Nethineve – Novice

Nethineve

The word is a late form of a passive participle reeJftfinJm, and denotes ‘men who are given.’ In early days, when sacrifices were offered in the open air, there was little difficulty occasioned by the odour and dirt arising from the blood, fat, and ashes. But when they were offered within the walls of a temple, and offered with great frequency and with large numbers of victims, some very disagreeable drudgery was always necessary. The chopping of wood, lighting of fires, sharpening of knives, drawing of water, the cleansing not only of the altar and its surroundings and utensils, but of the whole of the Temple precincts, and the performance of many menial offices for the priests, required a large staff of servants. The analogy of other lands suggests that these offices would be performed by slaves, procured either by purchase or capture. The Greeks had hierodouloi, ‘temple slaves,’ and the Mohammedans at Mecca similarly. It is not known at what date the practice arose in Israel; but there seem to have been three stages in the history of Temple servants. (1) They were slaves in the strict sense; (2) they were admitted to Israelite privileges, being circumcised, and treated as free men holding an official position in the Church; (3) they rose in standing and prestige so as to become practically equivalent to the Levites.

1. The name Nethinim is not used before the Exile. Ezra 8:20 speaks of the Nethinim as those ‘whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites,’ which shows, at least, that common belief traced their origin back to David. A very similar class of persons, ‘the children of Solomon’s servants,’ is mentioned in Ezra 2. Nehemiah 7:57, 60 I P; their descent was evidently traced to the non-Israelite slaves employed by Solomon in connexion with his buildings, some of whom must have laboured in the new royal sanctuary (cf. 1 Kings 9:19–21). This employment of foreign slaves in the Temple continued till the beginning of the Exile (Ezekiel 44:6 f.).

2. A change in the status of these men was brought about by the Exile. When the people were far from the land, every one who had held any sort of position in the ‘Temple must have gained a certain prestige. The former ‘Temple-slaves seemed to have formed themselves into a guild. By the very fact of their exile, they were freed from their slavery to the Temple, and thus when they and their sons returned to Jerusalem, they returned as free men, who were recognized as part of the nation. As a guild, they acquired for themselves the title Nethinim, owing to their traditional origin. In Ezra 2:43–58, 70 7 are given the names of the Nethinim who are reported to have returned with Zerubbabel; and they are mentioned together with priests, Levites, singers, and porters. Some of the names in the list are undoubtedly of foreign origin. Again, Ezra relates (,8^°) that on his return, 220 Nethinim from Casiphia accompanied him. After a time we find them so completely established as a sacred official class, that privileges are accorded to them. They shared with priests, Levites, singers, and porters, immunity from taxation (Ezra 7:24). They lived in a special quarter of the city, named Ophel, i.e. the southern and eastern slope of the Temple hill, or more particularly that part of it which reached to the Water-gate on the east, and to the tower projecting from the royal palace (Nehemiah 3:26). They were thus near the Temple, and Bp. Ryle (Ezra, etc., p. Iviii) points out the appropriateness of assigning to’ drawers of water’ the position by the Water-gate, which communicated with the Virgin’s Spring. And v. 31 mentions ‘the house of the Nethinim,’ which must have been an ofHcial building used by them during their periods of duty. They were under the command of two chiefs — of whom one, at least, was a member of their own body — Ziha and Gishpa (Nehemiah 11:21) ; the former is the first in the list, in Ezra 2 Nehemiah 7:46, and Gishpa may possibly be the same as Hasupha, the second name. Further, only a portion of them, like the priests, Levites, singers, and porters, dwelt in Jerusalem; the others ‘dwelt in their cities’ (Ezra 2:70 7. 1 Chronicles 9:2). And so far were they from being regarded as foreign slaves, that they joined, as full members of the community, in the oath that they would not (among other things) allow their sons and daughters to marry any but Israelites (Nehemiah 10:28–30).

