Had it not been for this fine, so absurd a law must have been long since repealed. From this time, the two families are in continual fears, till some one or other of the murderer's family be slain. No reconciliation can take place between them, and the quarrel is still occasionally renewed. There have been instances of such family feuds lasting forty years. If, in the contest, a man of the murdered person's family peace until two others of the murderer's family have been slain." How far superior to this was the Mosaic institution of cities of refuge! where the involuntary homicide might remain in peace till the death of the high-priest, and then go forth in safety; while a really guilty person did not escape punishment. the reproach; and not merely the blood of the offender, but that also of all the males of his family! In several districts in Arabia, the relations of a person who has been slain have leave either to accept a composition in money, or to require the murderer to surrender himself to justice, or even to wreak their vengeance upon his whole family. Indeed, the custom of blood-revenge appears to have been an institution, or we may almost say a princi-happens to fall, there can be no ple, very early introduced and practised among the nomadic oriental tribes. So firmly was this practice established among the Israelites, before their entrance into the promised land, and probably also even before their sojourning in Egypt, that Moses was directed by Jehovah not to attempt to eradicate it entirely; but only to counteract and modify it by the institution of cities of refuge. The custom of avenging the blood of a member of a family or tribe, upon some member of the tribe or family of the slayer, still exists in full force among the modern REHOBOAM, the son and Bedouins; the representatives, successor of Solomon, by Nain a certain sense, of the ancient amah, an Ammonitess. 1 K. Israelites in the desert. They c. 12. c. 14:21, &e. 2 Chr. c. 10. prefer this mode of self-ven--12. He was forty-one years geance. Niebuhr informs us expressly, that" the Arabs rather avenge themselves, as the law allows, upon the family of the murderer, and seek an opportu- | nity of slaying its head, or most considerable person, whom they regard as being properly the person guilty of the crime, as it must have been committed REINS, or KIDNEYS. through his negligence, in watch-Hebrews often make the reins ing over the conduct of those the seat of the affections, and under his inspection. In the ascribe to them knowledge, joy, mean time, the judges seize the pain, pleasure; hence in Scripmurderer, and detain him till he ture it is so often said, that God has paid a fine of 200 crowns. searches the heart and the reins. REGENERATION means new birth, and in a moral sense, that change from a carnal to a Christian life, which takes place through the influence of the Holy Spirit, in every sincere believer and follower of our Lord. old when he began to reign; and was therefore born in the first year of his father's reign. He ascended the throne about 970 B. C. and reigned seventeen years at Jerusalem. Under his reign the ten tribes revolted, and formed the kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam. The REMPHAN, an idol, the same as Chiun. Comp. Amos 5:26, and Acts 7:43. See CHIUN. REPENTANCE, a change of mind, accompanied with regret and sorrow for something done, and an earnest wish that it was undone. Such was the repentance of Judas, Matt. 27:3; and so it is said that Esau found no place of repentance in his father Isaac, although he sought it with tears, Heb. 12:17; i. e. Isaac would not change what he had done, and revoke the blessing given to Jacob, Gen. c. 27. But the true gospel repentance, or repentance unto life, is sorrow for sin, grief for having committed it, and a turning away from it with abhorrence, accom-jamin, because of the contiguity panied with sincere endeavors, in reliance on God's grace and the aids of the Holy Spirit, to live in humble and holy obedience to the commands and will of God. This is that repentance to which is promised the free forgiveness of sin through the merits of Jesus Christ. | king of Bashan, was of the Rephaim. In the time of Joshua, some of their descendants dwelt in the land of Canaan, Josh. 12:4. 17:15, and we hear of them in David's time, in the city of Gath, 1 Chr. 20:4-6. The giant Goliath and others were remains of the Rephaim. Their magnitude and strength are often spoken of in Scripture. REPETITIONS in prayers, which our Saviour censures, Matt. 6:7, were short forms or particular expressions in prayer, which the Jews were accustomed to repeat a certain number of times. So the Roman Catholics still repeat the Lord's prayer, and other prayers, a great number of times, and think that the oftener the prayer is repeated, the more efficacious it is; i. e. if repeated 200 times, it will be twice as good as if repeated only 100 times. REPHAIM, ancient giants of Canaan, of whom there were several families. There were Rephaim beyond Jordan, at Ashtaroth Karnaim, in the time of Abraham, Gen. 14:5; also some in the time of Moses. Og, The Valley of the Rephaim, or Giants, was famous in Joshua's time, and also in David's. Josh. 15:8. 