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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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BLACK

See COLORS .


BLACKNESS

(kimririm, "obscurations"; qadhruth, "darkness"; gnophos, "darkness" zophos "blackness"): Terms rarely used but of special significance in picturing the fearful gloom and blackness of moral darkness and calamity. Job, cursing, the day of his birth, wishes that it, a dies ater ("dead black day"), might be swallowed up in darkness (Job 3:5). Because of Israel's spiritual infidelity Yahweh clothes the heavens with the blackness of sackcloth (Isa 50:3), the figure being that of the inky blackness of ominous, terrifying thunder clouds. The fearful judgment against sin under the old dispensation is illustrated by the appalling blackness that enveloped smoking, burning, quaking Sinai at the giving of the law (Heb 12:18; compare Ex 19:16-19; 20:18). The horror of darkness culminates in the impenetrable blackness of the under-world, the eternal abode of fallen angels and riotously immoral and ungodly men (Jude 1:13; see also 1:6 and 2 Pet 2:4,17). Human language is here too feeble to picture the m oral gloom and rayless night of the lost: "Pits (the King James Version "chains") of darkness" (compare the ninth plague of Egypt, "darkness which may be felt" (Ex 10:21)). Wicked men are "wandering stars," comets that disappear in "blackness of darkness .... reserved for ever." In art this figurative language has found majestic and awe-inspiring expression in Dore's illustrations of Dante's Purgatory and Milton's Paradise Lost.

Dwight M. Pratt


BLAINS

blanz (abha`bu`ah: only in Ex 9:9,10): Pustules containing fluid around a boil or inflamed sore. It is an Old English word "bleyen," used sometimes as a synonym for boil. Wyclif (1382) uses the expression "stinkende bleyne" for Job's sores. The Hebrew word is from a root which means that which bubbles up.

See BOIL .


BLASPHEMY

blas'-fe-mi (blasphemia): In classical Greek meant primarily "defamation" or "evil-speaking" in general; "a word of evil omen," hence, "impious, and irreverent speech against God."

(1) In the Old Testament as substantive and vb.: (a) (barakh) "Naboth did blaspheme God and the king" (1 Ki 21:10,13 the King James Version); (b) (gadhaph) of Senna-cherib defying Yahweh (2 Ki 19:6,22 = Isa 37:6,23; also Ps 44:16; Ezek 20:27; compare Nu 15:30), "But the soul that doeth aught with a high hand (i.e. knowingly and defiantly), .... the same blasphemeth (so the Revised Version (British and American), but the King James Version "reproacheth") Yahweh; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people." Blasphemy is always in word or deed, injury, dishonor and defiance offered to God, and its penalty is death by stoning; (c) (charaph) of idolatry as blasphemy against Yahweh (Isa 65:7); (d) (naqabh) "And he that blasphemeth the name of Yahweh, he shall surely be put to death" (Lev 24:11,16); (e) (na'ats) David's sin is an occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme (2 Sam 12:14; also Ps 74:10,18; Isa 52:5; compare Ezek 35:12; 2 Ki 19:3 the King James Version; Isa 37:3).

(2) In the New Testament blasphemy, substantive and vb., may be (a) of evil-speaking generally, (Acts 13:45; 18:6); The Jews contradicted Paul "and blasphemed," the Revised Version, margin "railed." (So in the King James Version of Mt 15:19 = Mk 7:22; Col 3:8, but in the Revised Version (British and American) "railings"; Rev 2:9 the Revised Version, margin "reviling"; so perhaps in 1 Tim 1:20; or Hymeneus and Alexander may have blasphemed Christ by professing faith and living unworthily of it.) (b) Spea king against a heathen goddess: the town clerk of Ephesus repels the charge that Paul and his companions were blasphemers of Diana (Acts 19:37). (c) Against God: (i) uttering impious words (Rev 13:1,5,6; 16:9,11,21; 17:3); (ii) unworthy conduct of Jews (Rom 2:24) and Christians (1 Tim 6:1; Tit 2:5, and perhaps 1 Tim 1:20); (iii) of Jesus Christ, alleged to be usurping the authority of God (Mt 9:3 = Mk 2:7 = Lk 5:21), claiming to be the Messiah, the son of God (Mt 26:65 = Mk 14:64), or making Himself God (Jn 10:33,36). (d) Against Jesus Christ: Saul strove to make the Christians he persecuted blaspheme their Lord (Acts 26:11). So was he himself a blasphemer (1 Tim 1:13; compare Jas 2:7).

