fer (yir'ah, yare'; phobos, phobeo):
Terms, etc.:
"Fear" is the translation of many words in the Old Testament; the chief are: yir'ah, "fear," "terror," "reverence," "awe," most often "the fear of God," "fear of Yahweh" (Gen 20:11; 2 Ch 19:9, etc.); also of "fear" generally (Job 22:4; Isa 7:25; Ezek 30:13, etc.); yare', "to be afraid," "to fear," "to reverence" (Gen 15:1; Lev 19:3,14; Dt 6:2, etc.); pachadh, "fear," "terror," "dread" (Gen 31:42,53; Dt 11:25; 1 Sam 11:7 the King James Version; Job 4:14; Isa 2:10 the King James Version, etc.).
"Fearful" (timid) is the translation of yare' (Dt 20:8; Jdg 7:3); "to be feared," yare' (Ex 15:11; Dt 28:58; compare Ps 130:4); in Isa 35:4, it is the translation of mahar, "hasty," "them that are of a fearful heart," margin "Hebrew hasty"; perhaps, ready to flee (for fear).
"Fearfully" (Ps 139:14): yare', "I am fearfully (and) wonderfully made," so the Revised Version (British and American); "and" is not in the text, so that "fearfully" may be equivalent to "extremely," to an awesome degree; compare Ps 65:5, "by terrible things .... in righteousness"; 66:3, "How terrible are thy works (yare' "fearful "); the Septuagint, Peshitta, Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) have "Thou art fearfully wonderful."
"Fearfulness" occurs In Ps 55:5 (yir'ah); Isa 21:4 (pallatsuth), the Revised Version (British and American) "horror"; Isa 33:14 (re`adhah, "trembling"), "Fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites," the Revised Version (British and American) "Trembling hath seized the godless ones."
In the New Testament the chief words are phobos, "fear," "terror," "affright" (Mt 14:26; 28:4,8; Lk 21:26; 1 Jn 4:18, etc.), and phobeo, "to put in fear" (both used of ordinary fear) (Mt 1:20; 10:26; 28:5; 2 Cor 12:20, etc.); of the fear of God, the noun (Rom 3:18; 2 Cor 7:1), the verb (Lk 18:4; 23:40, etc.); deilia, "timidity," "fear," occurs in 2 Tim 1:7, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear," the Revised Version (British and American) "a spirit of fearfulness"; ekphobos, "frightened out (of one's senses)," "greatly terrified" (Heb 12:21; compare Dt 9:19; The Wisdom of Solomon 17:9 the King James Version); apo tes eulabeias is translated (Heb 5:7) "(of Christ) who was heard in that he feared," the Revised Version (British and American) "having been heard for his godly fear"; so all the Greek commentators; eulabeia, properly, "caution," "circumspection," is used in the New Testament for godly fear (Heb 12:28, the Revised Version (British and American) "reverence and awe," margin as the King James Version); compare eulabes (Lk 2:25; Acts 2:5; 8:2); eulabeomai, "to act with caution" (Acts 23:10). Deilos, "fearful," "timid," occurs in Mt 8:26; Mk 4:40; Rev 21:8, "Their part shall be .... the second death"; phoberos, "fearful," "terrible" (Heb 10:27,31); phobetron, "something fearful," "a terrible sign or portent" (Lk 21:11, Revised Version (British and American) "terrors").
Fear is a natural and, in its purpose, beneficent feeling, arising in the presence or anticipation of danger, and moving to its avoidance; it is also awakened in the presence of superiors and of striking manifestations of power, etc., taking the form of awe or reverence. Fear has been said to be the source of religion, but religion can never have originated from fear alone, since men are impelled to draw nigh with expectation to the object of worship.
"Fear" is certainly a prominent element in Old Testament religion; the "fear of God" or of Yahweh, "the fear of the Lord," is indeed synonymous with religion itself (Ps 34:11; Prov 1:7; Isa 11:2,3; Jer 2:19; Eccl 12:13, "the whole duty of man," the Revised Version, margin "the duty of all men"). But although the element of dread, or of "fear" in its lower sense, is not always absent and is sometimes prominent in the earlier stages especially, though not exclusively (Ex 23:27, 'emah; 1 Sam 11:7; 2 Ch 20:29; Ps 119:120; Isa 2:10,19,21), it is more the feeling of reverent regard for their God, tempered with awe and fear of the punishment of disobedience. As such it is a sentiment commanded and to be cherished toward Yahweh (Ex 20:20; Dt 6:13; Josh 4:24; 1 Sam 12:24; Job 6:14; Ps 33:8; 34:9; Prov 23:17; Eccl 5:7, etc.). It is an essential element in the worship and service of Yahweh (2 Ki 17 often; Ps 2:11, etc.); it is a Divine qualification of the Messiah (Isa 11:2,3). This "fear of Yahweh" is manifested in keeping God's commandments, walking in His ways, doing His will, avoiding sin, etc. (Ex 20:20; Dt 6:13,14; 2 Sam 23:3; Ps 34:4,9 parallel Prov 8:13; 16:6). It is the true wisdom (Job 28:28; Ps 25:14; Prov 1:7; 15:33); it gives life (Prov 10:27, etc.), blessedness (Ps 128:1,4), sufficiency (Ps 34:9), Divine friendship (Ps 25:14), protection (Ps 34:7), deliverance (Ps 85:9), forgiveness (Ps 130:4). In Ps 90:11 the King James Version has "According to thy fear so is thy wrath," the Revised Version (British and American) "and thy wrath according to the fear that is due unto thee"; the meaning probably is "thy wrath is in proportion to thy fear."
The "fear of the Lord" is a frequent phrase in Apocrypha, and is highly exalted, e.g. Ecclesiasticus 1:11-30; the idea of it became gradually more and more elevated; in 2:15,16 it is joined with the love of God.
"Fear" is the natural consequence of sin (Gen 3:10; 4:13,14; Prov 28:1); it comes as a punishment (Dt 28:25,28). The fear of man and of evils are dangers to be avoided, from which the fear of God delivers (Nu 14:9; 21:34; Ps 23:4; 31:14, etc.).
