THOUGHT

THOUGHT.— In l S 9', In Mt 6«s (as well as in the foil, vv."- '»■ 31. M), in 10", in Mk 13", and in Lk 12". M. a. a the Eng. word 'thought' is used in AV in the old sense of 'grief or anxiety.' Thus Mk 13" 'Take no thought beforehand' does not mean do not think or plan, but be not burdened wUh anxiety before-hand.

THOUSAND.— See Ahmy, 2; Number, 6,

THRAOE. — Some have proposed to identify Tiras (Gn 10") with Thrace, but this identification is uncertain. A Thracian horseman is mentioned in 2 Mac 12'' (about B.C. 163) as saving Gorgias, the governor of Idumsa under Antlochus Epiphanes, from capture. The name Thrace — It was not till a.d. 46 the name of a Roman province — was applied to all the country lying between the rivers Strymon and Danube. After the death of Lysimachus (B.C. 281 — see Thyatira), with whom the prospect of civilization for the country died, it continued barbarous, and was famous only for its severe climate and its soldiers. Of the latter there was a plentiful supply, and as soldiers of fortune they were to be found in the armies of the richer States. They were chiefly cavalry and light-armed infantry. (The name 'Thracian' was hence applied to gladiators armed in a particular way.) Kings who em-ployed them in war frequently settled them in colonies after peace was declared. A. Souteh.

THBAS.ffiUS.— The father of Apollonius (2 Mac 3=).

THREE.— See Number, § 7.

THREE CHILDREN (SONG OPJ.-See Apocrypha,6.

THRE8HING,THRESHING-FL00R.-SeeAaBicui,-

TUBE, 3.

THRESHOLD.— See House, 6.

THRONE.— The OT tr. of Heb. kissS' or kissm. It is used of any seat of honour: e.g. of the high priest (1 S 1» 4". >8), of a judge (Ps 942"), of a military officer (Jer 1"); but most frequently of a king (e.g. Pharaoh Ex 116, David and Solomon 1 K 2" etc.), and thus of God Himself (Ps 9' W 4S=, Is 6'). For a description of Solomon's throne see 1 K lO''-^", 2 Ch 9"-". Frequently 'throne' is used metaphorically for dignity, royal honour, and power. Thus ' the throne of David' often stands for the royal honour of David's house (2 S 7"). So God's 'throne' is His sovereign power (cf. Ps 45« 93^).

The NT term thronoa [once (Ac 122') Kma, 'judgment- seat,' is tr. 'throne'] is similarly used. It is applied in Eev 20* to the thrones of the assessors of the heavenly judge (cf. Mt 1928||, Lk 223°); but is most frequently used of the throne of God or Christ (Mt 5*" || 192»||, Lk IK, Ac 23" 7", He 1« 4" 8' 12^, Rev V 3" etc.). For thrones' as a rank of angels, see art. Dominion, and cf. PowEB. W. F. Boyd.

THROUGHLY.— This is the older spelling of 'thor-oughly.' In mod. editions of AV we find both forms used, 'thoroughly' in Ex 21", 2 K 11", and 'throughly' elsewhere; but in the original edition of 1611 the spelling Is 'throughly' everywhere. There was no distinction In earlier Eng. between 'through' and 'thorough,' 'throughly' and 'thoroughly.' In the first ed. of AV Ex 14" reads 'the children of Israel shall goe on dry ground thorow the mids of the Sea.*

THRUM.— See Spinning and WEAViNa, §§ 3, 5.

THUMB. — The thumb Is associated with the great toe, and occurs in two different connexions. 1. We are told that Adonibezek's thumbs and great toes were cut oft (Jg 1*), and that he himself had practised this mutila-tion on seventy kings (v.'). The object seems to have been to render the vanquished monarchs unfit for war and thus for reigning in a warlike age. 2. In the ritual of the consecration of Aaron and his sons (Ex 292«, Lv 8»- ") blood was sprinkled on 'the tip of the right ear, upon the thumb of the right hand and the great toe of the right foot.' The cleansed leper was similarly

THYATIRA

sprinkled with blood and oil (Lv 14". "• a. «). The action seems to have symbolized the consecration (or purification) of the whole man, the extremities only being touched, just as only the horns of the altar were sprinkled with the blood. W. F. Boyd.

