| Translation | Verse | Text |
| Strong Concordance | 1Sa 8:2 | Now the name [08034] of his firstborn [01121] [01060] was Joel [03100]; and the name [08034] of his second [04932], Abiah [029]: they were judges [08199] in Beersheba [0884]. |
| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| ABIAH | Second son of Samuel, who appointed his brother and him, judges in Israel. Their corruption and injustice were the pretext upon which the people demanded a king, 1Sa 8:1-5. |
| Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
| BEERSHEBA | well of the oath, or well of seven, a well dug by Abraham, and so named because he and Abimelech here entered into a compact (Gen. 21:31). On re-opening it, Isaac gave it the same name (Gen. 26:31-33). It was a favourite place of abode of both of these patriarchs (21:33-22:1, 19; 26:33; 28:10). It is mentioned among the "cities" given to the tribe of Simeon (Josh. 19:2; 1 Chr. 4:28). From Dan to Beersheba, a distance of about 144 miles (Judg. 20:1; 1 Chr. 21:2; 2 Sam. 24:2), became the usual way of designating the whole Promised Land, and passed into a proverb. After the return from the Captivity the phrase is narrowed into "from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom" (Neh. 11:30). The kingdom of the ten tribes extended from Beersheba to Mount Ephraim (2 Chr. 19:4). The name is not found in the New Testament. It is still called by the Arabs Bir es-Seba, i.e., "well of the seven", where there are to the present day two principal wells and five smaller ones. It is nearly midway between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. |
| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| FIRSTBORN | This phrase is not always to be understood literally; it is sometimes taken for the prime, most excellent, most distinguished of things, Ps 89:27 Ro 8:29 Heb 1:4-6. Thus Jesus Christ is "the firstborn of every creature," Col 1:15, inasmuch as he was the "Only begotten" of the Father before any creature was produced. He is "the firstborn from the dead," Col 1:18, because he is the beginning, and the author of the resurrection of all who die in faith. After the destroying angel had slain the firstborn of the Egyptians, God ordained that all the Jewish firstborn, both of men and of beasts for service, should be consecrated to him; but the male children only were subject to this law. If a man had several wives, he was obliged to offer the firstborn son by each one of them to the Lord. The firstborn were offered at the temple, and redeemed for five shekels. The firstling of a clean beast was offered at the temple, not to be redeemed, but to be killed; an unclean beast, a horse, an ass, or a camel, was either redeemed or exchanged; an ass was redeemed by a lamb or five shekels; if not redeemed, it was killed, Ex 13:2,11, etc. The firstborn son among the Hebrews, as among all other nations, enjoyed particular privileges. See BIRTHRIGHT. |
| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| JOEL | One of the minor prophets, of whom nothing is known beyond the few hints furnished in his brief but valuable prophecy. He lived in the kingdom of Judah, and at a time when the temple and temple-worship still existed, Joe 1:14 2:1,15,32 3:1. Different authors assign to his prophecy different dates, but the prevailing opinion is that he prophesied in the reign of Uzziah, nearly 800 B. C. The BOOK of JOEL opens with a most graphic and powerful description of the devastation caused by swarms of divers kinds of locusts, accompanied by a terrible drought. The plague of locusts, one of the most dreadful scourges of the East, (see LOCUSTS,) is highly suggestive of an invasion of hostile legions such as have often ravaged Judea; and many have understood, by the locusts of Joel, the Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, or Romans. The prophet, however, adheres to his figure, if it be one; depicts the land as stripped of its verdure and parched with drought, summons the stricken people to fasting and penitence, and encourages them by promising the removal of the divine judgments and the return of fertility. While describing this returning plenty and prosperity, the prophet casts his view forward on a future still more remote, and predicts the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the signs and wonders and spiritual prosperity of the Messiah's reign, Joe 2:28. This passage is quoted by the apostle Peter in Ac 2:16. The style of Joel is exceedingly poetical and elegant; his descriptions are vivid and sublime, and his prophecy ranks among the gems of Hebrew poetry. It is well fitted to cheer the church militant in all ages. |
| Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
| JOEL | Jehovah is his God. (1.) The oldest of Samuel's two sons appointed by him as judges in Beersheba (1 Sam. 8:2). (2.) A descendant of Reuben (1 Chr. 5:4,8). (3.) One of David's famous warriors (1 Chr. 11:38). (4.) A Levite of the family of Gershom (1 Chr. 15:7, 11). (5.) 1 Chr. 7:3. (6.) 1 Chr. 27:20. (7.) The second of the twelve minor prophets. He was the son of Pethuel. His personal history is only known from his book. |
| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| JUDGES | In Hebrew Shophetim, were the rulers, chiefs, or leaders of Israel, from Joshua to Saul. They were very different from the ordinary administrators of justice among the Hebrews, respecting whom, see JUSTICE. The Carthaginians, a colony of the Tyrians, had likewise governors, whom they called Suffetes, or Sophetim, with authority almost equal to that of kings. The dignity of judge was for life; but the succession was not always constant. There were anarchies, or intervals, during which the commonwealth was without rulers. There were likewise long intervals of foreign servitude and oppression, under which the Hebrews groaned without deliverers. Although God alone regularly appointed the judges, yet the people, on some occasions, chose that individual who appeared to them most proper to deliver them from oppression; and as it often happened that the oppressions which occasioned recourse to the election of a judge were not felt over all Israel, the power of such judge extended only over that province which he had delivered. Thus it was chiefly the land east of the Jordan that Ehud, Jephthah, Elon, and Jair delivered and governed; Barak and Tola governed the northern tribes; Abdon the central; and Ibzan and Samson the southern. The authority of judges was little inferior to that of kings: it extended to peace and war; they decided causes with absolute authority; but had no power to make new laws, or to impose new burdens on the people. They were protectors of the laws, defenders of religion, and avengers of crimes, particularly of idolatry; they were without salary, pomp, or splendor; and without guards, train, or equipage, other than that their own wealth afforded. The command of Jehovah to expel or destroy all the Canaanites, was but imperfectly executed; and those who were spared infected the Hebrews with the poison of their idolatry and vice. The affair of Micah and the Levite, and the crime at Gibeah which led to the ruinous war against the Benjamites, though recorded at the close of the book of Jud 17:1-21:25, occurred not long after the death of Joshua, and show how soon Israel began to depart from God. To chastise them, he suffered the people of Mesopotamia and of Moab, the Canaanites, Midianites, Ammonites, and Philistines, in turn to oppress by their exactions apart of the tribes, and sometimes the whole nation. But before long, in pity for their sufferings, he would raise up one of the military and civil dictators above described. Fifteen judges are named in the Bible, beginning with Othniel, some twenty years after Joshua, and continuing till the coronation of Saul. The time from Othniel to Saul, according to the received chronology, it is about 310 years. It is supposed that some periods overlap each other; but chronologists are not agreed as to the mode of reconciling the accounts in Judges with other known dates, and with 1Ki 6:1, and Ac 13:20, though several practicable methods are proposed, the examination of which would exceed the limits of this work. THE BOOK OF JUDGES contains the annals of the times in which Israel was ruled by judges, and is often referred to in the New Testament and other parts of the Bible. It appears to have been written before David captured Zion, Jud 1:21, and yet after a regal government was introduced, Jud 17:6 18:11 21:25. Who was its author is unknown; the majority of critics ascribe it to Samuel, B. C. 1403, but many regard it as a compilation by Ezra. It illustrates God's care over his people, mingling his long-suffering with timely chastisements. The period of the judges was, on the whole, one of prosperity; and while the providence of God confirmed his word, "If ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured by the sword," it is no less faithfully assured the, "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall east of the good of the land." |
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