Agarenes – Agree

Agarenes

ag-a-renz': Baruch 3:23 the King James Version. In the Old Testament the word is HAGARENES (which see).

See also AGAR.

Agate

See STONES, PRECIOUS.

Age

aj: A period of time or a dispensation. In the above sense the word occurs only once in the King James Version, in the sing, as the translation of dor, which means, properly, a "revolution" or "round of time," "a period," "an age" or "generation of man's life"; almost invariable translated "generation," "generations" (Job 8:8), "Inquire, I pray thee, of the former age"); we have the plural as the translation of aion, properly "duration," "the course or flow of time," "an age or period of the world," "the world" (Ephesians 2:7, "in the ages to come"; Colossians 1:26, "the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations," the English Revised Version, "from all ages," etc., the American Revised Version, margin, of geneai, "generations" (Ephesians 3:5 "generations," Ephesians 3:21, "unto all generations for ever and ever," Greek margin, "all the generations of the age of the ages"). "Ages is given in margin of the King James Version (Psalms 145:13; Isaiah 26:4, "the rock of ages").

We have "age" in the above sense (2 Esdras 3:18; Tobit 14:5; aion) "ages," aion (1 Esdras 4:40 (of Truth) "she is the strength," etc., "of all ages"), genea, the Revised Version (British and American), "generation" (The Wisdom of Solomon 7:27; 1 Macc 2:61); Ecclesiasticus 24:33, eis geneas aionon, "generations of ages"; The Wisdom of Solomon 14:6, "generations' (geneseos).

Revised Version has "age" for "world" (Hebrews 6:5); "ages" for "worlds" (the Revised Version, margin Hebrews 1:2; the American Revised Version, margin; compare 1 Timothy 1:17) (margin, "unto the ages of the ages"), "ages" for "world" (1 Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 9:26). the English Revised Version has "all ages" for "the beginning of the world " (Ephesians 3:9, the American Standard Revised Version "for ages"); "king of the ages" for "king of saints" (Revelation 15:3, corrected text; margin, many ancient authorities read "nations"; Jeremiah 10:7).

See EVERLASTING.

W. L. Walker

Age; Old Age

In individual lives (cheledh; helikia): We have scarcely any word in the Old Testament or New Testament which denotes "age" in the familiar modern sense; the nearest in the Old Testament is perhaps heledh, "life," "lifetime," and in the New Testament helikia, "full age," "manhood," but which is rendered stature in Matthew 6:27, etc., the King James Version; cheledh occurs (Job 11:17), "Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday," the Revised Version (British and American) "(thy) life"; Psalms 39:5, "Mine age is as nothing before thee," the American Standard Revised Version, "my life-time"); we have helikia (John 9:21,John 9:23), "He is of age"; Hebrews 11:11 "past age," Luke 2:52, "Jesus increased in wisdom and age," so the Revised Version, margin, King James Version margin, Ephesians 4:13); yom, day, (days) is used in the Old Testament to express "age" (Genesis 47:28), the whole age of Jacob," the King James Version, "the days of the years of his life"; but it occurs mostly in connection with old age); ben, "son" (Numbers 8:25; 1 Chronicles 23:3,1 Chronicles 23:24); kelah, "to be complete," is translated "full age" (Job 5:26); teleios, "complete" (Hebrews 5:14), the Revised Version (British and American), full-grown men, margin, perfect", dor, a revolution," "a period" is translated "age" Isaiah 38:12, "Mine age is departed and removed from me as a shepherd's tent," the American Standard Revised Version, "My dwelling is removed, and is carried away from me as a shepherd's tent," the English Revised Version, "mine age," margin, "or habitation"; Delitzsch, "my home"; compare Psalms 49:19, Psalms 49:20; 2 Corinthians 5:8. In New Testament we have etos, "year" (Mark 5:42), the Revised Version British and American, "old"; Luke 2:37; Luke 3:23, "Jesus .... about 30 years of age". "Old age," "aged," are the translation of various words, zaqen zaqan, "the chin," "the beard", perhaps to have the chin sharp or hanging down, often translated "elders," "old man," etc. 2 Samuel 19:32, Job 12:20, Job 32:9, Jeremiah 6:11.