18:16. 2 Sam. 5:18,22. 1 Chr. 11:15. 14:9. It is placed as one limit of the portion of Judah. It was near Jerusalem, and it may be doubted whether it belonged to Judah or to Ben of these two tribes. Eusebius places it in Benjamin; but Josh. 18:16, and those passages of the books of Samuel where it is mentioned, hint that it belonged to Judah, and was south or west of Jerusalem, towards Bethlehem and the Philistines. REPHIDIM, an encampment of the Israelites near mount Sinai, where the people murmured, and God gave them water from the rock. Ex. c. 17. See under SINAI. RESURRECTION, revival from the dead. The belief of a resurrection is an article of religion common to Jew and Christian; and is expressly taught in both Testaments. We speak not here of that miraculous resurrection, which consists in reviving for a time, to die again afterwards; as Elijah, Elisha, Christ, and his apostles, raised some from the dead; but of a a general resurrection of the dead, which will take place at the end of the world, and which will be followed by an immortality either of happiness or of mis ery. So the psalmist says, 16:10, "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, [the grave,] neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption." When our Saviour appeared in Judea, the resurrection from *the dead was received as a principal article of religion by the whole Jewish nation, except the Sadducees, whose error our Saviour has effectually confuted. He has promised his faithful servants a complete state of happiness after the general resurrection; and he arose himself from the dead, to give, among other things, a proof in his own person, a pledge, a pattern of the future resurrection. Paul, in almost all his epistles, speaks of a general resurrection; refutes those who denied or opposed it; proves it to those who had difficulties about it; in some degree explains the mystery, the manner, and several circumstances of it; says, that to deny it, is the same as to deny our Saviour's resurrection; and that, if we not to rise again from the dead, we should be of all men the most miserable. 1 Cor. c. 15. were REUBEN, (behold, a son!) so called in reference to the sentiment of his mother, "The Lord hath looked on my affliction," the eldest son Jacob and Leah. Gen. 29:32. Reuben, having defiled his father's concubine Bilhah, lost his birthright, and all the privileges of primogeniture. Gen. 35:22. His tribe was never very numerous, nor very considerable in Israel. They had their inheritance beyond Jordan, between the brooks Arnon south, and Jazer north, having the mountains of Gilead east, and Jordan west. REVELATION, an extraordinary and supernatural discov- || ery made to the mind of man; whether by dream, vision, ecstasy, or otherwise. Paul, alluding to his visions and revelations, 2 Cor. 12:1,7, speaks of them in the third person, out of modesty; and declares, that he could not tell whether he were in the body or out of the body. Elsewhere he says that he had received his gospel by a particular revelation. Gal. 1:12. For the book of Revelation, see APOCALYPSE. REVENGER, or REVENGER OF BLOOD, is a name given in Scripture to the man who had the right, according to the Jewish polity, of taking revenge on him who had killed one of his relations. If a man had been guilty of manslaughter, involuntarily and without design, he fled to a city of refuge. See under REF UGE. RHEGIUM, a city of Italy, in the kingdom of Naples, on the coast near the south-west extremity of Italy, opposite to Messina in Sicily. It is now called Reggio. The ship in which Paul was on his way to Rome touched here. Acts 28:13,14. RHODES, an island and famous city of the Levant, the ancient name of which was Asteria, Ophiusa and Etheria. Its modern name alludes to the great quantity and beauty of the roses that grew there. It is chiefly famous for its brazen Colossus, which was 105 feet high, made by Chares of Lyndus: it stood across the mouth of the harbor of the city Rhodes, and continued perfect only fifty-six years, being thrown down by an earthquake, under the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes, king of Egypt, who began to reign B. C. 244. When Paul went to Jeru salem, A. D. 58, he visited || guishes a man of wealth and Rhodes. Acts 21: 1. dignity by the ring of gold on his finger. Jam. 2:2. At the return of the prodigal son, his father ordered a handsome apparel for his dress, and that a ring should be put on his finger. Luke 15:22. RIBLAH, a city of Syria, in the country of Hamath, the situation of which, however, has been matter of dispute. The Babylonians, in their incursions into Palestine, were accustomed to take their way over Hamath and Riblah. Mr. Buckingham mentions a place Rebla, about thirty miles south of Hamath, on the Orontes, in which the ancient Riblah is doubtless to be recognized. 2 K. 23:33. 