armor plate.—1 Sam. 17:5; see ARMS, ARMOR (Coat of Mail).

SCALES ON PAUL’S EYES

When Paul was cured of the blindness resulting from Jesus’ appearing to him, “what looked like scales” fell from his eyes. (Acts 9:18) Certain translations (Dy, Da, AV) render this verse in a way that suggests that nothing actually fell from Paul’s eyes, but that the verse is simply using figurative language for his regaining sight. However, numerous modern translations indicate that something really fell from Paul’s eyes.—AT, NW, RS, Sd, We.

SCARECROW

An object such as a pole or pile of stones arranged in a field in such a way as to frighten away birds or other animals. Jeremiah likened the idols of the nations to “a scarecrow [Heb., toʹmer] of a cucumber field.” (Jer. 10:5) The word toʹmer is elsewhere rendered “palm tree.” (Judg. 4:5) The root verb ta·marʹ, from which toʹmer is drawn, is thought to correspond to an Arabic word meaning “to be erect”; toʹmer can therefore mean “palm tree.” But, as to the rendering of toʹmer at Jeremiah 10:5, modern translators seem generally to agree with the suggestion of Koehler and Baumgartner, in Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, that it be rendered “scarecrow” in this text. Truly the idols of the nations amounted to no more than a scarecrow, a falsity.—AT, Mo, NE, 1970 ed., NW, RS.

SCARLET

See DYES, DYEING.

SCENTED WOOD

[Gr., thyʹi·nos].

Among the luxury items that traders brought to symbolic “Babylon the Great” were included articles “in scented wood.” (Rev. 17:5; 18:11, 12) Such wood likely came from N Africa. It was prized by the ancient Romans for the making of costly furniture. One table made for Cicero is said to have cost the equivalent of $45,000. The Roman historian Pliny speaks of a veritable mania developing among the Romans for tables of this wood. The most costly wood was that from the lower part of the trunk, due to the variety in the grain and the broadness of the sections obtainable. The wood was fragrant, hard, and took a high polish; and because of wavy or spiral lines in the grain some of the tables came to be called “tiger tables” or “panther tables.” Among the Greeks the balsamic wood was used in temple worship, and its name is derived from the Greek term for making burnt offerings.

The tree producing this scented wood is understood to be the sandarac tree, a coniferous tree native to N Africa and of the cypress family, growing to a height of fifteen to twenty-five feet (4.6 to 7.6 meters). Its wood has a rich reddish-brown hue and is finely marked.

SCEPTER

A baton or rod carried by a ruler as an emblem of royal authority. At times “scepter” is used in a figurative sense to represent kings (Ezek. 19:10, 11, 14) or authority (Zech. 10:11), especially royal authority.

In ancient Persia, unless the monarch held out the golden scepter, anyone who appeared uninvited before the king was put to death.—Esther 4:11; 5:2; 8:4.

Jacob’s prophetic words that the ‘scepter would not turn aside from Judah’ indicated that the kingship would come to be and remain the possession of the tribe of Judah. (Gen. 49:10; see COMMANDER’S STAFF.) Centuries later the Babylonians, acting as Jehovah’s executional “sword,” destroyed the kingdom of Judah and took its king captive. This is alluded to by Jehovah’s words through Ezekiel: “A sword, a sword! It has been sharpened, and it is also polished. . . . Is it rejecting the scepter of my own son, as it does every tree? . . . For an extermination has been made, and what of it if it is rejecting also the scepter?” (Ezek. 21:9, 10, 13) Thus the “sword” treated the Judean “scepter” of the Davidic dynasty like every tree (to be chopped down) or like other kings or kingdoms that it brought to ruin.

The second psalm, a prophecy that Peter applied to Jesus Christ (Acts 4:25-27), showed that Jehovah’s anointed one would use an iron scepter to break the nations to pieces. (Ps. 2:2, 6, 9; compare Revelation 12:5; 19:15.) As Jesus Christ always uses his royal authority in the right way, his scepter is one of uprightness.—Ps. 45:6, 7; Heb. 1:8, 9.

Psalm 125:3 states that the “scepter of wickedness will not keep resting upon the lot of the righteous ones.” These words give assurance that the righteous will not always be oppressed by those who exercise authority in a wicked way.

SCEVA

(Sceʹva).

A Jewish “chief priest.” His seven sons were among “certain ones of the roving Jews who practiced the casting out of demons.” In one instance, in the city of Ephesus, they tried to exorcise a demon by saying, “I solemnly charge you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” The wicked spirit responded by saying: “I know Jesus and I am acquainted with Paul; but who are you?” The man obsessed by the spirit then leaped upon Sceva’s seven sons and drove them out of the house naked and wounded. This resulted in magnifying the name of the Lord and caused many to give heed to the good news that Paul was preaching.—Acts 19:13-20.

No Jewish priest named Sceva is elsewhere mentioned, unless Sceva was a Latin name for a priest otherwise known by a Hebrew name.

SCHOOL

[from Gr., skho·leʹ, basically, “leisure”; then, that for which leisure was employed, a disputation, lecture, study, learning; by metonymy, school].

The Creator placed the responsibility upon parents to teach their offspring the true meaning of life, their physical lives as well as their spiritual lives. They were to train them up in the way they were to go, and this training would be a guide to their children, not only in their youth, but also in their old age. (Prov. 22:6) Parents were obligated to begin the training during the child’s infancy. (2 Tim. 3:14, 15) To fulfill this obligation they were to provide schooling for their children in the home. It appears that there were no community schools for children in ancient Israel. The home was the school. The parent was to teach by example as well as by precept, and schooling was to be a regular and continuous arrangement.—Gen. 18:19; Deut. 6:6-9, 20-25; Prov. 6:20.

King Jehoshaphat of Judah instituted schooling in God’s law by sending princes, priests and Levites to teach in all the cities of Judah, with the good result that Jehovah blessed his rule with peace and prosperity.—2 Chron. 17:7-12.

From the exiles taken to Babylon with King Jehoiachin in 617 B.C.E. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon selected some Israelite youths, including some of the royal offspring and sons of the nobles. Among them were Daniel and his three companions. These Jews were taught the Chaldean language and given special instruction for service in the king’s palace. They proved to be very apt students.—Dan. 1:2-7, 18-20.

It seems that, before the exile, there were meeting places for instruction in God’s law, aside from the temple. (Ps. 74:8) After the return from exile in Babylon both Ezra and Nehemiah vigorously promoted education in God’s law as the really vital factor in restoration. All the people were gathered to hear the Law read and explained by the Levites. (Ezra 7:10; Neh. chap. 8) Synagogues (from Gr., sy·na·go·geʹ, a bringing together) were places of instruction, not of sacrifice, which was restricted to the temple. (Acts 15:21) It is not known when synagogues were instituted, but many, because of the Jewish dispersion, existed throughout Palestine and the Greek-speaking world before and during Jesus’ earthly ministry, a goodly number being in Jerusalem. Jesus made use of these places for teaching. (Luke 4:16-21; Matt. 13:54)