3. From this point the Nethinim gradually rose in official position, until they were Indistinguishable from the Levites. In 1 Chronicles 23:28 the Levites are spoken of in such a way as to suggest that the term included all Temple-servants. And conversely, since singers and doorkeepers (who are quite distinct from Levites in Ezr.-Neh.) were explicitly reckoned by the Chronicler as Levites (1 Chronicles 15:16 26:1–19). it is probable that the same was the case with the Nethinim. Finally, in 1 Esdras 1:3 the Levites, and in " the Nethinim, are described by the same term, hierodouloi.

A. H. M’ Neile. NETOPHAH.— A town, the name of which first occurs in the list of the exiles who returned under Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:22 7:26 = 1 Esdras 5:18 Netophas). Perhaps the name is preserved in the modern Beit Nettif at the entrance to the Wady es-Sunt or Vale of Elah. The gentilic name the Netophathite(s) occurs in 2 Samuel 23:28 f.: 2 Kings 25:23. Jeremiah 40:8.

Netophas

Netophas (1 Esdras 5:18) =Netophah of Ezra 2:22)) Nehemiah 7:26.

Nets

Nets were used in taking wild animals (see Hunting), and birds (see Snares) ; but their main use has always been in fishing. The ancient Hebrews were not fishermen, nor do they seem to have eaten much fish. There is no reference in OT to fishing in the inland waters of Palestine. The fishermen and the implements named are either Egyptian or Phoenician. The ‘fisherpartners’ of Job 41:6 are Phoenicians; the fishermen of Isaiah 19:8 are Egyptians. Fish were taken along the Mediterranean coast with ‘line and hook’ (Job 41:1. Isaiah 19:8, Amos 4:2). and the ‘fish-spear’ or ‘harpoon’ (Job 41:7). But sufficient quantities for commercial purposes could be obtained only by means of nets, (a) Heb. mikmar (Isaiah 51:20) and makmUr (Psalms 141:10) and the fern. forms mikmSreth (Isaiah 19:8) and mikmereth (Habakkuk 1:15, 16) is probably =Gr. sagera (Matthew 13:47). the Arab, jarf, ‘draw-net.’ It is as much as 400 metres long, 20 ft. deep, and of fine mesh, so that it sweeps everything before it. From the stern of a boat it is paid out in a great semicircle, the lower edge carried down by lead sinkers, the upper sustained by cork floats. It is then drawn ashore, with its contents, by ropes attached to the ends. Fishermen swim behind, diving to ease it over stones and other obstructions. This accounts for Simon Peter’s condition (John 21:7). (6) Heb. cherem (Ezekiel 26:5, Habakkuk 1:15 etc.), Gr. amphihUstron (Matthew 14:18 etc.), the mod. shabakeh, ‘cast-net.’ It is circular, of close mesh, with a cord attached to the centre. The fisherman gathers it together, arranges it on his arm and shoulder, and moves, or wades, stealthily along the shore until he sees signs of fish within reach; then, with a skilful cast, the net flies out and drops full circle on the water; lead beads round the circumference carry it to the bottom, enclosing the fish, which are then secured at leisure, (c) A net used to-day, called m’batlen, consists of three nets strung on a single rope, the two outer being of wide, the inner of close, mesh. It is let down in fairly deep water, parallel with the shore. The fish pass through the outer net, pushing the inner before them through the wide meshes on the other side, thus being entangled. The net is pulled up and emptied into the boats, (d) Gr. diW!/om(Mt4™etc.) is aterm used for nets in general. In the LXX amphiblesiron and sagene are used indiscriminately as tr. alike of chSrem and mikmdr, etc.

A tax is levied on all fish caught in the Sea of Galilee. The favourite fishing-grounds are near ‘Ain et-Fullyeh, south of el-Mejdel; the bay at et-TObigha; and the waters of el-Bateihah in the N.E. The Upper Jordan and el-HUleh lie within the private lands of the Sultan, to whom payment is made for fishing rights. See an excellent account of’ The Fisheries of Galilee’ in PEFSt, Jan. 1908, p. 40 fl., by Dr. Masterman of Jerusalem.

