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B This was a town of the tribe of Dan (Josh. 19:44). It was fortified by Solomon (1 Kings 9:18; 2 Chr. 8:6). Some have identified it with Bel'ain, in Wady Deir Balut.
All that remains today of the ancient famed city of Babylon is a mound, or tell, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq. Historical resources inform us that Babylon was at first a small town, that had sprung up by the beginning of the third millennium BC (the dawn of the dynasties). The town flourished and attained prominence and political repute with the rise of the first Babylonian dynasty. It was the "holy city" of Babylonia by approximately 2300 BC, and the seat of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 612 BC. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The form Babylon is the Greek variant of Akkadian Babilu (bab-ilû, meaning "Gateway of the god(s)", translating Sumerian Ka.dingir.ra). In the Bible, the name appears as, interpreted by Book of Genesis 11:9 to mean "confusion" (of languages), from the verb balbal, "to confuse".
See Baal in Names in The Bible also
The earliest mention of the city of Babylon can be found in a tablet from the reign of Sargon of Akkad, dating back to the 23rd century BC. Following the collapse of the last Sumerian "Ur-III" dynasty at the hands of the Elamites (ca. 1940 (short)), the Amorites gained control over most of Mesopotamia, where they formed a series of small kingdoms. During the first centuries of what is called the "Amorite period", the most powerful city states were Isin and Larsa, although Shamshi-Adad I came close to uniting the more northern regions around Assur and Mari. One of these Amorite dynasties was established in the city-state of Babylon, which would ultimately take over the others and form the first Babylonian empire, during what is also called the Old Babylonian Period.
The year begins in spring, and is divided into reš šatti "beginning", mišil šatti "middle", and kît šatti "end of the year". The name for "month" was arxu (status constructus arax). That the calendar originates in Babylonian, not Assyrian times is shown by the fact that the chief deity of the Assyrians is assigned the surplus intercalary month. During the 6th century BC Babylonian exile of the Hebrews, the Babylonian month names were adopted into the Hebrew calendar. The names of the months were:
Until the fifth century BC the calendar was fully observational, but beginning about 499 BC the months began to be regulated by a lunisolar cycle of 19 years equaling 235 months. Although usually called the Metonic cycle, Meton (432 BC) probably learned of the cycle from the Babylonians. After no more than three isolated exceptions, by 380 BC the months of the calendar were regulated by the cycle without exception. In the cycle of 19 years, the month Adaru 2 was intercalated, except in the year that was number 17 in the cycle, when the month Ululu 2 was inserted. During this period, the first day of each month (beginning at sunset) continued to be the day when a new crescent moon was first sighted—the calendar never used a specified number of days in any month.
In the history of Israel, the period from the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) to the reconstruction in Palestine of a new Jewish state (after 538 B.C.). After the capture of the city by the Babylonians some thousands, probably selected for their prosperity and importance, were deported to Mesopotamia. The number of those who remained is disputed by scholars. Such deportations were commonplace in Assyrian and Babylonian policy. The exiles maintained close links with their kinsmen at home, as is clear from Ezekiel, the prophet of the early years of the Exile. In 538 B.C., Cyrus the Great, the new master of the empire, initiated a new attitude toward the nations and decreed the restoration of worship at Jerusalem. The century following this decree was critical in the history of the Jews, for it is the time of their reintegration into a national and religious unit. For parts of the period, Ezra and Nehemiah are the best sources. The prophesied 70 years of captivity were fulfilled when the new Temple was completed in 516 B.C. For the papal captivity at Avignon, which is also called the Babylonian Captivity The Babylonian Captivity and the subsequent return to Israel were seen as one of the pivotal events in the drama between God and His people: Israel. Just as they had been predestined for, and saved from, slavery in Egypt, the Israelites were predestined to be punished by God through the Babylonians, and then saved once more. The Babylonian Captivity had a number of serious effects on Judaism and the Jewish culture , including changes to the Hebrew alphabet and changes in the fundamental practices and customs of the Jewish religion. This period saw the last high-point of biblical prophecy in the person of Ezekiel, followed by the emergence of the central role of the Torah in Jewish life. This process coincided with the emergence of scribes and sages as Jewish leaders (see Ezra and the Pharisees). Prior to exile, the people of Israel had been organized according to tribe; afterwards, they were organized by clans, with only the tribe of Levi continuing in its special role. After the Babylonian captivity, there were always sizable numbers of Jews living outside Eretz Israel, thus marking one starting point of the "Jewish diaspora.
See Talmud for more information
Some Christians, particularly Quakers and the Salvation Army, do not see baptism as necessary. Among those that do, differences can be found in the manner of baptizing and in the understanding of the significance of the rite. Most baptize "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit", but some baptize in Jesus' name only. Most baptize infants, others do not. Some insist on submersion or at least partial immersion of the person who is baptized, others consider that any form of washing by water is sufficient. The most usual form of baptism among Early Christians was for the candidate to stand in water and water to be poured over the upper body. Other common forms of baptism now in use include pouring water three times on the forehead or complete submersion in water. Baptism has traditionally been seen as necessary for salvation. Martyrdom was identified early in church history as baptism by blood, enabling martyrs who had not been baptized by water to be saved. Later, the Catholic church identified a baptism of desire, by which those preparing for baptism who die before actually receiving the sacrament are considered saved. The English word "baptism" has been used in reference to any ceremony, trial, or experience by which one is initiated, purified, or given a name.
Baptists are typically considered Protestants. Some Baptists reject that association (see Origins and Questions of labeling subsections below). Most Baptist churches choose to associate with denominational groups that provide support without control. The largest Baptist association is the Southern Baptist Convention but there are many other baptist associations. Both Roger Williams and his compatriot in working for religious freedom, Dr. John Clarke, are variously credited as founding the earliest Baptist church in America. In 1639, Williams established a Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island, and Clarke began a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island. According to a Baptist historian who has researched the matter extensively, "There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of 'first' Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking. The Baptists number over 110 million worldwide in more than 220,000 congregations, and are considered the largest world communion of evangelical Protestants, with an estimated 38 million members in North America. Large populations of Baptists also exist in Asia, Africa and Latin America, notably in India (2.4 million), Nigeria (2.5 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (1.9 million), and Brazil (1.7 million). According to a poll in the 1990s, about one in five Christians in the United States claims to be a Baptist. U.S. Baptists are represented in more than fifty separate groups. Ninety-two percent of Baptists are found in five of those bodies — the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC); National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. (NBC); National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.; (NBCA); American Baptist Churches in the USA (ABC); and Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI). Baptist beliefs and principles Baptist churches do not have a central governing authority. Therefore, beliefs are not totally consistent from one Baptist church to another, especially beliefs that may be considered minor. However, on major theological issues, Baptist distinctive beliefs are held in common among almost all Baptist churches. Baptists share orthodox Christian beliefs with most other moderate or conservative Christian denominations. These would include beliefs about one God; the virgin birth; miracles; atonement through the death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Jesus; the Trinity (the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, together with God the Father); the need for salvation (through belief in Jesus Christ as the son of God, his death and resurrection, and confession of Christ as Lord); grace; the Kingdom of God; last things (Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth, the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge everyone in righteousness); and evangelism and missions. Some historically significant Baptist doctrinal documents include the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1742 Philadelphia Baptist Confession, the 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith, the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Faith and Message, and written church "covenants" which some individual Baptist churches adopt as a statement of their faith and beliefs. Baptists generally believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ at which time God will sit in judgment and divide humanity between the saved and the lost (the Great White Throne judgment Revelation 20:11) and Christ will sit in judgment of the believers (the Judgment Seat of Christ 2 Corinthians), rewarding them for things done while alive, knowing that works will not get someone to Heaven. Beliefs among Baptists regarding the "end times" include amillennialism, dispensationalism, and historic premillennialism, with views such as postmillennialism and preterism receiving some support.
A Hebrew word, which is the fifth word of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Torah (the first five books of the Tanach, or Hebrew Bible). It means "In the wilderness". When used as a noun, Bamidbar might refer to:
baptize See Baptism Baptize means to immerse in, or wash with something, usually water. Baptism in the Holy Spirit, fire, the Body of Christ, and suffering are also mentioned in the New Testament, along with baptism in water. Baptism is not just to cleanse the body, but as an outward sign of an inward spiritual cleansing and commitment. Baptism is a sign of repentance, as practiced by John the Baptizer, and of faith in Jesus Christ, as practiced by Jesus' disciples.
Bar Kokhba’s revolt (132–135 CE) against the Roman Empire, also known as The Second Jewish-Roman War or The Second Jewish Revolt (out of three Jewish-Roman Wars), was a second major rebellion by the Jews of Iudaea. Alternatively, some sources call it The Third Revolt, counting also the riots of 115–117, the Kitos War, suppressed by the general Quintus Lucius Quietus who governed the province at the time.
A biblical place first mentioned in Gen. 14:5, where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth," where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, Og came out against them, but was utterly routed (Num. 21:33-35; Deut. 3:1-7). This country extended from Gilead in the south to Hermon in the north, and from the Jordan on the west to Salcah on the east. Along with the half of Gilead it was given to the half-Tribe of Manasseh (Josh. 13:29-31). Golan, one of its cities, became a “city of refuge” (Josh. 21:27). Argob, in Bashan, was one of Solomon's commissariat districts (1 Kings 4:13). The cities of Bashan were taken by Hazael (2 Kings 10:33), but were soon after reconquered by Jehoash (2 Kings 13:25), who overcame the Syrians in three battles, according to the word of Elisha (19). From this time Bashan almost disappears from history, although we read of the wild cattle of its rich pastures (Ezek. 39:18; Ps. 22:12), the oaks of its forests (Isa. 2:13; Ezek. 27:6; Zech. 11:2), and the beauty of its extensive plains (Amos 4:1; Jer. 50:19). Soon after the conquest, the name "Gilead" was given to the whole country beyond Jordan. After the Exile, Bashan was divided into four districts: 1. Gaulonitis, or Jaulan, the most western 2. Auranitis, the Hauran (Ezek. 47:16) 3. Argob or Trachonitis, now the Lejah 4. Batanaea, now Ard-el-Bathanyeh, on the east of the Lejah, with many deserted towns almost as perfect as when they were inhabited.
