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Raaiiah – Red
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Raaiiah
Raaiiah is called ( = [Raama]) a son of Cush, and father of Sheba and Dedan (). The locality of this Arabian tribe is not yet ascertained. Opinion is divided between the Regma of Ptolemy, on the W. of the Persian Gulf, and the Bammanitm of Strabo in S. Arabia, N.W. of Hadramaut (see Hazahmaveth) and E. of the ancient Sheba. The latter is the more probable identification. Raamah is also associated with Sheba in as trading with Tyre.
J. F. M’CURDT.
RAAMIAH, — One of the twelve chiefs who returned with Zerubbabel ( = [Reelaiah), 1 Esdras 5:8 [Resalas]).
Raamses, Rameses
One of the treasure cities built by the Israelites in Egypt, and the starting-point of the Exodus ( . , ). The site is not quite certain, but it was probably one of the cities called in Egyp. P-Ra’messe, ‘House of Ramesse,’ after Ramesses III In Joseph, by Pharaoh’s command, gives to Jacob’s family ‘a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses.’ It thus lay in the Land of Goshen (wh. see), and is to be looked for in the first place in the Wady Tumilat. Petrle identifies it with Tell Rotab, where he has found sculptures of the age of Ramesses 11. F. Ll. Griffith.
Rabbah
1. The capital city of the Ammonites (wh. see). Rabbah was situated on the upper Jabbok on the site of the modern ‘Amman. It was distant from the Jordan about 20 miles, though the distance by way of the Jabbok is much greater, for the stream at Rabbah flows towards the N.E. and reaches the Jordan only after a wide detour. The Ammonite city was situated on the hill-top to the N. of the river. From its position it commanded a wide view in all directions, but especially extensive to the N.E. Rabbah is mentioned in as the place where Og’s’ bedstead’ might still be seen. This is thought by some to be a reference to a large dolmen still visible not far from ‘Amman. In Rabbah is mentioned in defining the boundaries of the tribe of Gad. The chief event connected with Rabbah which the OT relates is its siege by Joab, in connexion with which Uriah the Hittite, by the express direction of king David, lost his life (see and 1 Oh ). The city was at this time confined apparently to the hill mentioned above; and since the sides of the hill are precipitous(see the photograph in Barton’s Year’s Wandering in Bible Lands, opp, 156), the task of capturing it was difficult, and the siege was stubborn and prolonged. These conditions gave Joab his opportunity to carry out David’s perfidious order ().
From it appears that the city consisted of two parts, one of which was called the ‘myal city’ or the ‘city of waters.’ This Joab captured, after which David came and captured Rabbah itself. What relation this ‘royal city’ bore to Rabbah proper, it is difficult now to conjecture. It is probable, however, that the text of Samuel is corrupt — that we should read ‘city’ or ‘cistern oi waters’ — and that joab, like Antiochus in. and Herod in after centuries, captured the covered passage by which they went to a cistern for water, or the fort which defended it, and so compelled a surrender to David. This cistern was discovered by Conder (see Survey of Eastern Pal. p. 34 ff.).
The Israelites did not occupy Rabbah, but left it in the possession of the Ammonite king, who became David’s vassal. When David later fled to Mahanaim, east of the Jordan, because of Absalom’s rebellion, the Ammonite king was residing in Rabbah ().
In the time of Amos <c. b.c. 750> Rabbah was still the capital of the Ammonites (). and such it continued to be down to the time of Nebuchadnezzar, who, if we may judge from the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (, ). punished Rabbah for a rebellion of the Ammonites by a siege. Whether the siege resulted in a capture we do not know, but it probably did. Only cities situated like Tyre, which was partly surrounded by water, could withstand the might of that monarch.
For a time the city (one of the Deeapolis group) bore the name Philadelphia, given to it by Ptolemy Philadelphus (b.c. 285-247), but finally received its modern name, ‘Amman. ■ It is to-day quite a flourishing city, inhabited partly by Arabs and partly by Circassians. The latter form a more energetic element than is found in most Syrian cities, and give ‘Amman a greater air of prosperity. The Haj railway, from Damascus to Mecca, passes near ‘Amman, which has a station on the line.
