to their senses and repent, thereby getting free from the Devil’s snare.—2 Tim. 2:23-26; compare 1 Timothy 1:3, 4; Titus 3:9.

Though it is common for schemers to try to trap an innocent person, Jehovah can reverse things and “rain down upon the wicked ones traps, fire and sulphur.” (Ps. 11:6) He can trap them, cutting off all means of escape, and then execute judgment upon them.—Compare 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3.

TREASURY

A place, usually a building or room, where money or other valuables are kept for security. Numbers 31:54 indicates that at an early period the “tent of meeting” served, in a sense, as a sacred treasury holding contributed gold. The valuable things from Jericho that ‘belonged to Jehovah’ were given “to the treasure of Jehovah’s house,” suggesting that a treasury of some sort was established in connection with the tabernacle. (Josh. 6:17, 24) Levites were appointed over the treasures that were contributed and that which came as spoil made holy to God. (1 Chron. 26:20-28) The temple Solomon constructed also had a treasury, where gold and silver, as well as the costly utensils of the temple, were kept.—1 Ki. 7:51; 2 Chron. 5:1.

Under the monarchy in Israel there was in addition a royal treasury. (2 Ki. 20:13; 24:13; 2 Chron. 32:27, 28; Jer. 38:11) Over the years the valuables of the royal treasury as well as the treasury of the house of Jehovah were repeatedly taken by enemies as plunder or used to buy off or bribe pagan nations.—1 Ki. 14:26; 15:18; 2 Ki. 12:18; 14:14; 16:8; 18:15; 24:13.

Concerning the Babylonian treasury, Daniel 1:2 says that Nebuchadnezzar brought the valuable utensils of Jehovah’s house into “the treasure house of his god.” One Babylonian inscription represents Nebuchadnezzar as saying about the temple of Merodach: “I stored up inside silver and gold and precious stones . . . and placed there the treasure house of my kingdom.” (Compare Ezra 1:8.) The Babylonians may have had secondary treasuries in different parts of the empire. (Dan. 3:2) The Persians had such an arrangement, with the more localized treasuries holding some of the money collected as taxes by the satraps. (Ezra 7:20, 21) At least the main Persian treasuries also served as royal archives, containing important records in addition to gold and other valuables.—Ezra 6:1, 2; Esther 3:9.

CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES

When Jesus was on earth a portion of the temple in Jerusalem was termed “the treasury.” (John 8:20) This apparently was located in the area called the Court of the Women. According to rabbinical sources, in this temple rebuilt by Herod there were thirteen treasury chests around the wall in this court. These were shaped like trumpets, with small openings at the top, and the people would deposit in them various contributions and offerings. (Mark 12:41) The priests refused to put into this sacred treasury the silver pieces Judas threw into the temple, “because,” they said, “they are the price of blood.” (Matt. 27:6) It is believed that this temple also contained a major treasury where the money from the treasury chests was brought.

TREES

[Heb., ʽets].

The great variation in climate of Palestine and the neighboring lands made possible a very diversified growth of trees, from the cedars of Lebanon to the date palms of Jericho and the broom trees of the desert. Some thirty different types of trees are mentioned in the Bible and these are considered in this publication under the particular name of the tree.

The problem of identifying the particular tree indicated by the original Hebrew or Greek word is frequently a difficult one, and, in a number of cases, the identification is only tentative. Such identification depends upon the extent of description given in the actual Bible record as to the characteristics of the tree (at times indicated by the meaning of the root word from which the name is derived) and by comparison of such description with the trees now known to grow in Bible lands, particularly in the regions indicated in the Bible text, when these are so mentioned. Additional help comes from a study of cognate words (that is, words that by their form give evidence of being related and having proceeded from the same original root or source) in other languages, such as Arabic and Aramaic. In some cases it seems the wiser course simply to transliterate the name, as, for example, in the case of the almug tree.

As Harold Moldenke points out in his book Plants of the Bible (p. 5) many of the trees now found in Palestine may not have been growing there in Bible times, since, as he states, “floras change, especially in regions like Palestine and Egypt where man, notorious for his aptitude in upsetting the delicately adjusted balances in nature, has been most active” for thousands of years. He further states, on page 6: “Many plants which grew in abundance in the Holy Land or surrounding countries in Biblical days are now no longer there or else grow in far smaller numbers.” Some types have been exterminated or greatly diminished by excessive cultivation of the land, by devastation of timberlands due to the invading forces of Assyria, Babylon, on down to Rome. (Jer. 6:6; Luke 19:43) The destruction of trees and forests has allowed the topsoil to wash away and has resulted in much barrenness and desolation in many areas.

