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Jabesh-gilead
[Bible]Jabesh-gilead was an Israelite town in the region of Gilead east of the Jordan River. Saul delivered the town from the Ammonites, and after Saul's death its people recovered and buried his body.
Urartu
[History]Urartu was an ancient kingdom on the Armenian Highlands, centered on Lake Van, that existed from the ninth century to the early sixth century BC. The Old Testament name "Ararat" is understood to refer to this kingdom and its land.
Caphtor
[Bible]Caphtor is an Old Testament place name identified as the land from which the Philistines came. It is generally thought to be an island or coastal region of the Mediterranean, and the best-known view identifies it with Crete.
Manaen
[People]Manaen is an early church figure named in Acts 13:1 as one of the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch. He is described as one "which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch," that is, as Herod's foster brother or childhood companion.
Omer
[Bible]The omer is an ancient Israelite dry measure for grain mentioned in Exodus 16. It is best known from the account of the manna in the wilderness, which each person was to gather at the rate of one omer per day. The text defines the omer as one-tenth of an ephah.
Dionysius the Areopagite
[People]Dionysius was an Athenian mentioned in Acts 17:34, a member of the Areopagus who believed after hearing Paul's address at the Areopagus.
Siloam Inscription
[History]The Siloam Inscription is an ancient Hebrew inscription carved into the wall of the water tunnel that connects the Gihon Spring and the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. It records the completion of the tunnel and is commonly dated to the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah.
Cyprus
[Bible]Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean, still known today by the same name. In the Book of Acts it appears as the home of Barnabas and as the first place where the gospel was preached on Paul's first missionary journey.
Covetousness
[Doctrine & Theology]Covetousness is an excessive desire to possess what belongs to another or what one has not been granted. The last of the Ten Commandments forbids it, and the New Testament regards covetousness as a sin equivalent to idolatry.
Hezekiah's Tunnel
[Bible]Hezekiah's Tunnel is an underground water channel in Jerusalem, generally thought to have been cut through rock during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah to carry water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam inside the city. It is also called the Siloam Tunnel.
Peace Offering
[Bible]The peace offering is an Old Testament sacrifice prescribed in Leviticus 3 and 7. Its fat was burned on the altar, and its meat was shared between the priests and the worshiper. It was offered as an expression of thanksgiving, in fulfillment of a vow, or as a freewill offering.
Sicarii
[History]The Sicarii were an armed group active in mid-first-century Judea under Roman rule. They opposed Rome and the pro-Roman Jewish ruling class by assassinating their opponents with daggers. During the Jewish War they made the fortress of Masada their base.
Sardis
[Bible]Sardis was an ancient city in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and the site of one of the seven churches to which the Book of Revelation addresses letters. Revelation 3:1-6 contains the message sent to this church.
Critical Text
[Bible]The critical text is an original-language text of the Bible reconstructed by comparing and examining the many extant biblical manuscripts and selecting the readings judged closest to the original. The term usually refers to the Greek text of the New Testament.
Penal Substitutionary Atonement
[Doctrine & Theology]Penal substitutionary atonement is an understanding of the atonement which holds that Jesus Christ died on the cross bearing, in the sinner's place, the punishment from God that the sinner deserved, and that God's justice was thereby satisfied and the forgiveness of sins accomplished.
Lycaonia
[Bible]Lycaonia was an inland region of south-central Asia Minor. Lystra and Derbe, where Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel on their first missionary journey in Acts 14, belonged to this region.
Miracle
[Bible]A miracle is an event brought about by God that cannot be explained by the ordinary course of nature. The Bible describes such events with words such as sign, wonder, marvel, and power (mighty work).
Geshem
[People]Geshem was an Arabian who, together with Sanballat and Tobiah, mocked and obstructed Nehemiah's work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He appears in Nehemiah 2 and 6.
Strange Fire
[Bible]Strange fire is an expression from the incident in Leviticus 10 in which Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, died after offering incense in a manner God had not commanded. The underlying Hebrew phrase means "strange" or "foreign" fire.
Winepress
[Bible]A winepress is an installation in which grapes are trodden by foot to extract their juice. In the Bible it can signify the blessing of harvest, and it also serves as a symbol of God's judgment.