In due time laws were published, spelling out what constituted crimes worthy of death, and, in this way, everyone could avoid doing that which would bring bloodguilt upon his own head. Other legislation was enacted as preventive safeguard to protect people from spilling innocent blood. Parapets had to be built around the edge of the flat-topped houses so people would not fall off. (Deut. 22:8) A man had to provide safeguards to prevent his bull from goring people. (Ex. 21:29) If a thief was killed while breaking in at night, there was no bloodguilt; but if he was killed during the daylight, it was a different matter. (Ex. 22:2, 3) Cities of refuge were set up to protect the accidental manslayer from the avenger of blood. (Num. 35:25; Deut. 19:9, 10; Josh. 20:2, 3) If Ezekiel failed in his duty as a watchman to Israel, the blood of the inhabitants would be upon him. (Ezek. 3:18, 20; 33:6, 8) With this in mind we find understandable what the apostle Paul meant when he said that he was innocent of bloodguilt.—Acts 18:6; 20:26.

The Bible lists both those that were free and those that were not free of bloodguilt, and these well serve as warning examples. There was Saul, who at one time escaped bloodguilt because he refrained from killing David; yet later Saul brought bloodguilt upon his whole household when he foolishly killed off some of the Gibeonites. (1 Sam. 19:5, 6; 2 Sam. 21:1) There were others too that became stained with bloodguilt. (Judg. 9:24; 2 Sam. 1:16; 4:6-12) David, on the other hand, escaped such guilt when he heeded Jehovah’s warning sent to him through Abigail. (1 Sam. 25:24-26, 31, 33) The city of Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E. because of gross bloodguilt. (Ezek. 22:2-4; 23:37, 45) The false religious leaders of Jesus’ day could not deny their bloodguiltiness any more than the leaders of Jeremiah’s time, for, in both instances, their skirts were crimson red with the blood of Jehovah’s faithful ones. (Jer. 2:34; Matt. 23:35, 36; 27:24, 25; Luke 11:50, 51) The great “harlot” Babylon the Great is so bloodguilty she is said to be drunk with the blood of Jehovah’s people.—Rev. 17:5, 6; 18:24.

Truly such bloodguilty ones are not worth living half their lives, as David said. (Ps. 55:23) As David did, all should likewise pray that Jehovah will deliver them both from bloodguiltiness and from the bloodguilty ones. (Ps. 51:14; 59:2; 139:19) As the Revelation prophecy foretold, the time will shortly come when a mighty chorus of praise will ascend to Jehovah because the last elements of Babylon the Great will have been destroyed and the blood of all these innocent ones will have been forever avenged.—Rev. 19:1, 2.

See AVENGER OF BLOOD.

BLUE

See COLORS.

BOANERGES

(Bo·a·nerʹges) [sons of thunder].

An Aramaic expression found, with its translation, only at Mark 3:17. Jesus gave it as a surname to the sons of Zebedee, James and John, likely reflecting the fiery enthusiasm of these two apostles. (Luke 9:54) Unlike Simon’s new name Peter, Boanerges does not appear to have been commonly used.

BOAR

This animal is mentioned but once in the Scriptures, namely, at Psalm 80:13, where there is allusion to its depredations on unguarded vineyards. It is believed that the wild boar (not to be confused with the male of the domesticated hog, to which it is related) is meant. This animal is still to be found in the swamps of Palestine.

A large wild boar may weigh some 350 pounds (159 kilograms), measure nearly five feet (1.5 meters) in length, and may stand over three feet (.9 meter) high at the shoulder. The snout of the wild boar is specially suited to rooting for food amid forest undergrowth. The tusks, especially those of the male, constitute a formidable weapon, with which it can easily rip up a horse. This animal is not only dangerous but also destructive, it being said that a group of them can ruin an entire vineyard in one night. Its diet, although basically vegetarian, includes a great variety of foods, roots, grain, earthworms, snails, small animals, birds’ eggs and the like.

[Picture on page 246]

Wild boar

BOAZ, I

(Boʹaz) [possibly, in strength].

A landowner of Bethlehem in Judah, “a man mighty in wealth” of about the fourteenth century B.C.E. Boaz was the son of Salma (Salmon) and Rahab, and the father of Obed. (Matt. 1:5) He was a link in the family line of the Messiah, the seventh in line of descent from Judah. (1 Chron. 2:3-11; Luke 3:32, 33) How this very unusual turn of events came about, allowing Boaz to fill the threatened breach in the genealogy of Jesus, is preserved for us in the book of Ruth.

