Duke – Dysentery

Duke

duk: The rendering in the King James Version in Genesis 36:15 ff; Exodus 15:15, and 1 Chronicles 1:51 ff of 'alluph (the American Standard Revised Version and the English Revised Version, margin "chief"), and in Joshua 13:21 of necikhim ("dukes," the Revised Version (British and American) "princes"). It occurs also, as the rendering of strategos, in 1 Macc 10:65 (the Revised Version (British and American) "captain"). Elsewhere necikhim is translated "princes" or "principal men." The fact that with two exceptions the term is applied in English Versions of the Bible only to the chiefs of Edom has led to the impression that in the family of Esau the chiefs bore a special and hereditary title. But 'alluph was a general term for tribal chief or prince (compare Zechariah 9:7; Zechariah 12:5,Zechariah 12:6; the Revised Version (British and American) "chieftains," the King James Version "governors").

Moreover, at the time the King James Version was made the word "duke" was not used as a title in England: the term had the same general force as dux, the word employed in the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A. D.) So Sir T. Elyot (died 1546) speaks of "Hannibal, duke of Carthage" ( The Governor, II, 233); Shakespeare, Henry V, III, 2, 20, "Be merciful, great duke, to men of mould" (compare Midsummer Night's Dream, I, 1, 21); Sylvester (1591) Du Bartas, "The great Duke, that in dreadful aw upon Mt. Horeb learned the eternal law." In a still earlier age Wycliff uses the word of the Messiah (Matthew 2:6); and in Select Works, III, 137, "Jesus Christ, duke of oure batel."

Yet in all probability the Hebrew word was more specific than "chief" or "duke" in the broad sense. For if 'alluph is derived from 'eleph, "thousand," "tribe," the term would mean the leader of a clan, a "chiliarch" (compare Septuagint, Zechariah 9:7; Zechariah 12:5,Zechariah 12:6). the American Standard Revised Version has eliminated the word "duke." See CHIEF.

J. R. Van Pelt

Dulcimer

dul'-si-mer. See MUSIC under Nebhel and Sumphonia.

Dumah

du'-ma (dumah, "silence"): This word occurs in the Old Testament with the following significations:

(1) the land of silence or death, the grave (Psalms 94:17; Psalms 115:17);

(2) a town in the highlands of Judah between Hebron and Beersheba, now ed-Daume (Joshua 15:52);

(3) an emblematical designation of Edom in the obscure oracle (Isaiah 21:11,Isaiah 21:12);

(4) an Ishmaelite tribe in Arabia (Genesis 25:14; 1 Chronicles 1:30). According to the Arabic geographies this son of Ishmael rounded the town of Dumat-el-Jandal, the stone-built Dumah, so called to distinguish it from another Dumah near the Euphrates. The former now bears the name of the Jauf ("belly"), being a depression situated half-way between the head of the Persian Gulf and the head of the gulf of Akaba. Its people in the time of Mohammed were Christians of the tribe of Kelb. It contained a great well from which the palms and crops were irrigated. It has often been visited by European travelers in recent times. See Jour. Royal Geog. Soc., XXIV (1854), 138-58; W. G. Palgrave, Central and Eastern Arabia, chapter ii. It is possible that the oracle in Isa (number 3 above) concerns this place.

Thomas Hunter Weir

Dumb

dum (alam, 'illem, literally, "tied in the tongue"; kophos): Used either as expressing the physical condition of speechlessness, generally associated with deafness, or figuratively as meaning the silence produced by the weight of God's judgments (Psalms 39:2–9; Daniel 10:15) or the oppression of external calamity (Psalms 38:13). As an adjective it is used to characterize inefficient teachers destitute of spirituality ("dumb dogs," Isaiah 56:10). The speechlessness of Saul's companions (Acts 9:7) was due to fright; that of the man without the wedding garment was because he had no excuse to give (Matthew 22:12). Idols are called mute, because helpless and voiceless (Habakkuk 2:18,Habakkuk 2:19; 1 Corinthians 12:2). The dumbness of the sheep before the shearer is a token of submission (Isaiah 53:7; Acts 8:32).

Temporary dumbness was inflicted as a sign upon Ezekiel (3:26; 24:27; 33:22) and as a punishment for unbelief upon Zacharias (Luke 1:22). There are several cases recorded of our Lord's healing the dumb (Matthew 15:30; Mark 7:37; Luke 11:14, etc.). Dumbness is often associated with imbecility and was therefore regarded as due to demoniac possession (Matthew 9:32; Matthew 12:22). The evangelists therefore describe the healing of these as effected by the casting out of demons.

