in God’s dealings with him.—1 Sam. 15:10, 11, 26.

The prophet Samuel, in declaring God’s adverse decision regarding Saul, stated that “the Excellency of Israel will not prove false, and He will not feel regrets, for He is not an earthling man so as to feel regrets.” (1 Sam. 15:28, 29) Earthling men frequently prove untrue to their word, fail to make good their promises or live up to the terms of their agreements; being imperfect, they commit errors in judgment, causing them regret. This is never the case with God.—Ps. 132:11; Isa. 45:23, 24; 55:10, 11.

God’s covenant made between God and “all flesh” after the Flood, for example, unconditionally guaranteed that God would never again bring a flood of waters over all the earth. (Gen. 9:8-17) There is, then, no possibility of God’s changing with regard to that covenant or ‘regretting it.’ Similarly, in his covenant with Abraham, God “stepped in with an oath” as a “legal guarantee” so as to “demonstrate more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his counsel,” his promise and his oath being “two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie.” (Heb. 6:13-18) God’s sworn covenant with his Son for a priesthood like that of Melchizedek was likewise something over which God would “feel no regret.”—Heb. 7:20, 21; Ps. 110:4; compare Romans 11:29.

However, in stating a promise or making a covenant God may set out requirements, conditions to be met by those with whom the promise or covenant is made. He promised Israel that they would become his “special property” and “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” if they would strictly obey his voice and keep his covenant. (Ex. 19:5, 6) God held true to his side of the covenant but Israel failed, violating that covenant time and again. (Mal. 3:6, 7; compare Nehemiah 9:16-19, 26-31.) So, when God finally annulled that covenant he did so with complete justice, the responsibility for the nonfulfillment of his promise resting entirely with the offending Israelites.—Matt. 21:43; Heb. 8:7-9.

In the same way God can ‘feel regret’ and ‘turn back’ from carrying out some punishment due to the fact that his warning of such action produces a change in attitude and conduct on the part of the offenders. (Deut. 13:17; Ps. 90:13) They have returned to him and he ‘returns’ to them. (Zech. 8:3; Mal. 3:7) Instead of being ‘pained,’ he now rejoices, for he finds no delight in bringing death to sinners. (Luke 15:10; Ezek. 18:32) While never shifting away from his righteous standards, God extends help so that persons can return to him; they are encouraged to do so. He kindly invites them to return, ‘spreading out his hands’ and saying by means of his representatives, “Turn back, please, . . . that I may not cause calamity to you,” “Do not do, please, this detestable sort of thing that I have hated.” (Isa. 65:1, 2; Jer. 25:5, 6; 44:4, 5) He gives ample time for change (Neh. 9:30; compare Revelation 2:20-23) and shows great patience and forbearance, since “he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:8, 9; Rom. 2:4, 5) He has kindly accompanied his message on occasion by powerful works, miracles, that establish the divine commission of his messengers and help strengthen faith in those hearing. (Acts 9:32-35) Where his message receives no response, he employs discipline; he withdraws his favor and protection, thereby allowing the unrepentant ones to undergo privations, famine, suffering of oppression from their enemies. This may bring them to their senses, may restore their proper fear of God, may cause them to realize that their course was stupid, their set of values wrong.—2 Chron. 33:10-13; Neh. 9:28, 29; Amos 4:6-11.

His patience, however, has its limits and when these are reached he gets “tired of feeling regret” and then his decision to render punishment is unchangeable. (Jer. 15:6, 7; 23:19, 20; Lev. 26:14-33) He is no longer merely ‘thinking’ or ‘forming’ against such ones a calamity (Jer. 18:11; 26:3-6) but has reached an irreversible decision.—2 Ki. 23:24-27; Isa. 43:13; Jer. 4:28; Zeph. 3:8; Rev. 11:17, 18.

God’s willingness to forgive repentant ones, his mercifully opening the way to such forgiveness even in the face of repeated offenses, sets the example for all his servants.—Matt. 18:21, 22; Mark 3:28; Luke 17:3, 4; 1 John 1:9; see FORGIVENESS.

REPHAEL

(Rephʹa·el) [God has healed].

A son of Obed-edom’s firstborn Shemaiah. He was assigned with his brothers as a gatekeeper caring for the storehouses on the S of the sanctuary.—1 Chron. 26:4, 7, 8, 15.

REPHAH

(Reʹphah) [possibly, rich].

An Ephraimite ancestor of Joshua.—1 Chron. 7:22-27.

REPHAIAH

(Re·phaʹiah) [Jehovah has healed].

1. Second-named son of Tola and head of a paternal house in the tribe of Issachar.—1 Chron. 7:1, 2.

2. A Benjamite descendant of King Saul and Jonathan. (1 Chron. 9:39-43) He is called Raphah at 1 Chronicles 8:37.

3. One of the four sons of Ishi who, likely during Hezekiah’s reign, led five hundred Simeonites against the Amalekites who had escaped into Mount Seir. The Simeonites then took over this territory.—1 Chron. 4:41-43.

