fu'-el ('okhlah, or ma'akholeth, "food"): Is mentioned specifically only in the Old Testament, in Isa 9:5,19; Ezek 15:4,6; 21:32. Its general, literal meaning in these connections is "food for fire," and might include any sort of combustible material. The common forms of fuel were wood of various sorts (even including thorns, Ps 58:9; 118:12; Eccl 7:6), and dried stalks of flowers or grass (Mt 6:30), charred wood as charcoal (Lev 16:12; Isa 44:19, and frequently), and dried dung (Ezek 4:12,15). There is no certain indication that our coal was known to the Hebrews as fuel, and their houses, being without chimneys, were not constructed for the extensive use of fuel for warmth.
Leonard W. Doolan
fu'-ji-tiv (paliT, from palaT, "to escape"; na`, from nua`, "to waver"; nophel, from naphal, "to fall"; bariach, beriach and mibhrach, from barach, "to flee"): One who flees from danger (Isa 15:5; Ezek 17:21); escapes from bondage (2 Macc 8:35 (as adjective)); deserts from duty (Jdg 12:4; 2 Ki 25:11 the King James Version; compare Judith 16:12 the King James Version), or wanders aimlessly (Gen 4:12,14).
fool-fil' (male; pleroo, teleo, with other words): "Fulfill" is used (1) in a sense more or less obsolete, "to fill up," complete (Gen 29:21,28; Ex 23:26; Job 36:17, the Revised Version (British and American) "full," margin "filled up"; Mt 3:15, "to fulfill all righteousness"; Phil 2:2, "Fulfil ye my joy," the American Standard Revised Version "make full"; compare 2 Cor 10:6); (2) in the sense of "to accomplish," "to carry into effect," as to fulfill the word of Yahweh (1 Ki 2:27; 8:15,24; 2 Ch 36:21, etc.); in the New Testament very frequently used of the fulfillment of prophetic Scripture (Mt 1:22; 2:15, etc.). Love is declared to be "the fulfillment (pleroma, "fullness") of the law" (Rom 13:10). For "fulfill" the Revised Version (British and American) has "do" (Rev 17:17); for "fulfilled" has "performed" (2 Sam 14:22), "accomplished" (Ezr 1:1; Mt 5:18; 24:34; Lk 21:32; Jn 19:28), with numerous other changes.
W. L. Walker
fool'-er (kabhac; literally, "to trample," gnapheus): The fuller was usually the dyer, since, before the woven cloth could be properly dyed, it must be freed from the oily and gummy substances naturally found on the raw fiber. Many different substances were in ancient times used for cleansing. Among them were white clay, putrid urine, and the ashes of certain desert plants (Arabic qali, Biblical "soap"; Mal 3:2). The fuller's shop was usually outside the city (2 Ki 18:17; Isa 7:3; 36:2), first, that he might have sufficient room to spread out his cloth for drying and sunning, and second, because of the offensive odors sometimes produced by his processes. The Syrian indigo dyer still uses a cleaning process closely allied to that pictured on the Egyptian monuments. The unbleached cotton is soaked in water and then sprinkled with the powdered ashes of the ishnan, locally called qali, and then beaten in heaps on a flat stone either with another stone or with a large wooden paddle. The cloth is washed free from the alkali by small boys treading on it in a running stream or in many changes of clean water (compare En-rogel, literally, "foot fountain," but translated also "fuller's fountain" because of the fullers' method of washing their cloth). Mark describes Jesus' garments at the time of His transfiguration as being whiter than any fuller on earth could whiten them (Mk 9:3).
James A. Patch
fool'-ers feld, (sedheh khobhec): In all references occurs "the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller's field"; this must have been a well-known landmark at Jerusalem in the time of the monarchy. Here stood Rabshakeh in his interview with Eliakim and others on the wall (2 Ki 18:17; Isa 36:2); clearly the highway was within easy earshot of the walls. Here Isaiah met Ahaz and Shear-jashub his son by command of Yahweh (Isa 7:3). An old view placed these events somewhere near the present Jaffa Gate, as here runs an aqueduct from the Birket Mamilla outside the walls of the Birket Hamam el Batrah, inside the walls; the former was considered the "Upper Pool" and is traditionally called the "Upper Pool" of Gihon. But these pools and this aqueduct are certainly of later date (see JERUSALEM ). Another view puts this highway to the North side of the city, where there are extensive remains of a "conduit" running in from the North. In favor of this is the fact that the North was the usual side for attack and the probable position for Rabshakeh to gather his army; it also suits the conditions of Isa 7:3. Further, Josephus (BJ, V, iv, 2) in his description of the walls places a "Monument of the Fuller" at the Northeast corner, and the name "fuller" survived in connection with the North wall to the 7th century, as the pilgrim Arculf mentions a gate. West of the Damascus gate called Porta Villae Fullonis. The most probable view, however, is that this conduit was one connected with Gihon, the present "Virgin's Fountain" (see GIHON ). This was well known as "the upper spring" (2 Ch 32:30), and the pool, which, we know, was at the source, would probably be called the "Upper Pool." In this neighborhood--or lower down the valley near En-rogel, which is supposed by some to mean "the spring of the fuller"--is the natural place to expect "fulling." Somewhere along the Kidron valley between the Virgin's Fountain and the junction with the Tyropeon was the probable scene of the interview with Rabshakeh; the conversation may quite probably have occurred across the valley, the Assyrian general standing on some part of the cliffs now covered by the village of Siloam.
