a source of typhoid, dysentery and other febrile diseases. (Lev. 11:32-38) (4) Anyone touching the body or eating some of an animal that died of itself had to cleanse himself. (Lev. 11:39, 40) (5) The laws commanding the covering of fecal waste by each individual, also the covering of blood with dust, protected against diseases, including jaundice. (Lev. 17:13; Deut. 23:12, 13) (6) The moral laws would practically eliminate all venereal disease, which disease can affect all organs of the body and cause various forms of fever. (7) Prevention of the spread of such diseases and others was also helped by the Law’s stipulation that emission of semen, menstruation or running discharge from genital organs made persons, garments or a bed or certain other things unclean for a specified time, and included other persons who as much as touched these things. (Lev. 15:16-28) (8) The quarantine laws worked to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.—Lev. chap. 13; Num. 19:11, 12, 16; 31:19.

Jehovah warned Israel that if they went contrary to his commandments they would undergo exhaustion from hunger, a contributory factor in many febrile diseases; they would be afflicted with burning fever, inflammation and feverish heat; they would suffer boils, skin eruptions (sicknesses that are often accompanied by burning fever) and blindness. (Lev. 26:14-16) All of this came to fulfillment after Israel’s repeated rebellions against Jehovah and their violations of his laws.—Ezek. 4:16, 17; 33:10.

When Jesus Christ was on earth many persons afflicted with fevers were healed by him. One case was that of the mother-in-law of the apostle Simon Peter. (Matt. 8:14, 15; Mark 1:29-31) Luke, apparently because he was a physician, draws attention to the degree of fever in that case, classifying it as a “high fever.” (Luke 4:38) On one occasion Jesus, in Cana, healed the son of an attendant to King Herod Antipas, although the feverish boy was dying several miles away in Capernaum. As a result, the man and his entire household became believers.—John 4:46-54.

The apostle Paul used the God-given power of healing, one of the miraculous gifts through Jesus Christ to certain members of the early Christian congregation (1 Cor. 12:7-9, 11, 30), to cure a case of fever and dysentery suffered by the father of Publius, the principal man and a landowner of the island of Malta. On learning of this, the island’s natives came to Paul, and he healed many of their various sicknesses.—Acts 28:7-9.

FIELD

The Hebrew word sa·dhehʹ, which is most frequently rendered “field,” may denote a hunting ground, a tract of land used for pasturage or farming, a mountaintop, an uncultivated wooded area, or even a region occupied by a certain people, for example, “the field of Moab,” and is used in contrast with “city.”—Gen. 27:5; 31:4; 37:5-7; Judg. 9:32, 36; 1 Sam. 14:25; Num. 21:20; Deut. 28:3.

Moreover, the combined tracts of several individual owners were viewed jointly as “the field,” as seen from the account of Ruth. In going out to “the field,” Ruth by chance “lighted on the tract of the field belonging to Boaz,” indicating that Boaz owned only a section of the area. (Ruth 2:2, 3) While vineyards and gardens were apparently enclosed, the indications are that fields were not. (Num. 22:24; Song of Sol. 4:12) According to the Law, unwalled settlements were considered as part of the field of the country. (Lev. 25:31) Also, the Law commanded that no one move the boundary marks of his fellowman, indicating that this was relatively easy to do.—Deut. 19:14.

Fires could easily spread from one field to another, and care had to be exercised to keep domestic animals in check so that they would not wander into someone else’s field. (Ex. 22:5, 6) At Isaiah 28:25 spelt is said to be sown as a boundary. Perhaps by planting this inferior grade of wheat around the outer edges of their fields farmers could, to some extent, protect their more valuable crops, such as wheat and barley, from cattle that might enter the edges of the field.

Likely it was possible to go through the field by means of footpaths, and these could also have served to separate one tract of land from another, for it is most improbable that Jesus and his disciples would have walked right through a field of grain, trampling some of the grain as they went along. If they had done this, the Pharisees undoubtedly would have taken issue on this point also. (Luke 6:1-5) It may have been with reference to such paths that Jesus, in his illustration about the sower, mentioned the seeds that fell alongside the road.—Matt. 13:4.

FIELD OF BLOOD

See AKELDAMA.

FIERY SNAKE

[Heb., sa·raphʹ].

This Hebrew word, in its plural form, is translated “seraphs” in Isaiah 6:2, 6 and means “fiery” or “burning.” It is often used to modify the general Hebrew term for serpent (na·hhashʹ) and may then be translated as “poisonous,” perhaps as referring to the burning and inflaming effect of the venom. (Deut. 8:15) It is first mentioned at the time of God’s inflicting punishment on the rebellious Israelites by sending “poisonous serpents [n^ehha·shimʹ s^era·phimʹ]” among them. After Moses’ intercession, Jehovah instructed him to make a “fiery snake,” to be placed on a signal pole to which those bitten could then look and be healed and live. Moses formed the snake of copper. (Num. 21:6-9; 1 Cor. 10:9) Jesus gave prophetic significance to this by stating: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up, that everyone believing in him may have everlasting life.”—John 3:14, 15.

At Isaiah 14:29 and 30:6 a “flying fiery snake” is mentioned in God’s judgment against Philistia and in description of the wilderness area to the S of Judah. The expression “flying” is considered by some to refer to the rapid darting or lightninglike striking through the air done by venomous snakes when attacking.

FIG

[Heb., t^eʼe·nahʹ; Gr., sy·keʹ, syʹkon].

Along with the olive and the vine, the fig tree (Ficus carica) is one of the most prominent plants of the Bible, receiving mention in more than fifty texts. (Judg. 9:8-13; Hab. 3:17) The fig is native to SW Asia, Palestine, Syria and Egypt and is noted for its remarkable longevity. While the tree will grow wild, to produce good fruitage it needs cultivation. (Luke 13:6-9) It is quite adaptable to various kinds of soil, even doing well in rocky soil. It may reach a height of thirty to thirty-five feet (9.1 to 10.7 meters), with a trunk diameter of about two feet (.6 meter), and has wide-spreading branches. While it is primarily appreciated for its fruit, it is also highly valued for its good shade. (John 1:48-50) The leaves are large, measuring as much as eight inches (20.3 centimeters) or more in width. The first mention of the fig is with regard to the use of its leaves for sewing together, to serve as loin coverings for Adam and Eve. (Gen. 3:7) In some parts of the East fig leaves are still sewed together and used for wrapping fruit and for other purposes.

EARLY AND LATE CROPS

There are, basically, two crops of figs produced annually by the trees: the first or “early” figs (Heb., bik·ku·rahʹ), which mature in June or early July (Isa. 28:4; Jer. 24:2; Hos. 9:10), and the later figs, which grow on the new wood and make up the main crop, generally maturing from August onward. The early figs may be easily shaken from the tree when ripe, and are prized for their delicate flavor.—Nah. 3:12.

Along about February, the first fruit buds appear on the branches of the previous season and precede the leaves by about two months, since these do not appear until the final part of April or in May. (Matt. 24:32) At Song of Solomon 2:13 the first signs of