(Vaʹheb).

Apparently a now unknown place near the Arnon, “in Suphah.”​—Nu 21:14.

(Vai·zaʹtha).

One of Haman’s ten sons.​—Es 9:9, 10.

A depression between bluffs, hills, or mountains. Jehovah God is properly credited with the development of earth’s topographical features, including its many valleys. (Ps 104:8) In Scripture, some were called merely valleys. (Jos 8:11; 1Sa 13:18) Others were “valley plains,” low-lying level areas between mountains and hills. (De 11:11; see PLAIN.) There were also “torrent valleys,” sometimes having perennial streams but often flowing with water only in the rainy season. (De 8:7; see TORRENT VALLEY.) Certain translations use “vale” or “valley(s)” where the references are to “low plain(s)” (Ge 14:3; 1Ch 12:15), and “vale” or “lowland(s)” for the “Shephelah,” the hilly lowland between the Philistine coastal plain and the highlands of central Palestine.​—De 1:7; 1Ki 10:27.

Among the notable valleys mentioned in the Scriptures are the Valley of Moab “in front of Beth-peor” (De 3:29; 34:6) and the Valley of Salt (2Sa 8:13), as well as those of Hinnom (Ne 11:30), Iphtah-el (Jos 19:14), Zeboim (1Sa 13:18), and Zephathah (2Ch 14:10). The ‘valley plains’ of Scriptural record include those of Shinar (Ge 11:2), Jericho (De 34:3), Mizpeh (Jos 11:8), Lebanon (Jos 12:7), Ono (Ne 6:2), and Megiddo (2Ch 35:22; Zec 12:11).

Figurative and Prophetic Use. A dark valley, or ravine, with pitfalls and wild beasts would be perilous to a flock, especially at night, were it not for the care of a good shepherd. Though similarly faced with the threat of various calamities, David was secure in the knowledge that Jehovah was his Shepherd. Therefore, he could declare: “Even though I walk in the valley of deep shadow, I fear nothing bad.”​—Ps 23:1, 4.

“The pronouncement of the valley of the vision” evidently relates to ancient Jerusalem. Though of considerable elevation, the city is like a “valley” in being surrounded by higher mountains.​—Isa 22:1, 5.

Evidently by clearing out all obstacles that stood in the way of the return of his people from Babylonian exile, Jehovah, in effect, ‘raised up every valley,’ ‘leveled hills and mountains,’ and made “rugged ground a valley plain” for them. (Isa 40:4) En route, the Jewish remnant did not suffer thirst. Jehovah’s words through Isaiah were fulfilled: “Upon bare hills I shall open up rivers, and in the midst of the valley plains, springs.”​—Isa 41:18; compare Isa 35:6, 7, 10; 43:19-21; 48:20, 21.

See GATE, GATEWAY.

See HINNOM, VALLEY OF.

See PLAIN.

(Va·niʹah).

Postexilic son of Bani. He and numerous other persons had married foreign wives but dismissed them at Ezra’s admonition.​—Ezr 10:10, 11, 34, 36, 44.

See MIST.

(Vashʹti).

The queen of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) the king of Persia. In the third year of his reign, Ahasuerus called in all the nobles, princes, and servants from the jurisdictional districts. At the end of the conference, he held a seven-day banquet. Similarly, Vashti held a banquet for the women at the royal house. On the seventh day, Ahasuerus ordered his court officials to bring in Vashti in royal headdress, that all might see her loveliness. (It seems that the queen would ordinarily eat meals at the king’s table, but history does not give proof of this as being the case at great banquets. Besides, at the time, Vashti was holding a banquet with the women.) For some unstated reason, Vashti persistently refused. Ahasuerus turned to his wise men who knew the law, and he was advised by Memucan, a prince, that it was not the king alone that Vashti had wronged but also all the princes and people in the jurisdictional districts. He said that when the princesses should hear what the queen had done (which news would quickly be spread in the castle), they would follow Vashti’s action as a precedent for contemptuous action on their own part. (Es 1:1-22) Vashti was deposed, and about four years later, Esther the Jewess was selected to become the wife of Ahasuerus and to take the royal office of Vashti.​—Es 2:1-17.

See PRESS.

(Veʹdan).

One of the places with which Tyre had commercial intercourse. (Eze 27:19) Its exact location is uncertain. However, it has been tentatively identified with Wadden near Medina, near the middle of the western side of the Arabian Peninsula.

Plants in general. On the third creative “day,” God caused the earth to bring forth “vegetation bearing seed according to its kind”; thus it was able to reproduce. (Ge 1:11-13) Genesis 2:5, 6 apparently describes conditions on that “day” just after God made dry land appear but before the production of grass, seed-bearing vegetation, and fruit-bearing trees. To supply needed moisture for coming plant life, Jehovah provided that mist should regularly rise from the earth to water the ground. It kept vegetation flourishing earth wide, even though there was then no rain. Although the luminaries in the heavens did not become clearly discernible in the expanse until the fourth creative “day” (Ge 1:14-16), an ample amount of diffused light was evidently available by the third “day” to foster the growth of vegetation.​—See Ge 1:14, Ro, ftn.

God gave green vegetation to man and the animals as part of their original food supply, later expanding mankind’s diet to include meat from which the blood had been drained. (Ge 1:29, 30; 9:3, 4) Sinful man was compelled to toil for the vegetation he ate (Ge 3:18, 19), but Jehovah remained the Provider of it for man and beast alike, for He is the Provider of the sunshine and rain essential to its growth.​—Ps 104:14; 106:20; Mic 5:7; Zec 10:1; Heb 6:7; compare De 32:2.

Growth of vegetation can be controlled by God according to his purpose. He assured the Israelites that their obedience would be rewarded with rain and vegetation for their domestic animals. (De 11:13-15) However, if they abandoned their covenant with God, he would make their land devoid of vegetation. (De 29:22-25; compare Isa 42:15; Jer 12:4; 14:6.) One blow from Jehovah against ancient Egypt consisted of hail that struck all sorts of vegetation. In another God-sent blow, locusts devoured all the vegetation the hail had left.​—Ex 9:22, 25; 10:12, 15; Ps 105:34, 35; compare Am 7:1-3.

Figurative Use. During the Palestinian dry season, vegetation, when subjected to the scorching heat of the sun or a parching east wind, quickly dries up. Accordingly, people about to be subjugated by military conquest are likened to “vegetation of the field and green tender grass, grass of the roofs, when there is a scorching before the east wind.” (2Ki 19:25, 26; Isa 37:26, 27) Similarly, when severely afflicted, the psalmist exclaimed: “My heart has been struck just like vegetation and is dried up.” “I myself am dried up like mere vegetation.”​—Ps 102:4, 11.

Under favorable conditions vegetation sprouts in great profusion, making it an appropriate figure to represent numerous descendants. (Job 5:25) During Solomon’s reign, for example, “Judah and Israel were many” and flourished, “eating and drinking and rejoicing.” (1Ki 4:20) This is evidently alluded to in a psalm regarding Solomon: “Those who are from the city will blossom like the vegetation of the earth.” (Ps 72:16) On the other hand, though the wicked for a time may sprout like vegetation, they are not flourishing because of God’s blessing but are in line to be “annihilated forever.”​—Ps 92:7.

In the Scriptures, trees at times represent those who are prominent and lofty (compare Eze 31:2-14), whereas the lowly vegetation, like the bramble, grass, or rushes, can represent people generally. (Compare Jg 9:8-15; 2Ki 14:8-10; Isa 19:15; 40:6, 7.) This aids in understanding the significance of Revelation 8:7, which speaks of the burning up of “a third of the trees” and “all the green vegetation.”

See DRESS.

Infliction of punishment in return for an injury or offense; retributive action. The Greek word ek·di·keʹo, rendered “avenge,” literally means “from justice,” suggesting that the action represents justice achieved. As used in the Bible, “vengeance” usually applies to retribution paid by God in behalf of justice, but it may also refer to a person’s executing that which he may view as just or as equalizing matters to his own satisfaction.

Belongs to Jehovah. Unless a person is qualified as executioner of vengeance by appointment of Jehovah, or by being designated as such by his Word, he does wrong if he attempts to avenge himself or others. “Vengeance is mine, and retribution,” says Jehovah. (De 32:35) God is addressed by the psalmist: “O God of acts of vengeance, Jehovah.” (Ps 94:1) Accordingly, the individual is condemned by God if he bears a grudge or seeks personal vengeance for real or fancied wrongs done to himself or to someone else.​—Le 19:18; Ro 12:19; Heb 10:30.

The Scriptures point out that God’s anger rests upon all sinners and transgressors, and that only through God’s undeserved kindness in providing the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ is there a basis for mitigating or withholding the full retributive justice against the sinner. (Ro 5:19-21; 2Co 5:19; Heb 2:2, 3; see RANSOM.) God acts in full harmony with his righteousness when thus forgiving sin, and he is also righteous in bringing judgment upon sinners who reject his provision; such cannot escape divine vengeance.​—Ro 3:3-6, 25, 26; compare Ps 99:8.

Jehovah’s vengeance has a purpose. Jehovah’s vengeance brings relief and benefit when he acts in behalf of those who trust in him; additionally, it procures praise to him as the just Judge. The psalmist says: “The righteous one will rejoice because he has beheld the vengeance. . . . And mankind will say: ‘Surely there is fruitage for the righteous one. Surely there exists a God that is judging in the earth.’” (Ps 58:10, 11) Therefore, the primary purpose for God’s taking vengeance is to uphold his sovereignty and glorify his own name. (Ex 14:18; Ps 83:13-18; Isa 25:1-5; Eze 25:14, 17; 38:23) His action also vindicates his servants as being truly his representatives and delivers them from undesirable circumstances.​—Ex 14:31; 15:11-16; Eze 37:16, 21-23; Ps 135:14; 148:14; Pr 21:18.

