Blains
(אֲבִעבֻּעֹת, ababuoth'; Sept. φλυκτίδες; Vulg. vesicce) occurs only in the account of the sixth plague of Egypt (Ex 9:9-10), where it is described as "a boil breaking forth into blains," i.e. violent ulcerous inflammations (from בּוּעִ, to boil up). The ashes from the furnaces or brick-kilns were taken by Moses, a handful at a time, and scattered to the winds; and wherever a particle fell, on man or beast, it caused this troublesome and painful disease to appear. It is called in De 28:27,35, "the botch of Egypt" (comp. Job 2:7). It seems to have been the ψωρά ἀγρία, or black leprosy, a fearful kind of elephantiasis (comp. Plin. 26:5). It must have come with dreadful intensity on the magicians whose art it baffled, and whose scrupulous cleanliness (Herod. ii, 36) it rendered nugatory, so that they were unable to stand in the presence of Moses because of the boils. SEE BOIL.
Other names for purulent and leprous eruptions are בִּהֶרֶת שׂאֵת (Mophea alba), סִפִּחִת (Morphea nigra) and the more harmless מַספִּחִת, Leviticus 13, passim (Jahn, Bibl. Arch. § 189). SEE LEPROSY.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More