Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/eastons/t0001300

Text File | 1993-10-10 | 43KB | 957 lines

$$T0001300
\Fair Havens\
a harbour in the south of Crete, some 5 miles to the east of
which was the town of Lasea (Acts 27:8). Here the ship of
Alexandria in which Paul and his companions sailed was detained
a considerable time waiting for a favourable wind. Contrary to
Paul's advice, the master of the ship determined to prosecute
the voyage, as the harbour was deemed incommodious for wintering
in (9-12). The result was that, after a stormy voyage, the
vessel was finally wrecked on the coast of Malta (27:40-44).

$$T0001301
\Fairs\
(Heb. 'izabhonim), found seven times in Ezek. 27, and nowhere
else. The Authorized Version renders the word thus in all these
instances, except in verse 33, where "wares" is used. The
Revised Version uniformly renders by "wares," which is the
correct rendering of the Hebrew word. It never means "fairs" in
the modern sense of the word.

$$T0001302
\Faith\
Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain
statement is true (Phil. 1:27; 2 Thess. 2:13). Its primary idea
is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It
admits of many degrees up to full assurance of faith, in
accordance with the evidence on which it rests.

  Faith is the result of teaching (Rom. 10:14-17). Knowledge is
an essential element in all faith, and is sometimes spoken of as
an equivalent to faith (John 10:38; 1 John 2:3). Yet the two are
distinguished in this respect, that faith includes in it assent,
which is an act of the will in addition to the act of the
understanding. Assent to the truth is of the essence of faith,
and the ultimate ground on which our assent to any revealed
truth rests is the veracity of God.

  Historical faith is the apprehension of and assent to certain
statements which are regarded as mere facts of history.

  Temporary faith is that state of mind which is awakened in men
(e.g., Felix) by the exhibition of the truth and by the
influence of religious sympathy, or by what is sometimes styled
the common operation of the Holy Spirit.

  Saving faith is so called because it has eternal life
inseparably connected with it. It cannot be better defined than
in the words of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism: "Faith in
Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon
him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel."

  The object of saving faith is the whole revealed Word of God.
Faith accepts and believes it as the very truth most sure. But
the special act of faith which unites to Christ has as its
object the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ (John
7:38; Acts 16:31). This is the specific act of faith by which a
sinner is justified before God (Rom. 3:22, 25; Gal. 2:16; Phil.
3:9; John 3:16-36; Acts 10:43; 16:31). In this act of faith the
believer appropriates and rests on Christ alone as Mediator in
all his offices.

  This assent to or belief in the truth received upon the divine
testimony has always associated with it a deep sense of sin, a
distinct view of Christ, a consenting will, and a loving heart,
together with a reliance on, a trusting in, or resting in
Christ. It is that state of mind in which a poor sinner,
conscious of his sin, flees from his guilty self to Christ his
Saviour, and rolls over the burden of all his sins on him. It
consists chiefly, not in the assent given to the testimony of
God in his Word, but in embracing with fiducial reliance and
trust the one and only Saviour whom God reveals. This trust and
reliance is of the essence of faith. By faith the believer
directly and immediately appropriates Christ as his own. Faith
in its direct act makes Christ ours. It is not a work which God
graciously accepts instead of perfect obedience, but is only the
hand by which we take hold of the person and work of our
Redeemer as the only ground of our salvation.

  Saving faith is a moral act, as it proceeds from a renewed
will, and a renewed will is necessary to believing assent to the
truth of God (1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:4). Faith, therefore, has
its seat in the moral part of our nature fully as much as in the
intellectual. The mind must first be enlightened by divine
teaching (John 6:44; Acts 13:48; 2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 1:17, 18)
before it can discern the things of the Spirit.

  Faith is necessary to our salvation (Mark 16:16), not because
there is any merit in it, but simply because it is the sinner's
taking the place assigned him by God, his falling in with what
God is doing.

  The warrant or ground of faith is the divine testimony, not
the reasonableness of what God says, but the simple fact that he
says it. Faith rests immediately on, "Thus saith the Lord." But
in order to this faith the veracity, sincerity, and truth of God
must be owned and appreciated, together with his
unchangeableness. God's word encourages and emboldens the sinner
personally to transact with Christ as God's gift, to close with
him, embrace him, give himself to Christ, and take Christ as
his. That word comes with power, for it is the word of God who
has revealed himself in his works, and especially in the cross.
God is to be believed for his word's sake, but also for his
name's sake.

  Faith in Christ secures for the believer freedom from
condemnation, or justification before God; a participation in
the life that is in Christ, the divine life (John 14:19; Rom.
6:4-10; Eph. 4:15,16, etc.); "peace with God" (Rom. 5:1); and
sanctification (Acts 26:18; Gal. 5:6; Acts 15:9).

  All who thus believe in Christ will certainly be saved (John
6:37, 40; 10:27, 28; Rom. 8:1).

  The faith=the gospel (Acts 6:7; Rom. 1:5; Gal. 1:23; 1 Tim.
3:9; Jude 1:3).

$$T0001303
\Faithful\
as a designation of Christians, means full of faith, trustful,
and not simply trustworthy (Acts 10:45; 16:1; 2 Cor. 6:15; Col.
1:2; 1 Tim. 4:3, 12; 5:16; 6:2; Titus 1:6; Eph. 1:1; 1 Cor.
4:17, etc.).

  It is used also of God's word or covenant as true and to be
trusted (Ps. 119:86, 138; Isa. 25:1; 1 Tim. 1:15; Rev. 21:5;
22:6, etc.).

$$T0001304
\Fall of man\
an expression probably borrowed from the Apocryphal Book of
Wisdom, to express the fact of the revolt of our first parents
from God, and the consequent sin and misery in which they and
all their posterity were involved.

