RABBITH

RAHAB

fs the transliteration of the Pal.-Aram. form of the word; it occurs twice, namely in Mk lO^' and Jn 20i=.

J. G. Tasker.

RABBITH.— A town of Issachar (Jos IQ"), probably the modern Baba, on the S. of Gilboa.

BABBONI.— See Rabbi.

BAB -MAG .—The title of Nergal-sharezer, a Baby-lonian official present at the taking of Jerusalem (Jer 393. 13). For various conjectures as to the origin of the title, see Hastings' DB, s.v. Tentatively adopting the oldest and most obvious account, that it means 'chief magus,' we note here that the name magus may very well have been applied to a sacred caste employed in Babylon long before it became associated with Zoroastrianism, to which the silence of the Avesta shows it was originally foreign. See Magi.

James Hope Moulton.

BAB-SARIS.— 1. The title of an Assyr. ofHcial who was sent by Sennacherib to Hezekiah to demand the surrender of Jerusalem (2 K 18"). 2. The title borne by two Bab. officials, one of whom is recorded to have been present at the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchad-nezzar, while the other is mentioned among the officials who ordered the release of Jeremiah after the capture of the city (Jer 393- "). Rabsaris is the transcription, both in Heb. and Aram., of the Assyr. and Bab. title rabu (or rub-a)-sha-rdshu, borne by a high court-offlcial, who may perhaps have been the 'chief eunuch,' though his office cannot be determined with absolute certainty.

L. W. Kino.

RAB-SHAKEH.— The title of an Assyr. officer, who with the Tartan and the Rab-saris was sent by Sennach-erib to Hezekiah to demand the surrender of Jerusalem (2 K 18f., Is 36 f.). The word is the Heb. transcription of the Assyr. rab-sha4e — a title borne by a military officer of high rank, subordinate to the Tartan. L. W. King.

RACA. — A term occurring only in Mt S^. It is a Semitic word, probably a popular pronunciation of the Kabbinlc riqa, a noun formed from the adjective rig 'empty.' Several instances of its use occur in the Talmud as a term of contempt applied to a person devoid of education and morals. From Mt S^ it may be inferred that it was employed as a term of abuse in the time of Christ.

While the general force of our Lord's words in Mt S^- 22 is clear enough, the significance of the judg-ments referred to is obscured in the present text. A distinction has been drawn between 'Raca' as denying intellectual capacity, and 'thou fool' as denying a man's religious worth, which cannot be sustained. Our 'Lord's reference to the 'Council' (i.e. the supreme Jewish Court, the Sanhedrin) in v.^, implying its possession of the power of life and death, is especially difficult. The Sanhedrin possessed no such power in fact, nor is it at all likely that our Lord would recognize the validity of such a claim on its behalf even in theory. It was after all only a provisional institution devised by the Rabbis; whereas the ' Gehenna of fire ' is a Messianic judgment.

The true meaning and real antithesis emerge clearly if a slight re-arrangement of the text, first suggested by J. P. Peters (in JBL x. (1891) 131f., xv. (1896) 1U3; adopted in the EBi, s.v. 'Raca,' vol. iy. col. 4001), Is accepted. The clause about 'Raca' should be transferred to v.". Read then: 'Ye have heard that it was said to the ancients, Thou shalt not murder, and whosoever murders is liable to the judgment, and whosoever says " Raca" to his brother is liable to the Sanhedrin: but I say unto you, whosover is angry with his brother is liable to the (Divine) judgment, and whosoever says "thou fool" is liable to the Gehenna of fire.' Rabbinic law is very stringent against libellous expressions, which were to be treated as serious offences liable for punishment to the supreme court (like murder). G. H. Box.

RACAL in 1 S SO'' is prob. a mistake for ' Carmel ' (No. 1).

RACE.— See Games, p. 282''.

RACES. — The following is a list of the races men-tioned in the Bible, so far as they are identified. They are classified according to modern ethnological principles. In Gn 10, cities are frequently classed as tribes or patri-archal personages.

