RHODA

(Rhoʹda) [rose].

A member of the Christian congregation in Jerusalem at the time of the apostle Peter’s miraculous release from prison in 44 C.E. Rhoda was a servant girl, presumably in the household of Mark’s mother Mary. At least she was one of those who spent the night there praying for Peter. Answering a knock at the door of the gateway, and recognizing Peter’s voice, Rhoda was so overcome with joy that, instead of letting him in, she ran back inside to tell the others. “You are mad,” they said, but she continued insisting. All the while Peter kept knocking until they finally let him in.—Acts 12:3, 5, 12-16.

RHODES

An island off the SW corner of Turkey and one of the largest in the Aegean Sea, measuring some forty-five miles long by twenty miles wide (72 by 32 kilometers). Its capital city also is called Rhodes. A ship on which Paul was traveling came from Cos to Rhodes near the close of the apostle’s third missionary journey in the spring of 56 C.E.—Acts 21:1.

Rhodes, because of its strategic location and good harbors, was prominent as a trading center early in its history. However, it appears that in time the city of Rhodes itself became more noted as a cultural center.

The Colossus of Rhodes, a bronze statue of the sun-god Helios, stood near the harbor of the city of Rhodes. Considered one of the “seven wonders of the ancient world,” it is said to have been some seventy cubits (c. 102 feet [31 meters]) high. Though it was not standing in Paul’s day, having been toppled by an earthquake in the third century B.C.E., enormous fragments of the Colossus did exist well into the Common Era. The idea that the statue straddled the entrance to the harbor with ships sailing between its legs cannot be verified.

RIB

In the human body there are twenty-four of these long, slender, curved bones enclosing the chest cavity, arranged in twelve pairs. The ribs are among the bones in the marrow of which blood is produced, and they form a cage protecting the heart and lungs.

In the creation of woman, God did not make her separate and distinct from man by forming her from the dust of the ground, as he had done in the creation of Adam. He took from Adam’s side a rib, from which base He built for Adam a perfect counterpart, the woman Eve. (Gen. 2:21, 22) Adam, nevertheless, remained a perfect man, now united as ‘bone of bone and flesh of flesh’ with his wife. (Gen. 2:23; Deut. 32:4) Moreover, this did not disturb the reproductive cells of Adam so as to affect his children, boys or girls in their rib structure. The human male and female each have twenty-four ribs.

It is of interest to note that a rib that has been removed will grow again, replacing itself, as long as the periosteum (the membrane of connective tissue that covers the bone) is allowed to remain. Whether Jehovah God followed this procedure or not the record does not state; however, as man’s Creator, God was certainly aware of this unusual quality of the rib bones.

The word “rib” is found again in the Bible in Daniel’s account of the vision that God gave to him during the rule of King Belshazzar of Babylon. A first beast representing the dynastic line of rulers of Babylon appeared, followed by a beast like a bear, which pictured the next ‘king’ or line of world rulers, namely, of Medo-Persia. This bearlike beast had three ribs in its mouth. These ribs may denote that the ‘king’ symbolized by the bear pushed its conquests in three directions, as Medo-Persia did. Since the number three is used in the Scriptures as a symbol of intensity or emphasis, the three ribs may also emphasize the greed of this symbolic bear for territorial conquests.—Dan. 7:5, 17; see BEASTS, SYMBOLIC.

RIBAI

(Riʹbai) [Jehovah strives].

A Benjamite of Gibeah whose son Ittai (Ithai) was one of David’s “thirty” famous warriors.—2 Sam. 23:24, 29; 1 Chron. 11:31.

RIBLAH

(Ribʹlah).

1. A location on the eastern boundary of “the land of Canaan.” (Num. 34:2, 10, 11) Its precise location has not been determined.

2. A town N of Israel “in the land of Hamath.” (Jer. 52:9) The site generally accepted for Riblah is on the E bank of the Orontes River, about thirty-six miles (58 kilometers) NE of Baalbek, in the valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains. Evidently Pharaoh Nechoh encamped at Riblah after defeating King Josiah, about 629 B.C.E. He was at that time marching N to fight against the Babylonians, who by then dominated Assyria. Jehoahaz succeeded Josiah, but after three months Nechoh replaced Jehoahaz with Eliakim (Jehoiakim). Nechoh had Jehoahaz brought to him at Riblah before taking this king captive to Egypt. (2 Ki. 23:29-34) Riblah was a strategic location for a military camp. It dominated a N-S trade and military route between Egypt and the Euphrates. Water was readily available, and food and fuel could be obtained from the surrounding valley and forests.

The same military advantages served the Babylonians at a later time. At some point after beginning the siege of Jerusalem in late 609 B.C.E., Nebuchadnezzar apparently set up a camp at Riblah to direct military operations from there. This put him in position to strike Damascus or to return speedily to Babylon if necessary. When Zedekiah was captured in 607 B.C.E. he was brought to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, as were certain other important men of the city shortly thereafter.—2 Ki. 25:1, 5-7, 18-21; Jer. 39:5; 52:9-11, 26, 27.

Many authorities conclude that the “Diblah” at Ezekiel 6:14 should read “Riblah,” referring to the Riblah on the Orontes.—See DIBLAH.

RICHES

Throughout the Scriptures the emphasis is placed, not on the possession of material riches, but on a good standing with Jehovah God, a standing that is maintained by a person’s continuing to do the divine will by faith. Christ Jesus encouraged others to be “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21) and to store up “treasures in heaven.” (Matt. 6:20; Luke 12:33) An individual’s record of fine works would be like riches deposited with the Creator in heaven, assuring lasting blessings for the one concerned. Persons who became spirit-anointed followers of Jesus Christ could look forward to the “glorious riches” of a heavenly inheritance (Eph. 1:18) and, during their ‘alien residence’ on earth, they would be rich or abound in faith, love goodness and other Godlike qualities.—Compare Galatians 5:22, 23; James 2:5; 1 Peter 2:11, 12; 2 Peter 1:5-8.

THE WEALTHY PATRIARCHS

Faithful servants of Jehovah God, such as the patriarchs Abraham and Job, were not given the commission of assisting others to adopt true worship. For this reason their time appears to have been mainly filled with caring for the physical and spiritual needs of their respective households. Jehovah blessed the diligent efforts of these servants of his so that they came to have much livestock, many servants and gold and silver.—Gen. 12:16; 13:2; 14:14; 30:43; 32:10; Job 1:2, 3; 42:10-12.

Though wealthy, these men were not materialists. They appreciated that their material prosperity was due to Jehovah’s blessing upon them, and they were not greedy for riches. Abraham, after defeating four allied kings and recovering all the goods that they had seized from Sodom, could have greatly increased his wealth. But he turned down the offer of the king of Sodom to take the recovered goods, saying: “I do lift up my hand in an oath to Jehovah the Most High God, Producer of heaven and earth, that, from a thread to a sandal lace, no, I shall take nothing from