A
AARON (אהרון). The elder
brother of Moses. The data concerning
Aaron
is of utmost importance, although sketchy. Aaron was Moses' helper
in
freeing the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Aaron with his rod per-
formed a sign before Pharaoh. Aaron was beside Moses in leading
and organizing the people. Through anointing by Moses, Aaron be-
came the priest. The tent of meeting and the ark
within it were commit-
ted to Aaron's
charge.
The
Bible has 3 descriptions of Aaron. 1st, Aaron was the most
outstanding of the Levites. 250 leaders of the tribe protested
that there
was no need for the Levites to be specially set apart to worship
God;
the issue was settled by
Aaron winning a trial by ordeal. And
when a
rod from each the twelve tribes was placed before the ark, the rod of
Levi (Aaron's) blossomed. The priesthood
of Aaron and his descen-
dants was "by a perpetual statute." Moses interceded for Aaron when
the golden calf was made. Aaron and his sons are
charged with tea
ching Israel's children all the Lord's statutes. But the priesthood
Aaron's first 2 sons, Nadab and Abihu, were rejected. When Aaron,
like Moses, was forbidden to enter the Promised Land, Moses invested
Eleazar with Aaron's garments.
2nd,
Aaron was the spokesman for Moses; he met Moses at the
mountain of God and, instructed by Moses, returned with
him and con-
vinced the people by words and signs. Aaron accompanied Moses up
the mountain. 3rd, Aaron is described as an elder, a
leader and judge
of the people, not a priest. Aaron was the passive agent of the people's
irresistible
desire to commit apostasy in making the golden calf. Aaron
died and was buried at Moserah.
AARONITES (בני
אהרן (be nie ar on), sons of Aaron)
All the priests
whose descent is traced from Aaron as the founder
and head of the
priesthood.
AARON'S ROD. Aaron
cast down his rod and it became a serpent and
swallowed the serpent-rods cast
down by Egyptian magicians. Aaron
used his rod to bring about the first 3 plagues. Other passages de-
scribe the rod as Moses' rod. Aaron's rod blossomed before the ark,
confirming Levites in the priesthood.
AB
(אב, fruit (?)). The fifth Hebrew month (July-August)
ABAGTHA (אבגﬨא). 1 of 7 eunuchs sent by Ahasuerus,
king of Per-
sia, to accompany the queen, Vasthi, to the royal feast; such eu-
nuchs were usually foreigners.
ABANA (אבנה). A river
flowing down from Anti-Lebanon through Da-
mascus, it provides the region with water. The river disappears in
the steppe east of Damascus.
ABARIM (עברים, regions beyond).
A mountainous region at the
Western edge of the plateau of
northern Moab
camped here after leaving Almon-dibla-thaim and before reaching
the plains of
Moab.
ABBA (אבא). A
term used as equal to “my father,” or “our father.” The
expression is assumed
to be a common, informal one, used in family
circles. In Judaism, the figurative use of “father”
implies a close rela-
tionship between God and Israel; it is rarely found in
the earlier litera-
ture. Jesus uses the word as one who is close to God.
ABDA
(עבדא, servant of Yahu).
The father of Aboniram, who was in
charge of forced labor under Solomon.
ABDEEL (עבדאל, servant of God).
The father of Shelimiah, a cour-
tier of Jehoiakim.
ABDIEL (עבדיאל, servant of God). Guni's son and Ahi's father of in
Gad's genealogy.
ABDON
(עבדון, service or
servile). 1. Son of Hillel one of the minor
judges. He “judged Israel” eight years and apparently
headed a
family of some wealth and prominence. 2. Son of Shashak of
Benjamin. 3. Firstborn son of Jeiel, ancestor of
Saul. 4. Cour-
tier of King Josiah.5.
Levitical town in the territory of Asher.
ABEL
(הבל, אבל vanity, breath, vapor, son) His name perhaps stresses
the shortness of Abel's life or the weak, transitory nature of human life.
As “son,” it could be a generic term
for humankind. Abel presented to
Yahweh an offering "of the firstling of his flock," which found favor with
Yahweh. Cain murdered his innocent
and unsuspecting younger brother.
Abel
is memorialized as the first righteous martyr.
ABEL-BETH-MAACAH (מעכה בית אבל). A fortified
city in Northern Is-
against David. It was among the towns
taken by Ben-hadad of
Damascus.
A-1
ABEL-KERAMIM (כרמים אבל, watercourse of vineyards). The terminal
point of Jephthah's military
campaign against the Ammonites.
ABEL-MEHOLAH (בל מחלחא, dance place by a stream). A city E of the
the Midianites fled to after
being attacked at night and routed from their
camp by Gideon. Elijah received instruction to
anoint Elisha of this town
as his successor.
ABI-ALBON בי־עלבון) א). One
of David's heroes known as the Thirty.
ABIASAPH (אביאסף, father has gathered)). A division of the Levites de-
scended from Korah.
ABIATHAR (אביתר, father (God) gives abundantly). Son of Ahimelech
and sole survivor of
King Saul's slaughter of the priests
of Nob. He fled
to David and became his
priest and the interpreter of an oracle. After
the capture of Jerusalem, we find this man coupled with Zadok as
chief
priests to David. If he was a guardians of a Northern
shrine, he would
be an invaluable aid in getting and keeping the allegiance of
the Nor-
thern Israelite tribes.
Abiathar
later supported Adonijah's claims, while his rival Zadok
backed Solomon. Abiathar was exiled to Anathoth, escaping death
only
because of his earlier association with David. Perhaps the prophet Jere-
miah was this man's descendent. He has been suggested as the early
source of
the books of Samuel.
ABIB (אביב, young head of grain). The Canaanite name of the first Hebrew
month, later called Nisan.
ABIDA (אבידע, my father knows).
The fourth son of Midian, from the line of
Abraham and Keturah.
ABIDAN (אבידן, the divine father judged). A leader of Benjamin, he was
among the twelve who assisted Moses in taking a
census of Israel,
and other tasks.
ABIEL (אביאל, father is El).
1. A Benjamite who appears to be the grand-
father of Saul, but who is
more likely his
great-grandfather. 2. (See Abi-
Albon).
ABIEZER (אביעזר, father is help). 1. A
family of Manasseh to whom some
of the Manassite territory in Canaan was
allotted. 2. The family of Gi-
deon. Gideon's early support in the campaign
against Midianites came
from the Abiezrites. 3. A Benjamite from
Anathoth; a member of
David's bodyguard, and in charge of one division of
24,000 men.
ABIGAIL (אביגיל, my father rejoices). 1. Wife
of Nabal, who persuaded
David not to take vengeance on Nabal for snubbing him, and later wife of
David. She bore him a son named
Chileab. 2. Sister or half-sister of
David. She married Jether the Ishmaelite, by whom
she bore Amasa,
whom David appointed his army's captain in place of Joab.
ABIHAIL (אביחיל, father (deity) is might). 1. A
Levite, ancestor of the house
of Merari. 2. Wife of Abishur. 3. A Gadite. 4. The cousin and wife
of Jerimoth. 5. The father of Queen Esther, and uncle of Mordecai.
ABIHU (אביהוא, father is he).
One of the first 2 sons of Aaron (Nadab is
the other). Leviticus 10: 1-5 obscurely narrates their priestly sin and
destruction.
ABIHUD (אביהוד, father is majesty) A Benjaminite who is said to be the
third son of Bela. Could also be read “father of Ehud.”
ABIJAH (אביהו, Yahweh is my father).
1. Becher’s son, of Benjamin.
2. Hezron’s wife, of Judah. 3. Samuel’s younger
son. A judge in
Beer-sheba along with brother Joel. Because of their
injustices, the
people of Israel demanded a king. 4. Aaron’s
descendant. He was
the head of the 8th division in temple service. 5. King of Judah
around 915-913, son and
successor of Rehoboam. Abijah reigned
only
two full years. The border
warfare between Jeroboam and Rehoboam
was continued in Abijah's reign. Abijah's victory, in which he captured
Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, had only temporary significance.
Abijah
had 14 wives, 22 sons, and 16 daughters.
6. Son of Jeroboam I, king of Israel. This king sent his wife to in-
quire of the
prophet Ahijah what would become his ailing son. Ahijah
pronounce doom upon the house of
Jeroboam, and said the child would
die immediately on his wife's return
home. 7. Mother of Hezekiah,
king of Judah. 8. One
of the priests who set his seal on the covenant
made by Nehemiah and the people to serve the
Lord. 9. A chief priest
who returned
with Zerubbabel from Babylon Jerusalem
nons, northeast
of Mount Hermon and west of Damascus
for Rome by Ptolemy. His son Lysanias ruled during successive
Parth-
ian and Roman invasions (40-38 B.C.) and was executed by Mark An-
thony who
gave Abilene to Cleopatra in 36 B.C.
Augustus assigned it to
King Herod the Great. After his death, Abilene was included in the
pro-
vince of Syria. In 37 A.D., it was
joined to Palestine under King Herod
Agrippa I (37-44). It is recorded that Abila became an episcopal
seat
with the Patriarchate of Antioch.
Abila of Lysanias is the modern es-Suk.
A-2
ABIMELECH (אבימל, Malek is father) 1. An
ancient king of Gerar about
whom we have no information. He is the local ruler in 2 of the 3 versions
of a folk story about a patriarch's pretending his wife was only his
sister.
Despite his anger, the king
gives them protection. The story has
Abme
melech and his army commander, Phicol, involved in a dispute about
wells with the patriarch.
2. Son of Jerubbaal (Gideon), king over
Shechem for a brief peri-
od. Upon Gideon's death, Abimelech won out against
the other sons of
Gideon by enlisting the aid of relatives in Shechem. He hired a band,
journeyed to his father's house, and slew his
70 half-brothers; only Jo-
tham escaped.
Jotham was successful in creating dissension. In the
rebellion
that followed, Abimelech defeated the rebels, and destroyed
Shechem.
While assaulting
the nearby town of Thabez, he had his skull crushed by
a millstone. The story is significant in that it gives a vivid picture of the
conflict between Israelites and Canaanites during the Conquest. HIs
reign wasn't that of a hereditary
monarch, nor was he charismatic like
his father. He was more like the petty ruler of a Canaanite
city-state.
ABINADAB (אבינדב, father is noble) 1. The father of Eleazar,
Ahio and
Uzzah. His home sheltered the
ark for some 20 years. His son Eleazar
was consecrated to have charge over the ark.
His son Uzzah died after
touching the ark. 2. The 2nd son of Jesse. 3. A son of Saul who
perished in the Battle
of Mt. Gilboa.
ABINOAM (אבינעם, father is pleasantness) Barak's father who, inspired
by Deborah, marshaled the Northern Hebrew forces and defeated
Sisera's Canaanites
forces.
ABIRAM (אבירם, my father
is exalted) 1. Son of Eliab, tribe of Reuben.
Along with his brother Dathan, he led the
rebellion against Moses. The
rebels and their households were swallowed up by a crack in the Earth.
2. The first born son of Hiel of
Bethel, who died when his father rebuilt
Jericho.
ABISHAG (אבישג, my father is a wanderer) A very beautiful Shunammite
maiden, brought as a medical measure to
restore David's youth and
vigor. She was considered by Solomon to be David's wife.
ABISHAI (אבישי, father
exists). Eldest son of Zuruiah, sister of David,
bro-
ther of Joab and Asahel. Abishai was
very brave and loyal to David,
and shared an impervious hardness with his
brother Joab.
Abishai first appears in a
daring exploit, when he accompanied
David into Saul's camp. Abishai urged Saul’s execution, but David did
not. Abishai was also at Gideon’s Pool,
when Abner challenged Joab
and his men to a trial by combat. Abner lost and fled, pursued by Asa-
hel, Abishai's brother; Abner was forced to slay him. Abishai and Joab
took up the chase and were
dissuaded from killing Abner by his pathetic
display.
In the 1st Ammonite
war, Syrian mercenaries tried to join the
Ammonites. To prevent this union, Joab divided his army; he routed the
Syrians with part, while Abishai routed the Ammonites. When Absalom's
rebellion forced David to flee,
Shimei, Saul’s son, grievously cursed the
king, but was spared the speedy death
Abishai proposed, much to Abi-
shai's disgust. Abishai also shared joint command with Joab
and Ittai.
Abishai and Joab were also in command of elite troops which suc-
cessfully put down
the rebellion of Sheba the
Benjamite. Abishai shared
the leadership with David and Joab in the conquering of Edom.
He had
the singular honor of being the commander of the Mighty Men of David
known as The 30; he rescued David at Nob, and slayed 300 men.
ABISHUA (אבישוע, the divine father is salvation) 1. Son
of Bela, grand-
son of Benjamin. 2. Great-grandson of Aaron and ancestor of Ezra
the scribe.
ABISHUR (אבישור, my father is a wall). Son of Shammai in the genealogy
of Jerahmeel (I Chronicles 8).
ABITAL (אביטל, my father is protection). A wife of David; the mother of
She-
phatiah (II Samuel 3).
ABITUB ( אביטוב, my father is good). Son of Shaharaim, listed in the
genealogy
of Benjamin.
ABLUTIONS (βαπτισμοιι (bap tis moy).
Ceremonial washings. In the
letter to the Hebrews, the author speaks of "various ablutions" in
the Levitical code (OT) which have now been superseded by the Holy
Spirit.
ABNER (אבנר, father is Ner or father of
light). The commander of the
Isra-
elite army under Saul; he was in charge of the Philistine campaign, and
introduced David to Saul. Abner went
with Saul in his frenzied perse-
cution of David.
David chided him for his lack of vigilance in guarding
Saul.
After
Saul died, Abner placed Ish-baal, Saul's son, on the throne.
The tribe of Judah would not support him and defected to David. During
the warfare between David's and Saul's
forces, Abner met Joab at the
Pool of Gibeon, challenged Joab to have a trial
by combat with 12 men
from each side, was defeated and fled. Abner was pursued
by Asahel,
whom he killed, and by Joab and Abishai, with whom he pleaded for
his
life. Abner returned to Mahanaim
with a loss of 360 men.
Abner
went in to Rizpah, a royal concubine; he was rebuked by
the king, whom he
rebuked right back for making too much of a fault
considering a woman. Abner opened negotiations with David, and re-
turned David's wife, Michal. He
strongly encouraged the elders of Israel
in their desire for David as their
king. Abner and his diplomats arrived
at
Hebron to arrange the reunion of the two parts of the kingdom.
A-3
Joab was outraged that the
king had received Abner favorably,
tricked Abner into coming back to Hebron,
where he and Abishai murdered
him. When David found out, he proclaimed a public lamentation for Ab-
ner. At this critical point in the reuniting of
the kingdoms, David convinced
the people of his complete innocence and real
regret for Abner's death.
ABOMINATION (a.) תועבה (to 'ebah) ; b and c.) שקץ (shik koots); d.) פגול
(pig gool)) Whatever
is ritually or ethically loathsome and repugnant to
God and men.
a.)
toebah: offensive violation of established custom
[compare with
taboo].
b. and c.) shikkuts: “detestable things” objects connected with
idola-
try and heathen deities. A related word is used for the animal flesh
which
defiles if touched or eaten.
d.)
piggul: putrid, three-day old sacrificial flesh,
unlawful to eat.
ABOMINATION THAT MAKES DESOLATE. Enigmatic phrase occurring in Da-
niel, Matthew, and Mark.
1. The phrases in Daniel may be translated “desolating abomina-
tion. (See Abomination).” The term probably indicates a foreign deity or
some symbol connected with it and has two distinct meanings. First, "to
be appalled and overwhelmed”; second, “to empty of inhabitants.” These
meanings make sense when used in connection with the Altar of Zeus
that was erected on Yahweh's altar in the temple (mentioned in non-cano-
nical writings of the times), appalling the worshipers and emptying the
temple. A third meaning, implying the madness of the Greek ruler in buil-
ding the altar also makes sense.
2. In Mark's Gospel, the phrase becomes an apocalyptic (i.e. Judg-
ment Day) figure. 3. Matthew links the phrase to the above temple image
while still remaining apocalyptic. Luke replaces the phrase with the more
2. In Mark's Gospel, the phrase becomes an apocalyptic (i.e. Judg-
ment Day) figure. 3. Matthew links the phrase to the above temple image
while still remaining apocalyptic. Luke replaces the phrase with the more
earthly threat of Jerusalem surrounded by armies. While the original say-
ing probably referred to Jerusalem's coming destruction by Roman ar-
mies, the event was seen by the early church as one more sign that the
forces of evil were loose in the world.
ABRAHAM (אברהם, father of
a multitude). The patriarch
started out as “Ab-
ram,” which, like Abiram, means “exalted father.” In the necessity of com-
bining the 2 names
of Israel's first patriarch, the Priestly writer found also
a ready device for emphasizing an important theological affirmation, poin-
ting beyond Abraham to Israel's universal mission.
The
story of Abraham shows a wide range of movement. Abra-
ham's family traveled up the ancient,
rich Tigris-Euphrates Valley Haran
From there, called by God, Abraham journeyed through Syria into Pale-
stine. After a short time in Egypt, he returned to
Palestine, the Land of
Promise. His search
for Isaac's wife returns his attention to his origins.
Abraham
came into contact with numerous peoples: Chaldeans and
West Semitic
Amorites (in the East); Canaanites,
Perizzites, Hurrians, Ela-
mites, and Hittites (in Palestine
On a
personal level, circling around Abraham is a whole system of people
whose
keenly delineated characters cast a bright light upon the patriarch:
selfish Lot; Sodomites; scoffing son-in-laws; a stubborn
wife; desperate
daughters; barren, unbelieving Sarah; wronged Hagar; and obedient
Isaac. Further removed, but still
shedding light on Abraham's character
are the Pharoah, innocent Abimelech, and
mysterious Melchizedek.
Reading
the story of Abraham as one, unified story has distinct me-
rit, but behind the
story are older stories. The
earliest written story comes
from the Yahwist writer, who in turn used existing
tradition, older and youn-
ger, written and oral, and joined them together into Israel's first great the-
ological
epic. In the Yahwist part of the story,
God told Abram to leave his
country and go “to the land that I will show you.” God promises to make of
Abraham a great
nation. All those blessing Abraham God
will bless, be-
yond Abraham's immediate family circle, through Israel to all
people.
Abraham's
measure of faith was sufficient for his whole family,
even Lot. In response to
the promise of land and seed, Abraham
set out
for a land not his own, with a wife who was barren. At Shechem, Yahweh
rewarded Abraham's obedience with a promise
of land to his descen-
dants. Looking at
this thriving Canaanite sanctuary,
Abraham could ac-
knowledge Yahweh's ownership of the land only by an act of
faith, in the
form of building an altar.
The places in scripture where building altars to
Yahweh is mentioned may
once have explained Yahweh's worship in
places that were once non-Israelite
shrines; they also show Abraham's
piety and habit of worship. Abraham camped between Bethel and Ai.
Abraham no sooner proved himself a
faithful believer, than he de-
serted the Promised Land for Egypt. This tells a great deal about him.
1st, Abraham exhibited a surprising lack of
faith by leaving Palestine be-
cause he didn't believe that Yahweh could fulfill
the promise in the face
of famine. 2nd, the noble patriarch reached the low
point of his morality
by deceiving the innocent Pharaoh about his wife. 3rd, God acted to
save and bless his chosen
instrument in spite of his lack of faith and his
deception.
Because
strife developed between their herdsmen, Abraham invi-
ted his nephew Lot
to chose the land he wanted. Lot chose the fertile re-
gion of the Jordan
basin and settled in Sodom. Here
Abraham's faith
stands in stark contrast to his lack of it before. He could be generous with
the land because he
knew it was already his. He now received that pro-
mise that he himself would
receive the land, that he should walk about its
length and breadth so that he
might know it as his own. Moreover, the
great nation from Abraham's loins would be as innumerable as the dust
of the
earth. Abraham journeyed south and built
an altar at Hebron.
A-4
When
Abraham stood alone in the land promised to him, Yahweh
assured him that he
should be greatly rewarded with children.
Abraham
couldn't believe it without further assurance; he accused God
of impo-
tence. Instead of a rebuke, Abraham was promised many children.
Ab-
raham accepted it in silent faith. Abraham believed Yahweh. This was
enough for God, who saw Abraham as righteous and worthy. Yahweh re-
ferred to past acts as proof of the power to keep the promise. Abraham
still wanted more proof. Yahweh responded with a covenant, a binding
agreement promising land in return for Abraham's faithfulness to Yahweh
and to the land. According to the Yahwist writer, Abraham reaches his
highest
level here.
In
spite of God's promise, Sarah remained barren.
She proposed
that Abraham go in to her maid, Hagar; when Hagar conceived, hostility
arose between the two women. Abraham evaded
his responsibility in
the situation
by acceding to Sarah's plan, showing a grave lack of trust,
and once again
falling far short of showing faith after having shown com-
mendable faith on an
earlier occasion. Ishmael could not be
the child
long promised, because God's rich blessing stored up for Abraham and
Sarah could not happen through a child begotten in faithless impatience.
Yahweh and 2 angels then appeared to Abraham at Mamre, promi-
sing to return in the
spring and that Sarah would have a son well past the
time of normal
childbearing. Sarah laughed in derision,
rejecting this pos-
sibility; when confronted, she attempted to deny her doubts.
Later,
God revealed to Abraham the intention to destroy Sodom.
The primary value of this scene is not that Abraham won an argument
with God, but that he assumed the role of intercessor and enunciated the
possibility of a
vicarious salvation, of saving an entire city on behalf of a
mere handful of
righteous people. Thus, Abraham became a
blessing to
other families of the earth.
Abraham sent a trusted
servant back to the city of Nahor to obtain
a wife for Isaac, someone brought
up in the “patriarchal god” tradition, and
someone other than a heathen
Canaanite, thus finding a wife who could
worship the God of Abraham and Isaac and sparing Isaac the temptation
of a foreign land. Abraham married Keturah and through her became the
father of
many peoples.
Other
traditions about Abraham, either unknown or unused by the
Yahwist writer, were
collected by the Elohist writer. These sections give
a picture dominated by
the question of his faithfulness to God's promise.
Abraham showed lack of faith by forsaking
Canaan for Philistia. After
having been
assured that he would go to his fathers in a peaceful old age,
Abraham forsook
the Promised Land anyway and dwelt in Gerar and
choose to deceive Abimilech
about Sarah. Abimilech was found innocent
(i. e. of adultery), and Abraham
interceded for this heathen king and his
household.
After
Isaac's birth, Sarah still disbelieved that Abraham could pre-
serve Isaac's
inheritance and wanted Ishmael cast out. Isaac should
have been a living testimony to God's trustworthiness; instead they were
so worried about Isaac's future that, once again in total mistrust, they
took matters into their own
hands. These actions were seen as
Abraham
doing God's will, rather than as wrongful acts that Abraham bore guilt
for.
The
blessing of Abraham by God was evident even to the heathen.
Abimilech petitioned the favored patriarch
for a treaty. In God's final test of
Abraham, the apparent sacrifice of Isaac, both father and son showed a
splendid faith, each in the other and both in God.
In the face of such obe-
dience, God now solemnly reaffirmed God's promise
of innumerable de-
scendents and possession of the land.
The
story told by the Priestly writer shows very little tension between
faith and doubt. Abraham is a towering figure, dominating the scene
around him. As told here, Abraham left Haran 60
years before his father's
death. When he went to rescue Lot, he appeared as a
military hero
routing a coalition of powerful Eastern kings. And having a child by Hagar
was made somewhat
less unfaithful by Abraham waiting 10 years.
Yahweh appeared to him as "God Almighty" and makes a covenant
with
Abraham. After a lapse of doubt,
Abraham shows obedience by following
the ritual of circumcision. In the purchase of Machpelah as his tomb, he
acquired a portion of the land legally so that he was no longer an heir but
an
owner.
In the rest of the Old
Testament, 2 themes link all the early Abra-
hamic traditions: God's promise of a multitude of
descendants and of
land. This was the “God
of Abraham,” therefore Israel was the people of
the “God of Abraham.” The concept of Abraham as mediator and interces-
sor receives significant expansion.
Israel remembers Abraham as the
faithful one for whose sake Israel was blessed.
In
the New Testament, Abraham was the father of the Israelites, but
he becomes the
father of all who after receiving the Spirit, share his faith.
God swore an oath with Abraham, sealed with
promises, but Christians are
the children of the promise. The strongest New Testament picture of
Abra-
ham portrays him as a monumental figure who patiently endured all tests
by
faith. Abraham stands rightly as the father of all the faithful and of a
multitude of faithful nations. Faith isn't abstract or easy; it is the hard-won
result of a difficult human struggle with recurring doubt and unfaith, a vic-
tory through God's forgiving grace.
ABRAHAM'S BOSOM.
The place where the good go at
the moment of death.
In the parable of
the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar at death is carried
there by angels. This view
of a moral division among the dead who dwell
in Sheol appeared in Jewish
literature in the 1st century A. D. Older
Jewish literature makes no mention of
the part of Sheol reserved for the
righteous dead. Rabbinic Judaism sometimes spoke of a rest in
Abra-
ham's bosom in relation to the meal of the blessed in the world to come.
In the New Testament, Lukan parable, the metaphor probably indicates a
blessed communion of the faithful, as of a parent and child.
ABRONAH (עברנה, pass or passage). A place where the Israelites camped
en route to Ezion-geber.
5
ABSALOM (אבשלום, father in peace). David's 3rd son whose ambition preci-
pitated a serious but short-lived
revolt. Absalom was born in Hebron of
Maacah, King Talmai of Geshur's daughter. His sister was raped by
Amnon, first-born of David; he provided
sanctuary for her and lured
Amnon to a feast where Absalom's servants murdered
him. He spent 3
years in exile from Jerusalem
city, but left him barred from royal court. This lasted 2 years until he virtu-
ally forced Joab to intercede for him.
Once
back at court, the ambitious prince began to assert publicly
his heir apparent
status by displaying all the visible signs of the royal
prince; at this point
he was the oldest remaining son. He also
began a
program of careful subversion of David, by exaggerating the evils of
the
king's court. At the end of 4 years,
he went to Hebron and had himself
proclaimed king. David was completely
surprised by this had to flee from
Jerusalem. David still had support in Jerusalem: the priests Zadok and
Abiathar, and
Hushai, David's friend.
Ahithophel
counseled Absalom to claim the right to the royal harem
and thus widen the
break between David & Absalom beyond repair.
He
also asked for 12,000 troops with which to attack and destroy
David. Hu-
shai persuaded Absalom to
personally lead the troops. In the Ephraim
forests, David's seasoned troops, led by Joab,
Abishai, and Ittai utterly
routed Absalom's army. Joab slew Absalom while he hanged helplessly
tangled in a tree, against David's specific orders.
David broke out in unrestrained grief, so
much so that the victory
of David's troops was completely overshadowed by the
sorrow of the king.
He was rebuked by Joab for mourning the death of a traitor instead of ex-
pressing his appreciation of his loyal followers. There is Biblical
confu-
sion as to whether Absalom had any male heir. Maacah, the wife of Reho-
boam, is likely the granddaughter
of Absalom.
ABYSS (αβυσσος ). A bottomless, unfathomed, and unfathomable deep or
underworld.
