Satyr – Sceva

Satyr

sat'-er, sa'-ter (sa`ir, literally "he-goat"; sa`ir, "hairy" (Genesis 27:11, of Esau), and Arabic sha'r, "hair"; plural se`irim): For se`irim in Leviticus 17:7 and 2 Chronicles 11:15, the King James Version has "devils," the Revised Version (British and American) "he-goats," the English Revised Version margin "satyrs," the Septuagint has tois mataiois, "vain things." For se`irim in Isaiah 13:21, the King James Version and the English Revised Version have "satyrs," the English Revised Version margin "he-goats," the American Standard Revised Version "wild goats," Septuagint daimonia, "demons." For sa`ir in Isaiah 34:14, the King James Version and the English Revised Version have "satyr," the English Revised Version margin "he-goat," the American Standard Revised Version "wild goat." Septuagint has heteros pros ton heteron, "one to another," referring to daimonia, which here stands for ciyim, "wild beasts of the desert."

The text of the American Standard Revised Version in these passages is as follows: Leviticus 17:7, "And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the he-goats, after which they play the harlot"; 2 Chronicles 11:15, "And he (Jeroboam) appointed him priests for the high places, and for the he-goats, and for the calves which he had made"; Isaiah 13:21 f (of Babylon), "But wild beasts of the desert (tsiyim) shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures ('ochim); and ostriches (benoth ya`anah) shall dwell there, and wild goats (se`irim) shall dance there And wolves ('iyim) shall cry in their castles, and jackals (tannim) in the pleasant palaces"; Isaiah 34:11,Isaiah 34:13,Isaiah 34:14,Isaiah 34:15 (of Edom), "But the pelican (qa'ath) and the porcupine (kippodh) shall possess it; and the owl (yanshoph) and the raven (`orebh) shall dwell therein: .... and it shall be a habitation of jackals (tannim), a court for ostriches (benoth ya`anah). And the wild beasts of the desert (tsiyim) shall meet with the wolves ('iyim), and the wild goat (sa`ir) shall cry to his fellow; yea, the night monster (lilith) shall settle there ..... There shall the dart-snake (qippoz) make her nest .... there shall the kites (dayyoth) be gathered, every one with her mate."

The question is whether sa`ir and se`irim in these passages stand for real or for fabulous animals. In Leviticus 17:7 and 2 Chronicles 11:15, it is clear that they are objects of worship, but that still leaves open the question of their nature, though it may to many minds make "devils" or "demons" or "satyrs" seem preferable to "he-goats." In Isaiah 13:20 we read, "neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there." This may very likely have influenced the American Committee of Revisers to use "wild goat" in Isaiah 13:21 and 34:14 instead of the "he-goat" of the other passages. In the American Standard Revised Version, no fabulous creatures (except perhaps "night-monster") are mentioned here, but the Septuagint employs daimonia, "demons" in Isaiah 13:21 for se`irim and in 34:14 for tsiyim; onokentauroi, from "centaur," in Isaiah 13:22 and 34:14 for 'iyim, and again in 34:14 for lilith; seirenes, "sirens," in Isaiah 13:21 for benoth ya`anah, and in 34:13 for tannim. We must bear in mind the uncertainty regarding the identity of tsiyim, 'iyim, 'ochim and tannim, as well as of some of the other names, and we must recall the tales that are hung about the name lilith (the King James Version "screech owl," the King James Version margin and the Revised Version (British and American) "night-monster," the Revised Version margin "Lilith"). While sa`ir is almost alone among these words in having ordinarily a well-understood meaning, i.e. "he-goat," there is good reason for considering that here it is used in an exceptional sense. The translation "satyr" has certainly much to be said for it.

See GOAT; JACKAL.

Alfred Ely Day

Saul

sol (sha'ul; Saoul):

(1) The first king of Israel.

I. EARLY HISTORY

1. Name and Meaning

2. Genealogy

3. Home and Station

4. Sources for Life

5. Election as King

6. Reasons for It

II. REIGN AND FALL

1. His First Action

2. Army Reorganized

3. Battle of Michmash

4. Defeats the Amalekites

5. Deposition Pronounced

6. David Introduced to Saul

7. Two Accounts

8. Saul's Envy of David

9. Attempts to Get Rid of David

10. David Spares Saul

11. Saul's Divided Energies

12. Consults a Necromancer

13. Battle of Gilboa

14. Double Accounts

15. Saul's Posterity

III. CHARACTER

1. Book of Chronicles

2. Saul's Failings

3. His Virtue

4. David's Elegy

I. Early History.

1. Name and Meaning:

The name Saul is usually regarded as simply the passive participle of the verb "to ask," and so meaning "asked" (compare 1 Samuel 8:4 ff), but the gentilic adjective sha'uli (Numbers 26:13) would point to its having also an intensive connotation, "the one asked importunately," or perhaps, "the one asking insistently," "the beggar."

