MAN OF LAWLESSNESS. For “Mystery: ‘Babylon the Great’” (Rev. 17:5) see BABYLON THE GREAT.

SACRED SERVICE

The Hebrew term ʽa·vadhʹ basically means ‘to serve’ (Gen. 14:4; 15:13; 29:15) or ‘to perform labor,’ as in cultivating the ground. (Gen. 4:12; Deut. 28:39) When used with reference to service rendered to Jehovah or to false deities, ʽa·vadhʹ implies worship or sacred service. (Ex. 10:26; Deut. 11:16) Similarly, the Greek verb la·treuʹo denotes serving. It is used in regard to serving God (Matt. 4:10; Luke 1:74; 2:37; 4:8; Acts 7:7; Rom. 1:9; Phil. 3:3; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 9:14; 12:28; Rev. 7:15; 22:3), as was done at the sanctuary or temple (Heb. 8:5; 9:9; 10:2; 13:10), and also in connection with false worship, rendering service to created things. (Acts 7:42; Rom. 1:25) In the Christian Greek Scriptures the noun la·treiʹa appears solely with reference to serving God.—John 16:2; Rom. 9:4; 12:1; Heb. 9:1, 6.

The only One to whom worship or sacred service can be rightly directed is Jehovah God. (Matt. 4:10; Luke 4:8) On account of their special covenant relationship to Jehovah God the privilege of rendering sacred service as spirit-begotten sons of God and members of a “royal priesthood” should have gone to the Jews. But the majority lost out because of their failure to exercise faith in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 9:3-5, 30-33; 1 Pet. 2:4-10) Many, like the Pharisee Saul before his becoming a Christian, imagined that they were actually rendering sacred service to God by persecuting Christ’s followers.—John 16:2; Acts 26:9-11; Gal. 1:13, 14.

SACRIFICE

See OFFERINGS; RANSOM.

SADDLE

Numerous Biblical references mention saddling asses (Gen. 22:3; Num. 22:21; 2 Sam. 17:23; 19:26; 1 Ki. 2:40; 13:13, 27; 2 Ki. 4:24), but no description is provided of the saddles. From the evidence of ancient monuments it appears that early saddles for horses were little more than a cloth or leather padding. The Hebrew verb “to saddle” basically means “to bind,” indicating that the saddles were strapped to the animal. One ancient relief depicts a boxlike saddle strapped to the back of a one-humped camel. Nothing definite can be said about the “saddle basket of the camel” mentioned at Genesis 31:34 (NW). The Hebrew expression kar hag-ga·malʹ has been variously rendered “camel-bag” (NE, 1970 ed.), “camel’s litter” (JB) and “camel’s saddle.”—AT.

Under the Law, anyone touching a saddle upon which one with a running discharge had been riding became unclean, as did a person touching an article on which a menstruating woman had been sitting.—Lev. 15:9, 19-23.

SADDUCEES

(Sadʹdu·cees).

A prominent religious sect of Judaism associated with the priesthood. (Acts 5:17) The precise time for the emergence of the Sadducees as a religious sect is not known. First historical mention of them by name appears in the writings of Josephus, which indicate that they opposed the Pharisees in the latter half of the second century B.C.E. (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XIII, chap. X, par. 6) Josephus also provides information about their teachings. However, there is a question as to whether his presentation is completely factual. Unlike the Pharisees, says Josephus, the Sadducees denied the workings of fate, maintaining that an individual, by his own actions, was solely responsible for what befell him. (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XIII, chap. V, par. 9) They rejected the many oral traditions observed by the Pharisees and also Pharisaic belief in the immortality of the soul and in future punishments or rewards in Hades. In their dealings with one another the Sadducees were somewhat rough. They were said to be disputatious. According to Josephus, their teachings appealed ‘to the rich.’—Antiquities of the Jews, Book XIII, chap. X, par. 6; Book XVIII, chap. I, par. 4; Wars of the Jews, Book II, chap. VIII, par. 14.

As pointed out by John the Baptist, the Sadducees needed to produce fruits befitting repentance. This was because they, like the Pharisees, had failed to keep God’s law. (Matt. 3:7, 8) Christ Jesus himself compared their corrupting teaching to leaven.—Matt. 16:6, 11, 12.

With reference to their religious beliefs, Acts 23:8 states: “Sadducees say there is neither resurrection nor angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees publicly declare them all.” It was in connection with the resurrection and brother-in-law marriage that a group of Sadducees attempted to stump Christ Jesus. But he silenced them. By referring to the Law, which the Sadducees professed to accept, Jesus disproved their contention that there is no resurrection. (Matt. 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40) Later, the apostle Paul, when before the Sanhedrin, divided that highest Jewish court by playing the Pharisees against the Sadducees. This was possible because of the religious differences existing between them.—Acts 23:6-10.

Although religiously divided, Sadducees joined Pharisees in trying to tempt Jesus by asking him for a sign (Matt. 16:1), and both groups were united in their opposition to him. Biblical evidence indicates that the Sadducees took a leading part in seeking Jesus’ death. Sadducees were members of the Sanhedrin, which court plotted against and, later, condemned Jesus to death. Included in the court were the Sadducee and high priest, Caiaphas, and evidently also other prominent priests. (Matt. 26:59-66; John 11:47-53; Acts 5:17, 21) Therefore, whenever the Christian Greek Scriptures speak of certain action as being taken by the chief priests, Sadducees were evidently involved. (Matt. 21:45, 46; 26:3, 4, 62-64; 28:11, 12; John 7:32) Sadducees appear to have taken the lead in trying to stop the spread of Christianity after Jesus’ death and resurrection.—Acts 4:1-23; 5:17-42; 9:14.

SAFFRON

The Hebrew word kar·kohmʹ, appearing only in The Song of Solomon (4:14), has usually been identified with the saffron-yielding crocus, Crocus sativus, a fall-blooming bulbous plant with grasslike leaves and purple flowers that is much like the common spring crocus. To produce just one ounce (c. 28 grams) of saffron, a deep orange-colored substance composed of the dried styles and stigmas of the flowers, about 4,000 blossoms are needed. When the flowers open, or shortly thereafter, the stigma and upper part of the style are removed and then dried. Saffron is used in coloring and flavoring foods and was formerly employed more extensively than now for dyeing cloth a yellow hue. It was also used medicinally and as a perfume.

The Hebrew term hhavats·tseʹleth, variously rendered “crocus,” “lily,” “rose” and “saffron” (compare AT, AV, Le, NW, Yg), likely refers to a bulbous plant. (Song of Sol. 2:1; Isa. 35:1) According to the Hebrew lexicographer Gesenius, hhavats·tseʹleth probably contains a root meaning “bulb,” and he considered “meadow saffron” to be the more exact equivalent for the original-language word. A Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon by Koehler and Baumgartner associates the word hhavats·tseʹleth with an Akkadian term meaning “stalk” and defines it as “asphodel,” a plant of the lily family.—See also the footnotes on The Song of Solomon 2:1 and Isaiah 35:1 in the New World Translation, 1957 and 1958 editions.

SAKKUTH

(Sakʹkuth) [booth; literally, Sik·kuthʹ (according to the Masoretic text), the name being purposely vocalized to correspond with the Hebrew word shiq·qutsʹ (disgusting thing)].

Possibly an astral deity, as suggested by the fact that “Sakkuth” is put in a parallelism with the phrase “the star of your god.” (Amos 5:26) Perhaps Sakkuth is to be identified with “Sakkut,” this being the Babylonian designation