E. W. G. Masterman
See EN-ROGEL .
fool'-nes: The translation of pleroma, which is generally, but not invariably, rendered "fullness" in the New Testament. Etymologically, pleroma--which itself is derived from the verb pleroo, "I fill"--signifies "that which is or has been filled"; it also means "that which fills or with which a thing is filled"; then it signifies "fullness," "a fulfilling."
In the Gospels it occurs as follows: Mt 9:16 and Mk 2:21: in both of these passages it means "the fullness," that by which a gap or rent is filled up, when an old garment is repaired by a patch; Mk 6:43, `They took up fragments, the fullness of twelve baskets'; 8:20, `The fullness of how many baskets of fragments did ye take up?' Jn 1:16, `out of his fullness we all received.'
2. Its Use in the Pauline Epistles:
Elsewhere in the New Testament "fullness" is used by Paul alone, who employs it 12 t, in addition to the frequent use he makes of the verb "to fill." Of these 12, no fewer than 6 are in Ephesians and Colossians. The references are these: Rom 11:12, "If .... their loss (is) the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?" The "fullness" of Israel here refers to their being, as a nation, received by God to a participation in all the benefits of Christ's salvation. Rom 11:25, "A hardening .... hath befallen Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." Rom 13:10, "Love .... is the fulfillment (the fulfilling) of the law"; that is, love is not a partial fulfillment, by obedience to this or that commandment, but a complete filling up of what the law enjoins. Rom 15:29, "I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ." 1 Cor 10:26, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." Gal 4:4, "when the fullness of the time came." The fullness of the time is that portion of time by which the longer antecedent period is completed. Eph 1:10, "unto a dispensation of the fullness of the times." Eph 1:23, "the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all." The church is the fullness of Christ; the body of believers is filled with the presence, power, agency and riches of Christ. Eph 3:19, "that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God"--that ye may be wholly filled with God and with His presence and power and grace. Eph 4:13, "unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Col 1:19, "In him should all the fullness dwell." Col 2:9, "In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (compare Lk 2:40,52; 4:1).
3. "Fullness" in Ephesians and Colossians:
"Fullness" in Ephesians and Colossians is used to present some of the most prominent thoughts in these epistles, sometimes referring to Christ, sometimes to the church and the individual Christian. Christ is Himself to "fulfill" all things in heaven and on earth (Eph 4:10 King James Version margin). We cannot separate "the fullness of Christ" in this passage (Eph 4:13) from the statement in Eph 1:23, that the Christ is being fulfilled, and finds His fullness in the church. When all the saints have come to the unity which is their destined goal, or in other words, to the full-grown man, the Christ will have been fulfilled. Thus they will have together reached "the full measure of the maturity of the fullness of the Christ" (J. Armitage Robinson, Commentary on Ephesians, 183). The church and individual believers, have, by faith, the full possession of all that Christ has to impart--the grace and comfort and strength of Christ received by them now. Compare Jn 1:16; `In him ye are complete, are made full' (Col 2:10); that is, the fullness of moral, intellectual and spiritual perfection is communicated by Christ to all who are united to Him. "When as the result of the Holy Spirit's inward strengthening, Christ dwells in the heart, and His knowledge-surpassing love is known, the only limit to spiritual excellence is `to be filled unto all the fullness of God'!" (HDB, 735).
