due consideration of his qualifications, lest the man fail to carry out the duties of his office properly, and Timothy thus share the blame for the difficulty caused.—1 Tim. 5:22.

THE RIGHT HAND

The right hand was considered to be of great importance, symbolically. Joseph was displeased when Jacob crossed his hands in order to lay his right hand on Ephraim, Joseph’s younger son. But Jacob did this purposely, to give Ephraim the superior blessing. (Gen. 48:13-20) To be on the right hand of a ruler was to have the most important position, next to the ruler himself (Ps. 110:1; Acts 7:55, 56; Rom. 8:34; 1 Pet. 3:22), or a position in his favor. (Matt. 25:33) Jesus is spoken of in the vision of Revelation as having the seven stars (overseers) of the seven congregations in his right hand, that is, having his favor and being under his full control, power and direction.—Rev. 1:16, 20; 2:1.

For God to take hold of one’s right hand would strengthen that one. (Ps. 73:23) Usually the right hand of a warrior was his sword-wielding hand, and it was unprotected by the shield in the left hand. Therefore, a friend would stand or fight at his right hand as an upholder and protector. This circumstance is used metaphorically with regard to God’s help and protection to those serving him.—Ps. 16:8; 109:30, 31; 110:5; 121:5.

The writer of Ecclesiastes says: “The heart of the wise is at his right hand, but the heart of the stupid at his left hand.” In other words, the wise one is motivated toward a good, favorable path, but the stupid one inclines to a bad course.—Eccl. 10:2.

DIRECTIONS

The Hebrew expressions for “right hand” and “left hand” are also translated “south” and “north,” respectively (Gen. 14:15; Ps. 89:12), since directions were reckoned from the standpoint of a person facing the E. Hence, S would be to his right.—1 Sam. 23:19, 24.

OTHER USES

“Hand” (Heb., yadh) is also used for “side” (Ex. 2:5; Eccl. 4:1), or ‘at the side of,’ (Neh. 3:4, 5, 7); for “coast” (Num 24:24); and for the “tenons” of the tabernacle panel frames. (Ex. 26:17; compare AV, margin.) The Hebrew word kaph (often rendered “hand” and “palm”) is used for cups (“spoons,” AV) of the tabernacle and of the temple (Ex. 25:29; Num. 7:84, 86; 2 Ki. 25:14) and for “socket” (of one’s thigh) or “hollow” (of a sling). (Gen. 32:25, 32; 1 Sam. 25:29) Both yadh, “hand,” and kaph, “hand” and “palm,” are variously translated by yet other English terms.

“Handfuls,” figuratively, stand for abundance (Gen. 41:47) or a “handful” may mean only a little (1 Ki. 17:12), or a modest portion (Eccl. 4:6), according to the context.

The “handbreadth” was a unit of measure. (Ex. 25:25; Ezek. 40:5) The handbreadth being small (c. 2.9 inches [c. 7.4 centimeters]), “handbreadths” stand for just a few, at Psalm 39:5, which says, “you have made my days just a few,” literally, “just handbreadths.”—See ARM; ATTITUDES AND GESTURES; THUMB; WASHING OF HANDS.

HANDBREADTH

A linear measure approximately corresponding to the width of the hand at the base of the fingers. The handbreadth is reckoned at about 2.9 inches (c. 7.4 centimeters), with four fingerbreadths equaling a handbreadth and six handbreadths a cubit. (Ex. 25:25; 37:12; 1 Ki. 7:26; 2 Chron. 4:5; Ezek. 40:5, 43; 43:13) According to Psalm 39:5, David said: “You have made my days just a few”; however, “just handbreadths” appears in the Hebrew Masoretic text. (NW, 1958 ed., ftn.) Christ Jesus similarly employed the word “cubit”: “Who of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his life span?”—Matt. 6:27.

HANDCUFFS

See BOND.

HAND MILL

See MILL.

HANDSHAKE

See ATTITUDES AND GESTURES.

HANES

(Haʹnes).

A site mentioned at Isaiah 30:4 in Jehovah’s denunciation of those seeking help from Egypt. (Isa. 30:1-5) Two principal suggestions are advanced as to the location of Hanes. Some scholars would identify it with the place now called Ahnas el-Medina. Here about sixty-nine miles (111 kilometers) S of Cairo, are found the ruins of the ancient Greek city renamed Heracleopolis Magna. Others, however, believe that the parallel expression, “his princes have come to be in Zoan itself, and his own envoys reach even Hanes,” requires a location in the Nile Delta, where Zoan is thought to have been. The Aramaic rendering of Isaiah 30:4 gives “Tahpanhes” in place of “Hanes,” and Tahpanes (Tahpanhes, Tehaphnehes) is in the Delta region.—See TAHPANES, TAHPANHES, TEHAPHNEHES.

There are also various possible meanings given to the text. Some commentators believe the “envoys” are Jewish, sent to obtain Egyptian military aid, and that these arrive at Hanes on such a mission. Others suggest that the envoys are those of Pharaoh (mentioned in the preceding verse) depicted as receiving the Jewish delegation when it reached Hanes. Whatever is the case, Jehovah showed that Egypt would be a vain source of help.—Vs. 5.

HANGING

[from Heb., ta·lahʹ, “to hang up, suspend”; compare its use at Psalm 137:2; Isaiah 22:24; Ezekiel 15:3].

Under the law given by Jehovah to Israel, certain criminals might be hung upon a stake after being put to death, as “accursed of God,” placed on public display as an example and warning. A dead person thus hung was to be taken down before nightfall and buried; leaving him on the stake all night would defile the soil given to the Israelites by God. (Deut. 21:22, 23) Israel followed this rule even if the one executed was not an Israelite.—Josh. 8:29; 10:26, 27.

The two sons and five grandsons of Saul whom David turned over to the Gibeonites for execution were not buried before nightfall. They were left in the open from the start of the barley harvest (about the latter part of April) until rain came, evidently after the harvest season was completed. The reason why the Gibeonites were allowed to follow a different procedure in this instance seems to be because a national sin had been committed by King Saul, who had put some of the Gibeonites to death, thus violating the covenant made with them by Joshua years earlier. (Josh. 9:15) Now God had caused the land to suffer a three-year famine as evidence of his anger. Therefore the bodies of the hanged ones were left exposed until Jehovah indicated that his wrath had been appeased by ending the drought period with a downpour of rain. David then had the bones of the men buried, after which “God let himself be entreated for the land.”—2 Sam. 21:1-14.

The narrative of the book of Esther reports the hanging of several persons. The same Hebrew word (ta·lahʹ) is used in each instance. It is specifically stated that Haman’s ten sons were killed by the Jews, then hung the next day. (Esther 9:7-10, 13, 14) The others hung were evidently treated in the same manner, their dead bodies being exposed on high before the public because their crimes were offenses against the king. (Esther 2:21-23; 7:9, 10) The same Hebrew word is used for the hanging of Pharaoh’s chief baker.—Gen. 40:22; 41:13.

The nations surrounding Israel were generally more cruel than the Israelites in their methods of inflicting punishment and of heaping reproach on those executed. When the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem, they inflicted cruel punishments on the nobles,