Easton's Bible Dictionary

loathing, the son of Ebed, in whom the Shechemites "placed their confidence" when they became discontented with Abimelech. He headed the revolution, and led out the men of Shechem against Abimelech; but was defeated, and fled to his own home ( ). We hear no more of him after this battle.

a shaking, a hill, on the north side of which Joshua was buried ( ), in the territory of Ephraim. (See TIMNATH-SERAH.)

Gab Baitha, i.e., "the ridge of the house" = "the temple-mound," on a part of which the fortress of Antonia was built. This "temple-mound" was covered with a tesselated "pavement" (Gr. lithostroton, i.e., "stone-paved"). A judgement-seat (bema) was placed on this "pavement" outside the hall of the "praetorium" (q.v.), the judgment-hall ( 19:13).

champion of God, used as a proper name to designate the angel who was sent to Daniel (8:16) to explain the vision of the ram and the he-goat, and to communicate the prediction of the seventy weeks ( ).
He announced also the birth of John the Baptist ( ), and of the Messiah (26). He describes himself in the words, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God" (1:19).

fortune; luck. (1.) Jacob's seventh son, by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, and the brother of Asher ( 46:16, 18). In the Authorized Version of 30:11 the words, "A troop cometh: and she called," etc., should rather be rendered, "In fortune [R.V., 'Fortunate']: and she called," etc., or "Fortune cometh," etc.
The tribe of Gad during the march through the wilderness had their place with Simeon and Reuben on the south side of the tabernacle ( ). The tribes of Reuben and Gad continued all through their history to follow the pastoral pursuits of the patriarchs ( ).
The portion allotted to the tribe of Gad was on the east of Jordan, and comprehended the half of Gilead, a region of great beauty and fertility ( ), bounded on the east by the Arabian desert, on the west by the Jordan ( ), and on the north by the river Jabbok. It thus included the whole of the Jordan valley as far north as to the Sea of Galilee, where it narrowed almost to a point.
This tribe was fierce and warlike; they were "strong men of might, men of war for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, their faces the faces of lions, and like roes upon the mountains for swiftness" ( 5:19-22). Barzillai ( ) and Elijah ( ) were of this tribe. It was carried into captivity at the same time as the other tribes of the northern kingdom by Tiglath-pileser ( ), and in the time of Jeremiah (49:1) their cities were inhabited by the Ammonites.
(2.) A prophet who joined David in the "hold," and at whose advice he quitted it for the forest of Hareth ( ). Many years after we find mention made of him in connection with the punishment inflicted for numbering the people ( ). He wrote a book called the "Acts of David" ( ), and assisted in the arrangements for the musical services of the "house of God" ( ). He bore the title of "the king's seer" ( , 13; ).

the capital of the Roman province of Peraea. It stood on the summit of a mountain about 6 miles south-east of the Sea of Galilee. Mark (5:1) and Luke (8:26-39) describe the miracle of the healing of the demoniac (Matthew [8:28-34] says two demoniacs) as having been wrought "in the country of the Gadarenes," thus describing the scene generally. The miracle could not have been wrought at Gadara itself, for between the lake and this town there is the deep, almost impassable ravine of the Hieromax (Jarmuk). It is identified with the modern village of Um-Keis, which is surrounded by very extensive ruins, all bearing testimony to the splendour of ancient Gadara.
"The most interesting remains of Gadara are its tombs, which dot the cliffs for a considerable distance round the city, chiefly on the north-east declivity; but many beautifully sculptured sarcophagi are scattered over the surrounding heights. They are excavated in the limestone rock, and consist of chambers of various dimensions, some more than 20 feet square, with recesses in the sides for bodies...The present inhabitants of Um-Keis are all troglodytes, 'dwelling in tombs,' like the poor maniacs of old, and occasionally they are almost as dangerous to unprotected travellers."

the inhabitants of Gadara, in Revised Version "Gerasenes" ( , 37). In they are called Gergesenes, Revised Version "Gadarenes."

fortunate, the representative of the tribe of Manasseh among the twelve "spies" sent by Moses to spy the land ( ).

fortune (i.e., sent) of God, the representative of the tribe of Zebulum among the twelve spies ( ).

lurking-place, one of the chief of the Nethinim, whose descendants returned to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel ( ).

(1.) A Macedonian, Paul's fellow-traveller, and his host at Corinth when he wrote his Epistle to the Romans (16:23). He with his household were baptized by Paul ( ). During a heathen outbreak against Paul at Ephesus the mob seized Gaius and Aristarchus because they could not find Paul, and rushed with them into the theatre. Some have identified this Gaius with No. (2).
(2.) A man of Derbe who accompanied Paul into Asia on his last journey to Jerusalem
(3.) A Christain of Asia Minor to whom John addressed his third epistle (3 ).

has been called the "Gallia" of the East, Roman writers calling its inhabitants Galli. They were an intermixture of Gauls and Greeks, and hence were called Gallo-Graeci, and the country Gallo-Graecia. The Galatians were in their origin a part of that great Celtic migration which invaded Macedonia about B.C. 280. They were invited by the king of Bithynia to cross over into Asia Minor to assist him in his wars. There they ultimately settled, and being strengthened by fresh accessions of the same clan from Europe, they overran Bithynia, and supported themselves by plundering neighbouring countries. They were great warriors, and hired themselves out as mercenary soldiers, sometimes fighting on both sides in the great battles of the times. They were at length brought under the power of Rome in B.C. 189, and Galatia became a Roman province B.C. 25.
This province of Galatia, within the limits of which these Celtic tribes were confined, was the central region of Asia Minor.
During his second missionary journey Paul, accompanied by Silas and Timothy ( ), visited the "region of Galatia," where he was detained by sickness ( ), and had thus the longer opportunity of preaching to them the gospel. On his third journey he went over "all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order" ( ). Crescens was sent thither by Paul toward the close of his life ( ).

The genuineness of this epistle is not called in question. Its Pauline origin is universally acknowledged.
Occasion of. The churches of Galatia were founded by Paul himself ( 4:13, 19). They seem to have been composed mainly of converts from heathenism (4:8), but partly also of Jewish converts, who probably, under the influence of Judaizing teachers, sought to incorporate the rites of Judaism with Christianity, and by their active zeal had succeeded in inducing the majority of the churches to adopt their views (1:6; 3:1). This epistle was written for the purpose of counteracting this Judaizing tendency, and of recalling the Galatians to the simplicity of the gospel, and at the same time also of vindicating Paul's claim to be a divinely-commissioned apostle.
Time and place of writing. The epistle was probably written very soon after Paul's second visit to Galatia ( ). The references of the epistle appear to agree with this conclusion. The visit to Jerusalem, mentioned in , was identical with that of , and it is spoken of as a thing of the past, and consequently the epistle was written subsequently to the council of Jerusalem. The similarity between this epistle and that to the Romans has led to the conclusion that they were both written at the same time, namely, in the winter of A.D. 57-8, during Paul's stay in Corinth ( , 3). This to the Galatians is written on the urgency of the occasion, tidings having reached him of the state of matters; and that to the Romans in a more deliberate and systematic way, in exposition of the same great doctrines of the gospel.
Contents of. The great question discussed is, Was the Jewish law binding on Christians? The epistle is designed to prove against the Jews that men are justified by faith without the works of the law of Moses. After an introductory address ( ) the apostle discusses the subjects which had occasioned the epistle. (1) He defends his apostolic authority (1:11-19; 2:1-14); (2) shows the evil influence of the Judaizers in destroying the very essence of the gospel (3 and 4); (3) exhorts the Galatian believers to stand fast in the faith as it is in Jesus, and to abound in the fruits of the Spirit, and in a right use of their Christian freedom (5-6:1-10); (4) and then concludes with a summary of the topics discussed, and with the benediction.
The Epistle to the Galatians and that to the Romans taken together "form a complete proof that justification is not to be obtained meritoriously either by works of morality or by rites and ceremonies, though of divine appointment; but that it is a free gift, proceeding entirely from the mercy of God, to those who receive it by faith in Jesus our Lord."
In the conclusion of the epistle (6:11) Paul says, "Ye see how large a letter I have written with mine own hand." It is implied that this was different from his ordinary usage, which was simply to write the concluding salutation with his own hand, indicating that the rest of the epistle was written by another hand. Regarding this conclusion, Lightfoot, in his Commentary on the epistle, says: "At this point the apostle takes the pen from his amanuensis, and the concluding paragraph is written with his own hand. From the time when letters began to be forged in his name (2 Thess. 2:2; 3:17) it seems to have been his practice to close with a few words in his own handwriting, as a precaution against such forgeries...In the present case he writes a whole paragraph, summing up the main lessons of the epistle in terse, eager, disjointed sentences. He writes it, too, in large, bold characters (Gr. pelikois grammasin), that his hand-writing may reflect the energy and determination of his soul." (See JUSTIFICATION.)

Heb. helbenah, ( ), one of the ingredients in the holy incense. It is a gum, probably from the Galbanum officinale.

heap of witness, the name of the pile of stones erected by Jacob and Laban to mark the league of friendship into which they entered with each other ( , 48). This was the name given to the "heap" by Jacob. It is Hebrew, while the name Jegar-sahadutha, given to it by Laban, is Aramaic (Chaldee or Syriac). Probably Nahor's family originally spoke Aramaic, and Abraham and his descendants learned Hebrew, a kindred dialect, in the land of Canaan.

an inhabitant or native of Galilee. This word was used as a name of contempt as applied to our Lord's disciples ( ). All the apostles, with the exception of Judas Iscariot ( ), were Galileans. Peter was detected by his Galilean accent ( ).
This was also one of the names of reproach given to the early Christians. Julian the Apostate, as he is called, not only used the epithet himself when referring to Christ and his apostles, but he made it a law that no one should ever call the Christians by any other name.

circuit. Solomon rewarded Hiram for certain services rendered him by the gift of an upland plain among the mountains of Naphtali. Hiram was dissatisfied with the gift, and called it "the land of Cabul" (q.v.). The Jews called it Galil. It continued long to be occupied by the original inhabitants, and hence came to be called "Galilee of the Gentiles" ( ), and also "Upper Galilee," to distinguish it from the extensive addition afterwards made to it toward the south, which was usually called "Lower Galilee." In the time of our Lord, Galilee embraced more than one-third of Western Palestine, extending "from Dan on the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, to the ridges of Carmel and Gilboa on the south, and from the Jordan valley on the east away across the splendid plains of Jezreel and Acre to the shores of the Mediterranean on the west." Palestine was divided into three provinces, Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, which comprehended the whole northern section of the country ( ), and was the largest of the three.
It was the scene of some of the most memorable events of Jewish history. Galilee also was the home of our Lord during at least thirty years of his life. The first three Gospels are chiefly taken up with our Lord's public ministry in this province. "The entire province is encircled with a halo of holy associations connected with the life, works, and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth." "It is noteworthy that of his thirty-two beautiful parables, no less than ninteen were spoken in Galilee. And it is no less remarkable that of his entire thirty-three great miracles, twenty-five were wrought in this province. His first miracle was wrought at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, and his last, after his resurrection, on the shore of Galilee's sea. In Galilee our Lord delivered the Sermon on The Mount, and the discourses on 'The Bread of Life,' on 'Purity,' on 'Forgiveness,' and on 'Humility.' In Galilee he called his first disciples; and there occurred the sublime scene of the Transfiguration" (Porter's Through Samaria).
When the Sanhedrin were about to proceed with some plan for the condemnation of our Lord ( ), Nicodemus interposed in his behalf. (Comp. ,17; 17:8.) They replied, "Art thou also of Galilee?.... Out of Galilee ariseth no prophet." This saying of theirs was "not historically true, for two prophets at least had arisen from Galilee, Jonah of Gath-hepher, and the greatest of all the prophets, Elijah of Thisbe, and perhaps also Nahum and Hosea. Their contempt for Galilee made them lose sight of historical accuracy" (Alford, Com.).
The Galilean accent differed from that of Jerusalem in being broader and more guttural ( ).

