Smith's Bible Dictionary

(rest), the fourth son of Benjamin. (1 Chronicles 8:2)
Non
(fish). Nun, the father of Joshua. (1 Chronicles 7:27)
Noph
[Memphis]
Nopha
(blast), a place mentioned only in (Numbers 21:30) in the remarkable song apparently composed
by the Amorites after their conquest of Heshbon from the Moabites, and therefore of an earlier date
than the Israelite invasion. It is named with Dibon and Medeba, and was possibly in the neighborhood
of Heshbon. A name very similar to Nophah is Nobah, which is twice mentioned. Ewald decides
that Nophah is identical with the latter of these.
Nose-Jewel
(Genesis 24:22; Exodus 35:22) “earing;” (Isaiah 3:21; Ezekiel 16:12) “jewel on the forehead,”
a ring of metal, sometimes of gold or silver, passed usually through the right nostril, and worn by
way of ornament by women in the East. Upon it are strung beads, coral or jewels. In Egypt it is
now almost confined to the lower classes.
Number
Like most Oriental nations, it is probable that the Hebrews in their written calculations made
use of the letters of the alphabet. That they did so in post-Babylonian times we have conclusive
evidence in the Maccabaean coins; and it is highly probable that this was the ease also in earlier
times. But though, on the one hand, it is certain that in all existing MSS of the Hebrew text of the
Old Testament the numerical expressions are written at length, yet, on the other, the variations in
the several versions between themselves and from the Hebrew text, added to the evident
inconsistencies in numerical statement between certain passages of that text itself seems to prove
that some shorter mode of writing was originally in vogue, liable to be misunderstood, and in fact
misunderstood by copyists and translators. These variations appear to have proceeded from the
alphabetic method of writing numbers. There can be little doubt, however, that some at least of the
numbers mentioned in Scripture are intended to be representative rather than determinative. Certain
numbers, as 7,10,40,100, were regarded as giving the idea of completeness. Without entering into
St. Augustine’s theory of this usage, we may remark that the notion of representative numbers in
certain cases is one extremely common among eastern nations, who have a prejudice against counting
their possessions accurately; that it enters largely into many ancient systems of chronology, and
that it is found in the philosophical and metaphysical speculations not only of the Pythagorean and
other ancient schools of philosophy, both Greek and Roman, but also in those of the later Jewish
writers, of the Gnostics, and also of such Christian writers se St. Augustine himself. We proceed
to give some instances of numbers used, (a) representatively, and thus probably by design
indefinitely, or, (b) definitely, but, as we may say, preferentially, i.e. because some meaning (which
we do not in all cases understand) was attached to them.
•Seven as denoting either plurality or completeness, perhaps because seven days completed the
week is so frequent as to make a selection only of instances necessary, e.g. seven fold (Genesis
4:24) seven times, i.e. completely, (Leviticus 26:24; Psalms 12:6) seven (i.e. many) ways, (28:25)
•Ten as a preferential number is exemplified in the Ten Commandments and the law of tithe.