Succoth, meaning “booths.” (Gen. 33:17) Booths were used by armies in the field, especially by the officers.—1 Ki. 20:12, 16.

A booth or hut was often built in a vineyard or in the center of a field so that the watchman could have shelter from the hot sun as he kept guard against thieves or animals. (Isa. 1:8) There the harvesters enjoyed their noonday meals in the shade and saved time otherwise lost by going in from the field. Thickly thatched leaves kept the rain off those beneath. (Isa. 4:6) Jonah made himself such a booth so that it might protect him from the sun as he waited to see what would become of Nineveh, against which he had prophesied.—Jonah 4:5.

FIGURATIVE USES

Isaiah illustrates the desolated condition of Judah and Jerusalem in Jehovah’s eyes, likening it to a mere hut, in contrast to a populous, built-up city. (Isa. 1:8) Jehovah pictures himself as dwelling in a booth of clouds when he temporarily descends from heaven to earth. There majestic omnipotence conceals itself, and from there come the crashings of thunder. (Ps. 18:9, 11; 2 Sam. 22:10, 12; Job 36:29) David likens the place of concealment for those trusting in Jehovah to Jehovah’s “booth.”—Ps. 31:20.

Amos refers to the rebuilding of the “booth of David that is fallen.” (Amos 9:11) David was promised by Jehovah that David’s kingdom would be steadfast to time indefinite. Regarding the overthrow of the kingdom of Judah and its last king Zedekiah of the line of David, Ezekiel was inspired to prophesy: “A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I shall make it. As for this also, it will certainly become no one’s until he comes who has the legal right, and I must give it to him.” (Ezek. 21:27) From this time on no king of the line of David occupied “Jehovah’s throne” in Jerusalem. But Peter on the day of Pentecost, 33 C.E., pointed out that Jesus Christ was of David’s line and the one of whom God really spoke as being the permanent King. Peter informed the Jews gathered there at Jerusalem that, in their time, Jehovah had raised Jesus up and made him both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:29-36) Later, the disciple James applied Amos’ prophecy as undergoing fulfillment in the gathering of disciples of Christ (Kingdom heirs) from both the Jews and the Gentile nations.—Acts 15:14-18; Rom. 8:17.

BORASHAN

(Borʹa·shan) [well of smoke].

One of the places that David and his men frequented during his time as a fugitive. (1 Sam. 30:30, 31) Some authorities consider it to be the same as Ashan (Josh. 19:7), a Simeonite enclave city in the southern part of Judah’s territory, a short distance NW of Beer-sheba.—See ASHAN.

BOSOM POSITION

(Bosom, AV).

In a parable Jesus spoke of a poor beggar named Lazarus who was carried at his death to the “bosom position of Abraham,” and John refers to Jesus as being in the “bosom position with the Father.” (Luke 16:22, 23; John 1:18) The expression “bosom position” alludes to one’s reclining in front of another person on the same couch at a meal.

The Jews adopted this custom of reclining at meals from the Romans, who had gotten it, in turn, from Carthage after the Punic wars. The guests reclined on their left side with a pillow supporting their left elbow, leaving the right arm free. Usually three persons occupied each couch, but there could be as many as five. The head of each one would be on or near the breast or bosom, as it were, of the person behind him. The person with no one at his back was considered in the highest position and the one next to him in the second place of honor. In view of the nearness of the guests to one another, it was the custom that friend be placed next to friend, which made it rather easy to engage in confidential conversation if desired. To be in such a “bosom position” of another at a banquet was indeed to occupy a special place of favor with that one. So the apostle John, whom Jesus dearly loved, “was reclining in front of Jesus’ bosom,” and in such a position he “leaned back upon the breast of Jesus” and privately asked him a question at the celebration of the last Passover.--John 13:23, 25; 21:20.

For these reasons John, in describing the very special position of favor enjoyed by Jesus, said that he was in the “bosom position” of his Father Jehovah. Likewise, in Jesus’ illustration, Lazarus was carried to the “bosom position” of Abraham, denoting that this beggar finally came into a position of special favor with one who was his superior.—See MEAL.

BOTTLE

A container used to hold such things as water, oil, milk, wine, butter and cheese. Bottles of ancient times varied greatly in size and shape, some of them being leather bags and others narrow-necked containers with stoppers. The Egyptians had ornamented vases that served as bottles and these were made out of alabaster, bone, bronze, glass, gold, ivory, porcelain, silver or stone. Glass bottles were in use in ancient Assyria, and earthenware bottles were common in various Biblical lands of antiquity. However, especially did the ancients use skin bottles.

The common way to make a skin bottle was to kill an animal, cut off its head and feet, and then carefully draw it out of the hide in such a way that it was unnecessary to cut open the creature’s belly. The skin would be tanned and then all openings but one would be sewed up. The neck, or perhaps one of the projections for the legs, would be left unsewn, and this served as the opening, which could be closed with a plug or a string. The hides of sheep, goats and sometimes of oxen, were used for this purpose, and, in some instances, the hair was left on the skins used to hold milk, butter, cheese and water. However, a more thorough tanning process was required when the skin bottles were to be used for oil and wine. Even in more recent times many skin bottles have been made similarly in the Middle East. When skin water bottles are not tanned, they impart an unpleasant taste to the water kept in them.

The Gibeonites told Joshua: “These are the wine skin-bottles that we filled new, and, look! they have burst.” (Josh. 9:13) Such a thing could happen in time because of pressure built up due to active fermentation of the wine. Suffering Job said: “Look! My belly is like wine that has no vent; like new skin bottles it wants to burst open.” (Job 32:19) Generally, however, new wineskins would be able to withstand the internal pressure developed due to fermentation of the wine. Yet, old wineskins would in time become hard and lose their elasticity, and they were then likely to burst. Hence, Jesus Christ fittingly said: “Neither do people put new wine into old wineskins; but if they do, then the wineskins burst and the wine spills out and the wineskins are ruined. But people