[ק].

The 19th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In translating Hebrew names where it occurs, qohph is usually represented in English by “c” or “k,” as in “Cainan” and “Kish.” The sound is stronger than that of the letter kaph [כ] and is pronounced farther back in the throat, as a strong English “q” formed at the back of the palate. In the Hebrew, it is the initial letter in each of the eight verses in Psalm 119:145-152.

[Heb., selawʹ].

A small, plump-bodied bird, about 18 cm (7 in.) in length, that spends most of its time on the ground. Its flesh is very edible, and it is reported that by 1920 Egypt was exporting some three million quail annually to foreign markets, though this exportation has since decreased.

The birds described in the Bible are evidently the common migratory quail (Coturnix coturnix), which move northward from within Africa in the spring, arrive in Egypt about March, thereafter pass through Arabia and Palestine, and return at the approach of winter. They travel in large flocks, making their migration in stages and often flying during the night. Their wings allow for speedy flight but not for very long distances. Because of the heaviness of their bodies in relation to their wing strength, they sometimes arrive at their destination in a state of exhaustion. Quail, therefore, fly with the wind and customarily fly at rather low altitudes. Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen relates that in Port Said, Egypt, men at times use butterfly nets to catch quail as the birds fly down the streets at dawn.​—Birds of Arabia, Edinburgh, 1954, p. 569.

The first reference to quail in the Biblical account (Ex 16:13) is with reference to events in the spring (Ex 16:1), and so the birds would have been flying north. The Israelites were in the Wilderness of Sin on the Sinai Peninsula, complaining about their food supplies. In response, Jehovah assured Moses that “between the two evenings” they would eat meat and in the morning would be satisfied with bread. (Ex 16:12) That evening “the quails began to come up and cover the camp,” while in the morning the manna appeared on the earth. (Ex 16:13-15; Ps 105:40) Again, evidently in the spring (Nu 10:11, 33), about one year later, the grumblings of the Israelites over their limited diet of manna caused Jehovah to foretell that they would eat meat “up to a month of days” until it became revolting to them. (Nu 11:4, 18-23) God then caused a wind, likely from the E or SE, to drive quail from the sea and caused them to “fall above the camp,” abundant “like the sand grains” over a wide area for several miles around the camp’s perimeter.​—Nu 11:31; Ps 78:25-28.

The expression “about two cubits [c. 1 m; 3 ft] above the surface of the earth” has been explained in different ways. (Nu 11:31) Some consider that the quail actually fell to the ground and that in some places they were piled up to that height. Others, objecting that such action would undoubtedly result in a large portion of them dying and hence becoming unfit for eating by the Israelites, understand the text to mean that the quail flew at that low altitude over the ground, thereby making it quite easy for the Israelites to knock them to the ground and capture them. Expressing a similar idea, the Greek Septuagint reads: “all around the camp, about two cubits from the earth”; and the Latin Vulgate says: “all around the camp, and they were flying in the air at an altitude of two cubits above the earth.”

The Israelites spent a day and a half gathering the quail; “the one collecting least gathered ten homers [2,200 L; 62 bu].” (Nu 11:32) In view of the “six hundred thousand men on foot,” mentioned by Moses (Nu 11:21), the number of quail collected must have been many millions; hence it was no simple catch resulting from ordinary migration but, rather, a powerful demonstration of divine power. The quantity collected was too great for eating then; hence the greedy Israelites “kept spreading them extensively all around the camp for themselves.” (Nu 11:32) This may have been for the purpose of drying out the meat of the slaughtered quail in order to preserve as many of them as possible for future consumption. Such action would be similar to the ancient Egyptian practice, described by Herodotus (II, 77), of putting fish in the sun to dry out.

See DISEASES AND TREATMENT.

A dispute (De 17:8), controversy (Jer 25:31), or case at law (Jer 11:20).