ACACIA (שטה, שטים (Shitta,
Shittim)). A tree and its
wood. In all but one
instance the
reference is to the wood used in constructing the Ark of the
Covenant. The hard and very durable orange-brown wood
of this tree
is ideally suited for cabinetmaking. Some have identified the burning bush
with an
acacia of a smaller species and the present day source for gum
arabic.
as forming the
original kingdom of Nimrod. Founded to
be the capital of
Sargon's Dynasty (around the 2200s and 2100s B.C.), the city
seems to
have been destroyed with the fall of that dynasty. Its actual ruins have
never been found.
ACCENT, GALILEAN. Jesus
and his disciples spoke Aramaic; but being Gali-
leans, they spoke a dialect
of Aramaic which
had its own unique sounds
and word uses. Matthew records that some bystanders identified Peter by
his accent.
ACCEPTANCE (aποδοχη (ap oh dokh ay)).
1. By acceptance of the
gos-
pel's message, all will inherit the blessings of the
gospel. 2. Certain
acts, such as prayers for others,
caring for one’s dependents, acts of cha-
rity, gifts to a ministry and other “spiritual
sacrifices” are seen as accep-
table to God. 3. The acceptance of
officially recognized messengers of
God is almost the same as accepting God.
ACCESS (προσaγωγη (pro sag oh gay)).
The privilege of approach or of
being introduced, especially to
a divine or
royal personage (e.g. “in Christ
we have boldness and confidence of access
through our faith in him.”
(Eph. 3.12).
ACCO (עכו). Harbor and city-state in Northern Palestine , north of Mount Car-
which is the northern border of Palestine
steeply into the sea. Protected by the mountains is a natural bay, and
one of the few good harbors along
this coast.
Acco is mentioned in an
Egyptian curse and several times in the
Amarna Letters. From these it can be seen that Egypt's
domination of
Acco was not very solidly founded. Acco was conquered by Thut-moses
III, by Seti
I in the 1300s B.C., and by Ramses II in the 1200s B.C. The Is-
raelite tribe of Asher pressed towards
the coast but didn't drive out the in-
habitants. In 733, Acco was brought under Assyrian
domination by Tiglath-
pileser III. In
Greek times, Acco was renamed Ptolemais. In 65 B.C., Ptole-
mais came under Roman domination; it was in this Roman
town that Paul
landed on his third voyage.
ACCURSED (חרם (kheh rem); αναθεμα (a nah the ma)). Under a curse.
The Hebrew word “khehrem” is translated
“accursed” in the King James
Version; it is translated “devoted thing” in the
Revised Standard Version.
ACHAIA (Αχαια) The Roman
province which comprised most of ancient
which Corinth was a leader. They lost to a Roman Army in 146
B.C. It is
probable that by 87 B.C.
Achaia was under Roman control and under the
Macedonian governor's supervision. In 27 B.C., Achaia was a
senatorial
province under a pro-consul of praetorian rank.
In 15 A.D., Tiberius
combined Achaia with Macedonia; in 44 A.D.,
Claudius made Achaia and Macedonia separate provinces again. In 66 or
67 A.D., Nero gave freedom to the
entire province, but his successor
made Achaia into a province again.
A-6
ACHAICUS (Αχαικος (a kay a kus)). One of the first Christians at Corinth
Stephanas,
Fortunatus, and he probably brought the letter mentioned
in I Cor.7.1 to Paul, and carried
Paul's answer back (i.e. I Corinthians).
It is evident that these
three men were on good terms with the apostle.
ACHAN (עכן, troublesome).
A Judahite who stole forbidden spoil from Jericho
and, together with
his family was stoned. Israel's lack of
military success
against the Men of Ai was linked to “stealing spoils dedicated
to God.” The
guilt of Achan was detected
by lot. This story stands as vivid
evidence of
the early Israelite's conception of the guilt of one threatening
the security
of the whole community, and that the punishment must include the
whole
of Achan's family.
ACHBOR (עכבור, mouse). 1. The
father of Baal-hanan, king of Edom.
2. One of Josiah's ministers commanded to
consult the Lord concerning
the newly discovered law book.
ACHISH (אכיש, the king
gives). The king of Gath
refuge. In one account David appears as Achish’s
vassal; David was
granted the town of Ziklag and appointed chief of Achish's
bodyguard. So
sure was Achish of David's loyalty that he took David and his troops with
him in his march against Saul.
ACHOR (עכור, trouble). A
valley which formed a portion of the Northern boun-
boundary of Judah, and the valley where Joshua took
Achan, his family,
and the goods to be judged and executed for breaking the
command to
take no booty from Jericho.
ACHSAH (עﬤסה, ankle ornament). The daughter of Caleb. Caleb awarded
her to Othniel, his brother
or nephew,
for the feat of capturing Debir.
ACHSHAPH (אכשף, incantation). A border town in the territory of Asher
ted about 9.6 km southeast of present day Acco. Achshaph was an
old
town when the Israelites entered Palestine under Joshua. The Canaanite
town was
destroyed after its king joined a confederacy against Joshua and
suffered
defeat.
ACHZIB (אכזיב, deceitful). 1. A
town on the border of the Shephelah and
central Judah. 2. A
town in Galilee on the seashore, near Lebanon's
border, about 14.4km north of Acre. The town bordered on the territory
of Asher; it may have been assigned to that tribe.
ACRABA (Εγρεβελ (eg re bel)).
A place some 40 km north of Jerusalem,
within a few miles of
Sychar's well.
ACROSTIC Poetic
composition in which the first letters of successive lines
appear in
alphabetical order. The outstanding Old Testament example
is
Psalm 119, with its 22 sections. The first section contains 8 lines, all
beginning with the first letter of the
Hebrew alphabet; the second section
has 8 lines beginning with the second
letter and so on for all 22 sections.
The
New Testament example is the "ichthys" (ΙΧΘΥΣ). The letters
spell fish and stand for “Jesus Christ,
God's Son, Savior.” They were
used largely as teaching aids in spelling, style, and memorization.
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. The
5th book in the New Testament (NT) after the
4 gospels. It was originally written as a sequel to the
Gospel according to
Luke; it is an invaluable source for a knowledge of the
apostolic age. The
title we know it by is not altogether accurate, and was
given to what once
was a section of a larger work.
List of Topics—1. The Story: Disciples and Paul;
2. The Story: Movement Name, its Nucleus and "Organiza-
tion"; 3. The Story: Chronology, and Omissions;
4. Materials of Acts; 5. Author’s Sources, Contributions,
and Motives; 6. Author’s Style; 7. Date, Place, and
History of Writing
1. The Story: Disciples and Paul—Acts begins with an account
of Jesus'
appearance to his disciples after his resurrection. The encoun-
ter is definitely concluded after
some 40 days by the ascension of Jesus.
His disciples are endowed with the Spirit at Pentecost, 50 days after
Easter. The stories follow in roughly
chronological sequence and close
at what seems to the modern reader a somewhat strange point. The last
verses tell how
Paul, after going through the ordeal of the Roman legal
process, spent 2 years in Roman custody. The divisions into paragraphs
and chapters is not the work of the original author, but were added later
for convenience sake.
It
begins with the friends of Jesus who had come up with him from
Galilee to
Jerusalem. Two promises were made: first
that Jesus would
return in a way similar to his ascension; second, that he
would send the
Holy Spirit upon them. More
emphasis is placed on the gift of the Spirit
because it becomes after its bestowal the energizing force in the group,
leading Peter to visit Cornelius,
and Phillip to intercept the Ethiopian.
Many Christian communities must have been the result of more obscure
and
anonymous members being willing to spread the word and plant the
seeds of
communities.
Only
with the missionary work of Paul are we able to see deliberate
human planning. and the conversion of Paul is
one of the most dramatic
events, because he had been one of the most vigorous persecutors of
Christians. The author
is concerned to show thereafter both Paul's vigo-
rous ministry and the persistence of his legal battle. Quite different is
the
story of his pioneering missionary work in Cyprus and Galatia. He was
accompanied by associates and/or
assistants, like Barnabas and John
Mark or Silas and Timothy. He often made his first appeal at the local
Jewish synagogue; almost always the Jews rebuffed him, or incited hos-
tile
action against him. So he used other
opportunities for public or pri-
vate instruction.
A-7
2. The Story: Movement Name, its Nucleus and "Organization"
The
movement does not readily acquire a set name for itself. “Christian-
ity” and “Christians” was a nickname applied by others. The terms “disci-
ples”
and “saints” were used to describe the rank and file members.
Another noteworthy expression was “the way of
the Lord,” or simply “the
Way.” Acts
barely begins to disclose any organization or rules of the
church and it does
so in a most unsystematic manner.
In the time of
Acts, the “church” was a party in Judaism and did
not need to distinguish
itself from the parent body. In the author's view it
was not only a
legitimate development, but the fruition of God's plan. Its
spokesmen and more spontaneous leaders were
prophets and teachers.
There was a group
of rank and file who had a voice in decisions; there
was a group of apostles,
as well as a group of elders at Jerusalem. Ulti-
mately there emerged as a leader of this church James, presumably
the
brother of Jesus. His introduction
is as abrupt as is the exit of Peter.
Just
as these references do not presuppose a rigid and uniform
church organization,
so the book gives no
impression of uniform stan-
dards or procedures about membership or worship. Meetings were evi-
dently held more than once a week. Bread is broken, but not
necessarily
as anything other than the usual meal. Converts are expected to
repent
of their past offenses and to receive the Holy Spirit. There are puzzling
references to the gospel's contrasting
John the Baptist's water baptism
with the Spirit's baptizing of the faithful. Nothing is said of systematic in-
struction of
converts or of subsequent discipline.
The
chief exception is the group of passages suggesting mutual
care and sharing. This took the form of those who had it to spare selling
property, and to give the proceeds to
the apostles for use among the
needy. Many were widows, to whom distribution was made daily. Finan-
cial relief for the poor among the Judean believers was brought to their
elders at the time
of the famine under Claudius by Barnabas and Saul
(Paul). It is clear by this that care and prayerful concern was felt by the
believers for each other.
From
early in the book a wide geographical outlook is hinted at and
assumed. The church's nucleus at the beginning is not
only at Jerusalem
but is also naturally enough, exclusively Jewish. Each new step beyond
this nucleus (e.g.
Samaritans, Romans, & Gentile converts further & fur-
ther from Jerusalem) is
consciously reviewed and approved.
Certainly outside of Jerusalem there are frequent references in the
book
of Acts to “God fearers” or “God worshipers.” (Gentiles already
loosely
attached to Judaism, though not full proselytes). They attended
the synagogue services, and had
presumably been attracted by Judaism’s
monotheism, or ethical
idealism. The author emphasizes the
transition
from Jewish to Gentile Christianity, that it occurred under God’s
guidance
and with the approval of church leaders, especially Peter.
3. The Story: Chronology, and Omissions— The
author wasn’t
very concerned about chronology. He was aware of political characters,
Jewish or Roman, and of the various
forms of governments, but they are
part of his background and local color. He does mention some historical
events, but a
specific date can't always be stated with certainty.
In the first part of Acts there is less
certainty of time sequence, as
the author keeps going back to events already
mentioned, while in the lat-
ter part where he follows the career of Paul, he is
fully aware of the order
of events. In
fact, the arrangement of Acts, like that of the gospels, sug-
gests that other
considerations than the historical sequence of events
may have affected the
order of the narratives. Stories are
grouped around
a particular person or group of people. Also, the author seems to proceed along
geographical lines.
The
author's omissions may be deliberate choices due to his inte-
rests, but they may
also be due to his limited knowledge. We
hear nothing
individual about the 12 except Peter, and only about 2 of
the 7 ordained
“assistants,” Phillip and Stephen. Also, final references to Paul and Peter
leave their stories somehow incomplete.
The main parallel to Acts is
what little data is found in Paul's
letters. Paul’s account of what happened
to him and when, includes much which is absent in the book of Acts, and
the
sequence doesn't always match. In the
case of contradictions, Paul's
account must take precedence.
A-8
4. Materials of Acts—The information
offered in the early parts of
Acts consists of detached episodes, complete in
themselves and each with
its own meaning.
Running through them is the belief that God has re-
vealed his power and
guidance to the ongoing spread of Christianity. They
have been shortened down
to only what was needed to make the episode
clear. Dating isn't attempted, but the personal
names of those taking part
are kept.
Between episodes, there are brief statements that summarize and
indicate that there
are many more events like the one just mentioned, and
that the word of God
increased and that converts were multiplied.
In the
earlier part of Acts they turn unconnected fragments into a more
flowing
narrative; they are less frequent and necessary in the latter part of
Acts.
Speeches
occupy a substantial proportion of the book of Acts, be-
tween one-third and
one-quarter. The longest ones are those of Peter:
at
Pentecost; at Solomon's Portico; before the Sanhedrin; at the house of
Cornelius;
and to the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem. The speech of
Stephen to his
accusers is the longest of all. Paul’s
speeches are the
most numerous and the most varied; they are all defenses at
various
hearings.
The
speeches were used effectively in the narrative to indicate
the content of the
movement, its ideas and claims. The
gospel that the
apostles preached is different from what Jesus had
emphasized. The
speeches interpret the
narrative as much as the chorus does in a Greek
tragedy. They repeat what the narratives have told,
and what the missio-
naries used as their message. From the speeches alone the theologian
finds
matter for his interest. Their total
impact has been influential far be-
yond the proportion of space they take up in
this book. Otherwise the
book belongs to the historian.
The
apostolic message may be summarized from the speeches as:
The past preaching of repentance by Jesus following John's ministry was
vindicated by God's resurrection of
Jesus; bearing witness to the resurrec-
tion involves a continued call to
repentance and a warning of future judg-
ment. The Jesus whom the disciples preach was designated by God as
Lord and Christ or Messiah. The God who thus
vindicates himself for
those who may by the Scripture compare promise with
fulfillment hasn't left
himself without an inward witness of our search for God (i.e. the Spirit).
Asserting
that Jesus was the Christ is the result of the efforts of
those who knew Christ
trying to figure out how to think of Jesus.
In their
discussion with Jews, the apostles try to prove the
expected Messiah is
Jesus and not the reverse. In Acts, the ethical
implications of repentance
aren't spelled out at all. The death of Jesus has little significance
here.
It is mentioned, not as a way of
God's grace, but as evidence of human
sin.
The author of Acts doesn't require obedience to the Old Testament
Law
by Gentiles, but he does show the Jewish Christians as loyal to its
requirements.
5. Author’s Sources, Contributions, and Motives—This author has used “eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word.” We can't tell which
episodes were created by the author from those witnesses, and which the
author took from written accounts that already existed. Some of his sour-
ces were early Greek writings, while others were originally Aramaic and
given orally. The author was most likely familiar with the Greek transla-
tion of the Old Testament, and likely used familiar Greek phrases in his
writing. The degree of continuity in the part of Acts devoted to Paul sug-
gests that the writer had access to a continuous source. The other possi-
bility is that much of this part is autobiographical, as evidenced by the
use of the “we” pronoun; there is no conclusive evidence either way.
ALLIANCE
ALLOTMENT. In the Old Testament, this is a concept of land right. It evidently
ALMON (עלמון, concealment) A priestly city in Benjamin, near Anathoth,
ALMON-DIBLATHAIM (דבלתימה עלמון) Stopping place of the Israelites,
ALMOND ( a.) לוז (looz) b.)משקדים (me shuk kad him) c.)שקד (sha keed))
ALMS (elehmosunh; (el eh em os oo nay), compassionate, relief of the
Hebron
Israel
Sea Valley
salem
ANTIOCH Asia Minor .
ANTIOCH Syria Rome
of Galilee on the road from Damascus to Beth-shan. Ben-hadad was defea-
APPIAN WAY . A Roman road which ran from Rome
AQUILA AND PRISCILLA (AkulaV (ak ul as), Priskilla (pri skil la) Husband
ARABIA (ערב, desert) A large peninsula of southwestern Asia . The northwest- scus
ARAD
ARAM
As to the narratives found in Acts, part of the author's role may
have been in the mere selection of his material. Some of the features of
Acts may be the personal viewpoint of the author, rather than an objective
presentation of eyewitness accounts. Clearly, the author of Acts made a
personal contribution to it: the language he chose; the terms he used; the
way he varied his style and used spellings and expressions appropriate to
the setting in which each episode took place ( e.g. a Palestinian versus a
Gentile setting). In the first 2 chapters there is a more biblical style, while
the scenes in Athens or elsewhere reflect a more secular and Greek style.
Some suspect that much of the speeches’ content attributed to
Antioch
He made a political marriage with Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal
Judah
AKRABBIM PASS
Ephesus. The Ephesian Jews were unjustly blamed for the slight which
was cast on Artemis, the city's patron, and this Alexander was put forward
by them with the intention that he should address the mob in the theater
have been in the mere selection of his material. Some of the features of
Acts may be the personal viewpoint of the author, rather than an objective
presentation of eyewitness accounts. Clearly, the author of Acts made a
personal contribution to it: the language he chose; the terms he used; the
way he varied his style and used spellings and expressions appropriate to
the setting in which each episode took place ( e.g. a Palestinian versus a
Gentile setting). In the first 2 chapters there is a more biblical style, while
the scenes in Athens or elsewhere reflect a more secular and Greek style.
Some suspect that much of the speeches’ content attributed to
others may be the
author's attempt to recreate a viewpoint not quite his
own, based on
recollections that would most likely not be remembered as
accurately or
preserved as faithfully as would the words of Jesus. Certain-
ly the speeches in
their present form seem to be addressed more to the
reading audience rather
than the audience depicted at the scene of the
speech.
Indeed for the book as a whole, there is
perhaps more than one
audience in mind.
Like Luke’s gospel, this book is addressed to “Theophi-
lus (friend of
God)”; it was a common name given to Jews or Gentiles, Ro-
mans or
Christians. Perhaps this person was
someone influential in
whom the author would like to not convert, but to
promote tolerance to-
wards Christianity.
Writing to an individual was really a mark of publication
for a wider
public, the average member of which might be quite different
from the
addressee.
The
book of Acts is somewhat of an apologia for the Christian move-
ment. Luke’s gospel before it convincingly
portrays the founder's excellent
character; the book of Acts pursues the
later movement step by step, sho-
wing how God's favor had blessed and sanctioned
Christianity. The most
immediate purpose
of the volume may have been to counter possible hos-
tility from the Roman
government. Whenever the officials do take hostile
action, it is because of
Jewish pressure. Most Gentiles were
aloof from
Judaism, if not positively hostile to it; but it was officially
tolerated by the
Roman government. The
book of Acts implies that they recognized the
Jewish-Christian quarrels as family
matters and not relevant to Roman
authority.
A-9
6. Author’s
Style—There is no doubt that the same author wrote
both the gospel of Luke
and the book of Acts. They share a
common dedi-
cation, and a common and hard-to-copy style. What variations there are
between the 2 do not point to a different author, but rather different con-
tent, emphases, and motives. And there can be no doubt that
Acts pre-
sents Christianity as the legitimate fulfillment of Judaism. Jesus is
the pro-
mised prophet like Moses. There
is an important difference between what
the author has learned, and what the
author wants us to learn and believe.
The author was not a partisan, nor was he trying to win over anyone. He
merely reflects the picture of events as
they appeared to him at his later
time.
The book's contents suggest that it was written out of the sheer in-
terest in the story. The story told by him
satisfies his Christian preferences
and is likely to have a favorable effect on
the impartial reader. The fact
that we
cannot tell if the author's intent was historical, educational, and/or
self-expression, fits neatly into the traditional view that this was an
inspired
work and therefore not to be explained along purely human lines. We can
only make plausible assumptions about
the author's special interests.
The
compiler was fully sympathetic with the Christian movement, its
successes and its difficulties. But he may have
emphasized certain things,
glossed over others, or been unconcerned with some
features and events
in his sources. The
author shares the early Christian view that events in
the movement's history fulfill the predictions and hints found in scripture.
He freely interchanges
the terms “God” and “Lord.” “Holy
Spirit” is a theo-
logical term closely associated with God and almost
inter-changeable in
function.
But the mention of the Holy
Spirit has a wider meaning in the early
church than it does in the common
Jewish use of the term as the inspirer
of past scriptures. For them, it is a vivid, contemporary
experience. The
writer plays down the
more urgent features of expectancy of the last days.
The Christian message's joy is a prominent
feature of Luke and Acts. The
book of
Acts only partly shares the gospel's description of the blessings
that are
intended for those of low degree.
It is
throughout vindication of Gentile Christianity and criticism of the
Jews
for their stubborn rejection or even opposition. The wealthy or soci-
ally elite are represented
as favorable to Christianity. There is
an abun-
dance of references to the governmental or other local data and nearly a
hundred personal names are given for government officials. The mention
of
officials seems to reflect the author's awareness of the official situation.
This
writer is doing a formal treatise; he approximates in fact the
Greek ways of
writing for the sake of both
beautiful writing and history.
The style
of these two volumes is more cultivated than that of most Greek
writings. The writer follows the rules of correct Greek
more than other
writers. Luke and Acts uses the first person singular and plural more than
the New Testament's (NT) other
parts. These volumes' content points to
a distinctive, creative personality, and to
someone who is much more than
a mere collector of data. It's best not to try to identify the writer
from
among the few persons of the period known to us.
7. Date,
Place, and History of Writing—We do not know a set date
for the writing of
Luke or Acts. We only know it used Mark, as a source.
Acts may not have known of or used Paul's
letters. Acts relates events
up to about
60 A.D., but it could have been written years later, as late as
80 A. D. or
even later. There is a large number and
variety of hypothe-
ses, from it being a legal brief for Paul, to it being
written in the early 100s
to combat a particular heresy.
The 1st mention of Acts was around 180 A.D. in several places.
More than most NT books, its copying was done
with such freedom that
by the end of the 100s, at least 2 forms of the text
were in existence.
Among the books of the NT canon, it held a unique position
as a bridge
between the gospels and Paul's letters.
We
can't be sure with how much authority the name Luke was at-
tached to the author
of this once anonymous work. Luke is
mentioned as
being with Paul, and along these lines the ancient Christians may
have
satisfied their curiosity about this author's name. We cannot be sure whe-
ther the author was a
companion of Paul or not.
The author had
extensive knowledge of Paul, but some of what is
said about Paul in Acts does
not reconcile with Paul's letters.
Normally an
anonymous book would be associated with an apostle, as the
other gos-
pels were. Since Luke isn't an
apostle, this lends some credence that this
is the author's name and not a
popular assumption. The handwriting and
copying of the book of Acts introduced many variations in the text's exis-
ting copies. The 2 main copies are labeled the Neutral and the Western
Text; of the 2 the Neutral Text is the
more likely to represent the original.
ADADAH. (עדעדה, festival). A city in the southeast part of Judah,
near the
border of Edom, perhaps 14.4 km southeast of Beer-sheba.
ADAH (עדה, ornament). 1. The first of 2 wives of Lamech; the
mother of
Jabal and Jubal. 2. Wife of Esau; the mother of Eliphaz. Adah is iden-
tified as the daughter of Elon
the Hittite.
ADAIAH (עדיה, Yahweh has adorned himself). 1. The
maternal grand-
father of King Josiah. 2. A Levite and ancestor of Asaph. 3. One
of the sons of Shimei in the genealogy of Benjamin. 4. One
of the
priests who returned to Jerusalem after the exile. 5. The
father Maa-
seiah, one of the army officers who aided in the overthrow of
Athaliah.
6. Two men listed as having married foreign
wives in the time of Ezra.
7. An ancestor of one of the Judahites
living in Jerusalem.
ADALIA (אדליא, honorable). The fifth son of Haman (Esther 9).
ADAM
(אדם, man). The first
man, from whom all humankind is descended.
He was driven from the Garden of Eden because of his disobedience. The
word occurs over 500 times in the Old
Testament with the meaning “man”
or “mankind.” This generic term is used only rarely as a proper name for
the 1st
man. In Genesis 1-5, the text goes back and forth between generic
term,
sometimes with “the” in front of it, and proper name.
A-10
The choice of the generic
term indicates the biblical writers' inten-
tion to portray, not just the
story of one man, but the universal history of
humankind. Only humans are created in God’s image to
rule the earth.
The Priestly Writer describes human creation on the 6th
day along with the
animals. The creation
of a single pair is implied with identifying Adam with
the human race's creation. The Yahwist writer pictures Yahweh Elohim
forming man while the
earth is still unfruitful. The man is
placed in the
Garden of Eden with full freedom of action except in respect to
the Tree of
Knowledge and The Tree of Life.
The man names the animals in determi-
ning their role; he finds none
suitable for his mate. Later Yahweh appears
to punish the woman with the pain
of childbirth, and to curse man with
toiling in the soil.
Adam as the first man appears twice in
the New Testament in a
historical connection.
The genealogy of Jesus is traced backed to Adam in
Luke. Adam appears
again in Paul's letters; women are to be subordinate
to men because Adam was
created before Eve and because the woman
was deceived into sinning. By far the most important references appear
where Adam is made a type of Christ. Death entered the world through the
sin of Adam.
Adam is a type of the coming one because of the similarity in
the total
effect of one man's action on all of humanity. Adam's act of disobe-
dience brought condemnation and death. Nowhere does Paul state the
manner by which Adam's sin is transmitted to his posterity.
The
Adam-Christ typology is used to illustrate the certainty of the
resurrection. Adam and Christ are the “heads”
of the old and the new hu-
manity. Adam is the source of death, while Christ is the source of life.
Each type of humanity joins itself to one of
them, either in life or death.
Paul
found the language of the first and the last Adam useful in describing
his
opposition to saying that the soul needed no body, or that the resurrec-
tion
body was of flesh and blood. The new
body was to be a new, spiritual
one.
See also the entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha /
Intertestamen-
tal section of the Appendix.
ADAM
(CITY) A city East of the Jordan Jericho
was here
the waters of the Jordan were dammed so that Joshua and the
Israelites could pass over dry-shod.
ADAMAH (אדמה, land) A
fortified city in Naphtali’s territory, possibly to the
southwest of the Sea of Galilee .
ADAMANT (שמיר (sha mir)) An
imaginary stone of impenetrable hard-
ness; a poetic expression for hardness.
ADAMI-NEKEB (אדמי
הנקב) A border town in Naphtali, probably located 8
km SW of the Sea of
Galilee , commanding a pass
on a caravan route.
ADAR (אדר, glorious) The twelfth month in the Hebrew calendar
(March-April).
ADBEEL (אדבאל) Third son of
Ishmael, and the name of an Arabian tribe in
northwestern Arabia .
ADDAR (אדר)
A fortress city on the
southwest border of Judah
ADDER (פתן; צפע; צפﬠני (peh then; tseh fah; tsif o nee)) General terms
for
any of several poisonous and nonpoisonous snakes.
ADDI
(Αδδι ) An
ancestor of Jesus.
ADIEL
(עדיאל, an
ornament is El) 1. A Simeonite prince in the time of
Hezekiah. 2. A priest whose son Maasai returned from
exile. 3. The
father of Azmaveth, who was in charge
of the royal treasuries in Jerusa-
lem under David.
ADIN (עדין, voluptuous) The ancestor of some Jewish exiles
returning with
Zerubbabel or with Ezra (Ezra 2, 8)
ADINA
(עדינא, pliant) The son of Shiza; a Reubenite leader
listed among
the Mighty Men of David.
ADINO
(עדינו) English form of Hebrew letters in an unintelligible
phrase,
found in II Sam. 23.8.
ADITHAIM (עדיתים)
A town in the Shephelah in the
territory of Judah
ADLAI
(עדלי, justice of
God) The father of Shaphat, royal
shepherd of David.
