Sabacthani – Samaria

Sabacthani

Hast thou forsaken me, a Syro-Chaldaic word, a part of our Savior’s exclamation on the cross, Mt 27:46; the whole is taken from Ps 22:1, where it is used prophetically.

Sabaoth

Or rather Tsabaoth, hosts or armies. JEHOVAH SABAOTH is the Lord of Hosts; and we are to understand the word hosts in the most comprehensive sense, as including the host of heaven, the angels and minister of the Lord; the stars and planets, which, as an army ranged in battle array, perform the will of God; the armies of earth, whose conflicts his providence overrules to the accomplishment of his own wise designs; the hordes of inferior creatures, as the locusts that plagued Egypt, the quails that fed Israel, and "the canker-worm and the palmer-worm, his great army," Joe 2:15; and lastly, the people of the Lord, both of the old and new covenants, a truly great army, of which God is the general and commander, 2Sa 6:2; Ps 24:10; Ro 9:29; Jas 5:4.

Sabbath

Rest. God having created the world in six days, "rested" on the seventh, Ge 2:2,3; that is, he ceased from producing new beings in this creation; and because he had rested on it, he "blessed" or sanctified it, and appointed it in a peculiar manner for his worship.

We here have an account of the ORIGINAL INSTITUTION of the day of rest. Like the institution of marriage, it was given to man for the whole race. Those who worshipped God seem to have kept the Sabbath from the first, and there are tokens of this in the brief sketch the Bible contains of the ages before the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. Noah sent forth the raven from the ark, and the dove thrice, at intervals of seven days, Ge 8:1-22. The account of the sending of manna in the desert proves that the Sabbath was already known and observed, Ex 16:22-30. The week was an established division of time in Mesopotamia and Arabia, Ge 29:27; and traces of it have been found in many nations of antiquity, so remote from each other and of such diverse origin as to forbid the idea of their having received it from Sinai and the Hebrews.

The REENACTMENT of the Sabbath on Mount Sinai, among the Commandments of the Moral Law, was also designed not for the Jews alone, but for all whom should receive the word of God, and ultimately for all mankind. Christ and his apostles never speak of the decalogue but as of permanent and universal obligation. "The Sabbath was made for man." The fourth commandment is as binding as the third and the fifth. Certain additions to it, with specifications and penalties, were a part of the Mosaic civil law, and are not now in force, Ex 31:14; Nu 15:32-36. On the Sabbath-day, the priests and Levites, ministers of the temple, entered on their week; and those who had attended the foregoing week, went out. They placed on the golden table new loaves of showbread, and took away the old ones, Le 24:8. Also on this day were offered particular sacrifices of two lambs for a burnt offering, with wine and meal. The Sabbath was celebrated like the other festivals, from evening, Nu 28:9,10.

The chief obligation of the Sabbath expressed in the law is to sanctify it, Ex 20:8; De 5:12: "Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it." It is sanctified by necessary works of charity, by prayers, praises, and thanksgiving, by the public and private worship of God, by the study of his word, by tranquility of mind, and by meditation on moral and religious truth in its bearing on the duties of life and the hope of immorality. The other requirement of the law is rest: "Thou shalt not do any work." The ordinary business of life is to be wholly laid aside, both for the sake of bodily and mental health, and chiefly to secure the quiet and uninterrupted employment of the sacred hours for religious purposes. The spirit of the law clearly forbids all uses of the day which are worldly, such as amusements, journeys, etc., whereby one fails to keep the day holy himself, or hinders others in doing so.

