Entries — F
98 entries
Fable — applied in the New Testament to the traditions and speculations, “cunningly devised fables”, of the Jews on re…
Face — means simply presence, as when it is recorded that Adam and Eve hid themselves from the “face [R.V., ‘presence…
Fair Havens — a harbour in the south of Crete, some 5 miles to the east of which was the town of Lasea (Acts 27:8). Here the…
Fairs — (Hebrews ‘izabhonim), found seven times in Ezekiel 27, and nowhere else. The Authorized Version renders the wo…
FAITH Faith — is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true (Phil. 1:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:13). …
Faithful — as a designation of Christians, means full of faith, trustful, and not simply trustworthy (Acts 10:45; 16:1; 2…
Fall Of Man — an expression probably borrowed from the Apocryphal Book of Wisdom, to express the fact of the revolt of our f…
FALLOW-DEER Deuteronomy — 14:5 (R.V., “Wild goat”); 1 Kings 4:23 (R.V., “roebucks”). This animal, called in Hebrew yahmur, from a word m…
FALLOW-GROUND The — expression, “Break up your fallow ground” (Hos. 10:12; Jeremiah 4:3) means, “Do not sow your seed among thorns…
Fami — l iar SPIRIT Sorcerers or necormancers, who professed to call up the dead to answer questions, were said to ha…
FAMINE The — first mentioned in Scripture was so grievous as to compel Abraham to go down to the land of Egypt (Genesis 26:…
Fan — a winnowing shovel by which grain was thrown up against the wind that it might be cleansed from broken straw a…
Farm — (Matthew 22:5). Every Hebrew had a certain portion of land assigned to him as a possession (Numbers 26:33-56).…
Farthing — (1.) Matthew 10:29; Luke 12:6. Greek assarion, i.e., a small as, which was a Roman coin equal to a tenth of a …
FAST The — sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great Day of Atonement (q.v.), Leviticus 23:26-32. It i…
Fat — (Hebrews heleb) denotes the richest part of the animal, or the fattest of the flock, in the account of Abel’s …
Father — a name applied (1) to any ancestor (Deuteronomy 1:11; 1 Kings 15:11; Matthew 3:9; 23:30, etc.); and (2) as a t…
Fathom — (Old A.S. faethm, “bosom,” or the outstretched arms), a span of six feet (Acts 27:28). Gr. orguia (from orego,…
Fatling — (1.) A fatted animal for slaughter (2 Samuel 6:13; Isaiah 1 1:6; Ezekiel 39:18. Comp. Matthew 22:4, where the …
FEAR OF THE Lord THE — is in the Old Testament used as a designation of true piety (Proverbs 1:7; Job 28:28; Psalm 19:9). It is a fea…
Feast — as a mark of hospitality (Genesis 19:3; 2 Samuel 3:20; 2 Kings 6:23); on occasions of domestic joy (Luke 15:23…
F Elix — happy, the Roman procurator of Judea before whom Paul “reasoned” (Acts 24:25). He appears to have expected a b…
Fellowship — (l.) With God, consisting in the knowledge of his will (Job 22:21; John 17:3); agreement with his designs (Amo…
Fence — (Hebrews gader), Numbers 22:24 (R.V.). Fences were constructions of unmortared stones, to protect gardens, vin…
FENCED CITIES There — were in Palestine (1) cities, (2) unwalled villages, and (3) villages with castles or towers (1 Chronicles 27:…
FERRET Feviticus — 11:30(R.V., “gecko”), one of the unclean creeping things. It was perhaps the Facerta gecko which was intended …
Ferry Boat — (2 Samuel 19:18), some kind of boat for crossing the river which the men of Judah placed at the service of the…
Fever — (Deuteronomy 28:22; Matthew 8:14; Mark 1:30; John 4:52; Acts 28:8), a burning heat, as the word so rendered de…
F — iel d (Hebrews sadeh), a cultivated field, but unenclosed. It is applied to any cultivated ground or pasture (…
Fig First — mentioned in Genesis 3:7. The fig-tree is mentioned (Deuteronomy 8:8) as one of the valuable products of Pales…
FILLETS Hebrews — hashukum, plur., joinings (Exodus 27:17; 38:17, 28), the rods by which the tops of the columns around the tabe…
Finer — a worker in silver and gold (Proverbs 25:4). In Judges 17:4 the word (tsoreph) is rendered “founder,” and in I…
Fining Pot — a crucible, melting-pot (Proverbs 17:3; 27:21).…