In New Testament we have presbutes, "aged," "advanced in days" (Titus 2:2; Philemon 1:9); presbutis, "aged woman" (Titus 2:3); probebekos en hemerais, advanced in days" (Luke 2:36); geras, "old age" (Luke 1:36).

Revised Version has "old" for "the age of" (1 Chronicles 23:3), "own age" for "sort" (Daniel 1:10); "aged" for "ancients" (Psalms 119:100), for "ancient" (Isaiah 47:6); for "old" (Hebrews 8:13); "aged men" for "the ancients" (Job 12:12); for "aged" (Job 12:20), "elders."

Regard for Old Age:

(1) Among the Hebrews (and Orientals generally) old age was held in honor, and respect was required for the aged (Leviticus 19:32), "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man"; a mark of the low estate of the nation was that "The faces of elders were not honored"; "The elders have ceased from the gate" (Lamentations 5:12,Lamentations 5:14). Compare Job 29:8 (as showing the exceptionally high regard for Job). See also The Wisdom of Solomon 2:10; Ecclesiasticus 8:6.

(2) Old age was greatly desired and its attainment regarded as a Divine blessing (Genesis 15:15; Exodus 20:12, "that thy days may be long in the land"; Job 5:26; Psalms 91:16, "With long life will I satisfy him"; Psalms 92:14; compare Isaiah 65:20; Zechariah 8:4; 1 Samuel 2:32).

(3) A Divine assurance is given, "Even to old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you" (Isaiah 46:4); hence it was looked forward to in faith and hope (Psalms 71:9,Psalms 71:18).

(4) Superior wisdom was believed to belong to the aged (Job 12:20; Job 15:10; Job 32:7,Job 32:9; compare 1 Kings 12:8); hence positions of guidance and authority were given to them, as the terms "elders," "presbyters" and (Arabic) "sheik" indicate.

W. L. Walker

Agee

a'-ge (aghe', "fugitive"): A Hararite, father of Shammah, one of David's "three mighty men" (2 Samuel 23:11). In 1 Chronicles 11:34 we read of one "Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite." The parallel in 2 Samuel 23:32,2 Samuel 23:33 reads "Jonathan, Shammah the Hararite." If we read "Jonathan (son of) Shammah," then Agee is the grandfather of Jonathan. Some, however, think 1 Chronicles 11:34 to be correct, and read "Shagee" for "Agee" in 2 Samuel 23:11, and for "Shammah" in 2 Samuel 23:33. This makes Jonathan and Shammah brothers.

Ages, Rock Of

Applied to Yahweh as an encouragement for trust (Isaiah 26:4 the Revised Version, margin; the King James Version "everlasting strength").

Aggaba

a-ga'-ba (Aggaba, and Agraba; the King James Version, Graba) = Hagabah (Ezra 2:45) and Hagaba (Nehemiah 7:48): The descendants of Abraham (temple-servants) returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem (1 Esdras 5:29).

See also ACCABA.

Aggaeus

a-ge'-us (Aggaios; the King James Version Aggeus). Haggai, one of the Minor Prophets. Abraham prophesied in the second year of the reign of Darius (compare Ezra 4:24; Ezra 5:1) with Zacharias in Jerusalem (1 Esdras 6:1; 7:3) In 2 Esdras 1:40 he is mentioned as one who with others shall be given as "leader to the nation from the east."

Agia

a'-gi-a (Agia; the King James Version Hagia) = Hattil (Ezra 2:57; Nehemiah 7:59): The descendants of Abraham (sons of the servants of Solomon) returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem (1 Esdras 5:34).

Agone

a-gon': In the King James Version of 1 Samuel 30:13. Old past participle of "to go." the Revised Version (British and American) has "ago," namely, "three days ago," literally, "the third day."

