dependent towns actually lay in Asher’s territory, these were given to the tribe of Manasseh, who proved unable to dispossess the inhabitants remaining there. (Josh. 17:11-13; 1 Chron. 7:29) Later the territory of Dor, overseen by one of Solomon’s sons-in-law, provided food one month out of the year for the king’s household.—1 Ki. 4:11.

The city of Dor is usually identified with el-Burj, just N of the small harbor town of et-Tanturah, hence on the long narrow coastal plain stretching along the Mediterranean Sea from Cape Carmel to the Crocodile River. This location on the coastal plain has caused some discussion as to the meaning of the frequently used phrase “the mountain ridges [from the Hebrew na·phahʹ; “highlands,” AT, “hillsides,” JB; “borders,” AV] of Dor.” (Josh. 11:2) Some authorities believe this refers to the cliffs that line much of the coast in this region, thus associating the Hebrew na·phahʹ with the Arabic term nafnaf, meaning “cliff, precipice.” Others believe it may indicate the hilly slopes that begin two miles (3.2 kilometers) inland from Dor and culminate in the heights of Mount Carmel.

DORCAS

(Dorʹcas) [Gr., gazelle].

A Christian woman in the Joppa congregation abounding in “good deeds and gifts of mercy,” evidently including the making of inner and outer garments for needy widows. (Acts 9:36, 39) “Dorcas” corresponds to the Aramaic “Tabitha,” both names meaning “gazelle.” Possibly Dorcas was known by both names, as it was not uncommon then for Jews, especially those living in a seaport such as Joppa with its mixed population of Jews and Gentiles, to have a Hebrew name as well as a Greek or Latin name. Or, Luke may have translated the name for the benefit of Gentile readers. Dorcas is the only woman mentioned in the Scriptures as having the feminine form of the word “disciple” applied to her. This, however, does not mean that she held a special position in the congregation, for all Christians were actually disciples of Jesus Christ. (Matt. 28:19, 20) Though her death around 36 C.E. caused much weeping among the widows who had apparently benefited greatly from her kindnesses, the fact that no mention is made of sorrow on the part of a husband suggests that Dorcas was unmarried at the time.

At her death the disciples at Joppa prepared her for burial and, on learning that Peter was in Lydda, just a few miles SE of Joppa, sent for him. Undoubtedly they had heard about Peter’s healing the paralytic Aeneas there and this may have given them a basis for reasoning that the apostle might resurrect Dorcas. On the other hand, they may have turned to Peter simply for consolation.—Acts 9:32-38.

Following a procedure similar to that used by Jesus in resurrecting Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:38-41; Luke 8:51-55), Peter, after dismissing everyone from the upper chamber, prayed and then said: “Tabitha, rise!” Dorcas opened her eyes, sat up and took Peter’s hand to rise. This is the first-reported resurrection performed by an apostle, resulting in many becoming believers throughout Joppa.—Acts 9:39-42.

DOTHAN

(Doʹthan).

A city figuring in two Biblical narratives. Dothan is today identified with Tell Dotha, situated on a hill in a small basinlike plain lying between the hills of Samaria and the Carmel range, ten miles (16.1 kilometers) NE of Samaria.

Young Joseph found his brothers and their flocks “at Dothan.” It is thought likely that they were to the N of that city, on the pasture ground through which ran the road connecting Gilead (E of the Jordan) with the Mediterranean seacoast and Egypt. This may have been the route traveled by the “caravan of Ishmaelites” who purchased Joseph.—Gen. 37:17-36.

Centuries later the king of Syria dispatched a heavy military force to Dothan to arrest Elisha. Here the prophet’s fearful attendant had his eyes miraculously opened to see the fiery war equipment of God in “the mountainous region . . . all around Elisha,” that is, either on the same hill where Dothan stood or the nearby hills to the E, S and W of Dothan. (2 Ki. 6:11-17) The Syrians, in encircling the city, may have also posted themselves in these surrounding hills, from which they then ‘came down’ when Elisha went out of the city to meet them. The enemy forces were rendered harmless, however, when miraculously struck with a type of blindness, Jehovah perhaps using the angelic forces in accomplishing this.—Vss. 18, 19; compare Genesis 19:1, 10, 11.

The ruins of Tell Dotha are believed by some to offer a fairly complete sketch of Palestinian culture down to the third or the fourth century C.E. It was apparently thriving during the aforementioned Biblical periods. Certain rectangular-shaped cisterns found here, measuring ten feet (3.04 meters) deep, are thought by some to be similar to the “waterpit” into which Joseph was cast.

DOVE

[Heb., yoh·nahʹ; Gr., pe·ri·ste·raʹ].