The Unpardonable Sin:

(3) Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: "Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come" (Mt 12:31,32 = Mk 3:28,29; Lk 12:10). As in the Old Testament "to sin with a high hand" and to blaspheme the name of God incurred the death penalty, so the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit remains the one unpardonable sin. These passages at least imply beyond cavil the personality of the Holy Spirit, for sin and blasphemy can only be committed against persons. In Mt and Mk a particular case of this blasphemy is the allegation of the Pharisees that Jesus Christ casts out devils by Beelzebub. The general idea is that to attribute to an evil source acts which are clearly those of the Holy Spirit, to call good evil, is blasphemy against the Spirit, and sin that will not be pardoned. "A distinction is made between Christ's other acts and those which manifestly reveal the Holy Spirit in Him, and between slander directed against Him personally as He appears in His ordinary acts, and that which is aimed at those acts in which the Spirit is manifest" (Gould, Mark at the place). Luke does not refer to any particular instance, and seems to connect it with the denial of Christ, although he, too, gives the saying that "who shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven." But which of Christ's acts are not acts of the Holy Spirit, and how therefore is a word spoken against Him not also blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? John identifies the Holy Spirit with the exalted Christ (Jn 14:16-18,26,28). The solution generally offered of this most difficult problem is concisely put by Plummer (Luke ad loc.): "Constant and consummate opposition to the influence of the Holy Spirit, because of a deliberate preference of darkness to light, render repentance and therefore forgiveness morally impossible." A similar idea is taught in Heb 6:4-6, and 1 Jn 5:16: "A sin unto death." But the natural meaning of Christ's words implies an inability or unwillingness to forgive on the Divine side rather than inability to repent in man. Anyhow the abandonment of man to eternal condemnation involves the inability and defeat of God. The only alternative seems to be to call the kenotic theory into service, and to put this idea among the human limitations which Christ assumed when He became flesh. It is less difficult to ascribe a limit to Jesus Christ's knowledge than to God's saving grace (Mk 13:32; compare Jn 16:12,13). It is also noteworthy that in other respects, at least, Christ acquiesced in the view of the Holy Spirit which He found among His contemporaries.

See HOLY SPIRIT .

T. Ress


BLAST

(neshamah, ruach):

(1) The blowing of the breath of Yahweh, expressive of the manifestation of God's power in Nature and Providence. "With the blast of thy nostrils the waters were piled up" (Ex 15:8), referring to the east wind (Ex 14:21; compare 2 Sam 22:16 and Ps 18:15). "I will send a blast upon him" (2 Ki 19:7 the King James Version; the Revised Version (British and American) "put a spirit in him," i.e. "an impulse of fear" (Dummelow in the place cited.); compare Isa 37:7). "By the blast of his anger are they consumed" (Job 4:9; compare Isa 37:36).

(2) The word ruach is used with reference to the tyranny and violence of the wicked (Isa 25:4).

(3) The blowing of a wind instrument: "When they make a long blast with the ram's horn" (Josh 6:5).

M. O. Evans


BLAST; BLASTING

blast'-ing (shiddaphon--root, shadhaph, literally "scorching"): This is the effect produced upon grain or other plants by the hot east winds which blow from the desert of Arabia. They usually continue to blow for two or three days at a time. If they occur in the spring near ripening time, the grain is often turned yellow and does not properly mature. The farmers dread this wind. In some localities, if they suspect that the east wind is coming, they set up a great shouting and beating of pans, hoping to drive it off. Sometimes this wind is a double pestilence, when it brings with it a cloud of locusts (2 Ch 6:28). The writer, while journeying in the northern part of the Arabian desert, the source of these winds, witnessed such a cloud of locusts on their way toward habitable regions. It did not call for a very vivid imagination on the part of the children of Israel to realize the meaning of the curses and all manner of evil which would befall those who would not hearken to the voice of Yahweh. Dt 28:22-24 could easily be considered a poetic description of the east winds (Arabic howa sharki'yeh) which visit Palestine and Syria at irregular intervals today. The heat is fiery: it dries up the vegetation and blasts the grain; the sky is hazy and there is a glare as if the sun were reflected from a huge brass tray. Woodwork cracks and warps; the covers of books curl up. Instead of rain, the wind brings dust and sand which penetrate into the innermost corners of the dwellings. This dust fills the eyes and inflames them. The skin becomes hot and dry. To one first experiencing this storm it seems as though some volcano must be belching forth heat and ashes. No other condition of the weather can cause such depression. Such a pestilence, only prolonged beyond endurance, was to be the fate of the disobedient. This word should not be confused with mildew. Since the words blasting and mildew occur together it may be inferred that mildew (literally "a paleness") must mean the sickly color which plants assu me for other causes than the blasting of the east wind, such, as for instance, fungus diseases or parasites (1 Ki 8:37; Am 4:9; Hag 2:17).

