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1000 articles found for “an elder”

• New Testament Apocrypha

  [Bible]

  The New Testament Apocrypha is a collective term for early Christian writings that tell stories about Jesus and the apostles or bear an apostle's name but were not included among the twenty-seven books of the New Testament canon.

• Clement of Alexandria

  [People]

  Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–c. 215) was an early church father and theologian active in Alexandria. He is regarded as a leading figure of the Alexandrian school, which sought to connect Greek philosophy with the Christian faith.

• 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.

• Portion

  [Bible]

  A portion is a share that is divided and received, such as an inheritance or an allotment of land. In the Old Testament the term is used for the tribes' allotments of land and in the confession of faith "the LORD is my portion"; in the New Testament it appears in the parable of the prodigal son.

• Tanakh

  [Bible]

  Tanakh is the name Judaism uses for the Hebrew Bible. The word is an acronym formed from the Law (Torah), the Prophets (Nevi'im), and the Writings (Ketuvim). Its contents are the same as the thirty-nine books of the Protestant Old Testament, but it counts them as twenty-four books and arranges them in a different order.

• Doctor of the Church

  [Church Offices]

  Doctor of the Church is a title the Catholic Church formally confers on saints who have made an outstanding contribution to teaching the faith and doctrine. Protestantism has no corresponding official office or title.

• 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.

• Aram-naharaim

  [Bible]

  Aram-naharaim, meaning "Aram of the two rivers," is an Old Testament place name. It is generally understood to refer to northern Mesopotamia along the upper Euphrates, particularly the region around Haran. Following the Septuagint, many translations render it as "Mesopotamia" in most of its occurrences.

• Eglon (City)

  [Bible]

  Eglon was a city in the lowland of southern Canaan. In Joshua 10 it joined an alliance of five Amorite kings and was conquered by Joshua. It later became part of the territory of the tribe of Judah.

• Sceva

  [People]

  Sceva was a Jewish priest (or high priest) mentioned in Acts 19. He is known for an incident in Ephesus in which his seven sons tried, and failed, to cast out evil spirits by invoking the name of Jesus whom Paul preached.

• Ahithophel

  [People]

  Ahithophel the Gilonite was a counselor to King David, an official who devised plans and gave advice to the king. He joined Absalom's rebellion, and when his counsel was not followed, he took his own life in his hometown.

• Christmas Tree

  [Feasts & Seasons]

  A Christmas tree is a decoration set up in the days before Christmas, consisting of an evergreen or a tree of similar shape adorned with a star, lights, and ornaments. Although it is not a rite grounded in Scripture, most churches in Korea set one up inside and outside their sanctuaries during Advent and the Christmas season.

• Benedict of Nursia

  [People]

  Benedict of Nursia (c. 480 – c. 547) was an Italian monk. He founded the monastery of Monte Cassino and wrote the Rule of Saint Benedict, laying the foundation of monasticism in the Western church.

• Relic

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  A relic is the preserved remains of a saint or martyr, an object that a saint or martyr used, or an object associated with the life of Jesus, kept as an object of veneration. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church venerate relics, while Protestants generally reject the practice.

• Eunuch

  [Bible]

  In the Bible, a eunuch is a castrated male official who served in an ancient royal court; more broadly, the term can denote any high-ranking court official. Eunuchs appear in several Old Testament court narratives and in the account of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.

• Shobach

  [People]

  Shobach was the commander of the army of Hadarezer (Hadadezer), an Aramean king, in the time of David. He led the Aramean coalition forces fighting against Israel and was killed when David's army defeated them.

• Jeiel (Father of Gibeon)

  [People]

  Jeiel is a Benjamite recorded in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles as "the father of Gibeon." He is an ancestor of the family that descends through Ner and Kish to King Saul. Several other people with the same name appear in the Bible.

• Clement of Rome

  [People]

  Clement of Rome was a leader of the church in Rome in the late first century and an Apostolic Father, known as the author of a letter to the church in Corinth commonly called 1 Clement. The Catholic Church counts him as the fourth pope.

• Captain of the Guard

  [Bible]

  "Captain of the guard" is a biblical title for the head of a unit responsible for guarding an ancient king and carrying out executions. Nebuzaradan of Babylon and Potiphar of Egypt held related titles.

• Tacitus

  [People]

  Tacitus (c. AD 56 – c. 120) was an ancient Roman historian and senator. In his Annals he recorded Emperor Nero's persecution of Christians and the execution of Christ under Pontius Pilate. For this reason he is frequently cited as an early non-Christian source.