134 entries · Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Gen. 10:7)—a son of Cush and father of Sheba and Dedan. The name occurs again in Ezekiel 27:22 with Sheba and is treated there as connected with Dedan, already mentioned in verses 12 and 15. The source concludes that the descendants of Sheba and Dedan lived near the Persian Gulf, possessed rich merchandise and products, and carried on substantial trade with Tyre.
(thunder of the LORD) (Neh. 7:7; cf. Ezra 2:2)—one of the leaders who returned from Babylonian captivity with Zerubbabel. Ezra calls him Reelaiah; the Greek tradition gives another form of the name.
(2 Esd. 9:34)—an Israelite who had married a foreign woman.
or Rabbah of the Ammonites (great) (2 Sam. 12:26; Deut. 3:11). It is first mentioned as the place where the iron bedstead of King Og was preserved. Rabbah was the chief city of the Ammonites, situated in the hills of Gilead. Uriah lost his life during Joab’s siege of the city (2 Sam. 11:17), and it was afterward taken under David’s own leadership (2 Sam. 12:29). In that account it is called “the royal city.”
. See Ar-moab.
(literally, my master or my teacher)—an honorary title given by the Jews to eminent teachers and interpreters of the Law. Because the scribes and Pharisees loved such titles, the Lord forbade His disciples to seek them (Matt. 23:7–8). John’s disciples address him as Rabbi once (John 3:26), while Jesus is repeatedly called by this title by His disciples, scribes, Pharisees, and the people (Matt. 22:16, 24, 36; 26:25, 49; Mark 9:5; 11:21; 14:45; John 1:38, 49; 3:2; 4:31; 6:25; 9:2; 11:8). In the New Testament the Greek didaskalos is commonly rendered master or teacher. The honorific remains in Jewish use.
(many; spacious) (Josh. 19:20)—a city in the territory of Issachar.
—a word with the same basic meaning as Rabbi, occurring only once in the New Testament (John 20:16). The source says that Rabboni bore a higher degree of honor than Rabbi, while Rabban ranked still higher and arose around the time of Jesus Christ in the school of Hillel, where it was applied to only a small number of teachers among Hillel’s descendants.
(chief cupbearer) (2 Kings 18:17; 19:4–13)—the official title of one of Sennacherib’s Assyrian commanders, whom the king sent with messages to Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. He was accompanied by two other officers, likewise identified by their official titles: Rabsaris, the chief of the eunuchs, and Tartan, whose title the source leaves unexplained. Scripture relates that the Assyrian army under these commanders was struck by an angel in a single night, and its survivors returned to their own land in shame (2 Kings 18:17–37; 19:35–36).
(Matt. 5:22)—a Syriac term of contempt meaning empty or worthless. The Lord warns that the one who says to his brother, “Raca,” is in danger of the council; the insult expresses disdain for another person and is therefore morally culpable.
(place of trade) (1 Sam. 30:29)—a city in southern Judah, one of the places to which David sent gifts when distributing spoil among his friends.
(merciful) (1 Chron. 2:44)—father of Jorkeam and a descendant of Caleb son of Hebron.
(ewe) (Gen. 29:6, 28 and elsewhere)—the younger daughter of Laban and the second wife of the patriarch Jacob. She first appears when Jacob visits his uncle Laban in Mesopotamia. Genesis recounts with patriarchal simplicity Jacob’s meeting with Rachel, his abiding love for her, Laban’s deceit in giving him the elder sister Leah first, and Jacob’s fidelity in serving a second seven years for Rachel.
(ruler; subduer) (1 Chron. 2:14)—the fifth son of Jesse and a brother of David.
(friendship; companionship)—the name of a person and a region: (1) (Gen. 11:18, 21; 1 Chron. 1:25) son of Peleg, descendant of Shem, and one of the postdiluvian patriarchs before Abraham; he lived 239 years. (2) (Jdt. 1:5, 15) a region or province near Rages of Media where Nebuchadnezzar defeated Arphaxad, king of the Medes.
or Rages of Media (Tob. 1:14; 4:20 and elsewhere)—an ancient and important Median city northeast of Ecbatana and near Tehran, the source-era capital of Persia. It lay a ten-day journey from Ecbatana, and Gabael, Tobit’s kinsman, lived there. The source reports traces of its ruins about one English mile southeast of Tehran.
(friend of God)—the name of several persons: (1) (Gen. 25:2) a son of Dedan, grandson of Jokshan and great-grandson of Abraham by Keturah; (2) (Gen. 36:4–10; 1 Chron. 1:35) a son of Esau and Basemath, daughter of Ishmael; (3) (Ex. 2:18) one of the names of Moses’ father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and (4) (Tob. 3:7 and elsewhere) a kinsman of Tobit who lived in Ecbatana of Media.
(broad or spacious, hence freedom) (Josh. 2:1, 3; 6:17; Matt. 1:5; Jas. 2:25; Heb. 11:31)—a woman of Jericho ordinarily called Rahab the harlot. Some have attempted to soften the term by calling her an innkeeper. Rahab had heard of the Israelites, of God’s many mercies toward them, of their victories over the Amorite kings Sihon and Og, and that Jericho itself was to become Israel’s possession (Josh. 2:8–11).
