Schism – Sea, Western

Schism

siz'-m (schisma): Only in 1 Corinthians 12:25. The same Greek word, literally, "a split," is translated "rent" in Matthew 9:16; Mark 2:21; and "division" in John 7:43; John 9:16; John 10:19. It designates "a separation," not from, but within, the church, interfering with the harmonious coordination and cooperation of the members described in the preceding verses (1 Corinthians 12:18). The ecclesiastical meaning is that of a break from a church organization, that may or may not be connected with a doctrinal dissent.

School

skool (schole).

See TYRANNUS.

Schoolmaster

skool'-mas-ter: Galatians 3:24 f the King James Version reads: "The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." "Schoolmaster" is a translation of paidagogos, literally, "child-leader." This paidagagos was not a teacher but a slave, to whom in wealthy families the general oversight of a boy was committed. It was his duty to accompany his charge to and from school, never to lose sight of him in public, to prevent association with objectionable companions, to inculcate moral lessons at every opportunity, etc. He was a familiar figure in the streets, and the (sour) "face of paidagogos" and "to follow one like a paidagogos" were proverbial expressions. Naturally, to the average boy the paidagogos must have represented the incorporation of everything objectionable. Hence, Paul's figure may be paraphrased: "The law was a paidagogos, necessary but irksome, to direct us until the time of Christ. Then was the time of our spiritual coming-of-age, so that the control of the paidagogos ceased." The word paidagogos was taken over into Aramaic at an early date, and Paul's language; which is hardly that of a mere adult observer, suggests that he had had personal experience with the institution. Wealthy and intensely orthodox Jewish parents living in a Gentile city may well have adopted such a precaution for the protection of their children.

No English word renders paidagogos adequately. "Schoolmaster" is quite wrong, but Revised Version's "tutor" (compare 1 Corinthians 4:15) is little better in modern English.

Burton Scott Easton

Schools Of The Prophets

See EDUCATION; PROPHETS.

Science

si'-ens: This word as found in the King James Version means simply "knowledge." "Science" occurs in the King James Version only in two places, Daniel 1:4, "children .... understanding science" (yodhe`edha`ath, "those who understand science"). The meaning of the term here is "knowledge," "wisdom." The only other occurrence of "science" is in the New Testament (1 Timothy 6:20, "avoiding .... oppositions of science falsely so called," tes pseudonumou gnoseos, "the falsely called gnosis"). "Science" is the translation of the Greek gnosis, which in the New Testament is usually rendered "knowledge." The science here referred to was a higher knowledge of Christian and divine things, which false teachers alleged that they possessed, and of which they boasted. It was an incipient form of Gnosticism, and it prevailed to a considerable extent in the churches of proconsular Asia, e.g. in Colosse and Ephesus. Timothy is put on his guard against the teaching of this gnosis falsely so called, for it set itself in opposition to the gospel.

See GNOSTICISM.

"Science" in the modern sense of the word, as the discovery and orderly classification and exposition of the phenomena and of the laws of Nature, is not found either in the Old Testament or the New Testament unless the passage in Daniel be interpreted as meaning the scientific knowledge which the learned men of Babylon possessed of mathematics and astronomy, etc. See also Acts 7:22. To the Hebrew mind all natural phenomena meant the working of the hand of God in the world, directly and immediately, without the intervention of any secondary laws.

John Rutherfurd

Scimitar

sim'-i-tar, -ter (akindke): Formerly given as "fauchion" in the King James Version Judith 13:6; 16:9, the weapon which Judith took down from the rail of the bed at Holofernes' head, and with which she severed his head from his body.

Scoff; Scoffer

skof, skof'-er: The verb indicates the manifestation of contempt by insulting words or actions; it combines bitterness with ridicule. It is much more frequent in the Revised Version (British and American) than in the King James Version, replacing "scorn" of the latter in Psalms 1:1; Proverbs 1:22, etc. "Scorn" refers rather to an inner emotion based on a sense of superiority; "scoff," to the outward expression of this emotion.

Scorn

skorn: Fox Talbot connects this English word with the Danish skarn, "dirt," "ordure" "mud," "mire." As distinguished from such words as "mock," "deride," "scoff," all of which refer specifically to the various ways in which scorn finds outward expression, scorn itself denotes a subjective state or reaction.

Further, this state or reaction is not simple but complex. It includes a sense of superiority, resentment, and aversion. This reaction occurs when one is confronted with a person or a proposition that by challenging certain things for itself evokes a vivid sense of one's own superiority and awakens mingled resentment, repulsion and contempt by the hollowness of its claims and its intrinsic inferiority or worse. Scorn is a hotter, fiercer emotion than disdain or contempt. It is obvious that scorn may--indeed, it not uncommonly does--arise in connection with an not grounded, arrogant sense of self-esteem.

