O

F JUDGMENT

;

'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

retained in its older sense. T h e modern hosen

applied to stockings.

87).

thing worn upon the feet hut the text

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

The priestly linen breeches

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

Heb.) as part

his

apparel of honour.'

Ordinary priests also wore them

on sacrificial occasions (Ex. 2842

[all

Ezek.

[the

Zadok]).

According to os.

the

was

girdle

of fine twisted linen. It was

undermost

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

[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

perform

ceremonies naked

the Bedouins made the sacred circuit of

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

the priests (cp

T h e law of Ex.

is apparently

aimed against the former custom (for which see further

WRS,

See

RES

A.-S. A.

BRETHREN

OF JESUS

(Mt.

1 2

Mk.

Lk. 8

JAMES,

SIMON,

derived by Gcs. from

'to be

white,' as if bricks were originally made of

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

foreign

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

rendering

brickkiln' in

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

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

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

IBNAH

and c p Del.

the commentaries of Driver,

Smith and

and on the whole

see

AVID

Jer.

alters the unintelligible 'brickkiln'

into 'brick-

work.

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

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.

M. M.

BRICKKILN

Nah.

and (RV

BRIDE

Is.

625,

Bridegroom

Jer.

Brickwork)

er.

4 3 9 .

See above,

See M

ARRIAGE

superintended by Egyptian ‘task masters

with

sticks.

T h e analogy to the labour

Israel as described in Ex.

so striking that many writers have ventured

regard the picture

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

the temple of

; many (not the majority) of

men seem to be African captives.

making.

the labourers hoeing the ground with the wooden

Egyptian hoe (see A

GRICULTURE

fig.

carrying the black

earth (Nile-mud deposited ‘at the

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

heaps of mud, placed

side by

side, are

These Egyptian bricks were usually twice the size

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.

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

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

certain parts, such as the

ABYLONIA

Whilst in Egypt rain is

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;

‘

refer to these baskets?

Cp Del. ad

open to grave

suspicion

(see Che.

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.

BRIDLE.

The various Heb. and Gr. words will be

Ps. 39

EV,

muzzle

Most-inappropriate

;

read

a guard’

dealt with in the articles specified below.

ATTLE

(Ps. 141 3

with Herz, Che.

Zech.

ELLS

Is.

37 29

Prov.

Cp the place-name in

doubtful), Job3011

Perhaps ‘bit

Jas.

AV ‘hit’

;

Rev. 14

E V (cp

BRIER.

Six Hebrew words have to be considered.

(Judg.

are mentioned

along with thorns of the wilderness

the instruments

with which Gideon taught,’ or rather threshed’

(71.7

cp Moore’s

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

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

918

in seven

these along with

word of similar meaning.

genuine

Semitic word, and Celsius

188

89)

pointed out its affinity with Ar.

some kind of

plant.

The Hebrew word seems a general’ one

for thorny plants,

which there are many kinds in

Palestine (Tristram enumerates sixteen species of

nee,

263

The ancient versions give

help towards a nearer determination of the species.

Is.

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

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

merely transliterates; in

Aq. renders

and Sym.

(see F

IELD

In the other three places where

Ezek.

Zech.

it is

rendered ‘diamond’ or ‘adamant’

(see

DAMANT

3).

EV is no doubt correct.

Ps.

Job 41 13

E V

be a better rendering.

;

BRIGANDINE

BUKKI

See

MBROIDERY

;

UNIC

BROIDERED WORK

Ezek.

See

BROOCHES

Ex.

RV AV bracelets

[see H

OOK

See also B

UCKLE

BROOK.

T h e Hebrew word usually thus rendered

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

brook whose supply of water cannot be counted on

In Is.

196,

brooks

of defence,’

means rather ‘streams of Egypt’

(

S O

word

which bears

both to the Eg.

river,’ and to

the

water-brooks,’

Ps.

Joellzo

is a poetical word

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

’river

‘waters etc and occurs

various involved figurative

(AV ‘the mighty’),

(AV

‘strong

pieces’), 41

AV ‘scales’).

rendered ‘brook in

is a word of un-

known etymological history (for Fr.

identification with the

724).

T h e

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

out of its place,

quite

For

Brook

Egypt

Is.

RV,

see

YPT

IVER

OR.

For

Brook of the Arabah

Am. 6

EMBROIDERY,

stream,’ is applied usually to the

ILE

roperly a channel (cp

Is.

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

RV,

see

K O

THE

C .

BROOM

AV J

UNIPER

BROTH

Judg.

Is.

See C

OOKING

BROWN

Gen.

AV ; see C

OLOURS

[BAFL]),

figuratively of Israel’s prosperity. See A

GRICULTURE

According to some authorities the

of Ex.

was

(AV

bracelets,’ RV brooches’). See R

ING

So,

too, the

See B

RACELET

1444)

was

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

are the kindred of the king

(

Macc.

SACRIFICE.

BUCKLE.

Such buckles or brooches formed the fastenings of the outer

garment on the breast

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

For

BUCKLER.

(Ps.

