Scorpion – Sephar

Scorpion

Scorpion’ (‘aqrab [Arab, same name], Deuteronomy 8:15, Ezlj 2:6; skorpios, Luke 10:19 11:12. Revelation 9:3, 10). — The scorpion belongs to the ArachnidcB or spider family. It occurs plentifully in Palestine, ten species being known; it is nocturnal in its habits, and kills small insects, spiders, etc., for food by means of the poisonous sting at the end of its tail. The effect of the poison on human beings is severe pain, and sometimes collapse and even death, thelatter in young children only. The ■ scorpions’ of 1 Kings 12:11, 14, 2 Chronicles 10:11, 14 are clearly used only figuratively. It is possible, but hardly likely (see Hastings’ DCG, art. ‘Scorpion’), that the language of our Lord in Luke 11:12 is suggested by the egg-like form of the ‘scorpion’ when at rest. More probably He has in mind some such form of proverb as was current among the Greeks: ‘Instead of a perch, a scorpion.’ E. W. G. Mastebman.

Scourging

See Chimes and Punishments, 9, and Crucifixion, 4.

Screech Owl

See Ovin,.

Scribe

See King, p. 516i>.

Scribes

Sometimes a phrase gives the key to a great history. Such is the case here. ‘The scribes of the Pharisees’ (Mark 2:16) points us to the ‘inseparable connexion between the Pharisees and the Scribes. In other places in the Gospels they are also grouped together(Mt 12:38, Luke 6:7. Mark 7:5). It we would understand the Scribe or Lawyer, we must set him against the background of Pharisaism (see art. Pharisees).

For every community that carves out for itself a great career the supreme problem is law and its administration. Now, after the Exile, the task being to hold together the parts of a nation widely scattered and lacking the unifying power of a common and sacred fatherland, the Mosaic Torah, the Divine Law for Israel, became, in course of time, the moral and spiritual constitution of Israel, its code of duty, the fabric of its right. The Torah is the informing principle of the community. Tobit 5 this principle and apply it to the changing conditions and questions of the nation’s life was the supreme need of the time. This need was analogous to the similar need of any great State. And it always necessitates, as at Rome, a great body of lawyers. A fundamental need gives rise to an authoritative function, and the function creates for itself the agents to exercise it. So, in course of time, appears in Judaism a new type, the Scribe. There is, however, a peculiarity in the case of the Scribe that sets him apart from the Roman lawyer or the modern judge. The Torah which he interpreted and applied was a good many things in one. It was the text-book of a society which was both Church and State; it was at once the constitution and the catechism of the Jews. So the mastery and administration of it developed in the Scribe a variety of functions which with us are parcelled out among preacher, scholar, lawyer, and magistrate. It is easy to see that history owed him a fortune. He came to occupy a great position in the Jewish community. By the 1st cent, he had forced his way into that aristocratic body, the Sanhedrin (Gamaliel in Acts 5; Nicodemus in John 3 and 7). He sat in ‘Moses’ seat’ (Matthew 23:1). He had the power of ‘binding and loosing,’ i.e. of publishing authoritative judgments upon the legality and illegality of actions.

We see here a situation which had the making of great men In it. Tobit 5 and administer the Mosaic Law, to ‘sit in Moses’ seat’ and become the trustee of the supreme interests of a great people, — there can be no better school. Naturally, there were many noble Scribes, men whose character and learning were commensurate with their task. Such were Hillel and Shammai, elder contemporaries of our Lord. Such also was the Gamaliel at whose feet St. Paul sat (Acts 22:3). and who spoke, with noble feeling, against the persecuting zeal of the Sadducees (5:34 ff.). As a class, too, they had their noble side. Their work, both educational and judicial, was gratuitous. They were to receive no pay. Probably this rule grew out of the idea of an impartial judge (Exodus 23:8. Deuteronomy 16:19). Of course, there must have been many exceptions. Yet the mere idea was ennobling, and must have served to enkindle devotion. But, on the other hand, their position encouraged vast pride and vanity. They stood on their prerogatives as ‘Teachers.’ They loved the title of ‘Rabbi.’ So our Lord, when He bids His disciples refuse such title (Matthew 23:7 f.). has the Scribes in mind.

This leads us to the deeper defect of the Scribes as a class. All their training went to unfit them for understanding our Lord. As we have seen, the situation of the Jews in the centuries after the Exile called for a new type of man. The prophet passed off the stage. The Scribe or Lawyer took his place. In the 1st cent, of. our era he had become antipathetic to Prophetism. So he had no sympathy with John the Baptist, and to the meaning of the creative force in spiritual things brought into history by the Saviour he was totally blind. Hence our Lord’s fearful denunciation of the Scribes (Matthew 23). See also artt. Pharisees and Sadducees.

