skab, skab'-ed, skabd (yallepheth, micpachath, cappachath, verb sippach; semasia, leichen): These are generic terms for any skin disease in which there are patches of hard crusts on the surface. The commonest of these are the forms now named eczema, herpes and, perhaps, psoriasis, all of which are common in Bible lands. Milder cases in which the disease was localized and in small patches (the semasia of the Septuagint) did not render the bearer unclean, and they were to be distinguished by the priest (Lev 13:2,6) from the more virulent and spreading eruptions which (Lev 13:7) were regarded as causes of ceremonial uncleanness. These severer forms are the leichen of Septuagint mentioned in Lev 21:20, which disqualified any son of Aaron from serving as a priest, and when affecting an animal rendered it unfit to be offered as a burnt offering (Lev 22:22). Hippocrates speaks of these cases as obstinate and persistent, and Galen believed that they might degenerate into leprosy; hence, the terms in which Aeschylus speaks of it (Choephori 281). Celsus, however, recognized that leichen was a papular eruption, not a true scab. The name yallepheth seems to have been given to it on account of the firmness of attachment of the scabs, while the term micpachath refers to its tendency to spread and cover the surface. A cognate word in Ezek 13:18 is the name of a large Tallith or prayer veil used by the false prophetesses in Israel (translated "kerchief"). Scabs were especially disfiguring on the head, and this infliction was threatened as a punishment on the daughters of Zion for their wanton haughtiness (Isa 3:17). In Middle English, "scab" is used for itch or mange, and as a term of opprobrium, as in Greene, Bacon and Bungay, 35, 1591.
Alexander Macalister
skab'-ard, sheth.
skaf'-old (kiyyor): The English word is used once of Solomon's "brazen scaffold" on which he knelt at the dedication of the temple (2 Ch 6:13).
skal.
See SIEGE 4, (e);WEIGHTS AND MEASURES .
skalz (1) qasqeseth "fish-scales"; (2) meghinnah, maghen, "scales of the crocodile"; (3) lepis, with verb lepizo "scale away" (Tobit 3:17; 11:13)): (1) The first Hebrew word qasqeseth means the imbricated scales of fish, which together with the dorsal fin were a distinguishing mark of all fish allowed as food to the Israelite (Lev 11:9 ff; Dt 14:9 f). In the figurative sense the word is used of a coat of mail (1 Sam 17:5,38). (2) Meghinnah from maghen, literally, "a buckler" or "small shield" (2 Ch 23:9; Jer 46:3), is used in the description of the crocodile (see LEVIATHAN ) for the horny scales or scutes imbedded in the skin, not imbricated upon it (Job 41:15 (Hebrew verse 7)). (3) The Greek lepis, which in classical language has a much wider range of meaning than the above Hebrew words ("rind," "husk," "shell," "fish-scale," "scale of snake," "flake of metal and of snow," etc.), is found in the New Testament description of Paul's recovery from temporary blindness, "And straightway there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight" (Acts 9:18). There is nothing in the words of the sacred text which compels us to think of literal scales. (In Tobit, however, a literal flaking-off of foreign substance is meant.) We have here rather a description of the sensation which terminated the three days' period of blindness which the apostle suffered after his meeting with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. The apostle himself does not use this expression in his own graphic description of the same experience: "In that very hour I looked upon him" (Acts 22:13). The phrase has, however, come into English, for we speak of "scales falling from one's eyes" when we mean a sudden illumination or remembrance or a dissipation of harassing doubt.
In Isa 40:12; the Revised Version (British and American) Prov 16:11 for peles, in the sense of "instrument for weighing."
See BALANCE .
H. L. E. Luering
skol (netheq; thrausma): This only occurs in Leviticus 13 and 14 where it is used 14 times to describe bald or scaly patches of eruption on the skin. Such patches are generally the result of the action of parasitic organisms. The common form known now as scalled head is produced by a microscopic plant, Achorion schoenleinii. In Old and Middle English, scall was used for scabbiness of the head (Chaucer and Spenser). See also Skeat, Concise Etymol. Dict. of English Language.
skap'-got.
See AZAZEL .
skar'-let.
(tola`ath shani (Ex 25:4, etc.)): Cermes vermilio, a scale insect from which a red dye is obtained.
skat'-erd a-brod'.
