Zondervan All-in-One Bible Reference Guide

ZONDERVAN

ZONDERVAN ALL-IN-ONE BIBLE REFERENCE GUIDE

Copyright © 2008 by The Zondervan Corporation

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ePub Edition August 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-28309-6

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CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT PAGE

INTRODUCTION

HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE

ABBREVIATIONS

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

INTRODUCTION

Most people today do not have the money or time to purchase and wade through several reference volumes to find the information they need. Whether you are a Sunday school teacher, pastor, or interested lay-leader who wants to understand the Bible better, the Zondervan All-in-One Bible Reference Guide is a one-stop resource that combines the elements of a Concordance, Bible Dictionary, and Topical Bible into a single, easy-to-use volume. Arranged alphabetically, this reference work provides a helpful resource for studying and understanding the world of the Bible. Although the Zondervan All-In-One Bible Reference Guide is based on the NIV Bible, its scope of topics, people, places, events, and themes make it a wonderful resource regardless of what version of the Bible you use.

This project seeks to repurpose the content currently found in the NIV Compact Concordance, the NIV Compact Dictionary, and the NIV Compact Nave’s Topical Bible.

HOW TO USE

THIS RESOURCE

You hold in your hands a unique Bible study resource tool that combines the most common entries found in a Concordance, Topical Bible, and Bible Dictionary all in one volume. The main benefits of combining these three components are saving time in your research, understanding the Bible better in both its details and its big picture, and seeing things fit together more easily in your study of God’s Word.

Each of these components serves a different purpose.

A Concordance is a word index. It is a listing of the words used in the text of a particular translation of the Bible, in this case the New International Version. Each word is followed by the Scripture references and a brief excerpt from the verse in which the word occurs. Thus, a concordance may be used to do word studies, locate and trace biblical themes, and find forgotten references to verses.

A Topical Bible — not literally a Bible, but rather a tool for Bible study — references key Scripture verses under numerous topics and provides short descriptions, enabling you to find the exact information you desire about a particular topic or theme, even though the topic itself may not be among the words found in the Scripture text. It is essentially a subject index.

The function of a Bible Dictionary is to make accessible information not found in the Bible itself that enables you to understand better the meaning of the text you are reading. It provides biographical, chronological, geographical, historical, and cultural backgrounds on biblical topics.

Dictionary entries make up the bulk of this reference book. The length of the articles reflects the relative importance of the various topics addressed. For example, entries such as God, Moses, and the Bible comprise longer articles, while entries on such topics as Abaddon, Cana, and Ecology comprise shorter articles. Each article includes cross-references to Scripture, thereby supplying a biblical context for the information.

Some topics in this book include all three of these aids while some include only one or two kinds.

All entries are arranged alphabetically and include up to six distinct types of information about the entry topic. In addition to the three mentioned above, there will be a G/K number, a word pronunciation, and a basic Hebrew/Greek root meaning.

G/K (Goodrick-Kohlenberger) numbers refer to the Hebrew or Greek root word(s) used in reference to the topic as found in the NIV Exhaustive Concordance. Students of the Bible who wish to dig deeper into word studies relating to a particular topic or word are able to utilize these numbers.

A word pronunciation guide is also provided along with a term’s basic Hebrew or Greek root meaning. The root meaning only includes a simple gloss of the term and does not provide the information that can be found in the NIV Exhaustive Concordance relating to the G/K numbers.

The sample page below identifies and illustrates these six informational aspects of this Bible reference book.

ABBREVIATIONS

A

AARON [195, 2] ( f1 , meaning uncertain). Aaron was the oldest son of Amram and Jochebed, of the tribe of Levi, and brother of Moses and Miriam (Ex 6:2; Nu 26:59). He was born three years before Moses and before Pharaoh’s edict that all male infants should be destroyed (Ex 7:7). His name first appears in God’s commission to Moses when Moses protested that he did not have sufficient ability in public speaking to undertake the mission to Pharaoh. In response God declared that Aaron would serve as a spokesman for his brother (Ex 4:10 – 16). So Aaron met Moses at the mountain of God (Ex 4:27) after forty years of separation, took him back to the family home in Goshen, introduced him to the elders of the people, and persuaded them to accept him as their leader. Together Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh’s court, where they carried on the negotiations that finally ended the oppression of the Israelites and precipitated the exodus.

Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, a prince of the tribe of Judah (Ex 6:23; 1Ch 2:10). They had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar (Ex 6:23). After Israel left Egypt, Aaron assisted Moses during the wilderness wandering. On the way to Sinai, in the battle with Amalek, Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands (Ex 17:9 – 13), which held the staff of God. Israel consequently won the battle. With the establishment of the tabernacle, Aaron became high priest in charge of the national worship and the head of the hereditary priesthood.

Later Aaron and Miriam criticized Moses for having married a Cushite woman and challenged his position as Israel’s sole mouthpiece (Nu 12:1 – 2). Aaron’s own authority as priest did not go unchallenged. It becomes clear that when Korah and his company (Nu 16) challenged Moses’ leadership, Aaron’s priesthood was also called into question. By the miraculous sign of the flowering and fruit-bearing staff, the Lord identified Aaron as his chosen priest (Nu 17:1 – 9) and accorded him a perpetual priesthood by ordering his staff to be deposited in the sanctuary (Nu 17:10). When Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the tables of the Law from God, Aaron gave assent to the people’s demand for a visible god that they could worship. He melted their personal jewelry in a furnace and made a golden calf similar to the familiar bull god of Egypt.

