Famine – Fault

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Famine

fam'-in (ra`abh; limos):

1. Natural Causes

2. Famines Mentioned

3. Divine Relations

4. Figurative Uses

The common Old Testament word for "famine" is ra`abh; re`abhon also occurs (,; ), and kaphan (; ), all meaning "hunger" and "famine"; in the New Testament the word is limos, meaning primarily "failure," "want of food."

1. Natural Causes:

In early times, especially in lands dependent on their own productions, famines were not infrequent. They were generally caused by local irregularities of the rainfall, by destructive hail storms (,,), by ravages of insects (; ) and by enemies (); in a city a famine might be caused by a siege (); pestilence often followed in its wake, and the suffering was great.

2. Famines Mentioned:

Famines are recorded in the time of Abraham (, etc.), of Isaac (), of Jacob, when Joseph was in Egypt--seven years of famine even in Egypt after seven of plenty (), which also affected Canaan (), and, indeed, "was over all the face of the earth" (); in the time of the Judges (), of David, for three years (), of Ahab and Elijah (; ; Ecclesiasticus 48:2,3), of Elisha (), during the siege of Samaria (), the seven years foretold by Elisha (), in the reign of Zedekiah in Jerusalem when besieged by Nebuchadnezzar (; ; compare 14:1), its great severity is referred to (; Baruch 2:25); a "dearth" is also mentioned after the return from Captivity (); when the city was besieged by Antiochus Eupator (1 Macc 6:54), after the death of Judas (1 Macc 9:24), when Jerusalem was besieged by Simon (1 Macc 13:49), in the time of Claudius (, in his reign there were frequent famines, one of which in 45 AD severely affected Palestine; Josephus, Ant, XX, v); Christ predicted "famines .... in divers places" as characterizing the end of the age (; ; ); in the siege of Jerusalem by Titus a terrible famine raged, the consequences of which to the people have never been surpassed.

3. Divine Relations:

Famines are frequently said to be sent as punishments sometimes threatened as such ( ; ; ; ; ; ,; , etc.; , etc.; ; 2 Esdras 15:5,49; 16:19; Tobit 4:13; Ecclesiasticus 39:29; 40:9).

The righteous or godly should be preserved by God in time of famine (, "In famine he will redeem thee from death"; , "to keep them alive in famine"; 37:19, "In the days of famine they shall be satisfied"); this was a special mark of the Divine favor and power.

4. Figurative Uses:

A famine is used by Amos to indicate the absence of Divine communications as a punishment that should come on the people, a "famine .... of hearing the words of Yahweh" (8:11; compare ; ; ; ; ); by Zephaniah of the destruction of heathen deities (2:11).

The Revised Version (British and American) has "dearth" for "famine" (); "famine" for "dearth" (; ; ; ); for "hunger" (; ; ); "famines" for "famines and pestilences" (), "famines and troubles" (), revised texts.

W. L. Walker

Famish

fam'-ish ra`ebh, razah): "To famish" as a transitive verb is the translation of ra`ebh, "to hunger" (): "All the land of Egypt was famished"; of ra`abh, "hunger" (), "Their honorable men are famished," margin "Hebrew their glory are men of famine"; of razah, "to make lean," "famish" (Ze 2:11), "For he will famish all the gods of the earth"; it is intransitive as the translation of ra`ebh (), "Yahweh will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish."

Fan, Fanner

fan'-er: The word "fan" occurs 3 times only in the American Standard Revised Version (; ; ). In mizreh is translated "fork," which is a much better translation if the instrument referred to was shaped like the winnowing fork used by the Syrian farmer today and still so called. In ; ; , the verb zarah is rendered "winnow" in the American Standard Revised Version. In , the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "strangers" for "fanners."

Fancy

fan'-si (phantazo, "to cause to appear," "show"): In Ecclesiasticus 34:5, "And the heart fancieth, as a woman's in travail" (compare The Wisdom of Solomon 6:16; ).

Far House

The marginal explanation in the Revised Version (British and American) of Beth-merhak (beth ha-merchaq, "house of distance"), which is given in the text of instead of "a place that was far off."

See BETH-MERHAK.