  The history of the Fall is recorded in Gen. 2 and 3. That
history is to be literally interpreted. It records facts which
underlie the whole system of revealed truth. It is referred to
by our Lord and his apostles not only as being true, but as
furnishing the ground of all God's subsequent dispensations and
dealings with the children of men. The record of Adam's
temptation and fall must be taken as a true historical account,
if we are to understand the Bible at all as a revelation of
God's purpose of mercy.

  The effects of this first sin upon our first parents
themselves were (1) "shame, a sense of degradation and
pollution; (2) dread of the displeasure of God, or a sense of
guilt, and the consequent desire to hide from his presence.
These effects were unavoidable. They prove the loss not only of
innocence but of original righteousness, and, with it, of the
favour and fellowship of God. The state therefore to which Adam
was reduced by his disobedience, so far as his subjective
condition is concerned, was analogous to that of the fallen
angels. He was entirely and absolutely ruined" (Hodge's
Theology).

  But the unbelief and disobedience of our first parents brought
not only on themselves this misery and ruin, it entailed also
the same sad consequences on all their descendants. (1.) The
guilt, i.e., liability to punishment, of that sin comes by
imputation upon all men, because all were represented by Adam in
the covenant of works (q.v.). (See IMPUTATION »T0001878.)

  (2.) Hence, also, all his descendants inherit a corrupt
nature. In all by nature there is an inherent and prevailing
tendency to sin. This universal depravity is taught by universal
experience. All men sin as soon as they are capable of moral
actions. The testimony of the Scriptures to the same effect is
most abundant (Rom. 1; 2; 3:1-19, etc.).

  (3.) This innate depravity is total: we are by nature "dead in
trespasses and sins," and must be "born again" before we can
enter into the kingdom (John 3:7, etc.).

  (4.) Resulting from this "corruption of our whole nature" is
our absolute moral inability to change our nature or to obey the
law of God.

  Commenting on John 9:3, Ryle well remarks: "A deep and
instructive principle lies in these words. They surely throw
some light on that great question, the origin of evil. God has
thought fit to allow evil to exist in order that he may have a
platform for showing his mercy, grace, and compassion. If man
had never fallen there would have been no opportunity of showing
divine mercy. But by permitting evil, mysterious as it seems,
God's works of grace, mercy, and wisdom in saving sinners have
been wonderfully manifested to all his creatures. The redeeming
of the church of elect sinners is the means of 'showing to
principalities and powers the manifold wisdom of God' (Eph.
3:10). Without the Fall we should have known nothing of the
Cross and the Gospel."

  On the monuments of Egypt are found representations of a deity
in human form, piercing with a spear the head of a serpent. This
is regarded as an illustration of the wide dissemination of the
tradition of the Fall. The story of the "golden age," which
gives place to the "iron age", the age of purity and innocence,
which is followed by a time when man becomes a prey to sin and
misery, as represented in the mythology of Greece and Rome, has
also been regarded as a tradition of the Fall.

$$T0001305
\Fallow-deer\
Deut. 14:5 (R.V., "Wild goat"); 1 Kings 4:23 (R.V., "roebucks").
This animal, called in Hebrew _yahmur_, from a word meaning "to
be red," is regarded by some as the common fallow-deer, the
Cervus dama, which is said to be found very generally over
Western and Southern Asia. It is called "fallow" from its
pale-red or yellow colour. Some interpreters, however, regard
the name as designating the bubale, Antelope bubale, the "wild
cow" of North Africa, which is about the size of a stag, like
the hartebeest of South Africa. A species of deer has been found
at Mount Carmel which is called _yahmur_ by the Arabs. It is
said to be similar to the European roebuck.

$$T0001306
\Fallow-ground\
The expression, "Break up your fallow ground" (Hos. 10:12; Jer.
4:3) means, "Do not sow your seed among thorns", i.e., break off
all your evil habits; clear your hearts of weeds, in order that
they may be prepared for the seed of righteousness. Land was
allowed to lie fallow that it might become more fruitful; but
when in this condition, it soon became overgrown with thorns and
weeds. The cultivator of the soil was careful to "break up" his
fallow ground, i.e., to clear the field of weeds, before sowing
seed in it. So says the prophet, "Break off your evil ways,
repent of your sins, cease to do evil, and then the good seed of
the word will have room to grow and bear fruit."

$$T0001307
\Familiar spirit\
Sorcerers or necormancers, who professed to call up the dead to
answer questions, were said to have a "familiar spirit" (Deut.
18:11; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chr. 33:6; Lev. 19:31; 20:6; Isa. 8:19;
29:4). Such a person was called by the Hebrews an _'ob_, which
properly means a leathern bottle; for sorcerers were regarded as
vessels containing the inspiring demon. This Hebrew word was
equivalent to the pytho of the Greeks, and was used to denote
both the person and the spirit which possessed him (Lev. 20:27;
1 Sam. 28:8; comp. Acts 16:16). The word "familiar" is from the
Latin familiaris, meaning a "household servant," and was
intended to express the idea that sorcerers had spirits as their
servants ready to obey their commands.

$$T0001308
\Famine\
The first mentioned in Scripture was so grievous as to compel
Abraham to go down to the land of Egypt (Gen. 26:1). Another is
mentioned as having occurred in the days of Isaac, causing him
to go to Gerar (Gen. 26:1, 17). But the most remarkable of all
was that which arose in Egypt in the days of Joseph, which
lasted for seven years (Gen. 41-45).

