ROMAN EMPIRE 10:2, 6; R. V. "whirlwind" in Psa. 77:18) occurs in Isa. 17:13 "like a rolling thing before the whirlwind" Thomson, (Land and Book, ii, 357), describes some peculiarities of the wild artichoke, "it throws out numerous branches of equal size and length in all directions, forming a sort of sphere or globe a foot or more in diameter. When ripe and dry in autumn these branches become rigid and light as a feather, the parent stem breaks off at the ground, and the wind carries these vegetable globes whithersoever it pleases." He concludes that this is the rolling thing mentioned in Isaiah. Delitzsch (Com., in loc.) renders it "like a cloud of dust before the gale." The A. V. has in the margin, "thistle down," and the R. V. "the whirlwind dust before the storm." ROMAM'TI-EʼZER (Heb. 2, romam'-tee-eh'-zer, I have raised a help), one of the sons of Heman the seer. In the arrangement of the temple service by David, Romamti-ezer was appointed chief of the twenty-fourth section, consisting of twelve persons of his family (1 Chron. 25:4, 31), B. C. a little before 960. broken limb, for the purpose of healing it. In surgery, a roller is a long strip of muslin or other webbing, rolled up for convenience, and unrolled in using. "I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and, lo! it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it," etc. (Ezek. 30:21). The arm is a figurative expression here for military power, as it wields the sword. God broke the arm of Pharaoh by the defeat at the hands of the Chaldeans. And that it should remain unbandaged means that his power was not to be restored. ROLLING THING (Heb. 3, gal-gal', rendered "wheel" in Psa. 83:13; Isa. 5:28; Ezek. RO'MAN (Gr. 'Papaios, hro-mah'-yos), a citizen of the Roman empire (Acts 22:25, sq.; 23:27). See CITIZENSHIP, 2. RO'MAN EMPIRE, the government of the Romans under the emperors, beginning with Augustus. The following is mostly taken from Smith's Bible Dictionary: 1. Its Inauguration. By the victory of of the Roman world; but he shrank from taking Actium, Octavianus became the undisputed master the name of king or dictator, which were odious to the Roman people. But he long before had taken the title of Caesar, and now allowed himself. to be called Augustus, retaining the old official ROMAN EMPIRE title of imperator. He was in theory simply the first citizen of the republic, intrusted with temporary powers to settle the disorders of the state. The empire was nominally elective, but practically it passed by adoption, and till Nero's time a sort of hereditary right seemed to be recognized. ROME of time had come" (Gal. 4:4). The general peac within the limits of the empire, the formation of military roads, the suppression of piracy, the maret of the legions, the voyages of the corn fleets, the general increase of traffic, the spread of the Latin language in the West as Greek had already spread in the East, the external unity of the empire, offered facilities hitherto unknown for the spread of a world-wide religion. The tendency, too, of a despotism like that of the Roman empire to reduce 2. Extent. Before the conquests of Pompey and Cæsar the Roman empire was confined to a narrow strip encircling the Mediterranean Sea. Pompey added Asia Minor and Syria; Cesar added Gaul. The generals of Augustus overran the north-all its subjects to a dead level, was a powerful inwestern portion of Spain and the country between the Alps and the Danube. The boundaries were now the Atlantic on the west, the Euphrates on the east, the deserts of Africa, the cataracts of the Nile, and the Arabian deserts on the south, the British Channel, the Rhine, the Danube, and the Black Sea on the north. The only subsequent conquests of importance were those of Britain by Claudius and Dacia by Trajan. The population of the empire at the time of Augustus has been calculated at eighty-five million. strument in breaking down the pride of privileged races and national religions, and familiarizing men with the truth that "God hath made of one blood all nations on the face of the earth” (Acts 17:24, 26). But still more striking than this outward preparation for the diffusion of the Gospel was the appearance of a deep and widespread corruption which seemed to defy any human remedy. The chief prophetic notices of the Ro man empire are found in the Book of Daniel. According to some interpreters the Romans are intended in Deut. 28:49-57. RO'MANS, EPISTLE TO. See BIBLE, BOOKS OF. 1. The Founding. The origin of the city is mythological rather than historical. Romulus, its founder and first king, was the traditional son of Mars, and was preserved, when outcast by his cruel relatives, through the kind attention of a wolf and a shepherd's wife. 3. The Provinces. The usual fate of a country conquered by Rome was to become a subject province, governed directly from Rome by officers sent out for that purpose. Sometimes, ROME (Lat. Roma; Gr. 