Bible Dictionary
CHOICE
CHOICE
From the Greek term “eklogê”. It’s used:
(a) of the Lord Jesus: «Behold my servant, I will uphold him; my chosen one (“bachir”), in whom my soul is content” (Is. 42:1; 1 Pet. 2:6). He was predestined to be a propitiation by faith in his blood (Rom. 3:25; 1 Pet. 1:20);
(b) of Cyrus, who was called by God to be his “shepherd” and do his will, saying to Jerusalem: “You will be built; and to the temple: You will be founded” (Is. 44:28; 45:1-4). It was Cyrus who freed the captives so that they could go to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:2, 3);
(c) when Jacob and Esau were born, Jacob was chosen for blessing, and his descendants as the only nation chosen by God for special favor with him (Rom. 9:11-13; Am. 3:2);
(d) When God restores Israel to His blessing, it will be a remnant that will be chosen, whom He calls His “elect” (Is. 65:9, 15, 22; Mt. 24:22, 24, 31 ; Rom. 11:8);
(e) of the elect angels (1 Tim. 5:21);
(f) of the election of persons to eternal life (Rom. 8:29, 30, 33; 11:5, 7; Col. 3:12; 1 Thes. 1:4; 2 Tim. 2:10; Tit. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:2; 5:13; 2 Pet. 1:10; 2 Jn. 1, 13).
The reason many believers have difficulty with the doctrine of election to eternal life is because they fail to see the true meaning of man’s fall, and his totally lost condition. If it were not for election and the irresistible grace that accompanies it, no one would be saved.
Christ died for all, and the gospel is proclaimed to all (Rom. 3:22; Heb. 2:9). However, the designs of the flesh are enmity against God (Rom. 8:7), and no one would answer (Lk. 14:18). No one can come to the Lord Jesus if the Father does not draw him to Himself (John 6:44). Those ordained to eternal life believe (Acts 13:48).
All the glory of salvation belongs to God.
However, it must be clear that the fact of the election of many to eternal life does not mean that others have been destined by God to perdition.
This is not taught in the Scriptures. God desires that “all” men be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). His election ensures that “many” will be. The passage from Rom has been widely used. 9:22-23 to defend the theory of double predestination.
However, it is overlooked that the verb “prepared” in verse 22 is in the original in the middle voice, meaning that the vessels of wrath prepared themselves for destruction. It is to the vessels of mercy that He has prepared beforehand for glory.
As for Rom. 9:18, “Whoever he wills, he has mercy, and whomever he wills, he hardens,” nor can this verse be taken as supporting the idea of a double predestination.
Indeed, here we are dealing, on the one hand, with God’s sovereign elective grace towards some (e.g., the extreme case of Saul of Tarsus, illustrative of all the others); On the other hand, those who are hardened are not hardened “to” perdition, but “in” perdition. They remain judicially hardened in an attitude of rebellion already assumed personally.
Finally, a passage that at first glance could be used to support the idea of a double election is that of Jacob and Esau: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Rom. 9:13; cf. Mal. 1:2 -3). Here, at first glance, it seems to be stating that before they were born, God already loved Jacob and hated Esau.
However, while the former is certainly the case, it is not what is at issue here. This statement is here given as a final corollary to the chain showing Jacob’s election into grace.
The statement “I hated Esau” is not connected to “they were not yet born” (Rom. 9:11), but is the historical development that led to Jacob’s election and Esau’s hateful response to a loss of blessing. in which he had had a direct responsibility, due to his contempt for birthright.
There are even those who consider that it does not refer to Esau personally, but to his descendants, after his national actions had become evident (cp. Abd. 10; Ez. 35).
BETHEL
is the name of a Canaanite city in the ancient region of Samaria, located in the center of the land of Canaan, northwest of Ai on the road to Shechem, 30 kilometers south of Shiloh and about 16 kilometers north of Jerusalem.
Bethel is the second most mentioned city in the Bible. Some identify it with the Palestinian village of Beitin and others with the Israeli settlement of Beit El.
Bethel was the place where Abraham built his altar when he first arrived in Canaan (Genesis 12:8; Genesis 13:3). And at Bethel Jacob saw a vision of a ladder whose top touched heaven and the angels ascended and descended (Genesis 28:10-19).
For this reason Jacob was afraid, and said, “How terrible is this place! It is nothing other than the house of God, and the gate of heaven »and he called Bethel the place that was known as «Light» (Genesis 35-15).
Bethel was also a sanctuary in the days of the prophet Samuel, who judged the people there (1 Samuel 7:16; 1 Samuel 10:3). And it was the place where Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, was buried.
Bethel was the birthplace of Hiel, who sought to rebuild the city of Jericho (1 Kings 16:34).
When Bethel did not yet belong to the people of Israel, Joshua had to battle against the king of Bethel and other kings and defeated them (Joshua 12-16).