The CHRISTIAN SABBATH is the original day of rest established in the Garden of the Eden and reenacted on Sinai, without those requirements, which were peculiar to Judaism, but with all its original moral force and with the new sanctions of Christianity. It commemorates not only the creation of the world, but a still greater event-the completion of the work of atonement by the resurrection of Christ; and as he rose from the dead on the day after the Jewish Sabbath, that day of his resurrection has been observed by Christians ever since. The change appears to have been made at once and as is generally believed under the direction of the "Lord of the Sabbath." On the same day, the first day of the week, he appeared among his assembled disciples; and on the next recurrence of the day he was again with them, and revealed himself to Thomas. From 1Co 11:20; 14:23,40, it appears that the disciples in all places were accustomed to meet statedly to worship and to celebrate the Lord’s supper; and from 1Co 16:1,2, we learn that these meetings were on the first day of the week. Thus in Ac 20:6-11, we find the Christians at Troas assembled on the first day, to partake of the supper and to receive religious instruction. John observed the day with peculiar solemnity, Re 1:10; and it had then received the name of "The Lord’s day," which it has ever since retained. For a time, such of the disciples as were Jews observed the Jewish Sabbath also; but they did not require this nor the observance of any festival of the Mosaic dispensation, of Gentile converts, nor even of Jews, Col 2:16. The early Christian fathers refer to the first day of the week as the time set apart for worship, and to the transfer of the day on account of the resurrection of the Savior. Pliny the younger, proconsul of Pontus near the close of the first century, in a letter to the emperor Trajan, remarks that the Christians were "accustomed on a stated day to meet together before daylight, and to repeat a hymn to Christ as God, and to bind themselves by a solemn bond not to commit any wickedness," etc. So well known was their custom, that the ordinary test question put by persecutors to those suspected of Christianity was "Hast thou kept the Lord’s day?" to which the reply was, "I am a Christian; I cannot omit it." Justin Martyr observes that "on the Lord’s day all Christians in the city or country meet together, because that is the day of our Lord’s resurrection, and then we read the writings of the apostles and prophets; this being done, the person presiding makes an oration to the assembly, to exhort them to imitate and to practice the things they have heard; then we all join in prayer, and after that we celebrate the sacrament. Then they who are able and willing give what they think proper, and what is collected is laid up in the hands of the chief officer, who distributes it to orphans and widows, and other necessitous Christians, as their wants require." See 1Co 16:2. A very honorable conduct and worship. Would that it were more prevalent among us, with the spirit and piety of primitive Christianity!

The commandment to observe the Sabbath is worthy of its place in the decalogue; and its observance is of fundamental importance to society, which without it would fast relapse into ignorance, vice, and ungodliness. Its very existence on earth, by the ordinance of God, proves that there remains an eternal Sabbath in heaven, of which the "blest repose" of the day of God is an earnest to those who rightly observe it, Heb 4:9.

"The second Sabbath after the first," Lu 6:1, should rather read, "The first Sabbath after the second day of the pass-over." Of the seven days of the pass-over, the first was a Sabbath, and on the second was a festival in which the fruits of the harvest were offered to God, Le 23:5,9, etc. From this second day the Jews reckoned seven weeks or the first Sabbath which occurred after this second day, was called the first week or Sabbath after the second day.

The "preparation of the Sabbath" was the Friday before; for as it was forbidden to make a fire, to bake bread, or to dress victuals, on the Sabbath-day, they provided on the Friday every thing needful for their sustenance on the Sabbath, Mr 15:42; Mt 27:62; Joh 19:14,31,42.

For "a Sabbath-day’s journey," see JOURNEY.

Sabbatical Year

Was to be celebrated among the Jews once every seven years; the land was to rest, and be left without culture, Ex 23:10,11; Le 25:17. God appointed the observance of the Sabbatical year, to preserve the remembrance of the creation of the world; to enforce the acknowledgment of his sovereign authority over all things, particularly over the land of Canaan, which he had given to the Hebrews; and to inculcate humanity on his people, by commanding that they should resign to servants, to the poor, to strangers and to brutes, the produce of the fields, of their vineyards, and of their gardens. Josephus and Tacitus both mention the Sabbatical year as existing in their day. See JUBILEE.

Sabeans

This word represents two distinct people, who, in accordance with the original Hebrew, might have been more properly called Sebaeans and Shebaeans.