The Scriptures counsel against becoming involved in quarrels, or disputes, without cause. (Pr 3:30) Says the proverb: “As one grabbing hold of the ears of a dog is anyone passing by that is becoming furious at the quarrel that is not his.” (Pr 26:17) The speech of stupid ones readily leads them into quarrels, and foolish ones do not exercise the needed restraint to avoid quarreling. (Pr 18:6; 20:3) Since “the squeezing out of anger” results in quarreling (Pr 30:33), slowness to anger has the opposite effect.​—Pr 15:18.

Quarreling destroys a peaceful atmosphere (Pr 17:1) and may cause even the meekest of persons to lose self-control. For example, Israel’s quarreling about there being no water at Kadesh prompted Moses and Aaron to act rashly, thereby losing the privilege of entering the Promised Land. Israel’s unjustified quarreling with Jehovah’s representatives actually constituted a quarrel with Jehovah. (Nu 20:2, 3, 10-13; 27:14; Ps 106:32) Those who become similarly involved in quarreling or violent controversies with God’s servants are in a very serious position, one that can lead to death.​—Compare Isa 41:8, 11, 12; 54:17.

Because of the detrimental effect of quarreling, the proverb counsels: “Before the quarrel has burst forth, take your leave.” (Pr 17:14) Abram (Abraham) set a good example in this regard. Concerned that there be no disputes between his herdsmen and those of his nephew Lot, Abram suggested that they separate. Unselfishly he gave Lot the opportunity to choose the area where he would pasture his animals. (Ge 13:7-11) On the other hand, unfaithful Israelites in the time of Isaiah did not act like their forefather Abraham. Of them, it is said: “For quarreling and struggle you would fast.” Even during the fast they were engaged in quarreling.​—Isa 58:4.

The Mosaic Law covered cases of quarreling resulting in bodily injury. It prescribed paying compensation to the injured party for time lost from work.​—Ex 21:18, 19.

Murmuring. Murmuring discourages and tears down. The Israelites, not long out of Egypt, murmured against Jehovah, finding fault with the leadership that he provided by his servants Moses and Aaron. (Ex 16:2, 7) Later their complaints so discouraged Moses that he asked to die. (Nu 11:13-15) Murmuring can be a deadly danger to the murmurer. Jehovah counted the things said by murmurers about Moses as actually being a rebellious complaint against His own divine leadership. (Nu 14:26-30) Many lost their lives as a result of faultfinding.

Accordingly, the Christian Greek Scriptures draw on the ancient examples to warn of the destructiveness of murmuring, or complaining. (1Co 10:10, 11) Jude tells of those who ‘disregard lordship and speak abusively of glorious ones,’ describing such ones as “murmurers, complainers about their lot in life, proceeding according to their own desires, and their mouths speak swelling things, while they are admiring personalities for the sake of their own benefit.”​—Jude 8, 16.

Jesus condemned the faultfinding attitude when he said: “Stop judging that you may not be judged. Why, then, do you look at the straw in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the rafter in your own eye? . . . Hypocrite! First extract the rafter from your own eye, and then you will see clearly how to extract the straw from your brother’s eye.”​—Mt 7:1, 3-5; compare Ro 2:1.

An open-pit excavation from which various types of stone are cut. Limestone and marble, lying near the surface, are thus quarried. A large area near the present Damascus Gate of Jerusalem is believed to have been an ancient quarry. The first reference to such a place is at Joshua 7:4, 5, where it is reported that about 3,000 Israelites fled from Ai as far as Shebarim, meaning “Quarries.” When Solomon prepared to build the temple, he commanded that great foundation stones be quarried from the mountains of Lebanon, and tens of thousands of men were conscripted for the work. (1Ki 5:13-18; 6:7) When it was necessary to repair the temple in the days of Jehoash, hewers of stone were hired for the work. (2Ki 12:11, 12) The tomb where Jesus was buried was one quarried out of rock.​—Mt 27:59, 60; Mr 15:46.

