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Court of the Gentiles
[Bible]The Court of the Gentiles was the large outermost court of the Jerusalem temple as enlarged by Herod, a space that non-Jews were also permitted to enter. It is commonly understood to be the site where Jesus cleansed the temple.
Maundy Thursday
[Feasts & Seasons]Maundy Thursday is the Thursday immediately before Easter. A Holy Week observance, it commemorates the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples, at which he instituted the Lord's Supper and washed the disciples' feet.
Arphaxad
[People]Arphaxad was the son of Shem, the son of Noah. In the genealogies of Genesis he is one link in the line running from Shem to Abraham, and his name also appears in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.
Nain
[Bible]Nain was a small village in southern Galilee. It is mentioned only once in the Bible, in Luke 7:11, as the setting of the account in which Jesus raised a widow's only son.
Cyrene
[Bible]Cyrene was a Greek city on the northeastern coast of present-day Libya in North Africa. In the New Testament it appears as the hometown of Simon, who carried the cross for Jesus, and as the place of origin of early Christian evangelists who preached the gospel to Gentiles in Antioch.
Rufus
[People]Rufus appears in the Gospel of Mark as a son of Simon of Cyrene, the man compelled to carry the cross of Jesus. Scholars differ on whether he is the same Rufus whom Paul greets in Romans 16.
Mary, Wife of Clopas
[People]Mary, the wife of Clopas, was one of the women who stood by Jesus at his crucifixion. A New Testament figure, she appears under this name only in John 19:25.
Veronica
[People]Veronica is a woman known only from church tradition; her name does not appear in the Bible. Tradition holds that she wiped the face of Jesus with a cloth as he carried the cross, and it identifies her with the woman with the issue of blood in the Gospels.
Rabbi
[Bible]Rabbi is a Hebrew and Aramaic title of respect meaning "my teacher." In the New Testament Gospels, disciples and others use it to address Jesus and John the Baptist.
Veil (Tabernacle and Temple)
[Bible]The veil was the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple. The Gospels record that the veil of the temple was torn when Jesus died on the cross.
Corban
[Bible]Corban is a Hebrew word meaning "an offering given to God." In the New Testament it appears in Mark 7:11, in a passage where Jesus criticizes the practice of using a vow to avoid supporting one's parents.
Caesar Augustus
[People]Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire. Luke 2:1 records his decree that all the world should be taxed, which forms the background to the birth of Jesus.
Quirinius
[People]Quirinius (Cyrenius in the KJV) was the Roman official whom Luke 2:2 records as governor of Syria when the Roman emperor issued his decree of enrollment. He is frequently discussed in efforts to date the birth of Jesus.
Idumea
[Bible]Idumea is the Greek name for the region south of Judea where the Edomites of old migrated and settled. In the Bible it appears in Mark 3:8 as one of the places from which crowds came to Jesus.
Peleg
[People]Peleg is a son of Eber in the genealogy of Shem in Genesis. His name is accompanied by the explanation that "in his days was the earth divided," and he belongs to the line that runs through Abraham to the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.
Kenan
[People]Kenan was the son of Enosh, Adam's grandson, and the father of Mahalalel. He appears in the antediluvian genealogy of Genesis 5. In Luke's genealogy of Jesus, his name is given as Cainan.
Antisemitism
[History]Antisemitism is hostility toward and discrimination against Jews as an ethnic and religious group. In Christian history, the charge that "the Jews killed Jesus" long served as its justification.
Christmas Dawn Caroling (Saebyeoksong)
[Christian Life]Christmas dawn caroling (saebyeoksong) is a custom of Korean churches in which members go in groups, in the early hours of Christmas Day, to the homes of fellow members and sing Christmas hymns to announce the birth of Jesus.
Daughter of Zion
[Bible]The Daughter of Zion is a poetic Old Testament expression that personifies Jerusalem and its inhabitants as a woman. It appears frequently in the Prophets and in Lamentations, and the New Testament quotes the title in its accounts of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.
Alabaster Box
[Bible]An alabaster box is a small stone vessel for holding perfumed ointment. It is best known from the Gospel accounts of a woman who poured costly ointment from an alabaster box on Jesus.