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Rufus
[People]Rufus appears in the Gospel of Mark as a son of Simon of Cyrene, the man compelled to carry the cross of Jesus. Scholars differ on whether he is the same Rufus whom Paul greets in Romans 16.
Origen
[People]Origen (c. 185 – c. 253) was an early church theologian and biblical interpreter from Alexandria. He produced the Hexapla, a parallel edition of the Old Testament, and On First Principles, a systematic theological work, but some of his teachings were condemned after his death.
Ahaziah
[People]Ahaziah is the name of two kings who reigned during the divided monarchy of the Old Testament. One was the son of Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel; the other was the son of Jehoram of the southern kingdom of Judah, who was pursued by Jehu and died at Megiddo.
Solomon's Porch
[Bible]Solomon's Porch was a roofed colonnade along the outer court of the Jerusalem Temple in New Testament times. Scripture presents it as the place where Jesus walked during the Feast of Dedication and where the believers of the early church gathered.
Seer
[Bible]A seer is "one who sees" what God has shown. In the Old Testament it is an older name for a prophet. Samuel, Gad, and Iddo, among others, were called by this title.
Papias
[People]Papias was bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor in the early second century and an early church writer who left the earliest testimony concerning the origins of the Gospels of Mark and Matthew.
Iscah
[People]Iscah is a woman mentioned once in the Bible, in Genesis 11:29. She was the daughter of Haran son of Terah and the sister of Milcah and Lot. Jewish tradition sometimes identifies her with Sarai, the wife of Abraham.
Tribe of Manasseh
[Bible]The tribe of Manasseh was an Israelite tribe descended from Manasseh, the firstborn son of Joseph. Because it received land both east and west of the Jordan River, the expression "the half tribe of Manasseh" came into use.
Carob Pods
[Bible]Carob pods are the swine fodder, rendered "husks" in the King James Version, with which the younger son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son longed to fill his stomach after squandering his inheritance. The term refers to the pods of the carob tree, which grows along the Mediterranean coast.
Ben-ammi
[People]Ben-ammi was the son born to Lot by his younger daughter. He is named in Genesis 19 and is recorded as the ancestor of the Ammonites, a people neighboring Israel.
Only Begotten Son
[Bible]"Only begotten Son" is a title used in the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John to designate Jesus Christ as the unique Son of God.
Adoption
[Doctrine & Theology]Adoption is a theological term for the grace by which people who were not by nature children of God are received as God's children through Jesus Christ and obtain the rights of heirs.
Assarion
[Bible]The assarion was a small copper coin used in the Roman Empire during the New Testament era. It appears when Jesus cites the price of sparrows to speak of God's care (Matthew 10:29; Luke 12:6).
Healing of the Demon-Possessed Boy
[Bible]The healing of the demon-possessed boy is a miracle in which Jesus, after coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration, cast a demon out of a boy whom his disciples had been unable to heal. The account appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Kiriath-arba
[Bible]Kiriath-arba is the ancient name of Hebron, a town in the hill country of Judah in southern Canaan. The Old Testament explains that the name came from Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.
Alexander the Great
[People]Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) was a king of ancient Macedonia who overthrew the Persian Empire and built an empire stretching from Greece to the Indus River. The Greek language and culture spread by his conquests formed the backdrop of the intertestamental period and the New Testament era.
Helena
[People]Helena (c. 248 – c. 330) was the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine I. In her later years she made a pilgrimage to Palestine and sponsored the construction of churches. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
Captain of Fifty
[Bible]A captain of fifty is an Old Testament title for a person who governed or commanded a unit of fifty people. The title appears in passages such as Exodus 18 and 2 Kings 1.
Ophrah
[Bible]Ophrah is an Old Testament place name borne by two towns: the hometown of the judge Gideon and a town of the tribe of Benjamin. First Chronicles also mentions a man by this name.
Kohathites
[Bible]The Kohathites were a Levite clan descended from Kohath, the second son of Levi. During the wilderness period they were responsible for carrying the holy objects of the tabernacle, including the ark of the covenant, on their shoulders. Moses and Aaron belonged to this clan.