1. The first denotes the inhabitants of the country called SEBA. This appears to have been the great island, or rather peninsula of Meroe, in northern Ethiopia, or Nubia, formed between the Nile and the Astaboras, now Atbara. Upon this peninsula lay a city of the like name, the ruins of which are still visible a few mile north of the modern Shendy. Meroe was a city of priests, whose origin is lost in the highest antiquity. The monarch was chosen by the priests from among themselves; and the government was being theocratic, being managed by the priest according to the oracle of Jupiter Ammon. This was the Seba of the Hebrews, according to Josephus, who mentions at the same time that it was conquered by Cambyses, and received from him the name Meroe, after his sister. With this representation accord the notices of Seba and its inhabitants in Scripture. In Ge 10:7, their ancestor is said to be a son of Cush, the progenitor of the Ethiopians. In Isa 43:3 and Ps 72:10, Seba is mentioned as a distant and wealthy country; in the former passage, it is connected with Egypt and Ethiopia; and Meroe was one of the most important commercial cities of interior Africa. These Sabeans are described by Herodotus as men of uncommon size. Compare Isa 45:14. A branch of this family, it is thought, located themselves near the head of the Persian Gulf; and the Sabeans mentioned in Job 1:15 were probably Cushites. See CUSH and RAAMAH.

2. The inhabitants of the country called SHEBA. The Sheba of Scripture appears to be the Saba of Strabo, situated towards the southern part of Arabia, at a short distance from the coast of the Red Sea, the capital of which was Mariaba, or Mareb. This region, called also Yemen, was probably settled by Sheba the son of Joktan, of the race of Shem, Ge 10:28; 1Ch 1:22.

The queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon, 1Ki 10:1-29; 2Ch 9:1-31; Mt 12:42, and made him presents of gold, ivory, and costly spices, was probably the mistress of this region; indeed, the Sabeans were celebrated, on account of their important commerce in these very products, among the Greeks also, Job 6:19; Isa 60:6; Jer 6:20; Eze 27:22; 38:13; Ps 72:10,15; Joe 3:8. The tradition of this visit of the queen of Sheba to Solomon has maintained itself among the Arabs, who call her Balkis, and affirm that she became the wife of Solomon.

Besides the Joktanite Sabaeans, two others of the same name are mentioned in the Bible. 1. A son of Jokshan, and grandson of Abraham and Keturah, Ge 10:28 2. A grandson of Cush. It is possible that these descendants of the Ethiopian Sheba may have had their residence in Africa; but the question of these two Shebas is obscure and difficult to determine. The Sebaeans and Shebaeans are both mentioned in the same prophecy, Ps 72:10, as coming to lay their offerings at the feet of Christ.

Sabth And Sabtecha

Sons of Cush, Ge 10:7. It cannot be decided whether they settled in Africa, Arabia, or southeastern Asia.

Sack, Sackcloth

Sack is a pure Hebrew word, and has spread into many modern languages. Sackcloth is a very coarse stuff, often of hair, Re 6:12. In great calamities, in penitence, in trouble, the Jews, etc., wore sackcloth about their bodies, Ge 37:34; 2Sa 3:31; 1Ki 20:32; Mt 11:21. The prophets were often clothed in sackcloth, and generally in coarse clothing, Mt 11:21. The Lord bid Isaiah put off the sackcloth from about his body, and go naked, Isa 20:2. Zechariah says, Zec 13:4, that false prophets should no longer prophesy in sackcloth, (English translation, a rough garment,) to deceive the simple.

In time of joy, or on hearing good news, those who were clad in sackcloth cast it from them, and resumed their usual clothing, Ps 30:11.

Sackbut

See MUSIC.

Sacrifice

An offering made to God on his altar, by the hand of a lawful minister. A sacrifice differed from an oblation; it was properly the offering up of a life; whereas an oblation was but a simple offering or gift. There is every reason to believe that sacrifices were from the first of divine appointment; otherwise they would have been a superstitious will-worship, which God could not have accepted as he did. See ABEL. Adam and his sons, Noah and his descendents, Abraham and his posterity, Job and Melchizedek, before the Mosaic law, offered to God real sacrifices. That law did but settle the quality, the number, and other circumstances of sacrifices. Every one was priest and minister of his own sacrifice; at least, he was at liberty to choose what priest he pleased in offering his victim. Generally, this honor belonged to the head of a family; hence it was the prerogative of the firstborn. But after Moses this was, among the Jews, confined to the family of Aaron.