2. A city in Judah () site unknown.
George A. Barton.
Rabbi
The transliteration of a Heb. word meaning ‘my master. In it is referred to as’ the usual form of address with which the learned were greeted’ (Dalman, Words of Jesus, p. 331); in the following verse it is regarded as synonymous with ‘teacher.’ John the Baptist is once called ‘Rabbi’ by his disciples (). Elsewhere in the Gospels it is our Lord who is thus addressed: by His disciples (, . ll^‘. , ), by others ( ). Rabboni fs the transliteration of the Pal.-Aram. form of the word; it occurs twice, namely in and .
J. G. Tasker.
Rabbith
A town of Issachar (), probably the modern Baba, on the S. of Gilboa.
Rab-shakeh
The title of an Assyr. officer, who with the Tartan and the Rab-saris was sent by Sennacherib to Hezekiah to demand the surrender of Jerusalem (2 K 18f., f.). The word is the Heb. transcription of the Assyr. rab-sha4e — a title borne by a military officer of high rank, subordinate to the Tartan. L. W. King.
Raca
A term occurring only in . It is a Semitic word, probably a popular pronunciation of the Kabbinlc riqa, a noun formed from the adjective rig ‘empty.’ Several instances of its use occur in the Talmud as a term of contempt applied to a person devoid of education and morals. From it may be inferred that it was employed as a term of abuse in the time of Christ.
While the general force of our Lord’s words in , is clear enough, the significance of the judgments referred to is obscured in the present text. A distinction has been drawn between ‘Raca’ as denying intellectual capacity, and ‘thou fool’ as denying a man’s religious worth, which cannot be sustained. Our ‘Lord’s reference to the’ Council’ (i.e. the supreme Jewish Court, the Sanhedrin) in . implying its possession of the power of life and death, is especially difficult. The Sanhedrin possessed no such power in fact, nor is it at all likely that our Lord would recognize the validity of such a claim on its behalf even in theory. It was after all only a provisional institution devised by the Rabbis; whereas the ‘Gehenna of fire’ is a Messianic judgment.
The true meaning and real antithesis emerge clearly if a slight re-arrangement of the text, first suggested by J. P. Peters (in JBL x. (1891) 131f., xv. (1896) 1U3; adopted in the EBi, s.v. ‘Raca,’ vol. iy. col. 4001), Is accepted. The clause about ‘Raca’ should be transferred to . Read then: ‘Ye have heard that it was said to the ancients, Thou shalt not murder, and whosoever murders is liable to the judgment, and whosoever says " Raca" to his brother is liable to the Sanhedrin: but I say unto you, whosover is angry with his brother is liable to the (Divine) judgment, and whosoever says " thou fool" is liable to the Gehenna of fire.’ Rabbinic law is very stringent against libellous expressions, which were to be treated as serious offences liable for punishment to the supreme court (like murder). G. H. Box.
Racal
Racal in is prob. a mistake for ‘Carmel’ (No. 1).
Race
See Games, p. 282’‘.
Races
The following is a list of the races mentioned in the Bible, so far as they are identified. They are classified according to modern ethnological principles. In , cities are frequently classed as tribes or patriarchal personages.
I. Aktanb (sons of Japheth, ). — 1. Greeks ( etc.). 2. Javan (Ionian Greeks). 3. Parthians (). 4. Persians ( etc.). 6. Medes (Madai). 6. Romans ( etc.).
II. Hamites. — 1. Egyptians (Mizraim). 2. Cushites (Nubians, Ethiopians). 3. Libyans (Put [Somaliland]).
III. Semites. — 1. North Semites: (a) Babylonians (Shinar, Accad, Babel, Erech); (6) Assyrians (Asshur, Nineven, Caiah); (c) Aramcsans (Syrians); (d) Canaanitish peovles — (1) Ammonites, (2) Amorites, (3) Canaanites, (4) Edomites, (5) Hivites, (6) Israelites, (7) Jebusites, (8) Moabites, (9) Phcenicians (Tyre, Sidon, Arvad, etc.). 2. South Semites : I a) North A rabs—( 1 ) Amalekites , (2)Ishmaelites (Kedar, Nebaioth, Tema, etc.), (3) Midianites; (b) South Arabs (Sheba).
