straight.” The paths of the wicked are crooked. To forsake the ways of
the Lord, is to forsake his laws. Ways also signifies custom, manners,
and way of life: “All flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth,” Gen.
vi, 12; xix, 31; Jer. xxxii, 19. The way of the Lord expresses his
conduct to us: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
my ways, saith the Lord,” Isa. lv, 8. We find through the whole of
Scripture this kind of expressions: The way of peace, of justice, of
iniquity, of truth, of darkness. To go the way of all the earth, Joshua
xxiii, 14, signifies dying and the grave. A hard way represents the way
of sinners, a way of impiety, Judges ii, 19. Jesus Christ is called the
Way, John xiv, 6, because it is by him alone that believers obtain
eternal life, and an entrance into heaven. The psalmist says, “Thou wilt
show me the path of life,” Psalm xvi, 11; that is, Thou wilt raise my
body from death to life, and conduct me to the place and state of
everlasting happiness. When a great prince in the east sets out on a
journey, it is usual to send a party of men before him, to clear the
way. The state of those countries in every age, where roads are almost
unknown, and, from the want of cultivation, in many parts overgrown with
brambles, and other thorny plants, which renders travelling, especially
with a large retinue, very incommodious, requires this precaution. The
emperor of Hindostan, in his progress through his dominions, as
described in the narrative of Sir Thomas Roe’s embassy to the court of
Delhi, was preceded by a very great company, sent before him to cut up
the trees and bushes, to level and smooth the road, and prepare their
place of encampment. Balin, who swayed the imperial sceptre of India,
had five hundred chosen men, in rich livery, with their drawn sabres,
who ran before him, proclaiming his approach, and clearing the way. Nor
was this honour reserved exclusively for the reigning emperor; it was
often shown to persons of royal birth. When an Indian princess made a
visit to her father, the roads were directed to be repaired, and made
clear for her journey; fruit trees were planted, water vessels placed in
the road side, and great illuminations prepared for the occasion. Mr.
Bruce gives nearly the same account of a journey, which the king of
Abyssinia made through a part of his dominions. The chief magistrate of
every district through which he had to pass was, by his office, obliged
to have the roads cleared, levelled, and smoothed; and he mentions, that
a magistrate of one of the districts, having failed in this part of his
duty, was, together with his son, immediately put to death on the spot,
where a thorn happened to catch the garment, and interrupt for a moment
the progress of his majesty. This custom is easily recognized in that
beautiful prediction: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway
for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill
shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the
rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all
flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it,”
Isa. xl, 3–5. We shall be able, perhaps, to form a more clear and
precise idea, from the account which Diodorus gives of the marches of
Semiramis, the celebrated queen of Babylon, into Media and Persia. In
her march to Ecbatane, says the historian, she came to the Zarcean
mountain, which, extending many furlongs, and being full of craggy
precipices and deep hollows, could not be passed without taking a great
compass. Being therefore desirous of leaving an everlasting memorial of
herself, as well as of shortening the way, she ordered the precipices to
be digged down, and the hollows to be filled up; and at great expense
she made a shorter and more expeditious road; which to this day is
called, from her, the road of Semiramis. Afterward she went into Persia,
and all the other countries of Asia subject to her dominion; and
wherever she went, she ordered the mountains and the precipices to be
levelled, and raised causeways in the plain country, and at a great
expense made the ways passable. Whatever may be in this story, the
following statement is entitled to the fullest credit: “All eastern
potentates have their precursors and a number of pioneers to clear the
road, by removing obstacles, and filling up the ravines and the hollow
ways in their route. In the days of Mogul splendour, the emperor caused
the hills and mountains to be levelled, and the valleys to be filled up
for his convenience. This beautifully illustrates the figurative
language in the approach of the Prince of Peace, when every valley shall
be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the
crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.”