See DISPERSION .
sent: (1) In Hos 14:7, "The scent (margin "his memorial") thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon." "Scent" is used for zekher (so Massoretic Text, but the pointing is uncertain), properly "memorial," whence the Revised Version margin. The English translation comes through the Septuagint which took z-k-r as "offering of sweet savor," and so "sweet savor." For the "wine of Lebanon" see WINE . If this translation is not right, the alternative is "memorial" in the sense of "renown." (2) Job 14:9; Jer 48:11 for reach, "odor." "Scent" of the water in Job 14:9 is poetic for "contact with." (3) The Wisdom of Solomon 11:18 the King James Version has "filthy scents of scattered smoke," where "scent" is used in the obsolete sense of "disagreeable odor." The translation is, however, very loose, and "scents" is a gloss; the Revised Version (British and American) "noisome smoke."
Burton Scott Easton
sep'-ter (shebheT, sharbhiT, expanded form in Est 4:11; 5:2; 8:4; rhabdos (Additions to Esther 15:11; Heb 1:8), skeptros): A rod or mace used by a sovereign as a symbol of royal authority. The Hebrew shebheT is the ordinary word for rod or club, and is used of an ordinary rod (compare 2 Sam 7:14), of the shepherd's crook (Ps 23:4), scribe's baton or marshal's staff (Jdg 5:14), as well as of the symbol of royalty. Its symbolism may be connected with the use of the shebheT for protection (2 Sam 23:21; Ps 23:4) or for punishment (Isa 10:24; 30:31). It is used with reference to the royal line descended from Judah (Gen 49:10), and figuratively of sovereignty in general and possibly of conquest (Nu 24:17, in Israel; Isa 14:5, in Babylonia; Am 1:5,8, in Syria, among Philistines; Zec 10:11, in Egypt), the disappearance or cutting off of him that holdeth the scepter being tantamount to loss of national independence. The kingship of Yahweh is spoken of as a scepter (Ps 45:6 (Hebrew verse 7) quoted in Heb 1:8). The manner of using the scepter by an oriental monarch is suggested in the act of Ahasuerus, who holds it out to Esther as a mark of favor. The subject touches the top of it, perhaps simply as an act of homage or possibly to indicate a desire to be heard. The scepter of Ahasuerus is spoken of as "golden" (Est 5:2), but it is probable that scepters were ordinarily made of straight branches (maTeh) of certain kinds of vines (Ezek 19:11,14).
It is sometimes difficult to determine whether the word shebheT is used in figurative passages in the sense of scepter or merely in the ordinary sense of staff (e.g. Ps 125:3, the King James Version "rod," the Revised Version (British and American) and the American Standard Revised Version "sceptre" (of the wicked); Ps 2:9, "rod of iron"; Prov 22:8, "rod of his wrath"). Another word, mechoqeq, literally, "prescribing" (person or thing), formerly translated uniformly "lawgiver," is now generally taken, on the basis of parallelism, to mean "sceptre" in four poetic passages (Gen 49:10, "ruler's staff" to avoid repetition; Nu 21:18; Ps 60:7; 108:8).
Nathan Isaacs
se'-va (Skeua): A Jew, a chief priest, resident in Ephesus, whose seven sons were exorcists (Acts 19:14 ff). Ewald regards the name as being Hebrew shekhabhyah. He was not an officiating priest, as there were only synagogues in Asia Minor. He may have belonged to a high-priestly family, or perhaps at one time he had been at the head of one of the 24 courses in the temple.
In the narrative the construction is loose. There were seven sons (Acts 19:14), and it would appear (Acts 19:16) that in this particular case all were present. But (Acts 19:16) the demon-possessed man over-powered "both of them." Textus Receptus of the New Testament gets over the difficulty by omitting "both," but Codices Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Bezae, so Tischendorf, Westcott and Hort, von Soden, and the best critics, retain the difficult reading. The explanation is that Acts 19:14 states the custom: "who did this" being hoi touto poiountes, "who used to do this." Acts 19:15 and 16 state a particular case in which two took part, but the incident is introduced in a careless manner.
Ewald would translate amphoteron as "in both sides," but this is impossible. Baur understood "disciples" for "sons." Codex Bezae and Syriac have an interesting expansion which Blass considers original (Acts 19:14): "Among whom also the sons (Syriac `seven') of a certain Sceva, a priest, wished to do the same, (who) were in the custom of exorcising such. And entering into the demon-possessed man they began to call upon the Name, saying, `We charge you by Jesus whom Paul preaches to come out.' "
S. F. Hunter
siz'-m (schisma): Only in 1 Cor 12:25. The same Greek word, literally, "a split," is translated "rent" in Mt 9:16; Mk 2:21; and "division" in Jn 7:43; 9:16; 10:19. It designates "a separation," not from, but within, the church, interfering with the harmonious coordination and cooperation of the members described in the preceding verses (1 Cor 12:18 ff). The ecclesiastical meaning is that of a break from a church organization, that may or may not be connected with a doctrinal dissent.
skool (schole).