The word, outside of the phrase "laugh to scorn," is found only in the Old Testament, and then only 4 times (Esther 3:6; King James Version, Psalms 44:13; Psalms 79:4; Habakkuk 1:10), and it represents three different Hebrew words for none of which it is a suitable rendering. The two words "thought scorn" in Esther 3:6 represent but one in Hebrew, namely, bazah, for which "disdain" would be a nearer equivalent. In Habakkuk 1:10 (the King James Version) the word translated "scorn" is micchaq, "an object of laughter," "laughing-stock." In Psalms 44:13; Psalms 79:4 the Hebrew word is la`agh from a root, probably meaning "to stutter," "stammer," for which "mocking" is a better English equivalent. In the King James Version Job 34:7; Psalms 123:4, la`agh is rendered "scorning". (the rendering given in Proverbs 1:22 to latson, a word from a totally different root and one much more nearly approximating the fundamental idea of the English word "Scorn." In Proverbs 29:8 and Isaiah 28:14 latson is rendered "scornful").

As a verb the word is the translation given to la`agh, "to mock" (2 Kings 19:21 parallel Isaiah 37:22 Job 22:19; Nehemiah 2:19; Psalms 22:7, "all laugh to scorn"); qalas = "to scoff" (Ezekiel 16:31, margin "Greek: scoffeth," but text still "scorneth"); for the noun tsechoq, "laughter" (Ezekiel 23:32); sachaq = to laugh," "laugh at" (Job 39:7,Job 39:18; 2 Chronicles 30:10), with the noun sechoq, "laugh to scorn" (the Revised Version (British and American) "laughing-stock," Job 12:4); luts = "to scoff" (as used in ethical and religious connections) (Job 16:20; Proverbs 3:34; Proverbs 9:12, all "scoff" in the Revised Version (British and American)); in Proverbs 19:28 the Revised Version (British and American), not happily, "mock at." the Revised Version (British and American) is warranted in substituting "scoff" for "scorn" because the context indicates some form of outward expression of the scorn.

The Revised Version (British and American) always (except Job 12:4; Sirach 6:4; 1 Macc 10:70) retains "laugh to scorn" (2 Kings 19:21; 2 Chronicles 30:10; Nehemiah 2:19; Job 22:19; Psalms 22:7; Isaiah 37:22; Ezekiel 16:31; Ezekiel 23:32; Genesis 13:7; Genesis 20:17; Matthew 9:24; Mark 5:40; Luke 8:53). The verb in Apocrypha and the New Testament is usually katagelao, but in The Wisdom of Solomon 4:1 ekgelao; in Sirach 13:7 [@katamokomai; and in 2 Esdras 2:21 inrideo. In addition "scorn" is retained in Esther 3:6; Job 39:7,Job 39:18; /RAPC 2Es 8:56 (contemno). In Proverbs 19:28 "scorn" is changed to "mock at" but elsewhere invariably to "scoff."

Scorner is the translation of the participle of luts and once of the participle of latsats. For "scorner" the Revised Version (British and American) everywhere substitutes--properly--"scoffer." Outside of Proverbs (and Hosea 7:5) the word is to be found only in Psalms 1:2. The force of the word has been well indicated by Cheyne, who says that the "scorner (scoffer) is one who despises that which is holy and avoids the company of the noble `wise men,' but yet in his own vain way seeks for truth; his character is marked by arrogance as that of the wise is characterized by devout caution."

W. M. McPheeters

Scorpion

skor'-pi-un (aqrabh; compare Arabic aqrab, "scorpion"; ma`aleh `aqrabbim, "the ascent of Akrabbim"; skorpios. Note that the Greek and Hebrew may be akin; compare, omitting the vowels, `krb and skrp): In Deuteronomy 8:15, we have, "who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents (nachash saraph) and scorpions (`aqrabh)." Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:11,1 Kings 12:14; 2 Chronicles 10:11,2 Chronicles 10:14) says, "My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions." Ezekiel is told to prophesy to the children of Israel (2:6), and "Be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions." "The ascent of Akrabbim," the north end of Wadi-ul-`Arabah, South of the Dead Sea, is mentioned as a boundary 3 times (Numbers 34:4; Joshua 15:3; Judges 1:36). Jesus says to the Seventy (Luke 10:19), "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions," and again in Luke 11:12 He says, "Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion?"

Note that we have here three doublets, the loaf and the stone, the fish and the serpent, and the egg and the scorpion, whereas in the passage in Matthew (7:9 f) we have only the loaf and stone and the fish and serpent. Encyclopedia Biblica (s.v. "Scorpion") ingeniously seeks to bring Lu into nearer agreement with Matthew by omitting from Luke the second doublet, i.e. the fish and the serpent, instancing several texts as authority for the omission, and reading opson, "fish," for oon, "egg."

