are under his power is indicated by his offering them to Jesus Christ at the price of an act of worship. (Matt. 4:8, 9) Satan gives these governments their authority. (Rev. 13:2) Within his organization the demons also exercise ruling power. They are referred to as “the world rulers of this darkness” who have exercised authority over the world powers of history, as, for example, the invisible ‘princes’ over Persia and Greece. (Eph. 6:12; Dan. 10:13, 20) Their ruler is, of course, the Devil himself.—Matt. 12:24.

In the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry Palestine was under the dual rule of the Roman Empire and the Jewish rulers, the chief body of the latter being the Great Sanhedrin, a council of seventy elders to which the Roman government granted limited authority over Jewish affairs. It is to the Jewish rulers that reference is made at John 7:26, 48; Nicodemus was one of these. (John 3:1) A presiding officer of the synagogue was called an arʹkhon. (Compare Matthew 9:18 and Mark 5:22.) The Law commanded respect for rulers. (Acts 23:5) However, the Jewish rulers became corrupt and are mentioned as the ones on whom the chief blame rested for Jesus Christ’s death.—Luke 23:13, 35; 24:20; Acts 3:17; 13:27, 28.

Arʹkhon is also applied to civil magistrates and government officials in general. (Acts 16:19, 20; Rom. 13:3) The Hebrew word segha·nimʹ, translated “rulers” (AV), “deputies” (Ro), “deputy rulers” (NW) is used with reference to subordinate Jewish rulers under the Persian Empire (Neh. 2:16; 5:7), also of ones holding authority under the kings of Media, Assyria and Babylon.—Jer. 51:28; Ezek. 23:12, 23; see DEPUTY.

Rulers can bring prosperity and happiness to their subjects, or poverty and suffering. (Prov. 28:15; 29:2) David quotes Jehovah God as saying: “When one ruling over mankind is righteous, ruling in the fear of God, then it is as the light of morning, when the sun shines forth, a morning without clouds.” (2 Sam. 23:3, 4) Such a ruler is Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace.—Isa. 9:6, 7.

RUMAH

(Ruʹmah) [height].

Home of Zebidah (and her father Pedaiah), a wife of King Josiah of Judah and the mother of Jehoiakim. (2 Ki. 23:34, 36) Its location is uncertain. The best possibility seems to be Khirbet Rumeh, which bears a similar name. It is situated less than fifteen miles (c. 24 kilometers) W of the Sea of Galilee and six miles (10 kilometers) N of Nazareth. But some connect Rumah with the Biblical town of Arumah, mentioned at Judges 9:41 and thought to have been located near Shechem.—See ARUMAH.

RUNNERS

Swift foot couriers or servants of a prominent person who ran before his chariot. The word is translated from the participial form of the Hebrew word ruts, “to run.” It is rendered “footmen,” “guard” and “post” in some translations. But there is another word for “footmen” or “men on foot,” namely ragh·liʹ, or, more fully, ʼish ragh·liʹ.

“Runners” can refer to any swift messengers or fleet-footed persons, such as Asahel the brother of Joab, and Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. (2 Sam. 2:18; 18:19, 23, 27) Elijah on one occasion ran some twenty-five miles (40 kilometers), to arrive from Carmel at Jezreel ahead of King Ahab’s chariot. This was because “the very hand of Jehovah proved to be upon Elijah.”—1 Ki. 18:46.

In an official sense, runners were fleet-footed men selected to run before the king’s chariot. When Absalom and, later, Adonijah, conspired to usurp the kingship, each employed fifty runners before his chariot to add prestige and dignity to his scheme. (2 Sam. 15:1; 1 Ki. 1:5) Runners served as the king’s personal force, somewhat like a modern-day bodyguard. (1 Sam. 22:17; 2 Ki. 10:25) They served as guards at the entrance to the king’s house and accompanied the king from his house to the temple. (1 Ki. 14:27, 28; 2 Ki. 11:6-8, 11; 2 Chron. 12:10) They carried messages for the king. (2 Chron. 30:6) In the days of Persian King Ahasuerus, foot couriers were apparently replaced by men riding fast post horses.—Esther 3:13, 15; 8:10, 14.

ILLUSTRATIVE USE

In the Christian Greek Scriptures there are a few references to running simply in haste. (Matt. 28:8; Mark 9:15, 25; 10:17; John 20:2) However, running is used illustratively by the apostle Paul. He wrote to the congregation at Corinth: “Do you not know that the runners in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may attain it. Moreover, every man taking part in a contest exercises self-control in all things. Now they, of course, do it that they may get a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one. Therefore, the way I am running is not uncertainly; the way I am directing my blows is so as not to be striking the air; but I browbeat my body and lead it as a slave, that, after I have preached to others, I myself should not become disapproved somehow.”—1 Cor. 9:24-27.

Contestants in the Greek games were strenuously trained and discipline was rigid; diet and behavior were closely observed. The rules of the race were strictly enforced by the judges. If one came in first but had violated the rules, his running was in vain, as the apostle expressed it: “Moreover, if anyone contends even in the games, he is not crowned unless he has contended according to the rules.” (2 Tim. 2:5) Runners directed their eyes toward the prize located at the finish line. Paul ‘ran’ in this single-minded wholehearted way. (Gal. 2:2; Phil. 2:16; 3:14) Near the end of his life he was able to say: “I have fought the fine fight, I have run the course to the finish, I have observed the faith. From this time on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness.”—2 Tim. 4:7, 8.

In discussing God’s dealings in connection with his choosing of those making up spiritual Israel, Paul explained that Israel according to the flesh counted on their fleshly relationship to Abraham. (Rom. 9:6, 7, 30-32) They thought they were the chosen ones, and ‘ran’ or pursued righteousness, but in the wrong way. Trying to establish their righteousness by their own works, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. (Rom. 10:1-3) Paul shows how God’s justice is vindicated as regards his action of rejecting fleshly Israel as a nation and forming a spiritual Israel. The apostle thereby throws light upon his statement that “it depends, not upon the one wishing nor upon the one running, but upon God, who has mercy.”—Rom. 9:15, 16.

RUSH

[Heb., ʼagh·monʹ].

Any of a variety of grass-like plants commonly growing in marshes. The true rushes have round, frequently hollow, stems with three rows of grasslike leaves, and small brownish or greenish flowers. The designation ʼagh·monʹ may have included the various kinds of true rushes as well as the rushlike plants of the sedge family. Anciently, rushes were employed in starting the fire in a furnace.—Job 41:20.

At Job 41:2 “rush” may refer to a cord of twisted rushes or one spun from their fibers. The other Scriptural references to ʼagh·monʹ are illustrative. Jehovah took no delight in renegade Israel’s fasting, attended by bowing their heads ceremonially like a rush. (Isa. 58:5) At Isaiah 9:14, “rush” seems to refer to the false prophets (the “tail”) who merely spoke what the leaders of the nation of Israel (the “head” or “shoot”) wanted to hear.—Isa. 9:15; see also Isaiah 19:15, where “rush” appears to denote the Egyptians in general.

RUST

The reddish, porous, brittle coating formed on iron as when chemically attacked by moist air; by extension, the coating produced on any of various other metals by corrosion. Iron rusts, copper and silver are said to corrode, even gold can be attacked by certain acids or elements. The Hebrew word hhel·ʼahʹ,