B
BAAL [ba´-al] (lord, master) — the name of a false god of the Canaanites (Jer. 11:13), a city (1 Chron. 4:33), and two men in the Bible (1 Chron. 5:5–6; 1 Chron. 8:30; 9:36).
BABEL, TOWER OF [ba´-bel] — a very tall tower built after the Flood.
The people were selfish and greedy and thought they could build a tower so high in the sky that it would let them reach God. God did not like their attitude and changed their languages so they could not understand each other. Since they could not work together any more, they stopped building the tower (Gen. 11:1–9).
BABYLON, CITY OF [bab´-i-lun] — a city built between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and capital of the Babylonian Empire.
BABYLONIA [bab-i-low´-nih-uh] — a pagan empire in southern Mesopotamia. The Babylonians were always fighting with the Assyrians for control of the entire area.
BACKBITE — to say things about a person with the purpose of hurting them or causing trouble (Ps. 15:3, NKJV; Rom. 1:30, NKJV).
BACKSLIDE — to go back to a sinful life (Jer. 2:19, NKJV; 31:22, NKJV; 49:4, NKJV).
BALAAM [ba´-la-am] — a magician (Josh. 13:22) who was called by Balak, the Moabite king, to place a curse on the Israelites before they went to Canaan (Num. 22:5–24:25; Deut. 23:4–5). God told Balaam to go and then used a donkey to make him understand that he should only say what God told him to and not curse the Israelites.
BALANCES — a tool used to measure weight. In the Bible, talking about balances is often done to teach a lesson (Lev. 19:36).
BALM — a plant-based ointment used for medical purposes (Jer. 51:8).
This drawing of Babylon shows the main avenue of the city, passing through the Gate of Ishtar in the city wall.
BAPTISM — a ceremony used in the New Testament church (Rom. 6:1–4) that is still used in churches today. A lot of churches have different ideas about baptism. They have different views on who should be baptized, and also on how to be baptized.
BAPTISM OF FIRE — a phrase used by John the Baptist to describe the work of Jesus Christ: “He [Christ] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16).
BAPTIST — a person who baptizes, like John the Baptist (Mark 1:4–5); also the name of a Christian denomination.
BARABBAS [ba-rab´-bas] — a “robber” (John 18:40) and notorious prisoner (Matt. 27:16) who was chosen by the mob in Jerusalem to be set free instead of Jesus.
BARBARIAN — a person who is different from most of society. Originally, the Greeks used the word to describe anyone who did not speak the Greek language (Rom. 1:14, NKJV). Later, when Rome conquered Greece, “barbarian” was the word for people who didn’t take part in Greco–Roman culture.
BAR–JESUS [bar-je´-sus] (son of Jesus) —a false prophet who stood against Barnabas and Paul at Paphos, a town on the island of Cyprus (Acts 13:4–12). He is also called Elymas, which means “magician” or “sorcerer.” Bar–Jesus lost his sight for a short time because of his stand against the gospel.
BARNABAS [bar´-na-bus] (son of encouragement) — an apostle in the early church (Acts 4:36–37; 11:19–26) and a partner to Paul during his first missionary journey (Acts 13:1–15:41). Barnabas was a Levite from the island of Cyprus. His birth name was Joseph, or Joses (Acts 4:36). When he became a Christian, he sold his land and gave the money to the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 4:36–37).
A baptistry, or bath, used for purification ceremonies in the Essene community at Qumran.
A baptistry shaped like a cross in the Church of St. John at Ephesus.
BARREN — the condition of being unable to produce. This word could be used to speak of a woman who couldn’t have children, or it could be used to talk about land (2 Kings 2:19, NKJV). Sometimes it even meant a whole nation (Isa. 54:1, NKJV).
BARTHOLOMEW [bar-thol´-o-mew] (son of Tolmai) — one of the twelve apostles of Jesus (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13). He might have also been called Nathanael (John 1:45–49).
BASE — when used as an adjective, it means humble or lowly (Ezek. 29:15, NKJV); when used as a noun, it is a pedestal (Ezra 3:3, NKJV).
BASHAN [ba´-shan] — a territory east of the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee (Deut. 32:14).
BATH — a liquid measurement that equals about 5.8 gallons (1 Kings 7:38, NKJV).
BATHSHEBA [bath-she´-buh] (daughter of oath) — a wife of Uriah the Hittite. After Uriah died, she became a wife of King David (2 Sam. 11; 12:24).
David had Uriah killed so he could marry Bathsheba. David and Bathsheba had a child together, but because of the sin involved in their relationship, the child died (2 Sam. 11:26–27).
B.C. — a time reference that means “Before Christ.”
The tomb of Barnabas on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea.
BEATITUDES, THE — Spoken by Jesus at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:3–12).
