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Luke
wrote acts, companion of Paul
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Nazareth
Early home of Jesus. The village lies in a hollow among the hills of the Sea of Galilee, just above the Plain of Esdraelon, and near several of the main roads of Palestine. It was in the synagogue at Nazareth that the Lord declared himself to be the fulfiller of the prophecy
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Nain
In the tribe of Issachar, on the western slope of Little Hermon, near Endor, and about 25 miles from Capernaum (Luke 7: 11).
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Almsgiving
Donations for the poor, mentioned frequently in the New Testament.This was an organized and united welfare program of the Church.
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Abba
A personal, familial term for father as used in Hebrew. It is Aramaic for father, and in Talmudic times was used as a title of honor. It was used in the language of Jesus and the apostles, and later by Greek-speaking Christians, as an intimate name for the Father in Heaven
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Anna
A prophetess of the tribe of Asher who, after a short married life of seven years, had been, at the time of our Lord’s birth, a widow for 84 years. She was one of those who greeted the infant Jesus at his presentation in the temple
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Beth
Second letter of the Hebrew alphabet and a designation meaning house. Thus Bethany (house of the poor), Bethel (house of God), Bethlehem (house of bread), etc.
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Burial
According to Jewish custom, after death the body was washed, covered with spices,and wound round and round with long cloths of linen or other material.
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Beelzebub
Name of a Philistine god. Used as a title for the “chief of the demons,” or Satan. The Pharisees referred to him as the “prince of the devils”
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Bethsaida
Probably there are two places of this name mentioned in the N.T. The older city was on the northeast end of the sea of Galilee, near Capernaum, and was the home of Peter, Andrew, and Philip (John 1: 44; John 12: 21). For his capital, Philip the Tetrarch built a city that he called Bethsaida-Julias, after Julia, daughter of Caesar Augustus. The rebuilt portion was north of the older city and apparently nearer the place where Jesus fed the 5,000 (Mark 6: 45; Luke 9: 10) and healed a blind man (Mark 8: 22). When Jesus denounced Bethsaida for its unbelief (Matt. 11: 21; Luke 10: 13) he probably referred to the pagan city (Philip’s capital), not to the older city, composed largely of fishermen settled on the shore of the lake.
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Bethphage
House of figs. A village of district near Bethany to which Jesus sent disciples to obtain a donkey on which he could ride in the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21: 1; Mark 11: 1; Luke 19: 29). Its site has never been exactly determined, but it is near the Mount of Olives and the road from Jericho.
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Chorazin
A town of Galilee, on northern coast of the Sea of Galilee, in which some of our Lord’s might works were done (of which no record is preserved), and which was rebuked for its unbelief
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Calvary
A skull. The name by which the KJV (Luke 23: 33) denotes the place where our Lord was crucified. Calvary is merely an English form of the Latin word calvaria, which is itself a translation of the Hebrew word Golgotha, a skull. The popular expression “Mount Calvary” is not warranted by any statement in the Gospels. There is no mention of a mount in any of the narratives of the crucifixion.
