Egypt”, i.e., in a north-easterly direction from Egypt, and enters the sea
about 50 miles south-west of Gaza.
- SILAS wood, a prominent member of the church at Jerusalem; also called
Silvanus. He and Judas, surnamed Barsabas, were chosen by the church
there to accompany Paul and Barnabas on their return to Antioch from the
council of the apostles and elders (Acts 15:22), as bearers of the decree
adopted by the council. He assisted Paul there in his evangelistic labours,
and was also chosen by him to be his companion on his second missionary
tour (Acts 16:19-24). He is referred to in the epistles under the name of
Silvanus (2 Corinthians 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1; 1
Peter 5:12). There is no record of the time or place of his death. - SILK Hebrews demeshek, “damask,” silk cloth manufactured at
Damascus, Amos 3:12. A.V., “in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a
couch;” R.V., “in the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a
bed” (marg., “in Damascus on a bed”).
Hebrews meshi, (Ezekiel 16:10, 13, rendered “silk”). In Genesis 41:42
(marg. A.V.), Proverbs 31:22 (R.V., “fine linen”), the word “silk” ought to
be “fine linen.”
Silk was common in New Testament times (Revelation 18:12).
- SILLA a highway; a twig, only in 2 Kings 12:20. If taken as a proper
name (as in the LXX. and other versions), the locality is unknown. - SILOAH, THE POOL OF Hebrews shelah; i.e., “the dart”, Nehemiah
3:15; with the art. shiloah, “sending,” Isaiah 8:6 (comp. 7:3)=Siloam (q.v.) - SILOAM, POOL OF sent or sending. Here a notable miracle was
wrought by our Lord in giving sight to the blind (John 9:7-11). It has been
identified with the Birket Silwan in the lower Tyropoeon valley, to the
south-east of the hill of Zion.
The water which flows into this pool intermittingly by a subterranean
channel springs from the “Fountain of the Virgin” (q.v.). The length of this
channel, which has several windings, is 1,750 feet, though the direct
distance is only 1,100 feet. The pool is 53 feet in length from north to
south, 18 feet wide, and 19 deep. The water passes from it by a channel
cut in the rock into the gardens below. (See EN-ROGEL.)