IV. Unclassified Races. — 1. Cimmerians (Gomer, Gimirrai of Assyi;. inscriptions). 2. Elamites. 3. Hittites. 4. Horites. 5. Philistines. 6. Tubal (fhe Tabali of Assyr. inscriptions). 7. Meshech CMuski of Assyr. inscriptions).
George A. Bakton.
Rachel
(Rahel in AV, ‘ewe’). The younger daughter of Laban, and favourite wife of Jacob (). who married her after her sister Leah. In the quarrel between Jacob and Laban, she, as well as Leah, took the part of Jacob (). When leaving her father, she stole his household divinities, the teraphim () — an incident which suggests the laxity in worship and in ideas of property characteristic of the times. Her sons were Joseph and Benjamin: she died in giving birth to Benjamin.
Rachel’s grave. — The location of this is disputed. It was near Ephrath. , , , . indicate that it was on the N. border of Benjamin towards Ephraim, about ten miles N. of Jerusalem. In other places, however ( . ). Ephrath is another name for Bethlehem, as it is also explained in . In accordance with this latter group of passages, tradition from at least the 4th cent, has fixed the spot 4 miles S. of Jerusalem and 1 mile N. of Bethlehem. Either the northern location is correct, or there are here two variant accounts. The former view is probably to be preferred, since Rachel has no connexion with Judah. In that case ‘that is Bethlehem’ is an incorrect gloss. Cf . also Ramah, 3. Geohge R. Berby.
Raddai
The fifth son of Jesse ().
Rafts
See Ships and Boats.
Ragau
See following article.
Rages
The modern Ret, 6 miles S.E. of Teheran, one of the seats of the ancient Iranian civilization, but now a mass of fallen walls and stupendous ruins covered with mounds of debris. Its position near the Caspian Gates gave it great strategic importance. It was the capital of Media before Ecbatana, and has the distinction of having been the home of the mother of Zoroaster. It is frequently mentioned in the Apocrypha. In Tobit (iw 41. so 66 613 92) it was visited by the angel Raphael, and there he recovered for Tobias the deposit of silver which his father had placed there. In Judith (1’- it is said that in Ragau (evidently the same place) Nebuchadnezzar slew in battle ‘Arphaxad’ prince of the Medes. In Tobit 6:9 read Ecbatana for Rages.
J. F. M’CUKDY.
Raguel
1. See Recel, 2. 2. The father of Sarah, the wife of Tobias (Tobit 3 14:12).
Rahab
(‘wide’). 1. The story of this woman, called a harlot, of Jericho is given in . The two spies sent out by Joshua to view the Promised Land come first to the house of Rahab, in Jericho. The king hears of it, and bids Rahab bring them forth; but she asserts that they have left her house and that she does not know where they have gone; she had, however, previously hid them among stalks of flax upon the roof. Alter their pursuers have left, Rahab comes to them, professes her belief in Jahweh, and adjures them to spare her and her kinsfolk when the attack on Jericho is made; this they promise shall be done; and after arranging that a scarlet thread is to be hung from her window, in order to denote which house is to be spared when the sack of the city takes place, the two spies escape from her house by a rope (). The promise is duly kept, and Joshua spares her when the city is burned (). In Rahab is mentioned in the genealogy of our Lord.
2. A name for the Dragon, applied also to Egypt. This name is not the same as that just considered, which is written Rachab in Hebrew, while this is written Rahab. It is the name given to a mythological monster who is frequently referred to in the Bible. In the old myth that Jahweh in the beginning subdued Rahab (, = Tehom, the ‘Great Deep,’ the Bab. Tiamal) is employed to show that Jahweh will in like manner subdue Egypt (cf. ). and that it is therefore vain for Judah to trust to it. The words in RV, ‘Rahab that sitteth still,’ imply that Rahab had been subjugated, but not annihilated, i.e. it was believed that Rahab was still living somewhere in the depths of the sea; the final destruction is referred to in ‘And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more.’ The next reference to Rahab is in Is 51. a very important passage, which shows distinctly that Rahab, the Dragon, the sea or the ‘Great Deep’ (Tehdm), are all names for one and the same monster. ‘The belief is also expressly stated that in’ the days of old’ there was a conflict between Jahweh and Rahab, and that the latter was overcome. Further references to the Rahab-myth are to be found in , . , ; it is important to note how in all these passages the myth is treated as well known, it is taken tor granted that the reference is perfectly understood. [See, further, Dragon, Leviathan, Sea.1 W. O. E. Oestekley.
