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•TORMENT Gr. basanos (Matthew 4:24), the “touch-stone” of justice; hence inquisition by torture, and then any disease which racks and tortures the limbs.
•TORTOISE (Hebrews tsabh). Ranked among the unclean animals (Leviticus 11:29). Land tortoises are common in Syria. The LXX. renders the word by “land crocodile.” The word, however, more probably denotes a lizard, called by the modern Arabs dhabb.
•TOW (Judges 16:9). See FLAX.
•TOWER OF THE FURNACES (Nehemiah 3:11; 12:38), a tower at the north-western angle of the second wall of Jerusalem. It was probably so named from its contiguity to the “bakers’ street” (Jeremiah 37:21).
•TOWERS of Babel (Genesis 11:4), Edar (Genesis 35:21), Penuel (Judges 8:9, 17), Shechem (9:46), David (Cant. 4:4), Lebanon (7:4), Syene (Ezekiel 29:10), Hananeel (Zechariah 14:10), Siloam (Luke 13:4). There were several towers in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 26:9; Psalm 48:12). They were erected for various purposes, as watch-towers in vineyard (Isaiah 5:2; Matthew 21:33) and towers for defence.
•TRACHONITIS a rugged region, corresponds to the Hebrews Argob (q.v.), the Greek name of a region on the east of Jordan (Luke 3:1); one of the five Roman provinces into which that district was divided. It was in the tetrarchy of Philip, and is now called the Lejah.
•TRADITION any kind of teaching, written or spoken, handed down from generation to generation. In Mark 7:3, 9, 13, Colossians 2:8, this word refers to the arbitrary interpretations of the Jews. In 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 3:6, it is used in a good sense. Peter (1 Peter 1:18) uses this word with reference to the degenerate Judaism of the “strangers scattered” whom he addresses (comp. Acts 15:10; Matthew 15:2-6; Galatians 1:14).