expressed by a word which signifies worm colour, was produced from a
worm or insect which grew in a coccus, or excrescence of a shrub of the
ilex kind, which Pliny calls “coccus scolecius,” the wormy berry, and
Dioscorides terms “a small dry twig, to which the grains adhere like
lentiles:” but these grains, as a great author observes on Solinus, “are
within full of little worms or maggots, whose juice is remarkable for
dying scarlet, and making that famous colour which we admire, and with
which the ancients were enraptured.” We retain the name in the
cochineal, from the opuntia of America; but we improperly call a mineral
colour “vermilion,” which is derived from _vermiculus_, a little worm.
The shrub on which the cochineal insect is found is sometimes called the
“kermez oak,” from _kermez_, the Arabic word both for the worm and the
colour; whence “carmasinus,” the French “cramoisi,” and the English
“crimson.”
SCEPTRE, a word derived from the Greek, properly signifies, a rod of
command, a staff of authority, which is supposed to be in the hands of
kings, governors of a province, or of the chief of a people, Gen. xlix,
10; Numb. xxiv, 17; Isa. xiv, 5. The sceptre is put for the rod of
correction, and for the sovereign authority that punishes and humbles,
Psalm ii, 9; Prov. xxii, 15. The term sceptre is frequently used for a
tribe, probably because the prince of each tribe carried a sceptre, or a
wand of command, to show his dignity.
SCEVA, a Jew, and chief of the priests, Acts xix, 14, 15, 16. He was
probably a person of authority in the synagogue at Ephesus, and had
seven sons.
SCHISM, from σχίσμα, a rent or fissure. In its general meaning, it
signifies division or separation; and in particular, on account of
religion. Schism, is properly a division among those who stand in one
connection or fellowship; but when the difference is carried so far that
the parties concerned entirely break off all communion and intercourse
one with another, and form distinct connections for obtaining the
general ends of that religious fellowship which they once cultivated; it
is undeniable there is something different from the schism spoken of in
the New Testament. This is a separation from the body. Dr. Campbell
shows that the word schism in Scripture does not usually signify an open
separation, but that men may be guilty of schism by such an alienation
of affection from their brethren as violates the internal union in the
hearts of Christians, though there be no error in doctrine, nor
separation from communion.
SCORPION, עקרב, Deut. viii, 15; 1 Kings xii, 11, 14; 2 Chron. x, 11, 14;
Ezek. ii, 6, σκορϖίος, Luke x, 19; xi, 12; Rev. ix, 3; Ecclus. xxvi, 7;
xxxix, 30. Parkhurst derives the name from עק, to _press_, _squeeze_,
and רב, _much_, _greatly_, or קרב, _near_, _close_. Calmet remarks, that
“it fixes so violently on such persons as it seizes upon, that it cannot
be plucked off without difficulty;” and Martinius declares: _Habent
scorpii forfices seu furcas tanquam brachia, quibus retinent quod
apprehendunt, postquam caudæ aculeo punxerunt_: “Scorpions have pincers
or nippers, with which they keep hold of what they seize after they have
wounded it with their sting.”
The scorpion, _el-akerb_, is generally two inches in length, and
resembles so much the lobster in form, that the latter is called by the
Arabs _akerb d’elbahar_, the “sea scorpion.” It has several joints or
divisions in its tail, which are supposed to be indicative of its age;
thus, if it have five, it is considered to be five years old. The poison
of this animal is in its tail, at the end of which is a small, curved,
sharp-pointed sting, similar to the prickle of a buckthorn tree; the
curve being downward, it turns its tail upward when it strikes a blow.
The scorpion delights in stony places and in old ruins. Some are of a
yellow colour, others brown, and some black. The yellow possess the
strongest poison, but the venom of each affects the part wounded, with
frigidity, which takes place soon after the sting has been inflicted.
Dioscorides thus describes the effect produced: “Where the scorpion has
stung, the place becomes inflamed and hardened; it reddens by tension,
and is painful by intervals, being now chilly, now burning. The pain
soon rises high, and rages, sometimes more, sometimes less. A sweating
succeeds, attended by a shivering and trembling; the extremities of the
body become cold; the groin swells; the hair stands on end; the visage
becomes pale; and the skin feels, throughout it, the sensation of
perpetual prickling, as if by needles.” This description strikingly
illustrates Revelation ix, 3–5, 10, in its mention of “the torment of a
scorpion, when he striketh a man.”