The people hailed this image as the god who had brought them out of Egypt. Aaron did not protest but built an altar and proclaimed a feast to the Lord on the next day, which the people celebrated with revelry and debauchery (Ex 32:1 – 6). When Moses returned from the mountain and rebuked Aaron for aiding this abuse, Aaron disingenuously replied: They gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf! (Dt 32:24). Perhaps Aaron meant to restrain the people by a compromise, but he was wholly unsuccessful. Two months later, when the revelation of the pattern for worship was completed, Aaron and his sons were consecrated to the priesthood (Lev 8 – 9).

At the end of the wilderness wandering, Aaron was warned of his impending death. He and Moses went up Mount Hor, where Aaron was stripped of his priestly robes, which were passed in succession to his son Eleazar. Aaron died at age 123 and was buried on the mountain (Nu 20:22 – 29; 33:38; Dt 10:6; 32:50). The people mourned for him thirty days.

Genealogy of (Ex 6:16 - 20; Jos 21:4, 10; 1Ch 6:3 - 15); Priesthood of (Ex 28:1; Nu 17; Heb 5:1 - 4; 7); Priesthood opposed (Nu 16); Garments of (Ex 28; 39); Consecration of (Ex 29); Ordination of (Lev 8); Spokesman for Moses (Ex 4:14 - 16); Built the golden calf (Ex 32; Dt 9:20); Forbidden to enter the Promised Land (Nu 20:1 - 12); Death of (Nu 20:22 - 29; 33:38 - 39)

ABADDON [3] ( f2 ruin, perdition, destruction). A Hebrew word for the underworld or the abode of the dead. In the OT it is a synonym of death (hell) and Sheol. Its six OT occurrences (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Ps 88:11; Pr 15:11; 27:20) have the idea of ruin. Abaddon is found once in the NT (Rev 9:11) where it refers to the angel who reigns over the infernal regions.

ABBA [5] ( f3 ). Aramaic word for father, which is a customary title of God in prayer.It was transliterated into Greek and then into English and is found three times in the NT (Mk 14:36; Ro 8:15; Gal 4:6). The corresponding Hebrew word is Ab. The word abba is found in the Babylonian Talmud where it is used as an address of a child to his father and as a type of address to rabbis. It is equivalent to papa . This term conveys a sense of warm intimacy and also respect for the father. Because the Jews found it too presumptuous and nearly blasphemous, they would therefore never address God in this manner.

Jesus called God Father and gave that same right to his disciples (Mt 6:5 – 15). Paul sees this as symbolic of the Christian’s adoption as a child of God and of possession of the Spirit (Mk 14:36; Ro 8:15; Gal 4:6).

ABEDNEGO [6284, 10524] ( f4 servant of Nego ). His Hebrew name was Azariah. He was taken as a captive to Babylon with Daniel, Hananiah, and Mishael, where each was given a Babylonian name (Da 1:6 – 20; 2:17, 49; 3:12 – 30). Azariah was given the Akkadian name Abednego, which was the Babylonian god of wisdom, connected with the planet Mercury. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were chosen to learn the language and the ways of the Chaldeans (Babylo-nians) so that they could enter the king’s service (Da 1:3 – 5, 17 – 20). They were given responsibility over the affairs of the province of Babylon (Da 3:12). These three individuals were eventually thrown into Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace because they refused to bow down and worship his golden image, but they were saved by God (Da 3:1, 4 – 6, 8 – 30).

ABEL [64, 2040, 6] ( f5 ). The Hebrew spelling of this word means breath, vapor, that which is insubstantial; but more likely the name should be linked with an Accadian word meaning son. He was Adam and Eve’s second son who was murdered by his brother Cain (Ge 4). Disaffection between the two brothers arose when Cain brought a vegetable offering to the Lord, and Abel brought a lamb. Perhaps God had previously (at Ge 3:21?) revealed that humans must approach him with a blood sacrifice. God accepted Abel’s offering either because it was an animal sacrifice or because of the spirit in which it was offered (Ge 4:4 – 5). Thus Abel became the first example of the way of righteousness through faith.

Second son of Adam (Ge 4:2); Offered proper sacrifice (Ge 4:4; Heb 11:4); Murdered by Cain (Ge 4:8; Mt 23:35; Lk 11:51; 1Jn 3:12)

ABIGAIL [28] ( f6 [my] father is rejoicing).

1. The wife of Nabal and, after his death, of David (1Sa 25:3, 14 – 44; 27:3; 30:5; 2Sa 2:2; 2Sa 3:3), to whom she bore his second son, Kileab (or, 1Ch 3:1, Daniel).

2. A sister or stepsister of David. In 1Ch 2:13 – 17 she apparently belongs to Jesse’s family and is, along with Zeruiah, a sister of David. But in 2Sa 17:25 she is mentioned as a daughter of Nahash.

The probability is that Nahash was the first husband of Jesse’s wife — this would account for the slightly unusual way in which she and Zeruiah are recorded in Chronicles, not as Jesse’s daughters but as his sons’ sisters. She was married to an Ishmaelite, Jether (2Sa 17:25; 1Ch 2:17), and became the mother of Amasa, Absalom’s commander in chief (2Sa 17:2), who was also for a time David’s commander in chief (2Sa 17:25; 19:13; 1Ch 2:16 – 17).

ABIJAH [23, 31, 32, 7] ( f7 or f8 Jehovah is father; [my] father is Yahweh).

