Sober, sobriety

Both 'sober' and ' temper- ate' are used in AV in tlie narrower meaning of 'not drunk' or 'not drunken,' and in the wider meaning of ' moderate,' ' reasonable.' The earliest sense of 'sober' is 'not drunken' (from Fr. sobre, Lat. sobrius, i.e. se-ebrius), and that is now its only meaning ; but it early adopted the wider signification, as Piers Plowman, B. xiv. 53 — * Be sobre of syghte and of ton<j:e, In etynge and in handJ^-nge and in alle thi fyne wittis.'

For an example of sober = not drank, take Tindale's tr. of Nu 6'" ' And the absteyner shall shave his heed in the door of the tabernacle of witnesse, and shall take the heer of his sober heed and put it in the fyre which is under the pease otl'erynge.' Soberly (Wis 9", Ro 12», Tit 2"), soberness (Ac 26'^'), and sobriety (1 Ti 2»- ") are all used in both senses. Cf. Tindale, Pent.

(Prologe), 'Behold how soberly and how circumspectly both Abraham and also Isaac behave them selves amon^e the infideles'; Tindale, Expos. 127, 'With their fast the}' destroy the fast which God comniandeth, that is, a perpetual soberness to tame the flesh ' ; Ac 26=* Rliem. ' I speake wordes of veritie and sobrietie' ; Ro 12' Rnem. 'For I say by the grace that is given me, to al that are among you not to be more wise than behoveth to be wise, but to be wise unto sobrietie.'

The words rendered 'sober,' etc, or 'temperftte,' etc.. In AV ftnd RV, arc the following : — L (o) i.;,»i., 1 Th 5" 8, 2 Ti 4», 1 P I" 47 6« (all ' be sober' In AV except 2Ti 4» 'watch'; In RV all 'be sober'). In every case the Greek word has the wider meaning of 'moderate.' (f>) .r*..Ai«.-, 1 Ti 8» (AV ' vigilant '), 3" (AV ' sober 'J, Tit 23 (AV 'sober'; all 'temperate' in RV). In all these cases the meaning of the Greek is ' not drunken.'

1 (a) •-«;/»>, 1 Ti 32 (AV 'sober'), Tit 18 (AV 'sober'), 23 (AV ' tf-nperate '), 2^ (AV 'discreet' ; idl ' 8ob«r-miiided ' in RV). (b) .rj,Cf «i«, Tit 2'2 (AV and RV ' soberlr '). (c) »«^.i», Mk [.15 = Lk 8»(A V and KV • in his right mind '), IU> 123 (j^on,"", ij'f ri rv9f>c>t7», AV and RV ' to think soberly'), 2 Ck> 613 (AV 'be sober'), Tit 28 (AV 'be sober-minded '), 1 P 47 (AV ' be sober ; RV in last thn« be of sober mind').

(d) rtifpcrin,, Ac 20-" (AV and EV 'soberness'), 1 Ti 2»-U (AVandRV 'sobrietj '). 8. (o) iyxficTiia., Ac 2425, Qal rAi, 2 P 18 Ma (AV and RV always ' temperance," RVm alw.ivs ' self-control '). (b)iyxpx^„-. Tit 18 (AV and RV 'temperate'). (e) iyxfstTi{.i>f.uct, 1 Co 7y (.W 'contain,' RV 'have oonti. neney '), 925 (AV and RV ' be temperate '). It thus appears that in RV 'sober,' 'subcr-minded,' etc., represent rii^fa/v and its derivatives, as well a^ >v,^u\ ' temper- ate'is the tr.

of »»:fla>jof and of the derivatives of iyApa.Tti»' while for iy. itself ' temperance ' is retained from AV, with the marg. 'self-control.' For the difference between iyxpttriis and ffu^pm see Page OD Ac 2420. J Hastings. SOCO, SOCOH CiDSfe-, ni^b ' branches ' ; Soccho, Sof/to). — The form of the name varies in the LXX (see below), and quite needlessly in AV. RV has Socoh everywhere except in 1 Ch 4" and 2 Ch 28'», where it has iiuco. 1.

A town in the lowland of Judah, mentioned with Adullam and Azekah (Jos 15" B Saoixu, A Zuxii). The Philistines, before the battle in which Goliath was slain, assembled at Socoh, and camped between Socoh and Azekah, at Ejihes, dammim (IS 17'; Jos. Ant. VI. ix. 1). It was in the district of Ben-hesed, one of Solomon's conimis- -sariat officers (I IC 4'") ; and was fortified by Reho- boam (2 Ch 11' ; Ant. Vlll. x. 1). In the reign of Ahaz it was taken by the Philistines (2 Ch 28"*).

Eusebius and Jerome {Oiiom.) mention two vill.iges — one in the mountain, the other in the plain, or an upper and lower Socoh — which were 9 Roman miles from Eleutlieropolis, on the road to Jerusalem, and were called Socchoth (-0Kxii8). Socoh was passed by St. Paula on her way from Jerusalem to Eleutlieropolis (Horra;i, Ep. Paul, xviii.) This place is now Khurbet Shu- wcikch (a diminutive of Shaukch, the Arabic form of Slioco), on the left bank of WArly es-Sunt, ' the Valley of Elah.'

The position, strong by nature, was of strategical importance, for it commanded one of the gieat highways from the coast to the hill-country of Judah. Beneath Skutveikeh, the WAdy es-Sunt makes a great bend, and runs west- ward instead of from south to north. And here, at the foot of the highland district, the roads from Jerusalem and Hebron unite, before running on- wards down the valley to the plains of Philistia.

The important part played Ijy Socoh in the wars between tlie Jews and "the Philistines is clearly indicated in the l?ible narrative (Rob. BRP^ ii. 21 ; PEF Mem. iii. 12o ; Gu6rin, JtuKe, i. 201, 332). 2. A town in the hill-country of Judah, named with Jattir, Dannah, and Debir (Jos IS''^ B 2wx<'» A 2wxu). The Soco of 1 Ch 4' is apparently the same place. It ia now Khurbet Shuweikeh, to the S.W. of Hebron, and near Esbtemoa. There are some insignificant remains (Rob. DRP L 494 ; PEF Mem. iii.

410). At Socoh, according to the Talmud, was bom Antigonus, — the first Jew known to have taken a Greek name, — who was noted as the disciple of Simon the Just, and the master of Sadok, the reputed founder of the Sadducees. It is not, how- ever, known of which of the two Socohs he was • native (Neubauer. Gcug. du Talmud, p. 121). C. W. Wilson.