Raham
A descendant of Caleb ().
Rahel
See Rachel.
Raiment
See Dress.
Rain
The Palestine year is divided roughly into two parts — the rainy and the dry. The first rains after the summer begin to fall in November, though showers in October are not unknown; and the weather continues intermittently wet until the following March, or sometimes till April. As a rule the first rainfalls, which are accompanied by heavy thunderstorms, are followed by comparatively fine weather, broken by occasional wet days, after which, towards the end of the rainy season, there are again heavy successions of rain-storms. The agricultural value of this division is obvious, and it is recognized by the expressions ‘former’ and ‘latter’ rains which we meet with in the Biblical writings. The first rains soften the iron-bound soil, baked hard, so to speak, by the summer heat, and so make it fit for ploughing; the comparatively fine intervals give the husbandman time to sow; and the second showers water the seed. The average annual rainfall in Jerusalem is about 28 inches, though this is subject to much variation. In the winter of 1904-1905 nearly 40 inches fell. Such very wet winters are nearly always followed by an epidemic of malaria in the succeeding summer.
R. A. S. Macalister.
Rainbow
In (P) the rainbow appears as the token of the covenant between God and Noah. As the covenant is universal, so is its sign. The Heb. of V." is ambiguous as to whether the rainbow is conceived of as created for the first time (see RVm). Though from a scientific point of view this is absurd, it may well have been part of the primitive tradition. Perhaps, however, all that is meant is that the rainbow received a new significance as the symbol of mercy. Its appropriateness is obvious: the storm passes, and the sun casts its beams over the still clouded sky, marking its return by one of the most beautiful phenomena of nature. So God renews His favour after He has hidden His face for a season. But there may be a further mythological significance. The rainbow may be J"‘s war-bow (. , ) which He has laid aside; the Heb. word is the same. So’ it is to the Hindu the bow of Rama, and to the Finn the bow of Tiermes the Thunderer, who slays with it the sorcerers who hunt after men’s lives’ (Tylor, Primitive Culture, i. p. 298). It is, indeed, prominent in all mythology. To the Greek it is a portent, or Iris, the messenger of the gods; in the Icelandic Edda it is the bridge connecting heaven and earth (cf. Wagner, Rheingold). It is uncertain whether it is alluded to in the Babylonian narrative of the Flood (see Driver, ad loe.). In Sirach 43:11 the rainbow is one of the wonderful works of God ; in 50:7 it is a type of the glory of Simon. In it surrounds the throne of God; so . If there is a reference to the Genesis narrative, it will be the symbol of mercy, possibly typified also by the ‘emerald’ to which it is compared, assuming that a green stone is meant (see Swete, ad loe.). But instead of the word tor ‘bow’ found in the LXX, ‘Iris’ is substituted in . as in . Here evidently it is simply part of the picture, unless there is an allusion to the Greek conception of Iris as the messenger of the gods. C. W Emmet.
Raisins
Raisins (isimmOglm, [EV ‘dried grapes’], . . ; ‘ashlshlm. His RV, etc.; see Flagon). — Raisins are now, as of old, prepared in great quantities in the Holy Land; the bunches are dipped in a strong solution of potash before being dried. Es-Salt, across the Jordan, has long been famous for the excellence of its stoneless raisins.
E. W. G. Masterman.
Rakem
See Rekem, 3.
Rakkath
A ‘fenced city’ of Naphtali (). The later Rabbis placed it at or near Tiberias.
Rakkon
This name in is prob. due to a textual error — a dittography from the latter half of Me-jarkon.
