In due time laws were published, spelling out what constituted crimes worthy of death, and, in this way, everyone could avoid doing that which would bring bloodguilt upon his own head. Other legislation was enacted as preventive safeguard to protect people from spilling innocent blood. Parapets had to be built around the edge of the flat-topped houses so people would not fall off. (Deut. 22:8) A man had to provide safeguards to prevent his bull from goring people. (Ex. 21:29) If a thief was killed while breaking in at night, there was no bloodguilt; but if he was killed during the daylight, it was a different matter. (Ex. 22:2, 3) Cities of refuge were set up to protect the accidental manslayer from the avenger of blood. (Num. 35:25; Deut. 19:9, 10; Josh. 20:2, 3) If Ezekiel failed in his duty as a watchman to Israel, the blood of the inhabitants would be upon him. (Ezek. 3:18, 20; 33:6, 8) With this in mind we find understandable what the apostle Paul meant when he said that he was innocent of bloodguilt.—Acts 18:6; 20:26.

The Bible lists both those that were free and those that were not free of bloodguilt, and these well serve as warning examples. There was Saul, who at one time escaped bloodguilt because he refrained from killing David; yet later Saul brought bloodguilt upon his whole household when he foolishly killed off some of the Gibeonites. (1 Sam. 19:5, 6; 2 Sam. 21:1) There were others too that became stained with bloodguilt. (Judg. 9:24; 2 Sam. 1:16; 4:6-12) David, on the other hand, escaped such guilt when he heeded Jehovah’s warning sent to him through Abigail. (1 Sam. 25:24-26, 31, 33) The city of Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E. because of gross bloodguilt. (Ezek. 22:2-4; 23:37, 45) The false religious leaders of Jesus’ day could not deny their bloodguiltiness any more than the leaders of Jeremiah’s time, for, in both instances, their skirts were crimson red with the blood of Jehovah’s faithful ones. (Jer. 2:34; Matt. 23:35, 36; 27:24, 25; Luke 11:50, 51) The great “harlot” Babylon the Great is so bloodguilty she is said to be drunk with the blood of Jehovah’s people.—Rev. 17:5, 6; 18:24.

Truly such bloodguilty ones are not worth living half their lives, as David said. (Ps. 55:23) As David did, all should likewise pray that Jehovah will deliver them both from bloodguiltiness and from the bloodguilty ones. (Ps. 51:14; 59:2; 139:19) As the Revelation prophecy foretold, the time will shortly come when a mighty chorus of praise will ascend to Jehovah because the last elements of Babylon the Great will have been destroyed and the blood of all these innocent ones will have been forever avenged.—Rev. 19:1, 2.

See AVENGER OF BLOOD.

BLUE

See COLORS.

BOANERGES

(Bo·a·nerʹges) [sons of thunder].

An Aramaic expression found, with its translation, only at Mark 3:17. Jesus gave it as a surname to the sons of Zebedee, James and John, likely reflecting the fiery enthusiasm of these two apostles. (Luke 9:54) Unlike Simon’s new name Peter, Boanerges does not appear to have been commonly used.

BOAR

This animal is mentioned but once in the Scriptures, namely, at Psalm 80:13, where there is allusion to its depredations on unguarded vineyards. It is believed that the wild boar (not to be confused with the male of the domesticated hog, to which it is related) is meant. This animal is still to be found in the swamps of Palestine.

A large wild boar may weigh some 350 pounds (159 kilograms), measure nearly five feet (1.5 meters) in length, and may stand over three feet (.9 meter) high at the shoulder. The snout of the wild boar is specially suited to rooting for food amid forest undergrowth. The tusks, especially those of the male, constitute a formidable weapon, with which it can easily rip up a horse. This animal is not only dangerous but also destructive, it being said that a group of them can ruin an entire vineyard in one night. Its diet, although basically vegetarian, includes a great variety of foods, roots, grain, earthworms, snails, small animals, birds’ eggs and the like.

[Picture on page 246]

Wild boar

BOAZ, I

(Boʹaz) [possibly, in strength].

A landowner of Bethlehem in Judah, “a man mighty in wealth” of about the fourteenth century B.C.E. Boaz was the son of Salma (Salmon) and Rahab, and the father of Obed. (Matt. 1:5) He was a link in the family line of the Messiah, the seventh in line of descent from Judah. (1 Chron. 2:3-11; Luke 3:32, 33) How this very unusual turn of events came about, allowing Boaz to fill the threatened breach in the genealogy of Jesus, is preserved for us in the book of Ruth.

Boaz had a close relative named Elimelech, who, along with his two sons, died leaving no male heirs. Of the widows of the two sons, one, Ruth, stuck by Elimelech’s widow Naomi. It was harvesttime and Ruth was gleaning “by chance” in the field belonging to Boaz. (Ruth 2:3) Now Boaz was a true Judean, a devout worshiper of Jehovah. He not only greeted his harvesters with “Jehovah be with you,” but, after observing Ruth’s loyalty toward Naomi, he said to her, “May Jehovah reward the way you act, and may there come to be a perfect wage for you from Jehovah.” (2:4, 12) When Ruth reported these things to her mother-in-law, Naomi exclaimed: “Blessed be he of Jehovah . . . He is one of our repurchasers.” (2:20) Furthermore, when the harvest ended, Naomi explained to Ruth the customary way of bringing this matter to Boaz’ attention. As Boaz was sleeping near his threshing floor he was awakened to find Ruth lying down at his uncovered feet, asking that he repurchase Elimelech’s estate by levirate marriage. (See BROTHER-IN-LAW MARRIAGE.) Ruth was to be the substitute for Naomi who was beyond the age of childbearing. Wasting no time, Boaz the next morning summoned another kinsman more closely related, but this person, referred to in the Bible only as So-and-so, refused to conform with the divine arrangement. Boaz, however, was quick to do so, and with the blessing of the townspeople Boaz took Ruth as his wife, and she bore him a son named Obed, the grandfather of King David.—3:1–4:17.

Throughout the account, from his first kind greeting to the workers to his acceptance of the responsibility for preserving the family name of Elimelech, Boaz is observed to be an outstanding man—a man of action and authority yet having good self-control, generous and kind, morally chaste, having faith and integrity, fully obedient to Jehovah’s commandments in all respects.

BOAZ, II

The northern of the two huge copper pillars erected before the porch of Solomon’s glorious temple was named Boaz, possibly meaning “In strength.” The southern pillar was called Jachin, meaning “He will firmly establish.” So, putting the two together and reading from right to left as one