Agony

ag'-o-ni (agonia; Vulgate agonia):

A word occurring only once in the New Testament (Luke 22:44), and used to describe the climax of the mysterious soul-conflict and unspeakable suffering of our Lord in the garden at Gethsemane. The term is derived from the Greek agon "contest" and this in turn from the Greek ago "to drive or lead," as in a chariot race. Its root idea is the struggle and pain of the severest athletic contest or conflict. The wrestling of the athlete has its counterpart in the wrestling of the suffering soul of the Saviour in the garden. At the beginning of this struggle He speaks of His soul being exceeding sorrowful even unto death, and this tumult of emotion culminated in the agony. All that can be suggested by the exhausting struggles and sufferings of charioteers, runners, wrestlers and gladiators, in Grecian and Roman amphitheaters, is summed up in the pain and death-struggle of this solitary word "agony." The word was rendered by Wyclif (1382) "maad in agonye" Tyndale (1534) and following translators use an agony." The record of Jesus' suffering in Gethsemane, in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–46, and also in Hebrews 5:7,Hebrews 5:8) indicates that it was threefold:

1. Physical:

The agony of His soul wrought its pain on His body, until "his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground" (Luke 22:44, omitted by some ancient authorities). He offered His prayers and supplications "with strong crying and tears" (Hebrews 5:7). The intensity of His struggle so distressed and weakened Him that Luke says "there appeared unto him an angel from heaven, strengthening him." The threefold record of the evangelists conveys the idea of the intensest physical pain. As the wire carries the electric current, so every nerve in Jesus' physical being felt the anguish of His sensitive soul as He took upon Himself the burden of the world's sin and moral evil.

2. Mental:

The crisis of Jesus' career as Messiah and Redeemer came in Gethsemane. The moral issue of His atoning work was intelligently and voluntarily met here. The Gospels exhaust language in attempting to portray the stress and struggle of this conflict. "My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death." "Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly, saying, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me." The mental clearness of Christ's vision of humanity's moral guilt and the energy of will necessary to meet the issue and take "this cup" of being the world's sin- bearer, indicate the awful sorrow and anguish of His supernatural conflict. It is divinely significant that the word "agony" appears but once in all Scripture. This solitary word records a solitary experience. Only One ever compassed the whole range of the world's sorrow and pain, anguish and agony. The shame of criminal arrest in the garden and of subsequent condemnation and death as a malefactor had to His innocent soul the horror of humanity's entire and ageless guilt. The mental and moral anguish of Jesus in Gethsemane interprets the meaning of Paul's description of the atonement, "Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

3. Spiritual:

The agony of Jesus was supremely within the realm of His spirit. The effect of sin in separating the human soul from God was fathomed by the suffering Saviour in the fathomless mystery of His supernatural sorrow. Undoubtedly the anguish of Gethsemane surpassed the physical torture of Calvary. The whole conflict was wrought out here. Jesus' filial spirit, under the burden of the world's guilt, felt isolated from the Father. This awful, momentary seclusion from His Father's face constituted the "cup" which He prayed might pass from Him, and the "agony" of soul, experienced again on the cross, when He felt that God had forsaken Him.

No theory of the atonement can do justice to the threefold anguish of Jesus in Gethsemane and on Calvary, or to the entire trend of Scripture, that does not include the substitutionary element in His voluntary sacrifice, as stated by the prophet: "Yahweh hath laid on him the iniquity of us all," Isaiah 53:6; and by His apostles "who was delivered up for our trespasses," Romans 4:25; "who his own self bare our sins," 1 Peter 2:24.

The word "agony" also occurs in 2 Macc 3:14,16,21 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "distress") in describing the distress of the people at the attempt of Heliodorus to despoil the treasury of the temple in the days of Onias.

Dwight M. Pratt

Agrapha

ag'-ra-fa (agrapha).