Ram
1. An ancestor of David (. , ; in Arni). In he is called the brother, but in VV.25- 27 the son of Jerahmeel. 2. The family to which Blihu belonged (). . Some have supposed that Ram is a contraction for Aram.
Ram
See Sheep, and (for battering-ram) Fortification AND SlEGECRAFT, 6 (c).
Ramah
The name of several places in Palestine, so called from their ‘loftiness,’ that being the radical meaning of the word. These are as follows: —
1. A city of Naphtali () not otherwise known, perhaps Rameh between ‘Akka and Damascus, 8 miles W.S.W. of Safed. 2. A city of Asher () not elsewhere mentioned, and identified not improbably with iJSmio, near Tyre. 3. A city of Benjamin () between which and Bethel was the palm of Deborah () one of the alternatives which the Levite of Bethlehem had to choose for a lodging on his fatal journey () yielded with Geba 621 men to the post-exilic census of Ezra () re-settled by Benjamites (). Its place is indicated between Geba and Gibeah in Isaiah’s picture of the Assyrian advance (). A tradition placed here the site of Rachel’s tomb; this explains the allusions in . (quoted in ). Here Jeremiah was loosed from his chains (40). The name, and not improbably the site, of this place is preserved by a little village on a hillside north of Jerusalem known as er-Ram, which answers the geographical requirements of these incidents. Near it are some remarkable ancient monuments, Isnown locally as’ The Graves of the Children of Israel,’ which possibly are the ‘tomb of Rachel’ of the ancient tradition. This town was probably the home of Shimei, the Ramathite, David’s vine-dresser (). 4. A place in the district called Ramathaim-zophim (1 SI’), a (corrupt) name prob. =‘the two heights of the Zuphites.’ The latter ethnic can hardly be dissociated from the name of the great high place of Blizpali {Neby SamviU). Its chief distinction is its connexion with Samuel. It was ‘in the hill-country of Ephraim," but might have been over the S. border of the tribe. Here Elkanah lived, and here was the headquarters of Samuel throughout his life ( igi’-^s ). This is probably the Ramah fortified by Baasha against the Judahite kingdom (, ), rather than the Benjamite Ramah: the latter being actually within Judahite territory would not have been accessible to him. This Ramah appears also in 1 Mac as Ramathaim . No satisfactory identification of the Ephraimite Ramah has yet been proposed. It may be identical with No. 3. Ram-allah, a large village about 12 miles N. of Jerusalem, would fairly well suit the requirements of the history, but there are no definite indications of antiquities there. 5. By the name Ramah allusion is made to Ramoth-gilead (wh. see) in and the parallel passage . 6. Ramathlehi, the scene of Samson’s victory over the Philistines with the jawbone (), is unknown. See Lehi. Ramath here is probably a common noun, and we ought to render it "the height of Lehi.’ 7. Ramath-mizpeh (). See Mizpah, No. 4. 8. Ramah (or Ramoth) of the South (). a town in the tribe of Judah, given to Simeon; to which David sent the spoil of Ziklag (). It is quite unknown.
R. A. S. Macalister.
Ramah
Ramah (RAMOTH) OF THE SOUTH.-See Ramah, No. 8.
RAMATHAIM, RAMATHAIM - ZOFHIM.— See
Ramah, 4.
Ramathite
See Ramah, No. 3.
RAMATH -LEHI .—See Ramah, No. 6.
Ramath-mizpeh
See Mizpah, No. 4.
Rameses
See Raamses.
Ramiah
One of the sons of Parosh who had married a foreign wife ( [1 Esdras 9:26 Hiermas]).
Ramoth
1. A Gershonite Levitical cityin lssachar ( (")), apparently =Remeth of and Jarmuth of . 2. For ‘Ramoth of the south’ see Ramah, No. 8. 3. For ‘Ramoth in Gilead’ (. . (88)) see Ramoth-Gilbad.
