Translation | Verse | Text |
King James | 2Sa 21:14 | And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land. |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
BENJAMIN | The youngest son of Jacob and Rachel, Ge 35:16-18. Rachel died immediately after he was born, and with her last breath named him Ben-oni, the son of my sorrow; but Jacob called him Benjamin, son of my right hand. He was a great comfort to his father, who saw in him the beloved wife he had buried, and Joseph whose loss he mourned. He could hardly be persuaded to let him go with his brethren to Egypt, Ge 42:38. The tribe of Benjamin was small at first and was almost exterminated in the days of the Judges, Jud 20:1-48, but afterwards greatly increased, 2Ch 14:8 17:17. It was valiant, Ge 49:27, and "beloved of the Lord," dwelling safely by him, De 33:12; for its territory adjoined Judah and the Holy City on the north. At the revolt of the ten tribes, Benjamin adhered to the cause of Judah; and the two tribes were ever afterwards closely united, 1Ki 11:13 12:20 Ezr 4:1 10:9. King Saul and Saul of Tarsus were both Benjamites, Php 3:5. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
BENJAMIN | son of my right hand. (1.) The younger son of Jacob by Rachel (Gen. 35:18). His birth took place at Ephrath, on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem, at a short distance from the latter place. His mother died in giving him birth, and with her last breath named him Ben-oni, son of my pain, a name which was changed by his father into Benjamin. His posterity are called Benjamites (Gen. 49:27; Deut. 33:12; Josh. 18:21). The tribe of Benjamin at the Exodus was the smallest but one (Num. 1:36, 37; Ps. 68:27). During the march its place was along with Manasseh and Ephraim on the west of the tabernacle. At the entrance into Canaan it counted 45,600 warriors. It has been inferred by some from the words of Jacob (Gen. 49:27) that the figure of a wolf was on the tribal standard. This tribe is mentioned in Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5. The inheritance of this tribe lay immediately to the south of that of Ephraim, and was about 26 miles in length and 12 in breadth. Its eastern boundary was the Jordan. Dan intervened between it and the Philistines. Its chief towns are named in Josh. 18:21-28. The history of the tribe contains a sad record of a desolating civil war in which they were engaged with the other eleven tribes. By it they were almost exterminated (Judg. 20:20, 21; 21:10). (See GIBEAH.) The first king of the Jews was Saul, a Benjamite. A close alliance was formed between this tribe and that of Judah in the time of David (2 Sam. 19:16, 17), which continued after his death (1 Kings 11:13; 12:20). After the Exile these two tribes formed the great body of the Jewish nation (Ezra 1:5; 10:9). The tribe of Benjamin was famous for its archers (1 Sam. 20:20, 36; 2 Sam. 1:22; 1 Chr. 8:40; 12:2) and slingers (Judge. 20:6). The gate of Benjamin, on the north side of Jerusalem (Jer. 37:13; 38:7; Zech. 14:10), was so called because it led in the direction of the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. It is called by Jeremiah (20:2) "the high gate of Benjamin;" also "the gate of the children of the people" (17:19). (Comp. 2 Kings 14:13.) |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
FATHER | Is often synonymous with ancestor, founder, or originator, as Ge 4:20-21 Joh 8:56 Ro 4:16. Joseph was a father to Pharoah, Ge 45:8, as his counselor and provider. God is the FATHER of men, as their Creator, De 32:6 Isa 63:16 64:8 Lu 3:38. But as we have forfeited the rights of children by our sins, it is only through Christ that we can call God by that endearing name, "our Father," Joh 20:17 Ro 8:15-17. In patriarchal times, a father was master and judge in his own household, and exercised and authority almost unlimited over his family. Filial disobedience or disrespect was a high offence. Under the law, certain acts of children were capital crimes, Ex 21:15,17 Le 20:9; and the father was required to bring his son to the public tribunal, De 21:18-21. See MOTHER. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
FATHER | a name applied (1) to any ancestor (Deut. 1:11; 1 Kings 15:11; Matt. 3:9; 23:30, etc.); and (2) as a title of respect to a chief, ruler, or elder, etc. (Judg. 17:10; 18:19; 1 Sam. 10:12; 2 Kings 2:12; Matt. 23:9, etc.). (3) The author or beginner of anything is also so called; e.g., Jabal and Jubal (Gen. 4:20, 21; comp. Job 38:28). Applied to God (Ex. 4:22; Deut. 32:6; 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 89:27, 28, etc.). (1.) As denoting his covenant relation to the Jews (Jer. 31:9; Isa. 63:16; 64:8; John 8:41, etc.). (2.) Believers are called God's "sons" (John 1:12; Rom. 8:16; Matt. 6:4, 8, 15, 18; 10:20, 29). They also call him "Father" (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:4) |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