Henry S. Nash.

Scrip

See Bag.

Scripture

1. The word ‘Scripture’ (Lat. scriptura, ‘a writing,’ ‘something written’) is used for the Bible as a whole, more often in the plural form ‘Scriptures,’ and also more properly for a passage of the Bible. It appears as tr. of the Greek graphs, which is used in the singular for a portion of the OT (.e.g. Mark 12:10), and also for the whole OT (Galatians 3:22), and more frequently in the plural (haigraphai). The specific idea of Scripture contains an element of sanctity and authority. Thus it becomes usual to refer to Holy Scripture, or the Holy Scriptures (ere graphais hagiais, Romans 1:2).

2 . This specific conception of Scripture as distinguished from ordinary writing is due to the reception of it as a record of the word of God, and is therefore associated with inspiration. The earliest reference to any such record is in the narrative of the finding of the Book of the Law by Hilkiah the scribe in the time of Josiah (2 K 22). Since this book is now known to have been Deuteronomy or part of it, we must reckon that this was the first book treated as Scripture. Still greater sanctity was given to the enlarged and more developed Law in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, and from that time the whole Pentateuch, regarded as the Law given by God to Moses, is treated as especially sacred and authoritative. The special function of the scribes in guarding and teaching the Law rested on this Scriptural character attached to it, and in turn rendered it the more venerable as Scripture. Later the reception of the Hagiographa and the Prophets into the Canon led to those collections being regarded also as Scripture, though never with quite the authority attached to the Law.

The Rabbis cherished great veneration for Scripture, and ascribed to it a mechanical inspiration which extended to every word and letter. Philo also accepted plenary inspiration, finding his freedom from the bondage of the letter m allegorical interpretations.

Unlike the Jerusalem Ralibis, in this respect followed by most of the NT writers, who quote the various OT authors by name, Philo quotes Scripture as the immediate word of God, and in so doing is followed by the author of Hebrews. Thus, while St. Mark says, ‘as it is written in Isaiah, the prophet’ (Mark 1:2). and St. Paul ‘David saith’ (Ro ll’), in Hebrews we read, ‘He (i.e. God) saith ‘(He 1:7).’ the Holy Ghost saith’ (3). or, more indefinitely, ‘it is said’ (3:15). which IS quite in the manner of Philo. Still, the technical expression ‘It is written’ (gegraptai) is very common both in the Gospels and in St. Paul’s Epistles. As a Greek perfect. It has the peculiar force of a present state resulting from a i)ast action. Thus it always conveys the thought that Scripture, although it was wntten long ago, does not belong to the past, but is in existence to-day,.ana its inherent present authority is thus emphasized as that of a law now m force. The impeisonal character of the passive verb also adds dignit3^ to the citation thus introduced, as something weighty on its own account.

3. No NT writings during the Apostolic age are treated as Scripture— a title, with its associated authority, always reserved by the Apostles for the OT. There is an apparent exception in 2 Peter 3:15, 16, where the Epistles of ‘our beloved brother Paul’ are associated with ‘the other scriptures’; but this is a strong argument in favour of assigning 2 Pet. to a late period In the second century. Apart from this, we first meet with the technical phrase ‘it is written’ attached to a NT passage in Barn. iv. 4; but here it is a Gospel citation of a saying of Christ: ‘As it is written. Many are called but few chosen.’ Thus the authority of Christ’s words leads to the record of them being cited as Scripture. In Polycarp (,Phil. xii. 1) we have the title ‘Scripture’ applied to the source of a NT quotation, but only in the Latin tr. (his scripturis). In 2 Clem. ii. 4 a saying of Christ is cited as Scripture. But, apart from these rare instances, no writer previous to the second half of the second century appeals to the NT as technically Scripture. Clement of Rome, Barnabas (with the one exception referred to), Hermas, and even Justin Martyr use the title for the OT only. Theophilus of Antiooh (c. 180) cites passages from St. Paul as ‘the Divine word’ (ad AiUol. iii. 14). Irenseus (180), on the other hand, constantly treats NT passages as the word of God and authoritative Scripture. For an explanation of this remarkable development, see Canon of NT.

W. F. Adenet, SGULPTTTRE. — See Art. SCURVY. — See Medicine, p. SOS’. SCYTHIANS.— A wandering race of the Indo-European stock who lived between the Danube and the Don, and spread over the territory between the Caucasus and the Caspian. They were a cruel and savage people, of huge build. The Athenians employed them as police. In Colossians 3:11 they are mentioned as a degree worse than barbarians. The latter word simply connoted those who spoke neither Greek nor Latin. A. Souter.