RAMOTH-GILEAD, or ‘Ramoth in Gilead’ (cf. Ramah, 5), was one of the cities of refuge (. ). assigned to the Merarite Levites of Gad (, ). It was in the administrative district of Solomon’s lieutenant Ben-geber () the scene of Ahab’s last fight with the Syrians (, ) and of another battle with them fought by Ahab’s son Jehoram, where he was wounded (, . ) the place where Elisha’s messenger anointed Jehu ( ff.). That it was a place of some sanctity is probable from Its name (‘the high places of Gilead’), and arguments, not altogether conclusive, have been offered in favour of its identification with Mizpeh, the place of the reconciliation of Jacob and Laban.
The attempt has plausibly been made to identify it with Gerasa, the modern Jerash — an extensive town in the ancient territory of Gilead, of unknown origin, whose ruins are still among the most striking east of the Jordan. For this identification several forcible arguments can be brought forward. An identification with another place, Reimun, rests solely on the superflcial similarity of the name, which is always an unsafe guide. Es-Salt is another suggestion. On the whole, however, Jerash is perhaps the most probable, though final decision must, as usual, be left to the test of excavation. R. A. S. Macalister.
Rampart
See Fortification and Siegecbaft, 3.
Ranges
Ranges in AV of , , =‘ranks ‘(RV).
Ransom
See Redeemer, Redemption.
Rape
See Crimes and Punishments, 3.
Rapha
1. A Benjamite (I Ch 82). 2. See REPHAiM.
Raphael
Raphael (‘God has healed’) is the good angel of Tobit. In 3" he is sent to heal Tobit, by restoring his sight; to give Sarah, daughter of his kinsman Raguel, to his son Tobias for wife; and to prevent the demon Asmodaeus from adding him to the seven husbands he has already killed. In 5^‘he appears as’ brother Azarias ‘to accompany Tobias on his journey to Media. Tobit despatches them with the parting’ May [God’s] angel go with you’ (v.’s, cf. v."), and they start with their dog (a favourite subject with the great painters). In 68^- he directs Tobias to take the heart, liver, and gall of a fish, manages the marriage, binds the demon, fetches money from Rages, and heals Tobit. l2’2-2" gives his description of himself, a passage which probably became the groundwork of later speculations. (1) He is one of the seven ‘angels of the presence’ (, [], Enoch 90). So in Enoch he is one of the ‘watchers,’ the ‘angel of the spirits of men.’ The conception is usually traced to Persian influence; cf. the seven ‘princes of light’ of Zoroastrianism. (2) He is an intermediary, bringing the memorial of prayers before God (). The doctrine of the Divine aloofness made it hard to conceive that man could have direct access to the ear of God, any more than a subject could enter into the presence of an Oriental monarch, or that He could interfere directly in the petty affairs of men. See Angels. (3) He is also a guardian angel, being present at Tobit’s good deeds, and the companion of Tobias. The long-maintained disguise is a unique feature; the ‘eating and drinking" is explained as an illusion (). (4) He is true to his name,’ the healer’; cf. Enoch , where he is ordered to bind Azazel (so 54), and heal the earth which the angels have defiled; and 40, where he is ‘set over the diseases and wounds of the children of men.’ (5) In Enoch 22 he is a guide in Sbeol; in 32, in Paradise.
C. W. Emmet.
Raphah
See Rephaiah, 4.
Raphaim
An ancestor of Judith (Judith 8:1).
Raphon
A city of Bashan (1 Maccabees 5:37). the Raphana of Pliny (.HN, v. 16); the site has not been recovered.
Raphu
The father of the Benjamite spy ().
Rasses
A people subdued by Holofernes (Judith 228).
Rathumus
See Rehum, 2.
RAVEN C SrSb, Arab, ghurab). — An ‘unclean’ bird (. ), numbers of which may always be seen gathered, together with the dogs, around the carrion thrown out into the valley of Hinnom (cf . ). . Its glossy plumage is referred to in ; it often dwells in the wilderness (), and yet God cares for and watches over it (, , ). The name ‘Irreb is doubtless generic, and includes all the eight species of the Corvidw known in Palestine.
E. W. G. Masterman.
Ravin
The vb. ‘to raven,’ i.e. prey upon, and the subst. ‘raven’ or ‘ravin,’ i.e. prey, both occur in AV. We find also the adj. ‘ravening’ (, ) as well as the form ‘ravenous’ ( . ). ‘Ravening’ is used as a subst. in ‘Your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness’ (RV ‘extortion’).