  Famines were sent as an effect of God's anger against a guilty
people (2 Kings 8:1, 2; Amos 8:11; Deut. 28:22-42; 2 Sam. 21:1;
2 Kings 6:25-28; 25:3; Jer. 14:15; 19:9; 42:17, etc.). A famine
was predicted by Agabus (Acts 11:28). Josephus makes mention of
the famine which occurred A.D. 45. Helena, queen of Adiabene,
being at Jerusalem at that time, procured corn from Alexandria
and figs from Cyprus for its poor inhabitants.

$$T0001309
\Fan\
a winnowing shovel by which grain was thrown up against the wind
that it might be cleansed from broken straw and chaff (Isa.
30:24; Jer. 15:7; Matt. 3:12). (See AGRICULTURE »T0000124.)

$$T0001310
\Farm\
(Matt. 22:5). Every Hebrew had a certain portion of land
assigned to him as a possession (Num. 26:33-56). In Egypt the
lands all belonged to the king, and the husbandmen were obliged
to give him a fifth part of the produce; so in Palestine Jehovah
was the sole possessor of the soil, and the people held it by
direct tenure from him. By the enactment of Moses, the Hebrews
paid a tithe of the produce to Jehovah, which was assigned to
the priesthood. Military service when required was also to be
rendered by every Hebrew at his own expense. The occuptaion of a
husbandman was held in high honour (1 Sam. 11:5-7; 1 Kings
19:19; 2 Chr. 26:10). (See LAND LAWS »(n/a); TITHE »T0003681.)

$$T0001311
\Farthing\
(1.) Matt. 10:29; Luke 12:6. Greek assarion, i.e., a small _as_,
which was a Roman coin equal to a tenth of a denarius or
drachma, nearly equal to a halfpenny of our money.

  (2.) Matt. 5:26; Mark 12:42 (Gr. kodrantes), the quadrant, the
fourth of an _as_, equal to two lepta, mites. The lepton (mite)
was the very smallest copper coin.

$$T0001312
\Fast\
The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great
Day of Atonement (q.v.), Lev. 23:26-32. It is called "the fast"
(Acts 27:9).

  The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old
Testament is in Zech. 7:1-7; 8:19, from which it appears that
during their captivity the Jews observed four annual fasts.

  (1.) The fast of the fourth month, kept on the seventeenth day
of Tammuz, the anniversary of the capture of Jerusalem by the
Chaldeans; to commemorate also the incident recorded Ex. 32:19.
(Comp. Jer. 52:6, 7.)

  (2.) The fast of the fifth month, kept on the ninth of Ab
(comp. Num. 14:27), to commemorate the burning of the city and
temple (Jer. 52:12, 13).

  (3.) The fast of the seventh month, kept on the third of Tisri
(comp. 2 Kings 25), the anniversary of the murder of Gedaliah
(Jer. 41:1, 2).

  (4.) The fast of the tenth month (comp. Jer. 52:4; Ezek.
33:21; 2 Kings 25:1), to commemorate the beginning of the siege
of the holy city by Nebuchadnezzar.

  There was in addition to these the fast appointed by Esther
(4:16).

  Public national fasts on account of sin or to supplicate
divine favour were sometimes held. (1.) 1 Sam. 7:6; (2.) 2 Chr.
20:3; (3.) Jer. 36:6-10; (4.) Neh. 9:1.

  There were also local fasts. (1.) Judg. 20:26; (2.) 2 Sam.
1:12; (3.) 1 Sam. 31:13; (4.) 1 Kings 21:9-12; (5.) Ezra
8:21-23: (6.) Jonah 3:5-9.

  There are many instances of private occasional fasting (1 Sam.
1:7: 20:34; 2 Sam. 3:35; 12:16; 1 Kings 21:27; Ezra 10:6; Neh.
1:4; Dan. 10:2,3). Moses fasted forty days (Ex. 24:18; 34:28),
and so also did Elijah (1 Kings 19:8). Our Lord fasted forty
days in the wilderness (Matt. 4:2).

  In the lapse of time the practice of fasting was lamentably
abused (Isa. 58:4; Jer. 14:12; Zech. 7:5). Our Lord rebuked the
Pharisees for their hypocritical pretences in fasting (Matt.
6:16). He himself appointed no fast. The early Christians,
however, observed the ordinary fasts according to the law of
their fathers (Acts 13:3; 14:23; 2 Cor. 6:5).

$$T0001313
\Fat\
(Heb. heleb) denotes the richest part of the animal, or the
fattest of the flock, in the account of Abel's sacrifice (Gen.
4:4). It sometimes denotes the best of any production (Gen.
45:18; Num. 18:12; Ps. 81:16; 147:47). The fat of sacrifices was
to be burned (Lev. 3:9-11; 4:8; 7:3; 8:25; Num. 18:17. Comp. Ex.
29:13-22; Lev. 3:3-5).

  It is used figuratively for a dull, stupid state of mind (Ps
17:10).

  In Joel 2:24 the word is equivalent to "vat," a vessel. The
hebrew word here thus rendered is elsewhere rendered "wine-fat"
and "press-fat" (Hag. 2:16; Isa. 63:2).

$$T0001314
\Father\
a name applied (1) to any ancestor (Deut. 1:11; 1 Kings 15:11;
Matt. 3:9; 23:30, etc.); and (2) as a title of respect to a
chief, ruler, or elder, etc. (Judg. 17:10; 18:19; 1 Sam. 10:12;
2 Kings 2:12; Matt. 23:9, etc.). (3) The author or beginner of
anything is also so called; e.g., Jabal and Jubal (Gen. 4:20,
21; comp. Job 38:28).