In Revelation 9:2–10 there come out of the smoke of the abyss winged creatures ("locusts," akrides) like war-horses with crowns of gold, with the faces of men, hair of women, teeth of lions, breastplates of iron, and with stinging tails like scorpions. In Ecclesiasticus 26:7 it is said of an evil wife, "He that taketh hold of her is as one that graspeth a scorpion." In 1 Macc 6:51 we find mention of "pieces [@skorpidia, diminutive of skorpios to cast darts." In Plutarch skorpios is used in the same sense (Liddell and Scott, under the word skorpios.

In the passage cited from Deuteronomy, and probably also in the name "ascent of Akrabbim," we find references to the abundance of scorpions, especially in the warmer parts of the country. Though there is a Greek proverb, "Look for a scorpion under every stone," few would agree with the categorical statement of Tristram (NHB) that "every third stone is sure to conceal one." Nevertheless, campers and people sleeping on the ground need to exercise care in order to avoid their stings, which, though often exceedingly painful for several hours, are seldom fatal.

Scorpions are not properly insects, but belong with spiders, mites and ticks to the Arachnidae. The scorpions of Palestine are usually 2 or 3 inches long. The short cephalothorax bears a powerful pair of jaws, two long limbs terminating with pincers, which make the creature look like a small crayfish or lobster, and four pairs of legs. The rest of the body consists of the abdomen, a broad part continuous with the cephalothorax, and a slender part forming the long tail which terminates with the sting. The tail is usually carried curved over the back and is used for stinging; the prey into insensibility. Scorpions feed mostly on insects for which they lie in wait. The scorpion family is remarkable for having existed with very little change from the Silurian age to the present time.

It does not seem necessary to consider that the words of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:11, etc.) refer to a whip that was called a scorpion, but rather that as the sting of a scorpion is worse than the lash of a whip, so his treatment would be harsher than his father's.

Alfred Ely Day

Scorpions, Chastising With

skor'-pi-unz.

See PUNISHMENTS 3, (17); SCORPION.

Scourge; Scourging

skurj, skur'-jing (@mastix], mastigoo; in Acts 22:25 mastizo, in Mark 15:15 parallel Matthew 27:26 phragelloo): A Roman implement for severe bodily punishment. Horace calls it horribile flagellum. It consisted of a handle, to which several cords or leather thongs were affixed, which were weighted with jagged pieces of bone or metal, to make the blow more painful and effective. It is comparable, in its horrid effects, only with the Russian knout. The victim was tied to a post (Acts 22:25) and the blows were applied to the back and loins, sometimes even, in the wanton cruelty of the executioner, to the face and the bowels. In the tense position of the body, the effect can easily be imagined. So hideous was the punishment that the victim usually fainted and not rarely died under it. Eusebius draws a horribly realistic picture of the torture of scourging (Historia Ecclesiastica, IV, 15). By its application secrets and confessions were wrung from the victim (Acts 22:24). It usually preceded capital punishment (Livy xxxiii.36). It was illegal to apply the flagallum to a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25), since the Porcian and Sempronian laws, 248 and 123 BC, although these laws were not rarely broken in the provinces (Tac. Hist. iv.27; Cic. Verr. v.6, 62; Josephus, BJ, II, xiv, 9). As among the Russians today, the number of blows was not usually fixed, the severity of the punishment depending entirely on the commanding officer. In the punishment of Jesus, we are reminded of the words of Psalms 129:3. Among the Jews the punishment of flagellation was well known since the Egyptian days, as the monuments abundantly testify. The word "scourge" is used in Leviticus 19:20, but the American Standard Revised Version translates "punished," the original word biqqoreth expressing the idea of investigation. Deuteronomy 25:3 fixed the mode of a Jewish flogging and limits the number of blows to 40. Apparently the flogging was administered by a rod. The Syrians reintroduced true scourging into Jewish life, when Antiochus Epiphanes forced them by means of it to eat swine's flesh (2 Macc 6:30; 7:1). Later it was legalized by Jewish law and became customary (Matthew 10:17; Matthew 23:34; Acts 22:19; Acts 26:11), but the traditional limitation of the number of blows was still preserved. Says Paul in his "foolish boasting": "in stripes above measure," "of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one," distinguishing it from the "beatings with rods," thrice repeated (2 Corinthians 11:23–25).

The other Old Testament references (Job 5:21; Job 9:23; Isaiah 10:26; Isaiah 28:15,Isaiah 28:18 shot; Joshua 23:13 shotet) are figurative for "affliction." Notice the curious mixture of metaphors in the phrase "over-flowing scourge" (Isaiah 28:15–18).