1. The wife of Judah’s grandson Hezron and mother of Ashhur the father of Tekoa (1Ch 2:24).

2. The seventh son of Beker, the son of Benjamin (1Ch 7:8).

3. The second son of the prophet Samuel. Appointed with his brother Joel as a judge by his father, but did not follow in Samuel’s ways. They followed after dishonest gains, bribes, and perverted justice. Because of this the Israelites demanded a king to lead them (1Sa 8:1 – 5; 1Ch 6:28).

4. A descendant of Aaron. He was the ancestral head of the eighth of the twenty-four groups into which David had divided the priests (1Ch 24:10). The father of John the Baptist belonged to this group (Lk 1:5).

5. A son of Jeroboam I of Israel (1Ki 14:1 – 18). He died from illness when still a child, in fulfillment of a prediction by the prophet Ahijah, to whom the queen had gone in disguise to inquire regarding the outcome of the child’s illness. The death was a judgment for the apostasy of Jeroboam.

6. The second king of Judah, the son and successor of Rehoboam, and the grandson of Solomon (1Ch 3:10). Name is spelled Abijam in 1Ki 14 and 15. He made war on Jeroboam in an effort to recover the ten tribes of Israel. In a speech before an important battle in which his army was greatly outnumbered, he appealed to Jeroboam not to oppose the God of Israel, for God had given the kingdom to David and his sons forever. Abijah gained a decisive victory (1Ki 15:1 – 8; 2Ch 11:22; 13). Prosperity tempted him to multiply wives and to follow the evil ways of his father. He reigned three years (2Ch 12:16 – 14:1) and was succeeded by Asa his son (1Ki 15:8; 2Ch 14:1).

7. The daughter of Zechariah and mother of king Hezekiah (2Ch 29:1). Abi in 2Ki 18:2 (KJV, NASB, NEB, RSV).

8. A chief of the priests who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ne 12:4, 17).

9. A priest of Nehemiah’s time (Ne 10:7). Probably the same as no. 8.

ABILITY

ABIMELECH [43] ( f9 [my] father is a king or [my] father is Molech).

1. A Philistine king of Gerar, south of Gaza in the foothills of the Judean mountains. It was at his court that Abraham, out of fear, said that Sarah was his sister. Struck by her beauty, Abimelech took her to marry but, when warned by God in a dream, immediately returned her to Abraham (Ge 20:1 – 18). Later, when their servants contended over a well, the two men made a covenant (21:22 – 34).

2. A second king of Gerar, probably the son of the one mentioned in no. 1, at whose court Isaac tried to pass off his wife Rebekah as his sister (Ge 26:1 – 11). Abimelech rebuked Isaac when the falsehood was detected. Later their servants quarreled, and they made a covenant between themselves just as Abraham and the first Abimelech had done.

3. The son of Gideon by a concubine (Jdg 8:31; 9:1 – 57, w 6:32 & 7:1). After the death of his father, aspiring to be king, he murdered seventy sons of his father. Only one son, Jotham, escaped. Abi-melech was made king of Shechem. After he had reigned only three years, rebellion broke out against him; in the course of the rebellion he attacked and destroyed his own city of Shechem. Later he was killed while besieging the nearby Thebez.

4. A Philistine king mentioned in the title of Ps 34, who very likely is the same as Achish, king of Gath (1Sa 21:10 – 22:1), with whom David sought refuge when he fled from Saul. It is possible that Abimelech was a royal title of Philistine kings, not a personal name.

5. A priest in the days of David. A son of Abia-thar (2Sa 8:17; 1Ch 18:16). Also called Ahimelech in the LXX and in Chronicles (1Ch 24:6).

ABINADAB [44] ( f10 [my] father is generous or [my] father is Nadab).

1. A Levite living in Kiriath Jearim to whose home the ark was brought from the land of the Philistines. About a century later, David removed the ark to Jerusalem (1Sa 7:1 – 2; 2Sa 6:3 – 4; 1Ch 13:7).

2. The second of the eight sons of Jesse. He was in Saul’s army when Goliath gave his challenge (1Sa 16:8; 17:13; 1Ch 2:13).

3. Son of Saul (1Sa 31:2), also called Ishvi (1Sa 14:49). He was killed with his father by the Philistines at Mount Gilboa (1Sa 17:13; 31:2; 1Ch 8:33; 9:39; 10:2).

4. Father of one of Solomon’s governors who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Also called Ben-Abinadab (1Ki 4:11).

ABLE

ABNER [46, 79] ( f11 [my] father is Ner [lamp]). The son of Ner, who was the brother of Kish, the father of King Saul. Abner and Saul were therefore cousins. During Saul’s reign, Abner was the commander in chief of Saul’s army (1Sa 14:50). It was Abner who brought David to Saul following the slaying of Goliath (17:55 – 58). He accompanied Saul in his pursuit of David (26:5ff.) and was rebuked by David for his failure to keep better watch over his master (26:13 – 16).

At Saul’s death, Abner espoused the cause of Saul’s house and had Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s son, made king over Israel (2Sa 2:8). Abner and his men met David’s servants in combat by the pool of Gibeon and were overwhelmingly defeated. During the retreat from this battle, Abner was pursued by Asahel, Joab’s brother, and in self-defense killed him (2:12 – 32).

Soon after this, Abner and Ish-Bosheth had a quarrel over Saul’s concubine. Ish-Bosheth probably saw Abner’s behavior with Rizpah as tantamount to a claim to the throne. This resulted in Abner’s entering into negotiations with David to go to his side, and he promised to bring all Israel with him. David graciously received him. Abner had not been gone long when Joab heard of the affair; believing or pretending to believe that Abner had come as a spy, Joab invited him to a friendly conversation and murdered him to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel (2Sa 3:6 – 27). This seems to have been a genuine grief to David, who composed a lament for the occasion (3:33 – 34). Abner dedicated spoils of war to the tabernacle (1Ch 26:27 – 28).

