An example where literal hearing of a sound and hearing with understanding are contrasted is found in the account of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus and his own recounting of it later. (Acts 9:3-8; 22:6-11) The account at Acts 9:7 says that the men with Saul heard “a voice” (AV) or “the sound of a voice.” (NW) Yet, as recorded at Acts 22:9, Paul (Saul) says that the men did not hear the voice. When what was said in the two verses is properly understood, there is no contradiction. The Greek word for “voice” (pho·neʹ) at Acts 9:7 is in the genitive case (pho·nesʹ) and gives, in this verse, the sense of hearing of a voice—hearing the sound but not understanding. At Acts 22:9 pho·neʹ is in the accusative case (pho·nenʹ): the men “did not hear the voice”—they heard the sound of a voice but did not get the words, the meaning; they did not understand what Jesus was saying to Saul, as Saul did. (Acts 9:4) This knowledge of the Bible’s use of the idea of ‘hearing’ in both senses helps to clear up what would otherwise seem to be discrepancies or absurdities./6

At the installation of the priesthood in Israel, Moses was commanded to take some of the blood of the ram of the installation and to put it on the lobe of the right ear of Aaron and of each of his sons, as well as on the right hand and right foot, indicating that what they listened to, the work they did and the way they walked should be directly affected by what was there taking place. (Lev. 8:22-24) Similarly, in the case of the cleansed leper, the Law said that the priest was to put some of the blood of the ram offered as a guilt offering, as well as some of the oil offered, on the lobe of the leper’s right ear. (Lev. 14:14, 17, 25, 28) An arrangement of comparable nature was found in the provision made for the man who wished to continue in slavery to his master to time indefinite. In such case the slave was to be brought to the doorpost, and his master was to pierce his ear through with an awl. This prominent mark, being made on the organ for hearing, evidently represented the slave’s desire to continue in obedient attention to his master.—Ex. 21:5, 6.

Bearing on the greater importance of hearing God, in the sense of giving close attention and obedience to his words, as the Bible directs us to do, rather than the need to see him, as some demand, R. C. Dentan, writing in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1), remarks interestingly: “In the Bible, the key word for man’s response to God is ‘hearing’ rather than ‘seeing’ . . . . For the mystery religions the highest religious experience was that of ‘seeing’ the god; but for the Bible, where the basic religious attitude is obedience to the divine word, the emphasis is on ‘hearing’ his voice. The most important formula of Israel’s religion begins characteristically: ‘Hear, O Israel.’ ‘He who is of God’ is not the mystic who has seen a vision, but one who ‘hears the words of God’ (John 8:47).”—See DEAFNESS.

EARDROP

See EARRING.

EARRING

A ring or other ornament worn on the ear for purposes of adornment. The Hebrews do not appear to have had a specific word for “earring,” for one of the words they applied to this ornament (neʹzem) can be used for either a nose ring or an earring. The context in which neʹzem appears in the Scriptures sometimes, though not always, makes it possible to determine whether an earring or a nose ring is meant. Probably in many cases earrings and nose rings varied little in shape. The Hebrew word ʽa·ghilʹ is also used to designate an earring and relates to a circular ornament.

In many nations of antiquity men, women and children all wore earrings. That they were worn by men of many lands is evident from representations of foreigners on Egyptian monuments. However, in Egypt it seems that it was not customary for men to wear earrings and whether Israelite men customarily wore them or not is uncertain. Earrings were worn by the Midianites, from whom the Israelites took them as part of the spoils of war. (Num. 31:1, 2, 50) When Aaron was about to make the golden calf in the wilderness, he instructed the Israelites: “Tear off the gold earrings that are in the ears of your wives, of your sons and of your daughters and bring them to me.”—Ex. 32:1-4.

Common with Egyptian women were earrings consisting of large golden hoops, some being an inch and a half to over two inches (c. 3.8 to over 5.1 centimeters) in diameter, though others were even larger and were made of as many as six individual rings soldered together. Silver earrings were found at Thebes, some of them being merely studs. At times Egyptian earrings were quite elaborately designed, as were those of the Assyrians, some of which were cross-shaped. It was customary to attach the earring by passing the ring itself or a hook through a hole that had been pierced in one’s earlobe.

In ancient Egypt, persons of high station sometimes wore golden ear ornaments having the form of an asp, the body of which was studded with precious stones. Middle Eastern earrings at times consisted of rings to which jewels of some sort were attached as pendants. Some were called “eardrops” (Heb., n^eti·phohthʹ from na·taphʹ, which, by implication, means to drop or to fall in drops). This term evidently relates to a drop-shaped ornament or pendant. “Eardrops” could have been pearls or spherical beads of silver or gold, but they are not described in the Bible. (Judg. 8:26) They were among the things Jehovah said he would take away from the haughty “daughters of Zion.”—Isa. 3:16, 19.

Faithful Hebrews and Christians did not wear earrings as amulets, though others of ancient times did so. While the Bible does not specifically say that the “earrings” possessed by Jacob’s household had been viewed as amulets, Jacob buried both “the foreign gods” and the “earrings” of his household under the big tree near Shechem. (Gen. 35:2-4) The “ornamental humming shells” possessed by the haughty “daughters of Zion” were charms of some type that may have been suspended from necklaces or worn on the ears.—Isa. 3:20.

When Israel was granted the privilege of making contributions for the tabernacle, willing-hearted persons donated various articles, including earrings. (Ex. 35:20-22) Centuries later, Jehovah told Jerusalem that, among other things, he had shown her love by placing earrings on her ears. (Ezek. 16:1, 2, 12) And Solomon used a gold earring illustratively when he said: “An earring of gold, and an ornament of special gold, is a wise reprover upon the hearing ear.”—Prov. 25:1, 12.

EARTH

The fifth-largest planet of the solar system and the third in order of position from the sun. It is an oblate spheroid, being slightly flattened at the poles. Satellite observations have indicated other slight irregularities in earth’s shape. Its mass is nearly six sextillion five hundred eighty-eight quintillion U.S. short tons (5.976 [± .005] x 10²¹ metric tons or 5.88 x 10²¹ British tons). Its area is 196,951,072 square miles (510,103,276 square kilometers). Earth’s measurements are (approximately): circumference at the equator, 24,902.4 miles (40,068 kilometers); diameter at the equator, 7,927 miles (12,755 kilometers). Oceans and seas cover approximately 71 percent of its surface, leaving about 57.5 million square miles (148.9 million square kilometers) of land surface.

The earth rotates on its axis, bringing about day and night. (Gen. 1:4, 5) A solar day or an apparent day is a period of twenty-four hours, the time taken for an observer at any one point on the earth to be again in the same position relative to the sun. The tropical year, which concerns the return of the seasons, the interval between two consecutive returns of the sun to the vernal equinox, is 365 days, 5 hours,