Scarlet (Hastings' Dictionary)

This word is the equivalent in AV of — 1. ':y shuni, or 'Jsn liashshuni (the latter in Gn37', Ex 285 35=»->'38'^ 39'- », Jos2"'-=', Ca 4»>. 2. D-J5 shdnim (Is l'» [with art.], Tr 31='). 3. nt'Sin-'jip sheni-tOlaath, and ni''7iBn"'Jv' shi'ni-lmttula- 'aih (Lv 14^- "• «"• "• "2 198). 4. •jvi-ns.'ViB tOln ath-shOni, and 'J^'.Tny'piB tCld ath-hashshanl (Ex 2,5-39 ;)n-v.f(»i, Nu 4»)'. S. yViB tela (La 4). Once (Jer 4-) only is shdnim tr* AV ' crimson,' RV ' scarlet ' (see Crimson).

In one passage (Is 1') AV and RV tr. shdnim ' scarlet' (LXX (jioifiKovs), and tula' ' crimson ' (LXX KOKKiKos). 6. k6kkiuos (Mt 27'-, He 9'", Rev 17- 18', "'). As our Eng. versions do not rigidly preserve the distinction between crimson and scar- let, we cannot wonder that the ancients did not always do so. Tola' originally signifies the worm or insect, and shdnl the colour. In point of fact, both colours are produced from the same insect.

Sometimes one of the two words is omitted, and sometimes the other, and sometimes both are given. The article is inserted or omitted, witliout an obvious reason. The creature alluded to, which produces the colour, is the cochineal, a hemipter- ous insect. Coccus ilicis, of which the male in the imago state is winged, and the female wingless. This insect attaches itself to the leaves and twigs olQiicrcus cocci/era.

An allied species, Coccus cacti, is raised on the leaf-like branches of Cactus Ficit* Indica, Haw., and C. cochillinifera. Mill., particu- larly in the neighbourhood of Nablfls. The female is oval in form, convex at the upper, flat at the lower surface. She is about the size of half a cherry kernel, but dries up to that of a grain of wheat. The Arab, name of this bug is kirmtz, from which the word crimson is derived.

Other colours besides scarlet and crimson, as purple and violet, are manufactured from the cochineal. See, further, art. Colours, «. ' Scarlet.' G. E. Post. SCEPTRE is AV and RV tr. of 1. t:z? shebet: Gn 49'" (' The sceptre [LXX iSpx""] s'la" not depart from Judah,' etc. ; on this passage see art. Law- giver in vol. iii. p. 83, and Shiloii, below, p. 500f.), Nu 24" (' there shall come forth a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre [LXX ivSpiinroi] shall rise out of Israel,' where sceptre and star [cf.

, for the latter figure. Is 14'-, Rev 22'] are symbolical for a mighty prince), Ps 45^C> (' a, sceptre [LXX and NT /Id/iSos] of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom,' quoted in He P), Is 14° (|| .he? ; ' the Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre [LXX fir/it, which is used also for 'stall' immediately before] of the rulers '), Ezk 19" ('she [the vine symbolizing Israel] had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule ' ; cf. v."

, where, after her destruction, ' there is in her no longer a strong rod to be a sceptre to rule '), Am l"- " {' I will cut off him that holdeth the sceptre' [LXX here and in the two verses in * ThiB appears decidedly preferable to the euggestion of Bal (in SBOT, on Gn 49'i>) that rp'is {' star ') may here mean, like the Sumerian Muuiul, 'a 2an«e, or else a <^ui,nuu«, or mau^, witk a spiked head.'

SCEPTRE SCEPTRE 417 Ezekiel has <fiv\-/i, taking sfiebef in the sense of 'trilie']), Zee 10" ('the sceptre [LXX ffxijirT/joi'] of Egj'i't shall depart away ). 2. o's^y sharbit, used 01 the golden sceptre [LXX 17 XP'"'V A^^So'] of Ahasuerus, Est 4" o-'''' 8* [all]. Sharbtl is dimply an Araniaism for s/ube( (cf. the insertion of r in Darmeself for Dammesel; in 1 Ch 18', and see Siegfried, Lehrb. d. neuheb. Sprache, §18c).

In atldition to the above instances, RV in Nu 21" corrects AV 'by direction of the lawgiver' (LXX iv TB /SafftXei? ain-iif) to 'with the sceptre.' The Heb. is pjrt^'^ II ojuyif'C? ' with their staves.' SimUarly RV reads in Ps 60'W = 108'*''-'^ 'Judah is mv sceptre ' (same Heb. word) for A V ' J udah is some portrajals of the Persian monarchs (see Rawlinson, Anc. Mun. iii. 203 If.