4. A descendant of David and Zerubbabel.—1 Chron. 3:5, 9, 10, 19-21.

5. An official in Jerusalem who helped on Nehemiah’s project of repairing Jerusalem’s wall; son of Hur.—Neh. 3:9.

REPHAIM

(Rephʹa·im).

A tall people or tribe. There is uncertainty as to the meaning and origin of the name. Likely, they were called Rephaim because of being descendants of a man named Raphah. At 2 Samuel 21:16 ha-Ra·phahʹ (literally, “the Raphah”) seems to employ the father’s name to stand for the entire giant race.

At some early period the Rephaim evidently dwelt E of the Dead Sea. The Moabites, who dispossessed them, referred to the Rephaim as Emim (“frightful creatures”). The Ammonites called them Zamzummim (perhaps meaning “gibberish”). (Deut. 2:10, 11, 19, 20) When King Chedorlaomer of Elam came W to fight five rebellious kings near the Dead Sea (taking Lot captive), he defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim. (Gen. 14:1, 5) This locates the Rephaim at that time in Bashan E of the Jordan. Shortly thereafter God said that he would give Abraham’s descendants the Promised Land, which included territory where the Rephaim lived.—Gen. 15:18-20.

More than four hundred years later, just before Israel entered Canaan, “the land of the Rephaim” was still identified with Bashan. There the Israelites defeated Og the king of Bashan (Deut. 3:3, 11, 13; Josh. 12:4; 13:12), who alone “remained of what was left of the Rephaim.” It is uncertain whether this means that he was the last king of the Rephaim or that he was the last of the Rephaim in that section, for Rephaim were shortly found W of the Jordan.

In the Promised Land the Israelites had problems with the Rephaim, for some of them persisted in the forests in the mountainous region of Ephraim. The sons of Joseph were afraid to drive them away. (Josh. 17:14-18) When David was fighting the Philistines, he and his servants struck down four men “born to the Rephaim in Gath.” One of them was described as “a man of extraordinary size, whose fingers and toes were in sixes, twenty-four.” The description of their armor indicates that they were all men of great stature. One of these was “Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite.” (1 Chron. 20:4-8) This Goliath, whom David killed, was in height six cubits and a span (c. 9 feet, 6 inches; 2.9 meters). (1 Sam. 17:4-7) The account at 2 Samuel 21:16-22 reads “Goliath,” instead of “the brother of Goliath,” as at 1 Chronicles 20:5, which may indicate that there were two Goliaths.—See GOLIATH.

The Hebrew r^e·pha·ʼimʹ is used in another sense in the Bible. Sometimes it clearly applies, not to a specific people, but to those who are dead. Linking the word to a root meaning ‘to sink, relax,’ some scholars conclude that it means “sunken, powerless ones.” In texts where it has this sense the New World Translation renders it “those impotent in death,” and many other translations use renderings such as “dead things,” “deceased” and “dead.”—Job 26:5; Ps. 88:10; Prov. 2:18; 9:18; 21:16; Isa. 14:9; 26:14, 19.

REPHAIM, LOW PLAIN OF

A broad plain or valley near Jerusalem. Presumably it got its name from the tall people named the Rephaim who must have lived there at one time. It is listed as a boundary between the territories of Judah and Benjamin. (Josh. 15:1, 8; 18:11, 16) At its northern end was a mountain (or ridge) that faced the Valley of Hinnom. The traditional identification for the low plain of Rephaim is the plain of the Baqaʽ. It descends for about three miles (5 kilometers) from Jerusalem SW toward Bethlehem. Near its SW end it narows into the Wadi el Werd.

The plain’s fertility (Isa. 17:5) and its proximity to Jerusalem and Bethlehem would have made it desirable to the Philistines. (2 Sam. 23:13, 14; 1 Chron. 11:15-19) After David had been anointed as king over Israel the Philistines made raids in the low plain of Rephaim. David followed God’s directions, however, and was victorious over them.—2 Sam. 5:17-25; 1 Chron. 14:8-17.

REPHAN

(Reʹphan).

An astral deity mentioned by Stephen in his defense before the Sanhedrin. (Acts 7:43) Stephen likely quoted from the Septuagint Version the words of Amos 5:26, 27, to show that Israel’s captivity resulted from their idolatry with foreign deities, such as Rephan (Kaiwan). The translators of the Septuagint rendered “Kaiwan” as Hrai·phanʹ, but in Stephen’s quotation the designation Hrom·phaʹ appears in the Westcott and Hort Greek text. Hrai·phanʹ, as well as its variant Hrom·phaʹ, is considered to be the Egyptian designation for Saturn.—See ASTROLOGERS; KAIWAN.

REPHIDIM

(Rephʹi·dim) [expanses, stretches].

