WAFERS, thin cakes made of fine flour
prepared with pure oil, Exod. 16:31;
Lev. 2:4: these formed part of the offer-
ings at the consecration of the priests,
Exod. 29:2, 23; in the meat-offerings,
Lev. 2:4; thank-offerings, 7:12; and
Nazarites' offerings, Num. 6:19.
WAG, to shake, as the hand or the
head in contempt and scorn, Jer. 18:
16; Zeph. 2:15.
WAR, to make war, as against a nation,
2 Chron. 6:34: to besiege or attack, as
a city, 2 Kings 16:5: to command an
army, 2 Sam. 22:35: to contend, as
against sin and evil spirits, 2 Cor. 10:3; 1
Tim. 1:18.
WARRED, did make war, Num. 31:
7; Josh. 24:9; 2 Kings 6:8.
WARRING, besieging, as a city by an
army, 2 Kings 19:8: opposing, as passion
against grace in the heart, Rom. 7:23.
WASH, to cleanse with water, Gen.
18:4: to bathe, Exod. 2:5: to pardon
and purify, as spiritual blessings were
implored by David, after his awful trans-
gressions, Psal. 51:2-7: to cleanse, by a
return to holiness, as wicked men are
commanded, Jer. 2:22; 4:14.
WASHED, did wash with water, as the
feet after travelling, Gen. 43:24; Judg.
19:21: did bathe, as wounds for the pur-
pose of healing, Act 16:33: did pardon
and sanctify, as Christ, by virtue of
His sacrifice and grace, blesses the redeemed,
Rev. 1:5.
WASHED. "the
blood of Jesus Christ
his Son cleanseth us from all sin[,]"
1 John 1:7.
WASHED, cleansed with water, Ezek.
16:4; Acts 9:37; 1 Tim. 5:10: regene-
rated or purified, 1 Cor. 6:11.
WASHING, the act of cleansing, as
clothes, Neh. 4:24; or domestic utensils,
Matt. 7:4; Heb. 9:10. Regeneration
by the word and Spirit of God is
called
"washing[,]" Tit. 3:5.
WASHING, cleansing, 2 Sam. 11:2; Luke
5:2.
WASH-POT, a vessel to bathe the feet
in; to which the Psalmist likens Moab,
Psal. 60:8.
WASTE, a desert,
as uncultivated or
barren land, to which state some ancient
cities have been reduced through the
wickedness of their inhabitants, Jer.
49:13: useless expenditure, Matt.
26:8.
WASTE, desert or barren, as the deserts
of Arabia, Deut. 32:10: void or empty
of inhabitants, Jer. 46:19; Ezek. 5:14;
Nah. 2:10.
WASTE, to make desert or barren, Mic.
5:6; Jer. 50:21.
WASTE, to become less or to fail, 1
Kings 17:14.
WASTED, did lay waste, or ravage, 1
Chron. 20:1: did expend, Luke 15:13:
did injure, or destroy, as by persecution,
Gal. 1:13.
WASTED, expended, Luke 16:1: de-
stroyed, Num. 14:33; Deut. 2:14; Isa.
60:12.
WASTENESS, barrenness or solitude,
Zeph. 1:15.
WASTER, a destroyer, as a spendthrift,
Prov. 18:9; as a dreadful desolating
conqueror, Isa. 54:16.
WASTING, desolation or crime, Isa. 59:
7; 60:18.
WATCH, a band of soldiers to guard, as
a city watching during part of the night,
Judg. 7:19; Neh. 4:9; Matt. 27:65,
66: a band of Levites on sacred duty,
Neh. 12:9: a part of the night, or about
three or four hours, in which one band of
soldiers continued on guard, Exod. 14:
24; 1 Sam. 11:11; Psal. 90:4; Matt. 14:
25: guard or care by watching, as shep-
herds in the night, Luke 2:8. Watches
in the night were reckoned by the Jews
only three, but four by the Romans: the
first began about six o'clock in the even-
ing; the second about nine; the third
about twelve; and the fourth about three
o'clock till six in the morning, Matt. 14:
25.
WATCH, to keep awake, as the porter
at a gate, Mark 13:34, 37; as a guard
or sentinel on duty, Isa. 21:5; or as
those who have difficult services to per-
form, Matt. 24:42; 1 Cor. 16:13; 2
Tim. 4:5: to observe carefully, 1 Sam.
19:11; Psal. 37:32; Rev. 16:5.
WATER, to moisten, as the ground of
gardens to promote vegetation, Gen. 2:10;
Deut. 11:10; Isa. 55:10: to supply beasts
for drink, Gen. 29:7: to wet, as with
tears, Psal. 6:6; or with blood of slain
men, Ezek. 32:6.
WATER-BROOKS, small rivulets, Psal.
42:1.
WATER-COURSES, the beds of rivers,
sometimes dry, 2 Chron. 32:30; Isa.
44:4.
WATER-FLOODS, excessive floods after
heavy rains; to which calamities are
likened, Psal. 69:15.