Using an eloquent metaphor, Jehovah, by the mouth of Isaiah, calls to mind the quarry and its operation. (Isa 51:1) As indicated in the succeeding verse, “the rock” was apparently Abraham, as the human source of the nation, and “the hollow of the pit” was Sarah, whose pitlike womb bore Israel’s ancestor Isaac. (Isa 51:2) However, since the birth of Isaac was by divine power and a miraculous act, the metaphoric quarrying may also have a higher spiritual application. Thus, Deuteronomy 32:18 refers to Jehovah as “The Rock who fathered” Israel, the “One bringing you forth [the same verb used of Sarah at Isa 51:2] with childbirth pains.”

Sometimes the product of the quarry was called by the same name. Hence the Hebrew word pesi·limʹ, rendered “quarries” at Judges 3:19, 26, is elsewhere translated “graven images.” (De 7:5; Ps 78:58; Isa 10:10) For this reason some have suggested that it may have been at a grove of such pagan gods, the product of the quarry, that Ehud turned back to pay Eglon a personal visit. Most translators, however, prefer the rendering “quarries.”

Old quarries where partially finished work was abandoned have shed some light on the ancient methods of quarrying. Narrow channels were cut deep in the rock. Into these, dry wood was driven, where it was then made to swell with water until the rock split along its cleavage lines. In Roman times, stones weighing as much as five or ten tons were quarried some distance from the building sites. These were then moved on rollers or on sledges, the power being supplied by great armies of slave labor.

After the opening of “the third seal,” as referred to at Revelation 6:5, 6, both a khoiʹnix of wheat and three khoiʹni·kes of barley are said to sell for a denarius. Generally, scholars believe the size of the khoiʹnix to be slightly more than a liter or a little less than a U.S. dry quart. Since a denarius was a day’s wage in John’s time (Mt 20:1-12), the selling of grains at such prices would indicate famine conditions.

Possibly the officer in charge of rations and supplies for the troops. A literal translation of the Hebrew sar menu·chahʹ is “prince of the resting-place” and may mean the one in charge of the king’s living quarters when on a campaign or journey. Seraiah as quartermaster for King Zedekiah of Judah accompanied him on the trip to Babylon in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign, carrying with him Jeremiah’s written prophecy against Babylon. After reading it aloud in that city, Seraiah pitched it, tied to a stone, into the Euphrates, as a symbol of Babylon’s future fall, never to rise again.​—Jer 51:59-64.

(Quarʹtus) [from Latin, meaning “Fourth”].

One living in Corinth whose greetings Paul included in his letter to the Romans, about 56 C.E. (Ro 16:23) Having a Roman name and knowing the brothers in Rome, he may have formerly been of that congregation.

In the modern sense, a title given either to a wife of a king or to a female monarch. In the Bible the title most often refers to women outside the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The Hebrew word most nearly expressing the idea of queen as it is understood today is mal·kahʹ. But it was rare in the Orient for a woman to possess ruling authority. The queen of Sheba may have been one with such power. (1Ki 10:1; Mt 12:42) In the Christian Greek Scriptures, “queen” is translated from the word ba·siʹlis·sa, the feminine form of the word for “king.” The title is applied to Queen Candace of Ethiopia.​—Ac 8:27.

In the Hebrew Scriptures mal·kahʹ is more often used with reference to a queen consort, or the leading wife of a king of a foreign power. Vashti, as the chief wife of King Ahasuerus of Persia, was a consort queen rather than a ruling one. She was replaced by the Jewess Esther, making Esther consort queen, and while Esther had royal dignity, she was not an associate ruler (Es 1:9, 12, 19; 2:17, 22; 4:11); any authority she might have had was by the king’s grant.​—Compare Es 8:1-8, 10; 9:29-32.