See TYRANNUS .
skool'-mas-ter: Gal 3:24 f the King James Version reads: "The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." "Schoolmaster" is a translation of paidagogos, literally, "child-leader." This paidagagos was not a teacher but a slave, to whom in wealthy families the general oversight of a boy was committed. It was his duty to accompany his charge to and from school, never to lose sight of him in public, to prevent association with objectionable companions, to inculcate moral lessons at every opportunity, etc. He was a familiar figure in the streets, and the (sour) "face of paidagogos" and "to follow one like a paidagogos" were proverbial expressions. Naturally, to the average boy the paidagogos must have represented the incorporation of everything objectionable. Hence, Paul's figure may be paraphrased: "The law was a paidagogos, necessary but irksome, to direct us until the time of Christ. Then was the time of our spiritual coming-of-age, so that the control of the paidagogos ceased." The word paidagogos was taken over into Aramaic at an early date, and Paul's language; which is hardly that of a mere adult observer, suggests that he had had personal experience with the institution. Wealthy and intensely orthodox Jewish parents living in a Gentile city may well have adopted such a precaution for the protection of their children.
No English word renders paidagogos adequately. "Schoolmaster" is quite wrong, but Revised Version's "tutor" (compare 1 Cor 4:15) is little better in modern English.
Burton Scott Easton
si'-ens: This word as found in the King James Version means simply "knowledge." "Science" occurs in the King James Version only in two places, Dan 1:4, "children .... understanding science" (yodhe`edha`ath, "those who understand science"). The meaning of the term here is "knowledge," "wisdom." The only other occurrence of "science" is in the New Testament (1 Tim 6:20, "avoiding .... oppositions of science falsely so called," tes pseudonumou gnoseos, "the falsely called gnosis"). "Science" is the translation of the Greek gnosis, which in the New Testament is usually rendered "knowledge." The science here referred to was a higher knowledge of Christian and divine things, which false teachers alleged that they possessed, and of which they boasted. It was an incipient form of Gnosticism, and it prevailed to a considerable extent in the churches of proconsular Asia, e.g. in Colosse and Ephesus. Timothy is put on his guard against the teaching of this gnosis falsely so called, for it set itself in opposition to the gospel.
See GNOSTICISM .
"Science" in the modern sense of the word, as the discovery and orderly classification and exposition of the phenomena and of the laws of Nature, is not found either in the Old Testament or the New Testament unless the passage in Daniel be interpreted as meaning the scientific knowledge which the learned men of Babylon possessed of mathematics and astronomy, etc. See also Acts 7:22. To the Hebrew mind all natural phenomena meant the working of the hand of God in the world, directly and immediately, without the intervention of any secondary laws.
John Rutherfurd
sim'-i-tar, -ter (akindke): Formerly given as "fauchion" in the King James Version Judith 13:6; 16:9, the weapon which Judith took down from the rail of the bed at Holofernes' head, and with which she severed his head from his body.
skof, skof'-er: The verb indicates the manifestation of contempt by insulting words or actions; it combines bitterness with ridicule. It is much more frequent in the Revised Version (British and American) than in the King James Version, replacing "scorn" of the latter in Ps 1:1; Prov 1:22, etc. "Scorn" refers rather to an inner emotion based on a sense of superiority; "scoff," to the outward expression of this emotion.
skorn: Fox Talbot connects this English word with the Danish skarn, "dirt," "ordure" "mud," "mire." As distinguished from such words as "mock," "deride," "scoff," all of which refer specifically to the various ways in which scorn finds outward expression, scorn itself denotes a subjective state or reaction.
Further, this state or reaction is not simple but complex. It includes a sense of superiority, resentment, and aversion. This reaction occurs when one is confronted with a person or a proposition that by challenging certain things for itself evokes a vivid sense of one's own superiority and awakens mingled resentment, repulsion and contempt by the hollowness of its claims and its intrinsic inferiority or worse. Scorn is a hotter, fiercer emotion than disdain or contempt. It is obvious that scorn may--indeed, it not uncommonly does--arise in connection with an not grounded, arrogant sense of self-esteem.
The word, outside of the phrase "laugh to scorn," is found only in the Old Testament, and then only 4 times (Est 3:6; King James Version, Ps 44:13; 79:4; Hab 1:10), and it represents three different Hebrew words for none of which it is a suitable rendering. The two words "thought scorn" in Est 3:6 represent but one in Hebrew, namely, bazah, for which "disdain" would be a nearer equivalent. In Hab 1:10 (the King James Version) the word translated "scorn" is micchaq, "an object of laughter," "laughing-stock." In Ps 44:13; 79:4 the Hebrew word is la`agh from a root, probably meaning "to stutter," "stammer," for which "mocking" is a better English equivalent. In the King James Version Job 34:7; Ps 123:4, la`agh is rendered "scorning". (the rendering given in Prov 1:22 to latson, a word from a totally different root and one much more nearly approximating the fundamental idea of the English word "Scorn." In Prov 29:8 and Isa 28:14 latson is rendered "scornful").
