Hunting – Hyssop

Hunting

Hunting is not conspicuous in the Hterature of the Hebrews that remains to us. We may probably infer that it did not bulk largely in their life. As an amusement, it seems to belong to a more advanced stage of civilization than they had reached. The typical hunter was found outside their borders (Gu 10»). Esau, skilful in the chase, is depicted as somewhat uncouth and simple (Genesis 25:27 etc.). Not till the time of Herod do we hear of a king achieving exceUeuce in this form of sport (Jos. BJ I. xxi. 13). Wild animals and birds were, however, appreciated as food (Leviticus 17:13, 1 Samuel 26:20 etc.); and in a country like Palestine, abounding in beasts and birds of prey, some proficiency in the huntsman’s art was necessary in order to secure the safety of the community, and the protection of the flocks. Among these ‘evil beasts’ lions and bears were the most dangerous (Genesis 37:33, 1 Kings 13:24, 2 Kings 2:24, Proverbs 28:15 etc.). Deeds of prowess in the slaughter of such animals — by Samson in self-defence (Judges 14:6), David the shepherd to rescue his charges (1 Samuel 17:34), and Benaiah (2 Samuel 23:20) — gained for these men abiding fame. H. P. Smith (Samuel, in loc.) would read of Benaiah: ‘He used to go down and smite the lions in the pit on snowy days,’ when he could track them easily. The difficulty is that snowy days would be rather few to permit of his making a reputation in this way.

Among the animals hunted for food were the gazelle, the hart, the roebuck, and the wild goat (Deuteronomy 12:15, 22 14:5 etc.). The first three are mentioned specially as furnishing the table of Solomon (1 Kings 4:23). The partridge was perhaps the bird chiefly hunted in ancient times, as it is at the present day (1 Samuel 26:20). Neither beast nor bird might be eaten unless the blood had been ‘poured out’ (Leviticus 17:13, Deuteronomy 12:16 etc.) — a law still observed by the Moslems.

Little information Is given In Scripture as to the methods followed by the huntsmen. The hunting dog is not mentioned; but it is familiar to Josephus (.Ant. VI. viii. 9). The following implements were in use, viz.: — the bow and arrow (Genesis 27 etc.), the club (Job 41:29), nets (Job 19:6, Psalms 9:16, Isaiah 51:20 etc.), pits, in which there might be a net, dug and concealed to entrap the larger animals (Psalms 9. Ezekiel 19:8 etc.), the sling (1 Samuel 17:40), the snare of the fowler (Psalms 64 91 124:7). The tame partridge in a cage was used as a decoy (Sirach 11:30). The modern Syrian is not greatly addicted to hunting. Occasional raids are made upon the bears on Mt. Hermon. To the scandal of Jew and Moslem, Christians sometimes hunt the wild boar in the Huleh marshes, and in the thickets beyond Jordan. See also Nets, Snares, etc.

W. EWINQ.

Hupham

See Huppim,

Huppah

A priest of the 13th course (1 Chronicles 24:13).

Huppim

The head of a Benjamite family (Gn 4621 p, 1 Chronicles 7:12, 15, Numbers 26:39 [Hupham]).

Hur

The name is possibly of Egyptian origin. 1. With Aaron he held up Moses’ hands, in order that by the continual uplifting of the sacred staff Israel might prevail over Amalek (Exodus 17:10, 12 e). With Aaron he was left in charge of the people when Moses ascended the mountain (24:14 E). 2. A Judahite, the grandfather of Bezalel (Exodus 31:2 SS’" SS^^ P). According to the Chronicler, he was descended from Perez, through Hezron and Caleb (1 Chronicles 2 4:1–4, 2 Chronicles 1:5) and in Jos. Ant. III. ii. 4, yi. 1, he is the husband of Miriam, and identical with 1. 3. One of the kings of Midian slain after the sin at Peor (Numbers 31:8) described as ‘chiefs’ of Midian, and ‘princes’ of Sihon (Joshua 13:21). 4. The father of one of the twelve officers who supplied Solomon and his court with food (1 Kings 4:8 RV ‘Ben-hur’) 6. The father of Rephaiah, who was a ruler of half of Jerusalem, and who helped to repair the walls (Nehemiah 3:9). LXX omits the name Hur. A. H. M’ Neile.

Hurai

See Hiddai.

Huram

1. A Benjamite (1 Chronicles 8). 2. 3. See Hiram, 1 and 2.

Hurl

A Gadite (1 Chronicles 5:14).

Husband

See Family.

Husbandman, Husbandry

In EV the former is, in most cases, synonymous with ‘a tiller of the ground,’ which RV has substituted for it in Zee IS"— in modern English, a farmer. The first farmer mentioned in OT, therefore, is not Noah the ‘husbandman’ (Genesis 9:20), but Cain the ‘tiller of the ground’ (4:2). In jn IS’, however, the former has the more limited sense of vinedresser: ‘I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser’ (AV and RV ‘husbandman’). So, too, in the parable of the Vineyard (Matthew 21:33 ff.).

