Search the encyclopedia

Search the Bible

1000 articles found for “the measuring guide”

• Leprosy

  [Bible]

  Leprosy is the biblical term for an "unclean" disease of the skin and for blemishes on garments and houses. Leviticus sets out the regulations for its diagnosis and for purification, and leprosy also figures in the accounts of Miriam, Naaman, and Uzziah and in the healing narratives of Jesus.

• Gath

  [Bible]

  Gath was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines in the Old Testament. It was the hometown of Goliath and the place where David sought refuge while fleeing from Saul.

• Agag

  [People]

  Agag was a king of the Amalekites during the reign of King Saul. First Samuel 15 records that Saul disobeyed God's command by sparing him, an act that led to Saul's rejection as king.

• Mesopotamia

  [Bible]

  Mesopotamia is the region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and the homeland of Abraham. It is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments.

• Archangel

  [Bible]

  An archangel is a chief of the angels. In the Bible the term appears only in two New Testament passages, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Jude 1:9. Michael is the only being whom Scripture both names and calls an archangel.

• Jehovah-nissi

  [Bible]

  Jehovah-nissi is the name Moses gave to the altar he built after Israel's victory over Amalek in Exodus 17. It means "The LORD is my banner."

• Aaron's Rod That Budded

  [Bible]

  An event recorded in Numbers 17 in which, of the rods belonging to the leaders of the twelve tribes, only Aaron's rod sprouted, blossomed, and bore fruit overnight. It is recorded as a sign confirming that God had chosen the house of Aaron for the priesthood.

• Rabbah

  [Bible]

  Rabbah was the capital of the Ammonites, east of the Jordan River. During David's reign, Uriah was killed while Joab was besieging the city. It is generally identified with the site of Amman, the present-day capital of Jordan.

• Benaiah

  [People]

  Benaiah was a warrior who commanded King David's bodyguard and, under King Solomon, succeeded Joab as commander of the army. He appears in 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles.

• Elhanan

  [People]

  Elhanan was an Israelite warrior who killed a Philistine giant during the wars of King David's reign. He appears briefly in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles and is often discussed in connection with a textual question about who killed Goliath.

• Apostasy

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Apostasy is the public abandonment or denial of the Christian faith by a person who once professed it. Denominations differ on whether a true believer can commit apostasy.

• Widow

  [Bible]

  A woman whose husband has died. The Old Testament law designated widows, along with the fatherless and the stranger, as people to be protected. In the New Testament, widows appear both as recipients of the early church's relief and care and as examples of faith.

• Cornerstone

  [Bible]

  A cornerstone is an important stone set at the corner of a building to align its walls and stabilize its structure. It appears in Psalm 118 and Isaiah 28, and the New Testament takes up the image as a reference to Jesus Christ.

• Herem

  [Bible]

  Herem is the Old Testament practice of devoting people or objects wholly to God, removing them from ordinary use and usually destroying them. The term is often rendered "utter destruction" or "devotion to destruction."

• Mount Horeb

  [Bible]

  Mount Horeb is the mountain the Old Testament calls "the mountain of God." There Moses received God's call from the flame of the burning bush, Israel received the covenant, and Elijah met God. It is generally understood to be the same mountain as Mount Sinai.

• Excommunication

  [Organization & Polity]

  Excommunication is the most severe stage of church discipline, in which the church removes an unrepentant member who has sinned from the church community and revokes that person's membership.

• 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.

• Brothers of Jesus

  [Bible]

  A collective term for James, Joseph (Joses), Simon, and Judas, who are called the "brothers" of Jesus in the New Testament, together with his unnamed sisters. Christian traditions differ in their understanding of how these individuals were related to Jesus.

• El Shaddai

  [Bible]

  El Shaddai is one of the Hebrew names for God in the Old Testament, conventionally rendered "God Almighty" or "Almighty God." It appears chiefly in the covenant promises and blessings given to the patriarchs.

• Amram

  [People]

  Amram was a son of Kohath of the tribe of Levi, the husband of Jochebed, and the father of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. His name appears in genealogical passages such as Exodus 6 and Numbers 26.