1. b.) A Christian church building of a similar design, having a nave with a semicircular apse, two or four side aisles, a narthex, and a clerestory. 2. Roman Catholic Church. A church that has been accorded certain privileges by the pope
Muslims use it to refer to the phrase "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful." The Basmala is at the beginning of each of the suras (chapters) of the Qur'an except for the ninth sura. Christians who speak Arabic sometimes use the word Basmala to refer to the phrase "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." bath bath is a liquid measure of about 22 liters, 5.8 U. S. gallons, or 4.8 imperial gallons.
batos A batos is a liquid measure of about 39.5 liters, 10.4 U. S. gallons, or 8.7 imperial gallons. Bavli Abbreviation for Babylonian Talmud BBE abbreviation for The Bible In Basic English Before Christ; indicates that a time division that falls before the Christian era; See BCE. Conventional abbreviation denoting a date before the time of Christ. Since the "BC-AD" way of numbering dates became standard, scholars have postulated that Jesus was probably not actually born in the year 1 AD, but a few years before or after. In scholarly writing, the abbreviations B.C.E. and C.E. are often used instead of B.C. and A.D. respectively. Abbreviation: "Before the Common Era", equivalent to B.C. ("Before Christ"). The abbreviations B.C.E. and C.E. are often used instead of B.C. and A.D. respectively. it is basically equivalent to "BC", except that it doesn't have the Christian religious connotations of BC. That makes it preferable for some scholars. Unfortunately, in our contentious world, using BCE also sometimes offends people, some of whom have suggested that we use plus signs and minus signs to indicate the years before the Julian calendar start date of 0.
Another name for Satan. Originally a Philistine god, he is called the Prince of Devils in the New Testament. Beelzebub also appears in Milton's as one of the fallen angels, second only to Satan in power. Beelzebul literally, lord of the flies. A name used for the devil. See also Baal-zebub
behold Look! See! Wow! Notice this! Lo!
The name of a biblical city and three men and ldols;
A city on the shore of the Dead
Sea, not far from Sodom, called
also Zoar. It was the only one of the five cities that was spared at Lot's
intercession (Gen. 19:20,23). It is first mentioned in Gen. 14:2,8.
Belial Satan.
In Celtic religion, a festival held on the first day of May, celebrating the beginning of summer and open pasturing. Beltane was one of two turning points in the year, the other being November 1 (Samhain), the start of winter. At both, the bounds between the human and supernatural worlds were erased. On May Eve, witches and fairies roamed freely, and measures had to be taken against their enchantments. As late as the 19th century in Ireland, cattle were driven between two bonfires on Beltane as a magical means of protecting them from disease. See also Halloween
Berakhot is the first masekhet ("tractate") of Seder Zeraim ("Order of Seeds") of the Mishnah, the first major text of Jewish law. It primarily addresses the rules regarding the Shema, the Amidah, Birkat Hamazon ("Grace after Meals"), Kiddush ("Sanctification"), Havdalah ("Separation") and other blessings and prayers. It is the only tractate in Zeraim to have a Gemara ("Completion") from both the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud.
Bereishit may refer to:
1. A place in Central Palestine, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem, at the head of the pass of Michmash and Ai. It was originally the royal Canaanite city of Luz (Gen. 28:19). The name Bethel was at first apparently given to the sanctuary in the neighborhood of Luz, and was not given to the city itself till after its conquest by Ephraim. When Abram entered Canaan, he formed his second encampment between Bethel and Hai (Gen. 12:8); and on his return from Egypt he came back to it, and again "called upon the name of the Lord" (13:4). Here Jacob, on his way from Beersheba to Haran, had a vision of the angels of God ascending and descending on the ladder whose top reached unto Heaven (28:10, 19); and on his return he again visited this place, "where God talked with him" (35:1-15), and there he "built an altar, and called the place El-beth-el" (q.v.). To this second occasion of God's speaking with Jacob at Bethel, Hosea (12:4,5) makes reference. In troublous times the people went to Bethel to ask counsel of God (Judg. 20:18, 31; 21:2). Here the ark of the covenant was kept for a long time under the care of Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron (20:26-28). Here also Samuel held in rotation his court of justice (1 Sam. 7:16). It was included in Israel after the kingdom was divided, and it became one of the seats of the worship of the golden calf (1 Kings 12:28-33; 13:1). Hence the prophet Hosea (Hos. 4:15; 5:8; 10:5, 8) calls it in contempt Beth-aven, i.e., "house of idols." Bethel remained an abode of priests even after the kingdom of Israel was desolated by the king of Assyria (2 Kings 17:28, 29). At length all traces of the idolatries were extirpated by Josiah, king of Judah (2 Kings 23:15-18); and the place was still in existence after the Captivity (Ezra 2:28; Neh. 7:32). It has been identified with the ruins of Beitin, a small village amid extensive ruins some 9 miles south of Shiloh. 2. Mount Bethel was a hilly district near Bethel (Josh. 16:1; 1 Sam. 13:2). 3. A town in the south of Judah (Josh. 8:17; 12:16). 1: Bethlehem is a town in the Free State Province of South Africa that is situated in a fertile valley of the Maluti Mountains on the N5 highway. It is a wheat growing area and hence the name Bethlehem (from "Beit Lechem", Hebrew for "house of bread"). 2: a small town near Jerusalem on the west bank of the Jordan River early home of David and regarded as the place where Jesus was born.
The name of one or two biblical cities . . .
1. A town in Galilee,
on the northeast shore of the Sea
of Galilee , in the "land
of Gennesaret." It was the native place of Peter,
Andrew,
and Philip,
and perhaps also James
and John
and was frequently resorted to by Jesus (Mark
6:45; John 1:44; 12:21). It is supposed to have been at the
modern 'Ain Tabighah, a bay to the north of Gennesaret.
a city which belonged to Manasseh (1 Chr. 7:29), on the west of Jordan. The bodies of Saul and his sons were fastened to its walls. In Solomon's time it gave its name to a district (1 Kings 4:12). The name is found in an abridged form, Bethshan, in 1 Sam. 31:10, 12 and 2 Sam. 21:12. It is on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus, about 5 miles from the Jordan, and 14 from the south end of the Lake of Gennesaret. After the Captivity it was called Scythopolis, i.e., "the city of the Scythians," who about B.C. 640 came down from the steppes of Southern Russia and settled in different places in Syria. It is now called Beisan.
The "Song of the Lord" a holy text revered by followers of Hinduism and Iskcon. One of the greatest of the Hindu scriptures, constituting part of the Mahabharata. It is written in the form of a dialogue between the warrior Prince Arjuna and the charioteer Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. It was probably composed in the 1st or 2nd century AD, later than much of the epic. Concerned over the suffering the impending battle will cause, Arjuna hesitates, but Krishna explains that the higher way is the dispassionate discharge of duty without concern for personal triumph. The Bhagavadgita considers the nature of God and ultimate reality and offers three disciplines for transcending the limitations of this world: jnana (knowledge or wisdom), karma (dispassionate action), and bhakti (love of God). It has inspired numerous commentaries over the centuries, including those by Ramanuja and Mohandas K. Gandhi.
See bhakti
The career of the nun is closely modelled on that of the monk. However, before being accepted for ordination, girls aged under 20 and married women under the age of 12 are subjected to a probationary period which lasts for two years. During that time the female probationer (siksamana) must observe six rules which correspond to the first six precepts. At the time of her ordination the future nun supplied with the necessary requisites (a begging-bowl and the fivefold robe) presents herself, with her preceptress (upadhayika) and instructress (acarini), first before the assembly of nuns and then before that of monks, and receives ordination from this twofold assembly. Eight strict canonical provisions place the nun in complete dependence on the monks. These include that a nun cannot go into retreat where there is no monk; every fortnight she must go to the community of monks and receive instruction, but she herself can neither instruct a monk nor admonish him; the ceremonies of ordination, of the end of the rainy season retreat, and confession (papa-desana) must be repeated before the community of monks. The collection of the detailed regulations for the conduct of the fully ordained nun and monk is called the Pratimoksa. The discipline to which the nun is subjected is often thought to be stricter than that of the monks. Her regulations consist in principle of 500 articles, double those of the monks, but in practice their number vary between 290 and 355 depending upon the school. Moreover, many of the additional rules concern such items as female garments. More probably, a separate set of female rules is later and therefore incorporates material already given in the exegesis of the rules for monks. In Buddhism, the second set, thirty of the seventy five sekhiya or rules of training (Sekhiyavatta). See also the Patimokkha They are as follows:
The Christian Bible includes the same books as the Tanakh (referred to in this context as the Old Testament), but usually in a different order, together with twenty-seven specifically Christian books collectively known as the New Testament. Those were originally written in Greek. Among some traditions, the Bible includes books that were not accepted in other traditions, often referred to as apocryphal. Eastern Orthodox Churches use all of the books that were incorporated into the Septuagint, to which they add the earliest Greek translation of the Deuterocanonicals; Roman Catholics include seven of these books in their canon; and many Protestant Bibles follow the modern Jewish canon, excluding the additional books. Some editions of the Christian Bible have a separate biblical apocrypha section for books not considered canonical. The Bible comprises 24 books for Jews, 66 for Protestants, 73 for Catholics, and 78 for most Orthodox Christians. These books vary in length from a single page of modern type to dozens of pages. All but the shortest are divided into chapters, generally a page or two in length. Each is further divided into verses of a few short lines or sentences. Pasuk (plural pesukim) is the Hebrew term for verse. The Jewish divisions of the Hebrew text differ at various points from those used by Christians. For instance, in Jewish tradition, the ascriptions to many Psalms are regarded as independent verses, making 116 more verses, whereas the established Christian practice is to count and number each Psalm ascription together with the first verse following it. Some chapter divisions also occur in different places, e.g. 1 Chronicles 5:27-41 in Hebrew Bibles is numbered as 1 Chron 6:1-15 in Christian translations. Books of the Bible Books of the Bible are listed differently in the canons of Jews, and Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Slavonic Orthodox, Georgian, Armenian Apostolic, Syriac and Ethiopian Churches, although there is substantial overlap. For a detailed discussion of the differences, see "Biblical canon."