This is especially noted in the case of the epileptic boy (Mark 9:17). The deaf man with the impediment in his speech (Mark 7:32) is said to have been cured by loosening the string of his tongue. This does not necessarily mean that he was tongue- tied, which is a condition causing lisping, not stammering; he was probably one of those deaf persons who produce babbling, incoherent and meaningless sounds. I saw in the asylum in Jerusalem a child born blind and deaf, who though dumb, produced inarticulate noises.

In an old 14th-century psalter "dumb" is used as a verb in Psalms 39:1–13: "I doumbed and meked and was ful stille."

Alexander Macalister

Dung; Dung Gate

dung ('ashpoth, domen, peresh; skubalon, etc.): Nine different words occurring in the Hebrew have been translated "dung" in the Old Testament. The word used to designate one of the gates of Jerusalem ('ashpoth, Nehemiah 2:13; Nehemiah 3:14) is more general than the others and may mean any kind of refuse. The gate was probably so named because outside it was the general dump heap of the city. Visitors in recent years riding outside the city walls of Jerusalem, on their way to the Mt. of Olives or Jericho, may have witnessed such a dump against the wall, which has existed for generations.

The first mention made of dung is in connection with sacrificial rites. The sacred law required that the dung, along with what parts of the animal were not burned on the altar, should be burned outside the camp (Exodus 29:14; Leviticus 4:11; Leviticus 8:17; Leviticus 16:27; Numbers 19:5). The fertilizing value of dung was appreciated by the cultivator, as is indicated by Luke 13:8 and possibly Psalms 83:10 and Isaiah 25:10.

Dung was also used as a fuel. Ezekiel 4:12,Ezekiel 4:15 will be understood when it is known that the dung of animals is a common fuel throughout Palestine and Syria, where other fuel is scarce. During the summer, villagers gather the manure of their cattle, horses or camels, mix it with straw, make it into cakes and dry it for use as fuel for cooking, especially in the winter when wood or charcoal or straw are not procurable. It burns slowly like peat and meets the needs of the kitchen. In Mesopotamia the writer saw it being used with forced draft to fire a steam boiler. There was no idea of uncleanness in Ezekiel's mind, associated with the use of animal dung as fuel (Ezekiel 4:15).

Figuratively: Dung was frequently used figuratively to express the idea

(a) of worthlessness, especially a perishable article for which no one cares (1 Kings 14:10; 2 Kings 6:25; 2 Kings 9:37; Job 20:7; Psalms 83:10; Jeremiah 8:2; Jeremiah 9:22; Jeremiah 16:4; Jeremiah 25:33; Zechariah 1:17; Philippians 3:8 (the American Standard Revised Version "refuse")). Dunghill was used in the same way (1 Samuel 2:8; Ezra 6:11; Psalms 113:7; Isaiah 25:10; Daniel 2:5; Daniel 3:29; Luke 14:35; Lamentations 4:5);

(b) as an expression of disgust (2 Kings 18:27; Isaiah 36:12);

(c) of rebuke (Malachi 2:3).

James A. Patch

Dungeon

dun'-jun. See PRISON.

Dunghill

dung'-hil ('ashpoth, 1 Samuel 2:8, madhmenah, etc., with other words; kopria, Luke 14:35): Dung heap, or place of refuse. To sit upon a dunghill (1 Samuel 2:8; Psalms 113:7; Lamentations 4:5) is significant of the lowest and most wretched condition. To turn a house into a dunghill (Daniel 2:5; Daniel 3:29), or be flung upon a dunghill (Luke 14:35), marks the extreme of ignominy. See also DUNG.

Dura

du'-ra (dura'): The name of the plain on which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, set up the great golden image which all his subjects were ordered to worship (Daniel 3:1). Oppert placed it to the Southeast of Babylon, near a small river and mounds bearing the name of Douair or Duair, where, also, was what seemed to be the base of a great statue (Exped. scientifique en Mesopotamie, I, 238 f). Others have believed that name to indicate a portion of the actual site of Babylon within the great wall (duru) of the city--perhaps the rampart designated dur Su-anna, "the rampart (of the city) Lofty-defense," a name of Babylon.

