Language – Some View on the World

E´Lam – ēʹlam

E´LAM (ēʹlam; “hidden”). The name of an ancient land (see article below) and of several persons in the Bible. 1. The first named of the sons of Shem (Gen. 10:22; 1 Chron. 1:17). His descendants probably settled in that part of Persia that was afterward frequently called by this name. 2. A head man ofContinue reading “E´Lam – ēʹlam”

Eʹbed – servant

E´BED (eʹbed; “servant”). 1. The father of Gaal (which see), who headed the insurrection at Shechem against Abimelech (Judg. 9:26–35), about 1100 b.c. 2. Son of Jonathan and head of the descendants of Adin, who returned (to the number of fifty males) from the captivity (Ezra 8:6), about 457 b.c. The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, Merrill F. Unger

E´bal = ēʹbal

E´BAL (ēʹbal; to be “bare,” a “stone”). 1. A variant reading (1 Chron. 1:22) for Obal (which see). 2. One of the sons of Shobal, son of Seir the Horite, of Edom (Gen. 36:23; 1 Chron. 1:40). 3. A mountain opposite Gerizim (Deut. 11:29; Josh. 8:30, 33). In Deut. 27:4 the Samaritan Pentateuch has GerizimContinue reading “E´bal = ēʹbal”

Eating (figuratively)

EATING. See Food; Hospitality. Figurative. “To eat” is spoken metaphorically of meditating upon and assimilating the Word of God (Jer. 15:16; Ezek. 3:1–3; Rev. 10:9–10) and familiar intercourse (Luke 13:26; cf. Titus 1:16). To eat the “spoil of your enemies” (Deut. 20:14, marg.) is to make use of it for one’s own maintenance. Eating andContinue reading “Eating (figuratively)”

City of destruction = ˓ı̂r haheres = Ir-hahares

CITY OF DESTRUCTION; (˓ı̂r haheres; “city of destruction”; “Ir-hahares,” KJV). This place is mentioned only in Isa. 19:18. Various explanations are given as to the meaning of the word the NASB and NIV render “City of Destruction”: 1. “The city of the sun,” a translation of the Egyptian sacred name of Heliopolis. This is theContinue reading “City of destruction = ˓ı̂r haheres = Ir-hahares”

Crown of thorns

CROWN OF THORNS. The Roman soldiers made a crown out of some thorny plant and crowned our Lord in mockery (Matt. 27:29). “The object was not to cause suffering, but to excite ridicule; so that while we cannot altogether dissociate the idea of something painful from this crown of thorns we must not conceive ofContinue reading “Crown of thorns”

Conscience – conscientia – suneidēsis

CONSCIENCE (Lat. conscientia, “consciousness”; Gk. suneidēsis). The awareness that a proposed act is or is not conformable to one’s ideal of right and manifesting itself in the feeling of obligation or duty. The OT usually expresses the idea as “having [something] on the heart” (so the NIV in Gen. 20:5, 6; 1 Sam. 25:31; JobContinue reading “Conscience – conscientia – suneidēsis”

City of God, given to Jerusalem

City of God. A name given to Jerusalem (Ps. 46:4; cf. 48:1, 8), the appropriateness of which is evident from Deut. 12:5: “The place which the Lord your God shall choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come.” 5 But the place which Jehovah yourContinue reading “City of God, given to Jerusalem”

Bowing – act of respect and reverence

BOWING. An attitude of respect and reverence from the earliest times. Thus Abraham “bowed to the people of the land” (Gen. 23:7); Jacob, when he met Esau, “bowed down to the ground seven times” (33:3); and the brothers of Joseph “bowed down in homage” (43:28). The orientals in the presence of kings and princes oftenContinue reading “Bowing – act of respect and reverence”

Tannı̂m – drakōn – dragon – sea monster – jackal – desert animals and mythical monsters

Dragon (Heb. tannı̂m). The word dragon (Heb. tannı̂m; Gk. drakōn) appears much more frequently in the KJV than in the NASB and NIV, where it is sometimes replaced by the word jackal from Heb. tan (see also Whale, for another translation of tan and tannı̂m). In the NASB the word appears three times in theContinue reading “Tannı̂m – drakōn – dragon – sea monster – jackal – desert animals and mythical monsters”