Cousin of Saul and commander of his army (1Sa 14:50; 17:55 – 57; 26); Made Ish-Bosheth king after Saul (2Sa 2:8 – 10); Later defected to David (2Sa 3:6 – 21)

ABOLISH

ABOMINATION [9199, 9359, 1007]. Activities that are offensive in a moral, religious, or even natural sense of repulsion. The word abomination occurs rarely in the NIV (e.g., Pr 26:25; Isa 66:3; Da 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; cf. abominable, Isa 66:17; Jer 32:34). The idea is, however, much more widespread and often expressed in the NIV by the verb detest and the adjective detestable. Two main Hebrew words are involved: (1) Shiqqutz , regarding the use of idols (e.g., 2Ki 23:24; Jer 7:30), the gods represented by idols (e.g., 2Ki 23:13), forbidden practices (e.g., 23:24), and generally anything contrary to the worship and religion of the Lord (e.g., 2Ch 15:8; Isa 66:3; Jer 4:1). The related noun sheqetz is used of idols in animal form (Eze 8:10), forbidden foods (Lev 11:10, 13, 42), and generally anything bringing ceremonial defilement (7:21). (2) Tô‘evah, often synonymous with shiqqutz, is also used in wider areas of life — things related to idols (Dt 7:25; 27:15), false gods themselves (32:16), forbidden sexual practices (e.g., Lev 18:22, 26 – 27), prophecy leading to the worship of other gods (Dt 13:13 – 14), the offering of blemished animals in sacrifice (17:1), and heathen divination (18:9, 12). Basic to the use of these words, then, is the active abhorrence the Lord feels toward that which challenges his position as the sole God of his people, or contradicts his will, whether in the way he is to be worshiped or the way his people are to live.

God’s Law Regarding:

Sexual relations: incest (Lev 18:6 – 18; Dt 27:20); lying with a woman during her monthly period (Lev 18:19; 20:18); adultery (Lev 18:20); homosexuality (Lev 18:22; 20:13); bestiality (Lev 18:23; 20:15 – 16). Idolatry (Dt 7:25 – 26; 27:15; 32:16 – 42); divination, sorcery, interpretation of omens, witchcraft, casting of spells, mediums or spiritists, those who consult the dead (Dt 18:9 – 15); sacrifice of children by fire to Molech (Dt 18:10, w Lev 18:21). Wearing clothes of opposite sex (Dt 22:5). Earnings of female or male prostitute to pay a vow (Dt 23:18). Remarriage of defiled wife (Dt 24:1 – 4). Unjust weights and measures (Dt 25:13 – 16; Pr 11:1; 20:10, 23). See Law.

Idols:

(Dt 7:25 – 26; 27:15; 29:17 – 18; Eze 7:20 – 21). Solomon’s devotion to, in old age (1Ki 11:1 – 12). Ashtoreth of the Sidonians, Molech of the Ammonites, Chemosh of the Moabites (1Ki 11:5 – 8; 11:33; 2Ki 23:13). No gods apart from God (Dt 6:4; 1Ch 17:20; Isa 43:10 – 13; 44:6 – 28). Turn from, and return to God (Jer 4:1 – 2), or receive disaster (Eze 5:5ff.). Worship of, and related practices (Eze 16:1 – 63; Hos 9:10). See Idol; Idolatry.

Actions and Attitudes:

A false witness who pours out lies (Dt 19:15 – 21; Pr 6:19; 21:28); perverseness (Pr 3:32; 11:20); false pride (Pr 6:17; 16:5); murder (Pr 6:17); lying (Pr 6:17, 19; 12:22); one who devises wicked schemes (Pr 6:18); wicked imaginations, i.e., the thoughts of the wicked (Pr 6:18; 15:26; 21:27); wickedness (Pr 8:7).

People, Types:

False witness (Pr 6:19; 17:15); troublemaker (Pr 6:19); mocker (Pr 24:9); dishonest (Pr 29:27).

Of Wicked:

Sacrifice (Pr 15:8; 21:27; Isa 1:13); ways (Pr 15:9); thoughts (Pr 15:26); prayer (Pr 28:9). See Wicked, Wickedness.

ABOMINATION THAT CAUSES DESOLATION [9037+9199, 1007+2247]. An utterly abhorrent abomination (Da 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). The interpretation of the references of Daniel to some notable and frightful abomination has caused much difficulty and difference among interpreters. Daniel’s prophecies may refer to one or all of three events: (1) To Antiochus’s desecration of the temple in 169 – 167 BC (1Mc 1:21 – 61). Antiochus Epiphanes set up an altar in the Jerusalem temple and sacrificed a pig on it. But Mt 24:15 and Mk 13:14 make it clear that the Lord Jesus understood the abomination as still to come. (2) To the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 (Mt 24:15; Mk 13:14). These interpreters understand the Lord to refer to some horrifying act of sacrilege during the period of the Jewish revolt and the sack of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70. (3) To the setting up of the image of the beast (Rev 13:14 – 15). These interpreters understand the Lord to be speaking not of the fall of Jerusalem but of the end time itself, immediately prior to his own coming; they link the setting up of the abomination with the appearance and activity of the man of sin (2Th 2:3 – 4, 8 – 9).

