• Overseer
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • presbyter-bishops.”—P. 158; compare 1 Corinthians 4:8-13.

      Whatever the way in which it developed, history shows that the position of overseer (e·piʹsko·pos) did eventually come to reside in one individual in each congregation with a resultant concentration of authority. In time such overseers even extended their control beyond their city to surrounding regions, forming a “diocese.” The true sense of the term e·piʹsko·pos and the Scriptural example were lost from view and the designation of “bishop” took on a perverted sense, becoming the title of men who ‘lorded it over the flock.’—Compare Acts 20:29-35; 1 Peter 5:2, 3.

      “BUSYBODY”

      The apostle’s warning against becoming a “busybody in other people’s matters” employs the Greek term al·lo·tri·e·piʹsko·pos, literally “an overseer of what is another’s.” (1 Pet. 4:15) The term is unique in Greek writings, being found only in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

      THE SUPREME OVERSEER AND HIS DEPUTY

      First Peter 2:25 evidently quotes Isaiah 53:6 as to those who ‘like sheep went astray,’ and Peter then says: “But now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.” The reference must be to Jehovah God, since those to whom Peter wrote had not gone astray from Christ Jesus, but, rather, through him had been led back to God. The entire Bible is the record of Jehovah God’s shepherding and overseeing his servants, as well as his personal inspection of mankind as a whole or in particular areas. (Compare Genesis 6:5, 13; 7:1; 11:5-8; 18:20, 21; Psalm 11:4.) While his ‘visits’ bring favorable effects and benefits to those walking in righteousness, references to his ‘turning attention to’ or ‘inspecting’ are frequently associated with expressions of adverse judgment by him.—Gen. 21:1; Isa. 10:1-3; Jer. 8:12; 23:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:12; Rev. 18:4-8, 24; 21:3, 4.

      Jehovah’s Son, Christ Jesus, acts as God’s Deputy Overseer, likewise shepherding, overseeing, inspecting, disciplining and executing judgment. (Compare John 10:11-15; Hebrews 13:20; Revelation 1:1; chapters 2, 3; 6:15-17; 7:15-17.) It is true that government by individuals existed within fleshly Israel, with such men as Moses, Joshua, the later kings of the nation, and the high priest holding singular executive positions. However, the evidence of the Christian Greek Scriptures is to the effect that the office filled by these men prefigured that of God’s Son, who is ‘the prophet like Moses,’ the ‘greater than Solomon,’ and God’s High Priest. The absence of primacy in the body of the apostles and “older men” at Jerusalem emphasizes and exalts the singular role of God’s Son as the Head of the congregation.—Eph. 1:22, 23; 2:20-22; Col. 1:18; 1 Pet. 2:4-6.

  • Owl
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • OWL

      [Heb., kohs; yan·shuphʹ (yan·shohphʹ); ʼoʹahh].

      Owls are outstanding among the night birds of prey and are mentioned several times in the Bible account. Once thought to be related to the hawk family, they are now generally associated with other night feeders, such as the whippoorwill and the nightjar.

      The owl has a short, hooked beak and powerful viselike talons resembling the hawk’s, but is distinctive in its broad head, large eyes and ears, as well as by having a reversible toe on each foot so that, while the other toes point forward, this outer toe can be turned outward or even backward, thereby enabling the bird to get a firm grip on a variety of objects. The large eyes with their expanding irises make the greatest possible use of the dim light at night, and, unlike most other birds, the owl’s eyes are binocular, enabling it to view an object with both eyes at once. Its soft plumage is a mottled brown with an intricate feather pattern and generally gives an impression of exaggerated bulk to the bird’s body. According to an article in The Scientific American (April 1962, p. 78), the owl’s wings are ultrasonically silent, the soft down on the upper surfaces and the feathery fringes on the leading and trailing edges of the wings apparently serving to reduce the turbulence of the air flow. Thus the owl noiselessly swoops through the darkness and silently drops down on its unsuspecting prey, primarily killing rodents, though some also eat small birds and insects. The cries of owls range from a shrill screech to a booming hooting sound.

      The Hebrew kohs, included among the ‘unclean’ birds (Lev. 11:13, 17; Deut. 14:16), is suggested by some to indicate the “little owl” (AV, RS, Koehler and Baumgartner’s Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, p. 428), designated as Athene noctua. This Latin name, used in scientific classification, derives from the fact that the owl was regularly associated by the pagan Greeks with Athena (Athene), the Greek goddess of wisdom, and it is evidently from this mythology that the owl has been unduly credited with being wise. The Hebrew word (kohs) is elsewhere translated “cup” (Gen. 40:11), and some suggest that the term is applied to the owl as describing the typical facial “disks,” or ruff around the eyes, a saucerlike effect created by stiff radiating feathers. Others connect it with the bird’s cry, that of the “little owl” being a plaintive “kew-kew.” The “little owl,” about ten inches (25.4 centimeters) in length, is one of the most widely distributed owls in Palestine, found in thickets, olive groves and desolate ruins. The psalmist in his lonely affliction felt like “a little owl of desolated places.” (Ps. 102:6) Appropriately, the Arabic name for this particular variety of owl is the “mother of ruins.”

      Also listed in the Mosaic law as ‘unclean’ is the bird called in Hebrew yan·shuphʹ (or, yan·shohphʹ), a name thought by some to indicate a “snorting” or “harsh blowing” sound (the Hebrew word for “blow” being na·shaphʹ), while others connect it with the “twilight” (Hebrew, neʹsheph) as indicating simply a nocturnal bird. (Lev. 11:17; Deut. 14:16) According to The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 252), the name “is used today for Otus, the eared owl,” while Koehler and Baumgartner (Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, p. 386) give the “long-eared owl.” A bird about fifteen inches (38.1 centimeters) in length, the long-eared owl is so called from the earlike erectile tufts on the sides of its broad head. It frequents wooded and desolate areas and is depicted as one of the creatures to inhabit the ruins of Edom.—Isa. 34:11.

      The abandoned houses in Babylon’s ruins were foretold to be “filled with eagle owls [plural form of ʼoʹahh].” (Isa. 13:21) These circumstances and the Hebrew name, understood to denote a creature that “howls” with a doleful cry, well fit the eagle owl (Bubo ascalaphus), a bird found in caves and ruins and common in the region of Petra and Beer-sheba. Its cry is a loud, prolonged, powerful hoot. The largest and most powerful of the owls of Palestine is the eagle owl. Like other owls, at night its large eyes have a luminescent reddish-yellow glow when reflecting light, and, together with its mournful cry, this characteristic doubtless contributed toward its being a symbol of evil portent among superstitious pagan peoples.

      Some scholars believe the term li·lithʹ, used at Isaiah 34:14 as among the creatures haunting Edom’s ruins, applies to some type of owl. The name is said to be used today “for Strix, the tawny owl.” (The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 2, p. 252) However, see the article under NIGHTJAR.