snal ((1) chomeT, the Revised Version (British and American) "sand-lizard," Septuagint saura, "lizard" (Lev 11:30); (2) shabbelul, Septuagint keros, "wax" (Ps 58:8)): (1) ChomeT is 7th in the list of unclean "creeping things" in Lev 11:30, and occurs nowhere else. "Snail" is not warranted by Septuagint or Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) the Revised Version (British and American) has "sand-lizard." It may be the skink or a species of Lacerta. See LIZARD . (2) Shabbelul is translated "snail" in Ps 58:8: "Let them be as a snail which melteth and passeth away." Mandelkern gives limax, "slug." Gesenius derives shabbelul from balal, "to pour"; compare Arabic balla, "to wet," instancing leimax, "snail," or "slug," from leibo, "to pour." While Septuagint has keros, "wax," Talmud (Mo`edh QaTan 6b) supports "snail." The ordinary explanation of the passage, which is not very satisfying, is that the snail leaves a trail of mucus (i.e. it melts) as it moves along. This does not in any way cause the snail to waste away, because its glands are continually manufacturing fresh mucous. Two large species of snail, Helix aspersa and Helix pomatia, are collected and eaten, boiled, by the Christians of Syria and Palestine, especially in Lent. The Jews and Moslems declare them to be unclean and do not eat them.
Alfred Ely Day
snar (pach; pagis, but brochos, in 1 Cor 7:35): Over half a dozen Hebrew words are used to indicate different methods of taking birds and animals, of which the snare (pach) is mentioned oftener than any other. It was a noose of hair for small birds, of wire for larger birds or smaller animals. The snares were set in a favorable location and grain scattered to attract the attention of feathered creatures. They accepted the bribe of good feeding and walked into the snare, not suspecting danger. For this reason the snare became particularly applicable in describing a tempting bribe offered by men to lead their fellows into trouble, and the list of references is a long one, all of the same nature. See Ex 10:7; 1 Sam 18:21; 28:9; Ps 11:6; 18:5, "snares of death"; used symbolically of anything that may kill: 91:3; 124:7; 140:5; 141:9; Prov 7:23; 13:14; 18:7; 20:25; 22:25; 29:25; Eccl 9:12. But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison-houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore" (Isa 41:22). Here it is specified that the snare was in a hole so covered as to conceal it. Jer 18:22 clearly indicates that the digging of a pit to take prey was customary, and also the hiding of the snare for the feet. North American Indians in setting a snare usually figure on catching the bird around the neck. Jer 50:24, "I have laid a snare for thee"; Hos 9:8, "A fowler's snare is in all his ways"; Am 3:5 seems to indicate that the snare was set for the feet; Lk 21:34, "But take heed to yourselves, lest haply .... that day come on you suddenly as a snare"; Rom 11:9, "Let their table be made a snare, and a trap"; 1 Cor 7:35, "not that I may cast a snare upon you"; 1 Tim 3:7, "the snare of the devil"; also 6:9 "But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition."
Gene Stratton-Porter
snez (zorer, Pho`el-form zarar): "The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes" (2 Ki 4:35). "Sneezing," better "snorting," is found in the description of Leviathan (the crocodile): "His sneezings (`atsishah) flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning" (Job 41:18 (Hebrew 10)).
See NEESING .
sno (shelegh, telagh (Dan 7:9); chion): (1) Snow is not uncommon in the winter in Jerusalem, but it never reaches any depth and in many winters it is not seen at all. It usually disappears, for the most part, as soon as the sun appears, though it may "hide itself" for a time in the gorge cut by a stream (Job 6:16). On lower levels than Jerusalem there is never sufficient to cover the ground, though often there are some flakes seen in the air. Even at sea-level there is occasionally a sufficient fall of hail to cover the ground. A very exceptional snowfall is related in 1 Macc 13:22 at Adora (near Hebron). It was heavy enough to prevent the movement of troops. (2) The tops of the mountains of Lebanon are white with snow for most of the year, and snow may be found in large banks in the valleys and the northern slopes at any time in the summer. Mt. Hermon, 9,200 ft. high, has long streaks of snow in the valleys all the summer. (3) The snow of the mountains is the source of the water of the springs which last throughout the drought of summer. In case the snow fails there is sure to be a lack of water in the fountains: "Shall the snow of Lebanon fail .... or shall the cold waters that flow down from afar be dried up?" (Jer 18:14). (4) Large quantities of snow are stored in caves in the mountains in winter and are brought down to the cities in summer to be used in place of ice for cooling drinks and refrigerating purposes.
(5) God's power over the elements of Nature is often brought out in the Old Testament: "For he saith to the snow, Fall thou on the earth" (Job 37:6); but man cannot fathom the works of God: "Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow?" (Job 38:22). "The snowy day" (1 Ch 11:22; 2 Sam 23:20) and the "fear of snow" (Prov 31:21) are figurative uses describing winter and cold. "Snow in summer" (Prov 26:1) would be most out of place, yet it might be most refreshing to the tired workmen in the time of harvest.
(6) Snow is the symbol of purity and cleanness, giving us some of our most beautiful passages of Scripture: "Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow" (Ps 51:7); "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isa 1:18). Carrying the figure farther, snow-water might be expected to have a special value for cleansing: "If I wash myself with snow-water" (Job 9:30). The most common use in Scripture is to denote whiteness in color and implying purity as well: "His raiment was white as snow" (Dan 7:9; Mt 28:3; Mk 9:3; Rev 1:14).
(7) The whiteness of leprosy is compared to snow (Ex 4:6; Nu 12:10; 2 Ki 5:27).
Alfred H. Joy
snuf'-erz, snuf'-dish-ez (melqachayim, machtoth): These two utensils are thrice mentioned in connection with the wilderness tabernacle (Ex 25:38; 37:23; Nu 4:9). the American Standard Revised Version prefers to read "snuffers and snuffdishes" in place of "tongs and snuffdishes" (compare 2 Ch 4:22), the connection between the two utensils being indicated by the fact that both are said to belong to the seven lamps, and were to be made out of the talent of gold which was specified as the weight of the whole (Ex 25:37-39).
The seven-branched candlestick which stood in the holy place of both tabernacle and temple was surmounted, in each of its arms, by a removable lamp in which olive oil was burnt. From the requirement of keeping these lights brilliantly burning throughout each night of the year, arose the need for snuffers and snuffdishes. By the former, the burnt portions of the wick were removed; in the latter they were deposited previous to removal. The lamps may have required to be trimmed as often as every half-hour. For this purpose a priest would enter the outer chamber "accomplishing the services" (Heb 9:6).
In the time of Solomon's Temple another word than melqachayim was used to describe this utensil. It is mezammeroth, from a verb meaning "to prune" or "trim," and is found in 1 Ki 7:50; 2 Ki 12:13; 25:14; 2 Ch 4:22; Jer 52:18. In 4 of these passages, the English text reads, "the snuffers and the basins"; the 5th is merely a summary of things taken to Babylon (2 Ki 25:14). In this constant later association of "basins" and "snuffers" it is seen that the basins referred to were used for the reception of the cast-off portions of the wicks of the seven lamps, and took the place of the snuffdishes of an earlier age.
See TONGS .
W. Shaw Caldecott