There was but one place appointed in the law for the offering of sacrifices by the Jews. It was around the one altar of the only true God in the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple, that all his people were to unite in his worship, Le 17:4,9; De 12:5-18. On some special occasions, however, kings, prophets, and judges sacrificed elsewhere, Judg 2:5; 6:26; 13:16; 1Sa 7:17; 1Ki 3:2,3; 18:33. The Jews were taught to cherish the greatest horror of human sacrifices, as heathenish and revolting, Le 20:2; De 12:31; Ps 106:37; Isa 66:3; Eze 20:31.

The Hebrews had three kinds of sacrifices:

1. The burnt-offering or holocaust, in which the whole victim was consumed, without any reserve to the person who gave the victim, or to the priest who killed and sacrificed it, except that the priest had the skin; for before the victims were offered to the Lord, their skins were flayed off, and their feet and entrails were washed, Le 1:1-17; 7:8. Every burnt offering contained an acknowledgment of general guilt, and a typical expiation of it. The burning of the whole victim on the altar signified, on the part of the offerer, the entireness of his devotion of himself and all his substance to God; and, on the part of the victim, the completeness of the expiation.

2. The sin offering, of which the trespass offering may be regarded as a variety. This differed from the burnt-offering in that it always had respect to particular offences against law either moral through ignorance, or at least not in a presumptuous spirit. No part of it returned to him who had given it, but the sacrificing priest had a share of it, Le 4:1-6:30; 7:1-10 3. Peace-offerings: these were offered in the fulfillment of vows, to return thanks to God for benefits, (thank-offerings,) or to satisfy private devotion, (freewill-offerings.) The Israelites accordingly offered these when they chose, no law obliging them to it, and they were free to choose among such animals as were allowed in sacrifice, Le 3:1-17; 7:11-34. The law only required that the victim should be without blemish. He who presented it came to the door of the tabernacle, put his hand on the head of the victim, and killed it. The priest poured out the blood about the altar of burntsacrifices: he burnt on the fire of the altar the fat of the lower belly, that which covers the kidneys, the liver, and the bowels. And if it were a lamb, or a ram, he added to it the rump of the animal, which in that country is very fat. Before these things were committed to the fire of the altar, the priest put them into the hands of the offerer, then made him lift them up on high, and wave them toward the four quarters of the world, the priest supporting and direction his hands. The breast and the right shoulder of the sacrifice belonged to the priest that performed the service; and it appears that both of them were put into the hands of him who offered them, though Moses mentions only the breast of the animal. After this, all the rest of the sacrifice belonged to him who presented it, and he might eat it with his family and friends at his pleasure, Le 8:31. The peace offering signified expiation of sin, and thus reconciliation with God, and holy communion with him and with his people.

The sacrifices of offerings of meal or liquors, which were offered for sin, were in favor of the poorer sort, who could not afford to sacrifice an ox or goat or sheep, Le 5:10-13. They contented themselves with offering meal or flour, sprinkled with oil, with spice (or frankincense) over it. And the priest, taking a handful of this flour, with all the frankincense, sprinkled them on the fire of the altar; and all the rest of the flour was his own: he was to eat it without leaven in the tabernacle, and none but priests were to partake of it. As to other offerings, fruits, wine, meal, wafers, or cakes, or any thing else, the priest always cast a part on the altar; the rest belonged to him and the other priests. These offerings were always accompanied with salt and wine, but were without leaven, Le 2:1-16.

Offerings, in which they set at liberty a bird or a goat, were not strictly sacrifices, because there was no shedding of blood, and the victim remained alive.

Sacrifices of birds were offered on three occasions: 1. For sin, when the person offering was not rich enough to provide an animal for a victim, Le 5:7,8 2. For purification of a woman after childbirth, Le 12:6,7. When she could offer a lamb and a young pigeon, she gave both; the lamb for a burnt offering, the pigeon for a sin offering. But if she were not able to offer a lamb, she gave a pair of turtles, or a pair of young pigeons; one for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering. 3. They offered two sparrows for those who were purified from the leprosy; one was a burnt offering, the other was a scape-sparrow, as above, Le 14:4, etc Le 14:1; 27:34.

For the sacrifice of the paschal lamb, see PASSOVER.