THUMMIM. — See Ubim and Thummim.

THUNDER. — There is no finer description of a thunderstorm than that of Ps 29. In a land of high mountains and deep gorges, split throughout its length by the great cleft of the Jordan, the effect of thunder is peculiarly terrible. In Palestine it is confined almost entirely to winter (1 S 12'"), but the writer once wit-nessed a terrific storm late in April, among the Gilead uplands. It Is invariably accompanied by rain. Accord-ing to poetic and popular ideas, thunder was the voice of God (Ps 104», Job 37« etc.), which a soul gifted with insight might understand and interpret (Jn 1228'-; cf. Mk 1", Mt 3" etc.). It is the expression of His resistless power (1 S 2'», Ps IS" etc.), and of His in-exorable vengeance (Is 303" etc.). Thunder plays a part in afflicting the Egyptians (Ex 923ff.) , at the delivery of the Law (19'8 20'«), and in discomfiting the PhUistines (1 S 7'°). It is not guided by caprice, but by the will of God (Job 2823 3823). it appears largely in the more terrible imagery of the Apocalypse. For 'Sons of Thunder,' see Boanebges. W. Ewing.

THYATIRA. — There is a long valley extending north-ward and southward and connecting the valleys of the Hermus and Caicus. Down this valley a stream flows southwards, and on the left bank of this stream was Thyatira. An important road also ran along this valley, the direct route between Constantinople and Smyrna, and the railway takes this route now. Thyatira was also in the 1st cent. a.d. a station on the Imperial Post Road (overland route) from Brundisium and Dyrrha-chium by Thessalonica, Neapolis (for Philippi), Troas, Pergamum, Philadelphia ... to Tarsus, Syrian Antloch, Caesarea of Palestine, and Alexandria. In its connexion with Pergamum this road had always a great importance. Thyatira was built (in the middle of the valley, with a slight rising ground for an acropolis) by Seleucus, the founder of the Seleucid dynasty, whose vast kingdom extended from W. Asia Minor to the Himalayas. The city was founded between B.C. 300 and 282 as a defence against Lysimachus, whose kingdom bordered that of Seleucus on the N. and W., and the colonists were Macedonian soldiers. In 282, Philetaerus revolted from Lysimachus and founded the kingdom of Pergamum. After the death of Lysimachus, Thyatira was a useful garrison to hold the road. In the Interests first of the Seleucids and afterwards of the Pergamenians. The latter were safe from the former if they were in possession of Thyatira. The relation between Pergamum and Thyatira was thus of the closest. The city, though weak in position, was a garrison city, and had to be carefully fortified, and everything was done to foster the military spirit. The character of the city's religion is illustrated by the hero Tyrimnos, who is figured on its coins. He is on horseback and has a battle-axe on his shoulder. This hero is closely related to the protecting god of the city, whose temple was In front of the city. He was con-sidered the divine ancestor of the city and its leading families, and was Identified with the sun-god. He also had the title Pythian Apollo, thus illustrating the strange mixture of Anatolian and Greek ideas and names which is so common a feature in the ancient religions of Asia Minor. In conformity with this, he was represented as wearing a cloak fastened by a brooch, carrying a battle- axe, and with a laurel branch in his right hand, symbol-izing his purifying power. (It Is certain that the place was Inhabited before the time of Seleucus, but merely as a village with a temple.) The city had Pythian games on the model of those in Greece proper, and In the 3rd cent. A.D. the Emperor Elagabalus was associated with the god In the worship connected with them, showing

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