Lions Lip Litter Liver Living creatures Lizard Lo-ammi Loan Lock Locust Lo-debar Lodge Log Lois Loop Lord Lord's day Lord's Prayer Lord's Supper Lo-ruhamah Lot Lotan Love Lubims Lucas Lucifer Lucius Lucre Lud Ludim Luhith Luke Luke, Gospel according to Lunatic Lust Luz Lycaonia Lycia Lydda Lydia Lysanias Lysias, Claudius Lystra Maachah Maaleh-acrabbim Maarath Maaseiah Maasiai Maath Maaziah
the most powerful of all carnivorous animals. Although not now
found in Palestine, they must have been in ancient times very
numerous there. They had their lairs in the forests (Jer. 5:6;
12:8; Amos 3:4), in the caves of the mountains (Cant. 4:8; Nah.
2:12), and in the canebrakes on the banks of the Jordan (Jer.
49:19; 50:44; Zech. 11:3).
No fewer than at least six different words are used in the Old
Testament for the lion. (1.) _Gor_ (i.e., a "suckling"), the
lion's whelp (Gen. 49:9; Jer. 51:38, etc.). (2.) _Kephir_ (i.e.,
"shaggy"), the young lion (Judg. 14:5; Job 4:10; Ps. 91:13;
104:21), a term which is also used figuratively of cruel enemies
(Ps. 34:10; 35:17; 58:6; Jer. 2:15). (3.) _'Ari_ (i.e., the
"puller" in pieces), denoting the lion in general, without
reference to age or sex (Num. 23:24; 2 Sam. 17:10, etc.). (4.)
_Shahal_ (the "roarer"), the mature lion (Job 4:10; Ps. 91:13;
Prov. 26:13; Hos. 5:14). (5.) _Laish_, so called from its
strength and bravery (Job 4:11; Prov. 30:30; Isa. 30:6). The
capital of Northern Dan received its name from this word. (6.)
_Labi_, from a root meaning "to roar," a grown lion or lioness
(Gen. 49:9; Num. 23:24; 24:9; Ezek. 19:2; Nah. 2:11).
The lion of Palestine was properly of the Asiatic variety,
distinguished from the African variety, which is larger. Yet it
not only attacked flocks in the presence of the shepherd, but
also laid waste towns and villages (2 Kings 17:25, 26) and
devoured men (1 Kings 13:24, 25). Shepherds sometimes,
single-handed, encountered lions and slew them (1 Sam. 17:34,
35; Amos 3:12). Samson seized a young lion with his hands and
"rent him as he would have rent a kid" (Judg. 14:5, 6). The
strength (Judg. 14:18), courage (2 Sam. 17:10), and ferocity
(Gen. 49:9) of the lion were proverbial.
besides its literal sense (Isa. 37:29, etc.), is used in the
original (saphah) metaphorically for an edge or border, as of a
cup (1 Kings 7:26), a garment (Ex. 28:32), a curtain (26:4), the
sea (Gen. 22:17), the Jordan (2 Kings 2:13). To "open the lips"
is to begin to speak (Job 11:5); to "refrain the lips" is to
keep silence (Ps. 40:9; 1 Pet. 3:10). The "fruit of the lips"
(Heb. 13:15) is praise, and the "calves of the lips"
thank-offerings (Hos. 14:2). To "shoot out the lip" is to
manifest scorn and defiance (Ps. 22:7). Many similar forms of
expression are found in Scripture.
(Heb. tsab, as being lightly and gently borne), a sedan or
palanquin for the conveyance of persons of rank (Isa. 66:20). In
Num. 7:3, the words "covered wagons" are more literally "carts
of the litter kind." There they denote large and commodious
vehicles drawn by oxen, and fitted for transporting the
furniture of the temple.