As a verb the word is the translation given to la`agh, "to mock" (2 Ki 19:21 parallel Isa 37:22 Job 22:19; Neh 2:19; Ps 22:7, "all laugh to scorn"); qalas = "to scoff" (Ezek 16:31, margin "Greek: scoffeth," but text still "scorneth"); for the noun tsechoq, "laughter" (Ezek 23:32); sachaq = to laugh," "laugh at" (Job 39:7,18; 2 Ch 30:10), with the noun sechoq, "laugh to scorn" (the Revised Version (British and American) "laughing-stock," Job 12:4); luts = "to scoff" (as used in ethical and religious connections) (Job 16:20; Prov 3:34; 9:12, all "scoff" in the Revised Version (British and American)); in Prov 19:28 the Revised Version (British and American), not happily, "mock at." the Revised Version (British and American) is warranted in substituting "scoff" for "scorn" because the context indicates some form of outward expression of the scorn.
The Revised Version (British and American) always (except Job 12:4; Sirach 6:4; 1 Macc 10:70) retains "laugh to scorn" (2 Ki 19:21; 2 Ch 30:10; Neh 2:19; Job 22:19; Ps 22:7; Isa 37:22; Ezek 16:31; 23:32; 2 Esdras 2:21; Judith 12:12; The Wisdom of Solomon 4:18; Sirach 7:11; 13:7; 20:17; Mt 9:24; Mk 5:40; Lk 8:53). The verb in Apocrypha and the New Testament is usually katagelao, but in The Wisdom of Solomon 4:1 ekgelao; in Sirach 13:7 [@katamokomai; and in 2 Esdras 2:21 inrideo. In addition "scorn" is retained in Est 3:6; Job 39:7,18; 2 Esdras 8:56 (contemno). In Prov 19:28 "scorn" is changed to "mock at" but elsewhere invariably to "scoff."
Scorner is the translation of the participle of luts and once of the participle of latsats. For "scorner" the Revised Version (British and American) everywhere substitutes--properly--"scoffer." Outside of Proverbs (and Hos 7:5) the word is to be found only in Ps 1:2. The force of the word has been well indicated by Cheyne, who says that the "scorner (scoffer) is one who despises that which is holy and avoids the company of the noble `wise men,' but yet in his own vain way seeks for truth; his character is marked by arrogance as that of the wise is characterized by devout caution."
W. M. McPheeters
skor'-pi-un (aqrabh; compare Arabic aqrab, "scorpion"; ma`aleh `aqrabbim, "the ascent of Akrabbim"; skorpios. Note that the Greek and Hebrew may be akin; compare, omitting the vowels, `krb and skrp): In Dt 8:15, we have, "who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents (nachash saraph) and scorpions (`aqrabh)." Rehoboam (1 Ki 12:11,14; 2 Ch 10:11,14) says, "My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions." Ezekiel is told to prophesy to the children of Israel (2:6), and "Be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions." "The ascent of Akrabbim," the north end of Wadi-ul-`Arabah, South of the Dead Sea, is mentioned as a boundary 3 times (Nu 34:4; Josh 15:3; Jdg 1:36). Jesus says to the Seventy (Lk 10:19), "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions," and again in Lk 11:12 He says, "Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion?"
Note that we have here three doublets, the loaf and the stone, the fish and the serpent, and the egg and the scorpion, whereas in the passage in Matthew (7:9 f) we have only the loaf and stone and the fish and serpent. Encyclopedia Biblica (s.v. "Scorpion") ingeniously seeks to bring Lk into nearer agreement with Matthew by omitting from Luke the second doublet, i.e. the fish and the serpent, instancing several texts as authority for the omission, and reading opson, "fish," for oon, "egg."
In Rev 9:2-10 there come out of the smoke of the abyss winged creatures ("locusts," akrides) like war-horses with crowns of gold, with the faces of men, hair of women, teeth of lions, breastplates of iron, and with stinging tails like scorpions. In Ecclesiasticus 26:7 it is said of an evil wife, "He that taketh hold of her is as one that graspeth a scorpion." In 1 Macc 6:51 we find mention of "pieces [@skorpidia, diminutive of skorpios to cast darts." In Plutarch skorpios is used in the same sense (Liddell and Scott, under the word skorpios.