2. Genealogy:

Saul was the son of Kish, a Benjamite. His genealogical tree is given in 1 Samuel 9:1 (compare Septuagint 10:21). In 1 Samuel 9:1 his grandfather is Abiel, but in 1 Chronicles 8:33; 1 Chronicles 9:39, Ner, who appears as his paternal uncle in 1 Samuel 14:50,1 Samuel 14:51.

The last verse contains a very curious scribal error, a yodh having slipped out of one word in it into another. It states that both Abner and Ner were sons of Abiel. These apparent inconsistencies are to be explained by the fact that in Hebrew, as in Arabic, "son" is often used in the sense of grandson. Also, with the facility of divorce then prevalent, by "brother" and "sister" we must in most cases understand half-brother and half-sister. Moreover, Saul's mother might have been the wife at different times of Kish and of his brother Ner (compare 1 Samuel 20:30). This was quite common, and in some cases compulsory (Deuteronomy 25:5–9).

3. Home and Station:

Saul's home was at GIBEAH (which see), which is also called Gibeah of Saul, i.e. Saul's Hill (1 Samuel 11:4; compare also 1 Samuel 10:5, God's Hill, or simply The Hill, 1 Samuel 10:10; Hosea 5:8, etc.), or the Hill of Benjamin or of the Benjamites (1 Samuel 13:15; 2 Samuel 23:29). It is usually identified with Tell el-Ful, but perhaps its site is marked rather by some ruins near but beneath that eminence. The tribe of Benjamin was the fighting tribe of Israel, and Kish seems to have been one of its most important members. Saul's remarks in depreciation (1 Samuel 9:21) are not to be taken literally.

4. Sources for Life:

The circumstances of Saul's career are too well known to require recapitulation. It will be sufficient to refer to some of the recognized difficulties of the narrative. These difficulties arise from the fact that we appear to have two distinct biographies of Saul in the present Books of Samuel. This may well be the case as it is the practice of the Semitic historian to set down more than one tradition of each event, without attempting to work these up into one consistent account. We shall call the duplicated narratives A and B, without postulating that either is a continuous whole.

See SAMUEL, BOOKS OF.

5. Election as King:

According to A, Saul was anointed king of Israel at Ramah by the prophet Samuel acting upon an inspiration from Yahweh, not only without consulting anyone, but in the strictest secrecy (1 Samuel 9:1–10:16). According to B, the sheiks of the tribes demanded a king. Samuel in vain tried to dissuade them. They would not listen, and a king was chosen by lot at Mizpah. The lot fell upon Saul, and Samuel immediately demitted office (1 Samuel 8:1–22; 1 Samuel 10:17–27, omitting the last clause; and chapter 12).

6. Reasons for It:

There are three distinct reasons given in the text for the abolition of theocracy and institution of an elective or hereditary monarchy: first, the incapacity of Samuel's sons (1 Samuel 8:1); second, an invasion of the Ammonites (1 Samuel 12:12); and third, the Philistines (1 Samuel 9:16). These three motives are not mutually exclusive. The Philistines formed the standing menace to the national existence, which would have necessitated the creation of a monarchy sooner or later. The other two were temporary circumstances, one of which aggravated the situation, while the other showed the hopelessness of expecting any improvement in it in the near future.

II. Reign and Fall.

1. His First Action:

The election of Saul at Mizpah was conducted in the presence of the chieftains of the clans; it is not to be supposed that the whole nation was present. As soon as it was over, the electors went home, and Saul also returned to his father's farm and, like Cincinnatus, once more followed the plow. "Within about a month," however (1 Samuel 10:27 the Septuagint, for Massoretic Text "But he held his peace"), the summons came. A message from the citizens of JABESH-GILEAD (which see) was sent round the tribes appealing for help against the Ammonites under Nahash. They, of course, knew nothing about what had taken place at Mizpah, and it was only by chance that their messengers arrived at Gibeah when they did. Saul rose to the occasion, and immediately after he was acclaimed king by the whole body of the people (1 Samuel 11:1–15). This double election, first by the chiefs and then by the people, is quite a regular proceeding.

2. Army Reorganized:

This first success encouraged Saul to enter upon what was to be the mission of his life, namely, the throwing off of the Philistine suzerainty. From the first he had had the boldest spirits upon his side (1 Samuel 10:26, the Septuagint, the Revised Version margin); he was now able to form a standing army of 3,000 men, under the command of himself and his son JONATHAN (which see). The Philistines, the last remnant of the Minoan race, had the advantage of the possession of iron weapons. It was, in fact, they who introduced iron into Palestine from Crete--the Israelites knowing only bronze, and having even been deprived of weapons of the softer metals. They seem to have armed themselves--with the exception of the king and his son--with mattocks and plowshares (1 Samuel 13:19).