Far; Farther

far, far'-ther: "Far" (adj.), distant, remote; (advb.) widely removed, is most frequently in the Old Testament the translation of rachoq, and in the New Testament of makran, but also of other Hebrew and Greek words. The word chalilah, an exclamation of abhorrence or aversion Septuagint me genoito; see FORBID), is rendered "far from me," "far from thee," etc. (; ; ; ; ; ; ). Besides its literal sense, distance in a spiritual sense is expressed by "far," as "Salvation is far from the wicked" (; compare ), "far from righteousness" (), "not far from the kingdom of God" (), etc. For "far" the Revised Version (British and American) has "aloof" in ; in several places the word in the King James Version is omitted (; ; ; ; ); "a far country" is changed to "another" (; ; ), etc. For "God forbid" the Revised Version (British and American) has "far be it," "far be it from me" (; in the American Standard Revised Version, ,; ; , etc.).

The comparative "farther" occurs only once in the Old Testament (), and thrice in the New Testament (; ; ), and in each case is replaced in the Revised Version (British and American) by another word or phrase. The Revised Version (British and American), on the other hand, has "its farthest height" for "the height of his border" (), and "his farthest lodging-place" for "the lodgings of his borders" ().

W. L. Walker

Fare

far: Occurs twice in the Old Testament as the translation of two Hebrew words, shalom, "peace," "prosperity," "completeness" (), found in the section on David's family history omitted by the Septuagint translators, and sakhar, "hire," "reward," Septuagint naulon, "passage-money," "fare" (). In Hebrew both words are substantives; in English the former is a verb meaning "to go," or "get on as to circumstances" (Century Dict.), the latter, a substantive meaning the price which Jonah paid for a sea-voyage to Tarshish.

In Apocrypha the English verb "fare" helps in the translation of three Greek words, kakoo, "fare evil" (the Revised Version (British and American) "fare ill"), Sirach 3:26; elattoo, "fare worse" (the Revised Version (British and American) "suffer loss"), 32:24; rhonnumi, "be strong," "prosper," in 2 pers. (singular) imperat. (err(h)oso) or plural (err(h)osthe) as a farewell salutation, or at the close of a letter, or to describe the welfare (usually physical or social) of a friend (2 Macc 9:20; 11:21,28, etc.). Compare ; margin.

In the New Testament the English verb "fare," in addition to its occurrence in the word "farewell" (which see), occurs only once (), where it is said that the rich man "fared sumptuously every day" (the Revised Version, margin "living in mirth and splendor every day").

The Greek is euphrainomai, "be merry," and occurs 14 times in the New Testament, 10 in a good sense (,,,, all referring to the merry-making over the return of the lost son; , translation of Hebrew samach, "be glad"; , translation of Hebrew ranah, "to sing"; ; , translation of Hebrew ranah, "to sing"; ; ); 4 in a bad, or less favorable, sense (; ; ; ). The Greek word is variously translated in the New Testament, "be merry," "make merry," "be glad," "rejoice," "make glad," and only once "fare" (). In the last passage it means the general physical and material welfare of the rich man (so the Geneva (1560), the Bishops' and Rhemish Bibles, the Revised Version (British and American) (1881), and not simply partaking of rich food so Vulgate, Wyclif, Coverdale, Cranmer, Geneva (1557) and the King James Version). Luther translates , "lebte alle Tage herrlich und in Freuden"; Weizsacker, "genoss sein Leben alle Tage in Glanze"; Ostervald, "se traitoit bien et magnifiquement"; Oltremare, "faisait brillante chere"; Segond, "menait joyeuse et brillante vie"; Weymouth, "enjoyed a splendid banquet every day," all of which virtually agree with the view taken by us as to meaning of "fare." The lampros, "sumptuously," shows that the rich man's manner of living was "brilliant," "magnificent." the Revised Version (British and American) has "fare" for "do" (), "fared" for "did" (), "hath fared" for "was" ().

Charles B. Williams

Farewell

far-wel' (chairo), Fare ye, or thou, well: Originally a wish at parting for those faring forth (traveling):

(1) As a parting wish at the close of a letter it represents the Greek err(h)oso, "Be strong," imperative of rhonnumi, "to make strong" (; the King James Version; see the Revised Version, margin; 2 Macc 11:21); once chairete (imperative of chairo), "Rejoice!" (, the Revised Version, margin "Rejoice: be perfected").

(2) As equivalent to our saying "good-bye," it represents the Greek apotassomai, "to separate one's self," "to take leave," "to bid farewell" (, "to bid farewell to them that are at my house"; , "bade them farewell," the Revised Version (British and American) "taking his leave of them").

See FARE; GREETING.

