Scripture (Hastings' Dictionary)

The words so translated in EV aie— 1. 305, only Dn 10*' 'I will show tliee that which is noted in the scripture of truth ' (UV 'writing'), where the reference is to 'the book in which tiod has inscribed Vieforehand, as truly as they will be fulfilled, the destinies of mankind' — Driver. Elsewhere this word is tr'' ' writing,' ex- cept Ezr 20-, Neh 7" (EV ' register '). This idea of a Book of God, tn which are recorded men's names or deeds, runs throujfh OT, the Apocalyptic lit., and NT.

It appears tfiat burt'ess-rolls of cities were kept, in which were enrolled the names of the citizens, with their families (Jer 22-"^ 'Write ye this man childless') and their vocations (the priests' roll or 'refister' in Ezr 2f'-, Neh T**). Such rolls Buifjfested the figure of a roll or book kept by Go<l, containinj; the names of the covenant people of Israel.

In Is 43 ('he that rcmaineth In Jerusalem shall oe called holy, even every one that is written among the living (U\'m 'unto life'] In Jeru B-'ilem ■)and l'>,k IS'^C neither shall they be written in the writing (RVm register '] of Ihe house of U/acl ') wo see the transition from the civil to the religious use, or at least from the actual to the ideal.

From the roll or b<>ok the name of the citizen was removed at death ; so in Ex 'i'i^i M,-ses says, ' Blot me, I yray th'-e, out of thy book which thou iia.st written,* and v. 33 fhovah answers, ' Whosoever liaji sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book." See Charles, Hook of Enoch, p. 131 tt. 2. ypiii/ia : this »ord is used in NT in the foil, •enscs — (1) A letier of the alphabet, a written character. Gal 6" (where AV follows Tind.

in rendering 'how large a letter,' but KV, accord- ing to the usage of ypcLij.ixaTa ■ypd(ptLi/, ' how large letters,' Wye. and Klieni. already had ' what manner cif letters'). In AV, after TK, thissen.seis found also in Lk '23™, but omittcil from UV, after the best MSS. (2) Any written document, J>k 16«-' AV • bUl,' UV ' bond ' (TU t6 ypi,i.^, edd. rd contending with the devil for his body (Jude»); Sa'ma or SahiMin.

the father of Floazd Ch 2", Uu 420'), „•,„ ihe hiKbanil ol ltahab(Mt 1») ; the drciugbt and (amine ol 1 K 17' 18'" were known to have lasted three and a hall yean (Lk 4>9, Jt 517 ; tee klao Gal 4'°, cl. under Ibuuakl). ypdix/iaTa). (3) An epistle, Ac 28^ {ypd^Lfxara., EV ' letters'). (4) The law of Moses, Jn 5'" (to ^«ivo« ypaix/xara, EV ' his writings ') ; in St. Paul as written and judicial in opposition to the liberty of the law of life in Christ, Uo 2"-^ 7", 2 Co S"- »■ '.

(5) The sacred Scriptures of the OT, 2 Ti 3'» (TR TO. Upi. ypdix/jtara, edd. omit rd, AV ' tlie holy Scrip- tures,' UV 'the sacred writings'). (6) Learning, Jn 7", Ac 26". 3. ypti(pi. Once this word refers to NT writ- ings, viz. the Epp. of St. Paul, 2 P 3'"; elsewhere the reference is to a passage of the OT,* or to the OT Scriptures in general. In Gal 3' ' the Scrip- ture ' is personified. The question whether ypit^ri in the sing, is ever used of the OT as a whole is much disputed.

In a note to Gal 3'-'2 Lightfoot lays down the rule that 'the sing. ypat^. in the NT always means a partintlar passage of Scripture.' But in a subsequent note to Ro 43 he somewhat modifies this statement : ' Dr. Vaughan,' he says, ' takes a different view, and instances examples from St. John. The usage ol St. John may admit ol a doubt, though, personally, 1 think not ; St. Pauls jiractice, however, is ab.solute and uniform.' Hort (on I P 2^) says that in St. John and St.

Paul ii ypcc^ ' is capable of being understood as approximating to the collective sense.' See Westcott, IJetireirs, p. 4741f. ; Deissmann, Ribelstudien, lOSff., Eng. tr. 112 ff.; and esp. Warlield in /"re*, atid lief. Review, x. (July 1»19) p. 472 fl. J. HASTINGS. SCYTHIANS (■S.KiBai, Jg 1", Jth 3'«, 2 Mac 4" I2», 3 Mac 7°; Gn 14'- " -k. inSymm. =dJi'j').

— A nomadic tribe of Indo-European origin who lived between the Danube and the Don, and spread over the region be- tween the Caucasus and the Caspian. In the time of the elder Pliny the name Scythia was a|)pUed vaguely to the remote regions of Central Asia and S. E. Europe. Thecrnelty of the Scythians was pro- verbial (Herod, iv. 64), and their injustice (2 Alao 4^', cf. 3 Mac 7''). Herodotus mentions (i.

103-103) that a horde of Scythians invaded Media, became masters of Asia, and intended to attack Egypt. Psaiumetichus, the king of Egypt, met them in Palestine, where he was besieging Azotns, and prevailed on them by bribes to retreat. It is not iminobable that the description of the foe from the north in Jer 4^-6*' was suggested by the ravages of these Scythian hordes, and that the imagery of Ezk 38'"'' had a similar origin.

Zeplianiah's de- scription of the ' Day of the Lord ' may also rellect the impression produced upon the jirophet's mind by the news of the advance of these formidable hosts (see Driver, LOT" '252, 291 f., 342, and cf. art. Jeuemiah in vol. ii. p. S/O*"). Thuc. (ii. 96) connects the Scythians with the GeUe, their neighbours, with whom they afterwards coalesced. Horace (Oil. III. xxiv. 911.) prai.ses their simplicity and describes their nomadic habits. In Col 3" (cf.

Gal 3^), where it is said that Christianity does away with all ethnical distinctions, Scythians are mentioned in connexion with, and probably as a synonym for, barbarians. C. H. Piuchard.