, who describes the Persian sceptre as a rod about five feet lone, ornamented with a ball or apple at its upper end, and taperin" at its other extremity almost to a point). Probably both forms of ' sceptre ' are in view in Gn 49'" (where bjs" should prob. be taken as a royal emblem), the longer one being repre-sented by the pEnij (prop, 'commander's stall"') of tlie second clause, and the shorter one by the e^;? of the first clause.* The long sceptre is simidy an ornamented staff, the .

short one is a development of the club or mnnc (cf. art. Rod, and see liguies in Ball, I.e. pp. 50, 199", '217). It is this last-named weapon that is called shebet in 2 S 23« -=1 Ch 11^ (AV and Msrmujf Kiiia wim soipraB (doo-rivbr ihsoriptions^l my lawgiver '[LXX ^a(riK(ui\. See Lawgivek, I.e. It al.so substitutes 'sceptre' for 'rod' as tr. of shlbet in Ps 125' ('the sceptre [LXX Ad/SSos] of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous').

' Sceptre' is the appropriate rendering of shebe(, when this is associated with a kinrj or used abso- lutely,* in which latter instance it probably always designates a ruyal possession (see Driver, Expua. July 1885, p. 13). S/iebe(, in this sense, may stand cither for a sliort ornamental sceptre such as ajipears in some representations of the Assyrian kmg (see illustration above, and the figures in Ball, Light frifm tlie East, pj).

160, 199\ 217), or for a long stall reaching to the ground, which characterizes • Id Inst&ncofl like Jg 5* (150 B^p) baton ' would t>e a very ■uitAble rendering. V01„ IV.— 27 RV wrongly ' staff') and Ps 2' 23 ( AV and RV leas clearly ' rod '). The ' golden ' (xpiio'foi') or 'gold-studded ' (xpvatlott 4X0171) sceptre (aKrfirTpoi/) appears fre<iuently in the pages of Homer in the hands of kings and chiefs (e.g. II. i. 15, 246 ; Od. xi. 91, 569).

With such a 'sceptre' Ulysses beats Thersites (II. ii. 2G5I1'.); a sceptre is put by a herald into the hands of Menelaus when he rises to address the Greeks (ib. xxiii. 568, cf. Od. ii. 37). On the ditliculty of approaching the presence of the Persian kings referred to in Est 4", cf. also Herod, iii. 118, 140. J. A. Selbik. • Dlllm. , Ball, Ounkel, et al., make ppha and o;5» tynooymou here, and understand both to refer to a ionn '•oeptre' or stall ; but this is not required by the parallellim.

In P» 110> ."155 In llkoirlae an emblem of rule, and virtually >'Keptre. 418 SCEVA SCEYA SCEYA (2/cctas, Sceva), Ac lO^^— The name {Blass, ad loc.) was probably of Latin origin Scaeva^ but liad been assimilated to a Greek form as if derived from <tk€vos ; it occurs in an inscription at Miletus {CJG ii. 2889. 5). In Ac 19>', \ in the account of 8t.

Paul's preaching at Epbesus, we are tola that God wrougbt special miracles by the hands of Paul, even handkerchiefs carried from his body were sufHcient to heal. Hut some of the wandering Jewish exorcists tried to exorcize in the name of Jesus, saying, * I adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches.

Tlien is recorded the special instance of the seven sons of Sceva, described as a Jewish high pi'iest, who attempted this and failed, tlie evil spirit answering, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?' and the man driv- ing two of them * naked and wounded out of tlie house. This caused great fear. Many who had used curious arts came confessing what they had done. Many also burnt magical books amounting in value to 50,000 drachmas (about £2000).

So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. The wiiole paragraph must be taKen together. It represents St. Paul's miracles and spiritual power in contrast to the magical customs which so >\*idely prevailed. Many Jews especially devoted themselves to sorcery, and Ephesus was noted for, amongst other forms of sorcery, the Ephesia gram- Tnata (see Ephksus and Magic). St, Paul's power and success led to imitation of Iiim.

The name of Jesus evidently seemed to have some special efficacy, and so was adopted by the sorcerers, as every other name in turn M-as adopted (on the power of names see Frazer, Golden Bought i. 403). The discoveries of papyri made in the last few years have enabled us to realize the very large extent to which magical practices prevailed, and the number of magical books which existed.

