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Resurrection Appearances
[Doctrine & Theology]The resurrection appearances are the occasions on which Jesus Christ, having died on the cross and risen again, showed himself to his disciples and others before his ascension.
Holy Place
[Bible]The holy place, or sanctuary, is a sacred place set apart for God. In its narrower sense, it refers to the outer room of the tabernacle and the temple, located in front of the Most Holy Place, where the lampstand, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense stood.
Abyss
[Bible]The Abyss, or "bottomless pit," is a New Testament term for a deep place in which demons and evil powers are confined or from which they ascend, or for the realm of the dead.
Feast of Trumpets
[Bible]The Feast of Trumpets was an Old Testament festival observed on the first day of the seventh month of Israel's religious calendar. It was marked by the blowing of trumpets and a holy convocation, as prescribed in Leviticus 23 and Numbers 29.
Two Witnesses
[Bible]The Two Witnesses are two prophetic figures in Revelation 11 who prophesy for 1,260 days, are killed by the beast, and then come back to life and ascend to heaven. Interpreters differ over who they are.
Table of Nations
[Bible]The Table of Nations is the list of the descendants of Noah's three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, recorded in Genesis 10. Arranged in genealogical form, the passage describes how the various peoples spread across the earth after the Flood.
Poetic Books
[Bible]The Poetic Books are the five books of the Protestant Old Testament written in poetic form: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.
Conquest of Canaan
[Bible]The conquest of Canaan was Israel's entry into the land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and took possession of a number of cities. It is recorded chiefly in Joshua 1–12.
Fall of Jerusalem
[Bible]The fall of Jerusalem was the event in which Jerusalem, the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah, fell to the army of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and the temple was burned. It took place during the reign of King Zedekiah, bringing the kingdom of Judah to an end and marking the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
Prayer of Manasseh
[Bible]The prayer of repentance offered by Manasseh, king of Judah, during the affliction of his captivity. It is recorded in 2 Chronicles 33, and a short Greek prayer bearing the same name has been transmitted among the Apocrypha (writings outside the canon).
Red Heifer
[Bible]The red heifer is a purification ordinance found in Numbers 19. A red heifer without blemish was burned whole outside the camp, and its ashes were mixed with water and used to purify a person who had become unclean through contact with a dead body.
Star of Bethlehem
[Bible]The Star of Bethlehem is the star in Matthew 2 that the wise men from the east saw and that led them to seek the child born King of the Jews. Scripture calls it "his star."
Seventy Elders
[Bible]The seventy elders were a group of seventy leaders chosen from among the elders of Israel in the time of Moses. They appear in Exodus 24 and Numbers 11, and a group of seventy elders also appears in Ezekiel 8.
Sign of Jonah
[Bible]The sign of Jonah is Jesus' reply to those who demanded a sign, that no sign would be given "but the sign of the prophet Jonas." The saying appears in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
Veil (Tabernacle and Temple)
[Bible]The veil was the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple. The Gospels record that the veil of the temple was torn when Jesus died on the cross.
Maccabean Revolt
[History]The Maccabean Revolt was a Jewish uprising begun in 167 BC by the priest Mattathias and his sons after Antiochus IV of the Seleucid dynasty outlawed the practice of Judaism. It led to the rededication of the Jerusalem temple and the establishment of the Hasmonean dynasty.
Shekel
[Bible]The shekel was a unit of weight used in ancient Israel and also a unit of value reckoned by that weight of silver. It later became the name of a silver coin. The shekel appears frequently in the Bible, notably in the half-shekel temple tax and the thirty pieces of silver.
Church Fathers
[History]The Church Fathers are the leaders and theologians of the early church who, from the late first century to around the eighth century, helped establish the framework of Christian doctrine, biblical interpretation, and worship.
Negev
[Bible]The Negev is a biblical place name for the arid region of southern Judah around Beersheba. The Hebrew word is also used to mean "south," so many passages render it simply as "the south."
Cave of Machpelah
[Bible]The Cave of Machpelah was the cave in a field before Mamre, near Hebron, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite in order to bury his wife Sarah. It became the burial place of the patriarchs and their wives.