A fixed time for God’s vengeance. The Scriptures indicate that God has a due time for large-scale expressions of his vengeance upon his enemies. The prophet Isaiah was commissioned to proclaim “the day of vengeance on the part of our God.” God’s vengeance was expressed against ancient Babylon, the oppressor of his people, when the armies of Medo-Persia were used to break her power in 539 B.C.E. (Isa 61:1, 2; 13:1, 6, 9, 17) Jesus Christ, when on earth, quoted part of Isaiah’s prophecy (61:1, 2) and applied it to himself. (Lu 4:16-21) Though the record does not say that he quoted the part concerning “the day of vengeance,” in actuality he did proclaim that “day,” which came upon Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Jesus foretold the encampment by armies (of the Romans) around the city, telling his followers to flee from Jerusalem when they saw this, “because these are days for meting out justice [“days of vengeance”], that all the things written may be fulfilled.”​—Lu 21:20-22, Int; compare AT, KJ, Ro, RS.

Jesus Christ further said, before his death and resurrection: “Concerning that day and hour [of executing judgment on the present-day system of things] nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mt 24:36) He thereby revealed that vengeance was sure to be executed at a time known and set by God. He illustrated the sureness of God’s action in his due time in behalf of his name and his servants, speaking of a judge who, because of a widow’s persistence in asking for justice, decided: “I will see that she gets justice [“I shall exact vengeance for her”].” Jesus applied the illustration to God, saying: “Certainly, then, shall not God cause justice to be done for [“do the vengeance of”] his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, even though he is long-suffering toward them?”​—Lu 18:2-8, Int.

Furthermore, in the apostle John’s vision recorded in the book of Revelation, John saw the souls of those slaughtered because of the word of God and because of the witness work they used to have, crying out: “Until when, Sovereign Lord holy and true, are you refraining from judging and avenging our blood upon those who dwell on the earth?” The answer they received shows that there is a definite time for the vengeance to be carried out, namely, when “the number [would be] filled also of their fellow slaves and their brothers who were about to be killed as they also had been.”​—Re 6:9-11.

The Scriptures reveal that this execution of vengeance begins on Babylon the Great, then proceeds to come upon “the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies.”​—Re 19:1, 2, 19-21.

Appointed Executioners. The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s Chief Executioner of vengeance. The apostle Paul comforts Christians with the words: “It is righteous on God’s part to repay tribulation to those who make tribulation for you, but, to you who suffer tribulation, relief along with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength.”​—2Th 1:6-9.

In the Christian congregation. The apostles were appointed under Jesus Christ to care for the Christian congregation and to protect it from uncleanness and loss of Jehovah’s favor. In harmony with his God-given authority, the apostle Paul wrote to the congregation at Corinth, which was experiencing divisions and troubles from “false apostles”: “We are holding ourselves in readiness to inflict punishment for [“to avenge”] every disobedience.”​—2Co 10:6, Int; 11:13; 13:10.

Older men appointed to care for the congregation were authorized to carry out “vengeance” to the extent that they could take steps to bring about justice and to reestablish the congregation in righteousness before God, by correcting the wrong that had been done. This the governing members of the Corinthian congregation did, after Paul corrected them, and thus Paul wrote in his second letter to them: “What a great earnestness it produced in you, . . . yes, righting of the wrong [“vengeance”]!” These men showed godly repentance after Paul’s first letter and cleared out the wicked man therein referred to, doing all they could to right matters before Jehovah. (2Co 7:8-12, Int) However, those men were not authorized to carry out on the wrongdoer the full penalty demanded by justice​—full vengeance in putting him to death, as had been the prerogative of the judges under the Mosaic Law. (Le 20:10; Heb 10:28) They merely expelled such unrepentant bad persons from the congregation. (1Co 5:13) If such ones remained unrepentant, they would eventually receive full justice for their misdeeds in everlasting death. (Heb 10:29, 30) Indeed, the Christian who takes up unrighteousness, as, for example, fornication, is in danger, “because Jehovah is one who exacts punishment [literally, is the “avenger”] for all these things.”​—1Th 4:3-6, Int.

Rulers. Governmental rulers, whose duty it is to see that justice is carried out, may be the ones who execute vengeance upon evildoers, including any Christians who break the laws of the land that are in harmony with what is right and that are consistent with the authority allowed those rulers by God. In such case, these rulers are indirectly executing God’s vengeance, as the apostle Paul writes: “For those ruling are an object of fear, not to the good deed, but to the bad . . . it is God’s minister, an avenger to express wrath upon the one practicing what is bad.”​—Ro 13:3, 4; 1Pe 2:13, 14; compare Ge 9:6.

Imperfect Man’s Tendency to Seek Vengeance. It is a tendency of fallen, imperfect men to seek vengeance upon those who do them injustice or upon persons whom they hate. The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife is in danger of retributive vengeance from the husband, as the Proverbs say: “For the rage of an able-bodied man is jealousy, and he will not show compassion in the day of vengeance. He will have no consideration for any sort of ransom, neither will he show willingness, no matter how large you make the present.” (Pr 6:32-35) Nonetheless, vengeance taken by a person on his own initiative is usually carried out in uncontrolled anger and is to no good purpose, but brings God’s anger against the avenging individual.​—Jas 1:19, 20.

Enemies of God and of his servants. Those who hate God have shown hostility toward God’s servants, seeking to wreak vengeance upon them. This is not a true bringing about of justice, but it is a desire or action as a result of people’s hostility toward what is right and righteous, and it is an attempt to get rid of those righteous ones whose words and course of action convict them of wickedness. (Ps 8:2; 44:15, 16) In some instances God’s servants have been killed with the perverted idea that justice was being carried out. (Joh 16:2) In executing this claimed or supposed “vindictive justice,” however, they have not pleased God but, rather, have stored up vengeance for themselves. At times, it is true, Jehovah used the nations, such as Babylon, to bring his own vengeance on his people Israel when they broke their covenant with him. (Le 26:25) But those nations, on their part, acted because of hatred and malice, expressing their own vengefulness, and for this Jehovah, in turn, took vengeance upon them.​—La 3:60; Eze 25:12-17.

See also AVENGER OF BLOOD; CITIES OF REFUGE.

Poisonous fluid secreted by certain snakes and some other creatures. (Nu 21:4-9; De 8:15; Ac 28:3-6) One Hebrew word for the venom of reptiles is che·mahʹ (De 32:24), which is also used to denote “rage,” “fury,” and the like. (De 29:28; Eze 19:12) It is from a root meaning “be hot” (De 19:6) and may allude to the inflammation or burning sensation associated with the bite of a venomous snake. Another Hebrew word (roʼsh, or rohsh) is applied to the “poison,” or “venom,” of cobras, “poisoned” water, and a “poisonous plant.”​—De 32:32, 33; Job 20:16; Jer 8:14; 9:15; 23:15; La 3:19; see COBRA; POISONOUS PLANT; VIPER, HORNED.

Though some animal poisons may seem to be only for protection or killing, of interest is this statement by H. Munro Fox: “In some cases we know that poisons play a role in the functioning of the body of the animal which manufactures them. In many instances this may be the real raison d’être [reason for existence] of the venoms, quite apart from any protective value. The poisonous spittle of snakes, for example, has work to do in the digestion of the snake’s food.”​—Marvels & Mysteries of Our Animal World, by The Reader’s Digest Association, 1964, p. 259.

Figurative Use. The lying, slanderous statements of the wicked, so damaging to the victim’s reputation, are likened to the deadly venom of the serpent. (Ps 58:3, 4) Of slanderers, it is said, “The venom of the horned viper is under their lips” (or, “behind their lips”), even as the viper’s venom gland lies behind the lip and fangs of its upper jaw. (Ps 140:3; Ro 3:13) The human tongue, misused in slanderous, backbiting, false teaching, or similarly harmful speech, “is full of death-dealing poison.”​—Jas 3:8.

See COLORS.

Translations of the Bible from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek into other tongues. Translation work has made the Word of God available to thousands of millions of persons unable to understand the original Biblical languages. The early versions of the Scriptures were handwritten and were therefore in the form of manuscripts. However, since the advent of the printing press, many additional versions, or translations, have appeared, and these have generally been published in great quantities. Some versions have been prepared directly from Hebrew and Greek Bible texts, whereas others are based on earlier translations.​—CHART, Vol. 1, p. 321.

The Scriptures have been published, the whole or in part, in more than 3,000 languages. From the standpoint of language coverage, this means that about 90 percent of the earth’s population can have access to at least some part of the Bible. An account of versions, or translations, of the Scriptures will engender gratitude to Jehovah God for the wonderful way in which he has preserved his Word for the benefit of mankind’s millions.

Ancient Versions of the Hebrew Scriptures. Extant today are possibly 6,000 ancient manuscripts of all or portions of the Hebrew Scriptures, written in Hebrew (with the exception of a few Aramaic sections). Known to be still in existence are also many manuscripts of old versions, or translations, of the Hebrew Scriptures in various languages. Some versions were in themselves translations of earlier translations from the Hebrew. For instance, the Hebrew Scripture portion of the Old Latin version was rendered from the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. On the other hand, some ancient versions of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Greek Septuagint, Aramaic Targums, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Latin Vulgate) were made directly from the Hebrew and not through the medium of a version in Greek or some other language.

Samaritan “Pentateuch.” After the deportation of most of the inhabitants of Samaria and the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel by Assyria in 740 B.C.E., pagans from other territories of the Assyrian Empire were settled there by Assyria. (2Ki 17:22-33) In time the descendants of those left in Samaria and those brought in by Assyria came to be called Samaritans. They accepted the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, and between the fourth and second centuries B.C.E., they produced the Samaritan Pentateuch, not really a translation of the original Hebrew Pentateuch, but a transliteration of its text into Samaritan characters, mixed with Samaritan idioms. Few of the extant manuscripts are older than the 13th century C.E. Of about 6,000 differences between the Samaritan and the Hebrew texts, by far the majority are unimportant. One variation of interest appears at Exodus 12:40, where the Samaritan Pentateuch corresponds to the Septuagint.

Targums. The “Targums” were free translations or paraphrases of the Hebrew Scriptures into Aramaic. Although fragments of early Targums of some books were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Jewish Targums as a whole likely assumed their present form no earlier than about the fifth century C.E. One of the principal Targums, the “Targum of Onkelos” on the Pentateuch, is rather literal. Another, the so-called Targum of Jonathan for the Prophets, is less literal. Extant today are Targums on most books of the Hebrew Scriptures except Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel.