Scythopolis

See Beth-shean. SEA in Scripture generally means the Mediterranean, when the context introduces no distinction by which the particular sea is defined, e.g. in Numbers 33:8, Joshua 24:6 f. etc. ‘The Great Sea’ is the Mediterranean (Numbers 34:6, Ezekiel 47:10 etc.). ‘The Sea of the Arabah’ is the Dead Sea (2 Kings 148 etc.). The ‘Sea of Chinnereth’ is the Sea of Galilee (Numbers 34 etc.). The ‘Sea of the Philistines’ is the Mediterranean off the Philistine coast (Exodus 23:31). Yam SUph, ‘Sea of Weeds’ (Exodus 10:19 etc.), is identical with ‘the Bed Sea’ of Hebrews 11:29, Judith 5:12 etc., and is always so translated. The Nile, as in modern Arabic (.el Bahf), is called ‘the sea’ (Isaiah 18:2 etc.), so also the Euphrates (Isaiah 21:1. Jeremiah 51). ‘The sea’ of Jazer is a scribal error (Jeremiah 48:32; ct. Isaiah 16). yam, ‘sea,’ Is the usual word for ‘West’; the Mediterranean forming the W. boundary of Palestine (Genesis 12:8 etc.). The phrase ‘from sea to sea’ (Amos 8:12 etc.) probably signified the ends of the earth. The influence of the Babylonian myth of the conflict of the gods with the primeval sea may be traced in certain Scripture representations of the sea (Job 7:12 etc. See art. ‘Cosmogony’ in Hastings’ DB). Tehdm (EV ‘deep’) of Genesis 1:2 etc. resembles the Bab. Tiamat. By the dismemberment of this monster the ordered world is produced (Genesis 1:6). The turbulent and dangerous character of the sea is often referred to m Scripture (Psalms 46:2 89:9. Isaiah 17:12, Jeremiah 49:23 etc.). From the sea came up the monsters of Daniel’s vision (7:2 ff.) so also in the Apocalypse (13:1). It in the literature of the Hebrews there is manifest a certain horror of, and shrinking from, the sea, which seem strange to a sea-faring people, we must remember that, as a nation, Israel nevef knew the sea; nor need we wonder if, viewed from their mountain heights, stretching vast and mysterious into the far horizons, it seemed to them the very home of storms and vague terrors. So when the Jewish seer depicts the future home of the blessed there is ‘no more sea (Revelation 21:1). Ct. Dualism, 1, Rahab, 2. W. EwiNO.

Sea

(BRAZEN). See Temple, § 6 (c).

Sea of Galilee

See Galilee [Sea of].

Sea of Glass

One of the features of the heavenly landscape described in Revelation 4:6 15:2. By its side stood those who had been victorious in the struggle with the beast, singing to the glory of God. Its location was apparently before the throne of God. Just what the symbolism here intended is, it is difficult to state. The probability is, however, that there is no distinct symbolism whatever, but that the reference is rather to the brilliancy of the waters as one element in the supremely beautiful land of heaven. Shailer Mathews.

Seah

See Weights and Measures, II.

Seal, Signet

Theexistence of seals is attested for the early dynasties of Egypt, and for an equally remote period in the history of Babylonia. The first mention of a seal in the OT is in connexion with the patriarch Judah, who fared forth with his staff hi his hand and his seal hung round his neck by a cord (Genesis 38:18 RV), precisely as was the custom of every Babylonian gentleman in the days of Herodotus (i. 195). The seals hitherto found in Palestine show little initiative on the part of the Hebrews in this branch of the fine arts, the great majority plainly showing the predominant influence of Egypt, or to a less extent of Babylonia.

As regards material, almost every variety of precious stone was used for this purpose, although ordinary limestone, and even baked clay, were used by those who could afford nothing better. An almost equal wealth of form is attested by the extant seals. Thus the scarab and the scaraboid forms were distinctive of Egypt, as the cylinder was of Babylonia. Other seals, again, were conical in shape, while the square form is not unknown.

Most of the extant seals bearing evidence of a Hebrew origin, however, are oval in outline. This was also the usual form for seals intended to be set in the bezel of a ring. In this case it was customary to wear the ring on one of the fingers of the right hand (Jeremiah 22:24; cf. Gn 41). The distinctively Jewish type of seal is marked by two features: (a) the absence of figures. Divine or human, in the field, and (6) the presence of two parallel Imes, set close together, which cross the field longitudinally, and divide the inscription into two parts. The legend, as a rule, contains the name of the owner, preceded by the preposition signifying ‘belonging to’ — thus ‘[the property] of X, the son of Y,’ or ‘of M, the daughter of N,’ for women also had their seals. Many seals, however, whose owners, to judge from their names, were Hebrews, bear figures and symbols in the field, one of them showing the earliest example of the so-called ‘shield of David.’