The fact that the plain was within the city of Babylon precludes an identification with the city Duru, which seems to have lain in the neighborhood of Erech (Hommel, Grundriss, 264, note 5). It is noteworthy that the Septuagint substitutes Deeira, for Dura, suggesting that the Greek translators identified it with the Babylonian Deru, a city which apparently lay toward the Elamite border. It seems to have been called also Dur-ili, "god's rampart." That it was at some distance is supported by the list WAI, IV, 36 [38], where Duru, Tutul and Gudua (Cuthah), intervene between Deru or Dur-ili and Tindir (Babylon). "The plain of the dur" or "rampart" within Babylon would therefore seem to be the best rendering.

T. G. Pinches

Dure

dur (proskairos): Used for "endure" (which see), the King James Version Matthew 13:21 (the Revised Version (British and American) "endureth").

Dust

dust (`aphar; koniortos, chous): Small particles of earth. The word has several figurative and symbolic meanings:

(1) Dust being the material out of which God is said to have formed man (Genesis 2:7), it became a symbol of man's frailty (Psalms 103:14, "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust"; compare Genesis 18:27; Job 4:19, etc.), and of his mortality (Genesis 3:19, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return"; compare Job 34:15; Psalms 104:29; Ecclesiastes 3:20; Ecclesiastes 12:7, etc.) Hence, it is used figuratively for the grave (Psalms 22:15,Psalms 22:29; Psalms 30:9; Daniel 12:2).

(2) Such actions as to lie in the dust, to lick the dust, to sprinkle dust on the head, are symbols expressive of deep humiliation, abasement or lamentation (e. g. Job 2:12; Job 42:6, Psalms 72:9; Isaiah 2:10; Isaiah 47:1; Isaiah 49:23; Lamentations 2:10; Lamentations 3:29; Ezekiel 27:30; Micah 7:17; Revelation 18:19). Hence, such expressions as "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust," i.e. out of their state of lowliness (1 Samuel 2:8; Psalms 113:7).

(3) Throwing dust was an act expressive of execration. Thus, Shimei "cursed" David and "threw stones at him, and cast dust," literally, "dusted (him) with dust" (2 Samuel 16:13). So the crowd which Paul addressed at Jerusalem manifested their wrath against him by tossing about their garments and casting dust into the air (Acts 22:23).

(4) Shaking the dust off one's feet against anyone (Matthew 10:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5; Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51) is symbolic of renunciation, as we would say "washing one's hands of him," an intimation that all further intercourse was at an end. It was practiced by the Pharisees on passing from Gentileto Jewish soil, it being a rabbinical doctrine that the dust of a heathen land defiles.

(5) It is also used figuratively for an innumerable multitude (e. g. Genesis 13:16; Genesis 28:14; Job 27:16; Psalms 78:27).

(6) The expression "Yahweh will make the rain of thy land powder and dust" (Deuteronomy 28:24) means the dust in consequence of the drought shall fall down instead of rain on the dry ground. In Judea and vicinity during a sirocco, the air becomes filled with sand and dust, which are blown down by the wind with great violence.

D. Miall Edwards

Duty

du'-ti (dabhar; opheilo):

The word duty occurs only three times in the Old Testament and twice in the New Testament. In the Old Testament it is the translation of dabhar, which, meaning originally "speech," or "word," came to denote any particular "matter" that had to be attended to. In the two places where it is rendered "duty" (2 Chronicles 8:14; Ezra 3:4) the reference is to the performance of the Temple services--praise and sacrifice--and it is probably from these passages that the phrase "taking duty" in church services is derived. In other passages we have different words employed to denote the priests' dues: the King James Version Leviticus 10:13,Leviticus 10:14, hok ("statutory portion"); Deuteronomy 18:3, mishpat ("judgment"). In Proverbs 3:27, we have a reference to duty in the moral sense, "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due," ba`-al (i.e. as in the King James Version margin, "from the owners thereof"). In Exodus 21:10 we have the "duty of marriage" (`onah), that which was due to the wife.

In the New Testament "duty" is expressed by opheilo, "to owe," "to be due." In Luke 17:10, we have "Say, ... we have done that which it was our duty to do," and in Romans 15:27 the King James Version, it is said of the Gentiles with reference to the Jewish Christians, "Their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things," the American Standard Revised Version "they owe it." In Matthew 18:34 we have "till he should pay all that was due" (opheilo, "owing"), and in 1 Corinthians 7:3 the King James Version, "Render unto the wife due opheile benevolence," the American Standard Revised Version "her due." See also ETHICS.