Israel. The Hebrew word gevi·rahʹ, translated “queen” in some versions, means, more correctly, “lady” or “mistress.” In the instances where the title is used, it seems to apply mainly to the mother or grandmother of the king, such women being given royal respect, for example, Jezebel the mother of King Jehoram of Israel. (2Ki 10:13) When Solomon’s mother approached him with a request, he bowed to her and had a throne set for her at his right. (1Ki 2:19) The “lady” could be deposed by the king, as was Maacah the grandmother of King Asa of Judah, whom he removed from being “lady” because she had made a horrible idol to the sacred pole.​—1Ki 15:13.

No woman could legally become head of state in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. (De 17:14, 15) However, after the death of her son Ahaziah king of Judah, Athaliah, who was the daughter of wicked King Ahab of Israel and his wife Jezebel, destroyed all the kingdom heirs except Ahaziah’s son Jehoash, whom Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba had hidden. Athaliah then reigned illegally for six years, until executed on orders from High Priest Jehoiada.​—2Ki 11:1-3, 13-16.

Babylon. In Babylon the throne was confined to kings. At Daniel 5:10, the “queen” (Aramaic, mal·kahʹ) was apparently, not the wife, but the mother of Belshazzar, as is indicated by her familiarity with events regarding Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar’s grandfather. As the queen mother, she possessed a certain amount of royal dignity and was greatly respected by all, including Belshazzar.

Egypt. Early Egyptian heads of state were men. “Queens” were actually consorts. Tahpenes the wife of Pharaoh is called “lady” at 1 Kings 11:19. Hatshepsut ruled as queen only because she refused to surrender her regency when the heir, Thutmose III, became of age. After her death, Thutmose III obliterated or destroyed all her monuments. Later, however, during the time of Ptolemaic (Macedonian) reign over Egypt, there were ruling queens.

In False Worship. The apostate Israelites of Jeremiah’s day forsook Jehovah, their real King, and idolatrously made cakes, drink offerings, and sacrificial smoke to the “queen [Heb., meleʹkheth] of the heavens.”​—Jer 7:18; 44:17, 18; see QUEEN OF THE HEAVENS.

Babylon the Great is shown, at Revelation 18:7, to be saying boastfully, “I sit a queen [Gr., ba·siʹlis·sa],” sitting on “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.” (Re 17:15) She maintains her control through her immoral relations with earthly rulers, even as did many queens of the past.​—Re 17:1-5; 18:3, 9; see BABYLON THE GREAT.

“Queenly Consort” in Heaven. Since Hebrews 1:8, 9 applies Psalm 45:6, 7 to Christ Jesus, it seems likely that “the king’s daughter” of Psalm 45:13 is prophetic of his bride class. This would make “the queenly consort” (Heb., she·ghalʹ) mentioned in Psalm 45:9 the wife of the Great King, Jehovah. It is not upon this “queenly consort” but upon Jesus Christ and his 144,000 associates redeemed from the earth that Jehovah confers authority to rule as kings.​—Re 20:4, 6; Da 7:13, 14, 27.

The title of a goddess worshiped by apostate Israelites in the days of Jeremiah.​—Jer 44:17-19.

Although the women were primarily involved, apparently the entire family participated in some way in worshiping the “queen of the heavens.” The women baked sacrificial cakes, the sons collected the firewood, and the fathers lit the fires. (Jer 7:18) That the worship of this goddess had a strong hold on the Jews is reflected by the fact that those who had fled down to Egypt after the murder of Governor Gedaliah attributed their calamity to their neglecting to make sacrificial smoke and drink offerings to the “queen of the heavens.” The prophet Jeremiah, though, forcefully pointed out the wrongness of their view.​—Jer 44:15-30.

The Scriptures do not specifically identify the “queen of the heavens.” It has been suggested that this goddess is to be identified with the Sumerian fertility goddess Inanna, Babylonian Ishtar. The name Inanna literally means “Queen of Heaven.” The corresponding Babylonian goddess Ishtar was qualified in the Akkadian texts by the epithets “queen of the heavens” and “queen of the heavens and of the stars.”