Razis
The hero of a narrative in 2 Maccabees 14:37 ff.:.
Razor
See Hair and Knife.
Reaiah
1. A Calebite family (), called In 2a Haroeh (wh. see). 2. A Reubenite family (). 3. A Nethinim family name ( =Neh = 1 Esdras 5:31 Jairus).
Reaping
See Agkicdi-ture, 3.
Rebekah
(in Eo S" Rebecca). The daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, and his wife Milcah (). ghe was also the sister of Laban and became the wife of Isaac, The well-known story of the facts leading up to the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah is told in , and gives valuable information as to early marriage customs. Isaac is not consulted. Abraham’s servant Eliezer () is sent to seek for a wife among his master’s kinsfolk. The servant proceeds to the ‘city of Nahor’ (Haran), and, arriving at the gate of the city, waits by the well till the women come out to draw water (). that God may prosper him and give him a sign by which he may recognize the woman Providence has set apart for Isaac. Rebekah comes out and offers to draw water for the stranger and his camels. The servant loads her with gifts, and her family, led by her brother Laban, being convinced of Abraham’s wealth, and recognizing the will of Heaven In the selection, agrees to the marriage. Rebekah returns with the servant and becomes Isaac’s wife (v. 67).
In we are told that Rebekah, like many other favourite wives of the OT ie.g. Sarah, Rachel, Hannah), was at first barren, but in answer to Isaac’s prayer Jacob and Esau were born (). Before their birth Rebekah received the oracle from Jehovah, that two nations were in her womb and that the elder should serve the younger. No doubt this story is a late Jewish legend, arising from the desire to find the history of the two peoples Israel and Edom foreshadowed in the lives of their progenitors.
Rebekah again comes before us during Isaac’s sojourn In Gerar (). Fearing lest the beauty of his wife might excite the desire of the king of Gerar and so lead to his own death, Isaac passed her off as his sister — a course of action which led him into difflciJties with Abimelech ().
The destiny of Jacob, her favourite son, was strongly influenced by his strong-minded mother. She was the author of the treacherous plan by which Jacob deprived Esau of his father’s blessing (). She advised him to flee from his home to her brother Laban (). In f.; however, the motive of the journey is that he might take a wife from the family of his mother, in contrast to Esau, who had grieved his parents by taking a wife from among the Canaanites (, ). Rebekah died before Jacob’s return from Haran, and her burial at Maehpelah is mentioned in . The death and burial of Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, who had followed her from Haran (), are reported to have taken place after Jacob had returned to Canaan (Gn 3.5*).
The character of Rebekah has a peculiar charm and fascination. Appearing first as a pure, unselfish, loving girl, she becomes a woman of great strength of mind and depth of character. She Is clever, active, energetic. She can make plans and carry them out, give orders and expect them to be obeyed, but her masterful spirit cannot brook opposition or contradiction. Esau’s wives vex her beyond measure. When she loves, she loves with all her soul, and will spare no painS, consider no consequences, or grudge any sacrifice for those she loves. ‘Upon me be thy curse, my son’ (). is her answer to Jacob when he fears that a curse will fall on his deception. Although that curse fell and her beloved son had to flee and she saw his face no more, yet we forget the scheming, plotting woman in the loving wife and self-sacrificing mother. W. F. Botd.
BECAH, — A place name () quite unknown.
Receipt of Custom
See Custom(s), Tribute.