One of the places where the Israelites encamped on their journey from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai. Upon leaving the wilderness of Sin, they encamped at Dophkah, then Alush and finally Rephidim. (Ex. 17:1; Num. 33:12-14) Lacking water at Rephidim, the people complained and quarreled with Moses. At God’s direction Moses took some of the older men to “the rock in Horeb” (evidently the mountainous region of Horeb, not Mount Horeb) and struck a rock with his rod. Water flowed, apparently reaching to the people camped in Rephidim.—Ex. 17:2-7.

The Amalekites attacked the Israelites in Rephidim, but, with Joshua leading in the fighting, God’s people vanquished the attackers. (Ex. 17:8-16) The placement of the account in the record indicates that it was while the Israelites were at Rephidim that Moses’ father-in-law brought Zipporah and her two sons to Moses and suggested that he select chiefs to aid in judging the people.—Ex. 18:1-27.

The exact location of Rephidim is uncertain. The various locations offered by geographers have been determined in accord with their understanding as to the route the Israelites traveled from the wilderness of Sin to Mount Sinai. Many modern geographers identify Rephidim with a site in Wadi Refayied, not far to the NW of the traditional location of Mount Sinai. Adjacent to the wadi is a hill of the same name, on which Moses might have stood with arms elevated during the battle with the Amalekites.

REPROACH

This commonly translates the Greek noun o·nei·di·smosʹ and oʹnei·dos and the Hebrew noun hher·pahʹ. These terms carry the thought of reproach, defamation, disgrace or scorn.—Compare Genesis 30:23; Psalm 69:9; Luke 1:25; Romans 15:3.

Causes for reproach could, of course, vary according to circumstances. For an Israelite male to be uncircumcised during the period of the Law covenant would be cause for reproach. (Compare Judges 14:3.) Thus when all the males born during the wilderness journey were finally circumcised just after the crossing of the Jordan, Jehovah stated: “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.” (Josh. 5:2-9) Since the evidence indicates that the Egyptians practiced circumcision, this may mean that now the Egyptians would have no basis for reproaching Israel due to the uncircumcision of so many of its males. (Jer. 9:25, 26; see CIRCUMCISION.) On the other hand, circumcision was “a sign of the covenant” between Jehovah and Abraham’s seed. (Gen. 17:9-11) Quite probably the Israelites, during their sojourn in Egypt, had made known to the Egyptians the reason for their practicing circumcision. This would allow for the Egyptians’ having taunted and mocked them as to the apparent nonfulfillment of God’s covenant promises toward them, particularly during the period of Israelite slavery there. Now, by this circumcision of the new generation that had grown up in the wilderness (the older generation having died there), circumcision could point to a reaffirming of their covenant relationship with God. The forty years of wandering having ended, God was also showing them his favor, had introduced them into the Promised Land and would now enable them to conquer it. Therefore any past Egyptian taunts or reproach were now made without foundation, proved false. Christians under the new covenant, whether Jew or Gentile, were not subject to reproach for uncircumcision.—Rom. 2:25-29; 3:28-30; 4:9-12; 1 Cor. 7:18, 19.

For Hebrew women, continuous singleness or widowhood (Isa. 4:1; 54:4), also barrenness (Gen. 30:23; Luke 1:25), was viewed as a reproach. God’s promise concerning the Abrahamic seed and its becoming like “the grains of sand that are on the seashore” doubtless contributed to this feeling. (Gen. 22:15-18; compare 24:59, 60.) By contrast, the apostle Paul commended singleness on the part of both men and women where the motive was service to God with undivided attention and said of the widow that “she is happier if she remains as she is, according to my opinion.”—1 Cor. 7:25-28, 32-40; compare Matthew 19:10-12.

Wrongs such as idolatry, adultery, thievery and other types of immorality, however, were constant in being cause for reproach, as was all disloyalty to God.—2 Sam. 13:13; Prov. 6:32, 33; Rom. 1:18-32; 2:17-24.

Those seeking God’s approval cannot be defaming others. Concerning one who would be a guest in God’s tent, the psalmist declared: “To his companion he has done nothing bad, and no reproach has he taken up against his intimate acquaintance,” that is, he does not spread defamatory information about his intimate acquaintance. (Ps. 15:1, 3) One who defrauds the lowly one or holds him in derision actually reproaches God (Prov. 14:31; 17:5), as do those who level reproach against God’s servants. (Ps. 74:18-23) Ultimately such reproaching leads to calamity for those engaging in it.—Zeph. 2:8-10.

JEHOVAH SILENCES THE REPROACH OF HIS PEOPLE

When the Israelites engaged in false worship or in unrighteous practices, they reproached Jehovah God; for they made the worship of Jehovah appear no better than that of the nations around them. (Isa. 65:7) For their unfaithfulness God permitted calamity to befall them, causing them to become an object of reproach among the nations. (Ezek. 5:14, 15) Not appreciating that the judgment was from God, other nations attributed it to his inability to save Israel and so additional reproach was brought upon Jehovah. Therefore, in restoring the Israelites on the basis of their repentance, Jehovah cleared his name of such reproach.—Ezek. 36:15, 20, 21, 30-36.

Whenever situations arise that make it appear that