3. Battle of Michmash:

The first encounter was the attack upon the Philistine post at Michmash (1 Samuel 13:1–23; 1 Samuel 14:1–52). The text of the narrative is uncertain, but the following outline is clear. On hearing that the Hebrews had revolted (1 Samuel 13:3, the Septuagint), the Philistines gathered in great force, including 3,000 chariots (1 Samuel 13:5, the Septuagint; the Massoretic Text has 30,000) at Michmash. In dismay, Saul's troops deserted (1 Samuel 13:6 f), until he was left with only 600 (1 Samuel 14:2). In spite of this, Jonathan precipitated hostilities by a reckless attack upon one of the outposts. This was so successful that the whole Philistine army was seized with panic, and the onset of Saul and the desertion of their Hebrew slaves completed their discomfiture. Saul followed up his victory by making predatory excursions on every side (1 Samuel 14:47).

4. Defeats the Amalekites:

Saul's next expedition was against the Amalekites under Agag, who were likewise completely defeated. The fight was carried out with all the remorselessness common to tribal warfare. Warning was sent to the friendly Kenites to withdraw out of danger; then the hostile tribe was slaughtered to a man, their chief alone being spared for the time being. Even the women and children were not taken as slaves, but were all killed (1 Samuel 15:1–35).

5. Deposition Pronounced:

It is not clear what was the precise attitude of Samuel toward Saul. As the undoubted head of theocracy he naturally objected to his powers being curtailed by the loss of the civil power (1 Samuel 8:6). Even after the elections of Saul, Samuel claimed to be the ecclesiastical head of the state. He seems to have objected to Saul's offering the sacrifice before battle (1 Samuel 13:10), and to have considered him merely as his lieutenant (1 Samuel 15:3) who could be dismissed for disobedience (1 Samuel 15:14). Here again there seem to be two distinct accounts in the traditional text, which we may again call A and B. In A, Saul is rejected because he does not wait long enough for Samuel at Gilgal (1 Samuel 13:8; compare 1 Samuel 10:8). "Seven days," of course, means eight, or even more, in short, until Samuel should come, whenever that might be. The expression might almost be omitted in translating. In B Saul is rejected because he did not carry out Samuel's orders (1 Samuel 15:3) to the letter. The two narratives are not mutually exclusive. The second offense was an aggravation of the first, and after it Samuel did not see Saul again (1 Samuel 15:35).

6. David Introduced to Saul:

He had good reason for not doing so. He had anointed a rival head of the state in opposition to Saul, an act of treason which, if discovered, would have cost him his head (compare 2 Kings 9:6,2 Kings 9:10). Saul did not at once accept his deposition, but he lost heart. One cannot but admire him, deserted by Samuel, and convinced that he was playing a losing game, and yet continuing in office. To drive away his melancholy, his servants introduced to him a musician who played until his spirits revived (1 Samuel 16:14 ; compare 2 Kings 3:15).

7. Two Accounts:

By a strange coincidence (compare I, 5, above) the minstrel was the very person whom Samuel had secretly anointed to supplant Saul. According to what looks like another account, however, it was his encounter with Goliath which led to the introduction of David to Saul (1 Samuel 17:1 ; see DAVID). In spite of all that has been said to the contrary, the two narratives are not incompatible, since we are not told the order of the events nor over how many years these events were spread. The theory of duplicate narratives rests upon the assumption that all statements made by the dramatis personae in the Bible are to be taken at their face value. If 1 Samuel 16 and 17 had formed part of a play of Shakespeare, they would have been considered a fine example of his genius. Treatises would have been written to explain why Saul did not recognize David, and why Abner denied all knowledge of him. Septuagint, however, omits 1 Samuel 17:12–31,1 Samuel 17:41,1 Samuel 17:50,1 Samuel 17:55–18:5.

8. Saul's Envy of David:

Whether Saul actually discovered that David had been anointed by Samuel or not, he soon saw in him his rival and inevitable successor, and he would hardly have been human if he had not felt envious of him. His dislike of David had two motives. The first was jealousy, because the women preferred the military genius of David to his own (1 Samuel 18:7 f). His consequent attempt upon the life of David (1 Samuel 18:8–11) is omitted in the Septuagint. Not least was the love of his own daughter for David (1 Samuel 18:20; in 1 Samuel 18:28 read with Septuagint "all Israel"). The second cause was his natural objection to see his son Jonathan supplanted in his rights to the throne, an objection which was aggravated by the devotion of that son to his own rival (1 Samuel 20:30).

See also DAVID; JONATHAN.