4. Its Use by the False Teachers at Colosse:
In the passages from Col, "the fullness" in Christ is contrasted with the mediating eons or angel-powers or spiritual manifestations supposed to be intermediate between God and the world. The false teachers at Colosse seem to have used "fullness," as a technical or semi-technical term, for the purpose of their philosophical or theosophical teaching, employing it to signify the entire series of angels or eons, which filled the space or interval between a holy God and a world of matter, which was conceived of as essentially and necessarily evil. Teaching of this sort was entirely derogatory to the person and work of Christ. In opposition, therefore, to the Colossian false teaching in regard to "the fullness," Paul shows what the facts really are, that in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
The fullness of the Godhead is the totality of the Divine powers and attributes, all the wealth of the being and of the nature of God--eternal, infinite, unchangeable in existence, in knowledge, in wisdom, in power, in holiness, in goodness, in truth, in love. This is the fullness of the nature of God--life, light, love; and this has its permanent, its settled abode in Christ. All that is His own by right is His by His Father's good pleasure also. It was the Father's good pleasure that in Christ should all the fullness dwell.
Any limitation, therefore, of the meaning of "fullness," which would make the indwelling of the fullness of the Godhead in Christ a matter either of the future, or of the past only, is inconsistent with what is said of "the fullness" in Him, in Col 1:19; 2:9. The reference in both passages is to the timeless and eternal communication of the fullness of the Godhead from the Father to the Son.
It was in a sense developed along the lines of the Colossian teaching regarding "the fullness," that the Gnostics afterward used the term.
See GNOSTICISM .
John Rutherfurd
fu'-ner-al.
See BURIAL .
fur'-long (stadion, "stadium"; Lk 24:13; Jn 6:19; 11:18; Rev 14:20; 21:16): A Greek measure of length, being 600 Greek ft., or 100 orguiai equal to 606 3/4 English ft., and thus somewhat less than a furlong, which is 660 ft.
See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES .
fur'-nas: The word is used in the Old Testament English Versions of the Bible to translate several Hebrew words:
Kibhshan, in Gen 19:28, where the smoke of the destruction of the cities of the plain is said to have ascended "as the smoke of a furnace"; in Ex 9:8, where Yahweh commands to take "handfuls of ashes of the furnace and .... sprinkle it toward heaven," etc.
Kur, in Dt 4:20, where Yahweh is represented, when speaking of taking the children of Israel out of Egypt, as taking them "out of the iron furnace."
`Alil in Ps 12:6, where "the words of Yahweh" are said to be "pure," "as silver tried in a furnace"; compare Prov 17:3, "furnace for gold."
`Attun, in Dan 3:6, where mention is made of "a burning fiery furnace" into which Daniel and his companions were cast. There is good reason to believe that these words all stand for either a brick-kiln or a smelting furnace.
In the New Testament a notable figurative use is made of the word in the phrase "the furnace of fire," he kaminos tou puros. It is found in the parable of the Tares (Mt 13:42) as part of the remarkable imagery of that parable; while in the companion parable of the Drag-Net (Mt 13:50) it stands as a symbol of the final destiny of the impenitent, a synonym of "hell"; compare Jer 29:22; Dan 3:6,22; Rev 20:14-15, etc., and "eternal fire" (Mt 25:41), "unquenchable fire" (Mt 3:12), "the Gehenna of fire" (Mt 5:22 margin; Mt 18:9 parallel Mk 9:43 margin, etc.). A fact which modern travelers speak of, that furnaces for punishment have been found in Persia as elsewhere in the East, sheds some light upon this use of the expression "the furnace of fire."
George B. Eager
(Neh 3:11).
See JERUSALEM .
fur'-nish (male; plethomai): To "furnish" is to supply with what is useful or necessary, to fit out, provide, equip. It is the translation of several Hebrew or Greek words: of male', "to fill in or up," "to complete" (Isa 65:11 the King James Version); nasa, "to lift up," "to aid" (1 Ki 9:11); `anaq, Hiphil, probably "to lay on the neck," "to encircle" (with a bracelet) (Dt 15:14), of a slave set at liberty; `arakh, "to arrange in order," "to lay out a table" (Ps 78:19 the King James Version; Prov 9:2); `asah keli, "to make a vessel for containing things" (Jer 46:19, "Furnish thyself to go into captivity," the Revised Version, margin "Hebrew, make thee vessels of captivity"); plethomai, "to be filled" (Mt 22:10 the King James Version); stronnumi, "to strew," "to spread" (Mk 14:15; Lk 22:12); exartizo, "to complete fully," to equip" (2 Tim 3:17).
In Ecclesiasticus 29:26 we have "furnish a table" (kosmeo); 44:6, "furnished with ability" (choregeo); 1 Macc 14:34 the King James Version, "He furnished them with all things" (tithemi).