Some writers consider the scorpion as a species of serpent, because the
poison of it is equally powerful: so the sacred writers commonly join
the scorpion and serpent together in their descriptions. Thus Moses, in
his farewell address to Israel, Deut. viii, 15, reminds them, that God
“led them through the great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery
serpents and scorpions.” We find them again united in the commission of
our Lord to his disciples, Luke x, 19, “I give you power to tread upon
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy;” and in his
directions concerning the duty of prayer, Luke xi, 11, 12, “If a son
shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a
stone? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?”
The scorpion is contrasted with an _egg_, on account of the oval shape
of its body. The body of the scorpion, says Lamy, is very like an egg,
as its head can scarcely be distinguished; especially if it be a
scorpion of the white kind, which is the first species mentioned by
Ælian, Avicenna, and others. Bochart has produced testimonies to prove
that the scorpions in Judea were about the bigness of an egg. So the
similitude is preserved between the thing asked and given. The Greeks
have a proverb, ἀντὶ ϖέρκης σκορπίον, _instead of a perch_, or fish, _a
scorpion_.
SCOURGE or WHIP. This punishment was very common among the Jews, Deut.
xxv, 1–3. There were two ways of giving the lash; one with thongs, or
whips, made of ropes’ ends, or straps of leather; the other with rods,
or twigs. St. Paul informs us, that at five different times he received
thirty-nine stripes from the Jews, 2 Cor. xi, 24, namely, in their
synagogues, and before their courts of judgment. For, according to the
law, punishment by stripes was restricted to forty at one beating, Deut.
xxv, 3. But the whip, with which these stripes were given, consisting of
three separate cords, and each stroke being accounted as three stripes,
thirteen strokes made thirty-nine stripes, beyond which they never went.
He adds, that he had been thrice beaten with rods, namely, by the Roman
lictors, or beadles, at the command of the superior magistrates.
SCRIBES. The scribes are mentioned very early in the sacred history, and
many authors suppose that they were of two descriptions, the one
ecclesiastical, the other civil. It is said, “Out of Zebulon come they
that handle the pen of the writer,” Judges v, 14; and the rabbins state,
that the scribes were chiefly of the tribe of Simeon; but it is thought
that only those of the tribe of Levi were allowed to transcribe the Holy
Scriptures. These scribes are very frequently called wise men, and
counsellors; and those of them who were remarkable for writing well were
held in great esteem. In the reign of David, Seraiah, 2 Sam. viii, 17,
in the reign of Hezekiah, Shebna, 2 Kings xviii, 18, and in the reign of
Josiah, Shaphan, 2 Kings xxii, 3, are called scribes, and are ranked
with the chief officers of the kingdom; and Elishama the scribe, Jer.
xxxvi, 12, in the reign of Jehoiakim, is mentioned among the princes. We
read also of the “principal scribe of the host,” or army, Jer. lii, 25;
and it is probable that there were scribes in other departments of the
state. Previous to the Babylonian captivity, the word scribe seems to
have been applied to any person who was concerned in writing, in the
same manner as the word secretary is with us. The civil scribes are not
mentioned in the New Testament.