(Heb. kabhed, "heavy;" hence the liver, as being the heaviest of
the viscera, Ex. 29:13, 22; Lev. 3:4, 1, 10, 15) was burnt upon
the altar, and not used as sacrificial food. In Ezek. 21:21
there is allusion, in the statement that the king of Babylon
"looked upon the liver," to one of the most ancient of all modes
of divination. The first recorded instance of divination (q.v.)
is that of the teraphim of Laban. By the teraphim the LXX. and
Josephus understood "the liver of goats." By the "caul above the
liver," in Lev. 4:9; 7:4, etc., some understand the great lobe
of the liver itself.
as represented by Ezekiel (1-10) and John (Rev. 4, etc.), are
the cherubim. They are distinguished from angels (Rev. 15:7);
they join the elders in the "new song" (5:8, 9); they warn of
danger from divine justice (Isa. 6:3-5), and deliver the
commission to those who execute it (Ezek. 10:2, 7); they
associate with the elders in their sympathy with the hundred and
forty-four thousand who sing the new song (Rev. 14:3), and with
the Church in the overthrow of her enemies (19:4).
They are supposed to represent mercy, as distinguished from
justice, mercy in its various instrumentalities, and especially
as connected with the throne of God, the "throne of grace."
Only in Lev. 11:30, as rendering of Hebrew _letaah_, so called
from its "hiding." Supposed to be the Lacerta gecko or fan-foot
lizard, from the toes of which poison exudes. (See CHAMELEON
link )
not my people, a symbolical name given by God's command to
Hosea's second son in token of Jehovah's rejection of his people
(Hos. 1:9, 10), his treatment of them as a foreign people. This
Hebrew word is rendered by "not my people" in ver. 10; 2:23.
The Mosaic law required that when an Israelite needed to borrow,
what he asked was to be freely lent to him, and no interest was
to be charged, although interest might be taken of a foreigner
(Ex. 22:25; Deut. 23:19, 20; Lev. 25:35-38). At the end of seven
years all debts were remitted. Of a foreigner the loan might,
however, be exacted. At a later period of the Hebrew
commonwealth, when commerce increased, the practice of exacting
usury or interest on loans, and of suretiship in the commercial
sense, grew up. Yet the exaction of it from a Hebrew was
regarded as discreditable (Ps. 15:5; Prov. 6:1, 4; 11:15; 17:18;
20:16; 27:13; Jer. 15:10).
Limitations are prescribed by the law to the taking of a
pledge from the borrower. The outer garment in which a man slept
at night, if taken in pledge, was to be returned before sunset
(Ex. 22:26, 27; Deut. 24:12, 13). A widow's garment (Deut.
24:17) and a millstone (6) could not be taken. A creditor could
not enter the house to reclaim a pledge, but must remain outside
till the borrower brought it (10, 11). The Hebrew debtor could
not be retained in bondage longer than the seventh year, or at
farthest the year of jubilee (Ex. 21:2; Lev. 25:39, 42), but
foreign sojourners were to be "bondmen for ever" (Lev.
25:44-54).
The Hebrews usually secured their doors by bars of wood or iron
(Isa. 45:2; 1 Kings 4:3). These were the locks originally used,
and were opened and shut by large keys applied through an
opening in the outside (Judg. 3:24). (See KEY link )
Lock of hair (Judg. 16:13, 19; Ezek. 8:3; Num. 6:5, etc.).
There are ten Hebrew words used in Scripture to signify locust.
In the New Testament locusts are mentioned as forming part of
the food of John the Baptist (Matt. 3:4; Mark 1:6). By the
Mosaic law they were reckoned "clean," so that he could lawfully
eat them. The name also occurs in Rev. 9:3, 7, in allusion to
this Oriental devastating insect.
Locusts belong to the class of Orthoptera, i.e.,
straight-winged. They are of many species. The ordinary Syrian
locust resembles the grasshopper, but is larger and more
destructive. "The legs and thighs of these insects are so
powerful that they can leap to a height of two hundred times the
length of their bodies. When so raised they spread their wings
and fly so close together as to appear like one compact moving
mass." Locusts are prepared as food in various ways. Sometimes
they are pounded, and then mixed with flour and water, and baked
into cakes; "sometimes boiled, roasted, or stewed in butter, and
then eaten." They were eaten in a preserved state by the ancient
Assyrians.