1. The Term and Its History:

The word agraphos of which agrapha is the neuter plural is met with in classical Greek and in Greek papyri in its primary sense of "unwritten," "unrecorded." In early Christian literature, especially in the writings of Clement of Alexandria, it was used of oral tradition; and in this sense it was revived by Koerner in a Leipzig Program issued in 1776 under the title De sermonibus Christi agraphois. For some time it was restricted to sayings of Christ not recorded in the Gospels and believed to have reached the sources in which they are found by means of oral tradition. As however graphe, the noun with which agrapha is connected, can have not only the general meaning "writing," but the special meaning "Scripture," the, adjective could signify not only "oral" but also uncanonical or "non-canonical"; and it was employed by Resch in the latter sense in the 1st edition of his great work on the subject which appeared in German in 1889 under the title, Agrapha: Extra-canonical Gospel Fragments. The term was now also extended so as to include narratives as well as sayings. In the second edition (also in German) it is further widened so as to embrace all extra-canonical sayings or passages connected with the Bible. The new title runs: Agrapha Extra-canonical Fragments of Scripture; and the volume contains a first collection of Old Testament agrapha. The term is still however used most frequently of non-canonical sayings ascribed to Jesus, and to the consideration of these this article will mainly be devoted.

2. Extent of Material:

Of the 361 agrapha and apocrypha given by Resch about 160 are directly ascribed to Christ. About 30 others can be added from Christian and Jewish sources and about 80 sayings found in Muhammadan literature (Expository Times, V, 59, 107, 177 f, 503 f, 561, etc.). The last-mentioned group, although not entirely without interest, may largely be disregarded as it is highly improbable that it represents early tradition. The others come from a variety of sources: the New Testament outside of the Gospels, Gospel manuscripts and VSS, Apocryphal Gospels and an early collection of sayings of Jesus, liturgical texts, patristic and medieval literature and the Talmud.

3. Sayings to Be Excluded:

Many of these sayings have no claim to be regarded as independent agrapha. At least five classes come under this category.

(1) Some are mere parallels or variants, for instance: "Pray and be not weary," which is evidently connected with Luke 18:1; and the saying in the Talmud: "I, the Gospel, did not come to take away from the law of Moses but to add to the law of Moses have I come" (Shab 116b) which is clearly a variant of Matthew 5:17.

(2) Some sayings are made up of two or more canonical texts. "I chose you before the world was," for example, is a combination of John 15:19 and Ephesians 1:4; and "Abide in my love and I will give you eternal life" of John 8:31 and John 10:28.

(3) Misquotation or loose quotation accounts for a number of alleged agrapha. "Sodom is justified more than thou" seems to be really from Ezekiel 16:53 and its context. "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath" is of apostolic not evangelic origin (Ephesians 4:26). "Anger destroys even the prudent" comes from Septuagint of Proverbs 15:1.

(4) Some sayings must be rejected because they cannot be traced to an early source, for instance, the fine saying: "Be brave in war, and fight with the old serpent, and ye shall receive eternal life," which is first met with in a text of the 12th century

(5) Several sayings are suspicious by reason of their source or their character. The reference to "my mother the Holy Spirit," in one of them, has no warrant in the acknowledged teaching of Christ and comes from a source of uncertain value, the Gospel according to the Hebrews. Pantheistic sayings such as "I am thou and thou art I, and wherever thou art I am"; "You are I and I am you"; and perhaps the famous saying: "Raise the stone and thou wilt find me; cleave the wood and there am I," as well as the sayings reported by Epiphanius from the Gospel of the Ebionites seem to breathe an atmosphere different from that of the canonical Gospels.

4. Sayings in New Testament:

When all the sayings belonging to these five classes, and a few others of liturgical origin, have been deducted there remain about thirty-five which are worthy of mention and in some cases of careful consideration. Some are dealt with in the article LOGIA (which see). The others, which are given here, are numbered consecutively to facilitate reference. The best authenticated are of course those found in the New Testament outside of the Gospels. These are

(1) the great saying cited by Paul at Miletus: "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35);

(2) the words used in the institution of the Eucharist preserved only in 1 Corinthians 11:24 f;

(3) the promise of the baptism of the Spirit (Acts 1:5, Acts 11:16); and

(4) the answer to the question: "Dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:7 f). Less certain are

(5) the description of the Second Advent, said to be "by the word of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:15 ff); and

(6) the promise of the crown of life to them that love God (James 1:12).