"Fear" sometimes stands for the object of fear (Prov 10:24; Isa 66:4); for the object of worship (Gen 31:42,53, "the God of Abraham, and the Fear of isaac," pachadh).
In the New Testament dread, or fear of God in the lower sense, is removed; He is revealed as the loving and forgiving Father, who gives to men the spirit of sonship (Rom 8:15; 2 Tim 1:7; 1 Jn 4:18); we are invited even to come "with boldness unto the throne of grace," with confidence, assurance (parrhesia), which, however, may have its literal meaning of free "utterance" (Heb 4:16; 10:19); but there remains a filial fear and sense of awe and of the greatness of the issues involved (Rom 11:20; Eph 5:21, the Revised Version (British and American) "of Christ"; 1 Tim 5:20; Heb 4:1); all other fears should be dismissed (Mt 8:26; 10:26-28,31; Lk 12:32); in Mt 10:28; Lk 12:5, "fear" is used in the sense of "stand in awe of," so perhaps Lk 23:40; to "fear God" is sometimes used in the New Testament as equivalent to religion (Lk 18:4; Acts 10:2,35; 13:16,26, used of proselytes); in Heb 10:27, it is said that if Christ be willfully rejected, nothing remains but "a fearful looking for (the Revised Version (British and American) "expectation") of judgment," and 10:31, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," in which places "fearful" means "terrible," something well to be feared. the Revised Version (British and American) gives frequently a more literal rendering of the words translated "fear."
W. L. Walker
fests (mo`edh, "an appointed day" or "an assembling," chagh, from chaghagh, "to dance" or possibly "to make a pilgrimage"; tsom, "fast," ta`anith, "a day of affliction"):
A) Annual
2. Pentecost, 6th Ciwan ) Pilgrimage
3. Tabernacles, 15th-22d Tishri ) Festivals
4. Shemini `Atsereth, 23d Tishri
5. New Year, Feast of Trumpets, 1st Tishri
B) Periodic
1. Feast of Dedication, 25th Kiclew
2. Fast of Esther, 13th 'Adhar
3. Feast of Purim, 14th 'Adhar
4. Fast of the Fourth Month, 17th Tammuz
5. Fast of the Fifth Month, 9th 'Abh
6. Fast of the Seventh Month, 3rd Tishri
7. Fast of the Tenth Month, 10th Tebheth
9. Feast of Nicanor, 18th 'Adhar
10. Feast of Woodcarrying, Midsummer Day, 15th 'Abh
11. New Year for Trees, 15th ShebhaT
12. Bi-weekly Fasts, Mondays and Thursdays after Festivals
13. Second Days of Festivals Instituted
14. New Modes of Observing Old Festivals Instituted
The Nature of the Hebrew Festivals:
The Hebrews had an abundance of holidays, some based, according to their tradition, on agriculture and the natural changes of times and seasons, some on historical events connected with the national or religious life of Israel, and still others simply on immemorial custom. in most instances two or more of these bases coexist, and the emphasis on the natural, the agricultural, the national, or the religious phase will vary with different writers, different context, or different times. Any classification of these feasts and fasts on the basis of original significance must therefore be imperfect.
We should rather classify them as preexilic and post-exilic, because the period of the Babylonian captivity marks a complete change, not only in the kinds of festivals instituted from time to time, but also in the manner of celebrating the old.
The pre-exilic list includes the three pilgrimage festivals, the Passover week, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, together with the Eighth Day of Assembly at the conclusion of the last of these feasts, and New Year and Atonement Days, the weekly Sabbath and the New Moon.
The preexilic festivals were "holy convocations" (Lev 23; Nu 28). Special sacrifices were offered on them in addition to the daily offerings. These sacrifices, however, varied according to the character of the festival (Nu 28; 29). On all of them trumpets (chatsotseroth) were blown while the burnt offerings and the peace-offerings were being sacrificed (Nu 10:10). They were all likened to the weekly Sabbath as days of rest, on which there must be complete suspension of all ordinary work (Lev 16:29; 23:7,8,21,24,25,28,35,36).
2. Significance of the Festivals:
The three pilgrimage festivals were known by that name because on them the Israelites gathered at Jerusalem to give thanks for their doubly joyful character. They were of agricultural significance as well as commemorative of national events. Thus, the Passover is connected with the barley harvest; at the same time it is the zeman cheruth, recalling the Exodus from Egypt (Ex 12:6; Lev 23:5,8; Nu 28:16-25; Dt 16:1-8).
Pentecost has an agricultural phase as chagh habikkurim, the celebration of the wheat harvest; it has a religious phase as zeman mattan Thorah in the Jewish liturgy, based on the rabbinical calculation which makes it the day of the giving of the Law, and this religious side has so completely overshadowed the agricultural that among modern Jews the Pentecost has become "confirmation day" (Ex 34:26; Lev 23:10-14; Nu 28:26-31).
The Feast of Tabernacles is at once the general harvest festival, chagh he-'aciph, and the anniversary of the beginnings of the wanderings in the wilderness (Ex 23:16; Lev 23:33 ff; Dt 16:13-15). The Eighth Day of Assembly immediately following the last day of Tabernacles (Lev 23:36; Nu 29:35 ff; Jn 7:37) and closing the long cycle of Tishri festivals seems to have been merely a final day of rejoicing before the pilgrims returned to their homes.
New Year (Lev 23:23-25; Nu 29:1-6) and the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:1 ff; 23:26-32; Nu 29:7-11) marked the turning of the year; primarily, perhaps, in the natural phenomena of Palestine, but also in the inner life of the nation and the individual. Hence, the religious significance of these days as days of judgment, penitence and forgiveness soon overshadowed any other significance they may have had. The temple ritual for these days, which is minutely described in the Old Testament and in the Talmud, was the most elaborate and impressive of the year. At the same time Atonement Day was socially an important day of rejoicing.