Boaz had a close relative named Elimelech, who, along with his two sons, died leaving no male heirs. Of the widows of the two sons, one, Ruth, stuck by Elimelech’s widow Naomi. It was harvesttime and Ruth was gleaning “by chance” in the field belonging to Boaz. (Ruth 2:3) Now Boaz was a true Judean, a devout worshiper of Jehovah. He not only greeted his harvesters with “Jehovah be with you,” but, after observing Ruth’s loyalty toward Naomi, he said to her, “May Jehovah reward the way you act, and may there come to be a perfect wage for you from Jehovah.” (2:4, 12) When Ruth reported these things to her mother-in-law, Naomi exclaimed: “Blessed be he of Jehovah . . . He is one of our repurchasers.” (2:20) Furthermore, when the harvest ended, Naomi explained to Ruth the customary way of bringing this matter to Boaz’ attention. As Boaz was sleeping near his threshing floor he was awakened to find Ruth lying down at his uncovered feet, asking that he repurchase Elimelech’s estate by levirate marriage. (See BROTHER-IN-LAW MARRIAGE.) Ruth was to be the substitute for Naomi who was beyond the age of childbearing. Wasting no time, Boaz the next morning summoned another kinsman more closely related, but this person, referred to in the Bible only as So-and-so, refused to conform with the divine arrangement. Boaz, however, was quick to do so, and with the blessing of the townspeople Boaz took Ruth as his wife, and she bore him a son named Obed, the grandfather of King David.—3:1–4:17.

Throughout the account, from his first kind greeting to the workers to his acceptance of the responsibility for preserving the family name of Elimelech, Boaz is observed to be an outstanding man—a man of action and authority yet having good self-control, generous and kind, morally chaste, having faith and integrity, fully obedient to Jehovah’s commandments in all respects.

BOAZ, II

The northern of the two huge copper pillars erected before the porch of Solomon’s glorious temple was named Boaz, possibly meaning “In strength.” The southern pillar was called Jachin, meaning “He will firmly establish.” So, putting the two together and reading from right to left as one faced the E would convey the thought ‘Jehovah will firmly establish the temple in strength.’—1 Ki. 7:15-21.

BOCHERU

(Boʹche·ru) [his firstborn].

A descendant of King Saul and Jonathan; tribe of Benjamin.—1 Chron. 8:38; 9:44.

BOCHIM

(Boʹchim) [weepers].

A site at which Jehovah’s angel addressed the Israelites, reproving them for having disregarded Jehovah’s warning against entering into relations with the pagan inhabitants of the land. The weeping that thereafter resulted among the people gave the place its name. (Judg. 2:1-5) The site is unknown but the expression “went up from Gilgal to Bochim” would indicate a location W of Gilgal, Gilgal evidently lying in the low valley of the Jordan.

BODY

The physical structure of a human or an animal. The different kinds of physical bodies are composed of different kinds of flesh, together with the life force.—1 Cor. 15:39; Jas. 2:26; Gen. 7:22; see SOUL.

SPIRITUAL BODIES

While there are physical bodies visible and palpable, there are also spiritual bodies, invisible to human eyes and entirely beyond human senses. (1 Cor. 15:44) The bodies of spiritual persons (God, Christ, the angels) are glorious. “At no time has anyone beheld God.” (1 John 4:12) Man cannot see God and live. (Ex. 33:20) When the apostle Paul had only a glimpse of the manifestation of Jesus Christ after Jesus’ resurrection, he fell to the ground and was blinded by the brilliance, a miracle being required to restore his sight. (Acts 9:3-5, 17, 18; 26:13, 14) Likewise, angels are far more powerful than men. (2 Pet. 2:11) They are glorious, brilliant ones and have appeared as such in physical manifestations. (Matt. 28:2-4; Luke 2:9) These spirit sons of God have vision strong enough to see and endure the brilliance of the Almighty God.—Luke 1:19.

Because we cannot see God with physical eyes, he uses certain metaphorical expressions to help us to understand and appreciate things about himself. The Bible speaks of him as having eyes (Ps. 34:15; Heb. 4:13); arms (Job 40:9; John 12:38); feet (Ps. 18:9; Zech. 14:4); heart (Gen. 8:21; Prov. 27:11); hands (Ex. 3:20; Rom. 10:21); fingers (Ex. 31:18; Luke 11:20); nose, nostrils (Ezek. 8:17; Ex. 15:8); and ears. (1 Sam. 8:21; Ps. 10:17) It is not to be supposed that he literally possesses these organs in a physical way or in appearance as we know them. The apostle John, who had hope of life in heaven, said to fellow heirs of heavenly life: “Beloved ones, now we are children of God, but as yet it has not been made manifest what we shall be. We do know that whenever he is made manifest we shall be like him, because we shall see him just as he is.” (1 John 3:2) It will be an organism conformed to the “glorious body” of Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:21), who is “the image of the invisible God,” “the reflection of his glory and the exact representation of his very being.” (Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3) They will, therefore, receive organisms that are incorruptible, having the life principle of immortality, as distinguished from angels in general and from mankind, who are mortal, able to die.—1 Cor. 15:53; 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16; Mark 1:23, 24; Heb. 2:14.