GOD | This name, the derivation of which is uncertain, we give to that eternal, infinite, perfect, and incomprehensible Being, the Creator of all things, who preserves and governs all by his almighty power and wisdom, and is the only proper object of worship. The proper Hebrew name for God is JEHOVAH, which signifies He is. But the Jews, from a feeling of reverence, avoid pronouncing this name, substituting for it, wherever it occurs in the sacred test, the word ADONAI, Lord; except in the expression, ADONAI JEHOVAH, Lord Jehovah, for which they put, ADONAI ELOHIM, Lord God. This usage, which is not without an element of superstition, is very ancient, dating its origin some centuries before Christ; but there is no good ground for assuming its existence in the days of the inspired Old Testament writers. The proper word for God is ELOHIM, which is plural in its form, being thus used to signify the manifold perfections of God, or, as some think, the Trinity in the godhead. In Ex 3:14, God replies to Moses, when he asks Him His name, I AM THAT I AM; which means either, I am he who I am, or, I am what I am. In either case the expression implies the eternal self-existence of Jehovah, and his incomprehensible nature. The name I AM means the same as JEHOVAH, the first person being used instead of he third. The Bible assumes and asserts the existence of God, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth;" and is itself the most illustrious proof of his existence, as well as our chief instructor as to his nature and will. It puts a voice into the mute lips of creation; and not only reveals God in his works, but illustrates his ways in providence, displays the glories of his character, his law, and his grace, and brings man into true and saving communion with him. It reveals him to us as a Spirit, the only being from everlasting and to everlasting by nature, underived, infinite, perfect, and unchangeable in power, wisdom, omniscience, omnipresence, justice, holiness, truth, goodness, and mercy. He is but one God, and yet exists in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and this distinction of the Thee in One is, like his other attributes, from everlasting. He is the source, owner, and ruler of all beings, foreknows and predetermines all events, and is the eternal judge and arbiter of the destiny of all. True religion has its foundation in the right knowledge of God, and consists in supremely loving and faithfully obeying him. See JESUS CHRIST, and HOLY, HOLINESS SPIRIT. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
GOD | (A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew 'El, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of 'Eloah, plural 'Elohim. The singular form, Eloah, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "LORD," printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argument to prove it. He who disbelieves this truth is spoken of as one devoid of understanding (Ps. 14:1). The arguments generally adduced by theologians in proof of the being of God are: (1.) The a priori argument, which is the testimony afforded by reason. (2.) The a posteriori argument, by which we proceed logically from the facts of experience to causes. These arguments are, (a) The cosmological, by which it is proved that there must be a First Cause of all things, for every effect must have a cause. (b) The teleological, or the argument from design. We see everywhere the operations of an intelligent Cause in nature. (c) The moral argument, called also the anthropological argument, based on the moral consciousness and the history of mankind, which exhibits a moral order and purpose which can only be explained on the supposition of the existence of God. Conscience and human history testify that "verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth." The attributes of God are set forth in order by Moses in Ex. 34:6,7. (see also Deut. 6:4; 10:17; Num. 16:22; Ex. 15:11; 33:19; Isa. 44:6; Hab. 3:6; Ps. 102:26; Job 34:12.) They are also systematically classified in Rev. 5:12 and 7:12. God's attributes are spoken of by some as absolute, i.e., such as belong to his essence as Jehovah, Jah, etc.; and relative, i.e., such as are ascribed to him with relation to his creatures. Others distinguish them into communicable, i.e., those which can be imparted in degree to his creatures: goodness, holiness, wisdom, etc.; and incommunicable, which cannot be so imparted: independence, immutability, immensity, and eternity. They are by some also divided into natural attributes, eternity, immensity, etc.; and moral, holiness, goodness, etc. |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