In addition to these annual festivals the pre-exilic Hebrews celebrated the Sabbath (Nu 28:9,10; Lev 23:1-3) and the New Moon (Nu 10:10; 28:11-15). By analogy to the weekly Sabbath, every seventh year was a Sabbath Year (Ex 23:11; Lev 25:1-7; Dt 15:1), and every cycle of seven Sabbath years was closed with a Jubilee Year (Lev 25:8-18) somewhat after the analogy of the seven weeks counted before Pentecost.
For further details of all of these preexilic festivals see the separate articles.
In post-exilic times important historical events were made the basis for the institution of new fasts and feasts. When the first temple was destroyed and the people were carried into captivity, "the sacrifice of the body and one's own fat and blood" were substituted for that of animals (see Talmud, Berakhoth 17a). With such a view of their importance, fasts of all sorts were as a matter of course rapidly multiplied. (Note that the Day of Atonement was the only pre-exilic fast.) Of these post-exilic fasts and feasts, the Feast of Dedication (1 Macc 4:52-59; Jn 10:22; Mishna, Ta`anith 2 10; Mo`edh QaTon 3 9; Josephus, Ant, XII, vii; Apion, II, xxxix) and the Feast of Purim (Est 3:7; 9:24 ff; 2 Macc 15:36); and the fasts of the fourth (Zec 8:19; Jer 39; 52; Mishna, Ta`anith 4 6), the fifth (Zec 7:3,1; 8:19; Ta`anith 4 6), the seventh (Zec 7:5; 8:19; Jer 41:1 ff; 2 Ki 25:25; Cedher `Olam Rabba' 26; Meghillath Ta`anith c. 12), the tenth months (Zec 8:19; 2 Ki 25), and the Fast of Esther (Est 4:16 f; 9:31) have been preserved by Jewish tradition to this day. (The Feast of Dedication, the Feast of Purim and the Fast of Esther are described in separate articles.)
Significance:
The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months are based on historical incidents connected with one or more national calamities. In several instances the rabbis have by close figuring been able to connect with the dates of the fasts as well as the feasts other important national events than those for which the days were primarily instituted. Not less than four incidents are connected with the fasts of the fourth month (17th of Tammuz): (a) on this day the Israelites made the golden calf; (b) Moses broke the tables of law; (c) the daily sacrifices ceased for want of cattle when the city was closely besieged prior to the destruction of Jerusalem; and (d) on this day Jerusalem was stormed by Nebuchadnezzar. The fast of the fifth month (9th day of 'Abh) receives its significance from the fact that the First Temple was destroyed upon this day by Nebuchadnezzar, and the Second Temple on the same day of the year by Titus. In addition it is said that on this day Yahweh decreed that those who left Egypt should not enter the land of promise; the day is also the anniversary of the capture of the city of Bether by the Emperor Hadrian. The fast of the seventh month (the 3rd day of Tishri) commemorates the murder of Gedaliah at Mizpah. That of the tenth month (10th day of Tebheth) commemorates the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.
Other fasts and feasts no doubt were instituted on similar occasions and received a local or temporary observance, for example, the Feast of Acra (1 Macc 13:50-52; compare 1:33), to celebrate the recapture of Acra ("the citadel") on the 23rd of 'Iyar 141BC , and the Feast of Nicanor, in celebration of the victory over Nicanor on the 13th day of 'Adhar 160BC (1 Macc 7:49).
Several other festivals are mentioned in the Talmud and other post-Biblical writings which may have been of even greater antiquity. The Feast of Woodcarrying (Midsummer Day: Neh 10:34; Josephus, BJ, II, vii, 6; Meghillath Ta`anith c.v, p. 32, Mishna, Ta`anith 4 8a), for example, is referred to as the greatest day of rejoicing of the Hebrews, ranking with Atonement Day. It was principally a picnic day to which a religious touch was given by making it the woodgatherers' festival for the Temple. A New Year for trees is mentioned in the Talmud (Ro'sh ha-Shdnah 1 1). The pious, according both to the Jewish tradition and the New Testament, observed many private or semi-public fasts, such as the Mondays, Thursdays and following Monday after Nisan and Tishri (the festival months: Lk 18:12; Mt 9:14; 6:16; Mk 2:18; Lk 5:33; Acts 10:30; Meghillah 31a; Ta`anith 12a; Bdbha' Qama' 8 2). The day before Passover was a fast day for the firstborn (Copherim 21 3).
In post-Biblical times the Jews outside of Palestine doubled each of the following days: the opening and closing day of Passover and Tabernacles and Pentecost, because of the capheq, or doubt as to the proper day to be observed, growing out of the delays in the transmission of the official decree of the Sanhedhrin in each season. Differences in hours of sunrise and sunset between Palestine and other countries may have had something to do at least with the perpetuation of the custom. New Year's Day seems to have been doubled from time immemorial, the forty-eight hours counting as one "long day."
Many new modes of observance appear in post-exilic times in connection with the old established festivals, especially in the high festival season of Tishri. Thus the cimchath beth ha-sho'ebhah, "water drawing festival," was celebrated during the week of Tabernacles with popular games and dances in which even the elders took part, and the streets were so brilliantly illuminated with torches that scarcely an eye was closed in Jerusalem during that week (Talmud, Chullin).
The last day of Tabernacles was known in Talmudic times as yom chibbuT `arabhoth, from the custom of beating willow branches, a custom clearly antedating the various symbolical explanations offered for it. Its festivities were connected with the dismantling of the booth. In later times the day was known as hosha`na' rabba', from the liturgical passages beginning with the word hosha`na', recited throughout the feast and "gathered" on that day. The day after Tabernacles has been made cimchath Torah, the Feast of the Law, from the custom of ending on that day the cycle of fifty-two weekly portions read in the synagogues.
In general it may be said that although the actual observance has changed from time to time to meet new conditions, the synagogal calendar of today is made up of the same festivals as those observed in New Testament times.
Ella Davis Isaacs
Regulated by the sun and moon.