The name of Jehovah in some form is common, and in che following extract from a magical papyrus at Paris the name of Jesus is used. The papyrus is of the 4th cent., and the original cannot be earlier than Hadrian, who is mentioned byname ; it is pub- lished by C. Wessely, Griechische Zauberpapyrus von Paris und London, in the Denkschriften der phil. -hist, Classe der kais. Akad. der Wissen- schaften in Wien, vol. xxxvi. (1888) L 3007 if.)t fx.tTa /3oT«v*)f fMcffnyia.! z/x,i AoiTo/xr.

rpctf 'i^u u-tTCL ycx.f^oCx^if a^yJaiT.Vrai . , . rritrcti etvrtxpvf ipzt-^t. tffrip it i opxttrfjtii eZrof' epxiZai rt JtecTx rev Stav rat ' EtSpt^'Oiv 'Irttroo' lot^a.' <«»)• ei^peutd' ecKx : Ooitt' lAl' t\at' «;« IW m^cctx,' etizttpuat' lu^otpotcu' et^ik^iK' Xafa,' ctiBp»' f^iMpoiec' fipeuuatv' ffupKpettr;' i iv fd^irn ap«upvi( xa.i X'ovtff xi oi^'x^y;' retttXTiS' jutrccSuTot irou o Siyyikoi i ocvacpctiTr.TOf x/z'i tirxpivira/ ro iripiTTaictfo iaiiuavx rev 'rXa.ffu.a.

roi rai,Tou • ITAofl-lt 0 tiiai it T etytoi trtuTOv Tetpoihuw (MS TK^o^iffr^'] . . cpx.^ot «■ r»y fJifJMtBitva, rw 'Icpeiiik iw rriiXat ^mruyp xett vi^lA) yif.ipnn X.T.JL. Both the evidence of papyri and the incident recorded in the Acts imply a conviction, even amongst those who did not believe, that there was power, perhaps snecial power, in the name of Jesus.

It would imply a general impression that miracles were wTought in His name, and bears witness to the force and po^^e^ of Christianity. It is instruc^tive also to notice how from the Ijeginning Christianity is the resolute foe of all naagic. There are a fiomber of critical questions connected with this rtarrative. First of all there is a question of text. The RV (Codex B) reads : ' And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest, which did this.

And the evil spirit answered and said unto them, Jesus I know, and Paul I know ; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped upon them, and mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fleti out of that house naked and wounded.* D (supported by the margin of the Philoxenian) • But see footnote on next column, t For this and other information the present writer is In- d«btcd to Dr F. Q. Kenyon of the British Museum.

reads : ' And among those also the sons of one Sceva, a priest, winked to do the sayne thiiuj, who had a cti^ttom of exorcizing sxich ; and haviiui gone in unto the man possessed with devUa^ tliey began to call upon the natne^ saying : We c&minand the€ in Jesus, whmn Paul preaches, to come forth.' According to Uamsay (C'/turcA in the Roman Empire^p.

153): 'Codex Beza here g^ives a text which is intelligent, consistent, and possible t the accepted text is badly expressed and even self -contradictory. This opinion seeuis to be largely followed. To the present writer the text of D is clearly a oad paraphrase, and itp growth can be shown. The statement that Sceva was a Jewish high priest seemed (as it is) very curious, and therefore was altered m various ways. D alters a.^x*P'-^ into Upivf, and omits 'Uvhix,.ou,so Giij.

reads 'sacerdotis,' and Cassiodorius explains by ' principis synagogas. Then again in the text of B, while in vM we have seven sons, in v. 16 it is stated that the man ' mastered both of them,' im- plying only two. Gig. therefore substitutes 'duo' for ' srptem,' D leaves out the number altogether, while the majority ot later authorities prefer t-o omit or alter 0Lfj4cr-.pa,f in vA*^, the fijahidic even putting eorum septem.

The remaining alterations of D are, as is generally the case, mere inept expansions. Ths narrative of St. Luke is very much abbreviated, and the para- phrast or translator thought that he could make it more clear, l)ut he does not add a single point which could not be guessed.

Even in the few words he does add he manages to introduce the fonu »»x« and the word ieuf^tiZopLnof which are not Lukan, and the expression 'tTixccktye-tieu to ovof^^ which does not occur unqualified in the NT, and betrays a later age. It may be noted that the word Btu^Tipai is undoubtedly Lukan (8 or 9 times in Luke and Acts, 0 times elsewliere in NT).

