This small book contains one of the 1,005 songs penned by king Solomon (1 Kgs. 4:32). It extols the passion and bliss of wedded love, and praises the king’s “beloved.” Many scholars have suggested ...

The day of Pentecost was an annual Jewish festival which came fifty days (the word signifies “fiftieth”) after the Passover celebration (Lev. 23:15-21; Dt. 16:9-12). It was known also as the feast ...

This is one of the titles of a church official who oversees a local congregation of Christ’s church in the company of fellow bishops (always a plurality of men).

“Bishop” translates the Greek ter...

Paul commended Timothy for making “the good confession” before many witnesses (1 Tim. 6:12). 
The word “confession” comes from the Greek homologia, which means “to say the same thing.” It implies a...

The New Testament is a collection of twenty-seven documents: (a) They are classified as “scripture,” a term suggesting a divine writing (1 Tim. 5:18; 2 Pet. 3:16). (b) Eight known writers — Matthe...

The most common word in the Greek New Testament that conveys the idea of “forgiveness” is aphesis, a compound term meaning “to send away from.”

Forgiveness is a divine response to human sin, flowi...

The most popular Greek word for “authority” is exousia (sometimes translated as “power”). The term, with various usages, is found 102 times in the New Testament. The word, together with some parall...

This word comes directly from the Greek blasphemeo, which is believed to derive from blapto (to injure) and pheme (speech), hence injurious speech.

Scripture speaks of those who blaspheme God (Ro...

In the Old Testament, anointing with oil was used ceremonially to set apart special roles, especially those of prophets (1 Kgs. 19:16), priests (Ex. 28:41), and kings (1 Sam. 9:16).

The most comm...

This English term is a rendition of the Greek zoopoieo, “to make alive.” It is found about a dozen times in the N.T. and is rendered by such expressions as “quicken,” “give life,” and “make alive.”...

Before Jesus was born, the angel informed Mary: “the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God” (Lk. 1:35). The descriptive reveals something of the unique essence of Christ. The ...

Literally, this term has to do with the implantation of seed by which a child is conceived. The word is used in Scripture figuratively to illustrate the spiritual agency, namely the word of God, by...

The Greek word diakonos comes into the English language as “deacon.”

The term basically means to serve. It is used of ordinary servants in a secular sense (Jn. 2:5, 9) or of those who serve gener...

The Greek word eirene (“peace”) may derive from an original term meaning, “to weave together.” This is a very significant Bible word. (a) There is a peace to be sought with God. Sin has separated m...

Sanctified suggests “having been separated from (something), set apart.” The term is used in a variety of ways in the Bible. (a) Both God the Father and Christ the Son are to be sanctified (Num. 20...

The most common Greek word representing this idea is apollumi. The term can suggest the idea of an object that is estranged from its owner. A shepherd loses his sheep, a woman loses a coin, a Fathe...

“Holy” is from the Greek hagios, which carries the idea of something “separated” from other things. (a) God utterly stands apart from sinful man, and thus he is absolutely holy (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8)...

Demons (not “devils” KJV) were evil spirits (Mt. 12:43-45) that were permitted to inhabit the bodies of some people during the days of Christ and his apostles. 

Almost certainly, this was to allow...

A number of terms, both in the O.T. and the N.T., suggest the idea of a “path” or “way” of travel. The words come to be employed of a “course of conduct,” whether for good (Ex. 18:20; 32:8; Dt. 31:...

The Greek word is huiothesia, from huios, “son,” and tithemi, “to set, put, or place.” 

The word suggests the idea of putting one into the position of a son. It is used five times in the New Testa...