BEELZEBUB [be-el´-ze-bub] — the Greek name of Baal–Zebub, a false god of the Philistines (Matt. 12:24).
BEERSHEBA [be-ur´-she-ba] (well of the seven or well of the oath) — a main city located in the territory of Simeon (Josh. 19:1–2) and the most southern city in the land of Judah (Josh. 15:21, 28).
BEGET — to make happen; in the Bible, it usually means “fathered” (1 Cor. 4:15, NKJV).
BEGOTTEN, ONLY — a New Testament phrase that describes Jesus Christ as the special, only Son of His heavenly Father (John 1:14, 18, NKJV; 3:16–18, NKJV; 1 John 4:9, NKJV; one and only, NIV). As the special, sinless Son of God, Jesus provided the way to our salvation by dying on the cross.
BELIAL [be´-le-al] (worthlessness) — an Old Testament word used to describe a bad person. Belial is sometimes used as a name for a demon or Satan (2 Cor. 6:15).
BELIEVE, BELIEVER — to trust in God’s truth; a person who knows that what God says is true and trusts Him for salvation (John 14:1; 20:31).
BELSHAZZAR [bel-shaz´-ar] (Bel, protect the king) — the oldest son of Nabonidus and the last king of the Neo–Babylonian Empire (Dan. 5:1–2; 7:1; 8:1).
BELTESHAZZAR [bel-te-shaz´-ar] — the name given to Daniel by King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 1:7; 5:12). This name is not the same as Belshazzar.
Chapel on the Mount of Beatitudes, the site where Jesus delivered His Sermon on the Mount, according to many scholars.
BENJAMIN [ben´-jam-min] (son of the right hand or son of the south) — the name of three men in the Old Testament, but usually refers to the youngest son of Jacob and his favorite wife, Rachel (Gen. 35:18, 24).
BEREA [be-re´-ah] — a city in Macedonia about forty-five miles west of Thessalonica. On his first missionary journey, the apostle Paul preached there (Acts 17:10). The Bereans were praised for the way they studied the Scriptures to make sure what Paul taught them was the truth (Acts 17:11).
BERYL — a stone that was usually green or bluish-green (Ezek. 1:16, NKJV; 10:9, NKJV).
BESEECH — to beg; to ask (Rom. 12:1, NKJV).
BESIEGE — a military word that means surround (Deut. 20:19, NKJV).
BETHANY [beth´-a-ny] — the name of two villages in the New Testament:
1. A village located at the base of the Mount of Olives (Mark 11:1).
2. A village where John the Baptist ministered (John 1:28).
BETHEL [beth´-el] (house of God) — the name of two cities in the Old Testament but usually refers to a city of Canaan about twelve miles north of Jerusalem. Bethel is mentioned more often in the Bible than any other city except for Jerusalem.
BETHLEHEM [beth´-le-hem] (house of bread or house of [the god] Lahmu) — the birthplace of Jesus Christ (Matt. 2:1) and the hometown of King David (1 Sam. 16:4).
Bethlehem was located about five miles south of Jerusalem in the area known as Ephrathah in Judah (Mic. 5:2). This region was known for its fertile hills and valleys. It was also a town in the land of Zebulun (Josh. 19:15).
Abraham’s Well at the ancient city of Beersheba.
Bethlehem, in the hill country of Judah—the home of David and the birthplace of Jesus (1 Sam. 16:1, 4; Luke 2:11).
BETHSAIDA [beth-sa´-da] (house of fishing) — Bethsaida, which was later called Julias, was located two miles north of the Sea of Galilee and east of the Jordan River. The gospels of Mark, Luke, and John seem to refer to another Bethsaida which was the home of Philip, Andrew, and Peter (John 1:44), and maybe of James and John (Luke 5:10). That town was located northwest of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 6:45, 53) near Capernaum (John 6:17) in the city of Galilee (John 12:21).
BETROTHAL, BETROTHED — a promise or contract for marriage; engaged (Deut. 20:7, NKJV; Jer. 2:2, NKJV; Luke 1:27, NKJV).
BEWRAY — to give information in order to cause trouble (Matt. 26:73, NKJV).
BIBLE, THE — a collection of books inspired by God. The Christian church uses the Bible to provide guidelines for belief and behavior.
The Bible contains two major sections known as the Old Testament and the New Testament. The books of the Old Testament were written over a period of about one thousand years in the Hebrew language, except for a few passages that were written in Aramaic. The Old Testament tells what happened before Christ came.
The New Testament was written in Greek over a period of about sixty years. This section of the Bible tells about Christ’s birth, His life and ministry, and the growth of the early church.