ABOUND

ABRAHAM, ABRAM [90, 92, 11] ( f12 Heb. f13 father of a multitude; earlier name Abram, Heb. ’avram, exalted father ). The son of Terah, Abraham was the founder of the Hebrew nation and father of the people of God. His ancestry can be traced back to Noah through Shem (Ge 11:10ff.) and comes into the biblical story out of an idolatrous background (Jos 24:2). Abraham was married to Sarai (Ge 11:29) and dwelled in Ur of the Chaldeans. Terah moved Abraham and the rest of the family to the land of Canaan. On the way they stopped and settled in Haran in NW Mesopotamia, where Terah died (Ge 11:31; Ne 9:7; Ac 7:4). Abraham later received a divine call from God (Ge 12:1 – 3; Jos 24:3; Ne 9:7 – 8; Isa 51:2; Ac 7:2 – 4; Heb 11:8) in which the land of Canaan was given to him (Ge 12:1, 6 – 7; 15:7 – 21; Eze 33:24). When Abraham arrived in Canaan (12:6), God confirmed the promise that this was the land his descendants would possess (12:7) He dwelled in the hills east of Bethel and west of Ai (Ge 12:8) then relocated to Egypt because of a famine in Canaan (Ge 12:10 – 20; 26:1). Upon leaving Egypt, Abraham and his family traveled to the Negev and on to Bethel. Because there was not enough land in one place to support their large herds of sheep, Abraham gave Lot his choice of land; Lot chose the plain of Jordan, leaving Abraham to live at the great trees of Mamre the Amorite at Hebron (Ge 13; 14:13; 35:27). Later the Lord confirmed his promises of children and land in a great covenant sign (Ge 15:7 – 21), but Abraham and Sarai, tired of waiting (ch 16), turned from the way of faith to a human expedient that was permitted — even expected — by the laws of the day: a childless couple might have children through the medium of a secondary wife.Poor, mistreated Hagar fell into this role and Ish-mael was born (Ge 16:3, 7 – 16). Yet the Lord was not diverted from his chosen course: in gentle grace he picked up the pieces of Hagar’s broken life (16:7 – 16) and reaffirmed his covenant with Abraham (17:1ff.). In three ways the Lord made his promises more sure. First, he made Abraham and Sarai into new people (17:3 – 5, 15 – 16). This is the significance of the gift of new names: they were themselves made new, with new capacities. Second, the Lord restated and amplified his spoken promises so as to leave no doubt of his seriousness in making them (17:6 – 8). Third, he sealed his promises with the sign of circumcision (17:9 – 14) so that forever after Abraham and his family would be able to look at their own bodies and say, The Lord has indeed kept his promises to me!

Abraham deeply loved his sons Ishmael and Isaac (17:18; 21:11 – 12), yet he was called to give them both up — in faith that the Lord would keep his promises concerning them (21:11 – 13; 22:1 – 18). The Lord did not spring these great decisions on Abraham but prepared him for them by his experience with Lot and Sodom (chs. 18 – 19). In this connection Abraham would learn two lessons: first, that it is not a vain thing to leave matters in the hand of God — he prayed, and the Lord answered prayer (18:22 – 33); second, that the Lord really meant the family aspect of his promises — even Lot was preserved because the Lord remembered Abraham (19:29). To be linked with the covenant man was to come under the sovereign hand of the covenant God. And if Lot, how much more Ishmael, and how very much more the son of promise himself, Isaac! Thus Abraham came to the maturity of faith that enabled him to say (22:5), I and the boy [will] go . . . we will worship . . . we will come back — knowing that the worship in question involved raising the knife over Isaac (Ge 22:1 – 19; Heb 11:17 – 19; Jas 2:21).

Other aspects of Abraham’s life:

Dwelled in Gerar and Beersheba (Ge 20; 21:22 – 34); Defeated Kedorlaomer king of Elam (Ge 14:5 – 16; Heb 7:1); Blessed by Melchizedek (Ge 14:18 – 20; Heb 7:1 – 10); Received a new name (Ge 17:5; Ne 9:7); Circumcision of (Ge 17:10 – 14, 23 – 27); Angels appeared to (Ge 18:1 – 16; 22:11 – 12, 15; 24:7); His questions and intercession concerning the destruction of the righteous and wicked in Sodom (Ge 18:23 – 32); Witnessed the destruction of Sodom (Ge 19:27 – 29); Isaac born to Abraham at age one hundred according to the promise of Yahweh (Ge 21:1 – 5; Gal 4:22 – 30); Sent Hagar and Ishmael away (Ge 21:10 – 14; Gal 4:22 – 30); Death of Sarah, his wife (Ge 23:1 – 2); Purchased a place for her burial and buried her in a cave (Ge 23:3 – 20); Provided a wife for Isaac (Ge 24); Married Keturah (Ge 25:1); Death of (Ge 15:15; 25:8 – 10); In paradise (Mt 8:11; Lk 13:28; 16:22 – 31); Wealth of (Ge 13:2; 24:35); Children of (Ge 16:15; 21:2 – 3; 25:1 – 4; 1Ch 1:32 – 34); Inheritance of (Ge 25:5 – 6); Age of at different periods (Ge 12:4; 16:16; 21:5; 25:7)

Character Qualities of:

Unselfishness (Ge 13:9; 21:25 – 30). Independent character (Ge 14:23; 23:6 – 16). Faith in God (Ge 15:6; Ro 4:1 – 22; Gal 3:6 – 9; Heb 11:8 – 19; Jas 2:21 – 24). Prophet (Ge 20:7). Friend of God (2Ch 20:7; Isa 41:8; Jas 2:23). Regarded by his descendants (Mt 3:9; Lk 13:16, 28; 19:9; Jn 8:33 – 40, 52 – 59).