ADMAH
(אדמה, ground, region) One
of the cities of the valley destroyed
along with Sodom
under the waters of the
bay at the south end of the Dead Sea.
ADMATHA (אדמתא) One of the seven princes of Media and Persia, member
of King Ahasuerus' council; he advised the banishment of Queen Vashti.
ADMIN
(Αδμιν) An
ancestor of Jesus.
ADNA
(עדנא) 1. A Priest who
returned from exile with Zerubbabel.
2.
An exiled Israelite with foreign wives.
ADNAH
(עדנה) 1. Judahite
commander during Jehoshaphat's reign.
2. Manassite deserter from Saul to David.
A-11
ADONAI (אדני, Lord) A title of honor and majesty applied to
God and used as
a substitute for the sacred name of Yahweh.
ADONI-BEZEK (אדני בזק) Apparently
a Canaanite king of Jerusalem
was defeated and mutilated during campaigns of the tribe of Judah to con-
quer territory in
Canaan. He was captured and subjected to
the same
amputation of thumbs and big toes that he practiced on prisoners.
ADONI-ZEDEK (אדני־צדק, my lord is righteousness) King of Jerusalem and
leader of a 5-king coalition, defeated by Joshua in battle at Gibeon
when
Joshua came to Gibeon 's aid and routed the coalition. The five Amorite
kings were captured in a
cave at Makkedah, where they had taken shelter,
and were put to death.
ADONIJAH (אדניה, Yahu is
the Lord) 1. Haggith’s
son and David’s 4th son.
His regal aspirations brought destruction upon
himself. Adonijah was the
eldest living prince; David did not discourage his ambitions, not even when
he equipped himself with a princely cortege. David
promised the throne to
Solomon, but this was not taken seriously. Adonijah prepared a royal, sa-
crificial feast
at which to be proclaimed king. The
prophet Nathan and So-
lomon's mother Bathsheba secured Solomon’s succession and had him
anointed. Adonijah sought asylum
by the altar and would not leave until
he got a promise to spare his life. He then committed treason in Solomon's
eyes by asking for Abishag, a part of the royal harem; he was executed.
2. A Levite who instructed the people of Judah in the law in the 3rd
year of Jehosophat's reign.
3. A chief of the people who set his seal to the covenant of reform in
Ezra's time.
ADONIKAM (אדניקם, my Lord has arisen) The head of one of the families
that returned to Jerusalem Babylonia after the Exile.
ADONIRAM (אדנירם, the Lord is exalted) The son of Abda; a high official in
the courts of David, Solomon, and Rehoboam, in charge of the forced la-
bor expected from Israel's people. Rehoboam
attempted to use forced
labor; Adoniram was stoned by the people when he tried
to enforce it.
ADONIS (Αδωνις) The Syrian deity of vegetation which wilted with
summer
sun. The death of the god was
mourned by the women of Phoenicia.
ADOPTION (υιοθεσια (hwee oth
es ee ah); placing or making a son (adop-
tion)) This word's theological importance is that it describes the Christian
status of sonship as a vivid reality while
pointing to its secondary and
derived nature in contrast to the direct sonship
of Christ himself.
No
laws of adoption are found formulated in the Old Testament
(OT). Hebrews could transfer rights from one member
of the family to
another. While there is
evidence of adoption in ancient Semitic civiliza-
tion, it is seldom alluded to
in the OT. The OT speaks of Israel as
God's
son, a status not necessary and inherent, but the result of a gracious
act on the part of God.
It
is perhaps to emphasize this fact that Paul uses the word. Adop-
tion is regarded by Paul as a promise for
the future not realized; it might
also be argued that this word is used instead
of son. Our adoption as sons
is here a measure of the greatness of God's love,
because we were once
slaves, and because a slave adopted as a son inherits his
master's proper-
ty. And the Spirit
bearing witness with our spirit, suggests the witnesses
required in Roman law
to the act of adoption. Thus, where the
Fourth Gos-
pel and I Peter use terms of regeneration, Paul uses this legal
figure of
adoption. Christians look
forward to the future enjoyment of their inheri-
tance, when the victorious will
be given the messianic status of sons of
God.
ADORAIM (אדורים, 2 threshing floors) A city of Judah
Dura, 8 km west-southwest of Hebron
by Rehoboam, king of Judah.
ADORATION Literally, the act of bringing the hand or
fingers to the lips in
praise; more generally the giving of divine honors.
ADRAMMELECH (ךאדרמל, the lordship of Melech) A
deity worshiped by
the people of Sepharvaim. 2.
A son of Sennacherib who
murdered his
father in the temple of Nisroch.
ADRAMYTTIUM (Aδραmυttιυm) A seaport of Mysia ; it was
founded by the
Lydians, but belonged later to the Mysians. Towards the end of
Acts it is
said that Paul embarked on a ship from here to go to Rome.
ADRIA
(AdriaV) The
sea between Italy Greece
town called Atria or Hadtria on what is now the Gulf of
Venice. It has long
been known for stormy
waves and winds. It was a stormy
easterly wind
that drove Paul's Rome-bound ship from Cauda some 723 km to the
shores of Malta.
A-12
ADRIEL (עדריאל, flock of
God) Barzillai's Son; Merab's husband, the daugh-
ter of Saul.
ADULLAM (עדלם, retreat, refuge) A royal Canaantite city in the
Shephelah.
The ruins are about 17.1 km east-northeast of Biet Jibrin. The king of
Adullam was one of 31 Canaanite kings listed as defeated by Joshua
during the Israelite occupation. David took refuge from Saul and used
as a temporary head-quarters a cave near Adullam. Adullam may have
been one of 46 fortified
cities Sennacherib captured during his 701 B.C.
campaign. Jewish returnees from the Exile reoccupied
Adullam along
with other cities.
ADULTERY (נאף (nee
oof)) Adultery was not so much
evidence of moral de-
pravity as the violation of the husband's right to have
sole sexual posses-
sion of his wife and to have the assurance the his children
were his own.
Intercourse with a slave who was betrothed to another was not a capital
offense—only a guilt offering
was needed. In other cases, both parties
involved in adulterous intercourse were to be killed. “Adultery” is used of
religious disloyalty;
faithless Jews are called offspring of the adulteress
and the harlot. While upholding the law against adultery, Jesus refused
to condemn the woman taken in adultery.
ADUMMIM (אדמים, red rocks) A pass leading from the Jordan Valley
the hill country, used to go from Jericho Jerusalem
Maledomni was
a fortress midway between Jericho and Jerusalem.
Today it is known as the "Inn of the
Good Samaritan."
ADVENTURESS (נכרי (nok ree), stranger, foreigner)
A woman who lives by
her wits and her sex, often used with “harlot.”
ADVOCATE. Christ
is man's advocate with the Father; he is the living “means
of making amends for
our sins,” He is the representative of us to God.
AENEAS A
man at Lydda whom Peter cured of the palsy.
AENON (עינון, double spring)
A site rich in water where John the Baptist was
active. It could be in Perea beyond (east of) the
Jordan. Or it could be
west of the Jordan, south of Beth-shean. Places near Beth-shean today
have names much
like the New Testament names mentioned as being
close to Aenon.
AEON
(αιον) The
term used in the primary Greek Old Testament and in the
New Testament for a “long
span of time,” “eternity,” “world's age,” used to
describe both this age or
aeon, and the coming age or aeon.
AESORA (Αισωρα) A city
grouped with Choba and Salem
with Hazor of Joshua's time.
AGABUS (Αγαβος ) A Christian prophet from Judea
who had a charism and
spoke “by the Spirit.”
Agabus went with other prophets from Jerusalem
Judea around 46-47 A.
D. Agabus predicts that Paul will be “bound” by the
Jews and handed over to Gentiles—a prophecy not precisely fulfilled.
AGAG
(אגג) An Amalekite king, defeated by Saul, and put to death
by Samu-
el. Saul's battle against the
Amalekites under Agag was the occasion for
his decisive split with Samuel. Saul disobeyed the directive to destroy all
Amalekites and their property. The theological
description of Saul's disobe-
dience and resultant loss of the kingship bears
close resemblance to the
story of man's disobedience and expulsion from Eden.
AGAGITE (אגגי)
Agag's descendants, probably a
reference to King Agag of
Amalek, ancient enemy of Israel
AGAPE
(αγαπη) 1. The English form of Greek letters for one of the
Greek
words for “love.”
2. The name commonly used to denote the “love
feasts,” meals
provided by church members for religious fellowship in the earliest
days
of the church. The evidence for
these meals is the problems they had
telling the difference between the agape
and the Lord's supper. The
agape meal
for fellowship and charity was generally held in the after-
noon or evening. By the mid-100s, it had been definitely
separated from
association with the sacramental rite of the Lord's Supper.
The
customs that go with the Christian agapes stem originally
from the table
observances of Jewish families, especially at sabbath and
festival
celebrations. The family would gather for supper, before sundown,
at home or
in a suitable house. After hors
d'oeuvres and wine, the com-
pany reclined or sat at table for the meal. The family head would pro-
nounce a benediction
over the bread, which was then broken and passed
around. On sabbath, after sundown, grace was said
over a cup of bles-
sing with special remembrance before God of God's providence
and a
prayer for the fulfillment of God's purpose.
Highly
organized and disciplined Jewish associations, such as the
Essenes, made much
of these meals in the promotion of the common life.
Before every meal, the priest blessed the
first portion of the bread and the
wine.
Candidates for admission to the community weren't allowed to
par-
ticipate in these common meals until they had passed a 2-year novitiate.
A-13
Gatherings
of early Christian disciples exhibit practices that resem-
ble those of Jewish
sects. The most detailed accounts of the agape come
only from the end of the
100s, and show the Jewish origins of the obser-
vance. During the meal, time was devoted to
preaching, prophesying and
speaking in tongues, teaching, exhortation, and
singing. All these devo-
tions were
related to the act of “thanksgiving.” A
uniquely Christian em-
phasis was given to the table fellowship by its
association with charitable
gifts and provisions for widows.
Rules for the church's common meals provide a
thanksgiving over
the cup and bread and for the food after the meal, with a
petition for the
coming of the kingdom, but no memorial to the Lord's passion
and death.
special form of agape
developed in the 100s and was derived from pagan
customs. There were funeral and anniversary banquets
connected with
the memory of departed Christians. The oldest Christian cemeteries have
special
chambers where these memorial meals were celebrated. Some
the earliest Christian art is pictures
of these events.
AGATE
( a.) שבו (sheb oh); b.)כדכד (kad kod);
c.) Χαλκηδων (chal ke don)
A quartz with more or less concentric
bands, generally white and brown.
(a.) A stone in the breastplate of the
judgment in Exodus 28 and 39.
(b.) In Isaiah 54, this is the material of the
pinnacles of Jerusalem.
(c.) The jewel in the foundation of New Jerusalem's walls in Revelation.
AGE
An expression often not
sharply defined, for “a long time”; it is used to
translate the Greek “aeon.”
AGE, OLD (זקן (za ken)) Old age in the Bible is the reward for
the good life
and a sign of wisdom; the aged command respect. Allusions to the physi-
cal symptoms of old age
are frequent (e.g. the gray hairs of Abraham and
Sarah when they had Issac; David suffering chills and needing another's
warmth).
The ages of the patriarchs are given as:
Abraham, 175 years; Isaac,
180; Jacob, 147; Joseph, 110. The age of Moses at his death is given by
tradition as 120 and still going strong.
If normally a man attained the age
of 70 or 80, it is probable that he
showed signs of age at 60. This helps
explain the use of 60 as the dividing line between mature and aged.
The
respect to be given the aged is similar to that which is given to
one's parents (“Remember the days of old,
consider the years of many
generations; ask your father, and he will show you;
your elders, and they
will tell you” (Deut. 32.7)). The old man isn't necessarily to be equated
with the elder, who occupied an official position in biblical society, though
indeed the experience and wisdom of the older man would fit him for the
responsibilities of the elder. In the
beliefs of what will happen at the end
time, a return to the state of
quasi-immortality talked of in the Bible is
expected.
AGEE (אגא) The
father of Shammah, who is named third among the “3” of
David's high
command.
AGIA
(Αγια) Jaddus’ wife,
ancestor of a family of unregistered pretending
priests at the return from
Exile.
AGONY The
term is used especially in connection with Jesus' suffering and
struggle in
Gethsemane.
AGORA (αγορα; to bring together) The assembly place or
market place,
like those in Athens Corinth
AGRAPHA (αγραφα; unwritten things)
A term used for sayings that some
think are from Jesus, but are not
recorded in the gospels. Many
collec-
tions have been made of this material, which can be short aphoristic
utter-
ances or lengthy sayings. Many see them as genuine and see their source
in
an early oral gospel from which our canonical gospels drew heavily but
did not
use in its entirety.
Many
of the sayings are simply amplifications, variations, or combi-
nations of words
that are used in the canonical gospels.
Several of these
agrapha occur in isolated copies of gospel
manuscripts. Paul was known
to quote
Jesus in several places in his letters, and used phrases which
don't appear in
the gospels. The great majority of the agrapha
come from
apocryphal writings.
AGRICULTURE The
art of farming, including the tools and methods used and
the difficulties which
the farmer faces. From prehistoric times to the pre-
sent day, the people of
Palestine have been mostly farmers. Excavations
on the West edge of Mount
Carmel reveal clear evidence of agriculture in
the Mesolithic period (around
8000-7000 B. C). Tools for harvesting
grain
were found in curved bone handles that had grooves into which flints
could
be fitted in the form of a sickle. Evidence of mortar and pestles also give
rise to the inference that
these people made flour of the wheat or millet.
Industry
and commerce have seldom made up a large percentage
of the income of the
inhabitants of Palestine. They have
depended instead
on the produce which could be grown from the land. So the words:
“In toil you shall eat of it all the
days of your life
In the sweat of your
face you shall eat bread.” (Gen. 3.17, 19)
must have had real meaning for
those who lived in this land through the
centuries. All facets of the life of these people have
been influenced by
their sense of complete dependence upon the land and its
produce.
A-14
There were 2 things over which people had little or no control: the
nature of the land itself and the climate. It wasn’t enough to plow and sow
and reap; they must, in addition,
enter into some kind of relationship with
the God who could guarantee
abundance. The religion of the Palestinian
people was thus directly related to their agricultural life. The Israelite
reli-
gious year revolved around crop cultivation, so that the major fasts and
feasts have both an agricultural and a religious significance. It is impor-
tant to realize that these people
were part of an agricultural civilization be-
fore we can understand what their
life was like.
Hardships
Faced and Crops Grown—Nothing grows
easily in
Palestine; the entire year was one of unending toil. The land was better
in ancient times than it
is now, with thicker layers of fertile soil on top of
the rock. Still, there are abundant references to how
clearing the fields of
stones was the first and constant activity of every
farmer. It is a popular
Arabic story that half the stones intended for the entire world were spilled
onto Palestine by angels.
The land is also very hilly. The number of fertile valleys is limited
and
a high percentage of farming has to be done on hillsides; terracing
was used in
order to give the farmer a larger cultivable area. Even today,
after a great amount of erosion
has taken place in the intervening centu-
ries, the land in many parts of Palestine
available.
The
Palestinian farmer also found himself at the mercy of a varied
climate, with a 5-month
rainless summer season, from mid-May to the
mid-October. He would have to
prepare for it during the rainy winter sea-
son, with its unpredictable rains. The only safeguard for the farmer
was
to furnish himself with adequate storage places, cisterns, which are found
on every major site in Palestine. Even then, there might be too little rain
to fill the cisterns. In earlier periods,
the farmer made use of springs and
perennial streams such as the Kishon, and
the Jabbok. Such water
would have to be
carried or run into irrigation ditches.
Numerous
references to dew attest to the value it had for the pro-
duction of good
crops. The lack of dew was taken as a sign
of catastro-
phe or God's disfavor. The
heavy dew comes in late August and Septem-
ber, and a farmer will take special measures in the middle of the night and
early morning to preserve as much of
the precious moisture as possible.
The
hot winds from the eastern desert, the siroccos, could play
havoc with any
growing thing from mid-September to late October. They
lasted from 3 days to a week; the
temperature could rise 11 degrees
Centigrade above the average, the air was
filled with a yellowish haze, and
the air dried up. A prolonged sirocco is one of the farmer's
most dreaded
experiences. Finally,
insects and plant disease greatly increased the
danger of crop failure, and
ancient farmer had no protection, he could
only hope for strong steady wind.
Numerous
Biblical passages show that 3 crops dominated the agri-
culture here:
the vine, the olive tree, and grain. The
vine grew well and,
once planted, required only the loosening the ground and pruning in the
spring. The fruit was eaten fresh as well as dried into raisins
and tram-
pled into wine. The olive tree
was very well suited to most areas of Pale-
stine; it grows well in very shallow
soil and is able to endure long periods
of drought, it cannot handle severe
cold. The olive harvest is the first in
the year, but since the ripening process is slow, the farmer might pick them
as his time permitted.
Of
the grains, wheat was the most important and grew best in Gali-
lee. It was planted in early fall when the winter
rains started. Barley was
also grown but may have been considered a second-class food and is the
product of a drier
climate and poorer soil, grown mostly in the South and
East. A third grain was spelt, an inferior kind of
wheat.
Flax
was also grown; linen and rope were made from it. Although
there is no explicit mention in the
Bible of dates as food, numerous refe-
rences to the palm tree strongly suggest
that its cultivation played an im-
portant part in the farmer’s life. The date palm especially flourished in the
Jordan Valley north of the Dead Sea.
Dates may have also been made
into cakes as were figs, which were the main sugar source in the diet.
Other
products included pomegranates, lentils, beans, chick peas, cucum-
bers, onions,
leeks and garlic.
Implement, Storage, and Workers—Compared
to the farmer
today in most parts of the world, including modern Palestine
farmer’s work was made doubly
difficult by the primitive implements which
he used. His plow was hardly more than a wooden stick
with a small
metal point, drawn by oxen. Before 1000 B. C., the points were made of
copper or bronze; after that
they were made of iron. None of them went
deeper than 12.7cm. There was no tool
for seeding, so it was probably
sown by hand.
Reaping
was done with a small hand sickle. The
reaper held the
stalks in his hand and cut them off close to the ground with
the sickle; this
method is still commonly in use in Palestine. After the grain was cut, it was
taken to the threshing
place, where kernels were separated from stalks.
When the grain was threshed, the next
operation was winnowing. In
the afternoon, when the wind blew, the grain was thrown up into the air;
the
lighter materials blew away and the heavier grains fell to the ground. The
remainder was sifted to separate the materials left that were either larger
or smaller than the grain by pouring
them through sieves of different sizes,
one allowing the dust through and held
the grain, and the other would hold
larger pieces and allow the grain through. For storage of grain, oil, and
wine, large storage jars were used; they were
very common in Palestine. Because
of the different growing seasons of the crops, the entire
year is involved in
either planting or harvesting. During
the day the villa-
ges would be empty; at night, many would be absent from their
homes
guarding the ripening crop. Also
in the fields, vineyards, and olive groves
were the gleaners, who would gather
up anything that was left behind.
These
gleaners were often widows and orphans and had the right by law
to what
remained. There was a freedom of spirit and unrestrained gaiety
during the harvest time.
A-15
Agriculture and the Bible—Agricultural
pursuits were so much a
part of life that it seemed as though God had
established them from the
beginning as the superior way of life. God not only taught the farmer
good farming
techniques; God also had it in God's power to manage na-
ture so as to assure the
maximum results from man's labor, and God
causes dire calamities to befall those individuals or nations who sin.
The
3 major festivals which the Israelite was required to observe
were strictly
agriculture in nature. The products of
the earth were the gifts
of God, and therefore due reverence must be paid to
God. Of the 35 sec-
tions of the
Deuteronomic Code, 8 deal in whole or in part with matters
pertaining to
the agricultural life of the people (e. g. landmarks may not be
moved to
falsely alter property lines; Grain couldn't be sown in a vineyard;
nor was
one permitted to plow with an ox and an ass yoked together.
Figures
of speech with agricultural images can be found throughout
the Bible. Replanted vineyards and gardens will be a
part of a restored
Israel. Good harvests were a symbol of joy; poor harvests were a symbol
of sorrow. Likewise the poets and sages found the common
farming voca-
bulary pregnant with meaning and used it when they wanted to
express
themselves forcefully. Jesus' words especially reflect how these images
could convey to the man of Palestine
parables of the sower and the laborers; the fruits of good trees bad trees).
The seed, the vine,
the tree, the fruit are all useful metaphors when and
anyone wants to describe God
and God's way with man.
AGRIPPA. 1. (Herod)
Agrippa (10 B.C.-44 A.D.); Herod the Great's Grandson.
Due to his mother's influence in Rome
Agrippa I spent his early years
there, in extravagant living. After her death, he ran into serious debt
and
was obliged to leave Rome to escape hounding creditors. His brother-in-
law, Herod Antipas helped him
by appointing him agoranome (market
overseer) in Tiberias. The brothers-in-law soon quarreled and
Agrippa re-
signed his post. The aid given
to him by the Roman governor in Antioch
had similar results. With difficulty he made his way back to Rome; once
again he established close imperial
relationships; once again his lavish li-
ving put him in debt, and this time his
unwise words landed him in prison.
When
Tiberius died, Caligula succeeded him, freed Agrippa and
made him king over the
tetrarchies of Phillip. After Caligula’s
murder in 41
A.D., Emperor Claudius gave him the additional territories of
Judea and
Samaria. When he finally took
over his kingdom, he practiced good con-
duct, due either to genuine change or
clever policy. He cultivated the
Pharisees' good opinion; he observed his countrymen's laws
and tradi-
tions; he made public displays of piety; his
temple gifts were generous.
All these
things won him favorable reactions from his Jewish sub-
jects. In those places where there were large
non-Jewish settlements
Agrippa carried on a building program. The Roman government reacted
cautiously to his administration, and twice his ambitious projects were in-
terrupted. Agrippa died suddenly in Caesarea in 44 A.D.
2. Agrippa
II, Marcus Julius Agrippa (28 -
after 93 A. D.); son of
Agrippa I. Like
his father, he received his education in Rome. He was 17
when his father died,
but declined to succeed his father. In 48, Emperor
Claudius gave Agrippa the
small kingdom of Herod of Chalcis; somewhat
later, in exchange for this Agrippa
received a much larger domain. For the
most part, the population of his holdings, which included Galilee and Pe-
rea,
was Gentile.
Though
on a number of occasions he intervened in behalf of Jews
of the Diaspora,
his sympathies were with Roman interests. Throughout
the great war against Rome Rome and
totally subservient to their power. His intimate relationship with his sister
was
the subject of widespread scandal; he was apparently devoid of any
religious
interest and left no family behind him.
AGUE.
Malarial fever characterized
by stages of chills, fever and perspiration.
AGUR
An otherwise unknown author of
maxims mentioned in Proverbs 30.
Some assume “Agur” is a name; some argue that it is a descriptive title.
No one is sure.
AHAB
(אחאב, father's brother) 1. King of Israel around 869-850 B.C.; son
and successor of Omri. His name is
presumably because of his likeness
to his father. Despite the Bible saying that
Ahab reigned over Israel in
Samaria 22 years, the evidence of other events
compared to his reign
make it clear he ruled only 20 years in northern
Palestine at the same
time that King Asa and later King Jehoshaphat ruled in
southern
Palestine.
A-16
He made a political marriage with Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal
the Sidonian king.
This alliance was necessary in the face
of the growing
power of Aram under its king, Ben-haddad. It increased trade between
the two countries, but as a result produced a sharp division between the
wealthy merchants and the masses.
Jezebel was a strong-minded woman and a
fanatical worshipper of
the Tyrian deities, Baal-Melcarth and Asherah; the cult
of these deities was
associated with immoral practices. Ahab built a house for Baal
in Samaria
and made an Asherah. Jezebel is remembered as ruthlessly pushing her
religion in Israel until
a clash occurred with the worship of the God of Isra-
el. Elijah as the champion of Yahweh's religion
was also the champion of
the poor and the widow during Ahab's reign and
confronted Ahab and
Jezebel more than once.
The
only record of Ahab's building cities in the Bible is that of Jeri-
cho by Hiel
of Bethel. Historically Jericho was
rebuilt on Ahab's orders,
probably as base of operations against
Moab. During the building some
of the builder's children died, thus fulfilling Joshua’s curse on the re-buil-
der of
Jericho. Archaeology has verified the
record of Ahab's great buil-
ding achievements in Samaria. He continued the construction of the city
begun by his father, Omri. The city and
its 3 immensely strong walls
withstood more than one siege and finally fell
only after a siege lasting 3
years.
Some say the workmanship is the best found in Palestine. Its
opulence is
evidenced by large numbers of carved ivory pieces.
Ahab
brought a sizable force of chariots to meet the second Assy-
rian expedition led
by Shalmaneser III in 854-853 B.C. at Qarqar. The bat-
tle was indecisive, as the
Assyrians withdrew and did not reappear for 5
5 years. Both before and after this battle, Ahab
fought against the Aram
kingdom, although in the battle of Qarqar they fought
as allies. Before
Qarqar, Aram attacked
twice and was routed twice and surrendered seve-
ral cities as a result. After
Qarqar, Ahab attacked with King Jehoshaphat
as an ally, and was killed at Ramoth-gilead. He was buried in Samaria.
Before his death, Ahab also had trouble with
a revolt by Moab, which had
attained a lot of independence. Israel attained a strong position as a re-
sult
of Ahab’s leadership.
2. Son of Kolaiah; one of the false prophets
among the Babylo-
nian exiles, condemned by Jeremiah to a death by fire.
AHARAH (אחרח) The
3rd son of Benjamin, probably the same as Ahiram.
AHARHEL (אחרחל)
Son of Harum, of the tribe of Judah
AHASBAI (אחסבי)
The father of Eliphelet, a
member of the company of the
Mighty Men of David known as the “30.” He is from either the Judean
family of
Maacah, or the city of Beth-maacah.
AHASUERUS אחשורוש ) (a haz oo er us))
1. The Persian king who "reigned
from India
2. The father of Darius
the Mede.
AHAVA (אהוא, a ha va ) A
town in Babylonia located on a river or stream with
that name. It was there that Ezra assembled the Jews who
were to return
to Jerusalem with him.
AHAZ (אחז, has grasped) King
of Judah (Southern Israel ) around 735-715
B.C.; son and successor of
Jotham. Ahaz was 20 years old when
he
began to reign, and he reigned for 16 years, according to the Bible.
Other sources point to a longer reign of 20
years. The confusion may
be because of his age when he became king, or the 16 years his father
reigned.
No
mention is made of his mother's name, perhaps because of his
evil reputation. He was remembered for
idolatrous practices, including
burning his own son as an offering, an appeal
for divine aid in lifting the
siege of Jerusalem by the kingdoms of Aram and
(Northern) Israel. It is
not clear that
Aram and Israel acted as allies. The
Philistines also made
raids on the Shephelah cities and Judah’s Negeb; Judah
suffered greatly.
In
these circumstances Ahaz appealed to Tiglath-pileser of Assyria
for assistance,
against the advice of the prophet Isaiah, who thought
Judah's long-term hopes
lay not in entangling alliances, but in faith in the
power of her God. Ahaz was summoned to Damascus. There he saw
their altar and had a new one like it constructed in the temple. The
old
altar was reserved for his use.