(Ps.

see

HIELD

Ch.

1 2

see

PEAR

(so

RV).

AV.

See A

GAGITE

see

BUGEAN

Est.

126

BUKKI

abbreviated from

have been the fourth in descent from Aaron in the

line of Eleazar

Ch.

361

Bwe

;

rendered ‘valley’

cp,

Dt.

2 36

Ch. 20

RV.

The Targ. identifies

with the Jordan.

help can be

obtained from the Versions, unless the

be correct,

which case

may be a corruption of

some such word a s

(elsewhere late). See

also

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.

There is

no support

anywhere for a word

meaning ‘briers.’

Ezek.

is connected with

Jewish Aram.

Syr.

Ar.

( L o w ,

all of which mean a thorn or pricking

point.’

Prov.

[where EV

thorns

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

Tristram

368) identifies it with

sanctum,

(sometimes called the apple of Sodom

see

152).

W e may at all events gather from

Prov.

that

thorny

capable of forming a hedge is intended.

For Heb.

see

HISTLE

BRIGANDINE

Jer.

coats

mail’

see B

REASTPLATE

(i.).

BRIMSTONE

‘burning stone

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

Job

Ps.

Is.3033
21

apparently connected with

bitumen’

(cp the Aram. and Ar. forms with initial

but surely not

Bactrian origin, a s Lagarde supposed.

Almost invariably the passages in which brimstone

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

largely added to the wealth of the regions where it

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

wool, certain medical

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

481483

after the slaughter of the suitors).

may be conjectured however that sulphur was used in

the so-called

PHETH

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

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.

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

sulphur.

This may help to explain the passages which

describe or allude to the overthrow of Sodom and
Gomorrah

having been brought about by a rain

fire and brimstone from heaven (Job

Gen.

Ps.

116

Ezek.

3822

Lk.

BROIDERED COAT,

RV ‘coat of chequer work’

Ezek. 2

see above,

T h e reading of

in Mic.

presupposes

reading

Probably from

same

root

a s

and wholly

. M.

LPH

R).

connected with

fcecuudo

Incenduntque

fumante bitumine venas.

See Sir

Fulmina, fnlgura quoque

a c

lux

ipsa eorum

est.

611

BUKKIAH

[BA]).

Nu.

3422

BUKKIAH

perhaps connected with the

verb

and,

pointed

signifying

has tested,’

39,

52);

one

the sons of

KOKK.

[A],

[L],

BUL

perhaps rain-month,’ from

cp in

Ph.

no.

its identification with the Palm.

divine name

etc.

)

is not certain

[BA],

638.

See M

ONTH

BULL

Jer.

Gen.

Job21

Ps.

and

Heb.

13).

See

ATTLE

For the bull in mythological representa-

tions, see C

ALF

ATTLE

and

TARS

For the brazen bulls

see

RAZEN

I t is worth adding that

bull-fights are often represented on wall-paintings in

Egyptian tombs (see P.

Newberry,

pt.

28, n.

) .

the name appears as Borith

one

the chiefs chosen to divide Canaan

See B

AKBUKIAH

BULLOCK

Ex.

BULL, WILD

(Kin),

Is.

AV RV A

NTELOPE

BULRUSH

(RV ‘rush‘), and

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.

(RV

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

ATTLE

MENT

and F

ORTRESS

5 ; for

and

(Dt.

see W

‘intelligence’: cp in Palm.

Vog.

no.

3),

Jerahmeelite

BUNDLE

Gen.

of money; Ct.

113

myrrh

of life.

BUNNI

and

cp B

ANI

See C

ATTLE

BULWARK.

See B

(4).

Neh. 9 4

; transl.

see

Z R A

possibly identical with the signatory

the

covenant (see E

Z R A

7),

Neh. 10

whose name, however, is perhaps

of B

A N I

[

Another Levire, one

of the overseers

the temple, Neh.

(BHA

om.,

not

mentioned

Ch. 9

BURDEN

lifting up

hence

either burden or utterance’

to utter is to lift up

the voice

Burden in EV, when used

pro-

phetic revelation, should rather be

‘

oracle

’

(as

etc.).

Cp P

ROPHECY

The term mass8

became

subject of popular derision in the time of

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

that Jeremiah pronounces

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

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

EMUEL

renders variously

(in the Minor Prophets

regularly),

(Is. 1 5

and

(Is. 21

also

151

221

231

and

(Is.

19 306).

BURIAL

Is.

See D

EAD

BURNING

See D

EAD

AW AND

USTICE

BUSH

BURNING AGUE

BURNT OFFERING (

Lev.

1 3

see

[? B]), Lev. 26

see D

ISEASES

EDICINE

FICE.

BURN

T OFFERING, ALTAR OF

Ex.

see A

LTAR

ACRIFICE

BUSH

represents in AV three different Hebrew words.

rubus:

Ex. 32-4 Dt.

3316

Mk.

Lk. 644 [EV ‘bramble bush’]

denotes

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

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

but allows that

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

AV bushes,’

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.

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

is a

in human

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