The Greek “Septuagint.” The Greek Septuagint (often designated LXX) was used by Greek-speaking Jews and Christians in Egypt and elsewhere. Reportedly, work on it commenced in Egypt in the days of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.E.), when, according to tradition, the Pentateuch thereof was translated into Greek by 72 Jewish scholars. Later, the number 70 somehow came to be used, and the version of the Pentateuch was referred to as the Septuagint, meaning “Seventy.” The other books of the Hebrew Scriptures (by various translators whose style varied from quite literal to rather free rendition) were gradually added until translation of the entire Hebrew Scriptures had finally been completed during the second century B.C.E. and perhaps by 150 B.C.E. Thereafter the entire work came to be known as the Septuagint. This version is often quoted by writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Apocryphal writings were evidently inserted in the Greek Septuagint sometime after it was first completed.​—See APOCRYPHA.

One of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Septuagint is Papyrus 957, the Rylands Papyrus iii. 458, preserved in the John Rylands Library, Manchester, England. It is of the second century B.C.E. and consists of fragments of Deuteronomy (23:24–24:3; 25:1-3; 26:12, 17-19; 28:31-33). Another manuscript, of the first century B.C.E., is Papyrus Fouad 266 (possessed by the Société Egyptienne de Papyrologie, Cairo), containing parts of the second half of Deuteronomy according to the Greek Septuagint. In various places therein, the Tetragrammaton (YHWH in English) of the divine name is found in a form of square Hebrew characters right within the Greek script.​—See PICTURE, Vol. 1, p. 326; JEHOVAH.

The Greek Septuagint has thus been preserved in numerous manuscripts, many fragmentary, others fairly complete. Notably, the Septuagint texts are preserved in the three famous uncial manuscripts written on vellum​—the Vatican Manuscript No. 1209 and the Sinaitic Manuscript, both of the fourth century C.E., and the Alexandrine Manuscript of the fifth century C.E. The Septuagint as found in the Vatican Manuscript No. 1209 is almost complete; part of the Hebrew Scriptures once included in the Sinaitic Manuscript has been lost; that in the Alexandrine Manuscript is rather complete, though lacking parts of Genesis, First Samuel, and Psalms.

Later Greek versions. In the second century, Aquila, a Jewish proselyte of Pontus, made a new and very literal Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Except for fragments and quotations thereof by early writers, it has perished. Another Greek translation of the same century was produced by Theodotion. His was apparently a revision of the Septuagint or some other Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures, though he considered the Hebrew text itself. No complete copy of Theodotion’s version is extant. Another Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures of which no complete copy is extant was that of Symmachus. His rendition, probably translated about 200 C.E., endeavored to convey the right sense rather than to be literal.

About 245 C.E., Origen, the noted scholar of Alexandria, Egypt, completed a mammoth multiple version of the Hebrew Scriptures called the Hexapla (which means “sixfold”). Though fragments of it are extant, no complete manuscript copy has survived. Origen arranged the text in six parallel columns containing (1) the consonantal Hebrew text, (2) a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew text, (3) Aquila’s Greek version, (4) Symmachus’ Greek version, (5) the Septuagint, revised by Origen to correspond more exactly to the Hebrew text, and (6) Theodotion’s Greek version. In the Psalms, Origen used anonymous versions he called Quinta, Sexta, and Septima. The Quinta and Sexta were also employed in other books.

Christian Greek Scriptures. Translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures into Syriac (an Aramaic dialect) were produced from the second century onward. A Syriac version of particular note is Tatian’s Diatessaron, a Gospel harmony of the second century C.E. It may have been written originally at Rome in Greek and later translated into Syriac in Syria by Tatian himself, but that is uncertain. The Diatessaron is extant today in an Arabic translation and a small third-century vellum fragment in Greek. Additionally, two editions of Ephraem’s fourth-century commentary, one in the original Syriac and one an Armenian translation, contain lengthy quotations from its text.

Only incomplete manuscripts of an Old Syriac version of the Gospels (a translation other than the Diatessaron) are extant, the Curetonian and the Sinaitic Syriac Gospels. Though these manuscripts were probably copied in the fifth century, they likely represent an older Syriac text. The original version may have been made from the Greek about 200 C.E. Quite likely, Old Syriac renditions of other books of the Christian Greek Scriptures once existed, but there are no extant manuscripts thereof. All books of the Christian Greek Scriptures except Second Peter, Second and Third John, Jude, and Revelation were included in the Syriac Peshitta of the fifth century. In about 508 C.E. Philoxenus, bishop of Hierapolis, had Polycarp make a revision of the Peshitta Christian Scriptures, and this was the first time Second Peter, Second and Third John, Jude, and Revelation were added to a Syriac version.

The Christian Greek Scriptures had already been translated into Latin by the end of the second century C.E. They were also available in Egyptian by about the middle of the third century.

Ancient Versions of the Entire Bible. The Peshitta of Syriac-speaking people professing Christianity was in general use from the fifth century C.E. onward. The word “Peshitta” means “simple.” The Hebrew Scripture portion was basically a translation from the Hebrew, probably made during the second or third century C.E., though a later revision involved comparison with the Septuagint. Numerous Peshitta manuscripts are extant, the most valuable being a sixth- or seventh-century codex preserved at the Ambrosian Library in Milan, Italy. One Peshitta manuscript of the Pentateuch (lacking Leviticus) has a signed date corresponding to about 464 C.E., and a palimpsest with Isaiah has the date 459-460 C.E. signed, making them the oldest dated Bible manuscripts in any tongue.

Old Latin. This is the collective title (Vetus Latina) for the texts that reflect Latin translations generally prior to Jerome’s Vulgate. These probably appeared from the latter part of the second century C.E. onward, but the earliest evidence of the Latin Bible is from Carthage, North Africa, at least by 250 C.E. The Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Latin from the Greek Septuagint (not yet revised by Origen), but the Christian Scriptures were rendered from the original Greek. Scholars usually refer to two basic types of Old Latin text: the African and the European. The earliest extant Biblical manuscripts date from the fourth and fifth centuries C.E.

Latin “Vulgate.” The Latin Vulgate (Vulgata Latina) is a version of the entire Bible by the foremost Biblical scholar of that time, Eusebius Hieronymus, better known as Jerome. He first undertook a revision of the Old Latin version of the Christian Scriptures in comparison with the Greek text; he began with the Gospels, which were published in 383 or 384 C.E. Just when he completed his revision of the Old Latin Christian Scriptures is uncertain. Between about 384 and 390 C.E., he made two revisions of the Old Latin Psalms, based on the Greek Septuagint. The first is now lost, but what is called the Roman Psalter may represent the Old Latin text he corrected. The second is called the Gallican Psalter, named for its adoption in Gaul. Jerome also translated the Psalms directly from Hebrew, this work being called the Hebrew Psalter. He began to revise other books of the Hebrew Scriptures from the Greek but apparently never completed such a revision, preferring to translate directly from Hebrew (though also referring to Greek versions). Jerome labored on his Latin translation from the Hebrew from about 390 to 405 C.E.

Jerome’s version was originally received with general hostility, and only gradually did it gain wide approval. With its later general acceptance in western Europe, it came to be called the Vulgate, denoting a commonly received version (the Latin vulgatus meaning “common, well-known”). Jerome’s original translation underwent revisions, the Roman Catholic Church making the one of 1592 its standard edition. Thousands of Vulgate manuscripts are extant today.

Other ancient translations. As Christianity spread, other versions were required. At least by the third century C.E., the first translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures had been made for the Coptic natives of Egypt. Various Coptic dialects were used in Egypt, and in time various Coptic versions were produced. The most important are the Thebaic, or Sahidic, Version of Upper Egypt (in the S) and the Bohairic Version of Lower Egypt (in the N). These versions, containing both the Hebrew and Christian Greek Scriptures, were probably produced in the third and fourth centuries C.E.

The Gothic version was produced for the Goths during the fourth century C.E. while they were settled in Moesia (Serbia and Bulgaria). Missing from it are the books of Samuel and Kings, reportedly deleted because Bishop Ulfilas, who made the translation, thought it would be dangerous to include for use by the Goths these books that consider warfare and that contain information against idolatry.

The Armenian version of the Bible dates from the fifth century C.E. and was probably prepared from both Greek and Syriac texts. The Georgian version, made for the Georgians in the Caucasus, was completed toward the end of the sixth century C.E. and, while revealing Greek influence, has an Armenian and Syriac basis. The Ethiopic version, used by the Abyssinians, was produced perhaps about the fourth or fifth century C.E. There are several old Arabic versions of the Scriptures. Translations of parts of the Bible into Arabic may date from as early as the seventh century C.E., but the earliest record is that of a version made in Spain in 724 C.E. The Slavonic version was made in the ninth century C.E. and has been attributed to two brothers, Cyril and Methodius.

Hollow receptacles, some having lids (Nu 19:15), used to hold liquids or dry materials. (1Ki 17:10; Es 1:7; Jer 40:10) Many were made of clay, wood, metal, or stone. (Le 6:28; 15:12; Nu 7:85; 1Ki 10:21; Mt 26:7) Common containers included jars and vessels “of the bowl sort” (Isa 22:24), bags or sacks (Ge 42:25; Hag 1:6), baskets (Mr 8:19, 20; 2Co 11:33), skin bottles (Jg 4:19; Lu 5:37, 38), and buckets.​—Nu 24:7; Joh 4:11; see UTENSILS.

Jars, Jugs, and Flasks. The jar, generally a deep cylindrical vessel having one, two, or even four handles, was usually earthenware (Isa 30:14; La 4:2) and, sometimes, made of stone. (Joh 2:6) A common large jar in the days of the kingdoms of Judah and of Israel may have been approximately 65 cm (25 in.) high with a diameter of about 40 cm (16 in.). Some jars were equipped with spouts. (2Ki 4:2) Jars might be kept on a stand (Le 11:35) and were used to hold such liquids as water or oil (1Ki 18:33; 2Ki 4:2), large ones often being employed for wine. (1Sa 10:3; 25:18; 2Sa 16:1; Jer 13:12) Also dry materials, such as flour, were stored in jars. (1Ki 17:12) Sometimes documents, including deeds of purchase, were placed in earthenware jars, or vessels, for safekeeping. (Jer 32:13-15) A number of ancient manuscripts were thus preserved in jars in the Qumran area near the Dead Sea, among the manuscripts being the well-known Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah.