Another of this class is the finest known specimen of a Hebrew seal. It is of jasper, and oval in shape; the greater part of the field is occupied by a lion, of the most delicate workmanship in the Babylonian style, while above and below is the legend: ‘[The property! of Shema, the servant ii.e. court official] of Jeroboam.’ This seal was discovered in 1904 during the German excavations on the site of the ancient Megiddo, and is fully described by Kautzsch in MNDPV 1904, 1-14, 81-83; of. Lidzbarski.EpAemeris f. Sem. Epigra^hik, ii. 140 ff., where other seals are also discussed; andPEFSt 1904, 287 ff ., with reproductions of the size of the original and enlarged. It is impossible to decide whether or not the Shema of the Megiddo seal is identical with the original owner of another seal of the more severe type above described, the legend of which runs : ‘[the property] of Shema, the servant of the king.’

3 G

A series of excellent reproductions of typical seals found in Palestine is given byBenzinger in his Heb.Arch.’ll907],82, 179 f., 225-230, while a collection of twenty seal inscnptions, dating from9th-6th cent. B.c.with ample references, will be found in Lidzbarski’s Altsemit. Texte, part i., 10 f .

The engraving of seals was done by means of a graver with a diamond point (Jeremiah 17:1). Ben-Sira (c. B.C. 180-175) makes honourable mention of them ‘that cut gravings of signets’ (Sirach 38:27 RV).

As regards the varied uses of the seal in antiquity, one of the most important was to authenticate written documents CI K 21:8. Jeremiah 32:10 f.). after the manner of a modern signature (cf. Nehemiah 10:1). A roll or other document intended for preservation was sealed up before it was parted with (Daniel 12:4) the seals, accordingly, had to be broken before it could be read (Revelation 6:3 etc.). In the ordinary business of life sealing was continually employed as a precaution against a deposit of any sort being tampered with by unauthorized persons. Wine jars, for example, invariably had their stoppers covered with soft clay, on which the owner impressed his seal. Such impressions are referred to in Job 38:14.

Newberry in his Scarabs illustrates the Egyptian (and doubtless Hebrew) practice of sealing doors by means of a piece of string attaching the door to the jamb, and sealed with a clay seal. Darius’ ‘den of lions’ (Daniel 6:17) and the sepulchre of our Lord (Matthew 27:66) were both in all probability sealed in this way by means of a cord which passed over the stone covering the entrance, and was sealed at either end by a lump of clay impressed with one or more seals (cf. Dn. I.e.).

From the universal use of the seal in ratifying and authenticating documents, and safeguarding deposits, the writers both of the OT and of the NT have derived a rich variety of figures. Thus, in Daniel 9:24. sealing is a figure for the ratification of prophecy; in John 6:27 the figure is based on the public acknowledgment of the seal as one nowadays acknowledges one’s signature. St. Paul’s converts, again, are the ‘seal’ of his Apostleship ( 1 Corinthians 9:2), , in other words, they authenticate his stat us and mission as a true Apostle. As a document or vessel, finally, is sealed up until the time for opening it arrives, so the Christian believer is sealed by the Holy Spirit ‘unto the day of redemption’ (Ephesians 4:30; cf. 1:13, 2 Corinthians 1:22). A. R. S. Kennedy.

Seamew

See Cttckow.

Sea-monster

See Dragon, Leviathan, Rahab, Sea.

Seba

The eldest son of Cush in Genesis 10:7 (1 Chronicles 1:9), named along with Sheba in Psalms 72:10, and with Egypt and Cush in Isaiah 43:3 45:14. In the latter passage its people are referred to as of high stature. A comparison with Isaiah 18:2 points to a supposed connexion with the tall Cushites or Nubians, though there is no evidence which directly associates either the people or the country with Nubia proper, in the region of the Nile. More specific seem to be the references by Strabo and Ptolemy to a seaport Saba and Sabat, near the modern Massowa on the west of the Red Sea. This location, nearly opposite the ancient Sheba, gives some colour to the hypothesis that Seba is an African differentiation of Sheba (wh. see), the latter being naturally the parent community.

J. F. McCtJBDY.

Sebam

A place in the east-Jordan territory of Reuben (Numbers 32:3). In all the other passages (Numbers 32:38. Joshua 13:11. Isaiah 16:8, 9, Jeremiah 48:32) the name appears in the fern. form Sibmah. The ‘vine of Sibmah’ is mentioned by Isaiah and Jeremiah as one of the possessions of Moab on which destruction was to fall. The place has been located near Heshbon. H. L. Willett.