The perpetual sacrifice of the tabernacle and temple, Ex 29:38-40; Nu 28:3, was a daily offering of two lambs on the altar of burnt offerings; one in the morning, the other in the evening. They were burnt as holocausts, but by a small fire, that they might continue burning the longer. The lamb of the morning was offered about sunrise, after the incense was burnt on the golden altar, and before any other sacrifice. That in the evening was offered between the two evenings, that is, at the decline of day, and before night. With each of these victims was offered half a pint of wine, half a pint of the purest oil, and an assaron, or about five pints, of the finest flour.

Such were the sacrifices of the Hebrews-sacrifices of divine appointment, and yet altogether incapable in themselves of purifying the soul or atoning for its sins. Paul has described these and other ceremonies of the law "as weak and beggarly elements," Ga 4:9. They represented grace and purity, but they did not communicate it. They convinced the sinner of his necessity of purification and sanctification to God; but they did not impart holiness or justification to him. Sacrifices were only prophecies and figures of the sacrifice, the Lamb of God, which eminently includes all their virtues and qualities; being at the same time a holocaust, a sacrifice for sin, and a sacrifice of thanksgiving; containing the whole substance and efficacy, of which the ancient sacrifices were only representations. The paschal lamb, the daily burnt-offerings, the offerings of flour and wine, and all other oblations, of whatever nature, promised and represented the death of Jesus Christ, Heb 9:9-15; 10:1. Accordingly, by his death he abolished them all, 1Co 5:7; Heb 10:8-10. By his offering of himself once for all, Heb 10:3, he has superseded all other sacrifices, and saves forever all who believe, Eph 5:2; Heb 9:11-26; while without this expiatory sacrifice, divine justice could never have relaxed its hold on a single human soul.

The idea of a substitution of the victim in the place of the sinner is a familiar one in the Old Testament, Le 16:21; De 21:1-8; Isa 53:4; Da 9:26; and is found attending all the sacrifices of animals, Le 4:20,26; 5:10; 14:18; 16:21. This is the reason assigned why the blood especially, as being the very life and soul of the victim, was sprinkled on the altar and poured out before the Lord to signify its utter destruction in the sinner’s stead, Le 17:11. Yet the Jews were carefully directed not to rely on these sacrifices as works of merit. They were taught that without repentance, faith, and reformation, all sacrifices were an abomination to God, Pr 21:27; Jer 6:20; Am 5:22; Mic 6:6-8; that He desires mercy and not sacrifice, Ho 6:6; Mt 9:13, and supreme love to him, Mr 12:33. "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams," 1Sa 15:22; Pr 21:3; Mt 5:23. See also Ps 50:1-23. Then, as truly as under the Christian dispensation, it could be said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise," Ps 51:17. The Jews, without these dispositions, could not present any offering agreeable to God; and he often explains himself on this matter in the prophets, Ps 40:6; Isa 1:11-14; Ho 6:6; Joe 2:12-18; Am 5:21,22, etc.

The term sacrifices is sometimes used metaphorically with respect to the services of Christians; implying a giving up of something that was their own, and a dedication of it to the Lord, Ro 12:1; Php 4:18; Heb 13:15,16; 1Pe 2:5.

Sacrilege

Any profanation or abuse of things peculiarly sacred to God; such as robbing the house of God, or making it a den of thieves, Mt 21:12,13; Ro 2:2.

Sadducees

This name was applied in the time of Jesus to a portion or sect of the Jews, who were usually at variance with the other leading sect, namely, the Pharisees, but united with them in opposing Jesus and accomplishing his death, Mt 16:1-12; Lu 20:27. The name would seem to be derived from a Hebrew word signifying the just; but the Talmudists affirm that it comes from a certain Sadoc, or Sadducus, who was the founder of the sect, and lived about three centuries before the Christian era. The Sadducees disregarded all the traditions and unwritten laws which the Pharisees prized so highly, and professed to consider the Scriptures as the only source and rule of the Jewish religion. They rejected the demonology of the Pharisees; denied the existence of angles and spirits; considered the soul as dying with the body, and of course admitted no future state of rewards and punishments, Mt 22:23. While, moreover, the Pharisees believed that all events and actions were directed by an overruling providence or fate, the Sadducees considered them all as depending on the will and agency of man. The tenets of these freethinking philosophers were not, in general, so acceptable to the people as those of the Pharisees; yet many of the highest rank adopted them, and practiced great severity of manners and of life. Many members of the Sanhedrin were Sadducees, Ac 23:6-9; and so was the high priest in the time of Christ seems to have added bitterness to their hatred of Christianity, Ac 4:1; 5:17.