Henry E. Dosker

Scrabble

skrab'-l: Occurs only in 1 Samuel 21:13, as the translation of tawah: "David .... feigned himself mad and scrabbled on the doors of the gate." "To scrabble" (modern English "scrawl") is here to make unmeaning marks; tawah means "to make a mark" from taw, "a mark," especially as a cross (Ezekiel 9:4), a signature (Job 31:35, see the Revised Version (British and American)), the name of the Hebrew letter taw ("t") originally made in the form of a cross; the Revised Version margin has "made marks"; but Septuagint has tumpanizo, "to beat as a drum," which the Vulgate, Ewald, Driver and others follow ("beat upon" or "drummed on the doors of the city," which seems more probable).

Screech Owl

skrech.

See NIGHT-MONSTER.

Scribes

skribz: The existence of law leads necessarily to a profession whose business is the study and knowledge of the law; at any rate, if the law is extensive and complicated. At the time of Ezra and probably for some time after, this was chiefly the business of the priests. Ezra was both priest and scholar (copher). It was chiefly in the interest of the priestly cult that the most important part of the Pentateuch was written. The priests were therefore also in the first instance the scholars and the guardians of the Law; but in the course of time this was changed. The more highly esteemed the Law became in the eyes of the people, the more its study and interpretation became a lifework by itself, and thus there developed a class of scholars who, though not priests, devoted themselves assiduously to the Law. These became known as the scribes, that is, the professional students of the Law. During the Hellenistic period, the priests, especially those of the upper class, became tainted with the Hellenism of the age and frequently turned their attention to paganistic culture, thus neglecting the Law of their fathers more or less and arousing the scribes to opposition. Thus, the scribes and not the priests were now the zealous defenders of the Law, and hence, were the true teachers of the people. At the time of Christ, this distinction was complete. The scribes formed a solid profession which held undisputed sway over the thought of the people. In the New Testament they are usually called (grammateis), i.e. "students of the Scriptures," "scholars," corresponding to the Hebrew (copherim) = homines literati, those who make a profession of literary studies, which, in this case, of course, meant chiefly the Law. Besides this general designation, we also find the specific word (nomikoi), i.e. "students of the Law," "lawyers" (Matthew 22:35; Luke 7:30; Luke 10:25; Luke 11:45,Luke 11:52; Luke 14:3); and in so far as they not only know the Law but also teach it they are called (nomodidaskaloi), "doctors of the Law" (Luke 5:17; Acts 5:34).

The extraordinary honors bestowed on these scholars on the part of the people are expressed in their honorary titles. Most common was the appellative "rabbi" = "my lord" (Matthew 23:7 and otherwise). This word of polite address gradually became a title. The word "rabboni" (Mark 10:51; John 20:16) is an extensive form, and was employed by the disciples to give expression to their veneration of Christ. In the Greek New Testament "rabbi" is translated as (kurie) (Matthew 8:2,Matthew 8:6,Matthew 8:8,Matthew 8:21,Matthew 8:25 and otherwise), or (didaskale) (Matthew 8:19 and otherwise), in Luke by (epistata) (Luke 5:5; Luke 8:24,Luke 8:45; Luke 9:33,Luke 9:19; Luke 17:13). Besides these, we find (pater), "father," and (kathegetes), "teacher" (Matthew 23:9 f).

From their students the rabbis demanded honors even surpassing those bestowed on parents. "Let the honor of thy friend border on the honor of thy teacher, and the honor of thy teacher on the fear of God" ('Abhoth 4 12). "The honor of thy teacher must surpass the honor bestowed on thy father; for son and father are both in duty bound to honor the teacher" (Kerithoth 6 9). Everywhere the rabbis demanded the position of first rank (Matthew 23:6 Mark 12:38 Luke 11:43; Luke 20:46). Their dress equaled that of the nobility. They wore (stolai), "tunics," and these were the mark of the upper class.