JONATHAN | 1. A Levite, son of Gershom, and grandson of Moses, who after the death of Joshua impiously served as a priest, first to Micah, and then to the Danites in Laish or Dan, where his posterity succeeded him until the captivity, Jud 17:1-18:31. 2. The eldest son of Saul, and one of the loveliest characters in Old Testament history. The narrative of his brilliant exploit in Michmash, 1Sa 13:1-14:52, illustrates his pious faith, his bravery, (see also 1Sa 13:3) and the favor borne him by the people, who would not suffer him to be put to death in consequence of Saul's foolish vow. This valiant and generous prince loved David as his own soul, 1Sa 18:1-4 19:2 20:1-42; and though convinced that his friend was chosen of God for the throne, nobly yielded his own pretensions, and reconciled fidelity to his father with the most pure and disinterested friendship for David. He perished with his father, in battle with the Philistines at mount Gilboa; and nothing can surpass the beauty and pathos of the elegy in which David laments his friend, 2Sa 1:1-27, whose son Mephibosheth he afterwards sought out and befriended, 2Sa 9:1-13. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
JONATHAN | whom Jehovah gave, the name of fifteen or more persons that are mentioned in Scripture. The chief of these are, (1.) A Levite descended from Gershom (Judg. 18:30). His history is recorded in 17:7-13 and 18:30. The Rabbins changed this name into Manasseh "to screen the memory of the great lawgiver from the stain of having so unworthy an apostate among his near descendants." He became priest of the idol image at Dan, and this office continued in his family till the Captivity. (2.) The eldest son of king Saul, and the bosom friend of David. He is first mentioned when he was about thirty years of age, some time after his father's accession to the throne (1 Sam. 13:2). Like his father, he was a man of great strength and activity (2 Sam. 1:23), and excelled in archery and slinging (1 Chr. 12:2;2 Sam. 1:22). The affection that evidently subsisted between him and his father was interrupted by the growth of Saul's insanity. At length, "in fierce anger," he left his father's presence and cast in his lot with the cause of David (1 Sam. 20:34). After an eventful career, interwoven to a great extent with that of David, he fell, along with his father and his two brothers, on the fatal field of Gilboa (1 Sam. 31:2, 8). He was first buried at Jabesh-gilead, but his remains were afterwards removed with those of his father to Zelah, in Benjamin (2 Sam. 21:12-14). His death was the occasion of David's famous elegy of "the Song of the Bow" (2 Sam. 1:17-27). He left one son five years old, Merib-baal, or Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 4:4; comp. 1 Chr. 8:34). (3.) Son of the high priest Abiathar, and one who adhered to David at the time of Absalom's rebellion (2 Sam. 15:27, 36). He is the last descendant of Eli of whom there is any record. (4.) Son of Shammah, and David's nephew, and also one of his chief warriors (2 Sam. 21:21). He slew a giant in Gath. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
KING | is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with authority, whether extensive or limited. There were thirty-one kings in Canaan (Josh. 12:9, 24), whom Joshua subdued. Adonibezek subdued seventy kings (Judg. 1:7). In the New Testament the Roman emperor is spoken of as a king (1 Pet. 2:13, 17); and Herod Antipas, who was only a tetrarch, is also called a king (Matt. 14:9; Mark 6:22). This title is applied to God (1 Tim. 1:17), and to Christ, the Son of God (1 Tim. 6:15, 16; Matt. 27:11). The people of God are also called "kings" (Dan. 7:22, 27; Matt. 19:28; Rev. 1:6, etc.). Death is called the "king of terrors" (Job 18:14). Jehovah was the sole King of the Jewish nation (1 Sam. 8:7; Isa. 33:22). But there came a time in the history of that people when a king was demanded, that they might be like other nations (1 Sam. 8:5). The prophet Samuel remonstrated with them, but the people cried out, "Nay, but we will have a king over us." The misconduct of Samuel's sons was the immediate cause of this demand. The Hebrew kings did not rule in their own right, nor in name of the people who had chosen them, but partly as servants and partly as representatives of Jehovah, the true King of Israel (1 Sam. 10:1). The limits of the king's power were prescribed (1 Sam. 10:25). The officers of his court were, (1) the recorder or remembrancer (2 Sam. 8:16; 1 Kings 4:3); (2) the scribe (2 Sam. 8:17; 20:25); (3) the officer over the house, the chief steward (Isa. 22:15); (4) the "king's friend," a confidential companion (1 Kings 4:5); (5) the keeper of the wardrobe (2 Kings 22:14); (6) captain of the bodyguard (2 Sam. 20:23); (7) officers over the king's treasures, etc. (1 Chr. 27:25-31); (8) commander-in-chief of the army (1 Chr. 27:34); (9) the royal counsellor (1 Chr. 27:32; 2 Sam. 16:20-23). (For catalogue of kings of Israel and Judah see chronological table in Appendix.) |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