See ASTRONOMY , sec. I, 5.
feth'-erz (notsah; Latin penna): "Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings (the Revised Version (British and American) "pinions") and feathers (the American Standard Revised Version "plumage") unto the ostrich?" (Job 39:13 the King James Version); "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler" (Ps 91:4 the King James Version). In the Revised Version (British and American) this is again changed to pinions. in Dan 4:33 the word "feathers" is left. The wonderful plumage of birds was noted and prized in those days, just as now. Old ostriches were too tough and rank of flesh for food. They were pursued for their feathers, which were used for the headdressing and shield ornaments of desert princes. No one doubts that the ships of Solomon introduced peacocks because of their wonderful feathers. Those of the eagle were held in superstitious reverence as late as the days of Pliny, who was ten years old at the time of the crucifixion of Christ. Pliny wrote that the eagle was so powerful that if its feathers be laid in a box with those of other birds, the eagle feathers would "devour and consume all the rest."
Gene Stratton-Porter
fe'-b'-l nez: The expression. is found in three places (one being a free quotation of another): Job 4:4, "Thou hast made firm the feeble (kara`, "bending," "bowing") knees," and Heb 12:12, "Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the palsied (the King James Version "feeble") knees." The Greek word used here (paralelumena, "paralyzed," "motionless") implies the loss of junction, interrupted articulation, the cutting off of vital strength; compare Greek cholos, "lame," and see Delitzsch in his Commentary on Heb, in the place cited
Such an affection of the knees may be due to different causes. It is, e.g., a very frequent symptom of the disease known in the Orient as beriberi, when the muscles of the lower leg shrink to such a degree as to render voluntary locomotion impossible. It always disables its victim, and is therefore often expressive of general debility, e.g. in Ps 109:24, where such weakness is described as the outcome of protracted fasting in Ezek 7:17 and 21:7, "All knees shall be weak as water," the expression indicates a complete relaxation of the muscles. Fear effected the same condition in Belshazzar's case, when he saw the writing on the wall (Dan 5:6), "The joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another" (compare Nah 2:10).
The "sore boil .... in the knees, and in the legs," a disease announced in Dt 28:35 as a punishment upon Israel for disobedience, cannot now be fully determined. Driver (in his commentary on the passage) thinks of elephantiasis, which is possible but not probable on account of the additional statement, "whereof thou canst not be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the crown of thy head" which would be unexplained, as elephantiasis rarely presents a form in which the whole body is sympathetically affected. I rather think of some form of bubonic plague, which causes very high fever all over the body. In Dt 28:27 in the enumeration of plagues mention is made of the "boil of Egypt," and some commentators have explained this as "bubonic plague." There is, however, no doubt that the "boil or botch of Egypt" is identical with the disease known to modern medicine as bouton du Nil, Biskra button, Bagdad or Aleppo sore.
H. L. E. Luering
fe'-b'-l-min'-ded (oligopsuchos): Only in 1 Thess 5:14 the King James Version, in the sense of "fainthearted," as in the Revised Version (British and American). In Septuagint it is used as the equivalent of koshel, the tottering or feeble-kneed in Isa 35:3; 54:6; oligopsuchia occurs in Septuagint twice (Ex 6:9; Ps 54:7), for "anguish of spirit" and "trouble." The term refers to weakness of will and vacillation of purpose rather than to idiocy or morbid imbecility.
fel'-ing: The following varieties of meaning are to be noted:
(1) "To touch," "handle," "grope after" (mashash (Gen 27:12,22; Ex 10:21; mush, Gen 27:21; Jdg 16:26; pselaphao, Acts 17:27).
(2) "To know," "understand," "experience" (bin, Ps 58:9; yadha`, Prov 23:35; ginosko, Mk 5:29).
(3) "To have a fellow feeling," "to place one's self into the position of another," especially while suffering, "to have compassion" (sumpathein, Heb 4:15; compare 10:34; which is to be carefully distinguished from the similar verb sumpaschein, which means "to share in the same suffering with another," Rom 8:17; 1 Cor 12:26). See Delitzsch, Commentary on Heb 4:15.
(4) "To feel harm," "pain," "grief," "to be sensitive" (paschein, with the roots path- and penth-, Acts 28:5); or with the negation: "to have ceased to feel," "to be apathetic," "past feeling," "callous," apelgekos, perfect participle of apalgeo (Eph 4:19) which describes the condition of the sinner, who by hardening his heart against moral influences is left without a sense of his high vocation, without an idea of the awfulness of sin, without reverence to God, without an appreciation of the salvation offered by Him, and without fear of His judgment.
H. L. E. Luering
See FOOT ;WASHING OF FEET .
fan (badha, nakhar; plastos): Occurs (1) in the sense of "to devise," "invent" as the translation of badha', "to form," "to fashion" (Neh 6:8, "Thou feignest them out of thine own heart"; compare 1 Ki 12:33, English Versions of the Bible "devised of his own heart"); of plastos, "formed," "molded" (2 Pet 2:3, "with reigned words make merchandise of you"); (2) in the sense of "pretense," nakhar, "to be foreign," "strange" (1 Ki 14:5, "feign herself to be another woman," 14:6; compare Gen 42:7; Prov 26:24); 'abhal, "to mourn," "to act as a mourner" (2 Sam 14:2); halal, "to make a show," Hithpael, "to be mad," "to feign madness" (of David, 1 Sam 21:13; compare Jer 25:16; 50:38); hupokrinomai, "to give judgment, or act, under a mask" (Lk 20:20, "who feigned themselves to be righteous"); (3) in the sense of "deceit" "fraud," "insincerity," mirmah, "prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips" (Ps 17:1); sheqer, "falsehood," "a lie," "Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly" (Jer 3:10; compare 2 Esdras 8:28); kahash, "to lie," "to feign, or flatter" (2 Sam 12:45; Ps 18:44; 66:3; 81:15), where the text of the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), "shall submit themselves," is rendered the margin (the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American)), "yield feigned obedience, Hebrew lie." the Revised Version (British and American) has "feign" for "make" (2 Sam 13:5), and "feigned" for "made" (2 Sam 13:6).
