(Isa. 57:4; Jer. 18:18), but their failure is certain.—Prov. 10:31.

Jehovah promised to make tongues formerly stammering “quick in speaking clear things,” and to cause speechless tongues to “cry out in gladness.” (Isa. 32:4; 35:6) When Jesus was on earth he healed literally speechless persons, or those with some speech impediment. (Mark 7:33-37) The time will come when every tongue will speak right things, for Jehovah declares that every tongue will swear to Him. The apostle Paul reveals that this will be done through Jesus Christ, when he says that every tongue will “openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”—Phil. 2:11; Isa. 45:23; Rom. 14:11.

Jehovah symbolically describes himself as having a tongue that he will use in his anger, “like a devouring fire.” (Isa. 30:27) At Pentecost, when Jesus Christ poured out holy spirit on some 120 disciples gathered in a room in Jerusalem, it was made manifest audibly by their speaking in different tongues and visibly by a tongue as if of fire sitting upon each one of them.—Acts 2:3, 4.

TONGUES, SPEAKING IN

See GIFTS FROM GOD (Tongues).

TOPAZ

The variety used for gemstones is a hard, transparent, crystalline mineral composed of aluminum fluosilicate. It is harder than quartz and is often found in cavities of granitic rocks. Topaz may be colorless but it also occurs in a great range of colors that include white, yellow, light brown, pinkish red, and sometimes pale green or blue. The most popular shade is wine-yellow. The name “topaz” is from the Greek word to·paʹzi·on, which alludes to the Topaz Island situated in the Red Sea where the Greeks obtained the topazes familiar to Pliny the Elder and other early writers. The book of Job links topaz with Cush, a region that bordered the Red Sea.

A topaz was among the precious stones on the “breastpiece of judgment” worn by High Priest Aaron. It was set as the middle stone in the first row of gems, and engraved upon it was the name of one of Israel’s twelve tribes. (Ex. 28:2, 15, 17, 21; 39:10) The foundations of “the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God . . . were adorned with every sort of precious stone,” the ninth foundation being topaz.—Rev. 21:2, 19, 20.

TOPHEL

(Toʹphel) [lime].

A site mentioned with others as an aid in locating the place where Moses addressed the Israelites shortly before his death.—Deut. 1:1.

TOPHETH

(Toʹpheth) [perhaps, place of burning].

A place outside Jerusalem. There, for a considerable period, unfaithful Israelites, including Ahaz and Manasseh, engaged in child sacrifice. Finally, King Josiah made it unfit for worship. (2 Ki. 23:16; 2 Chron. 28:3; 33:6; Jer. 7:31-33; 19:3-14; 32:35; see HINNOM, VALLEY OF) Topheth probably occupied a section of the eastern part of the Valley of Hinnom near the Gate of the Potsherds. (Jer. 19:2, 6, 14) At Isaiah 30:33 Topheth is used figuratively as a place of burning with fire, to represent the destruction that was to come upon Assyria.

TORCH

A light usually carried in the hand and often consisting either of a burning stick of resinous wood or of a stick wrapped with an absorbent material that has been soaked with oil and ignited.—Gen. 15:17; Judg. 7:16, 20; 15:4; Isa. 62:1; Ezek. 1:13; Dan. 10:6; Nah. 2:4; John 18:3.

TORMENT

The Greek word ba·sa·niʹzo (and related forms) occurs nearly twenty times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. It basically meant ‘to test by the proving stone [baʹsa·nos]’ and, by extension, ‘to examine or question by applying torture.’ Lexicographers point out that in the Christian Greek Scriptures it is used with the sense of ‘to vex with grievous pains; to be harassed, distressed.’—Matt. 8:29; Luke 8:28; Rev. 12:2.

The Bible used ba·sa·niʹzo in a number of instances. For example, a manservant afflicted with paralysis was “terribly tormented” (NW) or “racked with pain” (NE) by it. (Matt. 8:6; compare 4:24.) Also, Lot “used to torment his soul” (Ro) or “was vexed” (Mo, RS) by the lawless deeds of the people of Sodom. (2 Pet. 2:8) The word is even used in regard to the difficult progress of a boat.—Matt. 14:24; Mark 6:48.

The Greek noun ba·sa·ni·stesʹ occurring at Matthew 18:34 is rendered “jailers” in some translations (AT, Fn, NW; compare verse 30) and “tormentors” or “torturers” in others. (AS, AV, JB) Torture was sometimes used in prisons to obtain information (compare Acts 22:24, 29, which shows that this was done, although ba·sa·niʹzo is not used here), so ba·sa·ni·stesʹ came to be applied to jailers. Regarding its use by Jesus at Matthew 18:34, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Vol. V, p. 2999) observes: “Probably the imprisonment itself was regarded as ‘torment’ (as it doubtless was), and the ‘tormentors’ need mean nothing more than jailers.” Thus, the mentioning in Revelation 20:10 of ones who will be “tormented day and night forever and ever” evidently indicates that they will be in a condition of restraint.—See LAKE OF FIRE.

