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Purim
[Bible]Purim is a Jewish festival observed on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews in the Persian period from Haman's plot to annihilate them. It is instituted in Esther 9.
Lampstand
[Bible]The lampstand was a furnishing of pure gold that stood in the Holy Place of the tabernacle and the temple. It had a single central shaft with six branches and held seven lamps. In Hebrew it is called the menorah.
Ephod
[Bible]The ephod was a vest-like outer garment worn by the high priest in the Old Testament. Priests also wore a linen ephod, and the ephod served as a means of inquiring of God's will.
Anointing
[Bible]Anointing is a biblical rite in which oil is poured on or applied to a person or object to set it apart for God. In the Old Testament it was performed when priests, kings, and prophets were installed, and the titles "Messiah" and "Christ" derive from this term.
Pharisees
[Bible]The Pharisees were a group within Judaism in the New Testament era. They strictly observed the Law of Moses and "the tradition of the elders," and in the Gospels they appear chiefly as opponents who dispute with Jesus.
Twelve Tribes of Israel
[Bible]The Twelve Tribes of Israel are the twelve divisions of the people of Israel descended from the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel). In the Old Testament they were the units by which the land was allotted and the people organized; in the New Testament they serve as a symbol of the whole people of God.
Herodians
[Bible]The Herodians were a group mentioned in the New Testament Gospels and are generally understood to have been supporters of the Herodian dynasty. They are portrayed as joining with the Pharisees in seeking to destroy Jesus or to entrap Him in His words.
Sadducees
[Bible]The Sadducees were a Jewish sect of the New Testament era centered on the high-priestly families and the aristocracy of the Jerusalem temple. Because they rejected the resurrection, angels, and spirits, they came into conflict with Jesus and the apostles.
Essenes
[Bible]The Essenes were a Jewish sect active around the time of Jesus, known for their communal life and strict purity regulations. They are not named in the Bible and are known from extra-biblical sources such as Josephus and Philo.
Samaritans
[Bible]The Samaritans were a people who lived in the region of Samaria in central Palestine, regarded Mount Gerizim as their place of worship, and accepted only the Five Books of Moses as Scripture. In the New Testament period they were bitterly at odds with the Jews.
Hellenistic Jews
[Bible]The Hellenistic Jews were a group mentioned in the book of Acts: Jews whose primary language was Greek, generally those who had lived outside Palestine before coming to Jerusalem. They were found both within and outside the early church.
Adonai
[Bible]Adonai is a Hebrew word meaning "my Lord," used in the Old Testament as a title for God. In Judaism, readers did not pronounce the divine name (YHWH) directly but substituted this word in its place.
The Resurrection Chapter
[Bible]The Resurrection Chapter is a name for 1 Corinthians 15 in the New Testament. In this chapter Paul gives his most extensive treatment of the resurrection of Christ and the bodily resurrection of believers on the last day.
Midian
[Bible]Midian was a people said to descend from Midian, the son of Abraham and Keturah. In the Bible they appear both as the family into which Moses married and, during the period of the judges, as an enemy that oppressed Israel.
Selah
[Bible]Selah is a Hebrew word that appears in the Old Testament book of Psalms and in Habakkuk 3. Many interpreters regard it as a marker related to singing or recitation, but its exact meaning remains unknown.
Faith Chapter
[Bible]The "Faith Chapter" is a common name for Hebrews 11. After defining faith, the chapter recounts in turn what Old Testament figures, from Abel to the prophets, did "by faith."
Immanuel
[Bible]Immanuel is a Hebrew name meaning "God is with us." It first appears as the name of a child given as a sign in Isaiah 7:14, and Matthew 1:23 applies it to the birth of Jesus.
Ammon
[Bible]Ammon was a people whom the Bible describes as the descendants of Ben-ammi, the son of Lot. Living east of the Jordan River, the Ammonites were a neighboring nation related to Israel by kinship, yet frequently in conflict with it.
Logos
[Bible]Logos (λόγος) is a Greek word meaning "word" or "reason." In the prologue of the Gospel of John, it serves as a title for Jesus Christ, who existed before creation and became flesh. The Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong) renders it as "Word."
Hallelujah
[Bible]Hallelujah is a Hebrew exclamation meaning "Praise the LORD." In the Old Testament it appears only in the Psalms, and in the New Testament only in Revelation 19. Today it is widely used in churches as an expression of praise and as a greeting.