The
Chronicler gives a picture of complete religious chaos in the
land. He
understood the new altar which Ahaz had caused to be erected
as a Syrian altar. The Chronicler followed the old
belief that victory in war
proved that the gods of the victors were stronger
than the gods of the con-
quered; but it was God who brought destruction upon the
land because of
the king's apostasy. The
Chronicler wanted Ahaz's reign and idolatrous
apostasy to stand out in stark contrast to his son Hezekiah's reforming
zeal.
AHAZIAH (אחזיה (a ha zie ah), Yahu has grasped) 1. King
of (Northern)
Israel (850-849 B.C.) He
reigned for 2 years. He offered to
help Jehosha-
phat king of Judah (Southern kingdom) man a fleet based on Ezion-geber,
by which they hoped to revive Arabian trade.
Jehoshaphat refused. Aha-
ziah was
seriously injured in a fall and sent messengers to obtain an ora-
cle from Baal-zebub, the Syrian God of life.
Ahaziah died and had no son,
so the throne passed to his brother
Jehoram.
2. King of Judah around 842 B.C., son and
successor of Jehoram,
murdered by Jehu.
The Chronicler reports an invasion of Judah by Phili-
stines and the
Arabs in the reign of Jehoram; they carried off Jehoram's
wife and other sons,
except for his youngest son Jehoahaz, also known as
Ahaziah. His mother's name was Athaliah; she was the
great-granddaugh-
ter of King Omri of Israel.
He replaced his father on the throne; it is not
clear under what
circumstances. He only reigned for part
of a year.
A-17
Joram
was Ahab's son and king of Israel at the same time as Aha-
ziah, and died
shortly before Ahaziah did. A revolt
under prophetic inspi-
ration broke out in the army at Ramoth-gilead. The prophet Elisha sent
a son of the prophets
to seek out and anoint Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat
as king over Israel. Joram and Ahaziah met Jehu; Jehu killed Joram
and later wounded Ahaziah, who died a short time later. The version in
Kings and the version in
Chronicles differ as to the exact details of his
death.
AHBAN
(אחבן, brother of intelligent one). One of Abishur's sons in the
genealogy of Jerahmeel.
AHI
(אחי, brother). A word mentioned twice in the Chronicler's
genealogies; it
seems abbreviated.
AHIAH
(אחיה, brother of Y) English variant of the name Ahijah. It is on the
list of leaders under Nehemiah
who set their seal to the covenant.
AHIAM
(אחיאם) The son of Sharar or Sachar, the Hararite; a
member of the
company of heroes of David known as the “30.”
AHIAN
(אחין, brotherly) The
first son Shemida in the genealogy of Manasseh.
AHIEZER (אחיעזר, my brother
is help) 1. Son of Ammishaddai; he represen-
ted the
tribe of Dan in assisting Moses with the census, and was their cap-
tain as rearguard for the line of march. 2. Leader
of the Benjaminite
bowmen from Saul's tribe who came to David's aid while he
was hiding in
Ziklag.
AHIHUD (אהיהוד, brother of majesty) 1. An
Asherite leader, son of Shelomi,
and one of those appointed to superintend the
distribution of territory
among the ten tribes who went west of the
Jordan. 2. A Benjaminite
listed in the tribal
genealogy of Chronicles.
AHIJAH (חיהא, brother of Y) 1. A
priest in Saul's time of; son of Ahitub,
grandson of Phineas, and great-grandson
of Eli. He was priest in Shiloh
and was
responsible for the holy objects, perhaps used as oracles, while
Saul's army
was on the march. Many scholars believe
that his name was
once Ahimelech (Melech is a Canaanite God, and that his name
was
changed in favor of Yahweh. 2. A Pelonite who was one of David's
Mighty
Men. 3. Son of Shisha; a secretary or scribe
under Solomon.
4. A prophet from Shiloh who represented the
prophetic opposition
to the blending of religions and the despotic injustice of
Solomon's reign.
Ahijah met Jeroboam in
the north and proclaimed the division of the king-
dom into Israel (North) with
11 tribes under Jeroboam and Judah only in
the south. Jeroboam's reign lacked enough zeal for
Yahweh. When Jero-
boam's son was near
death, Jeroboam asked Ahijah about the outcome of
the son's illness. Ahijah
pronounced death for the child and doom for the
house of Jeroboam.
5. The father of Baasha, king of (Northern)
Israel from the Issachar
tribe. 6.
Son of Bela. 7. One of the sons of Ehud who were carried
as captives to Manahath. 8. One of the sons of Jerahmeel of the tribe
of Judah. 9. A Levite who was in charge of the
treasuries in the temple.
AHIKAM (אחיקם, my brother has arisen) Josiah's minister; he saved Jere-
miah from death under Jehoiakim.
AHILUD ( אחילוד a brother is born) The father of David's recorder,
Jehoshaphat.
AHIMAAZ (אחימעץ, brother is counselor) 1. The
father of Ahinoam, Saul's
wife. 2. A son of Zadok
the high priest; he was in the priestly company
that brought the ark to David
when he had vacated Jerusalem. Ahimaaz
was part of the spy system that kept David informed of the palace news.
The system was discovered; he and Jonathon
barely escaped capture.
After
the battle in the Ephraim forest in which Absalom was slain
and his forces
routed, Ahimaaz asked Joab to permit him to carry the
news of the victory to
David. Joab knew that the Absalom’s death
would
greatly distress the king and obscure the military victory and sent
someone
else and also allowed Ahimaaz to go.
Ahimaaz got to David first and told
of the victory, but professed ignorance of Absalom's fate.
3. One of the 12 officers appointed by
Solomon and charged with
provision of the royal house from the revenues of the
Naphtali district.
AHIMAN (אחימן)
1. One of 3 sons of Anak or “giants” in Hebron
Israelites scouted out the land. Ahiman was an individual or tribe among
the Anakim and was defeated in Hebron by the men of Judah.
2. A Levite, 1 of 4 chief gatekeepers
of Jerusalem in the postexilic
period.
AHIMELECH (אחימלך, brother of the king, brother of
(the God) Melech)
1. Priest of Nob, son of Ahitub. His aid to
David caused Saul to slaughter
the Nob priesthood. There is disagreement whether he changed his
name
to Ahijah. 2. A Hittite in the service of David. 3. Mentioned
in 3 pas-
sages as Abiathar's son, when everywhere else it was he who is
father
and Abiathar the son.
AHIMOTH (אחימות, my brother is Mot)
A Levite of the family of Kohath.
AHINADAB (אחינדב, brother is noble) Son of Iddo; 1of the 12 officers
ap-
pointed by Solomon, charged with providing for the royal house with the
revenue from southern Gilead .
A-18
AHINOAM (אחינעם, my brother is delight) 1. The
wife of Saul and daughter
of Ahimaaz. 2. One of David's wives, a woman from
Jezreel. She sur-
vived flight, capture,
and was mother of David's first-born, Amnon.
AHIO (אחיו, his (their)
brethren) Due to the uncertainty
of the Hebrew lan-
guage, it could be a proper name (a son of Abinadab, Elpaal,
or Jeiel in
3 different passages) or it could mean his or their brothers.
AHIRA
(אחירע, the (divine) brother is a friend)
A leader of Naphtali and son
of Enan; he assisted Moses in taking
the census of Israel
in the wilderness.
AHIRAM (אחירם, my brother is exalted) The third son of Benjamin; Ahira-
mites is
the name of a family. Scholars believe
his name is misspelled
in passages to be found in Genesis and I Chronicles.
AHISAMACH (אחיסמך, the (divine)
brother has supported) A Danite
and the
father of Oholiah, who was appointed to make the tabernacle and its
equipment.
AHISHAHAR (אחישחר, brother of the dawn) One of the sons of Bilhan ben
Jediael.
AHISHAR (אחישר) The
royal chamberlain in the cabinet of Solomon.
AHITHOPHEL (אחיתפל, brother of folly)
A native of Giloh in the highlands of
ted against his father
David and was crowned at Hebron, Ahithophel
joined Absalom. He advised Absalom
to violate the royal harem left
behind by David, which politically committed
Absalom to the revolt. Ahi-
thophel then asked for 12,000 men with whom to pursue and destroy
David. His advice was ignored; Absalom chose to wait
on the advice of
David's spy, Hushai. Seeing
disaster ahead in Hushai's plan, Ahithophel
went home and hanged himself.
One possible explanation for Ahithophel's betrayal of David was the
inference made by some scholars that he was Bath-sheba's grandfather,
the woman whose husband David had killed in order that he might have
her himself.
the woman whose husband David had killed in order that he might have
her himself.
AHITUB (אחיטוב, the brother (God) is good) 1. The
father of Ahimelech
(Ahijah) 2. The father or grandfather of a priest named
Zadok.
AHLAB
(אחלב, fatness, fertility)
A town in the territory of Asher
km northeast of Tyre
tants of the town.
AHLAI
(אחלי, Oh! would that!) 1. A
daughter of Sheshan in the line of Jerah-
meel. 2. The father of Zabad in
the list of David's Mighty Men.
AHOHI
(אחוחי, hot (?)) The
father of Dod and grandfather of Eleazar who
was 2nd among David's three
Mighty Men.
AHOHITE, THE (האחוחי) A
patronymic or geographic designation of uncertain
reference, applied to
military heroes in the time of David.
AHUMAI (אחומי, brother of water)
One of the sons of Jahath in the genealo-
gy of Judah
AHUZZAM (אחזם, possessor) A
son of Ashhur in the genealogy of Judah
AHUZZATH (אחזת, held fast (by God))
The man who accompanied Abime-
lech from Gerar to make a covenant with
Isaac at Beersheba
AHZAI
(אחזי, Yahu has grasped)
A priest in Ezra's time.
AI
(העי, the ruin) A
city in Ephraim, east of Bethel
tent between Ai and Bethel. Ai was attacked by Israelites after they had
taken Jericho. The Israelites sent out only a few men and met with an un-
expected
defeat. Joshua was told by God that the
cause of the defeat was
someone's failure to destroy all the spoils of Jericho
as God had comman-
ded. Lots were cast and
the culprit was Achan.
On
the next attack the defenders were drawn out of the city by part
of Israelite
forces faking a retreat while others walked into the city unop-
posed. The city was burned and left a heap of ruins around 1200 B. C.
The evidence found by archaeologists doesn't support this date.
The city
was first built around 3000 B.C. and destroyed not later than
2000 B.C.
The site was not occupied at all at the time of the Israelite conquest.
This
evidence shows that this story is an example of how the setting
of Israelite
conquests of several centuries were move to Joshua's time.
Another suggestion is that the story
originally referred to Bethel which was
conquered according to the book of
Judges, but somehow omitted from
the book of Joshua. A third suggestion places the conquest of Ai
around
1125 B.C.
AIAH
(איה, falcon, hawk) 1. The
first born of a Zibeon clan chief. 2. The
father of Saul's concubine Rizpah.
AIJALON (אילון; place of the deer)
1. A valley which figures in
the account of
the defeat of the five Canaanite kings in Joshua 10. Located on the Phili-
stine border just below
Beth-horon, it was an important pass into the
mountains of Judah.
A-19
Aijalon
was assigned to Dan on or near its border with Ephraim. It
represented the western point of
Jonathon's victorious pursuit of the Phili-
stines after the battle of Michmash. David made this city a Levitical one
and assigned it to the Kohathites. After
the North-South division of the
monarchy, it was included in Benjamin and fortified by Rehoboam against
invasion from the west or the north around
922-915 B.C.; the Philistines
captured the city around 735-715 B.C.
2. A
place in Zebulun where the judge Elon was buried.
AIN
(עין, spring) 1. A city on the boundary of “greater Palestine
Riblah or near the junction of the
Yarmuk and Jordan rivers. 2. City
mentioned in Josh. 15. 3. The Levitical city assigned to the
Aaronids.
AIN (ע). The
16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet (Each verse of the 16th
section
of Psalm 119 begins with this letter.)
AIR, POWER OF The
author of Ephesians refers to the “prince of the power of
air (probably
Satan,)” whom the Christians at Ephesus
The “air” refers to the lower atmosphere, in contrast with the sky. The air
was believed to be the home of evil
spirits, from which they exerted power
over men.
AKELDAMA (Akeldamac (ak el de mak)); field of blood, field of sleeping) A
burial ground outside the Jerusalem
Acts records that Judas purchased this field
with the silver paid him for be-
traying Jesus. The chief priests recognized that the silver flung back at
them by a
remorseful Judas, who then went out and hanged himself, could
not be put in the
treasury, so they bought a burial place.
It
is probable that there existed even before the Christian era an
area of caves
used for burial, one that had a Aramaic name similar to
Akeldama. In Matthew, the field becomes the place to
bury strangers
(foreigners) and is called the “potter's field,” which may only
mean that it
once belonged to a potter.
AKH-EN-ATON ((aka
na ton), it is well with (the son-god) Aton)
A pharaoh
around 1369-1353
B.C. of the 18th Dynasty, promoter of a religious and
cultural revolution. He changed his name to promote a new god,
Aton,
and to disavow the old god, Amon, for whom he was once named.
His
father Amen-hotep III accepted new trends in government,
religion, art, and
literature. Akh-en-aton and Nefert-iti soon left the old
capital of Thebes and founded a new one, called Akhetaton near the
modern Tell El-Amarna. There he and his queen gave themselves over
to new trends in art and a new god to worship in what would be called
the world's earliest monotheism.
His
preoccupation with internal reforms was disastrous to the
century-old Egyptian
Empire in Syria and Palestine; it fell apart.
After
Akh-en-Aton's death, under his son-in-law Tut-ankh-Amon, his
revolution
collapsed. Though the formal movement was branded as heresy, it left
lasting results in the religious, intellectual,
and aesthetic life in Egypt.
AKHETATON ( (a
ka na ton) the place of glory of (the sun god) Aton) See
above article.
AKKADIAN The
earliest wave of Semites to settle in Mesopotamia from
1800-
1600 B.C., and their language.
AKKUB
(עקוב, insidious) 1. Son
of Eljoenai, a remote descendant of David.
2. The head of a family of
Levitical gatekeepers in the temple after the
exile. 3. The
head of a family of temple servants. 4. A Levitical ex-
pounder of the law.
der of Canaan ,
where the road from Beer-sheba to the Arabah descends
abruptly into the Wadi
Murra. Also known as Akrabattene (See entry in
Old Testament Apocrypha section of the Appendix).
ALABASTER (שש (shesh),
white marble) A soft stone, of
light creamy color,
usually veined. Egyptian
alabaster is calcium carbonate; Jordan Valley
alabaster or gypsum is calcium
sulphate. The stone is known to have
been imported into Palestine from Egypt in antiquity, in the form of small
objects. Besides Egyptian alabaster flasks, there was
a limited industry of
native albaster or gypsum, in the Jordan Valley. Some were made to look
like Egyptian pottery,
some were made like Palestinian pottery and hol-
lowed out with a chisel rather
than a drill. The quarry which provided stone
for flasks made in Beth-shan long before Christ's time is still used
today to
quarry gypsum.
ALEMETH (עלמת, covering)
1. A son of Becher and
grandson of Benjamin.
2. A descendant of Saul in the sixth
generation through Jonathan and
Meribaal. 3. A priestly city of Benjamin.
ALEPH
(א) The first letter of the Hebrew Alphabet as placed in
the Bible at the
head of the first section of the Psalm 119, an acrostic psalm,
where each
line in the first section begins with this letter.
ALEXANDER ( AlexandroV (al ex an dros), man's defender.
(See also the
entry in the Old
Testament (OT) Apocrypha/ Influences Outside of the OT
section of the Appendix.).
1. A kinsman of the high priest Annas. 2. Alexander the Jew, of Ephesus. The Ephesian Jews were unjustly blamed for the slight which
was cast on Artemis, the city's patron, and this Alexander was put forward
by them with the intention that he should address the mob in the theater
and indicate the Jews’ innocence. He may have been a smith himself, and
it may have been for this reason that he was put forward; the mob would
not let him talk.
A-20
3.
A false teacher in the church.
But, far from being a personal
adversary of Paul, like the coppersmith,
it is probable that men like Alex-
ander were the earliest teachers of Gnosticism,
looking at the resurrec-
tion in a purely spiritual or intellectual way. 4. Alexander
the copper-
smith. He is said to have done
Paul great harm and to have strongly
opposed his message. The enmity against the apostle appears to be
personal; it may be that he was a hostile witness at Paul's trial in Rome.
ALEXANDRA (Alexandra) A Jewish queen. Salome Alexandra was Aristo-
bulus I’s wife; after his death, she married his brother Janneus. Psalm 2
does express the ambition of
Alexandra's husbands, to “break the hea-
then and dash them in pieces,” and to
restore David’s throne. She was
Simon
ben Shetach’s sister.
ALLAMMELECH A town in Asher, the southern part of the Plain of
Acco;
the actual site has not been found.
ALLEGORY The
treatment of an ancient tradition whereby one ignores its
literal meaning and discovers new hidden meanings in each term.
No Old
Testament (OT) author was an allegorist and New Testament (NT)
writers
made little use of this way of interpreting. Biblical scholars made use of
it after the NT
was written.
Greeks
used allegory to explain the acts of the gods, to find a
deeper significance in
a primitive tradition in terms of hidden moral and
philosophical truths. The Jews of Alexandria were influenced by
Greek
culture and thought in general and using allegory to interpret
traditional
materials in particular.
While
Philo always remained a devout Jew and insisted on reve-
rence for the Torah as
the sacred revelation of God's word to Israel, his
extensive allegories removed
him from their original meaning. He
tried to
fuse Judaism's scriptures with Greek science and philosophy; he sought
to enter the hidden sacred mysteries and profound
meaning of God's Holy
Word. This is in
contrast to the Palestinian Jew, who did not make much
use of allegory.
Of
the biblical authors, Paul alone acknowledges using allegory;
Paul used allegory 4 times to bring out his argument's force. In Galatians
4, Abraham's slave wife Hagar
represents Mount Sinai, the law, and the
present Jerusalem; his free wife, Sarah, represents Jerusalem above.
Hagar's son Ishmael, was flesh-bound, while Issac was the child of
pro-
mise. Paul left Sarah's allegorical meaning incomplete.
Paul
uses allegory 3 times in I Corinthians.
He uses the leaven in
bread to symbolize sin; sin spreads through the church,
just as leaven
ferments the whole lump of dough. And just as the oxen has the right to
grain
while it helps to ground flour, so to the teachers of the gospel de-
serve
support. Paul used allegory to see the
sacraments in Israel's pas-
sing through the Red Sea, eating manna, and the drinking from the water
of the rock.
Israel was “baptized” into Moses through the Red Sea waters,
and partook
of the supernatural food and water which flowed from the
rock, which symbolized
Christ. Paul used allegory, but it was
not central
to his argument, nor was it an important means of understanding the
OT.
The
parables of Jesus found in the gospels, could easily be inter-
preted by allegory. Yet, only the parable of
the sower is interpreted that
way in the Bible itself. Jesus explains that, since their hidden
meaning
can be understood only by those initiated into the mystery of the para-
bles' significance, true understanding of parables serves as a means
of
telling the difference between those on the inside and those on the out-
side
of the enlightened group.
In
the allegory itself, the symbols become confused. The seed is
both the preached word and the
people who receive it; the people are
both the soil and the plants. Also, the original meaning has been altered;
it is no longer a comment of how pure chance can bring about misfortune,
but a
warning to guard against that which brings misfortune.
ALLEUIA הללו־יה), praise the Lord) See
Hallelujah.
clans, and tribes were very
frequent; however, note Abraham's insistence
that Isaac not marry a
Canaanite. Much later, common dangers
began to
draw the tribes together into a very loose confederation, which became
the foundation for the United Monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon.
Solomon
made a treaty with the king of Tyre, and his many marri-
ages undoubtedly
involved political agreements. During
the split into two
kingdoms (Israel and Judah), alliances were quite readily
sought with
foreign nations (e.g. Hezekiah of Judah with Egypt against
Assyria), or the
two kingdoms together against foreign nations (e.g.
Jehoshaphat of Judah
and Ahab of Israel against Syria).
The
prophets were strongly against the practice of making foreign
alliances,
especially Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Hosea, for solely religious rea-
sons. Israel and Judah were almost always the
dependent members of
such alliances and were thereby subject to influences of a
cultic nature.
Ezra and Nehemiah
vehemently opposed any alliances which would wea-
ken the identity of the small
state of Judah as God's people, and especi-
ally marriages to non-Jews.
ALLON (אלון oak) 1. A
prince in the tribe of Simeon. 2. Joshua 19.33
“Oak in Zaanannim.”
ALLON-BACUTH (אלון בכות, oak of weeping) The site of the burial of Debo-
rah,
Rebekah's nurse, most likely between Bethel
had its origins in the law of the commune, where community holdings in
landed property changed owners at certain intervals by having them redi-
stributed by lot. This is in the background when the psalmist rejoices that
possession of good land has been allotted to him.
A-21
This system was still used later in unusual cases, as when land
once privately owned needed to be reapportioned. Micah hoped for such
are apportionment in the Judean communities, when those from the city
who owned land in the country, had to get out after Jerusalem's punish-
once privately owned needed to be reapportioned. Micah hoped for such
are apportionment in the Judean communities, when those from the city
who owned land in the country, had to get out after Jerusalem's punish-
ment. The importance of this allotment system is not surprising when one
considers that it was a sacral act, and that the will of Yahweh was perso-
nally at work in the random falling of the lots.
The idea obtained from the administering of the communal land
right was probably carried over very early into the conception of the pro-
cess by which the tribes occupied their territory. What was used on a
small scale, in rural communities, was used on a large scale for the 12
tribes, and was based on the idea that Yahweh was sole possessor of the
land, revealing God's will through lot, first to the tribes, then to the indivi-
dual clans, and finally to individual families. Levi received no tribal territory
for settlement because Yahweh was his portion. It should be noted further
that the word "lot" in the Old Testament, beyond being the instrument of
decision and the allotted portion of land, can also, as in modern languages,
means fate.
ALMIGHTY (שדי (sha die), the Mountain One/ pantwcrator; pan toek ra
tor, almighty) Originally the Hebrew word referred to El Shaddai, "god of the
mountains," whom the patriarchs worshiped. The worship of Yahweh (Lord)
began with Moses. In the New Testament, the Greek word appears only in
Revelation.
ALMODAD (אלמודד, God is friend) The first son of Joktan, and perhaps the
ancestor of a South Arabian tribe.
ALMON (עלמון, concealment) A priestly city in Benjamin, near Anathoth,
perhaps 1.6km northeast of Anata.
ALMON-DIBLATHAIM (דבלתימה עלמון) Stopping place of the Israelites,
following Dibon-gad and before Abiram Mountain
east of Libb.
ALMOND ( a.) לוז (looz) b.)משקדים (me shuk kad him) c.)שקד (sha keed))
a.) A tree common in the Near East . b) To watch, to wake.
c) Apparently a symbolic name given to the almond tree because
it blossoms first among the fruit trees; its blossoms appear before
its leaves; their likeness is found on the Menorah.
ALMS (elehmosunh; (el eh em os oo nay), compassionate, relief of the
poor) There is little direct reference to almsgiving in the Old Testament
(OT), and no Hebrew word for “almsgiving.” Yet references in the OT to
the poor and needy, and to institutions and ways of relieving them, shows
that almsgiving was widespread.
The Israelite is enjoined to be generous; he is to open his hand and
lend to his poor brother. The psalmist has not seen the children of the
righteous begging bread. The prophet claims that religious fast accep-
table to the Lord includes gifts of bread to the hungry, housing for the
homeless, and clothing for the naked. Beggary is seen as a fitting curse
for the unrighteous. Almsgiving is often concealed in hospitality, not
only or superiors and equals, but for the hungry as well. The manumit-
ted slave is to be loaded with gifts, but here the idea of reward must also
be present. The giving of alms gained merit for the donor.
In the New Testament, almsgiving figures prominently in the Ser-
mon on the Mount. The recipients of the kingdom must sell their posses-
sions and give alms. There is a 3-fold basis for almsgiving. 1st, it is sig-
nificant that in Jewish and Christian writing, “almsgiving” is the exercise
of righteousness. 2nd, almsgiving is the recognition that the giver is
blessed. 3rd, the giver is rewarded for giving alms.
ALMUG (אלמוגים (al mug heem))
A special kind of wood imported from
Ophir by Hiram of Tyre and used
in the construction of Solomon's temple
and for lyres and harps. It has been identified with red sandal wood, a
hard, closed grained, reddish-brown wood.
ALOES (אהלים (a ha leem); אהלות , (a ha loth); aloh (ah low)) An
aroma-
tic substance used for perfume and probably derived from either an eagle-
wood tree or a white sandalwood tree, where it is mentioned in the Old Tes-
tament. In
the New Testament, the true aloe that some believe was used
for embalming is a
succulent plant; it produces a bitter malodorous, purga-
tive medicine.
ALPHA AND OMEGA ( A; W) The first
and last letters of the Greek alphabet.
The basic meaning is: “The first and the last, the beginning and the end,
or “he who was, he who is, and he who is to come.”
Because he is the Alpha, God alone holds
supreme power over the
heaven and the earth.
God alone can make all things new. Because God
is the Omega, the end, God alone can “tell us what is yet to be.” The first-
ness and lastness of Jesus
Christ is validated above all by the fact of his
death and resurrection.
The
use of the alphabet to designate these attributes of God has
analogy in various
forms of Hellenistic thought, but the basic symbolism is
drawn from the Old
Testament, especially Isaiah. The chief contrast be-
tween the Testaments lies in the full identification of Jesus Christ
as the
Alpha and Omega, and in tracing his primacy and ultimacy to the
Resurrection.
A-22
ALPHABET A
system of writing with consonants which was probably invented
between 2000-1500
B.C. by the Semitic peoples in or near Phoenicia
alphabet as a system of writing is virtually
unique in world history. All com-
parable systems of putting language
into writing are from those symbols
first employed by northwestern
Semites. As originally developed, the
al-
phabet represented only the consonant sounds of the language for which
it was
employed. Each letter originally
depicted, or at least represented, a
specific object whose name began with the
particular sound in question.
Perhaps the most important early alphabetic evidence of all comes
from the archeological finds at Ugarit, which turned up a quantity of tablets
containing literary and other documents written in the local Canaanite,
wedge-shaped alphabet. 5 letters from this alphabet can be found in the
Hebrew alphabet. The traditional Aramaic-Hebrew names of the letters, the
accepted Hebrew meaning of the letter-names, and the Greek counterparts
are as follows
אaleph,
ox, a (alpha) ל lamedh, ox-goad, l (lambda)
ב beth, house, b ( beta) מ mem, water, m (mu)
ג
gimel, camel, throwing-stick, נ noon, fish, n (nu)
g (gamma)
ד daleth, door, fish, d (delta) ס samekh, prop, s (sigma)
ה he, meaning uncertain, ע 'ayin, eye, o (omicron)
e (epsilon)
ו vav, hook, u (upsilon) פ peh, mouth, p (pi), f (fie)
ז zayin, weapon or olive tree, צ sadhe, fishhook, ? (san)
z (zeta)
ח kheth, hedge, fence, h (eta) ק koph, back of head, x (exi)
ט teth, meaning uncertain, ר res, head, r (rho)
q (theta)
י yodh, hand, i (iota) ש sheen, tooth, y (psi)
כ kaph, palm of hand, ת tav, mark, t (tau)
k (kappa)
Though
the number of inscriptions exhibiting early forms of the
Phoenician alphabet is
not enormous, it is far larger and of earlier date than
that of the material available from elsewhere; thus, it has become the
norm. There is a high degree of similarity that can
be traced through this
earliest of alphabets, through the inscriptions found,
to Old and New He-
brew, and onward to Old and New Greek.