Some commentators have pointed to Biblical instances of the word “torment” to support the teaching of eternal suffering in fire. However, as just indicated, there is Scriptural reason to believe that Revelation 20:10 does not have that sense. In fact, verse 14 shows that the “lake of fire” in which the torment occurs, actually means “the second death.” And though Jesus spoke of “a certain rich man” as “existing in torments” (Luke 16:23, 28), the article LAZARUS (No. 2) shows that Jesus was not describing the literal experience of a real person, but, rather, was setting forth an illustration. Revelation provides a number of other instances where “torment” clearly has an illustrative or symbolic sense, as is evident from context.—Rev. 9:5; 11:10; 18:7, 10.

TORRENT VALLEY

The Hebrew word naʹhhal may denote either the valley through which a stream flows (Gen. 26:19; 2 Ki. 3:16; Job 30:6; Song of Sol. 6:11) or the stream itself. (1 Ki. 17:4; Ps. 110:7) Regarding the word naʹhhal A. P. Stanley, in his book Sinai and Palestine, page 590, observes: “No English word is exactly equivalent, but perhaps ‘torrent-bed’ most nearly expresses it.” A recent Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon by Koehler and Baumgartner lists “torrent valley” as one of its definitions.

The Promised Land is described as “a land of torrent valleys of water, springs and watery deeps issuing forth in the valley plain and in the mountainous region.” (Deut. 8:7) Some of the streams are fed by springs and are therefore perennial, whereas others are torrents during the rainy season but dry up completely during the rainless season. (1 Ki. 17:7; 18:5) Faithful Job compared the treacherous dealings of his brothers toward him to a winter torrent that dries up in the summer.—Job 6:15.

Among the torrent valleys mentioned in the Bible are those of the Arabah (Amos 6:14), Arnon (Deut. 2:36), Besor (1 Sam. 30:9), Cherith (1 Ki. 17:3), Egypt (Josh. 15:4), Eshcol (Num. 13:23), Gerar (Gen. 26:17), Jabbok (Deut. 2:37), Kanah (Josh. 16:8), Kidron (2 Sam. 15:23), Kishon (Judg. 4:7), Sorek (Judg. 16:4) and Zerad.—Deut. 2:13; see the torrent valleys under their respective names.

TORTURE STAKE

An instrument such as that on which Jesus Christ met death by impalement. (Matt. 27:32-40; Mark 15:21-30; Luke 23:26; John 19:17-19, 25) In classical Greek the word (stau·rosʹ) rendered “torture stake” in the New World Translation primarily denotes an upright stake or pole, and there is no evidence that the writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures used it to designate a stake with a crossbeam.—See IMPALEMENT; Kingdom Interlinear Translation, pages 1155-1157.

The book The Non-Christian Cross (pp. 23, 24), by John Denham Parsons, states: “There is not a single sentence in any of the numerous writings forming the New Testament, which, in the original Greek, bears even indirect evidence to the effect that the stauros used in the case of Jesus was other than an ordinary stauros; much less to the effect that it consisted, not of one piece of timber, but of two pieces nailed together in the form of a cross.

“. . . it is not a little misleading upon the part of our teachers to translate the word stauros as ‘cross’ when rendering the Greek documents of the Church into our native tongue, and to support that action by putting ‘cross’ in our lexicons as the meaning of stauros without carefully explaining that that was at any rate not the primary meaning of the word in the days of the Apostles, did not become its primary signification till long afterwards, and became so then, if at all, only because, despite the absence of corroborative evidence, it was for some reason or other assumed that the particular stauros upon which Jesus was executed had that particular shape.”

WHY JESUS HAD TO DIE ON A STAKE

At the time Jehovah God gave his law to the Israelites, they obligated themselves to abide by its terms. (Ex. 24:3) However, as descendants of sinner Adam, they were unable to do so perfectly. For this reason they came under the curse of the Law. To remove this special curse from them, Jesus had to be hanged on a stake like an accursed criminal. Concerning this the apostle Paul wrote: “All those who depend upon works of law are under a curse; for it is written: ‘Cursed is every one that does not continue in all the things written in the scroll of the Law in order to do them.’ . . . Christ by purchase released us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us, because it is written: ‘Accursed is every man hanged upon a stake.’”—Gal. 3:10-13.

FIGURATIVE USE

“Torture stake” sometimes stands for the sufferings, shame or torture experienced because of being a follower of Jesus Christ. As Jesus said: “Whoever does not accept his torture stake and follow after me is not worthy of me.” (Matt. 10:38; 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; 14:27) The expression “torture stake” is also used in such a way as to represent Jesus’ death upon the stake, by means of which redemption from sin and reconciliation with God are made possible.—1 Cor. 1:17, 18.