5. Sayings in Manuscripts and Versions:

Of considerable interest are some additions, in manuscripts of the Gospels and versions One of the most remarkable

(7) is the comment of Jesus on a man's working on the Sabbath day inserted after Luke 6:4 in Codex Bezae (D) and the Freer manuscript recently discovered in Egypt: "If thou knowest what thou doest, O man, blessed art thou, but if thou knowest not, thou art accursed and a transgressor of the law." Another

(8) also found in D and in several other authorities is appended to Matthew 20:28: "But ye seek ye from little to increase and from greater to be less." In the Curetonian Syriac the latter clause runs: "and not from greater to be less." The new saying is noteworthy but obscure. A third passage

(9) of less value but still of interest is an insertion in the longer ending of Mark, between 16:14 and 16:15, which was referred to by Jerome as present in codices in his day but has now been met with in Greek for the first time in the above-mentioned Freer MS. (For facsimile see American Journal of Archaeology, 1908.) In reply to a complaint of the disciples about the opposition of Satan and their request: "Therefore reveal thy righteousness even now," Jesus is reported to have said: "The limit of the years of the authority of Satan is fulfilled, but other dreadful things are approaching, and in behalf of those who had sinned was I delivered unto death in order that they might return to the truth and might sin no longer, that they might inherit the spiritual and incorruptible glory of righteousness in heaven." This alleged utterance of the risen Lord is most probably of secondary character (compare Gregory, Das Freer Logion; Swete, Two New Gospel Fragments).

6. Sayings from the Fathers, etc.:

Apocryphal and patristic literature supplies some notable sayings. The first place must be given

(10) to the great saying which in its shortest form consists of only three words: "Be ("become," "show yourselves to be") approved money-changers." Resch (Agrapha2, number 87) gives 69 references, at least 19 of which date from the 2nd and 3rd centuries, although they represent only a few authorities, all Egyptian. The saying seems to have circulated widely in the early church and may be genuine. Other early sayings of interest or value, from these sources, must be given without comment.

(11) "The heavenly Father willeth the repentance of the sinner rather than his punishment" (Justin Martyr).

(12) "That which is weak shall be saved by that which is strong" (circa 300 AD).

(13) "Come out from bonds ye who will" (Clement of Alexandria).

(14) "Be thou saved and thy soul" (Theodotus in id).

(15) "Blessed are they who mourn for the perdition of unbelievers" (Didaskalia).

(16) "He who is near me is near the fire; he who is far from me is far from the kingdom" (Origen).

(17) "He who has not been tempted has not been approved" (Didaskalia, etc.).

(18) He who makes sad a brother's spirit is one of the greatest of criminals" (Ev Heb).

(19) "Never be glad except when ye have seen your brother in love" (same place).

(20) "Let not him who seeks cease .... until he find, and when he finds he shall be astonished; astonished he shall reach the kingdom, and when he has reached the kingdom he shall rest" (Clement of Alexandria and Logia of Oxyrhynchus).

(21) In a fragment of a Gospel found by Grenfell and Hunt at Oxyrhynchus (O Papyri number 655) is the following non-canonical passage in a canonical context: "He Himself will give you clothing. His disciples say unto Him: When wilt thou be manifest to us and when shall we see thee? He saith: When ye shall be stripped and not be ashamed." The saying or apocryphon exhibits considerable likeness to a saying cited by Clement of Alexandria from the Gospel according to the Egyptians, but the difference is great enough to make original identity doubtful. Another fragment found by the same explorers on the same site (O Papyri number 840) preserves two agrapha or apocrypha which though clearly secondary are very curious. The first

(22) is the concluding portion of a saying about the punishment of evil-doers: "Before a man does wrong he makes all manner of subtle excuses. But give heed lest you also suffer the same things as they for the evil-doers among men receive not their due among the living (Greek zois) only but also await punishment and much torment." Professor Swete (Two New Gospel Fragments), accents zoois as the plural of zoon and thus finds a contrast between the fate of animals and that of human beings. The second saying

(23) is a rather lengthy reply to the complaint of a Pharisaic stickler for outward purity. The most interesting part of it as edited by Swete runs as follows: "Woe to you blind who see not.... But I and my disciples who thou sayest have not been dipped have dipped in the waters of eternal life which come down from God out of heaven." All these texts from Oxyrhynchus probably date from the 2nd century. Other Egypt sources, the so-called Coptic Apocryphal Gospels (Texts and Studies Camb. IV, 2, 1896), contain several sayings which are of interest as coming from the same religious environment. The following three are the most remarkable.

