at Matthew 16:6, 11, when he warned his disciples: “Keep your eyes open and watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” When his disciples reasoned incorrectly among themselves as to what he meant, he spoke plainly: “‘How is it you do not discern that I did not talk to you about loaves? But watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ Then they grasped that he said to watch out . . . for the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Also, Luke reports Jesus as stating specifically on another occasion: “Watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”—Luke 12:1.

The apostle Paul applies a similar significance to leaven in connection with the Festival of Unfermented Cakes when he describes the course that Christians should take. At 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, he gives this counsel to his Christian brothers: “Do you not know that a little leaven ferments the whole lump? Clear away the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, according as you are free from ferment. For, indeed, Christ our passover has been sacrificed. Consequently let us keep the festival, not with old leaven, neither with leaven of injuriousness and wickedness, but with unfermented cakes of sincerity and truth.”

On Nisan 16, the second day of the Festival of Unfermented Cakes, the high priest waved the firstfruits of the barley harvest, which was the first crop of the year or what might be called the first of the firstfruits of the land. (Lev. 23:10, 11) It is significant that Jesus Christ was resurrected on this very day, Nisan 16, in the year 33 C.E. The apostle compares Christ with others who are resurrected, saying: “However, now Christ has been raised up from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep in death. . . . But each one in his own rank: Christ the first fruits, afterward those who belong to the Christ during his presence.” Christ is also called “the first-born among many brothers.”—1 Cor. 15:20-23; Rom. 8:29; see FIRSTFRUITS; PASSOVER; various festivals by name.

FESTUS

(Fesʹtus) [festal, joyful].

Governor of the Roman province of Judea after the recall of Felix to Rome. (Acts 24:27) The year of this change in governors is not definitely known; the only sources of information are the Bible and Josephus, and neither sheds light on the appointment by Nero. There are two schools of critics, one arguing for the arrival of Porcius Festus in Judea as early as 55 C.E., the other as late as 60-61. Commenting on this dispute, The Encyclopædia Britannica says: “It can be said confidently that the truth is between these two extremes, for the arguments urged in each case appear less to prove one extreme than to disprove its opposite.” The year 58 C.E., as given by Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, seems to be the most likely date of Festus’ accession as governor of Judea.

Three days after Festus arrived in Caesarea he journeyed to Jerusalem, evidently to familiarize himself with the problems of the people he was to govern. The Jewish chief priests and principal men wasted no time in requesting that Paul, in Caesarea as a leftover prisoner from Felix’s administration, be sent for, hoping to ambush him and kill him on the way. Instead, Festus decided on a retrial for Paul and ordered the accusers to appear before his judgment seat in Caesarea. After the “trial” Festus was convinced of Paul’s innocence and later confessed to King Agrippa II. “I perceived he had committed nothing deserving of death.” (Acts 25:25) Earlier, “desiring to gain favor with the Jews,” Festus had asked if Paul would volunteer to go to Jerusalem for trial. (Acts 25:9) Paul, however, replied: “No man can hand me over to them as a favor. I appeal to Caesar!”—Acts 25:11.

Now Festus was faced with a new problem. In explaining to Agrippa that he had this prisoner to send to Rome, yet had no charges to lay against him, Festus observed: “It seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner and not also to signify the charges against him.” (Acts 25:27) Agrippa offered to hear Paul himself with a view to resolving the problem. In his defense, Paul made such an eloquent and stirring speech that Festus was moved to exclaim: “You are going mad, Paul! Great learning is driving you into madness!” (Acts 26:24) Paul then turned to Agrippa with a strong appeal, eliciting Agrippa’s remark: “In a short time you would persuade me to become a Christian.” (Acts 26:28) Later Agrippa said to Festus: “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.” This decision was entirely providential, for the Lord beforehand had disclosed to Paul: “Be of good courage! . . . you must also bear witness in Rome.”—Acts 23:11; 26:32.

In comparison with the poor and provocative administration of Felix, that of Festus is rated as being generally favorable. He suppressed the terrorist bandits known as the Assassins or Sicarii (dagger men), and in other ways tried to uphold Roman law. One ruling of Festus, however, was reversed on appeal to Rome. Agrippa built his dining room overlooking the sacred Temple area, whereupon the Jews constructed a wall to obstruct the view. Festus ordered the wall removed on the grounds that it blocked out the view of the soldiers, but when the case was appealed to Rome the wall was allowed to stand. About 62 C.E. Festus died in office and was succeeded by Albinus.

FETTERS

See BOND.