James A. Patch


BLASTUS

blas'-tus (Blastos, "shoot"): The chamberlain of Herod Agrippa I, whose services as an intermediary between them and the king were gained by the people of Tyre and Sidon. These cities were dependent on Palestine for corn and other provisions, and when Herod, on the occasion of some commercial dispute, forbade the export of foodstuffs to Tyre and Sidon, they were at his mercy and were compelled to ask for peace. "Having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend," probably by means of a bribe, the Phoenician embassy was given an opportunity of setting their case before Herod (Acts 12:20 ff).

S. F. Hunter


BLAZE

blaz ("to publish"): Found only in the King James Version of Mk 1:45, for Greek diaphemizein, translated by the Revised Version (British and American) "spread abroad," as in Mt 9:31; 28:15.


BLEMISH

blem'-ish:

(1) mum, me'um; momos: This word signifies no particular skin disease, as has been supposed; but is used generally for any and all disfiguring affections of the skin, such as eczema, herpes, scabies, etc., even for scratches and scars, as in Lev 24:19,20; and thence for moral defects, as in Eph 5:27. The existence of a blemish in a person of priestly descent prevented him from the execution of the priestly office; similarly an animal fit for sacrifice was to be without blemish. In the New Testament Christ is presented as the antitype of a pure and ritually acceptable sacrifice "as a lamb without blemish and without spot" (Heb 9:14; 1 Pet 1:19), and the disciples are admonished to be blameless, "without blemish" (Eph 5:27). Rarely the word is used to designate a reprobate person (2 Pet 2:13).

(2) Blemish in the eye, tebhallul (from a root balal, "to overflow"; Arabic balla, balal, "to moisten"), cataract, white spots in the eye (Lev 21:20).

H. L. E. Luering


BLESS

(barakh): This word is found more frequently in the Old Testament than in the New Testament, and is used in different relations.

(1) It is first met in Gen 1:22 at the introduction of animal life upon the earth, where it is written, "And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply," etc. The context furnishes the key to its meaning, which is the bestowal of good, and in this particular place the pleasure and power of increase in kind. Thus it is generally employed in both Testaments, the context always determining the character of the bestowal; for instance (where man is the recipient), whether the good is temporal or spiritual, or both.

Occasionally, however, a different turn is given to it as in Gen 2:3 the King James Version, where it is written, "And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it." Here the good consists in the setting apart and consecrating of that day for His use.

(2) In the foregoing instances the Creator is regarded as the source of blessing and the creature the recipient, but the order is sometimes reversed, and the creature (man) is the source and the Creator the recipient. In Gen 24:48, for example, Abraham's servant says, "I bowed my head, and worshipped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham," where the word evidently means to worship God, to exalt and praise Him.

(3) There is a third use where men only are considered. In Gen 24:60, her relatives "blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of ten thousands" (the King James Version "millions"), where the word expresses the wish or hope for the bestowal of the good designated. There are also instances where such a blessing of man by man may be taken in the prophetic sense, as when Isaac blessed Jacob (Gen 27:4,27), putting himself as it were in God's place, and with a sense of the Divine concurrence, pronouncing the good named. Here the word becomes in part a prayer for, and in part a prediction of, the good intended. Balaam's utterances are simply prophetic of Israel's destiny (Nu 23:9,10,11,23 margin,24).

Although these illustrations are from the Old Testament the word is used scarcely differently in the New Testament; "The blessing of bread, of which we read in the Gospels, is equivalent to giving thanks for it, the thought being that good received gratefully comes as a blessing"; compare Mt 14:19 and 15:36 with 1 Cor 11:24 (Adeney, HDB, I, 307).

See also BENEDICTION .

James M. Gray


BLESSED

bles'-ed (barukh): Where God is referred to, this word has the sense of "praise," as in 1 Sam 25:32, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel." But where man is in mind it is used in the sense of "happy" or "favored," and most frequently so in the Psalms and the Gospels, as for example, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked" (Ps 1:1); "Blessed art thou among women" (Lk 1:42); "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Mt 5:3).

See BEATITUDES .


BLESSEDNESS

bles'-ed-nes: This translation of makarismos (a word signifying "beatification" or "the ascription of blessing"), is used but three times, in Rom 4:6,9, and Gal 4:15, in the King James Version only. In the first two instances it refers to the happy state or condition of a man to whom Christ's righteousness is imputed by faith, and in the last to a man's experience of that condition.

See HAPPINESS .