W. EWING.

Nettle

1. cMrai (Job 30:7, Proverbs 24:31, Zephaniah 2:9). more probably a generic name for thorn bushes growing in the wilderness, such as the Zisyphus and varieties of acacia. 2. qimmds (Isaiah 34:13, Hosea 9:6), qimmesSnlm (Pr 24 EV ‘thorns’). These words all refer probably to nettles, which are abundant in deserted places in Palestine. E. W. G. Mastebman.

New Birth

See Regeneration.

New Moon

See Feasts, § 2, and Moon.

New Testament

See Bible, Canon of NT.Text OF NT.

Neziah

The name of a family of Nethinlm (Ezra 2, Nehemiah 7:56) called in 1 Esdras 5:32 Nasi or Hasith (tiie latter form in AV and RVm).

Nezib

A town in the ShephSlah of Judah ( Joshua 15) ; the present Beit Nusib, 7 Roman miles from Eleutheropolis on the road to Hebron.

Nebhaz

An idol of the Avvites (2 Kings 17). But the Heb. text is corrupt, and no identification of this deity is possible.

Nibshan

A city in the desert of Judah (Joshua 15:62). The name has not been recovered.

Nicanor

1. Son of Patroclus, a Syrian general who was engaged in the Jewish wars (1 Mao 3"). He was sent by Lysias in B.C. 166 against Judas Maccabseus, but was defeated. Five years later he was sent on the same errand by Demetrius; this time he endeavoured to win by strategy what he had failed to gain by force, jigain he was compelled to fight, and was twice defeated, once at Capharsalama (1 Maccabees 7), and again at Adasa, where he lost his life. The day of his death was ordained to be kept as a festival as ‘Nlcanor’s Day.’ The account in 2 Mac (esp. 14) differs in several details. 2. One of the ‘Seven’ (Acts 6:5).

T. A. MoxoN.

Nicodemus

A Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin (John 3:1 7:50), elderly (3:4) and evidently well-todo (19:39). He is mentioned only in the Fourth Gospel, and there he figures thrice. (1) At the outset of His ministry Jesus went up to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of the Passover, and His miracles made a deep impression on Nicodemus, half persuading him that He was the Messiah ; insomuch that he interviewed Him secretly under cover of the darkness (John 3:1–21). He began by raising the question of the miracles, which, he allowed, proved Jesus at the least a God-commissioned teacher; but Jesus interrupted him and set him face to face with the urgent and personal matter of regeneration. Nicodemus went away bewildered, but a seed had been planted in his soul. (2) During the third year of His ministry, Jesus went up to the Feast of Tabernacles (October). The rulers were now His avowed enemies, and they convened a meeting of the Sanhedrin to devise measures against Him (7:45–52). Nicodemus was present, and, a disciple at heart but afraid to avow his faith, he merely raised a point of order: ‘Doth our law judge a man, except it first hear himself and know what he doeth?’ (RV). (3) At the meeting of the Sanhedrin which condemned Jesus to death Nicodemus made no protest; probably he absented himself. But after the Crucifixion, ashamed of his cowardice, he at last avowed himself and joined with Joseph of Arimathsea in giving the Lord’s body a kingly burial (19:39). David Smith.

Nicolaitans

See next article.

Nicolas

(lit. ‘conqueror of the people’). Among the Seven chosen in Acts 6 to minister to the Hellenists or Greek-speaking Jews, was Nicolas, a ‘proselyte of Antioch.’ The remaining six, we infer, were of Jewish birth, for ‘proselyte’ is the emphatic word (e*). At a later age the Jews divided converts to Judaism into two classes, ‘proselytes of righteousness,’ who were circumcised and who kept the whole Law, and ‘proselytes of the gate,’ who had only a somewhat undefined connexion with Israel. It is probable that this difference in its essence also holds in NT, where the latter class are called ‘God-fearing’ or ‘devout,’ a description which in Acts appears to be technical (so Lightfoot, Ramsay; this is disputed, however). If the view here stated be true, there were three stages in the advance towards the idea of a Catholic Church: (1) the admission of Nicolas, a full proselyte, to office in the Christian Church, followed by the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch, also probably a full proselyte (8:27) (2) the baptism of Cornelius, a ‘God-fearing’ proselyte, i.e. of the latter class; (3) the direct admission of heathen to the Church without their haying had any connexion with Judaism.