WEAVING. The combined arts of spinning and weaving are among the first
essentials of civilized society, and we find both to be of very ancient
origin. The fabulous story of Penelope’s web, and, still more, the
frequent allusions to this art in the sacred writings, tend to show that
the fabrication of cloth from threads, hair, &c, is a very ancient
invention. It has, however, like other useful arts, undergone a vast
succession of improvements, both as to the preparation of the materials
of which cloth is made, and the apparatus necessary in its construction,
as well as in the particular modes of operation by the artist. Weaving,
when reduced to its original principle, is nothing more than the
interlacing of the weft or cross threads into the parallel threads of
the warp, so as to tie them together, and form a web or piece of cloth.
This art is doubtless more ancient than that of spinning; and the first
cloth was what we now call matting, that is, made by weaving together
the shreds of the bark, or fibrous parts of plants, or the stalks, such
as rushes and straws. This is still the substitute for cloth among most
rude and savage nations. When they have advanced a step farther in
civilization than the state of hunters, the skins of animals become
scarce, and they require some more artificial substance for clothing,
and which they can procure in greater quantities. When it was discovered
that the delicate and short fibres which animals and vegetables afford
could be so firmly united together by twisting, as to form threads of
any required length and strength, the weaving art was placed on a very
permanent foundation. By the process of spinning, which was very simple
in the origin, the weaver is furnished with threads far superior to any
natural vegetable fibres in lightness, strength, and flexibility; and he
has only to combine them together in the most advantageous manner. In
the beautiful description which is given, in the last chapter of
Solomon’s Proverbs, of the domestic economy of the virtuous woman, it is
said, “She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands:
she layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She
maketh herself coverings of tapestry,” &c. Such is the occupation of
females in the east in the present day. Not only do they employ
themselves in working rich embroideries, but in making carpets filled
with flowers and other pleasing figures. Dr. Shaw gives us an account of
the last: “Carpets, which are much coarser than those from Turkey, are
made here in great numbers, and of all sizes. But the chief branch of
their manufactories is the making of _hykes_, or blankets, as we should
call them. The women alone are employed in this work, (as Andromache and
Penelope were of old,) who do not use the shuttle, but conduct every
thread of the woof with their fingers.” Hezekiah says, “I have cut off
like a weaver my life,” Isa. xxxviii, 12. Mr. Harmer suggests whether
the simile here used may not refer to the weaving of a carpet filled
with flowers and other ingenious devices; and that the meaning may be,
that, just as a weaver, after having wrought many decorations into a
piece of carpeting, suddenly cuts it off, while the figures were rising
into view fresh and beautiful, and the spectator expecting he would
proceed in his work; so, after a variety of pleasing transactions in the
course of life, it suddenly and unexpectedly comes to its end.
WEEKS. A period of seven days, under the usual name of a week, שבעה, is
mentioned as far back as the time of the deluge, Gen. vii, 4, 10; viii,
10, 12; xxix, 27, 28. It must, therefore, be considered a very ancient
division of time, especially as the various nations among whom it has
been noticed, for instance, the Nigri in Africa, appear to have received
it from the sons of Noah. The enumeration of the days of the week
commenced at Sunday. Saturday was the last or seventh, and was the
Hebrew Sabbath, or day of rest. The Egyptians gave to the days of the
week the same names that they assigned to the planets. From the
circumstance that the Sabbath was the principal day of the week, the
whole period of seven days was likewise called שפת, in Syriac שבתא, in
the New Testament σάϐϐατον and σάϐϐατα. The Jews, accordingly, in
designating the successive days of the week, were accustomed to say, the
first day of the Sabbath, that is, of the week; the second day of the
Sabbath, that is, Sunday, Monday, &c, Mark xvi, 2, 9; Luke xxiv, 1; John
xx, i, 19. In addition to the week of days, the Jews had three other
seasons, denominated weeks, Lev. xxv, 1–17; Deut. xvi, 9–10: 1. The week
of weeks. It was a period of seven weeks or forty-nine days, which was
succeeded on the fiftieth day by the feast of pentecost, ϖεντηκοσὴ,
“fifty,” Deut. xvi, 9, 10. 2. The week of years. This was a period of
seven years, during the last of which the land remained untilled, and
the people enjoyed a Sabbath or season of rest. 3. The week of seven
sabbatical years. It was a period of forty-nine years, and was succeeded
by the year of jubilee, Lev. xxv, 1–22; xxvi, 34. See YEAR.