WATER-POT, a jar or jug, John 4:
28. Two firkins would be about fifteen
gallons, the lowest computed measure of
those water-pots at Cana, 2:6, 7.
WATER-SPOUTS, collections of water
carried into the air by whirlwinds, and
falling in dangerous effusions at sea or on
land: they are frequent in Canaan and
other countries; and to these afflictions
are likened, Psal. 42:7.
WATER-SPRINGS, wells or fountains,
making ground to be fruitful, Psal. 107:
33, 35.
WEALTH, riches, property in general,
Gen. 34:29; Deut. 8:17, 18; Ruth
2:1: gain or profit, Acts 19:25: advan-
tage, 1 Cor. 10:24.
WEALTHY, rich, abounding in the
means of wealth, Psal. 66:12; Jer. 49:
31.
WEANED, did wean, or take from the
breast, as a sucking child, 1 Kings 11:20;
Hos. 1:8.
WEANED, taken from the breast, 1 Sam.
1:22. Children, among the Hebrews,
were weaned from the breast at any age
from one to about three years old, Gen.
21:8; from the nurse at about seven,
1 Sam. 1:22; from childish occupations at
about twelve, Luke 2:42.
WEAR, to use as clothes, Deut. 22:5;
1 Sam. 22:18: to decline or waste, as
human strength, Exod. 18:18; or as
daylight in the evening, Luke 9:12.
WEAR. "The woman
shall not wear that
which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall
a man put on a woman's garment: for all
that do so are abomination unto the LORD
thy God." (Deut. 22:5)
WEARIED, did fatigue or waste strength,
Gen. 19:11; Jer. 12:5.
WEARIED, worn with fatigue, John 4:
6; Heb. 12:3.
WEARINESS, fatigue, Eccles. 12:12; 2
Cor. 11:27.
WEARING, using, as clothes or robes,
1 Sam. 14:3; John 19:5; 1 Pet. 3:5.
WEARISOME, distressing, as fatiguing
with pain, Job 7:3.
WEARY, fatigued, as with labour or
exercise, Judg. 4:31; 2 Sam. 16:14:
displeased, as with some afflictions or
providential discipline, Job 10:1; Prov. 3:
11: distressed, as by the wicked manners
of the ungodly, Gen. 27:46.
WEASEL, a small animal, remarkable
for its enmity to serpents, rats, and mice:
though the mole is believed to be [perhaps] in-
tended by the word rendered weasel,
used only once in Scripture, Lev. 11:29.
WEATHER, the state of the air, as fair,
Job 37:22; or cold weather, Prov.
25:20.
WEAVE, to form by texture, as in net-
work, or in making cloth, Isa. 19:9; or
plait, as with the hair, Judg. 16:16.
WEAVER, a man who makes cloth by
weaving, Exod. 35:35; Job 7:6.
WEB, a texture, as cloth woven in a
loom, Isa. 59:6; as a spider's web, Job
8:14. Samson's hair was formed into a
web by plaiting, Judg. 16:13, 14.
WEDDING, the marriage ceremony, or
the festival of marriage, Matt. 22:3-11;
Luke 14:8.
WEDGE, a short bar thin at one end,
as for the cleaving of wood: a wedge of
gold, is an ingot or mass, cast nearly in
the form of a wedge, Josh. 7:21, 24; Isa.
13:12.
WEEDS, noxious plants, growing in the
sea, as well as on land, Jon. 2:5.
WEEK, seven days, as from sabbath to
sabbath, the time in which Jacob kept
the marriage-feast for Leah, before he
received Rachel, Gen. 29:27, 28; Luke
18:12.
WEEK OF YEARS, or sabbath of years,
a period of seven years, seven of which
periods issued in a jubilee, Lev. 25:3-8.
See JUBILEE. SABBATH.
WEEKS OF YEARS. Daniel was inspired
to record, that "Seventy weeks[,]" or weeks
of years, as is agreed by all commentators
of reputation, denoting 490 years, were
decreed to be terminated by the eventful death of the Messiah, Dan. 9:24, 25.
Commentators are not perfectly agreed
as to the commencement of that period,
some reckoning from the seventh year of
Artaxerxes, in which the royal commis-
sion was given to Ezra, to restore the
Jewish services in the temple, Ezra 7:
7, 26; and others from the twentieth
year, when Nehemiah was commissioned
to rebuild Jerusalem, Neh. 2:1. "Seventy
weeks of years, or 490 years, which
reckoned from the seventh year of
Artaxerxes, coinciding with the 4256th
year of the Julian Period, and in the
month Nisan, in which Ezra was com-
missioned to restore the Jewish state and
polity, will bring us to the month Nisan
of the 4746th year of the same period, or
A.D. 33, the very month and year in which
our LORD suffered and completed
the
work of our redemption."
WIFE, a married
woman having a hus-
band, Gen. 2:24; 24:4; 41:45. Having
more than one wife was common at an
early period of the world, Gen. 4:19:
many of the patriarchs fell into that guilty custom, by which the law of God
was dishonoured, while numerous mise-
ries were the consequence, the secondary
wife or wives being subject to various
oppressions and degradations; as may be
seen even in the families of Abraham,
Jacob, and David. See HAGAR, and CON-
CUBINE.