  Applied to God (Ex. 4:22; Deut. 32:6; 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 89:27,
28, etc.). (1.) As denoting his covenant relation to the Jews
(Jer. 31:9; Isa. 63:16; 64:8; John 8:41, etc.).

  (2.) Believers are called God's "sons" (John 1:12; Rom. 8:16;
Matt. 6:4, 8, 15, 18; 10:20, 29). They also call him "Father"
(Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:4)

$$T0001315
\Fathom\
(Old A.S. faethm, "bosom," or the outstretched arms), a span of
six feet (Acts 27:28). Gr. orguia (from orego, "I stretch"), the
distance between the extremities of both arms fully stretched
out.

$$T0001316
\Fatling\
(1.) A fatted animal for slaughter (2 Sam. 6:13; Isa. 11:6;
Ezek. 39:18. Comp. Matt. 22:4, where the word used in the
original, sitistos, means literally "corn-fed;" i.e., installed,
fat). (2.) Ps. 66:15 (Heb. meah, meaning "marrowy," "fat," a
species of sheep). (3.) 1 Sam. 15:9 (Heb. mishneh, meaning "the
second," and hence probably "cattle of a second quality," or
lambs of the second birth, i.e., autmnal lambs, and therfore of
less value).

$$T0001317
\Fear of the Lord the\
is in the Old Testament used as a designation of true piety
(Prov. 1:7; Job 28:28; Ps. 19:9). It is a fear conjoined with
love and hope, and is therefore not a slavish dread, but rather
filial reverence. (Comp. Deut. 32:6; Hos. 11:1; Isa. 1:2; 63:16;
64:8.) God is called "the Fear of Isaac" (Gen. 31:42, 53), i.e.,
the God whom Isaac feared.

  A holy fear is enjoined also in the New Testament as a
preventive of carelessness in religion, and as an incentive to
penitence (Matt. 10:28; 2 Cor. 5:11; 7:1; Phil. 2:12; Eph. 5:21;
Heb. 12:28, 29).

$$T0001318
\Feast\
as a mark of hospitality (Gen. 19:3; 2 Sam. 3:20; 2 Kings 6:23);
on occasions of domestic joy (Luke 15:23; Gen. 21:8); on
birthdays (Gen. 40:20; Job 1:4; Matt. 14:6); and on the occasion
of a marriage (Judg. 14:10; Gen. 29:22).

  Feasting was a part of the observances connected with the
offering up of sacrifices (Deut. 12:6, 7; 1 Sam. 9:19; 16:3, 5),
and with the annual festivals (Deut. 16:11). "It was one of the
designs of the greater solemnities, which required the
attendance of the people at the sacred tent, that the oneness of
the nation might be maintained and cemented together, by
statedly congregating in one place, and with one soul taking
part in the same religious services. But that oneness was
primarily and chiefly a religious and not merely a political
one; the people were not merely to meet as among themselves, but
with Jehovah, and to present themselves before him as one body;
the meeting was in its own nature a binding of themselves in
fellowship with Jehovah; so that it was not politics and
commerce that had here to do, but the soul of the Mosaic
dispensation, the foundation of the religious and political
existence of Israel, the covenant with Jehovah. To keep the
people's consciousness alive to this, to revive, strengthen, and
perpetuate it, nothing could be so well adapated as these annual
feasts." (See FESTIVALS »T0001325.)

$$T0001319
\Felix\
happy, the Roman procurator of Judea before whom Paul "reasoned"
(Acts 24:25). He appears to have expected a bribe from Paul, and
therefore had several interviews with him. The "worthy deeds"
referred to in 24:2 was his clearing the country of banditti and
impostors.

  At the end of a two years' term, Porcius Festus was appointed
in the room of Felix (A.D. 60), who proceeded to Rome, and was
there accused of cruelty and malversation of office by the Jews
of Caesarea. The accusation was rendered nugatory by the
influence of his brother Pallas with Nero. (See Josephus, Ant.
xx. 8, 9.)

  Drusilla, the daughter of Herod Agrippa, having been induced
by Felix to desert her husband, the king of Emesa, became his
adulterous companion. She was seated beside him when Paul
"reasoned" before the judge. When Felix gave place to Festus,
being "willing to do the Jews a pleasure," he left Paul bound.

$$T0001320
\Fellowship\
(1.) With God, consisting in the knowledge of his will (Job
22:21; John 17:3); agreement with his designs (Amos 3:2); mutual
affection (Rom. 8: 38, 39); enjoyment of his presence (Ps. 4:6);
conformity to his image (1 John 2:6; 1:6); and participation of
his felicity (1 John 1:3, 4; Eph. 3:14-21).