9. Attempts to Get Rid of David:

Saul could not believe that David could remain loyal to him (1 Samuel 24:9); at the first favorable opportunity he would turn upon him, hurl him from the throne, and exterminate his whole house. In these circumstances, it was his first interest to get rid of him. His first attempt to do so (omitting with Septuagint 1 Samuel 18:8 b-11) was to encourage him to make raids on the Philistines in the hope that these might kill him (1 Samuel 18:21); his next, assassination by one of his servants (1 Samuel 19:1), and then by his own hand (1 Samuel 19:9 f). When David was compelled to fly, the quarrel turned to civil war. The superstitious fear of hurting the chosen of Yahweh had given place to blind rage. Those who sheltered the fugitive, even priests, were slaughtered (1 Samuel 22:17). From one spot to another David was hunted, as he says, like a partridge (1 Samuel 26:20).

10. David Spares Saul:

It is generally maintained that here also we have duplicate accounts; for example, that there are two accounts of David taking refuge with Achish, king of Gath, and two of his sparing Saul's life. The latter are contained in 1 Samuel 24 and 26, but the points of resemblance are slight. Three thousand (24:2; 26:2) was the number of Saul's picked men (compare 13:2). David uses the simile of "a flea" in 24:14, but in 26:20 for "a flea" Septuagint has "my soul," which is no doubt original. The few other expressions would occur naturally in any narrative with the same contents.

11. Saul's Divided Energies:

Obviously Saul's divided energies could not hold out long; he could not put down the imaginary rebellion within, and at the same time keep at bay the foreign foe. No sooner had he got the fugitive within his grasp than he was called away by an inroad of the Philistines (1 Samuel 23:27 f); but after his life had been twice spared, he seemed to realize at last that the latter were the real enemy, and he threw his whole strength into one desperate effort for existence.

12. Consults a Necromancer:

Saul himself saw that his case was desperate, and that in fact the game was up. As a forlorn hope he determined to seek occult advice. He could no longer use the official means of divination (1 Samuel 28:6), and was obliged to have recourse to a necromancer, one of a class whom he himself had taken means to suppress (1 Samuel 28:3). The result of the seance confirmed his worst fears and filled his soul with despair (1 Samuel 28:7).

13. Battle of Gilboa:

It says much for Saul that, hopeless as he was, he engaged in one last forlorn struggle with the enemy. The Philistines had gathered in great force at Shunem. Saul drew up his army on the opposing hill of Gilboa. Between the two forces lay a valley (compare 1 Samuel 14:4). The result was what had been foreseen. The Israelites, no doubt greatly reduced in numbers (contrast 1 Samuel 11:8), were completely defeated, and Saul and his sons slain. Their armor was placed in the temple of Ashtaroth, and their bodies hung on the wall of Bethshan, but Saul's head was set in the temple of Dagon (1 Chronicles 10:10). The citizens of Jabesh-gilead, out of ancient gratitude, rescued the bodies and, in un-Semitic wise, burned them and buried the bones.

14. Double Accounts:

Once more we have, according to most present-day critics, duplicate accounts of the death of Saul. According to one, which we may name A, he fell, like Ajax whom he much resembles, upon his own sword, after being desperately wounded by the archers (1 Samuel 31:4). According to the second (2 Samuel 1:2), an Amalekite, who had been by accident a witness of the battle, dispatched Saul at his own request to save him from the enemy. But B is simply the continuation of A, and tells us how David received the news of the battle. The Amalekite's story is, of course, a fabrication with a view to a reward. Similar claims for the reward of assassination are common (2 Samuel 4:9).

15. Saul's Posterity:

With Saul the first Israelite dynasty began and ended. The names of his sons are given in 1 Samuel 14:49 as Jonathan, Ishvi and Malchishua. Ishvi or Ishyo (Septuagint) is Eshbaal, called in 2 Samuel 2:8 ISH-BOSHETH (which see). 1 Chronicles 8:33 adds Abinadab. Jonathan left a long line of descendants famous, like himself, as archers (1 Chronicles 8:34). The rest of Saul's posterity apparently died out. Malchishua and Abinadab were slain at Gilboa (1 Samuel 31:6; 1 Chronicles 10:2), and Ish-bosheth was assassinated shortly after (2 Samuel 4:2). Saul had also two natural sons by Rizpah who were put to death by David in accordance with a superstitious custom, as also were the five sons of Saul's daughter Merab (2 Samuel 21:8, not Michal; compare 1 Samuel 18:19). Saurs other daughter Michal apparently had no children. Saul had, it seems, other wives, who were taken into the harem of David in accordance with the practice of the times (2 Samuel 12:8), but of them and their descendants we know nothing.

III. Character. 1. Book of Chronicles:

Saul's life and character are disposed of in a somewhat summary fashion by the Chronicler (1 Chronicles 10:1–14, especially 1 Chronicles 10:13,1 Chronicles 10:14). Saul was rejected because he was disloyal to Yahweh, especially in consulting a necromancer. The major premise of this conclusion, however, is the ancient dictum, "Misfortune presupposes sin." From a wider point of view, Saul cannot be dismissed in so cavalier a manner.