(24) "Repent, for it is better that a man find a cup of water in the age that is coming than all the riches of this world" (130).

(25) "Better is a single footstep in My Father's house than all the wealth of this world" (130 f).

(26) "Now therefore have faith in the love of My Father; for faith is the end of all things" (176). As in the case of the Logia these sayings are found in association with canonical sayings and parallels. Since the Logan may well have numbered scores, if not hundreds, it is at least possible that these Coptic sayings may have been taken from the missing portions of this collection, or a recension of it, and therefore they are not unworthy of notice as conceivably early agrapha. To these sayings of Christian derivation may be added

(27) one Muhammadan saying, that inscribed in Arabic on the chief gateway of the city Futteypore Sikri built by Akbar: "The world is but a bridge, over which you must pass, but must not linger to build your dwelling" (In the Himalayas by Miss Gordon Cumming, cited by Griffenhoofe, The Unwritten Sayings of Christ, 128).

7. Result:

Although the number of agrapha purporting to be sayings of Jesus which have been collected by scholars seems at first sight imposing, those which have anything like a strong claim to acceptance on the ground of early and reliable source and internal character are disappointingly few. Of those given above numbers 1-4, 7, 8, 10 which have mostly early attestation clearly take precedence of the rest. Numbers 11-20 are early enough and good enough to merit respectful consideration. Still the proportion of genuine, or possibly genuine, material is very small. Ropes is probably not far from the truth when he remarks that "the writers of the Synoptic Gospels did their work so well that only stray bits here and there, and these but of small value, were left for the gleaners." On the other hand it is not necessary to follow Wellhausen in rejecting the agrapha in toto. Recent discoveries have shown that they are the remains of a considerable body of extra-canonical sayings which circulated more or less in Christian circles, especially in Egypt, in the early centuries, and the possible presence in what we possess of a sentence or two actually spoken by Jesus fully justifies research.

8. Other Agrapha:

The second edition of the work of Resch includes 17 agrapha from manuscripts of Ac and 1 Joh most of which are from Codex Bezae (D), 31 apostolic apocrypha, and 66 agrapha and apocrypha connected with the Old Testament. 19 of the latter are largely taken from pseudepigrapha, a pseudo-Ezekiel for instance These agrapha some of which are really textual variants are of inferior interest and value.

LITERATURE.

The chief authorities are the German book of the American scholar J. H. Ropes, Die Spruche Jesu, die in den kanonischen Evangelien nicht uberliefert sind, and his article "Agrapha in HDB (extra vol); and the often-mentioned work of Resch. The former has great critical value, and the latter, especially in the 2nd edition, is a veritable thesaurus of material. For a full survey of the literature up to 1905 see that work, pp. 14-17. There is much criticism in Bauer's Das Leben Jesu im Zeitalter der neutestamentlichen Apokryphen, chapter vii. Among smaller works special mention may be made of Prebendary Blomfield's Twenty-Five Agrapha (1900); and the book of Griffenhoofe, the title of which is given above. There are recent articles on the subject in HDB (1909), "Unwritten Sayings," and DCG, "Sayings (Unwritten)"; Am. Journal of Archaeology, XII (1908), 49-55; H. A. Sanders, New manuscripts from Egypt; also ib, XIII (1909), 130.

See LOGIA.

William Taylor Smith

Agrarian Laws

a-gra'-ri-an loz: 1. The Sabbath Year 2. The Jubilee 3. Its Object 4. The Legal Rules 5. Ideas and Circumstances of the Legislation 6. Form of the Legislation 7. Its Operation and Extension 8. Other Laws Affecting the Land The Mosaic provisions on this subject form one of the most characteristic and interesting portions of the legislation. The main institutions are two, namely, the Sabbath year and the jubilee, and they are closely linked together.