Water jugs (1Sa 26:11, 12, 16; 1Ki 19:6) and flasks (1Sa 10:1; 1Ki 14:3; 2Ki 9:3; Jer 19:1, 10) were commonly earthenware.

Bowls, Dishes, and Platters. Bowls were used to hold such liquids as wine (Am 6:6), milk (Jg 5:25), and water (Jg 6:38). They were made of clay, stone, and metal. Some banquet bowls were ceramic. As indicated by finds of archaeologists, in the days of the kingdoms of Judah and of Israel ceramic bowls averaged about 20 cm (8 in.) in height, had a diameter inside the rim of approximately 40 cm (16 in.), and sometimes had four handles. In comparison with bowls, dishes and platters likely were shallow.​—Ex 25:29; 37:16; Nu 4:7; 7:84, 85; Mt 14:8, 11; Mr 6:25, 28.

Cups. The cup, a comparatively small vessel for drinking liquids, was usually made of clay, though sometimes of metal. (Pr 23:31; Jer 35:5; Mr 9:41) Some cups were molded to fit the hand. Usually they were handleless shallow bowls. Those equipped with handles could also serve as dippers.

Figurative Use. The congregator indicated that at death “the jar at the spring is broken.” Apparently this jar is the heart, which in death ceases to receive and transmit the flow of blood throughout the body. It becomes as useless as a broken jar that can hold no water. Also the brain, alluded to in connection with the figure of a “golden bowl” (evidently the cranium with its brain content), ceases to function and undergoes dissolution, “gets crushed.”​—Ec 12:6, 7.

Vessels. The Scriptures often refer to people as vessels. (Ac 9:15) Christians are frail earthen vessels entrusted with a glorious treasure, the ministry. (2Co 4:7) Women are designated as the “weaker vessel.” Therefore, Christian husbands, by taking into consideration their wives’ physical and biological limitations, as did Jehovah in the Law given to Israel (Le 18:19; 20:18), act “according to knowledge, assigning them honor as to a weaker vessel, the feminine one.”​—1Pe 3:7.

An individual should keep separate from vessels “lacking honor” (persons who do not conduct themselves aright) and should pursue a course in harmony with Jehovah’s will. Thus he can be “a vessel for an honorable purpose, sanctified, useful to his owner, prepared for every good work.” (2Ti 2:20, 21) Jehovah’s refraining from bringing immediate destruction upon “vessels of wrath,” wicked persons, serves to spare righteously disposed ones because it gives them time to be molded as “vessels of mercy.”​—Ro 9:17-26.

Cup. The cup is often symbolic of divine retribution or of God’s anger. From such a cup wicked individuals, cities, or even peoples and nations might drink. (Ps 11:6; 75:8; Isa 51:17, 22; Jer 25:12-29; 51:41; La 4:21; Re 14:9, 10; 16:19; 18:5-8) Ancient Babylon, for example, was a symbolic “golden cup in the hand of Jehovah,” from which many nations had to drink the bitter potion of defeat.​—Jer 51:7.

When destruction was in store for Jerusalem, the inhabitants were told that people would not “give them the cup of consolation to drink on account of one’s father and on account of one’s mother.” This was possibly an allusion to a cup of wine given to a person mourning over his deceased parents.​—Jer 16:5-7; compare Pr 31:6.

The symbolic “cup” that Jehovah poured for Jesus Christ was His will for Jesus. Doubtless because of Christ’s great concern over the reproach his death as one charged with blasphemy and sedition would bring to God, Jesus prayed that this “cup” pass away from him, if possible. Nevertheless, he was willing to submit to Jehovah’s will and drink it. (Mt 26:39, 42; Joh 18:10, 11) Jehovah’s assigned portion, or “cup,” for Jesus meant not only suffering but also Jesus’ baptism into death climaxed by his being resurrected to immortal life in heaven. (Lu 12:50; Ro 6:4, 5; Heb 5:7) It was, therefore, also “the cup of grand salvation” for Christ. (Ps 116:13) According to the divine will, the “cup” that Jesus Christ was given to drink he also shares with the “little flock” of his joint heirs of the Kingdom.​—Lu 12:32; Mr 10:35-40.

See CITY.

A plant with long, slender twining stems that creep along the ground or climb by means of tendrils, the most common variety being the grapevine (Vitis vinifera). The Hebrew word geʹphen generally refers to “the wine vine” (Nu 6:4; Jg 13:14), an exception being the “wild vine” that produced wild gourds. (2Ki 4:39) The Greek word amʹpe·los refers to the grapevine, and the word am·pe·lonʹ refers to a vineyard.

The history of viticulture begins with the statement: “Noah . . . proceeded to plant a vineyard.” (Ge 9:20) Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out “bread and wine” to set before Abraham, proving that grapes were grown in the land of Canaan before 1933 B.C.E. (Ge 14:18) Egyptian inscriptions depict grape picking and the treading of winepresses in the second millennium B.C.E.; the Pharaohs of the time had official cupbearers. (Ge 40:9-13, 20-23) The Egyptian wine-making industry, however, suffered a severe blow when Jehovah “went killing their vine” with a plague of hail.​—Ps 78:47; 105:33.

The spies who entered the Promised Land, “a land of . . . vines and figs and pomegranates,” brought back from the torrent valley of Eshcol a cluster of grapes so large that it had to be carried on a bar between two men. (De 8:8; Nu 13:20, 23, 26) Grape clusters from this region are commonly said to weigh 4.5 to 5.5 kg (10 to 12 lb). One cluster was recorded as weighing 12 kg (26 lb); another, more than 20 kg (44 lb).

Besides the torrent valley of Eshcol, other grape-growing regions mentioned in the Bible are En-gedi by the Dead Sea (Ca 1:14), Shechem (Jg 9:26, 27), Shiloh (Jg 21:20, 21), and across the Jordan, Sibmah, Heshbon, and Elealeh.​—Isa 16:7-10; Jer 48:32.

Planting and Care. Vineyards were often planted on hillsides. It was customary to fence or wall in vineyards (Nu 22:24; Pr 24:30, 31) and also to build booths or watchtowers (Isa 1:8; 5:2) to protect the vineyards against thieves or animal intruders such as foxes and wild boars. (Ps 80:8, 13; Ca 2:15) The Mosaic Law allowed a passerby to eat his fill but not to carry any off in a receptacle, for this would be thievery.​—De 23:24.

For convenience a winepress and a vat were dug near the vineyard, since usually the bulk of the crop was crushed to make wine. (Isa 5:2; Mr 12:1; see WINE AND STRONG DRINK.) Of course, fresh grapes were eaten in considerable quantity, and some sun-dried raisins were produced.​—1Sa 25:18; 30:12; 2Sa 16:1; 1Ch 12:40.

Ancient vineyards were laid out in several different ways. Sometimes the vines were systematically planted in rows 2.5 m (8 ft) or more apart in well-prepared soil. No other seeds were to be planted in a vineyard, according to the Mosaic Law, though trees, such as the fig, might be planted there. (De 22:9; Lu 13:6, 7) Sometimes the vines were allowed to grow along the ground down a hillside, with only the clusters being raised by forked sticks, but more often the vines were trained over wooden arbors or piles of stones.

Pruning is necessary for production of good grapes. Jesus said that “every branch . . . not bearing fruit he takes away, and every one bearing fruit he cleans [by pruning], that it may bear more fruit.” (Joh 15:2) The pruning of productive branches and the cutting off of fruitless ones allow the plant to use its full strength in producing fruit of higher quality. Pruning in Bible lands began in the spring, about March, and was repeated in April and again in May if necessary.​—2Ch 26:10; Isa 18:5; Lu 13:7.

A fruitful vine with proper care and good pruning may reach unusual age and size. For example, it is reported that one such vine in Jericho was over 300 years old and had a trunk diameter of nearly 46 cm (18 in.). Sometimes these old vines reached a height of more than 9 m (30 ft) and were veritable ‘vine trees.’ But in spite of such stature among the trees of the forest, such vine wood is not serviceable either as “a pole with which to do some work” or “a peg on which to hang any kind of utensil,” for it is too soft; and it is not straight enough for lumber. Indeed, vine wood served as a fitting illustration of the unfaithful inhabitants of Jerusalem, good only as fuel for the fire, the eventual destiny, Jesus said, of unfruitful vines.​—Eze 15:2-7; Joh 15:6.

A successful vintage season was one of song and gladness that was shared in by the grape gatherers and the treaders of the winepresses. (Jg 9:27; Isa 16:10; Jer 25:30; see PRESS.) It was also a joyful time for the poor and alien residents of the land, who were permitted to glean the vineyards after the general harvest. (Le 19:10; De 24:21) The opposite was also true​—when the vines had withered, or when they produced no grapes, or when the vineyards became desolate wastes of thorns, these were calamitous times of great sorrow.​—Isa 24:7; 32:10, 12, 13; Jer 8:13.

Sabbatical laws required owners to leave their vineyards uncultivated, unpruned, and unharvested every seventh year and during the Jubilee. (Le 25:3-5, 11) But during those years any persons (owners, slaves, aliens, the poor), as well as the animals, were welcome to eat freely of what grew by itself.​—Ex 23:10, 11; Le 25:1-12.

Illustrative and Figurative Use. The familiarity of the grapevine​—the general knowledge people had of its cultivation and productivity as well as the vintage and the gleaning activities connected therewith—​made it an object of frequent reference by Bible writers. Vineyards producing an abundance of fruitage reflected Jehovah’s blessing. (Le 26:5; Hag 2:19; Zec 8:12; Mal 3:11; Ps 128:3) The expression ‘sitting everyone under his own vine and under his own fig tree’ became proverbial of peace and security.​—1Ki 4:25; 2Ki 18:31; Isa 36:16; Mic 4:4; Zec 3:10.