(Ps. 87:4)—Rahab, or Rehab (pride or arrogance), is a designation applied to Egypt in several Old Testament passages (Isa. 51:9). It is not properly Egypt’s geographic name but an allegorical reference to Egyptian pride, boasting, and arrogance.
(Gen. 2:5). To understand the force of the various, often-repeated references in Holy Scripture to this natural phenomenon, one must have at least some notion of the seasons in Palestine. In this country rain often falls during what we would call the cold months — from November to April. At this time there are sometimes heavy downpours, with thunder, lightning, and gusting wind, lasting for several days.
(Gen. 19:24)—the judgment by which Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown. Brimstone is sulfur, a combustible mineral that burns with pungent, choking fumes. Scripture uses fire and sulfur both in the historical narrative of the cities of the plain and as prophetic imagery for devastating judgment (Isa. 34:9; Rev. 14:10; 19:20). The expression communicates dreadful destruction and exclusion from evil; it should not be expanded into an unsupported chemical reconstruction of the event.
(the bow in the cloud) (Gen. 9:13–17; Rev. 4:3)—a majestic natural phenomenon produced by the refraction of light in raindrops. It ordinarily appears when rain is falling while the sun shines, with the rain cloud opposite the sun. The rainbow is a brilliant arc bearing the colors of the solar spectrum, violet on the inner edge and red on the outer.
See Vine.
(coastal city) (Josh. 19:35)—a fortified city of Naphtali near Hammath, on whose site Tiberias was later built.
(coastal land) (Josh. 19:46)—a maritime city in the territory of Dan, west of Jerusalem in the direction of Joppa.
(high; exalted) (Job 32:2). Ram, from whose kindred Elihu the Buzite came, is thought by the source to stand for Aram.
(height)—the name of several places and cities. (1) (Josh. 18:25; Matt. 2:18; Jer. 31:15) a city of Benjamin near the border of Ephraim and on the road north from Jerusalem. The source associates it with the Ramah between which and Bethel Deborah judged Israel beneath her palm (Judg. 4:4–5), and notes that the Levite returning from Bethlehem passed along this route (Judg. 19:1, 10–21). Isaiah and Hosea mention it (Isa. 10:29; Hos. 5:8). Jeremiah was released there while other captives were gathered by Nebuzaradan for deportation to Babylon (Jer. 40:1).
In portraying Judah’s desolation, Jeremiah wrote: “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not” (Jer. 31:15). Matthew applies these words typologically to Herod’s slaughter of the infants of Bethlehem (Matt. 2:16–18). The source identifies the place with er-Ram, a poor village with ruins on a hill north of Jerusalem.
(the LORD is exalted) (Ezra 10:25)—one of the sons of Parosh who had married foreign women.
(height of the jawbone) (Judg. 15:17)—the place in the hill country of Judah near the Philistine border where Samson killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. The source places it on the southwestern slope of the Judean hills.
(1 Macc. 11:34)—the same as Samuel’s Ramah in the hill country of Ephraim. In the New Testament it is called Arimathea (Matt. 27:57; John 19:38). See Ramah, no. 4.
(two heights) (1 Sam. 1:1)—a locality in the hill country of Ephraim where Elkanah, Samuel’s father, lived; it is otherwise Samuel’s Ramah (1 Sam. 1:19; 2:11). Zuph was the district of Ephraim to which Ramah belonged.
(Egyptian, son of the sun) (Gen. 47:11; Ex. 12:37; Num. 33:3, 5)—a principal city in the land of Goshen in Lower Egypt, from which the whole district is also called the land of Rameses. It first appears in the account of Jacob and his sons settling in Egypt: Joseph gave his father and brothers “a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded” (Gen. 47:11).
(Jdt. 1:9). See Rameses.
—the same as Ramoth-mizpeh.
(height of Mizpeh) (Josh. 13:26)—the same as Ramoth-gilead and Mizpeh of Gilead, an ancient city of Gilead in the territory of Gad. Laban and Jacob made peace in this region (Gen. 31:49), and Jephthah lived there in the days of the Judges. At the conquest of the Promised Land the city was given to the Levites and appointed as a city of refuge for an innocent manslayer (Deut. 4:41–43; Josh. 20:8; 21:38). Ahab received his mortal wound there in battle with the Syrians (1 Kings 22), and Jehu was anointed king of Israel there (2 Kings 9:1). The source identifies it with es-Salt at the foot of the hills of Gilead, then the principal town of Belka.
(healing; healer) (1 Chron. 8:2)—the fifth son of Benjamin.
(help or healing of God) (Tob. 3:16; 5:4 and elsewhere)—the companion who, under the name Azarias, accompanied Tobias to Rages of Media to recover money that Tobit had once entrusted to Gabael, and who showed him many mercies on the journey (Tob. 4:1–20). He was an angel sent by God, though Tobit and Tobias did not know it. At the journey’s end Azarias disclosed himself: “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One” (Tob. 12:15).
Thus the angels invisibly accompany and guard us on all the paths of life even when we do not perceive it: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways” (Ps. 91:11).
(Jdt. 8:1)—a man of the tribe of Simeon and an ancestor of Judith.
(3 Macc. 1:1)—a city on the Mediterranean road from Egypt to Coele-Syria, between Rhinocolura and Gaza. There Ptolemy IV Philopator won a celebrated victory over Antiochus the Great, king of Syria (3 Macc. 1:2–4). In the source’s day the site was an uninhabited waste with an ancient deep well and several granite columns. The land of the Philistines extended northward from Raphia along the Mediterranean coast.