W. L. Walker

Farm

farm: is the only passage where agros, has been rendered "farm." In the many other passages where the same word occurs it is rendered "field" or "piece of ground." Farms such as the Occidental is accustomed to see, namely, isolated dwellings with their groups of outbuildings, surrounded by walls or hedges and overlooking the planted fields, were probably unknown in Palestine. For protection against wild beasts and Arab marauders everyone lived in a village and went out to his fields, located perhaps miles away, only as occasion required.

James A. Patch

Farthing

far'-thing: The rendering of two words in the Greek of the New Testament, assarion, and kodrantes, Latin quadrans. The assarion was the tenth part of the denarius, and hence in value about one penny or two centuries The quadrans was the fourth part of the Roman as, and worth only about three mills, or less than the English farthing, and is the only term rendered farthing by the American Standard Revised Version. It occurs in and , while assarion, which occurs in and , is rendered "penny" by the American Standard Revised Version.

Fashion

fash'-un (mishpaT; schema, the make, pattern, shape, manner or appearance of a thing (from Latin faction-em, "a making," through Old French fatson, fachon)): In the Old Testament the noun "fashion" represents 3 Hebrew words:

(1) MishpaT = literally, "judgment," hence, judicial sentence, right, custom, manner; usually translated "judgment" (very frequent), but also a few times "sentence," "cause," "charge," and more frequently "manner" (nearly 40 times in the King James Version). In 3 passages it is translated "fashion," in the sense of style, shape, make, in each case of a building or part of a building (; ; ).

(2) Tekhunah = literally, "arrangement," "adjustment" (compare takhan, "to set right," "adjust," from kun, hekhin, "to set up," "establish"); , "the form of the house, and the fashion thereof." A cognate word in the preceding verse is translated "pattern" (the Revised Version, margin "sum").

(3) Demuth = "resemblance" (from damah, "to be similar"), generally translated "likeness" in English Versions of the Bible, but "fashion" in , where it means pattern or model. The verb "to fashion" stands for

(a) yatsar, "to form," "fashion" (; the King James Version; the King James Version; ; );

(b) `asah, "to work," "make," "form" ();

(d) tsur, "to bind up together," "compress" (, of Aaron fashioning the golden calf out of the golden rings).

In the New Testament, the noun represents 5 Greek words:

(1) Of these, the most interesting is schema, "figure," "shape," "fashion" (from schein, aorist of echein, "to have," compare Latin habitus, from habeo, "I have"). Schema denotes a transient, external semblance or fashion, and so it may be distinguished from its synonym morphe, which denotes the essential intrinsic form of a thing, expressing its real nature. (See Lightfoot, Detached Note on ; Trench, New Testament Syn., 252 ff; Gifford, Incarnation, 22 ff. The distinction is rejected by Meyer, on , and by others.) In the New Testament, the noun schema occurs but twice: , "The fashion of this world passeth away," where there seems to be an allusion to theatrical scenes, which are in their very nature transitory (compare 2 Macc 4:13); and , "being found in fashion as a man," i.e. having the outward figure and bearing of a man, such marks of human nature as strike the senses (contrast morphe Theou, "form of God," , and morphe doulou, "form of servant," 2:7, which describe Christ's real inner nature). The word schema is found in compound verbs in the following passages: , "Be not fashioned (sunschematizesthe) according to this world: but be ye transformed (metamorphousthe) by the renewing of your mind" (so the Revised Version (British and American)), paraphrased by Sanday and Headlam, "Do not adopt the external and fleeting fashion of this world, but be ye transformed in your inmost nature" (Comm. in the place cited.); f, metaschematizomai, the King James Version "transformed," better the Revised Version (British and American) "fashioned," the reference being to "the fictitious, illusory transformation whereby evil assumes the mask of good" (Lightfoot, Commentary on Phil, 131); , "not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts," paraphrased by Lightfoot, "not falling in with the capricious guidance of the passions" (same place) . In , the adjective summorphos is translated "fashioned" in the King James Version, but better "conformed" as in Revised Version (British and American).

(2) Eioos, eidos, literally, "thing seen," "external appearance," "shape," is translated "fashion" in , of the glorified appearance of the transfigured Christ.

(3) prosopon, literally, "face," hence, look, appearance, , "The grace of the fashion of it perisheth."

(4) tupos, type, model, translated "fashion" in the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "figure"), the Greek word being taken from the Septuagint of the quoted passage, . The same phrase, kata ton tupon, in the parallel passage, , is translated "according to the pattern."

