Biblical Encyclopedia: B
296 entries · Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Matt 4:21; Mark 1:19 and elsewhere) - the son of Zebedee and Salome and brother of John the Evangelist. In his early years he worked as a fisherman with his father and brother on the Lake of Gennesaret. The apostle James was present at several of the most important events in the Savior's life. Together with Peter and John he witnessed His Transfiguration on Tabor, was present at the raising of Jairus's daughter, and was in the Garden of Gethsemane during the Lord's sufferings before death.
James evidently possessed an active and energetic character; he was steadfast and resolute, and for his zeal for God he was put to death by Herod in AD 42-44 - specifically, he was beheaded (Acts 12:2). Thus the Savior's prediction was fulfilled (Luke 21:16). The first martyr among the apostles, he fell victim to Jewish hatred and cruelty. To distinguish him from James the Less, he is ordinarily called James the Greater. The holy apostle James is regarded as the patron saint of Spain. He died in AD 44 and was buried in Jerusalem. His commemoration is celebrated on April 30.
— the name and designation of the following persons and localities: a) (1 Chron. 5:5, 6) a Reubenite, whose son Beerah was led away captive into Assyria by Tiglath-pileser; b) (1 Chron. 8:30; 9:36) son of Jeiel, forefather of the Gibeonites; c) (1 Chron. 4:33) a city of the tribe of Simeon, identical with Baalath-beer (Josh. 19:8); d) (Josh. 15:11) a mountain, located between Ekron and Jabneel. Through it passed the northern border of the tribe of Judah.
(Baal of the covenant) (Judg. 8:33; 9:4, 46). Under this name the inhabitants of Shechem, after Gideon’s death, worshiped Baal. The name signifies “the covenant of Baal,” for the reason that those who served him considered themselves to have entered into a covenant with this idol. However, nothing is known of the particulars that attended the service of Baal-berith.
(lord of fortune) (Josh. 11:17; 12:7; Judg. 3:3) — a city in the valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon, and probably the same as Baal-hermon (1 Chron. 5:23). By the valley of Lebanon here is meant not Coele-Syria, or the present-day Beqaa, between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, but the valley on the southern slope of Mount Hermon.
Baal-hamon Beelamon
(lord of a multitude) (Song of Songs 8:11) — a place where Solomon had an extensive vineyard.
Baal-hanan
(Baal is gracious) — the name of two persons: a) (Gen. 36:38, 39) king of Edom, son of Achbor; b) (1 Chron. 27:28) overseer of the olive and sycamore orchards of King David.
Baal-hazor Belasor
(lord of the settlement) (2 Sam. 13:23) — a city or settlement near the city of Ephron, or Ephraim, of the tribe of Ephraim, where Absalom had a sheep farm, and where at a feast his brother Amnon was slain. It is supposed that this is present-day Azur, 5 Roman miles northeast of Bethel.
Baal-meon
(dwelling of Baal) (Num. 32:38; Ezek. 25:9) — a city in the tribe of Reuben, also called Beth-meon (Jer. 48:23), and Beth-baal-meon (Josh. 13:17). In the time of Eusebius and Jerome it was still a large village, called Balmana, and was considered the birthplace of the prophet Elisha.
(Peor, or “opening” or “disclosure,” e.g. of the mouth, etc.) (Ps. 106 [105]:28; Num. 25:3, 5) — the name of a Moabite mountain and of a pagan deity worshiped on Peor. The service and festivals in honor of Baal-peor were accompanied by such vile depravity that women and maidens often sacrificed their innocence and chastity. “They (that is, the Israelites),” says the prophet, “went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved” (Hos. 9:10).
(lord of breaches, defeats) (2 Sam. 5:20) — a place in the valley of Rephaim, several miles southwest of Jerusalem, where David defeated the Philistines, and David said at that time: “The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters” (2 Sam. 5:20). The name in the original is significant, as an allusion to this victory, and it is to this very victory that reference is made in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (28:21).
Baal-shalisha
(2 Kings 4:42) (triple region or land) — a place near Mount Ephraim, in Eusebius’s opinion located 15 Roman miles north of Diospolis, or Lydda.
(place of palms) (Judg. 20:33) — a city of the tribe of Benjamin, lying near Gibeah of Benjamin. Near it the tribes of Israel fought and defeated the tribe of Benjamin. In the times of Eusebius and Jerome, a large village (Bethamar) stood on the site of Baal-tamar. It is likely that near this place also stood the palm tree of Deborah (Judg. 4:5). However, Baal-tamar is entirely distinct from the village bearing the same name that exists at present on the southern side of Jerusalem.
(place consecrated to Typhon) (Exod. 14:2, 9; Num. 33:7) — an encampment of the Israelites on the northern edge of the Red Sea, corresponding to the location of Suez, in which there was a temple for the worship of Baal. In Bruce’s opinion, this was the name of a lighthouse, or watch-station, at the northern entrance to the Gulf of Arabia.
(lord, master) (1 Kings 18:19 [as given]; Isa. 46:1; Jer. 9:14) — the name of a former pagan deity, worshiped as a god in Phoenicia and Syria, and originally the name of a deity under which some of the ancient eastern peoples worshiped the sun. The Phoenicians called the sun Baal-shamem, which means “Lord of the heavens.”
Baal.
See Baal.
Baalah
(mistress, lady) (Josh. 15:29; 19:1, 9) — a city in the tribe of Judah, in the south of Judea. In the last citation it reads “Balah” (19:3), and in 1 Chronicles (4:29): “Bilhah.”
(my lord) (Hos. 2:16). In one of the prophecies relating to the Jewish church, it is said: “And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi (my husband); and shalt call me no more Baali (that is, my lord)” (Hos. 2:14 [as given], 23 [as given]). The word “husband” served, of course, to express a more heartfelt relation than “my lord,” although the latter, too, was a lawful form of address on the wife’s part to her husband. But this latter word is undoubtedly used here in an exclusive sense, on account of the gross idolatry connected with the name Baali.
Baalis
(son of joy, exultation) (Jer. 40:14) — king of the Ammonites at the time when Jerusalem was taken and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. He sent envoys to Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, with a plan to slay Gedaliah.
(height, hill; perhaps places consecrated to the worship of Baal) (1 Kings 4:16). By this name is understood a region in the upper part of the tribe of Asher, forming the northernmost border of the kingdom of Israel; it was under the charge of Baana, one of the twelve officers who provided food for Solomon and his household, each for one month of the year.
Baalsamus.
See 2 Esdras 9:43. In Nehemiah (8:4) it reads “Maaseiah” instead of Baalsamus.
Baana.
See Baana.
(son of sorrow) — the name of six persons: a) (2 Sam. 4:2, 5, 6, 9, 12) one of the sons of Rimmon, a Beerothite, commander of the army of Ish-bosheth, son of Saul. Together with his brother Rechab he entered the house of Ish-bosheth at noon while he was sleeping and struck him in the belly. Taking the head of the slain man with them, they fled to David at Hebron, hoping that he would richly reward them for the head of such an enemy; but they were deceived in their expectations.
David was indignant at their cruelty and heartlessness, and ordered them to be killed, their hands and feet cut off, and their bodies hung over the pool at Hebron; b) (2 Sam. 23:29) a Netophathite, father of Heled, one of David’s mighty men; c) (Neh. 3:4) father of Zadok; d) (1 Kings 4:12) son of Ahilud, one of Solomon’s officers in Jezreel and on the west side of the Jordan valley; e) (1 Kings 4:16) son of Hushai, likewise one of Solomon’s officers over Israel; f) (Ezra 2:2) one of the heads of the people of Israel who returned from captivity with Zerubbabel. The name of four of these persons is given in the Russian translation as “Vaana.”
Baani
(the names of two persons, mentioned in the First Book of Ezra [8:10] and in the Second [9:34]).
Baara Baada
(foolish, unwise) (1 Chron. 8:8) — one of the two wives of Shaharaim, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Baaseiah Baasia
(work of Jehovah) (1 Chron. 6:40) — the same name as Maaseiah — one of the sons of Kohath, of the ancestors of Asaph, one of those whom David appointed as singers before the tabernacle of the assembly, until Solomon built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem (6:32).
(according to Fürst: courage, boldness) (1 Kings 15:16) — king of Israel. He was of the tribe of Issachar and of humble birth (1 Kings 15:27; 16:2). Having formed a conspiracy against Nadab, son of Jeroboam, Baasha treacherously killed him during the siege of Gibbethon, a Philistine city, and took his throne (vv. 27, 28). In fulfillment of the prophecy of Ahijah concerning the destruction of the whole house of Jeroboam, he left alive not one of the family of the wicked king (v. 29).
Beginning a war with Asa, king of Judah, he fortified Ramah, so as not to allow anyone either to leave Asa or to come to him (2 Chron. 16:1); but he had no success in this war, since some of his cities were conquered by Ben-hadad, king of Syria, who had formerly been his ally but now gave aid to Asa. Morally, Baasha was in no way better than Jeroboam, and the idol-worship introduced by the latter remained in full force; for this reason the Lord, through the prophet Jehu, declared to Baasha the same fate that, by the prophecy of Ahijah, had befallen the house of Jeroboam.
Twenty-four years after his accession to the throne, he died a natural death and was buried in the capital city of Tirzah; but the judgment of God upon his house was carried out by the hand of Zimri, who killed not only Elah, his son and heir, but destroyed the whole royal house (1 Kings 16:10, 11).
(confusion) (Gen. 10:10; 2 Kings 17:24; 2 Chron. 32:31, and elsewhere) was the capital of Chaldea and one of the most ancient and richest cities in the world. It was built by Nimrod, son of Cush, a descendant of Ham, who made this city the capital of his kingdom. According to Herodotus, Babylon, situated on both banks of the river Euphrates, was in its form a perfect quadrangle, or square, built upon an enormous plain; the circumference of the city was 60 English miles, 15 miles on each side.
The thickness of the walls was 86 feet, so that on their surface six chariots could drive abreast, and their height reached as much as 334 feet. Upon the walls rose 250 towers, with a hundred gates cast of bronze. The walls were built of large bricks set in bituminous cement.
, otherwise the land of Babylon, also called the land of Nimrod (Micah 5:6), after the name of the founder of the kingdom of Babylon, and the land of the Chaldeans (Jer. 24:5; 25:12; Ezek. 12:13), after the ruling tribe of the Chaldeans there, was located in the fertile plain of Shinar, which was the cradle of human societies (Gen. 11:1, 2), in the basin of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, 15 miles from Baghdad, 40 from the Persian Gulf, and 130 from Jerusalem.
Bacchides
(1 Macc. 7:8–12) — an official of Antiochus Eupator, who enjoyed his particular confidence, ruled the region beyond the Euphrates, and was distinguished by fidelity to his king.
Baenan.
See 2 Esdras 5:37. In the parallel passages: Ezra 2:60; Nehemiah 7:62, he is called Tobiah.
(Mark 6:8)—a container for money, food, or other valuables. Travelers could carry provisions in a bag, while a belt or girdle sometimes served as a purse with a hollow or folded compartment. When Jesus sent the Twelve without bread, bag, or money in their belts, he trained them to depend upon God’s provision and the hospitality offered to the gospel (Mark 6:7-10). The instruction belongs to that mission and is not a condemnation of every practical provision for later travel.
Bagoas
— the name of three persons mentioned in Holy Scripture, namely: a) (Judith 12:11); b) (2 Esdras 5:14); c) (2 Esdras 8:40). This word Pliny takes to be a general designation for eunuchs in the East.
(young men) (2 Sam. 3:16; 16:5; 17:21; 1 Kings 2:8) — a town or settlement of the tribe of Benjamin, not far to the east of Jerusalem, on the road from Jerusalem to the Jordan. To this place Paltiel accompanied his wife Michal with tears, as he sent her back to David at Hebron. Here lived Shimei. Here, in a well, Jonathan and Ahimaaz hid from the pursuit of Absalom’s servants. The exact location of Bahurim is at present unknown.
Bahurimite
(2 Sam. 23:31) and Baharumite (1 Chron. 11:33) — a name denoting the native place of Azmaveth, one of David’s chief and mighty warriors, so called from the city of Bahurim, from which he came.
Bakbakkar Bacbacar
(according to Gesenius: devastation of a mountain) (1 Chron. 9:15) — a Levite, one of the descendants of Asaph.
Bakbuk Bacbuc
(to pour out, to empty) (Ezra 2:51) — one of the Nethinim, whose sons returned from the Babylonian captivity together with Zerubbabel.
Bakbuk Bacbuc
(Ezra 2:51) — of the captives of the deportation, whom Nebuchadnezzar led away to Babylon and who afterward returned to Jerusalem and Judea.
Bakbuk Bacbuc
(emptying-out) (Neh. 7:53) — of the Nethinim, who returned from captivity with Zerubbabel.
Bakbukiah
(emptying-out of God) — the name of two persons: a) (Neh. 11:17) leader of the second choir of thanksgiving at prayer, in the days of Nehemiah; b) (Neh. 12:25) one of the gatekeepers at the threshold of the gates.
Bakhur.
See 2 Esdras 9:24 — a sacred singer, in the reign of King Artaxerxes, who returned together with others from captivity to Jerusalem, and at the urging of the priest Ezra put away his foreign wife with her children.
(not belonging to the people, i.e. not one of them) (Num. 22:5) — son of Beor, or Bosor, and a native of the city of Pethor, which is in Mesopotamia. Accounts of him are contained in the Book of Numbers (chapters 22, 23, 24, and 29 [sic]). He lived at the time when the Israelites were journeying from Egypt to the Promised Land. The number of the Hebrews was so great that the kings of the countries through which they passed, not knowing of their miraculous feeding with manna in the wilderness, feared not without reason that a famine might occur as a result of their incursion into their lands, and that they might make an attempt to conquer their territories.
Among these kings was Balak, king of Moab, who out of fear entered into alliance with the Midianites. He knew that he could not withstand so terrible an enemy, and supposing that the God of Israel, like the pagan deities, could bless or curse depending on his disposition, or depending on the value of the gifts of the offerers, sent for Balaam, who enjoyed the fame of a great seer and soothsayer, and asked him to come and curse the hosts of Israel, promising him great gifts and reward for it.
It was also rumored of Balaam that whomever he blessed would indeed be blessed, and whomever he cursed would be cursed (Num. 22:6). Balaam accepted the tempting proposal, but God Himself prevented him from pronouncing the curse. Three times Balak assigned him a place for this on various high places, and three times, miraculously inspired by God, Balaam, instead of curses, pronounced blessings, and concluded them with an exalted prophecy of the Messiah: “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!” he exclaimed, “As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters… He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up?… There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth” (Num. 24).
