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Hyssop
[Bible]Hyssop is a plant used in Old Testament purification rites to sprinkle blood or water. It appears in connection with the Passover, the rite for cleansing from leprosy, Psalm 51, and the crucifixion scene in the Gospel of John.
Ahikam
[People]Ahikam was an official in the reign of King Josiah of Judah, the son of Shaphan the scribe, and the father of Gedaliah, governor of Judah. He is known for protecting Jeremiah when the prophet's life was in danger.
Mosera
[Bible]Mosera is a place where Israel stopped during its journey through the wilderness after the Exodus. Deuteronomy 10:6 names it as the place where Aaron died and was buried. It is generally identified with Moseroth in Numbers 33.
Achbor
[People]Achbor was an official under King Josiah of Judah and a member of the delegation sent to the prophetess Huldah to inquire about the book of the law found in the temple. The same name also belongs to the father of Baal-hanan, a king of Edom.
John Paul II
[People]John Paul II (1920–2005), a native of Poland, was the 264th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1978 to 2005. He was the first pope to visit Korea, where in 1984 he canonized 103 Korean martyrs.
Ebenezer
[Bible]Ebenezer, Hebrew for "stone of help," is the name of the memorial stone that Samuel set up after defeating the Philistines, saying, "Hitherto hath the LORD helped us." A place of the same name also appears in 1 Samuel 4.
Pope Francis
[People]Francis (1936–2025), born in Argentina, was the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He reigned from 2013 to 2025 and was the first pope from the Americas and the first from the Jesuit order.
Saint Patrick
[People]Saint Patrick (Patricius, 5th century) was a missionary and bishop from Roman Britannia who brought Christianity to Ireland. He is the patron saint of Ireland and is commemorated on March 17.
Benedict XVI
[People]Benedict XVI (1927–2022), born Joseph Ratzinger, was a German-born prelate who served as the 265th pope of the Roman Catholic Church (2005–2013). Known as a conservative theologian, he was the first pope in nearly 600 years to step down from office during his lifetime.
Ananias the High Priest
[People]High priest in Jerusalem in the mid-first century. In Acts 23–24 he orders that Paul be struck on the mouth as Paul stands before the Sanhedrin, and he later brings charges against Paul before the governor at Caesarea.
High Priestly Prayer
[Bible]The High Priestly Prayer is the extended prayer of Jesus Christ recorded in John 17. Jesus offered it just before his Passion for himself, for his disciples, and for those who would later believe. It takes its name from the idea that he intercedes for his people as a high priest does.
Breastplate (High Priest)
[Bible]The breastplate was a square ornamental piece of fabric that the high priest of Old Testament Israel wore on his chest over the ephod. It held twelve gemstones engraved with the names of the twelve tribes and contained the Urim and Thummim.
Ananias (High Priest)
[People]Ananias was a Jewish high priest who appears in Acts 23–24. He ordered those standing by to strike Paul on the mouth as Paul made his defense before the council, and he later brought charges against Paul before the governor Felix.
Joshua (High Priest)
[People]Joshua was the high priest who led the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem after the return from the Babylonian exile. The son of Jehozadak, he appears as "Jeshua" in Ezra and Nehemiah.
Joiakim (High Priest)
[People]Joiakim succeeded to the office of high priest in Jerusalem after the return from the Babylonian exile. He was the son of the high priest Jeshua and the father of Eliashib, and he appears only in Nehemiah 12.
Aaron
[People]Aaron, a Levite who appears in the Old Testament books from Exodus through Deuteronomy, was the elder brother of Moses and the first high priest of Israel. His descendants inherited Israel's priesthood.
Seraiah
[People]Seraiah was a high priest in the final years of the Kingdom of Judah who was executed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, after the fall of Jerusalem. He is recorded as the father of Jehozadak (Jozadak) and as an ancestor of Ezra.
Amariah
[People]Amariah was the chief priest during the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. When Jehoshaphat established a judicial system in Jerusalem, he placed Amariah over "all matters of the LORD" (2 Chronicles 19:11).
Urim and Thummim
[Bible]The Urim and Thummim were objects in the Old Testament that the high priest carried in the breastplate of judgment and used when seeking God's will. Scripture does not describe their appearance or explain how they were used.
Malchus
[People]Malchus was the servant of the high priest whose right ear Peter cut off with a sword when Jesus Christ was arrested in Gethsemane. His name appears only in the Gospel of John.