Segacah

A town mentioned (Joshua 15:61) among the possessions of Judah ‘in the wilderness’ {.midbOr). It was probably in the rocky district above the W. shore of the Dead Sea. H. L. Willett.

8ECHENIAS.— 1. 1 Es S^s^Shecajiiah, Ezra 8 2. 1 Esdras 8:32, Ezra 8:5.

Second Coming

See Parousia.

Sect

See Heresy.

Secu

A place name which appears only in the late narrative of 1 Samuel 19:22 in connexion with Ramah, Samuel’s home, and especially with the ‘great cistern’ or ‘well of the threshing-floor.’ Perhaps the name represents a word in the original best rendered ‘the height,’ referring to the highest part of the town of Ramah. H. L. Willett.

Secundus

A man of Thessalonica who accompanied St. Paul on his journey to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4), perhaps as a delegate to carry alms from his city. The Greek of the verse is obscure, but the meaning probably is that Aristarchus and Secundus and those mentioned afterwards went direct to Troas from Corinth and waited there for the Apostle, who came with Sopater by way of Macedonia. See Sopater. A. J. Maclean.

Secure

To be secure, in the language of AV, does not mean to be free from danger; it means not to anticipate danger. Thus, Judges 8:11 ‘Gideon smote the host, for the host was secure.’ The vb. ‘to secure’ occurs in Matthew 28:14 ‘And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you,’ where the Greek means literally make you free from care, i.e. make it all right for you.

Sedekias

1. An ancestor of Baruch (Bar !’)• 2. 1 Esdras 1:46. Baruch 1:8 =Zedekiah (wh. see), king of Judah.

Seduction

See Crimes and Punishments, § 3.

Seed, Seedtime

Seed, seedtime (Heb. zera’ ; Gr. sperma, sporesspm-a). — 1. Literal.— (a) Vegetable (Genesis 1:11 S^^ etc). See Agriculture, § 1. (6) Animal (Leviticus 15:16–18 etc.). 2. Metaphorical.— (a) Offspring, race, family (Genesis 3:15 9 12:7 etc.; Mark 12:19 ff.: Luke 1:55, John 7:42 etc.). In NT it is especially frequent in the phrase ‘the seed of Abraham’ — a favourite Pauline equivalent for ‘Israel’ (cf. Romans 11:1, 2 Corinthians 11:22). In Galatians 3:16 St. Paul argues from the use of the sing, ‘seed’ instead of the plur. ‘seeds’ in Genesis 13:15 17:8. that the Messiah in person is denoted and not Abraham’s progeny in general. As a proof the argument has no force, for the same word zera’ occurs in the sing, form in every passage in the OT where it expresses the idea of offspring. It is a verbal subtlety due to the Apostle’s Rabbinical training. But the argument as a whole is independent of this grammatical refinement. St. Paul’s meaning is that the Messiah was clearly in view in the promises made to Abraham. Israel was the type of Christ, and in Him the seed of Abraham was summed up. From this follows that further extension of the fig. ‘seed of Abraham’ to denote those united to Christ by faith (Galatians 3:7, 29). the spiritual Israel or ‘Israel of God’ (Romans 2:29, Galatians 6:16). (ft) Yital energy. In 1 John 3:9 ‘seed’ denotes the indwelling principle of the Divine life by which the Christian is kept from sin.

J. C. Lambert.

Seer

See pp. ilS", 757.

Seethe

This verb, which means to boil, occurs occasionally in AV, especially in the command (Ex 23" etc.), ‘Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.’ The past tense was sod, as Genesis 25:29 ‘Jacob sod pottage’; and the past part, sodden, as Lamentations 4 ‘The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children.’

Segub

1. The youngest son of Hiel who re-built Jericho (1 Kings 16:34). He died, or was possibly sacrificed by his father, when the gates were set up. See House, p. 369*. 2. Son of Hezron (1 Chronicles 2 2’f.).

Seir

1. The name of a mountainous district east of the ‘Arabah, peopled by the Edomites. It was originally occupied by Horites or’ cave-dwellers’ (Genesis 14:6). Mt. Seir is practically synonymous with Edom (cf. Genesis 32 ‘the land of Seir, the field of Edom’). 2. " Mt. Selr’ mentioned in Joshua 15:10 among the points defining the boundaries of Judah. The name may still be preserved in that of the ruins at SUHs, S.’W. of Kiriath-jearim.

Seirah

The place to which Ehud escaped after Icilling Eglon, king of Moab (Judges 3:26) unidentified.

