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Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
[Bible]The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector is a parable of Jesus found in Luke 18:9–14. It tells how a tax collector who pleaded for mercy, rather than a Pharisee who boasted of his own righteousness, went home justified. The parable teaches about humility and the proper attitude in prayer.
Parable of the Sheep and the Goats
[Bible]The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats is Jesus' teaching in Matthew 25:31-46, in which the returning Son of Man judges all nations by separating them as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. Through this scene Jesus teaches that whatever is done for the least of his brethren is done for him.
The Vine and the Branches
[Bible]A figurative saying in John 15 in which Jesus compares himself to a vine and his disciples to its branches, teaching that they bear fruit only by abiding in him.
Urim and Thummim
[Bible]The Urim and Thummim were objects in the Old Testament that the high priest carried in the breastplate of judgment and used when seeking God's will. Scripture does not describe their appearance or explain how they were used.
Seraphim and Cherubim
[Bible]Seraphim and cherubim are winged heavenly beings in the Old Testament who appear near God's throne and in holy places. The seraphim praise God in Isaiah 6, and the cherubim appear in the Garden of Eden, on the ark of the covenant, in the temple, and in Ezekiel's visions.
Chapters and Verses of the Bible
[Bible]The chapters and verses of the Bible are a numbering system added to make biblical passages easier to locate and cite. The divisions were not part of the original texts; the chapter divisions are generally dated to the thirteenth century and the New Testament verse numbers to the sixteenth century.
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
[Bible]The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the tree in the midst of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2–3 whose fruit God commanded Adam not to eat, but which Adam and Eve ate. In Korean it is commonly called the seonakgwa, "the fruit of good and evil."
Seven Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls
[Bible]The seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls are visions in Revelation 6–16 in which God's judgments unfold in three successive series of seven. Interpreters differ on how the three series relate to one another and when they occur.
Alpha and Omega
[Bible]Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In the Book of Revelation, both God and Jesus Christ use the phrase as a self-designation. It signifies the First and the Last, the One who governs the beginning and the end of all things.
Nadab and Abihu
[People]Nadab and Abihu were the eldest and second sons of Aaron. Appointed as priests, they offered incense with "strange fire," which the LORD had not commanded, and were killed by fire that came out from before the LORD.
Abana and Pharpar
[Bible]Abana and Pharpar are two rivers of Damascus that Naaman, the commander of the Aramean army, compared with the Jordan River in 2 Kings 5.
Dathan and Abiram
[People]Dathan and Abiram were brothers of the tribe of Reuben, sons of Eliab, who joined Korah in rebelling against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness after the Exodus. They are known for the incident in which the earth split open and swallowed them and their households.
Shiphrah and Puah
[People]Shiphrah and Puah were two midwives (women who assisted at childbirth) mentioned in Exodus 1. Because they feared God, they refused to obey the Egyptian king's command to kill Hebrew baby boys.
Clean and Unclean
[Bible]Clean and unclean is the Old Testament legal distinction 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 on the same day 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 that was 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.
Testing (Trial and Temptation)
[Christian Life]In Christian usage, the Korean term *siheom* ("testing") refers both to a trial that refines faith and to a temptation that leads toward sin. In Korean churches it is also widely used, as in the expression *siheom deulda* ("to fall into testing"), to describe a state in which a person's faith has been shaken or his or her feelings have been hurt.
Epicureans and Stoics
[Bible]The Epicureans and the Stoics were two Greek philosophical schools whose adherents debated with Paul when he visited Athens, as recorded in Acts 17. Their encounter with him forms the background of Paul's sermon at the Areopagus.
The First and the Last
[Bible]"The First and the Last" is a biblical title declaring 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.