(1 Macc. 5:37)—a city in Gilead beyond the Jordan, not far from Ashtaroth or Carnaim (1 Macc. 5:43–44).
(Jdt. 2:23)—an unknown land or district which the Vulgate identifies with Tarsus in Cilicia.
(called Rasim in the source) (1 Esd. 2:16, 25; cf. Ezra 4:8)—a Persian official in Samaria, called the recorder or storywriter in 1 Esdras and identified with Rehum the chancellor in Ezra.
(2 Macc. 14:37)—one of the Jewish elders during the invasion of Judea by Nicanor, a Syrian commander under King Demetrius. He ended his life by suicide under the circumstances related in 2 Maccabees 14.
(Num. 6:5)—an instrument for shaving. A Nazirite was not to let a razor pass over the head during the period of the vow (Num. 6:5). Ezekiel was commanded to use a sharp sword as a barber’s razor in a prophetic sign concerning Jerusalem (Ezek. 5:1). Psalm 52 compares a deceitful tongue that plots destruction to a sharpened razor, exposing the cutting harm of treacherous speech.
(vision of the LORD)—the name of several persons: (1) (1 Chron. 5:5) a descendant of Reuben; (2) (1 Chron. 4:2) a son of Shobal in the line of Judah, called Haroeh in 1 Chronicles 2:52; and (3) (Ezra 2:47; Neh. 7:50) head of a family of temple servants who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel after the captivity.
(fourth) (Num. 31:8)—one of five Midianite chiefs or kings killed by the Israelites during the wilderness journey. Joshua 13:21 calls him a prince of Sihon king of the Amorites.
(bond; captivating by beauty) (Gen. 24:15)—the sister of Laban and wife of Isaac. The circumstances of her marriage to Isaac form one of the Bible’s most beautiful and moving narratives (Gen. 24). See Isaac. After twenty years of marriage she became the mother of Esau and Jacob and received a remarkable divine revelation concerning their future. When the sons grew, Jacob became his mother’s favorite; the source observes that this excessive partiality became the cause of many family troubles. See Jacob. Rebekah died before Isaac and was buried in the cave of Machpelah with Abraham and Sarah, and where Isaac and Leah were also buried.
(rider) (Neh. 3:14)—father of Malchijah, who helped repair the Dung Gate and the fortifications of Jerusalem after the return from captivity.
(rider) (2 Sam. 4:2)—a captain of Ish-bosheth son of Saul. After Abner’s death, Rechab and his brother Baanah treacherously murdered their master in hope of gaining David’s favor, but David punished them for the crime.
(Num. 19:1-10)—an unblemished red cow that had never borne a yoke, prescribed for the rite of purification from corpse-defilement. It was taken outside the camp, slaughtered before the priest, and completely burned with cedarwood, hyssop, and scarlet. Its ashes were kept and mixed with living water to make water for purification.
(1 Kings 10:11, 12; 2 Chron. 9:10, 11) — in Solomon’s time, red sandalwood was brought in abundance from Ophir together with gold and precious stones, on Hiram’s ships. It was used for the construction of the Temple and the palace, and for musical instruments. It was probably sandalwood, a tree growing in India and on the island of Ceylon, and highly prized in the East for its hardness, beautiful color, and suitability for a quick and brilliant polish.
(Exod. 10:19; 13:18; 14:21-31; Num. 14:25; 33:10-11; Deut. 1:40; 2:1; 11:4; Heb. 11:29)—the long sea separating northeastern Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. At its northern end it divides into the gulfs of Suez and Aqaba. Scripture’s Hebrew name is *Yam Suph*, traditionally translated “Red Sea” and also understood as “Sea of Reeds.” The source records older explanations connecting “red” with sea vegetation, Edom, or red coral; none is decisive for the Hebrew name.
(1 Kgs 10:11-12) - a valuable timber growing in the East Indies, Ceylon, and parts of Africa and traded from ancient times. It was imported abundantly from Ophir under Solomon, who made from it supports or stairs in the house of the LORD, as well as harps and psalteries for the singers (2 Chr 9:10-11). The source identifies the biblical wood with eastern sandalwood, prized for its red color, hardness, and excellent polish.
(Job 19:25; Matt 20:28; 1 Pet 1:18 and elsewhere). To redeem someone means to purchase his freedom at a certain price. The price paid for freedom is called a ransom, or redemption. All sinners were, and are, in bondage to sin and therefore under the yoke of condemnation. The Lord Jesus Christ, who laid down His life and shed His blood upon the cross, redeemed us all from sin, the curse, and death, and is therefore called the Redeemer. Holy Scripture speaks of this redemption in the following way.
Of deliverance from sin: 'In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace' (Eph 1:7). Of deliverance from the curse: 'Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us' (Gal 3:13). Of deliverance from death: 'Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage' (Heb 2:14-15).
The Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice - redeemed - for us all; that is, He obtained grace and salvation for all. Yet those among us benefit from it who, on their part, voluntarily take part in His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death (Phil 3:10), through a living faith of the heart, through the saving Mysteries, and finally through crucifying the flesh with its passions and lusts. The preaching of redemption through the death of the God-man forms the chief subject of apostolic preaching, and faith in redemption is the center of our faith in Christ. Without this faith, justified by our life and deeds, we cannot be heirs of eternal life and salvation.