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Conversion
Denotes changing one’s views, in a conscious acceptance of the will of God (Acts 3: 19). If followed by continued faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism in water for the remission of sins, and the reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, conversion will become complete, and will change a natural man into a sanctified, born again, purified person - a new creature in Christ Jesus
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Crucifixion
A Roman form of punishment, usually inflicted only on slaves and the lowest criminals. Our Lord was condemned to it at the request of the Jewish mob on a nominal charge of sedition against Caesar. The purple robe, the crown of thorns, and other insults to which he was subjected were illegal. The punishment was preceded by scourging. The criminal was made to carry his own cross to the place of execution, which was always outside the city. His clothing was the perquisite of the soldiers who carried out the sentence. The cross was driven into the ground, so that the feet of the prisoner were a foot or two above the surface. The cross was watched by four soldiers at a time until death took place, which was sometimes not until the third day
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Caesar
The title by which a Roman emperor was known. when a question was put to our Lord as to the duty of paying tribute
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Circumcision
It symbolized some aspects of separation or dedication1 to God,The significance of circumcision was that it was the manifest token of the covenant that the Lord had made with Abraham and his seed.The word circumcision seems to have been representative of the law in these instances
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Dove, Sign of
A prearranged means by which John the Baptist would recognize the Messiah at Jesus’ baptism (John 1: 32-34). “The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove . . . .The sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence”
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Dead Sea
Also known as the Salt Sea. Located at the southern end of the Jordan valley, 53 miles long, with an average breadth of 9 miles, its surface being 1290 ft. below the Mediterranean, and its greatest depth 1300 ft. It is fed by the Jordan and by several smaller streams, and has no outlet except by evaporation. All the mineral salts that the streams bring down are consequently accumulated, and this accounts for the extreme bitterness of the water. Its shores are memorable as the scene of God’s judgment on the cities of the plain, viz., Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Zoar or Bela (see Gen. 19). The position of these cities is uncertain; they have been placed by some scholars at the northern end (so as to be within view of Bethel), and by others at the southern end.
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Emmaus
- A village 60 furlongs, or about 5 miles from Jerusalem; generally identified with the modern Kulonieh, on the road to Joppa.
- A town on the maritime plain, two-thirds of the way from Jerusalem to Lydda, the scene of the defeat of the Syrians by Judas Maccabaeus
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Education
The divine law impressed upon parents the duty of teaching their children its precepts and principles, but little is known about the methods of teaching that were employed.
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Esaias
The N.T. (Greek) form of the name Isaiah, as in Luke 4: 17 and Acts 8: 30. Also an ancient prophet who lived in the days of Abraham, and who was blessed by him. He was a bearer of the Melchizedek Priesthood (D&C 84: 11-13).
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Fire
- Frequently the symbol of God’s presence, revealed either in mercy or in judgment.
- of the Holy Spirit as a purifying agent
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Feasts-passover
The Feast of the Passover was instituted to commemorate the passing over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when God smote the firstborn of the Egyptians, and more generally the redemption from Egypt
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Fig tree
Everywhere common in Palestine, both wild and cultivated. Figs were an important food. The tree is one of the earliest to show its fruitbuds, which appear before the leaves; thus a fig tree with leaves would be expected to also have fruit. Jesus’ cursing the fig tree for its fruitlessness (Mark 11: 12-13, 20-23) was an allusion to the fruitlessness of Israel. Also, as the tree is a “late leafer,” the time when the leaves appear indicates that summer is “nigh at hand
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Gadara
Called in the N.T. “the country of the Gadarenes,” Gadara was a city of Decapolis, southeast of the Sea of Galilee, on the main road to Damascus. The people were partly Greek and partly Syrian. The district is mentioned in Mark 5: 1 and Luke 8: 26, 37, in connection with the healing of a demoniac; but the Gospels and the Greek manuscripts do not agree as to its name. Compare the above passages with Matt. 8: 28. The miracle was probably worked near Gergesa.
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Gethsemane
The garden, across the brook Kedron, and somewhere near the Mount of Olives, to which our Lord went on leaving the upper room on the night of his betrayal (Matt. 26: 36; Mark 14: 32; cf. Luke 22: 39; John 18: 1). An old tradition identifies it with a garden still existing some 250 yards from the east wall of the city.
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Golgotha
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Gabriel
Man of God. The name of an angel sent to Daniel (Dan. 8: 16; Dan. 9: 21): to Zacharias (Luke 1: 11-19); and to Mary (Luke 1: 26-38). He is identified by latter-day revelation as Noah (HC 3: 386).
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Genealogy
The N.T. contains two genealogies of Jesus Christ; that in Matt. 1: 1-17 descends from Abraham to Jesus, being intended for Jewish readers; while that in Luke 3: 23-38 ascends from Jesus to Adam, and to God, this Gospel being written for the world in general. We notice also that Luke gives 21 names between David and Zerubbabel, and Matthew gives only 15; Luke gives 17 generations between Zerubbabel and Joseph, and Matthew only 9; moreover, nearly all the names are different. The probable explanation is that the descent may be traced through two different lines. Matthew gives a legal descent and includes several adopted children, such adoption carrying with it legal rights, while Luke gives a natural descent through actual parentage.