The incon- sistency may be difficult, but it is quite inconceivable that any one who had the D text before him should have taken the trouble to insert septem. On every principle of textual criti- cism the text of B must be the original. The statement that Sceva was a Jewish high priest is un- doubtedly difficult, but we have no right therefore to correct it away.

Vet in the sense of a member of a high priestly family there roust have been many who could claim it, and as Zeller (Acts of the Apostles, Eng. tr. ii. p. 59) says: 'It is quite possible that a band of exorcists, giving themselves out for eona or disciples of a Jewish hi^h priest, may have made an experi- ence of the futility of their arts in the person of a lunatic who had heard something of Paul and of Christ.' The difficulty about the discrepancy of numbers is more interesting. St.

Luke's narrative is obviously very much shortened ; only the necessary statements are made, and only what is essential is given. He never tells us that only two out of the seven were engaged in this incident, and it conies out accidentally in a.LufoTipan.'* Does not, this small point imply that the writer had here a source, almost necessarily a written one, from which he abbreviated his narrative? It has been suggested that w.n-20 have been added to the original work.

Hil^enfeld ascribes the passage to R. Ramsay, who has taken a dislike to it, says : ' If there were many such contrasts in the book as between vv,n-20 aiid 2J-4i, i should be a believer in the composite character of the .A.cts' (St. Paul the Traveller, p. 273). It will be interesting, therefore, to examine the language. It will appear that throughout the passage we find characteristic Lukan expressions. ou T«( vvx^ix^oi-iy cf. Ac '^2. rvyX'^^' 7 times in Acts and Luke, 6 times elsewherSb iT.

(7-T«ji«, 10 t. in Acts. 6 elsewhere. ilk x^f^^t '''» X»'^. S times in Acts. 5'V4ftf-Te», 10 t. in Acts, twice in Luke, S t. elsewhere. Tois xxToixeviri with acc. 13 t. in Acts, once in Luke. iTiTiTTti, 10 t. in Acts and Luke, 4 elsewhere. ^o$o( ia-Ea-iriv, cf. Lk l^*. fx.iyet\u^u; 6 t. in Acts and Luke, 3 elsewhere. 01 rtTitrnvxcrti, common in Acts. i»«kO', 29 times in Acts and Luke, 12 elsewhere. Tiu.vi, or rifAas of price, 5 times in Acts. With v.20 cf.

C 12'*, The whole structure of the paragraph is exactly in the manner of the writer of the Acta, with the final clause summing up the whole, while there are indications that here as else- where he has reproduced partly in his own words a written narrative, just in the same way as be reproduces the Synoptic narratives m the Gospels with signs of his own phraseology. Besides the special point touched on above, the historical character of the narrative has been attacked more generally, Ramsay (St.

Paid the 'Traveller y loc. cit. ) finds in it a vulgarity of tone com- pared with the great scene at Paphos. This seems to the present writer purely fanciful, Zeller {op. cit. ii. 58) says : Even from the standpoint of the miraculous faith presented in our book, such an utterly crass and magical representation of the healing power of the apostle has too much that is otlensive.' What he particularly objects to is the story of the healing power in the handker • [In Expos. Times, Dea 1900, p.

144, it is argued by Nestle that atfi^oTipoiy like 'both' in English [see editorial note, t&.], may include more than two, and is at times equivalent to »a»T«. It was also discussed by J. B. Bury in the Classical liev. xl. 393 (1897). There are at least two instaaces in Papyri t Brit. Mum. Pap. 336 ; Geneva Pap. 67J. SCHISM SCOUEGE 4U chiefs of St. Paul, and this is supposed to be a mere parallel to flie narrative in Ac 5"-".

The parallel is too distant to have any weight, and here, as elsewhere, we need only remarlc about the miracles, that even if the liandkerchiefs of St. Paul had no healing power it would certainly be believed that thej' pos.sessed it, and that if the faith of the recipient was a condition of healing it might surely act equally with those who received a handkerchief in the virtue of which they believed.

The whole narrative must be criticised and judged from the point of view of the time and place. The remarks of Conybeare and Howson, ch. xiv., who hring out how exactly the story harmonizes with the atmosphere of Ephesus, are much more valuable. ' The character of miracles was not always the same. They were accommodated to the peculiar forms of sin, superstition, and ignorance they were required to oppose.

So on this occasion gar- ments were made the means of communicating a healing power to those who were at a distance . . such effects thus publicly manifested were a signal refut.ation of the charms and amulets and mysticietters of Ephesus.' A. C. Ueadlam.