(5) In one instance the phrase "on this fashion," "in this manner," represents the Greek adverb houtos, "thus" ().

D. Miall Edwards

Fast; Fasting

fast, fast'-ing (tsum; `innah nephesh, "afflict soul or self," i.e. practice self-denial; nesteia, nesteuein): It is necessary to get rid of some modern notions associated with fasting before we can form a correct idea of its origin and significance in the ancient world. For instance, in the case of many ailments the dieting of the patient is an essential part of the remedy. But we may readily assume that originally fasting was not based on the salutary influence which it exercised on the health of the subject. Considerations of therapeutics played no part in the institution. The theory that fasting, like many other ancient customs, had a religious origin, is in favor with scholars, but we must not assume a religious origin for all practices which in process of time came to be associated with religion.

Many customs, purely secular in their origin, have gradually obtained a religious significance, just as purely religious customs have been dissociated from religion. It is also possible and, in the light of some usages, probable, that different motives operated in the association of fasting, as of some other customs, with religion. Scholars have been too ready to assume that the original significance of fasting was the same in all countries and among all nations. Robertson Smith in his Religion of the Semites advanced and defended theory that fasting was merely a mode of preparation for the tribal meal in which sacrifice originated, and came to be considered at a later stage as part of the sacrificial act. This hypothesis apparently accounts for the otherwise strange fact that both fasting and feasting are religious acts, but it does not give a satisfactory explanation of the constant association of fasting with the "wearing of sackcloth," the "putting of ashes on the head," and other similar customs. It is obvious that very different motives operated in the institution of fasting and of feasting religious observances.

It is a matter of common observation and experience that great distress causes loss of appetite and therefore occasions abstinence from food. Hannah, who was greatly distressed on account of her childlessness, "wept, and did not eat" (). Violent anger produces the same effect (). According to , Ahab, "heavy and displeased" on account of Naboth's refusal to part with his estate, sulked and "would eat no bread." Fasting, originally the natural expression of grief, became the customary mode of proving to others the inner emotion of sorrow. David demonstrated his grief at Abner's death () by fasting, just as the Psalmist indicated his sympathy with his adversaries' sorry plight in the same way (). In such passages as ; , it is not clear whether fasting is used in its religious significance or simply as a natural expression of sorrow (compare also and see below). This view explains the association of fasting with the mourning customs of antiquity (compare ; ). As fasting was a perfectly natural and human expression and evidence of the subject's grief, it readily claimed a place among those religious customs whose main object was the pacification of the anger of God, or the excital of His compassion. Any and every act that would manifest the distressful state of the suppliant would appeal to the Deity and move Him to pity. The interesting incident recorded in suggests the twofold significance of fasting as a religious act or a mode of appealing to the Deity and as a funeral custom. David defends his fasting before and not after the child's death on the ground that while the child was alive David's prayer might be answered. His fasting was intended to make his petition effectual (compare also ; ; ). Occasionally fasting was proclaimed on a national scale, e.g. in case of war (; ) or of pestilence ( f). Fasting having thus become a recognized mode of seeking Divine favor and protection, it was natural that it should be associated with confession of sin, as indisputable evidence of penitence or sorrow for sin.

Fasting might be partial, i.e. abstinence from certain kinds of food, or total, i.e. abstinence from all food as well as from washing, anointing, sleeping. It might be of shorter or longer duration, e.g. for one day, from sunrise to sunset (; ; ; ). In allusion is made to a seven days' fast, while Daniel abstained from "pleasant bread," flesh, wine and anointing for three weeks (). Moses () and Elijah () fasted for 40 days. It is probable that these last three references presuppose a totally different conception of the significance of fasting. It is obvious that dreams made a deep impression on primitive man. They were communications from the departed members of the family. At a later stage they were looked upon as revelations from God. During sleep there is total abstinence from food. It was easy to draw the inference that fasting might fit the person to receive these communications from the world of spirits (). The close connection between fasting and insight--intellectual and spiritual--between simple living and high thinking is universally recognized.

See further under ABSTINENCE; FEASTS AND FASTS.

LITERATURE.

Nowack, Hebadische Archaologie; Benzinger, Hebadische Archaologie; Robertson Smith, Religion of the Semites.

T. Lewis

Fasts And Feasts

See FEASTS AND FASTS.