BIBLE VERSIONS AND TRANSLATIONS — The Bible was written over a period of several centuries in the languages of Hebrew and Aramaic (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament). Because nations and cultures change over time, these original writings have been translated many times to make the Bible available in different languages.
Parts of John 18 can be seen on these papyrus fragments which date from about A.D. 125–150.
BILDAD [bil´-dad] — one of Job’s friends. The three times he spoke to Job (Job 8:1–22; 18:1–21; 25:1–6), Bildad said he believed that all suffering is a direct result of a person’s sin. He wasn’t very kind or patient with Job.
BIRTHRIGHT — a right, privilege, or a property given to a person, especially the firstborn son, in Bible times (Deut. 21:17, NKJV; Gen. 27:27, NKJV; Gen. 43:33, NKJV).
BISHOP — an “elder” or pastor who was responsible for the spiritual leadership of a local church in New Testament times (Acts 20:17; Titus 1:5–7).
BISHOPRIC — the office and the responsibilities of a bishop (Acts 1:20, KJV).
BITTER HERBS — herbs eaten by the Israelites during the celebration of Passover. The herbs helped them remember their bitter experience as slaves in Egypt (Exod. 1:14; 12:8; Num. 9:11). Those herbs were probably plants like dandelions and horseradish.
BLASPHEME, BLASPHEMY — the act of cursing God or saying bad things about God. In the Old Testament, blaspheming God was a serious crime and the punishment for that crime was death (Matt. 9:3; 26:65). If a person committed blasphemy, they were guilty of breaking the Third Commandment (Exod. 20:7).
BLESS, BLESSING — the act of saying or wishing good for others. A blessing from God is the act of God saying, doing, or giving something good to His children.
Title page from an early copy of the King James Version of the Bible, first published in 1611.
The fields of Boaz, near the city of Bethlehem (Ruth 2:1–4).
BLOOD — the red fluid that circulates in the body. It provides nourishment to the body and carries away waste. The word “blood” is used a lot in Scripture. Sometimes the word means the blood of animals (Gen. 37:31). Other times it means human blood (1 Kings 22:35).
BLOODGUILTINESS — guilt felt by a person who commits murder (Ps. 51:14).
BOAST — as a word with a positive meaning, it means to praise something or someone (Ps. 44:8, NKJV). As a word with a negative meaning, it means to “brag” about sin and to have false pride (Ps. 52:1).
BOAZ [bo´-az] (in him is strength) — the name of a wealthy, honorable man from Bethlehem. He was a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimilech, and he married Naomi’s daughter-in-law, Ruth (Ruth 2–4).
Boaz was also the name of one of the two bronze pillars that stood in front of King Solomon’s temple (2 Chron. 3:17, NKJV). The name of the other pillar was Jachin.
BODY — the physical part of a person. The Bible teaches that the body is a gift from God. In the Old Testament the word “body” sometimes means “corpse” (Num. 6:6). The word “body” is also used as a symbol for the church (Rom. 12:4–5; 1 Cor. 12:12–14; Col. 1:18).
BOND, BONDS — something that holds an object or person still or holds an object or person back. In the Bible, the word is used to describe the chains of prisoners (Judg. 15:14, NKJV). It is also used to describe the way sin has a hold on a person (Isa. 58:6, NKJV). The word can also speak of good things like a covenant or “agreement” (Ezek. 20:37), or “peace” and love (Eph. 4:3).
BONDAGE — physical slavery or bondage in sin. Bondage in sin is a reference to life before knowing Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:15, NKJV; Gal. 4:7–9, NKJV).
BONES — the skeleton of the human body. The Israelites thought the bones of Joseph were special (Exod. 13:19). The prophet Ezekiel had a vision of the valley of dry bones. In his vision the dead bones came to life. The meaning of this vision was that the Jews would some day be a nation again after years of being held in captivity in Babylon (Ezek. 37:1–14).
BOOK — a group of words written on a “scroll,” a roll of papyrus, leather, or parchment (Jer. 36:2).
BOOK OF LIFE — a heavenly book where the names of righteous (saved) people are written. Moses was the first to speak of the “Book of Life.” He prayed that God would black out his name in the book rather than cause trouble for the other Israelites (Exod. 32:32–33). This idea probably came from the practice of registering people by genealogy (Jer. 22:30; Neh. 7:5, 64) and keeping a record of priests and Levites (Neh. 12:22–23).
At the end of time (Rev. 20:11–15), the people whose names are not written in the Book of Life will be “cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). But the people whose names are written there (Rev. 21:27) will be allowed to enter the New Jerusalem.
BOOTHS, FEAST OF — also called the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:34–36).
BOOTY — the name used to describe all the valuable items taken from an enemy in battle. Things like gold and silver, clothing, food, household items, weapons, tools, animals, and even people to be used as slaves were all considered booty (Gen. 14:11–12, NKJV; Jer. 49:32, NKJV).
