Translation | Verse | Text |
King James | Isa 41:2 | Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
BOW | A weapon much used in ancient times, both for hunting and for war. It was made of wood, horn, or steel, Ge 27:3 Ps 18:34; and the foot was sometimes used in bending it. It was carried in a case, when not used, Hab 3:19. The Benjamites were celebrated for their skill in the use of this weapon, 1Ch 12:2 2Ch 14:8 17:17. See ARMS. The phrase, "a deceitful bow," to which the people of Israel are compared, Ps 78:57 Ho 7:16, means an ill-made or twisted bow, which does not shoot the arrow as it is aimed. In 2Sa 1:18, we read. "Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow." Here the words, "the use of," are not in the Hebrew. The use of the bow in war had long been common among the Jews, Ge 48:22; and to "teach them the bow," is by some supposed to mean, teach them by some supposed to mean, teach them the song of THE BOW, the lamentation over Saul and Jonathan, which follows; so called from the mention of the weapon in Ge 48:22, as the first four books in the Bible take their title in Hebrew from the first word in each. See ARROW. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
BOW | The bow was in use in early times both in war and in the chase (Gen. 21:20; 27:3; 48:22). The tribe of Benjamin were famous for the use of the bow (1 Chr. 8:40; 12:2; 2 Chr. 14:8; 17:17); so also were the Elamites (Isa. 22:6) and the Lydians (Jer. 46:9). The Hebrew word commonly used for bow means properly to tread (1 Chr. 5:18; 8:40), and hence it is concluded that the foot was employed in bending the bow. Bows of steel (correctly "copper") are mentioned (2 Sam. 22:35; Ps. 18:34). The arrows were carried in a quiver (Gen. 27:3; Isa. 22:6; 49:2; Ps. 127:5). They were apparently sometimes shot with some burning material attached to them (Ps. 120:4). The bow is a symbol of victory (Ps. 7:12). It denotes also falsehood, deceit (Ps. 64:3, 4; Hos. 7:16; Jer. 9:3). "The use of the bow" in 2 Sam. 1:18 (A.V.) ought to be "the song of the bow," as in the Revised Version. |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
DUST | Jos 7:6. Dust or ashes put upon the head was a sign of mourning; sitting in the dust, a sign of affliction, La 3:29 Isa 47:1. "Dust" is also put for the grave, Ge 3:19 Job 7:21. It signifies a multitude, Ge 13:16, and a low and mean condition, 1Sa 2:8. We have two remarkable instances of casting dust recorded in Scripture, and they seem to illustrate a practice common in Asia: those who demanded justice against a criminal were accustomed to throw dust upon him, signifying that he deserved to be cast into the grave. Shimei cast dust upon David when he fled from Jerusalem, 2Sa 16:13. The Jews treated the apostle Paul in a similar manner in the same city: "They cried out, ?Away with such a fellow from the earth; for it is not fit that he should live.' And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle," Ac 22:22-24. To shake off the dust of the feet against another was expressive of entire renunciation, Mt 10:14 Mr 6:11 Ac 13:51. The threatening of God, recorded in De 28:24, "The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed," means that instead of fertilizing rains, clouds of fine dust, raised from the parched ground and driven by fierce and burning winds, shall fill the air. Of such a rain of dust, famine and disease would be the natural attendants. S |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
DUST | Storms of sand and dust sometimes overtake Eastern travellers. They are very dreadful, many perishing under them. Jehovah threatens to bring on the land of Israel, as a punishment for forsaking him, a rain of "powder and dust" (Deut. 28:24). To cast dust on the head was a sign of mourning (Josh. 7:6); and to sit in dust, of extreme affliction (Isa. 47:1). "Dust" is used to denote the grave (Job 7:21). "To shake off the dust from one's feet" against another is to renounce all future intercourse with him (Matt. 10:14; Acts 13:51). To "lick the dust" is a sign of abject submission (Ps. 72:9); and to throw dust at one is a sign of abhorrence (2 Sam. 16:13; comp. Acts 22:23). |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
EAST | The Hebrews, in speaking of the different quarters of the heaven, always suppose the face to be turned towards the east. Hence "before," or "forwards," means the east; "behind" is the west; the right-hand is south, and the left hand, north. Besides the ordinary meanings of the word east, Jos 4:19; Ps 103:12, the Jews often used it to designate a large region lying northeast and southeast of Palestine, including Syria and Arabia near at hand, and Babylonia, Assyria, Armenia, etc., with the whole region from the Caspian sea to the Arabian gulf, Ge 29:1; Nu 23:7; Jud 6:3; 7:12; 8:10. The wise men who visited the infant Savior dwelt somewhere in this region; and being "in the east," saw his star-not east of them, but in the direction to guide them to Jerusalem, Mt 2:1,2. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
EAST | (1.) The orient (mizrah); the rising of the sun. Thus "the east country" is the country lying to the east of Syria, the Elymais (Zech. 8:7). (2). Properly what is in front of one, or a country that is before or in front of another; the rendering of the word kedem. In pointing out the quarters, a Hebrew always looked with his face toward the east. The word kedem is used when the four quarters of the world are described (Gen. 13:14; 28:14); and mizrah when the east only is distinguished from the west (Josh. 11:3; Ps. 50:1; 103:12, etc.). In Gen. 25:6 "eastward" is literally "unto the land of kedem;" i.e., the lands lying east of Palestine, namely, Arabia, Mesopotamia, etc. |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
