Search the encyclopedia
1000 articles found for “God; humankind”
Psalm 119:97–104
[Bible Verses]The thirteenth stanza of Psalm 119, in which the psalmist meditates on God's word all day long and confesses that it makes him wiser than his enemies, his teachers, and the aged, and that it is sweeter than honey. The passage is often cited to encourage meditation on Scripture and the practice of quiet time.
Psalm 51:11–12
[Bible Verses]In this passage David, repenting of his sin, asks God not to cast him away from His presence or take His Holy Spirit from him, and to restore to him the joy of salvation. It is often cited as a model of penitential prayer and figures in discussions of whether the Holy Spirit can depart from a believer.
Sabbath
[Bible]The Sabbath is the seventh day, appointed by Old Testament law as a day on which people were to cease from work, rest, and keep the day holy to God. It is grounded in both creation and the Exodus, and in Jewish tradition it is observed from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
Circumcision
[Bible]Circumcision is the rite of cutting away the foreskin of the male genital organ. In the Old Testament it was the sign of the covenant between God and the descendants of Abraham; in the New Testament it is interpreted in connection with circumcision of the heart and with baptism.
Priest
[Bible]In Old Testament Israel, the priest held an office that stood between God and the people, offering sacrifices and teaching the Law. The New Testament carries this office forward in the high priesthood of Christ and the priesthood of all believers.
Anointing
[Bible]Anointing is a biblical rite in which oil is poured on or applied to a person or object to set it apart for God. In the Old Testament it was performed when priests, kings, and prophets were installed, and the titles "Messiah" and "Christ" derive from this term.
Zealots
[Bible]The Zealots were Jewish groups in first-century Judea under Roman rule who resisted foreign domination in the name of "zeal" for God and the Law. In the Bible the term appears as "Zelotes," the epithet of Simon, one of the twelve disciples.
Hesed
[Bible]Hesed (חֶסֶד) is a Hebrew word used in the Old Testament for the steadfast love and faithful kindness that God shows to his covenant people and that people show to one another. English Bibles render it variously as "mercy," "lovingkindness," and "steadfast love"; the Korean New Korean Revised Version usually renders it as *inja* or *inae*.
Satan
[Bible]Satan is the name the Bible gives to an evil spiritual being who opposes and accuses God and His people. The Hebrew word means "adversary," and the New Testament uses it interchangeably with "the devil."
Apocalyptic Literature
[Bible]Apocalyptic literature is a genre of biblical writing that uses visions and symbols to reveal the end of history and God's final victory. Its leading examples are the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation in the New Testament.
Demon
[Bible]In the Bible, demons are evil spiritual beings that oppose God, torment people, and work behind idolatry and false teaching. They appear especially often in the New Testament Gospels.
Tree of Life
[Bible]The tree of life stood in the midst of the Garden of Eden in Genesis and symbolizes the life that God gives. Proverbs uses the phrase figuratively, and the tree reappears in the New Jerusalem in Revelation.
Day of the Lord
[Bible]The Day of the Lord is an expression used by the Old Testament prophets for the time when God intervenes directly in history to bring about judgment and salvation. The New Testament takes it up as "the day of the Lord" and "the day of Christ," connecting it with the Second Coming and the Last Judgment.
Burnt Offering
[Bible]The burnt offering is an Old Testament sacrifice in which the offering was burned whole on the altar and presented to God. Its procedure is set out in detail in Leviticus 1.
Pillar of Cloud and Pillar of Fire
[Bible]The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire were a miracle of the Exodus in which God led the Israelites by going before them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They first appear in Exodus 13.
Eliezer
[People]Eliezer was the second son of Moses and Zipporah. His name is understood to mean "my God is help." Several people in the Bible bear the same name, and Eliezer the servant of Abraham is especially well known.
Shiphrah and Puah
[People]Shiphrah and Puah were two Hebrew midwives named in Exodus 1. Because they feared God, they refused to obey the Egyptian king's command to kill Hebrew baby boys.
Merit
[Doctrine & Theology]Merit is a theological term for an act that serves as the ground for receiving a reward or salvation from God, or for the value of such an act. Because it bears directly on the place of human works in salvation, it is one of the principal issues that divided Catholicism and Protestantism.
Proselytes to Judaism
[Bible]A proselyte to Judaism was a person born a Gentile who came to believe in the God of Israel and formally entered Judaism. The term appears four times in the New Testament, in Matthew and Acts.
Incense Offering
[Bible]The incense offering was an Old Testament institution of worship in which incense was burned so that its fragrance and smoke ascended to God. In the tabernacle and the temple, only priests descended from Aaron could perform it, and Scripture at times compares it to the prayers of the saints.