As early as in Abraham’s day trees were listed in a contract for the transfer of property.—Gen. 23:15-18.

IN THE LAW

Later Jehovah God brought Israel into Canaan, a land containing “trees for food in abundance,” promised to provide the needed rain if Israel obeyed him, and required a tenth of the fruits for use of the sanctuary and the priesthood. (Neh. 9:25; Lev. 26:3, 4; 27:30) On invading the land the Israelites were instructed not to destroy the fruit-bearing trees when attacking the cities, although centuries later the kings of Judah and Israel were authorized by God to devastate the ‘good trees’ of the kingdom of Moab. The reason appears to be that Moab was outside the Promised Land. It was punitive warfare against Moab, and the Israelite action was a protection against Moabite revolt or retaliation. (Deut. 20:19, 20; 2 Ki. 3:19, 25; compare Jeremiah 6:6.) On planting a tree, the owner was not to eat of its fruit during the first three years, and on the fourth year its fruitage was to be devoted to sanctuary use. (Lev. 19:23-25; compare Deuteronomy 26:2.) Thereafter the annual first ripe fruits were likewise so dedicated.—Neh. 10:35-37.

FIGURATIVE USE

In the Garden of Eden God employed two trees for symbolic purposes: the “tree of life” and “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” Failure to respect God’s decree concerning the latter brought man’s fall.—Gen. 2:9, 16, 17; 3:1-24.

The significance of the “tree of the knowledge of good and bad” and of the restriction placed on its fruit has often been incorrectly viewed as relating to the sexual act between the first human pair. This view is contradicted by God’s plain command to them as male and female to “be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.” (Gen. 1:28) Rather, by standing for “the knowledge of good and bad” and by God’s pronouncement decreeing it to be “out of bounds” for the human pair, the tree became a symbol of man’s proper dependence on God, as his Sovereign Ruler, to make known for him what is “good” (approved by God) and what is “bad” (condemned by God). It thus constituted a test of man’s respect for his Creator’s position and his willingness to remain within the area of freedom decreed by God, an area that was by no means cramped and that allowed for the greatest enjoyment of human life. Therefore, to violate the boundaries of the prohibited area by eating of the “tree of the knowledge of good and bad” would be an invasion of or a revolt against God’s domain and authority.—See SOVEREIGNTY.

Trees were also used to symbolize individuals, rulers and kingdoms, as in the prophecy likening the fall of Pharaoh and his crowd to Assyria’s fall in Ezekiel chapter 31, and in Daniel’s prophecy regarding the mighty tree representing dominion “in the kingdom of mankind.” (Dan. 4:10-26) The righteous man is likened to a tree planted by streams of water (Ps. 1:3), whose foliage is luxuriant and whose fruit continues to grow even in drought.—Jer. 17:8.

The promise that the days of God’s restored people will be like those of a tree (Isa. 65:22) is made more meaningful by the fact that some trees of Palestine live for centuries, even up to a thousand years or more. In Ezekiel’s vision a stream flowing from the visionary temple was lined with fruitful trees of healing foliage, and a similar vision is presented in the book of Revelation. (Ezek. 47:7, 12; Rev. 22:2, 14) The expression “tree of life” is used with regard to true wisdom, to the fruitage of the righteous, to the realization of a thing desired, to calmness of the tongue, and is also associated with the crown of life. (Prov. 3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4; Rev. 2:7, 10) Trees are mentioned in association with the fruitful, peaceful and joyful conditions resulting from Jehovah’s kingship and the restoration of his people.—1 Chron. 16:33; Ps. 96:12; 148:9; Isa. 55:12; Ezek. 34:27; 36:30.

Jesus used trees in some of his illustrations stressing the need for fruitfulness in true righteousness, as John the Baptist had done before him. (Matt. 3:10; 7:15-20) Since fruit trees were taxed in Palestine in that time, an unproductive tree (as good as dead) was an undesirable burden to the owner and, hence, a tree to be chopped down and destroyed. (Luke 13:6-9) At Jude 12 immoral persons who infiltrate the Christian congregation are likened to fruitless trees in autumn time that have died twice. Their being described as ‘twice dead’ may be an emphatic way of expressing that they are completely dead. Or, it could signify that they are dead from two viewpoints. They are (1) barren or fruitless and (2) are literally dead, possessing no vitality.

The Hebrew word for tree is also used with regard to the stake or post on which a body was hung. (Gen. 40:19; Deut. 21:22, 23; Josh. 8:29; Esther 2:23) In applying Deuteronomy 21:23, the apostle Paul used the Greek word xyʹlon.—Gal. 3:13; see TORTURE STAKE; individual trees by name.

TRIAL

See LEGAL CASE.