The devastations they make in Eastern lands are often very
appalling. The invasions of locusts are the heaviest calamites
that can befall a country. "Their numbers exceed computation:
the hebrews called them 'the countless,' and the Arabs knew them
as 'the darkeners of the sun.' Unable to guide their own flight,
though capable of crossing large spaces, they are at the mercy
of the wind, which bears them as blind instruments of Providence
to the doomed region given over to them for the time.
Innumerable as the drops of water or the sands of the seashore,
their flight obscures the sun and casts a thick shadow on the
earth (Ex. 10:15; Judg. 6:5; 7:12; Jer. 46:23; Joel 2:10). It
seems indeed as if a great aerial mountain, many miles in
breadth, were advancing with a slow, unresting progress. Woe to
the countries beneath them if the wind fall and let them alight!
They descend unnumbered as flakes of snow and hide the ground.
It may be 'like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them
is a desolate wilderness. At their approach the people are in
anguish; all faces lose their colour' (Joel 2:6). No walls can
stop them; no ditches arrest them; fires kindled in their path
are forthwith extinguished by the myriads of their dead, and the
countless armies march on (Joel 2:8, 9). If a door or a window
be open, they enter and destroy everything of wood in the house.
Every terrace, court, and inner chamber is filled with them in a
moment. Such an awful visitation swept over Egypt (Ex. 10:1-19),
consuming before it every green thing, and stripping the trees,
till the land was bared of all signs of vegetation. A strong
north-west wind from the Mediterranean swept the locusts into
the Red Sea.", Geikie's Hours, etc., ii., 149.
no pasture, (2 Sam. 17:27), a town in Gilead not far from
Mahanaim, north of the Jabbok (9:4, 5). It is probably identical
with Debir (Josh. 13:26).
a shed for a watchman in a garden (Isa. 1:8). The Hebrew name
_melunah_ is rendered "cottage" (q.v.) in Isa. 24:20. It also
denotes a hammock or hanging-bed.
the smallest measure for liquids used by the Hebrews (Lev.
14:10, 12, 15, 21, 24), called in the Vulgate sextarius. It is
the Hebrew unit of measure of capacity, and is equal to the
contents of six ordinary hen's eggs=the twelfth part of a him,
or nearly a pint.
the maternal grandmother of Timothy. She is commended by Paul
for her faith (2 Tim. 1:5).
a knotted "eye" of cord, corresponding to the "taches" or knobs
in the edges of the curtains of the tabernacle, for joining them
into a continuous circuit, fifty to a curtain (Ex. 26:4, 5, 10,
11).
There are various Hebrew and Greek words so rendered.
(1.) Heb. Jehovah, has been rendered in the English Bible
LORD, printed in small capitals. This is the proper name of the
God of the Hebrews. The form "Jehovah" is retained only in Ex.
6:3; Ps. 83:18; Isa. 12:2; 26:4, both in the Authorized and the
Revised Version.
(2.) Heb. 'adon, means one possessed of absolute control. It
denotes a master, as of slaves (Gen. 24:14, 27), or a ruler of
his subjects (45:8), or a husband, as lord of his wife (18:12).
The old plural form of this Hebrew word is _'adonai_. From a
superstitious reverence for the name "Jehovah," the Jews, in
reading their Scriptures, whenever that name occurred, always
pronounced it _'Adonai_.
(3.) Greek kurios, a supreme master, etc. In the LXX. this is
invariably used for "Jehovah" and "'Adonai."
(4.) Heb. ba'al, a master, as having domination. This word is
applied to human relations, as that of husband, to persons
skilled in some art or profession, and to heathen deities. "The
men of Shechem," literally "the baals of Shechem" (Judg. 9:2,
3). These were the Israelite inhabitants who had reduced the
Canaanites to a condition of vassalage (Josh. 16:10; 17:13).
(5.) Heb. seren, applied exclusively to the "lords of the
Philistines" (Judg. 3:3). The LXX. render it by satrapies. At
this period the Philistines were not, as at a later period (1
Sam. 21:10), under a kingly government. (See Josh. 13:3; 1 Sam.