( 15:29), is mentioned in the Bible under three other names. (1.) In the Old Testament it is called the "sea of Chinnereth" ( 13:27), as is supposed from its harp-like shape. (2). The "lake of Gennesareth" once by Luke (5:1), from the flat district lying on its west coast. (3.) John (6:1; 21:1) calls it the "sea of Tiberias" (q.v.). The modern Arabs retain this name, Bahr Tabariyeh.
This lake is 12 1/2 miles long, and from 4 to 7 1/2 broad. Its surface is 682 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. Its depth is from 80 to 160 feet. The Jordan enters it 10 1/2 miles below the southern extremity of the Huleh Lake, or about 26 1/2 miles from its source. In this distance of 26 1/2 miles there is a fall in the river of 1,682 feet, or of more than 60 feet to the mile. It is 27 miles east of the Mediterranean, and about 60 miles north-east of Jerusalem. It is of an oval shape, and abounds in fish.
Its present appearance is thus described: "The utter loneliness and absolute stillness of the scene are exceedingly impressive. It seems as if all nature had gone to rest, languishing under the scorching heat. How different it was in the days of our Lord! Then all was life and bustle along the shores; the cities and villages that thickly studded them resounded with the hum of a busy population; while from hill-side and corn-field came the cheerful cry of shepherd and ploughman. The lake, too, was dotted with dark fishing-boats and spangled with white sails. Now a mournful, solitary silence reigns over sea and shore. The cities are in ruins!"
This sea is chiefly of interest as associated with the public ministry of our Lord. Capernaum, "his own city" ( ), stood on its shores. From among the fishermen who plied their calling on its waters he chose Peter and his brother Andrew, and James and John, to be disciples, and sent them forth to be "fishers of men" ( ,22; 1-11). He stilled its tempest, saying to the storm that swept over it, "Peace, be still" ( ); and here also he showed himself after his resurrection to his disciples ( ).
"The Sea of Galilee is indeed the cradle of the gospel. The subterranean fires of nature prepared a lake basin, through which a river afterwards ran, keeping its waters always fresh. In this basin a vast quantity of shell-fish swarmed, and multiplied to such an extent that they formed the food of an extraordinary profusion of fish. The great variety and abundance of the fish in the lake attracted to its shores a larger and more varied population than existed elsewhere in Palestine, whereby this secluded district was brought into contact with all parts of the world. And this large and varied population, with access to all nations and countries, attracted the Lord Jesus, and induced him to make this spot the centre of his public ministry."

(1) Heb. mererah, meaning "bitterness" ( ); i.e., the bile secreted in the liver. This word is also used of the poison of asps (20:14), and of the vitals, the seat of life (25).
(2.) Heb. rosh. In and it denotes the poison of serpents. In the Hebrew word is rendered "hemlock." The original probably denotes some bitter, poisonous plant, most probably the poppy, which grows up quickly, and is therefore coupled with wormwood ( ). Comp. 23:15, "water of gall," Gesenius, "poppy juice;" others, "water of hemlock," "bitter water."
(3.) Gr. chole ( ), the LXX. translation of the Hebrew _rosh_ in 21, which foretells our Lord's sufferings. The drink offered to our Lord was vinegar (made of light wine rendered acid, the common drink of Roman soldiers) "mingled with gall," or, according to Mark (15:23), "mingled with myrrh;" both expressions meaning the same thing, namely, that the vinegar was made bitter by the infusion of wormwood or some other bitter substance, usually given, according to a merciful custom, as an anodyne to those who were crucified, to render them insensible to pain. Our Lord, knowing this, refuses to drink it. He would take nothing to cloud his faculties or blunt the pain of dying. He chooses to suffer every element of woe in the bitter cup of agony given him by the Father ( ).

(1.) Heb. 'attik ( , 16), a terrace; a projection; ledge.
(2.) Heb. rahit (Cant. 1:17), translated "rafters," marg. "galleries;" probably panel-work or fretted ceiling.

heaps, ( ). The native place of Phalti, to whom Michal was given by Saul. It was probably in Benjamin, to the north of Jerusalem.

the elder brother of Seneca the philosopher, who was tutor and for some time minister of the emperor Nero. He was "deputy", i.e., proconsul, as in Revised Version, of Achaia, under the emperor Claudius, when Paul visited Corinth ( ). The word used here by Luke in describing the rank of Gallio shows his accuracy. Achaia was a senatorial province under Claudius, and the governor of such a province was called a "proconsul." He is spoken of by his contemporaries as "sweet Gallio," and is described as a most popular and affectionate man. When the Jews brought Paul before his tribunal on the charge of persuading "men to worship God contrary to the law" (18:13), he refused to listen to them, and "drave them from the judgment seat" (18:16).

Heb. 'ets, meaning "a tree" ( ), a post or gibbet. In and the word is rendered "tree."

reward of God. (1.) A chief of the tribe of Manasseh at the census at Sinai ( 2:20; 7:54, 59).
(2.) The son of rabbi Simeon, and grandson of the famous rabbi Hillel. He was a Pharisse, and therefore the opponent of the party of the Sadducees. He was noted for his learning, and was president of the Sanhedrim during the regins of Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius, and died, it is said, about eighteen years before the destruction of Jerusalem.
When the apostles were brought before the council, charged with preaching the resurrection of Jesus, as a zealous Pharisee Gamaliel councelled moderation and calmness. By a reference to well-known events, he advised them to "refrain from these men." If their work or counsel was of man, it would come to nothing; but if it was of God, they could not destroy it, and therefore ought to be on their guard lest they should be "found fighting against God" ( ). Paul was one of his disciples (22:3).

(1.) Of children ( ). The Jewish youth were also apparently instructed in the use of the bow and the sling ( ).
(2.) Public games, such as were common among the Greeks and Romans, were foreign to the Jewish institutions and customs. Reference, however, is made to such games in two passages ( Eccl. 9:11).
(3.) Among the Greeks and Romans games entered largely into their social life.
(a) Reference in the New Testament is made to gladiatorial shows and fights with wild beasts ( ). These were common among the Romans, and sometimes on a large scale.
(b) Allusion is frequently made to the Grecian gymnastic contests ( 5:7; 3:14; , 4, 12). These were very numerous. The Olympic, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian games were esteemed as of great national importance, and the victors at any of these games of wrestling, racing, etc., were esteemed as the noblest and the happiest of mortals.

( ) brave warriors; R.V. marg., "valorous men;" others interpret this word as meaning "short-swordsmen," or "daring ones", the name of a class of men who were defenders of the towers of Tyre.

weaned the leader of one of the priestly courses ( ).

a rent or opening in a wall ( comp. ). The false prophets did not stand in the gap ( 30), i.e., they did nothing to stop the outbreak of wickedness.

mentioned in Scripture, of Eden ( , 9); Ahab's garden of herbs ( ); the royal garden ( ); the royal garden at Susa ( ); the garden of Joseph of Arimathea ( ); of Gethsemane ( ).
The "king's garden" mentioned , , was near the Pool of Siloam.
Gardens were surrounded by hedges of thorns ( ) or by walls of stone ( ). "Watch-towers" or "lodges" were also built in them ( ), in which their keepers sat. On account of their retirement they were frequently used as places for secret prayer and communion with God ( 18:1, 2). The dead were sometimes buried in gardens ( , 20; , 26; ). (See PARADISE.)

scabby; itch. (1.) One of David's warriors ( ), an Ithrite.
(2.) A hill near Jerusalem ( ), probably the hill of lepers, and consequently a place outside the boundary of the city.

( ). In heathen sacrifices the victims were adorned with fillets and garlands made of wool, with leaves and flowers interwoven. The altar and the priests and attendants were also in like manner adorned.

(Heb. shum, from its strong odour), mentioned only once ( ). The garlic common in Eastern countries is the Allium sativum or Allium Ascalonicum, so called from its having been brought into Europe from Ascalon by the Crusaders. It is now known by the name of "shallot" or "eschalot."

(1.) Heb. 'otsar, a treasure; a store of goods laid up, and hence also the place where they are deposited ( , rendered "treasury").
(2.) Heb. mezev, a cell, storeroom ( ); Gr. apotheke, a place for storing anything, a granary ( ).

overlay with stones ( ), adorn ( ), deck with garlands ( ), furnish (12:44).
In (Heb. shiphrah, meaning "brightness"), "By his spirit the heavens are brightness" i.e., are bright, splendid, beautiful.

(1.) Heb. matstsab, a station; a place where one stands ( ); a military or fortified post ( 14:1, 4, 6, etc.).
(2.) Heb. netsib, a prefect, superintendent; hence a military post ( 13:3, 4; ). This word has also been explained to denote a pillar set up to mark the Philistine conquest, or an officer appointed to collect taxes; but the idea of a military post seems to be the correct one.
(3.) Heb. matstsebah, properly a monumental column; improperly rendered pl. "garrisons" in correctly in Revised Version "pillars," marg. "obelisks," probably an idolatrous image.

