thereafter by long streams of common swifts. Their nests are built in dark places, often inside hollow trees or on the sides of cliffs, and are formed of straw and feathers cemented together with the sticky saliva that the bird’s glands produce. The swift’s feet are evidently not structurally designed so as to allow for walking or perching, so the bird obtains all its food and nest materials while in flight and even drinks by skimming over the surface of the water; it rests by clinging to vertical surfaces.

SWIMMER

The ability to swim was common among the ancients. (Ezek. 47:5; Acts 27:42, 43) In an early Egyptian text, a father mentions that his children took swimming lessons, and Assyrian reliefs depict warriors as swimming, often with the aid of inflated skins.

Ability to swim was a must for fishermen. When using a dragnet, they, likely as in more recent times, would occasionally dive into the water and pull a portion of the weighted edge under the rest of the net to form a bottom. Although apparently a good swimmer (John 21:7, 8), the fisherman Peter began to sink and called for Jesus Christ to save him at the time Peter walked on the water. This was likely the result of the unusually rough water, coupled with Peter’s personal fear.—Matt. 14:27-31.

In a prophecy against Moab, Isaiah alluded to the actions of a swimmer, saying: “The hand of Jehovah will settle down on this mountain, and Moab must be trodden down in its place as when a straw heap is trodden down in a manure place. And he must slap out [literally, stretch(es) out] his hands in the midst of it as when a swimmer slaps them out to swim, and he must abase its haughtiness with the tricky movements of his hands.” (Isa. 25:10, 11) This rendering, as does the Septuagint Version, suggests that Jehovah stretches out his hands against Moab to deliver destructive blows. Another reading, however, makes Moab the one doing the swimming. An American Translation, for example, states: “The hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, but Moab will be trampled down where he stands, as straw is trampled down in the water of a dung-pit; and though he spread out his hands in the midst of it, as a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim, his pride will be laid low despite all the tricks of his hands.”

SWINE

The collective designation for the ordinary pig; a medium-sized cloven-hoofed, short-legged mammal having a thick-skinned, stocky body usually covered with coarse bristles. The pig’s snout is blunt and its neck and tail are short. Not being a cud chewer, the pig was ruled unacceptable for food or sacrifice by the terms of the Mosaic law.—Lev. 11:7; Deut. 14:8.

While Jehovah’s ban on eating pork was not necessarily based on health considerations, there were and still are hazards connected with the use of this meat for food. Since pigs are indiscriminate in their feeding habits, even eating carrion and offal, they tend to be infested with various parasitic organisms, including those responsible for diseases such as trichinosis and ascariasis.

The Israelites generally seem to have viewed swine as being especially loathsome. Hence the ultimate degree in disgusting worship is conveyed by the words: “The one offering up a gift—the blood of a pig!” (Isa. 66:3) To the Israelites, few things could have been more inappropriate than a pig with a gold nose ring in its snout. And it is to this that Proverbs 11:22 compares an outwardly beautiful woman who is not sensible.

Although apostate Israelites ate pork (Isa. 65:4; 66:17), the Apocryphal books of First Maccabees (1:65, Dy) and Second Maccabees (6:18, 19; 7:1, 2, Dy) show that during the foreign domination of Palestine by the Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his vicious campaign to stamp out the worship of Jehovah, there were many Jews who refused to eat the flesh of swine, preferring death for violating the decree of the king rather than to violate the law of God.

Whereas some other nations did not eat pork, to the Greeks it was a delicacy. Hence, likely as a result of Hellenistic influence, by the time of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry there were apparently quite a number of pigs in Palestine, particularly in the Decapolis region. In the country of the Gadarenes there was at least one herd of about 2,000 pigs. When Jesus permitted the demons that he had expelled to enter this large herd, every last one of the animals rushed over a precipice and drowned in the sea.—Matt. 8:28-32; Mark 5:11-13.

THE CAST-OUT DEMONS WHO ENTERED SWINE

No fault can be found with Jesus for allowing the demons to enter the swine, especially since certain unstated factors may very well have been involved, such as whether the owners of the swine were Jews, thus being guilty of disrespect for the Law. It was, of course, not required that Jesus exercise foreknowledge as to what the demons would do once they entered the unclean animals. And the demons may have wanted to take possession of the swine in order to derive therefrom some unnatural sadistic pleasure. Also, it might be reasonably argued that a man is worth more than a herd of swine. (Matt. 12:12) Furthermore, all animals actually belong to Jehovah by reason of his Creatorship, and thus Jesus as God’s representative had every right to permit the demons to take possession of the herd of swine. (Ps. 50:10; John 7:29) The demons’ entering the swine manifested their ouster from the men in a very forceful way, thus also making very apparent to observers the harm that came to creatures of flesh that became demon-possessed. It demonstrated for such human observers both Jesus’ power over the demons and demonic power over fleshly creatures. All this may have suited Jesus’ purpose and may explain why he allowed the unclean spirits to enter the swine.