W. L. Walker
fe'-liks, an-to'-ni-us (Phelix, from Latin felix, "happy"): A Roman procurator of Judea, appointed in succession to Cumanus by the emperor Claudius. The event which led to the introduction of Felix into the narrative of Acts was the riot at Jerusalem (Acts 21:27). There Paul, being attacked at the instigation of the Asiatic Jews for alleged false teaching and profanation of the temple, was rescued with difficulty by Lysias the chief captain. But Lysias, finding that Paul was a Roman citizen, and that therefore the secret plots against the life of his captive might entail serious consequences upon himself, and finding also that Paul was charged on religious rather than on political grounds, sent him on to Felix at Caesarea for trial (Acts 21:31 through 23:34). On his arrival, Paul was presented to Felix and was then detained for five days in the judgment hall of Herod, till his accusers should also reach Caesarea (Acts 23:33-35). The trial was begun, but after hearing the evidence of Tertullus (see TERTULLUS ) and the speech of Paul in his own defense, Felix deferred judgment (Acts 24:1-22). The excuse he gave for delay was the non-appearance of Lysias, but his real reason was in order to obtain bribes for the release of Paul. He therefore treated his prisoner at first with leniency, and pretended along with Drusilla to take interest in his teaching. But these attempts to induce Paul to purchase his freedom failed ignominiously; Paul sought favor of neither Felix nor Drusilla, and made the frequent interviews which he had with them an opportunity for preaching to them concerning righteousness and temperance and the final judgment. The case dragged on for two years till Felix, upon his retirement, "desiring to gain favor with the Jews .... left Paul in bonds" (Acts 24:27). According to the Bezan text, the continued imprisonment of Paul was due to the desire of Felix to please Drusilla.
Felix was the brother of Pallas, who was the infamous favorite of Claudius, and who, according to Tacitus (Annals xiii. 14), fell into disgrace in 55 AD. Tacitus implies that Felix was joint procurator of Judea, along with Cumanus, before being appointed to the sole command, but Josephus is silent as to this. Both Tacitus and Josephus refer to his succeeding Cumanus, Josephus stating that it was at the instigation of Jonathan the high priest. There is some doubt as to the chronology of Felix' tenure of office. Harnack and Blass, following Eusebius and Jerome, place his accession in 51 AD, and the imprisonment of Paul in 54-56 AD; but most modern commentators incline to the dates 52 AD and 56-58 AD. These latter interpret the statement of Paul, "Thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation" (Acts 24:10), as referring to some judicial office, not necessarily that of co-procurator (see Tacitus), previously held by Felix in the time of Cumanus, and argue that this earlier connection of Felix with Judea supplied a reason for the advocacy by Jonathan of Felix' claims to the procuratorship on the deposition of Gumanus. The testimony of Acts as to the evil character of Felix is fully corroborated by the writings of Josephus (BJ, II, xiii). Although he suppressed the robbers and murderers who infested Judea, and among them the "Egyptian" to whom Lysias refers (Acts 21:38), yet "he himself was more hurtful than them all." When occasion offered, he did not hesitate to employ the sicarii (see ASSASSINS ) for his own ends. Trading upon the influence of his brother at court, his cruelty and rapacity knew no bounds, and during his rule revolts became continuous, and marked a distinct stage in that seditious movement which culminated in the outbreak of 70 AD (so Schurer). His leaving Paul in bonds was but a final instance of one who sacrificed duty and justice for the sake of his Own unscrupulous selfishness. For more detailed information as to dates, etc., compare Knowling (Expos Greek Test., II, 477 ff).
C. M. Kerr
fel'-oz (1 Ki 7:33).
See WHEEL .
fel'-o (chabher, rea`; hetairos): Meant originally a "partner," from fe, "property," and lag, "to lay," then "a companion," "an equal," "a person or individual," "a worthless person."
(1) As "companion" it is the translation of chabher, "associate," "companion," "friend" (also chabbar, Job 41:6 (Hebrew 40:30), where we have the original sense of partnership, translated "bands" the Revised Version (British and American), the King James Version "companions"); Ps 45:7, "God hath anointed thee .... above thy fellows"; of habhrah (Eccl 4:10; Dan 7:20); of rea`, "companion," "friend," "another" (Ex 2:13; Jdg 7:13,14,22); re`ah (or ra`yah), "a female friend" (Jdg 11:37, "I and my fellows," the Revised Version (British and American) "companions"; here the King James Version applies "fellow" to a female; compare Baruch 6:43, "She reproacheth her fellow," he plesion); in Jdg 11:38, "companions" is the translation of `amith, "fellowship"; `amith (Zec 13:7, "the man that is my fellow," literally, "the man of my fellowship"); hetairos, "companion" (Mt 11:16); metochos, "partner"; (compare Lk 5:7; Heb 1:9, quoted from Ps 45:7, Septuagint for chabher).
