Bible Dictionary
SHEPHERD
SHEPHERD
He who takes care of a flock.
Abel had a herd of small cattle (Gen. 4:2).
From Abraham to Jacob and his sons, the patriarchs were ranchers and shepherds (Gen. 13: 1-6).
Jabal, Abraham and the Rechabites were nomads; They lived in tents and led their flocks and livestock from place to place to find pasture (Gen. 4:20; cf. 13:2, 3, 18 and 20:1; Jer. 35:6-10).
Other rich owners of livestock and flocks resided in cities, while their servants went from pasture to pasture with the animals (1 Sam. 25:2, 3, 7, 15, 16; cf. Gen. 37:12-17) .
There was also the sedentary shepherd, who went out in the morning with his flock, and returned it to the fold at night (John 10: 1-4). (See COLD.)
Often the flock was trusting:
to the son (Gen. 37:2; 1 Sam. 16:11, 19),
to the daughter (Gen. 29:9; Ex. 2:16, 17)
or to a hireling (Gen. 30:31, 32; Zech. 11:12; John 10:12).
The owner demanded from the shepherd the price of every missing animal (Gen. 31:39). The Law of Moses released the hireling from this obligation if he could prove that the loss had not been the result of negligence (Ex. 22:10-13).
The shepherd went early to the sheepfold, where several flocks were, and called his sheep. They recognized his voice and followed him.
The latter is a reality in the East, just as each sheep has a name and knows the voice of the shepherd, and constitutes a beautiful type of the relationship of Jehovah with Israel (Ps. 23) and of Christ with the Church (John. 10:2-16).
Other shepherds’ sheep paid no attention to his voice (John 10:2-5).
The shepherd led the flock to the pasture, staying there all day, and sometimes even the night (Gen. 31:40; Song 1:7; Luke 2:8); He defended them from wild beasts and marauders (1 Sam. 17:34, 35; Is. 31: 4), he gathered the lost (Ez. 34:12; Luke 15: 4).
He cared for the newly born sheep (Is. 40:11) and those scattered (Ez. 34:4, 16; Zech. 11:9).
The shepherd carried a satchel and a defensive weapon. If the weather was bad, he would wrap himself in his cloak (1 Sam. 17:40; Jer. 43:12).
His staff, very similar to the one used by our shepherds in Spain, allowed him to direct the flock, gather it and defend it (Ps. 23: 4; Mi. 7:14; Zec. 11: 7).
He was helped by dogs, which were not very docile or faithful, but which, when following the flock, signaled danger with their barking (Jb. 30: 1).
In the Scriptures, Jehovah is presented as the shepherd of Israel, especially of the faithful (Gen. 49:24).
Christ is the “Good Shepherd.” He did not sneak into the fold, but through the door. His sheep respond with confidence to hearing his name and refuse to follow others.
By sacrificing his life for them, he has shown them his love (John 10:1-18).
All those who had a position in the theocracy: prophets, priests, kings, were considered by the people as subordinate shepherds; His unfaithfulness to Jehovah is frequently mentioned (Isa. 56:11).
In the NT there is the gift of shepherds for the church, to feed and shepherd the sheep; Elders or bishops are also exhorted to take care of the Lord’s flock, following the example of Christ, the Great Shepherd of the Sheep, and Lord of the flock and those in charge of caring for it (cf. Eph. 4:11; Heb. 13:7, 17, 20, 24; 1 Pet. 5:1-4).
Bible Dictionary
BETHEL
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.
Bible Dictionary
PUTEOLI
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.
Bible Dictionary
PUT (Nation)
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).
Bible Dictionary
PURPLE
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).
Bible Dictionary
PURIM
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).
Bible Dictionary
PURIFICATION, PURITY
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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