Foot (Hastings' Dictionary)

There are various ideas con- nected with the foot due to its position as the lowest part of the human body. 1. Subjection, Jos 10=*, 2 S 22^9, Is 49^, 1 Co l.l^ ". The foot on the neck is seen on the Egyptian monuments. The promise made to Joshua of possessing every place that the sole of hio foot should tread upon, is literally claimed 6ci acttJ upon by Islam.

The Sultan is the Shadow of God, the token of the Almighty's presence and power ; military concjuest is tlierefore a triumph of the faith and an malienable possession. After the war >vith Greece in 1897, this article of belief created a religious dilemma mth regard to withdrawing from conquered Thessaly. 2. Humilitr/, as in the relationship of disciple sitting at the feet of master (Dt33», Lk KP, Ac 22«), and generally of inferior to .

superior in the act of obeisance and worship (Nu 16*, Ru 2'°, Ezk 11'", Mt 18^, Rv 5''' etc. ). Such prostration forms part of the ordinary Moslem devotions. 3. Defilement, Ex 3'. Contact with the common earth was considered defiling, and gave rise to the Oriental rule about removing the shoe, and on certain occasions washing the feet before entering sacred places, such as buildings devoted to worship, shrines, and in houses the carpeted rooms where prayer is oft'ered.

Shaking the dust from the feet IS an easy and often -repeated act on the dusty roads of the East. The shoe or slipper is not usually removed, but the foot is held out and shaken with the shoe hanging down from the toes, until the dust falls out. It was a symbol of scorn- ful and complete rejection (Mt 10', Ac 13"). The same thought is now more commonly expressed by shaking the collar of the coat (cf. Ac 18'). The feet were put in stocks (Job 13^), fastened with fetters (Ps 105'; see Chain).

They wer» also adorned with anklets (Is 3'"). When the word of God is called a lamp to the feet (Ps 119"*), the reference is to village or town life, with ditches, refuse, and dogs in the pathway. A lantern was carried in the hand, or by a servant FOOTMAN FOE 4S walking in front. Until recently, before the streets began to be lit by lamps at distant intervals, any one found walking at night mthout a lantern was liable to be arrested as a thief.

In the journeys of the desert the direction is by the stars; or where there is a path the horse or baggage animal is trusted to keep it. Washing tlie feet was rendered necessary by the heat and oust of the road, and by the open sandals or loose shoes that were worn. As an attention rendered to a guest, both on account of the humility of the service and the comfort to the traveller, it belonged to the inner graces of hospi- tality (Lk 7»8, Jn 13», 1 Ti S'").

For ' foot-breadth,' Dt 2», RV gives ' for the sole of the f. to tread upon.' For ' foot ' of laver Ex 38" BV gives ' base ' (is). By the lex talionis (Ex 21", Dt 19^1) ' foot for foot ' was exacted. In Dt 11" a contrast is drawn between the climate and the methods of cultivation characteristic of Palestine and of Egypt. When Israel was in the last-named country they ' sowed their seed and watered it with the foot.'

The reference here appears to be to the use of some machine by which water was raised and distributed for irrigation purposes (see Lane, Modem Egyptians, ed. 1871, ii. 25 ff.), but the precise method is doubtful (cf. the full and interesting note in Driver's Deut. p. 129, and in 2nd ed. p. xxi).* G. M. Mackie.