34 entries · Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Prov. 30:1)—a name occurring with Ithiel in the difficult superscription to Agur’s sayings. Traditional interpretation treats Ithiel and Ucal as persons addressed by Agur, but the Hebrew wording and division of the phrase are uncertain; some modern translations construe it differently.
(God’s will; Ezra 10:34)—one of the sons of Bani who had married a foreign woman. The corresponding form in 1 Esdras 9:34 varies among textual traditions.
(Dan. 8:2, 16)—a watercourse associated with Susa in the province of Elam, beside which Daniel received a vision. It is often connected with a canal or branch in the river system near ancient Susa rather than securely identified as one modern river.
(porch or vestibule)—the name of two Benjaminites. (1) (1 Chron. 8:39–40) the firstborn son of Eshek, whose sons were capable archers and heads of a large family. (2) (1 Chron. 7:16) a son of Sheresh in the line of Machir.
(1 Chron. 7:39)—an Asherite clan head whose sons were counted among the valiant leaders of their generation.
(Josh. 19:30)—a town assigned to Asher and named near Achzib and Aphek. A connection with modern ‘Amqa near Acre has been proposed, but the identification remains uncertain.
(Mark 6:13) — a Sacrament in which, through the anointing of the body with oil, grace is invoked upon the sick person, healing the infirmities of soul and body. It traces its origin to the apostles, who, having received authority from Jesus Christ, “anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them” (Mark 6:13); St. James the Apostle speaks with full clarity and precision of the Sacrament of unction in the following words: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church” (a council of priests — hence another name for this sacrament: the “council” [sobornovanie]); “and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:14, 15).
(Job 39:9; Num. 24:8) — the animal denoted by this word was evidently distinguished by its ferocity and strength (Num. 23:22), swiftness and agility (Ps. 29:6 [28:6]), wildness (Job 39:9), and a prominent black horn upon its forehead (Ps. 92:11 [91:11]). The unicorn was well known to the writers of the sacred books, as is evident from the frequent references to it in Holy Scripture. In Hebrew the unicorn is called reem. According to the testimony of Pliny, the unicorn was smaller than the elephant in size; in shape, color, and figure it resembled an ox, differing from it, however, in having a prominent horn on its nose.
Its strength and swiftness of movement were very great, and it spared neither man nor beast that happened to cross its path. The image of the unicorn has often been, and still is, found on royal coats of arms.
—see Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
(Ex. 12:15; Lev. 23:5, 14; Num. 28:16, 25; Deut. 16:3–8 and elsewhere). Unleavened bread is bread made without leaven. The Feast of Unleavened Bread began on the second day of Passover and continued together with Passover for seven days. During that time, when sacrifices were offered in the sanctuary, the Hebrews were to possess and eat nothing leavened, under penalty of being cut off from Israel (Ex. 12:15–19). The first and last days of the feast were especially honored and marked by general assemblies in the court of the Tabernacle (Lev. 23:7–8).
—the name of two Levites. (1) (Neh. 12:9) a Levite associated with the antiphonal service in the days of Jeshua. (2) (1 Chron. 15:18, 20) a musician appointed when David brought the ark to Jerusalem.
(Jer. 10:9; Dan. 10:5)—a place associated with fine gold. It has often been treated as a variant or poetic designation of Ophir, but it may refer to another gold-producing region; its location cannot be established securely.
(Neh. 3:25)—apparently part of the royal palace complex at Jerusalem adjoining the city wall.
(1 Chron. 11:35)—the father of Eliphal, one of David’s mighty men. The parallel list in 2 Samuel 23:34 has variant names and ancestry.
(Gen. 11:28, 31; Neh. 9:7)—the city from which Terah’s family departed with Abram on the journey toward Canaan. Most modern scholarship identifies it with the great Sumerian city at Tell el-Muqayyar in southern Mesopotamia. Older interpreters, including the source, identified it with Edessa, later Urfa and now Şanlıurfa in southeastern Turkey, but that equation is no longer generally accepted.
(Rom. 16:9)—a Christian in Rome whom Paul greets as “our fellow worker in Christ.” Later tradition numbers him among the Seventy Apostles and describes him as a bishop in Macedonia who died as a martyr; these details are not contained in the New Testament. He is commemorated in Orthodox tradition on January 4 and October 31.
(light)—the name of several persons. (1) (Exod. 31:2) the father of Bezalel, the Spirit-endowed craftsman of the tabernacle. (2) (1 Kings 4:19) the father of Geber, one of Solomon’s district officers. (3) (Ezra 10:24) a Levite gatekeeper who had married a foreign woman.
(the LORD is my light)—the name of several persons. (1) (2 Sam. 11:3–27) Uriah the Hittite, husband of Bathsheba and one of David’s warriors. After committing adultery with Bathsheba, David arranged for Uriah to be abandoned in battle and killed. The narrative places responsibility upon David and does not say that Bathsheba participated in the plot. Nathan later exposed David’s sin (2 Sam. 12). (2) (2 Kings 16:10–16; Isa. 8:2) a priest under King Ahaz who built an altar patterned after one Ahaz saw in Damascus and altered the Temple service at the king’s command.
(3) (Jer. 26:20–23) a prophet, son of Shemaiah, who prophesied against Jerusalem in the days of Jehoiakim; he fled to Egypt, was extradited, and was executed by the king.
