Smith's Bible Dictionary.pdf - Online Christian Library

Smith's Bible Dictionary
•Sibbechai. (2 Samuel 21:18; 1 Chronicles 11:29; 20:4; 27:11) Josephus, however, called him a
Hittite.
•Mebunnai, (2 Samuel 23:27) a mere corruption of Sibbechai.
Hushim
(who makes haste).
•In (Genesis 46:23) “the children of Dan” are said to have been Hushim. The name is plural, as if
of a tribe rather than an individual. In (Numbers 26:42) the name is changed to Shuham.
•A Benjamite, (1 Chronicles 7:12) and here again apparently the plural nature of the name is
recognized, and Hushim are stated to be “the sons of Aher.”
•One of the two wives of Shaharaim. (1 Chronicles 8:8) (B.C. 1450.)
Husks
This word in (Luke 16:16) describes really the fruit of a particular kind of tree, viz. the carob
or Ceratonia siliqua of botanists. It belongs to the locust family. This tree is very commonly met
with in Syria and Egypt, it produces pods, shaped like a horn, varying in length from six to ten
inches, and about a finger’s breadth, or rather more; it is dark-brown, glossy, filled with seeds and
has a sweetish taste. It is used much for food by the poor, and for the feeding of swine.
Huz
(light, sandy soil), the eldest son of Nahor and Milcah. (Genesis 22:21) (B.C. about 1900).
Huzzab
(fixed), according to the general opinion of the Jews, was the queen of Nineveh at the time
when Nahum delivered his prophecy. (Nahum 2:7) (B.C. about 700.) The moderns follow the
rendering in the margin of our English Bible—“that which was established.” Still it is not improbable
that after all Huzzab may really be a proper name. It may mean “the Zab country,” or the fertile
tract east of the Tigris, watered by the upper and lower Zab rivers.
Hyacinth
used in the Revised Version for jacinth in (Revelation 9:17) It is simply another English spelling
of the same Greek word.
Hyaena
Authorities differ as to whether the term tzabu’a in (Jeremiah 12:9) means a “hyaena” or a
“speckled bird.” The only other instance in which it occurs is as a proper name, Zeboim, (1 Samuel
13:18) “the valley of hyaenas, “Aquila; (Nehemiah 11:34) The striped hyaena (Hyaena striata) is
found in Africa, Asia Minor, Arabia and Persia, and is more common in Palestine than any other
carnivorous animals except perhaps the jackal. The hyaena is among the mammals what the vulture
is among birds,—the scavenger of the wilderness, the woods and the shore.—It often attacks animals,
and Sometimes digs up the dead bodies of men and beasts. From this last habit the hyaena has been
regarded as a horrible and mysterious creature. Its teeth are so powerful that they can crack the
bones of an ox with ease.—Appelton’s Encyc. The hyaena was common in ancient as in modern
Egypt, and is constantly depicted upon monuments; it must therefore have been well known to the
Jews.
Hymenaeus
(belonging to marriage), the name of a person occurring twice in the correspondence between
St. Paul and Timothy; the first time classed with Alexander, (1 Timothy 1:20) and the second time
classed with Philetus. (2 Timothy 2:17,18) (A.D. 66-7.) He denied the true doctrine of the
resurrection.
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William Smith