Difference between revisions of "Pestilence"

<p> <em> Deber </em> ( '''''דֶּבֶר''''' , Strong'S #1698), “pestilence.” The meaning of the cognate word varies in other Semitic languages from the Hebrew. In Ugaritic, <em> dbr </em> probably signifies “death.” The Arabic word <em> dabrat </em> means “misfortune,” similar to the [[Akkadian]] <em> dibiru </em> , “misfortune.” The word occurs fewer than 60 times in the Old Testament, and mainly in the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. </p> <p> The meaning of <em> deber </em> is best denoted by the English word “pestilence” or “plague.” A country might be quickly reduced in population by the “plague” (cf. 2 Sam. 24:13ff.). The nature of the “plague” (bubonic or other) is often difficult to determine from the contexts, as the details of medical interest are not given or are scanty. In the prophetical writings, the “plague” occurs with other disasters: famine, flood, and the sword: “When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence” (Jer. 14:12). </p> <p> The [[Septuagint]] gives the following translation: <em> thanatos </em> (“death”). </p>

<p> Or [[Plague]] in the [[Hebrew]] tongue, as in most others, expresses all sorts of distempers and calamitites. The Hebrew word which properly signifies "the plague" is extended to all epidemical and contagious diseases. The prophets generally connect together the sword, the pestilence, and the famine, as three evils, which usually accompany each other. </p> <p> The glandular plague, which in modern times has proved so fatal in the East, is the most virulent and contagious of diseases. In the fourteenth century it overran Europe, Asia, and Africa, and 25,000,000 are estimated to have died of it within three years. Like the Asiatic cholera, it is one of the most appalling scourges sin has brought on this world; and may in this point of view correspond with the "plagues" referred to in the Bible, &nbsp;Exodus 9:14 &nbsp; 11:1 &nbsp; 1 Kings 8:37 . </p>

<p> ''''' pes´ti ''''' - ''''' lens ''''' ( דּבר , <i> ''''' debher ''''' </i> ; λοιμός , <i> ''''' loimós ''''' </i> ): Any sudden fatal epidemic is designated by this word, and in its Biblical use it generally indicates that these are divine visitations. The word is most frequently used in the prophetic books, and it occurs 25 times in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, always associated with the sword and famine. In 4 other passages it is combined with noisome or evil beasts, or war. In &nbsp; Amos 4:10 this judgment is compared with the plagues of Egypt, and in &nbsp; Habakkuk 3:5 it is a concomitant of the march of God from the [[Arabian]] mountain. There is the same judicial character associated with pestilence in &nbsp; Exodus 5:3; &nbsp;Exodus 9:15; &nbsp;Leviticus 26:25; &nbsp;Numbers 14:12; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 28:21; &nbsp;2 Samuel 24:21; &nbsp;1 Chronicles 21:12; &nbsp;Ezekiel 14:19 , &nbsp;Ezekiel 14:21 . In the dedication prayer of Solomon, a special value is besought for such petitions against pestilence as may be presented toward the temple (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 6:28 ). Such a deliverance is promised to those who put their trust in God (&nbsp;Psalm 91:6 ). Here the pestilence is called noisome, a shortened form of "annoysome," used in the sense of "hateful" or that which causes trouble or distress. In modern English it has acquired the sense of loathsome. "Noisome" is used by Tyndale where the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) have "hurtful" in &nbsp;1 Timothy 6:9 . </p> <p> The Latin word <i> pestilentia </i> is connected with <i> ''''' pestis ''''' </i> , "the plague," but pestilence is used of any visitation and is not the name of any special disease; <i> ''''' debher ''''' </i> is applied to diseases of cattle and is translated "murrain." </p> <p> In the New [[Testament]] pestilence is mentioned in our Lord's eschatological discourse (&nbsp;Matthew 24:7 the King James Version; &nbsp; Luke 21:11 ) coupled with famine. The assonance of <i> ''''' loimós ''''' </i> and <i> ''''' limós ''''' </i> in these passages ( <i> ''''' loimos ''''' </i> is omitted in the Revised Version (British and American) passage for Mt) occurs in several classical passages, e.g. <i> [[Herodotus]] </i> vii. 171. The pestilence is said to walk in darkness (&nbsp; Psalm 91:6 ) on account of its sudden onset out of obscurity not associated with any apparent cause. </p>

<p> is the invariable rendering in the A.V. (except in &nbsp;Exodus 9:3, "murrain," and in &nbsp;Hosea 13:14, "plagues") of the Heb. '''''דֶּבֶר''''' , ''Deber'' (Sept. usually '''''Θάνατος''''' ) '','' which originally seems to mean simply ''Destruction,'' but is regularly applied to that common Oriental epidemic [[The Plague]] (q.v.). The same term is also used in the Hebrew [[Scriptures]] for all epidemic or contagious diseases (&nbsp;Leviticus 26:25). The writers everywhere attribute it either to the agency of God himself or of that legate or angel whom they denominate '''''מלא''''' , malak; hence the Sept. renders the word '''''דבר''''' , ''Deber,'' or pestilence, in &nbsp;Psalms 91:6, by '''''Δαιμόνιον''''' '''''Μεσήμβρινον''''' , "the daemon of noonday," and [[Jonathan]] also renders the same word in the [[Chaldee]] [[Targum]] (&nbsp;Habakkuk 3:5) by the Chaldee word '''''לא''''' , angel or messenger. The prophets usually connect together sword, pestilence, and famine, being three of the most grievous inflictions of the Almighty upon a guilty people (&nbsp;2 Samuel 24:19). In the N.T. the term rendered "pestilence" is '''''Λοιμός''''' (&nbsp;Matthew 24:7; &nbsp;Luke 21:11; "pestilent fellow," &nbsp;Acts 24:5). (See [[Disease]]). </p>