Fir — the uniform rendering in the Authorized Version (marg. R.V., “cypress”) of berosh (2 Samuel 6:5; 1 Kings 5:8, …
Fire — (1.) For sacred purposes. The sacrifices were consumed by fire (Genesis 8:20). The ever-burning fire on the al…
FIREBRAND Isaiah — 7:4, Amos 4: 11, Zechariah 3:2, denotes the burnt end of a stick (Hebrews ‘ud); in Judges 15:4, a lamp or torc…
Firepan — (Exodus 27:3; 38:3), one of the vessels of the temple service (rendered “snuff-dish” Exodus 25:38; 37:23; and …
FIRKIN Used — only in John 2:6; the Attic amphora, equivalent to the Hebrew bath (q.v.), a measure for liquids containing ab…
Firma Me Nt — from the Vulgate firmamentum, which is used as the translation of the Hebrew raki’a. This word means simply “e…
First-Born — sons enjoyed certain special privileges (Deuteronomy 21:17; Genesis 25:23, 31, 34; 49:3; 1 Chronicles 5:1; Heb…
FIRST-FRUITS The — first-fruits of the ground were offered unto God just as the first-bom of man and animals. The law required, (…
Fish — called dag by the Hebrews, a word denoting great fecundity (Genesis 9:2; Numbers 11:22; Jonah 2:1, 10). No fis…
FISHER Besides — its literal sense (Luke 5:2), this word is also applied by our Lord to his disciples in a figurative sense (Ma…
Fish-hooks — were used for catching fish (Amos 4:2; comp. Isaiah 37:29; Jeremiah 16:16; Ezekiel 29:4; Job. 41:1, 2; Matthew…
FlSH-POOLS — (Cant. 7:4) should be simply “pools,” as in the Revised Version. The reservoirs near Heshbon (q.v.) were proba…
Fitches — (Isaiah 28:25, 27), the rendering of the Hebrew ketsah , “without doubt the Nigella sativa, a small annual of …
Flag — (Hebrews , or rather Egyptian, ahu, Job 8:11), rendered “meadow” in Genesis 41:2, 18; probably the Cyperus esc…
FLAGON Hebrews — ashishah, (2 Samuel 6:19; 1 Chronicles 16:3; Cant. 2:5; Hos. 3:1), meaning properly “a cake of pressed raisins…
Flame Of Fire — is the chosen symbol of the holiness of God (Exodus 3:2; Revelation 2:18), as indicating “the intense, all-con…
Flax — (Hebrews pishtah, i.e., “peeled”, in allusion to the fact that the stalks of flax when dried were first split …
FLEA David — at the cave of Adullam thus addressed his persecutor Saul (1 Samuel 24:14): “After whom is the king of Israel …
Fleece — the wool of a sheep, whether shorn off or still attached to the skin (Deuteronomy 18:4; Job 31:20). The miracl…
Flesh — in the Old Testament denotes (1) a particular part of the body of man and animals (Genesis 2:21; 41:2; Psalm 1…
Flesh-Hook — a many-pronged fork used in the sacrificial services (1 Samuel 2:13, 14; Exodus 27:3; 38:3) by the priest in d…
Flint — abounds in all the plains and valleys of the wilderness of the forty years’ wanderings. In Isaiah 50:7 and Eze…
Flood — an event recorded in Genesis 7 and 8. (See DELUGE.) In Joshua 24:2, 3, 14, 15, the word “flood” (R.V., “river”…
FLOUR Grain — reduced to the form of meal is spoken of in the time of Abraham (Genesis 18:6). As baking was a daily necessit…
FLOWERS Very — few species of flowers are mentioned in the Bible although they abounded in Palestine. It has been calculated …
Flute — a musical instrument, probably composed of a number of pipes, mentioned Daniel 3:5, 7, 10, 15. In Matthew 9:23…
FLY Hebrews — zebub, (Ecclesiastes 10:1; Isaiah 7:18). This fly was so grievous a pest that the Phoenicians invoked against …
Foam — (Hos. 10:7), the rendering of ketseph, which properly means twigs or splinters (as rendered in the LXX. and ma…
FODDER Hebrews — belil, (Job 6:5), meaning properly a mixture or medley (Lat. farrago), “made up of various kinds of grain, as …
Fold — an enclosure for flocks to rest together (Isaiah 13:20). Sheep-folds are mentioned Numbers 32:16, 24, 36; 2 Sa…
FOOD Originally — the Creator granted the use of the vegetable world for food to man (Genesis 1:29), with the exception mentione…
Footstool — connected with a throne (2 Chronicles 9:18). Jehovah symbolically dwelt in the holy place between the cherubim…
Forces — of the Gentiles (Isaiah 60:5, 11; R.V., “the wealth of the nations”) denotes the wealth of the heathen. The wh…