Since the scribes were lawyers (see LAWYER), much of their time was occupied in teaching and in judicial functions, and both these activities must be pursued gratuitously. Rabbi Zadok said: "Make the knowledge of the Law neither a crown in which to glory nor a spade with which to dig." Hillel used to say: "He who employs the crown (of the Law) for external purposes shall dwindle." That the judge should not receive presents or bribes was written in the Law (Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19); hence, the Mishna said: "If anyone accept pay for rendering judgment, his judgment is null and void." The rabbis were therefore obliged to make their living by other means. Some undoubtedly had inherited wealth; others pursued a handicraft besides their study of the Law. Rabbi Gamaliel II emphatically advised the pursuit of a business in addition to the pursuit of the Law. It is well known that the apostle Paul kept up his handicraft even after he had become a preacher of the gospel (Acts 18:3; Acts 20:34; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 1 Corinthians 9:6; 2 Corinthians 11:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:8), and the same is reported of many rabbis. But in every instance the pursuit of the Law is represented as the worthier, and warning is given not to overestimate the value of the ordinary avocation. It was a saying of Hillel: "He that devotes himself to trade will not become wise." The principle of gratuity was probably carried out in practice only in connection with the judicial activity of the scribes; hardly in connection with their work as teachers. Even the Gospels, in spite of the admonition that the disciples should give without pay because they had received without pay (Matthew 10:8), nevertheless also state that the workman is worthy of his hire (Matthew 10:10; Luke 10:7); and Paul (1 Corinthians 9:14) states it as his just due that he receive his livelihood from those to whom he preaches the gospel, even though he makes use of this right only in exceptional cases (1 Corinthians 9:3–18; 2 Corinthians 11:8,2 Corinthians 11:9; Galatians 6:6; Philippians 4:10,Philippians 4:18). Since this appears to have been the thought of the times, we are undoubtedly justified in assuming that the Jewish teachers of the Law also demanded pay for their services. Indeed, the admonitions above referred to, not to make instruction in the Law the object of self-interest, lead to the conclusion that gratuity was not the rule; and in Christ's philippics against the scribes and Pharisees He makes special mention of their greed (Mark 12:40; Luke 16:14; Luke 20:47). Hence, even though they ostensibly gave instruction in the Law gratuitously, they must have practiced methods by which they indirectly secured their fees.

Naturally the place of chief influence for the scribes up to the year 70 AD was Judea. But not only there were they to be found. Wherever the zeal for the law of the fathers was a perceptible force, they were indispensable; hence, we find them also in Galilee (Luke 5:17) and in the Diaspora. In the Jewish epitaphs in Rome, dating from the latter days of the empire, grammateis are frequently mentioned; and the Babylonian scribes of the 5th and 6th centuries were the authors of the most monumental work of rabbinical Judaism--the Talmud.

Since the separation of the Pharisaic and the Sadducean tendencies in Judaism, the scribes generally belonged to the Pharisaic class; for this latter is none other than the party which recognized the interpretations or "traditions" which the scribes in the course of time had developed out of the body of the written Law and enforced upon the people as the binding rule of life. Since, however, "scribes" are merely "students of the Law," there must also have been scribes of the Sadducee type; for it is not to be imagined that this party, which recognized only the written Law as binding, should not have had some opposing students in the other class. Indeed, various passages of the New Testament which speak of the "scribes of the Pharisees" (Mark 2:16; Luke 5:30; Acts 23:9) indicate that there were also "scribes of the Sadducees."

Under the reign and leadership of the scribes, it became the ambition of every Israelite to know more or less of the Law. The aim of education in family, school and synagogue was to make the entire people a people of the Law. Even the common laborer should know what was written in the Law; and not only know it, but also do it. His entire life should be governed according to the norm of the Law, and, on the whole, this purpose was realized in a high degree. Josephus avers: "Even though we be robbed of our riches and our cities and our other goods, the Law remains our possession forever. And no Jew can be so far removed from the and of his fathers nor will he fear a hostile commander to such a degree that he would not fear his Law more than his commander." So loyal were the majority of the Jews toward their Law that they would gladly endure the tortures of the rack and even death for it. This frame of mind was due almost wholly to the systematic and persistent instruction of the scribes.

The motive underlying this enthusiasm for the Law was the belief in divine retribution in the strictest judicial sense. The prophetic idea of a covenant which God had made with His select people was interpreted purely in the judicial sense. The covenant was a contract through which both parties were mutually bound. The people are bound to observe the divine Law literally and conscientiously; and, in return for this, God is in duty bound to render the promised reward in proportion to the services rendered. This applies to the people as a whole as well as to the individual. Services and reward must always stand in mutual relation to each other. He who renders great services may expect from the justice of God that he will receive great returns as his portion, while, on the other hand, every transgression also must be followed by its corresponding punishment.

The results corresponded to the motives. Just as the motives in the main were superficial, so the results were an exceedingly shallow view of religious and moral life. Religion was reduced to legal formalism. All religious and moral life was dragged down to the level of law, and this must necessarily lead to the following results:

(1) The individual is governed by a norm, the application of which could have only evil results when applied in this realm. Law has the purpose of regulating the relations of men to each other according to certain standards. Its object is not the individual, but only the body of society. In the law, the individual must find the proper rule for his conduct toward society as an organism. This is a matter of obligation and of government on the part of society. But religion is not a matter of government; where it is found, it is a matter of freedom, of choice, and of conduct.

(2) By reducing the practice of religion to the form of law, all acts are placed on a paragraph with each other. The motives are no longer taken into consideration, but only the deed itself.

