(2.) Colour. The prevailing colour was the natural white of the material used, which was sometimes rendered purer by the fuller's art ( Ps. 104:1,Ps. 104:2; Isa. 63:3; Mark 9:3). The Hebrews were acquainted with the art of dyeing ( Gen. 37:3,Gen. 37:23). Various modes of ornamentation were adopted in the process of weaving ( Ex. 28:6;Ex 26:1,Ex. 28:31;Ex 35:25), and by needle-work ( Judg. 5:30; Ps. 45:13). Dyed robes were imported from foreign countries, particularly from Phoenicia ( Zeph. 1:8). Purple and scarlet robes were the marks of the wealthy ( Luke 16:19; 2 Sam. 1:24).

(3.) Form. The robes of men and women were not very much different in form from each other.

(a) The "coat" (kethoneth), of wool, cotton, or linen, was worn by both sexes. It was a closely-fitting garment, resembling in use and form our shirt ( John 19:23). It was kept close to the body by a girdle ( John 21:7). A person wearing this "coat" alone was described as naked (1 Sam. 19:24; Isa. 20:2; 2 Kings 6:30; John 21:7); deprived of it he would be absolutely naked.

(b) A linen cloth or wrapper (sadin) of fine linen, used somewhat as a night-shirt ( Mark 14:51). It is mentioned in Judg. 14:12, Judg. 14:13, and rendered there "sheets."

(c) An upper tunic (meil), longer than the "coat" (1 Sam. 2:19;1 Sam 24:4;1 Sam 28:14). In 1 Sam. 28:14 it is the mantle in which Samuel was enveloped; in 1 Sam. 24:4 it is the "robe" under which Saul slept. The disciples were forbidden to wear two "coats" ( Matt. 10:10; Luke 9:3).

(d) The usual outer garment consisted of a piece of woollen cloth like a Scotch plaid, either wrapped round the body or thrown over the shoulders like a shawl, with the ends hanging down in front, or it might be thrown over the head so as to conceal the face (2 Sam. 15:30; Esther 6:12). It was confined to the waist by a girdle, and the fold formed by the overlapping of the robe served as a pocket (2 Kings 4:39; Ps. 79:12; Hag. 2:12; Prov. 17:23; Prov 21:14).

Female dress. The "coat" was common to both sexes ( Cant. 5:3). But peculiar to females were (1) the "veil" or "wimple," a kind of shawl ( Ruth 3:15; rendered "mantle," R.V., Isa. 3:22); (2) the "mantle," also a species of shawl ( Isa. 3:22); (3) a "veil," probably a light summer dress ( Gen. 24:65); (4) a "stomacher," a holiday dress ( Isa. 3:24). The outer garment terminated in an ample fringe or border, which concealed the feet ( Isa. 47:2; Jer. 13:22).

The dress of the Persians is described in Dan. 3:21.

The reference to the art of sewing are few, inasmuch as the garments generally came forth from the loom ready for being worn, and all that was required in the making of clothes devolved on the women of a family ( Prov. 31:22; Acts 9:39).

Extravagance in dress is referred to in Jer. 4:30; Ezek. 16:10; Zeph. 1:8 (R.V., "foreign apparel"); 1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Pet. 3:3. Rending the robes was expressive of grief ( Gen. 37:29,Gen. 37:34), fear (1 Kings 21:27), indignation (2 Kings 5:7), or despair ( Judg. 11:35; Esther 4:1).

Shaking the garments, or shaking the dust from off them, was a sign of renunciation ( Acts 18:6); wrapping them round the head, of awe (1 Kings 19:13) or grief (2 Sam. 15:30; casting them off, of excitement ( Acts 22:23); laying hold of them, of supplication (1 Sam. 15:27). In the case of travelling, the outer garments were girded up (1 Kings 18:46). They were thrown aside also when they would impede action ( Mark 10:50; John 13:4; Acts 7:58).

Drink - The drinks of the Hebrews were water, wine, "strong drink," and vinegar. Their drinking vessels were the cup, goblet or "basin," the "cruse" or pitcher, and the saucer.

To drink water by measure ( Ezek. 4:11), and to buy water to drink ( Lam. 5:4), denote great scarcity. To drink blood means to be satiated with slaughter.

The Jews carefully strained their drinks through a sieve, through fear of violating the law of Lev. 11:20, Lev. 11:23, Lev. 11:41, Lev. 11:42. (See Matt. 23:24. "Strain at" should be "strain out.")

Drink-offering - consisted of wine ( Num. 15:5; Hos. 9:4) poured around the altar ( Ex. 30:9). Joined with meat-offerings ( Num. 6:15,Num. 6:17; 2 Kings 16:13; Joel 1:9, Joel 1:13; Joel 2:14), presented daily ( Ex. 29:40), on the Sabbath ( Num. 28:9), and on feast-days ( Num 28:14). One-fourth of an hin of wine was required for one lamb, one-third for a ram, and one-half for a bullock ( Num. 15:5;Num 28:7,Num. 15:14). "Drink offerings of blood" ( Ps. 16:4) is used in allusion to the heathen practice of mingling the blood of animals sacrificed with wine or water, and pouring out the mixture in the worship of the gods, and the idea conveyed is that the psalmist would not partake of the abominations of the heathen.