‘Husbandry,’ in the same way, is tillage, farming. Thus of king Uzziah it is said that ‘he loved husbandry’ (lit. ‘the land’ in the modern sense, 2 Chronicles 26), that is, as the context shows, he loved and fostered agriculture, including viticulture. In 1 Corinthians 3:9 ‘husbandry’ is used by meton3rmy of the land tilled (cf. RVm): ‘ye are God’s field’ (Weymouth, TAe NT in Modern Speech). A. R. S. Kennedy.

Hushah

Son of Ezer, the son of Hur (see Hun, 2), and therefore of the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 4:4).

Hushai

An Archite (2 Samuel 15:32 17:5, 14), i.e. a native of ‘the border of the Archltes’ (Joshua 16:2) to the W. of Bethel. He is further described as ‘the friend of David’ (15:37). while at 2 Samuel 16:16 the two titles are united. At the rebellion of Absalom he was induced by David to act as if he favoured the cause of the king’s son. By so doing he was enabled both to defeat the plans of Abitbophel and to keep David informed (by means of Ahimaaz and Jonathan, the sons of Zadok and Abiathar the priests) of the progress of events in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 16:16 17:23). He is probably to be identified with the father of Baana, one of Solomon’s twelve commissariat officers (1 Kings 4:16).

Husham

A king of Edom (Genesis 36:34, 35 =1 Ch 1).

Hushathite

(prob. =au inhabitant of Hushah). This description is applied to Sibbecai, one of David’s thirty heroes (2 Samuel 21:18 Ch 20:4, 2 Samuel 23:27 = 1 Chronicles 11:29 27:11).

Hushim

1. The eponym of a Danite family (Genesis 46) called in Numbers 26:42 Shuham. In 1 Chronicles 7:12 Hushim seems to be a Benjamite, but it is possible that for ‘sons of Aher’ we should read ‘sons of another,’ i.e. Dan. 2. The wife of Shaharaim the Benjamite (1 Chronicles 8:8, 11).

Husks

Husks (keratia, Luke 15:16) are almost certainly the pods of the carob tree {Ceratonia silicpia), commonly called the locust tree. This common Palestine tree is distinguished by its beautiful dark glossy foliage. The long pods, which ripen from May to August according to the altitude, are even to-day used as food by the poor; a confection is made from them. But they are used chiefly for cattle. The name ‘St. John’s bread’ is given to these pods, from a tradition that these, and not locusts, composed the food of St. John the Baptist, but see Food, 18. E. W. G. Masteeman.

Huzzab

A word occurring in Nahum 2:7. Gesenius derived it from a verb tsdbhabh, and read ‘the palace is dissolved and made to flow dovm.’ Many recent authorities regard it as from natsabh, and tr. ‘it is decreed.* But Wellhausen and others have considered it a proper name — referring to the Assyrian queen, or to the city of Nineveh personified. W. M. Nesbit.

Hyacinth

Revelation 9:17 RV; AV ‘jacinth.’ See

Jewels and Pkecious Stones.

HYiENA (zffi6«ffi’, Jeremiah 12:9 [but see art. Speckled Bird]. Zeboim [1 S 13:1] probably means ‘[Valley of] Hysenas’). — The hyaena (Arab, daba’ ) is a very common Palestine animal, concerning which the iellahln have countless tales. It is both hated and dreaded; it consumes dead bodies, and will even dig up corpses in the cemeteries; the writer has known such rifling of graves to occur on the Mount of Olives. It is nocturnal in its habits; in the day-time it hides in solitary caves, to which the felkiMn often follow it and attack it by various curious devices. In the gathering dusk and at night the hungry hyaena frequently becomes very bold, and will follow with relentless persistence a solitary pedestrian, who, if he cannot reach safety, will surely be killed. In spite of its habits it is eaten at times by the Bedouin. E. W. G. Masterman.

Hydaspes

A river mentioned in Judith 1:6 as on the Medo-Babylonian frontier. The name is probably the result of a confusion with the well-known Hydaspes in India (now the Jalam). In view of the mythical character of the Book of Judith, speculation as to the identity of this river is likely to remain fruitless. However, there may be a suggestion in the fact that the Syr. version reads Ulai (wh. see). W. M. Nesbit.

HYia:EN.fiiUS. — A heretical Christian associated vrith Alexander in 1 Timothy 1:19 f.; and with Philetus in 2 Timothy 2:17 f.; though some have considered that two different persons are meant. These false teachers ‘made shipwreck concerning the faith’; their heresy consisted in denying the bodily resurrection, saying that the resurrection was already past — apparently an early form of Gnosticism which, starting with the idea of matter being evil, made the body an unessential part of our nature, to be discarded as soon as possible. In the former passage St. Paul says that he ‘delivered’ the offenders ‘unto Satan, Ihat they might be taught not to blaspheme ‘; he uses a similar phrase of the Incestuous Corinthian (1 Corinthians 5:5), there also expressing the purpose of the punishment, — the salvation of the man’s spirit. The phrase may mean simple excommunication with renunciation of all fellowship, or may include a miraculous infliction of disease, or even of death. Ramsay suggests that it is a Christian adaptation of a pagan idea, when a person wronged by another, but unable to retaliate, consigned the offender to the gods and left punishment to be inflicted by Divine power.