(3) From this it follows that the highest ethical attainment was the formal satisfaction of the Law, which naturally led to finical literalism.

(4) Finally, moral life must, under such circumstances, lose its unity and be split up into manifold precepts and duties. Law always affords opportunity for casuistry, and it was the development of this in the guidance of the Jewish religious life through the "precepts of the elders" which called forth Christ's repeated denunciation of the work of the scribes.

Frank E. Hirsch

Scrip

skrip: A word connected with "scrap," and meaning a "bag," either as made from a "scrap" (of skin) or as holding "scraps" (of food, etc.). the King James Version has "scrip" in 1 Samuel 17:40 and 6 times in New Testament; the English Revised Version has "wallet" in the New Testament, but retains "script" in 1 Samuel 17:40; the American Standard Revised Version has "wallet" throughout.

See BAG.

Scripture

skrip'-tur (he graphe, plural hai graphai): The word means "writing." In the Old Testament it occurs in the King James Version only once, "the scripture of truth," in Daniel 10:21, where it is more correctly rendered in the Revised Version (British and American), "the writing of truth." The reference is not to Holy Scripture, but to the book in which are inscribed God's purposes. In the New Testament, "scripture" and "scriptures" stand regularly for the Old Testament sacred books regarded as "inspired" (2 Timothy 3:16), "the oracles of God" (Romans 3:2). Compare on this usage Matthew 21:42; Matthew 22:29; Mark 12:10; Luke 4:21; Luke 24:27,Luke 24:32,Luke 24:45; John 5:39; John 10:35; Acts 8:32; Acts 17:2,Acts 17:11; Romans 15:4; Romans 16:26, etc.; in Romans 1:2, "holy scriptures." See BIBLE. The expression "holy scriptures" in 2 Timothy 3:15 the King James Version represents different words (hiera grammata) and is properly rendered in the Revised Version (British and American) "sacred writings." In 2 Peter 3:16, the term "scriptures" is extended to the Eppistle of Paul. In James 4:5, the words occur: "Think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?" The passage is probably rather a summary of Scripture teaching than intended as a direct quotation. Others (e.g. Westcott) think the word is used in a wide sense of a Christian hymn.

James Orr

Scriptures, Search The

skrip'-turz.

See SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.

Scroll

skrol.

See ROLL.

Scum

skum (chel'ah; Septuagint ios, "poison" or "verdigris"; compare Plato Rep. 609a): The word is only found in Ezekiel 24:6,Ezekiel 24:11,Ezekiel 24:12, where the Revised Version (British and American) translates it "rust." The fact, however, that the caldron is of brass and therefore not liable to rust, and the astonishment expressed that the fire did not remove it (24:12), would seem to point to the preferability of the translation "scum," the residue of dirt adhering to the caldron from previous use.

Scurvy

The name "Gareb" is used in Jeremiah 31:39 as the placename of a hill at or near the southeastern corner of Jerusalem, probably from the bare roughness of the surface of its slope at the southern end of the Wady er-Rababi. Another hill of this name is mentioned near Shiloh in the Talmud, and the name is given to one of David's warriors (2 Samuel 23:38).

Scurvy etymologically means any condition of scaliness of skin which can be scraped off, such as dandruff.

Alexander Macalister

Scythians

sith'-i-anz (hoi Skuthai): The word does not occur in the Hebrew of the Old Testament, but Septuagint of Judges 1:27 inserts (Skuthon polis (Scythopolis), in explanation, as being the same as Beth-shean. The same occurs in Apocrypha (Judith 3:10; 1 Macc 12:29), and the Scythians as a people in 2 Macc 4:47, and the adjective in 3 Macc 7:5. The people are also mentioned in the New Testament (Colossians 3:11), where, as in Maccabees, the fact that they were barbarians is implied. This is clearly set forth in classical writers, and the description of them given by Herodotus in book iv of his history represents a race of savages, inhabiting a region of rather indefinite boundaries, north of the Black and Caspian seas and the Caucasus Mountains. They were nomads who neither plowed nor sowed (iv.19), moving about in wagons and carrying their dwellings with them (ibid. 46); they had the most filthy habits and never washed in water (ibid. 75); they drank the blood of the first enemy killed in battle, and made napkins of the scalps and drinking bowls of the skulls of the slain (ibid. 64-65). Their deities were many of them identified with those of the Greeks, but the most characteristic rite was the worship of the naked sword (ibid. 62), and they sacrificed every hundredth man taken in war to this deity. War was their chief business, and they were a terrible scourge to the nations of Western Asia. They broke through the barrier of the Caucasus in 632 BC and swept down like a swarm of locusts upon Media and Assyria, turning the fruitful fields into a desert; pushing across Mesopotamia, they ravaged Syria and were about to invade Egypt when Psammitichus I, who was besieging Ashdod, bought them off by rich gifts, but they remained in Western Asia for 28 years, according to Herodotus. It is supposed that a company of them settled in Beth-shean, and from this circumstance it received the name Scythopolis. Various branches of the race appeared at different times, among the most noted of which were the PARTHIANS (which see).

