All Things in the Bible: An Encyclopedia of the Biblical World, Volumes 1 & 2

779 Pages·2008·10.24 MB·English

All Things in the Bible: An
Encyclopedia of the
Biblical World,
Volumes 1 & 2
Edited by
Nancy M. Tischler
Greenwood Press
All Things in the
B
ible

All Things in the
B
ible

An Encyclopedia of
the Biblical World
Volume 1
A–L
Nancy M. Tischler
Ellen Johnston McHenry, Illustrator
Greenwood Press
Westport, Connecticut (cid:127) London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tischler, Nancy Marie Patterson.
All things in the Bible / by Nancy M. Tischler ; Ellen Johnston McHenry, illustrator.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 0–313–33082–4 (set: alk. paper)—ISBN 0–313–33083–2 (Vol. 1: alk. paper)—
ISBN 0–313–33084–0 (Vol. 2: alk. paper)
1. Bible—Encyclopedias. I. Title.
BS440.T57 2006
220.3—dc22 2005034355
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2006 by Nancy M. Tischler
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2005034355
ISBN: 0–313–33082–4 (set)
0 –313–33083–2 (Vol. 1)
0 –313–33084–0 (Vol. 2)
ISSN:
First published in 2006
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Merle

Contents
Preface ix
Alphabetical List of Entries xiii
Guide to Related Topics xix
Abbreviations xxv
All Things in the Bible 1
Selected Bibliography 725
Index 731

Preface
The Holy Bible is rooted in fact, in the common life of the people. The
words of Scripture are thick with imagery drawn from everyday life: the
voice of the turtledove in spring, the wondrous fl ight of the eagle in the air,
the sturdy industry of the ant. Although the Bible reaches through time
into eternity, from life on earth to mansions in Heaven, yet it is fi rmly
rooted in things, people, and places. The Hebrews were a people whose
way of thinking was concrete and vivid, fi lled with insights from the world
around them. They were also a people with a genius for metaphor, seeing
transcendent meanings behind simple things.
Their history, that great drama of God’s love of his creation, their dis-
obedience and suffering, their redemption and eternal hope, is narrated
through a series of “books.” The Bible is this collection of poetry, stories,
chronicles, proverbs, and prophesies that form their grand epic. To visual-
ize the context in which the stories unfold and to understand the nuances
of the prophetic words in Scripture, the reader must have a wide and deep
knowledge of the “things” that were the everyday stuff of the ancient
world.
“Things”(as defi ned for the purposes of this study) need not be inani-
mate objects: they can be animals, concepts, titles, or historical events. The
term things is used here to refer to groups of people (such as professions,
nationalities), commonly referenced cultures and places (such as Egypt,
Galilee), theological constructs (such as the Fall of Man, the Resurrection),
events and activities (festivals, the Great Flood), and pagan gods (Dagon,
Asherah). They are the common reference points among the people who
walk through the pages of Scripture.