BLESSING

(berakhah; eulogia): Sometimes means the form of words used in invoking the bestowal of good, as in Dt 33:1; Josh 8:34; and Jas 3:10. Sometimes it means the good or the benefit itself which has been conferred, as in Gen 27:36, "Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?" and Prov 10:22, "The blessing of Yahweh, it maketh rich." "The cup of blessing" (to poterion tes eulogias, a special use of the word in 1 Cor 10:16), means the cup for which we bless God, or which represents to us so much blessin g from God.

James M. Gray


BLESSING, CUP OF

(to poterion tes eulogias, "the consecrated cup," 1 Cor 10:16): A technical term from the Jewish liturgy transferred to the Lord's Supper, and signifying the cup of wine upon which a blessing was pronounced. The suggestion that it carries with it a higher significance, as a cup that brings blessing, is not without force. The succeeding words, "we bless," are equivalent to "for which we give thanks." It was consecrated by thanksgiving and prayer.

See also CUP .


BLESSING, VALLEY OF

See BERACAH .


BLINDFOLD

blind'-fold (perikalupto): A sport common among the children of ancient times, in which the blindfolded were struck on the cheek, then asked who had struck them, and not let go until they had correctly guessed. This treatment was accorded Christ by his persecutors (Lk 22:64).


BLINDING

blind'-ing.

See PUNISHMENTS .


BLINDNESS

blind'-ness (`awar, and variants; tuphlos): The word blind is used as a verb, as Jn 12:40, usually in the sense of obscuring spiritual perception. In reference to physical blindness it is used as a noun frequently or else as an adjective with the noun man. There are 54 references to this condition, and there is no reason to believe, as has been surmised, that blindness was any less rife in ancient times than it is now, when defective eyes and bleared, inflamed lids are among the commonest and most disgusting sights in a Palestine crowd. In the Papyrus Ebers (1500 BC) there are enumerated a number of diseases of the eye and a hundred prescriptions are given for their treatment. That the disease occurred in children and caused destruction and atrophy of the eyeball is testified to by the occurrence of a considerable number of mummy heads, in which there is marked diminution in size of one orbit. The commonest disease is a purulent ophthalmia, a highly infectious condition propagated largely by the flies which can be seen infesting the crusts of dried secretion undisturbed even on the eyes of infants. (In Egypt there is a superstition that it is unlucky to disturb them.) This almost always leaves the eyes damaged with bleared lids, opacities of the cornea, and sometimes extensive internal injury as well. Like other plagues, this disease was thought to be a Divine infliction (Ex 4:11). Minor forms of the disease destroy the eyelashes and produce the unsightly tender-eyes (in Gen 29:17 the word rakh may mean simply "weak").

Blindness from birth is the result of a form of this disease known as ophthalmia neonatorum which sets in a few days after birth. I have seen cases of this disease in Palestine. Sometimes ophthalmia accompanies malarial fever (Lev 26:16). All these diseases are aggravated by sand, and the sun glare, to which the unprotected inflamed eyes are exposed. Most of the extreme cases which one sees are beyond remedy--and hence, the giving of sight to the blind is generally put in the front of the mighty works of healing by our Lord. The methods used by Him in these miracles varied probably according to the degree of faith in the blind man; all were merely tokens, not intended as remedies. The case of the man in Mk 8:22 whose healing seemed gradual is an instance of the phenomenon met with in cases where, by operation, sight has been given to one congenitally blind, where it takes some time before he can interpret his new sensations.

The blindness of old age, probably from senile cataract, is described in the cases of Eli at 98 years of age (1 Sam 3:2; 4:15), Ahijah (1 Ki 14:4), and Isaac (Gen 27:1). The smiting of Elymas (Acts 13:11) and the Syrian soldiers (2 Ki 6:18) was either a miraculous intervention or more probably a temporary hypnotism; that of Paul (Acts 9:8) was doubtless a temporary paralysis of the retinal cells from the bright light. The "scales" mentioned were not material but in the restoration of his sight it seemed as if scales had fallen from his eyes. It probably left behind a weakness of the eyes (see THORN IN THE FLESH ). That blindness of Tobit (Tobit 2:10), from the irritation of sparrows' dung, may have been some form of conjunctivitis, and the cure by the gall of the fish is paralleled by the account given in Pliny (xxxii.24) where the gall of the fish Callionymus Lyra is recommended as an application in some cases of blindness. The hypothesis that the gall was used as a pigment to obscure the whiteness of an opaque cornea (for which Indian ink tattooing has been recommended, not as a cure but to remove the unsightliness of a white spot) has nothing in its favor for thereby the sight would not be restored. The only other reference to medicaments is the figurative mention of eyesalve in Rev 3:18.