H. Porter

Scythopolis

si-thop'-o-lis, si-thop'-o-lis.

See BETH-SHEAN.

Sea

se (yam; thalassa; in Acts 27:5 pelagos): The Mediterranean is called ha-yam ha-gadhol, "the great sea" (Numbers 34:6; Joshua 1:4; Ezekiel 47:10, etc.); ha-yam ha-'acharon, "the hinder," or "western sea" (Deuteronomy 11:24; Deuteronomy 34:2; Joel 2:20; Zechariah 14:8); yam pelishtim, "the sea of the Philis" (Exodus 23:31); the King James Version translates yam yapho' in Ezra 3:7 by "sea of Joppa," perhaps rightly.

The Dead Sea is called yam ha-melach, "the Salt Sea" (Numbers 34:3; Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 3:16, etc.); ha-yam ha-qadhmoni, "the east sea" (Ezekiel 47:18; Joel 2:20; Zechariah 14:8); yam ha-`arabhah,"the sea of the Arabah" (Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 3:16; Joshua 12:3; 2 Kings 14:25).

The Red Sea is called yam cuph, literally, "sea of weeds" (Exodus 10:19; Numbers 14:25; Deuteronomy 1:1; Joshua 2:10; Judges 11:16; 1 Kings 9:26; Nehemiah 9:9; Psalms 106:7; Jeremiah 49:21, etc.); (eruthra thalassa), literally, "red sea" (The Wisdom of Solomon 19:7; Acts 7:36; Hebrews 11:29); yam mitsrayim, "the Egyptian sea" (Isaiah 11:15).

Yam is used of the Nile in Nahum 3:8 and probably also in Isaiah 19:5, as in modern Arabic bachr, "sea," is used of the Nile and its affluents. Yam is often used for "west" or "westward," as "look from the place where thou art, .... westward" (Genesis 13:14); "western border" (Numbers 34:6). Yam is used for "sea" in general (Exodus 20:11); also for "molten sea" of the temple (1 Kings 7:23).

The Sea of Galilee is called kinnereth, "Chinnereth" (Numbers 34:11); kinaroth, "Chinneroth" (Joshua 11:2); kinneroth, "Chinneroth" (1 Kings 15:20); yam kinnereth, "the sea of Chinnereth" (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 13:27); yam kinneroth, "the sea of Chinneroth (Joshua 12:3); (he limne Gennesaret), "the lake of Gennesaret" (Luke 5:1); and (to hudor Gennesar), "the water of Gennesar" (1 Macc 11:67), from late Hebrew ginecar, or (genecar; he thalassa tes Galilaias), "the sea of Galilee" (Matthew 4:18; Matthew 15:29; Mark 1:16; Mark 7:31; John 6:1); (he thalassa tes Tiberiados), "the sea of Tiberias" (John 21:1; compare John 6:1).

In Jeremiah 48:32 we have yam ya`zer, "the sea of Jazer." Jazer is a site East of the Jordan, not satisfactorily identified (Numbers 21:32; Numbers 32:1,Numbers 32:3,Numbers 32:15; Joshua 13:25; Joshua 21:39; 2 Samuel 24:5; 1 Chronicles 6:81; 1 Chronicles 26:31; Isaiah 16:8,Isaiah 16:9).

See SEA OF JAZER.

In midhbar yam, "the wilderness of the sea" (Isaiah 21:1), there may perhaps be a reference to the Persian Gulf.

Alfred Ely Day

Sea Of Chinnereth

kin'-e-reth.

See GALILEE, SEA OF.

Sea Of Galilee

See GALILEE, SEA OF.

Sea Of Glass

See GLASS, SEA OF.

Sea Of Jazer

(yam ya`zer): This is a scribal error (Jeremiah 48:32), yam ("sea") being accidentally imported from the preceding clause.

See JAZER; SEA.

Sea Of Joppa

See MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

Sea Of Lot

See DEAD SEA; LAKE.

Sea Of Sodom (Sodomitish

sod-om-it'-ish).

See DEAD SEA.

Sea Of The Arabah

See DEAD SEA.

Sea Of The Philistines

See MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

Sea Of The Plain (Arabah)

ar'-a-ba).

See DEAD SEA.

Sea Of Tiberias

ti-be'-ri-as.

See GALILEE, SEA OF.

Sea, Adriatic

a-dri-at'-ic, ad-ri-at'-ik.

See ADRIA.

Sea, Brazen

bra'-z'n.