ABRAHAM’S SIDE In the Lukan account of the rich man and Lazarus, Lazarus is being comforted at Abraham’s side [the JB, KJV, NASB, and RSV bosom] while the rich man is being tormented in the fires of hell (Lk 16:22 – 23). See Lazarus. In the Talmudic language, to sit at Abraham’s side is to enter Paradise (cf. 4Mc 13:17). It is the place where the righteous go at the moment of death and where judgment is enacted as preliminary, and perhaps probationary, to the final judgment at the end of the age. The figure derives either from the Roman custom of reclining on the left side at meals, Lazarus being in the place of honor at Abraham’s right, leaning on his breast, or from its appropriateness as expressing closest fellowship (Jn 1:18; 13:23). Since Abraham was the founder of the Hebrew nation, such closeness was the highest honor and bliss.

ABSALOM [94] ( q15 father [is] peace).

1. The third son of David by Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, a small district NE of Lake Galilee (2Sa 3:3; 1Ch 3:2), also known as Abishalom (1Ki 15:2, 10, w 1Ch 11:20 – 21). Absalom hated Amnon, one of his stepbrothers and David’s first son, because Amnon had raped his sister Tamar. After two years, Absalom avenged Tamar (2Sa 13:1 – 29) then fled to Geshur and stayed there three years (2Sa 13:37 – 38). He was permitted by David to return to Jerusalem (2Sa 14:1 – 24). After his return from exile, Absalom was not allowed to see David for two years in Geshur (2Sa 14:28), at which time he forced Joab to get him an audience with the king and was restored to favor (2Sa 14:31 – 33). He had three sons and a daughter, whom he named Tamar after his sister.

Absalom now began to act like a candidate for the kingship (15:1 – 6), parading a great retinue and subtly indicating how he would improve the administration of justice in the interests of the people. Absalom proclaimed himself king and attracted the disaffected to his standard (15:7 – 14). The armies met in the woods of Ephraim, where Absalom’s forces were disastrously defeated (18:1 – 8).

Absalom was caught by his hair in the branches of an oak, and the mule he was riding went on and left him dangling helpless there. Joab and his men killed him, though David, in the hearing of the whole army, had forbidden anyone to harm him. Absalom was buried in a pit and covered with a heap of stones in the woods where he fell (18:9 – 17). David’s great and prolonged grief over the death of his son nearly cost him the loyalty of his subjects (2Sa 18:33 – 19:8). Absalom’s rebellion was the most serious threat to David’s throne, but its significance for the future lay in the weakness already existing in the kingdom in David’s day. Plainly David’s administration was faulty. The ease with which Absalom detached the northern tribes from allegiance to David not only exposed the fact that as a Judahite David was guilty of neglecting the Israelite section of his kingdom, but also, more seriously, showed how fragile were the bonds between Judah and Israel. Solomon’s more rigorous administrative methods staved off the inevitable division that needed only the ineptitude of his son and successor Rehoboam to make it a reality (1Ki 12:1 – 19). In these ways, as much as in its more explicit predictions, the OT prepared the way for Christ. It records the golden days of David; yet the flaws in David’s character and kingdom gave rise to the people’s yearning for great David’s greater Son.

2. Rehoboam’s father-in-law (2Ch 11:20 – 21).

3. In the Apocrypha, an ambassador of Judas Maccabaeus, the father of Mattathias and Jonathan (1Mc 11:70; 13:11; 2Mc 11:17).

ABSTAIN

ABSTINENCE ( f14 Gr. apechomai). The verb abstain occurs six times and means to hold oneself away from. The noun abstinence occurs once in the KJV (Gr. asitia , Ac 27:2) and means abstinence from food. The decree of the Jerusalem council (15:20, 29) commanded abstinence from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality, practices abhorrent to Jewish Christians. Paul (1Th 4:3) connects abstaining from fornication with sanctification. In 1Th 5:22 he exhorts abstinence from all appearance of evil. In 1Ti 4:3 he refers to false teachers who commanded believers to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. In 1Pe 2:11, Peter exhorts, Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.

Abstinence from eating blood antedates the Mosaic law (see Ge 9:4) but was rigorously reinforced when the Lord spoke through Moses. The sacred function of blood within the sacrificial system (Lev 17:11) made it something set apart from any common use. Israel abstained voluntarily from eating the sinew on the thigh for the reason given in Ge 32:32. Leviticus 11 defined what animals the children of Israel might not eat, to distinguish between the unclean and the clean (11:47), and to keep Israel separate from other nations. The priests were forbidden to drink wine while they were ministering (Lev 10:8 – 9), and the Nazirites were to abstain from the fruit of the vine absolutely. The Recabites took such a vow in deference to their ancestor Jonadab (Jer 35).

Injunctions regarding drunkenness and sobriety (1Co 5:11; 6:9 – 10; Eph 5:18; 1Ti 3:3, 8; Tit 2:2 – 4) point to the wisdom of total abstinence from alcoholic beverages if one would be at his or her best for the Lord. They are reinforced by the fact that the believer’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Co 6:19; 2Co 6:16). Paul’s advice to Timothy (1Ti 5:23) sanctions no more than medicinal use of wine mixed with water. While abstinence is not a virtue in itself, it can be a means to make virtue possible.