Fat

(chelebh, chelebh): The layer of subcutaneous fat and the compact suet surrounding the viscera and imbedded in the entrails, which, like the blood, was forbidden as food in the Mosaic code (). It was to be sacrificed to God by being burnt upon the altar (; 30). This had to be done on the very day on which a beast had been slaughtered, to remove temptation from the Israelite to use it otherwise (). The law was probably a sanitary restriction, for, at an early date, leprosy, scrofula and disfiguring cutaneous diseases were thought to be caused by the use of fat as food. It was, moreover, an important pedagogical provision teaching the idea of self-denial, and the maxim that the richest and best meat of the edible animal belonged to Yahweh.

Fat (Vat)

WINE, WINE PRESS, II.

Father

fa'-ther (Anglo-Saxon, Foeder; German, Vater; Hebrew 'abh, etymology uncertain, found in many cognate languages; Greek pater, from root pa, "nourisher," "protector," "upholder"):

1. Immediate Male Ancestor:

Immediate male ancestor. The father in the Hebrew family, as in the Roman, had supreme rights over his children, could dispose of his daughter in marriage (), arrange his son's marriage (), sell his children (), but not his daughter to a stranger (), had power of life and death, as in the case of Isaac (), Jephthah's daughter (), the sacrificing of his children to Molech (; ), etc. Respect, reverence and affection for fathers (and equally for mothers) is most tenderly, explicitly and sternly prescribed from the earliest times (; ; ; ; , etc.). A symmetrical and beautiful picture of the duties and character of the ideal human father may be built up from the Old Testament, with added and enlarged touches from the New Testament. He loves (); commands (; ); instructs (, etc.); guides, encourages, warns (; ); trains (); rebukes (); restrains (Eli, by contrast, ); punishes (); chastens (; ); nourishes (); delights in his son (), and in his son's wisdom (); is deeply pained by his folly (); he is considerate of his children's needs and requests (); considerate of their burdens, or sins (, "As a man spareth his own son"); tenderly familiar (, "with me in bed"); considerately self-restrained (, "Provoke not your children to wrath"); having in view the highest ends (ibid., "Nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord"); pitiful (, "as a father pitieth his children"); the last human friend (but one) to desert the child (: "When (a thing to the psalmist incredible) my father and my mother forsake me, then Yahweh will take me up").

2. Ancestors, Immediate or Remote:

(a) Ancestor, immediate or remote: , "Abraham thy father" (grandfather); , "Jehoshaphat .... David his father"; , "Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father"; , "Nebuchadnezzar thy father" (personal or official ancestor); , "Go to thy fathers in peace" (and so (in the plural) in over 500 passages). The expressions "slept with his fathers," "go down to his fathers," "buried with his fathers," "gathered to his fathers," are self-explanatory euphemisms.

(b) The founders of the (Hebrew) race, specifically the patriarchs:' , "whose are the fathers," considered here also as in a sense the religious ancestors of all believers.

(d) Gods as progenitors of men: , "Who say to a stock, thou art my father."

3. Figurative and Derived Uses:

(a) A spiritual ancestor, one who has infused his own spirit into others, whether good, as Abraham, the father of the faithful, ; or bad, as , "Ye are of your father the devil."

(b) Indicating closest resemblance, kinship, affinity: , "If I have said to corruption, Thou art my father."

(d) Creator: , "the Father of lights."

(e) The inventor or originator of an art or mode of life: , "father of such as dwell in tents" (a hint here of hereditary occupations? Probably not).

(f) One who exhibits the fatherly characteristics: , "a father of the fatherless."

(g) One who occupies a position of counsel, care, or control (frequently applied by sultans to their prime ministers): , "a father to Pharaoh"; , "Be unto me a father and a priest."

(h) A revered or honored superior: , "My father, if the prophet had bid thee"; but especially applied to prophets: , "My father, my father!" also to elderly and venerable men: , "I write unto you, fathers"; hence also, with perhaps an outlook on (2) (a), deceased early Christians: , "from the day that the fathers fell asleep." An ecclesiastical title, condemned (in principle) by our Lord: , "Call no man your father on the earth"; but applied, under the power of the Spirit, to members of the Sanhedrin (probably) by Stephen: ; and by Paul: 22:1, but the latter, perhaps also the former, may simply refer to the elderly among his hearers. Christ's condemnation is clearly of the praise-seeking or obsequious spirit, rather than of a particular custom.