See SEA, THE MOLTEN.

Sea, Dead; Eastern

es'-tern.

See DEAD SEA.

Sea, Former

for'-mer.

See DEAD SEA; FORMER.

Sea, Hinder; Utmost; Uttermost; Western

hin'-der; ut'-most; ut'-er-most; wes'-tern.

See MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

Sea, Mediterranean

See MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

Sea, Red

See RED SEA.

Sea, Salt

See DEAD SEA.

Sea, The

See MEDITERRANEAN SEA; SEA, THE GREAT.

Sea, The Great

(ha-yam ha-gadhol):

1. Names of the Sea:

This is the name given to the Mediterranean, which formed the western boundary of Palestine (Numbers 34:6 Joshua 15:12,Joshua 15:47; Ezekiel 47:19 Ezekiel 48:28). It is also called "the hinder sea" (Hebrew ha-yam ha-'aharon), i.e. the western sea (Deuteronomy 11:24; Deuteronomy 34:2;, Joel 2:20; Zechariah 14:8), and "the sea of the Philis" (Exodus 23:31), which, of course, applies especially to the part washing the shore of Philistia, from Jaffa southward. Generally, when the word "sea" is used, and no other is definitely indicated, the Mediterranean is intended (Genesis 49:13; Numbers 13:29, etc.). It was the largest sheet of water with which the Hebrews had any acquaintance. Its gleaming mirror, stretching away to the sunset, could be seen from many an inland height.

2. Israel and the Sea:

It bulked large in the minds of the landsmen--for Israel produced few mariners--impressing itself upon their speech, so that "seaward" was the common term for "westward" (Exodus 26:22; Joshua 5:1, etc.). Its mystery and wonder, the raging of the storm, and the sound of "sorrow on the sea," borne to their upland ears, infected them with a strange dread of its wide waters, to which the seer of Patmos gave the last Scriptural expression in his vision of the new earth, where "the sea is no more" (Revelation 21:1).

3. The Coast Line:

Along the coast lay the tribal territories assigned to Asher, Zebulun, Manasseh, Da and Judah. Many of the cities along the shore they failed to possess, however, and much of the land. The coast line offered little facility for the making of harbors. The one seaport of which in ancient times the Hebrews seem to have made much use was Joppa--the modern Jaffa (2 Chronicles 2:16, etc.). From this place, probably, argosies of Solomon turned their prows westward. Here, at least, "ships of Tarshish" were wont to set out upon their adventurous voyages (Jonah 1:3). The ships on this sea figure in the beautiful vision of Isaiah (60:8 f).

See ACCO; JOPPA.

4. The Sea in the New Testament:

The boy Jesus, from the heights above Nazareth, must often have looked on the waters of the great sea, as they broke in foam on the curving shore, from the roots of Carmel to the point at Acre. Once only in His journeyings, so far as we know, did He approach the sea, namely on His ever-memorable visit to the "borders of Tyre and Sidon" (Matthew 15:21; Mark 7:24). The sea, in all its moods, was well known to the great apostle of the Gentiles. The three shipwrecks, which he suffered (2 Corinthians 11:25), were doubtless due to the power of its angry billows over the frail craft of those old days.

See PAUL.

5. Debt of Palestine to the Sea:

The land owes much to the great sea. During the hot months of summer, a soft breeze from the water springs up at dawn, fanning all the seaward face of the Central Range. At sunset the chilled air slips down the slopes and the higher strata drift toward the uplands, charged with priceless moisture, giving rise to the refreshing dews which make the Palestinian morning so sweet.

See, further, MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

W. Ewing

Sea, The Molten; Sea, The Brazen

mol'-t'n, or (yam mutsaq, yam hanechosheth): This was a large brazen (bronze) reservoir for water which stood in the court of Solomon's Temple between the altar and the temple porch, toward the South (1 Kings 7:23–26; 2 Chronicles 4:2–5,2 Chronicles 4:10). The bronze from which it was made is stated in 1 Chronicles 18:8 to have been taken by David from the cities Tibhath and Cun. It replaced the laver of the tabernacle, and, like that, was used for storing the water in which the priests washed their hands and their feet (compare Exodus 30:18; Exodus 38:8). It rested on 12 brazen (bronze) oxen, facing in four groups the four quarters of heaven. For particulars of shape, size and ornamentation, see TEMPLE. The "sea" served its purpose till the time of Ahaz, who took away the brazen oxen, and placed, the sea upon a pavement (2 Kings 16:17). It is recorded that the oxen were afterward taken to Babylon (Jeremiah 52:20). The sea itself shared the same fate, being first broken to pieces (2 Kings 25:13,2 Kings 25:16).

W. Shaw Caldecott

Sea, Western

wes'-tern.

See MEDITERRANEAN SEA.