FEVER

In the Bible, a general term designating all diseases that are accompanied by high body temperature. Malaria is one of the most common febrile diseases in the Middle East. At Leviticus 26:16 the Hebrew word qad·daʹhhath, “burning fever, inflammation,” is translated in the Septuagint Version by a form of the Greek word iʹkte·ros, “jaundice.” Jaundice is also commonly known in Palestine, and may be accompanied by fever.

Dysentery is another febrile disease specifically mentioned in the Bible, at Acts 28:8. This ailment is characterized by severe inflammation of the colon, at times producing evacuation of blood and mucus. It is commonly accompanied by high fever, and ancient Greek medical writers often used the combination of ‘fever and dysentery’ to designate a specific pathological condition. Some scholars suggest that the ‘malady of the intestines’ that brought death to King Jehoram of Judah was chronic amoebic dysentery.—2 Chron. 21:15-19.

While the Law with its provisions was primarily for Israel’s spiritual benefit and to maintain its separateness from the pagan nations, an examination of the dietary and sanitary regulations of the Law reveals that it had a beneficial secondary effect in protecting the nation against the causes and spread of many diseases, including certain febrile diseases, usually infectious.

(1) The diet of the Hebrews did not normally include a great deal of meat, but when a family wanted to slaughter a domestic animal for meat they took the animal to the sanctuary (unless, after they entered the Promised Land, the family lived too far away). (Lev. 17:3-5; Deut. 12:20-27) They ate the meat after the priest offered some of it on the altar and received his portion. Some communion sacrifices were to be eaten on the same day. Others could not be eaten after the second day, but the flesh was to be burned with fire. In Palestine’s warm climate and with no refrigeration, this not only would keep that which was offered before Jehovah from becoming foul and detestable to him, but would also have the side effect of avoiding the eating of contaminated meat. (Lev. 7:15-18) (2) The flesh of certain prohibited animals, such as the pig, the hare, carrion-eating animals and birds, rodents and certain water animals and fish, is known to be a possible contributory factor in various diseases, including fevers. (Lev. 11:1-31) (3) The sanitary regulations helped safeguard the cooking utensils and also the drinking-water supply from contamination, a source of typhoid, dysentery and other febrile diseases. (Lev. 11:32-38) (4) Anyone touching the body or eating some of an animal that died of itself had to cleanse himself. (Lev. 11:39, 40) (5) The laws commanding the covering of fecal waste by each individual, also the covering of blood with dust, protected against diseases, including jaundice. (Lev. 17:13; Deut. 23:12, 13) (6) The moral laws would practically eliminate all venereal disease, which disease can affect all organs of the body and cause various forms of fever. (7) Prevention of the spread of such diseases and others was also helped by the Law’s stipulation that emission of semen, menstruation or running discharge from genital organs made persons, garments or a bed or certain other things unclean for a specified time, and included other persons who as much as touched these things. (Lev. 15:16-28) (8) The quarantine laws worked to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.—Lev. chap. 13; Num. 19:11, 12, 16; 31:19.

Jehovah warned Israel that if they went contrary to his commandments they would undergo exhaustion from hunger, a contributory factor in many febrile diseases; they would be afflicted with burning fever, inflammation and feverish heat; they would suffer boils, skin eruptions (sicknesses that are often accompanied by burning fever) and blindness. (Lev. 26:14-16) All of this came to fulfillment after Israel’s repeated rebellions against Jehovah and their violations of his laws.—Ezek. 4:16, 17; 33:10.

When Jesus Christ was on earth many persons afflicted with fevers were healed by him. One case was that of the mother-in-law of the apostle Simon Peter. (Matt. 8:14, 15; Mark 1:29-31) Luke, apparently because he was a physician, draws attention to the degree of fever in that case, classifying it as a “high fever.” (Luke 4:38) On one occasion Jesus, in Cana, healed the son of an attendant to King Herod Antipas, although the feverish boy was dying several miles away in Capernaum. As a result, the man and his entire household became believers.—John 4:46-54.

The apostle Paul used the God-given power of healing, one of the miraculous gifts through Jesus Christ to certain members of the early Christian congregation (1 Cor. 12:7-9, 11, 30), to cure a case of fever and dysentery suffered by the father of Publius, the principal man and a landowner of the island of Malta. On learning of this, the island’s natives came to Paul, and he healed many of their various sicknesses.—Acts 28:7-9.

FIELD

The Hebrew word sa·dhehʹ, which is most frequently rendered “field,” may denote a hunting ground, a tract of land used for pasturage or farming, a mountaintop, an uncultivated wooded area, or even a region occupied by a certain people, for example, “the field of Moab,” and is used in contrast with “city.”—Gen. 27:5; 31:4; 37:5-7; Judg. 9:32, 36; 1 Sam. 14:25; Num. 21:20; Deut. 28:3.

