due consideration of his qualifications, lest the man fail to carry out the duties of his office properly, and Timothy thus share the blame for the difficulty caused.—1 Tim. 5:22.

THE RIGHT HAND

The right hand was considered to be of great importance, symbolically. Joseph was displeased when Jacob crossed his hands in order to lay his right hand on Ephraim, Joseph’s younger son. But Jacob did this purposely, to give Ephraim the superior blessing. (Gen. 48:13-20) To be on the right hand of a ruler was to have the most important position, next to the ruler himself (Ps. 110:1; Acts 7:55, 56; Rom. 8:34; 1 Pet. 3:22), or a position in his favor. (Matt. 25:33) Jesus is spoken of in the vision of Revelation as having the seven stars (overseers) of the seven congregations in his right hand, that is, having his favor and being under his full control, power and direction.—Rev. 1:16, 20; 2:1.

For God to take hold of one’s right hand would strengthen that one. (Ps. 73:23) Usually the right hand of a warrior was his sword-wielding hand, and it was unprotected by the shield in the left hand. Therefore, a friend would stand or fight at his right hand as an upholder and protector. This circumstance is used metaphorically with regard to God’s help and protection to those serving him.—Ps. 16:8; 109:30, 31; 110:5; 121:5.

The writer of Ecclesiastes says: “The heart of the wise is at his right hand, but the heart of the stupid at his left hand.” In other words, the wise one is motivated toward a good, favorable path, but the stupid one inclines to a bad course.—Eccl. 10:2.

DIRECTIONS

The Hebrew expressions for “right hand” and “left hand” are also translated “south” and “north,” respectively (Gen. 14:15; Ps. 89:12), since directions were reckoned from the standpoint of a person facing the E. Hence, S would be to his right.—1 Sam. 23:19, 24.

OTHER USES

“Hand” (Heb., yadh) is also used for “side” (Ex. 2:5; Eccl. 4:1), or ‘at the side of,’ (Neh. 3:4, 5, 7); for “coast” (Num 24:24); and for the “tenons” of the tabernacle panel frames. (Ex. 26:17; compare AV, margin.) The Hebrew word kaph (often rendered “hand” and “palm”) is used for cups (“spoons,” AV) of the tabernacle and of the temple (Ex. 25:29; Num. 7:84, 86; 2 Ki. 25:14) and for “socket” (of one’s thigh) or “hollow” (of a sling). (Gen. 32:25, 32; 1 Sam. 25:29) Both yadh, “hand,” and kaph, “hand” and “palm,” are variously translated by yet other English terms.

“Handfuls,” figuratively, stand for abundance (Gen. 41:47) or a “handful” may mean only a little (1 Ki. 17:12), or a modest portion (Eccl. 4:6), according to the context.

The “handbreadth” was a unit of measure. (Ex. 25:25; Ezek. 40:5) The handbreadth being small (c. 2.9 inches [c. 7.4 centimeters]), “handbreadths” stand for just a few, at Psalm 39:5, which says, “you have made my days just a few,” literally, “just handbreadths.”—See ARM; ATTITUDES AND GESTURES; THUMB; WASHING OF HANDS.

HANDBREADTH

A linear measure approximately corresponding to the width of the hand at the base of the fingers. The handbreadth is reckoned at about 2.9 inches (c. 7.4 centimeters), with four fingerbreadths equaling a handbreadth and six handbreadths a cubit. (Ex. 25:25; 37:12; 1 Ki. 7:26; 2 Chron. 4:5; Ezek. 40:5, 43; 43:13) According to Psalm 39:5, David said: “You have made my days just a few”; however, “just handbreadths” appears in the Hebrew Masoretic text. (NW, 1958 ed., ftn.) Christ Jesus similarly employed the word “cubit”: “Who of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his life span?”—Matt. 6:27.

HANDCUFFS

See BOND.

HAND MILL

See MILL.

HANDSHAKE

See ATTITUDES AND GESTURES.

HANES

(Haʹnes).

A site mentioned at Isaiah 30:4 in Jehovah’s denunciation of those seeking help from Egypt. (Isa. 30:1-5) Two principal suggestions are advanced as to the location of Hanes. Some scholars would identify it with the place now called Ahnas el-Medina. Here about sixty-nine miles (111 kilometers) S of Cairo, are found the ruins of the ancient Greek city renamed Heracleopolis Magna. Others, however, believe that the parallel expression, “his princes have come to be in Zoan itself, and his own envoys reach even Hanes,” requires a location in the Nile Delta, where Zoan is thought to have been. The Aramaic rendering of Isaiah 30:4 gives “Tahpanhes” in place of “Hanes,” and Tahpanes (Tahpanhes, Tehaphnehes) is in the Delta region.—See TAHPANES, TAHPANHES, TEHAPHNEHES.

