D
Degree – Delos
Page 177 of 710
Degree
de-gre' (ma`alah, "a going up" or "ascent," hence, a staircase or flight of steps; "rank": tapeinos, "low"): By derivation it should mean "a step down" (Latin, de, down, gradus, step). It is used, however, of any step, up or down; then of grade or rank, whether high or low.
(1) In its literal sense of step (as of a stair), it is used in the plural to translate Hebrew ma`aloth ("steps"), in the parallel passages the King James Version (5 t); the King James Version (3 t), where we read of the "degrees" (the Revised Version (British and American) "steps") on the "dial of Ahaz" (Hebrew "steps of Ahaz"). See DIAL OF AHAZ. It seems to mean steps or progressive movements of the body toward a certain place in the phrase "A So of Degrees" (the Revised Version (British and American) "Ascents"), which forms the title of each of the Psalms 120-134, probably because they were sung on the way up to the great feasts at Jerusalem. See PSALMS
(2) The secondary (but now the more usual) sense of rank, order, grade is found in the following passages:
(a) , "their brethren of the second (degree)," literally, "of the seconds" (Hebrew mishnim; compare , "Elkanah that was next to the king," Hebrew, "the king's second," i.e. in rank);
(b) , "a man of high degree" (Hebrew ma`alah, "step");
(c) , "men of low degree .... men of high degree," a paraphrase of Hebrew "sons of man .... sons of man," the first "man" being Hebrew 'adham ("common humanity"; compare Greek anthropos, Latin homo, Welsh dyn), and the second Hebrew 'ish (man in a superior sense; compare Greek aner, Latin vir, Welsh gwr) ;
(d) "of low degree" for Greek tapeinos in Sirach 11:1; ; ;
(e) In the King James Version "a good degree" (Greek bathmos kalos, the Revised Version (British and American) "a good standing") is assured to those who have "served well as deacons." Some take this to mean promotion to a higher official position in the church; but it probably means simply a position of moral weight and influence in the church gained by faithfulness in service (so Hort).
D. Miall Edwards
Degrees, Songs Of
(shir ha-ma`aloth; Septuagint ode ton anabathmon; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A. D.) canticum graduum, the Revised Version (British and American) "a song of ascents"): The title prefixed to 15 psalms (Pss 120-134) as to the significance of which there are four views:
(1) The Jewish interpretation. According to the Mishna, Middoth 2 5, Cukkah 51b, there was in the temple a semi-circular flight of stairs with 15 steps which led from the court of the men of Israel down to the court of the women. Upon these stairs the Levites played on musical instruments on the evening of the first day of Tabernacles. Later Jewish writers say that the 15 psalms derived their title from the 15 steps.
(2) Gesenius, Delitzsch and others affirm that these psalms derive their name from the step-like progressive rhythm of their thoughts. They are called Songs of Degrees because they move forward climactically by means of the resumption of the immediately preceding word. But this characteristic is not found in several of the group.
(3) Theodoret and other Fathers explain these 15 hymns as traveling songs of the returning exiles. In the return from exile is called "the going up (ha-ma`alah) from Babylon." Several of the group suit this situation quite well, but others presuppose the temple and its stated services.
(4) The most probable view is that the hymns were sung by pilgrim bands on their way to the three great festivals of the Jewish year. The journey to Jerusalem was called a "going up," whether the worshipper came from north or south, east or west. All of the songs are suitable for use on such occasions. Hence, the title Pilgrim Psalms is preferred by many scholars. See DIAL OF AHAZ.
John Richard Sampey
Dehaites
de-ha'-tez (dehawe'; the King James Version Dehavites): A people enumerated in with Elamites, ere, as among those settled by the Assyrian king Osnappar (Assurbanipal) in Samaria. The identification is uncertain.
Dekar
de'-kar (deqer, "lancer"): Father of one of Solomon's commissaries ( the King James Version). See BEN-DEKER.
Delaiah
de-la'-ya (delayah, "God has raised"):
(1) A descendant of David (; the King James Version "Dalaiah").
(2) One of David's priests and leader of the 23rd course ().
(3) One of the princes who pleaded with Jehoiakim not to destroy the roll containing the prophecies of Jeremiah (,).
(4) The ancestor of a post-exilic family whose genealogy was lost (; ; 1 Esdras 5:37 margin). See DALAN.
(5) The father of timorous Shemaiah ().
Delay
de-la': The noun "delay" (, "I made no delay"; the King James Version "without any delay") means "procrastination." The verb "to delay" (; 'achar) involves the idea "to stop for a time," the people being admonished not to discontinue a custom. The Pil. perfect of bush (), "Moses delayed to come," expresses not only the fact that he tarried, but also the disappointment on the part of the people, being under the impression that he possibly was put to shame and had failed in his mission, which also better explains the consequent action of the people. "To delay" (chronizo) is used transitively in (the Revised Version (British and American) "My lord tarrieth") and in . The meaning here is "to prolong," "to defer."