'Póun, hro'-may, however, petty sovereigns were left in possession strength), the most famous city of the world. of a nominal independence on the borders, or Its history touches every community of men, and within the natural limits, of the province. There is immensely fabulous and traditional as well as were differences, too, in the political condition of substantial. It has reached the extremes of civilcities within the provinces. Some were free cities, ization and of moral corruption, and has been i. e., were governed by their own magistrates, and preeminent in art and science as well as in spiritwere exempted from occupation by a Roman gar-ual tyranny. Its name was once a synonym for rison. Other cities were 'colonies," i. e., com- political power and territorial expansion. munities of Roman citizens transplanted, like garrisons of the imperial city, into a foreign land. Augustus divided the provinces into two classes: (1) Imperial, (2) Senatorial; retaining in his own hands, for obvious reasons, those provinces where the presence of a large military force was necessary, and committing the peaceful and unarmed The foundation of Rome dates from 753 B. C. provinces to the Senate. The imperial provinces It takes its name, according to Cicero, from the at first were: Gaul, Lusitania, Syria, Phoenicia, | name of its founder, Romulus. It was located Cilicia, Cyprus, and Egypt. The senatorial prov-upon marshy ground, by the river Tiber, in Italy, inces were: Africa, Numidia, Asia, Achaia and and about seventeen miles from the Mediterranean Epirus, Dalmatia, Macedonia, Sicily, Crete and Cyrene, Bithynia and Pontus, Sardinia, Bætica. Cyprus and Gallia Narbonensis were subsequently given up by Augustus, who in turn received Dalmatia from the Senate. Many other changes were made afterward. The New Testament writers Originally the settlement of Rome was confined invariably designate the governors of senatorial to the Palatine hill, but before the reign of the provinces by the correct title of avoiлarot, pro-founder, Romulus, ended, the Capitoline and the consuls (Acts 13:7; 18:12; 19:38). For the governor of an imperial province, properly styled "Legatus Cæsaris," the word 'Hy suv (Governor) is used in the New Testament. The provinces were heavily taxed for the benefit of Rome and her citizens. They are said to have been better governed under the empire than under the commonwealth, and those of the emperor better than those The original wall of Rome was so insignificant of the Senate. Two important changes were in- that it was ridiculed by Remus, the brother of troduced under the empire. The governors re- Romulus. For this he was killed. The people ceived a fixed pay, and the term of their command whom Romulus induced at the first to live within was prolonged. The condition of the Roman em- the wall of Rome were fugitives, criminals, and pire at the time when Christianity appeared has foreigners. As an asylum for outlaws it was often been dwelt upon, as affording obvious illus-shunned by the neighboring inhabitants. Matritrations of St. Paul's expression that the "fullness monial proffers were declined by respectable peo Sea, into which the Tiber flows. The Tiber itself, which flows within the walls to the distance of three miles, is navigable only for small provision boats, and after heavy rains it rises twenty feet, inundating the low part of the city. Quirinal mounts were added. The Cælian hill was added by Tullus Hostilius, and the Aventine by Ancus Martius, and the Esquiline and the Viminal were added by Servius Tullius, who inclosed the whole seven hills with a stone wall. Hence it has been called Urbs Septicollis, "the city of the seven hills." ROME ple. Wives were secured by strategy. They were captured by force from a great company of the Sabines, who had come to witness a show. By a compromise the Sabines afterward came to Rome and became joint occupants of the city. After a reign of thirty-nine years, in 714 B. C., Romulus, who suddenly disappeared, was reported to have been taken up to heaven. Divine honors were paid to him under the name of Quirinus. He was ranked by the Romans among the twelve great deities. A temple was erected in his honor, and a priest, called Flamen Quirinalis, was appointed to offer him sacrifices. 