But, infected with the passion of covetousness and seduced by the gifts and flattery of Balak, Balaam afterward gave him the ruinous counsel to draw the Israelites gradually into idol-worship, through which, little by little, iniquity and depravity spread among them with the daughters of Moab (Num. 31:16; Rev. 2:14). To cut short this evil and punish the Midianites, God stirred up the zeal of Phinehas; during the defeat of the Midianites, Balaam too was killed (Num. 31:8). St. Peter the Apostle mentions Balaam in his epistle (2:15, 16), calling him one who “loved the wages of unrighteousness,” but was “rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.” He is also mentioned in the epistle of the apostle Jude: “Woe unto them!” he says, “for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core” (v. 11).
Baladan
(from Sanskrit, “having strength and riches”) (Isa. 39:1; 2 Kings 20:12) — the proper name of the father of Merodach [-baladan].
Balak
(empty, idle) (Num. 22–24; Josh. 24:9; Judg. 11:25) — son of Zippor, king of Moab, in the days of Moses, who together with the Midianites summoned Balaam from Mesopotamia to curse the Hebrews. He is also mentioned by the prophet Micah (6:5), and in Revelation (2:14).
Balamon, or Belmen
(Judith 4:4) — a locality mentioned among the cities of Samaria, lying between Beth-horon and Jericho.
—loss or removal of hair. In the ancient setting thick hair could be associated with vigor and honor, while baldness might accompany age, illness, mourning, humiliation, or judgment (Isa. 3:24; Mic. 1:16). At Bethel a group of youths mocked Elisha as “baldhead”; after his curse, two bears came from the woods and mauled forty-two of them (2 Kings 2:23-24). The Hebrew term can denote youths rather than small children, and the verb describes mauling, not necessarily killing. The severe narrative presents contempt for God’s prophet and divine judgment; it does not authorize cruelty toward children or ridicule of bodily appearance.
Balm
(Gen. 37:25) — a resinous liquid obtained from the balm tree, which usually grows in the form of a shrub. Its native land is properly Abyssinia, but it also grows on the mountains of Gilead and in the surrounding region.
Balm of Gilead.
See Balsam.
Balnuus
(2 Esdras 9:31) — descendant of Addi, an Israelite. In the First Book of Ezra (10:30) he is called Binnui.
Bamah Abama
(height) (Ezek. 20:29) — a word frequently found in the Hebrew text, meaning in general sense: an elevation, hill, high place, and the like, chosen for the offering of pagan sacrifices.
(from a root meaning: passion, or, by others, offspring) — the name of two persons: a) one of David’s mighty men, a Gadite (2 Sam. 23:36); b) a Levite, descendant of Merari, son of Bunni [?] and grandfather of Ethan, one of the singers appointed by David (1 Chron. 6:46). Six hundred and forty-two of his descendants returned from captivity (Ezra 2:10), some of whom married foreign wives (10:29–34). He is also called Binnui (Neh. 7:15).
(from a root meaning “to build”) — the name of several persons: a) (1 Chron. 6:46) a Levite of the family of Merari; b) (1 Chron. 9:4) a person mentioned in the genealogy of Uthai, descendant of Perez; c) (Ezra 2:10) an Israelite, whose sons are listed among those who returned from captivity with Zerubbabel; d) (Neh. 3:17) a Levite, father of Rehum; e) (Neh. 10:13 [as given]) a Levite, who gave a pledge not to enter into marriage with foreigners; f) (Neh. 11:22) a Levite, descendant of the singer Asaph; g) (2 Esdras 8:36) an Israelite who came out of Babylon together with others in the reign of Artaxerxes.
Banias. Banid Assalimoth
See Caesarea Philippi.
(Isa. 5:26)—a visible signal by which people or troops are summoned and gathered. Ancient standards may have been distinguished by color or emblem, though the source’s details are conjectural. A “banner on a hill” could be a conspicuous pole or cloth marking a rallying point (Isa. 30:17). Scripture also uses the banner as an image of God’s protection, victory, and love (Ps. 20:5; Song 2:4).
- the sacrament in which a believer, through threefold immersion of the body in water with the invocation of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, dies to the carnal and sinful life and is reborn by the Holy Spirit into a spiritual and holy life. 'Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,' the Lord said, 'he cannot enter into the kingdom of God' (John 3:5). John the Forerunner began baptism with water: he 'verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus' (Acts 19:4).
Jesus Christ sanctified baptism by His own example when He received it from John, and after His resurrection solemnly commanded the apostles: 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost' (Matt 28:19).
(Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22)—Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized. John protested, recognizing his own need, but Jesus answered that it was fitting “to fulfill all righteousness.” Although sinless and needing no repentance, Christ entered the waters in solidarity with the people and in obedience to the Father’s saving purpose.
(son of Jesus) (Acts 13:6) — a magician and false teacher, who lived with Sergius Paulus in the city of Paphos, on the island of Cyprus, during the stay there of the Apostle Paul and Barnabas. Sergius Paulus, proconsul of the Roman government, wished to hear the apostolic preaching of Paul and Barnabas, but Bar-jesus, foreseeing that with the light of the evangelical preaching his own dark activity would come to an end, stubbornly opposed the holy apostles, for which the Apostle Paul struck him with blindness.
As a result of this miracle, the proconsul Sergius came to believe in the Lord. Bar-jesus is also called Elymas (an honorific name from an Arabic word meaning “wise,” and explained by the Apostle Luke by the word “sorcerer”). It is still heard even to this day in the Turkish word Ulema.
(Matt. 27:16) — son of Abba, a notorious criminal in Jerusalem, held in prison for insurrection and murder, at the time of Pilate’s judgment of the Lord Jesus. In some ancient manuscripts and translations of the Bible, such as, for example, the Armenian, this criminal is also called Jesus Barabbas, which was also accepted by Tischendorf; but there is scarcely sufficient ground for this. Among the Romans there was a custom of releasing one of the criminals for the Jewish feast of Passover; the Jews were permitted to name one of the criminals whom they wished to have released for the feast.
Evidently this was done for political purposes, in order to win the Jews over to the Roman government. Pilate, as is evident from the Gospel, wished to make use of this Roman custom to release the Lord Jesus Christ, but the Jews insisted that the robber and murderer be released, and the Lord Jesus be given over to a painful and shameful death on the cross. According to the testimony of historians, a similar custom — of releasing one of the criminals during Passion Week, at the feast of Passover, and specifically by popular choice — existed in the Middle Ages in the Venetian Republic.
Barachel Barachiel
(blessed by God) (Job 32:2, 6, and elsewhere), the Buzite, father of Elihu, one of Job’s friends.
Barada.
See Chrysorrhoas and Syria.
(flash of lightning) (Judg. 4:5 [as given]; Heb. 11:32) — a well-known Israelite, mentioned by St. Paul the Apostle among the ancient persons attested by faith. He was the son of Abinoam, of the tribe of Naphtali, and lived in Kedesh of Naphtali, a city of refuge and of the Levites, whose location was recently discovered by Robinson. Jabin, king of Hazor, who reigned in Hazor, at some distance further south of it, greatly oppressed the Israelites at that time, and, as it were in answer to their cries, by God’s command, the prophetess Deborah arose.
She lived under a palm tree on Mount Ephraim, near Jerusalem. Calling Barak to her and commanding him to go to Mount Tabor with ten thousand warriors, chosen from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun, she promised to deliver into his hand Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army. Barak set as a condition that Deborah accompany him into battle, and they met at Kedesh; then Barak, having gathered 10,000 warriors, suddenly attacked Sisera’s army and utterly defeated it. The victorious Israelites pursued the fleeing enemy as far as Harosheth of the Gentiles.
Sisera had hidden in the tent of Jael, wife of Heber, but was struck dead in the temple by her with a tent peg and a hammer. This victory was celebrated in a song of thanksgiving by Deborah and Barak (Judg. 5). Over the course of, perhaps, several days, Barak broke the power of Jabin and put an end to the twenty years’ oppression of the Israelites by him.
Baran.
See Ram.
(Rom. 1:14; Col. 3:11) — this word originally denoted all the peoples of the earth except the Greeks. As a result, the population of the whole world was divided into Greeks and barbarians. Hence the word “barbarian” denotes a foreigner, one who does not speak the language of the native country. In the Book of Acts (28:2), in the epistle to the Romans (1:14), and to the Colossians (3:11), the word “barbarian” denotes a person who belonged neither to the Jews nor to the Greeks.
(according to Gesenius: hail; according to Fürst: place of sowing) (Gen. 16:14) — a locality south of Beersheba, on the road from Hebron to Shur (v. 7). Between this place and Kadesh was found the spring called Beer-lahai-roi. Bared is probably the same as Chesil in the Book of Joshua (15:30), and Bethuel (1 Chron. 4:30).
(according to Gesenius: hail; according to Fürst: place of sowing) (Gen. 16:14) — a locality south of Beersheba, on the road from Hebron to Shur (v. 7). Between this place and Kadesh was found the spring called Beer-lahai-roi. Bared is probably the same as Chesil in the Book of Joshua (15:30), and Bethuel (1 Chron. 4:30).
Barkos
(painter) (Ezra 2:53; Neh. 7:55) — a person whose descendants were among the Nethinim and returned from the Babylonian captivity with Zerubbabel.
Barkos
(painter) (Ezra 2:53; Neh. 7:55) — a person whose descendants were among the Nethinim, and returned from the Babylonian captivity with Zerubbabel.
Barkos
(painter) (Neh. 7:55) — the sons of Barkos were among the Nethinim who returned from captivity with Zerubbabel to Judea. In the Book of Ezra (2:53) it reads: Barkos, and in 2 Esdras (5:32 [as given]): Barchus.
(Exod. 9:31; Lev. 27:16; Num. 5:15; Judg. 7:13; Job 31:40; Ruth 1:22; 2:17; John 6:9, 13, and elsewhere)—a widely cultivated grain in Palestine. Barley ripened earlier than wheat: Egypt’s barley was in the ear when the plague of hail struck (Exod. 9:31), and the barley harvest formed the setting for Ruth’s arrival in Bethlehem and her gleaning in Boaz’s field. The firstfruits sheaf was presented during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:10-14).
(son of consolation) (Acts 4:36) — a Levite, a native of Cyprus, an apostolic man, companion of the Apostle Paul, by tradition one of the Seventy Apostles. He was originally called Joses; but since he had a remarkable power of speech and persuasion, and at the same time brought comfort to the unfortunate, he was surnamed Barnabas, which in the Syriac tongue means “son of consolation.” St. Luke the Apostle and Evangelist calls him “a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith” (Acts 11:24).
Barnabas presented St. Paul to the apostles and told them of his miraculous conversion. Trust in him on the part of the leading Christians was so great that he was specially sent to Antioch, so that he might bring reliable news of the successes of the Gospel in that famous city, where the disciples of Christ were first named Christians. Further, we see that he traveled with Paul to many cities, and on one occasion the pagans took him for Jupiter in human form. Truly St. Barnabas the Apostle was one of those great men who sacrificed all their possessions and all their spiritual strength for the success and spread of the Gospel.
He was a faithful and pious apostle, a renowned confessor, an unfailing companion of St. Paul the Apostle (Acts 9, 13, 14, 15) and shared, equally with the other apostles, the labors and sufferings that were inevitably bound up with the early spread of Christianity. Tradition says that the Apostle Barnabas preached the Gospel in Alexandria, where, as is known, his kinsman Mark also labored, and that he died a martyr’s death (was stoned to death) at the hands of unbelieving Jews in his homeland, in the city of Salamis, on the island of Cyprus.
His death is placed in the year 76 A.D., and, as tradition relates, the relics of St. Barnabas the Apostle were discovered in the reign of Zeno (in 478), together with the Gospel of St. Matthew upon his breast. Under the name of Barnabas there is known a certain epistle, written, in the opinion of some, to believing Jews, and in the opinion of others, to Christians from among the pagans. In the opinion of Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome, it is a genuine work of Barnabas, though it is not counted among the canonical books.
Its appearance is dated to the 70th year A.D. In the Sinaitic Codex of Tischendorf it stands at the end of the New Testament books, together with the book “The Shepherd” (of Hermas). The memory of St. Barnabas the Apostle is celebrated by the Church on January 4 and June 11.
Bartacus
(2 Esdras 4:29) — father of Apame, concubine of King Darius. He is given the epithet “the wonder” (ho thaumastos).
Bartholomew
(from the Hebrew: son of Talmai) (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13) — one of the twelve apostles of the Lord, called by John (1:45) Nathanael, a native of Cana of Galilee. See Nathanael.
Bartimaeus
(son of Timaeus) (Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35, 43; Matt. 20:29, 34) — a poor blind man of Jericho, to whom the Lord miraculously restored his sight.
(blessed) (Jer. 36:10; 32:12; Baruch 1:1) — a prophet, one of the sons of Neriah, of the tribe of Judah, according to Josephus of a distinguished family. He was in close friendship with the prophet Jeremiah, who, during the siege of Jerusalem, attested his friendship for him by redeeming his field in Anathoth, which had belonged to his uncle Hanamel. Baruch, as scribe to the prophet Jeremiah, wrote down from his dictation, while the prophet was in prison, his predictions concerning the invasion of the Babylonians and the captivity of the Jews (36:4, 18), and then, at Jeremiah’s direction, read them to the people in the house of the Lord (vv. 10, 13), and also to the princes (v. 15).
The latter were alarmed by the dread rebukes contained in these prophecies and reported this to the king, who himself listened to the writing and, as it was read, cut off piece by piece with a scribe’s penknife and threw it into the fire, into the brazier (v. 23). Even to this day the Jews commemorate the burning of the sacred scroll with an annual fast. Jeremiah and Baruch, fleeing from the wrath of King Jehoiakim, who had ordered them shut up in prison, hid themselves by God’s command (vv. 19, 26).
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign (36 [as given]), Baruch again wrote down the same prophecy from Jeremiah’s dictation, and, in addition to it, appended a denunciation against Jehoiakim himself (36:32). The Jews, ill-disposed toward Baruch, since he, in their opinion, had induced Jeremiah to hand them over into the hands of the Chaldeans (43:3), cast both him and Jeremiah into prison, in which they remained until the taking of Jerusalem, and when, contrary to Jeremiah’s exhortations, the remnant of the Jews removed to Egypt, both of them were compelled to accompany it (43:6).
Jeremiah died in Egypt. Of Baruch’s return from that country nothing is mentioned, and some, among them Jerome, basing themselves on the testimony of the Jews, assert that Baruch also died in Egypt. The rabbis, however, testify that he died in Babylon, in the twelfth year after the destruction of Jerusalem.