(1.) Of cities, as of Jerusalem ( 2:3; 3:3), of Sodom ( ), of Gaza ( ).
(2.) Of royal palaces ( ).
(3.) Of the temple of Solomon ( , 35; ); of the holy place ( , 32; , 24); of the outer courts of the temple, the beautiful gate ( ).
(4.) Tombs ( ).
(5.) Prisons ( 16:27).
(6.) Caverns ( ).
(7.) Camps ( , 27; ).
The materials of which gates were made were,
(1.) Iron and brass ( ).
(2.) Stones and pearls ( ).
(3.) Wood ( ) probably.
At the gates of cities courts of justice were frequently held, and hence "judges of the gate" are spoken of ( 17:8; 21:19; 25:6, 7, etc.). At the gates prophets also frequently delivered their messages ( 8:3; , 20; 26:10). Criminals were punished without the gates ( ). By the "gates of righteousness" we are probably to understand those of the temple ( ). "The gates of hell" (R.V., "gates of Hades") , are generally interpreted as meaning the power of Satan, but probably they may mean the power of death, denoting that the Church of Christ shall never die.

a wine-vat, one of the five royal cities of the Philistines ( ) on which the ark brought calamity ( , 9; 6:17). It was famous also as being the birthplace or residence of Goliath ( ). David fled from Saul to Achish, king of Gath ( 27:2-4; ), and his connection with it will account for the words in . It was afterwards conquered by David ( ). It occupied a strong position on the borders of Judah and Philistia ( ). Its site has been identified with the hill called Tell esSafieh, the Alba Specula of the Middle Ages, which rises 695 feet above the plain on its east edge. It is noticed on monuments about B.C. 1500. (See METHEGAMMAH.)

wine-press of the well, a town of Lower Galilee, about 5 miles from Nazareth; the birthplace of Jonah ( ); the same as Gittah-hepher ( ). It has been identified with the modern el-Meshed, a village on the top of a rocky hill. Here the supposed tomb of Jonah, Neby Yunas, is still pointed out.

press of the pomegranate. (1.) A Levitical city in the tribe of Dan ( 21:24; ).
(2.) Another city of the same name in Manasseh, west of the Jordan ( ), called also Bileam ( ).

a name derived from "Golan" (q.v.), one of the cities of refuge in the territory of Manasseh ( 21:27; ). This was one of the provinces ruled by Herod Antipas. It lay to the east of the Lake of Galilee, and included among its towns Bethsaida-Julias ( ) and Seleucia.

called also Azzah, which is its Hebrew name ( ), strong, a city on the Mediterranean shore, remarkable for its early importance as the chief centre of a great commercial traffic with Egypt. It is one of the oldest cities of the world ( ). Its earliest inhabitants were the Avims, who were conquered and displaced by the Caphtorims ( , 3), a Philistine tribe. In the division of the land it fell to the lot of Judah ( ). It was the southernmost of the five great Philistine cities which gave each a golden emerod as a trespass-offering unto the Lord ( ). Its gates were carried away by Samson ( ). Here he was afterwards a prisoner, and "did grind in the prison house." Here he also pulled down the temple of Dagon, and slew "all the lords of the Philistines," himself also perishing in the ruin ( ). The prophets denounce the judgments of God against it ( 47:5; , 7; ). It is referred to in . Philip is here told to take the road from Jerusalem to Gaza (about 6 miles south-west of Jerusalem), "which is desert", i.e., the "desert road," probably by Hebron, through the desert hills of Southern Judea. (See SAMSON.)
It is noticed on monuments as early as B.C. 1600. Its small port is now called el-Mineh.

the hill, ( [ , "Gibeon"]; ), a Levitical city of Benjamin ( 14:5, wrongly "Gibeah" in the A.V.), on the north border of Judah near Gibeah ( , 28). "From Geba to Beersheba" expressed the whole extent of the kingdom of Judah, just as "from Dan to Beersheba" described the whole length of Palestine ( ). It has been identified with Gaba ( ), now Jeb'a, about 5 1/2 miles north of Jerusalem.

a line (or natural boundary, as a mountain range). (1.) A tract in the land of Edom south of the Dead Sea ( ); now called Djebal.
(2.) A Phoenician city, not far from the sea coast, to the north of Beyrout ( ); called by the Greeks Byblos. Now Jibeil. Mentioned in the Amarna tablets.
An important Phoenician text, referring to the temple of Baalath, on a monument of Yehu-melek, its king (probably B.C. 600), has been discovered.

( R.V., in A.V. incorrectly rendered, after the Targum, "stone-squarers," but marg. "Giblites"), the inhabitants of Gebal (2).

a valiant man, ( ), one of Solomon's purveyors, having jurisdiction over a part of Gilead, comprising all the kingdom of Sihon and part of the kingdom of Og ( 31).

cisterns, (rendered "pits," "locusts," ), a small place north of Jerusalem, whose inhabitants fled at the approach of the Assyrian army ( ). It is probably the modern el-Isawiyeh.

made great by Jehovah. (1.) the son of Jeduthum ( , 9). (2.) The grandfather of the prophet Zephaniah, and the father of Cushi ( ). (3.) One of the Jewish nobles who conspired against Jeremiah ( ). (4.) The son of Ahikam, and grandson of Shaphan, secretary of king Josiah ( ). After the destruction of Jerusalem (see ZEDEKIAH), Nebuchadnezzar left him to govern the country as tributary to him ( 52:16). Ishmael, however, at the head of a party of the royal family, "Jewish irreconcilables", rose against him, and slew him and "all the Jews that were with him" ( , 3) at Mizpah about three months after the destruction of Jerusalem. He and his band also plundered the town of Mizpah, and carried off many captives. He was, however, overtaken by Johanan and routed. He fled with such of his followers as escaped to the Ammonites (41:15). The little remnant of the Jews now fled to Egypt.

a walled place, ( ), perhaps the same as Gederah or Gedor (15:58).

the fortress; a fortified place, a town in the plain (shephelah) of Judah ( ). This is a very common Canaanite and Phoenician name. It is the feminine form of Geder (12:13); the plural form is Gederoth (15:41). This place has by some been identified with Jedireh, a ruin 9 miles from Lydda, toward Eleutheropolis, and 4 miles north of Sur'ah (Zorah), in the valley of Elah.

an epithet applied to Josabad, one of David's warriors at Ziklag ( ), a native of Gederah.

a wall. (1.) A city in the mountains or hill country of Judah ( ), identified with Jedar, between Jerusalem and Hebron.
(2.) , the Gederah of , or the well-known Gerar, as the LXX. read, where the patriarchs of old had sojourned and fed their flocks ( , 14, 15; 26:1, 6, 14).
(3.) A town apparently in Benjamin ( ), the same probably as Geder ( ).

valley of vision, Elisha's trusted servant ( 5:25; 8:4, 5). He appears in connection with the history of the Shunammite ( , 31) and of Naaman the Syrian. On this latter occasion he was guilty of duplicity and dishonesty of conduct, causing Elisha to denounce his crime with righteous sternness, and pass on him the terrible doom that the leprosy of Naaman would cleave to him and his for ever (5:20-27).
He afterwards appeared before king Joram, to whom he recounted the great deeds of his master ( ).

(originally Ge bene Hinnom; i.e., "the valley of the sons of Hinnom"), a deep, narrow glen to the south of Jerusalem, where the idolatrous Jews offered their children in sacrifice to Molech ( 33:6; 19:2-6). This valley afterwards became the common receptacle for all the refuse of the city. Here the dead bodies of animals and of criminals, and all kinds of filth, were cast and consumed by fire kept always burning. It thus in process of time became the image of the place of everlasting destruction. In this sense it is used by our Lord in , 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; , 45, 47; . In these passages, and also in , the word is uniformly rendered "hell," the Revised Version placing "Gehenna" in the margin. (See HELL; HINNOM

circles; regions, a place in the border of Benjamin ( ); called Gilgal in 15:7.

Jehovah has made perfect. (1.) The son of Shaphan, and one of the Levites of the temple in the time of Jehoiakim ( ). Baruch read aloud to the people from Gemariah's chamber, and again in the hearing of Gemariah and other scribes, the prophecies of Jeremiah ( ), which filled him with terror. He joined with others in entreating the king not to destroy the roll of the prophecies which Baruch had read (21-25).
(2.) The son of Hilkiah, who accompanied Shaphan with the tribute-money from Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar, and was the bearer at the same time of a letter from Jeremiah to the Jewish captives at Babylon ( , 4).

, "These are the generations," means the "history." 5:1, "The book of the generations," means a family register, or history of Adam. 37:2, "The generations of Jacob" = the history of Jacob and his descendants. 7:1, "In this generation" = in this age. , "The generation of his fathers" = the dwelling of his fathers, i.e., the grave. , "The generation of thy children" = the contemporary race. , "Who shall declare his generation?" = His manner of life who shall declare? or rather = His race, posterity, shall be so numerous that no one shall be able to declare it.
In , the word means a succession or series of persons from the same stock. , "Generation of vipers" = brood of vipers. 24:34, "This generation" = the persons then living contemporary with Christ. , "A chosen generation" = a chosen people.
The Hebrews seem to have reckoned time by the generation. In the time of Abraham a generation was an hundred years, thus: , "In the fourth generation" = in four hundred years (comp. verse 13 and ). In and 2:14 a generation is a period of thirty-eight years.

The five books of Moses were collectively called the Pentateuch, a word of Greek origin meaning "the five-fold book." The Jews called them the Torah, i.e., "the law." It is probable that the division of the Torah into five books proceeded from the Greek translators of the Old Testament. The names by which these several books are generally known are Greek.
The first book of the Pentateuch (q.v.) is called by the Jews Bereshith, i.e., "in the beginning", because this is the first word of the book. It is generally known among Christians by the name of Genesis, i.e., "creation" or "generation," being the name given to it in the LXX. as designating its character, because it gives an account of the origin of all things. It contains, according to the usual computation, the history of about two thousand three hundred and sixty-nine years.
Genesis is divided into two principal parts. The first part (1-11) gives a general history of mankind down to the time of the Dispersion. The second part presents the early history of Israel down to the death and burial of Joseph (12-50).
There are five principal persons brought in succession under our notice in this book, and around these persons the history of the successive periods is grouped, viz., Adam (1-3), Noah (4-9), Abraham (10-25:18), Isaac (25:19-35:29), and Jacob (36-50).
In this book we have several prophecies concerning Christ (3:15; 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; 49:10). The author of this book was Moses. Under divine guidance he may indeed have been led to make use of materials already existing in primeval documents, or even of traditions in a trustworthy form that had come down to his time, purifying them from all that was unworthy; but the hand of Moses is clearly seen throughout in its composition.

a garden of riches. (1.) A town of Naphtali, called Chinnereth ( ), sometimes in the plural form Chinneroth (11:2). In later times the name was gradually changed to Genezar and Gennesaret ( ). This city stood on the western shore of the lake to which it gave its name. No trace of it remains. The plain of Gennesaret has been called, from its fertility and beauty, "the Paradise of Galilee." It is now called el-Ghuweir.
(2.) The Lake of Gennesaret, the Grecized form of CHINNERETH (q.v.). (See GALILEE, SEA OF.)

(Heb., usually in plural, goyim), meaning in general all nations except the Jews. In course of time, as the Jews began more and more to pride themselves on their peculiar privileges, it acquired unpleasant associations, and was used as a term of contempt.
In the New Testament the Greek word Hellenes, meaning literally Greek (as in , 3; 18:17; ), generally denotes any non-Jewish nation.

theft, the son of Hadad, of the Edomitish royal family. He was brought up in Pharaoh's household. His mother was a sister of Tahpenes, the king of Egypt's wife, mentioned in .

grain. (1.) The son of Bela and grandson of Benjamin ( , 5,7).
(2.) The father of Ehud the judge ( ).
(3.) The father of Shimei, who so grossly abused David ( 19:16, 18).

a bean, probably of the carob tree, the smallest weight, and also the smallest piece of money, among the Hebrews, equal to the twentieth part of a shekel ( ). This word came into use in the same way as our word "grain," from a grain of wheat.

a region; lodging-place, a very ancient town and district in the south border of Palestine, which was ruled over by a king named Abimelech ( 20:1, 2). Abraham sojourned here, and perhaps Isaac was born in this place. Both of these patriarchs were guilty of the sin of here denying their wives, and both of them entered into a treaty with the king before they departed to Beersheba (21:23-34; 26). It seems to have been a rich pastoral country ( ). Isaac here reaped an hundred-fold, and was blessed of God ( ). The "valley of Gerar" ( ) was probably the modern Wady el-Jerdr.