Saffron

The common Crocus Sativus, a small bluish flower, whose yellow, thread-like stigmata yield an agreeable aromatic odor; and also the Indian saffron, Song 4:14. In the East these were used in making a highly valued perfume, and also as a condiment and a stimulating medicine.

Saint

A holy person, a friend of God, either on earth or in heaven, De 33:2. It is sometimes used of the pious Israelites, as Ps 16:3; 34:9. Nothing is more frequent in Paul than the name of saints given to all Christians, Ro 1:7; 8:27; 12:13; 15:25,31; 16:2. In this acceptation it continued during the early ages of Christianity; nor was it applied to individuals declared to be saints by any other act of the church than admission to its membership, till various corruptions had depraved the primitive principles. The church of Rome assumes the power of making saints; that is, of announcing certain departed spirits as objects of worship, from whom the faithful may solicit favors-a notion worthy of the dark ages in which it originated.

Salamis

The chief city of the isle of Cyprus, visited by Paul and Barnabas, A. D. 48. This was the native isle of Barnabas, and many Jews resided there to whom the gospel had already been carried, Ac 4:36; 11:19,20; 21:16. Paul’s visit was signalized by the miracle wrought on Elymas, and by the conversion of the governor, Sergius Paulus, Ac 13:5-12. Sakanus was a large city, situated on the east side of the island, and was afterwards called Constantia.

Salathiel

1Co 3:17, or SHEALTIEL, father of Zerubbabel, Ezr 3:2; Ne 12:1; Hag 1:1; one of the ancestors of Christ, named in both the gospel genealogies, Mt 1:14; Lu 3:27. See GENEALOGY.

Salchah

A city of Bashan, conquered by the Jews and assigned to Manasseh, De 3:10; Jos 12:5; 13:11. It was near the border of Gad, 1Ch 5:11, and where the boundary line between the two tribes ran out farthest into the desert. A town called Salchat still exists there, on the southeast border of the modern Hauran.

Salem

Peace

1. An ancient name of Jerusalem, Ge 14:18; Heb 7:1,3, afterwards applied to it poetically, Ps 76:2.

2. A city of the Shechemites, east of Sychar, Ge 33:18.

Salim

A town near Enon and the Jordan, south of Bethshean, Joh 3:23.

Salmon

Or SALMAH 1Ch 2:11, a chief man of the tribe of Judah, husband of Rahab, and father of Boaz, Ru 4:20; Mt 1:4,5; Lu 3:32. See ZALMON.

Salmone

A promontory at the northeast extremity of the island of Crete, now cape Sidero, Ac 27:7.

Salome

Wife of Zebedee, mother of James the elder and John the evangelist, one of those holy women of Galilee who attended our Savior in his journeys and ministered to him, Mt 20.20-23. Her conception as to the true nature of Christ’s kingdom were no doubt changed by his crucifixion, which she witnessed "afar off," and by his resurrection, of which she was early apprized by the angels at the tomb, Mr 15:40; 16:1. Some infer, from comparing Mt 27:56 and Joh 19:25, that she was a sister of Mary the mother of Jesus.

Salome was also the name of the daughter of Herodias.

Salt

Was procured by the Jews from the Dead Sea, wither from the immense hill or ridge of pure rock salt at its southwest extremity, or from that deposited on the shore by the natural evaporation. The Arabs obtain it in large cakes, two or three inches thick, and sell it in considerable quantities throughout Syria. It well-known preservative qualities, and its importance as a seasoning for food, Job 6:6, are implied in most of the passages where it is mentioned in Scripture: as in the miraculous healing of a fountain, 2Ki 2:21; in the sprinkling of salt over the sacrifices consumed on God’s altar, Le 2:13; Eze 43:24; Mr 9:49; and its use in the sacred incense, Ex 30:35. So also good men are "the salt of the earth," Mt 5:13; and grace, or true wisdom, is the salt of language, Mr 9:50; Col 4:6. See also Eze 16:4. To sow a land with salt, signifies its utter barrenness and desolation; a condition often illustrated in the Bible by allusions to the region of Sodom and Gomorrah, with its soil impregnated with salt, or covered with acrid and slimy pools, De 29.33; Job 39.9; Ezekiel 47.11; Zep 2.9.