—reeds grow abundantly in marshes and along rivers. The basket of the infant Moses was made from papyrus, a reed-like plant of the Nile (Exod. 2:3), and Scripture often uses reeds and rushes to evoke waterside vegetation (Job 40:21; Isa. 19:6). Reeds served as pens, walking staffs, and measuring rods. Ezekiel’s measuring reed was six long cubits (Ezek. 40:5), though the length of a reed could vary by context.
(fearing the LORD) (Ezra 2:2)—one of the leaders who returned from captivity to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel. Nehemiah 7:7 calls him Raamiah, while 1 Esdras 5:8 gives the form Reesaias.
(1 Esd. 5:8)—one of the leaders who came out of Babylon with Zerubbabel; the source equates the name with Bigvai in Ezra 2:2 and Nehemiah 7:7.
(called Risei in the source) (1 Esd. 5:8)—a leader of the Jewish people who returned with Zerubbabel; Ezra 2:2 gives the corresponding name Reelaiah.
(friend) (1 Chron. 2:47)—one of the sons of Jahdai, named among the descendants of Caleb son of Hezron.
(friend of the king) (Zech. 7:2)—one of two messengers sent to Jerusalem in the reign of Darius to entreat God’s favor and ask the priests and prophets whether the fast of the fifth month, commemorating Nebuchadnezzar’s burning of the Temple, should continue. The source discusses whether those who sent him were still in exile and concludes from the reference to Darius that the Babylonian captivity had not yet fully ended for them.
(broad; spacious) (1 Chron. 4:12)—a word occurring only once in Scripture, perhaps as the name of a locality whose position is unknown.
(enlargement of the LORD) (1 Chron. 23:17; 24:21; 26:25)—a grandson of Moses and son of Eliezer. Since 1 Chronicles says that Rehabiah had very many sons, the source concludes that his descendants formed a large family.
(open place)—the name of a person and several places: (1) (2 Sam. 8:3) father of Hadadezer king of Zobah, whom David defeated near the Euphrates; (2) (Neh. 10:11) a Levite who sealed the covenant to remain faithful to God and His Law after the exile; (3) (Num. 13:21) the northern limit reached by the spies, commonly called Beth-rehob; (4) (Josh. 19:28) a city of Asher, apparently east of Sidon; (5) (Josh. 19:30) another place of that name, afterward associated with the Levites, whose location was unknown; and (6) (Judg. 1:31) a city, perhaps the same as the preceding, from which the Canaanites were not expelled.
(enlarger of the people) (1 Kings 14:21 and elsewhere)—son and successor of Solomon. He ascended Judah’s throne at forty-one and reigned seventeen years. At the beginning of his reign he could have relieved the resentment caused by the heavy burdens imposed under Solomon. Instead he rejected the elders’ wise counsel, followed the rash counsel of younger men, and answered the people’s lawful appeal with pride: “My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions” (2 Chron. 10:11). Ten tribes revolted, leaving only Judah and Benjamin faithful to him (2 Chron. 10:1–19).
(broad places) (Gen. 26:22)—the name Isaac gave a well dug in Gerar. The source identifies it with Wadi Ruhaibeh, where substantial ruins and many rock-cut cisterns testified to a once numerous population.
(Gen. 36:37)—a very ancient city mentioned in the list of Edomite kings as the home of Saul, one of their rulers (1 Chron. 1:48). The source identifies its site with er-Rahabeh, about an hour east of the Euphrates.
(broad place, or street, of the city) (Gen. 10:11)—a city built with Nineveh, Calah, and Resen by Asshur or Nimrod east of the Tigris. The source suggests that it may have been a suburb or quarter of Nineveh.
(merciful)—the name of several persons in Ezra and Nehemiah: (1) (Ezra 2:2) one of those who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel; (2) (Ezra 4:8–24) a Persian official or chancellor in Samaria who, with others, stirred Artaxerxes against the Jews and hindered the rebuilding at Jerusalem; (3) (Neh. 3:17) son of Bani, who helped repair Jerusalem’s wall; (4) (Neh. 10:25) a leader who sealed the covenant to remain faithful to God and His Law; and (5) (Neh. 12:3) a priest who returned with Zerubbabel.
(friend) (1 Kings 1:8)—one of David’s supporters who, with Nathan and others, remained loyal near the end of David’s life and refused to join Adonijah’s conspiracy to seize the throne intended for Solomon.
(variegated; flourishing)—the name of persons and a place: (1) (Num. 31:8) one of the five Midianite kings slain by Israel in the war against Midian; (2) (1 Chron. 2:43–44) a son of Hebron; (3) (1 Chron. 7:16) a son of Sheresh of Manasseh; and (4) (Josh. 18:27) a city assigned to Benjamin and mentioned only once, probably near Jerusalem, though its exact location was unknown.
(the LORD adorns) (2 Kings 15:25; Isa. 7:4)—father of Pekah, an officer under Pekahiah king of Israel who conspired against him and reigned in his place.
(height) (Josh. 19:21)—another name for Ramah or Ramoth in Issachar, perhaps the same as Jarmuth (Josh. 21:29) and Ramoth (1 Chron. 6:73). It occurs only once under this form, and its location was unknown.
