doubt as to its being an ordinary occurrence in the winter months. (Psalms 147:16; 148:8) The snow
lies deep in the ravines of the highest ridge of Lebanon until the summer is far advanced and indeed
never wholly disappears; the summit of Hermon also perpetually glistens with frozen snow. From
these sources probably the Jews obtained their supplies of ice for the purpose of cooling their
beverages in summer. (Proverbs 25:13) The liability to snow must of course vary considerably in
a country of such varying altitude as Palestine. At Jerusalem snow often falls to the depth of a foot
or more in january or February, but it seldom lies. At Nazareth it falls more frequently and deeply,a
nd it has been observed to fall even in the maritime plain of Joppa and about Carmel.
So
“So, king of Egypt,” is once mentioned in the Bible— (2 Kings 17:4) So has been identified
by different writers with the first and second kings of the Ethiopian twenty-fifth dynasty, called by
Manetho, Sabakon (Shebek) and Sebichos (Shebetek).
Soap
The Hebrew term borith is a general term for any substance of cleansing qualities. As, however,
it appears in (Jeremiah 2:22) in contradistinction to nether, which undoubtedly means “natron” or
mineral alkali, it is fair to infer that borith refers to vegetable alkali, or some kind of potash, which
forms one of the usual ingredients in our soap. Numerous plants capable of yielding alkalies exist
in Palestine and the surrounding countries; we may notice one named hubeibeh (the Salsola kali
of botanists) found near the Dead Sea, the ashes of which are called el-kuli, from their strong
alkaline properties.
Socho
(bushy). (1 Chronicles 4:18) Probably one of the towns called Socoh, in Judah, though which
of the two cannot be ascertained.
Sochoh
another form of the name which is more correctly given in the Authorized version as Socoh.
The present one occurs in (1 Kings 4:10) and is therefore probably, though not certainly, Socoh,
- Socoh
the name of two towns in the tribe of Judah.
•In the district of the Shefelah. (Joshua 15:35; 1 Samuel 17:1; 2 Chronicles 11:7; 8:18) In the time
of Eusebius it bore the name of Socchoth, and lay between eight and nine Roman miles from
Eleutheropolis, on the road to Jerusalem. It may be identified with esh-Shuweikeh, in the western
part of the mountains of Judah. From this village probably came Antigonus of Soco, who lived
about the commencement of the third century B.C.
•Also a town of Judah, but in the mountain district. (Joshua 15:48) It has been discovered about
10 miles southwest of Hebron; bearing, like the other Socoh, the name of esh-Shuweikeh.
Sodi
(intimate), the father of Geddiel, the spy selected from the tribe of Zebulun. (Numbers 13:10)
(B.C. 1490.)
Sodom
(burning), one of the most ancient cities of Syria. It is commonly mentioned in connection with
Gomorrah, but also with Admah and Zeboim, and on one occasion— (Genesis 14:1) ...—with Bela
or Zoar. Sodom was evidently the chief town in the settlement. The four are first named in the
ethnological records of (Genesis 10:19) as belonging to the Canaanites. The next mention of the