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Dead Sea
[Bible]The Dead Sea is a salt lake in eastern Palestine into which the Jordan River flows. The Old Testament calls it the "Salt Sea," the "Sea of the Arabah," and the "Eastern Sea." It is known as the lowest lake on the earth's surface.
Theophany
[Doctrine & Theology]Theophany is a theological term for God's self-manifestation in a form or phenomenon that human beings can see, hear, or otherwise perceive.
Sychar
[Bible]Sychar is a town in the region of Samaria mentioned in John 4, where Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman beside Jacob's well. Scholars disagree about its exact location.
Hillel
[People]Hillel was a Jewish teacher of the Law, active from the late first century BC to the early first century AD, and the founder of the School of Hillel. He is known for the prosbul, a legal instrument connected with the release of debts in the sabbatical year, and for a teaching that resembles the Golden Rule.
Artemis of Ephesus
[Bible]Artemis was a goddess worshiped in ancient Ephesus and identified with the Artemis of Greek mythology; the King James Version calls her Diana. In Acts 19, a riot breaks out in Ephesus when Paul's preaching of the gospel threatens the trade in silver models of her image.
Sheshbazzar
[People]Sheshbazzar was a leader of Judah who, during the reign of the Persian king Cyrus, received the vessels of the Jerusalem temple and led the first return of the Babylonian exiles. He appears in Ezra 1 and 5.
Tophet
[Bible]Tophet was a site in the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem. The Old Testament presents it as a place where children were burned as offerings in idolatrous worship, and the prophet Jeremiah made it a symbol of judgment.
Hasmonean Dynasty
[History]The Hasmonean dynasty was a Jewish priestly dynasty that ruled Judea following the Maccabean Revolt of the second century BC. It came to an end when Herod took Jerusalem in 37 BC.
Messianic Secret
[Doctrine & Theology]The Messianic Secret is a term in New Testament studies for the scenes in the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus repeatedly commands others not to reveal that he is the Messiah. The German theologian William Wrede named the motif in the early twentieth century, and it has since become a major theme in Gospel research.
Archelaus
[People]Archelaus was a son of Herod the Great who ruled Judea after his father's death. He is mentioned only once in Scripture, in Matthew 2:22, as the reason Joseph's family settled in Nazareth after returning from Egypt.
El Elyon
[Bible]El Elyon is a Hebrew title for God meaning "God Most High." It first appears in Genesis 14 as the name of the God whom Melchizedek served.
God-fearers
[Bible]"God-fearers" is a term for Gentiles of the New Testament era who believed in the God of the Jews and took part in synagogue worship but did not convert to Judaism by receiving circumcision. The expression appears frequently in the Book of Acts.
Documentary Hypothesis
[Doctrine & Theology]The Documentary Hypothesis is a theory in Old Testament scholarship holding that the Pentateuch is not the work of a single author but a compilation of several source documents written separately in different periods.
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.
Primeval History
[Bible]Primeval history is a scholarly term for Genesis 1–11, the part of Genesis that precedes Abraham and recounts the beginnings of the world and of humanity as a whole rather than of a particular people.
Kiriath-jearim
[Bible]Kiriath-jearim was a town on the border between Judah and Benjamin. It is known as the place where the Ark of the Covenant, after its return from Philistia, remained in the house of Abinadab until David brought it to Jerusalem.
Joseph Barsabbas
[People]Joseph Barsabbas was a disciple in the early church who was put forward, together with Matthias, as a candidate to fill the apostolic office left vacant by Judas Iscariot. He was surnamed Justus, and when lots were cast, Matthias was chosen.
Milcah
[People]Milcah is a woman in the Book of Genesis, the daughter of Haran and the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother. She was the mother of Bethuel and the grandmother of Rebekah, the wife of Isaac.
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.
Joktan
[People]Joktan was a son of Eber, a descendant of Shem, and the younger brother of Peleg. He appears with his thirteen sons in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 and is commonly regarded as the ancestor of various tribes of southern Arabia.