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KADESH, KADESH BARNEA [ka´-desh bar-ne´-ah] (consecrated) — an area of wilderness between Egypt and the land of Canaan. The Hebrew people camped there after the Exodus.
KERYGMA [ke-rig´-ma] — the preaching of the gospel in the New Testament church (1 Cor. 1:21).
KIDRON [kid´-ron] (gloomy) — a valley on the eastern slope of Jerusalem.
KIN, KINSMAN, KINDRED — relatives. Family was important to the Hebrew people. The family had the responsibility of protecting and saving its members from others’ wrongdoing (Gen. 34:1–31). In the Old Testament, the word “kinsman” is sometimes used as a word that means redeemer.
KINDLE — cause to burn (Acts 28:2, NKJV).
KINDNESS, LOVINGKINDNESS —God’s love and favor toward His people. In the Old Testament, the word refers to God’s longsuffering love. God will keep His promises to His people even though they constantly sin and turn away from Him (Deut. 7:12; Hosea 2:14–23, NKJV).
In the New Testament, the word refers to God’s grace. Because God has been gracious toward believers, they should treat others with kindness or grace (Luke 6:35). Being kind to someone who has sinned isn’t a sign of approval. We are kind to help the sinner find their way back to God (Rom. 2:4).
KINE — cows, cattle (Amos 4:1, KJV). (See Ox, Oxen.)
KING, KINGDOM — a ruler of a nation or territory, especially one who inherits his position and rules for life; a state or nation with a form of government in which a king or queen serves as supreme ruler (Matt. 6:10).
The Kidron Valley, just outside the eastern wall of Jerusalem. Jesus and His disciples crossed this valley and its brook on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:1).
An exhausted traveler rests in the shade of a broom bush in the wilderness of Kadesh (Num. 20:16).
KINGDOM OF GOD, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN — God’s rule of grace in the world, a future period foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament and that begins Jesus’ public ministry. The kingdom of God is like the Garden of Eden. It is a time with no evil or wickedness and the people who live in the kingdom know only happiness, peace, and joy. This was the main expectation of the Old Testament prophets about the future (Matt. 6:10).
KINGS, BOOKS OF — two Old Testament books that tell the history of God’s chosen people from 970 to 586 B.C. The books are organized around the various kings who ruled during that time. These books cover about four hundred years of Judah and Israel’s history and are written in chronological order.
KISH — the name of four men in the Old Testament:
1. The father of King Saul (1 Chron. 12:1).
2. A Levite who lived in David’s time (1 Chron. 23:21–22; 24:29).
3. A Levite who helped cleanse the temple (2 Chron. 29:12).
4. A Benjamite ancestor of Mordecai (Esther 2:5).
KISHON [ki´-shon] — a river in Palestine. Because the Kishon falls slightly as it crosses the level plain, it often swells up and floods much of the valley during the rainy season.
KISS — a symbolic act done by placing the lips on certain parts of another person’s body, especially their cheeks, forehead, lips, or feet (Prov. 24:26). A kiss usually shows a close relationship to another person.
The most common type of kiss was a kiss between relatives (family kiss) (Gen. 29:11–13). A kiss could mean hello, or welcome (Exod. 4:27), or it could also mean good-bye (Ruth 1:9, 14; Acts 20:37). In the New Testament, the family kiss was also used between believers (Christian family) (1 Cor. 16:20; 1 Pet. 5:14).
A kiss can also be a sign of betrayal. When Judas betrayed Christ, he did so with a kiss (Luke 22:47–48).
The gold mask buried with Pharaoh Tutankhamun of Egypt about 1350 B.C., illustrating the wealth of his kingdom.
KNEEL — to get down on the knees; to bow (Ps. 95:6; Acts 9:40).
KNEELING — falling to one’s knees as a sign of reverence, obedience, or respect. In the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, Solomon knelt before God (1 Kings 8:54). Daniel knelt in prayer three times a day (Dan. 6:10).
KNOW — to understand intimately. The Bible also uses this word to mean the sexual relationship between a husband and wife (Gen. 4:1, NKJV; Luke 1:34, NKJV).
These tourists are overshadowed by a gigantic urn at Petra, a city built by the Nebateans in southern Palestine. They inhabited the land of the ancient Edomites, a people mentioned often in the Books of 1 and 2 Kings.
KNOWLEDGE — the truth or facts of life that a person learns from daily life or by thinking. The greatest truth that a person can learn through experience is truth about God (Ps. 46:10; John 8:31–32).
KORAH — the name of four men in the Old Testament. The two best known were Korah the Levite, who led a revolt against Moses and Aaron (Num. 16:1–49), and Korah the son of Izhar, a first cousin of Moses and Aaron (Exod. 6:21).