(God is my light)—the name of several figures. (1) (1 Chron. 6:24) a Kohathite Levite, son of Tahath. (2) (2 Chron. 13:2) a man of Gibeah whose daughter Micaiah was the mother of Abijah; the parallel notice in 2 Chronicles 11:20 uses the names Maacah and Absalom, probably reflecting alternate names or kinship terminology rather than a simple solution. (3) (2 Esdras 4:1 and elsewhere) the angel sent to instruct Ezra concerning hidden divine purposes. See Angel.
(Exod. 28:30)—sacred objects or means of priestly inquiry placed in connection with the high priest’s breastpiece of judgment. Their Hebrew names have traditionally been associated with “lights” and “perfections,” but their exact form and etymology are uncertain. Scripture distinguishes them verbally from the twelve engraved stones of the breastpiece without describing their manufacture or appearance.
(1 Esdras 5:30)—an ancestor of Temple servants listed among those returning with Zerubbabel. The name is absent or represented differently in the parallel lists of Ezra and Nehemiah.
(God is refuge)—the name of two persons. (1) (1 Chron. 9:4) a descendant of Perez from the tribe of Judah who lived in Jerusalem after the exile. (2) (Ezra 8:14) a descendant of Bigvai who returned from Babylon with Ezra.
(1 Esdras 8:40)—a leader from the descendants of Bagoas who returned with Ezra; the parallel tradition has the related name Uthai among the sons of Bigvai.
—the name of three persons and a land. (1) (Gen. 10:23) a son of Aram in the Table of Nations. (2) (Gen. 22:21) the firstborn son of Nahor and Milcah. (3) (Gen. 36:28) a son of Dishan and Horite clan figure. (4) (Job 1:1; Lam. 4:21) the land in which Job lived and a region associated with Edom. Proposals range across Edom, northern Arabia, Transjordan, and Aramean territory; local traditions concerning Job’s tomb, bath, spring, and monastery do not establish the land’s historical location.
(strength, might) (2 Sam. 6:3)—son of the Levite Abinadab. After the victory over the Philistines, David wished to bring the Ark of God from the house of Abinadab, in Baale-judah, to Jerusalem. During the solemn transporting of the Ark upon a new cart, driven by Uza and Ahio, the oxen stumbled and jolted the Ark at the threshing floor of Nachon. Uza put forth his hand to the Ark to steady it and took hold of it, and for this presumption he was punished by God with instant death beside the Ark of God. The place where this happened was named the Breach of Uza (2 Sam. 6:6-8, 1 Chron. 13:7-11).
(Neh. 3:25)—the father of Palal, who repaired a section of Jerusalem’s wall under Nehemiah.
(Gen. 10:27; 1 Chron. 1:21)—a son of Joktan. Later interpreters connected his descendants or name with a region of southern Arabia and sometimes with Sana’a, but the biblical text does not establish that identification.
(strength)—the name of several persons. (1) (1 Chron. 6:29) a Merarite Levite, son of Shimei. (2) (2 Kings 21:18, 26) the owner or namesake of the garden in which Kings Manasseh and Amon were buried. (3) (1 Chron. 8:7) a Benjaminite associated with the descendants of Ehud. (4) (1 Esdras 5:31) an ancestor of Temple servants who returned with Zerubbabel; the parallel lists preserve variant forms.
(1 Chron. 7:24)—a town built or founded by Sheerah, a daughter or female descendant of Ephraim, and named together with Lower and Upper Beth-horon. Its precise location and the meaning of its name remain uncertain.
(the LORD is my strength)—the name of several persons. (1) (1 Chron. 7:2) a son of Tola and grandson of Issachar. (2) (1 Chron. 7:7) a son of Bela and grandson of Benjamin. (3) (1 Chron. 9:8) a Benjaminite, son of Michri, living in Jerusalem. (4) (Ezra 7:4) an ancestor of Ezra in the priestly line, son of Bukki. (5) (Neh. 11:22) a descendant of Bani who oversaw the Levites in Jerusalem. (6) (Neh. 12:19) head of the priestly house of Jedaiah in the days of Joiakim. (7) (Neh. 12:42) a priest who participated in the dedication of Jerusalem’s wall.
(having the same meaning as the preceding word)—name of the following five persons:
(the LORD is strong)—the name of several persons. (1) (1 Chron. 6:24) a Kohathite Levite in the ancestry of Samuel, father of Shaul. (2) (1 Chron. 11:44) an Ashterathite among David’s mighty men. (3) (1 Chron. 27:25) the father of Jonathan, an overseer of David’s storehouses. (4) (Ezra 10:21) a priest of the sons of Harim who had married a foreign woman. (5) (Neh. 11:4) the father of Athaiah, a Judahite resident of Jerusalem after the exile.
(strength of God)—name of the following persons:
(God is my strength)—the name of several persons. (1) (1 Chron. 4:42) a Simeonite leader, one of the sons of Ishi who attacked the surviving Amalekites in the hill country of Seir and settled there. (2) (Exod. 6:18) a son of Kohath and uncle of Aaron. (3) (1 Chron. 7:7) a son of Bela and Benjaminite clan leader. (4) (2 Chron. 29:14) a Levite of the sons of Jeduthun whose descendants assisted Hezekiah’s purification of the Temple. (5) (Neh. 3:8) a goldsmith, son of Harhaiah, who helped repair Jerusalem’s wall.