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1000 articles found for “God; humankind”
Tarshish
[Bible]Tarshish is an Old Testament place name for a distant land across the sea. Scripture portrays it as a center of trade in metals such as silver and tin, and it is best known as the destination to which Jonah tried to flee from God.
Fiery Serpents
[Bible]The fiery serpents were venomous snakes that bit the Israelites, killing many, after the people murmured against God in the wilderness, as recorded in Numbers 21. The episode forms the background to the account of the bronze serpent that Moses made.
Holy Place
[Bible]The holy place, or sanctuary, is a sacred place set apart for God. In its narrower sense, it refers to the outer room of the tabernacle and the temple, located in front of the Most Holy Place, where the lampstand, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense stood.
Hardness of Heart
[Doctrine & Theology]Hardness of heart is a biblical expression for a state in which the heart has become hardened and obstinate against the word and will of God. It appears most prominently in the account of Pharaoh in the Book of Exodus.
False Prophet
[Bible]A false prophet, in biblical usage, is a prophet who claims to speak the word of God without having been sent by God, or who leads people away from God.
Eliab
[People]Eliab was the firstborn son of Jesse of Bethlehem and the eldest brother of David. He is best known from the account in which Samuel, judging by his appearance, assumed he was the one chosen to be king, but God rejected him, declaring that the LORD "looketh on the heart."
Jabez
[People]Jabez is a figure in the genealogy of the tribe of Judah in 1 Chronicles 4. He is known for a brief prayer in which he asked God for blessing and protection.
Jahaziel
[People]Jahaziel was a Levite in the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. When a coalition of Moabites and Ammonites invaded, he was moved by the Spirit and prophesied that "the battle is not yours, but God's" (2 Chronicles 20).
Brook Cherith
[Bible]The Brook Cherith is a stream near the Jordan River where, according to 1 Kings 17, the prophet Elijah hid at God's command during a drought and was sustained by food that ravens brought to him.
Plumb Line
[Bible]A plumb line is a cord with a weight attached, used to check whether a wall stands straight. Because it appears in Amos 7, in a vision of God measuring Israel for judgment, it came to signify God's standard and His judgment.
Hanani
[People]Hanani was a seer (prophet) in the reign of King Asa of Judah. He was imprisoned after rebuking the king for relying on the king of Aram instead of on God. He appears in 2 Chronicles 16 and is also recorded as the father of the prophet Jehu.
Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
[Bible]The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is the event in which Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem and presented him to God after the period of purification prescribed by the Law had passed. It is recorded in Luke 2.
Lo-ruhamah
[People]Lo-ruhamah was the daughter of the prophet Hosea and his wife Gomer and appears in Hosea 1. Her name means "not having obtained mercy" and symbolizes God's judgment that He would no longer have mercy on the northern kingdom of Israel.
Tassels
[Bible]Tassels (fringes) were the cords that the people of Israel attached to the four corners of their outer garments in accordance with Old Testament law. They served as a sign reminding the wearer of God's commandments. In the New Testament they are frequently discussed in connection with the account of the woman with the issue of blood who touched the edge of Jesus' garment.
Mahanaim
[Bible]Mahanaim was a town in the region of Gilead, east of the Jordan River. Jacob met the angels of God there, and its name means "two camps." It later became the capital from which Ish-bosheth reigned, and David took refuge there during Absalom's rebellion.
Clean and Unclean
[Bible]Clean and unclean is the distinction in Old Testament law 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.
Censer
[Bible]A censer was a portable vessel used in the tabernacle and the Temple to hold live coals from the altar, either for burning incense or for carrying fire. In the Book of Revelation, it appears as a golden censer offered before God together with the prayers of the saints.
Olive Tree
[Bible]The olive tree is an evergreen fruit tree of the Mediterranean world and the land of Canaan. In Scripture it serves as an image of anointing, of the flourishing of God's people, and of the relationship between Israel and the Gentiles.
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.
Obed-edom
[People]Obed-edom was the owner of the house where the Ark of the Covenant remained for three months during the reign of King David. Scripture records that God blessed him and his entire household during that time. Chronicles also presents him as a Levite gatekeeper.