TRIBE

A group of people, comprising a number of families or clans, who are united by race or custom under the same leaders.

The two Hebrew words often rendered “tribe” (mat·theʹ and sheʹvet) both mean rod or staff. (Ex. 7:12; Prov. 13:24) Apparently these words came to signify “tribe” in the sense of a group of persons led by a chief or chieftains carrying a scepter or staff. (Compare Numbers 17:2-6.) In most cases where the context shows that either word has the thought of “tribe,” it is used in regard to one of the tribes of Israel, such as the “tribe [mat·theʹ] of Gad” or the “tribe [sheʹvet] of the Levites.” (Josh. 13:24, 33) However, the ‘tribe that God redeemed as his inheritance,’ mentioned at Psalm 74:2, evidently refers to the entire nation of Israel, speaking of it as a “tribe” or people distinct from other nations and peoples. And the term “tribe” at Numbers 4:18 seems to be used in a more restrictive sense, as applied to the Kohathites who were a subdivision of the tribe of Levi. The Egyptian “tribes” of Isaiah 19:13 must apply to certain categories of people, whether according to region, caste or something else.

The Greek term phy·leʹ signifies “a company of people united by kinship or habitation, a clan, tribe.” The word is often used in the Christian Greek Scriptures in regard to the tribes of the nation of Israel. (Acts 13:21; Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5; Heb. 7:13, 14; Rev. 5:5) In expressions like “out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,” “tribe” seems to mean a group of people related by common descent. (Rev. 5:9) Such expressions, then, are exhaustive, referring to all people, whether viewed according to tribes of interrelated individuals, or as being part of a language group, a large mass or segment of mankind or a political division. (Rev. 7:9; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6) Also, phy·leʹ appears in the expression “all the tribes of the earth” at Revelation 1:7, which evidently means all people on earth, for the verse also says “every eye will see him.”—Compare Matthew 24:30.

TRIBES OF ISRAEL

The tribal arrangement in Israel was based on descent from the twelve sons of Jacob. (Gen. 29:32–30:24; 35:16-18) These “twelve family heads [Gr., doʹde·ka pa·tri·arʹkhas]” produced the “twelve tribes of Israel.” (Gen. 49:1-28; Acts 7:8) However, Jacob blessed Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh the older and Ephraim the younger, and said: “Ephraim and Manasseh will become mine like [his actual sons] Reuben and Simeon.” (Gen. 48:5, 13-20) When the various tribes received their land inheritance in the Promised Land (Josh. chaps. 13-19), there was no “tribe of Joseph.” Instead, “the sons of Joseph,” Manasseh and Ephraim, were counted as distinct tribes in Israel. As Jehovah had arranged, though, this did not increase the tribes of Israel receiving an inheritance to thirteen, because the Levites got no land inheritance. Jehovah had chosen the “tribe of Levi” (Num. 1:49) in place of the firstborn of the other tribes and they became the priestly tribe. (Ex. 13:1, 2; Num. 3:6-13, 41; Deut. 10:8, 9; 18:1; see LEVITES.) Consequently, there were twelve non-Levite tribes in Israel.—Josh. 3:12, 13; Judg. 19:29; 1 Ki. 11:30-32; Acts 26:7.

When Moses blessed the tribes (Deut. 33:6-24), Simeon was not mentioned by name, perhaps because the tribe was greatly reduced in size and its land portion was to be enclosed in the territory of Judah. In Ezekiel’s vision of the holy contribution and the twelve tribes, the tribes listed are the same as those who received a land inheritance as given in the book of Joshua. (Ezek. 48:1-8, 23-28) The tribe of Levi was located within the “holy contribution” in Ezekiel’s vision.—Ezek. 48:9-14, 22.

Tribal structure

Much of the organization of the Israelites revolved around the tribal structure. Both their order of marching and encampment in the wilderness were according to tribes. (Num. 2:1-31; 10:5, 6, 13-28) The land inheritance was apportioned on the basis of tribes, and special laws were given so that the land would not circulate from tribe to tribe.—Num. 36:7-9; Josh. 19:51.

The dividing up of the nation according to family heads was further carried out within each tribe. Though the tribe was the basic and most important division of the nation, each tribe was subdivided into large “families” (with “family” used in a broad sense) based on descent from paternal heads. (Num. 3:20, 24; 34:14) Within each “family” there were many individual households. This arrangement patterned after the tribal structure is well illustrated in Joshua 7:16-18 and 1 Samuel 9:21; 10:20, 21.

TRIBES OF SPIRITUAL ISRAEL

Revelation 7:4-8 divides the 144,000 members of spiritual Israel into twelve ‘tribes’ of twelve thousand