The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, or BHS, is an edition of the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible as preserved in the Leningrad Codex, and supplemented by masoretic and text-critical notes. It is published by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (German Bible Society) in Stuttgart. BHS is widely regarded (by Christians and Jews alike) as an accurate edition of the Hebrew scriptures, and a useful text-critical tool. It is the most widely used edition among biblical scholars. For masoretic details, however, Israeli and Jewish scholars have shown a marked preference for alternative editions based upon the Aleppo Codex.
These lists, or canons, have been developed through debate and agreement by the religious authorities of those faiths. Believers consider these canonical books to be inspired by God or to express the authoritative history of the relationship between God and his people. Books excluded from a particular canon are considered non-canonical — however, many disputed books considered non-canonical or even apocryphal by some are considered biblical apocrypha or Deuterocanonical or fully canonical, by others. There are differences between the Jewish and Christian canons, and between the canons of different Christian denominations. The differing criteria and processes of canonization dictate what the communities regard as the inspired books. The canons listed below are usually considered closed (i.e., books cannot be added or removed). The closure of the canon reflects a belief that public revelation has ended and thus the inspired texts may be gathered into a complete and authoritative canon. By contrast, an open canon permits the addition of additional books through the process of continuous revelation. In Christian traditions, continuing revelation is most commonly associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and with some denominations of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity.
It is not spoken in its pure form today, although it is often studied by religious Jews, Christian theologians, linguists, and Israeli archaeologists to help them gain a deeper understanding of the Hebrew Bible and Semitic philology. Classical Hebrew is also generally taught in public schools in Israel. Biblical Hebrew and modern Hebrew differ with respect to grammar, vocabulary, and phonology. Although Modern and Biblical Hebrew's grammatical laws often differ, Biblical Hebrew is sometimes used in Modern Hebrew literature, much as archaic and biblical constructions are used in Modern English literature. Biblical Plagues See The Plagues of Egypt
Secular: A discussion of books.
Binah, in the Kabbalah of Judaism, is the second intellectual Sephirah on the tree of life. It sits on the level below Keter (in the formulations that include that Sephirah), across from Chokmah and directly above Gevurah. It is usually given four paths: to Keter, Chockmah, Gevurah, and Tiphereth (some Kabbalists place a path from Binah to Chesed as well.) In an anthropomorphic visualization, it may be alternatively related to the "left eye", "left hemisphere" of "the brain" or the "heart." Binah is "processed wisdom," also known as deductive reasoning. It is davar mitoch davar -- understanding one idea from another idea. While Chockmah is intellect that does not emanate from the rational process; it is either inspired or taught. Binah is the rational process that is innate in the person which works to develop an idea fully. Binah is associated with the feminine. This feminine association is not just used amongst the modern movements. “For you shall call Understanding a Mother.” This point was reflected in the Jewish Kabbalistic work Bahir. Classical Jewish texts state Binah yeterah natun l'nashim ("an extra measure of Binah was given to women"). In its fully articulated form, binah possesses two partzufim: the higher of these is referred to as Imma Ila'ah ("the higher mother"), whereas the lower is referred to as Tevunah ("comprehension"). These two partzufim are referred to jointly as Imma ("the mother").
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. The office of bishop is one of the three ministerial offices within Christianity, the other two being those of priest (presbyter) and deacon. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the Anglican churches, bishops claim Apostolic Succession, a direct historical lineage dating back to the original Twelve Apostles. Within these churches, bishops can ordain clergy including other bishops. Some Protestant churches including the Lutheran and Methodist churches have bishops serving similar functions as well, though not always understood to be within Apostolic Succession in the same sense. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints also has bishops, who serve as spiritual leaders of local congregations (wards). Bishops are of a higher rank than priests.
The office of bishop was already
quite distinct from that of priest in the writings of Ignatius of
Antioch (died c. 107), and by the middle of the second century all
the chief centres of Christianity were headed by bishops, a form of
organization that remained universal until the Protestant Reformation.
Black magic or dark magic is a form of sorcery or magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers. It may be used for dark purposes or malevolent acts that deliberately cause harm in some way. It is alternatively spelt with a 'k' (magick). This term is also known as the dark arts of magic and dark side magic. In fiction it refers to evil magic. In modern times, people who practice magic use the term to describe power utilised for means of gaining power and wealth or taking revenge. Black magic would be invoked to kill, to steal, to injure, to cause misfortune or destruction, or for personal gain without regard to harmful consequences to others. As a term, "black magic" is normally used to describe a form of ritual that some group or person does not approve of. Not everything that is called black magic truly has malevolent intentions behind it, and some also consider it to have beneficial and benevolent uses, such as killing off diseases or pests (or rather, the effect itself is malevolent by causing death to insects, but as an indirect consequence of black magic, good sometimes results, in the form of less pests around, etc).
Words of praise to God, recited during prayer, before the performance of religious duties, and over food and drink.
The poem presents an opinion of the merits and attributes of each of the Tribes of Israel, and so can be compared with the Blessing of Moses, which has the same theme. However, there is very little in common between the poems, except for describing one of the tribes as a judge, and another as a lion's whelp, though in the Blessing of Jacob it is Dan that is the judge and Judah the whelp, whereas in the other poem it is Gad that is the judge and Dan the whelp. Also, unlike the Blessing of Moses, that of Jacob is not afraid to castigate some of the tribes, in particular, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. The poem appears to aim to describe why each of the tribes suffered the fate they did, and thus explains the small territory of Reuben, the firstborn, compared to Judah, as being due to Reuben's incest (abruptly mentioned at Genesis 49:3-4). Also, as Simeon's territory was completely within that of Judah, and Levi only had a few scattered cities, these fates were described as being due to their wickedness. Most of the other tribes have brief descriptions suiting their main characteristic, whether it be seafaring or beautiful princesses.
However, Judah and the Joseph
tribes both receive extensive blessings, suited to their
pre-eminence, Judah's as the major component of the Kingdom of Judah,
and the Joseph tribes, in particular Ephraim, as the pre-eminent
group in the Kingdom of Israel. In particular, Joseph is described as
mighty, and thus as conquering, but Judah's authority is described as
given directly by God,
and consequently it suits the southern (i.e. Judah) bias of the Jahwist. The poem presents an opinion of the merits and attributes of each of the Tribes of Israel, and so can be compared with the Blessing of Jacob, which has the same theme. However, there is very little in common between the poems, except for describing one of the tribes as a judge, and another as a 'lion's whelp', though in the Blessing of Moses it is Gad that is the judge and Dan the whelp, whereas in the other poem it is Dan that is the judge and Judah the whelp. Also, unlike the Blessing of Jacob, that of Moses is positive towards all the mentioned tribes. The poem notably does not describe Simeon, which may provide a date for the composition of the poem, as Simeon are believed to have gradually lost their tribal identity, since its traditional territory was wholly within that of Judah. The poem also only mentions each tribe briefly, except for the tribes of Joseph and Levi, which may indicate both that the poem originated within the Levite priesthood, within the territory of the Joseph tribes, or more generally the northern kingdom of Israel where Ephraim, part of the Joseph tribe, was the most prominent.
1. A group of theories that
attempt to explain how Jesus'
torture-death resulted in a mechanism by which people's sins can be
forgiven. Other explanations, sometimes called "bloodless
atonement" theories, account for the forgiveness of sins on the
bases of Jesus'
teachings and life. Many Christian denominations have historically taught that Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, circa 4000 BCE by eating a forbidden fruit in violation of God's command. This created a massive gulf between humanity and God that could only be bridged by the torture death of Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus Christ) on the cross. Unfortunately, the Bible text does not provide a clear and unambiguous explanation on exactly by what mechanism the life -- and particularly the death -- of Yeshua was able to make it possible to reconcile God and humanity through the atonement. Christian theologians from the second century CE until today have developed five main theories, and many sub-variations, to explain how the atonement works. In recent centuries, no one theory has received a consensus. 2. A belief in the early Mormon church introduced by Brigham Young. It has since been abandoned by some Mormon denominations. Some crimes were considered so serious that the perpetrator's salvation required that he be killed and his blood mixed with the earth. The controversial concept that there are certain sins to which the atonement of Jesus does not apply, and that before a Mormon who has committed these sins can achieve the highest degree of salvation, he or she must personally atone for the sin by "hav[ing] their blood spilt upon the ground, that the smoke thereof might ascend to heaven as an offering for their sins".
Boethusians A Jewish sect that opposed the Pharisees; sometimes identifies as a group of Sadducees. A recent review holds that the Hebrew term bytwsyn, bytysyn, traditionally rendered as "Boethusians," in reality were slightly altered forms of byt 'ysin"House of Essenes."
Acts tells the story of the Apostolic Age of the Early Christian Church, with particular emphasis on the ministry of the Twelve Apostles and of Paul of Tarsus. The early chapters, set in Jerusalem, discuss Jesus' Resurrection, his Ascension, the Day of Pentecost, and the start of the Twelve Apostles' ministry. The later chapters discuss Paul's conversion, his ministry, and finally his arrest and imprisonment and trip to Rome. It is almost universally agreed that the author of Acts also wrote the gospel of Luke, see also Luke-Acts. The traditional view is that both books were written c. 60, though most scholars, believing the Gospel to be dependent (at least) on Mark's gospel, view the book(s) as having been written at a later date, sometime between 70 and 100. 'Scholars are about evenly divided on whether [the] attribution to Luke [the companion of Paul] should be accepted as historical.