Salt is also the symbol of perpetuity and incorruption. Thus they said of a covenant, "It is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord," Nu 18:19; 2Ch 13:5. It is also the symbol of hospitality; and of the fidelity due from servants, friends, guests, and officers, to those who maintain them or who receive them at their tables. The governors of the provinces beyond the Euphrates, writing to the king Artaxerxes, tell him, "Because we have maintenance from the king’s palace," Ezr 4:14.

VALLEY OF SALT. This place is memorable for the victories of David, 2Sa 8:13; 1Ch 18:12; Ps 60:1-12, and of Amaziah, 2Ki 14:7, over the Edomites. There can be little doubt that the name designates the broad deep valley El-Ghor, prolonged some eight miles south of the Dead Sea to the chalky cliffs called Akrabbim. Like all this region, it bears the marks of volcanic action, and has an air of extreme desolation. It is occasionally overflowed by the bitter waters of that sea, which rise to the height of fifteen feet. The driftwood on the margin of the valley, which indicates this rise of the water, is so impregnated with salt that it will not burn; and on the northwest side of the valley lies a mountain of salt. Parts of this plain are white with salt; others are swampy, or marked by sluggish streams or standing pools of brackish water. The southern part is covered in part with tamarisks and coarse shrubbery. Some travellers have found here quicksand pits in which camels and horses have been swallowed up and lost, Ge 14:10; Zep 2:9. See JORDAN and SEA 3.

Salutation

The usual formula of salutation among the Hebrews was Shalom lekha, that is, Peace be with thee. The same expression is the common one among the Arabs to the present day: they say, Salam lekha, to which the person saluted replies, "With thee be peace," Ge 29:6; Judg 18:15, margin. Hence we hear of the Arab and Turkish Salams, that is, salutations. Other phrases of salutation are found in Scripture, most of them invoking a blessing: as "The Lord be with thee;" "All hail," or Joy to thee; "Blessed be thou of the Lord."

These and similar phrases the oriental still use on all occasions with the most profuse and punctilious politeness. The letter of an Arab will be nearly filled with salutations; and should he come in to tell you your house was on fire, he would first give and receive the compliments of the day, and then say perhaps, "If God will, all is well; but your house is on fire." Their more formal salutations they accompany with various ceremonies or gestures; sometimes they embrace and kiss each other; sometimes an inferior kiss the hand or the beard of a superior, or bows low, with the hand upon the breast, and afterwards raises it to his lips or forehead. See Jacob’s salutation of Esau, Ge 43:1-34; and compare Ge 19:1; 23:7; 42:6; 1Sa 25:44; 2Sa 1:2; Joh 20:26. The due and dignified performance of some of these ceremonious courtesies, especially when frequently recurring, requires much time; and hence, when the prophet sent his servant in great haste to lay his staff upon the dead child, he forbade him to salute any one, or answer any salutation by the way, 2Ki 4:29.

For a similar reason, our Savior forbade the seventy disciples to salute any one by the way, Lu 10:4, that is, in this formal and tedious manner, wasting precious time. Much of the oriental courtesy was superficial with it what was "better than life." "My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you," Joh 14:27.

Salvation

Means, strictly, deliverance; and so it is used of temporal deliverance, victory, in Ge 14:13; 1Sa 14:45. But as the spiritual deliverance from sin and death, through the Redeemer, Mt 1:21, is a far greater salvation, so this word has come to be used mostly only in this moral and spiritual sense; and implies not only this deliverance, but also the consequences of it, namely, eternal life and happiness in the kingdom of out Lord, 2Co 7:10; Eph 1:13. It is most justly described as a "great salvation," Heb 2:3.