The earliest readable Hebrew inscription from the southern Canaa-
nite area is the Gezer Calender, a small limestone tablet containing an
agricultural calendar in a very archaic script which differs little from that of
the Phoenician inscriptions of that same time. The earliest Aramaic inscrip-
tions are roughly of the same time as those from Palestine and Phoenicia.
What is of interest here is the cursive variety of the Aramaic alphabet,
which was quite early adapted to the use of ink on papyrus.
While most agree that the Greeks borrowed their alphabet from the
Phoenicians, opinion differs widely on when and how this happened. The
earliest Greek inscriptions are generally dated from 725-875 B.C. Already
in the earliest Greek inscriptions, we find a regular use of certain letters to
indicate vowels, which is different from the Semitic use of the script.
The original ', h, (hard) h, w, y, and ' were employed to represent
the vowels a, e, long e, u, i, and o. Because the original w was used for u,
a new sign was developed for w in those areas where this sound was still
used. t was used to represent th, and new symbols were devised to write
p+ h (f) and k+h (c). Likewise, new symbols were chosen for k+s (x) and
p+s (y). Separate symbols came to be used to designate long e and o, in
contrast to short e and o.
Before the discoveries at Ugarit, which clearly shows the order of
the alphabet and date back perhaps to 1500 B.C., the earliest material
came from after 1000 B.C. The earliest inscriptions generally assumed
to be alphabetic belong to the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and can be
divided into: the Palestinian inscriptions (1650 B.C.); the Sinaitic inscrip-
tions (1500-1400 B.C); an isolated cylinder-seal (1500-1400 B.C.); and
the confusing inscriptions from Byblos (around 1200 B.C.).
The dates or ranges of dates given above are the best guesses
of scholars. Some of today's more important sources include: the Ruwei-
sah arrowhead (1100-1000 B.C.); The el-Khadir arrowheads found near
Bethlehem (around 1100 B.C.); the writings of Hasdrubal of Byblos (near
1000 B.C.); the Ahiram sarcophagus inscription (around 1000 B.C.); and
several inscriptions from Byblos (between 950 B.C. and 900 B.C.).
There is certainly no shortage of suggestions concerning the ori-
gins of the alphabet. Since it is certain that many, if not all, of the original
signs pictured a definite object, only comparisons with other hieroglyphic
systems of writing make sense in the present discussion. Most plausible
is the suggestion that the alphabet was invented under the influence of
various scripts that were developed nearby before it was. The 3 hiero-
glyphic possibilities are Egyptian, Hittite, and the still undeciphered script
used at Byblos.
The
fact remains that nothing comparable to an alphabetic system
of writing is
known. We must accordingly see the
alphabet as the inven-
tion of a small group of persons in Phoenicia or Palestine
some time be-
tween 2000-1500 B.C. The practice of representing only consonants
found in the original alphabet is
common only to Egyptian writing, and it
was perhaps from that quarter that the
chief inspiration sprang. But the
working out of a system which has proved so flexible and so adaptable
to
worldwide use is due to the genius of the inventors alone.
A-23
ALPHAEUS (AlfaioV
)
A purely Greek name, one of
many such names used
commonly by 1st-century Jews in Palestine
2. The father of James (Mark 3:8).
ALTAR
(מזבח, (miz bay
akh)) The Hebrew word is from the verb for slaughter.
The killing of the animal in front of the
altar became absolutely necessary if
the blood was to be collected and
sprinkled on the altar. In the time of
Exo-
dus there were altars of earth (clay), of air dried bricks, and most
commonly
of stone.
Altars
were “built” rather than “made.” In the
case of built altars, a
stone one should be assumed, built with what stones
could be found lying
around without reshaping them. The number of stones used was of no sig-
nificance;
it depended on the size of stones collected and the desired di-
mensions of the
altar. The use of unhewn stone was
expressly comman-
ded in Exodus, partly to avoid the luxury of square stones, and partly that
the stone used in worship shouldn't lose its natural qualities by
being hewn.
In rare cases, a large,
single rock was used as an altar.
We
know several historical details about the burnt-offerings altar
which stood in
front of the temple in Jerusalem. It was
built by Solomon
and used for about 200 years, but was replaced by a larger
altar in Ahaz's
reign, who saw an impressive altar in Damascus and had the
high priest
Uriah build one like it. Solomon's smaller altar was set off to one side, be-
cause Ahaz wanted to
both preserve tradition and to have a modern
“Yahweh” altar. It was made of
stone, since the king was forced to have the
bronze temple vessels melted down to pay tribute to the Assyrian king.
Specific
measurements for an altar is given in Ezekiel.
The base
was 8 x 8 meters; it rose 1/2-meter to the next level, which
was 7 x 7 me-
ters. It rose another meter
to the sacrificial level, which was 6 x 6 meters.
The remarkable thing about this altar's
design is that it is unique. It
resem-
bled in miniature the stepped towers for which Babylon is famous.
There do exist examples of altars which because of their location at
a certain level of an archeological excavation can be firmly placed in a
time period. In the 19th layer of Megiddo a 5 x 8 meter temple was found
with a platform measuring 1.6 x 4.1 x .7 meters that was exactly opposite
the entrance. At one point four steps of a stairway led up to the sacrificial
level. It should be dated around 3000 B.C. At a later time, between 1500
and 1100 B.C., there was a temple, rebuilt many times, which had during
the second and third time it was rebuilt a platform on which to deposit
sacrifices.
In
the moat of the city of Lachish, a long-room temple which should
be dated
between 1450 and 1250 B.C. was found. In the last building
phase of this temple
there was a mud-brick altar, accessible by steps in
front of this shrine. In the 6th layer (1600-1400 B.C.) of
Alalakh in Syria,
a temple was found in which there was a mud-brick altar
measuring .6 x
.5 x .45 meters next to a bench. It had a
shallow depression on top and
was intended for burnt
offerings. The stone altar in front of
the Baal tem-
ple in Ugarit-Syria was indented on the top in a similar fashion. The altar
in Hazor, about 1.3 x 2.7 x 1.3 meters, consisted of a 5 ton block of lime-
stone, hollowed out
on top for solid, burnt, blood and liquid offerings.
There
are still existing today several altars hewn from a single piece
of rock, which
are out in the open country and were clearly used for sacrifi-
ces at one time, but the time of their making can't be determined. In Petra,
east of the Jordan, there are
numerous places of worship that have altars
hewn out of the natural rock from
which the entire city of Petra was hewn.
These places of worship were most likely from the Greek or Roman
era.
Places like Petra and the open-air
altars may be thought of as being very
much like, if not the actual locations
of the “high holy places” that are men-
tioned in the Old Testament.
ALUSH (אלוש) A place that Israel
between Dophkah and Rephidim. The actual site
has not been located.
ALVAH
(עלוה) The second of 11 clan chiefs descended from Esau
and
dwelling in Edom
ALVAN (עלון)
Perhaps the same as the
previous entry.
A-24
AMAD (עמעד) A town in the territory of Asher
AMAL (עמל, trouble(?)) A son of Heler in the genealogy of Asher.
AMALEK (עמלק) Amalek is a grandson of Esau through Eliphaz and Timna.
Amalekites origins are thus traced back by tradition to the early ancestry of
the Edomites. Throughout their entire known history, the Amalekites were a
nomadic desert tribe, ranging the desolate wastes from Sinai and the Negev
to the Arabah and inner Arabia. The Amalekites were already active in the
Negev of Judah near Beer-sheba around 2000 B.C. A group of kings under
Chedorlaomer subdued Amalek on the way homeward through Palestine.
Hostilities between Amalek and Israel began between 1300-1200
B.C., when the Amalekites ruthlessly attacked Israelite stragglers coming
out of Egypt, in order to protect their caravan routes from Egypt to Arabia;
No where do we find Amalek and Israel on friendly terms. The defeat of
the Amalekites gave Israel unmolested possession of Kadesh-barnea.
When the spies reported to Moses, they expressed misgivings concerning
the strength of the inhabitants, which included Amalekites. The 1st well-
attested appearance of the Amalekites in Transjordan is as mercenaries
during the early days of the judges. The Amalekites appear around 1100
B. C., riding with the Midianites in the first known camel-nomad raid.
One of the first tasks facing Saul after becoming king was to wage
war against Amalek. He killed every one except King Agag. Saul's failure
to exterminate Amalek left the latter free to raid against settled commun-
ities in southern Judah. David had discovered that a party of them had
burnt Ziklag, taking the women and children captive, including David's 2
wives, Ahinoam and Abigail. David and his host surprised the Amalekites;
only 400 escaped on their camels. According to one biblical tradition, Saul
asked a Amalekite to slay him, who then went to David with news of his
deed, expecting a reward and getting death instead.
Further conflict with the Amalekites after David became king is found
in a summary of David's conquests. With the firm establishment of the Uni-
ted Monarchy and the organization of a strong political system, Israel
stopped Amalekite raids. By King Hezekiah's time, only a few of the Amale-
kites remained. Their final defeat was at Mount Seir in Edom, where their
history began. No reliable accounts of the Amalekites are preserved out-
side of the Old Testament, and no physical evidence of their existence has
been found.
AMAM (אמם, union (?)) A city in southwestern Judea; the site is unknown.
AMANA (אמנה, covenant) A mountain peak in the Anti-Lebanon range ,
probably south of the Amana river.
AMARIAH (אמריח, Yahweh has promised) 1. One of Hebron's sons, under
the division of Kohath. 2. Chief priest during the reign of Jehoshaphat.
3. Son of King Hezikiah; great-grandfather to Zepheniah the prophet.
4. A subordinate Levite in the time of King Hezekiah, helping with the
distribution of offerings. 5. The name appears 3 times in closely
related priest-lists in the book of Nehemiah. It is difficult to know whether
they are separate individuals, priestly groups, or families. 6. Son of
Shephatiah of Judah; an ancestor of Athaiah. 7. One of the sons of
Binnui who had to put away a foreign wife under Ezra's reforms.
AMASA (עמשא, burden) 1. A nephew of David. He served for a brief period
as the commander of David's troops until his treacherous murder by Joab.
When the initial success of Absalom's conspiracy forced David out of the
capital, Amasa was made commander of Absalom's forces; shortly there-
after, he was soundly defeated in the forest of Ephraim.
Before his return to Jerusalem, David named Amasa commander of
his army. The Judeans called for David's return; the Israelites felt slighted
at being politically outmaneuvered, and they rebelled, led by Sheba, who
threatened the national unity by his intrigue. David directed Amasa to mus-
ter Judean forces; when Amasa was late in arriving, David placed Abishai
at the head of the royal guards and told him to quell rebellion before any
fortified cities were occupied.
When Amasa finally did join them, he was murdered by Joab, who
then continued the pursuit with Abishai while Amasa bled to death in the
roadway. The corpse was later removed from the roadway and covered
with a garment, because it slowed the advance of the army. Joab paid for
this murder and Abner's with his life in the reign of Solomon.
2. Son of Hadlai. Judean captives were taken in Israel's war with
Judah; he opposed their entry into the city of Samaria.
AMASAI (עמשי, burdensome) 1. According to the Chronicler, chief of the
Thirty among David's soldiers. 2. The name is used several times on
the Chroniclers list of Levites for 2 Kohathites, and a priest in the time of
David, appointed to blow the trumpet before the ark of God.
AMASHAI (עמשי, possibly the same as Amasai) A postexilic priest to be iden-
tified with Maasai.
AMASIAH (עמסיה, Yahu has borne) A Judahite, son of Zichri, one of the com-
manders in Jehoshaphat's army and a loyal servant of Yahweh.
AMAW (עמו) The land west of the Euphrates, including the city of Pethor
where Balaam lived; Balaam was summoned from here by Moab's King
Balak around 1250 B.C. The Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III first con-
quered Amaw around 1450 B.C.
A-25
AMAZIAH (אמציה, Yahu is strong) 1. A Simeonite of I Chronicles. 2. A
Levite of the family of Merari; David put him in charge of the song service
before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.
. 3. King of Judah (around 800-783 B.C.); son and successor of
Joash. Amaziah was 25 years old when he began to reign; his father's
murderers were still among the servants of the king. He put to death
those who had slain his father, but spared their sons.
His reign was marked by Edom's re-conquest and the killing of thou-
sands of Edomites. No doubt elated by his victory over Edom, Amaziah
challenged Joash of (Northern) Israel. As a result, Judah became a vassal
state of Israel. The Bible says he reigned 29 years. In order to agree with
other facts in the Bible, a reign of 19 years seems more accurate. Like his
father, Amaziah was the victim of a court conspiracy. He made his escape
to Lachish, and was later murdered there. He was brought back to Jerusa-
lem in procession and buried there, in the city of David.
4. A priest of the royal sanctuary at Bethel in Jeroboam II's time.
He tried to prevent Amos from prophesying there.
AMBASSADOR (presbeuw (pres bay oo o); senior, representative)
When used to refer to one sent by God this word was used to translate the
Hebrew word malack and is taken to mean angel.
AMBER (חשמל (khash mal)) Amber is a yellowish to brownish colored clear
and ancient, hardened resin usually with a fossil inside. The word is used
in the Bible as a motif in visions.
AMBUSH (מארב (ma ‘ha rawb)) A means of warfare regularly employed in
ancient times, and used with great success in Joshua and Judges. Paul's
enemies planned ambushes for him in Jerusalem and coming back to
Jerusalem. It was often used in the Old Testament as a symbol for the
wiles of the wicked.
AMEN (אמן, from the verb to take care, to support, to be firm, true, reliable, to
trust in, to believe in). An exclamation by which listeners join in a blessing,
curse, or prayer, and the consequences that might arise from them. An
“Amen” in response to David's command promises to obey it. The respon-
ding “Amen” is at times a part of the liturgy. In private life a wife hearing
her husband's prayer may join him by saying Amen with him. A special
use of "Amen" is the congregation's or a single Jew's response to “Bles-
sed be the Lord.”
The use of Amen in the New Testament usually follows the Old Tes-
tament lines. When the custom arose of reading from the New Testament
in the service, "Amen" was added at the end. “The Amen” becomes one
of the titles of Christ as “the faithful and true witness.” Jesus introduces his
own sayings with: “Amen (Amen, Amen) I say to you.” This comes near
to an oath by which Jesus can proclaim his exegesis of the Law, his war-
nings, and his promises. This specific use of Amen by Jesus is not fol-
lowed by any apostle or prophet of the early Christian church.
AMETHYST (אחלמה (akh law maw), dream stone; amequstoV (am eth oos
tos) A deep-purple variety of aluminum oxide known as oriental amethyst.
It is a stone in the breastplate of the high priest and the 12th jewel in the
wall's foundation of New Jerusalem.
'AM HA'AREZ (הארץ עם (‘am ha ar ets); people of the land) On the face of
it the term seems self-explanatory, and has seen many uses throughout
history. Detailed studies of the term have indicated that this term in the
beginning of its use was actually a technical term for a specific social
class. The word “'am” doesn't properly designate the entire population,
but includes only the responsible male citizenry, married men who live
on their own land and have full rights and duties. They are thus the full
citizenry of a specific territory.
The social and political importance of the 'Am Ha'arez of Judah is
indicated by the fact that in most cases where they are mentioned, some
matter of historic significance is involved. The 'Am Ha'arez played an im-
portant role in the political, economic, and social life of Judah and they
must have occupied the position just below the priests on the social ladder.
The prisoners captured in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar included 60 'Am
Ha'arez. They and several priests were executed.
After the return from exile, the 'Am Ha'arez still existed, but the situ-
ation had changed drastically. There were now 2 distinct groups of 'Am
Ha'arez: those returning from exile and those who had never left. They be-
came known respectively as "the people of Judah," and "the people of the
land." Conflict arose between these 2 groups.
As the prophet Ezra used the term, it carried disapproval of their
mongrel ancestry as well as their paganism. In rabbinic literature the term
appears as a contemptuous designation of those whom the rabbis regard
as immoral, irreligious, ignorant of the law, and too burdened with making
a living to worry about ritual purity. When many of these 'Am Ha'arez be-
came Christians, the term supposedly became a designation of Jewish
Christianity and then a general term of contempt of their laxity in regard to
the religious law.
AMITTAI (אמתי, true) The father of the prophet Jonah.
AMMAH (אמה, cubit) A hill near Giah in Benjamin, on the threshold of the wil-
derness descent into the Jordan Valley
made a stand here against Joab and a truce was called.
A-26
AMMI (עמי, my people) The new name given to Israel
tion, in contrast to “Lo-ammi,” not my people,” which signified God's de-
isive rejection.
AMMIDIANS A family group among those returning from exile; they and the
Chadiasans numbered 422.
AMMIEL (עמיאל, my kinsman is God) 1. A son of Gemali sent out by Moses
to spy out the land of Canaan. 2. The father of Machir, in whose house
the son of Jonathon was hidden from David. 3. Father of Bath-shua
(Bethsheba), David's wife. 4. Sixth son of Obed-edom; he served tem-
ple gatekeepers.
AMMIHUD (עמיהוד, my kinsman is splendor) 1. The father of Elishama,
leader of the half-tribe of Ephraim during the Exodus; great-grandfather
of Joshua. 2. The father of Shemuel; a Simeonite in Moses' time.
3. The father of Pedahel; a Naphtalite in Moses' time. 4. The king of
Geshur's father, to whom Absalom fled. 5. Son of Omri; among
Perez's sons of Judah who returned after the Exile.
AMMINADAB (עמינדב, my kinsman is generous) 1. The father of Nahshon,
Judah's tribal leader; father of Elisheba, the wife of Aaron; an ancestor
of David through his son. 2. Chief of the sons of Uzziel, a Levitcal group. 3. Son of Kohath and father of Korah in the Chronicler’s version of the
Levite genealogy. 4. The father of Esther in the Greek version of the Old
Testament.
AMMINADIB (עמי־נדיב, my prince) There is disagreement whether this is
a name or a title.
AMMISHADDAI (עמישדי, kinsman is Shaddai (god)) Ahiezer's father, the
leader of Dan in the wilderness.
AMMIZABAD (עמיזבד, kinsman hath bestowed) Son of the renowned Beni-
ah, who was a member of the “Thirty.” Ammizabad served David as
the commander of the division for the third month, possibly taking
over from his father when his father was promoted to head of the
“Thirty.”
AMMON (עמון בני, son of my people or son of my clan) A Semitic people who
flourished as an autonomous political state east of the Jordan on the frin-
ges of the Syrian Desert in central Transjordan between 1300-580 B.C.
After the Exile, a different ethnic group occupied this same area.
The younger daughter of Lot gave birth to Ben-ammi. The name
means "son of my clan," and in itself suggests a kindred relationship be-
tween Ammon and Israel. It also appears to be a genuine and popular
name in western and southern Semitic languages as well. Ben-ammi
could be identified both with clan name and the person who began the
clan.
Ammonite origins were in southern Transjordan, just east of the
Salt (Dead) Sea in the "land of Moab." They were basically a Semitic-
Habiru mixture. They spoke a language closely related to Hebrew, and
some Ammonites knew how to write in a southern Canaanite dialect
closely related to biblical Hebrew. And, judging by some gods and myth
they share in common with northern Transjordan and Babylon, we must
look there also for influences that led to a distinctive Ammonite tradition
and people.
With respect to language, ethnic relationship, and physical ap-
pearance, Ammonite and Amorites may have been very similar, and
even closely related. From 1300-1250 B.C., Ammonites were little
more than a small tribal nucleus centered around their later capital,
Rabbath-Ammon. The extent of the kingdom was the Jordan River in
the west, the desert on the east, the Jabbok River on the north, and no
further south than the Dead Sea. Actually, the boundaries of Ammon
were never so clearly defined as those of Moab Edom
The formation of the Ammonite state was after the formation of
the Amorite, Moabite and Edomite kingdoms. Ammon does not seem
to have reached the same level of settling down in one place that Moab
did, but maintained closer ties with the desert throughout their history.
Their first appearance in a military role finds them allied with Moabites
and Amalekites to help the king of Moab regain former Moabite territory.
The Ammonites had strengthened themselves considerably and
moved against the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin in Gilead. Under the
command of Jephthah, these tribes beat the Ammonites, but left their
strongholds untouched and the Ammonites future expansion unchecked.
King Nahash of Ammon returned and drove as far as Jabesh-gilead.
Saul met and decisively defeated Nahash.
During the reign of David, when the son of Nahash took the Am-
monite throne, conditions were soon created for renewed conflict. The
Aramean states of Beth-rehob, Maacah, and Tob formed an army and
advanced on Gilead from the north. David's commander Joab was
forced to divide his army and send the better part of it against the Ara-
means, while the other part held off the Ammonites as they came from
the south. David later made the Armeans into a vassal state, and
made a devastating attack on Ammon, besieging Rabbah and making
Ammon another Israelite vassal state.
Throughout the United Monarchy (around 961-922 B.C.), Ammon re-
mained subservient to Israel. David and later Solomon used the old royal
family to govern Ammon. Their kingdom prospered along with Solomon's.
In such an ethnically diverse kingdom as Solomon's, it was inevitable that
cultural and religious mixing would develop. Among the foreign women
Solomon loved were Ammonite women. One of these, Naamah, was the
mother of Rehoboam who was later the southern kingdom of Judah's 1st
king, after the United Monarch broke into the 2 kingdoms of Israel (North)
and Judah (South).
A-27
After almost a century of subservient existence as a tributary state
to Israel, political conditions again enabled the Ammonites to embark
upon new conquest and expansion. Around 922 B.C., The Ammonites
probably took advantage of the opportunity to free themselves from Isra-
elite control from 900-850 B.C. The Ammonite king Ba'sha fought at the
Battle of Qar-qar in Hamath around 853 B.C.
A thousand or more Ammonites joined the Arameans against Assyria
to protect their northern commercial interests. The Ammonites later joined
Moabites and Meunim in a campaign started by Arameans to force Jeho-
shaphat's army to withdraw from Ramoth-gilead. In the end, their armies
were destroyed.
The Ammonites were either the allies or the upsurging Aramean no-
minal vassals in depriving Israel of her Transjordan territory. Toward the
end of the 800s, Aramean power began to decline, and when Assyria turned
aggressor again, the Aramean states were the first to collapse. Ammon ap-
pears to have remained unmolested and in control of southern Gilead until
around 750 B.C. Uzziah established control of Ammon, which rebelled
after Uzziah's death before it was subdued and put under tribute to Jotham
of Judah.
Under the Assyrian Tiglath-pileser, each Transjordan state was per-
mitted to retain it own native dynasty, received the protection of Assyria,
and paid homage and tribute to the Assyrian monarch. King Shanip of
Ammon around 733 B.C., was allowed to take some of their former terri-
tory in Gad. After the Assyrian Sargon II died, there was a rebellion, and
his successor, Sennacherib had to mount a major expedition in order to
force tribute from Ammon, Moab, and Edom.
King Bod'el ruled Ammon from 701 B.C. to at least 670 B.C.
Throughout most of the 600s, Ammon remained a nominal Assyrian pro-
vince and tributary to Assyria, but under their own native ruler. For a time,
their tribute was larger than that of either Moab or Judah. Assyrian protec-
tion enabled Ammonites to control a large part of the desert caravan trade.
The Ammonites also developed a well-organized cavalry division in their
army during this time of Assyrian influence. After King Bod'el died, Ammo-
nite culture and general prosperity flourished under Amminadab and those
right after him.
Architecturally, Ammonites built in what is generally called the mega-
lithic style, because of the great size of the stones used in construction.
This style of building was carried on from early in Ammonite history to this
peak time of their culture. Little is known of their culture's religion. They
began with fertility gods, as do most agriculturally based cultures. Most of
the tombs, statues, and seals found date from this peak of their civilization.
Most of the Ammonite tombs were cave tombs cut out of natural rock,
either below the ground or in the side of a hill. At times the Ammonites
buried their dead in coffins.
The Assyrian civil war between Ashurbanipal and his brother in 652
B.C., signaled rebellion throughout the Assyrian Empire's vast reaches.
Ammon was able to save themselves from total destruction by rebels be-
cause of their own stout defenses and Assyrian aid. Arabs did exert some
influence on Ammon, as evidenced by Arabic personal names found on
Ammonite seals, some of which were women officials. Around 610 B.C.,
Ammon occupied the tribal lands of Gad and were independent for 10 years.
In 599 B.C., Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon required the Ammonite's
cooperation in plundering the Arabs. Ammon was under Babylonian con-
trol only until 593 B.C., when Ammon joined in a conspiracy with Edom,
Moab, Tyre, and Sidon, with a promise of support from Egypt. Ammon en-
couraged and aided in the assassination of the Judean governor. The only
thing we know of Babylon's response is that by 550 B.C. most of the origi-
nal population of Ammon was gone, most likely taken off into exile as was
Judah. The Arabs had the run of the land, including the cities, which lay in
ruins. Political order was not restored until the coming of the Persians in
530 B.C. Ammon may have had a Jewish governor at this time, named
Tobiah.
Following the conquest of Alexander and the division of his empire,
the control of Ammon passed to the Egyptian Ptolemies. Around 260 B.C.,
there was another Tobiah running Ammon, this time as the Egyptian mili-
tary colony's head. Arab encroachment into Ammon over a 600 year peri-
od finally resulted in it becoming part of a Nabatean kingdom, until the Ro-
mans incorporated Ammon into the Roman Empire.
AMNON (אמנון, faithful) 1. David's oldest son, born at Hebron of Ahinoam from
Jezreel. The only event known is his rape of his half-sister. His half-
brother Absalom avenged the rape by slaying Amnon. 2. A son of
Shimon and a remote descendant of Judah.
AMOK (עמוק, deep, unsearchable) A priest in the group that returned from
exile with Zerubbabel, and the ancestor of a priestly family.
AMON (אמון, trustworthy reliable, faithful) 1. Governor of the city of Samaria
in the reign of Ahab.
2. King of Judah around 642-640 B.C.; son and successor of Ma-
nasseh. He was from the northern kingdom (Israel), even though he ruled
the southern kingdom of Judah. This helps show the close connection
Amon maintained with the North at this time. Amon followed in his father
Manasseh's footsteps; he owed allegiance to Assyria, and worshiped
their gods. Amon was murdered by his servants, but the murder was
not popular; the murderers were executed, and Amon's son Josiah was
put on the throne.
3. A descendant of Solomon's servant who returned from the exile.
4. Amon-Ra, Egypt’s imperial god, whose chief center of worship was the
temple of Karnak in Thebes. 5. Part of the Hebrew name for Thebes.
A-28
AMORITES (אמרי, from the land west of Mesopotamia ) The inhabitants of the
land called Amurru. The exact extent and place where the Amorites lived is
unknown; it may have been Syria and at least part of Palestine.
The Amorites were a Canaanite tribe in the mountainous region of
Judah and just east of the Jordan with its Amorite kingdoms of Heshbon
and Bashan. It is possible that Jerusalem was an Amorite town before the
Israelites came. According to the Old Testament (OT) conceptions, which
used myth as much as history to explain things and people, the Amorites
were tall, like mythical giants.