W. L. Walker

Dwarf

dworf:

The rendering in English Versions of the Bible of the Hebrew word dak, "thin," "small," in Leviticus 21:20, where a list is given of physical failings which forbade man of the seed of Aaron to officiate at the altar, though he might partake of the sacrificial gifts. The precise meaning of the Hebrew word here is uncertain; elsewhere it is used of the lean kine (Genesis 41:3) and blasted ears (verse 23) of Pharaoh's dream; of the grains of manna (Exodus 16:14), of the still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12), of dust (Isaiah 29:5), etc. Septuagint and Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A. D.) suggest defective eyes; but "withered" would perhaps best express the meaning. See PRIESTS AND LEVITES.

F. K. Farr

Dwell

dwel:

(1) In the Old Testament "dwell" is a translation of 9 words, of which by far the most frequent is yashabh, "to sit down," translated "dwell" over 400 times (Genesis 4:20; Joshua 20:4; 1 Chronicles 17:1,1 Chronicles 17:4,1 Chronicles 17:5, etc.); also very frequently "sit," and sometimes "abide," "inhabit," "remain." Another word often rendered "dwell" is shakhan or shakhen ("to settle down"), from which is derived the rabbinic word shekhinah (literally, "that which dwells"), the light on the mercy-seat which symbolized the Divine presence (Exodus 25:8, etc.). In order to avoid appearing to localize the Divine Being, wherever God is said to "dwell" in a place, the Targum renders that He "causes His Shekinah to dwell" there.

(2) In the New Testament "dwell" most frequently stands for oikeo, or one of its compounds; also skenoo, and (chiefly in the Johannine writings) meno, which, however, is always translated "abide" in the Revised Version (British and American), and generally in the King James Version. Mention may be made of the mystical significance of the word in some New Testament passages, of the indwelling of the Father or of the Godhead in Christ (John 14:10; Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9), of the believer in Christ (John 6:56 the King James Version; Ephesians 3:17), and in God (1 John 4:15 the King James Version; compare Psalms 90:1; Psalms 91:1), and of the Holy Spirit or God in the believer (John 14:17; the King James Version 1 John 3:24; 1 John 4:15 f).

D. Miall Edwards

Dye; Dyeing

di, di'-ing (me'oddam, hamuc, tebhul, cebha`):

Four different Hebrew words have been translated "dyed": the King James Version

(a) me'-oddam, found in Exodus 25:5; Exodus 26:14; Exodus 35:7; Exodus 36:19; Exodus 39:34;

(b) hamuts (the Revised Version, margin "crimsoned") (Isaiah 63:1);

(c) tebhul (Ezekiel 23:15). Tebhul is probably more correctly rendered "flowing turban" as in the Revised Version (British and American) of the above verses (Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Lexicon);

(d) gebha`, "dyed" is so translated in the American Standard Revised Version of Judges 5:30 (BDB); compare Arabic sabagh.

The above references and other color words mentioned elsewhere (see COLOR) indicate that the Israelites were acquainted with dyed stuffs, even if they themselves did not do the dyeing. An analysis of the various Biblical references shows but four colors which were produced on cloth by dyeing, namely, purple, blue (violet), crimson and scarlet. Of these, purple is the one best known because of the many historical references to it. It was the symbol of royalty and luxury. Because of its high price, due to the expensive method of obtaining it, only royalty and the rich could afford purple attire. One writer tells us that the dyestuff was worth its weight in silver. Probably it was because of its scarcity, and because it was one of the very limited number of dyes known, rather than for any remarkable beauty of color, that the purple was so much sought after. If Pliny's estimate is to be accredited, then "in the dye the smell of it was offensive and the color itself was harsh, of a greenish hue and strongly resembling that of the sea when in a tempestuous state."

1. Purple and Blue:

The purple and blue dyes were extracted from shellfish. The exact process used by the ancients is still a question in spite of the attempts of early writers to describe it. Tyre and Sidon were noted as the suppliers of these colors, hence, the name "Tyrian purple." The inhabitants of these cities were at first simply dealers in the purple (Ezekiel 27:7,Ezekiel 27:24), but they afterward became the manufacturers, as the heaps of the emptied shells of the Murex trunculus, which still exist in the vicinity of these cities, testify. The pigment was secreted by a gland in the lining of the stomach. The shell was punctured and the fish removed in order to secure the dye. The juice, at first whitish, changed on exposure to yellowish or greenish and finally to red, amethyst or purple, according to the treatment. A modified color was obtained by first dipping the textile in a cochineal bath and then in the purple, Tyrian purple was considered most valuable when it was "exactly the color of clotted blood and of a blackish hue" (Pliny). See also LYDIA; THYATIRA.

