HEARTH

on later thought (c(. e.g. Wis S's 17", Sir 42" etc.), we shall be enabled to grasp the religious ideas enshrined in the teaching of the NT. In the recorded utterances of Jesus, so profoundly influenced by the ancient writings of the Jewish Church, the heart occupies a very central place. The beatiilc vision is reserved for those whose hearts are 'pure' (Mt 58; cf. 2 Ti 2^2, 1 P l^^ RVm). The heart is compared to the soil on which seed is sown; it contains moral potentialities which spring into objective existence in the outward life of the receiver (Lk 8"; cf., however, Mk 4"-^°, where no mention Is made of this organ; see also Mt 13", in which the heart is referred to, as in Is 6'», as the seat of the spiritual understanding). Hidden within the remote recesses of the heart are those principles and thoughts which will inevitably spring into active Ufe, revealing its purity or its native corruption (Lk 6«; cf. Mt 123"- IS'"). It is thus that men's characters reveal themselves in naked reaUty (1 P 3*). It is the infallible index of human character, but can be read only by Him who ' searcheth the hearts' (Ro 8"; cf. 1 S 16', Pr 21^, Lk 16"). Human judgment can proceed only according to the unerring evidence tendered by this resultant of inner forces, for 'by their fruits ye shall know them' (Mt 7^°). The more strictly Jewish of the NT writers show the influence of OT thought in their teaching. Where we should employ the word 'conscience' St. John uses 'heart,' whose judgments in the moral sphere are final (1 Jn S^"'). Nor is St. Paul free from the influence of this nomen-clature. He seems, in fact, to regard conscience as a function of the heart rather than as an independent moral and spiritual organ (Ro 2i', where both words occur; cf. the quotation He 10"). In spite of the fact that the last-named Apostle frequently employs the terms 'mind,' 'understanding,' 'reason,' 'thinkings,' Etc., to express the elements of intellectual activity in man, we find him constantly reverting to the heart fts discharging functions closely alUed to these (cf . ' the eyes of your heart,' Eph 1^'; see also 2 Co 4"). With Bt. Paul, too, the heart is the seat of the determination or will (cf . 1 Co 7^', where ' steadfast in heart ' is equiv-alent to vrill-power) . In all these and similar cases, however, it will be noticed that it is man's moral nature that he has in view; and the moral and spiritual life, having its roots struck deep in his being, is appropriately conceived of as springing ultimately from the most essentially vital organ of his personal life.

J. R. Willis.

HEARTH.— See House, § 7.

HEATH. — See Tamahisk.

HEATHEN. — See Idolatry, Nations.

HEAVEN. — iS. the cosmic theory of the ancient world, and of the Hebrews in particular, the earth was fiat, lying between a great pit into which the shades of the dead departed, and the heavens above in which God and the angels dwelt, and to which it came to be thought the righteous went, after having been raised from the dead to Uve for ever. It was natural to think of the heavens as concave above the earth, and resting on some foundation, possibly of pillars, set at the extreme horizon (2 S 22^, Pr 8" -28).

The Hebrews, like other ancient peoples, believed in a plurality of heavens (Dt 10"), and the literature of Judaism speaks of seven. In the highest, or Aravoth, was the throne of God. Although the descriptions of these heavens varied, it would seem that it was not unusual to regard the third heaven as Paradise. It was to this that St. Paul said he had been caught up (2 Co 122).

This series of superimposed heavens was regarded as filled by different sorts of superhuman beings. The second heaven in later Jewish thought was regarded as the abode of evil spirits and angels awaiting punishment. The NT, however, does not commit itself to these precise speculations, although in Eph 6'2 it speaks of spiritual

HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO

hosts of wickedness who dwell in heavenly places (cf. Eph 2^). This conception of heaven as being above a flat earth underlies many religious expressions which are still current. There have been various attempts to locate heaven, as, for example, in Sinus as the central sun of our system. Similarly, there have been innumerable speculations endeavouring to set forth in sensuous form the sort of life which is to be lived in heaven. All such speculations, however, lie outside of the region of positive knowledge, and rest ultimately on the cosmogony of pre-BCientiflc times. They may be of value in cultivating religious emotion, but they belong to the region of specu-lation. The Biblical descriptions of heaven are not scientific, but symbolical. Practically all these are to be found in the Johannine Apocalypse. It was undoubt-edly conceived of eschatologically by the NT writers, but they maintained a great reserve in all their descrip-tions of the life of the redeemed. It is, however, possible to state definitely that, while they conceived of the heavenly condition as involving social relations, they did not regard it as one in which the physical organism survived. The sensuous descriptions of heaven to be found in the Jewish apocalypses and in Mohammedanism are altogether excluded by the sayings of Jesus relative to marriage in the new age (Mk 12^^11), and those of St. Paul relative to the 'spiritual body.' The prevailing tendency at the present time among theologians, to regard heaven as a state of the soul rather than a place, belongs likewise to the region of opinion. The degree of its prob-ability will be determined by one's general view as to the nature of immortaUty. Shaileb Mathews.

HEAVE-OFFERING.— See Sachifice AND Offeeinq.

HEAVINESS.— The Eng. word 'heaviness' is used in AV in the sense of 'grief,' and in no other sense. Thus Pr 10' 'A wise son maketh a glad father: but a, fooUsh son is the heaviness of his mother.' Compare Coverdale's tr. of Ps 30' 'hevynesse maye well endure for a night, but joye commeth in the mornynge,' whence the Prayer Bk. version ' heaviness may endure tor a night.'

HEBER.— 1. A man of Asher (Gn 46", Nu 26«, 1 Ch 7'i- 82). The gentilic name Heberites occurs in Nu 26«. 2. The Kenite, according to Jg 4" 5", husband of Jael. He separated himself (Jg 4") from his Bedouin caste of Kenltes or nomad smiths, whose wanderings were confined chiefly to the south of Judah, and settled for a time near Kedesh on the plain to the west of the Sea of Galilee. 3. Amanof Judah (1 Ch4i»). 4. A Benjamite (1 Ch 8").

HEBREW. — See Ebee; Text Versions and Lan-quaqes of OT.

HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO.— Introductory.— At first sight it is not easy to understand why this treatise has been designated an Epistle. The only direct references by the writer to the character of his work are found in 13^^ where he styles it a 'word of exhortation' (cf. Ac 13", 4 Mac 1'), and speaks of having written ' (a letter) unto you in few words' (this verb seems to be more justly treated in AV than in RV). The general salutation of 13^ is similar to what is found in most of the NT Epistles (cf. Ro W"; 1 Co le'™-, 2 Co 13i"-, Ph 4a'-, Col 4"'ff- etc.). At the same time, there are numerous personal references scattered throughout the writing (13' S" 4' 10" 6» etc.), and in most cases the author places himself on the same level with those to whom he is writing (3" S's^- 11« lO" etc.). In spite of the formality which might characterize this writing as a theological essay, it is evident that the early instinct of the Church in regarding it as essentially an Epistle is substantially sound and correct (cf. Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 49 f.). Of course, the title 'The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews ' (EV) is without early textual authority. The oldest MSS have merely the superscription 'to Hebrews,' just as they have in the case of other NT epistles ('to Romans,' etc.). The only

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