too that in various ways became bloodguilty. (Jg 9:24; 2Sa 1:16; 4:6-12) David, on the other hand, escaped such guilt when he heeded Jehovah’s warning sent to him through Abigail. (1Sa 25:24-26, 31, 33) The city of Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E. because of gross bloodguilt. (Eze 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; Mt 23:35, 36; 27:24, 25; Lu 11:50, 51) The great “harlot” Babylon the Great is so bloodguilty that she is said to be drunk with the blood of Jehovah’s people.​—Re 17:5, 6; 18:24.

Truly such bloodguilty ones are not worthy of 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.​—Re 19:1, 2.

The Christian Greek Scriptures outline three distinct ways in which a Christian could become bloodguilty before God: (1) by bloodshed, murder​—this would include those actively or tacitly supporting the activities of a bloodguilty organization (such as Babylon the Great [Re 17:6; 18:2, 4] or other organizations that have shed much innocent blood [Re 16:5, 6; compare Isa 26:20, 21]); (2) by eating or drinking blood in any way (Ac 15:20); and (3) by failing to preach the good news of the Kingdom, thereby withholding the lifesaving information it contains.​—Ac 18:6; 20:26, 27; compare Eze 33:6-8.

See COLORS.

(Bo·a·nerʹges) [Sons of Thunder].

A Semitic 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. (Lu 9:54) Unlike Simon’s new name Peter, Boanerges does not appear to have been commonly used.

[Heb., chazirʹ].

This animal is mentioned in the Scriptures 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 (Sus scrofa) is still to be found in the swamps of Palestine.

A large wild boar may weigh some 160 kg (350 lb), measure nearly 1.5 m (5 ft) in length, and may stand 1 m (3 ft) 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 such as roots, grain, earthworms, snails, small animals, birds’ eggs, and the like.

(Boʹaz) [possibly, In Strength].

A landowner of Bethlehem in Judah, “a man mighty in wealth” of about the 14th century B.C.E. (Ru 2:1) Boaz was the son of Salma (Salmon) and Rahab, and he was the father of Obed. (Mt 1:5) He was a link in the family line of the Messiah, the seventh in line of descent from Judah. (1Ch 2:3-11; Lu 3:32, 33) How this very unusual turn of events came about, allowing Boaz to be included 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. (Ru 2:3) Now Boaz was a true Judean, a devout worshiper of Jehovah. Not only did he greet his harvesters with “Jehovah be with you,” but, after observing Ruth’s loyalty toward Naomi, he also said to her, “May Jehovah reward the way you act, and may there come to be a perfect wage for you from Jehovah.” (Ru 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.” (Ru 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 at his threshing floor, he 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 comply with the divine arrangement. Boaz, however, was