Blindness unfitted a man for the priesthood (Lev 21:18); but care of the blind was specially enjoined in the Law (Lev 19:14), and offenses against them are regarded as breaches of Law (Dt 27:18).

Figuratively, blindness is used to represent want of mental perception, want of prevision, recklessness, and incapacity to perceive moral distinctions (Isa 42:16,18,19; Mt 23:16 ff; Jn 9:39 ff).

Alex. Macalister


BLINDNESS, JUDICIAL

ju-dish'-al, joo-dish'-al: Among the ancient Israelites in the pre-Canaanite period disputes within the family or clan or tribe would be settled by the natural head of the family or clan or tribe. According to Ex 18 Moses, as the leader of the tribes, settled all disputes. But he was compelled to appoint a body of magistrates--heads of families--to act in conjunction with himself, and under his judicial oversight. These magistrates settled ordinary disputes while he reserved for himself the more difficult cases. After the conquest of Canaan, the conditions of life became so complex, and questions of a difficult nature so constantly arose, that steps were taken (1) to appoint official judges--elders of the city (Josh 8:33; Jdg 8:3; 1 Ki 21:8); (2) to codify ancient custom, and (3) to place the administration of justice on an organized basis. It is significant that in one of the oldest documents in the Pentateuch--namely, in the Book of the Covenant (Ex 20:20 through 23:33)--the miscarriage of justice was of such frequent occurrence as to require special mention (23:1-3,6-8). In fact the Old Testament abounds with allusions to the corruption and venality of the magisterial bench (Dt 16:19; Lev 19:15; Am 5:12; Mic 3:11; 7:3; Isa 1:23; 5:23; Zeph 3:3; Ps 15:5; Prov 17:23). According to the Book of the Covenant (Ex 23:8) `a bribe blindeth the eyes of the open-eyed.' This descriptive phrase indicates a prolific cause of the miscarriage of justice--an exceedingly common thing in the East, in the present no less than in the past. The prohibition in Ex 23:3, "Neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his cause," is rather remarkable and many scholars are of opinion that "a great man" should be read for "a poor man" as, according to 23:6 the King James Version, the common fault was "wresting the judgment of the poor." The rich alone could offer a satisfactory bribe. But it should be pointed out that Lev (19:15) legislates in view of both tendencies--"respecting the person of the poor:" and "honoring the person of the mighty." Sympathy with the poor no less than a bribe from the well-to-do might affect the judgment of the bench. Dt (16:19) reproduces the words of the Book of the Covenant with a slight alteration--namely, "eyes of the wise" for "eyes of the open-eyed" ("them that have sight"). Both phrases vividly bring out the baneful effect of bribery--a magistrate otherwise upright and honest--open-eyed and wise--may be unconsciously yet effectively influenced in his judicial decisions by a gift sufficiently large. A similar phrase is found in the story of Abraham's life (Gen 20:16). A gift of a thousand shekels to Abraham was intended to be a "covering of the eyes" for Sarah, i.e. compensation or reparation for the wrong which had been done. For a gift of such magnitude she ought to wink at the injury. Job (9:24) declares in his bitterness that God "covereth the faces of the judges"--inflicts judicial blindness on them so that justice in this world is out of the question. Judicial corruption was the burden of the prophets' preaching--"judges loved bribes, and followed after rewards," with the result that "the fatherless" and "the widow" were helpless to have their grievances redressed (Isa 1:23). A satisfactory reward would always secure the acquittal of the offender (Isa 5:23). Micah combines judges, priests and prophets under a similar charge; they are all guilty of gross venality (3:11). Prov (17:23) defines the wicked person as one who is always prepared to take a "bribe out of the bosom, to pervert the ways of justice"; on the other hand the good man is he who will not take a reward against the innocent (Ps 15:5) or "shaketh his hands from taking a bribe" (Isa 33:15). In regard to Yahweh alone is absolute incorruptibility affirmed--he "regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward" (Dt 10:17).

T. Lewis


BLOOD

blud (dam, probably from 'adham "to be red"; haima): Used in the Old Testament to designate the life principle in either animal or vegetable, as the blood of man or the juice of the grape (Lev 17:11, et al.); in the New Testament for the blood of an animal, the atoning blood of Christ, and in both Old Testament and New Testament in a figurative sense for bloodshed or murder (Gen 37:26; Hos 4:2; Rev 16:6).