Unproductive vines would be a manifestation of God’s disfavor. (De 28:39) Israel was like grapes in the wilderness, but it became like a degenerate vine (Ho 9:10; 10:1), like a foreign vine producing wild grapes. (Isa 5:4; Jer 2:21) A common proverbial saying in the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel referred to the fact that unripe grapes set the teeth on edge, because of their sourness.​—Jer 31:29, 30; Eze 18:2.

Attempts have been made to link the “vine of Sodom” with various plants found native to the Dead Sea area, but the setting of this expression in its only occurrence (De 32:32) clearly indicates a figurative use. Sodom is repeatedly used in the Bible to represent moral corruption and wickedness.​—Isa 1:10; 3:9; Jer 23:14.

Jesus spoke on a number of occasions about vineyards and their grapes. (Mt 20:1-16) Just three days before his death, he gave the illustration of the wicked cultivators.​—Mr 12:1-9; Lu 20:9-16; see ILLUSTRATIONS.

When instituting the Lord’s Evening Meal, Jesus used wine, the “product of the vine,” as a symbol of his “blood of the covenant.” On that final night of his earthly life, he also spoke of himself as “the true vine” and of his Father as “the cultivator.” His disciples he likened to “the branches” who would be either pruned so as to bear more fruit or lopped off completely.​—Mt 26:27-29; Mr 14:24, 25; Lu 22:18; Joh 15:1-10.

Prophetic Use. When Jacob blessed Judah, there was prophetic meaning in his words: “Tying his full-grown ass to a vine [lag·geʹphen] and the descendant of his own she-ass to a choice vine [welas·so·re·qahʹ], he will certainly wash his clothing in wine and his garment in the blood of grapes. Dark red are his eyes from wine.” (Ge 49:8-12) The Hebrew word so·re·qahʹ denotes a red vine yielding the richest or choicest fruit. (Compare Isa 5:2; Jer 2:21, where the related term so·reqʹ occurs.) A few days before the sign reading “The King of the Jews” was posted above him on the torture stake (Mr 15:26), Jesus Christ, who was of the tribe of Judah, rode into Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of an ass, thereby being presented to Jerusalem as her king. (Mt 21:1-9; Zec 9:9) While Jesus did not tie the colt of the she-ass to a literal vine, he did bind his kingly claims to a symbolic vine, a spiritual one, namely, God’s Kingdom.​—Compare Mt 21:41-43; Joh 15:1-5.

In addition to this greater significance, Jacob’s prophecy had a literal application in the inheritance given to the tribe of Judah in the Promised Land. This included the mountainous region, with its productive valleys and elevated ‘fruitful hillsides’ that were terraced in vineyards.​—Isa 5:1.

In the book of Revelation, after the mention of “the harvest of the earth,” an angel is heard giving the command: “Gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, because its grapes have become ripe.” Thereupon “the vine of the earth” was gathered and hurled “into the great winepress of the anger of God.” This vine is different from “the true vine,” which produces fruit to God’s glory. “The vine of the earth” evidently produces hurtful fruitage, for it is destroyed at God’s command.​—Re 14:15, 18, 19.

A sour liquid produced in ancient times by the fermenting of wine or other alcoholic drinks. Nazirites were forbidden to drink “the vinegar of wine or the vinegar of intoxicating liquor,” which indicates that vinegar (probably diluted) was sometimes consumed as a beverage. (Nu 6:2, 3) Harvesters dipped their bread into vinegar, perhaps finding it a refreshing condiment in the heat of the day.​—Ru 2:14.

The acetic acid contained in vinegar produces a sour taste in the mouth and causes one’s teeth to feel very sensitive. (Pr 10:26) This acid content is apparent from the vigorous foaming action that results when vinegar is mixed with the weak alkali sodium carbonate, a reaction apparently alluded to at Proverbs 25:20.

When Jesus Christ was on earth, the Roman soldiers drank a thin, tart, or sour, wine known in Latin as acetum (vinegar), or as posca, when it was diluted with water. This was likely the drink offered to Jesus Christ while he was on the torture stake. Jesus refused the sour wine drugged with myrrh (or gall) that was presented to him to alleviate his suffering. (Mr 15:23; Mt 27:34; compare Ps 69:21.) However, just before he expired, he received plain sour wine from a sponge when it was put to his mouth.​—Joh 19:28-30; Lu 23:36, 37.

See VINE.

See VINE.

[Heb., ʼeph·ʽehʹ; tsiph·ʽo·niʹ; Gr., eʹkhi·dna].

A poisonous snake equipped with highly specialized fangs that can be tilted back against the roof of the mouth when they are not being used. The venom of vipers varies according to types, several of which exist in Palestine. One of the most dangerous is the sand viper (Vipera ammodytes) of the Jordan Valley. Another kind is the Palestine viper (Vipera palaestina). The Hebrew ʼeph·ʽehʹ is commonly connected with the Arabic ʼafʽan, which refers to the carpet viper, a poisonous snake of the sandy Jericho plains.

The potency of the viper’s poison is alluded to at Job 20:16, where Zophar speaks of “the tongue of a viper” as having the power to kill. Shipwrecked on the island of Malta, the apostle Paul was collecting a bundle of sticks and laying them upon a fire when a viper came out and fastened itself on Paul’s hand. However, Paul “shook the venomous creature off into the fire and suffered no harm,” though the people standing by expected Paul to swell up with inflammation or suddenly die.​—Ac 28:3-6.

Illustrative Use. The dangerous bite of the viper is used in an illustrative way at Proverbs 23:32, where the wise man describes the effects of the excessive use of wine, saying: “It bites just like a serpent, and it secretes poison just like a viper [Heb., u·khetsiph·ʽo·niʹ].” Describing the wickedness that God’s people Israel had come to practice, the prophet Isaiah wrote: “The eggs of a poisonous snake are what they have hatched . . . Anyone eating some of their eggs would die, and the egg that was smashed would be hatched into a viper.” (Isa 59:5) Most snakes lay eggs, and while the majority of the vipers are not oviparous (egg laying), certain types are.

John the Baptizer called the Pharisees and Sadducees “offspring of vipers.” (Mt 3:7; Lu 3:7) And Jesus Christ called the scribes and Pharisees “offspring of vipers” because of their wickedness and the deadly spiritual harm they could inflict upon unsuspecting persons.​—Mt 12:34; 23:33.

[Heb., ʽakh·shuvʹ; shephi·phonʹ].

One of the viperous poisonous snakes that inhabit Palestine, distinguished by a small pointed horn above each eye. Raymond Ditmars reports that the horned viper (Cerastes cornutus) is found in N Africa from Algeria to Egypt and also in Arabia and S Palestine.

Because the venom of the horned viper is potent (though not usually fatal to humans), David fittingly speaks of violent men as having sharpened their tongue “like that of a serpent; the venom of the horned viper is under their lips.”​—Ps 140:3; see ASP.

Reaching a maximum length of about 0.8 m (2.5 ft), the horned viper is of a pale, sandy hue and thus conceals itself in sand, waiting for prey. The untrained eye finds it most difficult to spot a lurking horned viper. In his book Reptiles of the World (1953, pp. 234, 235), Raymond Ditmars describes some horned vipers he saw in captivity: “Like all desert vipers, they were continually seeking to throw sand over their backs, thus hiding their bodies. If the cage were to be provided with several inches of fine sand, nothing would be seen of the snakes during the day but the tops of their heads. In shoveling sand the reptile flattens the body to such an extent, the lower edge acts as a scoop, then by a remarkable series of wave-like motions traveling the length of the body, on either side, the snake sinks into the sand or works this over its back.”

Figurative Use. The horned viper, which is alert and strikes with great swiftness, has been known to attack horses; thus the comparison given at Genesis 49:17 of the tribe of Dan with the “horned snake” is most fitting. There Jacob likened Dan to a serpent, a horned snake, “that bites the heels of the horse so that its rider falls backward.” This was not to downgrade Dan, as if he were a vile snake in the grass fit only to be crushed under the heel. Rather, in the capacity of a snake, Dan would serve a great national purpose. By lying in wait like the horned viper, he could, in effect, bite the heels of the horse carrying an enemy warrior and cause it to rear up and dump its rider off backward. So, though small, Dan would be as dangerous as a horned viper to Israel’s disturbers.

The Hebrew word bethu·lahʹ signifies a woman who has never been united to a man in marriage and has never had sexual intercourse. (Ge 24:16; De 32:25; Jg 21:12; 1Ki 1:2; Es 2:2, 3, 17; La 1:18; 2:21) The Greek term par·theʹnos, however, can apply to both single men and single women.​—Mt 25:1-12; Lu 1:27; Ac 21:9; 1Co 7:25, 36-38.

According to the Law, a man who seduced an unengaged virgin had to give her father 50 silver shekels ($110), was to marry her (if her father permitted), and was not allowed to divorce her “all his days.” (Ex 22:16, 17; De 22:28, 29) But an engaged virgin, being viewed as already belonging to a husband, was to be stoned to death if she did not scream when sexually attacked. Her failure to scream would have denoted consent and thus would have constituted her an adulteress. (De 22:23, 24; compare Mt 1:18, 19.) The fact that an engaged virgin was regarded as being ‘owned’ by a husband also explains why Joel 1:8 could refer to “a virgin” as wailing over “the owner of her youth.”

As greater freedom in the Lord’s service is enjoyed by those retaining their virginity, the apostle Paul recommended singleness as the better course for Christians having self-control. (1Co 7:25-35) However, regarding those lacking self-control, he observed: “If anyone thinks he is behaving improperly toward his virginity, if that is past the bloom of youth, and this is the way it should take place, let him do what he wants; he does not sin. Let them marry.”​—1Co 7:36.