KISH | a bow. (1.) A Levite of the family of Merari (1 Chr. 23:21; 24:29). (2.) A Benjamite of Jerusalem (1 Chr. 8:30; 9:36). (3.) A Levite in the time of Hezekiah (2 Chr. 29:12). (4.) The great-grandfather of Mordecai (Esther 2:5). (5.) A Benjamite, the son of Abiel, and father of king Saul (1 Sam. 9:1, 3; 10:11, 21; 14:51; 2 Sam. 21:14). All that is recorded of him is that he sent his son Saul in search of his asses that had strayed, and that he was buried in Zelah. Called Cis, Acts 13:21 (R.V., Kish). |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
SAUL | The son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Israelites, anointed by Samuel, B. C. 1091, and after a reign of forty years filled with various events, slain with his sons on Mount Gilboa. He was succeeded by David, who was his son-in-law, and whom he had endeavored to put to death. His history is contained in 1Sa 10:1-31:13. It is a sad and admonitory narrative. The morning of his reign was bright with special divine favors, both providential, and spiritual, 1Sa 9:20 10:1-11,24,25. But he soon began to disobey God, and was rejected as unworthy to found a line of kings; his sins and misfortunes multiplied, and his sun went down in gloom. In his first war with the Ammonites, God was with him; but then follow his presumptuous sacrifice, in the absence of Samuel; his equally rash vow; his victories over the Philistines and the Amalekites; his sparing Agag and the spoil; his spirit of distracted and foreboding melancholy; his jealousy and persecution of David; his barbarous massacre of the priests and people at Nob, and of the Gibeonites; his consulting the witch on Endor; the battle with the Philistines in which his army was defeated and his sons were slain; and lastly, his despairing self-slaughter, his insignia of royalty being conveyed to David by an Amalekite, 1Sa 31:1-13 2Sa 1:1-27 1Ch 10:13,14. The guilty course and the awful end of this first king of the Hebrews were a significant reproof of their sin in desiring any king but Jehovah; and also show to what extremes of guilt and ruin one may go who rebels against God, and is ruled by his own ambitious and envious passions. SAUL was also the Hebrew name of the apostle Paul. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
SAUL | asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48. (2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, "asked for"), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Jewish nation. The singular providential circumstances connected with his election as king are recorded in 1 Sam. 8-10. His father's she-asses had strayed, and Saul was sent with a servant to seek for them. Leaving his home at Gibeah (10:5, "the hill of God," A.V.; lit., as in R.V. marg., "Gibeah of God"), Saul and his servant went toward the north-west over Mount Ephraim, and then turning north-east they came to "the land of Shalisha," and thence eastward to the land of Shalim, and at length came to the district of Zuph, near Samuel's home at Ramah (9:5-10). At this point Saul proposed to return from the three days' fruitless search, but his servant suggested that they should first consult the "seer." Hearing that he was about to offer sacrifice, the two hastened into Ramah, and "behold, Samuel came out against them," on his way to the "bamah", i.e., the "height", where sacrifice was to be offered; and in answer to Saul's question, "Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is," Samuel made himself known to him. Samuel had been divinely prepared for his coming (9:15-17), and received Saul as his guest. He took him with him to the sacrifice, and then after the feast "communed with Saul upon the top of the house" of all that was in his heart. On the morrow Samuel "took a vial of oil and poured it on his head," and anointed Saul as king over Israel (9:25-10:8), giving him three signs in confirmation of his call to be king. When Saul reached his home in Gibeah the last of these signs was fulfilled, and the Sprit of God came upon him, and "he was turned into another man." The simple countryman was transformed into the king of Israel, a remarkable change suddenly took place in his whole demeanour, and the people said in their astonishment, as they looked on the stalwart son of Kish, "Is Saul also among the prophets?", a saying which passed into a "proverb." (Comp. 19:24.) The intercourse between Saul and Samuel was as yet unknown to the people. The "anointing" had been in secret. But now the time had come when the transaction must be confirmed by the nation. Samuel accordingly summoned the people to a solemn assembly "before the Lord" at Mizpeh. Here the lot was drawn (10:17-27), and it fell upon Saul, and when he was presented before them, the stateliest man in all Israel, the air was rent for the first time in Israel by the loud cry, "God save the king!" He now returned to his home in Gibeah, attended by a kind of bodyguard, "a band of men whose hearts God had touched." On reaching his home he dismissed them, and resumed the quiet toils of his former life. Soon after this, on hearing of the conduct of Nahash the Ammonite at Jabeshgilead (q.v.), an army out of all the tribes of