Amos was the first biblical prophet whose words were recorded in a book, an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah. He was active c 750 BC during the reign of Jeroboam II. He lived in the kingdom of Judah but preached in the northern kingdom of Israel. His major themes of social justice, God's omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. Without dispute, the Book of Amos has been accepted as canonical by Jews, the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and Protestants Most scholars believe that Amos gave his message in the autumn of 750 BC or 749 BC. It is generally understood that his preaching at Bethel lasted only a single day at the least and a few days at the most. Leading up to this time, Assyrian armies battled against Damascus for a number of years, which greatly diminished Syria's threat to Israel. As a result of the fighting amongst its neighbors, Israel had the benefit of increasing its borders almost to those of the time of David and Solomon. It should also be noted that Amos preached about two years before a very large earthquake, and made reference to it twice in his book. Zechariah remembers this earthquake over 200 years later (Zech 14:5). The Book of Amos is set in a time when the people of Israel have reached a low point in their devotion to YHWH - the people have become greedy and have stopped following and adhering to their values. The wealthy elite are becoming rich at the expense of others. Peasant farmers who once practiced subsistence farming are being forced to farm what is best for foreign trade, mostly wine and oil. YHWH speaks to Amos, a farmer and herder, and tells him to go to Samaria, the capital of the Northern kingdom. Through Amos, YHWH tells the people that he is going to judge Israel for its sins, and it will be a foreign nation that will enact his judgment. The people understand judgment as the coming of "the Day of the Lord." "The Day of the Lord" was widely celebrated and highly anticipated by the followers of YHWH. However, Amos came to tell the people that "the Day of the Lord" was coming soon and that it meant divine judgment and justice for their own iniquity.
This book tells about Nebuchadnezzar's dream in which he saw a big statue like a man. This book also contains the story of the three Hebrews who were put into a fiery furnace, but who were not burned to death because God protected them. The story of Daniel in the lions' den is also in this book. God inspired Daniel to write that in these days in which we are now living, knowledge would be increased. The book has two distinct parts: a series of six narratives (chapters one to six) and four apocalyptic visions (chapters seven to twelve). The narratives take the form of court stories which focus on tests of religious fidelity involving Daniel and his friends (chapters one, three and six), and Daniel's interpretation of royal dreams and visions (chapters two, four and five). In the second part of the book, Daniel recounts his reception of dreams, visions and angelic interpretations in the first person. The dating and authorship of Daniel has been a matter of great debate among Jews and Christians. The traditional view holds that the work was written by a prophet named Daniel who lived during the sixth century BC, whereas many liberal biblical scholars maintain that the book was written or redacted in the mid-second century BC and that most of the predictions of the book refer to events that had already occurred. A third viewpoint places the final editorial work in the fourth century BC.
This is the fifth book of the Bible. Its name means "giving the Law the second time." In this book there are three wonderful sermons by Moses. These sermons were preached just a little while before Moses died. In them Moses reminds the children of Israel about the Law which God had given to them, and how important it was for them to obey that Law. The closing chapter of this book tells about the death of Moses. In theological terms the book constitutes a covenant between Yahweh and the "Children of Israel"; this is the culmination of the series of covenants which begins with that between Yahweh and all living things after the Flood (Genesis 9). One of its most significant verses constitutes the shema ("Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one!"), which today serves as the definitive statement of Jewish identity. The majority scholarly opinion is that the bulk of the book appears to have been composed in the late 7th century BC, during the religious reforms carried out under king Josiah, with later additions from the period after the fall of Judah to the Neo-Babylonian empire in 586 BC; a minority view holds that the book is largely a creation of the post-Exilic, Persian period, i.e. the 4th century BC and even later. Its essential concerns mirror the thrust of Josiah's reforms: Yahweh is to be accepted as the sole God of Israel, and worshiped only in one place. Book of Ecclesiastes See Ecclesiastes
This book records the experiences of Esther, a Jewess, who became the wife of Ahasuerus, a king of the Medes and Persians during the time the Israelites were captives in Babylon. One of the king's chief servants, Haman, was jealous of Esther's cousin and foster father, Mordecai, and was a bitter enemy of all the Jewish people. He coaxed the king to issue a permit for all the Jews to be slain. Esther, the queen, used her influence with the king. He changed his mind, and the Jews were saved. Later Haman was put to death as an enemy of the king.
According to tradition, Exodus and the other four books of the Torah were written by Moses in the latter half of the 2nd millennium BC. Modern biblical scholars see it reaching its final textual form around 450 BC. See The Exodus
Ezekiel is the name of one of God's prophets, and he wrote down many wonderful things that God asked him to write.He told the people of Israel that the time would come when they would be driven out of the land which God gave them, and that they would have to find homes in different places all over the earth. God also told Ezekiel to write that the Israelites, after a long, long time, would be brought back into the Promised Land. The Book of Ezekiel was written for the captives of the tribe of Judah living in exile in Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC. Up until that exile, their custom had been to worship their God in the Temple in Jerusalem. Exile raised important theological questions. How, the Judeans asked, could they worship their God when they were now in a distant land? Was their God still available to them? Ezekiel speaks to this problem. He first explains that the Judean exile is a punishment for disobedience and he then offers hope to the exiles, suggesting that the exile will be reversed once they return to God. Unlike their ancestors, who were enslaved and socially marginalized while in exile in Egypt, the Jews of Ezekiel's time were able to become part of the society they found themselves in. The Exiles were told by Jeremiah not to worship the foreign gods, but Jeremiah did tell them that they could become part of the Babylonian culture. They did this well, often being called upon by the Babylonians to complete projects using their skills as artisans. Unlike other enemies, the Babylonians allowed the Jewish people to settle in small groups. While keeping their religious and national identities, many Jewish people did start to settle into their new environment. From building homes to opening businesses, the Jews seemed to settle into their exile land for the long haul. This growing comfort in Babylon helps to explain why so many Jewish people decided not to return to their land. Many people would have been born in exile and would know nothing of their old land, so when the opportunity came for them to reclaim the land that was taken from them, many decided not to leave the Babylonian land they knew. This large group of people who decided to stay are known to be the oldest of the Jewish diaspora communities along with the Jews of Persia.
The book is divided into two principal parts:
The book thus contains memorabilia connected with the Jews, from the decree of Cyrus to the reformation by Ezra (456 B.C.), extending over a period of about eighty years. This book is named after a priest who served the Israelites during the time they were captives in Babylon, and tells more of the history of the Israelites following the capture of their last king, Zedekiah. After the Israelites had been in Babylon for seventy years they were allowed to go back to the land of Palestine, which was their home, and Ezra was a very important leader among them at that time. Ezra was asked to build the house of God, the temple at Jerusalem.
Genesis is the first book of the Bible of Judaism and of Christianity, and the first of five books of the Pentateuch or Torah. It recounts Judeo-Christian beliefs regarding the world from Creation to the descent of the children of Israel into Egypt, and contains some of the best-known stories of the Old Testament, including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, and the biblical patriarchs. For Jews the theological importance of Genesis centers on the Covenants linking God to his Chosen People and the people to the Promised Land. Christianity has reinterpreted Genesis as the prefiguration of Christian beliefs, notably the Christian view of Christ as the new Adam and the New Testament as the culmination of the covenants. Structurally, Genesis consists of what biblical scholars refer to as primeval history (Genesis 1-11) and cycles of patriarchal stories. The narrative of Joseph stands apart from these. It appears to have reached its final form in the 5th century BC, with a previous history of composition reaching back possibly to the 10th century.
Chapters 1-2 are a dialog between Yahweh and the prophet. The central message, that "the just shall live by his faith" (2:4), plays an important rule in Christian thought. It is used in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38 as the starting point of the concept of faith. Chapter 3 may be an independent addition, now recognized as a liturgical piece, but was possibly written by the same author as chapters 1 and 2.
It consists of two simple, comprehensive chapters. The object of the prophet is generally urging the people to proceed with the rebuilding of the second Jerusalem temple in 521 BCE after the return of the deportees. Haggai attributes a recent drought to the peoples' refusal to rebuild the temple, which he sees as key to Jerusalem’s glory. The book ends with the prediction of the downfall of kingdoms, with one Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, as the Lord’s chosen leader. The language here is not as finely wrought as in some other books of the minor prophets, yet the intent seems straightforward.
The fourth prophecy (20-23), delivered on the same day as the third. These discourses are referred to in Ezra 5:1; 6:14;(Compare Haggai 2:7, 8, 22.) Haggai reports that three weeks after his first prophecy, the rebuilding of the Temple began on September 7, 521 BCE. "They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.(Haggai 1:14-15) and the Book of Ezra indicates that it was finished on February 25, 516 BCE "The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius." (Ezra 6:15)
This book of the Bible is named after the Prophet Hosea. This prophet wrote that the time is coming when God will destroy death. When this promise comes true, no one will get sick and die. We know this is right because it is in the Bible.
This Book contains the wonderful things God inspired him to write. The Prophet Isaiah warned the people of Israel that God would punish them for their wrongdoing. Isaiah also recorded many wonderful promises of God which describe the good things lie plans to do for the people of the whole world. Isaiah 11:6, 7 reads like this: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." In Genesis, Adam named all the animals, and that they obeyed him because he was made king over them? Well, Isaiah explains that the time will come when all the animals will be tame again, and that thev will obey man just as they did in the Garden of Eden when Adam gave names to all of them. Isaiah 35:5, 6 states another blessed promise of God. It reads: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall writers break out, and streams in the desert." God will make this promise come true when King Jesus rules the world.