A. L. Breslich
Delectable
de-lek'-ta-bl (chamadh, "to desire"): Found only in , King James Version: "Their delectable things shall not profit," the King James Version margin"desirable." the American Standard Revised Version translates: "the things that they delight in." The reference is to idols or images. Delitzsch renders the phrase: "Their darlings are good for nothing." The word may be traced back to the Latin delectabilis, "pleasant," or "delightful."
Delicacy
del'-i-ka-si (to strenos): Found only in , King James Version: "The merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies." the Revised Version (British and American) has very properly changed delicacies to "wantonness," and "luxury" in the margin, which is much nearer to the original.
Delicate; Delicately
del'-i-kat, del'-i-kat-li (`edhen, `anogh; en truphe): "Delicate" usually an adjective, but once a substantive ( the King James Version). "He hath filled his belly (the Revised Version (British and American) "maw") with my delicates." the Revised Version (British and American) retains the word, but the American Standard Revised Version very properly has replaced it with "delicacies." In Sirach 30:18, the Revised Version (British and American) agatha, "good things." The adjective seems to have two meanings, though not easily distinguished:
(1) tenderly reared, and
(2) wanton or voluptuous. In ,; ; , "luxurious" or "daintily bred" would certainly be nearer the original than "delicate." "Delicate children" of , the King James Version, is changed by the Revised Version (British and American) to "children of thy delight," i.e. beloved children, rather than children begotten in passion. The adverb "delicately" is employed in the same sense as the adjective (; ). In the old English writers "delicate" is often used for voluptuous: "Dives for his delicate life to the devil went" (Piers Ploughman). The meaning of "delicately" (ma`adhan) in (the King James Version) is a real puzzle. The King James Version reads, "And Agag came unto him delicately," with a possible suggestion of weakness or fear. the American Standard Revised Version and the Revised Version, margin substitute "cheerfully." Others, by metathesis or change of consonants in the Hebrew word, translation "in bonds" or "fetters."
W. W. Davies
Deliciously
de-lish'-us-li (streniao "to live hard or wantonly"): "She (Babylon) .... lived deliciously" (, the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "wantonly," the Revised Version, margin "luxuriously").
Delight
de-lit' (verb, chaphets, ratsah, sha`a`; sunedomai): "To delight" is most frequently expressed by chaphets, which means originally "to bend" (compare , "He moveth his tail"), hence, "to incline to," "take pleasure in." It is used of God's pleasure in His people (; ; , etc.), and in righteousness, etc. (; ; , etc.), also of man's delight in God and His will (; ; the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), "There is none upon earth that I desire besides thee"), and in other objects (; ; ; ); sha`a`, "to stroke," "caress," "be fond of," occurs in , "Thy comforts delight my soul"; ,,, "I will delight myself in thy statutes." Similarly, Paul says (), "I delight (sunedomai) in (margin, the Revised Version (British and American) "Greek with") the law of God after the inward man." This is the only occurrence of the word in the New Testament.
"To delight one's self" (in the Lord) is represented chiefly by `anagh (; ; ,; ).
Delight (noun), chiefly chephets (; ; ), ratson (,; ,; ), sha`ashu`im (,,,,; ,). the Revised Version (British and American) has "delight" for "desire" (; ; ), for "observe," different reading (), "no delight in" for "smell in" (), "delightest in me" for "favorest me" (), "his delight shall be in" (m "Hebrew `scent' ") for "of quick understanding" ().
The element of joy, of delight in God and His law and will, in the Hebrew religion is noteworthy as being something which we are apt to fall beneath even in the clearer light of Christianity.
W. L. Walker
Delightsome
de-lit'-sum: chephets, is rendered "delightsome": , "Ye shall be a delightsome land," literally, "a land of delight."
Delilah
de-li'-la (delilah, "dainty one," perhaps; Septuagint Daleida, Dalida): The woman who betrayed Samson to the Philistines (). She was presumably a Philistine, though that is not expressly stated. She is not spoken of as Samson's wife, though many have understood the account in that way. The Philistines paid her a tremendously high price for her services. The account indicates that for beauty, personal charm, mental ability, self-command, nerve, she was quite a wonderful woman, a woman to be admired for some qualities which she exhibits, even while she is to be utterly disapproved. See SAMSON.
Willis J. Beecher
Deliver
de-liv'-er (natsal, nathan; rhuomai, paradidomi): Occurs very frequently in the Old Testament and represents various Hebrew terms.
The English word is used in two senses,
(1) "to set free," etc.,
(2) "to give up or over."
(1) The word most often translated "deliver" in the first sense is natsal, meaning originally, perhaps, "to draw out." It is used of all kinds of deliverance (; ; , etc.; ; , etc.; , etc.). The Aramaic netsal occurs in ; ; ,; yasha`, "to save," in , the King James Version, etc. ; malaT, "to let or cause to escape," in , "recover," etc. In the New Testament rhuomai, "to rescue," is most frequently translated "deliver" in this sense ( the King James Version, "Deliver us from evil"); katargeo, "to make useless" or "without effect" ( the Revised Version (British and American), "discharged"). In the New Testament "save" takes largely the place of "deliver" in the Old Testament, and the idea is raised to the spiritual and eternal.