(Acts 7:43; Amos 5:26)—probably the name given to a planet, perhaps Saturn, that was worshiped as a deity. Its image, hidden in a small box or portable shrine, was carried from place to place like other baggage, comparable to the silver shrines mentioned in Acts 19:24 (cf. Isa. 46:7). The Hebrew text of Amos 5:26 has Chiun where Acts gives Remphan.
(Mark 1:4-5; 2 Cor. 7:10)—turning from sin toward God with sorrow, faith, and a resolved change of life. Those who came to John’s baptism confessed their sins; Christ gave the apostles authority to bind and loose and, after the Resurrection, breathed the Holy Spirit upon them with the words, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Matt. 18:18; John 20:22-23).
(strengthening; help) (1 Chron. 7:25)—a son of Ephraim son of Joseph.
(the LORD heals)—the name of five persons: (1) (1 Chron. 3:21) an Israelite whose descendants appear in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles; (2) (1 Chron. 4:42–43) a Simeonite leader among the five hundred who attacked the Amalekites at Mount Seir in Hezekiah’s reign and occupied their territory; (3) (1 Chron. 7:2) a son of Tola of Issachar and a chief of his generation; (4) (1 Chron. 9:43) a descendant of Jonathan son of Saul, whose father was Binea; and (5) (Neh. 3:9) son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, who helped repair the city’s fortifications.
(giants) (Gen. 14:5; Deut. 2:11; Josh. 12:4 and elsewhere)—one of the most ancient peoples once inhabiting Palestine. The source derives their name from an ancestor Rapha and describes them as remarkable in stature and strength. They were among the Canaanite peoples by Abraham’s time, when Chedorlaomer king of Elam defeated them (Gen. 14:5). They lived in Bashan, Moab, Ammon, and neighboring lands. Scripture also associates with them other peoples of exceptional stature, including the Anakim, Zuzim, Emim, and Zamzummim.
(supports; bearers) (Ex. 17:1 and elsewhere)—one of Israel’s encampments near the western arm of the Red Sea and not far from Mount Sinai. It was memorable as the place where water was miraculously brought from the rock of Horeb after Israel murmured for lack of water, and where Joshua defeated the Amalekites (Ex. 17:1–16). Jethro the priest and his family also came there to visit Moses (Ex. 18:1–12). The source places it probably in Wadi Feiran, though others proposed Wadi esh-Sheikh, and says that the locality was then called Meribah, “murmuring, contention, indignation,” because Israel contended there over the lack of water.
(strong) (Gen. 10:12)—one of the cities built by Asshur or Nimrod between Nineveh and Calah. It may have been the city Xenophon called Larissa on the eastern bank of the Tigris. The source notes an identification with ruins near Selamiyeh northwest of Calah.
(flame) (1 Chron. 7:25)—a descendant of Ephraim named in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles.
(behold, a son) (Gen. 29:32 and elsewhere)—the eldest son of Jacob and Leah and one of the twelve patriarchs. He forfeited the birthright through his sin with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and received Jacob’s severe rebuke: “Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed” (Gen. 49:3–4). His descendants afterward were distinguished neither by numbers nor by power.
(calling of God) (Num. 1:14)—the name of two persons: (1) father of Eliasaph, chief of Gad, who helped Moses number Israel at Sinai, presented an offering at the dedication of the tabernacle, and commanded Gad’s host (Num. 7:42–47); and (2) (1 Chron. 9:8) a Benjaminite named in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles.
(exalted; lofty) (Gen. 22:24)—the concubine of Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
(strong or firm place) (2 Kings 19:12; Isa. 37:12)—a city in Syria or northern Mesopotamia. The source identifies it with Resafa between Raqqa and Emesa, later called Sergiopolis and situated on the route toward Palmyra. Many interpreters cited by the source regarded it as the seat of an Assyrian governor and therefore as a city conquered by Assyria.
(favor; mercy) (1 Chron. 7:39)—a son of Ulla named in the genealogy of Asher.
(firm)—the name of two persons: (1) (2 Kings 15:37) king of Syria, who allied with Pekah king of Israel, invaded Judah, and besieged Jerusalem in the reign of Ahaz, but was killed by Tiglath-pileser II, Ahaz’s ally (2 Kings 16:9). The source observes that Assyrian inscriptions strongly confirm the biblical narrative. (2) (Ezra 2:48; Neh. 7:50) an ancestor of temple servants who returned with Zerubbabel.
(important; ruler; chief) (1 Kings 11:23)—son of Eliada, who revolted from Hadadezer king of Zobah during the latter’s war with David and became leader of a band of raiders. Rezon afterward became king of Damascus and remained an adversary of Israel throughout Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 11:25).
(breach or rupture) (Acts 28:13)—modern Reggio at the southern extremity of Italy by the Strait of Messina, past which Saint Paul’s ship sailed from Malta toward Rome. The source describes it as a harbor trading in silk, fruit, and oil and relates its name to the ancient belief that an earthquake separated Sicily from Italy at this point.
(1 Macc. 15:23; Acts 21:1)—a large island in the Levant southwest of Asia Minor, with a city of the same name. The source gives its dimensions as forty English miles long and fifteen wide and notes its ancient schools, flourishing arts and sciences, and the colossal statue traditionally said to have stood 105 feet high. The Colossus stood for fifty-six years before an earthquake destroyed it.
