Articles Showing 24 of 820
Asherah Definition
Canaanite goddess of fertility. She is portrayed as a nude female, sometimes pregnant, with exaggerated breasts that she holds out as symbols of her fertility. The Bible indicates that she was worshiped near trees and poles, called Asherah poles.
Ashlar Stones Definition
Hand-shaped stones (found near the Temple) brought from a quarry nearly a mile away. One 45-foot-long stone weighs nearly 600 tons.
Ashtoreth Definition
Canaanite goddess of fertility and love. She is thought to be the daughter of the fertility goddess Asherah.
Assyria Definition
Nation in Mesopotamia that became a large empire in the time of the kings of Israel and Judah. Its capital was Ninevah. The Assyrians were extremely cruel and God used them to punish the northern kingdom for its Baal worship.
Assyrian Conquests
Assyrian Conquests During the 700s BC, the Assyrian empire made many conquests in the land of Israel. Because God's people had ignored his commands and began turning to pagan gods, they had become weak, both morally and physically. As judgment for...
Assyrians
AssyriansThe Assyrian empire was located in Mesopotamia near the Euphrates River. Their reputation was so fierce that Jonah fled in fear when God commanded him to speak in Ninevah, Assyria's capital (Jonah 1:1?3).Assyrian soldiers were equipped wi...
Atonement Definition
A payment or offering to remove or forgive sins. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel sacrificed animals to show that atonement must be made for their sins. When Jesus came, he gave up his own life to make atonement for the sins of his peopl...
atonement Seat Definition
Slab of gold on top of the ark of the covenant on which the golden cherubim stood. It symbolized God's throne.
Atrium Definition
Court of a Roman house, roofed at the sides and open in the middle; also the entrance to a Byzantine church.
Azekah
Tel Azekah is a five-acre site overlooking the Valley of Elah. The Judea Mountains stand to the east. The Mediterranean Sea, located about twelve miles to the west, can be seen from the tel.Archaeologists have identified at least four levels of ci...
Baal Definition
Canaanite god of fertility. He is often portrayed as the god of storms, lightning, thunder, and rain. He was worshiped in horrible ways. The name means "lord" or "master." Israel was seduced into worshiping him.
Babylon, Babylonians Definition
Hebrew Babel. Capital city of Mesopotamia, located on the Euphrates River and neighbor to Assyria. Considered at the time of the prophet Jeremiah to be the greatest and most beautiful city of the Near East. An enormous political and economic power...
Bacchus Definition
Roman god of wine, fertility, and vegetation, god of the theater. Son of Zeus and Semele, the Theban princess.
Baptize Definition
To wash, dip, or immerse in water. Baptism shows that a person's sins are washed away. He or she has joined the family of God and is united with Jesus in dying to sin and rising to a new life.
Bar Kochba Revolt Definition
Another name for the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome (AD 132-135). The leader of the revolt was a man named Bar Kochba.
Basalt Crusher
This crusher is found at Capernaum, Jesus' home-base (Matthew 4:13), near the synagogue. The local basalt "a hard, volcanic black rock" made excellent crushers and other types of grinders.Jesus frequently saw crushers and millstones like...
Basilica Definition
"From the king"; Roman public hall built with side halls lower than the center hall.
Bathroom
The luxury of the mansions on the Western Hill is highlighted by this mosaic floored bathroom. On the left, a bathtub, partially ruined, has been restored. Many of the mansions in this area had several beautiful baths as well as mikvoth for ritual...
