Bible record that razors were used from very early times.—Gen. 41:14.

Although the men of Israel wore beards and moderately long hair, a razor was apparently used for trimming; mention is made also of having the hair “shorn” (AV), or “clipped short” (NW), at Acts 18:18. (See also 2 Samuel 19:24; Ezekiel 44:20.) The Levites shaved all their flesh with a razor in connection with their installation into service at the tent of meeting in the wilderness. (Num. 8:7) One under a Nazirite vow was not to use a razor on his head until the completion of the period of his vow. (Num. 6:5, 18; Judg. 13:5; 16:17; Acts 21:23, 24) Samuel, a Levite, was devoted by his mother before his birth to the service of the tent of meeting. A razor was never to be used on the hair of his head.—1 Sam. 1:11.

Jehovah forewarned Israel that the Assyrian would be used as a “razor” by Jehovah to “shave the head and the hair of the feet” and to “sweep away even the beard itself,” evidently picturing the captivity and carrying away of the population of the northern kingdom of Israel as well as the invasion of much of Judah.—Isa. 7:20.

That swords could be made razor sharp is shown by God’s command to Ezekiel to use a sword as a barber’s razor to cut off his hair and beard, and then to strike one-third of the hair with the sword, pictorial of the destruction by the sword to come on a portion of Jerusalem’s populace. (Ezek. 5:1, 2, 12) This also reveals that the barber profession was an early one.

Because of the cutting damage a deceitfully used tongue can do, it is likened to a razor.—Ps. 52:2.

READING

From early times men were interested in reading. King Ashurbanipal of Assyria, who established a library of 22,000 clay tablets and texts, said: “I had my joy in the reading of inscriptions on stone from the time before the flood.” This may refer to some traditional accounts regarding the global Flood or else Assyrian records predating some local flood. The only writings regarding a flood found in the ruins of Ashurbanipal’s palace were those of the Babylonian flood account, containing much mythology. Whether any genuine accounts or writings actually from before the global Flood were possessed by the pagan Assyrians cannot be determined now.

Faithful servants of God, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and others, were interested in God’s promises and dealings and made themselves well acquainted with them by reading and by hearing these things from their forefathers. The nation of Israel was encouraged to read and write.—Deut. 6:6-9.

Joshua, Moses’ successor, as leader of Israel, was under command to engage in the reading of the Scriptures “day and night,” regularly, in order to be successful in the assignment that God had given him. To impress Joshua with the importance of God’s Word, and doubtless as a memory aid, he was to read “in an undertone.”—Josh. 1:8.

The kings of Israel were under divine command to write for themselves copies of God’s law and to read it daily. (Deut. 17:18, 19) Their failure to heed this command contributed to the neglect of true worship in the land, resulting in the demoralization of the people, which led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E.

Jesus had access to all the inspired scrolls of the Hebrew Scriptures in the synagogues, where, on one recorded instance, he read publicly and applied the text to himself. (Luke 4:16-21) Also, when tested three times by Satan, Jesus’ reply was in all three occurrences, “It is written.” (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10) Obviously, he was well acquainted with the Scriptures.

The apostles, who were secondary foundation stones of the spiritual temple, the Christian congregation, found reading of the Scriptures to be essential for their ministry. They quoted and referred to the Hebrew Scriptures hundreds of times in their writings and advocated the reading of them by others. (Acts 17:11) The Jewish rulers perceived that Peter and John were unlettered and ordinary. (Acts 4:13) But this did not mean that they could not read and write, as the letters written by these apostles testify. They were, however, not educated in the higher learning of the Hebrew schools, at the feet of the scribes. For similar reasons the Jews were astonished that Jesus had knowledge, although, as they said, “he has not studied at the schools.” (John 7:15) That reading was widespread in that time is indicated by the account concerning the Ethiopian eunuch, a proselyte, who was reading the prophet Isaiah, and who by reason of this was approached by Philip. The eunuch was rewarded for his concern for God’s Word by receiving the privilege of becoming a follower of Christ.—Acts 8:27-38.

The languages of that part of the Bible written before the first century were Hebrew and Aramaic. In the third century B.C.E., the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek, which had become the international language. The Christian Scriptures were all originally written in Greek, with the exception of Matthew’s Gospel. This made the reading of the Bible possible for most of the literate people in the Roman Empire, and particularly was it available to both Jews in Palestine and those of the Dispersion.

The popular demand for the Bible has reflected its readability and value, since it has far outstripped all other books in publication and circulation, and is at this writing translated, either all or in part, in more than 1,400 languages and dialects, in billions of copies. It is reportedly available to 97 percent of earth’s population in their own tongue.

The Bible enumerates many benefits derived from reading the Scriptures, among them being: humility (Deut. 17:19, 20), happiness (Rev. 1:3), and a discerning of the fulfilling of Bible prophecy (Hab. 2:2, 3) It warns its readers to be selective as to reading material: not all books upbuild and refresh the mind.—Eccl. 12:12.

The help of God’s spirit is necessary for real discernment and understanding of God’s Word. (1 Cor. 2:9-16) To get understanding and other benefits, a person must approach the reading of God’s Word with an open mind, throwing aside all prejudice and preconceived opinions; otherwise his understanding will be veiled, as was the case with the Jews who rejected the good news preached by Jesus. (2 Cor. 3:14-16) Superficial reading is not enough. The reader must put his heart into it, be absorbed in study of the material and meditate deeply upon it.—Prov. 15:28; 1 Tim. 4:13-16; Matt. 24:15; see PUBLIC READING.

REAIAH

(Re·aʹiah) [Jehovah has seen].

1. A son of Shobal and descendant of Judah. (1 Chron. 4:1, 2) It may be that Haroeh at 1 Chronicles 2:52 is the same person. The spelling in Hebrew is quite similar.

2. A Reubenite, presumably an ancestor of persons taken into exile by Tiglath-pileser.—1 Chron. 5:5, 6.

3. Forefather of some of the Nethinim who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile.—Ezra 2:1, 43, 47; Neh. 7:6, 46, 50.

REAPER, REAPING

The harvesting of grain in ancient times was accomplished by cutting the grain with a sickle (Mark 4:29), or sometimes by uprooting it from the earth. In the latter case, the complete stalk was reaped by pulling the roots from the soil, which was important in arid lands where straw was scarce and grain did not grow very tall.

Cutting grain with a sickle was the common method of reaping a crop. (Deut. 16:9) The ancient sickle was fashioned from wood or bone and had flint inserts that served as a cutting edge. Later, the more familiar curved metal blade was used. The reaper would grasp the stalks with one hand and cut them with the other. Perhaps in the past, as in more recent times, pieces of cane were sometimes placed on the