ILLUSTRATIVE USE

The inability of swine to recognize the value of pearls was employed by Jesus in illustrating the unwisdom of sharing spiritual things with those having no appreciation whatever of spiritual thoughts and teachings. (Matt. 7:6) And in Jesus’ illustration of the prodigal son, the degradation to which a young man had sunk was accentuated by his having to hire himself out as a swineherd, a most despicable occupation for a Jew, and by his even desiring to share the miserable diet of these animals.—Luke 15:15, 16.

The apostle Peter compared Christians who revert to their former course of life to a sow that returns to its mud wallow after having been washed. (2 Pet. 2:22) However, it is evident that, as relates to the pig, this illustration is not intended to apply beyond the surface appearance of things. Actually, the pig, under natural conditions, is no dirtier than other animals, although indulging in mud wallows from time to time in order to cool off in the heat of the summer and to remove external parasites from its hide.

SWORD

See ARMS, ARMOR.

SYCAMORE

[Heb., sha·qamʹ or shiq·mahʹ].

This tree mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures has no relation to the North American sycamore, which is a type of plane tree. It is evidently the same as the “fig-mulberry” tree of Luke 19:4. This tree (Ficus sycomorus) has fruit like that of the common fig but its foliage resembles that of the mulberry. It grows to a height of thirty feet (9.1 meters) or more, is strong, and may live for several hundred years. Unlike the common fig, the sycamore (fig-mulberry) is an ever-green. While its heart-shaped leaves are smaller than those of the fig tree, the foliage is thick and wide-spreading and the tree provides good shade. It was frequently planted along roadsides for that reason. The short, stout trunk soon branches out with its lower limbs close to the ground, and this made it a convenient tree for a small man like Zacchaeus to select as the one he would climb along the roadside to get a view of Jesus.—Luke 19:2-4.

The figs grow in abundant clusters and are smaller and inferior to those of the common fig tree. It is the present practice of Egyptian growers of the sycamore (fig-mulberry) trees to pierce the premature fruit with a nail or other sharp instrument in order to accelerate the ripening process. According to Harold and Alma Moldenke in their book Plants of the Bible (p. 108), if this is not done the fruit “will secrete a quantity of watery juice and will not ripen.” This sheds some light on the occupation of the prophet Amos, who describes himself as a “herdsman and a nipper of figs of sycamore trees.”—Amos 7:14.

In addition to growing in the Jordan valley (Luke 19:1, 4) and around Tekoa (Amos 1:1; 7:14), the sycamore trees were especially abundant in the lowlands of the Shephelah (1 Ki. 10:27; 2 Chron. 1:15; 9:27), and though their fruit was not of the quality of the common fig tree, King David considered it of sufficient value to place the Shephelah groves under the care of an administrative chief. (1 Chron. 27:28) The sycamore (fig-mulberry) trees were evidently abundant in Egypt at the time of the ten plagues, and continue to provide a source of food there today. (Ps. 78:47) The wood is somewhat soft and porous and quite inferior to that of the cedar, but it was very durable and much used in building. (Isa. 9:10) Mummy coffins made of sycamore wood have been found in Egyptian tombs and are still in good condition after some three thousand years.

SYCHAR

(Syʹchar).

A city of Samaria and the site of Jacob’s fountain. It was “near the field that Jacob gave to Joseph his son” in the vicinity of Shechem. (John 4:5, 6; compare Joshua 24:32.) The Syriac Sinaitic codex has “Shechem” instead of “Sychar.” However, the best Greek manuscripts support the reading “Sychar.” Certain early non-Biblical writers distinguish between Shechem and Sychar; others do not. Some today who separate the two identify Sychar with the village of ʽAskar, about one-half mile (c. 1 kilometer) N of Jacob’s fountain and about the same distance NE of the apparent location of ancient Shechem.

SYENE

(Syeʹne) [possibly, market].

