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Sceptre, Scepter
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sep'-ter ((Hebrew shebet) a rod or club)
RELATED: Ahasuerus |
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Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Hebrew shebet = Greek skeptron), properly a staff or
rod. As a symbol of authority, the use of the sceptre originated in the idea that
the ruler was as a shepherd of his people ( Genesis 49:10 ; Numbers 24:17 ; Psalms
45:6 ; Isaiah 14:5 ). There is no example on record of a sceptre having ever been
actually handled by a Jewish king.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
(no entry)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
This word originally meant a rod or staff. It was thence
specifically applied to the shepherds crook, ( Leviticus 27:32 ; Micah 7:14 )
and to the wand or sceptre of a ruler. The allusions to it are all of a metaphorical
character, and describe it simply as one of the insignia of supreme power. ( Genesis
49:10 ) We are consequently unable to describe the article from any biblical notice
we may infer that it was probably made of wood. The sceptre of the Persian monarch
is described as "golden" i.e. probably of massive gold. ( Esther 4:11 )
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
sep'-ter (shebheT, sharbhiT, expanded form in Esther
4:11 ; 5:2 ; 8:4 ; rhabdos (Additions to Esther 15:11 ; Hebrews 1:8), skeptros):
A rod or mace used by a sovereign as a symbol of royal authority. The Hebrew shebheT
is the ordinary word for rod or club, and is used of an ordinary rod (compare
2 Samuel 7:14), of the shepherd's crook (Psalms 23:4), scribe's baton or marshal's
staff (Judges 5:14), as well as of the symbol of royalty. Its symbolism may be
connected with the use of the shebheT for protection (2 Samuel 23:21 ; Psalms
23:4) or for punishment (Isaiah 10:24 ; 30:31). It is used with reference to the
royal line descended from Judah (Genesis 49:10), and figuratively of sovereignty
in general and possibly of conquest (Numbers 24:17 , in Israel; Isaiah 14:5 ,
in Babylonia; Amos 1:5 , 8 , in Syria, among Philistines; Zechariah 10:11, in
Egypt), the disappearance or cutting off of him that holdeth the scepter being
tantamount to loss of national independence. The kingship of Yahweh is spoken
of as a scepter (Psalms 45:6 (Hebrew verse 7) quoted in Hebrews 1:8). The manner
of using the scepter by an oriental monarch is suggested in the act of Ahasuerus,
who holds it out to Esther as a mark of favor. The subject touches the top of
it, perhaps simply as an act of homage or possibly to indicate a desire to be
heard. The scepter of Ahasuerus is spoken of as "golden" (Esther 5:2), but it
is probable that scepters were ordinarily made of straight branches (maTeh) of
certain kinds of vines (Ezekiel 19:11 , 14).
It is sometimes difficult to determine whether the word shebheT is used
in figurative passages in the sense of scepter or merely in the ordinary sense
of staff (e.g. Psalms 125:3 , the King James Version "rod," the Revised Version
(British and American) and the American Standard Revised Version "sceptre" (of
the wicked); Psalms 2:9 , "rod of iron"; Proverbs 22:8 , "rod of his wrath").
Another word, mechoqeq, literally, "prescribing" (person or thing), formerly translated
uniformly "lawgiver," is now generally taken, on the basis of parallelism, to
mean "sceptre" in four poetic passages (Genesis 49:10 , "ruler's staff" to avoid
repetition; Numbers 21:18 ; Psalms 60:7 ; 108:8).
Nathan Isaacs
Tags:
bible commentary, bible reference, bible study, define, history, rod, sceptre, shebheT, staff, symbol of royal authority
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