The Greek word rendered “virginity” at 1 Corinthians 7:36-38 literally means “virgin.” For this reason the thought has been advanced that Paul was talking about a father’s or guardian’s duty toward a marriageable daughter. Thus The Jerusalem Bible reads: “If there is anyone who feels that it would not be fair to his daughter to let her grow too old for marriage, and that he should do something about it, he is free to do as he likes: he is not sinning if there is a marriage.” Another view is that this text pertains to a man’s deciding to marry the girl to whom he is engaged. The American Translation states: “If a man thinks he is not acting properly toward the girl to whom he is engaged, if his passions are too strong, and that is what ought to be done, let him do as he pleases; it is no sin; let them be married.”

The context, however, suggests that the reference is not to a virgin girl but to a person’s own virginity. One commentator observed: “I think the apostle is here continuing his former discourse, and advising unmarried persons, who are at their own disposal, what to do; the man’s virgin being meant of his virginity.” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1976, Vol. III, p. 1036) Since the Greek word par·theʹnos can include single men, the rendering “virginity,” as found in the translations by J. B. Rotherham and J. N. Darby as well as in the New World Translation, is appropriate and seems to fit the context best.

Spiritual Virginity. Even as the high priest in Israel could take only a virgin as his wife (Le 21:10, 13, 14; compare Eze 44:22), so the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, must have only a “virgin” as his spiritual “bride” in heaven. (Re 21:9; Heb 7:26; compare Eph 5:25-30.) Hence, the apostle Paul was deeply concerned about the purity of the Corinthian congregation, desiring to present it “as a chaste virgin to the Christ.” (2Co 11:2-6) The bride of Christ is composed of 144,000 spirit-anointed persons who individually maintain their ‘virginity’ by remaining separate from the world and by keeping themselves morally and doctrinally pure.​—Re 14:1, 4; compare 1Co 5:9-13; 6:15-20; Jas 4:4; 2Jo 8-11.

Messianic Prophecy. Although the Hebrew word bethu·lahʹ means “virgin,” another term (ʽal·mahʹ) appears at Isaiah 7:14: “Look! The maiden [ha·ʽal·mahʹ] herself will actually become pregnant, and she is giving birth to a son, and she will certainly call his name Immanuel.” The word ʽal·mahʹ means “maiden” and can apply to a nonvirgin or a virgin. It is applied to “the maiden” Rebekah before marriage when she was also called “a virgin” (bethu·lahʹ). (Ge 24:16, 43) Under divine inspiration, Matthew employed the Greek word par·theʹnos (virgin) when showing that Isaiah 7:14 found final fulfillment in connection with the virgin birth of Jesus, the Messiah. Both Matthew and Luke state clearly that Jesus’ mother Mary was then a virgin who became pregnant through the operation of God’s holy spirit.​—Mt 1:18-25; Lu 1:26-35.

Cities, Places, and Peoples. Often the term “virgin” is used in connection with cities, places, or peoples. Reference is made to the “virgin” or “virgin daughter” of “my people” (Jer 14:17), as well as of Israel (Jer 31:4, 21; Am 5:2), Judah (La 1:15), Zion (2Ki 19:21; La 2:13), Egypt (Jer 46:11), Babylon (Isa 47:1), and Sidon (Isa 23:12). The sense of this figurative use appears to be that the various peoples or locations thus referred to either had not been seized and ravished by foreign conquerors or at one time enjoyed an unsubdued state like a virgin.

A sight or scene presented to a person’s mind by day or by night, usually through other than ordinary means, and sometimes while the recipient was in a trance or was dreaming. (Ac 10:3; Ge 46:2) It is often difficult to establish a clear demarcation between visions and dreams described in the Bible, and at times they are combined.

When a person received a vision from God during waking hours, it appears that the impression was made upon the conscious mind. The vision could later be recalled and described or recorded by the recipient, in his own words. Some persons, such as Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, also had nocturnal visions, or ‘visions of the night.’ These seem to have been impressed upon the subconscious mind while the recipient slept.

Trance. Apparently God’s spirit at times superimposed on the mind a picture of God’s purpose or a vision while a person was in a trance, a state of deep concentration or a sleeplike condition. The Greek word rendered “trance” in the Christian Scriptures is ekʹsta·sis. Defined literally as a putting away or displacement, it carries the figurative idea of a throwing of the mind out of its normal state. An individual in a trance would be oblivious of his literal surroundings and would be receptive to a vision.​—Ac 22:17, 18.

Assurances of Divine Favor. Certain visions from God revealed to Jehovah’s servants how he was dealing with them and gave them assurance of divine favor. The word of Jehovah came to Abram (Abraham) in a vision, and the patriarch was assured: “Do not fear, Abram. I am a shield for you. Your reward will be very great.” (Ge 15:1) Thereafter, Jehovah made a covenant with Abraham. (Ge 15:2-21) Some years later, God talked to Jacob in visions of the night, telling him not to be afraid to go down to Egypt, for God would constitute him a great nation there and would eventually bring him up from that land.​—Ge 46:1-4; compare 2Sa 7:1-17; 1Ch 17:1-15.

Direction in Serving the Divine Purpose. Some visions from God gave the recipients direction in the doing of Jehovah’s will. After the glorified Jesus Christ appeared to Saul of Tarsus, Saul, though temporarily blinded, had a vision in which he saw a man named Ananias lay his hands upon him so that he might recover sight. Also by means of a vision, Ananias was directed to the very house where Saul was in Damascus.​—Ac 9:1-19.

In Caesarea in 36 C.E., the devout Gentile Cornelius received a vision in which an angel told him to send to Joppa for Simon Peter. (Ac 10:1-8) At Joppa, Peter fell into a trance and had a vision in which he saw descending from heaven a vessel containing various unclean creatures. By this means the apostle was taught that he should not consider defiled the things God had cleansed. This prepared Peter to initiate the work of preaching the good news to uncircumcised Gentiles.​—Ac 10:9-23; 11:5-12.

Divine direction in the preaching work was also given to Paul by means of visions. At Troas, during Paul’s second missionary tour, at night the apostle had a vision of a Macedonian man who entreated: “Step over into Macedonia and help us.” (Ac 16:8-12) Later, as a result of a reassuring vision by night in which the Lord spoke to him, the apostle remained in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching the Word of God.​—Ac 18:8-11.

Prophecy. Some visions from God were prophetic or were given to enable the recipient to interpret prophecies communicated in visions and dreams. The prophet Daniel “had understanding in all sorts of visions and dreams.” (Da 1:17) It was in “a night vision” that God revealed to Daniel the content and meaning of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about an immense image pictorial of world powers.​—Da 2:19, 28; compare Da 4:5, 10, 13, 20-22.

In a prophetic dream and “visions during the night,” Daniel beheld four huge beasts coming out of the sea, indicating that four “kings” would stand up from the earth. (Da 7:1-3, 17) The prophet was also privileged to behold in vision “someone like a son of man” obtaining rulership, dignity, and kingdom from the Ancient of Days.​—Da 7:13, 14.

Visions from God were also received by such Bible writers as Isaiah (1:1; 6:1-13), Amos (7:1-9, 12; 8:1, 2), and Ezekiel (1:1). Obadiah’s inspired prophetic declaration against Edom opens with the words: “The vision of Obadiah.” (Ob 1) “The vision of Nahum” contains a pronouncement against Nineveh.​—Na 1:1.

The book of Revelation contains a series of visions seen by the aged apostle John. The book’s Greek name, A·po·kaʹly·psis, meaning “Uncovering” or “Disclosure,” is apropos, for Revelation does uncover matters, disclosing many events of the distant future, far beyond the time of its composition.​—Re 1:1, ftn.

False Visions. Prior to Jerusalem’s destruction in 607 B.C.E., that city’s false prophets spoke “the vision of their own heart,” their messages not originating with Jehovah. (Jer 23:16) Having no vision from Jehovah, what they visioned was worthless. (La 2:9, 14) Because they spoke untruth and “visioned a lie,” Jehovah was against them.​—Eze 13.

Some Foretold to See Visions. In contrast with false visions and in addition to the God-given visions already discussed, Joel was divinely inspired to foretell that, under the influence of God’s spirit, young men would “see visions.” (Joe 2:28) Peter showed that there was a fulfillment of this prophecy on the day of Pentecost in 33 C.E., when the holy spirit was bestowed upon followers of Jesus Christ and they miraculously declared in many languages “the magnificent things of God.”​—Ac 2:1-4, 11, 15-17.

A man who had or claimed to have visions from God regarding concealed or future matters. The Hebrew word for “visionary” is cho·zehʹ, from cha·zahʹ, meaning “behold; vision.” Cha·zahʹ and its derivatives are employed with reference to seeing visions.​—Nu 24:4; Isa 1:1; 21:2; 22:1; Eze 13:7; Da 8:1; see SEER.

Some visionaries were false and were opposed by God. (Isa 29:10; Mic 3:7) Others were sent by Jehovah and spoke in his name. (2Ki 17:13; 2Ch 33:18) The term “visionary” is applied to several men, namely, Heman, Iddo, Hanani, Gad, Asaph, Jeduthun, and Amos. (1Ch 25:5; 2Ch 12:15; 19:2; 29:25, 30; 35:15; Am 7:12) Some, such as Gad and Iddo, recorded their visions or wrote other accounts. (1Ch 29:29; 2Ch 9:29; 33:19) Not all of Jehovah’s prophets were visionaries. However, Gad was called both a “prophet” and “David’s visionary,” apparently because at least some of the messages he received from God came by means of visions containing divine instruction or counsel for King David.​—2Sa 24:11; 1Ch 21:9.

The sounds uttered by persons in speaking, singing, and the like, as well as those made by animals, are denoted in Scripture by the Hebrew word qohl, its Aramaic equivalent qal, and the Greek word pho·neʹ. (Ge 3:8, 10; 21:17; Job 4:10; Da 4:31; Mt 27:46) Besides “voice,” qohl can also denote “thunder,” “sound,” “noise,” “news,” and so forth. (Ge 45:16; Ex 9:28; 20:18; 32:17) Similarly, pho·neʹ can have such meanings as “sound,” “cry,” “speech sound,” and “blast,” as well as “voice.”​—Joh 3:8; Ac 19:34; 1Co 14:10, 11; Heb 12:26; Re 8:13.