1. Primitive Ideas:

Although the real function of the blood in the human system was not fully known until the fact of its circulation was established by William Harvey in 1615, nevertheless from the earliest times a singular mystery has been attached to it by all peoples. Blood rites, blood ceremonies and blood feuds are common among primitive tribes. It came to be recognized as the life principle long before it was scientifically proved to be. Naturally a feeling of fear, awe and reverence would be attached to the shedding of blood. With many uncivilized peoples scarification of the body until blood flows is practiced. Blood brotherhood or blood friendship is established by African tribes by the mutual shedding of blood and either drinking it or rubbing it on one another's bodies. Thus and by the inter-transfusion of blood by other means it was thought that a community of life and interest could be established.

2. Hebrew and Old Testament Customs:

Notwithstanding the ignorance and superstition surrounding this suggestively beautiful idea, it grew to have more than a merely human significance and application. For this crude practice of inter-transference of human blood there came to be a symbolic substitution of animal blood in sprinkling or anointing. The first reference in the Old Testament to blood (Gen 4:10) is figurative, but highly illustrative of the reverential fear manifested upon the shedding of blood and the first teaching regarding it.

The rite of circumcision is an Old Testament form of blood ceremony. Apart from the probable sanitary importance of the act is the deeper meaning in the establishment of a bond of friendship between the one upon whom the act is performed and Yahweh Himself. In order that Abraham might become "the friend of God" he was commanded that he should be circumcised as a token of the covenant between him and God (Gen 17:10-11; see CIRCUMCISION ).

It is significant that the eating of blood was prohibited in earliest Bible times (Gen 9:4). The custom probably prevailed among heathen nations as a religious rite (compare Ps 16:4). This and its unhygienic influence together doubtless led to its becoming taboo. The same prohibition was made under the Mosaic code (Lev 7:26; see SACRIFICE ).

Blood was commanded to be used also for purification or for ceremonial cleansing (Lev 14:5-7,51,52; Nu 19:4), provided, however, that it be taken from a clean animal (see PURIFICATION ).

In all probability there is no trace of the superstitious use of blood in the Old Testament, unless perchance in 1 Ki 22:38 (see BATHING ); but everywhere it is vested with cleansing, expiatory, and reverently symbolic qualities.

3. New Testament Teachings:

As in the transition from ancient to Hebrew practice, so from the Old Testament to the New Testament we see an exaltation of the conception of blood and blood ceremonies. In Abraham's covenant his own blood had to be shed. Later an expiatory animal was to shed blood (Lev 5:6; see ATONEMENT ), but there must always be a shedding of blood. "Apart from shedding of blood there is no remission" (Heb 9:22). The exaltation and dignifying of this idea finds its highest development then in the vicarious shedding of blood by Christ Himself (1 Jn 1:7). As in the Old Testament "blood" was also used to signify the juice of grapes, the most natural substitute for the drinking of blood would be the use of wine. Jesus takes advantage of this, and introduces the beautiful and significant custom (Mt 26:28) of drinking wine and eating bread as symbolic of the primitive intertransfusion of blood and flesh in a pledge of eternal friendship (compare Ex 24:6,7; Jn 6:53-56). This is the climactic observance of blood rites recorded in the Bible.

LITERATURE.

Trumbull, The Blood Covenant and The Threshold Covenant; Westermarck, The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas; Robertson Smith, Lectures on the Religion of the Semites.

Walter G. Clippinger


BLOOD AND WATER

(haima kai hudor): The remarkable passage (Jn 19:34) from which this expression is taken refers to the piercing of the Savior's side by the soldier. The evangelist notes here what he, as an eyewitness of the crucifixion, had seen as a surprising fact. Whereon this surprise was founded cannot now be more than guessed at. Nor is it necessary here to discuss the reason or reasons why the apostle mentions the fact at all in his report, whether merely for historical accuracy and completeness, or as a possible proof of the actual death of Christ, which at an early date became a subject of doubt among certain Christian sects, or whether by it he wished to refer to the mystical relation of baptismal cleansing ("water") and the atonement ("blood") as signified thereby. Let it suffice to state that a reference often made to 1 Jn 5:6,8 is here quite out of place. This passage, though used by certain Fathers of the church as a proof of the last-named doctrine, does not indeed refer to this wonderful incident of the crucifixion story. The argument of 1 Jn 5:8 concerns the Messiahship of Jesus, which is proved by a threefold witness, for He is the one whom at the baptism of John ("water") God attested as the Messiah by the heavenly voice, "This is my beloved Son," who at the crucifixion ("blood") had the testimony that the Father had accepted His atoning sacrifice, and whose promise of sending the Comforter fulfilled on Pentecost ("spirit") presented us with the final proof of the completed Messianic task. The same expression in 1 Jn 5:6 refers probably to the same argument with the implied meaning that Jesus came not only by the merely ceremonial water of baptism, but also by the more important, because vivifying, blood of atonement.