The dove is one of the first two birds specifically named in the Bible, Noah having sent out a dove three times after the Flood to determine the drainage of the waters. (Gen. 8:8-12) The Hebrew name yoh·nahʹ is thought to derive from the word ʼa·nahʹ, meaning “to mourn,” and evidently is in imitation of the mournful cooing sound made by the dove. (Isa. 38:14; 59:11, 12; Ezek. 7:16; Nah. 2:7) While “dove” and “pigeon” are often used interchangeably in English, both birds being classed as of the family Columbidae, the term “dove” is usually restricted to the smaller varieties generally living wild and regularly migrating. Since the distinction in English between dove and pigeon is quite indefinite, translators usually render yoh·nahʹ as “dove” except when it occurs in association with “turtledove” (as in all cases relating to sacrifices), in which texts it is generally translated “pigeon.”—See PIGEON; TURTLEDOVE.

VARIETIES AND DESCRIPTION

The most common varieties of doves found in Palestine are the rock dove (or rock pigeon), the ring dove (also called the wood pigeon) and the stock dove. Large flocks of ring doves migrate through Palestine, northward in the spring, and southward in the fall, and they are found particularly in the forests of Gilead and Carmel. The stock dove settles chiefly around Jericho and on the eastern side of the Jordan, while the rock dove breeds on the coastlands, along the gorges of the Jordan valley and the highlands to the W. Doves characteristically have a plump, full-breasted body, graceful neck, a small rounded head with rather slender bill, and short legs. The feathers are very compact, giving the bird a rather sleek look. Though sometimes all white, the doves are frequently of a blue-gray color, while some have an iridescent sheen on parts of the plumage, causing it to take on a metallic appearance in the golden sunlight. This may be indicated at Psalm 68:13, although the reference there to “the wings of a dove covered with silver and its pinions with yellowish-green gold” is thought by some to refer to some richly wrought art piece taken as spoil.

The dove has a soft, gentle appearance and disposition, earning for it the name of ‘the sheep of the bird world.’ Thus the name Jonah (Yoh·nahʹ) was and is a popular name for Jewish boys (Jonah 1:1), while the name of Job’s daughter Jemimah evidently corresponds to the Arabic yamamatu, also meaning “dove.” (Job 42:14) The birds are notable for their devotion to their mates and their affection, and in courtship they bring their heads together and each bird takes the other’s beak in its own much like a lover’s kiss. “My dove” was thus an apt term of endearment used by the Shulammite maiden’s shepherd lover. (Song of Sol. 5:2; 6:9) The maiden’s eyes were likened to the soft gentle eyes of a dove (1:15; 4:1), while she likened the shepherd’s eyes to bluegray doves bathing in pools of milk, by this lovely simile evidently representing the darker iris surrounded by the gleaming white of the eye. (5:12) Doves are fond of bathing, preferring to nest near a source of water.

A timid bird, trembling when frightened (Hos. 11:11), the dove in its wild state often nests in valleys (Ezek. 7:16), while the rock dove makes its nest on ledges and in holes of cliffs and rocky gorges. (Song of Sol. 2:14; Jer. 48:28) When domesticated, they fly back to the dovecotes prepared for them, the white undersides of the wings of a large flock of doves giving the appearance of a moving cloud. (Isa. 60:8) Dovecotes, some of considerable size, have been excavated in Palestine.

The dove has strong wings, is able to fly long distances in search of food, and is swift enough to elude most of its enemies. (Ps. 55:6-8) Yet doves are quite trusting of humans and rather easily entrapped or snared with a net. Thus, apostate Ephraim, foolishly placing its confidence first in Egypt and then in Assyria, was likened to a “simple-minded dove,” due to be caught in a net. (Hos. 7:11, 12) Jesus, in warning his disciples against wolflike opposers, counseled them to be, not only “innocent as doves,” but also “cautious as serpents.”—Matt. 10:16.

At the time of Jesus’ baptism and subsequent anointing by God’s holy spirit, that holy spirit was caused to appear “in bodily shape like a dove,” its visible descent upon Jesus perhaps being similar to the fluttering descent of the dove as it approaches its perch. (Luke 3:22; Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; John 1:32-34) It was an apt symbol, in view of its use by Noah and also its characteristic ‘innocence.’ Doves were used for sacrificial purposes, as indicated by their being sold by those pursuing commercial activities at the temple in Jerusalem, although the term “doves [Gr., pe·ri·ste·rasʹ]” may here indicate the “turtledoves” or “male pigeons” mentioned in the Mosaic law.—Mark 11:15; John 2:14-16.