(made of iron) — the name of three persons: a) (2 Sam. 21:8) father of Adriel, whose five sons by Michal, Saul’s daughter, were delivered by David into the hands of the Gibeonites and hanged by them; b) (Ezra 2:61; Neh. 7:63) a priest who took to wife one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by his name; c) (2 Sam. 17:27; 19:31; 1 Kings 2:7) a wealthy Gileadite, of Rogelim, and a close friend of David when he fled during Absalom’s rebellion. The rebellion was suppressed, and David was returning to Jerusalem.
Barzillai accompanied the king, together with others, across the Jordan itself. The grateful king invited the old man to go with him to Jerusalem and spend the rest of his days at court. Barzillai declined the king’s gracious invitation, pleading his advanced age and the infirmities of old age, but his son Chimham went with David in his father’s place. The conversation that took place between King David and Barzillai on this occasion is without doubt one of the most touching that one may read on the pages of Biblical history (2 Sam. 19:31–39).
David, even shortly before his own death, took thought for the sons of Barzillai, commending them to the special care of Solomon (1 Kings 2:1–7), and even made them members of his royal household.
(balsamic, fragrant, pleasant) — the names of two wives mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and of one in the Third Book of Kings: a) (Gen. 26:34) one of Esau’s wives, daughter of Elon, otherwise called Adah; b) one of Esau’s wives, daughter of Ishmael, otherwise called Mahalath (Gen. 28:9); c) daughter of Solomon, given in marriage to one of Solomon’s officers, Ahimaaz (1 Kings 4:15).
(from the Arabic — sandy, soft; according to others — basalt land) (Num. 21:33) — a hilly region east of the Jordan, between the mountains of Hermon to the north and those of Gilead to the south. Its later name was Batanea. The ancient name of this region probably derived from the lofty Mount Bashan, lying in its very center, which the psalmist calls “the mountain of God” and “an high hill” (Ps. 68 [67]:15, 16). This region was famed even in antiquity for its enormous oaks (Isa. 2:13), rich pastures (Micah 7:14), and fine breeds of cattle (Ps. 22 [21]:12).
In the days of Moses the region of Bashan was ruled by king Og, who, joining with Sihon, king of the Amorites, declared war on Israel, but both of them were defeated and utterly routed at Edrei (Num. 21:33–35). After this Bashan passed as an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh. From the testimony of modern-day travelers it is evident that this locality, though distinguished by its beautiful picturesque views, recalling many of the loveliest countries and localities of Europe, has its cities and settlements ruined, abandoned, without inhabitants, in desolation.
Thus have been, and continue to be, fulfilled in a striking manner the prophecies of God concerning the land of Bashan, Gilead, and other cities, for their impiety. “For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up,” foretold Isaiah, “and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan” (2:12, 13). “The highways lie waste,” exclaim, in the spirit of prophetic inspiration, the prophets Isaiah, Amos, Micah, and Zechariah, “the wayfaring man ceaseth: the earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits” (Isa. 33:8, 9).
“Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down” (Zech. 11:2). “The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up” (Amos 5:2).
(Lev. 11:19, Deut. 14:18, Is. 2:20)—a mammal of the order of Chiroptera, unclean according to the Law of Moses. Bats hide during the day in caves, old ruins, towers, and other empty and secluded places, and usually fly out in the evening in search of prey. The epithet “bat” is considered in the East one of the most insulting. The expression “to cast to the bats” (Is. 2:20) means to doom to hatred and desolation. The number of bats in certain cities of western Asia is truly enormous; there they even fly into rooms, being useful, however, in that they destroy mosquitoes, flies, and other insects. In Palestine, especially near the Dead Sea, in the Jordan Valley, and near the Sea of Gennesaret, bats are found in great numbers.
Bat
. See Flying mouse.
(daughter of many) (Song of Songs 7:5) — a gate of the city of Heshbon. According to the custom in eastern and other cities, such gates received their name from the place to which the road leading from them went. It may have been Rabbah-Ammon, situated at a distance of 16 English miles from them, but from the citation given above we see that the gate of Bath-rabbim was located by the fishponds, one of which is still preserved near Heshbon, though these ponds were quite far from Rabbah-Ammon.
(2 Sam 11:2) - bathing and frequent washings were prescribed to the Hebrews by the Mosaic Law (Exod 30:18; Lev 14:8 and elsewhere). The hot eastern climate, heavy perspiration, long droughts, wind, dust, and fine sand made frequent bathing necessary for health. Public baths probably arose early, while the wealthy had them in their own houses (2 Sam 11:2; Susanna 15). Stone water jars were used for household washings (John 2:6). Scripture also mentions hot springs (Gen 36:24), and mineral baths existed at Callirrhoe by the Dead Sea, at Gadara near the Sea of Tiberias, and elsewhere.
(Exod. 2:5). Bathing and washing were especially frequently practiced among the peoples of the East. Since the inhabitants of the East often went about barefoot or in sandals, upon returning from a journey they washed their feet for cleanliness and refreshment (Gen. 18:4). The feet of members of a household were usually washed by servants; only daughters washed the feet of their parents. Hence the expression “to wash the feet of the saints” signified an act of deep humility and love (1 Tim. 5:10), which in the highest degree was shown to us all, as an example, by the Lord Savior, when He washed the feet of His disciples at the Last Supper (John 13:8).
The Hebrews commonly washed their hands up to the elbows before partaking of food; they even washed their couches before reclining at table. At the marriage in Cana of Galilee there were in the house of the feast six stone waterpots, filled with water for the washing of the hands of the guests as they entered the feast (John 2:6). Usually the duty of washing the hands and feet of the masters was performed by servants, as we noted above, and how it was performed can be seen from the following words of the Fourth Book of Kings: “Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah” (2 Kings 3:11), so answered one of the servants of the king of Israel to the question of Jehoshaphat.
The same custom is preserved even to this day in the East. There you will nowhere see water prepared beforehand in a vessel for washing; but a servant pours from a pitcher onto the hands of his master. The custom of washing hands before a meal is likewise preserved to the present time. A servant walks with a ewer around the table where the guests are seated, and with a basin to receive the water running from the guests’ hands. The washing of feet was a universal custom in the East. The washing of hands in certain instances was regarded as a solemn declaration of one’s innocence, as we see from the example of Pilate (Matt. 27:24).
In general, purification and washing among the Hebrews were very common, were connected with religious prescriptions, and were prescribed by the Law itself. External washings are often represented in Holy Scripture as an image of moral purification (Ps. 50 [51]:4–9). The words “bath” and “washing” are used by the apostles in the sense of regeneration into spiritual life in the sacrament of baptism (Titus 3:5). Washings and bathing took place among the Hebrews in rivers (2 Kings 5:10), and in private household baths (2 Sam. 11:2; Dan. 13:15).
In later times, among the Hebrews, as among the Greeks and Romans, public baths also came to be built. There were also farms, or hot springs, near Tiberias, used for bathing and considered to have healing properties.
(daughter of the oath) (2 Sam. 11:3) — daughter of Eliam, and wife of Uriah the Hittite. She is also called the daughter of Ammiel (1 Chron. 3:5). David committed adultery with her, and, as punishment for it, the child born to her on the seventh day died (2 Sam. 12:18). Afterward David married her, and she bore him Solomon (2 Sam. 12:24; Matt. 1:6) and three more sons (1 Chron. 3:5). Her influence on David was, it seems, very great, so that she prompted him to proclaim her elder son Solomon king (1 Kings 1:34). She afterward played the chief part in bringing to nothing Adonijah’s attempt to seize David’s throne (1 Kings 1:11–28).
Battering Rams
(Ezek. 21:22)—military engines used to break walls. See War.
Bavvai Benei
(son of desire) (Neh. 3:18) (a word probably of Persian origin) — son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah, one of those who took part in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the captivity, in the days of Nehemiah.
(Isa. 15:2) — a place in the land of Moab. The word bayith means a house or shrine of the Moabite idols, and may refer not only to a city but also to the shrine in question. “He, that is, Moab,” says the passage cited, “is gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep.” Nothing is presently known of its location.
Bazmuth
(bulb, or, by others, son) (Ezra 2:52) — one of the Nethinim, whose sons returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. In the Book of Nehemiah he is called Bazlith (7:54), and in 2 Esdras (5:31): Bassaloth [as given].
(Gen. 2:12) — in the opinion of the Jews, a pearl or some other precious stone, such as carbuncle, crystal, and the like. In eastern India there is a kind of fragrant resin bearing the same name, and for this reason many think that this aromatic substance is what is meant in the passage cited; others suppose that the word signifies pearls, of the kind now found in the Persian Gulf. According to the Septuagint’s translation, bdellium is the same as anthrax, otherwise carbuncle, or crystal, so called for its resemblance to ice.
Bealiah Baalia
(God is Lord) (1 Chron. 12:5). This word consists of two words: Baal-Yah — one of those who came over to David at Ziklag.
(2 Sam. 17:28) — a garden plant, mentioned in Holy Scripture among other nourishing foods brought to David during his flight from Absalom. Beans were often mixed, and are still mixed to this day, in the East with white corn flour, ground together, and the bread baked from this mixture came out firmer and more pleasant in taste. Pliny mentions that beans were mixed with ground wheat in exactly the same way. In the book of the prophet Ezekiel (4:9) the distressed state of the people of Jerusalem during the coming siege is depicted under the image of bread baked from wheat, barley, beans, lentils, and spelt.
Garden beans, boiled with oil and onion, are to this day a favorite dish among the inhabitants of the Levant. The so-called horse bean (Vicia faba) is used as fodder for pack animals.
(Prov 17:12). The Syrian bear is in fact the very species of that predatory animal so often mentioned in the Bible. Among the Hebrews, the mother-love of the she-bear for her cubs became proverbial. Her fury at the sight of her cubs being taken from her assumed terrible proportions, as is indicated in 2 Samuel (17:8) and in the prophet Hosea (13:8). David defended his flocks from the attack of a bear (1 Sam 17:34-36). Two she-bears, coming out of the forest, tore forty-two children who had mocked the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 2:24).
Bebai
(Judith 15:4) — a locality mentioned among the cities and regions of Judea, to which envoys were sent from Bethulia with news of the killing of Holofernes. Its exact location is unknown, but it is thought to have been located in the northern part of Palestine.
Bebai
(2 Esdras 9:29). In the First Book of Ezra (10:28) it reads Bebai — father of four Israelites who returned from captivity and, at Ezra’s urging, put away their foreign wives.
(of my father, or paternal) — names of persons mentioned in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah: a) (Ezra 2:11; Neh. 7:16) of the Israelites who returned from captivity with Zerubbabel. Here in the Russian text it reads “Bebai” in Ezra, and “Bevai” in Nehemiah, and in 2 Esdras (5:13): “Bibai”; b) (Ezra 8:11) of the descendants, probably, of the same Bebai, who returned with Zerubbabel; c) (Ezra 10:28) of the descendants of the same, probably Bebai, who had wives of foreign nations. In 2 Esdras (9:29) it reads “Bibai”; d) (Neh. 10:15) of the heads of the people, in the days of Nehemiah.
Becher
(young camel) — the name of two persons: a) (Gen. 46:21) second son of Benjamin, who removed together with the patriarch Jacob and all his household into Egypt; b) (Num. 26:35) one of the sons of Ephraim, forefather of the family of the Becherites.
Becorath Bachir
(firstborn) (1 Sam. 9:1) — one of the ancestors of Saul.
Bectileth
(Judith 2:21) — a plain lying between Nineveh and Cilicia, three days’ journey from Nineveh.
Bedad Barad
(separation, a portion of something) (Gen. 36:35; 1 Chron. 1:46) — name of the father of one of the kings of Edom, who reigned in Avith.
Bedan
(son of Dan) (1 Chron. 7:17) — a person mentioned in the genealogy of Manasseh.
Bedeiah
(under the shelter of Jehovah, or His servant) (Ezra 10:35) — probably a shortened form of the name Obadiah, descendant of Bani, one of those who married foreign wives, in the days of Ezra.
Bee and Beekeeping
(Deut. 1:44). Few insects are more widely distributed than the bee. Its abilities, industry, and valuable produce drew attention from the earliest times. The source notes ancient writers who devoted years to studying bees. Scripture contains many references to them and their manner of life.
Beeliada Eliade
(whom the Lord knows) (1 Chron. 14:7) — one of David’s sons, born in Jerusalem. In 1 Chronicles (3:8) he is called Eliada, and in 2 Samuel (5:16), Elidae [as given].
Beelsarus
(2 Esdras 5:8). In the First Book of Ezra (2:2) and in Nehemiah (7:7) it reads Bilshan — one who returned from the captivity of the deportation, together with others whom Nebuchadnezzar had deported to Babylon.
Beeltethmus
(2 Esdras 2:16, 26). In the First Book of Ezra (4:8) the word “counselor” stands in place of Beeltethmus. This was one of the Persian officials residing in Samaria.
(god of flies) (2 Kings 1:2, 3, 6, 16; Matt. 10:25; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18) — an idol or deity of Ekron, who protected against flies. This deity was especially venerated at Ekron, without doubt because there, as in low-lying coastal regions generally, flies were especially numerous among the various insects, greatly troubling the inhabitants of the city. However, it is evident from the Fourth Book of Kings (1:2) that Beelzebub was considered a deity not only protecting against flies, but also a patron of the medical art.
Thus Ahaziah, king of Israel, sent to inquire of this idol concerning his recovery from a grave illness. Under the name Beelzebub, mentioned in the New Testament (Matt. 10:25; 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18, 19), one must understand the chief of the evil spirits, the prince of demons, whom the Lord Himself calls Satan.
(well) — the name of two localities: a) (Judg. 9:21) a city between Jerusalem and Shechem, to which Jotham, son of Gideon, fled, escaping from his brother Abimelech. It is now the deserted settlement of el-Bireh, four hours’ journey southwest of Jerusalem; b) (Num. 21:16–18) one of the last stations of the Israelites on the border of Moab, during the forty years’ wandering of the Hebrews in the Arabian wilderness. It was so named from the well dug here by the leaders of the people of Israel to quench thirst, which gave rise to the following joyful national song: “Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it: the well, which the princes digged, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves” (v. 17, 18).
Beer-elim Aelim
(well of the mighty) — a name found only in the prophet Isaiah (15:8). A locality probably located on the border of Moab. Perhaps this refers to the encampment in the land of Moab where God miraculously brought forth water from the ground to quench the thirst of the Israelites.