The physiological aspect of this incident of the crucifixion has been first discussed by Gruner (Commentatio de morte Jesu Christi vera, Halle, 1805), who has shown that the blood released by the spear-thrust of the soldier must have been extravasated before the opening of the side took place, for only so could it have been poured forth in the described manner. While a number of commentators have opposed this view as a fanciful explanation, and have preferred to give the statement of the evangelist a symbolical meaning in the sense of the doctrines of baptism and eucharist (so Baur, Strauss, Reuss and others), some modern physiologists are convinced that in this passage a wonderful phenomenon is reported to us, which, inexplicable to the sacred historian, contains for us an almost certain clue to the real cause of the Savior's death. Dr. Stroud (On the Physiological Cause of the Death of Christ, London, 1847) basing his remarks on numerous postmortems, pronounced the opinion that here we had a proof of the death of Christ being due not to the effects of crucifixion but to "laceration or rupture of the heart" as a consequence of supreme mental agony and sorrow. It is well attested that usually the suffering on the cross was very prolonged. It often lasted two or three days, when death would supervene from exhaustion. There were no physical reasons why Christ should not have lived very much longer on the cross than He did. On the other hand, death caused by laceration of the heart in consequence of great mental suffering would be almost instantaneous. In such a case the phrase "of a broken heart," becomes literally true. The life blood flowing through the aperture or laceration into the pericardium or caul of the heart, being extravasated, soon coagulates into the red clot (blood) and the limpid serum (water). This accumulation in the heart-sac was released by the spear-thrust of the soldier (which here takes providentially the place of a postmorten without which it would have been impossible to determine the real cause of death), and from the gaping wound there flow the two component parts of blood distinctly visible.

Several distinguished physicians have accepted Dr. Stroud's argument, and some have strengthened it by the observation of additional symptoms. We may mention Dr. James Begbie, fellow and late president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Sir J. Y. Simpson, professor at the University of Edinburgh, and others (see Dr. Hanna, Our Lord's Life on Earth, Appendix I). The latter refers to the loud cry, mentioned by the Synoptists (Mt 27:50; Mk 15:37; Lk 23:46), which preceded the actual death of Jesus, as a symptom characteristic of cases of "broken heart." He adds that Dr. Walshe, professor of medicine in University College, London, one of the greatest authorities on the diseases of the heart, says that a "piercing shriek" is always uttered in such cases immediately before the end.

While we may never reach a state of absolute certainty on this subject, there is no valid reason to deny the probability of this view of the death of Christ. It certainly gives a more solemn insight into Christ's spiritual anguish, "the travail of his soul" on our behalf, which weighed upon Him so heavily that long before the usual term of bodily and therefore endurable suffering of crucified persons Christ's loving heart broke, achieving the great atoning sacrifice for all mankind.

H. L. E. Luering


BLOOD, AVENGER OF

See AVENGER .


BLOOD, ISSUE OF

ish'-u.

See BLOODY FLUX .


BLOOD-REVENGE

blud-re-venj':

See AVENGER .


BLOODGUILTINESS

blud-gilt'-i-nes: Found in the King James Version only in Ps 51:14. The Revised Version (British and American) adds Ex 22:2,3; 1 Sam 25:26,33. Ezek 18:13 seems to indicate that the phrase does not necessarily signify bloodshed, but any grievous sin which, if it remains, will block God's favor to His land and people (compare Dt 21:8; Isa 1:15). Ps 51 is to be interpreted in this light.


BLOODSHEDDING

blud'-shed-ing (haimatekchusia, Heb 9:22): In this passage the indispensability of expiating sacrifice is positively set forth.


BLOODTHIRSTY

blud'-thurs-ti ('anshe damim, "men of blood"): This occurs in the King James Version only in Prov 29:10; in the Revised Version (British and American), Ps 5:6; 55:23; 59:2; 139:19.

See BLOODY .


BLOODY

blud'-i (dam = "blood" of man or an animal; and where the King James translators have rendered with the adjective "bloody," the Hebrew employs the noun in the construct case, "of blood"): "A bridegroom of blood" (Ex 4:25,26, the King James Version bloody husband). Zipporah, not being an Israelite, probably objected to the circumcision of infants, if not to the rite altogether; apprehending, however, that her husband's life was imperiled possibly through some grievous sickness (Ex 4:24) because of their disobedience in this particular, she performed the ceremony herself upon her son, saying, "A bridegroom of blood art thou to me."

In the Revised Version (British and American) the expression (the King James Version "bloody") is variously rendered, "man of blood" (2 Sam 16:7,8); "men of blood" (Ps 26:9); "bloodthirsty" (Ps 5:6; 59:2; 139:19). In 2 Sam 21:1, "It is for Saul, and for his bloody house," might be rendered "Upon Saul and his house rests bloodshed."