WEIGHTS. See “Table of Weights and Measures” at the end of the volume.
WELLS. When the pool, the fountain, and the river fail, the oriental
shepherd is reduced to the necessity of digging wells; and, in the
patriarchal age, the discovery of water was reckoned of sufficient
importance to be the subject of a formal report to the master of the
flock, who commonly distinguished the spot by an appropriate name. A
remarkable instance of this kind is recorded by Moses in these terms:
“And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar,
and dwelt there. And Isaac digged again the wells of water which they
had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had
stopped them after the death of Abraham; and he called their names after
the names by which his father had called them. And Isaac’s servants
digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. And the
herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is
ours; and he called the name of the well Ezek, because they strove with
him. And they digged another well; and they strove for that also, and he
called the name of it Sitnah, (opposition;) and he removed from thence
and digged another well: and for that they strove not; and he called the
name of it Rehoboth, (room;) and he said, For now the Lord hath made
room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land,” Gen. xxvi, 17, &c.
“Strife,” says Dr. Richardson, “between the different villagers and the
different herdsmen here, exists still, as it did in the days of Abraham
and Lot: the country has often changed masters; but the habits of the
natives, both in this and other respects, have been nearly stationary.”
So important was the successful operation of sinking a well in Canaan,
that the sacred historian remarks in another passage: “And it came to
pass the same day, (that Isaac and Abimelech had concluded their
treaty,) that Isaac’s servants came and told him concerning the well
which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water; and he
called it Shebah, (the oath,) therefore the name of the city is
Beershebah unto this day,” Gen. xxvi, 33. To prevent the sand, which is
raised from the parched surface of the ground by the winds, from filling
up their wells, they were obliged to cover them with a stone. In this
manner the well was covered, from which the flocks of Laban were
commonly watered: and the shepherds, careful not to leave them open at
any time, patiently waited till all the flocks were gathered together,
before they removed the covering, and then, having drawn a sufficient
quantity of water, they replaced the stone immediately. The extreme
scarcity of water in these arid regions, entirely justifies such
vigilant and parsimonious care in the management of this precious fluid;
and accounts for the fierce contentions about the possession of a well,
which so frequently happened between the shepherds of different masters.
But after the question of right, or of possession, was decided, it would
seem the shepherds were often detected in fraudulently watering their
flocks and herds from their neighbour’s well. To prevent this, they
secured the cover with a lock, which continued in use so late as the
days of Chardin, who frequently saw such precautions used in different
parts of Asia, on account of the real scarcity of water there. According
to that intelligent traveller, when the wells and cisterns were not
locked up, some person was so far the proprietor that no one dared to
open a well or cistern but in his presence. This was probably the reason
that the shepherds of Padanaram declined the invitation of Jacob to
water the flocks, before they were all assembled; either they had not
the key of the lock which secured the stone, or, if they had, they durst
not open it but in the presence of Rachel, to whose father the well
belonged. It is ridiculous to suppose the stone was so heavy that the
united strength of several Mesopotamian shepherds could not roll it from
the mouth of the well, when Jacob had strength or address to remove it
alone; or that, though a stranger, he ventured to break a standing rule
for watering the flocks, which the natives did not dare to do, and that
without opposition. The oriental shepherds were not on other occasions
so passive, as the violent conduct of the men of Gerar sufficiently
proves.