(well of the Living One who seeth me) (Gen. 16:14) — a spring located between Kadesh and Bared, in the wilderness on the road to Shur, in southern Palestine. It was so named by Hagar, when she was at this spring, because God saw her in that place. At this same spring lived Isaac, both during his father’s lifetime and after it (Gen. 24:62; 25:11). It is thought that the site of the well was located at the present-day hamlet of Moyle, on the way to Beeroth, near which is a cave bearing the name Beit Hajar.
Beera
(well, spring) — the name of two persons: a) (1 Chron. 5:6) prince of the Reubenites, whom Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, led away captive; b) (1 Chron. 7:37) son of Zophah, a person mentioned in the genealogy of the descendants of Asher.
Beeri
(belonging to a spring) (Hos. 1:1) — father of the prophet Hosea, but who he was is unknown.
(springs) — the name of two localities: a) (Josh. 9:17; 18:25) a city of the tribe of Benjamin, situated at the foot of the hill on which Gibeon was built, several miles northeast of Jerusalem. It is now known by the name el-Bireh; b) (Num. 33:31, 32) the name likewise given to the place that served as an encampment of the Israelites during their journey through the wilderness of Arabia (Deut. 10:6), also called Bene-jaakan.
Beerothite
(2 Sam. 4:2–9; 23:37) — an inhabitant of the city of Beeroth, of the tribe of Benjamin. This word is also found in the form Berothite (1 Chron. 11:39).
(well of the oath) (Beersheba: because there both of them, that is, Abraham and Abimelech, swore an oath) (Gen. 21:31). Originally this was the name of a well beside which Abraham lived for a long time, and after him Isaac (Gen. 26:32, 33). Later it became a city of considerable importance. It was situated 20 English miles south of Hebron, at the southern extremity of the land of Canaan, while the city of Dan was at its northern extremity; hence the expression “from Dan to Beersheba” (Judg. 20:1) denoted the whole length of the land, just as the expression “from Beersheba to mount Ephraim” (2 Chron.
19:4) denoted the whole length of the kingdom of Judah. The city lay within the borders of Judah and was finally assigned as an inheritance to the tribe of Simeon (Josh. 15:28; 19:2). The sons of Samuel lived at Beersheba (1 Sam. 8:2), and in later times the inhabitants of the city gave themselves over to idolatry (Amos 5:5; 8:14). More recent travelers have found wells near the supposed site of ancient Beersheba. Near a stream, says Robinson, are two round wells with excellent water, more than 50 feet deep.
Both are surrounded by stone watering troughs for camels, of the kind undoubtedly used in ancient times for the flocks that grazed on the neighboring hills. Near this same place are five smaller wells. This locality evokes many precious memories of very deep antiquity, and the imagination cannot help picturing tents, flocks, and the simple manners and customs of the ancient patriarchs.
Beersheba
(well of the oath), for there both of them, that is, Abraham and Abimelech, king of the Philistines, swore an oath (Gen. 21:31).
Beeshterah
(house of Astarte) (Josh. 21:27) — a city of refuge in the half-tribe of Manasseh, on the other side of the Jordan, given to the Levites. In 1 Chronicles (6:71) it is called Ashtaroth.
(a great amphibious animal) (2 Esdras 6:51; Job 40:10–19). Under this designation, following Bochart, one must understand not some kind of mammoth or elephant, as many think, but the hippopotamus, or river horse of the Nile, of the class of thick-skinned mammals. The description of Behemoth in the Book of Job is made in great and forceful detail, and its accuracy is confirmed by natural history. The river horse, or hippopotamus, is an animal of enormous size and astonishing strength, with a broad head, short legs, and in outward appearance resembles an enormous pig, up to 12 feet in length and up to 7 feet in height.
(supreme lord) (Isa. 46:1; Jer. 50:2; 51:44; Dan. 14:14–22) — the name of the supreme deity, worshiped in Babylon as the god of the sun and light. In honor of Bel a most magnificent temple was erected in Babylon, in the form of a high, four-sided tower, in the shape of eight towers built one upon another. However, according to more recent research, it is supposed that this structure served as an astronomical observatory of the ancient Chaldeans, and that its eight stories were actually designed for observing the sun, the moon, and the various planets.
A golden image of Bel stood on the lower level, and on the very topmost level was a bed and a golden table, on which the priests of the temple placed for him every day a variety of food, which, however, they themselves ate — a deception that was discovered and exposed by the prophet Daniel. In one of the citations noted above, Bel stands together with the name Nebo (Isa. 46:1), and in another (Jer. 50:2) with the name Merodach. Nebo and Merodach were also considered Babylonian deities.
Bel.
See Bel [i.e., Vil/Bel].
(destruction, ruin) — the name of three men: a) (Gen. 36:31, 32) son of Beor, king of Edom, who reigned in Dinhabah, whom some take to be Balaam; b) (Gen. 46:21) eldest son of Benjamin, head of the family of the Belaites; c) (1 Chron. 5:8, 9) son of Azaz, of the tribe of Reuben, whose dwelling place is described thus: “He dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon: and eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness from the river Euphrates, because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.”
(destruction, extermination) (Gen. 14:2, 8) — one of the five cities located in the valley of Siddim. It was situated on the southern shore of the Dead Sea, on the road to Egypt (Jer. 48:34), and was spared by God at Lot’s entreaty when the other cities were destroyed. It was afterward also called Zoar and Segor.
Belbaim
(Judith 7:3) — a locality lying southeast of Dothan. Perhaps this locality is identical with Belmen. In the Syriac text it is read: Abel-meholah.
(worthless, good-for-nothing; a Hebrew word) — a word frequently found in the Old Testament, occurring first in the Book of Deuteronomy (13:13), then in Ps. 41 [40]:9 [8], Judg. 19:22, 1 Sam. 1:13, and elsewhere; in the New Testament it occurs only in the Second Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians (6:15), where it is read “Belial.” In general this word is applied by the sacred writers to all depraved, impious, and evil people, but especially to Satan, as the chief author of all impiety and evil.
For this reason the question of the Apostle Paul, addressed to the citizens of the city of Corinth, who were known, as is well known, for their looseness and levity of morals, appears especially forceful: “And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” (2 Cor. 6:15).
Belmen
(Judith 4:4). See Balamon.
(the meaning of the word has not yet been determined): a) (Dan. 5:1, 9, 12, 22, 29, 30) son or grandson of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 5:18) and the last king of Babylon of the Chaldean dynasty. During the siege of the city of Babylon by Cyrus, king of Persia, and Darius the Mede, Belshazzar made a great feast for his nobles and, in blasphemous mockery, drank wine with his guests from the golden and silver vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar from the Temple of Jerusalem. And behold, in the very height of the impious feast, a mysterious hand traced upon the wall the fateful words: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin, which the prophet Daniel, summoned to the banquet hall, explained as follows: Mene — God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it; Tekel — thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting; Upharsin (otherwise Peres) — thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians (Dan. 5:26, 28).
And indeed, amid the general drunkenness, the city was left without any watch, and the gates and the riverbed remained open without proper guard. The Persians entered the city unhindered and took possession of it without any resistance. The Babylonians fell by the thousands under the strokes of the sword and by fire; the bold band of raiders even penetrated into the royal palace and put to death the drunken king and his nobles. “In that night,” says the prophet Daniel, “was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old” (Dan. 5:30, 31); b) (Dan. 1:7) the name given to the prophet Daniel at the court of Nebuchadnezzar, and by which he is often mentioned in the subsequent chapters.
Belt
. See Eastern Clothing.
Since garments were made long and hung down loosely to the very feet, they were customarily girded about the loins with belts. This gave a handsome appearance to the figure and protected against entanglement during labor or movement. Hence the expression “to gird up the loins” became a significant figurative expression, signifying readiness for service, activity, and vigilance, while the other expression—“to loosen the belt”—signified surrendering oneself to rest and idleness (2 Kings 4:29, Job 38:3, Is. 5:27, Jer. 1:17, Luke 12:35, Acts 12:8, 1 Pet. 1:13).
Belts were made of straps, cotton fabric, or leather, and were six inches or more in width, with a buckle attached in the middle, by means of which the length of the belt could be lengthened or shortened. Sometimes belts were made of fine linen or linen fabric (Ezek. 16:10) and were often adorned with rich metal ornaments, precious stones, or gold embroidery. A belt was sometimes used also to carry a weapon (2 Sam. 20:8), money, and other things customarily carried in a pocket.
The people of God’s full devotion to His service is figuratively explained by a belt lying close to a man’s loins (Jer. 13:11). In the same way, righteousness and faithfulness are called by the prophet (Is. 11:5) the girdle of the Promised Messiah.
Ben-abinadab
(son of the noble one) (1 Kings 4:11) — an officer over Israel under Solomon, married to his daughter Taphath.
Ben-ammi Amman
(son of my kindred) (Gen. 19:38) — son of Lot by his younger daughter, forefather of the Ammonites.
Ben-deker Dacar
(piercing) (1 Kings 4:9) — of the officers over Israel under Solomon.
Ben-geber
(son of the mighty one) (1 Kings 4:13) — of the officers under Solomon, in Ramoth-gilead, who monthly supplied provisions for the king and his household.
(son of Hadad, or Gadad) — a common title of the kings of Syria, just as, for example, the name Pharaoh was a general title for the kings of Egypt. In Holy Scripture, three kings of Syria, or of Damascus, are mentioned under this name: a) (1 Kings 15:18; 2 Chron. 16:2) a Syrian king, in the days of Asa, king of Judah, with whom the latter made an alliance against Baasha, king of Israel; b) (1 Kings 20:1, 34; 22:1; 2 Kings 6:8, 33; 7; 8:7, 15) Ben-hadad, king of Syria, son of the preceding.
He was a proud, boastful, treacherous king, godless and hardened of heart (1 Kings 20:10–12). He declared war on Joram, king of Israel, but the prophet Elisha revealed the intentions of Ben-hadad to the king so promptly and precisely that Joram was able to repel the enemy (2 Kings 6:8–33). Several years later, during the siege of Samaria, that city was reduced to the last extremity. Starving women then ate their own children. The Syrian forces, under the command of Ben-hadad, had already blockaded the city, but during the night it seemed to them that they heard a great noise of approaching armies.
Supposing that an Israelite army was hurrying to the city’s relief with provisions, the Syrians fled at daybreak in terror from the city walls, scattering along the way, in their flight, their provisions, garments, vessels, and the like. The following year Ben-hadad, having fallen ill, sent his servant Hazael to ask the prophet Elisha whether he would recover. The prophet answered Hazael that the king might perhaps recover, but would certainly soon die. The prophet also told Hazael that he would ascend the throne of Syria, but that, being king, he would do much evil to the sons of Israel.
The very next day after this, Hazael with his own hand killed Ben-hadad and became king of Syria (see Hazael). The account of this is contained in the Fourth Book of Kings (8:7–15). The wars of this king, under the name of Hadad-ezer, and of his successor Hazael against the Assyrians are recorded on one of the fragments of an obelisk brought out of Nimrud and now found in the British Museum; c) (2 Kings 13:3) Ben-hadad III, king of Syria, son of Hazael. He suffered many defeats at the hand of Joash, king of Israel, and was obliged to give up the whole territory of Israel that his father Hazael had conquered (2 Kings 13:25).
Ben-hadad.
See Ben-hadad [Benhadad].
Ben-hail
(son of strength) (2 Chron. 17:7) — one of the princes under Jehoshaphat, sent together with the Levites and priests through the cities of Judah to teach the people the law of God.
Ben-hanan Ana Phana
(son of the good, gracious one) (1 Chron. 4:20) — a person of the descendants of Shimon, or Simon, of the line of the patriarch Judah.
Ben-hesed Esdi
(son of the good one) (1 Kings 4:10) — father of one of the officers appointed by Solomon to oversee provisions for the king and his household.
Ben-hur Been
(white, bright) (1 Kings 4:8) — likewise one of the officers under Solomon, on Mount Ephraim.
Ben-oni
(son of my sorrow) (Gen. 35:18) — the youngest son of Jacob by Rachel. So his mother named him, dying in the pains of her labor; but his father called him Benjamin (son of the right hand), or son of days, that is, of old age.
Ben-zoheth Zoab
(strong, healthy) (1 Chron. 4:20) — one of the sons of Ishi, mentioned in the genealogy of Simeon.
(God builds, raises up) — the name of the following persons: a) (Ezek. 11:1–13) father of Pelatiah, one of the princes of the people, in the days of the prophet Ezekiel; b) (Ezra 10:35) one of the Israelites who married foreign wives after the return from captivity; c) (Ezra 10:43) of the sons of Nebo, who likewise had a foreign wife.
Benaiah
(2 Chron. 31:13) — a Levite, of the overseers at the Temple, in the reign of Hezekiah.
(God builds, creates) — the name of the following persons: a) (2 Sam. 23:36 [as given]) son of the priest Jehoiada, of Kabzeel, one of David’s great and mighty men, distinguished by his enterprise and bravery on various occasions, such as: he struck down two sons of Ariel of Moab, killed a lion in a pit in time of snow, and an Egyptian giant (2 Sam. 23:20–22; 1 Chron. 11:22, 23). Benaiah remained faithful to David also during the conspiracy of Adonijah (1 Kings 1:8), and, having put Adonijah, Shimei, and Joab to death by Solomon’s command, became, after the death of the latter, commander-in-chief (1 Kings 2:35; 4:4); b) (1 Chron.
11:31; 2 Sam. 23:30) a Pirathonite, one of David’s thirty mighty men; c) (1 Chron. 15:18, 20; 16:5) a Levite, a contemporary of David, who played the psaltery with a delicate voice; d) (1 Chron. 15:24; 16:6) likewise a priest, contemporary of David, who blew the trumpet before the Ark of the Covenant; e) (2 Esdras 9:26) one of the Israelites who returned from Babylon to Jerusalem and, at Ezra’s urging, put away his foreign wife; f) (1 Chron. 4:36) one of the princes of the tribe of Simeon; g) (2 Chron. 20:14) a Levite of the sons of Asaph, ancestor of Jahaziel.
Benaiah
(see Benaiah and Bani) — the name of two persons: a) (Ezra 10:25) son of Parosh, who had a foreign wife. In 2 Esdras (9:26) it reads: Baanah; b) (Ezra 10:30) of the Israelites, of the sons of Pahath-moab, who had likewise married foreign wives.
Bene-berak Banaebacat
(sons of Barak) (Josh. 19:45) — a city in the tribe of Dan. This name does not occur elsewhere in Holy Scripture.
Bene-jaakan.
See Beeroth.
Beninui
(Neh. 10:13) — a Levite, one of those who set his seal to the covenant written by Ezra.