SEL A means ‘rocls, ‘‘cliff,’ or ‘crag,’ and as a common noun is of frequent occurrence in Hebrew. In three or four passages (Judges 1, 2 Kings 14:7, Isaiah 16:1, and, according to some, Isaiah 42:11) the word appears to be a proper name. In Judges 1 a site near the southern end of the Dead Sea is required by the context. Such a site would also satisfy the requirements of 2 Kings 14:7 and Isaiah 16:1. But it is not improbable that more than one place was Itnown as ‘the Cliff (or Crag).’ It is therefore not impossible, though far from certain, that the Sela of 2 K 14:7 (cf. Joktheel) and Isaiah 16:1 is, as RVm In the latter passage suggests, and as many have held, the place known later as Petra (which also means ‘rock ‘). Petra lay about 60 miles nearly due south of the Dead Sea, in a valley’ enclosed on every side by nearly perpendicular rocks of considerable height’ and ‘composed of sandstone of many different colours.’ It was the capital of the Nabataeans from the close of the 4th cent. B.C. to the beginning of the 2nd cent. a.d. (when it became a Koman province), and during that period a busy commercial centre. For some description of the buildings of Petra and the rock architecture which have given the city great fame, see Baedeker’s Palestine, p. 206, and the literature there cited. ‘The general character of the buildings at Petra is that of the debased Roman style of the 3rd and 4th centuries a.d.’ Apart from the Biblical statements enumerated above, the history of Fetra tiefore the Nabataean period is unknown.

G. B. Gray. SELA-HABOIAHLEKOTH.— A rock or cliS in the wilderness of Maon, at which Saul ‘returned from pursuing after David’ (1 Samuel 23:28). The site is uncertain. SELAH. — A Heb. liturgical-musical term of uncertain meaning. It occurs (a) in the OT, (6) in the Psalms of Solomon, and (c) in the Jewish (Synagogue) Liturgy. In the OT the term occurs 74 times altogether in the Heb. text, viz. 71 times in the Psalter, and 3 in the Prayer of Habakkuk (Habakkuk 3). In the Gr. tr. of the OT (the LXX) the Gr. equivalent idiapsalma) does not always appear in the same places as in the Heb. text; the number of occurrences is also rather larger in the LXX. Possibly in some cases ‘Selah’ has fallen out of the Massoretic text accidentally. In the Psalms of Solomon ‘Selah’ occurs twice (17 and IS’"), and in the oldest parts of the Jewish Liturgy (apart from the canonical Psalms, which are incorporated in it) 5 times (3 in the ‘Eighteen Blessings’ and 2 in the morning Benedictions preceding the Shema’).

Various explanations have been proposed as to the etymology and meaning of the term. Perhaps the least improbable of these is that which regards it as a liturgical direction intended to indicate the place for lifting up the voices in a doxology at the close of a section; such a doxology might have been sung at the end of a psalm or section of a psalm which liturgically was separated from the following (cf. the use of the ‘Gloria’ at the end of Psalms or [in the case of the 119th] at the end of sections of the Psalm in Christian worship). Or it may have been a direction to the orchestra — ‘Lift up! loud!’ — to strike in with loud music (after the soft accompaniment to the singers’ voices) during a pause in the singing. Other theories, such as that it represents a Heb. transliteration of a Greek word {e.g. psaile) or an abbreviation of three words, have little probability. The meaning of the LXX rendering (dia^ psalma) is as uncertain as that of the Heb. word itself.

G. H. Box. SELED.— A Jerahmeelite (1 Chronicles 2:30).

Selemia

One of Ezra’s swift scribes (2 Esdras 14).

Selemias

Selemias (1 Esdras 9:34) =Shelemiah, Ezra 10:39.

SELEUOIA. on the coast of Syria, at the mouth of the river Orontes, was the port of the great Antioch. It was strongly fortified. Situated on the S. side of Mt. Pieria, and on the level ground at its foot, it was protected on three sides both naturally and by fortifications. It was captured by Ptolemy Euergetes (1 Maccabees 11), and afterwards recovered (in b.c. 219) by Antiochus the Great. Its greatness increased in Roman times. Then it was a ‘free city.’ Commercially its importance In the Levantine trade was of the highest. Extensive remains of the ancient city exist. A. Souter.