There are also various possible meanings given to the text. Some commentators believe the “envoys” are Jewish, sent to obtain Egyptian military aid, and that these arrive at Hanes on such a mission. Others suggest that the envoys are those of Pharaoh (mentioned in the preceding verse) depicted as receiving the Jewish delegation when it reached Hanes. Whatever is the case, Jehovah showed that Egypt would be a vain source of help.—Vs. 5.

HANGING

[from Heb., ta·lahʹ, “to hang up, suspend”; compare its use at Psalm 137:2; Isaiah 22:24; Ezekiel 15:3].

Under the law given by Jehovah to Israel, certain criminals might be hung upon a stake after being put to death, as “accursed of God,” placed on public display as an example and warning. A dead person thus hung was to be taken down before nightfall and buried; leaving him on the stake all night would defile the soil given to the Israelites by God. (Deut. 21:22, 23) Israel followed this rule even if the one executed was not an Israelite.—Josh. 8:29; 10:26, 27.

The two sons and five grandsons of Saul whom David turned over to the Gibeonites for execution were not buried before nightfall. They were left in the open from the start of the barley harvest (about the latter part of April) until rain came, evidently after the harvest season was completed. The reason why the Gibeonites were allowed to follow a different procedure in this instance seems to be because a national sin had been committed by King Saul, who had put some of the Gibeonites to death, thus violating the covenant made with them by Joshua years earlier. (Josh. 9:15) Now God had caused the land to suffer a three-year famine as evidence of his anger. Therefore the bodies of the hanged ones were left exposed until Jehovah indicated that his wrath had been appeased by ending the drought period with a downpour of rain. David then had the bones of the men buried, after which “God let himself be entreated for the land.”—2 Sam. 21:1-14.

The narrative of the book of Esther reports the hanging of several persons. The same Hebrew word (ta·lahʹ) is used in each instance. It is specifically stated that Haman’s ten sons were killed by the Jews, then hung the next day. (Esther 9:7-10, 13, 14) The others hung were evidently treated in the same manner, their dead bodies being exposed on high before the public because their crimes were offenses against the king. (Esther 2:21-23; 7:9, 10) The same Hebrew word is used for the hanging of Pharaoh’s chief baker.—Gen. 40:22; 41:13.

The nations surrounding Israel were generally more cruel than the Israelites in their methods of inflicting punishment and of heaping reproach on those executed. When the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem, they inflicted cruel punishments on the nobles, hanging some of the princes by “just their hand.”—Lam. 5:12; see IMPALEMENT.

Jesus Christ was hanged alive, nailed to a stake, on order of the Roman government in Palestine. (John 20:25, 27) The apostle Paul explains that the manner of Jesus’ death was highly important to the Jews, for “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. 3:13.

In two cases of suicide recorded in the Bible strangulation by hanging was employed. Ahithophel, David’s traitorous counselor, strangled himself (“hanged himself,” LXX). (2 Sam. 17:23) Ahithophel’s action was prophetic of that of one of Jesus’ apostles who proved to be traitorous, Judas Iscariot. (Ps. 41:9; John 13:18) Judas hanged himself also. (Matt. 27:5) Apparently the rope, or perhaps a branch of the tree on which Judas hanged himself, broke, “and pitching head foremost he noisily burst in his midst and all his intestines were poured out.”—Acts 1:18.

HANNAH

(Hanʹnah) [favor, graciousness].

Mother of the prophet Samuel. Hannah lived with her Levite husband Elkanah and his other wife Peninnah in Ramathaim-zophim in the mountainous region of Ephraim. In spite of Hannah’s long barrenness, contrasted with Peninnah’s bearing several children, Hannah was still Elkanah’s more beloved wife. Peninnah taunted Hannah because of her barrenness, notably when Elkanah took his family for their yearly appearance at the tabernacle in Shiloh.—1 Sam. 1:1-8.

On one visit to Shiloh, Hannah vowed to Jehovah that, if she could bear a son, she would give him to Jehovah, for His service. Seeing her lips move as she prayed inaudibly, High Priest Eli at first suspected that she had overindulged in wine and was drunk. But on learning of her sober fervor and sincerity, he expressed the wish that Jehovah God would grant her petition. Indeed, she soon became pregnant. After giving birth to Samuel, she did not go to Shiloh again until Samuel was weaned. Then she presented him to Jehovah as she had promised, bringing an offering consisting of a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a large jar of wine. (1 Sam. 1:9-28) Each year thereafter, when she came to Shiloh, Hannah brought along a new sleeveless coat for her son. Eli again blessed her, and Jehovah again opened her womb so that in time she gave birth to three sons and two daughters.—1 Sam. 2:18-21.