2. Saul's Failings:

Like everyone else, Saul had his virtues and his failings. His chief weakness seems to have been want of decision of character. He was easily swayed by events and by people. The praises of David (1 Samuel 18:7 f) at once set his jealousy on fire. His persecution of David was largely due to the instigation of mischievous courtiers (1 Samuel 24:9). Upon remonstrance his repentance was as deep as it was short-lived (1 Samuel 24:16; 1 Samuel 26:21). His impulsiveness was such that he did not know where to stop. His interdict (1 Samuel 14:24) was quite as uncalled for as his religious zeal (1 Samuel 15:9) was out of place. He was always at one extreme. His hatred of David was only equal to his affection for him at first (1 Samuel 18:2). His pusillanimity led him to commit crimes which his own judgment would have forbidden (1 Samuel 22:17). Like most beaten persons, he became suspicious of everyone (1 Samuel 22:7 f), and, like those who are easily led, he soon found his evil genius (1 Samuel 22:9,1 Samuel 22:18,1 Samuel 22:22). Saul's inability to act alone appears from the fact that he never engaged in single combat, so far as we know. Before he could act at all his fury or his pity had to be roused to boiling-point (1 Samuel 11:6). His mind was peculiarly subject to external influences, so that he was now respectable man of the world, now a prophet (1 Samuel 10:11; 1 Samuel 19:24).

3. His Virtues:

On the other hand, Saul possessed many high qualities. His dread of office (1 Samuel 10:22) was only equaled by the coolness with which he accepted it (1 Samuel 11:5). To the first call to action he responded with promptitude (1 Samuel 11:6). His timely aid excited the lasting gratitude of the citizens of Jabesh-gilead (1 Samuel 31:11) If we remember that Saul was openly disowned by Samuel (1 Samuel 15:30), and believed himself cast off by Yahweh, we cannot but admire the way in which he fought on to the last. Moreover, the fact that he retained not only his own sons, but a sufficient body of fighting men to engage a large army of Philistines, shows that there must have been something in him to excite confidence and loyalty.

4. David's Elegy:

There is, however, no question as to the honorable and noble qualities of Saul. The chief were his prowess in war and his generosity in peace. They have been set down by the man who knew him best in what are among the most authentic verses in the Bible (2 Samuel 1:19).

(2) Saul of Tarsus.

See PAUL.

Thomas Hunter Weir

Savaran

sav'-a-ran: the King James Version = the Revised Version (British and American) AVARAN (which see).

Save

sav: In the sense "except," the word came into English through the French (sauf) and is fairly common (38 times, in addition to "saving," the King James Version Ecclesiastes 5:11; Amos 9:8; Matthew 5:32; Luke 4:27; Revelation 2:17). It represents no particular Hebrew or Greek terms but is employed wherever it seems useful. It is still in good (slightly archaic) use, and the Revised Version (British and American) has few modifications (Deuteronomy 15:4 the King James Version; Psalms 18:31, etc.), but the English Revised Version has dropped "saving" in Luke 4:27 and Revelation 2:17 and the American Standard Revised Version also in Ecclesiastes 5:11; Amos 9:8, retaining it only in Matthew 5:32.

Saviour

sav'-yer:

(1) While that "God is the deliverer of his people" is the concept on which, virtually, the whole Old Testament is based (see SALVATION), yet the Hebrews seem never to have felt the need of a title for God that would sum up this aspect of His relation to man. Nearest to our word "Saviour" is a participial form (moshia`) from the verb yasha` (Qal not used; "save" in Hiphil), but even this participle is not frequently applied to God (some 13 times of which 7 are in Isaiah 43:1–63:19).

(2) In the New Testament, however, the case is different, and Soter, is used in as technical a way as is our "Saviour." But the distribution of the 24 occurrences of the word is significant, for two-thirds of them are found in the later books of the New Testament--10 in the Pastorals, 5 in 2 Peter, and one each in John, 1 John, and Jude--while the other instances are Luke 1:47; Luke 2:11; Acts 5:31; Acts 13:23; Ephesians 5:23; Philippians 3:20. And there are no occurrences in Matthew, Mark, or the earlier Pauline Epistles. The data are clear enough. As might be expected, the fact that the Old Testament used no technical word for Saviour meant that neither did the earliest Christianity use any such word. Doubtless for our Lord "Messiah" was felt to convey the meaning. But in Greek-speaking Christianity, "Christ," the translation of Messiah, soon became treated as a proper name, and a new word was needed.