=Gerasa, identified with the modern Khersa, "over against Galilee," close to the lake. This was probably the scene of the miracle, , etc. "From the base of the great plateau of Bashan, 2,000 feet or more overhead, the ground slopes down steeply, in places precipitously, to the shore. And at the foot of the declivity a bold spur runs out to the water's edge. By it the frantic swine would rush on headlong into the lake and perish." Porter's Through Samaria. (See GADARA.)

a mountain of Samaria, about 3,000 feet above the Mediterranean. It was on the left of the valley containing the ancient town of Shechem (q.v.), on the way to Jerusalem. It stood over against Mount Ebal, the summits of these mountains being distant from each other about 2 miles ( ). On the slopes of this mountain the tribes descended from the handmaids of Leah and Rachel, together with the tribe of Reuben, were gathered together, and gave the responses to the blessing pronounced as the reward of obedience, when Joshua in the valley below read the whole law in the hearing of all the people; as those gathered on Ebal responded with a loud Amen to the rehearsal of the curses pronounced on the disobedient. It was probably at this time that the coffin containing the embalmed body of Joseph was laid in the "parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor" ( 50:25).
Josephus relates (Ant. 11:8, 2-4) that Sanballat built a temple for the Samaritans on this mountain, and instituted a priesthood, as rivals to those of the Jews at Jerusalem. This temple was destroyed after it had stood two hundred years. It was afterwards rebuilt by Herod the Great. There is a Samaritan tradition that it was the scene of the incident recorded in . There are many ruins on this mountain, some of which are evidently of Christian buildings. To this mountain the woman of Sychar referred in . For centuries Gerizim was the centre of political outbreaks. The Samaritans (q.v.), a small but united body, still linger here, and keep up their ancient ceremonial worship.

expulsion. (1.) The eldest son of Levi ( , 17, 20, 43, 62, 71; 15:7)=GERSHON (q.v.).
(2.) The elder of the two sons of Moses born to him in Midian ( 18:3). On his way to Egypt with his family, in obedience to the command of the Lord, Moses was attacked by a sudden and dangerous illness (4:24-26), which Zipporah his wife believed to have been sent because he had neglected to circumcise his son. She accordingly took a "sharp stone" and circumcised her son Gershom, saying, "Surely a bloody husband art thou to me", i.e., by the blood of her child she had, as it were, purchased her husband, had won him back again.
(3.) A descendant of Phinehas who returned with Ezra from Babylon ( ).
(4.) The son of Manasseh ( ), in R.V. "of Moses."

=Ger'shom expulsion, the eldest of Levi's three sons ( ).
In the wilderness the sons of Gershon had charge of the fabrics of the tabernacle when it was moved from place to place, the curtains, veils, tent-hangings ( 21-26). Thirteen Levitical cities fell to the lot of the Gershonites ( ).

or Gashmu, firmness, probably chief of the Arabs south of Palestine, one of the enemies of the Jews after the return from Babylon ( 6:1, 2). He united with Sanballat and Tobiah in opposing the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem.

bridge, the name of a district or principality of Syria near Gilead, between Mount Hermon and the Lake of Tiberias ( ). The Geshurites probably inhabited the rocky fastness of Argob, the modern Lejah, in the north-east corner of Bashan. In the time of David it was ruled by Talmai, whose daughter he married, and who was the mother of Absalom, who fled to Geshur after the murder of Amnon ( ).

(1.) The inhabitants of Geshur. They maintained friendly relations with the Israelites on the east of Jordan ( 13:11, 13).
(2.) Another aboriginal people of Palestine who inhabited the south-west border of the land. Geshuri in should be "the Geshurite," not the Geshurites mentioned in ver. 11, 13, but the tribe mentioned in .

oil-press, the name of an olive-yard at the foot of the Mount of Olives, to which Jesus was wont to retire ( ) with his disciples, and which is specially memorable as being the scene of his agony ( ). The plot of ground pointed out as Gethsemane is now surrounded by a wall, and is laid out as a modern European flower-garden. It contains eight venerable olive-trees, the age of which cannot, however, be determined. The exact site of Gethsemane is still in question. Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book) says: "When I first came to Jerusalem, and for many years afterward, this plot of ground was open to all whenever they chose to come and meditate beneath its very old olivetrees. The Latins, however, have within the last few years succeeded in gaining sole possession, and have built a high wall around it...The Greeks have invented another site a little to the north of it...My own impression is that both are wrong. The position is too near the city, and so close to what must have always been the great thoroughfare eastward, that our Lord would scarcely have selected it for retirement on that dangerous and dismal night...I am inclined to place the garden in the secluded vale several hundred yards to the north-east of the present Gethsemane."

a precipice, an ancient royal Canaanitish city ( 12:12). It was allotted with its suburbs to the Kohathite Levites (21:21; ). It stood between the lower Beth-horon and the sea ( ). It was the last point to which David pursued the Philistines ( ) after the battle of Baal-perazim. The Canaanites retained possession of it till the time of Solomon, when the king of Egypt took it and gave it to Solomon as a part of the dowry of the Egyptian princess whom he married ( ). It is identified with Tell el-Jezer, about 10 miles south-west of Beth-horon. It is mentioned in the Amarna tablets.

an old Saxon word equivalent to soul or spirit. It is the translation of the Hebrew _nephesh_ and the Greek _pneuma_, both meaning "breath," "life," "spirit," the "living principle" ( ). The expression "to give up the ghost" means to die ( 35:29; 49:33; ). (See HOLY GHOST.)

(1.) Heb. nephilim, meaning "violent" or "causing to fall" ( ). These were the violent tyrants of those days, those who fell upon others. The word may also be derived from a root signifying "wonder," and hence "monsters" or "prodigies." In this name is given to a Canaanitish tribe, a race of large stature, "the sons of Anak." The Revised Version, in these passages, simply transliterates the original, and reads "Nephilim."
(2.) Heb. rephaim, a race of giants ( ) who lived on the east of Jordan, from whom Og was descended. They were probably the original inhabitants of the land before the immigration of the Canaanites. They were conquered by Chedorlaomer ( ), and their territories were promised as a possession to Abraham (15:20). The Anakim, Zuzim, and Emim were branches of this stock.
In (R.V., "they that are deceased;" marg., "the shades," the "Rephaim") and this Hebrew word is rendered (A.V.) "dead." It means here "the shades," the departed spirits in Sheol. In Sam. 21:16, 18, 20, 33, "the giant" is (A.V.) the rendering of the singular form _ha raphah_, which may possibly be the name of the father of the four giants referred to here, or of the founder of the Rephaim. The Vulgate here reads "Arapha," whence Milton (in Samson Agonistes) has borrowed the name "Harapha." (See also 1 Chron. 20:5, 6, 8; , 20; 3:13; , etc., where the word is similarly rendered "giant.") It is rendered "dead" in (A.V.) 9:18; 21:16: in all these places the Revised Version marg. has "the shades." (See also .)
(3.) Heb. 'Anakim ( , 11, 21; , 22; 14:12, 15; called "sons of Anak," "children of Anak," 13:22; ), a nomad race of giants descended from Arba ( ), the father of Anak, that dwelt in the south of Palestine near Hebron ( ). They were a Cushite tribe of the same race as the Philistines and the Egyptian shepherd kings. David on several occasions encountered them ( ). From this race sprung Goliath ( ).
(4.) Heb. 'emin, a warlike tribe of the ancient Canaanites. They were "great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims" ( , 11).
(5.) Heb. Zamzummim (q.v.), so called by the Amorites.
(6.) Heb. gibbor ( ), a mighty one, i.e., a champion or hero. In its plural form (gibborim) it is rendered "mighty men" ( 29:24.) The band of six hundred whom David gathered around him when he was a fugitive were so designated. They were divided into three divisions of two hundred each, and thirty divisions of twenty each. The captians of the thirty divisions were called "the thirty," the captains of the two hundred "the three," and the captain over the whole was called "chief among the captains" ( ). The sons born of the marriages mentioned in are also called by this Hebrew name.

a height, a city of the Philistines in the territory of Dan, given to the Kohathites ( 21:23). Nadab the king of Israel, while besieging it, was slain under its walls by Baasha, one of his own officers ( ). It was in the possession of the Philistines after the secession of the ten tribes ( , 14).

a hill or hill-town, "of Benjamin" ( ), better known as "Gibeah of Saul" (11:4; ). It was here that the terrible outrage was committed on the Levite's concubine which led to the almost utter extirpation of the tribe of Benjamin ( 20), only six hundred men surviving after a succession of disastrous battles. This was the birthplace of Saul, and continued to be his residence after he became king ( 11:4; 15:34). It was reckoned among the ancient sanctuaries of Palestine (10:26; 15:34; 23:19; 26:1; ), and hence it is called "Gibeah of God" ( , R.V. marg.). It has been identified with the modern Tell el-Ful (i.e., "hill of the bean"), about 3 miles north of Jerusalem.

( ), a city in the mountains of Judah, the modern Jeba, on a hill in the Wady Musurr, about 7 1/2 miles west-south-west of Bethlehem.

( , R.V. marg.), a city on Mount Ephraim which had been given to Phinehas (24:33 "hill," A.V.; R.V. marg. and Heb., "Gibeah."). Here Eleazar the son of Aaron was buried. It has been identified with the modern Khurbet Jibia, 5 miles north of Guphna towards Shechem.

( , marg.), hill of the foreskins, a place at Gilgal where those who had been born in the wilderness were circumcised. All the others, i.e., those who were under twenty years old at the time of the sentence at Kadesh, had already been circumcised.

hill-city, "one of the royal cities, greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty" ( ). Its inhabitants were Hivites (11:19). It lay within the territory of Benjamin, and became a priest-city (18:25; 21:17). Here the tabernacle was set up after the destruction of Nob, and here it remained many years till the temple was built by Solomon. It is represented by the modern el-Jib, to the south-west of Ai, and about 5 1/2 miles north-north-west of Jerusalem.
A deputation of the Gibeonites, with their allies from three other cities ( ), visited the camp at Gilgal, and by false representations induced Joshua to enter into a league with them, although the Israelites had been specially warned against any league with the inhabitants of Canaan ( 34:12; ). The deception practised on Joshua was detected three days later; but the oath rashly sworn "by Jehovah God of Israel" was kept, and the lives of the Gibeonites were spared. They were, however, made "bondmen" to the sanctuary ( ).
The most remarkable incident connected with this city was the victory Joshua gained over the kings of Palestine ( ). The battle here fought has been regarded as "one of the most important in the history of the world." The kings of southern Canaan entered into a confederacy against Gibeon (because it had entered into a league with Joshua) under the leadership of Adoni-zedec, king of Jerusalem, and marched upon Gibeon with the view of taking possession of it. The Gibeonites entreated Joshua to come to their aid with the utmost speed. His army came suddenly upon that of the Amorite kings as it lay encamped before the city. It was completely routed, and only broken remnants of their great host found refuge in the fenced cities. The five confederate kings who led the army were taken prisoners, and put to death at Makkedah (q.v.). This eventful battle of Beth-horon sealed the fate of all the cities of Southern Palestine. Among the Amarna tablets is a letter from Adoni-zedec (q.v.) to the king of Egypt, written probably at Makkedah after the defeat, showing that the kings contemplated flight into Egypt.
This place is again brought into notice as the scene of a battle between the army of Ish-bosheth under Abner and that of David led by Joab. At the suggestion of Abner, to spare the effusion of blood twelve men on either side were chosen to decide the battle. The issue was unexpected; for each of the men slew his fellow, and thus they all perished. The two armies then engaged in battle, in which Abner and his host were routed and put to flight ( ). This battle led to a virtual truce between Judah and Israel, Judah, under David, increasing in power; and Israel, under Ish-bosheth, continually losing ground.
Soon after the death of Absalom and David's restoration to his throne his kingdom was visited by a grievous famine, which was found to be a punishment for Saul's violation ( , 5) of the covenant with the Gibeonites ( ). The Gibeonites demanded blood for the wrong that had been done to them, and accordingly David gave up to them the two sons of Rizpah (q.v.) and the five sons of Michal, and these the Gibeonites took and hanged or crucified "in the hill before the Lord" ( ); and there the bodies hung for six months (21:10), and all the while Rizpah watched over the blackening corpses and "suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night." David afterwards removed the bones of Saul and Jonathan at Jabeshgilead (21:12, 13).
Here, "at the great stone," Amasa was put to death by Joab ( ). To the altar of burnt-offering which was at Gibeon, Joab ( ), who had taken the side of Adonijah, fled for sanctuary in the beginning of Solomon's reign, and was there also slain by the hand of Benaiah.
Soon after he came to the throne, Solomon paid a visit of state to Gibeon, there to offer sacrifices ( ). On this occasion the Lord appeared to him in a memorable dream, recorded in . When the temple was built "all the men of Israel assembled themselves" to king Solomon, and brought up from Gibeon the tabernacle and "all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle" to Jerusalem, where they remained till they were carried away by Nebuchadnezzar ( ).