(son of the right hand, i.e. of strength, of good fortune) — the name of the following persons: a) (Gen. 35:18, and elsewhere) youngest son of Jacob by Rachel. His mother died immediately after his birth, which took place near Bethlehem, on Jacob’s journey from Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan. In her dying labor pains she called him Ben-oni, which means “son of my sorrow,” but his father gave him another name — Benjamin, that is, “son of my right hand.” Benjamin gave much joy to his aged father, and every reader of the Bible is undoubtedly familiar with the special attachment and love shown to him by Joseph, when his brothers brought Benjamin with them to Egypt.
Jacob, on his deathbed, foretold the fate of Benjamin and his tribe thus: “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil” (Gen. 49:27) — a prophecy fully vindicated in the later warlike inclinations of this tribe; b) (1 Chron. 7:10) son of Bilhan, a Benjamite; c) (Ezra 10:32) son or descendant of Harim, in the days of Ezra, married to a foreign woman; d) (Neh. 3:23) one of those who repaired the wall of Jerusalem; e) (Neh. 12:34) of the leaders in Judea, at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem.
Beno
(his son) (1 Chron. 24:26, 27) — one of the descendants of Merari, a Levite, mentioned in the genealogy of Levi.
Beon Baean
(house, dwelling) — a city on the eastern side of the Jordan (Num. 32:3), probably the same as Baal-meon (Num. 32:38), or Beth-baal-meon (Josh. 13:17).
Beor
(lamp, lampstand) — the name of the following persons: a) (Gen. 36:32) father of Bela, one of the first kings of Edom; b) (Num. 22:5, and elsewhere) father of the well-known prophet Balaam. In the New Testament, in the epistle of the Apostle Peter (2:15), instead of Beor he is called Bosor.
Bera Balla
(gift, present) (Gen. 14:2) — king of Sodom, who reigned in the days of Abraham.
Beracah
(blessing of God) (1 Chron. 12:3) — a Benjamite, of the mighty men under David who joined him at Ziklag.
Berea
(2 Macc. 13:4) — a Syrian city between Hierapolis and Antioch, in which, by order of Antiochus Eupator, the unworthy high priest Menelaus was executed. This city is taken to be present-day Aleppo.
Berea
(1 Macc. 9:4) — a locality at no great distance from Jerusalem, where the Syrian commander Bacchides stood with his army before the last battle with Judas Maccabeus, in which the latter was killed; its location, however, is unknown.
(Acts 17:10, 13; 20:4) — today Verria, a Macedonian city, 20 English miles west of Thessalonica, near Mount Olympus to the north (Pindus). The inhabitants of Berea listened zealously to the preaching of the Apostle Paul, which converted many Jews and pagans to Christ. Here the Apostle Paul withdrew from Thessalonica, and from here, pursued by his enemies, he departed for Athens. Sopater, who accompanied the Apostle Paul as far as Troas, likewise belonged to the number of the Christians of Berea (Acts 20:2–5). In Berea there is still to this day a considerable population, chiefly Turks and Greeks, who trade in rice, fruits, and marble, and have silk factories.
(God is the one who blesses) — the name of six persons: a) (1 Chron. 3:20) one of the sons of Zerubbabel, a descendant of David; b) (1 Chron. 9:16) son of Asa, a Levite, of the descendants of Elkanah; c) (1 Chron. 6:39) father of Asaph, of the Levites, the famous singer under David; d) (1 Chron. 15:23) one of the doorkeepers of the Ark, in the days of David. In the Russian: Berechiah (Neh. 6:18); e) (Neh. 3:4, 30) father of Meshullam, one of those who repaired the wall of Jerusalem; f) (2 Chron. 28:12) son of Meshillemoth, one of the princes of the tribe of Ephraim, who lived under Ahaz, king of Judah, and Pekah, king of Israel.
Berechiah
(blessed by God) — the name of three persons: a) (1 Chron. 15:17) father of the singer Asaph; b) (1 Chron. 15:23) one of the doorkeepers at the Ark of the Covenant; c) (Zech. 1:1–7) father of the prophet Zechariah, son of the priest Iddo.
Bered Barad
(hail) (1 Chron. 7:20) — son of Ephraim, killed together with his brothers, inhabitants of Gath, because they had wished to seize the flocks belonging to the inhabitants of that city.
Beriah
(fugitive) (1 Chron. 3:22) — one of the sons of Shemaiah, of the royal line of Judah.
(son of misfortune, unfortunate) — the name of three persons: a) (Gen. 46:17; Num. 26:44; 1 Chron. 7:30, 31) one of the sons of Asher, who together with his father accompanied Jacob into Egypt. He is also called Beria, or Beriah; b) (1 Chron. 8:13) one of the chiefs of the tribe of Benjamin at Aijalon, with his brother Shema, who drove out the Canaanites living in Gath.
Beriah
(fugitive) (1 Chron. 3:22) — one of the sons of Shemaiah, of the royal line of Judah.
Berim
(2 Sam. 20:14) — a tribe or people mentioned in connection with the account of Joab’s pursuit of Sheba, son of Bichri, and is thought to have been an inhabitant of Palestine.
(bringing victory) (Acts 25:13, 23; 26:30) — daughter of Agrippa I, surnamed the Great, and sister of Agrippa II, king of Judea. Her first husband was her uncle, and her second, Polemon, from whom she soon divorced. She was afterward involved with Titus, who, however, cast her off upon his accession to the throne. She is also strongly suspected of cohabiting with her own brother. It was this depraved woman who, together with Agrippa, with pomp and in magnificent state, listened to the defense speech of the Apostle Paul before Festus at Caesarea. Of Bernice’s shameful conduct there is testimony not only from Josephus Flavius but also from Roman writers: Tacitus, Suetonius, and others.
(2 Kings 20:12) — son of Baladan, king of Babylon, with whom Hezekiah, king of Judah, entered into such friendly relations that he received for it a stern rebuke from the prophet Isaiah. He is also called Merodach-baladan — a name meaning “Mars is his lord” (Isa. 39:1), and it occurs in the cuneiform inscriptions on the monuments of Babylon.
(cypress) (2 Sam. 8:8; Ezek. 47:16) — a city belonging to Hadadezer, king of Zobah. David, having defeated Hadadezer, took from here a very great quantity of bronze. The location of the city is unknown. Some take it to be Beirut, but in the prophet Ezekiel, Berothah is placed near Hamath and Sibraim, interior cities of the country, whereas Beirut is a distant coastal city. In the Hebrew text Berothai is plainly called Cun (1 Chron. 18:8), and in the Syriac directly: Berothan.
(Tobit 13:17) — a precious stone, found originally at Tarshish (in Spain), and at present in Siberia, in Brazil, and on the island of Ceylon. Its predominant color was green. This is the tenth stone, under the name chrysolite, in the fourth row of the stones of the high priest’s breastplate of judgment (Exod. 28:20), and will be, according to the testimony of the Seer, the eighth foundation of the wall of the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:20). In that passage it is called beryl. It is mentioned among the many precious stones that were found in the treasury of the king of Tyre, under the name chrysolite (Ezek. 28:13).
(house of answer) (Josh. 19:38; Judg. 1:33) — a city in the tribe of Naphtali, which nevertheless could not drive out the ancient inhabitants of the city, the Canaanites. According to Eusebius, it was formerly called Batanea, was located 15 Roman miles east of Caesarea (of Dicaesarea), and was famed for its healing medicinal springs. No trace of the city now remains, except perhaps in the settlement of Ainata.
Beth-anoth Baethanam
(meaning of the word the same as Beth-anath) (Josh. 15:59) — a city of the tribe of Judah, thought to be the present-day Beit Ainun, four Roman miles northeast of Hebron (Eusebius).
Beth-arabah
(house of the wilderness) (Josh. 15:6; 18:22) — a city that, by the first citation, was located in the tribe of Judah, and by the second, in the tribe of Benjamin, lying, in all likelihood, on the edges of the wilderness of Judea. Nothing more is known of it.
(place of ambush, snare) (Hos. 10:14) — a city mentioned by the prophet as destroyed by Shalman (perhaps Shalmaneser) in a day of battle. Many identified it with the settlement of Irbid in Galilee, mentioned by Josephus and in 1 Maccabees (9:2). In Robinson’s opinion, this is at present the ruins of Irbid, west of Magdala, three or four English miles from Tiberias.
(house of vanity, falsehood, worthlessness, probably of idolatry) (Josh. 7:2) — a city to the north of the tribe of Benjamin, near Ai, to the east of Bethel, near the wilderness (18:12), lying between the Jordan and the hill country. The prophet Hosea calls Bethel, that is, “house of God,” by the name Beth-aven, i.e., house of idolatry, because it had once been a house of God but afterward turned aside to the service and worship of idols, and thus became a house of worthlessness (Hos. 4:15; 5:8).
Beth-azmaveth. Bethasmoth
See Azmaveth.
Beth-azmoth
(2 Esdras 5:18) — of the cities of Israel. In the First Book of Ezra (2:24) it is read Azmaveth, and in Nehemiah (7:28) Beth-azmaveth.
(dwelling of Baal) (Josh. 13:17) — called Beth-meon by Jeremiah (48:23), a city located in the tribe of Reuben, on the eastern plain of the Jordan, south of Heshbon or Hesbon (Josh. 13:17), and later passed under the rule of the Moabites. Considerable ruins located a short distance southwest of Heshbon are still called by the name of the fortress Main, from which the valley it occupies takes the name: Wadi Zerqa Main.
Beth-birei
(house of my creation) (1 Chron. 4:31) — a city in the tribe of Simeon, thought to be the same as Beth-lebaoth (Josh. 15:6, 32 [as given]).
Beth-diblathaim
(house of two districts) (Jer. 48:22) — a city of Moab, probably the same as Almon-diblathaim, mentioned in the Book of Numbers (33:46), which had been an encampment of the Hebrews during their wandering in the wilderness. This city still existed in the days of Eusebius and Jerome.
(house of the camel) (Jer. 48:23) — a city of Moab, on the eastern side of the Jordan. In some opinions, this is the settlement Umm el-Jemal, southeast of Bosra, but its present location is not exactly known. In any case, in this pastoral country this name (Jemal) is not infrequently found among the Arabs.
(house of the partridge) — a city of the tribe of Benjamin (Josh. 15:6). According to Jerome, it was located three miles from Jericho and two from the Jordan, on the borders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It is thought to be the present-day city of Qasr Hajla, with a fine spring nearby, twenty or thirty minutes’ journey southwest of Ain Hajla.
(house of pits or caves) (Josh. 10:10, 11; 1 Sam. 13:18) — the name of two cities of the tribe of Ephraim, namely upper and lower Beth-horon, lying at a distance of 10 or 12 English miles northwest of Jerusalem and formerly belonging to the Levites. Evidently one of them was on a mountain, and the other in a valley. Lower Beth-horon was fortified by Solomon (1 Kings 9:17). Here Joshua won his famous victory over the five kings of the Amorites (Josh. 10:1–15); here too Judas Maccabeus won a great victory over the Syrian commanders Seron and Nicanor (1 Macc. 3:13–24).
According to Robinson, these are at present the Arab villages Beit Ur el-Tahta and Beit Ur el-Foka, several Roman miles from Jerusalem, on the road from Nicopolis to Jerusalem.
(house of refuge) (Josh. 15:27) — a city in the south of the tribe of Judah. It was probably from this city that Helez the Paltite came, one of David’s bravest warriors (2 Sam. 23:26). The ruins of the city have not yet been found, but its location has been approximately determined, near the cities of Moladah and Beersheba.
(house or family of Rechab) (1 Chron. 2:55). According to the Book of Chronicles, the father of the house of the Rechabites is reckoned to be Hammath, from whom the Kenites descend. Hence it is thought that the Rechabites were an offshoot of the Kenites, or Kenites, that is, descendants of Keni, from whom descended Hobab, Moses’s father-in-law, who together with the Israelites came into the land of Canaan and dwelt among the Israelites.
(house of the sun). The most ancient form of idol-worship has left traces of its prevalence in this and similar names. In the Bible at least three different cities are mentioned under this designation: a) (Josh. 19:38; Judg. 1:33) Beth-shemesh, in the days of Joshua, belonged to the tribe of Naphtali, while another, evidently, belonged to the tribe of Issachar; b) Beth-shemesh — a city of Egypt (Jer. 43:13), otherwise, it is thought, the Heliopolis of the Greeks, so called On (Gen. 41:45–50 [as given]).
This city was located 5 English miles from present-day Cairo, at the present settlement of Materiyeh; c) (2 Kings 14:11–13; 1 Sam. 6:12–20) the third Beth-shemesh was a city of the tribe of Judah, on the border with the tribe of Dan, and is called at present Ain Shems. It was to this city that the Ark of the Covenant was sent back by the Philistines, and here a multitude of the inhabitants, 50,070 people, who looked into it out of mere curiosity, were struck down by the Lord (1 Sam. 6:12–20).
This city is also notable for the battle that took place between Israel and Judah, in the days of kings Amaziah and Joash, in which the latter were defeated and their king taken captive (2 Kings 14:11–13, and elsewhere).
Beth-shittah
(place of the acacias) (Judg. 7:22) — a city in the tribe of Issachar, to which the Midianites fled, pursued by Gideon and his three hundred chosen warriors. It seems this city lay near the river Jordan, on its western bank.
Beth-zechariah Bathzacharias
(1 Macc. 6:32, 33) — a city of the tribe of Judah. Now these are the ruins of Beit Zakariya, with various tombs and cisterns, almost midway between Jerusalem and Hebron.
(house of the rock) (Josh. 15:58) — a city of the tribe of Judah, with dependent villages. Rehoboam rebuilt and fortified this city (2 Chron. 11:5–7). The name of this city is mentioned also after the captivity (Neh. 3:16), and often in the apocryphal books, as well as in Josephus. Eusebius thinks it was located 20 miles from Jerusalem, in the direction of Hebron. By ancient tradition, the baptism of the nobleman of the Ethiopian queen Candace by the apostle Philip took place in this very locality, in which even to the present day a spring and the settlement Bethsur have been preserved (Acts 8:26–39).
Beth, or Bayith
(house, dwelling). This word, in the sense of a place of habitation, occurs very frequently in Holy Scripture, in connection with a multitude of proper names of persons, families, regions, and the like. So, for example:
(John 1:28) — a locality beyond the Jordan, where a crossing of the river was located, which explains the name of the place (house of the crossing). In this locality, on the far side of the Jordan, John the Baptist preached and baptized; here too, it is supposed, the Israelites crossed the Jordan under the leadership of Joshua. It lay at a distance of 30 English miles northeast of Jerusalem, and it was probably here that the city of Beth-barah, mentioned in the Book of Judges (7:24), was located.