Ezekiel calls Jerusalem "the bloody city" (Ezek 22:2; 24:6; compare 7:23), referring to those unjustly put to death by the wicked rulers of Jerusalem. Nineveh also is called "the bloody city" (Nah 3:1). The capital here virtually stands for the kingdom, and history bears witness to the enormous cruelties perpetrated by the Assyrian rulers. It is siege on siege, pools of blood everywhere, the flaying of men alive, "great baskets stuffed with the salted heads of their foes." For two hundred years it is th e story of brute force and ruthless cruelty. "The prey departeth not." And now every cruelty which they have visited upon others is to be turned upon themselves (Nah 3:19).

M. O. Evans


BLOODY FLUX

fluks (puretos kai dusenteria, literally "fever and dysentery"): The disease by which the father of Publius was afflicted in Malta (Acts 28:8). the Revised Version (British and American) calls it "dysentery"; a common and dangerous disease which in Malta is often fatal to soldiers of the garrison even at the present day (Aitken, Pract. of Medicine, II, 841). It is also prevalent in Palestine at certain seasons, and in Egypt its mortality was formerly about 36 percent. Its older name was due to the d ischarge of blood from the intestine. Sometimes portions of the bowel become gangrenous and slough, the condition described as affecting Jehoram (2 Ch 21:19). There seems to have been an epidemic of the disease at the time of his seizure (2 Ch 21:14,15), and in the case of the king it left behind it a chronic ulcerated condition, ending in gangrene. Somewhat similar conditions of chronic intestinal ulceration following epidemic dysentery I have seen in persons who had suffered from this disease in India.

Alex. Macalister


BLOODY SWEAT

swet hosei thromboi haimatos): Described in Lk 22:44 as a physical accompaniment of our Lord's agony at Gethsemane (on the passage, which is absent in some manuscripts, see Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek). Many old writers take this to mean that the perspiration dropped in the same manner as clots of blood drop from a wound, regarding the Greek word prefixed as expressing merely a comparison as in Mt 28:3, where leukon hos chion means "white as snow." Cases of actual exudation of blood are described in several of the medieval accounts of stigmatization, and Lefebvre describes the occurrence of something similar in his account of Louise Lateau in 1870. For references to these cases see the article "Stigmatization" in Encyclopedia Britannica (11th edition),XXII , 550. It is perhaps in favor of the older interpretation that the word used by Aeschylus for drops of blood is stagon (Agam. 1122) and by Euripides stalagmos, not thromboi. None of the instances given by Tissot (Traite des nerfs, 279), or Schenck (Observ. med., III, 45:5), can be said to be unimpeachable; but as the agony of our Lord was unexampled in human experience, it is conceivable that it may have been attended with physical conditions of a unique nature.

Alex. Macalister


BLOOM; BLOSSOM

bloom, blos'-um.

See FLOWERS .


BLOT

blot (mum, contracted from me'um, "spot"): Occurs in the sense of scorn (Prov 9:7). In Job 31:7 (the King James Version) it is used figuratively of a moral defect; the Revised Version (British and American) has "spot." Blot out (machah, "to wipe out," exaleipho, "to smear out"), to obliterate or destroy: "That a tribe be not blotted out" (the King James Version "destroyed," Jdg 21:17). To blot men out of God's book is to cut them off by an untimely death (Ex 32:32).

Figuratively: "To blot out sin" is to forgive sin fully (Ps 51:1,9; Acts 3:19; Col 2:14). Not to blot out sin is to reserve for punishment (Neh 4:5). The names of those who inherit eternal life are not blotted out of the "book of life" (Rev 3:5).

See BOOK OF LIFE ;BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE ;FORGIVENESS .

L. Kaiser


BLOW

blo (nashaph): Used with reference to the wind (Ex 15:10; Ps 78:26; 147:18; pneo, "to breathe," Lk 12:55; Jn 3:8; Rev 7:1); taqa`, with reference to trumpet sound (Nu 10:3-10; 31:6 the King James Version; Jdg 7:18,20; 1 Ki 1:34; 1 Ch 15:24; Ps 81:3; Ezek 33:3,6; Hos 5:8; Joel 2:1,15); puach, with reference to the strong expulsion of the breath (Ezek 21:31; 22:20,21; Hag 1:9; Isa 40:7; 54:16; Job 20:26); nashaph, with reference to a forcible slap or stroke with hand or an instrument (Ps 39:10; Isa 40:24; Jer 14:17 the King James Version).

Frank E. Hirsch


BLUE

bloo.

See COLORS .



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