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Clean and Unclean
[Bible]Clean and unclean is the distinction in Old Testament law that determined whether persons, animals, or objects were in a fit state to approach God and take part in worship. The New Testament carries this distinction forward in terms of purity of heart and the cleansing accomplished through Christ.
Jannes and Jambres
[People]Jannes and Jambres are two figures named in 2 Timothy 3:8 as men who opposed Moses. Jewish tradition identified them as the Egyptian magicians at Pharaoh's court in the Book of Exodus.
Hophni and Phinehas
[People]Hophni and Phinehas were the two sons of Eli who served as priests at Shiloh at the close of the period of the judges. They sinned in several ways, including treating the sacrifices with contempt, and both died when the Ark of the Covenant was captured in battle against the Philistines.
Bel and the Dragon
[Bible]Bel and the Dragon is a story in which Daniel exposes the true nature of Bel, an idol of Babylon, and of a dragon worshiped there. It has been transmitted as an addition to the Greek Book of Daniel. Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include it as Daniel 14, while Protestants classify it among the Apocrypha.
The First and the Last
[Bible]"The First and the Last" is a biblical title expressing that God alone exists before the beginning of all things and after their end. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah it appears as the LORD's self-declaration, and in the New Testament book of Revelation it is used as a title of Christ.
Ketiv and Qere
[Bible]Ketiv and qere are a Masoretic notation system marking places in manuscripts of the Hebrew Old Testament where what is written (ketiv) differs from what is read (qere).
Signs and Wonders
[Bible]"Signs and wonders" is a biblical word pair referring to the marvelous works God performs to reveal his will and power. The Old Testament applies the phrase mainly to the Exodus, and the New Testament to the ministry of Jesus and the apostles.
Biblical Weights and Measures
[Bible]Biblical weights and measures are the units of length, weight, volume, and currency that appear in the Bible. They include the cubit, shekel, talent, ephah, and denarius. Converting them precisely into modern values is difficult.
Cherethites and Pelethites
[Bible]The Cherethites and Pelethites were the king's personal troops during the reign of King David, commanded by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. They are commonly understood to have been a bodyguard made up of foreign mercenaries.
Distribution of the Bread and the Cup
[Worship & Rites]The distribution of the bread and the cup is the part of the Lord's Supper in which the bread and cup, after the prayer of thanksgiving, are given to the communicants. In Korean Protestant churches, the practice is known as bunbyeong-bunjan, a term combining the distribution of the bread and the distribution of the cup.
Mahlon and Chilion
[People]Mahlon and Chilion are the two sons of Elimelech and Naomi in the Book of Ruth. During the period of the judges they moved with their family to Moab to escape a famine, married Moabite women, and died there. Mahlon's wife was Ruth.
Massah and Meribah
[Bible]Massah and Meribah are the names given to places in the wilderness where, after the Exodus, the people of Israel quarreled with Moses over the lack of water and tested God. Massah means "testing," and Meribah means "quarreling."
Tyre and Sidon
[Bible]Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician port cities on the eastern Mediterranean coast, in present-day Lebanon. In the Old Testament they appear as trading partners of Israel and as objects of the prophets' pronouncements of judgment; in the New Testament they appear as Gentile regions reached by the ministry of Jesus.
Humiliation and Exaltation of Christ
[Doctrine & Theology]The humiliation and exaltation of Christ is a Christological term referring jointly to the state in which Jesus Christ was made low by becoming man, even unto death (humiliation), and the state in which he was raised high, from his resurrection to his place at the right hand of God (exaltation).
Gog and Magog
[Bible]Gog and Magog are names that appear in Ezekiel 38–39 and Revelation 20 for hostile forces that come against the people of God in the last days. Magog also appears in Genesis 10 as a son of Japheth.
Visible and Invisible Church
[Doctrine & Theology]The visible and invisible church is a concept that views the church under two aspects. The invisible church is the whole body of true believers known only to God, while the visible church consists of the actual communities on earth that profess the faith and gather together.
Jachin and Boaz
[Bible]Jachin and Boaz are the names of the two bronze pillars set up before the porch of the Temple in Jerusalem built by Solomon. The pillar on the right was called Jachin, and the pillar on the left was called Boaz (1 Kings 7:21).
Eldad and Medad
[People]Eldad and Medad were two men chosen among the seventy elders appointed to assist Moses during the wilderness period after the Exodus. Instead of going out to the tabernacle, they remained in the camp, where they prophesied (Numbers 11:26-29).
Zebah and Zalmunna
[People]Zebah and Zalmunna were two kings of Midian who invaded Israel in the time of the judge Gideon. In Judges 8 they are captured and put to death by Gideon, and in Psalm 83 they are cited as an example of the end that befalls the enemies of God.
Rehum and Shimshai
[People]Rehum and Shimshai were officials who served in the region of Samaria during the Persian period. According to Ezra 4, they sent a letter to King Artaxerxes accusing the Jews of rebuilding Jerusalem and thereby brought the work to a halt.