Israel rallied at his summons to the trysting-place at Bezek, and he led them forth a great army to battle, gaining a complete victory over the Ammonite invaders at Jabesh (11:1-11). Amid the universal joy occasioned by this victory he was now fully recognized as the king of Israel. At the invitation of Samuel "all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal." Samuel now officially anointed him as king (11:15). Although Samuel never ceased to be a judge in Israel, yet now his work in that capacity practically came to an end. Saul now undertook the great and difficult enterprise of freeing the land from its hereditary enemies the Philistines, and for this end he gathered together an army of 3,000 men (1 Sam. 13:1, 2). The Philistines were encamped at Geba. Saul, with 2,000 men, occupied Michmash and Mount Bethel; while his son Jonathan, with 1,000 men, occupied Gibeah, to the south of Geba, and seemingly without any direction from his father "smote" the Philistines in Geba. Thus roused, the Philistines, who gathered an army of 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and "people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude," encamped in Michmash, which Saul had evacuated for Gilgal. Saul now tarried for seven days in Gilgal before making any movement, as Samuel had appointed (10:8); but becoming impatient on the seventh day, as it was drawing to a close, when he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared and warned him of the fatal consequences of his act of disobedience, for he had not waited long enough (13:13, 14). When Saul, after Samuel's departure, went out from Gilgal with his 600 men, his followers having decreased to that number (13:15), against the Philistines at Michmash (q.v.), he had his head-quarters under a pomegrante tree at Migron, over against Michmash, the Wady esSuweinit alone intervening. Here at Gibeah-Geba Saul and his army rested, uncertain what to do. Jonathan became impatient, and with his armour-bearer planned an assault against the Philistines, unknown to Saul and the army (14:1-15). Jonathan and his armour-bearer went down into the wady, and on their hands and knees climbed to the top of the narrow rocky ridge called Bozez, where was the outpost of the Philistine army. They surprised and then slew twenty of the Philistines, and immediately the whole host of the Philistines was thrown into disorder and fled in great terror. "It was a very great trembling;" a supernatural panic seized the host. Saul and his 600 men, a band which speedily increased to 10,000, perceiving the confusion, pursued the army of the Philistines, and the tide of battle rolled on as far as to Bethaven, halfway between Michmash and Bethel. The Philistines were totally routed. "So the Lord saved Israel that day." While pursuing the Philistines, Saul rashly adjured the people, saying, "Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening." But though faint and weary, the Israelites "smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon" (a distance of from 15 to 20 miles). Jonathan had, while passing through the wood in pursuit of the Philistines, tasted a little of the honeycomb which was abundant there (14:27). This was afterwards discovered by Saul (ver. 42), and he threatened to put his son to death. The people, however, interposed, saying, "There shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground." He whom God had so signally owned, who had "wrought this great salvation in Israel," must not die. "Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place" (1 Sam. 14:24-46); and thus the campaign against the Philistines came to an end. This was Saul's second great military success. Saul's reign, however, continued to be one of almost constant war against his enemies round about (14:47, 48), in all of which he proved victorious. The war against the Amalekites is the only one which is recorded at length (1 Sam. 15). These oldest and hereditary (Ex. 17:8; Num. 14:43-45) enemies of Israel occupied the territory to the south and south-west of Palestine. Samuel summoned Saul to execute the "ban" which God had pronounced (Deut. 25:17-19) on this cruel and relentless foe of Israel. The cup of their iniquity was now full. This command was "the test of his moral qualification for being king." Saul proceeded to execute the divine command; and gathering the people together, marched from Telaim (1 Sam. 15:4) against the Amalekites, whom he smote "from Havilah until thou comest to Shur," utterly destroying "all the people with the edge of the sword", i.e., all that fell into his hands. He was, however, guilty of rebellion and disobedience in sparing Agag their king, and in conniving at his soldiers' sparing the best of the sheep and cattle; and Samuel, following Saul to Gilgal, in the Jordan valley, said unto him, "Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he also hath rejected thee from being king" (15:23). The kingdom was rent from Saul