Oxford Dictionary of the Bible

2197 Pages·1996·5.62 MB·English

by  W. R. F. Browning

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EN Oxford University Press Oxford University Press
A Dictionary of the Bible
© Oxford University Press 2000, 2003
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ABBREVIATIONS
AV The Authorized, or King James, Version of the English Bible, 1611
BCE Before the Common Era (= BC, Before Christ)
CE In the Common Era (= AD, anno Domini, in the Christian Era)
ET(T) English Translation(s)
LXX The Greek Septuagint
New English Bible, 1961 and later years; a new translation by British
NEB
scholars
New Jerusalem Bible, 1985, a revision of the (English) Jerusalem Bible,
NJB
1966
New Revised Standard Version, 1989, a revision by American scholars
NRSV
of the Revised Standard Version; Anglicized edition of NRSV, 1995
Revised English Bible, 1989, a revision by British scholars of the New
REB
English Bible
Revised Standard Version, 1946 and later years; a revision by American
RSV
scholars of the Standard Version
Revised Version (NT, 1881; OT, 1885), a revision by British scholars of
RV
AV
marg. Denotes a note in the margin of the English text
The titles of most books of the Bible are abbreviated; shorter titles are retained in
full. The abbreviations are:
OT Old Testament
NT New Testament
Apoc. Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical books
Gen. Genesis
Exod. Exodus
Lev. Leviticus
Num. Numbers
Deut. Deuteronomy (or Deuteronomist)
Josh. Joshua
Judg. Judges
1 or 2 Sam. 1 or 2 Samuel
1 or 2 Kgs. 1 or 2 Kings
1 or 2 Chron. 1 or 2 Chronicles
Neh. Nehemiah
Ps.(or Pss.) Psalm (or Psalms)
Prov. Proverbs
Eccles. Ecclesiastes
S. of S. Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs)
Isa. Isaiah
Jer. Jeremiah
Lam. Lamentations
Ezek. Ezekiel
Dan. Daniel
Hos. Hosea
Obad. Obadiah
Mic. Micah
Hab. Habakkuk
Zeph. Zephaniah
Hag. Haggai
Zech. Zechariah
Mal. Malachi
Matt. Matthew
Rom. Romans
1 or 2 Cor. 1 or 2 Corinthians
Gal. Galatians
Eph. Ephesians
Phil. Philippians
Col. Colossians
1 or 2 Thess. 1 or 2 Thessalonians
1 or 2 Tim. 1 or 2 Timothy
1 or 2 Tim. 1 or 2 Timothy
Philem. Philemon
Heb. Hebrews
Jas. James
1 or 2 Pet. 1 or 2 Peter
Rev. Revelation
1 or 2 Esd. 1 or 2 Esdras
Rest of Esth. The Additions to the book of Esther
Wisd. The Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclus. [= Sir.] Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach
S. of III Ch. Song of the Three Children (or Song of the Three Jews)
Sus. Susanna
Bel & Dr. Bel and the Dragon
Pr. of Man. Prayer of Manasseh
1/2/3/4 Macc. 1/2/3/4 Maccabees
Pss of Sol. Psalms of Solomon
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A
A The symbol employed in textual criticism for a MS of the New Testament in
Greek written on parchment in Egypt (Alexandria? Hence known as the Codex
Alexandrinus) in the 5th cent. A few leaves containing verses of Matthew, John,
and 2 Cor. are missing, but the two epistles of Clement are added at the end.
There are 820 leaves. The MS was presented by the patriarch of Constantinople
to the king of England in 1627 and is in the British Library in London.
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Aaron Brother of Moses and Miriam, of the tribe of Levi. Over the centuries
Aaron's status in Israel's memory was allowed to grow. In the earliest tradition,
Aaron must put into words what is the will of God (Exod. 4: 16) but he has no
priestly functions. The account of Aaron collecting gold rings to be melted down
in fire (Exod. 32: 24) seems to reflect what happened at the northern sanctuaries,
with calves of gold, established by Jeroboam (1 Kgs. 12: 28) in 922 BCE. In both
passages idolatrous calf worship indicates independence of leadership (cf. Exod.
24: 14). But usually Aaron is subordinate to Moses: the uplifted hands of Moses
brought victory over the Amalekites, and the role of Aaron (and Hur) was
merely to hold Moses’ hands up when he got tired. In the probably post-exilic
(i.e. compiled after 500 BCE) source P, Aaron becomes the ancestor of the
Jerusalem priesthood who sacrifice and bless and exercise supreme authority
(Num. 27: 21—Eleazar is a son of Aaron, 1 Chr. 24: 1) and officiates on the Day
of Atonement (Lev. 16: 32–4). Finally, in the tradition, Aaron is exalted above
Moses (Ecclus. [= Sir.] 45: 20), which reflects the post-exilic situation of the
division of a priesthood among twenty-four families who each performed
Temple duty for a week; sixteen families claimed descent from Zadok (Eleazar's
elder son) and eight from Ithamar (1 Chron. 24: 1–19).
John the Baptist was said to be from a family of priests (Luke 1: 5).
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Abaddon In Hebrew = destruction, and in Job 26: 6 and Prov. 27: 20 denotes the
abode of the dead, also called sheol or Hades. In Rev. 9: 11 it is personified to
mean the destroyer of all life and peace.
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