In the passage cited from Deuteronomy, and probably also in the name "ascent of Akrabbim," we find references to the abundance of scorpions, especially in the warmer parts of the country. Though there is a Greek proverb, "Look for a scorpion under every stone," few would agree with the categorical statement of Tristram (NHB) that "every third stone is sure to conceal one." Nevertheless, campers and people sleeping on the ground need to exercise care in order to avoid their stings, which, though often exceedingly painful for several hours, are seldom fatal.
Scorpions are not properly insects, but belong with spiders, mites and ticks to the Arachnidae. The scorpions of Palestine are usually 2 or 3 inches long. The short cephalothorax bears a powerful pair of jaws, two long limbs terminating with pincers, which make the creature look like a small crayfish or lobster, and four pairs of legs. The rest of the body consists of the abdomen, a broad part continuous with the cephalothorax, and a slender part forming the long tail which terminates with the sting. The tail is usually carried curved over the back and is used for stinging; the prey into insensibility. Scorpions feed mostly on insects for which they lie in wait. The scorpion family is remarkable for having existed with very little change from the Silurian age to the present time.
It does not seem necessary to consider that the words of Rehoboam (1 Ki 12:11, etc.) refer to a whip that was called a scorpion, but rather that as the sting of a scorpion is worse than the lash of a whip, so his treatment would be harsher than his father's.
Alfred Ely Day
skor'-pi-unz.
See PUNISHMENTS 3, (17);SCORPION .
skurj, skur'-jing (@mastix], mastigoo; in Acts 22:25 mastizo, in Mk 15:15 parallel Mt 27:26 phragelloo): A Roman implement for severe bodily punishment. Horace calls it horribile flagellum. It consisted of a handle, to which several cords or leather thongs were affixed, which were weighted with jagged pieces of bone or metal, to make the blow more painful and effective. It is comparable, in its horrid effects, only with the Russian knout. The victim was tied to a post (Acts 22:25) and the blows were applied to the back and loins, sometimes even, in the wanton cruelty of the executioner, to the face and the bowels. In the tense position of the body, the effect can easily be imagined. So hideous was the punishment that the victim usually fainted and not rarely died under it. Eusebius draws a horribly realistic picture of the torture of scourging (Historia Ecclesiastica, IV, 15). By its application secrets and confessions were wrung from the victim (Acts 22:24). It usually preceded capital punishment (Livy xxxiii.36). It was illegal to apply the flagallum to a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25), since the Porcian and Sempronian laws, 248 and 123 BC, although these laws were not rarely broken in the provinces (Tac. Hist. iv.27; Cic. Verr. v.6, 62; Josephus, BJ, II, xiv, 9). As among the Russians today, the number of blows was not usually fixed, the severity of the punishment depending entirely on the commanding officer. In the punishment of Jesus, we are reminded of the words of Ps 129:3. Among the Jews the punishment of flagellation was well known since the Egyptian days, as the monuments abundantly testify. The word "scourge" is used in Lev 19:20, but the American Standard Revised Version translates "punished," the original word biqqoreth expressing the idea of investigation. Dt 25:3 fixed the mode of a Jewish flogging and limits the number of blows to 40. Apparently the flogging was administered by a rod. The Syrians reintroduced true scourging into Jewish life, when Antiochus Epiphanes forced them by means of it to eat swine's flesh (2 Macc 6:30; 7:1). Later it was legalized by Jewish law and became customary (Mt 10:17; 23:34; Acts 22:19; 26:11), but the traditional limitation of the number of blows was still preserved. Says Paul in his "foolish boasting": "in stripes above measure," "of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one," distinguishing it from the "beatings with rods," thrice repeated (2 Cor 11:23-25).
The other Old Testament references (Job 5:21; 9:23; Isa 10:26; 28:15,18 shot; Josh 23:13 shotet) are figurative for "affliction." Notice the curious mixture of metaphors in the phrase "over-flowing scourge" (Isa 28:15-18).
Henry E. Dosker
skrab'-l: Occurs only in 1 Sam 21:13, as the translation of tawah: "David .... feigned himself mad and scrabbled on the doors of the gate." "To scrabble" (modern English "scrawl") is here to make unmeaning marks; tawah means "to make a mark" from taw, "a mark," especially as a cross (Ezek 9:4), a signature (Job 31:35, see the Revised Version (British and American)), the name of the Hebrew letter taw ("t") originally made in the form of a cross; the Revised Version margin has "made marks"; but Septuagint has tumpanizo, "to beat as a drum," which the Vulgate, Ewald, Driver and others follow ("beat upon" or "drummed on the doors of the city," which seems more probable).
skrech.