It appears that the office of the ecclesiastical scribes, if this
distinction be allowed, was originally confined to writing copies of the
law, as their name imports; but the knowledge, thus necessarily
acquired, soon led them to become instructers of the people in the
written law, which, it is believed, they publicly read. Baruch was an
amanuensis or scribe to Jeremiah; and Ezra is called “a ready scribe in
the law of Moses, having prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord,
and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments,” Ezra vii,
6, 10; but there is no mention of the scribes being formed into a
distinct body of men till after the cessation of prophecy. When,
however, there were no inspired teachers in Israel, no divine oracle in
the temple, the scribes presumed to interpret, expound, and comment upon
the law and the prophets in the schools and in the synagogues. Hence
arose those numberless glosses, and interpretations, and opinions, which
so much perplexed and perverted the text instead of explaining it; and
hence arose that unauthorized maxim, which was the principal source of
all the Jewish sects, that the oral or traditionary law was of Divine
origin, as well as the written law of Moses. Ezra had examined the
various traditions concerning the ancient and approved usages of the
Jewish church, which had been in practice before the captivity, and were
remembered by the chief and most aged of the elders of the people; and
he had given to some of these traditionary customs and opinions the
sanction of his authority. The scribes, therefore, who lived after the
time of Simon the Just, in order to give weight to their various
interpretations of the law, at first pretended that they also were
founded upon tradition, and added them to the opinions which Ezra had
established as authentic; and in process of time it came to be asserted,
that when Moses was forty days on Mount Sinai, he received from God two
laws, the one in writing, the other oral; that this oral law was
communicated by Moses to Aaron and Joshua, and that it passed unimpaired
and uncorrupted from generation to generation, by the tradition of the
elders, or great national council, established in the time of Moses; and
that this oral law was to be considered as supplemental and explanatory
of the written law, which was represented as being in many places
obscure, scanty, and defective. In some cases they were led to expound
the law by the traditions, in direct opposition to its true intent and
meaning; and it may be supposed that the intercourse of the Jews with
the Greeks, after the death of Alexander, contributed much to increase
those vain subtleties with which they had perplexed and burdened the
doctrines of religion. During our Saviour’s ministry, the scribes were
those who made the law of Moses their particular study, and who were
employed in instructing the people. Their reputed skill in the
Scriptures induced Herod, Matt. ii, 4, to consult them concerning the
time at which the Messiah was to be born. And our Saviour speaks of them
as sitting in Moses’s seat, Matt. xxiii, 2, which implies that they
taught the law; and he foretold that he should be betrayed unto the
chief priests and unto the scribes, Matt. xvi, 21, and that they should
put him to death, which shows that they were men of great power and
authority among the Jews. Scribes, doctors of law, and lawyers, were
only different names for the same class of persons. Those who in Luke v,
are called Pharisees and doctors of the law, are soon afterward called
Pharisees and scribes; and he who, in Matt. xxii, 35, is called a
lawyer, is, in Mark xii, 28, called one of the scribes. They had
scholars under their care, whom they taught the knowledge of the law,
and who, in their schools, sat on low stools just beneath their seats;
which explains St. Paul’s expression that he was “brought up at the feet
of Gamaliel,” Acts xxii, 3. We find that our Saviour’s manner of
teaching was contrasted with that of those vain disputers; for it is
said, when he had ended his sermon upon the mount, “the people were
astonished at his doctrine; for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as the scribes,” Matt. vii, 29. By the time of our Saviour, the
scribes had, indeed, in a manner, laid aside the written law, having no
farther regard to that than as it agreed with their traditionary
expositions of it; and thus, by their additions, corruptions, and
misinterpretations, they had made “the word of God of none effect
through their traditions,” Matt. xv, 6. It may be observed, that this in
a great measure accounts for the extreme blindness of the Jews with
respect to their Messiah, whom they had been taught by these
commentators upon the prophecies to expect as a temporal prince. Thus,
when our Saviour asserts his divine nature, and appeals to “Moses and
the prophets who spake of him, the people sought to slay him,” John v;
and he expresses no surprise at their intention. But when he converses
with Nicodemus, John iii, who appears to have been convinced by his
miracles that he was “a teacher sent from God,” when he “came to Jesus
by night,” anxious to obtain farther information concerning his nature
and his doctrine, our Lord, after intimating the necessity of laying
aside all prejudices against the spiritual nature of his kingdom, asks,
“Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?” that is,
knowest not that Moses and the prophets describe the Messiah as the Son
of God? and he then proceeds to explain in very clear language the
dignity of his person and office, and the purpose for which he came into
the world, referring to the predictions of the ancient Scriptures. And
Stephen, Acts vii, just before his death, addresses the multitude by an
appeal to the law and the prophets, and reprobates in the most severe
terms the teachers who misled the people. Our Lord, when speaking of
“them of old time,” classed the “prophets, and wise men, and scribes,”
together, Matt. xxiii, 34; but of the later scribes he uniformly speaks
with censure and indignation, and usually joins them with the Pharisees,
to which sect they in general belonged. St. Paul asks, 1 Cor. i, 20,
“Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world?” with evident contempt for such as, “professing themselves wise
above what was written, became fools.”