I. Aktanb (sons of Japheth, Gn 10). — 1. Greeks (Ro 1" etc.). 2. Javan (Ionian Greeks). 3. Parthians (Ac 2?). 4. Persians (Est 1" etc.). 6. Medes (Madai). 6. Romans (Jn 11" etc.).

II. Hamites. — 1. Egyptians (Mizraim). 2. Cushites (Nubians, Ethiopians). 3. Libyans (Put [Somaliland]).

III. Semites. — 1. North Semites: (a) Babylonians (Shinar, Accad, Babel, Erech); (6) Assyrians (Asshur, Nineven, Caiah); (c) Aramcsans (Syrians); (d) Canaanitish peovles — (1) Ammonites, (2) Amorites, (3) Canaanites, (4) Edomites, (5) Hivites, (6) Israelites, (7) Jebusites, (8) Moabites, (9) Phcenicians (Tyre, Sidon, Arvad, etc.). 2. South Semites : I a) North A rabs—( 1 ) Amalekites , (2)Ishmael-ites (Kedar, Nebaioth, Tema, etc.), (3) Midianites; (b) South Arabs (Sheba).

IV. Unclassified Races. — 1. Cimmerians (Gomer, Gimirrai of Assyi;. inscriptions). 2. Elamites. 3. Hittites. 4. Horites. 5. Philistines. 6. Tubal (fhe Tabali of Assyr. inscriptions). 7. Meshech CMuski of Assyr. inscriptions).

George A. Bakton.

RACHEL (Rahel in Jer ZV^ AV, 'ewe').— The younger daughter of Laban, and favourite wife of Jacob (Gn 2928-3"), who married her after her sister Leah. In the quarrel between Jacob and Laban, she, as well as Leah, took the part of Jacob (31"-"). When leaving her father, she stole his household divinities, the teraphim (31") — an incident which suggests the laxity in worship and in ideas of property characteristic of the times. Her sons were Joseph and Benjamin: she died in giving birth to Benjamin.

Rachel's grave. — The location of this is disputed. It was near Ephrath. Gn 35'«- "• 2», 1 S XO^, Jer 31" indicate that it was on the N. border of Benjamin to-wards Ephraim, about ten miles N. of Jerusalem. In other places, however (Ru 12 4", Mic 52), Ephrath is another name for Bethlehem, as it is also explained in Gn 35" 48'. In accordance with this latter group of passages, tradition from at least the 4th cent, has fixed the spot 4 miles S. of Jerusalem and 1 mile N. of Bethlehem. Either the northern location is correct, or there are here two variant accounts. The former view is probably to be preferred, since Rachel has no connexion with Judah. In that case 'that is Bethlehem ' is an incorrect gloss. Cf . also Ramah, 3. Geohge R. Berby.

RADDAI.— The fifth son of Jesse (1 Ch 2").

RAFTS.— See Ships and Boats.

RAGAU. — See following article.

RAGES. — The modern Ret, 6 miles S.E. of Teheran, one of the seats of the ancient Iranian civilization, but now a mass of fallen walls and stupendous ruins covered with mounds of debris. Its position near the Caspian Gates gave it great strategic importance. It was the capital of Media before Ecbatana, and has the distinction of having been the home of the mother of Zoroaster. It is frequently mentioned in the Apocrypha. In Tobit (iw 41. so 66 613 92) it was visited by the angel Raphael, and there he recovered for Tobias the deposit of silver which his father had placed there. In Judith (1'- «>) it is said that in Ragau (evidently the same place) Nebuchadnezzar slew in battle 'Arphaxad' prince of the Medes. In To 6» read Ecbatana for Rages.

J. F. M'CUKDY.

RAGUEL.— 1. See Recel, 2. 2. The father of Sarah, the wife of Tobias (To 3'- "■ " 1412).

RAHAB ('wide'). — 1. The story of this woman, called a harlot, of Jericho is given in Jos 2. The two spies sent out by Joshua to view the Promised Land come first to the house of Rahab, in Jericho. The king

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