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Michael
[Bible]Michael is an angel named in the Bible. In the book of Daniel he appears as the "great prince" who protects the people of Israel, in Jude as "the archangel," and in Revelation as the angel who fights the dragon.
Shechem
[Bible]Shechem was an ancient Canaanite city in the hill country of Ephraim, situated between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. In Scripture it appears as a major setting for covenant and political events from the patriarchal period through the division of the kingdom.
High Place
[Bible]A high place is an Old Testament term for a local site of sacrifice, often located on elevated ground; it translates the Hebrew word bamah. In the books of Kings, the high places frequently serve as a criterion for evaluating the faithfulness of the kings.
Barak
[People]Barak was an Israelite military leader in the period of the judges who, at the summons of the prophetess Deborah, defeated Sisera, the commander of the army of the Canaanite king Jabin. He appears in Judges 4–5 and is named among the people of faith in Hebrews 11.
Hur
[People]Hur was an Israelite leader who served alongside Moses and Aaron during the Exodus. He is best known for holding up Moses' hands with Aaron during the battle against Amalek.
Lamech
[People]Lamech is an antediluvian figure in Genesis who, in the line of Seth, was the son of Methuselah and the father of Noah. Genesis 4 also mentions another Lamech, a descendant of Cain.
Burnt Offering
[Bible]The burnt offering is an Old Testament sacrifice in which the offering was burned whole on the altar and presented to God. Its procedure is set out in detail in Leviticus 1.
Aristarchus
[People]Aristarchus was an early Christian from Thessalonica in Macedonia who accompanied Paul on his missionary travels and on his voyage to Rome. In Colossians, Paul calls this co-worker his "fellowprisoner."
Medes
[Bible]The Medes were an ancient people, and their kingdom, on the plateau of what is today northwestern Iran. The Old Testament prophesies that they would overthrow Babylon, and the books of Daniel and Esther name them together with the Persians as "the Medes and Persians."
Laban
[People]Laban was an Aramean of Haran who appears in the book of Genesis. The brother of Rebekah, the uncle of Jacob, and the father of Leah and Rachel, he kept Jacob in his household for twenty years.
Cubit
[Bible]The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. In the Bible it gives the dimensions of Noah's ark, the tabernacle, the temple, and other objects. It is generally estimated at roughly 45 cm.
Tiglath-pileser
[People]Tiglath-pileser was an eighth-century BC king of Assyria. In 2 Kings and Chronicles he appears as the ruler who conquered Galilee and the territory east of the Jordan belonging to the northern kingdom of Israel and carried its inhabitants into captivity.
Parents' Sunday
[Feasts & Seasons]Parents' Sunday is an observance of Korean Protestant churches, held on a Sunday near Korea's Parents' Day (May 8), to remember with gratitude the grace shown by parents and to reflect on the biblical teaching of honoring one's father and mother.
Great Tribulation
[Doctrine & Theology]The Great Tribulation is an eschatological term for a period of intense suffering said to occur immediately before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Interpretations of its duration and nature, and of whether the church will pass through it, vary among theological positions.
Gilead
[Bible]Gilead is an Old Testament place name for the highland region east of the Jordan River. It was known for livestock raising and spices, and Scripture names it as the home of the judge Jephthah and the prophet Elijah.
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.
Frankincense
[Bible]Frankincense is an aromatic substance made from the resin of trees native to southern Arabia and northeastern Africa. In the Old Testament it was used in the holy incense and the grain offering, and in the New Testament it appears as one of the gifts the wise men presented to the infant Jesus.
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.
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.
Drachma
[Bible]The drachma was an ancient Greek silver coin and monetary unit. In the New Testament it appears in the parable of the lost coin in Luke 15, and it is generally understood to have been worth about a laborer's daily wage.