This book bears the name of one of God's prophets. God asked Jeremiah to write a great deal about the sins of the people of Israel, and also to warn them that they would be punished for their sins. "God Gives Laws to His People." Moses was the leader of the Israelites at the time of this story. God gave them his laws, but they didn't obey them very well. Because they did not do what God wanted them to do, they finally did not have a king of their own to rule over them. Besides, for hundreds of years they were kept out of the land which God gave to them. But God revealed to the Prophet Jeremiah that the time is comming when he will give them a new Law and that then he will forgive their sins. That new Law which God will give the Israelites is called a "new covenant." Jeremiah 31:31-34 tells all about it.
There was an extremely pious man named Job. He was very prosperous and had seven sons, and three daughters. Constantly fearing that his sons may have sinned and "cursed God in their hearts" he habitually offered burnt offerings as a pardon for their sins. The angels of Heaven (the Hebrew word translated as "Angels" means "the Sons of God") and Satan (literally, the Hebrew word means "the accuser" or "the adversary") present themselves to God. God asks Satan his opinion on Job, apparently a truly pious man. Satan answers that Job is only pious because he is prosperous. In response to Satan's assertion, God gives Satan permission to destroy Job's possessions and family. Satan, God's enemy, said that Job did what God asked him to do because he was always rewarded for it. Satan also claimed that if God allowed Job to suffer, Job would no longer do what God asked him to do. The story explains that God allowed Satan to bring trouble upon Job All of Job's possessions are destroyed and all of his offspring are killed. Job does not curse God after this but instead shaves his head, tears his clothes and says "Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return : the Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" As Job endures these calamities without reproaching Divine Providence, Satan solicits permission to afflict his person as well, and God says, "Behold he is in your hand, but don’t touch his life." Satan, therefore, smites him with dreadful boils, and Job, seated in ashes, scrapes his skin with broken pottery. Then Job's wife turned against him. His wife prompts him to "curse God, and die" but Job answers, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all of this, Job doesn't sin by cursing God. In the meantime, only three of Job's friends come to visit him in his misfortune — Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. A fourth, Elihu the Buzite, first begins talking in chapter 32 and bears a distinguished part in the dialogue; his arrival is not noted. The friends spend 7 days sitting on the ground with Job, without saying anything to him because they see that he is suffering and in much pain. Job at last breaks his silence and "curses the day he was born". But the story says that Job still trusted God, and did what God wanted him to do. Then Job's health returned. Other children were given to him. His wife loved him again, and the Lord gave him all the cattle he needed so that he was richer than ever before.
Joel was probably a resident of Judah, as his commission was to that people. He made frequent visits to Jerusalem (1:14; 2:1, 15, 32; 3:1, 12, 17, 20, 21). The name Joel was common in Israel and is usually interpreted as meaning Yahweh is God.
The character of the story is based on an obscure figure (Jonah) who lived during the reign of Jeroboam II (786-746 BCE). In the Hebrew Bible, Jonah son of Amittai is only elsewhere mentioned at II Kings 14:25. The book itself was probably written in the post-exilic period (after 530 BCE) and based on oral traditions that had been passed down from the eighth century BCE. Jonah is considered a Minor Prophet because the book was originally written with the other, smaller prophetic books on a single scroll (also known as the Book of the Twelve). As a part of the Hebrew Bible, the book is found in both the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Bible. The story has an interesting interpretive history (see below) and has become a well-known story through popular children’s stories. In Judaism it is the Haftarah for the afternoon of Yom Kippur due to its story of God's willingness to forgive those who repent.
The book of Joshua contains a history of the Israelites from the death of Moses to that of Joshua. After Moses' death, Joshua, by virtue of his previous appointment as Moses' successor, receives from God the command to cross the Jordan River. In execution of this order Joshua issues the requisite instructions to the stewards of the people for the crossing of the Jordan River; and he reminds the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half of Manasseh of their pledge given to Moses to help their brethren. The book essentially consists of three parts: 1. The history of the conquest of the land (1-12). 2. The allotment of the land to the different tribes, with the appointment of cities of refuge, the provision for the Levites (13-22), and the dismissal of the eastern tribes to their homes. This section has been compared to the Domesday Book of the Norman Conquest. 3. The farewell addresses of Joshua, with an account of his death (23, 24)
The Book of Jubilees claims to present "the history of the division of the days of the Law, of the events of the years, the year-weeks, and the jubilees of the world" as secretly revealed to Moses (in addition to the Torah or "Law") by angels while Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights. The chronology given in Jubilees is based on multiples of seven; the jubilees are periods of 49 years, seven 'year-weeks', into which all of time has been divided. According to the author of Jubilees, all proper customs that mankind should follow are determined by God's decree.
Book of Judges is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. It appears in the Tanakh and in the Christian Old Testament. Its title refers to its contents; it contains the history of biblical judges (not to be confused with modern judges), who helped rule and guide the ancient Israelites, and of their times. This book is a history of the children of Israel during a period of four hundred and fifty years, when they were ruled by what the Bible calls judges. That was before the Israelites had a king. As Judges stands today, the last judge it mentions is Samson, and although there are two further stories, the traditional view is that Samson's exploits probably synchronise with the period immediately preceding Eli, who was both high priest and judge. Both academic views and traditional thought hence view the narrative of the judges as ending at Samson, picking up again at 1 Samuel 1:1 to consider Eli, and continuing through to 1 Samuel 7:2. As for the stories at the end of the Book, which are set in the same time period as the judges but discuss people other than the judges, there is much affinity between these and the Book of Ruth, and many people believe Ruth originally belonged amongst them. There were thirteen biblical Judges.
It is called in the Hebrew canon 'Eikhah, meaning "How", being the formula for the commencement of a song of wailing. It is the first word of the book (2 Sam. 1:19-27). The Septuagint adopted the name rendered "Lamentations" (Greek threnoi = Hebrew qinoth) now in common use, to denote the character of the book, in which the prophet mourns over the desolations brought on Jerusalem and the Holy Land by the Chaldeans. In the Hebrew Bible it is placed among the Ketuvim, the Writings. The word "Lamentations" means "mourning," . This book was also written by the Prophet Jeremiah who also wrote The Book of Jeremiah, and he tells of all the trouble that had come upon the people of Israel because they had not done what God wanted them to do. But the prophet trusted God and knew that after awhile God would bless the Israelites and also all other people in the world. According to tradition, authorship is assigned to the Prophet Jeremiah, who was a court official during the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, during which the First Temple was destroyed and King Jehoiachin was taken prisoner (cf. Is 38 ff and Is 52). In the Septuagint and the Vulgate the Lamentations are placed directly after the Prophet. It is said that Jeremiah retired to a cavern outside the Damascus gate, where he wrote this book. That cavern is still pointed out by tour guides.
"In the face of a rocky
hill, on the western side of the city, the local belief has placed
'the grotto of Jeremiah.' There, in that fixed attitude of grief
which Michelangelo has immortalized, the prophet may well be supposed
to have mourned the fall of his country" However, the strict acrostic style of four of the five poems is not found at all in the Book of Jeremiah itself and Jeremiah's name is not found anywhere in the book itself (nor any other name, for that matter), so authorship of Lamentations is disputed. The Book of Chronicles says that Jeremiah did write a lament on the death of King Josiah. The work is probably based on the older Mesopotamian genre of the "city lament", of which the Lament for Ur is among the oldest and best-known. According to F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp, "the widely observed unity of form and point of view . . . and general resemblance in linguistic detail throughout the sequence are broadly suggestive of the work of a single author," though other scholars see Lamentations as the work of multiple authors {Read The Book of Lamentations} Book of Leviticus See Leviticus
(Hebrew: transliterated Sefer HaChaim) The Book of Life is the allegorical book in which God records the names and lives of the righteous. According to the Talmud it is open on Rosh Hashanah; its analog for the wicked, the Book of the Dead, is open on this date as well. For this reason extra mention is made for the Book of Life during Amidah recitations during the Days of Awe, the ten days between Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, and Yom Kippur, the day of atonement (the two High Holidays). In Christianity, a list, maintained by God, of the names of saved individuals.
Malachi is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh, written by the prophet Malachi. Possibly this is not the name of the author, since Malachi means 'my messenger' or 'my angel' in Hebrew.
The book contains three major divisions. Part I, corresponding to Micah 1:2-3:12, predicts the destruction of both Samaria and Jerusalem for their respective sins. The people of Samaria are accused of worshiping idols, which it is asserted, were bought with the income earned by prostitutes (1:7). Micah was the first prophet to predict the downfall of Jerusalem. According to him, the city was doomed because its beautification was financed by dishonest business practices, whereby numerous persons were impoverished (chaps. 2-3). He also attacked the prophets of his day whom he accused of accepting money for their oracles (3:5-2). Part II, corresponding to chapters 4-5, anticipates the destruction of the Judean state and promises its restoration more glorious than before. Micah 4:1-3 – the prophecy of an era of universal peace over which the Lord will preside from Jerusalem – appears to be take over almost verbatim from Isaiah 2:2-4. Contradicting Micah 4:1-2 which foresees all peoples acknowledging the Lord as their sovereign, 4:5 suggests a doctrine of religious tolerance, even extending to polytheists. Micah 5:1-5 announces that Israel shall be ruled by a descendant of David (cf Is chap. 11; Hos 3:5; Amos 9:11) and delivered by him from the Assyrians. Micah 5:9-15 declares that when the glory of Zion and Jacob is restored the Lord will force the Gentiles to abandon idolatry. In Part III, Micah chapters 6-7, dishonesty in the marketplace and corruption in government provide grounds for a prophetic rebuke of Samaria which is threatened with destruction (chap. 6). This part features the prophet's declaration (6:8) that the Lord requires of man only "to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God". Samaria's response to Micah's charges and threats consists of three parts: (a) an admission of guilt (7:1-6); (b) adversaries are forewarned that Samaria will rely on the Lord for forgiveness and deliverance (7:7-13); and (c) a prayer for forgiveness and deliverance (7:14-20). The final portion of the latter prayer (7:18-20) is the main text employed in the Jewish New Year rite of Tashlikh (meaning "you will cast out" Mic 7:19), which is performed near a body of water, with an appeal to God to hurl Israel's sins "into the depths of the sea" (7:19). In that context 7:18-20 is regarded as a paraphrase of the "thirteen attributes of God" contained in Exodus 34:6-7. Micah was so filled with the word of God that he dedicated his life to delivering his message, "but truly, I am full of power, by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin" (Mic 3:8).