(3) Soter expressed the exact meaning and had already been set apart in the language of the day as a religious term, having become one of the most popular divine titles in use. Indeed, it was felt to be a most inappropriate word to apply to a human being. Cicero, for instance, arraigns Verres for using it: "Soter .... How much does this imply? So much that it cannot be expressed in one word in Latin" (Verr. ii.2, 63, 154). So the adoption of Soter by Christianity was most natural, the word seemed ready-made.

(4) That the New Testament writers derived the word from its contemporary use is shown, besides, by its occurrence in combination with such terms as "manifestation" (epiphaneia, 2 Timothy 1:10; Titus 2:13), "love toward man" (philanthropia, Titus 3:4), "captain" (archegos, Acts 5:31; compare Hebrews 2:10), etc. These terms are found in the Greek sources many times in exactly the same combinations with Sorer.

(5) In the New Testament Soter is uniformly reserved for Christ, except in Luke 1:47; Jude 1:25, and the Pastorals. In 1 Timothy 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:10 it is applied only to the Father, in 2 Timothy 1:10, (only) it is applied to Christ, while in Titus there seems to be a deliberate alternation: of the Father in 1:3; 2:10; 3:4; of Christ in 1:4; 2:13; 3:6.

LITERATURE.

P. Wendland, "Soter" Zeitschrift fur neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, V, 335-353, 1904; J. Weiss, "Heiland," in RGG, II, 1910; H. Lietzmann, Der Weltheiland, 1909. Much detailed information is available in various parts of Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, 1910.

Burton Scott Easton

Savor

sa'-ver (reach; osme;

(1) The primary meaning of the word is "taste," "flavor" (from Latin sapor, "taste"). So in Matthew 5:13; Luke 14:34, "if the salt have lost its savor" (moranthe, "become tasteless," "insipid," so as to lose its characteristic preserving virtue).

(2) But generally it has the meaning of "smell," "odor":

(a) once of evil odor: "Its stench shall come up, and its ill savor shall come up" (Joel 2:20);

(b) elsewhere in the sense of pleasant smell. In the Old Testament, with the exception of Exodus 5:21 and the King James Version Song of Songs 1:3 (the Revised Version (British and American) "fragrance"), it is always accompanied by the adjective "sweet." It stands for the smell of sacrifices and oblations, in agreement with the ancient anthropomorphic idea that God smells and is pleased with the fragrance of sacrifices (e.g. "Yahweh smelled the sweet savor," Genesis 8:21; "to make a sweet savor unto Yahweh," Numbers 15:3; and frequently).

In the New Testament, "savor" in the sense of smell is used metaphorically:

(a) once the metaphor is borrowed from the incense which attends the victor's triumphal procession; God is said to make manifest through His apostles "the savor of his knowledge in every place" as He "leadeth" them "in triumph in Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:14; see TRIUMPH.

(b) Elsewhere the metaphor is borrowed from the fragrant smell of the sacrifices. The apostles "are a sweet savor of Christ unto God" (2 Corinthians 2:15), i.e. they are, as it were, a sweet odor for God to smell, an odor which is pleasing to God, even though its effect upon men varies (to some it is a "savor from death unto death," i.e. such as is emitted by death and itself causes death; to others it is "a savor from life unto life," 2 Corinthians 2:16). By the same sacrificial metaphor, Christ's offering of Himself to God is said to be "for a sweet smelling savor" (Ephesians 5:2 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "for an odor of a sweet smell"; the same phrase is used in Philippians 4:18 of acts of kindness to Paul, which were "a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God").

(3) Once it is used in the figurative sense of reputation: "Ye have made our savor to be abhorred (literally, "our smell to stink") in the eyes of Pharaoh" (Exodus 5:21). Compare the English phrase, "to be in bad odor."

The verb "to savor" means:

(1) intransitively, to taste or smell of, to partake of the quality of something, as in the Preface of the King James Version, "to savour more of curiosity than wisdome," or

(2) transitively, to perceive by the taste or smell, to discern: "thou savourest not the things that be of God" (the King James Version Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33, the Revised Version (British and American) "mindest"; phroneis; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) sapis). The adjective "savory" occurs only in Genesis 27:4,Genesis 27:7,Genesis 27:9,Genesis 27:14,Genesis 27:17,Genesis 27:31 ("savory food") and the Revised Version (British and American) Isaiah 30:24 (margin "salted").

D. Miall Edwards

Saw

so.

See TOOLS.

Sawing Asunder

so'-ing a-sun'-der.

See PUNISHMENTS.

Sayest

sa'-est: "Thou sayest" (Matthew 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 22:70, "Ye say"; John 18:37), i.e. rightly; "Thou hast said" (Matthew 26:25,Matthew 26:64), = "Yes"; a rabbinical idiom never found in the Old Testament. Mark 14:62 renders by "I am." All these passages WHm punctuate interrogatively (compare Kethubhoth, f. 103 b).

Sayings Of Jesus

See LOGIA.

Sayings, Dark

sa'-ingz.