Ford Mention — is frequently made of the fords of the Jordan (Joshua 2:7; Judges 3:28; 12:5, 6), which must have been very nu…
FOREHEAD The — practice common among Oriental nations of colouring the forehead or impressing on it some distinctive mark as …
Foreigner — a Gentile. Such as resided among the Hebrews were required by the law to be treated with ki ndness (Exodus 22:…
FOREKNOWLEDGE OF God Acts — 2:23; Romans 8:29; 11:2; 1 Peter 1:2), one of those high attributes essentially appertaining to him the full i…
FORERUNNER John — the Baptist went before our Lord in this character (Mark 1:2, 3). Christ so called (Hebrews 6:20) as entering …
FOREST Hebrews — ya’ar, meaning a dense wood, from its luxuriance. Thus all the great primeval forests of Syria (Ecclesiastes 2…
Forgiveness Of Sin — one of the constituent parts of justification. In pardoning sin, God absolves the sinner from the condemnation…
Fornication — in every form of it was sternly condemned by the Mosaic law (Leviticus 21:9; 19:29; Deuteronomy 22:20, 21, 23-…
Fortunatus — fortunate, a disciple of Corinth who visited Paul at Ephesus, and returned with Stephanas and Achaicus, the be…
Fountain — (Hebrews ‘ain; i.e., “eye” of the water desert), a natural source of living water. Palestine was a “land of br…
FOUNTAIN OF THE Virgin — the perennial source from which the Pool of Siloam (q.v.) is supplied, the waters flowing in a copious stream …
Fowler — the arts of, referred to Psalm 91:3; 124:7; Proverbs 6:5; Jeremiah 5:26; Hos. 9:8; Ezekiel 17:20; Ecclesiastes…
Fox — (Hebrews shu’al, a name derived from its digging or burrowing under ground), the Vulpes thaleb, or Syrian fox,…
Frankincense — (Hebrews lebonah; Gr. libanos, i.e., “white”), an odorous resin imported from Arabia (Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah 6:…
FREEDOM The — law of Moses pointed out the cases in which the servants of the Hebrews were to receive their freedom (Exodus …
Free-Will Offering — a spontaneous gift (Exodus 35:29), a voluntary sacrifice (Leviticus 22:23; Ezra 3:5), as opposed to one in con…
Frog — (Hebrews tsepharde’a, meaning a “marsh-leaper”). This reptile is mentioned in the Old Testament only in connec…
Frontlets — occurs only in Exodus 13:16; Deuteronomy 6:8, and 11:18. The meaning of the injunction to the Israelites, with…
Frost — (Hebrews kerah, from its smoothness) Job 37:10 (R.V., “ice”); Genesis 31:40; Jeremiah 36:30; rendered “ice” in…
Fruit — a word as used in Scripture denoting produce in general, whether vegetable or animal. The Hebrews divided the …
Frying-Pan — (Hebrews marhesheth, a “boiler”), a pot for boiling meat (Leviticus 2:7; 7:9).…
FUEL Almost — every kind of combustible matter was used for fuel, such as the withered stalks of herbs (Matthew 6:30), thorn…
FUGITIVE Genesis — 4: 12, 14, a rover or wanderer (Hebrews n’a); Judges 12:4, a refugee, one who has escaped (Hebrews palit); 2 K…
FULLER The — word “full” is from the Anglo-Saxon fullian, meaning “to whiten.” To full is to press or scour cloth in a mill…
Fuller’S Lield — a spot near Jerusalem (2 Kings 18: 17; Isaiah 36:2; 7:3), on the side of the highway west of the city, not far…
Fuller’S Soap — (Hebrews borith mekabbeshim, i.e., “alkali of those treading cloth”). Mention is made (Proverbs 25:20; Jeremia…
Fulness — (1.) Of time (Galatians 4:4), the time appointed by God, and foretold by the prophets, when Messiah should app…
FUNERAL Burying — was among the Jews the only mode of disposing of corpses (Genesis 23:19; 25:9; 35:8, 9, etc.). The first trace…
Furlong — a stadium, a Greek measure of distance equal to 606 feet and 9 inches (Luke 24:13; John 6:19; 11:18; Revelatio…
Furnace — (l.) Chald. attun, a large furnace with a wide open mouth, at the top of which materials were cast in (Daniel …
Furrow — an opening in the ground made by the plough (Psalm 65:10; Hos. 10:4, 10).…
Fury — as attributed to God, is a figurative expression for dispensing afflictive judgments (Leviticus 26:28; Job 20:…