6:18.) There were five such lordships, viz., Gath, Ashdod, Gaza,
Ashkelon, and Ekron.
only once, in Rev. 1:10, was in the early Christian ages used to
denote the first day of the week, which commemorated the Lord's
resurrection. There is every reason to conclude that John thus
used the name. (See SABBATH link )
the name given to the only form of prayer Christ taught his
disciples (Matt. 6:9-13). The closing doxology of the prayer is
omitted by Luke (11:2-4), also in the R.V. of Matt. 6:13. This
prayer contains no allusion to the atonement of Christ, nor to
the offices of the Holy Spirit. "All Christian prayer is based
on the Lord's Prayer, but its spirit is also guided by that of
His prayer in Gethsemane and of the prayer recorded John 17. The
Lord's Prayer is the comprehensive type of the simplest and most
universal prayer."
(1 Cor. 11:20), called also "the Lord's table" (10:21),
"communion," "cup of blessing" (10:16), and "breaking of bread"
(Acts 2:42).
In the early Church it was called also "eucharist," or giving
of thanks (comp. Matt. 26:27), and generally by the Latin Church
"mass," a name derived from the formula of dismission, Ite,
missa est, i.e., "Go, it is discharged."
The account of the institution of this ordinance is given in
Matt. 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:19, 20, and 1 Cor.
11:24-26. It is not mentioned by John.
It was designed, (1.) To commemorate the death of Christ:
"This do in remembrance of me." (2.) To signify, seal, and apply
to believers all the benefits of the new covenant. In this
ordinance Christ ratifies his promises to his people, and they
on their part solemnly consecrate themselves to him and to his
entire service. (3.) To be a badge of the Christian profession.
(4.) To indicate and to promote the communion of believers with
Christ. (5.) To represent the mutual communion of believers with
each other.
The elements used to represent Christ's body and blood are
bread and wine. The kind of bread, whether leavened or
unleavened, is not specified. Christ used unleavened bread
simply because it was at that moment on the paschal table. Wine,
and no other liquid, is to be used (Matt. 26:26-29). Believers
"feed" on Christ's body and blood, (1) not with the mouth in any
manner, but (2) by the soul alone, and (3) by faith, which is
the mouth or hand of the soul. This they do (4) by the power of
the Holy Ghost. This "feeding" on Christ, however, takes place
not in the Lord's Supper alone, but whenever faith in him is
exercised.
This is a permanent ordinance in the Church of Christ, and is
to be observed "till he come" again.
not pitied, the name of the prophet Hosea's first daughter, a
type of Jehovah's temporary rejection of his people (Hos. 1:6;
2:23).
(Heb. goral, a "pebble"), a small stone used in casting lots
(Num. 33:54; Jonah 1:7). The lot was always resorted to by the
Hebrews with strictest reference to the interposition of God,
and as a method of ascertaining the divine will (Prov. 16:33),
and in serious cases of doubt (Esther 3:7). Thus the lot was
used at the division of the land of Canaan among the serveral
tribes (Num. 26:55; 34:13), at the detection of Achan (Josh.
7:14, 18), the election of Saul to be king (1 Sam. 10:20, 21),
the distribution of the priestly offices of the temple service
(1 Chr. 24:3, 5, 19; Luke 1:9), and over the two goats at the
feast of Atonement (Lev. 16:8). Matthias, who was "numbered with
the eleven" (Acts 1:24-26), was chosen by lot.
This word also denotes a portion or an inheritance (Josh.
15:1; Ps. 125:3; Isa. 17:4), and a destiny, as assigned by God
(Ps. 16:5; Dan. 12:13).