and was given to another, even to David, whom the Lord chose to be Saul's successor, and whom Samuel anointed (16:1-13). From that day "the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him." He and Samuel parted only to meet once again at one of the schools of the prophets. David was now sent for as a "cunning player on an harp" (1 Sam. 16:16, 18), to play before Saul when the evil spirit troubled him, and thus was introduced to the court of Saul. He became a great favourite with the king. At length David returned to his father's house and to his wonted avocation as a shepherd for perhaps some three years. The Philistines once more invaded the land, and gathered their army between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim, on the southern slope of the valley of Elah. Saul and the men of Israel went forth to meet them, and encamped on the northern slope of the same valley which lay between the two armies. It was here that David slew Goliath of Gath, the champion of the Philistines (17:4-54), an exploit which led to the flight and utter defeat of the Philistine army. Saul now took David permanently into his service (18:2); but he became jealous of him (ver. 9), and on many occasions showed his enmity toward him (ver. 10, 11), his enmity ripening into a purpose of murder which at different times he tried in vain to carry out. After some time the Philistines "gathered themselves together" in the plain of Esdraelon, and pitched their camp at Shunem, on the slope of Little Hermon; and Saul "gathered all Israel together," and "pitched in Gilboa" (1 Sam. 28:3-14). Being unable to discover the mind of the Lord, Saul, accompanied by two of his retinue, betook himself to the "witch of Endor," some 7 or 8 miles distant. Here he was overwhelmed by the startling communication that was mysteriously made to him by Samuel (ver. 16-19), who appeared to him. "He fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel" (ver. 20). The Philistine host "fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell down slain in Mount Gilboa" (31:1). In his despair at the disaster that had befallen his army, Saul "took a sword and fell upon it." And the Philistines on the morrow "found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa." Having cut off his head, they sent it with his weapons to Philistia, and hung up the skull in the temple of Dagon at Ashdod. They suspended his headless body, with that of Jonathan, from the walls of Bethshan. The men of Jabesh-gilead afterwards removed the bodies from this position; and having burnt the flesh, they buried the bodies under a tree at Jabesh. The remains were, however, afterwards removed to the family sepulchre at Zelah (2 Sam. 21:13, 14). (See DAVID.) (3.) "Who is also called Paul" (q.v.), the circumcision name of the apostle, given to him, perhaps, in memory of King Saul (Acts 7:58; 8:1; 9:1). |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
SEPULCHRE | A place of burial. The Hebrews were always very careful about the burial of their dead. Many of their sepulchres were hewn in rocks: as that of Shebna, Isa 22:16; those of the kings of Judah and Israel; and that in which our Savior was laid on Calvary. These tombs of the Jews were sometimes beneath the surface of the ground; but were often in the side of a cliff, and multitudes of such are found near the ruins of ancient cities, 2Ki 23:16 Isa 22:16. Travellers find them along the bases of hills and mountains in all parts of Syria; as on the south side of Hinnom, the west side of Olivet, at Tiberias, in Petra, in the gorge of the Barada, and in the sea-cliffs north on the Acre. The tombs, as well as the general graveyards, were uniformly without the city limits, as is apparent at this day with respect to both ancient and modern Jerusalem, 2Ki 23:6 Jer 26:23 Lu 7:12 Joh 11:30. See ACELDAMA. The kings of Judah, almost exclusively, appear to have been buried within Jerusalem, on Mount Zion, 1Ki 2:10 2Ki 14:20 2Ch 16:14 28:27 Ac 2:29. Family tombs were common, and were carefully preserved, Ge 50:5-13 Jud 8:32 2Sa 2:32 1Ki 13:22. Tombstones with inscriptions were in use, Ge 35:20 2Ki 23:16,17. Absalom was buried under a heap of stones, 2Sa 18:17. In many ancient heathen nations, a king was buried under a vast mound, with his arms, utensils, horses, and attendants, Eze 32:26,27; and the pyramids of Egypt are believed to be the tombs of kings, each having but one or two apartments, in one of which the stone coffin of the builder has been found. It was thought an act of piety to preserve and adorn the tombs of the prophets, but was often an act of hypocrisy and our Savior says that the Pharisees were like whited sepulchres, which appeared fine without, but inwardly were full of rottenness and corruption, Mt 23:27-29; and Lightfoot has shown that every year, after the winter rains were over, the Hebrews whitened them anew. In Lu 11:44, Christ compares the Pharisees to "grave which appear not," so that men walk