Jesus’ death on the torture stake was the basis for removing the Law, which had separated the Jews from the non-Jews. Therefore, by accepting the reconciliation made possible by Jesus’ death, both Jews and non-Jews could become “one body to God through the torture stake.” (Eph. 2:11-16; Col. 1:20; 2:13, 14) This proved to be a stumbling block for many Jews, since they insisted that circumcision and adherence to the Mosaic law were essential for gaining God’s approval. That is why the apostle Paul wrote: “Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? Then, indeed, the stumbling block of the torture stake has been abolished.” (Gal. 5:11) “All those who want to make a pleasing appearance in the flesh are the ones that try to compel you to get circumcised, only that they may not be persecuted for the torture stake of the Christ, Jesus. Never may it occur that I should boast, except in the torture stake of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been impaled to me and I to the world.” (Gal. 6:12, 14) By confessing Jesus’ death on the torture stake as the sole basis for gaining salvation, Paul was persecuted by the Jews. As a consequence of this confession, the world was as something impaled, condemned or dead, to the apostle, whereas the world viewed him with hatred, as a criminal impaled on a stake.

Persons who embraced Christianity but afterward turned to an immoral way of life proved themselves to be “enemies of the torture stake of the Christ.” (Phil. 3:18, 19) Their actions demonstrated that they had no appreciation for the benefits resulting from Jesus’ death on the torture stake. They “trampled upon the Son of God” and ‘esteemed as of ordinary value the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified.’—Heb. 10:29.

TOW

Coarse, short fibers of flax, jute or hemp that are separated therefrom and used in spinning. Tow will burn readily. When Delilah bound Samson with moist sinews, he easily tore them in two, “just as a twisted thread of tow is torn in two when it smells fire.” (Judg. 16:8, 9) Jehovah decreed that among his ancient people the wicked and their works would perish together, saying: “The vigorous man will certainly become tow, and the product of his activity a spark; and both of them will certainly go up in flames at the same time, with no one to do the extinguishing.”—Isa. 1:24, 31.

TOWER

The history of tower building goes back to the time shortly after the Flood when men on the plains of Shinar declared: “Come on! Let us build ourselves a city and also a tower with its top in the heavens.” (Gen. 11:2-4) That tower is thought to have been styled along the oblique pyramid lines of the religious ziggurats discovered in that part of the earth.—See BABEL.

Simple towers were built in vineyards as vantage points for watchmen in guarding the vines against thieves and animals.—Isa. 5:1, 2; Matt. 21:33; Mark 12:1.

For military defense, towers were built into the walls of cities, usually with more prominent ones at the corners and flanking the gates. (2 Chron. 26:9; 32:5; Ezek. 26:4, 9; Zeph. 1:16; 3:6) In some instances towers served as a chain of outposts along a frontier, or as places of refuge in isolated areas for shepherds and others.—2 Chron. 26:10; 27:4; see FORTIFICATIONS.

Often a tower inside the city served as a citadel. The towers of Shechem, Thebez and Penuel were such structures. (Judg. 8:9, 17; 9:46-54) Ruins of other city towers have also been found in Jericho, Beth-shan, Lachish, Megiddo, Mizpah and Samaria.

“Migdol,” meaning “tower” (Ezek. 29:10; 30:6), forms part of the name of certain places (Migdal-gad [“tower of good fortune”], Migdal-el [“tower of God”]).—Josh. 15:37; 19:38.

Siege towers on occasion were built by the attacking armies when assaulting fortified cities. These served as elevated firing positions for archers or throwers. Also, some assault towers contained battering rams and provided protection for those operating the rams.—Isa. 23:13.

JERUSALEM’S TOWERS

The Tower of the Bake Ovens was located on the NW side of the city near or at the Corner Gate. (Neh. 3:11; 12:38) Why it was so named is not certain, but quite possibly commercial bakers were present in that vicinity. It may have been one of the towers built by Uzziah, who reigned in Jerusalem from 829 to 777 B.C.E. (2 Chron. 26:9) Along the N wall of the city were two other important towers. Situated at the most northerly point of the wall was the Tower of Hananel. (Zech. 14:10) It too was restored and sanctified in Nehemiah’s day. (Neh. 3:1; 12:39; Jer. 31:38; see diagram on page 625.) Close by it and to the E near the Sheep Gate was the Tower of Meah. Why it was called Meah, meaning “hundred,” is not known.—Neh. 3:1; 12:39.

Along the E wall S of the temple area was the Protruding Tower, and still farther S somewhere in the vicinity of David’s palace, was the Tower of the King’s House near the Courtyard of the Guard.