1. The Sabbath Year:

In every seventh year the land was to lie fallow "that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat" (Exodus 23:10 f; compare Leviticus 25:2–7). `And the Sabbath of the land shall be for food for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant and for thy stranger that sojourn with thee; but for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be for food' (Leviticus 25:6 f). This has been quoted at length because the rendering of English Versions of the Bible is misleading. "The Sabbath of the land" does not mean that the natural increase thereof is to be eaten by the Israelite peasant. That interpretation is excluded by Leviticus 25:3–5,Leviticus 25:20–22. What is intended is clearly shown by the latter of these two passages, "I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year." The principle on which the manna had been provided for Sabbaths was to apply to the harvest of the sixth year, and this is the import of the phrase.

2. The Jubilee:

After "seven sabbaths of years, even forty and tone years" a trumpet was to be blown throughout the land on the tenth day of the seventh month (i.e. the Day of Atonement) and the fiftieth year was to be hallowed and celebrated as a "jubilee." No agricultural work of any kind was to be performed, but "ye may (so correct EVV) eat the increase thereof out of the field" (Leviticus 25:12). God would so bless the land in the sixth year that it would bring forth enough for the Sabbath year, the ensuing jubilee and the subsequent period to the harvest of the ninth year (Leviticus 25:20–22).

3. Its Object:

In addition to being a period in which the land was left fallow, the jubilee was intended to meet the economic evils that befell peasants in ancient societies. Wars or unfavorable seasons would soon reduce a farmer to a condition in which he would have to borrow. But money is rarely to be had without interest and security, and in early communities the rates of interest were very high indeed, while the only security the farmer could offer would consist of his land and the persons of himself and his children. Hence we find insolvency giving rise to the alienation of land and to slavery all over the world--sometimes with the retention of civil rights (as in Rome and Israel), at others in a more unalloyed form. The jubilee aims at both these evils. It is provided that in that year the peasants who had lost their full freedom through insolvency should be free (see Wiener, Studies in Biblical Law, 5 ff) and all lands that had been sold should return to the original owner or his family. "And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine: for ye are strangers and sojourners with me" (Leviticus 25:23). To this theory there are parallels elsewhere, e.g. in Togoland (Heinrici, Zeitschrift fur vergleichende Rechtswissenschaft, XI, 138).

4. The Legal Rules:

Leviticus 25:1–55 containing the land laws gives effect to this view by enacting that when an Israelite was compelled to part with his land there was to be a "redemption" of land, and that in default of redemption the land should return to its original owner in the jubilee year. This "redemption" covers two ideas--a right of preemption by the next of kin the first instance, and if that were not exercised, a right on the part of the original owner to buy back the land before the jubilee (Leviticus 25:24–28). The theory did not apply to houses in walled cities. Those might be redeemed within a year of sale: in default the property passed for ever and was unaffected by the jubilee (Leviticus 25:29 f). Villages were reckoned as country (Leviticus 25:31). The Levitical cities were subject to the rules of land, not of walled cities (Leviticus 25:32 f; read with the Vulgate in the American Revised Version, margin, "if they have not been redeemed" in Leviticus 25:32), and their fields were not to be sold (Leviticus 25:34). All sales of lands to which the jubilee applied were to be made on the basis of the number of crops (Leviticus 25:14 ff); in fact, what was sold was not the property itself but the usufruct (i.e. the right of using, reaping, etc.) till the year of the jubilee. Similarly with the laws of Leviticus 27:16–25, where the general principle is that if a field be sanctified the value shall be estimated according to the number of years to the jubilee. Unfortunately the text is corrupt and it is impossible to make out the exact circumstances in which no further redemption was allowed (Leviticus 27:20).

5. Ideas and Circumstances of the Legislation:

"The land laws are the product of many independent ideas and circumstances. .... First such a system as that expounded in the 25th chapter of Le could only be put forward by one who had to work on what is so very rare in history--a clean slate. In other words, the system of land tenure here laid down could only be introduced in this way by men who had no preexisting system to reckon with. Secondly, there is (mutatis mutandis) a marked resemblance between the provisions of Le and the system introduced in Egypt by Joseph (Genesis 47:1–31). The land is the Lord's as it is Pharaoh's; but the towns which are built on that land are not subject to the same theory or the same rules. Perhaps the explanation is that Joseph's measures had affected only those who gained their living by agriculture, i.e. the dwellers in the country. Thirdly, the system shows the enormous power that the conception of family solidarity possessed in the Mosaic age. .... And fourthly, the enactment is inspired and illuminated by the humanitarian and religious convictions to which reference has already been made" (Journal of Transactions of the Victoria Institute, XLI, 160). Undoubtedly the most striking feature of the enactment is to be found in these religious convictions with the absolute reliance on constant Divine intervention to secure the working of the law (Genesis 47:20 ff).