(2) As an individual or person "fellow" is the translation of 'ish, "a man," "an individual": "make this fellow return" (1 Sam 29:4 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "the man"); in the same verse "fellow" is supplied instead of "he"; "fellow" in 1611 meant simply "a man," and it is difficult to say in what passages the ideas of "worthless," etc., are meant to be implied; probably, however, in Jdg 18:25, where the Hebrew is simply 'enosh, "man," and the text is almost the only deviation from the rendering "man," "men," "lest angry (margin, Revised Version "bitter of soul") fellows fall upon you"; also Acts 17:5, aner, "a man," "certain lewd fellows of the baser sort," the Revised Version (British and American) "vile fellows"; compare 2 Sam 6:20, "vain (req) fellows" (supplied); 1 Macc 10:61, "contain pestilent fellows" (aner); Ecclesiasticus 8:15, "a bold fellow" (tolmeros), the Revised Version (British and American) "a rash man"; in several places of the Old Testament "fellow" represents zeh, "this," and in these instances there seems to be something of worthlessness or contempt implied (1 Sam 21:15 bis; 25:21; 1 Ki 22:27; 2 Ki 9:11, and, as before, 1 Sam 29:4 the Revised Version (British and American)); in the New Testament also "fellow" often represents houtos, "this," and in most of these cases the King James Version seems to intend something depreciatory to be understood; the Revised Version (British and American) gives simply "man" (Mt 12:24; 26:61,71; Lk 22:59; 23:2; Jn 9:29; Acts 18:13); so Ecclesiasticus 13:23, "If the poor man speaks, they say, What fellow is this?" the Revised Version (British and American) "who is this?" 1 Macc 4:5, "These fellows flee from us," the Revised Version (British and American) "these men." the Revised Version (British and American) has "fellows" for "persons" (Jdg 9:4), for "men" (Jdg 11:3); "base fellows" for "men the children of Belial" (Dt 13:13), margin, "sons of worthlessness"; the American Standard Revised Version "worthless fellow" for "son of Belial" (1 Sam 25:17,25), "base fellows" for "sons of Belial" (Jdg 19:22; 20:13, etc.); the Revised Version (British and American) has also "companions" for "fellows" (Jdg 11:37, as above; Ezek 37:19; Dan 2:13), "each man his fellow" for "one another" (2 Ki 3:23); "fellow by" for "neighbor in" (1 Ki 20:35).
Fellow-citizen, Fellow-disciple, Fellow-heirs, Yokefellow, etc. In composition, "fellow" always means partner or companion.
W. L. Walker
fel'-o-ship.
See COMMUNION .
fe'-mal: Two Hebrew words are thus translated:
(1) neqebhah, which is merely a physiological description of the sexual characteristic (from naqabh, "to perforate"), and which corresponds to zakhar, "male" (see under the word).
(2) 'ishshah, with the irregular plural nashim (only Gen 7:2, in all other places "wife," "woman"), the feminine form of 'ish, "man."
The Greek word is thelus, literally, "the nursing one," "the one giving suck" (from thelazo, "to suckle").
Israelitic law seems frequently guilty of unjust partiality in favor of the male sex, but we have to consider that most of these legal and religious disabilities of women can be explained from the social conditions prevailing at the time of legislation. They are therefore found also in contemporaneous Gentilereligions. Though traces of this prejudice against the weaker sex are found in the New Testament, the religious discrimination between the sexes has practically ceased, as is evident from Gal 3:28: "There can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus"; compare also 1 Pet 3:7.
H. L. E. Luering
fens (batsar, mibhtsar): Commonly used in the King James Version in the description of fortified places, as the translation of batsar, "to cut off," "to separate," "to fortify" (and forms) (Dt 3:5; 9:1; 28:52, etc.); mibhtsar, "fenced city," is a fortified place (Nu 32:17,36; Josh 10:20; 19:35, etc.); matsor, "fenced cities," means "bulwark," "citadel" (2 Ch 8:5); metsurah, "fortification" (2 Ch 11:23; 12:4; 14:6; 21:3); for "fenced" the American Standard Revised Version substitutes "fortified" in all these instances; in Dan 11:15, mibhtsar is "a well-fortified city," margin "the fortified cities," the English Revised Version "well-fenced"; "fence" is also the translation of gadher, "a wall" or "fence" (Job 19:8 the American Standard Revised Version, "walled up" (gadhar); Ps 62:3); `azaq, "to loosen" (the ground) as with a mattock (Isa 5:2, where the King James Version has "fenced" it (the vineyard), the American Standard Revised Version "digged it," the English Revised Version "made a trench about it," it" margin "digged it" sukh, "to interweave" or "interlace" (Job 10:11, the Revised Version (British and American) "clothed"); male', "to be or become full" (2 Sam 23:7, the Revised Version (British and American) "armed," margin "Hebrew filled").
ERV has "fence" for "wall" (Nu 22:24; Isa 5:5; Hos 2:6; the American Standard Revised Version retains "wall"), for "hedge" (Eccl 10:8; Ezek 13:5; 22:30; the American Standard Revised Version "wall"); "fenced" for "walled" (Nu 13:28; Dt 1:28; the American Standard Revised Version "fortified"); compare for "strong" Josh 19:29; Neh 9:25; Ps 108:10 (margin Josh 19:29, "the city of Mibzar-zor, that is, the fortress of Tyre," the English Revised Version ,"fenced"), for "hedged" (Lam 3:7, American Revised Version, "walled"); compare for "defenced," the English Revised Version "fenced," the American Standard Revised Version "fortified" (Isa 36:1; 37:26, etc.); "fences" for "hedges" (Ps 80:12, the American Standard Revised Version "walls"); in Jer 49:3, the English Revised Version and the American Standard Revised Version have "fences."
See also HEDGE .
W. L. Walker
See FORTIFICATION .
fer'-et ('anaqah, the Revised Version (British and American) GECKO): Occurs only in Lev 11:30 the King James Version, in the list of animals which are unclean "among the creeping things that creep upon the earth." the Revised Version (British and American) has "gecko" with the marginal note, "Words of uncertain meaning, but probably denoting four kinds of lizards." The list of animals in Lev 11:29,30 includes (1) choledh, English Versions of the Bible "weasel"; (2) `akhbar, English Versions of the Bible "mouse"; (3) tsabh, the King James Version "tortoise," the Revised Version (British and American) "great lizard"; (4) 'anaqkah, the King James Version "ferret," the Revised Version (British and American) "gecko"; (5) koach the King James Version "chameleon," the Revised Version (British and American) "land crocodile"; (6) leTa'ah, English Versions of the Bible "lizard"; (7) chomeT, the King James Version "snail," the Revised Version (British and American) "sand lizard"; (8) tinshemeth, the King James Version "mole," the Revised Version (British and American) "chameleon." It will be noted that while Revised Version makes the first two mammals and the remaining six reptiles, the King James Version makes not only (1) and (2) but also (4) and (8) mammals, and (7) a mollusk. So far as this general classification is concerned the King James Version follows the Septuagint, except in the case of (7). It must be borne in mind that all these words except (2) and (8) occur only in this passage, while (2) and (8) occur each in only a few passages where the context throws but uncertain light upon the meaning. Under these circumstances we ought to be content with the rendering of the Septuagint, unless from philology or tradition we can show good reason for differing. For 'anaqah, Septuagint has mugale, which occurs in Herodotus and Aristotle and may be a shrew mouse or a field mouse. Just as the next word, koach, is found in other passages (see CHAMELEON ) with the meaning of "strength," so 'anaqah occurs in several places signifying "moaning" or "sighing" (Ps 12:5; 79:11; 102:20; Mal 2:13). It seems to be from the root, 'anaq, "to choke," "to be in anguish" (compare `anaq, "a collar"; chanaq, "to choke"; Arabic `unq, "neck"; Arabic khanaq, "to strangle"; Greek anagke; Latin angustus; German enge, Nacken; English "anxious," "neck"). Some creature seems to be meant which utters a low cry or squeak, and neither "ferret" (the King James Version) nor "gecko" (Revised Version (British and American)) seems to have a better claim than the older Septuagint rendering of mugale = "shrew mouse" or "field mouse."