CHRIST’S BODY OF FLESH

At the institution of the Lord’s evening meal Jesus offered the unfermented bread to the eleven faithful apostles, saying: “This means my body which is to be given in your behalf.” (Luke 22:19) He had said beforehand: “The bread that I shall give is my flesh in behalf of the life of the world.”—John 6:51; Heb. 10:10; 1 Pet. 2:24; see LORD’S EVENING MEAL.

Jesus’ fleshly body, in order for him to be the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45) and to be a “corresponding ransom for all [mankind],” had to be a real human body, no incarnation. (1 Tim. 2:5, 6; Matt. 20:28) It had to be perfect, for it was to be sacrificed to provide before Jehovah God the purchase price. (1 Pet. 1:18, 19; Heb. 9:14) No imperfect human could provide the needed price. (Ps. 49:7-9) For this reason Jesus said to his Father when presenting himself for baptism, to begin his sacrificial course: “You prepared a body for me.”—Heb. 10:5.

The physical body of Jesus Christ was not allowed to decay into dust as did the bodies of Moses and David, men used to foreshadow Christ. (Deut. 34:5, 6; Acts 13:35, 36; 2:27, 31) When his disciples went to the tomb early on the first day of the week, Jesus’ body had disappeared and the grave clothes were left in the tomb, his body doubtless being disintegrated without passing through the process of decaying.—John 20:2-9; Luke 24:3-6.

After Jesus’ resurrection he appeared in different bodies. Mary mistook him for the gardener. (John 20:14, 15) He again appeared, entering a room with locked doors, having a body with wound marks. (John 20:24-29) Several times he manifested himself and was recognized, not by his appearance, but by his words and actions. (Luke 24:15, 16, 30, 31, 36-45; Matt. 28:16-18) Once a miracle performed at his direction opened his disciples’ eyes to his identity. (John 21:4-7, 12) Jesus, now being resurrected as a spirit (1 Pet. 3:18), could materialize a body for the occasion as the angels did in past times, when they appeared as messengers. (Gen. 18:2; 19:1, 12; Josh. 5:13, 14; Judg. 13:3, 6; Heb. 13:2) During the days before the Flood the angels that “did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place” performed an incarnation and married human wives. That these were not truly human but were materialized bodies is shown by the fact that the Flood did not destroy these angels, but they dematerialized and returned to the spirit realm.—Jude 6; Gen. 6:4; 1 Pet. 3:19, 20; 2 Pet. 2:4.

SYMBOLIC USAGE

Jesus Christ is spoken of as the Head of “the congregation, which is his body.” (Eph. 1:22, 23; Col. 1:18) This Christian body of people has no divisions racially, nationally or otherwise, Jews and people of all nations being represented in it. (Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:16; 4:4) All are baptized by holy spirit into Christ and into his death. They are, therefore, all baptized into one body. (1 Cor. 12:13) Thus all the body follows the head, dying his kind of death and receiving his kind of resurrection.—Rom. 6:3-5; see BAPTISM.

The apostle Paul uses the functioning of the human body to illustrate the operation of the Christian congregation, likening the members living on earth at any particular time to a body, with Christ as the invisible Head. (Rom. 12:4, 5; 1 Cor. chap. 12) He emphasizes the importance of the place each member occupies, the interdependency, the mutual love and care and the accomplishment of work. God has set each one in his position in the body and through the various operations of the holy spirit the body performs what is necessary. The Head Jesus Christ, as liaison member, supplies the members of the body the things they need by means of “its joints,” which may have reference to the appointed overseers and ministerial servants, or those with special responsibilities, and through the “ligaments,” which may mean the connective and communicative provisions and directives, so that the “body” is spiritually well fed and each part informed of the movements and spiritual well-being of the rest of the body.—Col. 2:19.

PROPER USE OF ONE’S BODY

The Christian should appreciate the body God has given him and should love himself to the extent of caring properly for his body so that he may be able to present it in acceptable, sacred