Around 2400 B.C., the Old Akkadian king Sargon made an expedi-
tion to Amurru for building supplies. Gudea, king of Lagash fetched marble
from Amurru around 2000 B.C. Amurru's center at this time was Mari. From
the region of Mari, some Amorites pushed eastward shortly after 2000, and
conquered the last Sumerian kingdom. The Amorites tended to merge with
the people already living in the areas they moved into. Babylon's Hammura-
bi of put an end to the Amorite Empire and conquered Mari.
The Mari (Amorite) Texts throw light upon the Amorite civilization
from 2000-1500; in the Mari kingdom, a high standard of civilization existed.
Fine examples of art and ceramics have been unearthed from this period.
The language of the Amorites was closely related to the Canaanite and has
a number of features in common with it; also, the Aramean language deve-
loped from Amorite. Its role in biblical Hebrew's growth was very important;
some words that are found in the OT are also found in the Mari (Amorite)
Texts and nowhere else. It appears that the tribe of Benjamin is mentioned
in the Mari, Texts, described in a way very similar to how they are described
in the OT.
Between 1400-1200 B.C., a number of independent Amorite city-
states existed, one of which had Kadesh as its center, located on the Oron-
tes. This is where the Egyptians under Ramses II fought the Hittites. The
Sea People's invasion and the Hittite wars made an end to the independent
Amorite kingdoms in Syria. Some Amorite kingdoms collaborated with the
Habiru, of which the Hebrews were a part. So the Amorite played an impor-
tant role in the growth of the Israelite nation.
AMOS (עמוס, bearer of burden) In order of Biblical appearance, this prophetic
book ranks 3rd out of 12. In the order of when they were written in history,
this is the first. There were prophets in Israel for centuries before the time
of Amos, and many of a stature comparable with any of the later prophets.
Yet, none of them took in hand the collection of their oracles before Amos.
Amos scornfully disassociates himself from the official prophets'
guild. The writing prophets seemed so unlike the guild ones, who used mu-
sic and trances, and who often yielded to the temptation of adjusting their
their oracles to satisfy the pleasure of their customers. But when we find in
their midst a Nathan and Micaiah, we have to recognize that, in spite of all
corruptions, a genuine prophetic tradition was kept alive in these guilds.
Amos condemns their corruption, and in fact became a prophet only
because those prophets were failing to discharge their genuine office.
There has been considerable discussion whether or not Amos ever ac-
knowledged himself to be a prophet, or even which of the 2 kinds of pro-
phets he was denying association with. What was it about Amos' work that
began the tradition of written prophecy? To Amos, his prophetic activity
was in no way novel; he was only doing what God had always intended a
faithful prophet to do. But the way Amos prophesied, along with the swift-
ness with which his words were validated by historical events, caused
some to preserve his oracles. Then, as men discovered the power of the
written word to capture the prophetic spirit and mission, it became the prac-
tice for those under the influence of a prophet to record his sayings.
Amos, like Jesus, was a layman with no professional training for a
religious office. He was a shepherd & a pincher of sycamore fruit, which
had to be pinched so that it could be eaten when ripe; only the poor ate this
fruit. As a shepherd, Amos was familiar with lions, and locusts, stars and
harsh rural poverty. With eyes sharpened by the frugal, austere life of his
desert regions, and the insights of faith that came from earlier prophets,
Amos examines the life of urban Israel and comes to the conclusion that it
is ripe for judgment.
Amos, when he took up his prophetic task, went from Tekoa, 16 km
south of Jerusalem, walked past Jerusalem & delivered his oracles at Be-
thel & Samaria, 18 & 51 km further north, respectively. For Amos, (nor-
thern) Israel Judah
leadership of the nation in his time was Samaria Jerusalem
he delivered his message in the north.
It shouldn't be surprising that a Judean shepherd should have a
deep appreciation of the religious heritage of his people. Rudeness of
occupation & rudeness of thought do not go hand in hand. It was from
such peasant homes that many of Israel's greatest leaders came. His
occupation would take him to markets as far north as Damascus. Be-
cause his God is Lord of all the earth, his vision embraces all the nations
with which the Hebrews had any contact.
Amos saw the advancing Assyrians as God's judgment. Because
it was an axiom of his faith that a holy and just God could be served only
by a nation that reflected in its life the holiness and justice of God, he had
eyes where others were blind to see the peril in which Israel was placed
by the dishonesty of its courts, the maltreatment of its poor, and the cor-
ruption of its upper classes.
It was the silence of the professional prophets that forced the lay-
man Amos to become a prophet. The professionals were blind to realities
which were plain to his eyes. They let themselves & the truth be silenced
by social pressures. God took him from following the flock & sent him as
a prophet to his people, to say what no one else had the courage to say.
The times from 800 to 750 B.C. seemed especially good for Israel
& Judah. The Assyrian Adadnirari III crushed Damascus & Syria. The Pa-
lestinian states had little to fear from the Syrians for many years. King
Jehoash of Israel quickly recaptured border cities that Syria had seized in
its days of power. Israel was free to extend her borders & also to control
trade routes of the ancient world that now passed through her territory.
A-29
But common people had no share in this new wealth. Rather, they
found themselves at the mercy of the land-hungry & power-hungry upper
classes. Small farmers were dispossessed to make large estates possi-
ble. Israel quickly developed 2 classes: the dissolute rich & the embit-
tered poor. Priests & prophets at the sanctuaries benefited sufficiently
from the lavish offerings that they were not inclined to do or to say any-
thing that might dampen the mood of confidence.
The date of Amos' message is uncertain. The popular mood of con-
fidence and no fear of invasion points to around 760 B.C. Amos' predic-
tion of doom was based not on developments in Assyria, but upon convic-
tions that such corruption and unfaithfulness as he saw in Israel could not
long remain unpunished by God.
The length of Amos' ministry is also uncertain; it may have been
only a few months or less. The termination of his ministry took place in
Bethel. Amos's sharp critique of the existing order, his prediction of an in-
vasion, & his prediction of the fall of the royal house brought charges of
treason, and sharp criticism from the priest Amaziah, who assumed that
his message of doom was to blackmail the rich into paying for a more
cheerful oracle, something that was not uncommon in those days.
There was disagreement as to whether Amos' oracles were oral or
written 1st. The biographical passage indicates an editor who was fami-
liar with at least the closing period of Amos' mission. The fact that the Ju-
dean king was named before Israel's king indicates a Judean editor, who
added verses to make the message apply more directly to Judah. Also
possibly added later was the book's optimistic conclusion. Similar hope-
ful prophecies were added to other oracles of doom. There is disagree-
ment as to whether this was a part of Amos' original message or not.
There is also disagreement as to the original relationship of the oracle
section and the visions section of the book.
The oracles of Amos are cast in a poetic form, which is eminently
suited to their content. The poetry itself is powerful in its simplicity and is
rarely surpassed by any other prophet in its beauty and vividness. The
style is simply the man himself speaking at white heat the truth that bur-
dens him in phrases that he hopes may cut through the callous hide of
his hearers and find a place in their memories. Twice the prophet pre-
vails upon God to withhold judgment, and then, the third and last time is unable to restrain judgment any longer.
A-37
Saying that Amos is a prophet of God's wrath, and that Hosea is a
prophet of love misses the underlying purpose of Amos' message. For it
was the covenant of love between God and Israel that made God more
severe in his dealings with Israel than with any other nation. Amos' hope,
not for the nation as a whole, but for individuals sent him north to brave
the insults of priests & people, that some might hear and live.
The covenant is implied in his conception of the relation between
God and Israel. What Amos rejected was the popular interpretation that
the covenant was somehow legally binding on God & exclusive to Israel
and granted them special privileges. Rather, it laid upon them special
responsibilities to reflect in their lives the justice and truth and mercy of
God.
Amos said, “Do this (repent), & you shall live.” It would bring about
a restoration of humankind to their true relationship with God. It is signi-
ficant that Amos never speaks of God as “the God of Israel,” but rather
“the Lord of hosts.” Where king, priests, prophets and people saw “the
day of Yahweh” as a day which would finalize and guarantee their nation's
success, Amos saw only darkness and disaster. Amos rejected idol wor-
ship, not for the idols alone, but also for the delusion that God could be
kept favorable toward the nation by the offering of sacrifices and by the
ritual of the cult.
The heart of Amos' faith was the conviction that only a nation in
which the people dealt justly with one another can be a nation in covenant
with God. The rampant corruption and injustice were blemishes upon the
national life, and were evidence of a deeper and more serious sickness. It
is the justice, holiness, & purity of God that calls for justice, holiness, and
purity in the common life of Israel. In Amos, the prophetic faith of Israel
came to a new focus and found expression in a way that was the founda-
tion of a new era.
AMOZ (אמוץ, strong) The father of Isaiah, not to be confused with Amos.
AMPHIPOLIS (amfipoliV, around city) Capital city of Macedonia’s 1st district,
located on the River Strymon, about 4.8 km inland from the sea; the river
surrounds the city on the north, west, and south. In 497 B.C., Aristagoras
of Miletus tried to settle here, but was driven away and slain by the resident
Edoni. In 480 B.C., Xerxes crossed the river here as he invaded Greece.
In 437 B.C., Hagnon, Nikias’ son, brought more Athenians, who drove out
the Edoni & settled there. In 167 B.C., the Romans made Amphipolis the
chief city of the 1st of Macedonia's 4 districts. Archaeologists have found
the foundations of a Christian basilica there.
AMPLIATUS (AmpliatoV, enlarged) A common name, frequently given to
slaves. Ampliatus lived in the community—probably Ephesus—to which
Phoebe was about to journey. It appears he bore some intimate and affec-
tionate relation to Paul.
AMRAM (עמרם, kinsman is exalted) 1. Son of Kohath, grandson of Levi. He
married his father's sister, Jochebed, and was father to Aaron and Moses.
The Amramites served in the wilderness sanctuary & temple treasuries.
2. One of the sons of Bani who married foreign wives in the time of Ezra.
AMRAPHEL (אמרפל) An ally of Chedorlaomer who joined a punitive campaign
against five kings in southern Palestine. This group was then defeated
by Abram the Hebrew & his allies. Neither the man nor his territory has
been identified with certainty.
AMULETS Small objects of symbolic meaning, worn around the neck to ward
off evil. Amulets as a general term aren't mentioned in the Bible. Many
things mentioned and worn in the Bible could be taken for amulets, in-
cluding the phylacteries that were worn and the capsules fixed on do con-
tained Bible passages. Amulets were used a lot in Old Testament times,
judging from the quantities and varieties found in excavations. They were
made of semi-precious stones such as carnelian, of soft stone covered
with glaze. They represent anything from Egyptian deities, to animals, to
body parts.
The New Testament gives very little attention to the subject. What is
most likely, especially in light of Paul's strong confidence in the complete
effectiveness of the Name & Power of Jesus, is that amulets were regar-
ded as among the magic arts and as covert idolatry.
A-38
AMZI (אמצי, my strong one) 1. An ancestor of Ethan, who was a son of Merari
and a temple singer. 2. An ancestor of Adaiah, a post-exilic priest in
Jerusalem.
ANAB (ענב, grape) A city in the hill country of Judah
ANAH (ענה) 1. The father of Oholibamah and son of Zibeon.
2. The fourth son of Seir; a clan chief of native Horites in Edom.
ANAHARATH (אנחרת) A town in Issachar 3.2 km south of Endor, also men-
tioned in the list of towns captured by Thut-mose III.
ANAIAH (עניה, Yahweh has answered) A man who stood at Ezra's right hand as
he read the book of the law of Moses, and one who set his seal to the
covenant.
ANAK (ענק, neck, necklace) A tribe of the pre-Israelite population of Palestine
In Hebrew tradition the Anakim are described as a tall people, whose
gigantic size struck terror into the hearts of the Hebrews. They are identi-
fied with southern Palestine, especially Hebron; they originally occupied
a much wider area. The Egyptians mentioned the Anak in their Execra-
tion (cursing) Texts.
ANAMIM (ענמים) A tribe or nation listed among the descendants of Egypt
Genesis. The Anamim cannot be identified with any known ethnic group;
they might be the people of or near Cyrene.
ANAMMELECH (ענמלך, probably Anu is king) One of the deities worshiped by
the people from Sepharvaim.
ANAN (ענן, a cloud) A name on the list of signers of the Nehemiah covenant.
ANANI (ענני, cloud) The seventh son of Elioenai, descendant of Zerubbabel in
the list of David's offspring.
ANANIAH (ענניה, Yahweh has shown himself) 1. Grandfather of Azariah, who
participated in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem
village of Benjamin listed as occupied by Jews after the Exile.
ANANIAS (חנניה, Yahweh is gracious) 1. A Christian of Jerusalem; he sold a
property belonging to him and held back a portion while pretending to give
it all. When faced with the facts, he and his wife fell down dead.
2. A Christian disciple living in Damascus at the time of Paul's arri-
val there after his conversion experience on the way there. He may
have been there as a result of the persecution originating in Jerusalem,
persecutions which Paul played major part in. Putting aside his fears,
Ananias went boldly to Paul, greeting him as a Christian brother. We
have no further solid data concerning this Ananias.
3. A Jewish high priest before whom Paul was tried after his arrest in
Jerusalem. He appears again among those accusing Paul before Felix.
Ananias was acquitted in Rome for his part in a conflict between the Sama-
ritans and the Jews. Because of his severity, cruelty, & long collaboration
with the Romans, he was hunted down & murdered by Jews at the begin-
ning of the Jewish war of 66-70 A.D.
ANATH (ענת, answer) The father of Shamgar, one of the pre-dynastic judges in
ANATHEMA (anaqema) It originally was used for something dedicated to a
divinity. It developed the special meaning of being “devoted to a divinity
(idol)” and so was an accursed thing. It was part of the beginning of the
concept of excommunication.
A-39
ANATHOTH (ענתות, answers) A priestly city in Benjamin, short for “Beth-ana-
thoth,” which means “the great Anath’s house.” This would indicate that
the city was the shrine of this important Canaanite goddess; it was trans-
formed by the Israelites into their own sacred city. The city was the pro-
phet Jeremiah’s birthplace, & where he first attempted prophecy; these
were met with disapproval, as the prophet predicted an evil fate for Ana-
thoth’s citizens. He later sought to redeem a plot of land which had be-
longed to his cousin. In Nehemiah’s time the place was settled by Ben-
jaminites. The ruins are located roughly 4.2 km. NW of Jerusalem.
ANCHOR (agkura (ag ku rah) The first anchors were heavy stones let down
from the bow of a ship. By 650 B.C., wooden anchors of hook form and
weighted by metal or stone were in use in the Mediterranean. A little later
anchors appeared in a form familiar to us now. The description of Paul's
sea voyage to Rome informs us that the ship let down four anchors as it
approached Malta.
ANCIENT OF DAYS (עתיק יומין, (aw theek yow main)) The phrase used to
designate the judge in the Judgment Day scene in Daniel. The 1st Hebrew
word's exact meaning is “removed, passed on.” The phrase is meant to
describe God; “ancient” is meant to convey a sense of wisdom, and exis-
tence long before our own.
ANDREW (AndreaV, (an dray as), manly ) Son of Jonah, brother of Simon
Peter and one of the first disciples of Jesus. His family lived in Bethsaida,
the capital city of Herod Philip (4 B.C.-34 A.D.), located on the north-east
corner of the Sea of Galilee. Simon and Andrew probably spoke Greek
and Aramaic.
Simon, Andrew, Zebedee, James, and John were partners in a fishing
business. Andrew was open to new ideas; he was very teachable, so when
the truth became clear to him, he followed it enthusiastically. Andrew first
followed John the Baptist, who proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah. Andrew
became convinced of Jesus' messiahship & brought Simon to follow Jesus
also. Andrew's wholehearted response, and that of his comrades testifies to
the depth of their attachment to Jesus. Andrew apparently was among the
first persons named by Jesus for a place in the apostolic band.
Andrew is associated with Philip, the only other apostle with a Greek
name, when the two of them discuss with Jesus the caring for the multitude
at the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Andrew is mentioned again with his
Galilean associates in connection with an inquiry concerning Last Things.
After this, Andrew drops out of sight in the New Testament. (For his later
life, see also the “Andrew, Acts of” entry in the New Testament Apocrypha
section of the Appendix.)
ANDRONICUS (AndronikoV, conqueror of men) A man whom Paul asks
the recipients of Romans 16 to greet. He and Junias are identified as rela-
tives of Paul. Both of these people had been prisoners along with Paul,
and had been Christians before Paul.
ANEM (ענם) A town in Issachar assigned to Gershom's sons, probably 12.8 km
east-southeast of Mount Tabor
ANER (ענר) 1. One of three Amorite brothers who were allies of Abram.
2. A city of refuge in Manasseh.
ANGEL (מלאך (mal awk); aggeloV (agh gheh los)) Today, an angel is both a
messenger from God and a spiritual being. In the earlier Bible portions,
however, a distinction was made, because while every divine messenger
is regarded as a spiritual being, not every spiritual being was a divine
messenger. Later in the Old Testament (OT) and in the New Testament
(NT) this distinction breaks down.
The usual Hebrew word for angel—malak—means simply “messen-
ger, envoy.” Their main functions are: to convey the mandates of God to
men; to announce special events; to protect the faithful; and to serve as
instruments of the divine displeasure to sinners. It was an angel who or-
dered Abraham not to sacrifice his only son; reassured Jacob in his long
labors for Laban, and protected him from mishap; indicated to Moses the
special nature of the burning bush; and fed Elijah in the desert, just to
mention a few.
A-40
Angels appear to men in human form & often without being recog-
nized as angels. The idea of heavenly messengers has its roots in earlier
pagan religions. The god Baal, who controlled the rain, and the god Mot,
who was in charge of death and dryness, communicated with each other
through divine messengers. Most of the early Biblical stories told about
angels play upon motifs familiar from the folklore of other peoples, with
the angels taking the place of lesser spiritual beings such as demons,
fairies and even trolls. The idea that some angels are sent for good and
others for evil can also be found in a Hittite text, which speaks of 2 groups
of fairies, one sent to households that pleased the gods, and one sent to
households that displeased the gods.
The story of how Abraham entertained three angels unawares and
was rewarded by the promise of a son is simply a Hebrew version of the
widespread tale of hospitality rewarded. The notion that angels commute
between heaven & earth by means of a ladder finds an exact parallel both
in Egyptian texts and in Greek poetry. Jacob's wrestling with the angel at
the ford of the River Jabbok can be likened to that of the traveler who has
to grapple with the supernatural being of the river, who must be back to
his river by daybreak. Lastly, the story of how Elijah was supplied by an
angel with water & a single cake connects at once with the common folk-
tale motifs that languishing heroes are fed by spiritual beings.
Besides messengers, the Hebrews recognized a wider class of
celestial beings possessing the same nature. These beings are simply
survivals of older, pagan deities, conveniently subordinated to God's autho-
rity. They are called “Sons of God,” “holy ones,” “holy hosts,” and “sons of
the Most High.” "Sons of God" impiously consorted with human women,
raising the concern that divinity might be transmitted to the humans, and
mortality to the immortal beings. God expelled the miscreants from heaven
and limited the span of the human life to a maximum of 120 years.
The earlier portions of the OT recognize winged celestial beings
called cherubim and seraphim. The cherubim stand sentinel over the way
to the tree of life & also flank or support the throne of God. Mounted on a
cherub, Yahweh flies through the heavens. Gold-covered wooden images
of them were set over the ark of the covenant. The seraphim are mentioned
only in Isaiah, where nothing more is said of them, other than that they are
six-winged, stand beside God's throne & intone his praises. Both of these
concepts go back to more ancient Near Eastern folklore. Some interpreters
have recognized other classes of angels, but both the text that deals with
them & the interpretation of that text is uncertain.
After the Babylonian exile, the conception of angels undergoes pro-
found change. Angels now come to be regarded, not merely as messen-
gers or as agents of particular situations and events, but as the controlling
spirits of nature. They are believed to know the secrets of the cosmos.
Angels are now pictured as a hierarchy, headed by archangels, with seve-
ral distinct ranks below them. We now know these archangels by the
names of Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. Side by side with these
innovations, the older ideas persist. They are still “the holy ones,” & there
are still cherubim & seraphim. Later development of the concept of angels
saw them take on the familiar white robes and wings.
Angels now serve not only as God's messengers to humankind, but
humankind's messenger to God. Angels are now conceived of as an army,
& because of Persian dualism, a class of hostile angels (satans) emerges
to oppose them. These “satans” are subject to, rather than independent of
Yahweh's authority; they are either rebels against or agents of Yahweh's
will. Satan himself now appears as a distinct figure, though in the OT, the
name is still used only as a title. Judaism split in how it regarded angels.
Belief in angels, spirits, and resurrection was acknowledged by Pharisees,
which were the spokesmen of the common people. These same concepts
were denied by the aristocratic Sadducees.
The NT adds nothing to the traditional concept of angels. Here too,
they appear as messengers of special births: Gabriel announced John the
Baptist's; and an identified celestial messenger announced Jesus'; an an-
gel warned Joseph to flee; an angel encouraged Jesus on the Mount of
Olives; an angel rolled away the stone from Jesus' tomb; & an angel re-
leased Peter from prison. Angels surround the throne of God in heaven
and chant his praises. “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, the
Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; he who denies
me . . . will be denied before the angels.”
A-41
ANGELS OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES. Various interpretations of these figures
include: the messengers sent to John by the churches of Asia; those chur-
ches' bishops; the guardian angels of those churches; or their heavenly
replicas. What seems most appropriate is to see them as the spiritual core
or the ethically mature persons of the churches.
ANGER (אף (af); אנף (an af); orge (or gay); qumoV (thoo mos)). In the biblical
view there is a qualitative & theological difference between human anger
on the one hand and divine anger on the other. Anger is those feelings and
expression of strong aversion toward an object that have been aroused by
a sense of injury or wrong; it is not to be confused with hate or jealousy.
In Hebrew, the word literally means “nose,” which the Hebrew saw
as the seat of anger. The verb meaning “burn” refers nearly always to the
kindling of anger. Anger's presence may be implied by the language of
jealousy, cursing, revenge, violence, rebellion & by descriptions of physical
reactions associated with anger. Divine wrath is distinguished from human
anger by expressing the former through combinations of two or even three
terms for anger in succession.
While anger is appreciated in both the Old Testament (OT) and New
Testament (NT) as something inherent in man's personal and social exis-
tence, it is not viewed as a thing to be treated with indifference. Often it
helps to provoke a change in human relationships with one's fellows or with
the deity. The Israelite monarchy is created as a result of Samuel's anger
with the people's demand for different leadership. Saul is rejected as king
out of anger. The monarchy is divided in anger. In the Old Testament, one
finds a qualified justification of anger, insofar as it operates in faith & piety's
service of and in the defense of justice. The fury of Moses or the anger of
the prophets at the faithlessness, immorality, and injustice of the people is
both a very human expression, and an expression of God's wrath.
The NT writers find fewer occasions to concede that anger has a po-
tive role. Jesus responded with anger at the Pharisees judgment of his mi-
nistry and at the use of the temple as a marketplace. This prophetic anger
and indignation that Jesus displays on a number of occasions would seem
to leave open the possibility of the redemptive use of this human passion.
The profession of righteous anger can turn into premature assump- tions that human interests are identical to God's, or that one knows what
the will of God is such as Job's assumption that he is being punished, or
Paul's assumption that persecution of the Christians was God's will. Nega-
tive judgments of anger are found in the wisdom literature and in the midst
of the prophetic writings of the OT. The general view of the NT is that “the
anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.”
The prophetic condemnation of human wrath in the Bible isn't based
on a rejection of anger in principle, but rather it shows deference to God's
wrath; God is the most fitting dispenser of wrath. It's significant that human
agents who serve as divine instruments of the divine anger also become its
chief victims shortly thereafter, cut down by the same passion that they
wielded over others. Anger plays such a pivotal role in Biblical events that
it cannot be seen as purely good or purely bad when involved in issues of
faith and conduct. Although the Bible appreciates the possibility of righte-
ous and even redemptive anger, it is only a human anger subservient to the
will of God that can praise God.
ANGLE, THE (המקצוע, (ham mack ets o ah), The angle (or corner)) A portion of
the ramparts of Jerusalem by the palace fortified by Uzziah & restored
under Nehemiah
ANIAM (אניעם, people's mourning, or I am kinsman) The fourth son of Shemida
in the genealogy of Manasseh.
ANIM (ענים, springs) A city in the SW hill country district of Judah, about 17.6
km south of Hebron
ANIMAL Every translation and every commentary of the Bible has had to deal
with words which include names of animals. Almost none of these transla-
tors or commentators has had any knowledge of animals, & still less of the
animals of the Holy Land .
A-42
List of Topic—1. History and Introduction; 2.Domestic Mammals
3. Cattle; 4. Wild Mammals; 5. Birds; 6. Reptiles; 7. Insects.
1. History and Introduction—The most complete study on the ani-
mals of the Bible is the Hieroziocon (1663) by Samuel Bochartus of Caen;
this study was purely a word study of tradition, and the meaning of each
word in other Semitic languages. Frederick Hasselquist of Uppsala actu-
ally visited the Holy Land in 1752. In his Iter Palaestinum, he began with
interpretation of biblical names. But he assumed that no changes had oc-
curred in what kind of animals were present in the Holy Land . He denied
the presence of lions in Biblical times, because none were present in the
1700s. Even the marvelous Fauna & Flora of Palestine (London, 1884) of
the Canon Henry Baker Tristam of Durham was unable to identify a very
large number of biblical animals.
The vast majority of animal names we are faced with in the Bible are
used only once or twice. As such, we are still unable to give and probably
will always be unable to give a true interpretation of them. Pure word study
has long since been abandoned as a method of identifying an animal when
there is no other evidence to back the conclusions reached. Still less relia-
ble are the conclusions reached from the study of animal names in other
languages. In addition, we know that the animal a name identifies can
change over centuries.
In certain cases the interpretation became clear, once the actual
animals of Palestine were known. Any lack of knowledge about the diffe-
rent animals living in different parts of the world is due to the fact that, in
past centuries, knowledge of such differences did not exist. Even in mo-
dern Hebrew, animal names are used, whose meanings we still do not
know, or even which identify an animal completely different from the one
intended in the Bible. For instance, the אבוסים ברברים (bar boor eem ab
oh seem) of Solomon's table are not "fattened swans," but "fattened
geese." Barborim is the modern word for swan, but actually meant "geese"
in Solomon's time.
2. Domestic Mammals—The animal names in the New Testament
(NT) are almost all clearly identified. Many of those in the Old Testament
(OT), however, are “names without meaning,” except for domestic animals,
most big carnivores, and a few other mammals. The horse (סוס (soos);
ippoV (hip pos)) is believed to have been introduced into the Middle East
from Persia Egypt
recently, horse's bones have been discovered in a settlement of the Negeb
in the Chalcolithic period (4000-3200 B.C.). The horse was not in common
use by Hebrews until the times of David and especially Solomon, whose
horse stables are well known. It is even probable that he was the center of
an important trade of horses in the Middle East.
The local ass (חמור (kham ore), male ass; אתון (aw thone), female
ass; onoV (on os), donkey, ass) is clearly a descendant of the wild Nubian
ass, recognizable by its black shoulder and back stripes. Before the camel,
the ass was a very efficient “ship of the desert.” The mule (פרד (peh red))
is mentioned beginning with the time of King David. While used in Israel, it
was forbidden to breed mules, as the creation of a new breed, such as the
combination of ass and horse, was against religious law.