Alfred Ely Day
fer'-i-bot (2 Sam 19:18).
See SHIPS AND BOATS .
fur'-vent (dalaq; ektenes, zeo): "Fervent" (from Latin fervere, "to boil") does not occur in the King James Version of the Old Testament, but the Revised Version (British and American) gives it as the translation of dalaq, "to burn" (Prov 26:23), instead of "burning," "fervent lips and a wicked heart." In the New Testament it is the translation of ektenes, "stretched out," hence, intent, earnest (1 Pet 4:8, "being fervent in your love among yourselves"); of zeo, "to boil," "to be hot" (Rom 12:11, "fervent in spirit," Acts 18:25); of zelos, "zeal," "fervor" (2 Cor 7:7, the Revised Version (British and American) "zeal"), in Jas 5:16 the King James Version has: "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much," where the Greek is: polu ischuei deesis dikaiou energoumene, which the Revised Version (British and American) renders, "The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working."
"Fervently" is the translation of agonizomai, "to strive or struggle" (agonize), Col 4:12 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "Epaphras .... striving for you in his prayers"; of ektenos, literally, in an outstretched manner (1 Pet 1:22, the Revised Version (British and American) "Love one another from the heart fervently"; compare 1 Pet 4:8, "fervent in your love among yourselves"). Christian love too often lacks this fervency, but Christ's love for us was "stretched out" to the uttermost.
The Revised Version (British and American) has "fervently" for "earnestly" (Jas 5:17, margin "with prayer").
W. L. Walker
fes'-ti-val.
See FEASTS AND FASTS .
fes'-tus, por'-shi-us Porkios Phestos): The Roman governor or procurator who succeeded Felix in the province of Judea (Acts 24:27), and was thus brought into prominence in the dispute between Paul and the Sanhedrin which continued after the retirement of Felix (Acts 25; 26). Upon the arrival of Festus in Jerusalem, the official capital of his province, the Jews besought of him to send Paul from Caesarea to Jerusalem to appear before them, intending to kill him on the way (Acts 25:3). Festus at first refused their request, and upon his return to Caesarea proceeded himself to examine Paul (Acts 25:6). But on finding that the evidence was conflicting, and reflecting that, as the accused was apparently charged on religious rather than on political grounds, the Sanhedrin was a more suitable court for his case than a Roman tribunal, he asked Paul if he were agreeable to make the journey to Jerusalem (Acts 25:7-9). But Paul, who knew well the nefarious use that the Jews would make of the pleasure which Festus was willing to grant them, made his appeal unto Caesar (Acts 25:10,11). To this request of a Roman citizen accused on a capital charge (compare Acts 25:16), Festus had perforce to give his consent (Acts 25:12). But the manner of his consent indicated his pique at the apparent distrust shown by Paul. By the words "unto Caesar shalt thou go," Festus implied that the case must now be proceeded with to the end: otherwise, had it been left in his own hands, it might have been quashed at an earlier stage (compare also Acts 26:32). Meantime King Agrippa and Bernice had arrived in Caesarea, and to these Festus gave a brief explanation of the circumstances (Acts 25:13-21). The previous audiences of Festus with Paul and his accusers had, however, served only to confuse him as to the exact nature of the charge. Paul was therefore summoned before the regal court, in order both that Agrippa might hear him, and that the governor might obtain more definite information for insertion in the report he was required to send along with the prisoner to Rome (Acts 25:22-27). The audience which followed was brought to an abrupt conclusion by the interruption of Paul's speech (Acts 26:1-23) by Festus: "Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning is turning thee mad" (Acts 26:24). Yet the meeting was sufficient to convince both Agrippa and Festus that "this man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds" (Acts 26:31). While Festus displayed a certain contempt for what he regarded as the empty delusions of a harmless maniac, his conduct throughout the whole proceeding was marked by a strict impartiality; and his straightforward dealing with Paul formed a marked contrast to the dilatoriness of Felix. The praise bestowed upon the latter by Tertullus (Acts 24:2) might with better reason have been bestowed on Festus, in that he freed the country from many robbers (Sicarii: Josephus, Ant, XX, viii-x; BJ, II, xiv, 1); but his procuratorship was too short to undo the harm wrought by his predecessor. The exact date of his accession to office is uncertain, and has been variously placed at 55-61 AD (compare Knowling in Expositor's Greek Testament,II , 488-89; see alsoFELIX ).
C.M. Kerr
fech (laqach): Has generally the meaning of "to bring"; it is commonly the translation of Hebrew laqach, "to take" or "lay hold of," Hoph. "to be brought, seized or snatched away" (Gen 18:4, etc.; 27:9, etc.; 42:16; 1 Sam 4:3; 1 Ki 17:10, etc.); twice of nasa', "to lift up" (2 Ch 12:11, the American Standard Revised Version "bare"; Job 36:3); of bo', "to come in" (2 Ch 1:17; Neh 8:15); of `alah, "to cause to come up" (1 Sam 6:21; 7:1); of yatsa', "to cause to come out" (Nu 20:10, the American Standard Revised Version "bring forth"; Jer 26:23), and of a number of other words.