Nicolas is not further mentioned in NT, but Irenaeus and Hippolytus assert that he was the founder of the Nicolaltans of Revelation 2:6, 15 (if indeed a real sect is there meant); and Lightfoot thinks that ‘there might well be a heresiarch among the Seven’ {Galatianifi, p. 297). It is, however, equally probable that this was only a vain claim of the late 2nd cent, sect of that name mentioned by Tertullian, for both heretics and orthodox of that and succeeding ages apocryphally claimed Apostolic authority for their opinions and writings; or it is not unlikely that the Nicolaitans of Revelation 2 were so called because they exaggerated and distorted in an antinomian sense the doctrine of Nicolas, who grobably preached the liberty of the gospel. Irenseus and [ippolytus are not likely to have known more about the matter than we do. A. J. Maclean.

NIGOFOLIS, or the ‘city of victory,’ was founded by Augustus in B.C. 31, on the spot where he had had his camp before the battle of Actium. It was made a Roman colony, and was peopled by citizens drawn from various places in Acarnania and ./Etolia.

In Titus 3:12 St. Paul writes, ‘Give diligence to come unto me to Nicopolis; for there I have determined to winter.’ It may be taken as certain that this means Nicopolis in Epirus, from which doubtless St. Paul hoped to begin the evangelization of that province. No other city of the name was in such a position, or so important as to claim six months of the Apostle’s time.

The importance of NicopoUs depended partly on the ‘Actian games,’ partly on some commerce and fisheries. It was destroyed by the Goths, and, though restored by Justinian, it was supplanted in the Middle Ages by Prevesa, which grew up a little farther south. There are extensive ruins on its site. A. E. Hillabd.

Niger

The second name of Symeon, one of the prophets and teachers in the Church of Antioch (Acts 13:1). His name Symeon shows his Jewish origin, and Niger was probably the Gentile name which he assumed. Nothing further is known of him.

MoBLEY Stevenson.

Night

See Time.

Night-hawk

((ocftmSs). An unclean bird (Leviticus 11:16, Deuteronomy 14:15). What the tachmas really was is merely a matter of speculation. A species of owl, the ostrich, and even the cuckoo, have all been suggested, but without any convincing reasons. ‘Night-hawk’ is merely another name for the familiar night-jar or goat-sucker (Caprimulgus), of which three species are known in Palestine. E. W. G. Masteeman.

Night Monster

See Lilith.

Nile

The Greek name of the river, of uncertain derivation. The Egyptian name was Hopi, later Yer- 0, ‘Great River,’ but the Hebrew generally designates the Nile by the plain Egyptian word for ‘river,’ Ye’ Br. The Nile was rich in fish, and the home of the crocodile and hippopotamus. It bore most of the internal traffic of Egypt; but it was pre-eminently the one source of water, and so of hf e and tertiUty , in a land which, without it, would have been desert. The White Nile sends down from the Central African lakes a steady stream, which is greatly increased in summer and autumn, when the half-dry beds of the Bahr el-Azrek and the Atbara are filled by the torrential rains annually poured on the mountains of Abyssinia. The waters of these tributaries are charged with organic matter washed down by the floods, and this is spread over the fields of Egypt by the inundation. The height of the Nile rise was measured and recorded by the Egyptians from the earliest times: on it depended almost wholly the harvest of the year, and a great excess might be as harmful as a deficiency. The rise begins about June 19, and after increasing slowly for a month the river gains rapidly till September; at the end of September it becomes stationary, but rises again, reaching its highest level about the middle of October. The crops were sown as the water retreated, and on the lower ground a second crop was obtained by artificial irrigation. Canals and embankments regulated the waters in ancient times. The water was raised for the irrigation of the fields by shadufs, i.e. buckets hung from the end of dipping poles, and handscoops, and carried by small channels which could be opened or stopped with a little mud and cut herbage: by this means the flow was directed to particular fields or parts of fields as might be required. Water-wheels were probably introduced in Greek times. In modern days, vast dams to store the water against the time of low Nile, and steam pumps (in Lower Egypt) to raise it, have changed the aspect of high Nile and revolutionized the system of irrigation; but for the smaller operations the old methods are still practised. The Nile had seven mouths, of which the western (the Canopic) and the eastern (the Pelusiao) were the most important. The former secured most of the traffic with Greece and the islands, the latter with the Phoenicians. The Pelusiac arm, on which Tahpanhes and Pi-beseth lay, would be best known to the inhabitants of Palestine. Now the ancient mouths are silted up; only a western (Rosetta branch) and a central one (Damietta branch) survive. The worship of the Nile-god must have been prominent in popular festivals, but has not left much monumental trace. The Nile was not one of the great gods, and his figure appears chiefly as emblematic of the river, e.g. bringing offerings to the gods; the figure is that of an obese man with water-plants on his head.

