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Documentary Hypothesis
[Doctrine & Theology]The Documentary Hypothesis is a theory in Old Testament scholarship holding that the Pentateuch is not the work of a single author but a compilation of several source documents written separately in different periods.
Wave Offering
[Bible]The wave offering was a rite of Old Testament worship in which an offering was presented to the LORD by being waved before Him. The breast of the peace offering, the sheaf of firstfruits, and the two loaves of the Feast of Weeks were among the offerings presented in this way.
Deuteronomistic History
[Doctrine & Theology]The Deuteronomistic History is a theory in Old Testament scholarship that regards Joshua through 2 Kings as a single historical work shaped by the theology of Deuteronomy. It was first systematically formulated in 1943 by the German scholar Martin Noth.
Manasseh
[People]Manasseh was an Old Testament king of Judah and the son of Hezekiah. He reigned for fifty-five years and is recorded as a wicked king who promoted idolatry on a large scale. Second Chronicles reports that he repented after being taken captive.
Day of Atonement
[Bible]The Day of Atonement was an annual holy day of Old Testament Israel, observed on the tenth day of the seventh month, when the high priest entered the Most Holy Place to make atonement for the sins of the people and for the sanctuary. Its procedure is described in Leviticus 16.
Cities of Refuge
[Bible]The cities of refuge were six towns designated by Old Testament law where a person who had killed someone unintentionally could escape blood vengeance, stand trial, and receive protection. Three were located east of the Jordan River and three west of it.
Vineyard
[Bible]A vineyard is a plot of land where grapevines are planted and cultivated. In the Bible it is part of agricultural life, and it frequently serves as a symbol of the people (Israel) whom God tends and from whom He expects fruit.
Beelzebub
[Bible]Beelzebub (Beelzebul) is a name used in the New Testament Gospels for the "prince of the devils." It is generally thought to derive from Baalzebub, the god of the Philistine city of Ekron mentioned in 2 Kings.
Achsah
[People]Achsah is an Old Testament figure, the daughter of Caleb and the wife of Othniel, the first judge. She is known for asking her father for springs of water at the time of her marriage and receiving the upper and nether springs.
Mizpah
[Bible]Mizpah is an Old Testament place name meaning "watchtower" or "lookout." Several places bore this name. The best known is Mizpah in the territory of Benjamin, where Samuel assembled Israel for repentance and prayer.
Gleaning
[Bible]Gleaning was an Old Testament legal institution requiring that fallen ears of grain and leftover fruit be left at harvest for the poor and the stranger to gather. It is best known from the Book of Ruth, where Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz.
Continual Burnt Offering
[Bible]The continual burnt offering was the regular burnt offering of Old Testament Israel in which the priest burned one young lamb every morning and another every evening. It is prescribed in Exodus 29 and Numbers 28.
Jehoram (King of Judah)
[People]Jehoram was an Old Testament king of the southern kingdom of Judah, the son of Jehoshaphat and the husband of Athaliah, daughter of Ahab. His reign is recorded in 2 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 21.
Firstfruits
[Bible]Firstfruits were an Old Testament offering to God of the first grain and produce harvested from the land each year. In the New Testament the term is used figuratively for the risen Christ and for those who were the first to believe.
Purification after Childbirth
[Bible]Purification after childbirth is an Old Testament ordinance under which a woman who had given birth, after completing a prescribed period, brought offerings to the sanctuary to have her ritual purity restored. It is set out in Leviticus 12, and in Luke 2 Mary observes it.
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.
Shinar
[Bible]Shinar is an Old Testament place name for southern Mesopotamia, the region where Babylon later stood. It is best known as the setting of the Tower of Babel narrative.
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.
Ram
[People]Ram was an Old Testament figure of the tribe of Judah, the son of Hezron and the father of Amminadab. His name appears in the genealogies of David in Ruth and 1 Chronicles and in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew.
Timnah
[Bible]Timnah is an Old Testament town in the border region between the tribes of Judah and Dan. It is best known as the place where Samson sought to marry a Philistine woman.