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Son of God
But there is ample proof that he claimed to be the Son of God in a sense that was true of him and of no one else. He speaks of himself as Son of God, and of others as sons of God, but there is not a single passage in which the sonship of others is spoken of as being the same thing as his own.
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Samaritans
The title is used to describe the people who inhabited Samaria after captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel. They were the descendants of1 foreign colonists placed there by kings of Assyria and Babylonia (2 Kgs. 17: 24; Ezra 4: 2,10);2 Israelites who escaped at the time of the captivity. The population was therefore partly Jewish and partly gentile. Their religion was also of a mixed character (see 2 Kgs. 17: 24-41), though they claimed, as worshippers of Jehovah, to have a share in the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 4: 1-3). This claim not being allowed, they became, as the books of Ezra and Nehemiah show, bitter opponents of the Jews, and started a rival temple of their own on Mount Gerizim. When Nehemiah ejected from Jerusalem a grandson of the high priest Eliashib on account of his marriage with a heathen woman (Neh. 13: 28), he took refuge with the Samaritans, taking with him a copy of the Pentateuch, and according to Josephus became high priest at Gerizim. There are several references in the N.T. to the antagonism between the Jews and Samaritans (see Matt. 10: 5; Luke 9: 52 f.; Luke 10: 33; Luke 17: 16; John 4: 9, 39; John 8: 48); but the people of Samaria were included among those to whom the apostles were directed to preach the gospel (Acts 1: 8), and a very successful work was done there by Philip (Acts 8: 4-15).
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Synagogue
A Jewish meetinghouse for religious purposes. The furniture was generally simple, consisting of an ark containing the rolls of the law and other sacred writings, a reading desk, and seats for the worshippers. Its affairs were managed by the local council of elders, who decided who should be admitted and who should be excluded (cf. Luke 6: 22; John 9: 22; John 12: 42; John 16: 2). The most important official was the Ruler of the Synagogue (Luke 13: 14; Mark 5: 22), who was generally a scribe, had care of the building, and superintended the various services. There was also an attendant who performed clerical duties (Luke 4: 20). The Sabbath morning service was the most important in the week, and included a fixed lesson (Deut. 6: 4-9; Deut. 11: 13-21; Num. 15: 37-41) and two lessons for the day, one from the law and the other from the prophets. A sermon was generally preached in explanation of one of the lessons (Luke 4: 17; Acts 13: 15). The existence of synagogues in every town in which Jews were living, both in Palestine and elsewhere, was a great help to the spread of the gospel, early Christian missionaries being generally able to get a hearing there (e.g., see Acts 13: 5, 14; Acts 14: 1; Acts 17: 1, 10; Acts 18: 4), and the synagogue worship provided in many respects a model for early Christian worship.
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Theophilus
Friend of God. The person to whom Luke addressed his Gospel and the Acts. The use of the title “most excellent” (Luke 1: 3) seems to show that he was a real personage.
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Watches
The Jews, like the Babylonians and Greeks, divided the night into three watches, “the beginning of the watches,” i.e., sunset till 10 p.m. (Lam. 2: 19); the “middle watch,” 10 p.m. till 2 a.m. (Judg. 7: 19; and the “morning watch,” 2 a.m. till sunrise (Ex. 14: 24; 1 Sam. 11: 11; Luke 12: 38). The Romans had four watches, and it is their practice that is followed in
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Lord’s Prayer
So called because it was taught by our Lord to his disciples. Matthew (Matt. 6: 9-13) includes it in the Sermon on the Mount, while Luke (Luke 11: 1-5) tells us that it was given by our Lord in answer to a request from one of his disciples. There are some small differences in the form in which the two disciples have recorded the prayer; these may be accounted for by supposing that they themselves did not always use exactly the same words in saying the prayer. A slightly different rendition is found in 3 Ne. 13: 9-13; and further variations are to be seen in JST Matt. 6: 9-15.