Seleucus

1. Seleucus I, (mkafor), originally a cavalry oflicer of Alexander the Great, became satrap of Babylon on the death of the king. After some vicissitudes his position there was securely established in B.C. 312, from which date the Seleucid era was reckoned (1 Maccabees 1:16). The battle of Ipsus, b.c. 301, made him master of Syria and great part of the East. He founded Antioch and its fortified port Seleucia (1 Maccabees 11:8), and is said by Josephus (Ant. xii. iii. 1) to have conferred on the Jews the privileges of citizenship. He is the ‘one of his [i.e. the king of Egypt’s] princes’ (Daniel 11:5). He died b.c. 280. — 2. Seleucus II. {CaUinicus, b.c. 246- 226), son of Antiochus Soter, is entitled the ‘king of the north’ in the passage (Daniel 11:7–9) which alludes to the utter discomfiture of the Syrian king and the capture of Seleucia. — 3. Seleucus in. {fferaunus, b.c. 226-223), "one of his [Seleucus ii.’s] sons’ (Daniel 11:10), was murdered during a campaign in Asia Minor; the struggle with Egypt was continued by his brother Antiochus (Daniel 11:10–16). — 4. Seleucus IV. (.Philopator; but Jos., Ant. XII. iv. 10, calls him Soter), son of Antiochus The Great, reigned b.c. 187-176. He it was who despatched Heliodorus to plunder the Temple (2 Maccabees 3:1–40, cf. Dn 11:20). 5. Seleucus V. (b.c. 125-124) and VI. (b.c. 95-93) are not of importance to the Biblical student. The four first-named belong to the ‘ten horns’ of Daniel 7:24.

J. Taylor.

Self-control

See Temperance.

Self-surrender

1. The military metaphor underlying the idea of ‘surrendering oneself’ is suggestive. The keys of the citadel of self are handed over to the rightful Lord, whose most powerful weapons of attack have been the entreaties of His love. The surrender is not for demolition, but for restoration in beauty and strength. It is a voluntary act, implying the ‘presenting’ of ourselves unto God, and involving the ‘presenting’ of our ‘members as instruments of righteousness unto God’ (Romans 6:13, cf. 12:1). A similar conception finds expression in the Gr. wort} (hypotassesthai) which RV tr. ‘to be subject to,’ lit. ‘to set oneself under.’ The proof that in ‘the mind’ the ruling element is not ‘flesh’ but ‘spirit’ is the absence of hostility to God; this state of ‘life and peace’ is the result of ‘subjecting oneself to the law of God’ (Romans 8:6 f.; cf. 10:3. James 4:7). In Hebrews 12:9 this unreserved surrender of ourselves to God is represented as the only worthy recognition of His absolute claims, and as, therefore, thoroughly consistent with a due regard to the development of our own personality. To ‘be in subjection to the Father of spirits’ is indeed to ‘live.’ ‘Such absolute subjection is crowned by the highest blessing. True life comes from complete self-surrender’ (Westcott, Com., in toe).

2. It depends upon the point of view whether the Christian ideal of life is described as the life of self-surrender or as the life of self-development. Repentance and faith are alike acts in which, at one and the same time, self-will is surrendered and the higher self is realized. ‘Our wills are ours, we know not how, Our wills are ours to make them ‘Thine.’ Our self-surrender is the condition of the Divine co-operation; His worliing in us ‘both to will and to do’ enables us to respond to the exhortation: " work out your own salvation’ (Philippians 2:12 f.). ‘Every real sacrifice is at the same time self-preservation, namely, preservation of the ideal self (Paulsen, System of Ethics, p. 248).’ To yield oneself up as the organ of a higher spirit which disposes of us as may be fit constitutes the mystic ideal of perfect life ‘{Martineau, Types of Ethical Theory, ii. 273). The open secret of that lite is revealed in St. Paul’s profound words:’ I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me’ (Galatians 2:20). J. G. Tasker.

Semachiah

A Korahite family of gatekeepers (1 Chronicles 26:7). Perhaps the same name should be substituted for Ismachiah in 2 Chronicles 31:13.

Semei

Semei (1 Esdras 9:33) =Shimei, Ezra 10:33.

Semeias

Semeias (Ad. Esther 11) =Shimei, Esther 2:5.

Semein

The father of Mattathias (Luke 3:26).

Seheis

Seheis (1 Esdras 9:23) =Shimei, Ezra 10:23.

Senaah

The children of Senaah, or more correctly Haasenaah, were a clan or family who, according to Ezra 2:35. Nehemiah 7:38. 1 Esdras 5:23 [Sanaas], were among the exiles of the first Restoration under Zerub., and had a share in re-building the walls (Nehemiah 3:3). They are elsewhere unknown, unless they should be Identified with Hassenuah, a clan of Benjamm (1 Chronicles 9:7. Nehemiah 11:9). The latter would then be the correct reading. Other conjectures are less probable. J. F. McCtjhdy.