FOOT | The expressions in De 32:35, "their foot shall slide in due time," and in the traveler's song, Ps 121:3, "he will not suffer thy foot to be moved," Ps 66:9 Jer 13:16, have reference to the dangerous character of the narrow roads or paths of the East, over rocks and beside precipices where a sliding foot was often fatal. See also Isa 8:14 Lu 2:34. Nakedness of feet was a sign of mourning. God says to Ezekiel, "Make no mourning for the dead, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet," Eze 24:17. It was likewise a mark of respect. Moses put off his shoes to approach the burning bush; and most commentators are of opinion that the priests served in the tabernacle with their feet naked, as they did afterwards in the temple. The Turks never enter their mosques till after they have washed their feet and their hands, and have put off the outward covering of their legs. The Christians of Ethiopia enter their churches with their shoes off, and the Indian Brahmins and others have the same respect for their pagodas and temples. Eastern conquerors used to set their feet on the necks of conquered princes, Jos 10:22, and action often figured in ancient sculptures, Ps 8:6 Isa 49:23 1Co 15:25 Heb 2:8. See NINEVEH. The orientals used to wash the feet of strangers who came off a journey, because they commonly walked with their legs bare, and their feet defended only by sandals, Ge 24:32 43:24. So Abraham washed the feet of the three angels, Ge 18:4. This office was usually performed by servants and slaves; and hence Abigail answers David, who sought her in marriage, that she should think it an honor to wash the feet of the king's servants, 1Sa 25:41. Paul would have a widow assisted by the church, to be one who had hospitably washed the feet of saints, 1Ti 5:10. The practice is still met with in Palestine. Says Dr. Robinson, at Ramleh, "Our youthful host now proposed, in the genuine style of ancient oriental hospitality, that a servant should wash our feet. This took me by surprise; for I was not aware that the custom still existed here. Nor does it indeed towards foreigners, though it is quite common among the natives. We gladly accepted the proposal, both for the sake of the refreshment and of the scriptural illustration. A female Nubian slave accordingly brought water, which she poured upon our feet over a large shallow basin of tinned copper, kneeling before us and rubbing our feet with her hands, and wiping them with a napkin. It was one of the most gratifying minor incidents of our whole journey." Our Savior, after his last supper, gave a striking lesson of humility, by washing his disciples' feet, Joh 13:5-6,8, though the eighth verse shows that he had also a deeper meaning. See SANDALS. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
MAN | (1.) Heb. 'Adam, used as the proper name of the first man. The name is derived from a word meaning "to be red," and thus the first man was called Adam because he was formed from the red earth. It is also the generic name of the human race (Gen. 1:26, 27; 5:2; 8:21; Deut. 8:3). Its equivalents are the Latin homo and the Greek anthropos (Matt. 5:13, 16). It denotes also man in opposition to woman (Gen. 3:12; Matt. 19:10). (2.) Heb. 'ish, like the Latin vir and Greek aner, denotes properly a man in opposition to a woman (1 Sam. 17:33; Matt. 14:21); a husband (Gen. 3:16; Hos. 2:16); man with reference to excellent mental qualities. (3.) Heb. 'enosh, man as mortal, transient, perishable (2 Chr. 14:11; Isa. 8:1; Job 15:14; Ps. 8:4; 9:19, 20; 103:15). It is applied to women (Josh. 8:25). (4.) Heb. geber, man with reference to his strength, as distinguished from women (Deut. 22:5) and from children (Ex. 12:37); a husband (Prov. 6:34). (5.) Heb. methim, men as mortal (Isa. 41:14), and as opposed to women and children (Deut. 3:6; Job 11:3; Isa. 3:25). Man was created by the immediate hand of God, and is generically different from all other creatures (Gen. 1:26, 27; 2:7). His complex nature is composed of two elements, two distinct substances, viz., body and soul (Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 12:7; 2 Cor. 5:1-8). The words translated "spirit" and "soul," in 1 Thess. 5:23, Heb. 4:12, are habitually used interchangeably (Matt. 10:28; 16:26; 1 Pet. 1:22). The "spirit" (Gr. pneuma) is the soul as rational; the "soul" (Gr. psuche) is the same, considered as the animating and vital principle of the body. Man was created in the likeness of God as to the perfection of his nature, in knowledge (Col. 3:10), righteousness, and holiness (Eph. 4:24), and as having dominion over all the inferior creatures (Gen. 1:28). He had in his original state God's law written on his heart, and had power to obey it, and yet was capable of disobeying, being left to the freedom of his own will. He was created with holy dispositions, prompting him to holy actions; but he was fallible, and did fall from his integrity (3:1-6). (See FALL.) |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
SWORD | of the Hebrew was pointed, sometimes two-edged, was worn in a sheath, and suspended from the girdle (Ex. 32:27; 1 Sam. 31:4; 1 Chr. 21:27; Ps. 149:6: Prov. 5:4; Ezek. 16:40; 21:3-5). It is a symbol of divine chastisement (Deut. 32:25; Ps. 7:12; 78:62), and of a slanderous tongue (Ps. 57:4; 64:3; Prov. 12:18). The word of God is likened also to a sword (Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17; Rev. 1:16). Gideon's watchword was, "The sword of the Lord" (Judg. 7:20). |
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