See DARK SAYINGS.

Sayings, Faithful

See FAITHFUL SAYINGS.

Sayings, Unwritten

un-rit'-'-n.

See AGRAPHA.

Scab, Scabbed

skab, skab'-ed, skabd (yallepheth, micpachath, cappachath, verb sippach; semasia, leichen): These are generic terms for any skin disease in which there are patches of hard crusts on the surface. The commonest of these are the forms now named eczema, herpes and, perhaps, psoriasis, all of which are common in Bible lands. Milder cases in which the disease was localized and in small patches (the semasia of the Septuagint) did not render the bearer unclean, and they were to be distinguished by the priest (Leviticus 13:2,Leviticus 13:6) from the more virulent and spreading eruptions which (Leviticus 13:7) were regarded as causes of ceremonial uncleanness. These severer forms are the leichen of Septuagint mentioned in Leviticus 21:20, which disqualified any son of Aaron from serving as a priest, and when affecting an animal rendered it unfit to be offered as a burnt offering (Leviticus 22:22). Hippocrates speaks of these cases as obstinate and persistent, and Galen believed that they might degenerate into leprosy; hence, the terms in which Aeschylus speaks of it (Choephori 281). Celsus, however, recognized that leichen was a papular eruption, not a true scab. The name yallepheth seems to have been given to it on account of the firmness of attachment of the scabs, while the term micpachath refers to its tendency to spread and cover the surface. A cognate word in Ezekiel 13:18 is the name of a large Tallith or prayer veil used by the false prophetesses in Israel (translated "kerchief"). Scabs were especially disfiguring on the head, and this infliction was threatened as a punishment on the daughters of Zion for their wanton haughtiness (Isaiah 3:17). In Middle English, "scab" is used for itch or mange, and as a term of opprobrium, as in Greene, Bacon and Bungay, 35, 1591.

Alexander Macalister

Scabbard, Sheath

skab'-ard, sheth.

See ARMOR, III, 5; WAR, 9.

Scaffold

skaf'-old (kiyyor): The English word is used once of Solomon's "brazen scaffold" on which he knelt at the dedication of the temple (2 Chronicles 6:13).

Scale

skal.

See SIEGE 4, (e); WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Scales

skalz

(1) qasqeseth "fish-scales";

(2) meghinnah, maghen, "scales of the crocodile";

(3) lepis, with verb lepizo "scale away" (Tobit 3:17; 11:13)):

(1) The first Hebrew word qasqeseth means the imbricated scales of fish, which together with the dorsal fin were a distinguishing mark of all fish allowed as food to the Israelite (Leviticus 11:9 Deuteronomy 14:9 f). In the figurative sense the word is used of a coat of mail (1 Samuel 17:5,1 Samuel 17:38).

(2) Meghinnah from maghen, literally, "a buckler" or "small shield" (2 Chronicles 23:9; Jeremiah 46:3), is used in the description of the crocodile (see LEVIATHAN) for the horny scales or scutes imbedded in the skin, not imbricated upon it (Job 41:15 (Hebrew verse 7)).

(3) The Greek lepis, which in classical language has a much wider range of meaning than the above Hebrew words ("rind," "husk," "shell," "fish-scale," "scale of snake," "flake of metal and of snow," etc.), is found in the New Testament description of Paul's recovery from temporary blindness, "And straightway there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight" (Acts 9:18).

There is nothing in the words of the sacred text which compels us to think of literal scales. (In Tobit, however, a literal flaking-off of foreign substance is meant.) We have here rather a description of the sensation which terminated the three days' period of blindness which the apostle suffered after his meeting with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. The apostle himself does not use this expression in his own graphic description of the same experience: "In that very hour I looked upon him" (Acts 22:13). The phrase has, however, come into English, for we speak of "scales falling from one's eyes" when we mean a sudden illumination or remembrance or a dissipation of harassing doubt.

In Isaiah 40:12; the Revised Version (British and American) Proverbs 16:11 for peles, in the sense of "instrument for weighing."

See BALANCE.

H. L. E. Luering

Scall

skol (netheq; thrausma): This only occurs in Leviticus 13 and 14 where it is used 14 times to describe bald or scaly patches of eruption on the skin. Such patches are generally the result of the action of parasitic organisms. The common form known now as scalled head is produced by a microscopic plant, Achorion schoenleinii. In Old and Middle English, scall was used for scabbiness of the head (Chaucer and Spenser). See also Skeat, Concise Etymol. Dict. of English Language.

Scape-Goat

skap'-got.

See AZAZEL.

Scarlet

skar'-let.

See COLORS; DYEING.

Scarlet (Worm)

(tola`ath shani (Exodus 25:4, etc.)): Cermes vermilio, a scale insect from which a red dye is obtained.

See COLOR; DYEING; WORM.

