SUPHAH

Hebrew name of the Red Sea. The AV is almost certainly correct; the expression was so understood also by LXX and Vulgate. It is evident that by the ' Red Sea' the Gulf of 'Akabah is meant, as in Nu 21' and elsewhere. J. F. McCubdy.

SUPHAH. — An unknown locality E. of Jordan (Nu 21").

SUPPER.— See Meals, 2; and for the 'Last Supper' see Eucharist.

SUR.— 1. A gate (2 K ll'). See Jbeusalem (II. 4). 2. A town on the seacoast of Palestine (Jth 2^8). The site, if a different place from Tyre, is unknown.

SUSA. — See Shushan.

SUSANNA.— See Apocrypha, § 5.

SUSI.— A Manassite (Nu 13>2 (">).

SWALLOW.— 1. derOr (Ps 84', Pr 262). The aUusion to the nesting of this bird in the sanctuary and its swift (unalighting) flight fits the swallow. 2. 'OgHr (Is 38", JerS'). See Crane. 3. s««, «?s, should be tr. as in RV (Is 38", Jer 8') , ' swallow ' instead of ' crane ' (A V) . See Crane. Some ten species of swallows and swifts or martins are common in the Holy Land.

SWAN {tinahemeth, Lv II", Dt 14"). — Swans have been found in Palestine, but are very rare. The tr. of AV cannot be defended. See Owl, 5.

E. W. G. Masterman.

SWEARING.— See Oaths.

SWEET CANE.— See Reed.

SWINE (cftiKCr). — Domesticated swine were probably kept in the East in the earliest historic times, when they appear to have been regarded as sacred. In a cave associated with the earliest place of sacrifice at ancient Gezer, in use certainly before b.o. 2000, large quantities of pigs' bones were found. It was the sacrosanct character of swine that lay at the root of the prohibition in Lv 11' and Dt 14*; and the eating of swine's flesh and offering of swine's blood (Is 66' 66'- ") are clearly regarded as a sign of lapse into paganism. The heathen frequently tried to compel the Jews to eat swine's flesh (.e.g. 2 Mac &■' 7') and thus renounce their religion. The contempt felt for swine is shown by the proverbs quoted in Pr. ll^*, Mt 7', and 2 P 2^2. In the Talmudic writings the pig appears as the emblem of uncleanness, and those who keep swine are regarded with aversion. The same ideas colour the parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk IS"), where he is depicted as reaching the lowest depth of infamy in being sent to feed swine, and actually being reduced to covet their food; and also the narrative of the demoniacs, where the Gentile inhabitants of Gerasa lose their great herd of swine (Mt 8™, Mk 5", Lk8»).

In modem Palestine very much the same feeling survives. Cliamlr 'pig' is a common but very oppro-brious appellation. Swine's flesh is loathed by Jews and Moslems; the latter, who otherwise eat the same food as Christians, are always very suspicious that any unknown food may be contaminated with it. Pigs are not common in Palestine; they are kept by German colonists and in a few places by native Christians. In Rameh in Galilee, for example, considerable herds are kept and pastured in the surrounding fields. Horses, unfamiliar with their smell are much perturbed on approaching the village, and it is said that the cattle will not touch the water of the stream below where the swine are accustomed to resort.

E. W. G. Masterman.

SWORD.— See Armour, Arms, § 1 (c).

SYCAMINE (Lk 17"). — sykaminosia, strictly speaking,

the black mulberry (Morus nigra the tvi shdmi of the

Syrians), and it is probably this tree that is referred to

in Lk 17» and in 1 Mac 6". But sykaminos is also used

SYMBOL

in LXX in many passages as the equivalent of the shiqmtm or sycomore (wh. see). E. W. G. Masterman.

SYCHAR, — ■ A city of Samaria,' near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph (Jn 4'). Jerome in Onomast. distinguishes Sychar from Shechem, but in Ep. Paul, and Quwst. Gen. he identifies them, saying that the form Sychar is due to a scribal error. Much ingenuity has been exercised to show that the names are really identical, or at least apply to the same city. On the face of it this is unlikely. In a.d. 333 the Itinerary of Jerusalem places Sychar one mile E. of Shechem — in this agreeing with other ancient authorities. Canon Williams first suggested identification with 'Askar, a village on the skirt of Ebal, about two miles E. of Nablus. The main objection to this is the presence of a copious spring, more than sufficient to supply the village; while from Jn 4" we learn that the woman of Sychar was accustomed to go 'all the way' (RV) to Jacob's Well for domestic supplies. Further, there is nothing to indicate a pre-Arab settlement at 'Askar. Mr. Macalister iPEFSt, 1907, p. 92 ff.) draws attention to the mound Tvlili BaiiUa, a little nearer to Nablus, just N. of the hamlet Balata, which bears evidence of occupation from the period of the Hebrew monarchy to Roman times.

Jacob's Well, according to unanimous and unbroken tradition, lies about half a mile to the E. of TulOl Balata, on the S. edge of the plain, at the foot of Gerizim. Formerly of great depth (Jn 4i'), it is now much filled with rubbish, and is not more than 75 ft. deep. De-pending on the percolation of surface water, with the greater depth the supply would be constant; but now it is dry before the summer is far advanced. The sacred associations of the Well, and the 'lightness' of the water, compared with the hardness of that from the spring, would form attractions in early, as in modern times. With no other ancient settlement near the Well, we may with some confidence place Sychar at Tuim Balata. With the ruin of the village the name may have migrated to 'Askar. W. Ewing.

SYCOMORE (.shigmlm. 1 K 10", 1 Ch 27^, 2 Ch 1« 9", Is 9"', Am 7"; shiqmSth, Ps 78"; (Gr.) sykomorea, Lk 19'). — This is the sycomore fig (FicHs sycamorus), a tree often 50 feet high, with an enormous trunk. It bears poor figs (Am 7"), but furnishes good timber. It is not to-day 'in abundance' as of old (1 K 10"), but considerable numbers Sourish still in the plain around Jaffa. This tree must not be confused with the ' sycamore ' (Acer pseudo-platanus) of our home lands, which is a species of maple. See also Sycamine.

E. W. G. Masterman.

SYENE. — See Seveneh.

SYMBOL. — The prevalence of figurative language in the Bible is due partly to the antiquity and Oriental origin of the book and to the fact that its subject, religion, deals with the most difficult problems of life and the deepest emotions of the soul. The English word ' type,' as the equivalent of 'symbol* or 'emblem,' is sometimes confusing, as it has been used both for the fulfilment of the prototype and as that which points forward to the antitype. Like the proverb and parable, the symbol implies a connexion between two things of which one is concrete and physical, the other abstract and referring to intellectual, moral, and spiritual matters. The former, of course, is the symbol.

1 . Symbols of similarity. — Here the connecting prin-ciple is one of recognized likeness between the material object and its counterpart. Thus 'a watered garden' is made the emblem of a satisfied soul (Jer Sl'^). The similarity is that of supplied wants. In the same way the white garments of the priests and of the redeemed were emblematic of holiness (Ex 39"-™, Rev 19«). Marriage, as an Oriental relationship of purchased possession, was an emblem of Palestine in covenant with God, and of the Church as the bride of Christ. Thus also the Christian life

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