called also Jerubbaal ( , 32), was the first of the judges whose history is circumstantially narrated ( ). His calling is the commencement of the second period in the history of the judges. After the victory gained by Deborah and Barak over Jabin, Israel once more sank into idolatry, and the Midianites (q.v.) and Amalekites, with other "children of the east," crossed the Jordan each year for seven successive years for the purpose of plundering and desolating the land. Gideon received a direct call from God to undertake the task of delivering the land from these warlike invaders. He was of the family of Abiezer ( ), and of the little township of Ophrah ( ). First, with ten of his servants, he overthrew the altars of Baal and cut down the asherah which was upon it, and then blew the trumpet of alarm, and the people flocked to his standard on the crest of Mount Gilboa to the number of twenty-two thousand men. These were, however, reduced to only three hundred. These, strangely armed with torches and pitchers and trumpets, rushed in from three different points on the camp of Midian at midnight, in the valley to the north of Moreh, with the terrible war-cry, "For the Lord and for Gideon" ( , R.V.). Terror-stricken, the Midianites were put into dire confusion, and in the darkness slew one another, so that only fifteen thousand out of the great army of one hundred and twenty thousand escaped alive. The memory of this great deliverance impressed itself deeply on the mind of the nation ( 10:26; ). The land had now rest for forty years. Gideon died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of his fathers. Soon after his death a change came over the people. They again forgot Jehovah, and turned to the worship of Baalim, "neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal" ( ). Gideon left behind him seventy sons, a feeble, sadly degenerated race, with one exception, that of Abimelech, who seems to have had much of the courage and energy of his father, yet of restless and unscrupulous ambition. He gathered around him a band who slaughtered all Gideon's sons, except Jotham, upon one stone. (See OPHRAH.)

Heb. raham = "parental affection," R.V., "vulture"), a species of vulture living entirely on carrion. "It is about the size of a raven; has an almost triangular, bald, and wrinkled head, a strong pointed beak, black at the tip, large eyes and ears, the latter entirely on the outside, and long feet." It is common in Egypt, where it is popularly called "Pharaoh's chicken" (the Neophron percnopterus), and is found in Palestine only during summer. Tristram thinks that the Hebrew name, which is derived from a root meaning "to love," is given to it from the fact that the male and female bird never part company.

(1.) An gratuity ( ) to secure favour (18:16; 21:14), a thank-offering ( ), or a dowry ( ).
(2.) An oblation or proppitatory gift ( ,6; ,6; 72:10).
(3.) A bribe to a judge to obtain a favourable verdict ( ).
(4.) Simply a thing given ( ); sacrifical ( , 24; 8:4); eleemosynary ( ); a gratuity ( ). In the generic word dorea is rendered "gift." It differs from the charisma ( ) as denoting not miraculous powers but the working of a new spirit in men, and that spirit from God.
The giving of presents entered largely into the affairs of common life in the East. The nature of the presents was as various as were the occasions: food ( 16:20), sheep and cattle ( ), gold ( ), jewels ( ), furniture, and vessels for eating and drinking ( ); delicacies, as spices, honey, etc. ( 22). The mode of presentation was with as much parade as possible: the presents were conveyed by the hands of servants ( ), or still better, on the backs of beasts of burden ( ). The refusal of a present was regarded as a high indignity; and this constituted the aggravated insult noticed in , the marriage robe having been offered and refused.

(Gr. charismata), gifts supernaturally bestowed on the early Christians, each having his own proper gift or gifts for the edification of the body of Christ. These were the result of the extraordinary operation of the Spirit, as on the day of Pentecost. They were the gifts of speaking with tongues, casting out devils, healing, etc. ( , 18), usually communicated by the medium of the laying on of the hands of the apostles ( 19:6; ). These charismata were enjoyed only for a time. They could not continue always in the Church. They were suited to its infancy and to the necessities of those times.

a stream. (1.) One of the four rivers of Eden ( ). It has been identified with the Nile. Others regard it as the Oxus, or the Araxes, or the Ganges. But as, according to the sacred narrative, all these rivers of Eden took their origin from the head-waters of the Euphrates and the Trigris, it is probable that the Gihon is the ancient Araxes, which, under the modern name of the Arras, discharges itself into the Caspian Sea. It was the Asiatic and not the African "Cush" which the Gihon compassed ( ). (See EDEN.)
(2.) The only natural spring of water in or near Jerusalem is the "Fountain of the Virgin" (q.v.), which rises outside the city walls on the west bank of the Kidron valley. On the occasion of the approach of the Assyrian army under Sennacherib, Hezekiah, in order to prevent the besiegers from finding water, "stopped the upper water course of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David" ( 33:14). This "fountain" or spring is therefore to be regarded as the "upper water course of Gihon." From this "fountain" a tunnel cut through the ridge which forms the south part of the temple hill conveys the water to the Pool of Siloam, which lies on the opposite side of this ridge at the head of the Tyropoeon ("cheesemakers'") valley, or valley of the son of Hinnom, now filled up by rubbish. The length of this tunnel is about 1,750 feet. In 1880 an inscription was accidentally discovered on the wall of the tunnel about nineteen feet from where it opens into the Pool of Siloam. This inscription was executed in all probability by Hezekiah's workmen. It briefly narrates the history of the excavation. It may, however, be possible that this tunnel was executed in the time of Solomon. If the "waters of Shiloah that go softly" ( ) refers to the gentle stream that still flows through the tunnel into the Pool of Siloam, then this excavation must have existed before the time of Hezekiah.
In the upper part of the Tyropoeoan valley there are two pools still existing, the first, called Birket el-Mamilla, to the west of the Jaffa gate; the second, to the south of the first, called Birket es-Sultan. It is the opinion of some that the former was the "upper" and the latter the "lower" Pool of Gihon ( 36:2; 22:9). (See CONDUIT; SILOAM

boiling spring, a mountain range, now Jebel Fukua', memorable as the scene of Saul's disastrous defeat by the Philistines. Here also his three sons were slain, and he himself died by his own hand ( 31:1-8; 21:12; , 8). It was a low barren range of mountains bounding the valley of Esdraelon (Jezreel) on the east, between it and the Jordan valley. When the tidings of this defeat were conveyed to David, he gave utterance to those pathetic words in the "Song of the Bow" ( ).

hill of testimony, ( ), a mountainous region east of Jordan. From its mountainous character it is called "the mount of Gilead" ( ). It is called also "the land of Gilead" ( ), and sometimes simply "Gilead" ( ). It comprised the possessions of the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the south part of Manasseh ( ). It was bounded on the north by Bashan, and on the south by Moab and Ammon ( ). "Half Gilead" was possessed by Sihon, and the other half, separated from it by the river Jabbok, by Og, king of Bashan. The deep ravine of the river Hieromax (the modern Sheriat el-Mandhur) separated Bashan from Gilead, which was about 60 miles in length and 20 in breadth, extending from near the south end of the Lake of Gennesaret to the north end of the Dead Sea. Abarim, Pisgah, Nebo, and Peor are its mountains mentioned in Scripture.

The region of Gilead abounded in spices and aromatic gums, which were exported to Egypt and Tyre ( 46:11; ). The word "balm" is a contracted form of "balsam," a word derived from the Greek _balsamon_, which was adopted as the representative of the Hebrew words _baal shemen_, meaning "lord" or "chief of oils."
The Hebrew name of this balm was _tsori_. The tree yielding this medicinal oil was probably the Balsamodendron opobalsamum of botanists, and the Amyris opobalsamum of Linnaeus. It is an evergreen, rising to the height of about 14 feet. The oil or resin, exuding through an orifice made in its bark in very small quantities, is esteemed of great value for its supposed medicinal qualities. (See BALM.) It may be noted that Coverdale's version reads in , "There is no triacle in Galaad." The word "triacle" = "treacle" is used in the sense of ointment.

rolling. (1.) From the solemn transaction of the reading of the law in the valley of Shechem between Ebal and Gerizim the Israelites moved forward to Gilgal, and there made a permanent camp ( 10:6). It was "beside the oaks of Moreh," near which Abraham erected his first altar ( , 7). This was one of the three towns to which Samuel resorted for the administration of justice ( ), and here also he offered sacrifices when the ark was no longer in the tabernacle at Shiloh ( 13:7-9). To this place, as to a central sanctuary, all Israel gathered to renew their allegiance to Saul (11:14). At a later period it became the scene of idolatrous worship ( 9:15). It has been identified with the ruins of Jiljilieh, about 5 miles south-west of Shiloh and about the same distance from Bethel.
(2.) The place in "the plains of Jericho," "in the east border of Jericho," where the Israelites first encamped after crossing the Jordan ( , 20). Here they kept their first Passover in the land of Canaan (5:10) and renewed the rite of circumcision, and so "rolled away the reproach" of their Egyptian slavery. Here the twelve memorial stones, taken from the bed of the Jordan, were set up; and here also the tabernacle remained till it was removed to Shiloh (18:1). It has been identified with Tell Jiljulieh, about 5 miles from Jordan.
(3.) A place, probably in the hill country of Ephraim, where there was a school of the prophets ( ), and whence Elijah and Elisha, who resided here, "went down" to Bethel (2:1,2). It is mentioned also in . It is now known as Jiljilia, a place 8 miles north of Bethel.

exile, a city in the south-west part of the hill-country of Judah ( ). It was the native place or residence of the traitor Ahithophel "the Gilonite" ( ), and where he committed suicide (17:23). It has been identified with Kurbet Jala, about 7 miles north of Hebron.

a place fertile in sycamores, a city in the plain of Judah, the villages of which were seized by the Philistines ( ). It is now called Jimzu, about 3 miles south-east of Ludd, i.e., Lydda.

a trap. (1.) , 141:9, , the Hebrew word used, _mokesh_, means a noose or "snare," as it is elsewhere rendered ( , etc.).
(2.) , , Heb. pah, a plate or thin layer; and hence a net, a snare, trap, especially of a fowler ( 22, "Let their table before them become a net;" , "Doth a bird fall into a net [pah] upon the ground where there is no trap-stick [mokesh] for her? doth the net [pah] spring up from the ground and take nothing at all?", Gesenius.)