When the people of Israel had taken possession of the promised land, in the division by tribes it was assigned to the Tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18-22), but in later times it belonged to the Tribe of Judah (2 Chronicles 13:19).
It was one of the places where the Ark of the Covenant remained, a symbol of the presence of God.
In Bethel the prophet Samuel judged the people.
Then the prophet Elisha went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some boys came out of the city and mocked him, and said to him: “Go up, bald man; Come up, bald! When he looked back and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the forest and tore to pieces forty-two boys” (2 Kings 2:23).
After the division of the kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam I, king of Israel, had a golden calf raised at Bethel (1 Kings 21:29) which was destroyed by Josiah, king of Judah, many years later (2 Kings 23:15). .
Bethel was also a place where some of the Babylonian exiles who returned to Israel in 537 BC gathered. (Ezra 2:28).
The prophet Hosea, a century before Jeremiah, refers to Bethel by another name: “Bet-Aven” (Hosea 4:15; Hosea 5:8; Hosea 10:5-8), which means ‘House of Iniquity’, ‘House of Nothingness’, ‘House of Vanity’, ‘House of Nullity’, that is, of idols.
In Amos 7: 12-13 the priest Amaziah tells the prophet Amos that he flee to Judah and no longer prophesy in Bethel because it is the king’s sanctuary, and the head of the kingdom.
The prophet Jeremiah states that “the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel” (Jeremiah 48:13), because of their idolatry and, specifically, the worship of the golden calf.
PUTEOLI
(lat.: “small fountains”).
Two days after arriving in Rhegium, the ship carrying Paul arrived at Puteoli, which was then an important maritime city.
The apostle found Christians there, and enjoyed their hospitality (Acts 28:13).
It was located on the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples, near the site of present-day Pouzzoles.
The entire surrounding region is volcanic, and the Solfatare crater rises behind the city.
PUT
Name of a nation related to the Egyptians and neighbors of their country (Gen. 10:6).
Put is mentioned with Egypt and other African countries, especially Libya (Nah. 3:9) and Lud (Ez. 27:10; Is. 66:19 in the LXX. Put appears between Cush and Lud in Jer. 46:9; Ez. 30:5).
In the LXX he is translated as Libyans in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Josephus also identifies it with Libya (Ant. 1:6, 2), but in Nah. 3.9 is distinguished from the Libyans.
Current opinion is divided between Somalia, Eastern Arabia and Southern Arabia (Perfume Coast).
PURPLE
A coloring substance that is extracted from various species of mollusks. The ancient Tyrians used two types of them: the “Murex trunculus”, from which the bluish purple was extracted, and the “Murex brandaris”, which gave the red.
The ink of its coloring matter varies in color depending on the region in which it is fished.
Piles of murex shells, artificially opened, have been discovered in Minet el-Beida, port of ancient Ugarit (Ras Shamra), which gives evidence of the great antiquity of the use of this purple dye (see UGARIT).
Due to its high price, only the rich and magistrates wore purple (Est. 8:15, cf. the exaltation of Mordecai, v. 2, Pr. 31:22; Dan. 5:7; 1 Mac. 10 :20, 62, 64; 2 Mac. 4:38; cf. v 31; Luke 16:19; Rev. 17:4).
The rulers adorned themselves in purple, even those of Midian (Judg. 8:26). Jesus was mocked with a purple robe (Mark 15:17).
Great use had been made of purple-dyed fabrics for the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:4; 26:1, 31, 36) and for the high priest’s vestments (Ex. 28:5, 6, 15, 33; 39: 29). The Jews gave symbolic value to purple (Wars 5:5, 4).
PURIM
(Heb., plural of “luck”).
Haman cast lots to determine a day of good omen for the destruction of the Jews.
As Haman’s designs were undone, the liberation of the Jews was marked by an annual festival (Est. 3:7; 9:24-32) on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar.
This festival is not mentioned by name in the NT, although there are exegetes who assume that it is the one referred to in Jn. 5:1.
This festival continues to be celebrated within Judaism: the book of Esther is read, and curses are pronounced on Haman and his wife, blessings are pronounced on Mordecai and the eunuch Harbonah (Est. 1:10; 7: 9).
PURIFICATION, PURITY
In the Mosaic Law four ways to purify oneself from contamination were indicated:
(a) Purification of contamination contracted by touching a dead person (Num. 19; cf. Num. 5:2, 3),
(b) Purification from impurity due to bodily emissions (Lev. 15; cf. Num. 5:2, 3).
(c) Purification of the woman in labor (Lev. 12:1-8; Luke 2:21-24).
(d) Purification of the leper (Lev. 14).
To this, the scribes and Pharisees added many other purifications, such as washing hands before eating, washing vessels and dishes, showing great zeal in these things, while inside they were full of extortion and iniquity (Mark 7: 2-8).
In Christianity the necessary purification extends:
to the heart (Acts 15:9; James 4:8),
to the soul (1 Pet. 1:22), and
to the conscience through the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:14).
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BETHEL
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