Esther revealed it to the king, Bigthan was hanged, and the incident was recorded in the royal archives.—Esther 2:21-23; 6:2.

BIG TREES

[Heb., ʼe·lahʹ; ʼe·lohnʹ], MASSIVE TREES [Heb., ʼal·lahʹ, ʼal·lohnʹ].

These Hebrew words are variously rendered oak, elm and teil tree in AV, also terebinth in AS. However, many authorities acknowledge that these words may have been applied in Bible times simply to big trees in general.

At Amos 2:9 the Amorite people were likened to the cedar for height and to “massive trees [ʼal·lohnʹ]” for vigor. These “massive trees” were especially abundant in Bashan in Transjordan and are used in comparisons along with the cedars of Lebanon. (Isa. 2:13; Zech. 11:1, 2) Oars were fashioned from their wood. (Ezek. 27:6) Deborah was buried under such a tree at Bethel, resulting in the name Allon-bacuth, which means “Big tree of weeping.” (Gen. 35:8) The location of such trees on hills and high places made them popular places of shade under which false worshipers could engage in idolatrous practices.—Hos. 4:13.

Doubtless the massive trees of Bashan included the oak. Renowned for their sturdiness and strength, oak trees live to a very great age. Several kinds of oaks continue to grow in Bashan as well as in the lofty parts of the Hauran, Gilead, Galilee and Lebanon, some of them evergreens; while others are deciduous (that is, losing their leaves each fall). Their fruit, the acorn, is set in a cup and is rich in tannin. It is believed that the color for the “coccus scarlet” material used in the sanctuary (Ex. 25:4; 26:1) was obtained from a scale insect that infects the branches of a species of oak.—See DYES, DYEING.

Another tree considered likely to be among the “big trees” of the Bible is the terebinth or turpentine tree. It is a common tree in Palestine, has a thick trunk and widespreading branches and may attain to heights of as much as fifty feet (15.2 meters), providing excellent shade. By making incisions in the bark a perfumed resin is obtained, from which turpentine is produced.

BIGVAI

(Bigʹvai) [possibly, fortunate, happy].

1. Forefather of some two thousand “sons of Bigvai” who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel in 537 B.C.E. (Ezra 2:14; Neh. 7:19) Later, in 468, more of his descendants made the trip with Ezra.—Ezra 8:1, 14.

2. One listed prominently among those returning to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile with Zerubbabel.—Ezra 2:1, 2; Neh. 7:7.

3. One by this name, or a representative of the family group mentioned in No. 1 above, who attested to Nehemiah’s “trustworthy arrangement.”—Neh. 9:38; 10:1, 16.

BIKATH-AVEN

(Bikʹath-aʹven) [valley of idolatry or wickedness].

A place or valley plain associated with Damascus and Beth-eden in Jehovah’s prophecy through Amos foretelling the exile of the people of Syria. (Amos 1:5) In the absence of any record of a Syrian city or town by that name, many authorities connect Bikath-aven with el-Biqaʽ, the valley between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. This valley has a history of idolatrous Baal worship so that the meaning of the name Bikath-aven would aptly describe it. The predicted ‘cutting-off’ of the inhabitants of Bikath-aven evidently came about as a result of Assyrian King Tiglath-pileser III’s conquest of Syria.—2 Ki. 16:9, 10.

BILDAD

(Bilʹdad) [son of contention, that is, quarrelsome; or, Bel has loved].

One of Job’s three companions, called the Shuhite; a descendant of Shuah, the son of Abraham by Keturah. (Job 2:11; Gen. 25:2; 1 Chron. 1:32) Taking his second-place turn in the three rounds of debate, Bildad usually followed the general theme set by Eliphaz; his speeches were shorter and more biting, though not to the degree of Zophar’s. Bildad is the first to accuse Job’s children of wrongdoing and therefore meriting the calamity that befell them. With misguided reasoning he made this illustration: As papyrus and reeds dry up and die without water, likewise “all those forgetting God”—a statement true in itself, but most erroneous in the intimation that it applied to God-fearing Job. (Job chap. 8) Like Eliphaz, Bildad falsely classified Job’s afflictions as those coming upon the wicked: “no posterity and no progeny” for poor Job, Bildad implied. (Job chap. 18) In his third speech, a short one in which Bildad argues that man is “a maggot” and “a worm” and hence unclean before God, the words of “comfort” from Job’s three companions came to an end. (Job chap. 25) Finally, Bildad, along with the other two, is divinely instructed to offer a burnt sacrifice and have Job pray in their behalf.—Job 42:7-9.

BILEAM

(Bilʹe·am) [perhaps, greed, or, destruction].

A town assigned to the Levites of the family of Kohath, given to them from the territory of the half tribe of Manasseh located W of the Jordan River. (1 Chron. 6:70) The listing of Levite cities at Joshua 21:11-39 does not include Bileam but many scholars believe that a scribal error caused Gath-rimmon to be repeated in verse 25 in place of Bileam. Most authorities agree that Bileam is a variant spelling of Ibleam, this latter form being more frequently used.—See IBLEAM.

BILGAH

(Bilʹgah) [cheerfulness].

1. Head of the fifteenth of the twenty-four priestly service divisions when David reorganized the sanctuary service.—1 Chron. 24:1, 14.

2. A priest who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel in 537 B.C.E. (Neh. 12:1, 5, 7) In the following generation the head of his paternal house was Shammua.—Neh. 12:12, 18, 26.

BILGAI

(Bilʹgai) [cheerfulness].

A priest, or forefather of one, who agreed to the covenant Nehemiah arranged.—Neh. 10:1, 8.

BILHAH

(Bilʹhah) [possibly, simple, simplicity].

1. One of the maidservants of Laban’s household whom he gave to his daughter Rachel to be her maidservant at the time of her marriage to Jacob. (Gen. 29:29) That occurred in the year 1774 B.C.E. in Paddan-aram, which was in the northern plateau region of Mesopotamia. When, with the passing of time, Rachel proved to be barren, she gave Bilhah to Jacob as a secondary wife, that by means of her maidservant Rachel might have children, even as Sarah had done. (Gen. 16:2) Jacob by that time was at least eighty-eight years old. In this way Bilhah had the privilege of becoming the mother of two sons, Dan and Naphtali, whose descendants formed two of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Gen. 30:3-8; 35:25; 1 Chron. 7:13) When Jacob returned to the land of Canaan, Bilhah, together with her children, was personally introduced to Jacob’s twin brother Esau. After the death of Rachel, the oldest son of Jacob, Reuben, committed fornication with Bilhah.—Gen. 35:22; 49:3, 4.

2. A town belonging to the tribe of Simeon located within the Negeb region of Judah (1 Chron. 4:29), evidently the same as Baalah in Joshua 15:29.—See BAALAH No. 3.

BILHAN

(Bilʹhan) [perhaps, foolish, simple].

1. First-listed son of Sheik Ezer, a Horite.—Gen. 36:20, 21, 27; 1 Chron. 1:42.

2. Son of Jediael, a Benjamite. Bilhan’s seven sons were family heads whose descendants on one occasion numbered 17,200 “valiant, mighty men.”—1 Chron. 7:6, 10, 11.