Moreover, the combined tracts of several individual owners were viewed jointly as “the field,” as seen from the account of Ruth. In going out to “the field,” Ruth by chance “lighted on the tract of the field belonging to Boaz,” indicating that Boaz owned only a section of the area. (Ruth 2:2, 3) While vineyards and gardens were apparently enclosed, the indications are that fields were not. (Num. 22:24; Song of Sol. 4:12) According to the Law, unwalled settlements were considered as part of the field of the country. (Lev. 25:31) Also, the Law commanded that no one move the boundary marks of his fellowman, indicating that this was relatively easy to do.—Deut. 19:14.

Fires could easily spread from one field to another, and care had to be exercised to keep domestic animals in check so that they would not wander into someone else’s field. (Ex. 22:5, 6) At Isaiah 28:25 spelt is said to be sown as a boundary. Perhaps by planting this inferior grade of wheat around the outer edges of their fields farmers could, to some extent, protect their more valuable crops, such as wheat and barley, from cattle that might enter the edges of the field.

Likely it was possible to go through the field by means of footpaths, and these could also have served to separate one tract of land from another, for it is most improbable that Jesus and his disciples would have walked right through a field of grain, trampling some of the grain as they went along. If they had done this, the Pharisees undoubtedly would have taken issue on this point also. (Luke 6:1-5) It may have been with reference to such paths that Jesus, in his illustration about the sower, mentioned the seeds that fell alongside the road.—Matt. 13:4.

FIELD OF BLOOD

See AKELDAMA.

FIERY SNAKE

[Heb., sa·raphʹ].

This Hebrew word, in its plural form, is translated “seraphs” in Isaiah 6:2, 6 and means “fiery” or “burning.” It is often used to modify the general Hebrew term for serpent (na·hhashʹ) and may then be translated as “poisonous,” perhaps as referring to the burning and inflaming effect of the venom. (Deut. 8:15) It is first mentioned at the time of God’s inflicting punishment on the rebellious Israelites by sending “poisonous serpents [n^ehha·shimʹ s^era·phimʹ]” among them. After Moses’ intercession, Jehovah instructed him to make a “fiery snake,” to be placed on a signal pole to which those bitten could then look and be healed and live. Moses formed the snake of copper. (Num. 21:6-9; 1 Cor. 10:9) Jesus gave prophetic significance to this by stating: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up, that everyone believing in him may have everlasting life.”—John 3:14, 15.

At Isaiah 14:29 and 30:6 a “flying fiery snake” is mentioned in God’s judgment against Philistia and in description of the wilderness area to the S of Judah. The expression “flying” is considered by some to refer to the rapid darting or lightninglike striking through the air done by venomous snakes when attacking.

FIG

[Heb., t^eʼe·nahʹ; Gr., sy·keʹ, syʹkon].

Along with the olive and the vine, the fig tree (Ficus carica) is one of the most prominent plants of the Bible, receiving mention in more than fifty texts. (Judg. 9:8-13; Hab. 3:17) The fig is native to SW Asia, Palestine, Syria and Egypt and is noted for its remarkable longevity. While the tree will grow wild, to produce good fruitage it needs cultivation. (Luke 13:6-9) It is quite adaptable to various kinds of soil, even doing well in rocky soil. It may reach a height of thirty to thirty-five feet (9.1 to 10.7 meters), with a trunk diameter of about two feet (.6 meter), and has wide-spreading branches. While it is primarily appreciated for its fruit, it is also highly valued for its good shade. (John 1:48-50) The leaves are large, measuring as much as eight inches (20.3 centimeters) or more in width. The first mention of the fig is with regard to the use of its leaves for sewing together, to serve as loin coverings for Adam and Eve. (Gen. 3:7) In some parts of the East fig leaves are still sewed together and used for wrapping fruit and for other purposes.

EARLY AND LATE CROPS

There are, basically, two crops of figs produced annually by the trees: the first or “early” figs (Heb., bik·ku·rahʹ), which mature in June or early July (Isa. 28:4; Jer. 24:2; Hos. 9:10), and the later figs, which grow on the new wood and make up the main crop, generally maturing from August onward. The early figs may be easily shaken from the tree when ripe, and are prized for their delicate flavor.—Nah. 3:12.

Along about February, the first fruit buds appear on the branches of the previous season and precede the leaves by about two months, since these do not appear until the final part of April or in May. (Matt. 24:32) At Song of Solomon 2:13 the first signs of