(1.) Heb. hagor, a girdle of any kind worn by soldiers ( ) or women ( ).
(2.) Heb. 'ezor, something "bound," worn by prophets ( ), soldiers ( ), Kings ( ).
(3.) Heb. mezah, a "band," a girdle worn by men alone ( ).
(4.) Heb. 'abnet, the girdle of sacerdotal and state officers ( , 39, 40; 29:9; 39:29).
(5.) Heb. hesheb, the "curious girdle" ( R.V., "cunningly woven band") was attached to the ephod, and was made of the same material.
The common girdle was made of leather ( ); a finer sort of linen ( ). Girdles of sackcloth were worn in token of sorrow ( 22:12). They were variously fastened to the wearer ( ).
The girdle was a symbol of strength and power ( , 21; 30:11; 45:5). "Righteousness and faithfulness" are the girdle of the Messiah ( ).
Girdles were used as purses or pockets ( . A. V., "purses;" R.V., marg., "girdles." Also ).

dwelling in clayey soil, the descendants of the fifth son of Canaan ( ), one of the original tribes inhabiting the land of Canaan before the time of the Israelites ( ). They were a branch of the great family of the Hivites. Of their geographical position nothing is certainly known. Probably they lived somewhere in the central part of Western Palestine.

( ). See GATH-HEPHER.

two wine-presses, ( ), a town probably in Benjamin to which the Beerothites fled.

a native of the Philistine city of Gath ( ). Obed-edom, in whose house the ark was placed, is so designated ( ). Six hundred Gittites came with David from Gath into Israel (15:18, 19).

a stringed instrument of music. This word is found in the titles of , 81, 84. In these places the LXX. render the word by "on the wine-fats." The Targum explains by "on the harp which David brought from Gath." It is the only stringed instrument named in the titles of the Psalms.

a name given to Hashem, an inhabitant of Gizoh, a place somewhere in the mountains of Judah ( , 34).

was known to the Egyptians at a very early period of their national history, at least B.C. 1500. Various articles both useful and ornamental were made of it, as bottles, vases, etc. A glass bottle with the name of Sargon on it was found among the ruins of the north-west palace of Nimroud. The Hebrew word _zekukith_ ( ), rendered in the Authorized Version "crystal," is rightly rendered in the Revised Version "glass." This is the only allusion to glass found in the Old Testament. It is referred to in the New Testament in 15:2; 21:18, 21. In , the word rendered "looking-glass" is in the Revised Version properly rendered "mirror," formed, i.e., of some metal. (Comp. "looking-glasses" are brazen mirrors, R.V.). A mirror is referred to also in .

The corners of fields were not to be reaped, and the sheaf accidentally left behind was not to be fetched away, according to the law of Moses ( 23:22; ). They were to be left for the poor to glean. Similar laws were given regarding vineyards and oliveyards. (Comp. .)

an Old English name for the common kite, mentioned only in (Heb. ra'ah), the Milvus ater or black kite. The Hebrew word does not occur in the parallel passage in Leviticus (11:14, da'ah, rendered "vulture;" in R.V., "kite"). It was an unclean bird. The Hebrew name is from a root meaning "to see," "to look," thus designating a bird with a keen sight. The bird intended is probably the buzzard, of which there are three species found in Palestine. (See VULTURE.)

(1.) To make glorious, or cause so to appear ( 13:31, 32; 17:4,5).
(2.) Spoken of God to "shew forth his praise" ( 10:31).

(Heb. kabhod; Gr. doxa). (1.) Abundance, wealth, treasure, and hence honour ( ); glory ( , 26).
(2.) Honour, dignity ( ); of God ( 29:1); of the mind or heart ( ).
(3.) Splendour, brightness, majesty ( ); of Jehovah ( 60:1; 2 Thess. 1:9).
(4.) The glorious moral attributes, the infinite perfections of God ( 9:23; ). Jesus is the "brightness of the Father's glory" ( 2:11).
(5.) The bliss of heaven ( , 10; 5:2; 8:18; , 10).
(6.) The phrase "Give glory to God" ( ) is a Hebrew idiom meaning, "Confess your sins." The words of the Jews to the blind man, "Give God the praise" ( ), are an adjuration to confess. They are equivalent to, "Confess that you are an impostor," "Give God the glory by speaking the truth;" for they denied that a miracle had been wrought.

( ), Heb. zolel, from a word meaning "to shake out," "to squander;" and hence one who is prodigal, who wastes his means by indulgence. In , the word means debauchees or wasters of their own body. In , the word (pl.) is rendered Authorized Version "riotous men;" Revised Version, "gluttonous." , , Greek phagos, given to eating, gluttonous.

Heb. harak, meaning "to grate the teeth", ( ), denotes rage or sorrow. (See also .)

only in , a small two-winged stinging fly of the genus Culex, which includes mosquitoes. Our Lord alludes here to the gnat in a proverbial expression probably in common use, "who strain out the gnat;" the words in the Authorized Version, "strain at a gnat," being a mere typographical error, which has been corrected in the Revised Version. The custom of filtering wine for this purpose was common among the Jews. It was founded on . It is supposed that the "lice," (marg. R.V., "sand-flies"), were a species of gnat.

(Heb. malmad, only in 31), an instrument used by ploughmen for guiding their oxen. Shamgar slew six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. "The goad is a formidable weapon. It is sometimes ten feet long, and has a sharp point. We could now see that the feat of Shamgar was not so very wonderful as some have been accustomed to think."
In , a different Hebrew word is used, _dorban_, meaning something pointed. The expression ( , omitted in the R.V.), "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks", i.e., against the goad, was proverbial for unavailing resistance to superior power.

(1.) Heb. 'ez, the she-goat ( 30:35; 31:38). This Hebrew word is also used for the he-goat ( ), and to denote a kid ( , 20). Hence it may be regarded as the generic name of the animal as domesticated. It literally means "strength," and points to the superior strength of the goat as compared with the sheep.
(2.) Heb. 'attud, only in plural; rendered "rams" ( ,12); he-goats ( ); goats ( ). They were used in sacrifice ( ). This word is used metaphorically for princes or chiefs in , and in as leaders. (Comp. .)
(3.) Heb. gedi, properly a kid. Its flesh was a delicacy among the Hebrews ( , 14, 17; ).
(4.) Heb. sa'ir, meaning the "shaggy," a hairy goat, a he-goat ( ); "a goat" ( ); "satyr" ( ); "devils" ( ). It is the goat of the sin-offering ( , 15; 10:16).
(5.) Heb. tsaphir, a he-goat of the goats ( ). In , 8 it is used as a symbol of the Macedonian empire.
(6.) Heb. tayish, a "striker" or "butter," rendered "he-goat" ( 32:14).
(7.) Heb. 'azazel (q.v.), the "scapegoat" ( , 10,26).
(8.) There are two Hebrew words used to denote the undomesticated goat:, _Yael_, only in plural mountain goats ( Ps.104:18). It is derived from a word meaning "to climb." It is the ibex, which abounded in the mountainous parts of Moab. And _'akko_, only in , the wild goat.
Goats are mentioned in the New Testament in ,33; ,13, 19; 10:4. They represent oppressors and wicked men ( 39:18; ).
Several varieties of the goat were familiar to the Hebrews. They had an important place in their rural economy on account of the milk they afforded and the excellency of the flesh of the kid. They formed an important part of pastoral wealth ( , 12;32:14; ).

a lowing, a place near Jerusalem, mentioned only in .

a pit, a place mentioned in , 19; called also Gezer, in .

a laver or trough for washing garments. In Cant. 7:2, a bowl or drinking vessel, a bowl for mixing wine; in , a sacrificial basin. (See CUP.)

(A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew _'El_, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of _'Eloah_, plural _'Elohim_. The singular form, _Eloah_, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "LORD," printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argument to prove it. He who disbelieves this truth is spoken of as one devoid of understanding ( ).
The arguments generally adduced by theologians in proof of the being of God are:
(1.) The a priori argument, which is the testimony afforded by reason.
(2.) The a posteriori argument, by which we proceed logically from the facts of experience to causes. These arguments are,
(a) The cosmological, by which it is proved that there must be a First Cause of all things, for every effect must have a cause.
(b) The teleological, or the argument from design. We see everywhere the operations of an intelligent Cause in nature.
(c) The moral argument, called also the anthropological argument, based on the moral consciousness and the history of mankind, which exhibits a moral order and purpose which can only be explained on the supposition of the existence of God. Conscience and human history testify that "verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth."
The attributes of God are set forth in order by Moses in ,7. (see also 10:17; 33:19; .) They are also systematically classified in and 7:12.
God's attributes are spoken of by some as absolute, i.e., such as belong to his essence as Jehovah, Jah, etc.; and relative, i.e., such as are ascribed to him with relation to his creatures. Others distinguish them into communicable, i.e., those which can be imparted in degree to his creatures: goodness, holiness, wisdom, etc.; and incommunicable, which cannot be so imparted: independence, immutability, immensity, and eternity. They are by some also divided into natural attributes, eternity, immensity, etc.; and moral, holiness, goodness, etc.

( ), the essential being or the nature of God.

the whole of practical piety ( ). "It supposes knowledge, veneration, affection, dependence, submission, gratitude, and obedience." In it denotes the substance of revealed religion.

in Hebrew the participle of the verb _gaal_, "to redeem." It is rendered in the Authorized Version "kinsman," 4:1,6,8; "redeemer," "avenger," , etc. The Jewish law gave the right of redeeming and repurchasing, as well as of avenging blood, to the next relative, who was accordingly called by this name. (See REDEEMER

(1.) A Reubenite ( ), the father of Shimei.
(2.) The name of the leader of the hostile party described in ,39, as coming from the "north country" and assailing the people of Israel to their own destruction. This prophecy has been regarded as fulfilled in the conflicts of the Maccabees with Antiochus, the invasion and overthrow of the Chaldeans, and the temporary successes and destined overthrow of the Turks. But "all these interpretations are unsatisfactory and inadequate. The vision respecting Gog and Magog in the Apocalypse ( ) is in substance a reannouncement of this prophecy of Ezekiel. But while Ezekiel contemplates the great conflict in a more general light as what was certainly to be connected with the times of the Messiah, and should come then to its last decisive issues, John, on the other hand, writing from the commencement of the Messiah's times, describes there the last struggles and victories of the cause of Christ. In both cases alike the vision describes the final workings of the world's evil and its results in connection with the kingdom of God, only the starting-point is placed further in advance in the one case than in the other."
It has been supposed to be the name of a district in the wild north-east steppes of Central Asia, north of the Hindu-Kush, now a part of Turkestan, a region about 2,000 miles north-east of Nineveh.

exile, a city of Bashan ( ), one of the three cities of refuge east of Jordan, about 12 miles north-east of the Sea of Galilee ( ). There are no further notices of it in Scripture. It became the head of the province of Gaulanitis, one of the four provinces into which Bashan was divided after the Babylonish captivity, and almost identical with the modern Jaulan, in Western Hauran, about 39 miles in length and 18 in breath.

