ABINOAM
father of kindness, the father of Barak (Judg. 4:6;5:1).......
ADINO
the Eznite, one of David's mighty men (2-Sam 23:8). (See JASHOBEAM.) ......
AENON
springs, a place near Salim where John baptized (John 3:23). It was probably near the upper source of the Wady Far'ah, an open valley extending from Mount Ebal to the Jordan. It is full of springs. A place has been found called 'Ainun, four miles north of the springs.......
AHINOAM
brother of pleasantness = pleasant. (1.) The daughter of Ahimaaz, and wife of Saul (1-Sam 14:50). (2.) A Jezreelitess, the first wife of David (1-Sam 25:43;27:3). She was the mother of Amnon (2-Sam 3:2). (See 1-Sam 30:5, 1-Sam 30: 18; 2-Sam 2:2.)......
AMNON
faithful. (1.) One of the sons of Shammai, of the children of Ezra (1-Chr 4:20; comp. 17). (2.) The eldest son of David, by Ahinoam of Jezreel (1-Chr 3:1; 2-Sam 3:2). Absalom caused him to be put to death for his great crime in the matter of Tamar (2-Sam 13:28, 2-Sam 13: 29).......
ANOINT
The practice of anointing with perfumed oil was common among the Hebrews. (1.) The act of anointing was significant of consecration to a holy or sacred use; hence the anointing of the high priest (Exo 29:29; Lev. 4:3) and of the sacred vessels (Exo 30:26). The high priest and the king are thus called "the anointed" (Lev. 4:3, Lev. 4: 5, 16;6:20; Psa 132:10). Anointing a king was equivalent to crow......
ARNON
swift, the southern boundary of the territory of Israel beyond Jordan, separating it from the land of Moab (Deut. 3:8, Deut. 3: 16). This river (referred to twenty-four times in the Bible) rises in the mountains of Gilead, and after a circuitous course of about 80 miles through a deep ravine it falls into the Dead Sea nearly opposite Engedi. The stream is almost dry in summer. It is now called el-......
ASTRONOMY
The Hebrews were devout students of the wonders of the starry firmanent (Amos 5:8; Ps. 19). In the Book of Job, which is the oldest book of the Bible in all probability, the constellations are distinguished and named. Mention is made of the "morning star" (Rev. 2:28; comp. Isa. 14:12), the "seven stars" and "Pleiades," "Orion," "Arcturus," the "Great Bear" (Amos 5:8; Job 9:9;38:31), "the crooked s......
BETH-ANOTH
house of answers, a city in the mountainous district of Judah (Josh. 15:59). It has been identified with the modern Beit-'Anun, about 3 miles northeast of Hebron.......
CANON
This word is derived from a Hebrew and Greek word denoting a reed or cane. Hence it means something straight, or something to keep straight; and hence also a rule, or something ruled or measured. It came to be applied to the Scriptures, to denote that they contained the authoritative rule of faith and practice, the standard of doctrine and duty. A book is said to be of canonical authority when it ......
CHRONOLOGY
is the arrangement of facts and events in the order of time. The writers of the Bible themselves do not adopt any standard era according to which they date events. Sometimes the years are reckoned, e.g., from the time of the Exodus (Num. 1:1;33:38; 1-Kings 6:1), and sometimes from the accession of kings (1-Kings 15:1, 1-Kings 15: 9, 25, 33, etc.), and sometimes again from the return from Exile (Ez......
DEUTERONOMY
In all the Hebrew manuscripts the Pentateuch (q.v.) forms one roll or volume divided into larger and smaller sections called _parshioth_ and _sedarim_. It is not easy to say when it was divided into five books. This was probably first done by the Greek translators of the book, whom the Vulgate follows. The fifth of these books was called by the Greeks Deuteronomion, i.e., the second law, hence our......
ENOCH
initiated. (1.) The eldest son of Cain (Gen. 4:17), who built a city east of Eden in the land of Nod, and called it "after the name of his son Enoch." This is the first "city" mentioned in Scripture. (2.) The son of Jared, and father of Methuselah (Gen. 5:21; Luke 3:37). His father was one hundred and sixty-two years old when he was born. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch "walked with God thr......
ENOS
man the son of Seth, and grandson of Adam (Gen. 5:6; Luke 3:38). He lived nine hundred and five years. In his time "men began to call upon the name of the Lord" (Gen. 4:26), meaning either (1) then began men to call themselves by the name of the Lord (marg.) i.e., to distinguish themselves thereby from idolaters; or (2) then men in some public and earnest way began to call upon the Lord, indicatin......
FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD
Acts 2:23; Rom. 8:29;11:2; 1-Pet 1:2), one of those high attributes essentially appertaining to him the full import of which we cannot comprehend. In the most absolute sense his knowledge is infinite (1-Sam 23:9; Jer. 38:17;42:9, 42: Matt. 11:21, Matt. 11: 23; Acts 15:18). ......