Lot, (Heb. lot), a covering; veil, the son of Haran, and
nephew of Abraham (Gen. 11:27). On the death of his father, he
was left in charge of his grandfather Terah (31), after whose
death he accompanied his uncle Abraham into Canaan (12:5),
thence into Egypt (10), and back again to Canaan (13:1). After
this he separated from him and settled in Sodom (13:5-13). There
his righteous soul was "vexed" from day to day (2 Pet. 2:7), and
he had great cause to regret this act. Not many years after the
separation he was taken captive by Chedorlaomer, and was rescued
by Abraham (Gen. 14). At length, when the judgment of God
descended on the guilty cities of the plain (Gen. 19:1-20), Lot
was miraculously delivered. When fleeing from the doomed city
his wife "looked back from behind him, and became a pillar of
salt." There is to this day a peculiar crag at the south end of
the Dead Sea, near Kumran, which the Arabs call Bint Sheik Lot,
i.e., Lot's wife. It is "a tall, isolated needle of rock, which
really does bear a curious resemblance to an Arab woman with a
child upon her shoulder." From the words of warning in Luke
17:32, "Remember Lot's wife," it would seem as if she had gone
back, or tarried so long behind in the desire to save some of
her goods, that she became involved in the destruction which
fell on the city, and became a stiffened corpse, fixed for a
time in the saline incrustations. She became "a pillar of salt",
i.e., as some think, of asphalt. (See SALT link )
Lot and his daughters sought refuge first in Zoar, and then,
fearing to remain there longer, retired to a cave in the
neighbouring mountains (Gen. 19:30). Lot has recently been
connected with the people called on the Egyptian monuments
Rotanu or Lotanu, who is supposed to have been the hero of the
Edomite tribe Lotan.
coverer, one of the sons of Seir, the Horite (Gen. 36:20, 29).
This word seems to require explanation only in the case of its
use by our Lord in his interview with "Simon, the son of Jonas,"
after his resurrection (John 21:16, 17). When our Lord says,
"Lovest thou me?" he uses the Greek word _agapas_; and when
Simon answers, he uses the Greek word _philo_, i.e., "I love."
This is the usage in the first and second questions put by our
Lord; but in the third our Lord uses Simon's word. The
distinction between these two Greek words is thus fitly
described by Trench:, "_Agapan_ has more of judgment and
deliberate choice; _philein_ has more of attachment and peculiar
personal affection. Thus the 'Lovest thou' (Gr. agapas) on the
lips of the Lord seems to Peter at this moment too cold a word,
as though his Lord were keeping him at a distance, or at least
not inviting him to draw near, as in the passionate yearning of
his heart he desired now to do. Therefore he puts by the word
and substitutes his own stronger 'I love' (Gr. philo) in its
room. A second time he does the same. And now he has conquered;
for when the Lord demands a third time whether he loves him, he
does it in the word which alone will satisfy Peter ('Lovest
thou,' Gr. phileis), which alone claims from him that personal
attachment and affection with which indeed he knows that his
heart is full."
In 1 Cor. 13 the apostle sets forth the excellency of love, as
the word "charity" there is rendered in the Revised Version.
the inhabitants of a thirsty or scorched land; the Lybians, an
African nation under tribute to Egypt (2 Chr. 12:3; 16:8). Their
territory was apparently near Egypt. They were probably the
Mizraite Lehabim.
a friend and companion of Paul during his imprisonment at Rome;
Luke (q.v.), the beloved physician (Philemon 1:24; Col. 4:14).
brilliant star, a title given to the king of Babylon (Isa.
14:12) to denote his glory.
of Cyrene, a Christian teacher at Antioch (Acts 13:1), and
Paul's kinsman (Rom. 16:21). His name is Latin, but his
birthplace seems to indicate that he was one of the Jews of
Cyrene, in North Africa.
from the Lat. lucrum, "gain." 1 Tim. 3:3, "not given to filthy
lucre." Some MSS. have not the word so rendered, and the
expression has been omitted in the Revised Version.
(1.) The fourth son of Shem (Gen. 10:22; 1 Chr. 1:17), ancestor
of the Lydians probably.
(2.) One of the Hamitic tribes descended from Mizraim (Gen.
10:13), a people of Africa (Ezek. 27:10; 30:5), on the west of
Egypt. The people called Lud were noted archers (Isa. 66:19;
comp. Jer. 46:9).
probably the same as Lud (2) (comp. Gen. 10:13; 1 Chr. 1:11).