  (2.) Of saints with one another, in duties (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor.
12:1; 1 Thess. 5:17, 18); in ordinances (Heb. 10:25; Acts 2:46);
in grace, love, joy, etc. (Mal. 3:16; 2 Cor. 8:4); mutual
interest, spiritual and temporal (Rom. 12:4, 13; Heb. 13:16); in
sufferings (Rom. 15:1, 2; Gal. 6:1, 2; Rom. 12:15; and in glory
(Rev. 7:9).

$$T0001321
\Fence\
(Heb. gader), Num. 22:24 (R.V.). Fences were constructions of
unmortared stones, to protect gardens, vineyards, sheepfolds,
etc. From various causes they were apt to bulge out and fall
(Ps. 62:3). In Ps. 80:12, R.V. (see Isa. 5:5), the psalmist
says, "Why hast thou broken down her fences?" Serpents delight
to lurk in the crevices of such fences (Eccl. 10:8; comp. Amos
5:19).

$$T0001322
\Fenced cities\
There were in Palestine (1) cities, (2) unwalled villages, and
(3) villages with castles or towers (1 Chr. 27:25). Cities, so
called, had walls, and were thus fenced. The fortifications
consisted of one or two walls, on which were towers or parapets
at regular intervals (2 Chr. 32:5; Jer. 31:38). Around ancient
Jerusalem were three walls, on one of which were ninety towers,
on the second fourteen, and on the third sixty. The tower of
Hananeel, near the north-east corner of the city wall, is
frequently referred to (Neh. 3:1; 12:39; Zech. 14:10). The
gateways of such cities were also fortified (Neh. 2:8; 3:3, 6;
Judg. 16:2, 3; 1 Sam. 23:7).

  The Hebrews found many fenced cities when they entered the
Promised Land (Num. 13:28; 32:17, 34-42; Josh. 11:12, 13; Judg.
1:27-33), and we may estimate the strength of some of these
cities from the fact that they were long held in possession by
the Canaanites. The Jebusites, e.g., were enabled to hold
possession of Jerusalem till the time of David (2 Sam. 5:6, 7; 1
Chr. 11:5).

  Several of the kings of Israel and Judah distinguished
themselves as fortifiers or "builders" of cities.

$$T0001323
\Ferret\
Lev. 11:30 (R.V., "gecko"), one of the unclean creeping things.
It was perhaps the Lacerta gecko which was intended by the
Hebrew word (anakah, a cry, "mourning," the creature which
groans) here used, i.e., the "fan-footed" lizard, the gecko
which makes a mournful wail. The LXX. translate it by a word
meaning "shrew-mouse," of which there are three species in
Palestine. The Rabbinical writers regard it as the hedgehog. The
translation of the Revised Version is to be preferred.

$$T0001324
\Ferry boat\
(2 Sam. 19:18), some kind of boat for crossing the river which
the men of Judah placed at the service of the king. Floats or
rafts for this purpose were in use from remote times (Isa.
18:2).

$$T0001325
\Festivals, Religious\
There were daily (Lev. 23), weekly, monthly, and yearly
festivals, and great stress was laid on the regular observance
of them in every particular (Num. 28:1-8; Ex. 29:38-42; Lev.
6:8-23; Ex. 30:7-9; 27:20).

  (1.) The septenary festivals were,

  (a) The weekly Sabbath (Lev. 23:1-3; Ex. 19:3-30; 20:8-11;
31:12, etc.).

  (b) The seventh new moon, or the feast of Trumpets (Num.
28:11-15; 29:1-6).

  (c) The Sabbatical year (Ex. 23:10, 11; Lev. 25:2-7).

  (d) The year of jubilee (Lev. 23-35; 25: 8-16; 27:16-25).

  (2.) The great feasts were,

  (a) The Passover. (b) The feast of Pentecost, or of weeks. (c)
The feast of Tabernacles, or of ingathering.

  On each of these occasions every male Israelite was commanded
"to appear before the Lord" (Deut. 27:7; Neh. 8:9-12). The
attendance of women was voluntary. (Comp. Luke 2:41; 1 Sam. 1:7;
2:19.) The promise that God would protect their homes (Ex.
34:23, 24) while all the males were absent in Jerusalem at these
feasts was always fulfilled. "During the whole period between
Moses and Christ we never read of an enemy invading the land at
the time of the three festivals. The first instance on record is
thirty-three years after they had withdrawn from themselves the
divine protection by imbruing their hands in the Saviour's
blood, when Cestius, the Roman general, slew fifty of the people
of Lydda while all the rest had gone up to the feast of
Tabernacles, A.D. 66."

  These festivals, besides their religious purpose, had an
important bearing on the maintenance among the people of the
feeling of a national unity. The times fixed for their
observance were arranged so as to interfere as little as
possible with the industry of the people. The Passover was kept
just before the harvest commenced, Pentecost at the conclusion
of the corn harvest and before the vintage, the feast of
Tabernacles after all the fruits of the ground had been gathered
in.

  (3.) The Day of Atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month
(Lev. 16:1, 34; 23:26-32; Num. 29:7-11). (See ATONEMENT, DAY OF
»T0000363.)

  Of the post-Exilian festivals reference is made to the feast
of Dedication (John 10:22). This feast was appointed by Judas
Maccabaeus in commemoration of the purification of the temple
after it had been polluted by Antiochus Epiphanes. The "feast of
Purim" (q.v.), Esther 9:24-32, was also instituted after the
Exile. (Cf. John 5:1.)

$$T0001326
\Festus, Porcius\
the successor of Felix (A.D. 60) as procurator of Judea (Acts
24:27). A few weeks after he had entered on his office the case
of Paul, then a prisoner at Caesarea, was reported to him. The
"next day," after he had gone down to Caesarea, he heard Paul
defend himself in the presence of Herod Agrippa II. and his
sister Bernice, and not finding in him anything worthy of death
or of bonds, would have set him free had he not appealed unto
Caesar (Acts 25:11, 12). In consequence of this appeal Paul was
sent to Rome. Festus, after being in office less than two years,
died in Judea. (See AGRIPPA »T0000126.)