The swine (חזיר (khats eer); coiroV (khoy os)) was on the unclean
animals' list of , but they were kept by the Canaanite pagans. The one-
humped camel or dromedary (גמל (gaw maul); kameloV (kam ay los)) is
mentioned in the days of the patriarchs & is also an unclean animal. What
looks like domestic camels appear already around 7000 B.C. in rock car-
vings from extreme eastern Palestine
tion of any raid of camel Bedouins into the settled land (Judges 7). The
domestication of the wild camel began with using them for wool and milk;
then it passed slowly to the use of light burdens, and it ended in the fully
established “partnership” between Bedouins and camels; this process took
1000s of years.
3. Cattle—(בהמה (be hay mah); מקנה (mik neh), cattle as property;
צאן (tseh own), herd of cattle; qremma (threm mah), livestock) in the Bible
have many names (שור (shore), bull, cow, ox; פר (pawr), bull, calf, ox; עגל
(ay ghel), bullock, calf). This important wealth of ancient Israel wasn't used
for milk or for meat production; cattle were the usual animals for the dra-
wing the plow. It was a small cattle, like the present Beiruti race.
The goat was common and had many names: שעיר (saw eer), male
goat; עז(‘aze), female goat; צפיר (tsaw feer), male goat; erifoV (er if os),
goat, kid; tragoV (trag os), gnawing male goat)). Since oldest times
goats have contributed
to extreme erosion in the hill country, by tearing the
plant out of
the soil. Sheep, on the other hand, cuts plants above the soil.
soil. Sheep (צאן (tseh own), flock; כשב (keh seb), lamb, sheep; כבש (kab
saw), ewe; שה (say), member of a flock; איל (ah yil), ram; probaton
(prob at on), sheep), as suppliers of wool, milk, and meat were the greatest
wealth of the patriarchs.
Dogs (כלב (keh leb); kunarion (koo nar ee on), puppy; kuwn (koo
ohn), hound) were common in ancient Palestine
existed between people and dogs, but a pack of dogs was impersonally
linked to a settlement. The dog was despised as a scavenger. Cats aren't
mentioned in the Bible. The Egyptians domesticated it first in their temples.
As a pagan idol it was taboo to the Jews; hence it is not mentioned.
4. Wild Mammals—The only name given for bats (עטלף (at al
lafe)) in the Bible is the common name for all bats. 3 species of hedgehog
are common in Palestine, but no certain identification of them can be made
from the Bible. The current Hebrew word for hedgehog occurs in the Bible,
but scholars cannot positively identify it as a hedgehog.
The wolf (זאב (zeh abe)) was common in the times of the Bible all
over Palestine, and posed a threat to sheep. The jackal (שועל (shoo awl),
while the Revised Standard Version (RSV) uses jackal, the King James Ver-
sion (KJV) uses "fox") is one of the most common & conspicuous mammals
of the country still today. Its nightly wailing makes it impossible to overlook
it. The fox (alwphx (al oh pakes)) is fairly common in Palestine
far not so conspicuous & noisy as the jackals. The hyena (צבוע (tsaw boo
ah)) is only mentioned in the Bible as a geographical name (Valley of the
Hyena) in I Samuel 13.
A-43
The lion has many names in the Bible (ארי (ar yay); לביא (law be),
lioness; לביאה (leb ee aw), old lion; כפיר (kef eer), young lion; lewn
(leh ohn). The last lion was killed in Palestine Megiddo
1200s A.D. The local lion was of the Persian race. The leopard (נמר
(naw mar)) is now almost extinct in Palestine, apart from temporary sum-
mer invasions of a few individuals from the Lebanon and Hermon moun-
tain regions. The bear (דב (dobe)) was fairly common in Bible times all
over the hilly country. It was a danger to fruit trees and to herds.
There can be no doubt that the biblical “rock badger” (שפן (shaw
fawn)) is the Syrian coney, which lives among the rocks from the Dead
the Syrian onager, which was the only onager which lived in Bible times
in Palestine
As to the Behemoth (בהמות), it has long been wrongly identified with
the hippo in Job 40, but has the same meaning as elsewhere in the Bible,
namely "beast," or "wild beast." The wild boar (חזיר (khats eer)) is still
common in swamps, but has disappeared from the rest of the country. Its
survival was possible because Jews, Muslims, and many of the native
Christians do not eat it.
The interpretation of the terms for deer (איל (aw yil), male deer;
יחמור (yakh moor), fallow deer; צבי (tseb ee), roe roebuck, gazelle) is
rather complicated. 3 species lived there, all still surviving in the nor-
thern part of the Middle East, but none any longer in Palestine. The 3
are: red deer; fallow deer; and roe deer. The Hebrew names for these
deer are very uncertain. Ayil is apparently the general name for “deer.”
The red deer was certainly present in Bible times, as can be seen
from wall-drawings, but we are unable to associate any biblical quota-
tions with this species. The other two species were certainly common in
that time. Yakhmor seems to be the fallow deer, but we remain without
any clear cut biblical name for the common roe deer. Some wild goats,
ox, ibex are identifiable; many are not. Among the identifiable are the
Wild Ox (ראם (rame), King James Version uses “unicorn”). They may
not have lived in Palestine in biblical times, but they were plentiful in nor-
thern Mesopotamia. The symbol of beauty is gazelle (צבי (tseb ee),
gazelle, roebuck) throughout the Bible. The last of the identifiable spe-
cies is the Nubian Ibex (יעל (yaw ale).
Less certain is the identity of the “antelope” (דישון (dee shone)); it
is on a list of unclean animals in Deuteronomy 14. It is possible that it is
the Arabian Oryx. There are other animals, such as the addax, the harte-
beest, & the barbarian wild sheep, that must be excluded because no
satisfactory evidence exists for their existence in biblical Palestine. Abso-
lutely unidentifiable are: the “wild goat” and “antelope” of Deuteronomy
14. The anaqah of Levitcus 11 may be a small mammal, or it may be a
lizard.
The common hare (ארנבת (ar neh beth)) is the Palestine hare. A
very characteristic animal in the landscape of the Mediterranean part of the
country is the Syrian mole rat (חפר פרות (khaf ar pay rawth)). There is no
actual mole in Palestine. The general word for all small rodents, and espe-
cially the mouse is akbar (עכבר).
The elephant is no native of Palestine. But around 1500 B.C., the
Indian elephant lived in the Orontes Valley. In Maccabean times, elephants were used in the armies of the Diadoches as tank units are used in modern
armies. Apes קופ)) (kofe)) and parrots are mentioned in I Kings 10, al-
though some scholars believe that the word generally translated as “parrot”
or “peacock” could be instead a species of monkey related to the ape. The
Leviathan (לויתן) is an old mythological creature, certainly not specifically
referring to the “whale.”
5. Birds—Several words are used as general terms for big birds of
prey (עיט ) (ah yit); נשר (nesh ar); aetoV (ah et os)). All the smaller diur-
nal birds of prey are nates (נץ). The identification of the vultures (פרם
(paw ram); kites (דאה (daw aw); איה (ah yaw); ראה (raw aw)), & osprey
(עזניה (oz nee yaw)), is still only a probable one. The owls (קפוז (kip
poze); לילית (lee leeth); ינשוף (yawn shofe), great owl; כוס (koce), little
owl ) of the Bible are still more difficult to identify. To all these names of
uncertain meaning, 2 more Hebrew words and one phrase must be added,
which are variously translated as “owl” or “ostrich.”
The general class of birds which includes singing birds, swallows
and sparrows were called tsipor (צפור, little birds; דרור (der rore), bird,
swallow; peteinon (pet eye non)) There is still some doubt as to the
exact meaning of these words & another word for swallow (סוס (soos)).
The general name for ravens is orabe (עורב). The general name for her-
ons is probably 'anapha (אנפה, heron, parrot, eagle). There are 4 other
words which are probably waterbirds, but there is not very much agree-
ment even on that.
A-44
The two names for dove are yonah and tore (יונה; תור, turtledove).
The barborim abosim (אבוסים ברברים (bar boor eem ab oh seem), fatted
fowl) of Solomon's table aren't “fattened swans,” but “fattened geese.” Even
though barborim is the modern word for swan, it actually meant “geese” in
Solomon's time. Hebrew seals from the Palestine of the 1,000 years be-
fore Christ show roosters, but there's little or no agreement as to what He-
brew word is used for them. There is difficulty in translating the word that is
generally understood as partridge (קורא (kore)). Some believe it's part of a
description meant to imply domestic fowl, rather than an actual name.
There's widespread agreement as to the Hebrew word for quail (שלו (sel
awv)).
6. Reptiles—There is little that can be done about the final identifica-
tion of most of the reptiles. 1st, there are the mythological ones. The Levia-
than (לויתן) is the primordial dragon; tannin (תנין) is both a mythological
creature & every big water-animal, in seas as well as rivers. We know the
general name for fish (דג (dawg)); no specific fish is named in the Bible.
The general name for lizards is leta'ah (לטאה). The Hebrew word for frog
(צפרדע (tsef ar day ah)) of the 2nd Egyptian plague has never been doub-
ted. There are four other words that are probably lizards, but are otherwise
unidentifiable. The “lizard” that builds its own palace in Proverb 30, is a
spider (שממית (sem aw meeth)).
The usual identification of specific snakes (נחש (naw khawsh);
ofis (of is), serpent)) seems to be wrong. 3 words are now used for
specific snakes (פתנ (peh then), asp; שפיפון (shef ee fone), adder; אפיה
(ef eh), viper), while the biblical snake's identity remains unknown. For
instance, the Egyptian asp, while common in Egypt, does not occur in
Palestine. The biblical viper may be the Carpet Viper, a poisonous snake
that is common on the Jericho Plain.
7. Insects—In the Insect group, there is no doubt as to the word for
lice (כן (kane)) in general. Of all the names for locusts & eventually grass-
hoppers (ארבה (ar beh); akriV (ak rece)) only the Hebrew and Greek
word just given are certain; the Hebrew refers to the Desert Locust. 3 more
words are used for locust, which more probably refer to various stages of
the Desert Locust. “Bald Locust” (סלעם (sol awm)), “Cricket” (חרגל (khar gole)), & “Grasshopper” (חגב (khaw gawb)), are mentioned as clean food
in Leviticus 11. The words may refer to the Desert Locust's stages, but may
equally refer to other groups of the order. Locusts were served as food to
John the Baptist in Matthew 3; this is not regarded as exceptional.
Crimson scales or grubworm (תולעת שני (toe lah ath shaw nee); כרמיל (kar meal)) are abundant in northern Palestine
males mature in March and April, when they reach pea-size. The eggs are
taken from the mother & carefully rubbed into balls, from which the crimson
dye is extracted. The manna of Exodus 16 & Numbers 11, is the sweet ex-
cretion of two insects living on the twigs of the manna-tamarisk; this pheno-
menon still occurs in the early summer in the wadis of the Sinai mountains.
Ants in general, & especially the Harvester Ant are called nemalah
(נמלה). The wasp or hornet (צרעה (tsir aw)) was regarded in the Bible &
by Egyptians as a symbol of military might. The honeybee (דבורה (deb oh
rah)), or more accurately its wild honey was sought out in the Bible; there is
no biblical reference to beekeeping, which came much later in the Jewish
tradition. The cloth moth (עש (awsh)), & most often its larva is referred to
in the Bible as the massive destroyer of woolen clothing. Many species of
Flies (זבוב (zeb oob)) live in Palestine near humans. The gnat or mosquito
(ערב (aw robe), gnat, mosquito) of one of the Egyptian plagues can't be
positively identified; it may be the Harvester Gnat. Insect larvae in general
are referred to as tolayah (תולעה).
The word for “snail” (שבלול (shab lool)), was actually not given that
meaning until the Middle Ages; otherwise it has no relation to any specific
animal. The precious purple dyes were prepared on the Phoenician coasts
from 3 mollusks. There's no dissension on the word for leeches (עלוקה (al
oo kaw)). There's no disagreement about “scorpion” (עקרבים (ak rawb
eem)) or the general name for spider (עכביש (ak kaw beesh)). The words
translated as “coral” are now believed to refer to a precious wood, & the He-
brew word for “pearls” is actually a precious crystal. The Greek word for
pearls is margarites (margarithV).
A-45
ANIMAL WORSHIP ( See Totemism)
ANISE ( See Cumin, Spices)
ANKLETS (עכסים (eh kes eem)) Ornamental rings worn above the ankles, con-
sidered a luxury item by Isaiah.
ANNA (Anna, grace) 1. An aged prophetess mentioned as witnessing infant
Jesus' presentation in the temple; apparently a counterpart to Simeon; no
record of her words are offered. 2. The mother of Mary & grandmother
of Jesus (See also the entry in the New Testament Apocrypha section of
Appendix.)
ANNAS (חננה, gracious) A high priest as the result of his appointment by Quiri-
nius in 6 or 7 A.D. The 1st of 4 high priests before Caiaphas came to office.
His appoint ment was the longest of the four, lasting 8 or 9 years before he
was replaced.
ANNIAS (AnneiV ) Head of a family listed among those who returned to Jeru-
ANNUNCIATION The declaration by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that
she would bear Jesus, the Son of God. Gabriel's entire salutation forms the
scriptural part of the 1000s A.D. Ave Maria prayer.
ANOINT (סוך (sook); aleifein (al if in)) To smear or pour oil or ointment on
the head or body of a person or on an object. The Hebrews anointed them-
selves for a festive occasion. The anointing had a connotation of gladness.
The guest's head was anointed. The cosmetic practice of anointing is
widely attested in Near Eastern literature. The cooling & pain-soothing ef-
fect of ointments, oils, & unguents prompted their frequent application in
medical treatment.
Among objects consecrated by anointment were sacred stones, pil-
lars, altar, and tabernacle with all its furnishings. This consecration meant
these items weren't for secular use. Among the people anointed, priests
must be mentioned first; Aaron was anointed, & the high priest was desig-
nated as “the anointed.” It appears that prophets were also anointed, at
least in some cases.
Anointing kings was of primary importance. The anointment of the
king was not merely a part of the ceremony of enthronement; it was of deci-
sive importance, for it conveyed the power for the exercise of authority; the
king became a theocratic vassal, the Lord's anointed. The rite of the anoint-
ment of the king was originally executed by a prophet. Later, the right to
anoint the king apparently became the exclusive privilege of the high priest.
It is possible that the people had a hand in anointing the king, based on an
cient tribal traditions; there's not much biblical tradition supporting this
theory.
Saul, David, Solomon, Jehu, & Joash's anointing is reported in con-
siderable detail. The title “the Lord's anointed” was shortened to “anointed,”
or “Messiah,” which was “Christ” in Greek. In the New Testament, Jesus
was also anointed by God “with Holy Spirit & power,” & became “Jesus,
the Christ.” In the biblical period, it was customary to use perfumed oils &
ointment for anointing the dead.
THE ANOINTED (משיה (ma si a)) See the article on Anoint.
ANT (נמלה (na ma la), cutting) Ants are social insects with 3 high developed
functions (male, female, and worker), each which aids in the colony's exis-
tence. One queen may serve a community of 20,000 to 500,000 ants.
The scriptural references to ants deal with wisdom, foresight, or industrious-
ness exercised in the summer by these insects in storing up food for winter.
This aptly describes the harvester ant, which has nests near fields, thre-
shing floors, or granaries.
ANTELOPE (תאו (teh o)) This word describes all the animals not assigned to
the oxen, sheep, or goats species. In this class, the animal doesn't shed its
horns. The gazelle was found in Palestine, but it is uncertain if any other
kind lived there.
ANTHROPOMORPHISM Language that portrays the personal character of God
by ascribing to God human characteristics and feelings.
A-46
ANTICHRIST (AnticristoV) Mythical demonic or demonic-human adversary of
Christ who will appear before the 2nd Advent as the last oppressor & perse-
cutor of the Christians. Closely associated with the Anti-christ is that of
a pseudo-Christ, who will deceive and lead many astray.
The Anti-christ's origins are obscure. He appears in the end times,
not as the history Jesus' adversary, but as the opponent of the Christ of
Judgment Day on his return to Earth. In the black or white belief in Judg-
ment Day, the Anti-Christ was to Christ as Satan and his demons was
to God.
There are some Jewish prototypes for the Christian's Antichrist con-
cept. Among these is the account of Gog of Magog in Ezekiel, & the cruel
persecutor of the Jews in Daniel, depicted as a little horn, almost a mythical
person. The apocrypha offers images of evil leaders & Jewish oppressors.
Nero, who murdered his mother & committed suicide by stabbing himself in
the throat, came to be both an anti-messiah and an anti-christ & took on an
almost mythical quality. These & similar patterns of Jewish thought concer-
ning oppressors of the Jews and the anti-messiah provided sources for the
Antichrist of Christian beliefs.
An early, relevant Christian passage dealing with anti-christ is the
Little Apocalypse of Mark 13. Here, Jesus predicts that there will be many
false Christs, who will perform signs & wonders and will deceive & lead
people astray. Thessalonians writes of a falling away, a defection, of Chris-
tians. “A lawless man” will appear, saying that he is God's Son. Empo-
wered by Satan, he will perform signs & wonders; the Lord Jesus will slay
him. This prediction is possibly the earliest Christian belief in an anti-christ
combined with a pseudo-Christ. The lawless man may be historical figure,
but more than that, he is a mythical figure who is the embodiment of Satan.
The anti-christ motif is present in Revelation, in more than one form.
Satan will cause Gog and Magog to gather the nations of the earth against
Christ. They are destroyed, not by the direct action of the Christ, but by fire
from heaven. The classical anti-christ tradition in Revelation is that of 2
beasts. The 1st beast is in part a combination of the 4 beasts of Daniel. As
a whole, it symbolizes the Roman Empire; its heads are various emperors
who are worshiped, with one being a revived Nero.
The 2nd beast has 2 horns like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon; it
enforces the worship of the 1st beast under penalty of death. The 1st beast
is the scarlet woman's consort—i.e. Roma, the divine personification of
Rome. In Christ's coming, the two beasts are captured and thrown into the
lake of fire. All this seems mysterious, but much of the mystery is clarified
when it is seen as a combination of various traditional views.
Anti-christ traditions persisted for centuries in the Christian church.
Early references to Antichrist outside of the Bible are in the Didache, a
church manual from the first part of the 100s A.D. The vivid imagery of
Revelation has been used by popes to describe their political adversaries,
& by those adversaries to describe the Pope.
The pre-Reformation and Reformation period's challenge to papal
authority, & awareness of the clergy's corruption & immorality, saw char-
ges that the Roman Church was Babylon & the papacy was the anti-christ
made more & more. The Reformers themselves were accused of being the
anti-christ. In more recent history, Napoleon, Napoleon III, Kaiser Wilhelm,
and Hitler have been called anti-christs.
The anti-christ tradition has had a long & involved history. Its origins
are somewhat obscure, but the use made of it through the centuries in the
Christian church is fairly clear. For many Christians, it is still an important
belief, even if the Anti-Christ is not identified with any actual person, but is
considered a supernatural embodiment of evil.
ANTI-LEBANON The eastern mountain range parallel to Lebanon
ANTIMONY (פוך (pook); כחל, (kaw khal)) An element that looks like tin or lead;
it is hard & brittle, almost as heavy as iron. Both Hebrew words seem to
be general terms for eye paint.
ANTI-NOMIANISM. The doctrine that the moral law is made void through faith,
& that faith alone is necessary to salvation. The term isn't biblical, but the
idea of anti-nomianism is attacked in the letter of James, & is never defen-
ded in the New Testament.
A-47
This Antioch is located in the border zone between the ancient districts of
Pisidia & Phrygia. People lived in the area long before the city was foun-
ded by either Seleucus I or Antiochus I (around 280-250 B.C.) as a border
fortress.
After the Romans defeated Antiochus III, the city was declared free
(188 B.C). Eventually it became part of the Roman province of Galatia (25
B.C). The Romans established their veterans in Antioch as colonists, who
lived there with Greek speaking inhabitants, Phrygian, and a large Jewish
community. A cult of Augustus was established, roads were built, and Anti-
och became the center of commerce in Pisidia.
Today, the city walls are still prominent on 3 sides; the 4th side is steep
& overlooks the river Anthius. Much of the ancient architecture can still be
seen. Antioch remained an important town in Byzantine times. A fourth-
century basilica is notable for its mosaics and Byzantine graves. The city
still existed as a fortress during the Crusades, over 1,000 years after its
founding.
& Alexandria
located at the head of navigation on the Orontes River, & was important as
a center of trade between the Mediterranean world, the Syrian hinterland,
and the Eastern countries. Antioch also lay on the best land route between
Asia Minor, Syria, & Palestine. The value of the site was early recognized,
& it was occupied by traders from early historic times. The Pax Romana in
time offered a needed measure of security & police protection to the Chris-
tian missionaries.
(See also the entry in Old Testament (OT) Apocrypha/Influences Out-
side the OT section of the Appendix.)
The ancient, large Jewish colony enjoyed good standing in the com-
munity and attracted a number of Gentiles who found Jewish monotheism
and ethics more satisfying than the beliefs offered by the Greek & oriental
philosophies & religions. We don't hear that early Christian preachers con-
tended with Jewish fanatics as they did in Jerusalem. Antioch must have
enjoyed a degree of public order which wasn't possible in a turbulent place
like Jerusalem.
Antioch's population in the time of Christ was characterized by an
mixed intellectual spirit and an interest in religious inquiry. The whole his-
tory of the city had given it a unique character in which the Christian mis-
sion might find a start. When a persecution broke out in Jerusalem follo-
wing Stephen's execution, some followers of Jesus fled as far as Phoe-
nicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.
Some of the fugitives began to preach to Greek-speaking Gentiles,
some of whom attended the synagogues; many were converted. The con-
version in Antioch of numbers of Gentiles then raised the question of the
application of Jewish law to these converts. Jewish & Gentile Christians
presumably met in separate private houses, because of Jewish law.
Some understanding seems to have been reached, to the effect that the
mission to the Gentiles shouldn't have to observe the law strictly. But then,
James sent Judas Barsabbas and Silas as emissaries, who sought to win
over the Jewish Christians to the view that the law must be enforced on
Gentiles; the Jewish Christian community later disappeared. Beyond this,
we have little evidence concerning the particulars about the Christian com-
munity here.
In Antioch the followers of Christ first came to bear the name “Chris-
tians.” It may have been a derogatory nickname invented by the Gentiles,
or a term started by the Roman police as an official designation for the new
sect. There were “prophets and teachers” who came to Antioch, among
them, Barnabas and Paul, who spent a year teaching there. They separa-
ted after a disagreement; Paul traveled with Silas, while Barnabas took
with him John Mark. This is the end of Paul's connection with the commu-
nity of Antioch, where his work was of vital importance for Christianity's
future. There are not many ancient remains preserved above-ground at
Antioch, now known as Antakya.
ANTIOCH, CHALICE OF A much-discussed example of Christian art, said to
have been found in 1910 at Antioch. It consists of a plain inner cup, an
outer gilded openwork shell, and a solid base, all of silver. Its date has
been much disputed, with each of the first six centuries being suggested
as possibilities. Some believe that the inner cup was used at Jesus' last
supper. The chalice dates from the 300s and 400s and the figures proba-
bly represent Christ and ten of the New Testament apostles or authors.
A-48
ANTIOCHIANS (AntioceiV (an ti ok ees)) “Citizens of Antioch” was a title of
honor and privilege requested for certain inhabitants of Jerusalem
high priest Jason. Probably only a restricted number of Jews embracing
Greek culture were registered as citizens of Antioch
corporation and had legal privileges as citizens of Antioch
ANTIPAS (AntipaV ) 1. An Idumean who had been made general of all Idu-
mea; father of Antipas in #2. 2. An Idumean who was a very rich,
active, and seditious man. Antipas & Hyrcanus made an expedition
against Aristobulus, & gained a temporary victory. This Antipas was father
to Herod the Great. 3. Son of Herod the Great by the Samaritan Mal-
thace & brought up in Rome. This Antipas was “Herod the tetrarch”of Ga-
lilee, who dealt sadistically & harshly with John the Baptizer & Jesus.
ANTIPATRIS (AntipatriV ) A city about 16 km northeast of Jaffa
honor of Antipater, procurator of Judea under Julius Caesar. The Old Tes-
tament city of Aphek existed on this spot as early as 2000 B.C. Alexander
Janneus constructed a moat & wall with a tower between Caphar Saba &
Joppa in 85 B.C., which was promptly destroyed by Syria. Antipatris later
served as a Roman military relay station on the border between Judea and
Samaria. Antipatris is mentioned only in Acts 23, as the destination of a
night journey by 470 Roman soldiers conducting Paul. Antipatris was re-
presented at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D., and was the location of
massacres of Christians, as well as the site of a medieval castle.
ANTONIA, TOWER OF (Antwnia) The palatial guard tower rebuilt by Herod the
Great at the temple court's northwest corner in Jerusalem
royal residence as well as soldiers' quarters. It is known as “barracks” or
"castle” in the Book of Acts.
A tower on this site may go back to the time of Solomon, whose wall
made a turning at this point, which marks the highest point in the neighbor-
hood and an obvious place for a tower. Such a tower would surely be de-
stroyed along with the city walls by enemies who usually attacked from the
north. It was rebuilt by Nehemiah, and by Hyrcanus, after which it was oc-
cupied by Maccabean rulers. When it was finally rebuilt by Herod in great
splendor, it received the name Antonia, in honor of Mark Anthony. Roman
procurators used it as one of the official residences. The revolt of the Jews
in 66 A.D., resulted in its destruction by Titus.
Its strategic position was 23 m high, with the Tyrpoeon Valley on the
west and a deep trench on the north. Above the rock, the stone walls rose
another 18 m. There were 3 corner towers 23 m high and the southeast to-
wer, which was 31m high. The interior was spacious, with apartments, cloi-
sters, baths, large courtyards, and barracks; stairs have direct access to
the temple, as well as an underground passage for emergency use.
From David to the last of the Maccabean rulers, this fortress faced
outward towards its northern enemies. Herod the Great built it facing in-
ward, with the highest tower overlooking the temple court, to stand guard
over the Jews. A cohort (500-600 men) was stationed there. The priestly
vestments were kept there by Herod and the procurators. Jesus' hearing
may have been held here. Antonia was also where Paul disputed with
Jewish leaders, & where he spoke with Roman permission to the Jews in
the temple court. The Tower of Antonia at the last was taken by Titus and
used as a command post for his assault on the temple mount, which was
destroyed in 70 A.D.
ANVIL (פעם (paw ‘am), anvil or “to strike”)
ANXIETY (דאג (daw ‘ag); כעס (kaw ‘as); חרדה (khah raw daw);
merimnaw (me rim na oh)) In the Bible, one encounters humanity's anxie-
ty for their life. Biblical writers treat anxiety as a natural part of humankind's
existence, but also theologically as sinful and a denial of God's providence
and care. Anxiety's opposite is a quiet, trustful mind in enjoyment of the
peace of God. The word itself occurs only a few times in the Bible, but the
idea is expressed frequently using other words, such as “care.”
The Psalms especially give verbal expression to these feelings of
crushing anxiety and care (e.g. Psalms 27, 51, 69, 71, 102). The New Tes-
tament voices many of the same anxious concerns as the Old Testament,
fears of poverty, hunger, and just everyday life. In Christian life, men volun-
tarily take over a concern for others. The answer to the burdens of life is to
be found in prayer, in God and God's care.
