LYSIAS.
CLAW (kla), (Heb. far-saw'), the sharp, hocked end of the foot of a bird, or animal; the hoof solid or split. As in older English claw was used for an animal's hoof, and for any of the parts into which a cloven hoof is divided, so in Deut. xiv :6, A. V., we read, 'And every beast that parteth the hoof and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, . . . that ye shall eat' (P.. V., 'and hath the hoof cloven in two') ; and in 'etch. xi :16, 'he shall eat the flesh of the fat and tear their claws in pieces' (R. V., 'hoofs'). The Hebrew is parsah, the ordinary word for 'hoof,' in both passages (Cf. Lovell, 1660. (J. Hastings, Bib. Diet.) Figurative. To tear claws in pieces is to de vour ravenously the last morsel of flesh or fat. It refers to the cutting off of every means of pro tection, resistance or conquest (Zech. xi :16).
CLAY (kle), (Heb. 4, tee!, properly mire or mud).
A substance frequently mentioned in Scripture, chiefly with reference to its employment by the potter, the elegant and useful forms assumed by the rude material tinder his hands supplying a significant emblem of the Divine power over the destinies of man (Is. lxiv :8; Rom. ix ;21). A remarkable allusion to the use of clay in sealing occurs in Job xxxviii :14, 'He turneth it as clay to the seal.' This may be explained by reference to the ancient practice of impressing unburnt bricks with certain marks and inscriptions which were obviously made by means of a large seal or stamp. We trace this in the bricks of Egypt and Babylon. (See BRICKS.) Modern Oriental usages supply another illustration. Travelers, when en tering the khans in towns, often observe the rooms in which goods have been left in charge of the khanjee sealed on the outside with clay. A piece of clay is placed over the lock and impressed by a large wooden stamp or seal.
Figurative. (I) Men are compared to clay; their bodies are formed of it ; they are frail and easily undone (Is. xxix :16; xli :25 ; lxiv :8). (2) In Nebuchadnezzar's image the Roman kingdom is compared to a mixture of iron and miry clay, to denote that notwithstanding its having been once very powerful, yet it should become weak, and be easily destroyed by the barbarous Goths, Huns, Vandals, Heruli, etc. (Dan. ii 42)• (3) Trouble is like miry clay ; it is very uncomfort able; men gradually sink into it, and with diffi culty can they escape it (Ps. x1:2). (4) Wealth and other worldly enjoyments are likened to a load of thick clay ; they are of small value for an immortal soul, and are often polluting, enslav ing and burdensome (Hab. ii :6). (5) The clay wherewith Jesus anointed the eyes of the blind man may denote ordinances which are contempt ible in the view of worldly men, or convictions which render men blind in their own view (John ix :6, 15). (6) The earth is turned up as clay to the seal ; when it is fresh plowed it is ready to receive any impression, and when the warmth of summer returns it assumes a comely appear ance (Job xxxviii :14). Bricks are often printed with figures from a cut die or seal. Travelers to the East assure us that the lock of the room or apartment in a caravansary, where goods are de posited, is often sealed with clay. The keyhole is covered with a mass of clay and a seal applied. In the passage quoted, the turning of clay to the seal and the reducing of the shapeless mass to order and beauty is compared to morning reduc ing the shapeless masses of the dark night to reg ularity and order.