SCRIPTURE, a term most commonly used to denote the writings of the Old
and New Testament, which are sometimes called The Scriptures, sometimes
the sacred or holy writings, and sometimes canonical scripture. See
BIBLE.
SEA. The Hebrews gave the name of sea to all great collections of water,
to great lakes or pools. Thus the sea of Galilee, or of Tiberias, or of
Cinnereth, is no other than the lake of Tiberias, or Gennesareth, in
Galilee. The Dead Sea, the sea of the Wilderness, the sea of the East,
the sea of Sodom, the sea of Salt, or the Salt Sea, the sea of
Asphaltites, or of bitumen, is no other than the lake of Sodom. The
Arabians and orientals in general frequently gave the name of sea to
great rivers, as the Nile, the Euphrates, the Tigris, and others, which,
by their magnitude, and by the extent of their overflowings, seemed as
little seas, or great lakes. In Isa. xi, 15, these words particularly
apply to the Nile at the Delta.
SEAL. The ancient Hebrews wore their seals or signets, in rings on their
fingers, or in bracelets on their arms, as is now the custom in the
east. Haman sealed the decree of King Ahasuerus against the Jews with
the king’s seal, Esther iii, 12. The priests of Bel desired the king to
seal the door of their temple with his own seal. The spouse in the
Canticles, viii, 6, wishes that his spouse would wear him as a signet on
her arm. Pliny observes, that the use of seals or signets was rare at
the time of the Trojan war, and that they were under the necessity of
closing their letters with several knots. But among the Hebrews they are
much more ancient. Judah left his seal as a pledge with Tamar, Gen.
xxxviii, 25. Moses says, Deut. xxxii, 34, that God keeps sealed up in
his treasuries, under his own seal, the instruments of his vengeance.
Job says, ix, 7, that he keeps the stars as under his seal, and allows
them to appear when he thinks proper. He says also, “My transgression is
sealed up in a bag,” Job xiv, 7. When they intended to seal up a letter,
or a book, they wrapped it round with flax, or thread, then applied the
wax to it, and afterward the seal. The Lord commanded Isaiah to tie up
or wrap up the book in which his prophecies were written, and to seal
them till the time he should bid him publish them, Isaiah viii, 16, 17.
He gives the same command to Daniel, xii, 4. The book that was shown to
St. John the evangelist, Rev. v, 1; vi, 1, 2, &c, was sealed with seven
seals. It was a rare thing to affix such a number of seals; but this
insinuated the great importance and secrecy of the matter. In civil
contracts they generally made two originals: one continued open, and was
kept by him for whose interest the contract was made; the other was
sealed and deposited in some public office.
SECEDERS, a numerous body of Presbyterians in Scotland, who, in the last
century, seceded from the Scotch establishment. They did not, as they
have uniformly declared, secede from the principles of the church of
Scotland, as they are represented in her confession of faith,
catechisms, longer and shorter, directory for worship, and form of
Presbyterian government; but only from her present judicatories, that,
they suppose, have departed from her true principles. A sermon preached
by Mr. Ebenezer Erskine, of Stirling, at the opening of the synod of
Perth and Sterling, in 1732, gave rise to this party. In this discourse,
founded on Psalm cxviii, 22, “The stone which the builders refused,” &c,
he boldly testified against what he supposed corruptions in the national
church; for which freedom the synod voted him censurable, and ordered
him to be rebuked at their bar. He, and three other ministers, protested
against this sentence, and appealed to the next assembly. The assembly,
which met in May, 1733, approved of the proceedings of the synod, and
ordered Mr. Erskine to be rebuked at their bar. He refused to submit to
the rebuke; whence he and his brethren were, by the sentence of the
assembly, suspended from the ministry. Against this, he and his friends
protested; and, being joined by many others, both ministers and elders,
declaring their secession from the national church, they did, in 1736,
constitute themselves into an ecclesiastical court, which they called
the Associate Presbytery, and published a defence of their proceedings.
