to the city of David. (2 Ki. 20:20; 2 Chron. 32:30) At other times concealed passages or tunnels led to the source of water, ensuring an ample supply of water for the inhabitants of the city even when faced with siege. On the occasion of the Assyrian invasion of Judah, Hezekiah stopped up the fountains outside Jerusalem so as to leave the invaders without a water supply.—2 Chron. 32:2-4; see CANALS; FORTIFICATIONS; HEZEKIAH.

FIGURATIVE USE

Jehovah established the “fountains of the watery deep” in the cloud masses above the earth. (Prov. 8:28; Gen. 7:11) He is also identified as the Fountain or Source of life, the Source of living water and the Source of Israel (Ps. 36:9; Jer. 2:13; Ps. 68:26) His Son Jesus Christ said that the water he, Jesus, gives becomes in the receiver “a fountain of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life.” (John 4:14) Joel prophetically foretold that, after the nations receive a winepress treatment in the low plain of Jehoshaphat, a refreshing spring will go forth from Jehovah’s house.—Joel 3:12, 13, 18.

Of Christians, who should offer the water of life, James, in emphasizing the importance of using the tongue aright, asks: “A fountain does not cause the sweet and the bitter to bubble out of the same opening, does it?”—Jas. 3:11.

Jesus dried up the “fountain of blood” of a woman who had suffered a flow of blood for twelve years, healing her. (Mark 5:25-29) “Water source” or “fountain” is an expression also used with reference to a source of sexual satisfaction.—Prov. 5:18; see AIN; CISTERN; WELL.

FOUR

See NUMBER, NUMERAL.

FOWL

[Heb, ʽohph].

Although the English word “fowl” is mainly used today to refer to a large or edible bird, the Hebrew term (ʽohph), derived from the verb “to fly,” applied to all winged or flying creatures. (Gen. 1:20-22) G. R. Driver (Palestine Exploration Quarterly, April 1955, p. 5) suggests that ʽohph may actually represent the sound of “the rhythmical beating of wings on the air and its displacement thereby.” The term thus not only embraced all the birds (Gen. 9:10; Lev. 1:14; 7:26), including quails (Ps. 78:27; compare Exodus 16:13), and also carrion-eating birds (1 Sam. 17:44, 46; 2 Sam. 21:10), but could be applied as well to the winged insects, as among the “swarming [Heb., sheʹrets]” winged creatures.—Lev. 11:20-23; Deut. 14:19; see SWARMING THING.

The expression “fatted fowl” at 1 Kings 4:23 in AV and RS is considered under CUCKOO.

FOX

[Heb., shu·ʽalʹ; Gr., a·loʹpex].

A doglike animal distinguished by its pointed face, its large, erect, triangular ears and its bushy tail. The fox is well known for its craftiness, and perhaps with reference to this characteristic Jesus Christ spoke of King Herod as “that fox.” (Luke 13:32) To elude its enemies the fox depends more on cunning than swiftness, although for a short distance the animal has been reported as attaining a speed of forty-five miles an hour (over 72 kilometers an hour).

The present-day natives of Syria and Palestine do not always differentiate between the jackal and the fox, and many scholars believe that the Hebrew designation shu·ʽalʹ probably includes both the fox and the jackal. A number of Bible translators have rendered shu·ʽalʹ as “jackal” in some of its occurrences.

Jesus Christ, in forewarning a man desirous of following him, called attention to the fact that foxes had dens, whereas the Son of man had no place to lay his head. (Matt. 8:20; Luke 9:58) Unless foxes use a natural crevice or the deserted or usurped burrow of another animal, they commonly burrow holes in the ground to form their dens. Possibly this characteristic burrowing has given the fox its Hebrew name shu·ʽalʹ, a designation that has been linked with a root meaning “to burrow.”

According to naturalists, the fox is not really as much of a poultry thief as he is purported to be. The animal’s diet includes insects, rodents and other small animals, birds, carrion, grass and fruits. The eighteenth-century naturalist Hasselquist reported that in the neighborhood of Bethlehem and elsewhere steps had to be taken to guard against the inroads of foxes upon the vineyards when the grapes were ripe. (Song of Sol. 2:15) Many feel that the jackal is meant at Psalm 63:10, where reference is made to foxes as having a portion of those slain. The rendering “foxes” is, however, not inappropriate when considering that foxes also feed on carrion.

The Scriptures allude to foxes dwelling in desolate areas, even ruins, away from human habitation. (Lam. 5:18; Ezek. 13:4) They also tell of Samson’s using 300 foxes to burn the grain, vineyards and olive groves of the Philistines (Judg. 15:4, 5), and of Tobiah the Ammonite’s ridicule that ‘a mere fox could break down the wall of Jerusalem’ that was being rebuilt by the repatriated Jews.—Neh. 4:3.

[Picture on page 607]

The fox, known for its craftiness

FRANKINCENSE

[Heb., l^evoh·nahʹ; l^evo·nahʹ; Gr. liʹba·nos].

This is a product of incense trees of the genus Boswellia, which are related to the turpentine or terebinth tree and also to trees producing balsam and myrrh. The trees are large, the leaves glossy with serrated edges, the flowers white or green tipped with rose, star-shaped. They are native to India, Arabia, parts of Africa and the East Indies. The Song of Solomon mentions “the hill of frankincense,” apparently in a figurative way, but may indicate the cultivation of incense trees in Solomon’s royal parks.—Song of Sol. 4:6, 12-16; Eccl. 2:5.

Frankincense was a principal item carried by the caravans of Oriental traders who traveled the spice routes out of S Arabia up to Gaza near the Mediterranean and to Damascus. Scriptural references indicated it was imported in this way into Palestine from Sheba.—Isa. 60:6; Jer. 6:20.

Frankincense is obtained by making successive incisions in the bark or by peeling off the bark at intervals, causing a white juice (after several incisions it is spotted with yellow or red) to flow and form into tears of about one inch (2.5 centimeters) in length. When gathered, the frankincense consists of a fragrant gum resin in small chunks or beads, having a bitter taste and producing an aromatic odor when burned.—Song of Sol. 3:6.

Aside from the references in The Song of Solomon, frankincense is regularly mentioned in the Hebrew