Spirit Persons. The apostle Paul speaks of “the tongues of men and of angels,” indicating that spirit persons have language and speech. (1Co 13:1) Angels, and Jehovah God himself, have been heard to speak in voice sounds and languages audible to men and understandable by them. But it is not to be supposed that such would be the voice with which they communicate with one another in the heavens, for an atmosphere such as exists around the earth is necessary for propagating the sound waves of voice that is audible and understandable to the human ear.

The instances in which God or angels spoke in a voice in the hearing of men would therefore be a manifestation of their speech as transformed into sound waves, just as appearances of angels to the vision of man required either a materialization or a transmitting to the human mind of a pictorial image. Today even human scientists can convert the sound-wave pattern of an individual’s voice into electric impulses that can be transmitted to a receiver, which can change those impulses back to sounds closely resembling the individual’s voice.

Have any humans actually heard the voice of God himself?

In three instances in the Bible record, Jehovah is reported as speaking audibly to humans. These are: (1) At the time of Jesus’ baptism (29 C.E.), when Jehovah said: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.” Both Jesus and John the Baptizer undoubtedly heard this voice. (Mt 3:17; Mr 1:11; Lu 3:22) (2) At Jesus’ transfiguration (32 C.E.), with the apostles Peter, James, and John present, when virtually the same words were uttered. (Mt 17:5; Mr 9:7; Lu 9:35) (3) In 33 C.E., shortly before Jesus’ last Passover, when, responding to Jesus’ request that God glorify his name, a voice from heaven said: “I both glorified it and will glorify it again.” The crowd thought that it had thundered or that an angel had spoken to Jesus.​—Joh 12:28, 29.

On those occasions it was Jehovah God who made himself manifest by means of audible sounds of speech understandable to his servants. Evidently in the last-named instance the crowd did not hear the voice distinctly, since some compared it to thunder. Jehovah undoubtedly was the speaker on those occasions, because Jesus, in connection with whom the statements were made, was God’s own Son, closer to the Father than any other creature was.​—Mt 11:27.

Speaking to a group of unbelieving Jews, about the time of the Passover of 31 C.E., Jesus told them: “Also, the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his figure; and you do not have his word remaining in you, because the very one whom he dispatched you do not believe.” (Joh 5:37, 38) This unbelieving crowd had never heard God’s voice, and they were not obeying his word or even the obvious witness they received through God’s support of Jesus’ works. For that matter, apparently only Jesus and John the Baptizer had heard the audible voice of Jehovah, for the last two instances of Jehovah’s speaking had not yet occurred at this point.

Biblical mention of Jehovah’s “voice” sometimes refers to the authoritativeness of his command as “the voice of God Almighty.”​—Eze 10:5, RS.

Angelic voices. On other occasions when God ‘spoke,’ angels were used as his representatives to provide the vocal manifestation. Angels represented God in speaking to Moses in Mount Horeb and to Israel, assembled near the foot of the mountain. (Ex 34:4-7; 20:1-17; Ga 3:19) These angels sometimes did not present any visible appearance of a form, as when the voice came from the quaking, smoking mountain. (Ex 20:18, 19; De 4:11, 12; Heb 12:18, 19) At times they made visionary appearances (Da 8:1, 15, 16; Re 14:15-18) and on several occasions materialized in human form to bring spoken messages to men.​—Ge 18:1-3, 20; 19:1; Jos 5:13-15.

Hearing the Voice of God. To ‘hear the voice of God’ does not necessarily mean the hearing of a literal, audible voice. It more often means recognizing and hearing with obedience what God has caused to be written in his Word and transmitted through his earthly servants who represent him. (1Jo 2:3, 4) Thus, “voice” is used as applying to “every utterance coming forth through Jehovah’s mouth,” his commands whether presented to the individual verbally by God himself or by angels or men, or in inspired writing.​—Ps 103:20; Mt 4:4; see OBEDIENCE.

Hearing Jesus’ Voice. Jesus Christ spoke of himself as “the fine shepherd” whose sheep “listen to his voice, . . . and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. . . . they do not know the voice of strangers.” (Joh 10:2-5, 11) Those who are Christ’s “sheep” “know” his voice in that they recognize and acknowledge as true what Christ says as recorded in the Bible. They refuse to acknowledge the teaching of ‘strangers,’ false shepherds. They “listen” to his voice in that they obey his commands as set forth in the Scriptures. (Joh 15:10, 15) Since Christ Jesus is God’s Chief Representative, who always listens to Jehovah’s voice and speaks what Jehovah directs, the one following Christ will be in union with Jehovah.​—Joh 5:19; 1Jo 2:6.

The voice of the resurrected Jesus Christ. After Christ’s resurrection and ascension, he appeared to Saul of Tarsus (later the apostle Paul), speaking to him in a voice that Saul understood, but that the men accompanying him did not understand. (Ac 9:1-9; 22:6-11; 26:12-18) At Acts 9:7, the account states that the men with Saul heard “a voice [“sound,” Da, Ro, ftns].” Here the Greek word pho·nesʹ, the genitive case of pho·neʹ, is used, with the sense of ‘hearing of the voice.’ This allows for the meaning that the men heard only the sound of the voice, but did not understand. When Paul later related the experience, he said that the men “did not hear the voice of the one speaking.” (Ac 22:9) In this account the accusative (objective) case pho·nenʹ is used. This can give the sense that, although the sound registered on their ears, they did not hear the voice as being distinct words that they understood as did Saul, to whom Christ was speaking.

The apostle Paul said, when writing to the Thessalonian congregation about the gathering of God’s anointed holy ones: “The Lord [Jesus Christ] himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet.” (1Th 4:16) The term “archangel” means “chief angel” or “principal angel.” Paul’s expression “archangel’s voice” evidently focuses attention on the authoritativeness of Jesus’ voice of command. Jesus, when on earth, revealed the authority that God invested in him, when he said: “For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted also to the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to do judging, because Son of man he is. . . . The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.”​—Joh 5:26-29.

Use of Human Voice. Voice, along with language, is a gift of God. Therefore, the voice should be lifted in praise to God. This can be done by speaking “the magnificent things of God,” upbuilding others with information from God’s Word of truth, or in songs of praise and thanksgiving.​—Ac 2:11; Ps 42:4; 47:1; 98:5; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16.

God hears his servants’ voice. Those who serve God with spirit and truth can call upon God with the assurance that he hears their voice, regardless of the language in which they call upon him. Moreover, even though the literal voice is not used, the petition to God being a silent one, God, who knows the hearts of men, “hears” or gives attention nevertheless. (Ps 66:19; 86:6; 116:1; 1Sa 1:13; Ne 2:4) God hears afflicted ones who cry to him for help, and he also hears the voice and knows the intentions of men who oppose him and plot evil against his servants.​—Ge 21:17; Ps 55:18, 19; 69:33; 94:9-11; Jer 23:25.

Inanimate Things. Among the numerous things of God’s creation, many do not make a voice sound. But the Hebrew word qohl (“voice,” “sound”) is used with regard to the witness these voiceless things give to the majesty of their Creator. (Ps 19:1-4) In a personified sense wisdom is said to keep “giving forth its voice” in the public squares, because it is available to all who seek it, and God has had wisdom proclaimed before all, so that there is no excuse for the one not listening.​—Pr 1:20-30.

Figurative Use. The anguish of Jerusalem’s inhabitants in the face of Babylonian attack is compared with the distressed voice of a sick woman, “the voice of the daughter of Zion” being likened to that of a woman giving birth to her first child. (Jer 4:31) The enemy would reduce Jerusalem to such a low state that any utterances made with her voice would come up from her position of debasement as in the dust and would be like the low voice of a spirit medium. (Isa 29:4) Through the prophet Jeremiah, God also prophesied that Egypt would be vanquished by the Babylonians, who would come in force as woodcutters, to chop her down. She would lie on the ground, deeply humbled, weeping softly and moaning, her “voice” being low like that of a hissing serpent in retreat.​—Jer 46:22.

(Vophʹsi).

A Naphtalite whose son Nahbi was one of the 12 Israelites sent to spy out Canaan.​—Nu 13:2, 14.

A solemn promise made to God to perform some act, make some offering or gift, enter some service or condition, or abstain from certain things not unlawful in themselves. A vow was a voluntary expression made of one’s own free will. Being a solemn promise, a vow carried the force of an oath or a swearing, and at times the two expressions accompany each other in the Bible. (Nu 30:2; Mt 5:33) “Vow” is more the declaration of intent, while “oath” denotes the appeal made to a higher authority attesting to the truthfulness or binding nature of the declaration. Oaths often accompanied attestation to a covenant.​—Ge 26:28; 31:44, 53.

The earliest record of a vow is found at Genesis 28:20-22, where Jacob promised to give Jehovah one tenth of all his possessions if Jehovah would continue with him and bring him back in peace, thereby proving to be Jacob’s God. Jacob was not bargaining with God, but he wanted to be sure that he had God’s approval. As this example points out, vows were made by the patriarchs (see also Job 22:27), and as with so many other patriarchal customs, the Mosaic Law, rather than introduce these already-existing features of worship, defined and regulated them.

Many vows were made as appeals to God for his favor and success in an undertaking, as in Jacob’s case. Another example of such is the vow by Israel to devote the cities of the Canaanite king of Arad to destruction if Jehovah gave Israel the victory. (Nu 21:1-3) Vows were also made as expressions of devotion to Jehovah and his pure worship (Ps 132:1-5) or to indicate that a person was setting himself or his possessions apart for special service. (Nu 6:2-7) Parents could make vows in connection with their children, as Hannah did regarding Samuel. (1Sa 1:11; compare Jg 11:30, 31, 39.) In these instances the children cooperated in carrying out the vow.

Voluntary, but Binding When Once Made. Vows were wholly voluntary. However, once a man made a vow, fulfillment was compulsory by divine law. Thus a vow was spoken of as being ‘bound upon his soul,’ implying that his very life became surety for the performance of his word. (Nu 30:2; see also Ro 1:31, 32.) Since life is at stake, it is understandable why the Scriptures urge one to use extreme caution before making a vow, carefully considering the obligations to be assumed. The Law stated: “In case you vow a vow to Jehovah . . . God will without fail require it of you, and it would indeed become a sin on your part. But in case you omit making a vow, it will not become a sin on your part.”​—De 23:21, 22.