The Book of Mormon is the earliest of the defining publications of the Latter Day Saint movement. The churches of the movement typically regard the Book of Mormon not only as scripture, but as a historical record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas, written by American prophets from perhaps as early as 2500 B.C. to about 400 A.D. The Book of Mormon is divided into smaller books, titled after the individuals named as primary authors and, in most versions, divided into chapters and verses. It is written in the same Early Modern English linguistic style as the King James Version of the Bible. The Book of Mormon has a number of original and distinctive doctrinal discussions on subjects such as the fall of Adam and Eve, the nature of the Atonement, eschatology, redemption from physical and spiritual death, and the organization of the latter-day church. It also includes social and political commentary.
The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, historically regarded as a continuation of the Book of Ezra, and is sometimes called the second book of Ezra. Traditionally, the author of this book is believed to be Nehemiah himself, although some dispute this. There are portions of the book written in the first person (ch. 1-7; 12:27-47, and 13). But there are also portions of it in which Nehemiah is spoken of in the third person (ch. 8; 9; 10). Some, following the traditional attribution to Nehemiah, suppose that these portions may have been written by Ezra (of this, however, there is no distinct evidence), and had their place assigned them in the book probably by Nehemiah, as the responsible author of the whole book, with the exception of ch. 12:11, 22, 23. Other authors think that the historical order of events in both Ezra and Nehemiah has become jumbled, from which they conclude that at least the final arrangement and revision of their text must have occurred at a later period. If Nehemiah was the author, the date at which the book was written was probably about 431 - 430 BC, when Nehemiah had returned the second time to Jerusalem after his visit to Persia. The book consists of four parts:
This book closes the history of the Old Testament, if The Book of Esther is considered unhistorical and the deuterocanonical books are regarded as Apocrypha. Malachi the prophet was possibly contemporary with Nehemiah (although scholars debate whether Malachi actually existed - many think that the Book of Malachi was accidentally detached from the preceding book, and named from its first words ...messenger...). A work ascribed to Nehemiah, but bearing in some canons the title Esdras II. or Esdras III., having been attributed to Ezra on the ground that Nehemiah's self-assertion deserved some punishment (Sanh. 93b), or because, having ordinarily been written on the same scroll with the Book of Ezra, it came to be regarded as an appendix to it. The book consists ostensibly (i. 1) of the memoirs of Nehemiah, compiled, or at any rate completed, toward the close of his life, since he alludes to a second visit to Jerusalem "at the end of days" (xiii. 6, A. V. margin), which must mean a long time after the first. In xiii. 28 he speaks of a grandson (comp. xii. 10, 11) of the high priest Eliashib as being of mature years; whence it appears that the latest event mentioned in the book, the high-priesthood of Jaddua, contemporary of Alexander the Great (xii. 11, 22), may have fallen within Nehemiah's time. The redaction of his memoirs occurred probably later than 360 B.C., but how much later can not easily be determined. The first person is employed in ch. i.-vii. 5, xii. 31-42, xiii. 6 et seq. Sometimes, however, Nehemiah prefers to speak in the name of the community (ii. 19, iii. 33-38, x.), and in some places he himself is spoken of in the third person, either with the title "tirshatha" (viii. 9, x. 2) or "peh.ah" (xii. 26, claimed by him in v. 14; A. V. "governor"), or without title (xii. 47). The style of these last passages implies somewhat that Nehemiah is not the writer, especially that of the third and fourth: "in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra"; "in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah." The portions of the book in which the first person is used are marked by repeated prayers for recognition of the author's services, and imprecations on his enemies (iii. 36, 67; v. 19; vi. 13; xiii. 14, 22, 29, 31), which may be taken as characteristic of an individual's style; and indeed the identity of the traits of character which are manifested by the writer of the opening and closing chapters can not escape notice. Moreover, the author's enemies, Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite, figure in both parts.
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. In the Greek Septuagint it is called Arithmoi, or Numbers, because it contains a record of the numbering of the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai and later on the plain of Moab. The fourth book of the Bible is called Numbers because it tells of the numbering, or counting, of the people of Israel. This is a history book. It acquaints us with the experiences of the children of Israel from the time they left Egypt until they were ready to cross over the River Jordan into the Promised Land. This was a period of forty years. This book may be divided into three parts: 1.The numbering of the people at Sinai, and preparations for resuming their march (1-10:10). The sixth chapter gives an account of the vow of a Nazirite. 2.An account of the journey from Sinai to Moab, the sending out of the spies and the report they brought back, and the murmurings (eight times) of the people at the hardships by the way (10:11-21:20). 3.The transactions in the plain of Moab before crossing the Jordan River (21:21-36). The period comprehended in the history extends from the second month of the second year after the Exodus to the beginning of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, in all about thirty-eight years and ten months; a dreary period of wanderings. They were fewer in number at the end of their wanderings than when they left the land of Egypt. According to tradition, Moses authored all five books of the Torah. According to the documentary hypothesis, Numbers, with its dry style and emphasis on censuses, derives from the priestly source, c. 550-400 BC, and was combined with the other three sources to create the Torah c. 400
The first nine verses in the book foretell total destruction in the land of Edom at the hand of the Lord. Obadiah writes that this destruction will be so complete that it will be even worse than a thief who comes at night, for not even a thief would destroy everything. The Lord will allow all allies of Edom to turn away and help chase Edom out of its land. What is the reason for such a harsh punishment? Verses ten through fourteen explain that when Israel (the Lord’s chosen people) was attacked, Edom refused to help them, thus acting like an enemy. What is even worse is that Edom and Israel share a common blood line through their founders who were brothers, Jacob and Esau. Because of this gross neglect of a relative, Edom will be covered with shame and destroyed forever. The final verses, fifteen through twenty-one, depict the restoration of Israel and the wiping out of the Edomites. Verse eighteen says that there will be no survivors from the house of Esau once the destruction is complete. Israel will become a holy place and its people will return from exile and inhabit the land once inhabited by the Edomites. The final verse of the prophecy places the Lord as King who will rule over all the mountains of Edom.
This is a book of wise sayings nearly all of which were written by King Solomon. If you have read the story of King Solomon, you will have learned that he was a very wise man, because God gave him wisdom. Some of Solomon's wisdom is shown in the Book of Proverbs. In chapter 3, verses 5 and 6, the king very wisely wrote, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." The authorship of Proverbs has long been a matter of dispute. Solomon’s name appears in Proverbs 1:1, "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, King of Israel." There are also references within Proverbs to Agur (30:1) and Lemuel (31:1) as authors distinct from Solomon. These names are missing in the Greek translation of the Septuagint. Medieval scholars used in the Vulgate the Hebrew rendering of these two verses, and in their eyes the words "Agur" and "Lemuel" were but symbolical names of Solomon. Solomon is often mentioned as someone who has extensive wisdom in the Bible as well as in extra-biblical literature. However at the time of composition it was often the custom to place the name of the King or someone of prominence in writings in order to honor them, or to give those writings more prestige. In 1 Kings 4:29-34, 3000 proverbs and over 1000 songs are said to have come from Solomon and it is also said that people came from all over to hear the wisdom of Solomon. The general assumption is that Solomon was a part of the authorship to some extent, but that the book was not solely his work. Not only are the names "Agur" and "Lemuel" linked to other sections of the book, there are elements of disunity within the book that suggest more than one author. Some of the authorship is attributed to "Men of Hezekiah" (25:1), though it is stated that they simply transcribed the proverbs rather than writing them of their own accord. In terms of the text itself there are at least eight specific instances where authorship is mentioned: Proverbs Authors/Collectors 1:1 Solomon 10:1 Solomon 25:1 Solomon (as copied by Hezekiah’s men) 30:1 Agur son of Jakeh 31:1 Lemuel (or his mother) 31:10-31 author unstated As for the eighth section there are scholars who consider the poem at the end of the book vs. 10-31 as written by an unknown author. The attributions of authorship are as follows in accordance with the scriptures above; Solomon, Solomon, Wise Men, Wise Men, Solomon (as copied by Hezekiah’s men), Agur son of Jakeh, Lemuel (or his mother), and the unknown author. With this possibility it is speculated that the sections written by the Wise Men were studied by Solomon and added in and that they influenced his writing. With this possibility it is likely that there would be similarities in the section written by Solomon as well as the sections by the Wise Men. Studies of word usage have indicated that the highest percentage of commonalities are between the three Solomon sections. The next most common are the Wise Men sections, showing that they could have influenced Solomon’s writing, and the least commonalities were with the Agur, Lemuel, and the unknown author. A majority of critical scholars, including James L. Crenshaw, Roland E. Murphy and L.G. Perdue, hold to the belief that much of Proverbs was brought together from a time well after Solomon. However, many well respected theologians continue to attribute most of the book to Solomon, including J. I. Packer, John Piper, John F. MacArthur, and Albert Mohler.