25:6. Jer. 39:5. RIGHT HAND. The right hand is the symbol of power and strength; whence the effects of the divine omnipotence are often ascribed to the right hand of the Most High. Ex. 15:6. Psalm 21:8. The right hand commonly denotes the south, as the left hand denotes the north. The Hebrews always speak of the quarters of the world in respect of a person whose face is turned to the east, his back to the west, his right hand to the south, and his left hand to the north. See EAST. RINGS, ornaments for the ears, nose, legs or fingers. The antiquity of rings appears from Scripture and from profane authors. Judah left his ring with Tamar. Gen. 38:18. When Pharaoh committed the government of Egypt to Joseph, he gave him his ring from his finger. Gen. 41:42. After the victory of the Israelites over the Midianites, they offered to the Lord the rings, the bracelets, and the golden necklaces, taken from the enemy. Numb. 31:50. The Israelitish women wore rings, not only on their fingers, but also in their nostrils and their ears, and on their ankles. (See BRACELETS.) James distin The ring was used chiefly as a signet to seal with, and Scripture generally assigns it to princes and great persons; as the king of Egypt, Joseph, Ahaz, Jezebel; king Ahasuerus, his favorite Haman, Mordecai, king Darius, &c. 1 Kings 21:8. Esth. 3:10, &c. Dan. 6:17. The patents and orders of these princes were sealed with their rings or signets, an impression from which was their confirmation. See SEAL. RIVER, a running stream of water. The Hebrews give the name of the river, without addition, sometimes to the Nile, sometimes to the Euphrates, and sometimes to the Jordan. The tenor of the discourse must determine the sense of this uncertain and indeterminate way of speaking. They give also the name of river to brooks and rivulets that are not very considerable. The principal rivers and brooks of Palestine were the JORDAN, the Arnon, the Jabbok, the Kishon, the Kidron, the Barrady, or Abanah and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus. See their respective articles. ROBES, see GARMENTS. ROE is the smallest species of deer, cervus capreolus, and is still found in Scotland and Germany. But the Hebrew word translated roe in the Bible, refers to the oriental antelope or gazelle. This gazelle or antelope is the antilopa cervicapra or dorcas of Linnæus, the common the sportsman is obliged to have recourse to the aid of the falcon, antelope. It is about two and a half feet in height, of a reddish-brown color, with the bel-which is trained to the work, for ly and feet white, has long, naked ears, and a short, erect tail. The horns are black, about twelve inches long, and bent like a lyre. It inhabits Barbary, Egypt, Arabia and Syria, and is about half the size of a fallow deer. It goes in large flocks, is easily tamed, though naturally very timid; and its flesh is reck The fleetness of this animal has been proverbial in the countries which it inhabits, from the earliest time; as also the beauty of its eyes. So that to say, "You have the eyes of a gazelle," is used as the greatest compliment that can be paid to a fine woman. seizing on the animal and impeding its motion, that the dogs may thus have an opportunity of overtaking it. In India and Persia a sort of leopard is made use of in the chase; and this animal takes its prey not by swiftness of foot, but by its astonishing springs, which are similar to those of the antelope; and yet oned excellent food. if the leopard should fail in its There are no less than twenty-first attempt, the game escapes. nine species of antelopes in all. This animal constitutes a genus between the deer and the goat. They are mostly confined to Asia and Africa, inhabiting the hottest regions of the old world, or the temperate zones near the tropics. None of them, except the chamois and the saiga, are found in Europe. In America only one species has yet been found, viz. the Missouri antelope, which inhabits the country west of the Mississippi. Antelopes chiefly inhabit hilly countries, though some reside in the plains; and some species form herds of two or three thousand, while others keep in small troops of five or six. These animals are elegantly formed, active, restless, timid, shy, and astonishingly swift, running with vast bounds, and springing or leaping with surprising elasticity; they frequently stop for a moment in the midst of their course to gaze at their pursuers, and then resume their flight. The chase of these animals is a favorite diversion among the eastern nations; and the accounts that are given of it supply ample proofs of the swiftness of the antelope tribe. greyhound, the fleetest of dogs, is usually outrun by them; and The ROGEL, a fountain near Jerusalem, in Judah. Josh. 15:7. 18:16. 2 Sam. 17:17. 1 K. 1:9. The name signifies the fullers fountain, in which, probably, the articles were washed, by treading with the feet. It seems to have been not far from the fountain Siloam. ROLL, see Book. The ROME, ROMANS. city of Rome is in some respects the most celebrated on earth; as it was long the mistress of the heathen world, and has since been for many centuries the ecclesiastical capital of the Christian world. It was founded by Romulus 752 years before Christ, and governed for a time by kings. After the expulsion of Tarquin, B. C. 509, it was governed by two consuls, elected annually; and this form of government continued several centuries, and indeed after the real power had passed into the hands of a sovereign. Julius Cæsar first ac |