They are associated (Jer. 46:9) with African nations as
mercenaries of the king of Egypt.
made of boards, a Moabitish place between Zoar and Horonaim
(Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:5).
the evangelist, was a Gentile. The date and circumstances of his
conversion are unknown. According to his own statement (Luke
1:2), he was not an "eye-witness and minister of the word from
the beginning." It is probable that he was a physician in Troas,
and was there converted by Paul, to whom he attached himself. He
accompanied him to Philippi, but did not there share his
imprisonment, nor did he accompany him further after his release
in his missionary journey at this time (Acts 17:1). On Paul's
third visit to Philippi (20:5, 6) we again meet with Luke, who
probably had spent all the intervening time in that city, a
period of seven or eight years. From this time Luke was Paul's
constant companion during his journey to Jerusalem (20:6-21:18).
He again disappears from view during Paul's imprisonment at
Jerusalem and Caesarea, and only reappears when Paul sets out
for Rome (27:1), whither he accompanies him (28:2, 12-16), and
where he remains with him till the close of his first
imprisonment (Philemon 1:24; Col. 4:14). The last notice of the
"beloved physician" is in 2 Tim. 4:11.
There are many passages in Paul's epistles, as well as in the
writings of Luke, which show the extent and accuracy of his
medical knowledge.
was written by Luke. He does not claim to have been an
eye-witness of our Lord's ministry, but to have gone to the best
sources of information within his reach, and to have written an
orderly narrative of the facts (Luke 1:1-4). The authors of the
first three Gospels, the synoptics, wrote independently of each
other. Each wrote his independent narrative under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit.
Each writer has some things, both in matter and style,
peculiar to himself, yet all the three have much in common.
Luke's Gospel has been called "the Gospel of the nations, full
of mercy and hope, assured to the world by the love of a
suffering Saviour;" "the Gospel of the saintly life;" "the
Gospel for the Greeks; the Gospel of the future; the Gospel of
progressive Christianity, of the universality and gratuitousness
of the gospel; the historic Gospel; the Gospel of Jesus as the
good Physician and the Saviour of mankind;" the "Gospel of the
Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man;" "the Gospel of
womanhood;" "the Gospel of the outcast, of the Samaritan, the
publican, the harlot, and the prodigal;" "the Gospel of
tolerance." The main characteristic of this Gospel, as Farrar
(Cambridge Bible, Luke, Introd.) remarks, is fitly expressed in
the motto, "Who went about doing good, and healing all that were
oppressed of the devil" (Acts 10:38; comp. Luke 4:18). Luke
wrote for the "Hellenic world." This Gospel is indeed "rich and
precious."
"Out of a total of 1151 verses, Luke has 389 in common with
Matthew and Mark, 176 in common with Matthew alone, 41 in common
with Mark alone, leaving 544 peculiar to himself. In many
instances all three use identical language." (See MATTHEW
link MARK link GOSPELS link )
There are seventeen of our Lord's parables peculiar to this
Gospel. (See List of Parables in Appendix.) Luke also records
seven of our Lord's miracles which are omitted by Matthew and
Mark. (See List of Miracles in Appendix.) The synoptical Gospels
are related to each other after the following scheme. If the
contents of each Gospel be represented by 100, then when
compared this result is obtained:
Mark has 7 peculiarities, 93 coincidences.
Matthew 42 peculiarities, 58 coincidences.
Luke 59 peculiarities, 41 coincidences.
That is, thirteen-fourteenths of Mark, four-sevenths of Matthew,
and two-fifths of Luke are taken up in describing the same
things in very similar language.
Luke's style is more finished and classical than that of
Matthew and Mark. There is less in it of the Hebrew idiom. He
uses a few Latin words (Luke 12:6; 7:41; 8:30; 11:33; 19:20),
but no Syriac or Hebrew words except sikera, an exciting drink
of the nature of wine, but not made of grapes (from Heb. shakar,
"he is intoxicated", Lev. 10:9), probably palm wine.
This Gospel contains twenty-eight distinct references to the
Old Testament.
