BEAUTIFUL GATE

form of Hebrew parallelism: observe how the first and last have the same refrain, the poem beginning and ending on the same note — cf. Ps 8. His No. 8 sums up in the form of the other Beatitudes the principle of the appendix w."- ^', which Lk 6^- ^ shows to be original: he then inserts this as a comment, much as he appends a sentence of comment to the Lord's Prayer (6"- 1'). It may perhaps be doubted whether the Beatitudes pecuUar to Mt. are in their original context. No. 3, proclaiming the triumph of those who do not 'struggle to survive,' is quoted from Ps 37"; No. S is found as early as Clement of Rome, in the form ' Show mercy, that mercy be shown to you'; No. 6 reproduces the sense of Ps 24<; No. 7, echoed in Ja 3", may have been altered in form to fit the appropriate context. We seem to be justified in conjecturing that Lk. inserts all the Beatitudes he found in his source under the same context, and that he faithfully preserved the words as they stood: the Woes likewise belonged to the same discourse. (Note the support given to them by Ja 51, and the use of the commercial technical term 'have received,' so characteristic of the Sermon; cf. Mt 62- '■ «). The gloss with which Mt. interprets the blessing on the poor was not apparently known to St. James (2*), whose very clear allusion to the Beatitude in its Lukan form determines the exegesis. The rich man could bring himself within the range of the blessing by accepting the 'humiliation' that Christian disciple-ship brought (Ja 1'°); so that Mt.'s interpretation is supported by the writer, who shows us most clearly that the exact words have not been preserved by him. In No. 2 Mt. seems to have slightly altered the original (Lk 6"), under the influence of Is 61' — the prophecy from which Jesus preached in the synagogue at Nazareth, and the obvious suggestive cause of the appearance of the poor at the opening of the Beatitudes. It should be observed, however, that all attempts to ascertain the original form of sayings of Jesus have at best so large a subjective element that we cannot afford to dogmatize. There are scholars of great weight, rein-forced most recently by Harnack, who regard Mt. as generally preserving the lost Loffio-coUection in a more exact form than Lk. Moreover, we must always allow for the probability that modifications introduced by Mt. or Lk. may often rest on early traditions, so that elements not included in the principal Gospel sources may nevertheless be derived from first-hand authority. James Hope Moulton.

BEAUTIFUL GATE.— See Temple.

BEBAI. — 1. The eponym of a family of returning exiles (Ezr 2" 8" lO^s, Neh 7" IQi', 1 Es S's 9"). 2. An unknown locality mentioned only in Jth 15'.

BECHER.— 1. Son of Ephraim, Nu 26^5 = 1 Ch 7" where the name appears as Bered, Patronymic in Nu 26=5 Becherites (AV Bachrites). 2. Son of Benjamin, Gn 46", 1 Ch 7«- ^ and implicitly in 1 Ch 8' where for Ms first-born, Ashbel we should probably read Becher aTid Ashbel.

BECORATH.— Oneof Saul's ancestors (1 S 9', possibly same name as Becher of 1 Ch 7*).

BECTILETH (Jth 22').— A plain between Nineveh and Cilicia. Perhaps the Bactiali of the Peutinger Tables, 21 miles from Antioch.

BED, BEDCHAIMBER.— See House, 8. BEDAD.— Father of Hadad, king of Edom (Gn 36m = 1 Oh 1«).

BEDAN. — 1. Mentioned with Jerubbaal, Jephthah, and Samuel as one of the deliverers of Israel (1 S 12"). The name does not occur in Jg., and it is probably a corruption for Barak (so LXX and Pesh.). Chrono-logically Barak should precede Gideon, but the order cannot be pressed (cf. v.»). 2. A Manassite (1 Ch 7").

BEDEIAH.— One of those who had taken foreign wives (Ezr lO^s): in 1 Es 9" apparently Pedias.

BEER-LAHAI-ROI

BEE (debdrah). — The bee (.Apis fasciata) is a very important insect of Palestine. Wild bees are common, and stores of their honey are often found by wandering Bedouin, especially, it is said, near the Dead Sea. Most of the honey consumed and exported In large quantities is made by domesticated bees. The vast numbers of flowers and especially of aromatic plants enable the skilled bee-keepertoproducethemostdelicatelyflavoured honey, e.ff. •' orange flower,' 'thyme,' etc.; he carries his hives to different parts according to the season. Many now keep bees in hives of European pattern, but the ordinary native still universally uses the primitive tube hive. This is like a wide drain-pipe of very rough earthenware, some 3 ft. long and about 8 in. in diameter, closed at the end with mud, leaving a hole for ingress and egress. A number of hives are piled one above the other. A few years ago, while the owner of several swarms of bees was transferring his brittle mud hives on donkey-back, one of the asses stumbled and in falling broke one of the hives. In a moment the whole swarm fell on the unfortunate animals and on a fine horse standing near. One donkey was quickly stung to death, and all the other animals were severely injured. Cf. Dt 1", Ps II812, and Is 718, where the hosts of Assyria are compared to such a swarm let loose. That a swarm of bees should settle in a carcass (Jg 14') is certainly an unusual occurrence, as indeed is suggested in the narrative, but the dried-up remains of animals, little but hide and ribs, so plentiful by the roadsides in Palestine, often suggest suitable places for such a settle-ment. Honey has probably always been plentiful in Palestine, but it is very doubtful whether 'a land flowing with milk and honey' could have meant the product of bees alone. See Honey and Vine. In the LXX there is an addition to Pr 6*, in which the bee is, like the ant, extolled for her diligence and wisdom. E. W. G. Masterman.

BEELIADA ('Baal knows').— A son of David, 1 Ch 14', changed in conformity with later usage (see Ish-bosheth) into Eliada ('El knows') in 2 S S'«.

BEEISABUS (1 Es 5»).— One of the leaders of those Jews who returned to Jerus. with Zerub.; called Bil-shan, Ezr 2^, Neh 7'.

BEELTETHMUS.— An officer of Artaxerxes residing in Pal., 1 Es 2W- a (LXX«- 21). It is not a proper name, but a title of Rehum, the name immediately preceding it in Ezr 48. It is a corruption of be' el te'em = ' lord of judgment,' and is rendered 'chancellor' by AV and RV in Ezr., 'story-writer' in 1 Es 2".

BEELZEBUB.— See Baalzebub.

BEER ('a well'). — 1. A station in the journey from Arnon to the Jordan, mentioned Nu 2V^, with a poetical extract commemorating the digging of a well at this spot. The context indicates the neighbourhood, but further identification is wanting. Perhaps the words translated 'and from the wilderness,' which immediately follow this extract (Nu 21"), should be translated (following the LXX) 'and from Beer,' or 'the well." It is generally identified with Beer-eUm ('well of mighty raen'7), mentioned Is IS^, and in the second part of the com-pound nameit maybe conjectured that there is reference to the event commemorated in the song (Nu 21"- "). 2. The place to which Jotham ran away after uttering his parable (Jg 9^1 ). Its position is unknown.

BEERA.— A man of Asher (1 Ch 7").

BEERAH. — A Reubenite who was carried captive by Tiglath-pileser (1 Ch 5").

BEER-ELDH.— See Beer.

BEEBI.— 1. The father of Judith, one of Esau's wives (Gn 26''), sometimes wrongly Identified with Anah (wh. see). 2. The father of the- prophet Hosea (Hos 1').

BEER-LATTAT-BOI ('The well of the Living One that seeth me'). — A well between Kadesh and Bered,