"Father," used by Mary of Joseph, in relation to Jesus, equals "putative father," a necessary reserve at a time when the virgin birth could not yet be proclaimed (). But note Jesus' answer: "my Father's house."

Philip Wendell Crannell

Father's House, Fathers' House

(beth 'abh, beth 'abhoth): Father's house in the Old Testament is

(1) a dwelling, the family home (; ,; ; );

(2) a family or household (; ; , the Revised Version (British and American) "fathers' houses");

(3) the group of households, of several of which the "family' or "clan" was constituted, aggregations of which formed the "tribe," generally "fathers' houses" (,; ; ; , etc.);

(4)the "family" (clan), mishpachah, "fathers' houses" ( );

(5) the tribe, "fathers' house," "houses" (; , etc.).

In the New Testament "father's house" (oikos tou patros) occurs in the sense of dwelling, house (; compare 16:4). our Lord also uses the phrase

(1) of the earthly temple-dwelling of God at Jerusalem (, "Make not my Father's house a house of merchandise"; compare ; );

(2) of heaven as the abode of God and His children (, "In my Father's house are many mansions," the Revised Version, margin "abiding places," oikia "house," "dwelling," also household, family; compare ; ; ). The phrase occurs also () of Moses, "nourished .... in his father's house" (oikos).

Revised Version has "father's hquse" for "principal household" (), "heads of the fathers' houses" for "chief fathers" (; ; ; , etc.); "one prince of a father's house," for "each of" (); "the heads of the fathers' (houses)" for "the chief of the fathers," and "the fathers' houses of the chief," for "the principal fathers" ().

W. L. Walker

Father, God The

In the Christian religion God is conceived of as "Father," "Our Father .... in heaven" (,,, etc.), "the God and Father of the Lord Jesus" (, etc.). The tenderness of relation and wealth of love and grace embraced in this profound designation are peculiar to Christ's gospel. Pagan religions also could speak of God as "Father" (Zeus Pater), and in the general sense of Creator God has a universal fatherly relation to the world (). In the Old Testament God was revealed as Father to the chosen nation (), and to the special representative of the nation, the king (), while fatherly love is declared to be the image of His pity for those who fear Him (). In the gospel of Jesus alone is this Fatherhood revealed to be of the very essence of the Godhead, and to have respect to the individual. Here, however, there is need for great discrimination. To reach the heart of the truth of the Divine Fatherhood it is necessary to begin, not with man, but with the Godhead itself, in whose eternal depths is found the spring of that Fatherly love that reveals itself in time. It is first of all in relation to the eternal Son--before all time--that the meaning of Fatherhood in God is made clear (). In "God the Father" we have a name pointing to that relation which the first Person in the adorable Trinity sustains to "Son" and "Holy Spirit"--also Divine (). From this eternal fountain-head flow the relations of God as Father

(1) to the world by creation;

(2) to believers by grace.

Man as created was designed by affinity of nature for sonship to God. The realization of this--his true creature-destiny--was frustrated by sin, and can now only be restored by redemption. Hence, the place of sonship in the gospel, as an unspeakable privilege (), obtained by grace, through regeneration (,), and adoption (,). In this relation of nearness and privilege to the Father in the kingdom of His Son (), believers are "sons of God" in a sense true of no others. It is a relation, not of nature, but of grace. Fatherhood is now the determinative fact in God's relation to them (). It is an error, nevertheless, to speak of fatherhood as if the whole character of God was therein sufficiently expressed. God is Father, but equally fundamental is His relation to His world as its Moral Ruler and Judge. From eternity to eternity the holy God must pronounce Himself against sin (); and His fatherly grace cannot avert judgment where the heart remains hard and impenitent (). For the fuller discussion of these points see GOD; CHILDREN OF GOD; TRINITY.

James Orr

Father-In-Law

fa'-ther-in-lo.

See RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY.

Fatherless

fa'-ther-les (yathom; orphanos): The fatherless are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, generally in association with the widow and the stranger, as typical instances of the unprotected and necessitous, who are, specially subject to oppression, and also to God's special protection. Great philanthropic regard is bestowed on this class throughout. In early legislation there is a special clause to guard them against affliction (). They have a still more prominent place in the Deuteronomic legislation, which gives instructions that a charitable fund be formed out of the tithe, once every three years, for the relief of the destitute (,; ), and that gleanings be left in the cornfield, the olive garden, and the vineyard for the benefit of this class (; compare f; 23:22, where, however, the "fatherless" are not specially mentioned). The Deuteronomist declares that God is on their side (), and strongly condemns those who would oppress them (; ). The prophets and psalmists are equally emphatic in pleading for mercy and justice to the fatherless, and in declaring that God is their special guardian (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; compare ). Oppressing the fatherless is frequently mentioned as a typical act of cruelty and injustice (compare ; ; ,; f; 31:16,17,21; ; ; ; ; ; ). Here we have instances of the prophetic passion for righteousness and compassion for the helpless, inspired by a profound sense of the value of human life. Passages in the Apocrypha reflect the same spirit (2 Esdras 2:20; Ecclesiasticus 4:10).