WILDERNESS, a desert, or unculti-
vated tract of land, Exod. 14:3; 1 Kings
19:15; Acts 21:38. The north-western
part of Arabia was almost wholly uncul-
tivated; and hence Moses calls it "a ter-
rible and a waste howling wilderness,"
Deut. 1:19; 32:10. Paran, Sin, and Sinai, were deserts in that dangerous
country. Several wildernesses or small
deserts existed in Canaan; as "the wilder-
ness of Judaea," famous for the ministry
of the BaptistJohn, Matt.
3:1.
WILES, stratagems or allurements,
Eph. 6:11.
WILFULLY, daringly, obstinately, Heb.
10:26.
WILILY, craftily, cunningly, Josh. 9:
4.
WILL, that faculty of the soul by which
we choose or refuse. Man endowed with reason, must necessarily be free to
choose
and to refuse, or he cannot be a subject
of virtue or vice, praise or blame; nor
can he otherwise be an accountable being,
1 Cor. 9:16, 17. The human will being
free, cannot, however, but choose what is
agreeable to the state of the heart, and
man being a fallen creature, whose nature
is corrupted, the will never acts or
chooses in a manner that is perfectly
virtuous and holy, as required by the
Divine law, until the mind
is renewed by
the Holy Spirit, John 5:4; Rom.
8:6,
14; Phil. 2:13. Hence the need of
divine grace, regeneration, and sanctifica-
tion. This gracious renovation is there-
fore represented as giving a new heart
and a right spirit, as putting the law of God into the mind, Jer. 31:33;
Ezek.
11:19, 20; Heb. 8:10.
WINTER, to pass the winter, 1 Cor.
16:6; Tit. 3:12: to shelter during the
stormy season, Acts 27:12: to feed in
the scarce winter, Isa. 18:6.
WINTERED, sheltered in the stormy
season, Acts 28:11.
WIPE, to cleanse by rubbing gently,
2 Kings 21:13; Luke 7:38; John 13:5:
to dry up tears, as by removing the cause
of grief, Isa. 25:8; or by forgetfulness,
Neh. 13:14.
WIPED, cleansed or removed, Prov. 6:
33.
WIPING, cleansing by rubbing, 2 Kings
21:13.
WIRES, very thin bars or strips, as of
metal, Exod. 39:3.
WISDOM, practical knowledge, Exod.
31:3; 1 Kings 3:28; 4:29, 30; Dan. 1:
4; 2:23; 5:11. Intelligence or knowledge
in a wicked mind is not properly wisdom,
but subtlety or craftiness: evil spirits,
therefore, though knowing and intelli-
gent, and appearing to possess wisdom,
are not wise, Gen. 3:1; Exod. 1:10; Jam.
3:15. Wisdom is put for learning or
science, Acts 7:22: large experience,
Job 12:12: true religion, in the know-
ledge and fear of God, 28:28; Prov.
4:7; Jam. 3:17: the Scriptures, as the oracles of Divine wisdom, Luke
11:49. God is the only source of
wisdom, Rom.
11:33; 16:27; Dan. 2:20, 23; Jam. 1:5, 17. Christ possesses all the
treasures of
wisdom and knowledge, Col. 2:3: and,
therefore, He is the donor of wisdom to
His disciples for their salvation, 1 Cor. 1:
24-30.
WITCHCRAFT, the wicked profession
of those who pretend to possess or to
hold intercourse with "familiar spirits,"
as witches and wizards, 2 Kings 9:22;
2 Chron. 33:6. Witchcraft is highly
provoking to God, 1 Sam. 15:23; Mic. 5:
12; Gal. 5:20.
WITNESS, a person giving testimony
concerning anything, Gen. 21:30; Acts
1:8, 22. Two witnesses were required
in a criminal charge, by the law of Moses,
Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6. Thus the
Jewish rulers, who hired Judas to betray
his Master, procured other wicked men,
as false witnesses against Christ, for his
destruction, Matt. 26:59, 60; and such
were engaged against Stephen, Acts 6:
13. Witness is put for a person who is
capable of giving testimony from his
knowledge of facts, Gen. 30:50; Ruth
4:9-11; for evidence, Exod. 22:13; Jer.
32:10-25; and for testimony itself, as
the gospel testimony is the witness of
Jesus, Rev. 20:4. God is a witness,
giving the most satisfactory evidence to
the minds of His servants, Rom. 1:9; and
to the wicked for their confusion, Mal.
3:5. JesusChrist is a witness, making
known His truth and ordinances, Rev.
1:
5. The Holy
Ghost is a witness, effectu-
ally persuading the hearts of believers
by His sanctifying grace, Heb. 10:15: His
holy influence, producing Christian tem-
pers, constitutes the witness in the mind,
1 John 5:10.
WITNESS, to testify, 1 Sam. 12:3,
especially in court against an accused
person, Matt. 26:62; 27:13: to in-
form, Acts 20:23.
