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Sin Offering
[Bible]The sin offering is one of the Old Testament sacrifices prescribed in Leviticus. It was offered for sins committed unknowingly and for ritual impurity, and its rite involved putting an animal's blood on the altar and sprinkling it. The New Testament connects it with the death of Christ.
Hasmonean Dynasty
[History]The Hasmonean dynasty was a Jewish priestly dynasty that ruled Judea following the Maccabean Revolt of the second century BC. It came to an end when Herod took Jerusalem in 37 BC.
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
[Denominations]The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, officially the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, is an ancient Christian church centered in Ethiopia. It belongs to the Oriental Orthodox churches, which did not accept the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon.
Naamah
[People]Naamah was a wife of Solomon and the mother of Rehoboam, king of Judah. First Kings and Second Chronicles identify her as an Ammonite. A different woman with the same name appears in Genesis.
Nadab (King of Israel)
[People]Nadab was the son of Jeroboam, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He succeeded his father and reigned for two years before being assassinated in a revolt led by Baasha. His death brought the dynasty of Jeroboam to an end.
Myrrh
[Bible]Myrrh is the fragrant resin of trees native to southern Arabia and northeastern Africa. In the Bible it was used as a spice, a cosmetic, and an ingredient in the holy anointing oil, and it appears as one of the gifts of the Magi and as a burial spice for Jesus.
Mount Ebal
[Bible]Mount Ebal is a mountain north of Shechem that faces Mount Gerizim. There, in obedience to Moses' command, Joshua built an altar and inscribed the law, and the curses of the law were proclaimed.
Hoshea (King of Israel)
[People]Hoshea was the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He came to the throne by killing Pekah, and during his reign Assyria captured the capital, Samaria, bringing the northern kingdom to an end (2 Kings 17).
Leaven
[Bible]Leaven is fermented dough used to make bread rise. In the Old Testament it appears in the regulations for the Feast of Unleavened Bread and for sacrificial offerings. In the New Testament it serves as an image both of the kingdom of God and of evil teaching and sin.
Levitical Cities
[Bible]The Levitical cities were the forty-eight cities, together with their surrounding pasturelands, that the tribes of Israel set aside as dwelling places for the tribe of Levi, which received no land as an inheritance. The six cities of refuge were among them.
Queen Mother
[Bible]The queen mother is a biblical term for a woman who, as the mother of the king, held an official position at the royal court. It is best known from the account of King Asa of Judah removing his mother Maachah from this position.
Perez
[People]Perez was one of the twin sons born to Judah and Tamar. He is recorded in the genealogies of Ruth and Matthew 1 as an ancestor of David and of Jesus Christ.
Mesha Stele
[History]The Mesha Stele is a basalt monument erected in the mid-ninth century BC by Mesha, king of Moab, to commemorate his victory over Israel. It is known as an ancient extrabiblical record that mentions persons and events connected with 2 Kings 3.
El-bethel
[Bible]El-bethel, meaning "God of Bethel," is the name Jacob gave to the place when he returned to Bethel and built an altar there (Genesis 35:7).
Polycarp
[People]Polycarp (c. 69–c. 155) was a second-century bishop of the church at Smyrna in Asia Minor and a martyr. He was an Apostolic Father, traditionally regarded as a disciple of the apostle John.
Massacre of the Innocents
[Bible]The Massacre of the Innocents was the killing, ordered by King Herod, of all male children two years old and under in Bethlehem and its surrounding region in an attempt to eliminate the newborn "King of the Jews." It is recorded only in Matthew 2.
King's Highway
[Bible]The King's Highway is the road the Israelites under Moses named when they asked Edom and Sihon king of the Amorites for permission to pass through their lands. It is known as an ancient trade route running north and south across the plateau east of the Jordan River.
Betrothal
[Bible]In the Bible, betrothal (espousal) is the stage before marriage in which a man and a woman become legally bound to each other. It appears in Old Testament law and in the account of Mary and Joseph, and it also serves as an image of the relationship between God and his people and between Christ and the church.
Marian Veneration
[Doctrine & Theology]Marian veneration is the devotional practice of giving special honor and reverence to Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. It is a tradition of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Most Protestants respect Mary as an example of faith but do not make her an object of prayer or veneration.
Rhema
[Bible]Rhema (ῥῆμα) is a Greek word used in the New Testament meaning "word" or "saying." Some churches, including many in Korea, distinguish it from logos and use it in the sense of "a word God gives to an individual." This distinction is disputed.