See NIGHT-MONSTER .
skribz: The existence of law leads necessarily to a profession whose business is the study and knowledge of the law; at any rate, if the law is extensive and complicated. At the time of Ezra and probably for some time after, this was chiefly the business of the priests. Ezra was both priest and scholar (copher). It was chiefly in the interest of the priestly cult that the most important part of the Pentateuch was written. The priests were therefore also in the first instance the scholars and the guardians of the Law; but in the course of time this was changed. The more highly esteemed the Law became in the eyes of the people, the more its study and interpretation became a lifework by itself, and thus there developed a class of scholars who, though not priests, devoted themselves assiduously to the Law. These became known as the scribes, that is, the professional students of the Law. During the Hellenistic period, the priests, especially those of the upper class, became tainted with the Hellenism of the age and frequently turned their attention to paganistic culture, thus neglecting the Law of their fathers more or less and arousing the scribes to opposition. Thus, the scribes and not the priests were now the zealous defenders of the Law, and hence, were the true teachers of the people. At the time of Christ, this distinction was complete. The scribes formed a solid profession which held undisputed sway over the thought of the people. In the New Testament they are usually called (grammateis), i.e. "students of the Scriptures," "scholars," corresponding to the Hebrew (copherim) = homines literati, those who make a profession of literary studies, which, in this case, of course, meant chiefly the Law. Besides this general designation, we also find the specific word (nomikoi), i.e. "students of the Law," "lawyers" (Mt 22:35; Lk 7:30; 10:25; 11:45,52; 14:3); and in so far as they not only know the Law but also teach it they are called (nomodidaskaloi), "doctors of the Law" (Lk 5:17; Acts 5:34).
The extraordinary honors bestowed on these scholars on the part of the people are expressed in their honorary titles. Most common was the appellative "rabbi" = "my lord" (Mt 23:7 and otherwise). This word of polite address gradually became a title. The word "rabboni" (Mk 10:51; Jn 20:16) is an extensive form, and was employed by the disciples to give expression to their veneration of Christ. In the Greek New Testament "rabbi" is translated as (kurie) (Mt 8:2,6,8,21,25 and otherwise), or (didaskale) (Mt 8:19 and otherwise), in Luke by (epistata) (Lk 5:5; 8:24,45; 9:33,19; 17:13). Besides these, we find (pater), "father," and (kathegetes), "teacher" (Mt 23:9 f).
From their students the rabbis demanded honors even surpassing those bestowed on parents. "Let the honor of thy friend border on the honor of thy teacher, and the honor of thy teacher on the fear of God" ('Abhoth 4 12). "The honor of thy teacher must surpass the honor bestowed on thy father; for son and father are both in duty bound to honor the teacher" (Kerithoth 6 9). Everywhere the rabbis demanded the position of first rank (Mt 23:6 f; Mk 12:38 f; Lk 11:43; 20:46). Their dress equaled that of the nobility. They wore (stolai), "tunics," and these were the mark of the upper class.
Since the scribes were lawyers (see LAWYER ), much of their time was occupied in teaching and in judicial functions, and both these activities must be pursued gratuitously. Rabbi Zadok said: "Make the knowledge of the Law neither a crown in which to glory nor a spade with which to dig." Hillel used to say: "He who employs the crown (of the Law) for external purposes shall dwindle." That the judge should not receive presents or bribes was written in the Law (Ex 23:8; Dt 16:19); hence, the Mishna said: "If anyone accept pay for rendering judgment, his judgment is null and void." The rabbis were therefore obliged to make their living by other means. Some undoubtedly had inherited wealth; others pursued a handicraft besides their study of the Law. Rabbi Gamaliel II emphatically advised the pursuit of a business in addition to the pursuit of the Law. It is well known that the apostle Paul kept up his handicraft even after he had become a preacher of the gospel (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 1 Cor 4:12; 9:6; 2 Cor 11:7; 1 Thess 2:9; 2 Thess 3:8), and the same is reported of many rabbis. But in every instance the pursuit of the Law is represented as the worthier, and warning is given not to overestimate the value of the ordinary avocation. It was a saying of Hillel: "He that devotes himself to trade will not become wise." The principle of gratuity was probably carried out in practice only in connection with the judicial activity of the scribes; hardly in connection with their work as teachers. Even the Gospels, in spite of the admonition that the disciples should give without pay because they had received without pay (Mt 10:8), nevertheless also state that the workman is worthy of his hire (Mt 10:10; Lk 10:7); and Paul (1 Cor 9:14) states it as his just due that he receive his livelihood from those to whom he preaches the gospel, even though he makes use of this right only in exceptional cases (1 Cor 9:3-18; 2 Cor 11:8,9; Gal 6:6; Phil 4:10,18). Since this appears to have been the thought of the times, we are undoubtedly justified in assuming that the Jewish teachers of the Law also demanded pay for their services. Indeed, the admonitions above referred to, not to make instruction in the Law the object of self-interest, lead to the conclusion that gratuity was not the rule; and in Christ's philippics against the scribes and Pharisees He makes special mention of their greed (Mk 12:40; Lk 16:14; 20:47). Hence, even though they ostensibly gave instruction in the Law gratuitously, they must have practiced methods by which they indirectly secured their fees.