The Egyptians seem to have imagined a connexion of the Nile southwards with the Indian Ocean, and the priests taught the absurd notion that it gushed out north and south from two springs at the First Cataract. They also fancied a Nile in heaven producing rain, and another underground feeding the springs. The ‘seven lean years’ in Genesis is paralleled by an Egyptian tradition of a much earlier seven years’ famine under the 3rd Dyn., and years of famine due to insufilcient rise of the Nile are referred to in more than one hieroglyphic text. F. Ll. Griffith.

Nsvirah

See Beth-nimbah.

Nimeim, the Waters of

Nimeim, the waters of (Isaiah 15, Jeremiah 48:34). Named along with Zoar and Horonaim, and must therefore be sought in the S. of Moab. The Onomasticon (‘Nemerim’) places it to the N. of Zoar. The name seems to be found in Wddy N’meirah, which opens on the E. shore, at Burj en^N’meirah, about three miles from the S. end of the Dead Sea. W. Ewing.

mUROD (Genesis 10:8–12, 1 Chronicles 1:10, Micah 5:6). A legendary personage, described in Genesis 10:8 ff. as the first of the ‘heroes,’ ‘a mighty hunter before the Lord,’ the ruler of four ancient Babylonian cities, and the founder of the Assyrian Empire. In the statement that he was begotten by Cush, we have probably a reference to the Kash or Kasshu who conquered Babylonia about the 17th cent. B.C., and set up a dynasty •which lasted 600 years: the rise of Assyria is said to date from the decline of Babylonia under the later Kassite kings. The nearest Babylonian parallel to the figure of Nimrod as yet discovered is Gilgamesh, the tyrant of Erech, whose adventures are recorded in the famous series of tablets to which the Deluge-story belongs, and who is supposed to be the hero so often represented on seals and palacereMefs in victorious combat with a lion. It was at one time hoped that the actual name Nimrod might be recovered from the ideogram commonly read as iz. dtj. bar; and though this expectation has been dispelled by the discovery of the true pronunciation Gilgamesh, there is enough general resemblance to warrant the belief that the original of the Biblical Nimrod belongs to Babylonian lore. The combination of warlike prowess with a passion for the chase is illustrated by the numerous hunting scenes sculptured on the monuments; and it may well be imagined that to the Hebrew mind Nimrod became an ideal personation of the proud monarchs who ruled the mighty empires on the Euphrates and the Tigris. J. Skinnek.

imVrSHI.— Grandfather of king Jehu (1 Kings 9:16. 2 Kings 9:2, 14, 2 f., 2 Chronicles 22:7).