(1.) Heb. zahab, so called from its yellow colour ( ).
(2.) Heb. segor, from its compactness, or as being enclosed or treasured up; thus precious or "fine gold" ( 7:49).
(3.) Heb. paz, native or pure gold ( 21:3, etc.).
(4.) Heb. betzer, "ore of gold or silver" as dug out of the mine ( , where it means simply riches).
(5.) Heb. kethem, i.e., something concealed or separated ( ,19; ). Rendered "golden wedge" in .
(6.) Heb. haruts, i.e., dug out; poetic for gold ( 16:16; ).
Gold was known from the earliest times ( ). It was principally used for ornaments ( ). It was very abundant ( ). Many tons of it were used in connection with the temple ( ). It was found in Arabia, Sheba, and Ophir ( 10:1; ), but not in Palestine.
In , the Babylonian Empire is spoken of as a "head of gold" because of its great riches; and Babylon was called by Isaiah (14:4) the "golden city" (R.V. marg., "exactress," adopting the reading _marhebah_, instead of the usual word _madhebah_).

( ,8; ). This was a molten image of a calf which the idolatrous Israelites formed at Sinai. This symbol was borrowed from the custom of the Egyptians. It was destroyed at the command of Moses ( ). (See AARON ; MOSES.)

( ,32; 41:7; 46:6). The word so rendered means properly a founder or finer.

the common name of the spot where Jesus was crucified. It is interpreted by the evangelists as meaning "the place of a skull" ( ). This name represents in Greek letters the Aramaic word Gulgaltha, which is the Hebrew Gulgoleth ( , 24; ), meaning "a skull." It is identical with the word Calvary (q.v.). It was a little knoll rounded like a bare skull. It is obvious from the evangelists that it was some well-known spot outside the gate (comp. ), and near the city ( ), containing a "garden" ( ), and on a thoroughfare leading into the country. Hence it is an untenable idea that it is embraced within the present "Church of the Holy Sepulchre." The hillock above Jeremiah's Grotto, to the north of the city, is in all probability the true site of Calvary. The skull-like appearance of the rock in the southern precipice of the hillock is very remarkable.

great. (1.) A famous giant of Gath, who for forty days openly defied the armies of Israel, but was at length slain by David with a stone from a sling ( ). He was probably descended from the Rephaim who found refuge among the Philistines after they were dispersed by the Ammonites ( , 21). His height was "six cubits and a span," which, taking the cubit at 21 inches, is equal to 10 1/2 feet. David cut off his head ( ) and brought it to Jerusalem, while he hung the armour which he took from him in his tent. His sword was preserved at Nob as a religious trophy (21:9). David's victory over Goliath was the turning point in his life. He came into public notice now as the deliverer of Israel and the chief among Saul's men of war (18:5), and the devoted friend of Jonathan.
(2.) In there is another giant of the same name mentioned as slain by Elhanan. The staff of his apear "was like a weaver's beam." The Authorized Version interpolates the words "the brother of" from , where this giant is called Lahmi.

complete; vanishing. (1.) The daughter of Diblaim, who (probably in vision only) became the wife of Hosea (1:3).
(2.) The eldest son of Japheth, and father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah ( , 3), whose descendants formed the principal branch of the population of South-eastern Europe. He is generally regarded as the ancestor of the Celtae and the Cimmerii, who in early times settled to the north of the Black Sea, and gave their name to the Crimea, the ancient Chersonesus Taurica. Traces of their presence are found in the names Cimmerian Bosphorus, Cimmerian Isthmus, etc. In the seventh century B.C. they were driven out of their original seat by the Scythians, and overran western Asia Minor, whence they were afterwards expelled. They subsequently reappear in the times of the Romans as the Cimbri of the north and west of Europe, whence they crossed to the British Isles, where their descendants are still found in the Gaels and Cymry. Thus the whole Celtic race may be regarded as descended from Gomer.

submersion, one of the five cities of the plain of Siddim (q.v.) which were destroyed by fire ( 13:10; 19:24, 28). These cities probably stood close together, and were near the northern extremity of what is now the Dead Sea. This city is always mentioned next after Sodom, both of which were types of impiety and wickedness ( ). Their destruction is mentioned as an "ensample unto those that after should live ungodly" ( ). Their wickedness became proverbial ( , 10; ). But that wickedness may be exceeded ( ). (See DEAD SEA).

boughs of, were to be carried in festive procession on the first day of the feast of Tabernacles ( ). This was probably the olive tree ( ), although no special tree is mentioned.

in man is not a mere passive quality, but the deliberate preference of right to wrong, the firm and persistent resistance of all moral evil, and the choosing and following of all moral good.

a perfection of his character which he exercises towards his creatures according to their various circumstances and relations ( , 9; 103:8; 1 ). Viewed generally, it is benevolence; as exercised with respect to the miseries of his creatures it is mercy, pity, compassion, and in the case of impenitent sinners, long-suffering patience; as exercised in communicating favour on the unworthy it is grace. "Goodness and justice are the several aspects of one unchangeable, infinitely wise, and sovereign moral perfection. God is not sometimes merciful and sometimes just, but he is eternally infinitely just and merciful." God is infinitely and unchangeably good ( ), and his goodness is incomprehensible by the finite mind ( 35, 36). "God's goodness appears in two things, giving and forgiving."

a tree from the wood of which Noah was directed to build the ark ( ). It is mentioned only there. The LXX. render this word by "squared beams," and the Vulgate by "planed wood." Other versions have rendered it "pine" and "cedar;" but the weight of authority is in favour of understanding by it the cypress tree, which grows abundantly in Chaldea and Armenia.

(1.) A district in Egypt where Jacob and his family settled, and in which they remained till the Exodus ( 46:28, 29, 31, etc.). It is called "the land of Goshen" (47:27), and also simply "Goshen" (46:28), and "the land of Rameses" (47:11; ), for the towns Pithom and Rameses lay within its borders; also Zoan or Tanis ( ). It lay on the east of the Nile, and apparently not far from the royal residence. It was "the best of the land" ( , 11), but is now a desert. It is first mentioned in Joseph's message to his father. It has been identified with the modern Wady Tumilat, lying between the eastern part of the Delta and the west border of Palestine. It was a pastoral district, where some of the king's cattle were kept ( ). The inhabitants were not exclusively Israelites ( 11:2; 12:35, 36).
(2.) A district in Palestine ( 11:16). It was a part of the maritime plain of Judah, and lay between Gaza and Gibeon.
(3.) A town in the mountains of Judah ( ).

a word of Anglo-Saxon origin, and meaning "God's spell", i.e., word of God, or rather, according to others, "good spell", i.e., good news. It is the rendering of the Greek _evangelion_, i.e., "good message." It denotes (1) "the welcome intelligence of salvation to man as preached by our Lord and his followers. (2.) It was afterwards transitively applied to each of the four histories of our Lord's life, published by those who are therefore called 'Evangelists', writers of the history of the gospel (the evangelion). (3.) The term is often used to express collectively the gospel doctrines; and 'preaching the gospel' is often used to include not only the proclaiming of the good tidings, but the teaching men how to avail themselves of the offer of salvation, the declaring of all the truths, precepts, promises, and threatenings of Christianity." It is termed "the gospel of the grace of God" ( ), "the gospel of the kingdom" ( ), "the gospel of Christ" ( ), "the gospel of peace ( ), "the glorious gospel," "the everlasting gospel," "the gospel of salvation" ( ).

The central fact of Christian preaching was the intelligence that the Saviour had come into the world ( ); and the first Christian preachers who called their account of the person and mission of Christ by the term _evangelion_ (= good message) were called _evangelistai_ (= evangelists) ( ).
There are four historical accounts of the person and work of Christ: "the first by Matthew, announcing the Redeemer as the promised King of the kingdom of God; the second by Mark, declaring him 'a prophet, mighty in deed and word'; the third by Luke, of whom it might be said that he represents Christ in the special character of the Saviour of sinners ( 15:18); the fourth by John, who represents Christ as the Son of God, in whom deity and humanity become one. The ancient Church gave to Matthew the symbol of the lion, to Mark that of a man, to Luke that of the ox, and to John that of the eagle: these were the four faces of the cherubim" ( ).
Date. The Gospels were all composed during the latter part of the first century, and there is distinct historical evidence to show that they were used and accepted as authentic before the end of the second century.
Mutual relation. "If the extent of all the coincidences be represented by 100, their proportionate distribution will be: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, 53; Matthew and Luke, 21; Matthew and Mark, 20; Mark and Luke, 6. Looking only at the general result, it may be said that of the contents of the synoptic Gospels [i.e., the first three Gospels] about two-fifths are common to the three, and that the parts peculiar to one or other of them are little more than one-third of the whole."
Origin. Did the evangelists copy from one another? The opinion is well founded that the Gospels were published by the apostles orally before they were committed to writing, and that each had an independent origin. (See MATTHEW, GOSPEL OF.)

(1.) Jonah's gourd ( ), bearing the Hebrew name _kikayon_ (found only here), was probably the kiki of the Egyptians, the croton. This is the castor-oil plant, a species of ricinus, the palma Christi, so called from the palmate division of its leaves. Others with more probability regard it as the cucurbita the el-keroa of the Arabs, a kind of pumpkin peculiar to the East. "It is grown in great abundance on the alluvial banks of the Tigris and on the plain between the river and the ruins of Nineveh." At the present day it is trained to run over structures of mud and brush to form boots to protect the gardeners from the heat of the noon-day sun. It grows with extraordinary rapidity, and when cut or injured withers away also with great rapidity.
(2.) Wild gourds ( ), Heb. pakkuoth, belong to the family of the cucumber-like plants, some of which are poisonous. The species here referred to is probably the colocynth (Cucumis colocynthus). The LXX. render the word by "wild pumpkin." It abounds in the desert parts of Syria, Egypt, and Arabia. There is, however, another species, called the Cucumis prophetarum, from the idea that it afforded the gourd which "the sons of the prophets" shred by mistake into their pottage.

See PROVIDENCE.

( ), the powers which fit a man for a place of influence in the church; "the steersman's art; the art of guiding aright the vessel of church or state."