2. Monarchy. The monarchical government existed under seven princes, in the following order: Romulus, B. C. 753; after one year's interregnum, Numa, 715; Tullus Hostilius, 672; Ancus convened or dismissed it at pleasure. The authority of the consuls was equal. They appeared alternately in public invested with the symbols of authority, and preceded by the lictors. The Romans reckoned their years by the names of their consuls, until the consular office was (541 A. D.) abolished by Justinian, for it had become a mere title without dignity or authority. The consular period was characterized by party struggles between the Patricians and the Plebeians. Step by step the common people gained privileges, until the plebeian legionaries, just returned from a victorious campaign, instead of obeying orders to march against the Volsci and Equi, intrenched themselves at Mons Sacer, three miles from the city, and defied the Patricians. Compromise resulted in the office of the tribune, chosen from the Martius, 640; Tarquin Priscus, 616; Servius Tul- | Plebeians; at first two, then five, and then, by the lius, 578; and Tarquin the Proud, 534, expelled twenty-five years later, B. C. 509. This has been called the period of the infancy of the Roman empire. Each ruler left his impress. One was employed in regulating the forms of worship, another in enforcing discipline in the army and increasing the importance of the soldiers, while another devoted himself to enlarging and beautifying the public buildings and fortifying the defenses. 3. The Republic. The final abolition of the kingly office and the rule of alien princes was followed by a period of government under the consuls. Two consuls were elected annually from the patrician families-until B. C. 367, when L. Sextius was created first plebeian consul-and together possessed full kingly authority. The candidate for the consulship was required to be fortythree years of age, and he must have discharged beforehand the inferior functions of questor, edile, and pretor. In the case of Scipio, Martius, Pompey, and Augustus, these rules were disregarded. A consul presided over the Senate and year B. C. 449, ten. The power of the tribune became formidable enough to lead the senators to repent of the concession when too late. The office remained till Augustus, to meet the case, conferred the power of tribune upon himself, whence he was called tribunitia potestate donatus. His successors followed his example until the power of the tribune, as an offset to imperialism, was lost. Under Constantine the office was formally abolished. 4. Empire. With the battle of Actium Octavianus was invested with the title of Augustus, to which was added the title "Imperator," or emperor. This brings Rome into relations with the sacred history of the world. In the reign of Augustus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, and in the reign of his successor, Tiberius, Christ was crucified on Calvary. The successive emperors were among the worst of mankind. One after another they miserably perished in the midst of conspiracy and shame, or died by their own hands. The history of Rome, politically and morally, from Tiberius, in 37 A. D., to the reign of Constantine, ROME in 313 A. D., when the edict in favor of the Christian religion was issued, was lamentably bad. 5. Religion. The religion of Rome was pagan, and immensely superstitious. The altars and temples were erected not only to the deities whom they supposed presided over their own city, but they built temples in honor of the gods of the people whom they conquered in their many wars. There were no less than four hundred and twenty temples dedicated to idolatry in Rome. 6. Scripture Notice. "Rome is not mentioned in the Bible except in the books of Maccabees and in three books of the New Testament, viz., the Acts, the Epistle to the Romans, and the Second Epistle to Timothy. The conquests of Pompey seem to have given rise to the first settlement of Jews at Rome. The Jewish king Aristobulus and his son formed part of Pompey's triumph, and many Jewish captives and emigrants were brought to Rome at that time. Many of these Jews were made freedmen. Julius Cæsar showed them some kindness. They were favored also by Augustus. Claudius 'commanded all Jews to depart from Rome' (Acts 18:2), on account of tumults conuected, possibly, with the preaching of Christianity at Rome. This banishment cannot have been of long duration, for we find Jews residing at Rome apparently in considerable numbers at the time of St. Paul's visit (28:17). It is chiefly in connection with St. Paul's history that Rome comes before us in the Bible. The localities in and about Rome especially connected with the life of St. Paul, are: 1. The Appian way, by which he approached the city (28:15). 