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JosephSon of Heli
husband of the virgin Mary. His descent could be traced from David by a double line (Matt. 1: 1-16; Luke 3: 23-38). He lived at Nazareth, and espoused Mary, the daughter of his uncle Jacob. It was shortly before the marriage that Mary received the visit from the angel Gabriel. The birth of the child, Jesus, was miraculous, his mother being his only earthly parent; but Joseph was naturally regarded in Nazareth as his father, and the holy child treated him as such (Luke 2: 48, 51). It is probable that Joseph died before the crucifixion (and probably before our Lord’s baptism), as otherwise Mary would hardly have been committed by our Lord to the keeping of John
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JosephOf Arimathaea
a “counsellor,” i.e., member of the Sanhedrin, a rich and faithful Israelite who took no part in the condemnation of our Lord, and after the crucifixion buried his body
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John the Baptist
designed to prepare the way for the Messiah and make ready a people to receive him. He was the outstanding bearer of the Aaronic Priesthood in all history, and was entrusted with its most noble mission
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Jericho
A walled city in the valley of the Jordan, 800 feet below the mediterranean, near the place where the Israelites crossed the river on their first entry into the promised land Josh. 2: 1-3; Josh. 3: 16; Josh. 6). Joshua placed a curse upon it (Josh. 6: 26), which was afterwards fulfilled (1 Kgs. 16: 34). It was within the territory assigned to Benjamin (Josh. 18: 12, 21), and was visited by our Lord on his last journey to Jerusalem
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Mary Magdalene
Mary of Magdala, probably the place of that name on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Out of her went seven devils (Luke 8: 2). She was near the cross at the burial at the tomb in the morning Jesus appeared to her
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Marriage
Among the Israelites, marriage was usually preceded by a formal act of betrothal, such a contract, when once entered on, being regarded as absolutely binding. On the marriage day, the bride was escorted to her husband’s home by a procession consisting of her own companions and the “friends of the bridegroom,” or “children of the bride-chamber,” some carrying torches, and others myrtle branches and chaplets of flowers. When she reached the house, words such as “Take her according to the law of Moses and of Israel” were spoken, the pair were crowned with garlands, and a marriage deed was signed.
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Usury
Usury sometimes has more than one meaning. In biblical English it often means simply charging interest on a loan. At other times it implies an unduly high rate of interest. Under the law of Moses, Israel was forbidden to charge usury, as in Ex. 22: 25; Lev. 25: 35-38; Deut. 23: 19-21; Neh. 5: 1-13); Ezek. 18: 8; Ezek. 22: 12. The restriction, however, seems to be when lending to a fellow church member. There is no clear restriction against charges for loans to others. Jesus gives some credence to interest charges in Matt. 25: 14-30; Luke 19: 12-27. Latter-day revelation does not contain restrictions against interest charges.
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Paradise
A Persian word meaning a garden.Paradise is that part of the spirit world in which the righteous spirits who have departed from this life await the resurrection of the body. It is a condition of happiness and peace. However, the scriptures are not always consistent in the use of the word, especially in the Bible. For example, when Jesus purportedly said to the thief on the cross,
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Galilee, Sea of
Also called Sea of Chinneroth, and the Lake of Gennesaret or Tiberias; pear-shaped, 12 1/2 miles long, and 7 1/2 miles across at its greatest breadth. It lies 680 feet below sea-level; the heat is very great, and the cold air rushing down from the hills often produces sudden storms (cf. Luke 8: 22-24). The river Jordan flows right through it, from north to south. In our Lord’s time there were nine cities on the shore of the lake, including Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Gadara, each with a population of over 15,000. The lake and its shores were crowded with busy workers. The best fishing ground was at the north end, and a large quantity of pickled fish was exported to all parts of the Roman Empire.
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