They admit that the people have a right to choose their own pastors;
that the Scriptures are the supreme judge by which all controversies
must be determined; and that Jesus Christ is the only Head of his
church, and the only King in Zion.
In 1745, the seceding ministers were become so numerous, that they were
erected into three different presbyteries, under one synod. In 1747,
through a difference in civil matters, they were divided into Burghers
and Anti-Burghers. Of these two classes, the latter were the most rigid
in their sentiments, and associated, therefore, the least with any other
body of Christians. But this difference has been lately healed, and no
longer subsists, either in Scotland or America.
SECHEM, SICHEM, SYCHEM, or SHECHEM, called also Sychar in the New
Testament, afterward Neapolis, and in the present day Nablous, Naplous,
Napolose, and Naplosa, (for it is thus variously written,) a city of
Samaria, near the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of Hamor, the
father of Shechem, and gave to his son Joseph. Here Joseph’s bones were
brought out of Egypt to be interred; and on the same piece of ground was
the well called Jacob’s well, at which our Saviour sat down when he had
the memorable conversation with the woman of Samaria, John iv, which
caused her, and many other inhabitants of Sechem, or Sychar, as it is
there called, to receive him as the Messiah. On contemplating this place
and its vicinity, Dr. E. D. Clarke says, “The traveller directing his
footsteps toward its ancient sepulchres, as everlasting as the rocks in
which they are hewn, is permitted, upon the authority of sacred and
indisputable record, to contemplate the spot where the remains of
Joseph, of Eleazer, and of Joshua, were severally deposited. If any
thing connected with the memory of past ages be calculated to awaken
local enthusiasm, the land around this city is preëminently entitled to
consideration. The sacred story of events transacted in the field of
Sichem, from our earliest years, is remembered with delight; but with
the territory before our eyes where those events took place, and in the
view of objects existing as they were described above three thousand
years ago, the grateful impression kindles into ecstacy. Along the
valley, we beheld ‘a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,’ as in
the days of Reuben and Judah, ‘with their camels bearing spicery, and
balm, and myrrh,’ who would gladly have purchased another Joseph of his
brethren, and conveyed him as a slave to some Potiphar in Egypt. Upon
the hills around flocks and herds were feeding, as of old; nor in the
simple garb of the shepherds of Samaria was there any thing repugnant to
the notions we may entertain of the appearance presented by the sons of
Jacob.” The celebrated well called Jacob’s well, but which, with the
inhabitants of Sechem, is known by the name of _Bir Samaria_, or the
“Well of Samaria,” is situated about half an hour’s walk east of the
town.
SEEING. To see, in Scripture, is often used to express the sense of
vision, knowledge of spiritual things, and even the supernatural
knowledge of hidden things, of prophecy, of visions, of ecstacies.
Whence it is that formerly those were called seers who afterward were
termed, _nabi_, or prophets; and that prophecies were called visions.
Moreover, to see, is used for expressing all kinds of sensations. It is
said in Exodus, xx, 18, that the Israelites saw voices, thunder,
lightning, the sounding of the trumpet, and the whole mountain of Sinai
covered with clouds, or smoke. And St. Austin observes, that the verb,
to see, is applied to all the five natural senses; to see, to hear, to
smell, to taste, to touch. “To see goodness,” is to enjoy it. “To see
the goodness of the Lord,” Psalm xxvii, 13; that is, to enjoy the mercy
or blessing which God hath promised. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for
they shall see God;” that is, they shall have the perfect and immediate
fruition of the glorious presence of God in heaven; or they shall
understand the mysteries of salvation; they shall perceive the loving
kindness of God toward them in this life, and shall at length perfectly
enjoy him in heaven.
SEIR, the Horite, whose dwelling was to the east and south of the Dead
Sea, in the mountains of Seir, Genesis xiv, 6; xxxvi, 20; Deuteronomy
ii, 12; where at first reigned the descendants of Seir the Horite, of
whom Moses gives us a list in Genesis xxxvi, 20, 21–30; 1 Chron. 38, 39,
&c. The posterity of Esau afterward were in possession of the mountains
of Seir, and Esau himself dwelt there when Jacob returned from
Mesopotamia, Gen. xxxiii, 3; xxxiii, 14; xxxvi, 8, 9.