Bethany
(Judith 1:9) — a locality south of Jerusalem, between that city and Kadesh, evidently identical with the Bethanin of Eusebius (see Onomasticon), two Roman miles from the oak of Abraham and four from Hebron. It is also taken to be the city Beth-anoth (Josh. 15:59).
Bethany
(house of dates, or house of affliction, misery) (Mark 11:1) — a village southeast of the Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem. Here lived Lazarus, raised by the Lord, with his sisters (John 11:1).
Bethara
(2 Sam. 15:24) — a locality from which the Ark of the Covenant was carried out following David, during his flight from Jerusalem, on the occasion of Absalom’s rebellion. This locality does not occur in the Hebrew text, but only in the Septuagint.
(1 Macc. 9:62–64) — a city or settlement in the wilderness, whose location is not exactly known. It is supposed, however, that it was located in the wilderness of the Jordan, not far from Jericho. This city served as a refuge for Jonathan and Simon Maccabeus during the attack upon them by the Syrian commander Bacchides. In Josephus this settlement is called Bethalaga.
(house of God) (Gen. 28:19). During Jacob’s journey, as he fled from the wrath of his brother Esau, to Mesopotamia, he stopped at a place near the city of Luz, where he had a vision of the mysterious ladder ascending to heaven. As a result, he called this place, and the nearby city, Bethel, that is, “house of God,” Beth-El. At Bethel, during Jacob’s stay there, Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and was buried under the oak below Bethel (Gen. 35:8). It was located to the east of the road going from Shechem to Jerusalem, and almost equidistant from both cities.
Bethel was the capital of one of the Canaanite kings, and the Ephraimites, to whom this city fell at the division of the Promised Land, were unable to take possession of it unless they made use of the help of one of its inhabitants (Judg. 1:22, 26). The Ark of the Covenant remained a long time at Bethel, and here too, after the division of the kingdom into Judah and Israel, Jeroboam set up one of the golden calves (1 Kings 12:28, 33), and probably as a result of this the prophet Hosea calls Bethel “Beth-aven,” that is, “house of idol-worship.” Afterward Bethel fell under the power of Judah, and king Josiah destroyed the pagan gods and altars, burning upon them human bones taken out of the graves; for this reason the expression “to go to Bethel” generally pointed to idol-worship (Amos 4:4; 5:5).
At Bethel the prophet Samuel once judged (1 Sam. 7:16). After the captivity the city was still populated by Jews who had returned from the Babylonian captivity, and was fortified by Bacchides the Syrian, in the days of the Maccabees (1 Macc. 9:50). In the New Testament Bethel is not mentioned, but it still existed. Now it is a ruin, known under the name of the settlement Beitin. “Bethel now,” writes Norov, “is nothing but a shepherds’ encampment upon heaps of ruins; there is not a single hut here; only in the semicircular niche of the altar of an ancient remnant of a Christian church do half-clad and hungry Arab shepherds find shelter and refuge.”
Bethel [Vetolim]
— a locality or city mentioned in the Second Book of Esdras (5:21), evidently identical with Bethel. See Bethel, Ai.
(house of mercy) (John 5:2) — a pool, or reservoir, located by the so-called Sheep Gate, with five covered walkways for the sick. Into it an Angel would from time to time descend and trouble the water, and the first sick person to enter the water after its troubling would be healed, whatever illness he was afflicted with.
Bethir
(Josh. 15:59) — a city of the tribe of Judah. At present a small, dirty settlement, though with an excellent spring and gardens, southwest of Jerusalem.
(house of bread) (Gen. 35:19; Micah 5:1 [as given]; Matt. 2:1; Ruth 1:2), also called Bethlehem Ephratah (Micah 5:2), was so small and insignificant a town, in the tribe of Judah, that it is not even mentioned in the general lists of the cities of Judah, as, for example, in Nehemiah, chapter 11. David was born in this city (Luke 2:4–11). The settlement of Chimham, near Bethlehem, was the usual place from which travelers set out for Egypt (Jer. 41:17). The city is situated on a height, about 6 English miles south of Jerusalem.
At all times Bethlehem was visited, and until quite recently is still visited, by a multitude of pilgrims. The view of Bethlehem from a distance is very beautiful. Amid fertile fields, surrounded on all sides by hills, it indeed presents one of the most picturesque localities of Palestine. And how many precious historical memories are bound up with it! Here Rachel was buried (Gen. 35:19 [as given]); here once, in the fields of Bethlehem, Ruth gleaned ears of grain. It was the birthplace of David, the king-prophet and psalmist, for which reason it is otherwise called the city of David (Luke 2:4–11), and the sweet waters of Bethlehem often refreshed his youthful lips.
But most important of all, it was in the city of David that the Savior Christ the Lord was born. The Most Holy Virgin Mary lived in Nazareth, but, owing to the Roman census, she had to go to Bethlehem, since she was of the house and lineage of David, and when she stopped here together with Joseph, at that time the divine Infant Jesus was born, and, for lack of room in the inn, was laid and swaddled by her in a manger. This most glorious event lends a special, exalted, sacred significance to Bethlehem and its environs, since here the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
Here, in the fields of Bethlehem, an Angel appeared to the shepherds who were tending their flocks, and here too, on that wondrous night, the angelic doxology sounded forth from heaven: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). Here too, guided by an extraordinary star, came the Wise Men from the East to worship the newborn Savior of the world. At present Bethlehem, known under the name Beit Lahm, resembles a village more than a city, with its houses in ruins, and with three or four thousand Arab inhabitants, occupied in agriculture, gardening, beekeeping, or the manufacture of various small sacred objects — icons, rosaries, crucifixes, and other sacred items.
Bethlehem itself is situated on a hill, in the form of an amphitheater, from the western hill to the eastern, and on this latter hill is found the grotto, or cave, of the Nativity of Christ, known to Christians from the very first centuries, and hence visited from ancient times. In the fourth century St. Helen, Equal to the Apostles, erected over the cave of the Nativity of Christ a magnificent church in honor of the Mother of God, whose main — central — altar, raised several steps up, stands directly above the very grotto.
It belongs to the Greeks. From it, by 15 marble steps, one enters the underground church, which is the very Grotto-cave. The birthplace of the Savior, in a semicircular niche, is marked by a silver star with 14 rays, and a row of silver lamps. Here a table, an altar, and a marble slab serve as the throne on which the Divine Liturgy is celebrated. A few steps from the site of the Nativity of Christ, to the right, is a separate cave with a manger, where the divine Infant Jesus rested.
The manger, hewn in the natural rock, is lined with white marble. In this same church there are also several more caves and altars, such as: the cave where St. Joseph the Just dwelt, the cave in which are buried the innocent infants of Bethlehem slain by Herod, the cell and tomb of the blessed Jerome, and others. In the environs of Bethlehem many other noteworthy places and ancient monuments are pointed out, such as: in the valley of Rephaim — the house of Simeon the God-receiver; not far from the Bethlehem road is pointed out a shoot of the terebinth tree, under which, by tradition, the Holy Virgin rested on the way from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.
(Josh. 19:15) — an unknown city. It is supposed to be present-day Beit Lahm, 6 miles west of Nazareth. Perhaps it was the birthplace of the judge Ibzan (Judg. 12:8, 10), since the first Bethlehem is more precisely designated by the addition of the word “Judah,” or “Ephratah.” According to Robinson, this is the poorest hamlet in the whole country.
Bethlomon
(2 Esdras 5:17) — one of the cities of Israel. In the First Book of Ezra (2:21) it reads: Bethlehem.
Bethomesthaim
(Judith 4:6; 15:4) — a city in the tribe of Manasseh, on the plain of Jezreel, near Dothan and Bethulia, which, by its important location, was little inferior to the city of Bethulia.
Bethor
(1 Sam. 14:47) — probably some tribe or people, neighboring Israel, against which Saul waged successful wars. This name does not occur in the Hebrew text, but only in the Septuagint.
(place of figs) (Matt. 21:1) — a small settlement on the southwest side of the Mount of Olives, adjoining Bethany on the west. Here the ass and the colt were brought to the Savior (Matt. 21:1–9), and from here began His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (John 12:12–18). The environs of Bethphage were in antiquity famed for an abundance of fig trees, whose fruits, it is said, ripened earlier than others; owing to which, in all likelihood, this settlement received its name. At present no trace remains of Gospel-era Bethphage.
(house of fishing) (Matt. 11:21; Mark 6:45; Luke 9:10; John 1:44). Under this designation, two cities in Judea are mentioned in Holy Scripture: a) one of them was located on the eastern bank of the Jordan, near its mouth at the Sea of Tiberias. Beyond the city stretched the steppe, or wilderness, of Bethsaida, where the Lord fed 5,000 men, apart from women and children, with five loaves and two fishes (Matt. 15:17–21 [as given]); here too He healed a blind man (Mark 8:22). This city was otherwise called Bethsaida-Julias, in honor of Julia, daughter of Augustus Caesar.
Traces of it are found in the ruins of the locality et-Tell, at the mouth of the Jordan into the Sea of Galilee; b) the other city was called Bethsaida of Galilee, and was located northwest of the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum and Chorazin (Matt. 11:21). This city was the birthplace of the apostles Andrew, Peter, and Philip (Mark 14:70; John 1:44; 12:21). The Lord often visited this city and worked many miracles here. According to Robinson, at present on the site of the city there are only ruins, heaps of grass-grown stones, and the poor settlement of Ain et-Tabigha.
Bethuel
(by some: man of God; according to Fürst: dwelling of God) (Gen. 22:22, 23; 24:15) — son of Nahor by Milcah, nephew of Abraham and father of Rebekah. He was called an Aramean of Mesopotamia.
Bethuel
(sincerity of God) (Joel 1:1) — father of the prophet Joel, who by tradition descended from the tribe of Reuben or Gad and lived beyond the Jordan, but of this nothing certain is known.
Bethul Bula
(Josh. 19:4) — of the cities of the southern part of the tribe of Judah, mentioned under the name Bethuel in the Book of Joshua, and apparently entirely distinct from Bethel. From this city David sent gifts to various persons after he had taken possession of Ziklag (1 Sam. 30:27).
(house of Jehovah, or house of ascent) (Judith 4:6; 6:10) — a city mentioned only in the Book of Judith. According to the indications of this book, it was located in the tribe of Manasseh, in the hill country south of Dothan, opposite the valley of Jezreel (Judith 6:11, 12; 7:1, 3, 4). Beneath the city were two springs, from which the inhabitants drew their water (6:11; 7:7). This city, standing on a hill and sufficiently fortified, was taken by Holofernes, the Assyrian commander, who, having seized the springs, subjected it to a long siege, hoping to force the inhabitants to surrender through thirst; but the pious courage of Judith, as is known from the Book of Judith (8, 16), saved them from the threatening danger.
The location of the city is not precisely known. At present, however, it is thought to be the present-day locality Sanur, three miles south of the locality Dothan, occupying at present a wholly inaccessible position.
Betonim Botanim
(pistachio nuts) (Josh. 13:26) — a city in the tribe of Gad, mentioned together with Ramath-mizpeh. The name occurs only in the citation given. It is thought to be the present ruins of Batneh, located near the settlement Es-Sait (Herz., XIV, p. 737).
(Hos. 2:19-20)—a formal and legally binding pledge preceding the completion of marriage. In biblical society families often participated strongly in arranging marriages, and a betrothed woman could already be called the man’s wife, though the couple had not begun married life together (Matt. 1:18-20). Gifts, bride-price, written agreements, and witnesses could accompany the arrangement (Gen. 24; 34:11-12), but customs varied and should not be reduced to a single commercial transaction.
Hosea uses betrothal spiritually for God’s covenant faithfulness: “I will betroth you to me forever ... in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.”
(shining) — the name of two persons: a) (Ezra 2:17) one of the men whose descendants returned from captivity with Zerubbabel. In Nehemiah (7:23) and in 2 Esdras (5:16): “Bassai”; b) (Neh. 5:18 [as given]) of the heads of the people, who pledged themselves under Nehemiah to be faithful to God and not to have marriage ties with foreigners.
(son of the overshadowing or protection of God) — the name of two persons: a) (Exod. 31:2 and following) son of Uri, a renowned craftsman in the days of Moses, filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to whom, together with Aholiab, was entrusted, by God’s command, the construction of the tabernacle with all its furnishings; b) (Ezra 10:30) of the Israelites, sons of Pahath-moab, married to a foreigner. In 2 Esdras (9:31) he is called Sestil.
(lightning, splendor; by others, gold, a precious metal) — the name of two localities in Palestine: a) (Judg. 1:4, 5) the dwelling place of Adoni-bezek, in the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, inhabited by the Canaanites and Perizzites (vv. 3, 4); b) (1 Sam. 11:8) a place where Saul numbered the army of Judah and Israel before the campaign to Gilead to deliver Jabesh-gilead. In Eusebius’s Onomasticon two localities of this name are mentioned, both lying 70 Roman miles from Shechem, on the road to Beth-shean. No precise determination of these localities has yet been made.
(stronghold) — the name of a city and of a person: a) a city belonging to the tribe of Reuben (Josh. 21:36), east of the Jordan. According to Eusebius, it was one of the cities of refuge (Deut. 4:41, 43), and along with its surrounding lands was given, among others, to the Levites. It was also called Bezer in the wilderness, and by the Septuagint: Bosor; b) a descendant of Asher (1 Chron. 7:37), one of the chief leaders among the descendants of Asher.
Bezeth
(1 Macc. 7:19) (place of olives) — according to the testimony of Josephus, a settlement whose location is unknown; some, however, suppose it to have been near the Mount of Olives, north of Jerusalem.
Beziothiah
(Josh. 15:28) — a city in the south of the tribe of Judah, adjoining Idumea, whose location is presently unknown.
Biblical chronology
begins with the creation of the world and of man. The units serving for the determination and measurement of the time of events in the Bible are: days, weeks, months, and years.
Biblical chronology
- see Chronology.
Bichri Bochori
(young man) (2 Sam. 20:1, 2) — father of Sheba, of the tribe of Benjamin, who stirred up the Israelites against David, and for it received a fitting punishment.
Bidkar Badecar
(piercer, one who pierces) (2 Kings 9:25) — one of the officials of Jehu, king of Israel, who, by his command, took the body of the slain king Joram and cast it upon the field of Naboth, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord (2 Kings 9:25, 26; 1 Kings 21:19).
Bigtha Aman
(a Persian word of uncertain meaning) (Esther 1:10) — one of the courtiers of Ahasuerus, king of Persia. This person, it seems, is one and the same as Abagtha and Bigthan.
