Search the encyclopedia

Search the Bible

370 articles found for “prophets and priests”

• Ahaz

  [People]

  Ahaz was a king of the southern kingdom of Judah in the late eighth century BC, the son of Jotham and the father of Hezekiah. Scripture records him as a king who introduced pagan worship and relied on Assyria. He received Isaiah's Immanuel prophecy (Isaiah 7:14).

• Midrash

  [Bible]

  Midrash refers to the method by which Jewish rabbis interpreted Scripture and to the literature that collects their interpretations. The term derives from a Hebrew word meaning "to seek" or "to inquire," and in the Old Testament it appears in the titles of written records.

• Measuring Line

  [Bible]

  A measuring line is a cord used to measure length and area. In the Bible it appears chiefly in visions that anticipate the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, and it also expresses the standard of divine judgment.

• Exodus 7

  [Bible]

  Exodus 7 is the chapter in which Moses and Aaron perform the sign of turning a rod into a serpent before Pharaoh and in which the first plague occurs, as the waters of the Nile ("the river") are turned to blood.

• 1 Kings 12

  [Bible]

  1 Kings 12 is the chapter in which Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, rejects the people's request, causing Israel to divide into the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel, and in which Jeroboam sets up golden calves at Bethel and Dan.

• Zephaniah 3:17

  [Bible Verses]

  Zephaniah 3:17 declares that God, present in the midst of restored Jerusalem, rejoices and sings over His people. It is frequently cited as a word of comfort that reveals God's joy and love.

• Isaiah 58

  [Bible]

  Isaiah 58 rebukes merely outward fasting and declares that the fast God delights in is to set the oppressed free and to care for one's poor neighbors. The chapter closes with an exhortation to honor the Sabbath.

• Habakkuk 1

  [Bible]

  Habakkuk 1 is the chapter in which the prophet Habakkuk cries out to God over injustice in Israel. When God answers that He will raise up the Chaldeans, the prophet questions Him again.

• Scribe

  [Bible]

  A scribe was originally a professional who wrote documents and kept records. After the Babylonian exile, the term came to refer to experts who copied and taught the Law. In the New Testament, scribes appear as a group that frequently disputes with Jesus.

• Isaiah 25

  [Bible]

  Isaiah 25 contains a song of praise to the LORD who saves and a prophecy promising a feast that he will prepare for all peoples on Mount Zion, together with the destruction of death. The chapter closes with the downfall of proud Moab.

• Jeremiah 13

  [Bible]

  In this chapter Jeremiah hides a linen girdle by the Euphrates and later recovers it ruined, a symbolic act showing that Judah's pride will be marred. Together with the parable of the wine bottles, the chapter warns that the royal house and Jerusalem will be carried into captivity.

• Jeremiah 18

  [Bible]

  Jeremiah 18 uses the parable of the potter to speak of God's sovereignty and the opportunity for repentance. It also contains a warning of judgment against Judah for rejecting that opportunity and Jeremiah's lament against those who sought to harm him.

• Ezekiel 4

  [Bible]

  Ezekiel 4 is the chapter in which Ezekiel portrays Jerusalem on a clay tile and builds a model of its siege, lies on his side for a set number of days, and eats bread and water by measure, foreshadowing the siege and famine of Jerusalem.

• Ezekiel 21

  [Bible]

  Ezekiel 21 contains prophecies that the LORD will draw His sword to judge Jerusalem and the king of Israel, that the king of Babylon will practice divination at a fork in the road and turn toward Jerusalem, and that Ammon will also come under judgment.

• Zechariah 2

  [Bible]

  This chapter contains the vision of the measuring line, the third of Zechariah's night visions. It promises that Jerusalem will flourish without walls, with the LORD dwelling in her midst, and it calls the people remaining in Babylon to return.

• Ezekiel 37:4–5

  [Bible Verses]

  Ezekiel 37:4–5 is the command, given in a vision, to prophesy the word of the LORD to dry bones, with God's promise: "Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live." The passage envisions Israel's restoration and is also widely used as a symbol of resurrection and spiritual revival. Interpreters differ over what the vision's fulfillment is.

• Habakkuk 3:17–18

  [Bible Verses]

  Habakkuk's confession that even if the fig tree, vine, olive, field, flock, and herd all fail, he will still rejoice in the LORD. The passage is cherished as a song of faith whose joy does not depend on circumstances.

• Psalm 51:5

  [Bible Verses]

  David's confession, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." The verse is cited as a leading Old Testament basis for the doctrine of original sin, and Christian traditions differ in how they understand the nature of the sin it describes.

• Isaiah 40:28–31

  [Bible Verses]

  A passage in the Book of Isaiah that answers the lament of Israel during the Babylonian exile by proclaiming that God the Creator, who never grows weary, gives new strength to those who wait upon Him. Widely known for its image of the eagle, it is frequently used as a memory verse and a motto.

• Son of Man

  [Bible]

  "Son of Man" is a biblical expression meaning literally "son of a human being." In the Old Testament it refers to a human being; in Daniel 7 it describes a figure who comes with the clouds of heaven; and in the Gospels it is the term Jesus most often used to refer to himself.