(1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace ( comp. ), chief of the temple ( ), the leader of the Aaronites ( ), keeper of the sacred treasury (26:24), captain of the army (13:1), the king ( ), the Messiah ( ).
(2.) Heb. nasi, raised; exalted. Used to denote the chiefs of families ( , 30, 32, 35); also of tribes (2:3; 7:2; 3:32). These dignities appear to have been elective, not hereditary.
(3.) Heb. pakid, an officer or magistrate. It is used of the delegate of the high priest ( ), the Levites ( ), a military commander ( ), Joseph's officers in Egypt ( ).
(4.) Heb. shallit, one who has power, who rules ( Eccl. 8:8; 5:29).
(5.) Heb. aluph, literally one put over a thousand, i.e., a clan or a subdivision of a tribe. Used of the "dukes" of Edom ( ), and of the Jewish chiefs ( ).
(6.) Heb. moshel, one who rules, holds dominion. Used of many classes of rulers ( 24:2; 45:8; ); of the Messiah ( ); of God ( ).
(7.) Heb. sar, a ruler or chief; a word of very general use. It is used of the chief baker of Pharaoh ( ); of the chief butler (40:2, etc. See also 20:15; ). It is used also of angels, guardian angels ( , 20, 21; 12:1; 10:13; 8:25).
(8.) Pehah, whence _pasha_, i.e., friend of the king; adjutant; governor of a province ( 57; , 23; 12), or a perfect ( 5:14; ). This is a foreign word, Assyrian, which was early adopted into the Hebrew idiom ( ).
(9.) The Chaldean word _segan_ is applied to the governors of the Babylonian satrapies ( , 27; 6:7); the prefects over the Magi (2:48). The corresponding Hebrew word _segan_ is used of provincial rulers ( , 28, 57); also of chiefs and rulers of the people of Jerusalem ( 4:14, 19; 5:7, 17; 7:5; 12:40).
In the New Testament there are also different Greek words rendered thus.
(1.) Meaning an ethnarch ( ), which was an office distinct from military command, with considerable latitude of application.
(2.) The procurator of Judea under the Romans ( ). (Comp. , where the verb from which the Greek word so rendered is derived is used.)
(3.) Steward ( ).
(4.) Governor of the feast ( ), who appears here to have been merely an intimate friend of the bridegroom, and to have presided at the marriage banquet in his stead.
(5.) A director, i.e., helmsman; Lat. gubernator, ( ).

a region in Central Asia to which the Israelites were carried away captive ( ). It was situated in Mesopotamia, on the river Habor ( 18:11), the Khabur, a tributary of the Euphrates. The "river of Gozan" ( ) is probably the upper part of the river flowing through the province of Gozan, now Kizzel-Ozan.

(1.) Of form or person ( 3:22; ). (2.) Favour, kindness, friendship ( 18:3; 19:19; ). (3.) God's forgiving mercy ( ). (4.) The gospel as distinguished from the law ( ). (5.) Gifts freely bestowed by God; as miracles, prophecy, tongues ( ). (6.) Christian virtues ( ). (7.) The glory hereafter to be revealed ( ).

an expression not used in Scripture, but employed (1) to denote those institutions ordained by God to be the ordinary channels of grace to the souls of men. These are the Word, Sacraments, and Prayer.
(2.) But in popular language the expression is used in a wider sense to denote those exercises in which we engage for the purpose of obtaining spiritual blessing; as hearing the gospel, reading the Word, meditation, self-examination, Christian conversation, etc.

the process of inoculating fruit-trees ( ). It is peculiarly appropriate to olive-trees. The union thus of branches to a stem is used to illustrate the union of true believers to the true Church.

used, in , of a small stone or kernel; in , of an individual seed of mustard; in , , of wheat. The Hebrews sowed only wheat, barley, and spelt; rye and oats are not mentioned in Scripture.

the fruit of the vine, which was extensively cultivated in Palestine. Grapes are spoken of as "tender" (Cant. 2:13, 15), "unripe" ( ), "sour" ( ), "wild" ( ,4). (See , for figurative use of the word.) (See VINE.)

(1.) Heb. hatsir, ripe grass fit for mowing ( ). As the herbage rapidly fades under the scorching sun, it is used as an image of the brevity of human life ( , 7; ). In this word is rendered "leeks."
(2.) Heb. deshe', green grass ( , 12; ). "The sickly and forced blades of grass which spring up on the flat plastered roofs of houses in the East are used as an emblem of speedy destruction, because they are small and weak, and because, under the scorching rays of the sun, they soon wither away" ( ).
The dry stalks of grass were often used as fuel for the oven ( 13:30; ).

belongs to the class of neuropterous insects called Gryllidae. This insect is not unknown in Palestine.
In 7:12; , where the Authorized Version has "grasshopper," the Revised Version more correctly renders the Hebrew word ('arbeh) by "locust." This is the case also in , where the Hebrew word _gob_ is used; and in Eccl. 12:5; , where _hagab_ is used. In all these instances the proper rendering is probably "locust" (q.v.).

a network of brass for the bottom of the great altar of sacrifice ( 35:16; 38:4, 5, 30).

Among the ancient Hebrews graves were outside of cities in the open field ( ). Kings ( ) and prophets ( ) were generally buried within cities. Graves were generally grottoes or caves, natural or hewn out in rocks ( ). There were family cemeteries ( 50:5; ). Public burial-places were assigned to the poor ( ). Graves were usually closed with stones, which were whitewashed, to warn strangers against contact with them ( ), which caused ceremonial pollution ( ).
There were no graves in Jerusalem except those of the kings, and according to tradition that of the prophetess Huldah.

(Heb. pesel), refers to the household gods of idolaters. "Every nation and city had its own gods...Yet every family had its separate household or tutelary god."

(1.) Heb. hatsabh. , rendered "graven," but generally means hewn stone or wood, in quarry or forest.
(2.) Heb. harush. , rendered "graven," and indicates generally artistic work in metal, wood, and stone, effected by fine instruments.
(3.) Heb. haqaq. , engraving a plan or map, rendered "pourtray;" , "written."
(4.) Heb. pasal points rather to the sculptor's or the carver's art ( 40:19; 41:7; 44:12-15).
(5.) Pathah refers to intaglio work, the cutting and engraving of precious stones ( , 21; Cant. 1:10, 11).
(6.) Heret. In rendered "graving tool;" and in , "a pen."

only in , a piece of defensive armour (q.v.) reaching from the foot to the knee; from French greve, "the shin." They were the Roman cothurni.

Hellenists, Greek-Jews; Jews born in a foreign country, and thus did not speak Hebrew ( 9:29), nor join in the Hebrew services of the Jews in Palestine, but had synagogues of their own in Jerusalem. =Greeks.

orginally consisted of the four provinces of Macedonia, Epirus, Achaia, and Peleponnesus. In it designates only the Roman province of Macedonia. Greece was conquered by the Romans B.C. 146. After passing through various changes it was erected into an independent monarchy in 1831.
Moses makes mention of Greece under the name of Javan ( ); and this name does not again occur in the Old Testament till the time of Joel (3:6). Then the Greeks and Hebrews first came into contact in the Tyrian slave-market. Prophetic notice is taken of Greece in .
The cities of Greece were the special scenes of the labours of the apostle Paul.

Found only in the New Testament, where a distinction is observed between "Greek" and "Grecian" (q.v.). The former is (1) a Greek by race ( 18:17; ), or (2) a Gentile as opposed to a Jew ( , 10). The latter, meaning properly "one who speaks Greek," is a foreign Jew opposed to a home Jew who dwelt in Palestine.
The word "Grecians" in should be "Greeks," denoting the heathen Greeks of that city, as rendered in the Revised Version according to the reading of the best manuscripts ("Hellenes").

( ), the rendering of the Hebrew _zarzir mothnayim_, meaning literally "girded as to the lions." Some (Gesen.; R.V. marg.) render it "war-horse." The LXX. and Vulgate versions render it "cock." It has been by some interpreters rendered also "stag" and "warrior," as being girded about or panoplied, and "wrestler." The greyhound, however, was evidently known in ancient times, as appears from Egyptian monuments.

( ), to crush small (Heb. tahan); to oppress the poor ( ). The hand-mill was early used by the Hebrews ( ). It consisted of two stones, the upper ( ) being movable and slightly concave, the lower being stationary. The grinders mentioned Eccl. 12:3 are the teeth. (See MILL.)

party-coloured, as goats ( , 12), horses ( , 6).

(1.) Heb. 'asherah, properly a wooden image, or a pillar representing Ashtoreth, a sensual Canaanitish goddess, probably usually set up in a grove ( 23:4). In the Revised Version the word "Asherah" (q.v.) is introduced as a proper noun, the name of the wooden symbol of a goddess, with the plurals Asherim ( ) and Asheroth ( ).
The LXX. have rendered _asherah_ in by "Astarte." The Vulgate has done this also in .
(2.) Heb. 'eshel ( ). In and 31:13 the Authorized Version renders this word by "tree." In all these passages the Revised Version renders by "tamarisk tree." It has been identified with the Tamariscus orientalis, five species of which are found in Palestine.
(3.) The Heb. word 'elon, uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "plain," properly signifies a grove or plantation. In the Revised Version it is rendered, pl., "oaks" ( 14:13; 18:1; 12:6; ). In the earliest times groves are mentioned in connection with religious worship. The heathen consecrated groves to particular gods, and for this reason they were forbidden to the Jews ( ).

(1.) Heb. tabbah (properly a "cook," and in a secondary sense "executioner," because this office fell to the lot of the cook in Eastern countries), the bodyguard of the kings of Egypt ( ) and Babylon ( ).
(2.) Heb. rats, properly a "courier," one whose office was to run before the king's chariot ( ). The couriers were also military guards ( ). They were probably the same who under David were called Pelethites ( ).
(3.) Heb. mishmereth, one who watches ( ), or a watch-station (7:3; 12:9; ).
In the New Testament ( ) the Authorized Version renders the Greek _spekulator_ by "executioner," earlier English versions by "hangman," the Revised Version by "soldier of his guard." The word properly means a "pikeman" or "halberdier," of whom the bodyguard of kings and princes was composed. In , 66; 28:11, the Authorized Version renders the Greek _kustodia_ by "watch," and the Revised Version by "guard," the Roman guard, which consisted of four soldiers, who were relieved every three hours ( ). The "captain of the guard" mentioned was the commander of the Praetorian troops, whose duty it was to receive and take charge of all prisoners from the provinces.

the spare room on the upper floor of an Eastern dwelling ( ). In the word is translated "inn" (q.v.).

a whelp, a place near Ibleam where Jehu's servants overtook and mortally wounded king Ahaziah ( ); an ascent from the plain of Jezreel.

sojourn of Baal, a place in Arabia ( ) where there was probably a temple of Baal.

Heb. tsinnor, ( ). This Hebrew word occurs only elsewhere in in the plural, where it is rendered "waterspouts." It denotes some passage through which water passed; a water-course.
In , 41 the Hebrew word rendered "gutters" is _rahat_, and denotes vessels overflowing with water for cattle ( ); drinking-troughs.

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Today's Verse

Easton's Bible Dictionary - G

Bible Stream

Creeds & Confessions

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Today's Verse

Easton's Bible Dictionary - G

Gaal

Gaash

Gabbatha

Gabriel

Gad

Gadara

Gadarenes

Gaddi

Gaddiel

Gahar

Gaius

Galatia

Galatians, Epistle to

Galbanum

Galeed

Galilean

Galilee

Galilee, Sea of

Gall

Gallery

Gallim

Gallio

Gallows

Gamaliel

Games

Gammadim

Gamul

Gap

Gardens

Gareb

Garlands

Garlic

Garner

Garnish

Garrison

Gate

Gath

Gath-hepher

Gath-rimmon

Gaulanitis

Gaza

Geba

Gebal

Gebalites

Geber

Gebim

Gedaliah

Geder

Gederah

Gederathite

Gedor

Gehazi

Gehenna

Geliloth

Gemariah

Generation

Genesis

Gennesaret

Gentiles

Genubath

Gera

Gerah

Gerar

Gergesa

Gerizim

Gershom

Gershon

Geshem

Geshur

Geshurites

Gethsemane

Gezer

Ghost

Giants

Gibbethon

Gibeah

Gibeah of Judah