(rose-bearing) (3 Macc. 6:15)—an epithet given, from the character of the locality, to Ptolemais in Middle Egypt between Arsinoe and Heracleopolis. The source identifies the site with el-Lahun, where luxuriant rose plantations still existed in its day.
(adversary) (2 Sam. 23:29; 1 Chron. 11:31)—a Benjaminite of Gibeah whose son Ittai was one of David’s mighty men.
or Rivlah (fruitful) (Num. 34:11)—a city on Palestine’s northern frontier. Pharaoh Necho detained Jehoahaz king of Judah there and sent him in bonds to Egypt (2 Kings 23:33). Nebuchadnezzar brought Zedekiah there for judgment; Zedekiah’s sons were slain before him, his eyes were put out, and he was carried in chains to Babylon (2 Kings 25:6–7). The source identifies the place with modern Ribleh on the road between Baalbek and Homs near the Orontes.
(Matt. 19:23, 24) — an abundance of external, temporal, and earthly blessings, as well as of higher, heavenly, spiritual blessings. Holy Scripture presents numerous examples of people who possessed at times great riches and an abundance of earthly goods, but who at the same time were pious and righteous people, such as, for example: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Boaz, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Jehoshaphat, Job, Joseph of Arimathea, Bakcheus [?], and others.
(Judg. 14:12–18) — the oldest example of a riddle, in the general sense of that word, is found in the riddle proposed by Samson to his guests at a feast, namely in these words: “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness” (v. 14). In Hebrew the word “riddle” is used in the sense of a parable, comparison, allegory, or figure of speech. Proverbial wisdom and prophetic allegory are for the most part expressed in the form of riddles (Ezek. 17:2–10, and elsewhere).
Riddles in general enjoyed great popularity among the peoples of the East. They were used especially for entertainment, as among the Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans, during solemn dinners and feasts. From 1 Kings (10:1) we likewise know that the queen of Sheba, hearing of the fame of Solomon, “concerning the name of the LORD, came to test him with hard questions [riddles].”
—see Chariots and Travel.
(Ps. 21:8)—a frequent symbol of power, honor, skill, and favor. God’s saving might is attributed to his right hand (Exod. 15:6), and to stand or sit at the right hand is to occupy a place of distinction (1 Kings 2:19; Ps. 110:1). The exalted Christ at God’s right hand possesses incomparable glory and authority. Raising the hand could accompany an oath (Gen. 14:22), and giving the right hand signified fellowship (Gal. 2:9). Biblical directions may be described from an eastward orientation, making the right hand south and the left north. Such expressions are figurative and do not imply that the incorporeal God has bodily limitations.
(pomegranate)—the name of a person and a place: (1) (2 Sam. 4:2) a man of Beeroth, father of Baanah and Rechab; and (2) (Zech. 14:10) a city of Judah south of Jerusalem, which the source tentatively identifies with the ruins of Umm er-Rummamin north of Jerusalem.
(pomegranate tree or fruit)—the name of two places and an idol: (1) (Josh. 19:13; 1 Chron. 6:77) a Levitical city of Zebulun, apparently called Dimnah in Joshua 21:35, identified by the source with Rummaneh north of Nazareth; (2) (Judg. 20:45 and elsewhere) the Rock of Rimmon in Benjamin near Geba, where six hundred Benjaminites hid for four months, with a village of the same name on a hill between Bethel and the Jordan; and (3) (2 Kings 5:18) a Syrian deity especially honored in Damascus. Some connected the name with Hadad-rimmon, a god compared with the Greek Adonis and associated with the pomegranate.
(breach of the pomegranate) (Num. 33:19–20)—one of Israel’s encampments between Sinai and Kadesh during the wilderness journey. Its location and the reason for its name were unknown.
. See Finger rings.
(Gen 38:18 and elsewhere) - Scripture often names rings as ornaments. In antiquity, as among various peoples in the source's day, they were worn in the ears, on the wrists and fingers, and even in the nose. Pharaoh's ring, taken from his own hand and placed upon Joseph's (Gen 41:42), bore the state seal used to authenticate royal decrees. Giving it therefore signified Joseph's elevation to the chief office beneath the king. Ahasuerus similarly gave Haman his ring to seal the decree against the Jews, and later transferred it to Mordecai (Esth 3:10; 8:2, 8, 10).
(cry of joy) (1 Chron. 4:20)—a son of Shimon in the line of Judah.
(Gen. 10:3)—a son of Gomer. Some ancient interpreters regarded him as ancestor of the Paphlagonians, others of Celtic peoples.
(heap of ruins) (Num. 33:21–22)—one of Israel’s encampments in the wilderness on the way to Canaan.
(place of broom shrubs) (Num. 33:18–19)—one of Israel’s wilderness encampments on the road to Canaan. Its location was uncertain; the source notes Robinson’s proposal of Wadi Abu Retemat south of Kadesh, a place with shrubs and a spring of fresh water. The spies were sent from this region to examine the Promised Land, the rebellion associated with Kadesh occurred here, Miriam died nearby, and Moses sent messengers from the region to the king of Edom (Num. 13–14; 20).
(Gen. 15:18)—in this passage, according to the source, the Nile. It must not be confused with the “brook,” or Wadi, of Egypt (Num. 34:5), which reaches the Mediterranean near Rhinocolura.