Collection of biblical hymns, i.e. sacred songs or poems used in worship and non-canonical passages. The Book of Psalms contains the beautiful writings of King David and other servants of God. Psalms mean "hymns." David was a musician who played the harp, and he was also a poet. In the poetic Psalms which David wrote, he expresses his love for God, and thanks God for all the wonderful things he had done for him. Chapter 23 of the Book of Psalms is one of the most beautiful of all the Psalms. If you have read the story of David, you know that at one time he was a shepherd boy who cared for his father's sheep. When writing the 23rd Psalm, he was thinking of God as his shepherd, and of how tenderly God cared for him. As a prophet, God caused him to write of many wonderful things that would be done for the people when Jesus becomes King. In the 46th Psalm, David records God's promise that the time is coming when there will be no more wars. In the 72nd Psalm and the 8th verse, David writes about King Jesus, and says, "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." In the 12 verse of this Psalm, David says that Jesus "shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper."
The Apocalypse, the closing book and the only prophetical book of the New Testament canon. The book is an apocalypse, comprising visions of victory over evil and persecution and of the triumph of God and the martyrs. Its structure is deliberate, depending heavily on patterns of sevens. It consists of letters counseling and warning seven churches in Asia Minor; the opening of the seven seals on the scroll in the hand of God, four revealing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; the blowing of seven trumpets by angels before God's throne; the seven visions, including a seven-headed dragon (Satan) and the rising from the sea of the Beast, related to the Emperor Nero (persecutor of Christians in Rome after the great fire of A.D. 64), whose name is numerically equivalent to 666; the seven plagues; the seven-headed harlot named Babylon, representing the Roman Empire; and visions of heaven, the defeat of Satan, the judgment, the millennial reign of Christ, and the New Jerusalem. Constant allusion occurs to earlier scriptural prophecies, such as Ezekiel, Daniel, and Isaiah. One immediate goal of Revelation was to encourage persecuted Christians; absolute assurance of interpretation stops there. Every period of Christian history has produced variant explanations of the book's mysteries. See apocalypse. It was written c.A.D. 95 on Patmos Island off the coast of Asia Minor by an exile named John, in the wake of local persecution by the Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81–96). Tradition has identified John with the disciple St. John, but many scholars deny such authorship. They also disagree as to whether this book has common authorship with the Gospel or with First, Second, and Third John. Others believe the author of this book was undoubtedly John the apostle, as his name occurs four times in the book itself (1:1, 4, 9; 22:8), and that there is every reason to conclude that the “John” here mentioned was the apostle. In a manuscript of about the twelfth century he is called “John the divine,” but no reason can be assigned for this appellation. The date of the writing of this book has generally been fixed at A.D. 96, in the reign of Domitian. There are some, however, who contend for an earlier date, A.D. 68 or 69, in the reign of Nero. Those who are in favor of the later date appeal to the testimony of the Christian father Irenaeus, who received information relative to this book from those who had seen John face to face. He says that the Apocalypse "was seen no long time ago." As to the relation between this book and the gospel of John, it has been well observed that . . . "the leading ideas of both are the same. The one gives us in a magnificent vision, the other in a great historic drama, the supreme conflict between good and evil and its issue. In both Jesus Christ is the central figure, whose victory through defeat is the issue of the conflict. In both the Jewish dispensation is the preparation for the gospel, and the warfare and triumph of the Christ is described in language saturated with the Old Testament. The difference of date will go a long way toward explaining the difference of style." Plummer's gospel of St. John, Introd. See also:
The Book of Ruth is the story of a very good woman whose home was in the land of Moab, but later she went to the Land of Israel and married an Israelite by the name of Boaz. An Israelitish woman whose name was Naomi, together with her husband, left the Land of Israel and moved to the land of Moab. They thought they would be more prosperous there. They had two sons, and after awhile, these two sons married women of the land of Moab. One of these women was Ruth. Soon after that, Naomi's husband and both her sons died. She was very sad and lonely, and decided to return to the Land of Israel. Ruth went with her. When they arrived in Israel, Ruth went to work in a harvest field belonging to Boaz, a relative of Naomi. After awhile Ruth married Boaz. They had a son, who was the forefather, or ancestor, of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
However, the Book of the Law of the Lord bears little resemblance to the material described in The Book of Mormon as being engraved on the Plates of Laban. Rather, Strang's book comprises a rather elaborate constitution for a Mormon kingdom, in which the Prophet-leader of the Latter Day Saint church equally rules as king over God's kingdom on earth. It also contains various other revelations and teachings unique to Strang. Book of the Twelve See Minor Prophet
Zechariah's ministry took place during the reign of Darius the Great (Zechariah 1:1), and was contemporary with Haggai in a post-exilic world after the fall of Jerusalem in 586/7 BC. Ezekiel and Jeremiah wrote prior to the fall of Jerusalem, while continuing to prophesy in the earlier exile period. Scholars believe Ezekiel, with his blending of ceremony and vision, heavily influenced the visionary works of Zechariah 1-8. Zechariah is specific about dating his writing (520-518 BC). During the Exile many Jews were taken to Babylon, where the prophets told them to make their homes (Jeremiah 29), suggesting they would spend a long period of time there. Eventually freedom did come to many Israelites, when Cyrus the Great overtook the Babylonians in 539 BC. In 538 BC, the famous Edict of Cyrus was released, and the first return took place under Shebazzar. After the death of Cyrus in 530 BC, Darius consolidated power and took office in 522 BC. His system divided the different colonies of the empire into easily manageable districts overseen by governors. Zerubbabel comes into the story, appointed by Darius as governor over the district of Yehud (Judah). Under the reign of Darius, Zechariah also emerged, centering around the rebuilding of the temple. Unlike the Babylonians, the Persian Empire went to great lengths to keep “cordial relations” between vassal and lord. The rebuilding of the temple was encouraged by the leaders of the empire in hopes that it would strengthen the authorities in local contexts. This policy was good politics on the part of the Persians, and the Jews viewed it as a blessing from God.
In both ideas and diction, Zephaniah was heavily influenced by the prophet Isaiah, whose last prophecies preceded him by 80 years. Examples of Isaian influence on Zephaniah include the following: Isaiah 11:14 on Zephaniah 2:4-11; Isaiah 13:19-20 on Zephaniah 2:9; Isaiah 16:6 on Zephaniah 2:8, 10; Isaiah 5:14-17 on zephaniah 3:1-13. Zephaniah 3:1-8 in turn influenced Ezekiel 22:23-31. Unlike his younger contemporaries, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Zephaniah was influenced neither by the diction nor by the characteristic ideas of Deuteronomy. Zephaniah 1:10-11 is a primary source for knowledge of the geography of Jerusalem in the 7th century B.C. The assertion in Zephaniah 1:12 that the Lord will search Jerusalem with candles is reflected both in the Jewish rite of searching for leaven by candlelight on the night before Passover eve and in the depiction of Zephaniah holding a lamp in medieval Christian iconography. Books of Chronicles See Chronicles
These two books give the history of Israel during the time that kings reigned over them, beginning with King David, and ending with Zedekiah, their last king. It was Zedekiah who was captured by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and taken to the city of Babylon as a prisoner. The Bible says that he would not see Babylon, and he didn't, because he was blinded by the soldiers who captured him. These books also tell the experiences of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The books contain accounts of the kings of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. They contain the annals of the Jewish commonwealth from the accession of Solomon until the subjugation of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians (apparently a period of about four hundred and fifty-three years). The Books of Kings synchronize with 1 Chronicles 28 - 2 Chronicles 36:21. While in the Chronicles greater prominence is given to the priestly or Levitical office, in the Kings greater prominence is given to the royal and prophetic offices. Kings appears to have been written considerably earlier than Chronicles and as such is generally considered a more reliable historical source.
{Read The Books of Kings}
For a detailed discussion of the differences, see "Biblical canon." The Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic churches may have minor differences in their lists of accepted books. The list given here for these churches is the most inclusive: if at least one Eastern church accepts the book, it is included here. The books included by the Roman Catholic Church are universally included in the Eastern canons. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has a few additional books in its canon: Jubilees, Book of Enoch, 4 Baruch along with three books of Maccabees that are unique to their canon. The Peshitta excludes 2-3 John, 2 Peter, Jude, and Revelation, but Bibles of the modern Syriac Orthodox Church include later translations of those books along with the Letter of Baruch (sometimes included as part of 2 Baruch). Still today the official lectionary followed by the Syrian Orthodox Church (with headquarters at Kottayam (Kerala), and the Chaldean Syriac Church, also known as the Church of the East (Nestorian), with headquarters at Trichur (Kerala)) presents lessons from only the twenty-two books of Peshitta, the version to which appeal is made for the settlement of doctrinal questions. The Third Epistle to the Corinthians and the Testaments of the Twelve patriarchs were once considered part of the Armenian Orthodox Bible, but are no longer printed with modern editions. Books of the Minor Prophets See Minor Prophet
The two books in the Bible named after Samuel the prophet. These books tell about the birth and life of Samuel. Samuel was the prophet of God who chose Saul to be Israel's first king. He later appointed David king to take the place of Saul. These two books also tell the story of both Saul and David up to the time Saul died and David became the king in Israel. Together with what is now referred to as the Book(s) of Kings, the translators who created the Greek Septuagint divided the text into four books, which they named the Books of the Kingdoms. In the Latin Vulgate version, these then became the Books of the Kings, thus 1 and 2 Samuel were referred to as 1 and 2 Kings, with 3 and 4 Kings being what are called 1 and 2 Kings by the King James Bible and its successors.