Drink, strong - (Heb. shekar'), an intoxicating liquor ( Judg. 13:4; Luke 1:15; Isa. 5:11; Micah 2:11) distilled from corn, honey, or dates. The effects of the use of strong drink are referred to in Ps. 107:27; Isa. 24:20; Isa 49:26; Isa 51:17-22. Its use prohibited, Prov. 20:1. (See WINE.)

Dromedary - ( Isa. 60:6), an African or Arabian species of camel having only one hump, while the Bactrian camel has two. It is distinguished from the camel only as a trained saddle-horse is distinguished from a cart-horse. It is remarkable for its speed ( Jer. 2:23). Camels are frequently spoken of in partriarchal times ( Gen. 12:16;Gen 24:10;Gen 30:43;Gen 31:17, etc.). They were used for carrying burdens ( Gen. 37:25; Judg. 6:5), and for riding ( Gen. 24:64). The hair of the camel falls off of itself in spring, and is woven into coarse cloths and garments ( Matt. 3:4). (See CAMEL.)

Dropsy - mentioned only in Luke 14:2. The man afflicted with it was cured by Christ on the Sabbath.

Dross - the impurities of silver separated from the one in the process of melting ( Prov. 25:4;Prov 26:23; Ps. 119:119). It is also used to denote the base metal itself, probably before it is smelted, in Isa. 1:22, Isa. 1:25.

Drought - From the middle of May to about the middle of August the land of Palestine is dry. It is then the "drought of summer" ( Gen. 31:40; Ps. 32:4), and the land suffers ( Deut. 28:23; Ps. 102:4), vegetation being preserved only by the dews ( Hag. 1:11). (See DEW.)

Drown - ( Ex. 15:4; Amos 8:8; Heb. 11:29). Drowning was a mode of capital punishment in use among the Syrians, and was known to the Jews in the time of our Lord. To this he alludes in Matt. 18:6.

Drunk - The first case of intoxication on record is that of Noah ( Gen. 9:21). The sin of drunkenness is frequently and strongly condemned ( Rom. 13:13; 1 Cor. 6:9,1 Cor. 6:10; Eph. 5:18; 1 Thess. 5:7,1 Thess. 5:8). The sin of drinking to excess seems to have been not uncommon among the Israelites.

The word is used figuratively, when men are spoken of as being drunk with sorrow, and with the wine of God's wrath ( Isa. 63:6; Jer. 51:57; Ezek. 23:33). To "add drunkenness to thirst" ( Deut. 29:19, A.V.) is a proverbial expression, rendered in the Revised Version "to destroy the moist with the dry", i.e., the well-watered equally with the dry land, meaning that the effect of such walking in the imagination of their own hearts would be to destroy one and all.

Drusilla - third and youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I. ( Acts 12:1-4,Acts 12:20-23). Felix, the Roman procurator of Judea, induced her to leave her husband, Azizus, the king of Emesa, and become his wife. She was present with Felix when Paul reasoned of "righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come" ( Acts 24:24). She and her son perished in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, A.D. 79.

Duke - derived from the Latin dux, meaning "a leader;" Arabic, "a sheik." This word is used to denote the phylarch or chief of a tribe ( Gen. 36:15-43; Ex. 15:15; 1 Chr. 1:51-54).

Dulcimer - (Heb. sumphoniah), a musical instrument mentioned in Dan. 3:5, Dan. 3:15, along with other instruments there named, as sounded before the golden image. It was not a Jewish instrument. In the margin of the Revised Version it is styled the "bag-pipe." Luther translated it "lute," and Grotius the "crooked trumpet." It is probable that it was introduced into Babylon by some Greek or Western-Asiatic musician. Some Rabbinical commentators render it by "organ," the well-known instrument composed of a series of pipes, others by "lyre." The most probable interpretation is that it was a bag-pipe similar to the zampagna of Southern Europe.

Dumah - silence, (comp. Ps. 94:17), the fourth son of Ishmael; also the tribe descended from him; and hence also the region in Arabia which they inhabited ( Gen. 25:14; 1 Chr. 1:30).

There was also a town of this name in Judah ( Josh. 15:52), which has been identified with ed-Domeh, about 10 miles southwest of Hebron. The place mentioned in the "burden" of the prophet Isaiah ( Josh 21:11) is Edom or Idumea.

Dumb - from natural infirmity ( Ex. 4:11); not knowing what to say ( Prov. 31:8); unwillingness to speak ( Ps. 39:9; Lev. 10:3). Christ repeatedly restored the dumb ( Matt. 9:32,Matt. 9:33; Luke 11:14; Matt. 12:22) to the use of speech.