$$T0001327
\Fever\
(Deut. 28:22; Matt. 8:14; Mark 1:30; John 4:52; Acts 28:8), a
burning heat, as the word so rendered denotes, which attends all
febrile attacks. In all Eastern countries such diseases are very
common. Peter's wife's mother is said to have suffered from a
"great fever" (Luke 4:38), an instance of Luke's professional
exactitude in describing disease. He adopts here the technical
medical distinction, as in those times fevers were divided into
the "great" and the "less."

$$T0001328
\Field\
(Heb. sadeh), a cultivated field, but unenclosed. It is applied
to any cultivated ground or pasture (Gen. 29:2; 31:4; 34:7), or
tillage (Gen. 37:7; 47:24). It is also applied to woodland (Ps.
132:6) or mountain top (Judg. 9:32, 36; 2 Sam. 1:21). It denotes
sometimes a cultivated region as opposed to the wilderness (Gen.
33:19; 36:35). Unwalled villages or scattered houses are spoken
of as "in the fields" (Deut. 28:3, 16; Lev. 25:31; Mark 6:36,
56). The "open field" is a place remote from a house (Gen. 4:8;
Lev. 14:7, 53; 17:5). Cultivated land of any extent was called a
field (Gen. 23:13, 17; 41:8; Lev. 27:16; Ruth 4:5; Neh. 12:29).

$$T0001329
\Fig\
First mentioned in Gen. 3:7. The fig-tree is mentioned (Deut.
8:8) as one of the valuable products of Palestine. It was a sign
of peace and prosperity (1 Kings 4:25; Micah 4:4; Zech. 3:10).
Figs were used medicinally (2 Kings 20:7), and pressed together
and formed into "cakes" as articles of diet (1 Sam. 30:12; Jer.
24:2).

  Our Lord's cursing the fig-tree near Bethany (Mark 11:13) has
occasioned much perplexity from the circumstance, as mentioned
by the evangelist, that "the time of figs was not yet." The
explanation of the words, however, lies in the simple fact that
the fruit of the fig-tree appears before the leaves, and hence
that if the tree produced leaves it ought also to have had
fruit. It ought to have had fruit if it had been true to its
"pretensions," in showing its leaves at this particular season.
"This tree, so to speak, vaunted itself to be in advance of all
the other trees, challenged the passer-by that he should come
and refresh himself with its fruit. Yet when the Lord accepted
its challenge and drew near, it proved to be but as the others,
without fruit as they; for indeed, as the evangelist observes,
the time of figs had not yet arrived. Its fault, if one may use
the word, lay in its pretensions, in its making a show to run
before the rest when it did not so indeed" (Trench, Miracles).

  The fig-tree of Palestine (Ficus carica) produces two and
sometimes three crops of figs in a year, (1) the bikkurah, or
"early-ripe fig" (Micah 7:1; Isa. 28:4; Hos. 9:10, R.V.), which
is ripe about the end of June, dropping off as soon as it is
ripe (Nah. 3:12); (2) the kermus, or "summer fig," then begins
to be formed, and is ripe about August; and (3) the pag (plural
"green figs," Cant. 2:13; Gr. olynthos, Rev. 6:13, "the untimely
fig"), or "winter fig," which ripens in sheltered spots in
spring.

$$T0001330
\Fillets\
Heb. hashukum, plur., joinings (Ex. 27:17; 38:17, 28), the rods
by which the tops of the columns around the tabernacle court
were joined together, and from which the curtains were suspended
(Ex. 27:10, 11; 36:38).

  In Jer. 52:21 the rendering of a different word, _hut_,
meaning a "thread," and designating a measuring-line of 12
cubits in length for the circumference of the copper pillars of
Solomon's temple.

$$T0001331
\Finer\
a worker in silver and gold (Prov. 25:4). In Judg. 17:4 the word
(tsoreph) is rendered "founder," and in Isa. 41:7 "goldsmith."

$$T0001332
\Fining pot\
a crucible, melting-pot (Prov. 17:3; 27:21).

$$T0001333
\Fir\
the uniform rendering in the Authorized Version (marg. R.V.,
"cypress") of _berosh_ (2 Sam. 6:5; 1 Kings 5:8, 10; 6:15, 34;
9:11, etc.), a lofty tree (Isa. 55:13) growing on Lebanon
(37:24). Its wood was used in making musical instruments and
doors of houses, and for ceilings (2 Chr. 3:5), the decks of
ships (Ezek. 27:5), floorings and spear-shafts (Nah. 2:3, R.V.).
The true fir (abies) is not found in Palestine, but the pine
tree, of which there are four species, is common.

  The precise kind of tree meant by the "green fir tree" (Hos.
14:8) is uncertain. Some regard it as the sherbin tree, a
cypress resembling the cedar; others, the Aleppo or maritime
pine (Pinus halepensis), which resembles the Scotch fir; while
others think that the "stone-pine" (Pinus pinea) is probably
meant. (See PINE »T0002956.)

$$T0001334
\Fire\
(1.) For sacred purposes. The sacrifices were consumed by fire
(Gen. 8:20). The ever-burning fire on the altar was first
kindled from heaven (Lev. 6:9, 13; 9:24), and afterwards
rekindled at the dedication of Solomon's temple (2 Chr. 7:1, 3).
The expressions "fire from heaven" and "fire of the Lord"
generally denote lightning, but sometimes also the fire of the
altar was so called (Ex. 29:18; Lev. 1:9; 2:3; 3:5, 9).

  Fire for a sacred purpose obtained otherwise than from the
altar was called "strange fire" (Lev. 10:1, 2; Num. 3:4).

  The victims slain for sin offerings were afterwards consumed
by fire outside the camp (Lev. 4:12, 21; 6:30; 16:27; Heb.
13:11).