Besides the shellfish above mentioned, several other species are noted by different writers, namely, Murex branderis, Murex erinaceus, Murex buccinum (purpura haemastoma). This latter species is still used by the dwellers on the shores where it is found. Various species of the murex are found today at Haifa (Syria), about the Greek isles and on the North coast of Africa. The purple color has been produced from them by modern chemists, but it is of historical interest only, in the light of the discovery of modern artificial dyes with which it could not compete commercially.

Two words have been used in the Hebrew Bible to describe the colors from shellfish:

(a) 'argaman (Greek porphura). This has been translated "purple";

(b) tekheleth which was probably a shade of violet, but has been translated "blue" in both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American).

2. Crimson and Scarlet:

As indicated elsewhere (See COLORS), three Hebrew words have been rendered crimson or scarlet:

(a) karmil (compare Arabic kirmiz and English "carmine"),

(b) tola', and

(c) shani. We know nothing further about the method of producing these colors than that they were both obtained from the kermes insect which feeds on a species of live oak growing in Southern Europe and Turkey in Asia. The modern dyer can obtain several shades from the cochineal insect by varying the mordants or assistants used with the dye. Pliny mentions the same fact as being known by the ancient Egyptians. Some of the Syrian dyers still use the kermes, commonly called dud ("worms"), although most of them hove resorted to the artificial European dyes which they indiscriminately call dud frangy ("foreign worms").

The "rams' skins dyed red" mentioned in Exodus are still made in Syria. After the ram's skin has been tanned in sumac, it is laid out on a table and a solution of the dye, made by boiling dud in water, is rubbed on. After the dye is dry, the skin is rubbed with oil and finally polished. No native product is more characteristic of the country than the slippers, Bedouin shoes, and other leather articles made from "rams' skins dyed red" (see TANNER).

3. Other Dyes Probably Known:

Other dyes probably known were:

(1) Madder.

In Judges 10:1, we read that "after Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah." These were probably names of clans. In the Hebrew they are also color words. Tola` is the scarlet dye and pu'ah, if, as is probable, it is the same as the Arabic fuwah, means "madder." This would add another dyestuff. Until the discovery of alizarin, which is artificial madder, the growing of fuwah was one of the industries of Cyprus and Syria. It was exported to Europe and was also used locally for producing "Turkey red" on cotton and for dyeing dull reds on wool for rug making (see THYATIRA). It was the custom near Damascus for a father to plant new madder field for each son that was born. The field began to yield in time to support the boy and later become his inheritance. Madder is mentioned in the Talmud and by early Latin writers. A Saracenic helmet and a shield of similar origin, in the possession of the writer, are lined with madder-dyed cotton.

(2) Indigo. Another dye has been discovered among the Egyptian mummy cloths, namely, indigo. Indigo blue was used in weaving to form the borders of the cloths. This pigment was probably imported from India.

(3) Yellows and Browns. Yellows and browns of doubtful origin have also been found in the Egyptian tombs. The Jews acquired from the Phoenicians the secret of dyeing, and later held the monopoly in this trade in some districts. A Jewish guild of purple dyers is mentioned on a tombstone in Hieropolis. In the 12th century AD Jews were still dyers and glass workers at Tyre. Akhissar, a Jewish stronghold in Asia Minor, was famous as a dyeing city. See also ATTIRE; DYED ATTIRE.

LITERATURE.

See "Crafts" especially in Wilkinson, Perrot and Chipiez, Jew Encyclopedia, and HDB.

James A. Patch

Dysentery

dis'-en-ter-i (dusenteria):

In Acts 28:8 the Revised Version (British and American) uses this word in place of the phrase "bloody flux" of the King James Version to describe the disease by which the father of Publius was affected in Malta at the time of Paul's shipwreck. The acute form of this disease is often attended with high temperature, hence, Luke speaks of it as "fever and dysentery" (puretois kai dusenteria).

The disease is still occasionally epidemic in Malta where there have been several bad outbreaks among the garrison in the last century, and it has proved to be an intractable and fatal disease there. It is due to parasitic microbe, the Bacillus dysenteriae. In 2 Chronicles 21:19 there is reference to an epidemic of a similar nature in the days of Jehoram. The malady, as predicted by Elisha, attacked the king and assumed a chronic form in the course of which portions of the intestine sloughed. This condition sometimes occurs in the amoebic form of dysentery, cases of which sometimes last over two years.

Alexander Macalister