Naturally the place of chief influence for the scribes up to the year 70 AD was Judea. But not only there were they to be found. Wherever the zeal for the law of the fathers was a perceptible force, they were indispensable; hence, we find them also in Galilee (Lk 5:17) and in the Diaspora. In the Jewish epitaphs in Rome, dating from the latter days of the empire, grammateis are frequently mentioned; and the Babylonian scribes of the 5th and 6th centuries were the authors of the most monumental work of rabbinical Judaism--the Talmud.
Since the separation of the Pharisaic and the Sadducean tendencies in Judaism, the scribes generally belonged to the Pharisaic class; for this latter is none other than the party which recognized the interpretations or "traditions" which the scribes in the course of time had developed out of the body of the written Law and enforced upon the people as the binding rule of life. Since, however, "scribes" are merely "students of the Law," there must also have been scribes of the Sadducee type; for it is not to be imagined that this party, which recognized only the written Law as binding, should not have had some opposing students in the other class. Indeed, various passages of the New Testament which speak of the "scribes of the Pharisees" (Mk 2:16; Lk 5:30; Acts 23:9) indicate that there were also "scribes of the Sadducees."
Under the reign and leadership of the scribes, it became the ambition of every Israelite to know more or less of the Law. The aim of education in family, school and synagogue was to make the entire people a people of the Law. Even the common laborer should know what was written in the Law; and not only know it, but also do it. His entire life should be governed according to the norm of the Law, and, on the whole, this purpose was realized in a high degree. Josephus avers: "Even though we be robbed of our riches and our cities and our other goods, the Law remains our possession forever. And no Jew can be so far removed from the and of his fathers nor will he fear a hostile commander to such a degree that he would not fear his Law more than his commander." So loyal were the majority of the Jews toward their Law that they would gladly endure the tortures of the rack and even death for it. This frame of mind was due almost wholly to the systematic and persistent instruction of the scribes.
The motive underlying this enthusiasm for the Law was the belief in divine retribution in the strictest judicial sense. The prophetic idea of a covenant which God had made with His select people was interpreted purely in the judicial sense. The covenant was a contract through which both parties were mutually bound. The people are bound to observe the divine Law literally and conscientiously; and, in return for this, God is in duty bound to render the promised reward in proportion to the services rendered. This applies to the people as a whole as well as to the individual. Services and reward must always stand in mutual relation to each other. He who renders great services may expect from the justice of God that he will receive great returns as his portion, while, on the other hand, every transgression also must be followed by its corresponding punishment.
The results corresponded to the motives. Just as the motives in the main were superficial, so the results were an exceedingly shallow view of religious and moral life. Religion was reduced to legal formalism. All religious and moral life was dragged down to the level of law, and this must necessarily lead to the following results: (1) The individual is governed by a norm, the application of which could have only evil results when applied in this realm. Law has the purpose of regulating the relations of men to each other according to certain standards. Its object is not the individual, but only the body of society. In the law, the individual must find the proper rule for his conduct toward society as an organism. This is a matter of obligation and of government on the part of society. But religion is not a matter of government; where it is found, it is a matter of freedom, of choice, and of conduct. (2) By reducing the practice of religion to the form of law, all acts are placed on a paragraph with each other. The motives are no longer taken into consideration, but only the deed itself. (3) From this it follows that the highest ethical attainment was the formal satisfaction of the Law, which naturally led to finical literalism. (4) Finally, moral life must, under such circumstances, lose its unity and be split up into manifold precepts and duties. Law always affords opportunity for casuistry, and it was the development of this in the guidance of the Jewish religious life through the "precepts of the elders" which called forth Christ's repeated denunciation of the work of the scribes.
Frank E. Hirsch
skrip: A word connected with "scrap," and meaning a "bag," either as made from a "scrap" (of skin) or as holding "scraps" (of food, etc.). the King James Version has "scrip" in 1 Sam 17:40 and 6 times in New Testament; the English Revised Version has "wallet" in the New Testament, but retains "script" in 1 Sam 17:40; the American Standard Revised Version has "wallet" throughout.