It appears that Ishtar worship spread to other countries. In one of the Amarna Tablets, Tushratta, writing to Amenophis III, mentions “Ishtar, mistress of heaven.” In Egypt, an inscription of King Horemheb, believed to have reigned in the 14th century B.C.E., mentions “Astarte [Ishtar] lady of heaven.” A fragment of a stele found at Memphis from the reign of Merneptah, Egyptian king believed to have reigned in the 13th century B.C.E., represents Astarte with the inscription: “Astarte, lady of heaven.” In the Persian period, at Syene (modern Aswan), Astarte was surnamed “the queen of the heavens.”

The worship of the “queen of the heavens” was practiced as late as the fourth century C.E. In about 375 C.E., in his treatise Panarion (79, 1, 7), Epiphanius states: “Some women decorate a sort of chariot or a four-cornered bench and, after stretching over it a piece of linen, on a certain feast day of the year they place in front of it a loaf for some days and offer it up in the name of Mary. Then all the women partake of this loaf.” Epiphanius (79, 8, 1, 2) connected these practices with the worship of the “queen of the heavens” presented in Jeremiah and quotes Jeremiah 7:18 and 44:25.​—Epiphanius, edited by Karl Holl, Leipzig, 1933, Vol. 3, pp. 476, 482, 483.

(Qui·rinʹi·us).

Roman governor of Syria at the time of the “registration” ordered by Caesar Augustus that resulted in Jesus’ birth taking place in Bethlehem. (Lu 2:1, 2) His full name was Publius Sulpicius Quirinius.

In the Chronographus Anni CCCLIIII, a list of Roman consuls, the name of Quirinius appears in 12 B.C.E. along with that of Messala. (Chronica Minora, edited by T. Mommsen, Munich, 1981, Vol. I, p. 56) Roman historian Tacitus briefly recounts Quirinius’ history, saying: “[He] sprang from the municipality of Lanuvium​—had no connection; but as an intrepid soldier and an active servant he won a consulate under the deified Augustus, and, a little later, by capturing the Homonadensian strongholds beyond the Cilician frontier, earned the insignia of triumph . . . , adviser to Gaius Caesar during his command in Armenia.” (The Annals, III, XLVIII) His death took place in 21 C.E.

Not mentioned by Tacitus is Quirinius’ relationship to Syria. Jewish historian Josephus relates Quirinius’ assignment to Syria as governor in connection with the simultaneous assignment of Coponius as the Roman ruler of Judea. He states: “Quirinius, a Roman senator who had proceeded through all the magistracies to the consulship and a man who was extremely distinguished in other respects, arrived in Syria, dispatched by Caesar to be governor of the nation and to make an assessment of their property. Coponius, a man of equestrian rank, was sent along with him to rule over the Jews with full authority.” Josephus goes on to relate that Quirinius came into Judea, to which his authority was extended, and ordered a taxation there. This brought much resentment and an unsuccessful attempt at revolt, led by “Judas, a Gaulanite.” (Jewish Antiquities, XVIII, 1, 2, 3, 4 [i, 1]) This is evidently the revolt referred to by Luke at Acts 5:37. According to Josephus’ account it took place in “the thirty-seventh year after Caesar’s defeat of Antony at Actium.” (Jewish Antiquities, XVIII, 26 [ii, 1]) That would indicate that Quirinius was governor of Syria in 6 C.E.

For a long time this was the only governorship of Syria by Quirinius for which secular history supplied confirmation. However, in the year 1764 an inscription known as the Lapis Tiburtinus was found in Rome, which, though not giving the name, contains information that most scholars acknowledge could apply only to Quirinius. (Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, edited by H. Dessau, Berlin, 1887, Vol. 14, p. 397, No. 3613) It contains the statement that on going to Syria he became governor (or, legate) for ‘the second time.’ On the basis of inscriptions found in Antioch containing Quirinius’ name, many historians acknowledge that Quirinius was also governor of Syria in the B.C.E. period.