6. Form of the Legislation:

Leviticus 26:1–46 shows clearly that this legislation was conceived as the terms of a covenant made between God and the children of Israel, and it appears from Leviticus 26:42–45 that this of the covenant was regarded as being connected with the covenants with the patriarchs though it is also a covenant made with the generation that came forth from Egypt. The land was originally promised to Abraham in a covenant (Genesis 17:1–27) and it would seem that these laws are regarded as attaching to that covenant which had been renewed with his descendants. Indeed the laws appear to be presented as terms of the sworn agreement (covenant) under which God was about to give Israel the possession of Canaan.

7. Its Operation and Extension:

As respects the operation of these laws we have no information as to the observance of any fallow years before the Exile: 2 Chronicles 36:21 is rather unfavorable, but so obviously echoes Leviticus 26:43 that it scarcely seems to be meant as a historical statement. But traces are to be found of the operation of other parts of the system. Ruth 4:1–22 shows us the law of redemption working, but with two notable extensions. Widows have acquired a right of property in their husbands' estates, and when the next of kin refuses to redeem, the right passes to the kinsman who is nearest in succession. Neither of these cases is contemplated by the Pentateuch: both appear to be fresh applications of the Levitical law which, like all other legislations, had to be adapted to meet new sets of facts as they arose. Similarly Jeremiah 32:1–44 illustrates the law of preemption, but here a small difficulty arises, for Leviticus 25:34 forbids the sale of the suburbs of the Levitical cities. Probably however this refers only to sale outside the family and not as here to the nearest kinsman and heir presumptive. Similarly Eze twice refers to the jubilee (Ezekiel 7:12 f and Ezekiel 46:17) in terms that seem to show that he knew it as an existing institution (see SBL, 96; Churchman, May, 1906, 292). Historical traces of the Levitical cities are mentioned in the article LEVITICAL CITIES. It should be added that under the monarchy a rule seems to have been introduced that derelict lands fell to the king (see 2 Samuel 9:9; 1 Kings 21:16; 2 Kings 8:3,2 Kings 8:6).

In later times there are several references to the fallow of the Sabbatical year (1 Macc 6:49,53; Ant, XIII, viii, 1, XIV, x, 6, etc.).

8. Other Laws Affecting the Land:

In addition to these laws Moses enacted provisions favoring gleaning, on which see POOR. He also prohibited sowing a field or vineyard with two kinds of seed (Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:9) and prescribed that for three years the fruit of trees should not be eaten, while in the fourth it should be holy, and in the fifth it was to be available for ordinary purposes (Leviticus 19:23 ff).

Harold M. Wiener

Agree

a-gre' (sumphoneo, "to be of the same mind," "to come to a mutual understanding"): This is the sense of the word in Matthew 20:2; John 9:22, and other passages. In Mark 14:56 the word is isos and has the thought not only that their words did not agree, but also that the testimony was not in agreement with or equal to what the law required in such a case. The thought of being equal occurs also in 1 John 5:8.

The figurative use of the word in Matthew 18:19 makes it of special interest. The word there is sumphoneo, from which comes our word symphony, meaning a harmonious blending. This agreement therefore is complete. Three persons are introduced: two human beings and the Father. They are in perfect agreement on the subject or purpose under consideration. It is therefore an inward unity produced by the Holy Spirit leading the two into such an agreement with the Father. There will follow then, as a matter of course, what is promised in Matthew 18:19,Matthew 18:20. In Acts 5:9 it sets forth the justice of Peter in dealing in the same manner in both cases. Ananias and Sapphira were in perfect agreement and equally guilty (Luke 5:36; Acts 15:15).

Jacob W. Kapp