As later expressed by the Congregator: “What you vow, pay. Better is it that you vow not than that you vow and do not pay. Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin, neither say before the angel that it was a mistake.” (Ec 5:4-6) A vow rashly made on the impulse of momentary enthusiasm or mere emotion might very well prove to be a snare. (Pr 20:25) Under the Law one making such a thoughtless vow was guilty before God and had to present a guilt offering for his sin. (Le 5:4-6) In the final analysis, a vow has no merit in the eyes of God unless it is in harmony with his righteous laws and issues from the right kind of heart and spirit.​—Ps 51:16, 17.

Vows of women, under the Law. The laws regulating vows made by women are outlined at Numbers 30:3-15: The vow of a daughter was binding once her father heard it and raised no objection; or, instead, he could annul it. The vow of a wife (or an engaged girl) likewise depended on her husband (or fiancé) for validation. If the man annulled the vow after first letting it stand, he bore her error. (Nu 30:14, 15) In the case of a widow or a divorced woman, “everything that she has bound upon her soul will stand against her.”​—Nu 30:9.

Disposition of Things Vowed. In fulfillment of a vow, any person or possession, including land, could be offered to Jehovah, except what had already been set apart for Him by the Law​—the firstborn, firstfruits, tithes, and the like. (Le 27:26, 30, 32) That which was vowed as “sanctified” (Heb., qoʹdhesh, something set aside as holy, for sacred use) could be redeemed by a certain payment to the sanctuary (except clean animals). (Le 27:9-27) However, anything “devoted” (Heb., cheʹrem) could not be redeemed, but it was to be completely and permanently the property of the sanctuary or, if devoted to destruction, was to be destroyed without fail.​—Le 27:28, 29.

Wrong or Unclean Vows. The vows of heathen religions many times involved unclean, immoral practices. Throughout Phoenicia, Syria, and Babylon, the proceeds of temple prostitution were dedicated to the idol or temple. Such degenerate vows were outlawed in Israel: “You must not bring the hire of a harlot or the price of a dog [likely, a pederast (sodomite)] into the house of Jehovah your God for any vow.”​—De 23:18, ftn.

After Jerusalem’s destruction, Jeremiah reminded the Jews in Egypt that one reason for the calamity that befell them was their making vows to the “queen of the heavens” and offering sacrifices to her. The women who were taking a prominent part in this idol worship were quick to point out that their vows and worship to the “queen of the heavens” had been approved by their husbands and that they were determined to carry out their vows to this goddess. They thus made the excuse that they were acting in harmony with the Law regarding vows for women (Nu 30:10-15), but Jeremiah denounced their actions as being really law defying, since they were idolatrous.​—Jer 44:19, 23-25; 2Co 6:16-18.

Hypocritical vows. The Jews did not slip back into outright idol worship after the exile. However, they “made the word of God invalid because of [their] tradition.” Their specious reasoning in interpreting the Law affected the matter of vows as well as other features of worship, their religious leaders hypocritically teaching “commands of men as doctrines.” (Mt 15:6-9) For example, Jewish tradition stated that if a man said to his father or mother, “Whatever I have by which you might get benefit from me is a gift dedicated to God” (a pronouncement of dedication or sanctification), he thereby vowed to sanctify all he had spoken of to God and was not to use these things to help his parents; this was on the theory that now the temple had the prior claim to these possessions, although he was actually allowed full liberty to keep them for himself.​—Mt 15:5, 6.

Sacrifices Connected With Vows. Under the Law, a burnt offering at times accompanied other sacrifices, to denote complete dedication and an appeal to Jehovah to accept the sacrifice with favor. (Le 8:14, 18; 16:3) Such was true in connection with vows. (Nu 6:14) Burnt offerings were sacrificed to perform special vows. (Nu 15:3; Ps 66:13) And concerning a “communion sacrifice to Jehovah in order to pay a vow,” the requirement was that an unblemished animal be offered, part of which was burned on the altar.​—Le 22:21, 22; 3:1-5.

As regards Jephthah’s vow before fighting the Ammonites (Jg 11:29-31), see JEPHTHAH.

Paul’s Observance of Law as to Vows. The apostle Paul made a vow, whether a Nazirite vow or not is uncertain; also, whether he had made the vow before becoming a Christian is not stated. He may have concluded the period of his vow at Cenchreae, near Corinth, when he had his hair clipped (Ac 18:18) or, as some believe, when he went to the temple in Jerusalem with four other men who were completing their vows. However, this latter action was taken by Paul on the advice of the Christian governing body to demonstrate that Paul was walking orderly and not teaching disobedience to the Law, as rumored in the ears of some of the Jewish Christians. It was common practice for a person to pay for others the expenses involved in the ceremonial cleansing at the expiration of the period of a vow, as Paul here did.​—Ac 21:20-24.

As to why the apostle Paul and his associates in the Christian governing body approved the carrying out of certain features of the Law, even though the Law had been moved out of the way by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the following things may be considered: The Law was given by Jehovah God to his people Israel. Accordingly, the apostle Paul said, “The Law is spiritual,” and of its regulations he said, “The Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” (Ro 7:12, 14) Consequently, the temple and the services carried on there were not despised by Christians, or looked down upon as wrong. They were not idolatrous. Furthermore, many of the practices had become ingrained as custom among those who were Jews. Moreover, since the Law was not merely religious but was also the law of the land, some things, such as the restrictions on work on the Sabbaths, had to be followed by all those living in the land.

But in considering this matter, the main point is that the Christians did not look to these things for salvation. The apostle explained that certain things, such as the eating of meat or vegetables, the observing of certain days as above others, even the eating of meat that had been offered to idols before being put up for regular sale in the marketplaces, were matters of conscience. He wrote: “One man judges one day as above another; another man judges one day as all others; let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day observes it to Jehovah. Also, he who eats, eats to Jehovah, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat does not eat to Jehovah, and yet gives thanks to God.” Then he summed up his argument by stating the principle: “For the kingdom of God does not mean eating and drinking, but means righteousness and peace and joy with holy spirit,” and he concluded: “Happy is the man that does not put himself on judgment by what he approves. But if he has doubts, he is already condemned if he eats, because he does not eat out of faith. Indeed, everything that is not out of faith is sin.”​—Ro 14:5, 6, 17, 22, 23; 1Co 10:25-30.

An enlightening comment is made on this point by Bible scholar Albert Barnes, in his Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Acts of the Apostles (1858). Making reference to Acts 21:20​—which reads: “After hearing this [an account of God’s blessing on Paul’s ministry to the nations] they began to glorify God, and they said to him: ‘You behold, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews; and they are all zealous for the Law’”​—Barnes remarks: “The reference here is, to the law respecting circumcision, sacrifices, distinctions of meats and days, festivals, &c. It may seem remarkable that they should still continue to observe those rites, since it was the manifest design of Christianity to abolish them. But we are to remember, (1.) That those rites had been appointed by God, and that they were trained to their observance. (2.) That the apostles conformed to them while they remained in Jerusalem, and did not deem it best to set themselves violently against them. [Ac 3:1; Lu 24:53] (3.) That the question about their observance had never been agitated at Jerusalem. It was only among the Gentile converts that the question had risen, and there it must arise, for if they were to be observed, they must have been imposed upon them by authority. (4.) The decision of the council (ch. xv.) related only to the Gentile converts. [Ac 15:23] . . . (5.) It was to be presumed, that as the Christian religion became better understood​—that as its large, free, and [universal] nature became more and more developed, the peculiar institutions of Moses would be laid aside of course, without agitation, and without tumult. Had the question been agitated [publicly] at Jerusalem, it would have excited tenfold opposition to Christianity, and would have rent the Christian church into factions, and greatly retarded the advance of the Christian doctrine. We are to remember also, (6.) That, in the arrangement of Divine Providence, the time was drawing near which was to destroy the temple, the city, and the nation; which was to put an end to sacrifices, and effectually to close for ever the observance of the Mosaic rites. As this destruction was so near, and as it would be so effectual an argument against the observance of the Mosaic rites, the Great Head of the church did not suffer the question of their obligation to be needlessly agitated among the disciples at Jerusalem.”

[Heb., ra·chamʹ; ra·chaʹmah], Black Vulture [Heb., ʽoz·ni·yahʹ].

A large carrion-eating bird that renders a very valuable service in lands of warm climate, consuming the dead carcasses and putrefying flesh that might otherwise cause disease. This bird is listed among those declared ‘unclean’ in the Mosaic Law.​—Le 11:13, 18; De 14:12, 17.

In Arabic, a language that is cognate with Hebrew, a word similar to ra·chamʹ designates the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), often called Pharaoh’s chicken. This bird is white except for its black wings and yellow bill and legs. It is the smallest of the vultures found in Bible lands, being about 65 cm (26 in.) in length. With its bare wrinkled face, large eyes, hooked beak, and curved talons, it is quite repulsive in appearance. Because of its willingness to eat refuse disdained even by other vultures, it is considered the foulest scavenger of the Middle East and, by the same token, the most useful because of the service it performs.

The griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) is a yellowish-brown bird measuring about 1.2 m (4 ft) in length, with a wingspan of some 2.7 m (9 ft). The griffon vulture was the symbol of the Egyptian goddess Nekhebet and also appeared on the battle standards of the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Persians.

The lammergeier, or bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), is a large bird of prey, standing about 1.2 m (4 ft) high. With its long pointed wings that span almost 3 m (10 ft), the lammergeier flies with unusual grace, and wheels effortlessly as it searches the land below for food. Unlike other vultures, the lammergeier has feathers on its head and a beard resembling that of a goat. It has a preference for marrow bones, carrying these to great heights and then dropping them on rocks so that they split open, allowing the bird to reach the marrow within.

The Hebrew word ʽoz·ni·yahʹ evidently refers to the black vulture (Aegypius monachus), the largest bird of prey occurring in Israel. More brown than black, it has the vulture’s characteristic naked head; the neck is blue, the tail wedge-shaped.