Senate

Senate is the tr. of Gr. gerousia in Acts 5:21. where ■ all the senate of the children of Israel ‘is intended to explain the preceding’ council’ (synedrion). See Sanhedhin. It is the Jewish ‘senate’ that is meant likewise in 2 Maccabees 1:10 4:44. The Roman senate is alluded to in 1 Maccabees 8:17 ff.

Seneh

One of the steep cliffs forming the walls of the gorge of Michmash, where Jonathan’s exploit occurred (1 Samuel 14:4 f.). The name may signify ‘tooth,’ though this is uncertain. The precise cliffs, called respectively Seneh and Bozez, are not identified.

H. L. WlLLETT.

Senir

The name of Hermon among the Amorites, according to Deuteronomy 3:9, but in Song of Songs 4:8 and 1 Chronicles 5:23 distinguished from Hermon. It was famous for its large fir-trees (Ezekiel 27:5). This Amoritic name was, naturally enough, the one in vogue among the Babylonians and Assyrians. In Deut. it appears, like Hermon and Sirion, to designate the whole of Anti-Lebanon. When taken more strictly, it stood, we may assume, for the northern portion. The Arab geographers gave the name to that part of the range lying between Baalbek and Horns.

J. F. McCUBDT.

Sennacherib

Sennacherib (Assyr. Sin-akhS-erba, i.e. ‘Sin [the Moon-god] has increased the brothers’), son of Sargon, succeeded him on the throne of Assyria, on the 12th of Ah, B.C. 705. He was at once faced by troubles in Babylon, where Merodach-baladan had re-established himself. Sennacherib expelled him and placed Beiibni of the Babylonian seed royal on the throne as a vassal king. After wars against the Kassites and Elamites in b.c. 701, Sennacherib set out to reduce the West to order. The king of Tyre fied to Cyprus, Sidon and the rest of Phoenicia were taken or submitted, and placed under a king Ethbaal. Ashdod, Ammon, Moab, Edom sent tribute. Ashkelon and Ekron were captured, and Hezekiah had to restore Padi to the throne of Ekron after keeping him some time in prison. The Egyptians and their allies who had moved to support Hezekiah were defeated at Eltekeh. Then Sennacherib devastated Judiea, capturing 46 cities and 200,160 prisoners. Hezekiah seems to have attempted to bribe him to retreat, sending immense tribute to Sennacherib while he was besieging Lachish. Lachish fell, and the Tartan, the Rab-shakeh and Rab-saris were sent to demand the surrender of Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:8 ff.). The miraculous dispersion of his army compelled Sennacherib to retreat without accomplishing the capture of Jerusalem. There is some reason to think that the Biblical accounts refer partly to a second campaign of Sennacherib after b.c. 690. His annals, however, do not extend so far. Troubles in Babylonia led him to recall BSl-ibni and set his own son Ashur-nadin-shum on the throne. He then had once more to expel Merodach-baladan from Lower Babylonia. Building a fleet on the Tigris and Euphrates, he pursued the Chaldsean to the mouth of the Eulseus, and there captured and destroyed the Chaldasan stronghold, thus invading Lower Elam. He was too far from his base, and the Elamites tell on his rear and captured Babylon, carried off Ashur-nadin-shum to Elam, making a Chaldaean Nergal-ushEzib king in his stead; b.c. 694. The Assyrians soon re-asserted their supremacy, but a fresh rebellion placed a Babylonian on the throne of Babylon. In B.C. 691 Sennacherib brought both Elamites and Babylonians to bay at Ehalule. Two years later he invaded Elam. In b.c. 689 Babylon was captured and razed to the ground. From that time till b.c. 681, when Sennacherib was murdered (2 Kings 19:37), we have no history of his reign. His great achievement was the creation of Nineveh as a metropolis of the Empire. He built the great palace of Kouyimjik and the great wall of Nineveh. Cf. Adeammelech. C. H. W. Johns.

Seobqi

The name of the fourth priestly course (1 Chronicles 24:8).

Separation, Water of

See Red Heifer.

Sephar

Mentioned as a boundary of the descendants of Joktan in Genesis 10. The most probable identification is that with Zafar, the ancient capital of the Himyarites, which is probably the seaport of Hadramaut of the same name (see Hazarmaveth).

J. F. McCURDT.

SEPHAEAD, — A country in which was a community of exiles from Judah in the days of the prophet Obadiah (Ob^n). It is probably to be understood as Sparda (.Cparda) , a Persian province of Asia Minor, not definitely treated in its earliest use, but in the time of the Seleucida employed for Asia Minor as a whole. Cf. Obadiah, p. 664. J. F. McCuRDY.