In the New Testament it is the translation of exago, "to lead out" (Acts 16:37, "Let them come themselves and fetch us out," the Revised Version (British and American) "bring"); "to fetch a compass" is the translation of cabhabh (Nu 34:5; Josh 15:3, the Revised Version (British and American) "turn," "turned about"; 2 Sam 5:23, the Revised Version (British and American) "make a circuit"; 2 Ki 3:9, the Revised Version (British and American) "made a circuit"); of perierchomai (aor. 2, perielthon), "to go about," "to wander up and down" (of a ship driven about; Acts 28:13, the Revised Version (British and American) "made a circuit," margin "some ancient authorities read cast loose").
The Revised Version (British and American) has "fetch" for "bring" (1 Ki 3:24), for "call for" (Acts 10:5; 11:13); "fetched" for "called for" (Est 5:10), for "took out" (Jer 37:17); "fetched" for "took" (2 Ch 8:18).
W. L. Walker
fet'-er: Found only in the plural in both Old Testament and New Testament; fetters of iron (Ps 105:18; 149:8; so probably Mk 5:4; Lk 8:29) or brass (Jdg 16:21; 2 Ki 25:7) were frequently used for securing prisoners.
See CHAIN .
Figurative: of trouble (Job 36:8).
fe'-ver (qaddachath, dalleqeth; puretos, derived from a root signifying "to burn"): A generic term, applied to all diseases characterized by high temperature of body. Several forms of febrile disease are among the commonest of all maladies in Palestine today, as they were also in the period covered by the Bible history. Of these the most prevalent is ague or intermittent malarial fever, which is common in all parts but especially in low-lying districts or places where there are pools or marshes in which mosquitoes breed, these insects being the commonest carriers of the malaria bacillus. These fevers are generally more severe in late summer and autumn, when the mosquitoes are most numerous, and when there is a liability to chill, owing to the sudden drop of temperature at sunset. During the day one uses as light clothing as possible, but immediately after sunset the air becomes chilly and damp, and the physiological resistance to the influence of the parasite is remarkably diminished. On this account travelers in Palestine at this season should be particular to avoid exposure to these evening damps, and to use mosquito curtains invariably at night. In most tropical countries now houses are rendered mosquito-proof by close wire netting, and thereby the risk of infection is much diminished. In Palestine the marshes of the north about Banias and the Water of Merom, the Shephelah, and the Jordan valley are the most fever-stricken regions of the country. The word qaddachath is translated burning ague in Lev 26:16 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "fever"), and is coupled with dalleqeth, translated inflammation in Dt 28:22. Septuagint renders the former word puretos, and the latter rhigos in this passage, a collocation which is interesting as Galen uses these words together rhigopuretos in his description of a fever identical with that common in Palestine. In Lev the word in Septuagint is ikteros which literally means jaundice, a disease otherwise not mentioned in the Bible. In Palestine as in other malarious countries the condition of jaundice or yellowing of the skin frequently accompanies repeated and protracted attacks of fever which cause organic disease of the liver. On this account Hippocrates describes all fevers as due to a perverted secretion of bile. These fevers begin with severe shivering fits, hence, the name rhigos which is used by Hippocrates. This is followed by a period of burning dry heat, ending in a period of profuse perspiration. Such attacks may take place daily, a few hours of interval with normal temperature separating the end of one fit from the onset of the next. The commonest type however is that called tertian, in which a whole day separates one fit from the next. In some of the severe fevers which are rife in the Jordan valley the temperature never falls to the normal, and while there is a short remission between the attacks with a body heat a little above the normal, there is no intermission. Rarer febrile conditions which have been met with in Palestine, such as the Malta fever, present the same characteristics and may continue for months. Cases also of genuine blackwater fever have been recorded by several authorities. It is probable that in former days these fevers were even worse than they are now, as ancient medicine knew of no certain remedy for them. At present they generally yield at once to treatment by quinine, and in my own experience I believe that the administration of this remedy in large and repeated doses is the most effectual treatment.
Other febrile diseases are rife in certain districts in Palestine, and probably existed in Bible times. Typhoid is common in some crowded towns and villages, and considering how little protected the wells are from contamination, the wonder is that it is not much more prevalent. It is probable also that typhus then, as now, was present as an occasional epidemic in the more crowded cities, but even the physicians of Greece and Rome did not differentiate these diseases. All these fevers seem also to have existed in Egypt to much the same extent as in Palestine. The Papyrus Ebers speaks of "a fever of the gods" (46) and another called "a burning of the heart" (102). Its causation is attributed to the influence of the "god of fever," and the evil sequelae of the disease as it affects the heart, stomach, eyes and other organs are described in terms which remind us of the minatory passages in Lev 26 and Dt 28. The conditions there mentioned, such as consuming the eyes and causing sorrow of heart or pining away of the soul, graphically describe the state frequently seen affecting those in the Shephelah villages who have suffered from frequent returns of fever, and who in consequence have developed serious local affections of the liver, spleen and other organs. Before the introduction of quinine, cases of this kind must have been much more commonly met with than they are now. It is probable that this state is that called shachepheth, or consumption, in these passages.
Another form of fever, charchur, the "extreme burning" of the King James Version or "fiery heat" of the Revised Version (British and American), is coupled with the other forms of fever in Dt 28:22. This is called in Septuagint erethismos or irritation, and may have been a feverish condition with a reddened skin, possibly erysipelas or else one of the eruptive fevers. At present outbreaks of scarlatina, measles and erysipelas are of fairly frequent occurrence and are often very severe.
In the New Testament fever is mentioned eight times. The disease which affected Simon's wife's mother is called a "great fever" (Lk 4:38), and that which nearly proved fatal to the nobleman's son in the same district was also a fever (Jn 4:52). Cases of the kind are common all round the Sea of Galilee at the present day.
Alexander Macalister