The Hebrews rarely use concrete terms, as they are called, but often abstract terms. Thus, instead of saying, God saves them and protects them, they say, God is their salvation. So, a voice of salvation, tidings of salvation, the rock of salvation, the shield of salvation, a horn of salvation, a word of salvation, etc., are equivalent to a voice declaring deliverance; the joy that attends escape from a great danger; a rock where any one takes refuge, and is in safety; a buckler that secures from the attack of an enemy; a horn or ray of glory, of happiness and salvation, etc. Thus, to work great salvation in Israel signifies to deliver Israel from some imminent danger, to obtain a great victory over enemies.

The "garments of salvation," Isa 61:10, refer to the splendid robes worn on festival days. The expression is used figuratively to denote the reception of a signal favor from God, such as deliverance from great danger.

Samaria

1. One of the three divisions of the Holy Land in the time of our Savior, having Galilee on the north and Judea on the south, the Jordan on the east and the Mediterranean on the west, and occupying parts of the territory assigned at first to Ephraim, Mahasseh, and Issachar, Lu 17:11; Joh 4:4. It is described as having its hills less bare than those of Judea, and its valleys and plains more cultivated and fruitful. See CANAAN. Many gospel churches were early planted here, Ac 8:1,25; 9:31; 15:3.

2. A city situated near the middle of Palestine, some six miles northwest of Shechem. It was built by Omri king of Israel, about 920 B. C., and named after Shemer the previous owner of the mountain or hill on which the city stood, 1Ki 16.23,24. It became the favorite residence of the kings of Israel, instead of Shechem and Thirzah the former capitals. It was highly adorned with public buildings. Ahab built there a palace of ivory, 1Ki 22:39, and also a temple of Baal, 1Ki 16:32,33, which Jehu destroyed, 2Ki 10:18-28. The prophets often denounced it for its idolatry, Isa 9:9; Eze 16:46-63. It was twice besieged by the Syrians, 1Ki 20:1-43; 2Ki 6:24; 7:1-20. At length Shalmanezer king of Assyria captured and destroyed the city, and removed the people of the land, B. C. 720, 2Ki 17:3-6; Ho 10:5-7; Mic 1:1-6. See OMRI. The city was in part rebuilt by Cuthits imported from beyond the Tigris, but was again nearly destroyed by John Hyrcanus. The Roman proconsul Gabinius once more restored it and calling it Gabinia; and it was afterwards given by Augustus to Herod the Great, who enlarged and adorned it, and gave it the name of Sebaste, the Greek translation of the Latin word Augusta, in honor of the emperor. He placed in it a colony of six thousand persons, surrounded it with a strong wall, and built a magnificent temple in honor of Augustus. Early in the apostolic age it was favored by the successful labors of Philip and others, Ac 8.5-25; and the church then formed continued in existence several centuries, till the city of Herod was destroyed. Sebaste was afterwards revived, and is mentioned in the histories of the Crusades. It is now an inconsiderable village, called Sebustieh, with a few cottages built of stones from the ancient ruins.

The following is the account of the modern city, as given by Richardson: "Its situation is extremely beautiful and strong by nature; more so, I think, than Jerusalem. It stands on a fine large insulated hill, compassed all round by a broad, deep valley; and when fortified, as it is stated to have been by Herod, one would imagine that in the ancient system of warfare nothing but famine would have reduced such a place. The valley is surrounded by four hills, one on each side, which are cultivated in terraces to the top, sown with grain and planted with fig and olive trees, as is also the valley. The hill of Samaria rises in terraces to a height equal to any of the adjoining mountains."

"The present village is small and poor, and after passing the valley, the ascent to it is very steep; but viewed from the station of our tents, it is extremely interesting, both from its natural situation and from the picturesque remains of a ruined convent of good Gothic architecture."

"Having passed the village, towards the middle of the first terrace there is a number of columns still standing. I counted twelve in one row, besides several that stood apart, the brotherless remains of other rows. The situation is extremely delightful, and my guide informed me that they belonged to the serai or palace. On the next terrace there are no remains of solid building, but heaps of stones and lime, and rubbish mixed with the soil in great profusion. Ascending to the third or highest terrace, the traces of former buildings were not so numerous, but we enjoyed a delightful view of the surrounding country. The eye passed over the deep valley that compassed the hill of Sebaste, and rested on the mountains beyond, that retreated as they rose with a gentle slope, and met the view in every direction, like a book laid out for perusal on a writingdesk."