See Nile.
. See Palestine.
(burning coal) (2 Sam. 3:7 and elsewhere)—a concubine of Saul and mother of Armoni and Mephibosheth. David delivered her sons, together with five sons of Merab, to the Gibeonites because of Saul’s former violence against them, and they were hanged on the hill. Rizpah spread sackcloth upon the rock and guarded the bodies day and night from the beginning of harvest until the rains, keeping birds and wild beasts away. When David learned what she had done, he gathered their bones and buried them with the bones of Saul and Jonathan in the family tomb of Kish. The source presents her vigil as a moving example of maternal love (2 Sam. 21:8–14).
Of roads, Holy Scripture speaks explicitly in only one place — the book of Deuteronomy, in connection with the ordinance appointing cities of refuge for unintentional manslayers (19:3–9). From the words of the prophet Isaiah (40:3; Matt. 3:3) it may further be inferred that when kings went on a journey, the roads before them were repaired and leveled. The main roads of Palestine connecting it with foreign lands remain today nearly as they were in antiquity — for example, the road from Palestine to Egypt, traveled by Abraham (Gen. 12:10), by the Ishmaelite merchants in the days of Jacob (37:25), and by the sons of Jacob, and Jacob himself, with them (Gen. 42, 43, 46).
There were two such roads. One ran from Gaza along the coast of the Mediterranean, then across Lake Serbonis and the sandy desert of El-Arish, or Rhinocolura, to Cairo; this road was usually taken by armies and generally carried the heavier traffic. The other ran from Gaza through Sinai — in Arabic, through Tor, or Tur — to Suez; this route was taken chiefly by travelers wishing to see Sinai, though the journey from Gaza to Cairo by it required no fewer than 27 to 30 days. Both roads probably branched off from Jerusalem by way of Bethlehem.
In northern Palestine a cross-road runs from Acco, or Ptolemais, through the mountains to Nazareth, passing along the northern side of the valley of Jezreel, then by the Sea of Tiberias to Capernaum, crossing the Jordan and continuing along the lowland spurs of Anti-Lebanon toward Damascus (Gen. 14:14, 15). This ancient trunk road connected Europe with inner Asia, and armies marching from the Euphrates reached the very heart of Palestine by it; under Roman rule it was one of the most profitable roads for customs revenue (Matt. 9:9).
Of the roads within Palestine itself there were a great many, too many to list in full, so we will confine ourselves to the most important. Between Galilee and Judea ran the shortest road to Jerusalem, through Samaria (Luke 17:11), a distance of only three days’ journey; it entered Samaria through the plain of Jezreel, passed through Samaria proper and Shechem, and from there, a day’s journey further, reached Jerusalem. Another road between these two regions, usually taken by Galileans going up to the festivals, ran through the desert to Jericho, where it crossed the Jordan, then through rocky ravines and over the Mount of Olives and through Bethany into Jerusalem (Matt. 20:29; 21:7; Luke 10:30).
From Jerusalem ran three principal roads: to Jericho, as we see from the Gospel (Luke 10:30), unsafe for travelers because of robbers; to Gaza (Acts 8:26); and to Joppa. This last road is winding, about 90 versts in length, and since the time of the Crusades has been the customary route of pilgrims coming from Egypt and Europe to worship at the holy places; the chief resting place on it is Ramla, founded by the Saracens in the 8th century. Mention may also be made of the road from Hebron to Gaza, from Jerusalem to Gaza — by which the eunuch of the Ethiopian queen returned (Acts 8:26) — from Shechem to Jericho, from Cana to Tiberias, and others. Samaria, being an especially mountainous country, was the poorest in roads; even today it is rarely visited by caravans or pilgrims.
, or the seizing of another’s thing or property, openly, by violence. Not only do the present-day Bedouins of Arabia live by pillage and robbery, but in the deepest antiquity they were preceded in this by the Ishmaelites and their neighbors the Chaldeans (Gen. 14:12; Job 1:17). In later periods of Hebrew history, instances of banditry are frequently mentioned, as, for example, in the days of the Judges (9:25; 11:3). Certain campaigns of the Philistines, Amalekites, and others were nothing other than predatory raids (1 Sam. 23:1; 27:8, and elsewhere).
During the earthly life of Jesus Christ, the road going from Jerusalem to Jericho was especially dangerous for travelers, on account of robberies and plunder (Luke 10:30). As to the gravity of the sin of theft and robbery, one may judge on the basis of the words of Holy Scripture, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians (6:10) and in the Apocalypse (21:8; 22:15).
. See Plunder.
(Judg. 7:25; Isa. 10:26)—the rock near the Jordan where Gideon’s men captured and killed the Midianite prince Oreb. The place received its name from that event.
See Scepter.
(2 Macc. 13:21)—a traitor in the Jewish army who revealed Judas Maccabeus’s secrets to the enemy during the war with Antiochus Eupator; he was exposed and put to death.
or En-rogel (2 Sam. 17:17; 1 Kings 1:9)—a spring east of Jerusalem on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin.
(place of fullers) (2 Sam. 17:27; 19:31)—a city of Gilead where Barzillai lived. The aged Barzillai supplied David while the king was at Mahanaim and afterward came to escort him across the Jordan, showing that Rogelim lay near that region; its precise location was unknown.