The date of its composition is uncertain. It must have been
written before the Acts, the date of the composition of which is
generally fixed at about 63 or 64 A.D. This Gospel was written,
therefore, probably about 60 or 63, when Luke may have been at
Caesarea in attendance on Paul, who was then a prisoner. Others
have conjectured that it was written at Rome during Paul's
imprisonment there. But on this point no positive certainty can
be attained.
It is commonly supposed that Luke wrote under the direction,
if not at the dictation of Paul. Many words and phrases are
common to both; e.g., compare:
Luke 4:22; with Col. 4:6.
Luke 4:32; with 1 Cor. 2:4.
Luke 6:36; with 2 Cor. 1:3.
Luke 6:39; with Rom. 2:19.
Luke 9:56; with 2 Cor. 10:8.
Luke 10:8; with 1 Cor. 10:27.
Luke 11:41; with Titus 1:15.
Luke 18:1; with 2 Thess. 1:11.
Luke 21:36; with Eph. 6:18.
Luke 22:19, 20; with 1 Cor. 11:23-29.
Luke 24:46; with Acts 17:3.
Luke 24:34; with 1 Cor. 15:5.
probably the same as epileptic, the symptoms of which disease
were supposed to be more aggravated as the moon increased. In
Matt. 4:24 "lunatics" are distinguished from demoniacs. In 17:15
the name "lunatic" is applied to one who is declared to have
been possessed. (See DAEMONIAC link )
sinful longing; the inward sin which leads to the falling away
from God (Rom. 1:21). "Lust, the origin of sin, has its place in
the heart, not of necessity, but because it is the centre of all
moral forces and impulses and of spiritual activity." In Mark
4:19 "lusts" are objects of desire.
a nut-bearing tree, the almond. (1.) The ancient name of a royal
Canaanitish city near the site of Bethel (Gen. 28:19; 35:6), on
the border of Benjamin (Josh. 18:13). Here Jacob halted, and had
a prophetic vision. (See BETHEL link )
(2.) A place in the land of the Hittites, founded (Judg. 1:26)
by "a man who came forth out of the city of Luz." It is
identified with Luweiziyeh, 4 miles north-west of Banias.
an inland province of Asia Minor, on the west of Cappadocia and
the south of Galatia. It was a Roman province, and its chief
towns were Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. The "speech of Lycaonia"
(Acts 14:11) was probably the ancient Assyrian language, or
perhaps, as others think, a corrupt Greek intermingled with
Syriac words. Paul preached in this region, and revisited it
(Acts 16:1-6; 18:23; 19:1).
a wolf, a province in the south-west of Asia Minor, opposite the
island of Rhodes. It forms part of the region now called Tekeh.
It was a province of the Roman empire when visited by Paul (Acts
21:1; 27:5). Two of its towns are mentioned, Patara (21:1, 2)
and Myra (27:5).
a town in the tribe of Ephraim, mentioned only in the New
Testament (Acts 9:32, 35, 38) as the scene of Peter's miracle in
healing the paralytic AEneas. It lay about 9 miles east of
Joppa, on the road from the sea-port to Jerusalem. In the Old
Testament (1 Chr. 8:12) it is called Lod. It was burned by the
Romans, but was afterwards rebuilt, and was known by the name of
Diospolis. Its modern name is Ludd. The so-called patron saint
of England, St. George, is said to have been born here.
(1.) Ezek. 30:5 (Heb. Lud), a province in the west of Asia
Minor, which derived its name from the fourth son of Shem (Gen.
10:22). It was bounded on the east by the greater Phrygia, and
on the west by Ionia and the AEgean Sea.
(2.) A woman of Thyatira, a "seller of purple," who dwelt in
Philippi (Acts 16:14, 15). She was not a Jewess but a proselyte.