  (2.) For domestic purposes, such as baking, cooking, warmth,
etc. (Jer. 36:22; Mark 14:54; John 18:18). But on Sabbath no
fire for any domestic purpose was to be kindled (Ex. 35:3; Num.
15:32-36).

  (3.) Punishment of death by fire was inflicted on such as were
guilty of certain forms of unchastity and incest (Lev. 20:14;
21:9). The burning of captives in war was not unknown among the
Jews (2 Sam. 12:31; Jer. 29:22). The bodies of infamous persons
who were executed were also sometimes burned (Josh. 7:25; 2
Kings 23:16).

  (4.) In war, fire was used in the destruction of cities, as
Jericho (Josh. 6:24), Ai (8:19), Hazor (11:11), Laish (Judg.
18:27), etc. The war-chariots of the Canaanites were burnt
(Josh. 11:6, 9, 13). The Israelites burned the images (2 Kings
10:26; R.V., "pillars") of the house of Baal. These objects of
worship seem to have been of the nature of obelisks, and were
sometimes evidently made of wood.

  Torches were sometimes carried by the soldiers in battle
(Judg. 7:16).

  (5.) Figuratively, fire is a symbol of Jehovah's presence and
the instrument of his power (Ex. 14:19; Num. 11:1, 3; Judg.
13:20; 1 Kings 18:38; 2 Kings 1:10, 12; 2:11; Isa. 6:4; Ezek.
1:4; Rev. 1:14, etc.).

  God's word is also likened unto fire (Jer. 23:29). It is
referred to as an emblem of severe trials or misfortunes (Zech.
12:6; Luke 12:49; 1 Cor. 3:13, 15; 1 Pet. 1:7), and of eternal
punishment (Matt. 5:22; Mark 9:44; Rev. 14:10; 21:8).

  The influence of the Holy Ghost is likened unto fire (Matt.
3:11). His descent was denoted by the appearance of tongues as
of fire (Acts 2:3).

$$T0001335
\Firebrand\
Isa. 7:4, Amos 4:11, Zech. 3:2, denotes the burnt end of a stick
(Heb. 'ud); in Judg. 15:4, a lamp or torch, a flambeau (Heb.
lappid); in Prov. 26:18 (comp. Eph. 6:16), burning darts or
arrows (Heb. zikkim).

$$T0001336
\Firepan\
(Ex. 27:3; 38:3), one of the vessels of the temple service
(rendered "snuff-dish" Ex. 25:38; 37:23; and "censer" Lev. 10:1;
16:12). It was probably a metallic cinder-basin used for the
purpose of carrying live coal for burning incense, and of
carrying away the snuff in trimming the lamps.

$$T0001337
\firkin\
Used only in John 2:6; the Attic amphora, equivalent to the
Hebrew bath (q.v.), a measure for liquids containing about 8 7/8
gallons.

$$T0001338
\Firmament\
from the Vulgate firmamentum, which is used as the translation
of the Hebrew _raki'a_. This word means simply "expansion." It
denotes the space or expanse like an arch appearing immediately
above us. They who rendered _raki'a_ by firmamentum regarded it
as a solid body. The language of Scripture is not scientific but
popular, and hence we read of the sun rising and setting, and
also here the use of this particular word. It is plain that it
was used to denote solidity as well as expansion. It formed a
division between the waters above and the waters below (Gen.
1:7). The _raki'a_ supported the upper reservoir (Ps. 148:4). It
was the support also of the heavenly bodies (Gen. 1:14), and is
spoken of as having "windows" and "doors" (Gen. 7:11; Isa.
24:18; Mal. 3:10) through which the rain and snow might descend.

$$T0001339
\First-born\
sons enjoyed certain special privileges (Deut. 21:17; Gen.
25:23, 31, 34; 49:3; 1 Chr. 5:1; Heb. 12:16; Ps. 89:27). (See
BIRTHRIGHT »T0000592.)

  The "first-born of the poor" signifies the most miserable of
the poor (Isa. 14:30). The "church of the first-born" signifies
the church of the redeemed.

  The destruction of the first-born was the last of the ten
plagues inflicted on the Egyptians (Ex. 11:1-8; 12:29, 30).

  Menephtah is probably the Pharaoh whose first-born was slain.
His son did not succeed or survive his father, but died early.
The son's tomb has been found at Thebes unfinished, showing it
was needed earlier than was expected. Some of the records on the
tomb are as follows: "The son whom Menephtah loves; who draws
towards him his father's heart, the singer, the prince of
archers, who governed Egypt on behalf of his father. Dead."

$$T0001340
\First-born, Redemption of\
From the beginning the office of the priesthood in each family
belonged to the eldest son. But when the extensive plan of
sacrificial worship was introduced, requiring a company of men
to be exclusively devoted to this ministry, the primitive office
of the first-born was superseded by that of the Levites (Num.
3:11-13), and it was ordained that the first-born of man and of
unclean animals should henceforth be redeemed (18:15).

  The laws concerning this redemption of the first-born of man
are recorded in Ex. 13:12-15; 22:29; 34:20; Num. 3:45; 8:17;
18:16; Lev. 12:2, 4.

  The first-born male of every clean animal was to be given up
to the priest for sacrifice (Deut. 12:6; Ex. 13:12; 34:20; Num.
18:15-17).