Bigvai
(meaning of the word uncertain, but it may mean: fortunate, or happy) (Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7) — the name of one of the leaders of the people of Israel who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel.
(son of contention, from Bel-Adad, national deity of the Edomites) (Job 2:11; 8:1; 18:1, and elsewhere) — one of Job’s three friends, a Shuhite, that is, belonging to an Arabian tribe descended from Shuah, son of Abraham by Keturah (Gen. 25:2). He came together with the other friends to visit the much-suffering Job, but instead of comforting him with his words only increased his soul’s sorrow. In chapter 8 he ascribes all of Job’s misfortunes to the justice of God for his own sins and the sins of his children.
In chapter 18 he accuses Job of impatience, and enumerates in detail the calamities that fall upon the heads of sinners, reckoning Job among the latter. In chapter 25, as though in answer to Job’s justifications, he brings forward the arguments that testify that no one can be considered pure before God.
Bildad.
See Bildad.
(foreigner) (1 Chron. 6:70) — a city in the half-tribe of Manasseh, on the other side of the Jordan, given together with other cities and their surrounding lands to the Levites, descendants of Kohath; it is also called, evidently by a simple transposition of letters, Ibleam (Josh. 17:11). It is thought that this is the same city called Gath-rimmon in the Book of Joshua (21:25).
Bilgah
(bashful, timid) — the name of two persons: a) (Gen. 36:27) of the sons of Ezer, chief of the Horites in the land of Edom; b) (1 Chron. 7:10) of the sons of Jediael, of the tribe of Benjamin.
(cheerfulness, good disposition of spirit) — the name of two persons: a) (1 Chron. 24:14) chief of the fifteenth division of priests for service in the house of God; b) (Neh. 12:5) one of the priests who returned with Zerubbabel from captivity, and who, together with others, gave a pledge to be faithful to God and His law.
Bilhah
(fear, timidity; according to Gesenius: modesty) (Gen. 29:29) — Rachel’s maidservant and mother of Dan and Naphtali, a concubine of Jacob (30:3, 8; 35:22). Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, committed adultery with her and was for this deprived by his father of the right of the firstborn (49:4).
Bilhan
(fountain) (1 Chron. 8:37 [as given]) — a descendant of Saul.
Bilshan
(son of the tongue, that is, eloquent) (Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7) — one of those who returned with Zerubbabel from the Babylonian captivity.
Bimhal Bamael
(1 Chron. 7:33) (son of the circumcision, circumcised) — one of the sons of Japhlet, of the tribe of Asher.
(building) — the name of six persons: a) (Ezra 8:33) father of Noadiah, of the Levites, one of those to whom the gold, silver, and vessels donated by the Persian king and others, for the house of God, were weighed out and entrusted at the time of Ezra, after the captivity. In 2 Esdras (8:62) he is called Sabannus; b) (Neh. 3:24) son of Henadad, one of those who repaired the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah and set his seal to the covenant (Neh. 10:9); c) (Ezra 10:30) one of those who married foreign wives.
In 2 Esdras (9:31) it reads: Balnuus; d) (Ezra 10:38) another person of the Israelites who had foreign wives. In 2 Esdras (9:34) it reads: Bannus; e) (Neh. 7:15) an Israelite whose sons returned from captivity with Zerubbabel. In 2 Esdras (5:12) it reads: Banni; f) (Neh. 12:8) one of the Levites who returned from captivity with Zerubbabel.
Binnui
(Ezra 8:33). See Binnui.
(Lev. 14:4). Under the Mosaic Law birds, like animals, were divided into clean and unclean. Clean birds could be eaten, while unclean birds were forbidden. The source broadly describes grain- and seed-eating birds as clean and birds that consumed flesh, fish, or carrion as unclean. Clean birds were offered in many sacrifices (Lev. 1:14–17; 5:7–10; 14:4–7). A person unable to bring a kid or lamb for purification might offer two turtledoves or two young pigeons.
Birsha Barsa
(son of wickedness) (Gen. 14:2) — king of Gomorrah at the time of the invasion of the valley of Siddim by Chedorlaomer, king of Elasar.
The custom of celebrating birthdays among the Hebrews goes back to remote antiquity (Gen. 40:20). In the book of Job (1:4) we read that his sons celebrated, each, “his day” — that is, his birthday. In Persia, as in Egypt, birthdays were celebrated with particular solemnity and feasting; every Egyptian and Persian attached special importance to the day, even the hour, of his birth. In the New Testament, mention is made of the birthday of Herod, whose celebration was marked by a lawless deed — the beheading of St. John the Baptist, at the instigation of the wicked Herodias (Matt. 14:6).
(Gen. 25:31)—among the Hebrews the firstborn son enjoyed special rights and advantages over his brothers. “Thou art my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power” (Gen. 49:3), Jacob said to his firstborn son Reuben. These privileges included consecration to the Lord (Ex. 22:29), special dignity (Gen. 49:3), a double portion of the father’s estate (Deut. 21:17), and, in the royal family, inheritance of the throne upon the father’s death (2 Chron. 21:3). In the father’s absence the eldest son was regarded as his representative in the household.
Birzavith
(fountain of olives) (1 Chron. 7:31) — the name of a person, whose father is mentioned among the descendants of Asher. Others take this word as the name of a locality.
Bishlam Mithradates
(Ezra 4:7) — a Persian official who lived in Palestine in the reign of Artaxerxes and sought to hinder the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem.
(overseer, guardian) — one of the necessary degrees of the priesthood, the first and highest, since the bishop not only performs the sacraments himself but has the authority to confer upon others, through ordination, the gracious gift to perform them. Of episcopal authority the Apostle Paul writes to Titus: “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city” (Titus 1:5), and to Timothy: “Lay hands suddenly on no man” (1 Tim. 5:22).
From church history we know that the first bishop of the church of Jerusalem was James; of Rome, Linus; of Antioch, Evodius; of Smyrna, Polycarp; of Ephesus, Timothy, and so on. In the Apocalypse, each of the seven churches of Asia Minor is assigned a bishop under the name of “angel” (chs. 2, 3, and elsewhere). The ordination of a bishop in the Orthodox Christian Church is performed by several bishops during the Liturgy, before the reading of the Epistle, with an open Gospel book laid, pages down, upon the head of the one being ordained.
Bithiah Betthia
(daughter of Jehovah) (1 Chron. 4:18) — daughter of Pharaoh and wife of Mered. Who this Pharaoh was, and at what time Bithiah lived, remains undetermined to this day.
Bithron
(a divided place) (2 Sam. 2:29) — a country or region near Jabbok, between the Jordan and Michmash, through which Abner and his men passed in their flight from Joab. However, its exact location is unknown.
(Acts 16:7) — a region in Asia Minor, bordered on the east by Paphlagonia, on the north by the Black Sea, on the south by Phrygia and Galatia, on the west by the Propontis and the Thracian Bosphorus. Within it were the city of Olympus and the cities of Nicaea, Nicomedia, Heraclea, Chalcedon, and others. Christianity appeared here as early as apostolic times (cf. Acts 2:9; 1 Pet. 1:1). In church history there is a notable testimony to the purity and firmness of the faith of the Bithynian Christians at the end of the first and beginning of the second century.
In the days of Pliny, who was governor of that province, and of Trajan (98 to 117 A.D.), there were already very many Christians here, not only in the cities but also in the towns and villages, so that the pagan temples were almost empty. At Nicaea, the chief city of Bithynia, the First Council of Nicaea was convened in 325 A.D., and at Chalcedon the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.
(Exod. 12:8). The Hebrews were commanded to eat the Passover lamb with bitter herbs. This was undoubtedly meant to depict the bitterness of their afflictions during their sojourn in Egypt, and to serve as a foreshadowing of the sufferings of the Savior. Wormwood is the chief bitter herb in Western Asia, being one of the plants generally found in Palestine. It is probable, however, that other bitter herbs, such as grew in the place where the Hebrews ate the Passover lamb, were also used for this purpose.
It is thought that there existed five kinds of bitter herbs for seasoning the Passover lamb, and that lettuce, the poorer variety of which was especially notable for its bitterness, held first place among them. The Jews of Egypt and Arabia at present eat the Passover lamb with lettuce or chicory mixed with vinegar. The Egyptians, however, nowadays eat lettuce with almost every piece of bread and meat.
Bizzetha
(from a Persian word meaning: eunuch) (Esther 1:10) — one of the eunuchs of Ahasuerus, king of Persia.
Black Cumin (Nigella)
(Isa. 28:25, 27)—a small plant with pale blue flowers and narrow leaves. Its aromatic, sharp-tasting seeds were used as seasoning. Isaiah describes scattering black cumin in sowing and beating it out with a rod rather than crushing it under a heavy threshing wheel.
(Lev. 24:11, 15, 16) — one of the gravest sins, consisting of the utterance of impudent and blasphemous words against God and the providence of God. By the Law of Moses, blasphemy was punished by death, namely: the guilty party was led outside the camp and stoned with stones (Lev. 24:15, 16). Among the kinds of blasphemy, especially grave is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31; Mark 3:28–30), according to the commandment of the Savior: “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men… neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matt. 12:31, 32).
Hymenaeus and Alexander, mentioned in the First Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Timothy (1:20), were delivered by the apostle to terrible punishment for blasphemy, and in the future, by the word of God, judgment upon such people does not delay, and their destruction does not slumber (2 Pet. 2:3; Jude 8–11, 14, 15).
Blastus
(Acts 12:20) (flourishing) — chamberlain of king Herod Agrippa I. Sent by Herod to look into a matter, he took the side of Tyre and Sidon during the quarrel that arose between these cities and Herod.
(1 Tim. 1:11; 6:15; Matt. 5:1–12). In Holy Scripture the words “blessed” and “blessedness,” apart from the Lord God, who is “blessed, and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15), and the angels who ever behold the face of the Father in heaven, are applied to various persons, under various circumstances and conditions, sometimes only with respect to external, earthly blessings, but for the most part with respect to spiritual and eternal blessings. Thus the Mother of God is called blessed (Luke 1:45; 11:27); those who fear the Lord and love His commandments are called blessed (Ps. 1:1–3; 127 [128]:1–5); those who keep the commandments of the Lord (Rev. 22:14); those who hear the word of the Lord and keep it (Matt. 13:16); the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, those reviled and persecuted for Christ’s name (Matt. 5:3–12).
The full and perfect blessedness of the Christian belongs to the future state, when the final victory over hell and death shall be accomplished. Concerning this future blessedness Holy Scripture often speaks: 1 Peter 1:5–8; 1 John 3:2; 1 Cor. 2:9; John 12:26; Matt. 5:8; 1 Cor. 13:12; John 17:24; Matt. 13:43; Col. 3:4; 1 John 3:2; Matt. 25:46; John 5:24; 10, and elsewhere.
(Gen 9:4; Lev 17:11, 14; Deut 12:23) - when God permitted Noah and his descendants to eat animal flesh, He expressly forbade the consumption of blood. 'The life of the flesh is in the blood' (Lev 17:11), and 'the blood is the life' (Deut 12:23). The Mosaic Law repeats the prohibition for ordinary food and for animals eaten after sacred rites and feasts (Lev 3:17; 7:26-27; Deut 12:16, 23-24; 15:23). Violators were liable to death (Lev 7:27; 17:10). Saul's army once transgressed the command (1 Sam 14:32), and later Israelites did so repeatedly (Ezek 33:25).
Boanerges
(sons of thunder) (Mark 3:17) — a name given by the Lord to James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, in token of their particular fervor and zeal in the work of serving the Gospel, and especially in reference to the Gospel event described in the Gospel of Luke (9:54).
(Ps 80:13) - lamenting the Jews' calamity and the change of God's former mercies toward them into righteous anger, the psalmist compares the Jewish church to a vine brought from Egypt, rooted up by the wild boar and devoured by the beast of the field. The image aptly describes the enemies who brought the Jewish people into misery: this fierce, thick-skinned animal not only eats the fruit but breaks the branches with its tusks, roots up vines with its snout, and tramples them.
Boaz
(strength) (1 Kings 7:21; 2 Chron. 3:17) — the name of one of two bronze pillars set up by Solomon at the entrance to the Temple.
Boaz
(strength, might) (Ruth 2:1–3; Matt. 1:5; Luke 3:32) — was a descendant of Judah,
Bocheru
(his firstborn) (1 Chron. 8:38; 9:44) — one of the sons of Azel, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Bochim
(those who weep) (Judg. 2:5) — a small place near Gilgal, so named because the children of Israel wept there, in the last period of the life of Joshua, on account of the rebuke for their disobedience to God, delivered to them by the Angel of the Lord.
Bodily Discharge
(Lev 15:2). For purification from this uncleanness, after seven days had passed from its cessation, the law prescribed a rite of cleansing. Two turtledoves or two young pigeons were brought to the priest, who offered one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering (Lev 15:13-15).
(Exod. 9:8-11)—the sixth plague of Egypt. Moses and Aaron took soot from a kiln; Moses threw it toward heaven before Pharaoh, and it became fine dust that produced boils breaking out in sores on people and animals. The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils. The source proposes that soot from the furnace symbolized Israel’s harsh bondage and that the plague exposed Egypt’s oppression; this is a theological reflection rather than an explanation stated in Exodus. Deuteronomy 28:27 later names “the boils of Egypt” among covenant curses.
— a canonical book of Holy Scripture, consisting of ten chapters, containing the history of Esther. Its author (in Hebrew, of course) is held by the majority of Jewish writers and Christian theologians to be Mordecai himself, to which the book itself in some measure points (9:20). It is doubtful, however, whether Mordecai actually wrote the book himself; in any case it was written from his account, and is therefore worthy of trust.
Book of Jasher
—a book cited twice in the Old Testament: first in connection with the sun’s standing still in Joshua 10:13, and again in connection with David’s lament over Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. 1:18). It was undoubtedly one of the most ancient Hebrew books.
—the historical book of twenty-one chapters following Joshua. Its authorship is unknown; the traditional attribution to Samuel cannot be demonstrated. The book recounts recurring cycles in which Israel abandons the LORD, falls under oppression, cries for help, and is delivered through a judge whom God raises up. It therefore displays both the ruinous consequence of apostasy and the LORD’s patient mercy. Its final narratives repeatedly observe that there was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in his own eyes, preparing for the transition to monarchy while exposing the need for righteous covenant faithfulness.