General References to:

For the sake of a weaker brother (Ac 15:20, 29; Eph 4:17 – 5:21; Col 3:1 – 11; 1Pe 2:11 – 12; Ro 14; 1Co 8). Wrongly used as a form of self-righteousness (Col 2:20 – 23; 1Ti 4:1 – 3). Appearance of evil (1Th 5:22).

From Intoxicating Beverages:

Abuse of alcohol condemned (Pr 23:20, 31 – 35; Lk 21:34). Exemplified by: Aaron and the Levitical priesthood, while on duty (Lev 10:8 – 11; Eze 44:21); Nazirites, while taking a special vow (Nu 6:2 – 4, 20); Manoah’s wife, Samson’s mother, during pregnancy (Jdg 13:2 – 5, 13 – 14); kings and princes (Pr 31:4 – 5); John the Baptist (Lk 1:15).

Instances of:

Israelites in the wilderness (Dt 29:6); Samson (Jdg 16:17, w 13:3 – 5, 13 – 14 & Nu 6:3 – 4); Recabites, honoring an ancestral commitment (Jer 35:1 – 14); Daniel (Da 1:8, 12); John the Baptist (Mt 11:18; Lk 1:15; 7:33).

Other Things Abstained from:

Food, in fasting (Lev 16:29; 23:27; 1Sa 7:6; Ne 9:1; Joel 2:12; Mt 6:16 – 18). Sexual contact within marriage, temporarily (Ex 19:15; 1Co 7:1 – 5). In Israel: use of blood or fat (Ge 9:4; Lev 3:17); tendon of the hip (Ge 32:32); meat not properly bled and prepared (Ex 22:31; Dt 14:21); whole groups of animals (Lev 11); contact with unclean persons (Lev 15).

ABUNDANT

ABUSE

Substance Abuse of Alcohol:

Biblical condemnation of alcohol abuse may be generalized to apply to abuse of any mind- or behavior-altering substance. Condemned (Pr 20:1; 21:17; 23:20, 30 – 35; Isa 5:22; Eph 5:18; 1Ti 3:8; Tit 2:3). Examples of (Ge 9:20 – 24; 19:30 – 36; Isa 28:7 – 8; 1Co 11:20 – 22). See Abstinence.

Abuse of Food:

(Pr 23:1 – 3, 20 – 21; 25:16; 30:22; Isa 56:10 – 11;Am 6:4 – 7; 1Co 6:12 – 13; 1Co 11:20 – 22; Php 3:18 – 19).

Sexual Abuse:

Examples of: rape (Ge 34:1 – 7; Jdg 19:25 – 20:13; 2Sa 13:1 – 20; Zec 14:2); attempted homosexual rape (Ge 19:4 – 9; Jdg 19:22 – 24). Rape punished by death (Dt 22:25 – 27).

Abuse of Persons:

Physical injury to be punished in like kind (Ex 21:22 – 25; Lev 24:19 – 20). Servants and slaves to be set free if physically abused (Ex 21:26 – 27). Unfavored wife still to be cared for (Ex 21:10 – 11; Dt 21:15 – 17). Abuse of parents punishable by death (Ex 21:15, 17; Dt 21:18 – 21). Corporal punishment not abuse if done out of love (Pr 3:11 – 12; 13:24; 29:15; Heb 12:7 – 11).

ABUSIVE

ABYSS [12, 5853] ( f15 Gr. abyssos, unfathomable depth). In the NT abyss refers to the world of the dead (Ro 10:7) or the netherworld, the prison of disobedient spirits/demons (Lk 8:31; Rev 9:1 – 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1 – 3). The KJV renders the Greek word as the deep in Lk 8:31 and Ro 10:7 and the bottomless pit in Revelation. The ASV and NIV uniformly have the abyss. The RSV has the abyss in Lk 8:31 and Ro 10:7, the pit in Rev 20:3, and the bottomless pit elsewhere in Revelation.

In classical Greek abyssos was an adjective meaning bottomless, applied to the primeval deep of ancient cosmologies, an ocean surrounding and under the earth. In the LXX it translates Hebrew tehôm, meaning the primal waters of Ge 1:2, once the world of the dead (Ps 71:20). In later Judaism it means also the interior depths of the earth and the prison of evil spirits.

The use of abyss in Ro 10:7 is parallel with the use of the lower, earthly regions in Eph 4:9 (see Ps 106:28); both contrast the highest heaven and the lowest depth. In Lk 8:31 the demons had a great dread of the primal abyss; even so, they may have caused themselves to go there when the pigs were drowned in the sea.

ACCEPT

ACCOUNT [ACCOUNTABLE]

ACCOUNTABLE [ACCOUNT]

ACCUSATION, FALSE [H8189, H8357, H8476, G1592, G2989, G2991].

Forbidden (Ex 23:1, 7; Lev 19:16; Lk 3:14; Tit 2:3). Consolation for those falsely accused (Mt 5:11; Jn 15:19 – 21; 1Pe 4:14). People to be slanderous in the last days (2Ti 3:3).