A. J. Maclean.

Hyun

Hyun (in NT; for OT, see Music, Poetry, Psalms). — The Greek word signified specifically a poem in praise of a god or hero, but it is used, less exactly, also for a religious poem, even one of petition. The use of hymns in the early Christian Church was to be anticipated from the very nature of worship, and from the close connexion between the worship of the disciples and that of the Jews of that and earlier centuries. It is proved by the numerous incidental references in the NT (cf. Acts 16:25, 1 Corinthians 14:26, Ephesians 5:19, James 5:13. and the passages cited below), and by the famous letter of Pliny to Trajan describing the customs of the Christians. We lack, however, any collection of hymns comparable to the Psahns of the OT. Doubtless the Psalms were largely used, as at the Passover feast when the Lord’s Supper was instituted (Mt 26)) but in addition new songs would be written to express the intense emotions of the disciples, and even their spontaneous utterances in the gatherings of early Christians would almost inevitably take a rhythmical form, modelled more or less closely upon the Psalms. In some localities, perhaps, Greek hymns served as the models. St. Paul insists (1 Corinthians 14:15, Colossians 3:16) that the singing be with the spirit and the understanding, an intelligent expression of real religious feeling. These passages specify ‘psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.’ While at first it seems as if three classes of composition are here distinguished, either as to source or character, it is probably not the case, especially as in Matthew 26:30, Mark 14:26 the verb ‘to hymn’ is used of singing a psalm. Luke’s Gospel contains several hymns, but does not mention their use by the disciples. They are the Magniftcat (Lk the Benedictus (1), the Gloria in Excelsis (2:14), and the Nunc Dimittis (2). Whether these were Jewish or Jewish-Christian in origin is disputed. The free introduction of hymns of praise in the Apocalypse, in description of the worship of the new Jerusalem, points to their use by the early Church. The poetical and liturgical character of some other NT passages is asserted with more or less reason by different scholars (e.g. Ephesians 5:14, 1 Timothy 1:17 3:16 6:16, 2 Timothy 4:18). See Hastings’ DCG, art. ‘Hymn.’

Owen H. Gates.

Hypocrite

This word occurs in the NT only in the Synoptic Gospels; but ‘hypocrisy’ is used in the Epistles (Galatians 2:13, 1 Timothy 4:2, 1 Peter 2:1), and the verb ‘to play the hypocrite’ in Luke 20:20 (tr. ‘feigned’). The hypocrisy of the Gospels is the ‘appearing before men what one ought to be, but is not, before God." At times it is a deliberately played part (e.g. Matthew 6:2, 5, 16 22:18 etc.), at others it is a deception of which the actor himself is unconscious (e.g. Mark 7:6, Luke 6:42 12:56 etc.). Thus, according to Christ, all who play the part of religion, whether consciously or unconsciously, without being religious, are hypocrites; and so fall under His sternest denunciation (Matthew 23). This meaning of the word has led some to give it the wider interpretation of’ godlessness ‘in some passages (e.g. Matthew 24:51) cf. Luke 12:46)) but as there may always be seen In the word the idea of a religious cloak over the godlessness, the ordinary sense should stand.

In the AV of OT (e.g. Job 8:13. Isaiah 9:17) ‘hypocrite’ is a mistranslation of the Heb. word chS/nSph. It passed into the AV from the Latin, which followed the Greek Versions. In RV it is rendered ‘godless,’ ‘profane.’ Chakles T. p. Ghiebson.

Hyrcanus

1. The son of Tobias, who had money deposited at Jerus., in the Temple treasury, at the time of the visit of HeliodOrus (2 Maccabees 3:11). The name seems to be a local appellative. Its use among the Jews is perhaps to be explained from the fact that Artaxerxes Ochus transported a number of Jews to Hyrcauia. 2. See Maccabees, § 6.

Hyssop

Hyssop is mentioned several times in the Bible. It was used for sprinkling blood (Exodus 2:22), and in the ritual of the cleansing of lepers (Leviticus 14:4, Numbers 19:6) ; it was an insignificant plant growing out of the wall (1 Kings 4) it could afford a branch strong enough to support a wet sponge (John 19:29). It is possible that all these references are not to a single species. Among many suggested plants the most probable is either a species of marjoram, e.g., Origanum maru, or the common caper-plant (Capparis spinosa), which may be seen growing out of crevices in walls all over Palestine. See Caper-berry. E. W. G. Mastebman.

lADINUS (1 Esdras 9:48) =Jamin of Nehemiah 8:7.