Several desirable qualities are observed in Hannah. She was prayerful and humble, and had a desire to please her husband. Each year she accompanied him to sacrifice at the tabernacle. She made a great sacrifice of her own, giving up the companionship of her son, to keep her word and show appreciation for Jehovah’s kindness. She retained her motherly affection, as shown by her making a new coat for Samuel each year. The thoughts expressed in her song of thankfulness, when she and Elkanah presented Samuel for temple service, are quite similar to the sentiments voiced by Mary shortly after learning she was to mother the Messiah.—Luke 1:46-55.

HANNATHON

(Hanʹna·thon).

A boundary city of Zebulun. (Josh. 19:10, 14) Most geographers tentatively identify Hannathon with Tell el-Bedeiwiyeh, a little more than six miles (9.7 kilometers) NW of Nazareth. Others suggest el-Harbaj, at the southern end of the Plain of Acco. Hannathon appears in the records of Assyrian King Tiglath-pileser III and also in the Tell el-Amarna tablets.

HANNIEL

(Hanʹni·el) [favor of God].

1. A chieftain selected by Jehovah to represent the tribe of Manasseh in dividing the land W of the Jordan among the nine and a half Israelite tribes settling there. Hanniel was a son of Ephod and a descendant of Joseph.—Num. 34:13, 17, 23.

2. Head of an Asherite house; son of Ulla.—1 Chron. 7:30, 39, 40.

HANOCH

(Haʹnoch) [initiated, dedicated].

1. A son of Midian the fourth-named son of Abraham by Keturah.—Gen. 25:1, 2, 4; 1 Chron. 1:33.

2. A son of Jacob’s firstborn Reuben and the forefather of the Hanochites.—Gen. 46:8, 9; Ex. 6:14; Num. 26:4, 5; 1 Chron. 5:3.

HANOCHITES

(Haʹnoch·ites).

A family descended from Hanoch, a son of Reuben.—Num. 26:4, 5; Gen. 46:9.

HANUN

(Haʹnun) [favored].

1. Son of and successor to the throne of Nahash the king of Ammon. Because of the loving-kindness Nahash had exercised toward him, David sent messengers to comfort Hanun over the loss of his father. But Hanun, convinced by his princes that this was merely a subterfuge on David’s part to spy out the city, dishonored David’s servants by shaving off half their beards and cutting their garments in half to their buttocks, and then sent them away. When the sons of Ammon saw that they had become foul-smelling to David because of the humiliation meted out to his messengers, Hanun took the initiative to prepare for war and hired the Syrians to fight against Israel. In the ensuing conflicts the Ammonites and the Syrians were completely defeated by Israel; David subjected the surviving Ammonites of Rabbah to forced labor.—2 Sam. 10:1–11:1; 12:26-31; 1 Chron. 19:1–20:3.

2. One who, with the inhabitants of Zanoah, repaired the Valley Gate and part of the wall of Jerusalem.—Neh. 3:13.

3. “The sixth son of Zalaph” who did repair work on the wall of Jerusalem.—Neh. 3:30.

HAPHARAIM

(Haphʹa·raʹim).

A site on the territorial boundary of the tribe of Issachar. (Josh. 19:17-19) It cannot be identified with certainty. However, most modern geographers tentatively locate it at et-Taiyibeh, about eight miles (12.9 kilometers) NW of Beth-shean. Hapharaim also appears in a list of the Palestinian cities conquered by Egypt’s King Shishak.

HAPPINESSES

[from a form of the Hebrew ʼa·sharʹ, “to declare happy”; Greek, ma·kaʹri·os, “happy”].

Happiness is defined as “a state of well-being characterized by relative permanence, by dominantly agreeable emotion ranging in value from mere contentment to deep and intense joy in living, and by a natural desire for its continuation.” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary) It thus differs from mere pleasure, which may come about simply through chance contact and stimulation.

The happinesses described in the Psalms and Proverbs, and particularly those spoken of by Jesus Christ in his Sermon on the Mount, are often called “beatitudes” or “blessednesses.” However, “happiness” is a more exact rendering of the Bible terms used, for both Hebrew and Greek have distinct words for blessing (Heb., ba·rakhʹ, “to bless”; Gr., eu·lo·geʹo, “to speak well of, to bless”). Furthermore, “blessed” carries the thought of the action of blessing, while “happy” brings to mind the state or condition that results from the blessing of God. Many modern versions render ʼa·shar’ and ma·kaʹri·os as “happy,” “happiness.” (CKW, JB, Ph, Ro, TC, TEV, Yg, NW and other versions, English and foreign) Ma·kaʹri·os is translated “happy” in AV at Acts 26:2 and Romans 14:22.

JEHOVAH AND JESUS CHRIST

Jehovah is “the happy God” and his Son Jesus Christ is called “the happy and only Potentate.” (1 Tim. 1:11; 6:15) In spite of the fact that Jehovah’s name and sovereignty have been challenged by the introduction of wickedness in both heaven and earth