W. L. Walker
fur'ni-tur (kar, kelim; skeue): In Gen 31:34 kar is translated "furniture" in the King James Version, but "saddle" in the American Standard Revised Version. The latter is decidedly preferable. It was the "camel-basket," or the basket-saddle of the camel, which was a sort of palanquin bound upon the saddle. Upon this saddle-basket Rachel sat with the teraphim hidden beneath, and her wily father did not suspect the presence of his gods in such a place. In other places the word kelim is used, and is generally rendered "vessels," though sometimes "furniture." It may have many other renderings also (see BDB ). Ex 31:7; 39:33 mention the furniture of the Tent, which is specified in other places. Moses is instructed (25:9) to make a sanctuary or tabernacle and the furniture thereof according to the pattern showed him in the Mount. The furniture of the Court consisted of the brazen altar and laver (40:29,30); that of the Holy Place, of the table of showbread, the golden lampstand and altar of incense (39:36; 40:22-26; Heb 9:2); that of the Holy of Holies, of the ark and mercy-seat overshadowed by the cherubim. The tribe of Levi was set apart by Yahweh to "keep all the furniture of the tent of meeting" (Nu 3:8). When David organized the tabernacle-worship in Jerusalem and assigned the Levites their separate duties, certain men "were appointed over the furniture, and over all the vessels of the sanctuary" (1 Ch 9:29). In Nah 2:9 the singular form of the word keli is used, and is rendered "furniture." The prophet refers to the abundant, costly, luxurious furniture and raiment, largely the results of their conquests and plunder in many countries.
In Acts 27:19 the word skeue is translated in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "tackling," with "furniture" in the Revised Version, margin.
By way of information regarding the general furniture of the house little is said directly in the Scriptures. The chamber built for Elisha upon the wall contained a bed, a table, a seat, and lampstand. This was doubtless the furnishing of most bedrooms when it could be afforded. The prophet Amos had a supreme contempt for the luxurious furniture of the grandees of Samaria (3:12; 6:4). For full particulars see HOUSE ;TABERNACLE ;TEMPLE .
J. J. Reeve
fur'-o (telem): The word is translated "furrows" in Job 39:10; 31:38; Ps 65:10; Hos 10:4; 12:11 (Ps 65:10 the King James Version, "ridges"). In these passages the fields are pictured as they were in the springtime or late autumn. When the showers had softened the earth, the seed was sown and the soil turned over with the plow and left in furrows, not harrowed and pulverized as in our modern farming. The Syrian farmer today follows the custom of his ancient predecessors.
Another word, ma`anah, occurs in two passages, first in the figurative sense in Ps 129:3, and second in an obscure passage in 1 Sam 14:14. Three other words, gedhudhah, `arughah, `ayin, translated "furrows" in the King James Version, are probably more properly rendered in the American Standard Revised Version "ridges" (Ps 65:10), "beds" (Ezek 17:7,10), and "transgressions" (Hos 10:10).
See AGRICULTURE ;PLOW .
James A. Patch
fur'-ther, fur'-therans (yacaph; eti, prokope); Further, adverb and adjective, is comparative of "forth," meaning "to a greater distance," "something more," "moreover," etc.; the verb "to further," means "to help forward," "advance," "assist." The verb occurs (Ezr 8:36) as the translation of nasa', "to lift up": "They furthered the people and the house of God" (compare 1 Ki 9:11; Ezr 1:4); of puq "to send forth," "carry out" (Ps 140:8, "Further not his evil device").
Furtherance is the translation of prokope, "a going forward," "advance" (Phil 1:12, "the furtherance of the gospel," the Revised Version (British and American) "progress" Phil 1:25, "for your furtherance and joy," the Revised Version (British and American) "progress").
Furthermore is the translation of eita, "then," "so then" (Heb 12:9); of to loipon, "for the rest," or "as to the rest" (1 Thess 4:1, the Revised Version (British and American) "finally then").
Revised Version omits "further" (Acts 12:3); has "further" for "more than right" (Job 34:23), for "farther thence" (Mk 1:19, different text); "What further need have we of witnesses?" for "What need we any further witnesses?" (Mk 14:63); "your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel" (Phil 1:5; 2:22); "to the furthest bound" for "all perfection" (Job 28:3).
W. L. Walker
fu'-ri (alastor, "not to forget," "significant of revenge"): Occurs only in 2 Macc 7:9 the King James Version, "Thou like a fury (the Revised Version (British and American) "Thou, miscreant") takest us out of this present life."
See also WRATH ;FIERCENESS ;ANGER .
fu'-tur, fu'-chur.
See ESCHATOLOGY .