Nineveh

Nineveh (Assyr. NinS, NinOa) is said in Gn. 10:11 to have been founded by Nimrod in Assyria. Nineveh was included in the dominions of Hammurabi, who restored the temple of Ishtar there. It was early an important city, and is frequently referred to in the royal inscriptions, but Sennacherib first raised it to the position of capital of Assyria. It lay on the E. of the Tigris, opposite the modern Mosul. Its chief remains are buried beneath the mounds of Kouyunjik and Nebi Yunus, but the outline of the old walls can be traced. They enclosed some 1,800 acres,’with a circumference of about 8 miles. The mound of Kouyunjik is separated from the mound of Nebi Yunus by the Khoser, and overlies the palaces of Sennacherib to the S., and Ashurbanipal to the N. The southern mound, Nebi Yunus, covers palaces of Sennacherib and Esarhaddon. The Nineveh of Sennacherib’s day lay largely outside this area, and included the Rebit Ninua, or Rehoboth-ir, which extended as far as Khorsa bad, where Sargon built a great city, Dur-Sargon. The traditions of its great size may be due to a reminiscence of this outer girdle of inhabited country. The fall of Nineveh (b.c. 606) is referred to by Nahum and Zephaniah (2i»-i5). 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37:37 know it as the city of Sennacherib. For Jonah’s mission, see Jonah. Later, Tobit (I"- " etc.) and Judith (1:1) refer to it. and the Ninevites are named in Matthew 12:41. Luke 11:30, 32.

C. H. W. Johns.

Niphis

Niphis (1 Esdras 5:21) perhaps =Magbish in Ezra 2.

Nisan

See Time.

Nisroch

An Assyr. deity in whose temple Sennacherib was worshipping when assassinated (2 Kings 19:37. Isaiah 37:38).

Geseniua compared the name with the Arabic nisr (‘eagle) , and conjectured that it referred to one of the eagle-headed divinities that appear in the bas-reliefs. In later times attempts have been made to identify Nisroch with Nusku (the fire-god) — whose name would naturally be most familiar in the construct form Nusuk, — and even with Marduk. But Nusku did not at this period occupy a sufliciently prominent position in the Assyr. pantheon; and the idea of Marduk, the great god of Babylon, being the patron of Sennacherib, the arch-enemy of that city, is manifestly incongruous. ‘The deity that should logically hold this place is Ashur. Accordingly Prince suggests that Nisroch is a hybrid form due to a confusion of Ashur with Nusku. But comparison with the Greek forms seems to indicate that the original reading waa something similar to Asorach. This Schrader explains as Ashurach, a hypothetical lenghtened form of Ashur. And Meinhold conjectures a coTD.pound{Ashur-Aku)oi Ashur with Aku, the Sumerian name of the moon-god, whose Assyr. name Sin is an element in the name Sennacherib.

W. M. Nesbit.

NITRE, in its modern usage, denotes saltpetre, nitrate of potash, but the nitron or nitrum of the ancients was a different substance, natron, carbonate of soda. ‘Nitre’ occurs twice in AV. In Proverbs 25:20 the effect of songs on a heavy heart is compared to the action of vinegar upon ‘nitre’ (RVm ‘soda’). Vinegar has no effect upon saltpetre, but with carbonate of soda it produces effervescence. In Jeremiah 2:22 ‘nitre’ (RV ‘lye’) is referred to as a cleansing agent. Here, again, natron rather than modern nitre suits the connexion.