See BAG .
skrip'-tur (he graphe, plural hai graphai): The word means "writing." In the Old Testament it occurs in the King James Version only once, "the scripture of truth," in Dan 10:21, where it is more correctly rendered in the Revised Version (British and American), "the writing of truth." The reference is not to Holy Scripture, but to the book in which are inscribed God's purposes. In the New Testament, "scripture" and "scriptures" stand regularly for the Old Testament sacred books regarded as "inspired" (2 Tim 3:16), "the oracles of God" (Rom 3:2). Compare on this usage Mt 21:42; 22:29; Mk 12:10; Lk 4:21; 24:27,32,45; Jn 5:39; 10:35; Acts 8:32; 17:2,11; Rom 15:4; 16:26, etc.; in Rom 1:2, "holy scriptures." See BIBLE . The expression "holy scriptures" in 2 Tim 3:15 the King James Version represents different words (hiera grammata) and is properly rendered in the Revised Version (British and American) "sacred writings." In 2 Pet 3:16, the term "scriptures" is extended to the Eppistle of Paul. In Jas 4:5, the words occur: "Think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?" The passage is probably rather a summary of Scripture teaching than intended as a direct quotation. Others (e.g. Westcott) think the word is used in a wide sense of a Christian hymn.
James Orr
skrip'-turz.
See SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES .
skrol.
See ROLL .
skum (chel'ah; Septuagint ios, "poison" or "verdigris"; compare Plato Rep. 609a): The word is only found in Ezek 24:6,11,12, where the Revised Version (British and American) translates it "rust." The fact, however, that the caldron is of brass and therefore not liable to rust, and the astonishment expressed that the fire did not remove it (24:12), would seem to point to the preferability of the translation "scum," the residue of dirt adhering to the caldron from previous use.
skur'-vi (garabh); psora agria (Lev 21:20; 22:22)): This word is used to denote an itchy, scaly disease of the scalp, probably any of the parasitic diseases which are known as tinea, porrigo or impetigo. These cases have no relation whatever to the disease now known as scorbutus or scurvy. The name was probably derived from its scaliness, and the old Greek physicians believed these diseases to be peculiarly intractable.
The name "Gareb" is used in Jer 31:39 as the placename of a hill at or near the southeastern corner of Jerusalem, probably from the bare roughness of the surface of its slope at the southern end of the Wady er-Rababi. Another hill of this name is mentioned near Shiloh in the Talmud, and the name is given to one of David's warriors (2 Sam 23:38).
Scurvy etymologically means any condition of scaliness of skin which can be scraped off, such as dandruff.
Alexander Macalister
sith'-i-anz (hoi Skuthai): The word does not occur in the Hebrew of the Old Testament, but Septuagint of Jdg 1:27 inserts (Skuthon polis (Scythopolis), in explanation, as being the same as Beth-shean. The same occurs in Apocrypha (Judith 3:10; 1 Macc 12:29), and the Scythians as a people in 2 Macc 4:47, and the adjective in 3 Macc 7:5. The people are also mentioned in the New Testament (Col 3:11), where, as in Maccabees, the fact that they were barbarians is implied. This is clearly set forth in classical writers, and the description of them given by Herodotus in book iv of his history represents a race of savages, inhabiting a region of rather indefinite boundaries, north of the Black and Caspian seas and the Caucasus Mountains. They were nomads who neither plowed nor sowed (iv.19), moving about in wagons and carrying their dwellings with them (ibid. 46); they had the most filthy habits and never washed in water (ibid. 75); they drank the blood of the first enemy killed in battle, and made napkins of the scalps and drinking bowls of the skulls of the slain (ibid. 64-65). Their deities were many of them identified with those of the Greeks, but the most characteristic rite was the worship of the naked sword (ibid. 62), and they sacrificed every hundredth man taken in war to this deity. War was their chief business, and they were a terrible scourge to the nations of Western Asia. They broke through the barrier of the Caucasus in 632 BC and swept down like a swarm of locusts upon Media and Assyria, turning the fruitful fields into a desert; pushing across Mesopotamia, they ravaged Syria and were about to invade Egypt when Psammitichus I, who was besieging Ashdod, bought them off by rich gifts, but they remained in Western Asia for 28 years, according to Herodotus. It is supposed that a company of them settled in Beth-shean, and from this circumstance it received the name Scythopolis. Various branches of the race appeared at different times, among the most noted of which were the PARTHIANS (which see).
H. Porter
si-thop'-o-lis, si-thop'-o-lis.
See BETH-SHEAN .