2. The palace,' or 'Cæsar's court' (Phil. 1:13). This may mean either the great camp of the pretorian guards which Tiberius established outside the walls on the northeast of the city, or, as seems more probable, a barrack attached to the imperial residence on the Palatine. The connection of other localities at Rome with St. Paul's name rests only on traditions of more or less probability. We may mention especially: 1. The Mamertine prison, forum. or Tullianum, built by Ancus Martius, near the It still exists beneath the church of S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami. Here it is said that St. Peter and St. Paul were fellow-prisoners for nine months. The story, however, of the imprisonment in the Mamertine prison seems inconsistent with 2 Tim., especially 4:11. 2. The chapel on the Ostian road which marks the spot where the two apostles are said to have separated on their way to martyrdom. 3. The supposed scene of St. Paul's martyrdom, viz., the church of St. Paolo alle tre fontane, on the Ostian road. To these may be added, 4. The supposed scene of St. Peter's martyrdom, viz., the church of St. Pietro in Montorio, on the Janiculum. 5. The chapel Domine quo Vadis,' on the Appian road, the scene of the beautiful legend of our Lord's appearance to St. Peter as he was escaping from martyrdom. 6. The places where the bodies of the two apostles, after having been deposited first in the catacombs, are supposed to have been finally buried-that of Paul by the Ostian road, that of Peter beneath the dome of the famous basilica which bears his name" (Smith, Bib. Dict., s. v.). ROOT reader is the relation of the Roman government Figurative. To receive one under the shelter of the roof represents hospitality; in the case of Lot so greatly estimated that he was willing to sacrifice his duty as a father to maintain it (Gen. 19:8); and by the centurion considered too great an honor for him to receive the Lord as a guest (Matt. 8:8). frequently used in the present sense of place or "The highest room," as at a wedding (Luke 14: ) is the rendering of the Gr. πрwτok^icia (protok-lis-ce-ah, the first reclining place), the chief place at the table. The relative rank of the several places at table varied among Persians, Greeks, and Romans. What arrangement was current among the Jews in Christ's day is thus set forth by Edersheim (Jesus the Messiah, ii, p. 207, sq.): that the uppermost seats were occupied by the "In regard to the position of the guests, we know rabbis. The Talmud formulates it in this manner: That the worthiest lies down first, on his left side, with his feet stretching back. If there are two above him, at his left hand; if there are three 'cushions' (divans) the next worthiest reclines cushions the third worthiest lies below him who had laid down first (at his right), so that the chief person is in the middle." ROOT (Heb., shoʻ-resh ; Gr. píza, hriď. zah). Figurative. From the important relation which the root bears to the plant we have in Scripture many beautiful and forceful illustrations taken therefrom. Thus: 1. The root of a family is the progenitor from whom the race derives its name; thus, "Out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice" One of the chief matters of interest to the Bible (Isa. 14:29), meaning that though the Davidic ROW, ROWERS. See SHIP. RUBIES. See MINERAL KINGDOM; PRECIOUS STONES. kingdom was broken down by the Syro-Ephraimit-separate shelves, under which cooking hearths ish war, another would arise to be a scourge to were placed. Israel's oppressors. Messiah is called a root of Jesse" (11:10), as containing its sap and strength in his divine capacity (comp. Rev. 5:5; and 22:16, as "the root and the offspring of David," referring to both his divine and human nature). The progenitor of a race is also called its root (Prov. 12:3). 2. Root means the essential cause of anything; as "the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10; comp. Heb. 12:15, "lest any root of bitterness spring up "). 