- the third book of the Pentateuch, consisting of twenty-seven chapters. It may be divided into four principal parts: regulations concerning sacrifices and their offering; consecration of the high priest, priests, and Levites; regulations concerning clean and unclean animals and the purification of the people and tabernacle; and sacred feasts and solemnities. It is called Leviticus because God appointed the Levites for service at the tabernacle and temple and they shared in its sacred rites.
—the eighth book in the traditional order of the Old Testament and a narrative closely connected with Judges. Its four chapters recount the life of the godly Moabite Ruth and her family. The source presents its principal purpose as displaying God’s unceasing providence toward those who believe and trust in Him.
—a prophetic book of three chapters. It announces the coming day of the LORD against idolatry and injustice in Judah and against the surrounding nations. Judgment is universal in scope, yet the humble are summoned to seek the LORD, righteousness, and meekness (Zeph. 2:3). The book closes with restoration: purified peoples shall call upon the LORD, the remnant shall dwell securely, and Zion shall rejoice because the King of Israel is in her midst (Zeph. 3:8–20). Its exultant call, “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel,” has long sustained messianic and ecclesial readings (Zeph. 3:14–15).
Under this heading three books are especially known in Holy Scripture: the first, second, and third books of Ezra. The first book of Ezra, together with the book of Nehemiah, was reckoned by the ancient Hebrews as a single whole, divided into two books, the first and second. Its content is historical, being a continuation of the books of Chronicles. In it Ezra first describes the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, the number of those who returned from captivity, and their places of settlement in the cities of Judea (chs.
1–2); then (3–6) the building of the altar, the founding of the Temple at Jerusalem, and the events that took place in the days of the prophet Haggai; and finally (7–10) he relates his own arrival in Jerusalem and his own actions undertaken for the restoration of church and civil order. It contains 10 chapters and has always been, and continues to be, reckoned a canonical book of the Old Testament. The compiler of the book was undoubtedly Ezra himself, as is evident from the last four chapters and from the content of the preceding ones.
—the four books called 1-4 Kings in the Orthodox and Septuagint tradition correspond to 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings in most modern English Bibles. First Samuel narrates the time of Eli and Samuel, the rise and fall of Saul, and the emergence of David. Second Samuel recounts David’s reign. First Kings begins with Solomon and follows the divided kingdoms to the death of Ahab; Second Kings continues to the fall of Samaria and the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem.
—writings traditionally associated with Solomon. Proverbs contains thirty-one chapters of wise instruction concerning the fear of God, righteous conduct, family life, speech, work, justice, and the virtuous woman. Ecclesiastes contains twelve chapters and tests the apparent goods of life “under the sun,” finding them vanity when sought as humanity’s highest end; it concludes that the whole duty of humanity is to fear God and keep His commandments. The Song of Songs contains eight chapters and celebrates pure covenant love; the Fathers and the Church have also read it spiritually of Christ and His Church and of the soul’s communion with God.
Boris
(2 Esdras 1:2) — one of the ancestors of Ezra. In the First Book of Ezra (7:4) it reads: Bukki.
— the name of several cities: a) (Jer. 48:24) a city of Moab, north of the Arnon, on the plateau of Mishor, thought to be identical with Bezer-of-Reuben (Deut. 4:43; Josh. 20:8); b) (1 Macc. 5:26–36) a city in the land of Gilead; c) (1 Sam. 30:9–21) the valley and brook of Besor, at the southern extremity of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah. Here the patriarch Isaac once pitched his tents (Gen. 26:17). David once crossed the brook of Besor with 600 of his men, of whom 200, worn out with fatigue, remained by the brook, while the remaining 400 went in pursuit of the Amalekites (1 Sam. 30:18–21).
Bosor
(2 Pet. 2:15) — thus, in the passage cited, is named the father of Balaam, Beor.
(Gen 21:20; 27:3; Hab 3:9; Rev 6:2 and elsewhere) - bows used for hunting and war among the Hebrews were made of wood, bronze, iron, horn, reed, and even ivory. Egyptian bows resembled those used in medieval times by various European peoples, including the English; the Greek bow was shaped like a buffalo horn. Mounted archers ordinarily carried horn-shaped bows in leather cases, a custom still found in the East in the source's day, though a bow was sometimes hung at the right thigh.
Bowls
. See Dishes.
(white, bright) (1 Sam. 14:4) — the name of one of two sharp rocks, past which Jonathan made his way secretly into the Philistine camp of the enemy. At present the location of these rocks is not exactly known, though it is thought they were located near Michmash and Gibeah, in the tribe of Benjamin.
Bozkath
(2 Kings 22:1), or Bozkath (Josh. 15:39) — a city of the tribe of Judah, whose location is not exactly known. It may be the present ruins of Tell el-Judeideh [as given], south of Lachish.
Bozkath
(hill, height) (Josh. 15:39) — a city of the tribe of Judah in the Shephelah, birthplace of the mother of King Josiah (2 Kings 22:1) (see Bozkath).
Bozrah
(fortified place) (Jer. 48:24) — the chief city of Edom. See Bosorah.
(sheepfold) (Gen. 36:33) — a famous city of Edom, 24 English miles southeast of Edrei. It is often mentioned in Holy Scripture as the chief city of Edom (Isa. 34:6; 63:1; Jer. 48:24; 49:13–22; Amos 1:12). The prophet Jeremiah calls it a city of Moab, and it was probably taken from the Ammonites by the Edomites, then taken from the Edomites by the Moabites. In the prophetic books it is spoken of as one of the richest and most fortified cities of Edom; it is formidable and impregnable by its position — situated in the clefts of the rocks, and occupying, like an eagle, the tops of the hills.
But “though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence,” saith the Lord (Jer. 49:16). Nevertheless its land is fat, it has numerous flocks and splendid halls (Isa. 34:6, 7; Amos 1:12; Micah 2:12). At present this is probably the settlement el-Busaireh, in the mountains of Seir, southeast of the Dead Sea. The numerous ruins around this settlement show that in antiquity a great city stood here. Goats, which the prophet Isaiah mentions in connection with Bozrah, are still very numerous in this place.
(Gen. 24:30) — an ornament in the form of a chain or clasp, worn on the arm, very much in use in the East, chiefly among women. For eastern princesses they served as a mark of royal dignity, and in all likelihood served the same purpose in the days of David (2 Sam. 1:10). The royal armlet was made of more precious stones than the ordinary kind and was worn above the elbow, whereas the ordinary armlet was placed on the wrist (Ezek. 16:11). In the countries of the East, armlets form one of the chief and most beloved articles of women’s dress, and at the present day they are very often worn by eastern rulers, and Hindu women rarely part with them.
(Ps. 104:12)—a shoot or limb growing from a tree or vine. Biblical writers often employ the word figuratively. Isaiah promises that “a shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isa. 11:1), an image of the Davidic Messiah arising when the royal house appears cut down. Other prophetic passages use “Branch” as a messianic title (Jer. 23:5; Zech. 3:8; 6:12). Jesus calls himself the vine and his disciples the branches, teaching that their life and fruitfulness depend on abiding in him (John 15:1-6). Ezekiel 8:17 refers to people putting “the branch to their nose,” probably an idolatrous rite whose precise character is uncertain.
(Gen 11:3) - bricks were a building material among the Jews, though larger than modern bricks. Those found in Babylon's ruins measured about one English foot square and resembled tiles. Scripture's most important brickmaking notices concern Israel's slavery in Egypt and the tower of Babel. The first biblical mention records Noah's descendants saying, 'Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly'; brick served them for stone and bitumen for mortar (Gen 11:3). Egypt made Israel's life bitter with hard labor in mortar and brick (Exod 1:14). Bricks were commonly dried in the sun, though kilns were sometimes used. Nile clay was plentiful; where it lacked strength, straw was mixed with it.
(Prov. 26:3)—the headgear and bit used to guide a horse, mule, or donkey. Assyrian and Egyptian representations show simple and richly ornamented bridles, sometimes fitted with metal chains or decorative elements. Scripture uses bridling figuratively for restraint and disciplined control. James warns that religion is worthless when a person does not bridle the tongue, and compares control of speech with a bit directing a horse (Jas. 1:26; 3:2-5).
(Gen. 19:24)—a combustible mineral associated in Scripture with the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. Bitumen and sulfur occur in the Dead Sea region, but the biblical narrative presents the catastrophe as the LORD’s judgment rather than merely a natural accident. Elsewhere sulfur and burning pitch signify desolation and divine punishment (Job 18:15; Isa. 34:9), culminating in Revelation’s image of the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10, 15).
(1 Kings 17:3–7)—the wadi east of the Jordan beside which Elijah hid after announcing drought to King Ahab. Ravens brought him bread and meat morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. When it dried up, the word of the LORD sent him to the widow of Zarephath, whose flour and oil were preserved through the famine. The brook’s exact location is uncertain.
(Num. 34:5; Josh. 15:4)—the boundary stream between Egypt and Palestine, separating Palestine from Egypt and Arabia. The source describes it as descending from the mountains of Edom and flowing into the Mediterranean. It is sometimes called Shihor (Josh. 13:3). In Genesis 15:18, however, “the river of Egypt” denotes the Nile.
Broom
(retem) (Ps. 120:4 [119:4]) — a well-known coniferous plant of the cypress or juniper family, growing chiefly in Arabia. In Hebrew it is called rothem; in Arabic, nearly the same. Under the shade of this tree the prophet Elijah slept during his flight to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:4, 5).
— a word properly denoting the closest blood kinship, that is, children of the male sex from one and the same parents, as for example in the following citations: Gen. 4:2; 42:13; but sometimes it denotes persons of more distant kinship, or persons descending from one and the same people (Gen. 13:8; Esther 10:3; Acts 7:25), and even those persons who are united by close love (2 Sam. 1:26). In the New Testament this word is more often applied to denote a close spiritual communion, which true followers of Christ have with the Lord and with one another (Matt. 25:40).
(place of Bast, or Bastet) (Ezek. 30:17) — a city of Lower Egypt, so called after the goddess Bastet, depicted with the head of a cat and with a crescent moon on her head. The city lay on the Pelusiac branch of the river Nile. It was famed for a magnificent temple of Diana, to which masses of people streamed each year from all of Egypt, with music, singing, and dancing. The Persians took possession of the city and demolished its walls, and the locality on which the city stood afterward fell under the power of the Romans.
The ruins of Bubastis are found at present 7 English miles from the Nile and are called Tell Basta. This city is mentioned in the Bible only once, namely in the citation given above. The twenty-second dynasty of Egyptian kings reigned at Bubastis. Under one of them, namely Shishak, Jerusalem was taken, the Temple was plundered, and the famous golden shields of Solomon were carried off by the enemy to adorn the altars of the pagan goddess Bastet. The ruins of the once-famous temple in honor of Bastet are still visible today, along with other remains of the ancient city. A description of them may be read in the accounts of foreign travelers, such as, for example, Wilkinson and others.
Bugean
(of the tribe of Agag — the Agagite) (Esther 1:1 [as given]; 3:1) — thus, in the Septuagint, is called the Persian nobleman Haman, favorite of King Artaxerxes, by his race, or origin. In the Russian, in agreement with the Greek, it is translated: “Bugean” [Bougaean].
(Isa. 41:19 [as given]) — a tree of the oak family, very heavy and handsome when worked, used for turnery and joinery. Together with cypress and pine, this wood served as material for the building of the Temple of Jerusalem. The fruits of the beech are used to fatten swine and domestic fowl; besides this, oil is extracted from them for food and lighting. The beech tree grows throughout central and southern Europe, and is still found on the mountains of Lebanon, for the most part in the mountainous regions of western Asia, where it attains a considerable size.
(destruction) — the name of two persons: a) (Num. 34:22) prince of the tribe of Dan, one of the ten persons chosen by Joshua for the division of the Promised Land under Moses; b) (1 Chron. 6:5; Ezra 7:4) son of Abishua, ancestor of Ezra and descendant of Aaron. It is not exactly known whether he was high priest or not. Josephus contradicts himself in the resolution of this question.
(stream, fruit, produce, according to Fürst: rainy month) (1 Kings 6:38) — the proper name of one of the Hebrew months of the year, the eighth in the sacred and second in the civil year, corresponding to the second half of October and the first half of November; afterward called by the Hebrews Marcheshvan. In this autumn month the gathering of the grapes came to an end, and the rains began. During this same month the building of Solomon’s Temple, which had been seven and a half years in building, was completed (1 Kings 6:37, 38).
Buna
(reason, mind) (1 Chron. 2:25) — son of Jerahmeel, of the family of Perez, mentioned in the genealogy of the patriarch Judah.
Bunni
(understanding, discerning) — the name of two men: a) (Neh. 9:4) a Levite, contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah; b) (Neh. 11:15) another Levite, belonging to an earlier time. The New Testament’s Nicodemus, by Hebrew tradition, was called Bunni.
(Matt. 7:16)—used by the source as a general name for prickly plants such as thorn, thistle, and bramble. Such clinging thorny growth occurred in Palestine not only among grain in the fields (Job 31:40), but among Lebanon’s cedars (2 Kings 14:9), among lilies in gardens (Song 2:2), and especially in wild and desolate places (Isa. 34:13). In some places it grew so densely and high that the traveler Norov and his companions reportedly had difficulty forcing their horses through it on the way to Capernaum.
Burial or Funerals
(Gen. 23:4; Matt. 26:12). Among the Jews, children or near relatives of the dying had the duty of closing the eyes (Gen. 46:4) and giving a last kiss. Burial was accompanied by loud communal mourning, which continued for several days afterward (John 11:19, 31, 33).
(Exod 3:2, 4; Deut 33:16) - the thorn bush near Horeb that burned without being consumed and in which the LORD appeared to Moses, calling him to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage. In patristic teaching and church hymnography, the bush that burned yet remained unconsumed especially prefigured the Mother of God, the Virgin Theotokos, who remained incorrupt in the incarnation and birth of the Son of God. Most biblical commentators cited by the source considered the bush a species of mimosa or acacia common in desert regions. Monks of St. Catherine's Monastery at Sinai pointed out the traditional bush east of the great monastery church.
Butter
(2 Sam 17:29; Ps 55:21; Prov 30:33) — properly means thickened milk, or cream, and only later, butter itself. From these passages of Holy Scripture it is evident that the Hebrews knew how to make not only cheese from milk, but butter as well.
Buz
(despised, contempt) — the name of two persons: a) (Gen. 22:21) second son of Nahor, by his wife Milcah; b) (1 Chron. 5:14) a person mentioned in the genealogy of the tribe of Gad.
Buzi
(Ezek. 1:3) — father of the prophet Ezekiel.
Byblos.
See Gebal.
Search the whole Encyclopedia
All 4,575 entries, searchable, with every entry linked to the verses it explains.