Rechab, Rechabites
1. Jehonadab, the sonof ‘Rechab, appears in as a fervent supporter of Jehu’s attack on the house of Ahab and his endeavou’ to root out the idolatrous worship which that dynasty had allowed. That his influence was a matter of somi importance is clear from the prominent place whIcL the new ruler gave him ( 23). The principles which actuated him are to be gathered from , where his descendants refuse to drink wine because he had bidden them abstain from it, build no houses, sow no seed, plant no vineyard, but dwell in tents all their days. He evidently held that civilization and settled life inevitably led to apostasy from Jahweh, the ancestral Deity of his tribe. And the peril was a very real one, because of the inveterate popular belief that the local baals were the dispensers of all blessings pertaining to field and vineyard (, ) Hence it seemed to more than one of the prophets that the early, simple period of the nation’s life, ere it became immersed In the Canaanite civilization, was preferable to all later developments (. ). Again, the self-restraint of the Rechabites reminds us of the Nazirite vow (see Nazirite). But the latter did not include so many taboos. It permitted the cultivation of land and the building of houses. It was not binding on an entire clan. A genuine tradition is probably embodied in the Chronicler’s statement (), that the clan of the Rechabites was connected with the Kenites, and this would square admirably with the view that the Jahweh-religion was communicated to Israel by Kenite influence. Subsequently to Jeremiah we do not find more than two Biblical allusions to the clan in question, and one of these is doubtful. reports that Malchijah, the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem, assisted in re-fortlfying Jerusalem. But If he was a Rechabite by descent, he must have abandoned their principles. The men whom Jeremiah approached were but temporary sojourners, driven Into the city through dread of the Invader. This Malchijah was doubly a townsman, living in a country town, and interested in the metropolis. The title of in the LXX Is: ‘Belonging to David. Of the sons of Jehonadab and of the earliest captives,’ as though the exiles and the Rechabites agreed in appropriating this poem of sorrow and hope. Finally, it may be noted that later Rabbisfound the fulfilment of In those marriages of Rechabite maidens into priestly families, from which later priests sprang. Hegesippus relates that one of the Rechabite priests interceded in vain for the life of James the Just (Euseb. HE ii. 23).
2. Rechab and his brother Baanah, two guerilla captains, treacherously murdered Ishbosheth, their king, and met with the due reward of their deed at David’s hands (). J. Taylor.
Reconciliation
The word ‘reconciliation,’ with its cognates. Is a Pauline one, and Is not found in the Gospels, or other NT writings. The chief passages In which it and related terms are employed are , (RV), , , , . In , where the AV has ‘to make reconciliation for the sins of the people,’ the RV reads, more correctly, "to make propitiation.’ OT usage, where the word occasionally tr. ‘reconcile’ ( etc.) Is again more correctly rendered in RV ‘make atonement,’ throws little light on the NT term. The effect of propitiation Is to remove the variance between God and man, and so bring about ‘reconciliation.’ The means by which this result is accomplished in the NT is the reconciling death of Christ (). Qn the special questions involved, see artt. Atonement and Redemption.
Perhaps better than any other, this term brings out In vivid form St. Paul’s conception of the gospel. As proclaimed to men, the gospel is a message of ‘reconcillatlon’ (). It Is a misunderstanding of the Apostle’s meaning in such passages to suppose that the need of reconciliation is on man’s side only, and not also on God’s. Man, indeed, does need to be reconciled to God, from whom he is naturally alienated in his mind in evil works (). ‘The mind of the flesh is enmity against God’ (), and this enmity of the carnal heart needs to be overcome. On this side, the ‘ministry of reconciliation’ is a beseeching of men to be reconciled to God (). But the very ground on which this appeal is based is that ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not reckoning unto them their trespasses’ (). It is an essential part of the Apostle’s teaching that sinners are the objects of a Divine Judicial wrath (). They lie under a condemnation that needs to be removed ( ff.). They are described as ‘enemies’ in two passages (gio njs) where the word is plainly to be taken in the passive sense of objects of wrath (cf. in , the contrast with ‘beloved’). It is this barrier to God’s reconciliation with men that, in the Apostle’s doctrine, Christ removes by His propitiatory death (, ). The ground on which men are called to be reconciled to God is: ‘Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him’ (, ). Believers ‘receive’ a reconciliation already made ( RV). The gospel reconciliation, in other words, has a twofold aspect — a God ward and a manward; and peace is made by the removal of the variance on both sides. See artt. above referred to. Jambs Okr.
Recorder
See King, 2 (6) (c).
Red
See Colouhs, 3.
James Hastings (ed.), with John A. Selbie and John C. Lambert, Dictionary of the Bible (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1909). Public domain. Scan of Cornell University Library’s copy from the Internet Archive; text from its OCR, with the Bible references read again from the page images.