BORN AGAIN — a spiritual birth (John 3:3).
BORNE — carried (Matt. 23:4, NKJV).
BOSOM — a word for the chest of the human body. This word is used in the Bible as a symbol of closeness. To take something into the bosom means to accept it completely (Isa. 40:11, NKJV). The word “bosom” can also mean a person’s inner thoughts (Ps. 35:13, KJV; heart, NKJV).“Abraham’s bosom” is a term that means a place of honor (Luke 16:22–23, NKJV).
BOUNTY — abundance (more than is needed); blessing (2 Cor. 9:5, NKJV).
BOWELS — the internal parts of a person’s body. The bowels were considered a deep place where emotions and feelings were. In scripture, “bowels” means pity, compassion, and tenderness (Job 30:27, NKJV; 1 John 3:17, NKJV).
BRANCH — a stem or limb growing from the trunk of a tree. The arms of the golden lampstand made for the tabernacle are also called branches (Exod. 37:17–22). The most special use of this word in the Bible is when it is used as a symbolic title for the Messiah.
BREACH — exposed; a weak spot (2 Kings 22:5, NKJV).
BREAD — a food item made from flour or meal and mixed with a liquid. Sometimes yeast was added and then it was shaped into loaves and baked.
Bread had an important place in Israel’s worship services and it was also a big part of trade and commerce (business).
On the night before Jesus was crucified, He met with his disciples. “While they were eating, Jesus took some bread. He thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, ‘Take this bread and eat it. This bread is my body’” (Matt. 26:26). By His sacrifice, Christ became the Bread of Life. This became known as the Lord’s Supper or the Last Supper.
BREASTPLATE — a piece of armor (Eph. 6:14, NKJV); a religious garment (Exod. 28:15–30, NKJV).
BREECHES — a word for trousers [pants] (Exod. 28:42, KJV).
BRETHREN — refers to brothers in a family (Gen. 47:1, NKJV); also brothers in a spiritual family (Acts 20:32, NKJV).
BRIDE — a woman who has just gotten married or is about to be married. In biblical times, it was the custom that fathers picked wives for their sons (Gen. 38:6). Sometimes a son might ask his father for a certain bride, and his father would talk with the parents or guardians of the young woman and try to work it out (Gen. 34:4, 8). Once in a while, the father of the young woman might try to make a deal for a certain husband for his daughter (Exod. 2:21).
BRIDEGROOM — a man who has just gotten married or is about to be married. This word is also used as a title for the Messiah. John the Baptist called Jesus the “bridegroom” (John 3:29). Jesus referred to Himself as the “bridegroom” (Matt. 9:15). Jesus’ bride is the church—those who are spiritually united with Him by faith.
BRIMSTONE — a bright yellow mineral usually found near active volcanoes. It burns very easily and it smells really bad when burning. The Hebrew and Greek words for “brimstone” mean divine fire (Gen. 19:24, NKJV; Ezek. 38:22, NKJV; Luke 17:29, NKJV). In other Bible versions, the word “sulphur” is used in place of brimstone.
BROOD — baby birds still in the nest (Luke 13:34, NKJV).
BUCKLER — a “shield” (1 Chron. 5:18); also a symbol for God’s protection (Ps. 18:2).
BULL, BULLOCK — an animal used for sacrifice (Heb. 10:4; Exod. 29:11).
BULRUSH — large bunches of grass with hollow stems that grew beside the rivers in Egypt and Palestine. Moses’ basket was woven from bulrushes (Exod. 2:3–6, NKJV).
BULWARKS — towers built along city walls. Soldiers stood in them to shoot arrows and throw large stones at their enemies (Ps. 48:13, NKJV; Isa. 26:1, NKJV).
BURDEN — a heavy load or weight. A burden can be an actual object (Exod. 23:5, NKJV) or a symbol or a feeling (Num. 11:11, 17, NKJV).
BURIED — placed in a grave (Num. 20:1). This word is also used as a symbol in a baptism (Rom. 6:4).
BURN — the action of fire. This word is used to mean actual burning, like in the story of the burning bush (Exod. 3:2) and the story of the fiery furnace (Dan. 3:20–25). The word is also used to describe anger (Exod. 32:10–11, NKJV), jealousy (Ps. 79:5), and strong emotions (Luke 24:32).
BURNING BUSH — the flaming shrub (tree) at Mount Horeb. This is where Moses first found out about the presence of God (Exod. 3:2–4). Moses saw the flames and he was very curious why the bush did not burn up. Some Bible teachers believe the burning bush was a symbol of Israel because Israel survived the “fiery trial” of being slaves in Egypt.