(2) For "deliver" in the sense of "give over, up," etc., the most frequent word is nathan, the common word for "to give" (; the King James Version; ). Other words are maghan (, the King James Version and the English Revised Version "How shall I deliver thee Israel?" i. e. "How shall I give thee up?" as in the first clause of the verse, with a different word (nathan), the American Standard Revised Version "How shall I cast thee off?"), yehabh, Aramaic (). In the New Testament paradidomi, "to give over to," is most frequent (; , "All things have been delivered (given or made over) unto me of my Father"; ; ; , etc.); charizomai, "to grant as a favor" (, the King James Version).
(3) Yaladh, "to bring forth," is also rendered "deliver" in the sense of childbirth (; , etc.). In the New Testament this sense is borne by tikto (; ; ,), and gennao ().
In the Revised Version (British and American) there are many changes, such as, for "deliver," "restore" (; ; ; ); for "delivered," "defended" (); for "cannot deliver thee," "neither .... turn thee aside" (); for "betray," "betrayed" we have "deliver," "delivered up," etc. ( margin; ; ); for "delivered into chains," "committed to pits" (, margin "some ancient authorities read chains"; compare The Wisdom of Solomon 17:17); "Deliver us from evil," omitted in , margin "Many ancient authorities add but deliver us from the evil one (or, from evil)." W. L. Walker
Delos
de'-los (Delos): An island, now deserted, one of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea, about 3 miles long and 1 mile broad, with a rocky mountain (Cynthus) several hundred feet high in the center. In antiquity Delos enjoyed great prosperity. According to Greek legend the island once floated on the surface of the water, until Poseidon fastened it on four diamond pillars for the wandering Leto, who, like Io, was pursued by the vengeful Hera. It was here that Apollo and Artemis were born; hence, the island was sacred, and became one of the chief seats of worship of the two deities. Numerous temples embellished Delos. The most magnificent was that of Apollo, which contained a colossal statue of the god, a dedicatory offering of the Naxians. This temple was a sanctuary visited by all the Greeks, who came from far and near to worship at the deity's shrine. There was a Dorian peripteral temple in Delos from the beginning of the 4th century BC. To the North was a remarkable altar composed entirely of ox-horns. The various Ionian cities sent sacred embassies (theoriai) with rich offerings. There was also a celebrated oracle in Delos which was accounted one of the most trustworthy in the world. Every five years the famous Delian festival was celebrated with prophecies, athletic contests and games of every kind. All the nations of Greece participated.
The earliest inhabitants of Delos were Carians; but about 1000 BC the island was occupied by Ionians. For a long time it enjoyed independence. In 478 Delos was chosen as the place for the convention of the representatives of the Greek states for deliberation about means for defense against Persia. The treasury of the Athenian Confederacy was kept here after 476. The island became independent of Athens in 454. During the 2nd and 1st centuries BC it became one of the chief ports of the Aegean. This was partly due to its location, and partly to the fact that the Romans, after 190 BC, favored the island as a rival to the sea-power of Rhodes. In 166 Delos was given to Athens; the inhabitants fled to Achea, and the island was colonized by Athenians, together with Romans.
The ruins of the city of Delos, which became a flourishing commercial port, are to the North of the temple. It became the center of trade between Alexandria and the Black Sea, and was for a long time one of the chief slave markets of the Greek world. But Delos received a severe blow, from which it never recovered, in the war between Rome and Mithridates. The latter's general landed in 88 BC and massacred many, and sold the remainder of the defenseless people, and sacked and destroyed the city together with the temple and its countless treasures. At the conclusion of peace (84) Delos came into the possession of the Romans, who later gave it back to Athens. Under the Empire the island lost its importance entirely.
Delos was one of the states to which Rome addressed letters in behalf of the Jews (138-137 BC; see 1 Macc 15:16-23). Among those who came to Delos from the East must have been many of this nation. Josephus cites in full a decree passed in Delos which confirmed the Jewish exemption from military service (Ant., XIV, x, 4).
The excavations of the French have laid bare 8 temples within the sacred enclosure (Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus). Numerous statues, dating from the earliest times of Greek art down to the latest, have been discovered; also 2,000 inscriptions, among which was an inventory of the temple treasure.
By the side of Delos, across a very narrow strait, lies Rheneia, another island which was the burying-ground of Delos; for on the sacred isle neither births, deaths nor burials were permitted. In 426 BC Delos was "purified" by the Athenians--by the removal of the bodies that had been interred there previously.
LITERATURE.
Lebegue, Recherches sur Delos (Paris, 1876); V. v. Schoffer, De Deli Insulae rebus, Berliner Studien fur klass. Phil. (Berlin, 1889); Homolle, S. Reinach and others, in the Bulletin de corresp. Hellen. (VI, 1-167; VII, 103-25, 329-73; VIII, 75-158; XIV, 389-511; XV, 113-68); Homolle, Archives de l'intendance sacree a Delos; Jebb, Journal of Hellenic Studies (1880), 7-62.
J. E. Harry
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (1915). Public domain. Text from the CrossWire Bible Society.