{Read The Books of Samuel}
See also Born again Christian
The term is frequently used by Evangelical, Fundamentalist, Pentecostal and some Mainline branches of Protestant Christianity. It is sometimes associated with non-denominational individuals, groups and churches. Outside of Christianity, the term "born again" is occasionally used to describe beliefs characterised by renewal, resurgence or return. The Christian use of the term is derived from Jesus’ words to Jewish leader Nicodemus as recorded in the third chapter of the Gospel of John: There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." – John 3:1-8, NKJV Some Christian denominations hold that a person must be born again in some sense to be a Christian and are explicit about this with their use of the words. The term is most popular in the USA, and is making inroads into other parts of the world. The meaning of born again varies among Christian traditions as how literally or symbolically they take the term and how central it is within their belief system:
For believers in the third group above being 'Born Again' does not require being baptized in water submersion nor being filled with the holy spirit, for them these are extra events that are only for those who are already 'saved' and hence would be going to heaven when they die. "According to your confession of faith, I now baptize you in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit" - Baptist pastor prior to water immersion. "... Forgive me for I am a sinner...I accept you [Jesus] as my lord and savior..." excerpt from a prayer of repentance used by mainstream and pentecostal churches to receive salvation. In theology, the study of salvation is called soteriology. The idea of being "born again" carries with it the soteriological idea that a Christian is a "new creation," given a fresh start by the action of God, freed from a sinful past life and able to begin a "new life" in relationship with Christ via the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul described it as such: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. – 2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV John Wesley and Christians associated with early Methodism referred to the "born again" experience as "the New Birth." They based this on the previously cited biblical passages and including the following: But as many as received Him (that is Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. – John 1:12-13, NKJV
In the Upanishads the ground of all being; that in virtue of which everything else exists; the ultimate reality, which makes possible time, space, and the natural order. As in Parmenides, this is an unchangeable, eternal unity, lying beyond all limitation and hence all description.
See also atman.
While the Upanishads (Sruti prasthana, the starting point of revelation) and the Bhagavad-Gita (Smriti prasthana, the starting point of remembered tradition) are the basic source texts of Vedanta, it is in the Brahma sutras that the teachings of Vedanta are set forth in a systematic and logical order. While the earlier commentators like Adi Shankara treat Badarayana, the author of the Brahma Sutra, as a distinct person, Vaishnavite tradition identifies him with Krishna Dwipayana Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata.
Any member of the highest of the four varnas, or social classes, in Hindu India (Hinduism -- the highest caste in India) The caste system still exists in India, and causes unbelievable levels of sufferning, although it has been banned. Their existence as a priestly caste dates to the late Vedic period, and they have long been considered to be of greater ritual purity than members of other castes and alone to be capable of performing certain religious tasks, including preservation of the collections of Vedic hymns. Because of their high prestige and tradition of education, they dominated Indian scholarship for centuries. As the spiritual and intellectual elite, they advised the politically powerful warrior caste, and after Indian independence they supplied many heads of state. They still retain traditional privileges, though these are no longer legally sanctioned. Ritual purity is maintained through taboos, vegetarianism, and abstention from certain occupations.
Branch Davidians is a religious sect that believes in the imminent return of Jesus Christ. It was founded in 1935 near Waco, Texas, by Victor Houteff as a breakaway group from the Seventh-Day Adventists. Under the leadership of Vernon Howell, a charismatic and apocalyptic preacher who would take the name David Koresh (1959 – 1993), it stockpiled weapons at its compound, where some 130 followers were living by 1993. That year, after a shoot-out in which four federal agents were killed, federal law-enforcement agencies besieged the compound for 51 days. The standoff ended, at the orders of Attorney General Janet Reno, in a conflagration in which some 80 members died, including several children and Koresh himself. Intense controversy about the precise circumstances and the necessity of the final assault led to a Congressional investigation, which in 2000 exonerated federal agents.
The traditional Jewish understanding of the term Nachal Mitzrayim is that it refers to the Nile. This view is made explicit in the Jerusalem Targum, the Targum Jonathan, the Targum Neofiti and the Fragment Targums (where in all cases the term is translated Nilus) as well as in the commentaries of Rashi and Rabbi Yehuda Halevi. Rashi explicitly states in his commentary on Joshua 13:3 "From the Shihor: that is the Nile the same as Nachal Mizraim." Nevertheless the term Nachal Mitzrayim is only used when discussing the border of the Land of Israel whereas Ye'or is typically used for the main body of the Nile. This suggests that there is indeed some difference in meaning. Since the Land of Israel did not extend into the Nile Delta the most probable interpretation of the term is that it refers specifically to the Delta or the Pelusian arm of the Nile. Rabbi Yehuda Halevi explicitly identified it with the Pelusian arm. The name Nile (Greek: Neilos) is thought to be ultimately derived from the Semitic Nahal meaning "river" from which the Hebrew nachal is derived.
Buddhists recognize him as an awakened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end their suffering by understanding the true nature of phenomena, thereby escaping the cycle of suffering and rebirth (sam.sa-ra), that is, achieving Nirvana. Among the methods various schools of Buddhism apply towards this goal are: ethical conduct and altruistic behaviour, devotional practices, ceremonies and the invocation of bodhisattvas, renunciation of worldly matters, meditation, physical exercises, study, and the cultivation of wisdom. Buddhism is broadly recognized as being composed of two major branches:
While Buddhism remains most popular within these regions of Asia, both branches are now found throughout the world. Buddhist schools disagree on what the historical teachings of Gautama Buddha were, so much so that some scholars claim Buddhism does not have a clearly definable common core. Significant disagreement also exists over the importance and canonicity of various scriptures. Various sources put the number of Buddhists in the world between 230 million and 500 million.While formal conversion or membership varies between communities, basic lay adherence is often defined in terms of a traditional formula in which the practitioner takes refuge in The Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the Teaching of the Buddha), and the Sangha (the Community of Buddhists).
The Buddhist clergy is often referred to as the Sangha, and consists of the order of monks (bhikshus) and nuns (bhikshunis) founded by Gautama Buddha during the 5th century BC, as well as lay preists and ngagpas. According to scriptural records, these monks and nuns lived an austere life of meditation, living as wandering beggars for nine months out of the year. In modern times, however, the role of Buddhist clergy can vary greatly across different countries. For instance, some sects in Korea, Japan, Buddhist clergy do not take the ordination of a monk or nun but take alternate ordination which allows them to marry. Likewise, there are some lamas who are ngagpas, who do not receive monastic ordination. On the other hand, countries practicing Theravada Buddhism, such as Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka, tend to take a much more conservative view of monastic life, and continue to observe precepts that forbid monks from touching women or working in certain secular roles. While female monastic (bhikkhuni) lineages existed in most Buddhist countries at one time, the Theravada lineages of Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka died out during the 14th-15th Century AD. The status and future of female Buddhist clergy in these countries continues to be a subject of debate. In countries without a formal female monastic lineage, women may take other religious roles, but they are generally not granted the same rights and privileges as recognized male monastics. The diversity of Buddhist traditions makes it difficult to generalize about Buddhist clergy. In the United States, Pure Land priests of the Japanese diaspora serve a role very similar to Protestant ministers of the Christian tradition. Meanwhile, reclusive Theravada forest monks in Thailand live a life devoted to meditation and the practice of austerities in small communities in rural Thailand- a very different life from even their city-dwelling counterparts, who may be involved primarily in teaching, the study of scripture, and the administration of the nationally organized (and government sponsored) Sangha. In the Zen tradition, manual labor is an important part of religious discipline; meanwhile, in the Theravada tradition, prohibitions against monks working as laborers and farmers continue to be generally observed.
It promoted a strenuous personal moral philosophy of purity and anti-communism.
Buddha is not a personal name but an epithet of those who have achieved enlightenment (bodhi), the goal of the Buddhist religious life. Buddha comes from the Sanskrit root ‘budh’, meaning to awaken, and the Buddhas are those who have awakened to the true nature of things as taught in the Four Noble Truths. By contrast, the mass of humanity is seen as asleep and unaware of the reality of the human condition. Doctrinally, the Buddhas are those who have attained nirvana by destroying the defilements known as asravas. Accordingly they are free of sensual craving (kama), becoming (bhava), and ignorance (avidya). Because they have eradicated all craving they have escaped from the round of cyclic existence (sa?sara) and will never again be reborn. For Theravada Buddhism, a Buddha is simply a human being who has undergone a profound spiritual transformation. In Mahayana thought, by contrast, the concept of the Buddha developed in various ways, notably in the doctrine of the Buddha's ‘three bodies’ (trikaya). In terms of this teaching, the Buddha is seen as a cosmic being who from time to time manifests himself in human form. An important function of a Buddha is to act as a teacher, leading others to salvation by expounding the Dharma. The exception to this is the ‘private Buddha’ (Pratyekabuddha), who achieves enlightenment but does not teach. Such a Buddha is considered inferior to the ‘fully enlightened Buddha’ (samyak-sa buddha) who teaches, and, according to Mahayana doctrine, is omniscient (sarvajña) and possesses ten special powers (dasa-bala). Buddhas are distinguished from other enlightened beings such as Arhats by virtue of the fact that they discover the truth (Dharma) themselves, rather than hearing it from another. All schools of Buddhism believe there have been many Buddhas in the past and there will be more in the future, for instance Maitreya. The Mahapadana Sutta of the Pali Canon mentions six previous Buddhas, and the Buddhavamsa gives a list of 24. In all these cases a similar stereotypical biography is supplied. It is generally believed that there can never be more than one Buddha in any particular era, and the ‘historical Buddha’ of the present era was Siddhartha Gautama. Numerous ahistorical Buddhas make an appearance in Mahayana literature, notably the five Jinas who are popular in tantric schools.
Schools of Buddhism are classified in various ways. Normal English-language usage (as given in dictionaries) divides Buddhism into Theravada (also known by the name Hinayana, which many consider pejorative) and Mahayana. The most common classification among scholars is threefold, with Mahayana split into East Asian (also known simply as Mahayana) and Vajrayana, or Tibetan Buddhism (although Vajrayana properly includes the Japanese Shingon school). The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion distinguishes three types of classification of Buddhism: * Movements:
* Nikayas, or monastic fraternities, three of which survive at the present day:
* Doctrinal schools The terminology for the major divisions of Buddhism can be confusing, as Buddhism is variously divided by scholars and practitioners according to geographic, historical, and philosophical criteria, with different terms often being used in different contexts.
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