There is uncertainty on their part, however, as to where Quirinius fits among the secularly recorded governors of Syria. Josephus lists Quintilius Varus as governor of Syria at the time of, and subsequent to, the death of Herod the Great. (Jewish Antiquities, XVII, 89 [v, 2]; XVII, 221 [ix, 3]) Tacitus also refers to Varus as being governor at the time of Herod’s death. (The Histories, V, IX) Josephus states that Varus’ predecessor was Saturninus (C. Sentius Saturninus).

Many scholars, in view of the evidence of an earlier governorship by Quirinius, suggest the years 3-2 B.C.E. for his governorship. While these dates would harmonize satisfactorily with the Biblical record, the basis on which these scholars select them is in error. That is, they list Quirinius as governor during those years because they place his rule after that of Varus and hence after the death of Herod the Great, for which they use the popular but erroneous date of 4 B.C.E. (See CHRONOLOGY; HEROD No. 1 [Date of His Death].) (For the same reason, that is, their use of the unproved date 4 B.C.E. for Herod’s death, they give Varus’ governorship as from 6 to 4 B.C.E.; the length of his rule, however, is conjectural, for Josephus does not specify the date of its beginning or of its end.) The best evidence points to 2 B.C.E. for the birth of Jesus. Hence Quirinius’ governorship must have included this year or part thereof.

Some scholars call attention to the fact that the term used by Luke, and usually translated “governor,” is he·ge·monʹ. This Greek term is used to describe Roman legates, procurators, and proconsuls, and it means, basically, a “leader” or “high executive officer.” Some, therefore, suggest that, at the time of what Luke refers to as the “first registration,” Quirinius served in Syria in the capacity of a special legate of the emperor exercising extraordinary powers. A factor that may also aid in understanding the matter is Josephus’ clear reference to a dual rulership of Syria, since in his account he speaks of two persons, Saturninus and Volumnius, serving simultaneously as “governors of Syria.” (Jewish Antiquities, XVI, 277, 280 [ix, 1]; XVI, 344 [x, 8]) Thus, if Josephus is correct in his listing of Saturninus and Varus as successive presidents of Syria, it is possible that Quirinius served simultaneously either with Saturninus (as Volumnius had done) or with Varus prior to Herod’s death (which likely occurred in 1 B.C.E.). The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge presents this view: “Quirinius stood in exactly the same relation to Varus, the governor of Syria, as at a later time Vespasian did to Mucianus. Vespasian conducted the war in Palestine while Mucianus was governor of Syria; and Vespasian was legatus Augusti, holding precisely the same title and technical rank as Mucianus.”​—1957, Vol. IX, pp. 375, 376.

An inscription found in Venice (Lapis Venetus) refers to a census conducted by Quirinius in Syria. However, it provides no means for determining whether this was in his earlier or his later governorship.​—Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, edited by T. Mommsen, O. Hirschfeld, and A. Domaszewski, 1902, Vol. 3, p. 1222, No. 6687.

Luke’s proved accuracy in historical matters gives sound reason for accepting as factual his reference to Quirinius as governor of Syria around the time of Jesus’ birth. It may be remembered that Josephus, virtually the only other source of information, was not born until 37 C.E., hence nearly four decades after Jesus’ birth. Luke, on the other hand, was already a physician traveling with the apostle Paul by about 49 C.E. when Josephus was but a boy of 12. Of the two, Luke, even on ordinary grounds, is the more likely source for reliable information on the matter of the Syrian governorship just prior to Jesus’ birth. Justin Martyr, a Palestinian of the second century C.E., cited the Roman records as proof of Luke’s accuracy as regards Quirinius’ governorship at the time of Jesus’ birth. (A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, edited by B. Orchard, 1953, p. 943) There is no evidence that Luke’s account was ever challenged by early historians, even by early critics such as Celsus.

See ARMS, ARMOR.