NO.— Jeremiah 46:25, Ezekiel 30:14, 15, 1, the name of Thebes (Diospolis Magna), Egyp. iVS: also No-arnon, Nab 3:8, Amon (Aramon) being the god of the city. Nahum seems to imagine Thebes as resembling the cities of the less remote Delta surrounded by canals, which were their chief protection; in reality it lay on both banks of the Nile, with desert bounding it on either side, and water probably played little part in its defence. Thebes was of no importance until the Middle Kingdom (Dyns. 11, 12), during which the royal families were much connected with it. It was the capital of the local 17th Dyn., struggling against the Hyksos in the name of its god Ammon; and the great waijiors of the succeeding 18th Dyn. enriched Thebes with the spoils of conquest, built temples there that surpassed all others in size and magnificence, and made it the greatest city of the Empire. Under the 19th and 20th Dynasties, Ammon was still the national god, and Thebes the capital of Egypt. Later, Memphis again took the first place, but Thebes was at least the religious centre of the wide-spread Ammon worship, and the temples retained much of their wealth until the sack of the city by king Ashurbanipal (about B.C. 666), referred to in Nahum. The temples of Thebes continued to be added to until insurrections under the Ptolemys led to its destruction and final abandonment as a city. In Jeremiah 46:25 (RV) ‘I will punish Amon of No and Pharaoh and Egypt with her gods and their kings,’ Amon is probably not taken as the representative god of Egypt, a position which he no longer held in the 6th cent. B.C.: the passage rather indicates the completeness of Egypt’s fall by the punishment of the remote Thebes, which could not be accomplished till Lower Egypt was prostrate. The Theban Ammon was often entitled ‘Amen-ES, king of the gods,’ being identified with the sun-god RS. His figure is that of a man, generally coloured green. The ram was his sacred animal. In Ethiopia he was adopted as the national god, and his worship was established in the Oases, especially in the Oasis of Ammon (Siwa), where his oracle was visited by Alexander.

F. Ll. Geipfith.

Noadiah

1. A Levite in time of Ezra (Ezra 8) called in 1 Esdras 8:63 Moeth. 2. A prophetess, who opposed Nehemiah (Nehemiah 6:14).

Noah

1. NBach, ‘rest.’ The name is explained in Genesis 5:29 by a play on nicham, ‘to comfort’ ; but perhaps the reading supported by the LXX should be adopted, ‘This same shall give us rest’ In one tradition Noah is the hero of the Flood, and answers to Ut-napisbtim in the Bab. legend. See Deluge. Ut-napishtim was translated to immortality; and this is perhaps referred to in 6 (cf. 5:24 and see Enoch). In another tradition he is the discoverer of the art of making wine (9:20–27). Elsewhere in the Bible, besides the references to the Flood, Noah is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 1:4. Ezk 14. Luke 3:36. 2. Nd’ah (Numbers 26:33 27:1 36:11, Joshua 17:3). One of the daughters of Zelophehad, of the tribe of Manasseh. They claimed their father’s inheritance because he had died leaving no sons. It was given to them, on condition that they were not married into another tribe. A. H. M’Neile.

NO -AMON.— See No.

Nob

A place of this name is mentioned in three passages— 1 Samuel 21. 22, Nehemiah 11:33. Isaiah 10:32 (text not quite certain). The context in the two latter passages points to a place near Jerusalem. In 1 Sam., David passes Nob, which has become ‘the city of priests’ after the destruction of Shiloh, on his way from Saul (in Gibeah, wh. see) to Gath; tins would suit a site near Jerusalem, though it does not demand such a position, unless, indeed, we infer (ct. 1 Samuel 20:6) that David went to Nob with the intention of proceeding to Bethlehem (5 miles S. of Jerusalem). There is no strong reason against assuming that in all three passages the same place is referred to. In Nehemiah 11:33 and Isaiah 10:32 Nob is closely connected with Anathoth, 2i miles N. of Jerusalem. Since in Isaiah 10:32 Nob is the last point reached by the Assyrian army and the place from which it threatens Jerusalem, the site is best sought for on an eminence a little N. of the city, perhaps in particular (with Driver) on ‘the Bos d-MeshSrif. about limiles S. W. of Anathoth, the ridge from the brow of which the pilgrim along the north road still catches his first view of the holy city.’ The name has not survived; and the identification suggested stands or falls with the correctness of the Hebrew text in Isaiah 10. G. B. Gray.

Nobah

1. The clan name of the Israelites who conquered the city of Kenath (wh. see). 2. A place named with Jogbehah in the account of Gideon’s pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna (Judges 8:11). possibly also in Numbers 21. where the Syr. reads ‘Nobah which is on the desert,’ instead of ‘Nophah which reacheth unto Medeba.’ This may have been the original settlement of the elan of that name. It should be sought, probably, near the upper reaches of the Jabbok; but the site has not been recovered. W. Ewinq.