Instances of:

Joseph by Potiphar’s wife (Ge 39:7 – 20). Joseph’s brothers by Joseph (Ge 42:6 – 14). Moses by Korah (Nu 16:1 – 3, 13). Ahimelech by Saul (1Sa 22:11 – 16). Abner by Joab (2Sa 3:24 – 27). Elijah by Ahab (1Ki 18:17 – 18). Naboth by Jezebel (1Ki 21:1 – 14). The Jews who returned under Ezra by the men of Trans-Euphrates (Ezr 4:6 – 16; Ne 6:5 – 9). Job by Satan (Job 1:9 – 10; 2:4 – 5). David (Ps 41:5 – 9), by the princes of Ammon (2Sa 10:1 – 4; 1Ch 19:1 – 4). Jeremiah (Jer 26:8 – 15; 37:12 – 15; 43:1 – 4). Amos (Am 7:10 – 11). Mary (Mt 1:19). Jesus (Mt 9:34; 10:25; 12:2 – 14; 26:59 – 61; Mk 3:22; 14:53 – 65; Lk 23:2; Jn 18:30). Stephen (Ac 6:11 – 14). Paul (Ac 17:6 – 7; 21:27 – 29; 24:1 – 9, 12 – 13; 25:1 – 2, 7; Ro 3:8). Paul and Silas (Ac 16:19 – 21).

ACCUSE [ACCUSER]

ACCUSER

ACHAIA [938] f16 In NT times a Roman province that included the Peloponnesus and northern Greece south of Illyricum, Epirus, and Thessaly, which were districts of Macedonia; Corinth was the capital. Used together, Macedonia and Achaia generally mean all of Greece (Ac 19:21; Ro 15:26; 1Th 1:7 – 8). In Ac 20:2 Greece refers to Achaia. In Ac 18:12, Gallio is accurately called proconsul (RSV, NIV) of Achaia; for Claudius had just made Achaia a senatorial province, the governors of which were called proconsuls, while the governors of imperial provinces were called procurators. In Ro 16:5, KJV has Achaia, but most other versions have Asia. Achaia is mentioned in five other NT passages (Ac 18:27; 1Co 16:15; 2Co 1:1; 9:2; 11:10).

ACHAN [H6575] ( f17 a wordplay from Achar: troubler ). The son of Carmi and a Juda-hite of Zerah’s clan who participated in the assault on Jericho. His tragic experience is recorded in Jos 7. Achan took a garment, silver, and gold — part of the spoil of Jericho. Joshua had devoted the metals to God (Jos 6:17 – 19). All else was to be destroyed. Because of one man’s disobedience, Israel was defeated at Ai. God revealed the reason to Joshua. By a process of elimination Achan was found out. He confessed, and he and his family and possessions were brought down to the valley of Achor. In spite of some difficulty in understanding the Hebrew text in vv. 25 – 26, there is little ground for holding that Joshua’s command (6:17) was not carried out in the execution of both Achan and his entourage. In the Scriptures the Lord often allows us to see the full significance of our sinful ways. Achan’s experience illustrates the biblical revelation that we never sin alone: there is always a family involvement (cf. Ex 20:5 – 6) and also a wider pollution touching the whole people of God and bringing them under judgment. Joshua expressed this thought in his epi-taph: Why have you brought this disaster on us?(7:25), allowing the name Achan to slip over into the similar-sounding verb ‘achar, to trouble, bring disaster. This in turn became the name of the place itself, Achor, disaster. In 2Ch 2:7 Achan’s name reads Achar, the man of disaster.

ACKNOWLEDGE

ACROPOLIS ( f18 Gr. akropolis, crest of city, high ground of city from akros, highest, and polis, city). The upper or higher city, citadel, or castle of a Greek municipality; especially the citadel of Athens, where the treasury was located. Athens’s crowning glory was the Parthenon, the finest exemplar of Greek architecture. During Paul’s stay in Athens (Ac 17:15 – 18:1), he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols (17:16). The images of gods and of heroes worshiped as gods filled Athens and were inescapably conspicuous on the Acropolis. As Paul stood on Mars Hill, before the court of the Areopagus, he could see the temples on the Acropolis directly to the east, and the Agora (marketplace) below it.

Many NT towns — e.g., Corinth, Philippi, Samaria — had an Acropolis, which served as the town’s civic and religious center, while the Agora constituted the central shopping plaza.

ACROSTIC ( f19 Gr. akrostichis, from okros, topmost, and stichos, a line of poetry ). A literary device by which the first letter of each line of poetry forms either a word or successive letters of the alphabet. In the common form of acrostic found in OT poetry, each line or stanza begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order. This literary form may have been intended as an aid to memory, but more likely it was a poetic way of saying that a total coverage of the subject was being offered — as we would say, from A to Z. Acrostics occur in Pss 111 and 112, where each letter begins a line; in Pss 25, 34, and 145, where each letter begins a half verse; in Ps 37; Pr 31:10 – 31; and La 1, 2, and 4, where each letter begins a whole verse; and in Lam 3, where each letter begins three verses. Psalm 119 is the most elaborate demonstration of the acrostic method; in each section of eight verses, the same opening letter is used, and the twenty-two sections of the psalm move through the Hebrew alphabet, letter after letter. It is the genius of Hebrew poetry to allow the demands of the sense to take precedence over the demands of form, and this accounts for broken acrostics (there is a letter missing in both Pss 25 and 34) or acrostics in which letters are taken out of order (as in La 2:16 – 17).

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES The book that gives the history of early Christian ity from the ascension of Christ to the end of two years of Paul’s imprisonment in Rome.

TITLE OF THE BOOK.

An early MS has the title Acts (Gr. praxeis, doings, transactions, achievements). Other early titles are Acts of Apostles and Acts of the Holy Apostles. Acts narrates actions and speeches chiefly of Peter and Paul. There is some information about Judas (Ac 1:16 – 20), the man chosen to succeed him (1:21 – 26), John (3:1 – 4:31; 8:14 –17), and James (12:12). The Twelve, except the betrayer, are listed in 1:13. Acts is not a history of all the apostles; rather, it is a selection from the deeds and words of