BIRSHA
offerings
(Lv
!»■"
14'-").
It
is
a
curious
thing
tliat
the
duck
is
not
apparently
(unless,
as
some
think,
in
1
K
i",
under
the
'fatted
fowl'
—
barJmrlm
'abuslm)
mentioned
in
the
OT,
although
a
beautifully
modelled
clay
duck
of
an
eariy
period,
certainly
earlier
than
the
OT
records,
was
found
during
the
recent
excavations
In
Gezer.
All
birds
mentioned
by
name
In
the
Bible
are
dealt
with
in
separate
articles.
E.
W.
G.
Masterman.
BIRSHA
(etym.
an4
meaning
unknown).
—
King
of
Gomorrah
at
the
time
of
Chedorlaomer's
invasion
(Gn
142).
BIRTH.
—
See
Child,
Clean
and
Unclean,
§
1.
BIRTHDAY.
—
Birthday
celebrations
are
mentioned
only
in
connexion
with
royalty,
viz.
Pharaoh's
birthday
(Gn
4020),
the
monthly
celebration
of
that
of
Antiochus
Epiphanes
(2
Mac
6'),
and
the
birthday
feast
given
by
Herod
Antipas
(Mt
14«,
Mk
6").
The
'day
of
our
king,'
to
which
Hosea
refers
(7"),
may
have
been
the
anniversary
either
of
the
king's
birth
or
of
his
accession.
Some
authorities
(e.g.
Edersheim,
Life
and
Times
of
Jesus,
i.
672)
regard
Herod's
feast
as
celebrating
the
anniversary
of
his
accession
—
a
view
based
on
a
mistaken
exegesis
of
the
Talmudic
passage
Aboda
zara
1.
3
(see
the
full
discussion
in
SchUrer,
GJV
^\.
438-441).
A.
E.
S.
Kennedy.
BIRTHRIGHT.—
See
Firstborn.
BIRZAITH
(1
Ch
7").—
Apparently
a
town
of
Asher,
probably
Blr
ez-Zeit,
near
Tyre.
BISHLAM
('peaceful'?).
—
An
officer
of
Artaxerxes
in
Pal.
at
the
time
of
the
return
from
captivity
under
Zerub.
(Ezr
4')
;
called
Belemus
in
1
Es
2'=.
BISHOP
(Gr.
epislcopos,
Lat.
episcoxnis,
Ital.
vescovo,
Fr.
evegue.
Germ.
Bischof),
ELDER
(Gr.
presbyteros,
Lat.
presbyterus,
Fr.
preire,
Eng.
priest),
—
The
two
words
are
so
closely
connected
in
the
NT
that
they
must
be
taken
together
here.
1.
The
terms.
—
The
Greek
word
for
'bishop'
is
common
in
the
general
sense
of
an
overseer,
and
in
particular
of
sundry
municipal
ofBcers.
In
LXX
it
is
used
in
Is
60''
of
taskmasters,
in
Neh
11"
of
minor
officials,
and
in
1
Mac
1"
of
the
commissioners
of
Antiochus
who
enforced
idolatry.
But,
so
far
as
we
can
see,
it
was
not
the
common
name
for
the
treasurers
of
private
associations.
In
the
NT
the
word
is
found
five
times.
In
Ac
20"
St.
Paul
reminds
the
elders
of
Ephesus
that
the
Holy
Ghost
has
made
them
bishops
over
the
flock;
in
Ph
1'
he
sends
a
greeting
to
the
saints
at
PhiUppi
'with
bishops
and
deacons';
in
1
Ti
3'
he
tells
Timothy
that
'the
bishop
must
be
blameless,'
etc.;
in
Tit
1'
he
gives
a
similar
charge
to
Titus;
and
1
P
2'''
speaks
of
Christ
as
'
the
shepherd
and
bishop
of
your
souls.'
In
the
OT
the
word
'elder'
is
used
from
early
times
of
an
official
class
having
jurisdiction
both
civil
and
religious,
so
that
when
synagogues
were
built,
the
elders
of
the
city
would
naturally
be
the
elders
of
the
synagogue,
with
the
right
of
regulating
the
services
and
excluding
offenders.
In
NT
times
the
idea
would
be
carried
over
to
the
churches.
It
is
indirectly
recognized
in
Lk
22";
but
we
cannot
infer
the
existence
of
elders
from
Ac
5«,
for
'the
younger
men'
who
carry
out
Ananias
are
simply
'the
young
men'
in
v.'"
when
they
carry
out
Sapphira.
The
first
clear
trace
of
Christian
elders
is
at
Jerusalem.
In
Ac
113»
(A.D.
44)
they
receive
the
offerings
from
Barnabas
and
Saul;
in
15'
(a.d.
SO)
they
take
part
in
the
Conference;
in
21"
(a.d.
58)
they
join
in
the
welcome
to
St.
Paul.
Earlier
than
this
may
be
Ja
5",
where
the
word
seems
to
denote
officials.
After
this
we
hear
no
more
of
them
till
the
Pastoral
Epistles
and
1
Peter.
For
the
last
tn'o
hundred
years
it
has
been
generally
agreed
that
bishops
and
elders
in
the
NT
and
for
some
time
later
are
substantially
identical.