(cry) (1 Chron. 7:34)—a son of Shamer of the tribe of Asher.
(1 Esd. 5:8)—one of the leaders who returned from captivity with Zerubbabel; Ezra 2:2 gives the name Rehum.
(I have exalted help) (1 Chron. 25:4, 31)—a son of Heman whom David appointed chief of the twenty-fourth division of singers and instrumentalists in the Temple service.
—Roman intervention became decisive when Pompey entered Jerusalem in 63 BC. After periods of client kingship, Judea came under direct Roman prefectural administration in AD 6, while other territories remained under Herodian rulers. Rome allowed Jewish worship and much local legal administration but imposed taxation, customs duties, military oversight, and final control over capital punishment. Governors normally resided at Caesarea; additional troops were stationed in Jerusalem during pilgrimage festivals, with the Antonia Fortress guarding the Temple area.
(1 Macc. 1:10; Acts 28:16)—the capital of the Roman Empire, situated on the Tiber about fifteen English miles from its mouth. According to tradition, Romulus founded it around 750 BC. At first the city occupied one hill, but in its glory it spread over seven hills—and, according to some ancient descriptions, as many as fifteen. The source reports a circuit of twenty English miles, a population of approximately 1,250,000, perhaps half of them enslaved, 150,000 houses, and 420 pagan temples.
(Matt. 10:27)—flat roofs were common in the ancient Near East. They were built with a slight slope for drainage and required a parapet to prevent falls (Deut. 22:8). Exterior stairs could permit access without entering the house. Roofs served for sleep in warm weather, conversation, cooling, storage, festival booths, prayer, public announcements, and at times idolatrous worship (1 Sam. 9:25-26; Neh. 8:16; Jer. 19:13; Acts 10:9). Jesus’ command to proclaim “from the housetops” uses their visibility as an image of open declaration.
(Matt. 26:34). Nearly all the Evangelists mention the rooster, though only in connection with its crowing (Mark 14:30; Luke 22:60). The bird was known in deep antiquity in Assyria and neighboring lands. The source describes an ancient stone in the British Museum portraying a priest beside an altar with a small rooster bearing a crescent upon its head, suggesting that the bird received cultic honor among Babylonians or neighboring peoples. In ancient pagan Greece roosters were sacrificed.
(Sir. 24:14; Wis. 2:8 and elsewhere). In the East the rose is queen of flowers for fragrance, color, and beauty. In 2 Esdras 2:19 roses and lilies adorn the garden and symbolize the fullness of life. Ancient peoples wove roses into garlands for festivals and religious rites. The Plain of Sharon was especially suited to beautiful roses, and several kinds continued to grow in Palestine in the source’s day.
(head). (1) (Gen. 46:21) a son of Bela son of Benjamin, mentioned only there. (2) (Ezek. 38:2–3; 39:1) a Hebrew word ordinarily meaning head or chief, but also read as a proper name for a people. The source reports older proposals locating this people north of the Taurus near the Caspian and Black Seas, and records the source-era conjecture that it referred to the Russian people under Gog alongside Meshech and Tubal. This conjecture is preserved as part of the 1891 encyclopedia and is not presented as a secure modern identification.
(2 Chron. 21:20)—the burial place of the kings of Judah. The monument north of Jerusalem now called the Tombs of the Kings is not the biblical royal necropolis but a later first-century AD complex.
(Zech. 14:10)—winepresses whose precise location is uncertain. The source places them west of Jerusalem, but Scripture supplies no further description.
(red) (Ex. 28:17)—a precious stone of red or fiery color, valued by the source just below diamond. It reports renowned rubies from India and from Sardis in Lydia, from which the terms sard or sardius were connected (Rev. 4:3), and cites Pliny’s high estimate of Babylonian rubies. The ruby occupied the first position in the first row of stones on the high priest’s breastpiece of judgment.
(Luke 11:42)—a strongly scented plant common in Palestine, growing two to four feet high and used medicinally by the ancients. The Savior names it with mint and other herbs from which the Jews scrupulously tithed while neglecting weightier duties. Rue grows abundantly in Palestine and Syria, southern Europe, and gardens elsewhere.
(red)—the name of two persons: (1) (Mark 15:21) a son of Simon of Cyrene, who was compelled by Roman soldiers to carry the Lord’s Cross to Golgotha; and (2) (Rom. 16:13) a Christian in Rome commended by Paul. Tradition numbers him among the Seventy Apostles and calls him bishop of Thebes in Greece; the source records commemorations on January 4 and April 8.
(Hos. 2:1)—the symbolic name of the daughter of the prophet Hosea, meaning “she has received mercy.”
(height) (2 Kings 23:36)—a place perhaps identical with Arumah (Judg. 9:41) near Shechem, where Abimelech lived. The source identifies its ruins with el-Arma or el-Orma.
(companion; friend) (Ruth 1:4; Matt. 1:5)—a Moabite woman, wife of Mahlon. His father Elimelech had moved with Naomi and their two sons from Bethlehem to Moab during a famine. The sons married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah, but Elimelech and both sons died, leaving Naomi with her daughters-in-law. When Naomi heard that the famine had ended, she resolved to return home and urged the younger women to remain in Moab. Orpah stayed, but Ruth refused to leave Naomi.