Dung - (1.) Used as manure ( Luke 13:8); collected outside the city walls ( Neh. 2:13). Of sacrifices, burned outside the camp ( Ex. 29:14; Lev. 4:11; Lev 8:17; Num. 19:5). To be "cast out as dung," a figurative expression (1 Kings 14:10; 2 Kings 9:37; Jer. 8:2; Ps. 18:42), meaning to be rejected as unprofitable.

(2.) Used as fuel, a substitute for firewood, which was with difficulty procured in Syria, Arabia, and Egypt ( Ezek. 4:12-15), where cows' and camels' dung is used to the present day for this purpose.

Dungeon - different from the ordinary prison in being more severe as a place of punishment. Like the Roman inner prison ( Acts 16:24), it consisted of a deep cell or cistern ( Jer. 38:6). To be shut up in, a punishment common in Egypt ( Gen. 39:20;Gen 40:3;Gen 41:10;Gen 42:19). It is not mentioned, however, in the law of Moses as a mode of punishment. Under the later kings imprisonment was frequently used as a punishment (2 Chron. 16:10; Jer. 20:2; Jer 32:2; Jer 33:1; Jer 37:15), and it was customary after the Exile ( Matt. 11:2; Luke 3:20; Acts 5:18, Acts 5:21; Matt. 18:30).

Dung-gate - ( Neh. 2:13), a gate of ancient Jerusalem, on the south-west quarter. "The gate outside of which lay the piles of sweepings and offscourings of the streets," in the valley of Tophet.

Dung-hill - to sit on a, was a sign of the deepest dejection (1 Sam. 2:8; Ps. 113:7; Lam. 4:5).

Dura - the circle, the plain near Babylon in which Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image, mentioned in Dan. 3:1. The place still retains its ancient name. On one of its many mounds the pedestal of what must have been a colossal statue has been found. It has been supposed to be that of the golden image.

Dust - Storms of sand and dust sometimes overtake Eastern travellers. They are very dreadful, many perishing under them. Jehovah threatens to bring on the land of Israel, as a punishment for forsaking him, a rain of "powder and dust" ( Deut. 28:24).

To cast dust on the head was a sign of mourning ( Josh. 7:6); and to sit in dust, of extreme affliction ( Isa. 47:1). "Dust" is used to denote the grave ( Job 7:21). "To shake off the dust from one's feet" against another is to renounce all future intercourse with him ( Matt. 10:14; Acts 13:51). To "lick the dust" is a sign of abject submission ( Ps. 72:9); and to throw dust at one is a sign of abhorrence (2 Sam. 16:13; comp. Acts 22:23).

Dwarf - a lean or emaciated person ( Lev. 21:20).

Dwell - Tents were in primitive times the common dwellings of men. Houses were afterwards built, the walls of which were frequently of mud ( Job 24:16; Matt. 6:19, Matt. 6:20) or of sun-dried bricks.

God "dwells in light" (1 Tim. 6:16; 1 John 1:7), in heaven ( Ps. 123:1), in his church ( Ps. 9:11; 1 John 4:12). Christ dwelt on earth in the days of his humiliation ( John 1:14). He now dwells in the hearts of his people ( Eph. 3:17-19). The Holy Spirit dwells in believers (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:14). We are exhorted to "let the word of God dwell in us richly" ( Col. 3:16; Ps. 119:11).

Dwell deep occurs only in Jer. 49:8, and refers to the custom of seeking refuge from impending danger, in retiring to the recesses of rocks and caverns, or to remote places in the desert.

Dwellings - The materials used in buildings were commonly bricks, sometimes also stones ( Lev. 14:40,Lev. 14:42), which were held together by cement ( Jer. 43:9) or bitumen ( Gen. 11:3). The exterior was usually whitewashed ( Lev. 14:41; Ezek. 13:10; Matt. 23:27). The beams were of sycamore ( Isa. 9:10), or olive-wood, or cedar (1 Kings 7:2; Isa. 9:10).

The form of Eastern dwellings differed in many respects from that of dwellings in Western lands. The larger houses were built in a quadrangle enclosing a court-yard ( Luke 5:19; 2 Sam. 17:18; Neh. 8:16) surrounded by galleries, which formed the guest-chamber or reception-room for visitors. The flat roof, surrounded by a low parapet, was used for many domestic and social purposes. It was reached by steps from the court. In connection with it (2 Kings 23:12) was an upper room, used as a private chamber (2 Sam 18:33; Dan. 6:11), also as a bedroom (2 Kings 23:12), a sleeping apartment for guests (2 Kings 4:10), and as a sick-chamber (1 Kings 17:19). The doors, sometimes of stone, swung on morticed pivots, and were generally fastened by wooden bolts. The houses of the more wealthy had a doorkeeper or a female porter ( John 18:16; Acts 12:13). The windows generally opened into the courtyard, and were closed by a lattice ( Judg. 5:28). The interior rooms were set apart for the female portion of the household.

The furniture of the room (2 Kings 4:10) consisted of a couch furnished with pillows ( Amos 6:4; Ezek. 13:20); and besides this, chairs, a table and lanterns or lamp-stands (2 Kings 4:10).