Transliteration of Hebrew, meaning “hosts, armies, heavenly bodies,” Part of a divine title, “Lord of Host,” variously interpreted as Lord of Israel’s armies (cp. 1 Sam 17:45); the stars; members of Yahweh’s heavenly court or council; a comprehensive title for all beings, heavenly and earthly; an intensive title describing God as all powerful. Interestingly, the title does not
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Manasseh, king of Judah (697 – 642 BC), built altars in Jerusalem for all the “host of heaven” (2 Kings 21:5). He attempted to merge the worship of other gods with the worship of Yahweh. Manasseh’s efforts were reversed when Josiah came to the throne (2 Kings 23:7).
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First son born to a couple and required of newly married people was believed to represent the prime of human vigor (Gen 49:3; Ps 78:51). In memory of the death of Egypt’s firstborn and the preservation of the firstborn of Israel, all the firstborn of Israel, both of man and beast, belonged to Yahweh (Exod 13:2,15; cp. 12:12-16). This meant that the people of Israel attached unusual value to the eldest son and assigned special privileges and responsibilities to him.
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Usually a ring with a seal carefully crafted upon it that an important or rich person used to authenticate a document. It was used much like a signature on a document today. The ring of kings would carry the highest authority in a land and empowered subordinates to act for the king. Examples of such rings in the Bible are: Pharaoh’s ring given to Joseph (Gen 41:42); Ahasuerus’s ring given to Haman and then to Mordecai after Haman was hanged (Esther 3:10,12; 8:2); King Darius’s sealing the den of lions after Daniel was thrown into it (Dan 6:17).
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The Bible doesn’t reveal how Sarah (Sarai) reached when she learned that Abram wanted her to be his wife (see Gen 11:29). We’re also not told how she handled the fact that she was barren (see 11:30), though we could probably imagine how devastating this realization was.
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Magic is typically forbidden to Israel for a number of reasons: (1) Magic is human encroachment into the divine realm. (2) Magic is used to manipulate deity. (3) Magic involves relying on a power other than Yahweh. If that is the reason, a sanctioned prophet would be able to bypass all three; his office already enters the divine realm, and the power comes from Yahweh, even though the prophet appears to have some autonomy in using it. The prophets are called to wield divine authority at some level.
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Little is known about the Israelite view of malevolent spirits, popularly called “demons” in contemporary usage. In contemporary usage. In addition to the Hebrew word shed, translate “false gods” in Ps 106:37, the OT has a Hebrew word sair, translated in the NIV as “goat idols” (Lev 17:7: 2 Chron 11:15: see the NIV text note on Lev 17:7). Some suggest that the use of sair also refers to demons in Isa 13:21; 34:14 (NIV “wild goats). This Hebrew word refers to an actual goat in Gen 37:31 and frequently in texts prescribing a goat for sacrifice (e.g., Lev 4:23; Nu 7:16).
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Joanna is mentioned by name only twice in the New Testament. Both occurrences are in the Gospel of Luke.
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As a prophet of God in Israel during the reign of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, Elijah was an endangered species. The evil royal couple had done everything in their power to rid the nation of God’s spokespeople so that their own prophets of the false gods Baal and Asherah could do their work unopposed.
Continue reading MEN OF THE BIBLE (ELIJAH “SOLO, BUT NOT ALONE”)
One of Isaiah’s favorite themes was that the pagan gods of his time were powerless, while Yahweh, the supreme God of the Israelites, was all-powerful. Here the prophet portrayed two gods of the Assyrians and Babylonians as so weak and helpless that they had to be carried around by oxen and horses.
Continue reading BIBLE CUSTOMS & CURIOSITIES (HELPLESS PAGAN GODS)