Aaronides
Descendants of Aaron and members of the Israelite priesthood. According to Numbers 18. 1–7, there is a clear distinction between members of the house of Levi and the direct descendants ...
Amram
Appearing frequently in genealogical lists of the Hebrew scriptures, Amram is a son of Qahat (Kohath) and father of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam (Ex. 6.18, 6.20; Nm. 26.58–59); his wife ...
anointing
A ceremonial action to separate persons and things from profane use and to obtain for them the infusion of Divine grace. In the OT priests and kings are anointed, and the future deliverer is ...
Aramean mythology
The Arameans were one of many Semitic-speaking peoples of the area that includes what was once known as the land of Canaan. By the eleventh century b.c.e. the Arameans, who ...
ark
1 The Ark which Noah built to preserve life during the Flood (q.v.).2 The Ark of the Covenant, the most sacred religious symbol of the Hebrew people and believed to represent the Presence of God. It ...
assembly
The people of Israel were summoned as a whole community to listen to Moses and Aaron (Exod. 12: 3) and to Solomon (1 Kgs. 8: 14). In the taunt song over Babylon, the king of Babylon is mockingly made ...
Azazel
On the Day of Atonement, a goat, on whom were laid the hands of the priest, was dispatched into the wilderness where Azazel, a demon, dwelt (Lev. 16: 8). This was the ritual of the scapegoat which ...
Book of Leviticus
This OT Book consists almost wholly of legislation. Chapters 17–26 form a well-defined unity known as the ‘Holiness Code’ (q.v.). The rest of the Book is not earlier than the 6th cent. bc.
chosen People
Those selected by God for a special relationship with him, especially the people of Israel, the Jews.
cloud
A visible, dense mass of water droplets and/or ice crystals, suspended in the air, and generally forming when air is forced to rise: at a front, over mountains, or because of convection. Clouds ...
Cush
The region now known as N. Sudan and called Ethiopia (so NRSV in 2 Kgs. 19: 9) by classical authors. Moses married a wife from Cush (Num. 12: 1), much to the indignation of his sister. Its ...
Epistle to the Hebrews
Traditionally included among the letters of St Paul, this Epistle, unlike most others in the NT, does not contain the name of the writer or of those addressed; the traditional title is probably an ...
fairies
A poetic or literary word for fairyland, a pseudo-archaism introduced by Edmund Spenser (c1552–99) in his allegorical poem The Faerie Queene, celebrating Queen Elizabeth.
Golden Calf
An object of worship set up (a) by the Israelites in the wilderness (Exod. 32) and (b) by King Jeroboam I (1 Kgs. 12: 28).
Hebrew mythology
The development of the Hebrew-Israelite mythology, which was central to the eventual emergence of Judaism, was influenced by the mythologies of Egypt, by the mythologies of indigenous religions of ...
High Priest
In the OT the head of the Levitical priesthood whose institution is described in Exod. 28. His chief function was the superintendence of the Temple worship, and it was his special prerogative to ...
idols
An image or representation of a god used as an object of worship; in extended usage, a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered. Recorded from Middle English, the word comes via Old ...
Jannes and Jambres
Two reputed Egyptian magicians who imitated the miracles performed by Moses (Exod. 7 ff.).
kiss
Kiss and tell recount one's sexual exploits, especially to the media regarding a famous person; in US politics from the mid 1970s, the revealing of confidential information gained through any close ...