In the New Testament the word "fatherless" occurs but once, where James declares, in the spirit of the Old Testament prophets, that true religious ritual consists in visitation of the fatherless and widows and in moral purity (). Here the word for "fatherless" is orphanos ("bereft," "orphaned"), which is the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament yathom. In the New Testament the Greek word is found besides only in , where it means destitute of a teacher or guide (compare ).

D. Miall Edwards

Fathers' Brother

See RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY.

Fathom

fath'-um (~orguia): The literal meaning is the length of the outstretched arms, and it was regarded as equal to 4 cubits, or about 6 feet. ().

See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Fatling; Fatted

See CALF.

Fatness

fat'-nes (deshen; piotes):

1. Literal:

The translation of deshen (, "But the olive-tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness?"; (of food)), "full of fatness"; of chelebh, "fat," "the best part," "the marrow" (; ; ,); of mishman, "fathess," "fertility" (, "the fatness of the earth"; , "the fatness of his flesh"); of shemen, "fatness," "oil" (); of piotes, "fat," "fatness" (, "partaker .... of the root of the fatness of the olive tree").

2. Figurative:

"Fatness" is used figuratively for the richness of God's goodness; as such it is the translation of deshen ("They shall be abundantly satisfied (margin "Hebrew watered") with the fatness of thy house" (); "Thy paths drop fatness" (; compare ; ).

"With fatness" is supplied, the King James Version, "covered with fatness"; the Revised Version (British and American) has "become sleek"; for "The yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing" () the American Standard Revised Version has "by reason of fatness," margin "Hebrew oil"; the English Revised Version as the King James Version, with margin as the American Standard Revised Version; the text is believed to be corrupt; Septuagint has "from your shoulders."

W. L. Walker

Fauchion

fo'-shun.

See SCIMITAR.

Fault

folt (chaTa'; aitia, memphomai): Implies defect, of less moral weight than crime or sin. It is the translation of chaTa', "error," "failure," "sin" (); of cheT', same meaning (, "I do remember my faults this day"); of `awon, "perversity," "iniquity" (; ); of rish`ah, "wrongness," "wickedness" (, the Revised Version (British and American) "wickedness"); of shechath (Aramaic) "corruption" ( twice); me'umah, "anything" (, "no fault in him," literally, "not anything"); of aitia, "cause," "case," "guilt," (; ,; Pilate of Jesus, "I find no fault in him," the Revised Version (British and American) "no crime"; the same word is rendered "accusation," i.e. `legal cause for prosecution,' ; ; compare ,); of aition, same meaning (,; , aition thanatou "cause of death"); of hettema, "a worse condition," "defect" (, the Revised Version (British and American) "a defect," margin "a loss to you"); of paraptoma, "a falling aside" (, "If a man be overtaken in fault," the Revised Version (British and American) "in any trespass," margin "by"; , "Confess your faults one to another," the Revised Version (British and American) "Confess therefore your sins one to another"); hamartano, "to miss," "err," "sin," is translated "your faults" ( the Revised Version (British and American), "when ye sin"); memphomai, "to blame," is translated "to find fault" ( omitted the Revised Version (British and American); ; ); elegcho, "to convict," "to tell one's fault" (, the Revised Version (British and American) "show him his fault"); amomos, "without blemish," "spotless," is translated "without fault" (, the Revised Version (British and American) "without blemish," "faultless"; , "able to present you faultless," the Revised Version (British and American) "without blemish"); amemptos, "blameless," "without reproach" (, "for if that first covenant had been faultless"). "Faulty" is the translation of 'ashem, "guilty" (, "as one which is faulty," the Revised Version (British and American) "guilty"); of 'asham, "to be or become guilty" (, Revised Version "guilty").

W. L. Walker

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (1915). Public domain. Text from the CrossWire Bible Society.