A city apparently situated at the southern extremity of ancient Egypt. (Ezek. 29:10; 30:6) As may be inferred from the possible meaning of Syene, the city may have served as a “market” or “trading post.” It is identified with Aswan, situated on the E bank of the Nile opposite Elephantine and some 430 miles (692 kilometers) S of Cairo.

SYMEON

(Symʹe·on) [hearing].

1. An ancestor of Jesus’ mother Mary.—Luke 3:30.

2. The form of the name of Simon (Peter) used once by James at the Jerusalem council.—Acts 15:14.

3. One of the prophets and teachers of the Antioch, Syria, congregation who laid their hands on Barnabas and Paul after the holy spirit had designated these two for missionary work. Symeon’s Latin surname was Niger.—Acts 13:1-3.

SYNAGOGUE

[Gr., sy·na·go·geʹ, a bringing together].

In the Septuagint Bible translation the two words ek·kle·siʹa, meaning assembly or congregation, and sy·na·go·geʹ are used interchangeably. The word “synagogue” eventually took on the meaning of the place or building where the assembly was held. However, it did not completely lose its original meaning, for the Great Synagogue was not a large building but an assembly of noted scholars, credited with settling the Hebrew Scripture canon for the Palestinian Jews. It is said to have had its beginning in the days of Ezra or of Nehemiah and to have continued until the time of the Great Sanhedrin, about the third century B.C.E. In Revelation 2:9; 3:9, “synagogue” applies to an assembly under the domination of Satan. Also, we read of the “Synagogue of the Freedmen.” (Acts 6:9; see FREEDMAN, FREEMAN) James uses the word in the sense of a Christian meeting or public assembly.—Jas. 2:2.

It is not known just when synagogues were instituted, but it seems to have been during the seventy-year Babylonian exile when there was no temple in existence, or shortly following the return from exile, after Ezra the priest had so strongly stressed the need for knowledge of the Law. In the days of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry each town of any size in Palestine had its own synagogue, and the larger cities had more than one. Jerusalem had many. There is even an instance in the Scriptures of a synagogue being built for the Jews by a Roman army officer.—Luke 7:2, 5, 9.

The synagogue had an ark or chest containing the Scripture scrolls. The speaker’s stand was in front, on each side of which were the seats so much coveted by the scribes and Pharisees. These front seats faced the audience and were occupied by the presiding officers of the synagogue and any distinguished guests. However, it was from the center of the synagogue that most of the service was conducted, this at once making it easy for anyone to participate and all to hear. Around the three sides were benches for the audience, with a separate section for women.—Matt. 23:6.

PROGRAM OF WORSHIP

The synagogue served as a place for instruction, not sacrifice. Sacrifices were made only at the temple. Synagogue exercises appear to have consisted of praise, prayer, recital and reading of the Scriptures, exposition and exhortation or preaching. Praise-giving featured the Psalms. Prayers, while taken from the Scriptures to an extent, came in time to be long and ritualistic and were often recited for pretext or show.—Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47.

The most important part of synagogue worship was the reading and exposition of the Torah. The reading of the Scriptures consisted of three parts. First came the reciting of the Shemá, or what amounted to the Jewish confession of faith. It received its name from the first word of the first scripture used, “Listen [Sh^emaʽʹ], O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.” (Deut. 6:4) Next came the reading of the Torah or Pentateuch, the Law, which, in many synagogues, was scheduled so as to be covered in the course of a year. It was because of the emphasis on the reading of the Torah that the disciple James could well observe to the members of the governing body at Jerusalem: “For from ancient times Moses has had in city after city those who preach him, because he is read aloud in the synagogues on every sabbath.” (Acts 15:21) Following this there was a reading from excerpts of the prophets, known as the Haftaʹrahs, each with its exposition. When Jesus entered the synagogue of his hometown Nazareth, he was handed one of the scrolls that contained the Haftaʹrahs to read, after which he made an exposition upon it, as was the custom.—Luke 4:17-21.

After the reading of the Torah and the Haftaʹrahs, together with their exposition, came the preaching or exhortation, which was done from the front of the synagogue, the preceding instruction being done from its center. We read that Jesus taught and preached in the synagogues throughout the whole of Galilee. Likewise Luke records that it was “after the public reading of the Law and of the Prophets” that Paul and Barnabas were invited to speak, to preach.—Matt. 4:23; Acts 13:15, 16.

PAUL’S PREACHING

Following Pentecost, 33 C.E., and the establishment of the Christian congregation the apostles, particularly