3. "Rooted" means firmly established, "being rooted and grounded in love" (Eph. 3:17; comp. Col. 2:7); also "to take root" (Job 5:3; Psa. 80: 9," to take deep root; " Isa. 27:6; 37:31; 40:24), 4. Opposed to this is "to root up," or "out," which has the sense of to destroy, remove (1 Kings 14:15; Job 31:12; Psa. 52:5; Jer. 1:10; Luke 17:6, "pluck up by the root"). open to 5. The roots of a plant being near water is symbolic of prosperity; "my root was spread out by the waters" (Job 29:19); literally " water," and so never lacking. Ezekiel (31:7) says of Assyria, "His root was by great waters," which accounted for " the length of his branches." The opposite figure is of a "root dried up" (Hos. 9:16). 6. A root waxed old in the earth" (Job 14:8) denotes loss of vitality; while of sinners it is said, "Their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust" (Isa. 5:24). 7. Of our Lord in his humiliation, it was said, "He shall grow up as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground" (Isa. 53:2), “both figures depicting the lowly and unattractive character of the small though vigorous beginning, the miserable character of the external circumstances in the midst of which the birth and growth of the servant had taken place” (Delitzsch, Com., in loc.). ROPE, ROPEMAKERS. See HANDICRAFTS. ROSH (Heb. , roshe, the head). In the genealogy of Gen. 46:21, Rosh is reckoned among the sons of Benjamin, but the name does not occur elsewhere, and it is extremely probable that "Ehi and Rosh" (NN) is a corruption of "Ahiram" (comp. Num. 26:38). ROT, ROTTEN, ROTTENNESS, the rendering of several Hebrew words, used mostly figuratively. Job says (13:28) that "he, as a rotten thing, consumeth;" i. e., that which is worm-eaten, droppeth to pieces, a symbol of gradual decay. Brass and "rotten wood" are contrasted together (Job 41:27), as representing strength and weakness. "The name of the wicked | shall rot (Prov. 10:7) is illustrative of the speedy oblivion into which they go. "Rottenness in the bones (Prov. 12:4; 14:30; Hab. 3:16), in the Proverbs means an incurable disease, robbing one of power; in Habakkuk great terror. ROUME. See GLOSSARY (ROOM). RUDDER. See SHIP RUDDY (Heb. aw-dam', to be red). 16: 12; 17:42), and mean red-haired. the complexion. This view is confirmed by the application of kindred words, as "Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies" (Lam. 4:7); and "My beloved is white and ruddy" (Cant. 5:10), who is immediately described as blackhaired (v. 11). 7, ad-mo-nee', from DIN, Applied to David (1 Sam. understood by many to It seems rather to refer to RUDE. Paul, in 2 Cor. 11:6, writes, "But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge." The Greek term idións (id-ee-o'-tace) means properly a private person, as opposed to a magistrate. In the New Testament it means an unlearned, illiterate, as opposed to the learned, the educated "Rude in (Acts 4:18, rendered “unlearned”). speech," i. e., in respect to speech, means un trained in the art. RUFUS (Gr. 'Povoos, hroo'-fos, red), brother of Alexander, and son of Simon the Cyrenian, whom the Jews compelled to bear the cross of Jesus when on his way to the crucifixion (Mark 15:21). Rufus is included by the apostle Paul (Rom. 16:13) among those in Rome to whom he this Rufus is identical with the one mentioned by sends salutations. It is generally supposed that Mark, and yet, as this was a common name, they may be different individuals. RUHA'MAH (Heb. 7, from raw kham', to obtain mercy), a figurative title applied to the daughter of the prophet Hosea, signifying that God had restored Israel to favor (Hos. 2:1), on condition of their repenting and returning to him. Both Peter (1 Pet. 2:10) and Paul (Rom. 9:25, 26) quote this prophecy with evident application to the Gentiles, as well as Jews. Through its apostasy from God, Israel had become like the Gentiles, and had fallen from the covenant of grace consequently the readoption of the Israelites as the children of God was a practical proof that God had also adopted the Gentile world as his children" (K. and D., Com.). RUIN, the rendering of very expressive Hehrew terms: ROW (Heb., tee-raw', usually a wall). In 1. Derivatives from Heb. (Naw-falʼ, to Ezek. 46:23 we have the following: "It was made fall), the ruin of a city by dilapidation, separating with boiling places under the rows round about."all its stones (Isa. 25:2, "Thou hast made of a Row here does not mean a covering or boundary fenced city a ruin; " 17:1); of a country (Isa. wall, but a row or shelf of brickwork which had 23:13; Ezek. 31:13; comp. 27:27). |