Twice in the day they led their flocks to the wells; at noon, and when
the sun was going down. To water the flocks was an operation of much
labour, and occupied a considerable space of time. It was, therefore, an
office of great kindness with which Jacob introduced himself to the
notice of his relations, to roll back the stone which lay upon the mouth
of the well, and draw water for the flocks which Rachel tended. Some of
these wells are furnished with troughs and flights of steps down to the
water, and other contrivances to facilitate the labour of watering the
cattle. It is evident the well to which Rebekah went to draw water, near
the city of Nahor, had some convenience of this kind; for it is written,
“Rebekah hasted and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again
unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels,” Gen. xxiv,
20. A trough was also placed by the well, from which the daughters of
Jethro watered his flocks, Exod. ii, 16; and, if we may judge from
circumstances, was a usual contrivance in every part of the east. In
modern times, Mr. Park found a trough near the well, from which the
Moors watered their cattle, in the sandy deserts of Sahara. Dr. Shaw,
speaking of the occupation of the Moorish women in Barbary, says, “To
finish the day, at the time of the evening, even at the time that the
women go out to draw water, they are still to fit themselves with a
pitcher or goat skin, and tying their sucking children behind them,
trudge it in this manner two or three miles to fetch water.” “The women
in Persia,” says Morier, “go in troops to draw water for the place. I
have seen the elder ones sitting and chatting at the well, and spinning
the coarse cotton of the country, while the young girls filled the skins
which contain the water, and which they all carry on their backs into
the town.” “A public well,” says Forbes, “without the gate of Diamonds,
in the city Dhuboy, was a place of great resort: there, most travellers
halted for shade and refreshment: the women frequented the fountains and
reservoirs morning and evening, to draw water. Many of the Gwzerat wells
have steps leading down to the surface of the water; others have not,
nor do I recollect any furnished with buckets and ropes for the
convenience of a stranger; most travellers are therefore provided with
them, and halcarras and religious pilgrims frequently carry a small
brass pot affixed to a long string for this purpose.”
WHALE, תן and תניין, Gen. i, 21; Job vii, 12; Ezek. xxxii, 2; κῆτος,
Matt. xii, 40; the largest of all the inhabitants of the water. A late
author, in a dissertation expressly for the purpose, has proved that the
crocodile, and not the whale, is spoken of in Gen. i, 21. The word in
Job vii, 12, must also be taken for the crocodile. It must mean some
terrible animal, which, but for the watchful care of Divine Providence,
would be very destructive. Our translators render it by _dragon_ in
Isaiah xxvii, 1, where the prophet gives this name to the king of Egypt:
“He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.” The sea there is the
river Nile, and the dragon the crocodile, Ezek. xxxii, 2. On this
passage Bochart remarks, ”The תנין is not a whale, as people imagine;
for a whale has neither feet nor scales, neither is it to be found in
the rivers of Egypt; neither does it ascend therefrom upon the land;
neither is it taken in the meshes of a net; all of which properties are
ascribed by Ezekiel to the תנין of Egypt. Whence it is plain that it is
not a whale that is here spoken of, but the crocodile. Merrick supposes
David, in Psalm lxxiv, 13, to speak of the _tunnie_, a kind of whale,
with which he was probably acquainted; and Bochart thinks it has its
Greek name _thunnos_ from the Hebrew _thanot_. The last-mentioned fish
is undoubtedly that spoken of in Psalm civ, 26. We are told, that, in
order to preserve the Prophet Jonah when he was thrown overboard by the
mariners, “the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow him up.” What kind
of fish it was, is not specified; but the Greek translators take the
liberty to give us the word κῆτος, _whale_; and though St. Matthew, xii,
40, makes use of the same word, we may probably conclude that he did so
in a general sense; and that we are not to understand it as an
appropriated term, to point out the particular species of fish. It is
notorious that sharks are common in the Mediterranean.
WHEAT, חטה, Gen. xxx, 14; Deut. viii, 8; σῖτος, Matt. xiii, 25; Luke
xvi, 7; 1 Cor. xv, 37; the principal and the most valuable kind of grain
for the service of man. (See _Barley_, and _Fitches_.) In Lev. ii,
directions are given for oblations, which in our translation are called
meat-offerings; but as meat means flesh, and all kinds of offerings
there specified, were made of wheat, it had been better to render it
“wheaten offerings.” Calmet has observed, that there were five kinds of
these, simple flour, oven cakes, cakes of the fire plate, cakes of the
frying pan, and green ears of corn. The word בר, translated _corn_, Gen.
xli, 35, and _wheat_ in Jer. xxiii, 28; Joel ii, 24; Amos v, 11, &c, is
undoubtedly the _burr_, or wild corn of the Arabs, mentioned by Forskal.