GOVERNOR
(1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2-Chr 28:7; comp. 1-Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1-Chr 9:11; Jer. 20:1), the leader of the Aaronites (1-Chr 12:27), keeper of the sacred treasury (26:24), captain of the army (13:1), the king (1-Sam 9:16), the Messiah (Dan. 9:25). (2.) Heb. nasi, raised; exalted. Used to denote the chiefs ......
HENOCH
See ENOCH. ......
HINNOM
a deep, narrow ravine separating Mount Zion from the so-called "Hill of Evil Counsel." It took its name from "some ancient hero, the son of Hinnom." It is first mentioned in Josh. 15:8. It had been the place where the idolatrous Jews burned their children alive to Moloch and Baal. A particular part of the valley was called Tophet, or the "fire-stove," where the children were burned. After the Exil......
ISHBI-BENOB
my seat at Nob, one of the Rephaim, whose spear was three hundred shekels in weight. He was slain by Abishai (2-Sam 21:16, 2-Sam 21: 17). ......
JANOAH
or Jano'hah, rest. (1.) A town on the north-eastern border of Ephraim, in the Jordan valley (Josh. 16:6, Josh. 16: 7). Identified with the modern Yanun, 8 miles south-east of Nablus. (2.) A town of Northern Palestine, within the boundaries of Naphtali. It was taken by the king of Assyria (2-Kings 15:29). ......
KNOCK
"Though Orientals are very jealous of their privacy, they never knock when about to enter your room, but walk in without warning or ceremony. It is nearly impossible to teach an Arab servant to knock at your door. They give warning at the outer gate either by calling or knocking. To stand and call is a very common and respectful mode. Thus Moses commanded the holder of a pledge to stand without an......
KNOP
some architectural ornament. (1.) Heb. kaphtor (Exo 25:31), occurring in the description of the candlestick. It was an ornamental swell beneath the cups of the candlestick, probably an imitation of the fruit of the almond. (2.) Heb. peka'im, found only in 1-Kings 6:18 7:24, 7: an ornament resembling a small gourd or an egg, on the cedar wainscot in the temple and on the castings on the brim of t......
LEANNOTH
for answering; i.e., in singing, occurs in the title to Ps. 88. The title "Mahalath (q.v.) Leannoth" may be rendered "concerning sickness, to be sung" i.e., perhaps, to be sung in sickness. ......
LEBANON
white, "the white mountain of Syria," is the loftiest and most celebrated mountain range in Syria. It is a branch running southward from the Caucasus, and at its lower end forking into two parallel ranges, the eastern or Anti-Lebanon, and the western or Lebanon proper. They enclose a long valley (Josh. 11:17) of from 5 to 8 miles in width, called by Roman writers Coele-Syria, now called el-Buka'a,......
MAHALATH LEANNOTH MASCHIL
This word leannoth seems to point to some kind of instrument unknown (Ps. 88, title). The whole phrase has by others been rendered, "On the sickness of affliction: a lesson;" or, "Concerning afflictive sickness: a didactic psalm." ......
MANOAH
rest, a Danite, the father of Samson (Judg. 13:1, Judg. 13: 14:2). ......
MERONOTHITE
a name given to Jehdeiah, the herdsman of the royal asses in the time of David and Solomon (1-Chr 27:30), probably as one being a native of some unknown town called Meronoth. ......
NEGINOTH
i.e., songs with instrumental accompaniment, found in the titles of Ps. 4; 6; 54; 55; 67; 76; rendered "stringed instruments," Hab. 3:19, Hab. 3: A.V. It denotes all kinds of stringed instruments, as the "harp," "psaltery," "viol," etc. The "chief musician on Neginoth" is the leader of that part of the temple choir which played on stringed instruments.......
NICANOR
conqueror, one of the seven deacons appointed in the apostolic Church (Acts 6:1). Nothing further is known of him. ......
NO
or No-A'mon, the home of Amon, the name of Thebes, the ancient capital of what is called the Middle Empire, in Upper or Southern Egypt. "The multitude of No" (Jer. 46:25) is more correctly rendered, as in the Revised Version, "Amon of No", i.e., No, where Jupiter Amon had his temple. In Ezek. 30:14, Ezek. 30: 16 it is simply called "No;" but in ver. 15 the name has the Hebrew Hamon prefixed to it,......
NOADIAH
meeting with the Lord. (1.) A Levite who returned from Babylon (Ezra 8:33). (2.) A false prophetess who assisted Tobiah and Sanballat against the Jews (Neh. 6:14). Being bribed by them, she tried to stir up discontent among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and so to embarrass Nehemiah in his great work of rebuilding the ruined walls of the city. ......
NOAH
rest, (Heb. Noah) the grandson of Methuselah (Gen. 5:25), who was for two hundred and fifty years contemporary with Adam, and the son of Lamech, who was about fifty years old at the time of Adam's death. This patriarch is rightly regarded as the connecting link between the old and the new world. He is the second great progenitor of the human family. The words of his father Lamech at his birth (G......