IDOLATROUS USE

The religion of ancient Babylon manifests a corrupted utilization of many details relating to the Noachian flood, and so it is not surprising that the dove figured prominently in Babylonian worship. Concerning Semiramis, The Encyclopædia Britannica (1946, Vol. 20, p. 314) states: “Semiramis appears as a goddess, the daughter of the fish-goddess Atargatis, and herself connected with the doves of Ishtar or Astarte [the fertility goddess of the Canaanites].” The dove was anciently worshiped at the city of Ashkelon, a city of the Philistines, who also worshiped Dagon, thought by some to be a fish god. At another onetime Philistine city, Beth-shan, a cult-stand discovered, and considered as of the thirteenth century B.C.E., represents doves as flying out of the windows of a shrine of the Canaanite Ashtoreth (Astarte). The dove also became a symbol associated with the erotic love goddess Venus and by her Greek counterpart, Aphrodite. Such corrupted idolatrous use of the figure of the dove stands in sharp contrast to the Biblical presentation of this gentle, innocent bird as considered above.—See DOVE’S DUNG.

DOVE’S DUNG

[Heb., hharehʹ yoh·nimʹ].

The description of the siege of Samaria by Syrian King Ben-hadad relates that the famine created became so severe that “an ass’s head got to be worth eighty silver pieces, and the fourth of a cab measure of dove’s dung was worth five silver pieces.” (2 Ki. 6:24, 25) The cost of an ass’s head was approximately $38 (if the “silver pieces” were shekels) and the “fourth of a cab measure [about one-half dry pint or .3 of a liter] of dove’s dung” was worth about $2.38. This indicates that, due to the scarcity of food, such a thing as the bony, thinly fleshed ass’s head became an expensive food item (although the ass was an unclean animal according to the Mosaic law), and even dove’s dung was very costly. The reference to dove’s dung has occasioned considerable discussion as to whether the term is literal and as to the use to which it was put by the buyer.

Arguments have been advanced that the name “dove’s dung” may have been applied to a certain plant, some basing this view on the fact that the Arabs use the name “sparrow’s dung” with reference to a certain plant eaten by persons of little means, while others argue in favor of the plant growing in the area of Samaria called the “Star of Bethlehem” and known by the Latin name Ornithogalum, meaning “birds’ milk.” However, there is no evidence that either of these plants was ever known by the name “dove’s dung” or that such plants would be accessible to the people bottled up in Samaria by the siege.

Those who acknowledge a literal meaning of the expression are, in turn, divided as to the use made of the substance. Some point out that dove’s dung has long been used as a fertilizer by people in the Near East in the cultivation of melons, but it seems reasonable that persons bordering on death by starvation would be concerned with food for immediate consumption rather than with a crop that would not be available for perhaps several months.

Many prefer the view that the dove’s dung was actually used for food, pointing out that the subject is that of famine and the terrible extremes to which humans are driven by the pangs of hunger. Though purposely extreme and cruel so as to create a weakening fear, the threat by Sennacherib’s officer, Rabshakeh, that a siege by Assyria would cause the people of Jerusalem to have to “eat their own excrement and drink their own urine” may have had some basis in fact. (2 Ki. 18:27) While the thought of using literal dung for human consumption is extremely repulsive, that in itself is no basis for rejecting this view. The fact that the hunger was so great in Samaria that women would boil and eat their own children indicates that they had reached the point of consuming anything available. (2 Ki. 6:26-29) While some point out that dung would have little value as a nutrient, this factor alone would not disprove the possibility of its being purchased for food, for starving persons are frequently irrational, eating anything to deaden the pangs of hunger.

Perhaps an even more likely suggestion is that of certain rabbins who hold that the dung was used for fuel. There is, at least, some Biblical parallel in this, since the prophet Ezekiel was instructed to picture the equally dire siege conditions due to come upon Jerusalem by cooking his food with dung as the fuel. (Ezek. 4:12-17) Dried cattle dung, called by some “cow chips,” serves as a common fuel in many parts of the earth till this day. If this view should be correct, then the account might simply be stating the cost of the food (in this case an ass’s head) and the cost of the fuel for cooking it. The succeeding verses indicate that the people were as yet not eating the flesh raw.

DRACHMA

A Greek silver coin roughly corresponding to the Roman denarius. (Luke 15:8, 9) The Attic drachma bore the head of the goddess Athena on the obverse side and an owl on the reverse side. By the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the drachma probably had depreciated to about .109 ounce troy (3.4 grams), and hence would be presently evaluated at $.14. In the first century C.E. the drachma was equated with the denarius, the latter being called “drachma” by the Greeks. The Roman government, though, officially reckoned the value of the drachma at three-fourths of a denarius. The Jews paid an annual temple tax of two drachmas (a didrachma).—Matt. 17:24.

The Greek silver drachma is not to be confused with the gold “drachma” (dar·k^emohnʹ) of the Hebrew Scriptures, a coin generally equated with the Persian daric (c. .27 ounce troy; c. 8.4 grams;