A-49
Jesus himself walks as one whose inward
strength and peace can't
be undermined by men.
Jesus' teachings on anxiety is new and radical,
for he outlaws anxiety, & brands it as pagan & worldly. Jesus also couples
the “cares of the world”
with “the delight in riches.” In the Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus prohibits
anxiety, both for real necessities, and for manmade
necessities: “Do not be anxious about your life . . .” He makes the
following points:
1st, human concern should be centered on life's real purpose.
2nd, such anxiety over basic needs ignores God's providential
provisioning.
3rd, God's sustaining providence proceeds independently of human
anxiety.
4th, God's care for the ephemeral flowers is perfect and beautifully
complete; humankind is no less important to God.
5th, Such anxiety is pagan and is a direct contradiction of God's
foreknowledge and care.
6th, Man's first concern should be for the cause of God's kingdom.
Did
Jesus intend this teaching on anxiety to be taken literally, or as
an interim
ethic, or as something for Judgment Day? Disciples who accept
the rule of the
kingdom now present have found a new focus in which
God's will controls all
purposes and goals.
Man
is now to live, not in anxious self-centeredness, but in grati-
tude for God's
great gift of the kingdom. In the
kingdom all man's concern
and desires find their true place & proportion, for
God's will & provision
extend to the humblest needs as to the highest goals.
APE
(קוף (koaf)). Any of the tailless manlike animals of
the Primate order. It is
impossible to
identify the “apes” which the Red Sea fleet of Hiram and
Solomon brought back
to Palestine; most likely they were baboons, which
were well known in Egypt.
APELLES (ApellhV ) Someone designated as one “approved in Christ”; an
otherwise unknown figure.
APHARSACHITES (אפרסיא) A word from Persian, denoting an official some-
thing like a governor.
APHEK (אפק, a brook bed, fortress (?)) 1. A city-state on the Plain of Sharon
in central Palestine; their king was slain by Joshua. The site was occupied
as early as 2000 B.C. It was strategically placed at the Yarkon River's
source, & on the road from the coastal plains into the Ephraimite hill coun-
try; it was a natural rallying point for Philistine forces, both when they cap-
tured the ark of the covenant at Ebenezer (1050 B.C.), & when they defea-
ted & killed Saul. Herod & the Romans built Antipatris on this spot.
2. A site near Canaan's north frontier with the Amorites & north of
Palestine, 24 km east of Byblos, regarded as part of Israel's inheritance, but
never possessed by her.
3. One of the Canaanite cities in Asher's inheritance, Asher could
neither expel or make inhabitants subject to them. It is one of two Apheks
in northern Palestine Mediterranean Sea .
4. Northern Palestine's Sea
ted near here by Ahab's inferior force. He sought refuge here with the rem-
nants of his forces, only to have the city walls collapse.
APIS (חף (khaf)) The sacred bull known as Apis was worshiped in Memphis
the Egyptians from the earliest historical times as a god of fertility; he was a
manifestation of the god Ptah, & was later known as Osiris-Apis or Serapis.
The bull representing Apis was chosen with great care by its priests. During
its lifetime it was honored with divine adoration and at its death it was mum-
mified and buried in a special place.
A-50
APOCALYPTICISM The dualistic, cosmic belief in the end of the world, invol-
ving two opposing cosmic powers, God & Satan, with the present, evil age
under Satan, & the future, perfect & eternal age under God's rule after the
end. This religious thought originated with Zoroastrianism and was taken
over by Judaism in exilic and post exilic periods. It is an important part of
popular Christian belief, past and present. The two main apocalypses of
the Bible are the Book of Daniel & the Book of the Revelation. Other books
of the Bible resemble apocalypses, but do not have an apocalypse's most
important features.
Apocalypticism is mainly dualistic, good in the person of God, and
evil in the person of Satan. In Persian thought, Ormazd was the good, &
Ahriman was the evil, both equally strong. Because of the traditional mono-
thesim of Judaism, the dualism was not as obvious as in Persian thought;
Satan was clearly inferior to God. Likewise, in Christian thinking Satan is
quite active, both in opposing God & in tempting humankind, but he isn't
God's equal. In Persian thought, all living creatures, men & supernatural,
are divided according to their allegiance to Ormazd & Ahriman. Jewish and
Christian apocalypses have the same division.
The end-of-time element in this writing is combined with the dualism.
Both time & beyond time are involved. There is the 1st age, the present
age, evil and corrupt. The righteous minority was oppressed and persecu-
ted by the many evil followers of Satan. There's no hope for them in this
present age. Their only hope is that God will soon intervene with might &
power, in a cosmic conflict with Satan that will involve the whole of creation.
Apocalypticism then, provides both an explanation of the evil that is
so evident & a concrete solution of the concrete problem of the righteous:
Satan has gained control of this present age; he is responsible for its wic-
kedness and corruption and oppression of the righteous. It is different from
prophetism, messianism, and the expectation of the kingdom of God, for
these aren't dualistic, they are not cosmic in scope, and they do not involve
the end of time or age. God is in control of this age.
There are 8 secondary features of the apocalypse. 1st, because the
term “apocalypse” is from a Greek word meaning a disclosure, it is often
asserted that an apocalypse must be a vision or visions. Not all apocalyp-
ses are visions; in fact, visions play a secondary, artificial role. Some visio-
nary works, like Ezekiel are considered apocalyptic, when they don't fit all
the special qualities of apocalypses. 2nd is pseudonymity, or attaching a
name to a work other than that of the actual author. It should be noted that
pseudonymity of most apocalypses has a relationship to the visionary expe-
riences; both are literary devices to gain sanction for the author's message.
3rd, and strangely enough not a primary feature for apocalypses as
a whole, even though Jesus Christ is Messiah in the Christian apocalypse,
is the idea of the “messiah,” which isn't present in all apocalypses. The rela-
tively unimportant role of the messiah in apocalypses as a whole indicates
that he is an addition to the Jewish apocalypse and not a primary element
of it. The Antichrist was introduced as the Satanic counterpart to the mes-
siah, without which there can be no messianic kingdom between the pre-
sent age ruled over by Satan & God's future age. Angels are the 4th fea-
ture of apocalypses, with demons as their evil counterpart. The appearance
of angels came in Judaism following the Persian period. As God's position
rose far above the world, it was natural that hosts of angels were assigned
to do God's work in the world.
Animal and bird symbolism, at times bizarre in character, is the 5th
feature. 6th is a belief in numerology, the mystical significance of numbers.
7th is a list of stereotyped woes preceding the end of this present age. 8th
is a heavenly tablet predetermining the deeds and fate of humankind, bor-
rowed by Judaism and Christianity from astral belief in the zodiac. Also tied
in with astral belief is belief in a heavenly city, which is the perfect heavenly
pattern of its earthly counterpart. It is misnamed “New Jerusalem,” be-
cause it existed before the earthly Jerusalem.
Apocalypticism is hopelessly pessimistic concerning this present age;
there's nothing the righteous can do to make this age a better time in which
to live. The doctrine of the kingdom of God is quite different. According to
it, God has not abdicated this earth to Satan. This present (& only) age is
capable of improvement if men will only learn and do God's will.
Even so, apocalypticism has had & will continue to have a great in-
fluence. It has been most widely accepted among the have-nots, the poor,
dispossessed, oppressed, persecuted. The strong, long-standing appeal of
apocalypticism has been its uncomplicated explanation for the existence of
evil. And the audiences of these apocalypses may come to think of them-
selves as being involved in a great cosmic process as a personal partici-
pant in the triumph of good over evil.
A-51
This belief strengthened both Jews and Christians in times of persecu-
tion, when the former were persecuted by the Syrians, and when both were
persecuted by the Romans. Although it assumes that for now God has re-
moved God's self from the world and God's people, it teaches that before
long God will assume God's sovereignty so that finally right will triumph
over wrong. Apocalypticism may serve as a corrective to human pride, but
not necessarily the best corrective. Its emphasis upon eternal rewards and
eternal punishment marks a step in the development of Christian views con-
cerning life after death. Much of our present theological thinking has been
directly or indirectly influenced by apocalypticism, so it is important to have
an understanding of its basic features.
APOLLONIA (Apollwnia) A Greek city in Macedonia
in Mygdonis, 48 km from Amphipolis. Paul and Silas passed this city, which
was 61km from their destination of Thessalonica.
APOLLOS (ApollwV ) An influential member of the early Christian church.
Apollos was a Jew, a native of Alexandria, and the presumption is that he
grew up there. He was fervent, eloquent, and well versed in the Old Testa-
ment, probably both the Hebrew & the Greek ones. Apollos knew not only
data about Jesus, but also some of Jesus' teaching. However, he knew
only about the baptism of John. He was instructed in Christian baptism,
and taught in Ephsus & Corinth, the latter being after Paul had established
the church there.
In Corinth, he apparently became the focus of partisan loyalty in
one of the four parties into which the Corinthian church had divided. This
is part of the reason Paul's Letter to the Corinthians was written. Paul's
work was prior to that of Apollos, and Paul dismissed any partisan loyalty
on behalf of either Apollos or himself. Paul states emphatically that he
was the foundation layer, & that all others, including Apollos, necessarily
build on that foundation. They may well have many guides to Christ, but
they have but one father in Christ, namely Paul.
At one point Apollos was with Paul; Paul urged him to revisit Corinth
when Apollos was inclined to not go for fear of stirring up partisanship. The
Acts of the Apostles only tells us that Apollos was closely connected with
Paul's work in Corinth and Ephesus, and shows Apollos to be quite inde-
pendent of Paul.
APOSTASY (apostasiia, desertion, abandonment, rebellion) Originally it was
the political term for a rebellion. The religious use of the term is found in
the primary Greek Old Testament, and meant departure from the law of
God, desertion of the cause, worship, temple, synagogue, or abandonment
of obedience toward God.
APOSTLE (ApostoloV, to send off or out) A title denoting a commissioned
messenger or ambassador. The Greeks rarely used the term, & then only
to describe a naval expedition or a colonists group. The Jews made use of
apostles at the same time that Christian apostles were doing their work.
The Jewish apostles were ordained emissaries of the Jerusalem religious
region, sent out to visit the Diaspora, in order to serve legal documents, col-
lect moneys, or convey instructions. In Hebrew, they were called shaliah.
The most prominent shaliah of the Old Testament were Moses, Elijah, Eli-
sha, & Ezekiel, in the sense that they were God's agents “sent out” by God;
their status was temporary and not transferable.
Jesus “sends out” his disciples with his own authority to continue &
extend his mission. For Jesus, apostleship is purely a religious commission
to carry out God's purpose for human salvation, and it is a lifelong authoriza-
tion. When they were first sent out, the Twelve are given a precise commis-
sion for a limited sphere and time, and they went out by twos, which is all in
keeping with the Jewish custom.
Paul associated his own claim to be an apostle with the fact he had
seen the risen Lord & received from him direct commission to preach the
gospel, & especially to Gentiles, but not exclusively to them. Paul also in-
sisted upon special deference to authority in the churches that he founded,
& considered apostles the ministry's highest gift. Paul uses the word “apo-
stle” both in the Christian sense by describing himself as Jesus Christ's
apostle, & in the Jewish sense in describing the church's emissaries. When-
ever it is applied to individuals in later Christian literature, the term's use
is metaphorical. When certain individuals of the 2nd generation styled them-
selves as actual apostles, their claim was attacked as fraudulent.
A-52
The process of limiting proper doctrine to the teaching & example of
the founder-apostles is most clearly indicated in the book of Acts. The word
“apostles” is used to refer to the 12 and to the council of Jerusalem elders.
Paul & Barnabas are called apostles, perhaps in a limited Jewish sense of
the word. The Acts of the Apostles' author, shows by this title the early
establishment of the tradition that the apostles were 12, but that this did not
exclude Paul or even a few others, such as James and Barnabas.
APPEAL TO CAESAR After Paul's arrest in Jerusalem
soldiers to Caesarea to foil a Jewish plot on his life. He was imprisoned by
Felix; Festus had Paul brought before him and after the Jews brought their
charges, he asked Paul if he wished to go to Jerusalem and be tried there.
Paul answered that he did not want to be delivered to the Jews for trial and
then he appealed to Rome.
Paul appealed to Caesar because he didn't want to be tried under
Jewish law, & because he believed the Roman governors were prejudiced.
Paul's Roman citizenship gave him the right to appeal his case to the empe-
ror. In capital offense cases, this right was customarily granted. Paul could
have been released had he not appealed; his appeal required that he go
to Rome. There is no record of the results of his appeal.
APPHIA (Apfia) Someone addressed in the Letter to Philemon's salutation.
She may be Philemon's wife; all we know for certain is that she was a Chris-
tian in either Colossae or Laodicea, and a friend of the author.
the “heel of the boot” in the southeast corner of Italy
built in 312 B. C. by the censor or magistrate Appius Claudius Caecus, at
first only as far as Capua. Slightly over 100 years later, it was extended to
Brundisium. The Apostle Paul most likely used the part between Capua and
Rome on his journey to Rome.
APPLE (תפוח (tap pu akh)) A tree poetically referred to for shade, beauty, frag-
rances, and sweet fruit, as in the Song of Solomon. Using the word “apple”
to translate the Hebrew word has been challenged, because the apple tree
is found only in very remote areas, with very poor fruit. The local tree that
most closely resembles the apple tree is the quince. It is not clear how the
apple became associated with the Garden of Eden.
APPLE OF THE EYE. English idiom denoting the pupil of the eye and therefore
a very precious thing. “Apple” is used in 3 places to translate 3 different
words. In Deuteronomy (32.10), the Hebrew word literally means “little
man,” referring to the reflection one sees in the eyes of another. In Lamen-
tations (2.18), the Hebrew means “daughter.” In Zechariah (2.8), the He-
brew means “gate.” Lamentations refers to an actual eye; the other two are
metaphorical.
APRON (חגרה (khag o raw)) Originally the inner girdle around the waist; in the
New Testament, the girdle wrapped around the waist. In Genesis, aprons
were made of fig leaves to cover Adam and Eve.
AQUEDUCT See Waterworks
and wife, companions of Paul in Corinth Ephesus
Aquila was a Jewish native of the Asiatic province of Pontus who
migrated to Rome. He was expelled from Rome along with his wife Priscilla
around 49 or 50 A. D. They were Corinth residents when Paul arrived; it is
not clear whether they were Christians yet. It is possible Paul could have
worked for Aquila & lived with them. Paul took Aquila and Priscilla with him
to Ephesus; here they met Apollos, a brilliant man who did not know about
Christian baptism; Aquila and Priscilla took part in teaching him. When Paul
sent his 1st letter from Ephesus to the Corinthians, he included greetings
from Aquila and Prisca. Over the years, more & more people believe that
Priscilla was more capable than Aquila; many credit her with writing the
Letter to the Hebrews.
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AR (ער, city) A Moabite place located on the southern bank of the Arnon River
which is on the northern border of Moab
is unclear.
ARA (ארא, lion) One of the sons of Jether in the genealogy of Asher.
ARAB (ארב, ambush) A village of Judah
ARABAH (ערבה, arid, sterile) One of the main regions of the land of Israel
tending from the Sea of Galilee south on both sides of the Jordan
it is below sea level. It includes the Dead Sea & ends at the Gulf of Aqabah.
The southern Arabah was one of the ways the Israelites came on
their journey. They journeyed southeast from Kadesh-barnea to Ezion-
geber, leaving it to turn north and go around Edom & Moab. The Amorites
conquered the Moabites and their part of the Arabah. The Israelites con-
quered the Amorites and took over the Arabah. It was the scene of Moses'
last acts. Joshua crossed the Jordan into the Jericho Arabah & established
the sanctuary at Gilgal. Abner fled through it after his defeat at Gibeon. Ze-
dekiah was fleeing towards it when he was taken by the Babylonians.
In later prophetic literature, the Arabah's barren Dead Sea section,
prior to the destruction of the 5 wicked cities, had been an unusually fertile
plain. Restoration of this barren territory is one of the promises of the future
restoration of Israel. Ezekiel speaks of a stream that is to issue eastward
from the threshold of the temple, which will go down to the Arabah & make
it and the Dead Sea fruitful and productive.
“Arabah” was used to describe any part or all of the region. “The
plains of Moab” actually refers to the Moabite portions of the Arabah. The
“sea of the Arabah” refers to the Dead Sea. Amos uses the phrase “Brook
of Arabah,” probably to refer to the region between the Dead Sea and the
Gulf of Aqabah in the same way the Arabs do with “Wadi el-Arabah.” Amos
seems to be parroting the boast of the king of Israel, who conquered the
area, predicting instead that affliction & disaster will come from this place.
The Arabah's Jordan Valley portion extends about 80 km; it starts at
210 m below sea level near the Sea of Galilee and slopes southward and
downward to 390 m at the Dead Sea. Starting in the north, the first 40 km
is about 19 km wide, comparatively fertile and well-watered. The next 8 km,
opposite Samaria
In the last 32 km, the Jordan is supplied by the Jabbok, Shu'aib, and
Fari'a rivers. The Jordan has cut down about 45 m into the soft, alluvial soil
& winds its way through a dense jungle. On both sides of this are stretches
of very fertile land, & very steep cliffs that rise over 100 meters. The valley
is 19 km wide at Jericho & 10 km wide at the Dead Sea. The Arabah never
became a highway from north to south because of the terrain north of the
Dead Sea. It is crossed by a number of east-west roads, especially in the
northern half, where the tribe of Manasseh held lands on both sides of the
Jordan.
The greater part of the Dead Sea region, about 80 km in length and
about 16 km wide is occupied by the Dead Sea itself. The hills on either
side are steep and barren. On the west side are the traditional sites of the
cities of Sodom & Gomorrah. South of the Dead Sea lies the modern Wadi
el-'Arabah, & it extends about 160 km in a south-southwest direction. After
the Dead Sea there are mud flats, which extend south for 13 km. At this
point, the valley begins to slope upward, rising above sea level after about
48 km. The valley is as much as 40 km wide in places. The whole region is
a desert, marked only by occasional oases.
Its importance lies in its location and its minerals. Ezion-geber, at its
southern extremity, was Canaan's southeastern gate, the entering point of
the trade from Arabia, India, & Africa. The Arabah contained the only mines
for copper and iron that are to be found in Canaan. This made the region a
source of contention between Edom and Judah.
ern portion of Arabia is the scene of some important biblical events. The
biblical use of the word “Arabia” varies in meaning to include part or all of
Arabia. In the New Testament, it is used for the Syrian desert east of Dama-
clude: Buz, Dedan, Dumah, Ephah, Havilah, Hazar-maveth, Hazor, Massa,
Midian, Ophir, Parviam, Raamah, Sabtah, Seba, Sheba, Tema, and Uz.
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Arabia is the largest peninsula in the world, covering over 2,000,000
square km or about one third the size of the continental U. S. It is roughly
rectangular in shape; the west coast is 2,880 km long & the width across it
from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf is over 900 km. Its boundaries are the
Persian Gulf and the Gulf of 'Uman in the east, the Red Sea in the west,
roughly the Euphrates River in the north, & the Gulf of Adan and the Indian
Ocean in the south. Surrounded as it is by water, the Arabic name is Jazirat
al-'arab, “Island of the Arabs.”
The geographic region of Arabia Petrea includes Sinai, Edom, Moab,
and eastern Trans-Jordan. The coasts of Arabia have been rising & there
are few good harbors. The west coast is fringed with coral reefs; the Great
Pearl Banks are along the Persian Gulf. The two most important islands off
the coasts of Arabia are Suqtra in the south and the Bahryan in the Persian
Gulf. The rim of mountains along the west and most of the southern coast
intercepts moisture, leaving the interior dry.
In central & northern Arabia are fields of broken lava, probably the
parched places mentioned in Jeremiah. The mountains of Arabia are sepa-
rated by many valleys; plains, usually narrow, are found along the coasts.
The geological regions include the igneous rock of the western coastal
mountains, sedimentary rocks of the northeast, which lie under the largest
known accumulation of oil, and the recent lava beds.
In southern Arabia is al-Rab al-Khali, “the Empty Quarter,” the largest
expanse of sand in the world, & the sands are spreading. There are oases
on the caravan routes that carried Arabian incense & the products of Africa
and India across northern Arabia. The weather is dry and hot; there are no
large lakes & only one, short perennial river in Adan. Digging for the water
in the subsoil with sticks is a common practice.
The plants of Arabia include: frankincense, date palms, and manna
from the tamarisk tree, which is common in Arabia. Desert plants include
mallow, bushes, broom, and nettles. The domestic animals that are found
in Arabia are the camel, sheep and goats, asses and horses. Wild animals
found in biblical Arabia are the lion (then, not now), mountain goats, wild
oxen (now extinct), wild asses, the jackal, the hyena, the gazelle, & poison-
ous serpents. Some birds of Arabia are the raven, the ostrich, the hawk, the
eagle, quail, owl, and the kite. Arabia may have been the breeding ground
for locusts which attacked neighboring areas like Egypt. And Persian Gulf
oysters of the were one of the main sources of pearls in the ancient world.
ARABIANS (ערבים, nomad) People from Arabia , and more particularly from
northern Arabia . In ancient times there was no one name for this area, nor
any single ethnic name for its people. In the Old Testament, these people
` were known as Ishmaelites, Midianites, Dedanites, Sebeans, etc., rather
than as Arabs.
Paleolithic sites exist in both northern and southern Arabia, and evi-
dence suggests a definite distinction between northerners and southerners
even in the Stone Age. Abraham is represented as in contact with the Bene
Heth, from whom Abraham purchased a burial ground for his family, and
among them Esau found wives. The description of Ishmael as a “wild ass
of a man whose hand is against every man & every man's hand is against
him,” suits remarkably well the Bedouin of northern Arabia, whose raids of
settled folk has been a perennial factor in Near Eastern history.
Throughout Arabian history there is a sense of a difference and even
a certain antipathy between southern and northern Arabs, which continued
even under Islam. As early as 1200 B.C., the south had developed a civili-
zation whose greatness is only now beginning to be realized. The northern
Arabians pictured in the Old Testament had contact with Palestine from the
patriarchal age onward, in both peace and war.
In the Gideon story the Midianites, Amalekites, and Bene Qedem,
raid from the east where they pitched their tents, plunder, and retreat into
the desert. The capture of Ziklag by the Amalekites, and the raiders who
carried away Jehoram's family are characteristic razzia, raiding stories, in
which eluding pursuit afterwards is deemed worthy of high praise. The
“ravens” of the Elijah story were probably the Bedouin. In Old Persian in-
scriptions, however, Arabaya has both geographic & ethnic meaning.
The Sabeans who attacked Job's herdsmen were dwelling in the north.
On the other hand, the writers picture these same peoples as con-
tributing in peaceful ways to Israel's life. The Midianites are traders who
lead caravans to Egypt. In Isaiah they are caravan people supplying Israel
with luxury. In the Moses story, they are a pastoral people among whom
Moses found a wife. The head of David's camel keepers was an Ishmae-
lite, the chief herdsmen over his flock a Hagarene. Solomon is regarded
as having profited from the trade of these Arabians. The exiles who re-
turned under Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem found Arabs under the Naba-
tean Gashmu among those seeking to hinder them. (See also the Naba-
tean entry in the Old Testament Apocrypha/Influences Outside of the OT
section of the Appendix.)
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These were the only northern Arabians who founded a civilization
comparable with those in the south, with Petra as the center of their king-
dom, stretching from the Red Sea to beyond Damascus and deeply into
Arabia. Their names reveal them as Arabs, but they used Aramaic as their
literary language, so that it became the source of later Arabic script. Near
New Testament times, Aretas IV (9 B. C.- 40 A.D.) seized power without
Roman acknowledgement, although he got it later. He was the Aretas of
Paul's time. His son Malichos II lost Damascus and was compelled to aid
Vespasian & Titus in the war against the Jews. The Arabians present at
Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost were apparently Jews from some Na-
batean settlement.
All of these people of Arabia, though dominantly nomadic, have in-
cluded semi-nomadic and fully settled groups. Arabic literature is full of re-
ferences to the contempt the nomads have for settled folk and the scorn of
the settled peoples for the nomad. The nomadic tribes, whose members
are theoretically blood brothers, were led by the sheik and his council of
elders. Necessities of water & pasturage dominate their economy. Their
traditional beast of burden is the camel, but before its effective domestica-
tion they employed asses. The women do the domestic work around the
tent; the men tend camels and horses, hunt and raid. Raiding has always
been the traditional sport of the Bedouin. Care is taken not to shed blood
while raiding, but since blood is often shed, Bedouins were often involved
in the dread duty of blood revenge.
This nomadic lifestyle bred hardiness, frugality, possessiveness,
stubbornness, and truculence, and makes them prize manliness, fortitude,
and hospitality, and despise order & discipline. Their sole forms of artistic
expression were poetry & pithy gnomic wisdom. On the other hand, Petra
& delicate Nabatean pottery show what could be accomplished by the nor-
thern sedentary groups. The nose ring & bracelets given to Rebekah are
still ornaments given a Bedouin girl.
We have material that gives us a fair picture of the religious life of
the southern Arabians. But we are not well informed about the religion of
the northern Arabian nomads. There were temples, some of them impo-
sing structures, at the more important settlements as well as numerous
sanctuaries in the sparsely populated areas, centers to which the nomads
went in pilgrimage. At such shrines there was generally a sacred stone,
and a sacred well with several sacred trees near by. There were rites of
walking around the shrine, animal and human sacrifices, offerings, divina-
tions and festivals. The territory for some distance around such shrines
offered sanctuary from the avenger of blood.
Prominent among the goddesses was the ancient Mother Goddess,
who would seem to have been the deity of the Meccan shrine. Lower in
rank than deities were other angelic beings, and of still lower rank are great
numbers of spirits (jinn), sometimes benevolent, sometimes malevolent,
whose influence had to be guarded against by charms and conjurations.
The evil eye was also guarded against. There was a trend toward monothe-
ism in both the south & the north.
min. 2. A Canaanite city of the Negeb in the time of Moses & Canaan's
conquest. Arad ambushed the Israelites, the Israelites destroyed Arad.
ARAH (ארח, traveler, ox) 1. One of the sons of Ulla in the genealogy of Asher.
2. An ancestor of some of those who returned from Babylonian captivity.
Mash in the genealogy of Noah; it also serves as a table of nations.
2. Son of Kemuel and grandson of Nahor, who was Abraham's brother.
3. The third son of Shemer in the genealogy of Asher.
4. Most frequently used as a singular collective (i.e. “the Aram”) for
the Arameans, an important Semitic people living throughout the Mesopo-
tamian and Syrian areas in many scattered tribes & settlements. The land
of Aram is not a political or geographical unit but only indicates a concentra-
tion of Aramean population. Roughly, Aram in the Old Testament covers
the area beyond the Jordan & northeast of Palestine around the Fertile Cre-
scent into the upper Tigris-Euphrates Valley. At the same time as the mon-
archy in Israel, Damascus became the center of Aramean power and influ-
ence in the west; the term “Aram” during this time means Damascus and
the surrounding territory. They were warring neighbors & rivals throughout
most of the period of the monarchy until Assyria destroyed first Damascus,
then Israel, then Judah.
ARAM-NAHARAIM (ארם נהרים, Aram
area, especially important as the home of the Hebrew patriarchs. David
fought against these people, perhaps when the Ammonites hired their cha-
riots and horsemen against him.
ARAM-ZOBAH (ארם צובה) An Aramean town and kingdom in the Biq'a.
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