Scattered Abroad

skat'-erd a-brod'.

See DISPERSION.

Scent

sent:

(1) In Hosea 14:7, "The scent (margin "his memorial") thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon." "Scent" is used for zekher (so Massoretic Text, but the pointing is uncertain), properly "memorial," whence the Revised Version margin. The English translation comes through the Septuagint which took z-k-r as "offering of sweet savor," and so "sweet savor." For the "wine of Lebanon" see WINE. If this translation is not right, the alternative is "memorial" in the sense of "renown."

(2) Job 14:9; Jeremiah 48:11 for reach, "odor." "Scent" of the water in Job 14:9 is poetic for "contact with."

(3) The Wisdom of Solomon 11:18 the King James Version has "filthy scents of scattered smoke," where "scent" is used in the obsolete sense of "disagreeable odor." The translation is, however, very loose, and "scents" is a gloss; the Revised Version (British and American) "noisome smoke."

Burton Scott Easton

Sceptre; Scepter

sep'-ter (shebheT, sharbhiT, expanded form in Esther 4:11; Esther 5:2; Esther 8:4; rhabdos (Additions to Esther 15:11; Hebrews 1:8), skeptros): A rod or mace used by a sovereign as a symbol of royal authority. The Hebrew shebheT is the ordinary word for rod or club, and is used of an ordinary rod (compare 2 Samuel 7:14), of the shepherd's crook (Psalms 23:4), scribe's baton or marshal's staff (Judges 5:14), as well as of the symbol of royalty. Its symbolism may be connected with the use of the shebheT for protection (2 Samuel 23:21; Psalms 23:4) or for punishment (Isaiah 10:24; Isaiah 30:31). It is used with reference to the royal line descended from Judah (Genesis 49:10), and figuratively of sovereignty in general and possibly of conquest (Numbers 24:17, in Israel; Isaiah 14:5, in Babylonia; Amos 1:5,Amos 1:8, in Syria, among Philistines; Zechariah 10:11, in Egypt), the disappearance or cutting off of him that holdeth the scepter being tantamount to loss of national independence. The kingship of Yahweh is spoken of as a scepter (Psalms 45:6 (Hebrew verse 7) quoted in Hebrews 1:8). The manner of using the scepter by an oriental monarch is suggested in the act of Ahasuerus, who holds it out to Esther as a mark of favor. The subject touches the top of it, perhaps simply as an act of homage or possibly to indicate a desire to be heard. The scepter of Ahasuerus is spoken of as "golden" (Esther 5:2), but it is probable that scepters were ordinarily made of straight branches (maTeh) of certain kinds of vines (Ezekiel 19:11,Ezekiel 19:14).

It is sometimes difficult to determine whether the word shebheT is used in figurative passages in the sense of scepter or merely in the ordinary sense of staff (e.g. Psalms 125:3, the King James Version "rod," the Revised Version (British and American) and the American Standard Revised Version "sceptre" (of the wicked); Psalms 2:9, "rod of iron"; Proverbs 22:8, "rod of his wrath"). Another word, mechoqeq, literally, "prescribing" (person or thing), formerly translated uniformly "lawgiver," is now generally taken, on the basis of parallelism, to mean "sceptre" in four poetic passages (Genesis 49:10, "ruler's staff" to avoid repetition; Numbers 21:18; Psalms 60:7; Psalms 108:8).

Nathan Isaacs

Sceva

se'-va (Skeua): A Jew, a chief priest, resident in Ephesus, whose seven sons were exorcists (Acts 19:14). Ewald regards the name as being Hebrew shekhabhyah. He was not an officiating priest, as there were only synagogues in Asia Minor. He may have belonged to a high-priestly family, or perhaps at one time he had been at the head of one of the 24 courses in the temple.

In the narrative the construction is loose. There were seven sons (Acts 19:14), and it would appear (Acts 19:16) that in this particular case all were present. But (Acts 19:16) the demon-possessed man over-powered "both of them." Textus Receptus of the New Testament gets over the difficulty by omitting "both," but Codices Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Bezae, so Tischendorf, Westcott and Hort, von Soden, and the best critics, retain the difficult reading. The explanation is that Acts 19:14 states the custom: "who did this" being hoi touto poiountes, "who used to do this." Acts 19:15 and 16 state a particular case in which two took part, but the incident is introduced in a careless manner.

Ewald would translate amphoteron as "in both sides," but this is impossible. Baur understood "disciples" for "sons." Codex Bezae and Syriac have an interesting expansion which Blass considers original (Acts 19:14): "Among whom also the sons (Syriac `seven') of a certain Sceva, a priest, wished to do the same, (who) were in the custom of exorcising such. And entering into the demon-possessed man they began to call upon the Name, saying, `We charge you by Jesus whom Paul preaches to come out.' "

S. F. Hunter