over them without being aware of it, and many thus contract an involuntary impurity. A superstitious adoration of the tombs and bones of supposed saints was then and is now a very prevalent form of idolatry; and our Savior tells the Jews of his day they were as guilty as their fathers, Lu 11:47,48: they built the sepulchres of the prophets, their fathers slew them; the hypocritical idolatry of the sons was as fatal a sin as the killing of the prophets by their fathers. These worshippers of the prophets soon afterwards showed that they allowed the deeds of their fathers, by crucifying the divine Prophet who Moses had foretold. In Syria at the present day the tomb of David on Mount Zion and that of Abraham at Hebron are most jealously guarded, and any intruder is instantly put to death; while almost all the laws of God and man may be violated with impunity. Deserted tombs were sometimes used as places of refuge and residence by the poor, Isa 65:4 Lu 8:27; the shepherds of Palestine still drive their flocks into them for shelter, and wandering Arabs live in them during the winter. See BURIAL. Maundrell's description of the sepulchre north of Jerusalem?supposed by many to be the work of Helena queen of Adiabene, though now known as "the tombs of the kings,"?may be useful for illustrating some passages of Scripture: "The next place we came to was those famous grots called the sepulchres of the kings; but for what reason they go by that name is hard to resolve; for it is certain none of the kings, either of Israel or Judah, were buried here, the holy Scriptures assigning other places for their sepulchres. Whoever was buried here, this is certain that the place itself discovers so great an expense, both of labor and treasure, that we may well suppose it to have been the work of kings. You approach to it at the east side through an entrance cut out of the natural rock, which admits you into an open court of about forty paces square, cut down into the rock with which it is encompassed instead of walls." "On the west side of the court is a portico nine paces long and four broad, hewn likewise out of the natural rock. This has a kind of architrave, running along its front, adorned with sculpture, of fruits and flowers, still discernible, but by time much defaced. At the end of the portico, on the left hand, you descend to the passage into the sepulchres. The door is now so obstructed with stones and rubbish, that it is a thing of some difficulty to creep through it. But within you arrive in a large fair room, about seven yards square, cut out of the natural rock. Its sides and ceiling are so exactly square, and its angles so just, that no architect, with levels and plummets, could build a room more regular. And the whole is so firm and entire that it may be called a chamber hallowed out of one piece of marble. From this room you pass into, I think, six more, one within another, all of the same fabric with the first. Of these the two innermost are deeper than the rest, having a second descent of about six or seven steps into them. In every one of these rooms, except the first, were coffins of stone placed in niches in the sides of the chambers. They had been at first covered with handsome lids, and carved with garlands; but now most of them were broken to pieces by sacrilegious hands." |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
SEPULCHRE | first mentioned as purchased by Abraham for Sarah from Ephron the Hittite (Gen. 23:20). This was the "cave of the field of Machpelah," where also Abraham and Rebekah and Jacob and Leah were burried (79:29-32). In Acts 7:16 it is said that Jacob was "laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem." It has been proposed, as a mode of reconciling the apparent discrepancy between this verse and Gen. 23:20, to read Acts 7:16 thus: "And they [i.e., our fathers] were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor [the son] of Sychem." In this way the purchase made by Abraham is not to be confounded with the purchase made by Jacob subsequently in the same district. Of this purchase by Abraham there is no direct record in the Old Testament. (See TOMB .) |
Word | King James Dictionary - Definition |
SEPULCHRE | A place of burial; grave. |
Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
SON | Sometimes denotes a grandson, or any remote descendant, Ge 29:5 2Sa 19:24. At other times a son by adoption is meant, Ge 48:5; or by law, Ru 4:17; or by education, 1Sa 3:6 20:35; or by conversion, as Titus was Paul's "son father the common faith," Tit 1:4. And again it denotes a mental or moral resemblance, etc., Jud 19:22 Ps 89:6 Isa 57:3 Ac 13:10. In a similar sense men are sometimes called sons of God, Lu 3:38 Ro 8:14. |
Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
ZELAH | slope; side, a town in Benjamin, where Saul and his son Jonathan were buried (2 Sam. 21:14). It was probably Saul's birthplace. |
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