NOB
high place, a city of the priests, first mentioned in the history of David's wanderings (1-Sam 21:1). Here the tabernacle was then standing, and here Ahimelech the priest resided. (See AHIMELECH.) From Isa. 10:28 it seems to have been near Jerusalem. It has been identified by some with el-Isawiyeh, one mile and a half to the north-east of Jerusalem. But according to Isa. 10:28 it was on the south ......
NOBAH
howling. (1.) Num. 32:42. (2.) The name given to Kenath (q.v.) by Nobah when he conquered it. It was on the east of Gilead (Judg. 8:11). ......
NOBLEMAN
(Gr. basilikos, i.e., "king's man"), an officer of state (John 4:49) in the service of Herod Antipas. He is supposed to have been the Chuza, Herod's steward, whose wife was one of those women who "ministered unto the Lord of their substance" (Luke 8:3). This officer came to Jesus at Cana and besought him to go down to Capernaum and heal his son, who lay there at the point of death. Our Lord sent h......
NOD
exile; wandering; unrest, a name given to the country to which Cain fled (Gen.4:16). It lay on the east of Eden. ......
NODAB
noble, probably a tribe descended from one of the sons of Ishmael, with whom the trans-Jordanic tribes made war (1-Chr 5:19). ......
NOGAH
splendour, one of David's sons, born at Jerusalem (1-Chr 3:7). ......
NOPH
the Hebrew name of an Egyptian city (Isa. 19:13; Jer.2:16;44:1;46:14, 46: 19; Ezek. 30:13, Ezek. 30: 16). In Hos. 9:6 the Hebrew name is Moph, and is translated "Memphis," which is its Greek and Latin form. It was one of the most ancient and important cities of Egypt, and stood a little to the south of the modern Cairo, on the western bank of the Nile. It was the capital of Lower Egypt. Among the ......
NOPHAH
blast, a city of Moab which was occupied by the Amorites (Num. 21:30). ......
NORTH COUNTRY
a general name for the countries that lay north of Palestine. Most of the invading armies entered Palestine from the north (Isa. 41:25; Jer. 1:14, Jer. 1:15;50:3, 50:9, 50:41;51:48; Ezek. 26:7). ......
NORTHWARD
(Heb. tsaphon), a "hidden" or "dark place," as opposed to the sunny south (Deut. 3:27). A Hebrew in speaking of the points of the compass was considered as always having his face to the east, and hence "the left hand" (Gen. 14:15; Job 23:9) denotes the north. The "kingdoms of the north" are Chaldea, Assyria, Media, etc. ......
NOSE-JEWELS
Only mentioned in Isa. 3:21, Isa. 3: although refered to in Gen. 24:47, Gen. 24: Prov. 11:22, Prov. 11: Hos. 2:13. They were among the most valued of ancient female ornaments. They "were made of ivory or metal, and occasionally jewelled. They were more than an inch in diameter, and hung upon the mouth. Eliezer gave one to Rebekah which was of gold and weighed half a shekel...At the present day the......
ONO
a town of Benjamin, in the "plain of Ono" (1-Chr 8:12; Ezra 2:33); now Kefr 'Ana, 5 miles north of Lydda, and about 30 miles north-west of Jerusalem. Not succeeding in their attempts to deter Nehemiah from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Sanballat and Tobiah resorted to strategem, and pretending to wish a conference with him, they invited him to meet them at Ono. Four times they made the reques......
SNOW
Common in Palestine in winter (Psa 147:16). The snow on the tops of the Lebanon range is almost always within view throughout the whole year. The word is frequently used figuratively by the sacred writers (Job 24:19; Psa 51:7;68:14; Isa. 1:18). It is mentioned only once in the historical books (2-Sam 23:20). It was "carried to Tyre, Sidon, and Damascus as a luxury, and labourers sweltering in the ......
SUCCOTH-BENOTH
tents of daughters, supposed to be the name of a Babylonian deity, the goddess Zir-banit, the wife of Merodach, worshipped by the colonists in Samaria (2-Kings 17:30). ......
TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL
stood in the midst of the garden of Eden, beside the tree of life (Gen. 2, 3). Adam and Eve were forbidden to take of the fruit which grew upon it. But they disobeyed the divine injunction, and so sin and death by sin entered our world and became the heritage of Adam's posterity. (See ADAM.) ......
WINNOW
Corn was winnowed, (1.) By being thrown up by a shovel against the wind. As a rule this was done in the evening or during the night, when the west wind from the sea was blowing, which was a moderate breeze and fitted for the purpose. The north wind was too strong, and the east wind came in gusts. (2.) By the use of a fan or van, by which the chaff was blown away (Ruth 3:2; Isa. 30:24; Jer. 4:11, J......
ZANOAH
marsh. (1.) A town in the low country or shephelah of Judah, near Zorah (Josh. 15:34). It was re-occupied after the return from the Captivity (Neh. 11:30). Zanu'ah in Wady Ismail, 10 miles west of Jerusalem, occupies probably the same site. (2.) A town in the hill country of Judah, some 10 miles to the south-west of Hebron (Josh. 15:56).......