The Lord opened her heart as she heard the gospel from the lips
of Paul (16:13). She thus became the first in Europe who
embraced Christianity. She was a person apparently of
considerable wealth, for she could afford to give a home to Paul
and his companions. (See THYATIRA link )
tetrarch of Abilene (Luke 3:1), on the eastern slope of
Anti-Lebanon, near the city of Damascus.
the chief captain (chiliarch) who commanded the Roman troops in
Jerusalem, and sent Paul under guard to the procurator Felix at
Caesarea (Acts 21:31-38; 22:24-30). His letter to his superior
officer is an interesting specimen of Roman military
correspondence (23:26-30). He obtained his Roman citizenship by
purchase, and was therefore probably a Greek. (See CLAUDIUS
link )
a town of Lycaonia, in Asia Minor, in a wild district and among
a rude population. Here Paul preached the gospel after he had
been driven by persecution from Iconium (Acts 14:2-7). Here also
he healed a lame man (8), and thus so impressed the ignorant and
superstitious people that they took him for Mercury, because he
was the "chief speaker," and his companion Barnabas for Jupiter,
probably in consequence of his stately, venerable appearance;
and were proceeding to offer sacrifices to them (13), when Paul
earnestly addressed them and turned their attention to the true
source of all blessings. But soon after, through the influence
of the Jews from Antioch in Pisidia and Iconium, they stoned
Paul and left him for dead (14:19). On recovering, Paul left for
Derbe; but soon returned again, through Lystra, encouraging the
disciples there to steadfastness. He in all likelihood visited
this city again on his third missionary tour (Acts 18:23).
Timothy, who was probably born here (2 Tim. 3:10, 11), was no
doubt one of those who were on this occasion witnesses of Paul's
persecution and his courage in Lystra.
oppression, a small Syrian kingdom near Geshur, east of the
Hauran, the district of Batanea (Josh. 13:13; 2 Sam. 10:6,8; 1
Chr. 19:7).
(2.) A daughter of Talmai, king of the old native population
of Geshur. She became one of David's wives, and was the mother
of Absalom (2 Sam. 3:3).
(3.) The father of Hanan, who was one of David's body-guard (1
Chr. 11:43).
(4.) The daughter of Abishalom (called Absalom, 2 Chr.
11:20-22), the third wife of Rehoboam, and mother of Abijam (1
Kings 15:2). She is called "Michaiah the daughter of Uriel," who
was the husband of Absalom's daughter Tamar (2 Chr. 13:2). Her
son Abijah or Abijam was heir to the throne.
(5.) The father of Achish, the king of Gath (1 Kings 2:39),
called also Maoch (1 Sam. 27:2).
ascent of the scorpions; i.e., "scorpion-hill", a pass on the
south-eastern border of Palestine (Num. 34:4; Josh. 15:3). It is
identified with the pass of Sufah, entering Palestine from the
great Wady el-Fikreh, south of the Dead Sea. (See AKRABBIM
link )
desolation, a place in the mountains of Judah (Josh. 15:59),
probably the modern village Beit Ummar, 6 miles north of Hebron.
the work of Jehovah. (1.) One of the Levites whom David
appointed as porter for the ark (1 Chr. 15:18, 20).
(2.) One of the "captains of hundreds" associated with
Jehoiada in restoring king Jehoash to the throne (2 Chr. 23:1).
(3.) The "king's son," probably one of the sons of king Ahaz,
killed by Zichri in the invasion of Judah by Pekah, king of
Israel (2 Chr. 28:7).
(4.) One who was sent by king Josiah to repair the temple (2
Chr. 34:8). He was governor (Heb. sar, rendered elsewhere in the
Authorized Version "prince," "chief captain," chief ruler") of
Jerusalem.
(5.) The father of the priest Zephaniah (Jer. 21:1; 37:3).
(6.) The father of the false prophet Zedekiah (Jer. 29:21).
Maase'iah, refuge is Jehovah, a priest, the father of Neriah
(Jer. 32:12; 51:59).
work of Jehovah, one of the priests resident at Jerusalem at the
Captivity (1 Chr. 9:12).
small, a person named in our Lord's ancestry (Luke 3:26).
strength or consolation of Jehovah. (1.) The head of the
twenty-fourth priestly course (1 Chr. 24:18) in David's reign.
(2.) A priest (Neh. 10:8).
Index