  But the first-born of unclean animals was either to be
redeemed or sold and the price given to the priest (Lev.
27:11-13, 27). The first-born of an ass, if not redeemed, was to
be put to death (Ex. 13:13; 34:20).

$$T0001341
\First-born, Sanctification of the\
A peculiar sanctity was attached to the first-born both of man
and of cattle. God claimed that the first-born males of man and
of animals should be consecrated to him, the one as a priest
(Ex. 19:22, 24), representing the family to which he belonged,
and the other to be offered up in sacrifice (Gen. 4:4).

$$T0001342
\First-fruits\
The first-fruits of the ground were offered unto God just as the
first-born of man and animals.

  The law required, (1.) That on the morrow after the Passover
Sabbath a sheaf of new corn should be waved by the priest before
the altar (Lev. 23:5, 6, 10, 12; 2:12).

  (2.) That at the feast of Pentecost two loaves of leavened
bread, made from the new flour, were to be waved in like manner
(Lev. 23:15, 17; Num. 28:26).

  (3.) The feast of Tabernacles was an acknowledgement that the
fruits of the harvest were from the Lord (Ex. 23:16; 34:22).

  (4.) Every individual, besides, was required to consecrate to
God a portion of the first-fruits of the land (Ex. 22:29; 23:19;
34:26; Num. 15:20, 21).

  (5.) The law enjoined that no fruit was to be gathered from
newly-planted fruit-trees for the first three years, and that
the first-fruits of the fourth year were to be consecrated to
the Lord (Lev. 19:23-25). Jeremiah (2:3) alludes to the
ordinance of "first-fruits," and hence he must have been
acquainted with the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers,
where the laws regarding it are recorded.

$$T0001343
\Fish\
called _dag_ by the Hebrews, a word denoting great fecundity
(Gen. 9:2; Num. 11:22; Jonah 2:1, 10). No fish is mentioned by
name either in the Old or in the New Testament. Fish abounded in
the Mediterranean and in the lakes of the Jordan, so that the
Hebrews were no doubt acquainted with many species. Two of the
villages on the shores of the Sea of Galilee derived their names
from their fisheries, Bethsaida (the "house of fish") on the
east and on the west. There is probably no other sheet of water
in the world of equal dimensions that contains such a variety
and profusion of fish. About thirty-seven different kinds have
been found. Some of the fishes are of a European type, such as
the roach, the barbel, and the blenny; others are markedly
African and tropical, such as the eel-like silurus. There was a
regular fish-market apparently in Jerusalem (2 Chr. 33:14; Neh.
3:3; 12:39; Zeph. 1:10), as there was a fish-gate which was
probably contiguous to it.

  Sidon is the oldest fishing establishment known in history.

$$T0001344
\Fisher\
Besides its literal sense (Luke 5:2), this word is also applied
by our Lord to his disciples in a figurative sense (Matt. 4:19;
Mark 1:17).

$$T0001345
\Fish-hooks\
were used for catching fish (Amos 4:2; comp. Isa. 37:29; Jer.
16:16; Ezek. 29:4; Job. 41:1, 2; Matt. 17:27).

$$T0001346
\Fishing, the art of\
was prosecuted with great industry in the waters of Palestine.
It was from the fishing-nets that Jesus called his disciples
(Mark 1:16-20), and it was in a fishing-boat he rebuked the
winds and the waves (Matt. 8:26) and delivered that remarkable
series of prophecies recorded in Matt. 13. He twice miraculously
fed multitudes with fish and bread (Matt. 14:19; 15:36). It was
in the mouth of a fish that the tribute-money was found (Matt.
17:27). And he "ate a piece of broiled fish" with his disciples
after his resurrection (Luke 24:42, 43; comp. Acts 1:3). At the
Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1-14), in obedience to his direction,
the disciples cast their net "on the right side of the ship,"
and enclosed so many that "they were not able to draw it for the
multitude of fishes."

  Two kinds of fishing-nets are mentioned in the New Testament:

  (1.) The casting-net (Matt. 4:18; Mark 1:16).

  (2.) The drag-net or seine (Matt. 13:48).

  Fish were also caught by the fishing-hook (Matt. 17:27). (See
NET »T0002711.)

$$T0001347
\Fish-pools\
(Cant. 7:4) should be simply "pools," as in the Revised Version.
The reservoirs near Heshbon (q.v.) were probably stocked with
fish (2 Sam. 2:13; 4:12; Isa. 7:3; 22:9, 11).

$$T0001348
\Fitches\
(Isa. 28:25, 27), the rendering of the Hebrew _ketsah_, "without
doubt the Nigella sativa, a small annual of the order
Ranunculacece, which grows wild in the Mediterranean countries,
and is cultivated in Egypt and Syria for its seed." It is
rendered in margin of the Revised Version "black cummin." The
seeds are used as a condiment.

  In Ezek. 4:9 this word is the rendering of the Hebrew
_kussemeth_ (incorrectly rendered "rye" in the Authorized
Version of Ex. 9:32 and Isa. 28:25, but "spelt" in the Revised
Version). The reading "fitches" here is an error; it should be
"spelt."

$$T0001349
\Flag\
(Heb., or rather Egyptian, ahu, Job 8:11), rendered "meadow" in
Gen. 41:2, 18; probably the Cyperus esculentus, a species of
rush eaten by cattle, the Nile reed. It also grows in Palestine.

  In Ex. 2:3, 5, Isa. 19:6, it is the rendering of the Hebrew
_suph_, a word which occurs frequently in connection with _yam_;
as _yam suph_, to denote the "Red Sea" (q.v.) or the sea of
weeds (as this word is rendered, Jonah 2:5). It denotes some
kind of sedge or reed which grows in marshy places. (See PAPER
»T0002840, REED »T0003087.)