For
(1)
bishops
99
BISHOP
and
elders
are
never
Joined,
like
bishops
and
deacons,
as
distinct
classes
of
officials.
(2)
Ph
1'
is
addressed
'to
bishops
and
deacons.'
Had
there
been
an
inter-mediate
class
of
elders,
it
could
not
well
have
been
omitted.
So
1
Ti
3
ignores
the
elders,
though
(5")
there
were
elders
at
Ephesus,
and
had
been
(Ac
20")
for
some
time.
Conversely,
Tit
1'-'
describes
elders
instead,
and
nearly
in
the
same
words.
(3)
The
bishop
described
to
Timothy,
the
elders
of
Ac
20,
those
of
1
Ti
6",
those
described
to
Titus,
and
those
of
1
P
6',
all
seem
to
hold
a
subordinate
position,
and
to
have
rather
pastoral
duties
than
what
we
should
call
episcopal.
(4)
The
same
persons
are
called
elders
and
bishops
(Ac
20"-
").
The
words
are
also
synonymous
in
Clement
of
Rome,
and
(by
implication)
in
the
Teaching
of
the
Apostles
and
in
Polycarp.
Ignatius
is
the
first
writer
who
makes
a
single
bishop
ruler
of
a
Church
;
and
even
he
pleads
no
Apostolic
command
for
the
change.
The
general
equivalence
of
the
two
offices
In
the
Apostolic
age
seems
undeniable;
and
if
there
were
minor
differences
between
them,
none
have
been
clearly
traced.
The
only
serious
doubt
is
whether
bishops
and
deacons
originally
denoted
offices
at
all.
The
words
rather
de-scribe
functions.
Thus
Ph
1'
'
to
bishops
and
deacons'
(no
article)
will
mean
'such
as
oversee
and
such
as
serve'
—
that
is,
the
higher
and
the
lower
officials,
what-ever
titles
they
may
bear.
This
would
seem
proved
by
Tit
1'-
'
'
that
thou
appoint
elders
.
.
.,
for
the
bishop
(overseer)
must
be
blameless.'
The
argument
is
that
the
elder
must
be
so
and
so,
because
the
bishop
must
be
so
and
so.
This
Is
vain
repetition
if
the
bishop
is
only
the
elder
under
another
name,
and
bad
logic
if
he
is
a
ruler
over
the
elders;
but
it
becomes
clear
if
the
'bishop'
is
not
a
defined
official,
but
an
overseer
generally.
Then,
the
elder
being
a
particular
sort
of
overseer,
the
argument
will
be
from
a
general
rule
to
a
particular
case.
2.
Appointment.
—
At
first
popular
election
and
Apostolic
institution
seem
to
have
gone
together.
The
Seven
(Ac
6>-
«)
are
chosen
by
the
people
and
instituted
by
the
Apostles
with
prayer
and
laying-on
of
hands.
In
the
case
of
the
Lycaonian
elders
(Ac
14'')
the
Apostles
'appointed'
them
with
prayer
and
fastings.
Similarly
the
elders
in
Crete
(Tit
1»)
are
'appointed'
by
Titus,
and
apparently
the
bishops
at
Ephesus
by
Timothy.
In
these
cases
popular
election
and
laying-on
of
hands
are
not
mentioned;
but
neither
are
they
ex-cluded.
1
Ti
522
does
not
refer
to
ordination
at
all,
nor
He
6'
to
ordination
only.
The
one
is
of
the
laying-
on
of
hands
in
restoring
offenders,
while
the
other
takes
in
all
occasions
of
laying-on
of
bands.
But
in
any
case
Timothy
and
Titus
would
have
to
approve
the
candidate
before
instituting
him,
so
that
the
description
of
his
qualifications
is
no
proof
that
they
had
to
select
him
in
the
first
instance.
Conversely,
popular
election
is
very
prominent
(Clement,
and
Teaching)
in
the
next
age;
but
neither
does
this
exclude
formal
approval
and
institution.
The
elders
are
already
attached
(1
Ti
4")
to
the
Apostles
in
the
conveyance
of
special
gifts;
and
when
the
Apostles
died
out,
they
would
act
alone
in
the
institution
to
local
office.
'The
development
of
an
episcopate
is
a
further
question,
and
very
much
a
question
of
words
if
the
bishop
(in
the
later
sense)
was
gradually
developed
upward
from
the
elders.
But
the
next
stage
after
this
was
that,
while
the
bishop
instituted
his
own
elders,
he
was
himself
instituted
by
the
neighbouring
bishops,
or
in
still
later
times
by
the
bishops
of
the
civil
province
or
by
a
metropolitan.
The
outline
of
the
process
is
always
the
same.
First
popular
election,
then
formal
approval
by
authority
and
institu-tion
by
prayer,
with
(at
least
commonly)
its
symbolic
accompaniments
of
laying-on
of
hands
and
fasting.
3.
Duties.
—
(1)
General
superintendence:
Elders
in
Ac
20",
1
Ti
S",
1
P
5«-
>
(ruling
badly);
bishops
in
1
Ti
3'.
Indicated
possibly
in
1
Co
12"
'helps,
govern-ments
'
;
more
distinctly
in
Eph
4"
'
pastors
and
teachers,'
