(Gen. 10:6, 7) or Sheba the son of Joktan in Shem’s line.—Gen. 10:21-29.

2. A tall people linked in Isaiah 45:14 with laborers of Egypt and merchants of Ethiopia as ones who would recognize Jehovah and his people. Isaiah 43:3 also associates Egypt and Ethiopia, but, instead of “Sabeans,” uses “Seba,” indicating that the men of Seba were called Sabeans.—See SEBA No. 2.

3. The descendants of Sheba (whether of the line of Shem or of Ham is uncertain) who evidently formed a kingdom near the tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Likely the queen of Sheba who visited Solomon was from this land. (1 Ki. 10:1) Secular sources often refer to this kingdom as Sabean, and the Bible may do likewise.—See SHEBA No. 6.

Certain translations read “Sabeans” at Ezekiel 23:42 (AV, Yg, Da), so interpreting the marginal reading in the Hebrew Bible. However, the main text reads “drunkards” and that is how modern translations frequently render the verse.—Ro, NW, AS, RS.

SABTAH

(Sabʹtah).

A son of Cush and brother of Nimrod; progenitor of one of the seventy post-Flood families. (Gen. 10:7, 8, 32; 1 Chron. 1:9, 10) Sabtah’s descendants apparently settled in southern Arabia, perhaps in one of the places later bearing a name similar to his. Sabota, the ancient capital of Hadhramaut, has been suggested, and Ptolemy mentions a town called Saptha near the Persian Gulf, but any connection of these places with Sabtah remains uncertain.

SABTECA

(Sabʹte·ca).

Fifth-named son of Cush and father of one of the seventy post-Flood families. (Gen. 10:7, 32; 1 Chron. 1:9) His descendants likely settled in southern Arabia or perhaps Ethiopia, the exact location being unknown.

SACAR

(Saʹcar) [wages].

1. Hararite father of David’s warrior Ahiam. (1 Chron. 11:26, 35) Sacar is called Sharar at 2 Samuel 23:33.

2. The fourth son of Obed-edom and one of the gatekeepers during David’s reign.—1 Chron. 26:1, 4.

SACHIA

(Sa·chiʹa).

The head of a paternal house in the tribe of Benjamin; son of Shaharaim by his wife Hodesh.—1 Chron. 8:1, 8-10.

SACK

See BAG.

SACKCLOTH

The English word “sackcloth” is derived from the Hebrew saq, meaning a coarse cloth used in making sacks or bags such as those for containing grain. It was usually woven from goat’s hair of a dark color. (Rev. 6:12; Isa. 50:3) The same Hebrew word for “sackcloth” is used also to describe the bags made from it.—Gen. 42:25; Josh. 9:4.

It was the traditional garment of mourning, and we first read of its use when Jacob mourned over the supposed death of his son Joseph, girding sackcloth upon his hips. (Gen. 37:34; 2 Sam. 3:31) In some cases the mourners used it as a seat or to sleep on. (2 Sam. 21:10; Isa. 58:5; Joel 1:13) The servants of Ben-hadad, in pleading for the life of their king before Ahab, went with sackcloth on their loins and ropes on their heads. (1 Ki. 20:31, 32) It was worn next to the skin at times, with other clothing on top. (Job 16:15; Isa. 32:11; 1 Ki. 21:27; 2 Ki. 6:30), while in other cases it may possibly have been simply “girded on” over undergarments.—Ezek. 7:18; Joel 1:8.

As a result of Jonah’s preaching, the king of Nineveh issued a decree, not only that all the people of the city should follow his example of putting on sackcloth, but that even the ‘domestic animals’ should be covered with it.—Jonah 3:6-8.

The Hebrew prophets were occasionally wearers of sackcloth, in harmony with the warning messages and calls to repentance they were commissioned to deliver, or when praying with expressions of repentance in behalf of the people. (Isa. 20:2; Dan. 9:3; compare Revelation 11:3.) It was worn by the king and the people in times of great crisis or upon receiving calamitous news.—2 Ki. 19:1; Isa. 15:3; 22:12.

SACRED PILLAR

The Hebrew term so translated likely refers to a phallic symbol of Baal or, at times, of other false gods. (Ex. 23:24; 2 Ki. 3:2; 10:27) At various sites in the Near East, upright stone pillars with no apparent structural function have been found. Their being discovered along with artifacts of a religious nature suggests that they were sacred pillars. Some of these are unhewn and measure six feet (1.8 meters) or more in length.

Before entering the Promised Land the Israelites were commanded not to erect any sacred pillars and were instructed to break down or shatter the already existing sacred pillars of the Canaanites. (Ex. 34:13; Lev. 26:1; Deut. 12:3; 16:22) The manner in which these were to be destroyed indicates that they were probably made of stone. At 2 Kings 10:26, however, mention is made of burning sacred pillars, suggesting that some were made of wood. In this case, though, the reference may be to the sacred pole or Asherah.—See SACRED POLE.

Israel disregarded God’s clear warnings given through Moses. The territory of the kingdom of Judah and that of the ten-tribe kingdom became filled with sacred pillars. (1 Ki. 14:22, 23; 2 Ki. 17:10) However, faithful Judean kings, like Asa, Hezekiah and Josiah, broke the sacred pillars (2 Ki. 18:4; 23:14; 2 Chron. 14:3), and when Jehu eradicated Baal worship from the ten-tribe kingdom, the sacred pillar of Baal was pulled down.—2 Ki. 10:27, 28.

SACRED POLE

The Hebrew word ʼashe·rahʹ (pl., ʼashe·rimʹ) is thought to refer to (1) a sacred pole representing Asherah, a Canaanite goddess of fertility (Judg. 6:25, 26), and (2) the goddess Asherah (2 Chron. 15:16, NW, 1955 ed., ftn.) However, it is not always possible to determine whether a particular scripture is to be understood as referring to the idolatrous object or to the goddess. A number of modern Bible translations, though, have attempted to do so by rendering the original-language word as “sacred pole(s) [or post]” but transliterating it when the reference is apparently to the goddess. (AT, JB) Others have not endeavored to make a distinction, but have simply transliterated the Hebrew word (RS), or consistently translated it “sacred pole(s)” (NW, although a distinction may at times be noted in the footnotes). In the older translations of the Bible, the Hebrew word has usually been rendered as “grove(s).” (AV, Le) But this rendering is especially inappropriate in such texts as Judges 3:7 and 2 Kings 23:6 (AV), which speak of serving “groves” and bringing out the “grove” from the temple at Jerusalem.

THE SACRED POLES

The sacred poles apparently stood upright rather than lying flat and were made of wood or at least contained wood, the Israelites’ being commanded to cut them down and to burn them. (Ex. 34:13; Deut. 12:3) They may have simply been uncarved poles, perhaps even trees in some instances, for God’s people were instructed: “You must not plant for yourself any sort of a tree as a sacred pole.”—Deut. 16:21.

Both Israel and Judah disregarded God’s express command not to set up sacred pillars and sacred poles, placing them upon “every high hill and under every luxuriant tree” alongside the altars used for sacrifice. It has been suggested that the poles represented the female principle, whereas the pillars represented the male principle. These appendages of idolatry, likely phallic symbols, were associated with grossly immoral sex orgies, as indicated by the reference to male prostitutes being in the land as early as Rehoboam’s reign. (1 Ki. 14:22, 23; 2 Ki. 17:10) Only seldom did kings such as Hezekiah (and Josiah) come