Nobai

One of those who sealed the covenant (Nehemiah 10:19). Cf. Nebo, 1.

Nod

According to Genesis 4:16. the country in which Cain the fratricide took up his abode after his sentence of banishment. The place is unknown. It is probably connected in some way etymologically with the epithet nOd of v.» (RV ‘wanderer ‘). The addition’ eastward of Eden ‘is of little help lor its location. J. F. M’ Cukdy.

Nodab

The name of a tribe mentioned in 1 Chronicles 5:19. along with Naphish and Jetur, sis among the foes encountered and subdued by the Eeubenites. A comparison with various readings of LXX shows that the vowels of the word are uncertain. An identification with the Nabatsans is excluded both on phonological grounds and by the tact that the latter, whose position was in any case too remote from Reuben, did not appear in history till long after the tribal period of the Hebrews had come to an end. Somewhat more plausible is a combination with a modern village Nudsbe in the Hauran.

J. F. M’CURDT.

Noeba

Noeba (1 [Es 63<)=Nekoda Ezra 2:48. Nekodan 1 Esdras 5.

Nogah

One of David’s sons, bom at Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 3:7 14:6).

Nohah

Fourth ‘son’ of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8). See also Mendhah.

Noisome

‘Noisome’ is literally ‘annoy-some.’ The adj. means ‘offensive,’ ‘injurious’ in AV; the word is now rather rarely used, but when it is used it means ‘loathsome’ rather than ‘hurtful.’

Nooma

Nooma (1 Es g3!i)=Nebo in Ezra 10.

Noph

See Memphis.

Nophah

See Nobah.

North Country, Land of the North

A phrase of somewhat vague application, but denoting in a general fashion— 1. The source or region from which dangerous toes were to come upon Palestine (so in Jeremiah 6:22 10:22. Zee 6:6, 8). 2. The regions to which the people of Israel or Judah had been exiled, and whence they were to be restored (so in Jeremiah 3:18 IG" 23:8 31:8. Zee 2). 3. Northern Syria (so Jeremiah 46:10). The last-named instance explains itself. The other applications of the term may be further illustrated by the usage of the word ‘north’ generally in OT. Here it is sufficient to recall the general fact that, while in the early history of Israel the land was invaded by many small peoples from the east and south, after the rise of the Assyrian and Chaldaean powers the attacks were made by larger armies which came in the course of their march down through Syria or the Mediterranean coast-land, the eastern desert route being impossible. Deportations of captives were naturally effected by the same routes, and by the same routes they would return. Thus, though Babylonia was in the same latitude as Palestine, it was included among the countries of the ‘north.’

J. F. M’Cdbdy.

Nose, Nostrils

Nose, nostrils (‘aph is the usual word; nechlrlm only in Job 41:20; nachar in Job 39:20, A V’ nostrils,’ RV, correctly, ‘snorting’). — To have a flat, or more probably ‘slit’ nose (Leviticus 21). disqualified a man for the making

2 T of offerings. The nose is the organ of the breath by which men live (Genesis 2:7 etc.). The breath is easily stopped or expelled, hence the fact signifies the transiency of human life (Isaiah 2:22). Excited breathing, with distention of the nostrils when moved by indignation, led to the nose being used fig. for anger (Genesis 27. and very often). Ezekiel 8:17 refers to the custom of putting a twig to the nose, apparently in idolatrous worship, the significance of which is now obscure. For ‘nose-ring,’ see Ornaments, § 2. W. Ewing.

Nought

See Naught; and notice, further, the phrase ‘set at nought’ (Proverbs 1:25, Mark 9:12). ‘To set’ is ‘to value,’ and ‘nought’ is ‘nothing,’ so the phrase means to reckon of no value.

Novice

In 1 Tl 3:6 is enjoined that the bishop must not be a novice. The Or. word (neophytos, lit. ‘newly planted’) was afterwards used in the technical sense of one who has not yet taken religious vows. Here it is general — one newly introduced into the Christian community.