Bible Dictionary





A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |


63 terms and definitions for "W"


Wafers

"Thin cakes (Ex. 16:31; 29:2, 23; Lev. 2:4; 7:12; 8:26; Num. "6:15, 19) used in various offerings." ...

Learn more about Wafers...


Wages

Rate of (mention only in Matt. 20:2); to be punctually paid "(Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14, 15); judgements threatened against the" withholding of (Jer. 22:13; Mal. 3:5; comp. James 5:4); paid in "money ( ...

Learn more about Wages...


Wagon

"Heb. aghalah; so rendered in Gen. 45:19, 21, 27; 46:5; Num. 7:3," "7, 8, but elsewhere rendered "cart" (1 Sam. 6:7, etc.). This" "vehicle was used for peaceful purposes. In Ezek. 23:24, however," "i ...

Learn more about Wagon...


Wailingplace Jews

"A section of the western wall of the temple area, where the Jews" assemble every Friday afternoon to bewail their desolate "condition (Ps. 79:1, 4, 5). The stones in this part of the wall" "are of g ...

Learn more about Wailingplace Jews...


Wall

"Cities were surrounded by walls, as distinguished from "unwalled" "villages" (Ezek. 38:11; Lev. 25:29-34). They were made thick and" strong (Num. 13:28; Deut. 3:5). Among the Jews walls were built " ...

Learn more about Wall...


Wandering

Of the Israelites in the wilderness in consequence of their rebellious fears to enter the Promised Land (Num. 14:26-35). They wandered for forty years before they were permitted to cross the Jordan ( ...

Learn more about Wandering...


War

The Israelites had to take possession of the Promised Land by conquest. They had to engage in a long and bloody war before the Canaanitish tribes were finally subdued. Except in the case of "Jericho ...

Learn more about War...


Ward

"A prison (Gen. 40:3, 4); a watch-station (Isa. 21:8); a guard" (Neh. 13:30). ...

Learn more about Ward...


Wars of the Lord The Book of the

"(Num. 21:14, 15), some unknown book so called (comp. Gen." "14:14-16; Ex. 17:8-16; Num. 14:40-45; 21:1-3, 21-25, 33-35; 31." The wars here recorded might be thus designated). ...

Learn more about Wars of the Lord The Book of the...


Washing

"(Mark 7:1-9). The Jews, like other Orientals, used their fingers" "when taking food, and therefore washed their hands before doing" "so, for the sake of cleanliness. Here the reference is to the" "a ...

Learn more about Washing...


Watches

The periods into which the time between sunset and sunrise was divided. They are so called because watchmen relieved each other at each of these periods. There are frequent references in Scripture to ...

Learn more about Watches...


Watchings

"(2 Cor. 6:5), lit. "sleeplessnesses," the result of "manual" "labour, teaching, travelling, meditating, praying, cares, and" "the like" (Meyer's Com.)." ...

Learn more about Watchings...


Water of jealousy

"A phrase employed (not, however, in Scripture) to denote the" water used in the solemn ordeal prescribed by the law of Moses "(Num. 5:11-31) in cases of "jealousy." ...

Learn more about Water of jealousy...


Water of purification

Used in cases of ceremonial cleansings at the consecration of "the Levites (Num. 8:7). It signified, figuratively, that" purifying of the heart which must characterize the servants of God. ...

Learn more about Water of purification...


Water of separation

Used along with the ashes of a red heifer for the ceremonial cleansing of persons defiled by contact with a dead body (Num. 19). ...

Learn more about Water of separation...


Waterspouts

"(Ps. 42:7; marg. R.V., "cataracts"). If we regard this psalm as" descriptive of David's feelings when banished from Jerusalem by "the revolt of Absalom, this word may denote "waterfalls," "inasmuch ...

Learn more about Waterspouts...


Wave offerings

"Parts of peace-offerings were so called, because they were waved" "by the priests (Ex. 29:24, 26, 27; Lev. 7:20-34; 8:27; 9:21;" "10:14, 15, etc.), in token of a solemn special presentation to" God. ...

Learn more about Wave offerings...


Wax

Made by melting the combs of bees. Mentioned (Ps. 22:14; 68:2; 97:5; Micah 1:4) in illustration. ...

Learn more about Wax...


Wean

Among the Hebrews children (whom it was customary for the "mothers to nurse, Ex. 2:7-9; 1 Sam. 1:23; Cant. 8:1) were not" generally weaned till they were three or four years old. ...

Learn more about Wean...


Weasel

"(Heb. holedh), enumerated among unclean animals (Lev. 11:29)." Some think that this Hebrew word rather denotes the mole (Spalax "typhlus) common in Palestine. There is no sufficient reason," "howeve ...

Learn more about Weasel...


Weaving weavers

Weaving was an art practised in very early times (Ex. 35:35). The Egyptians were specially skilled in it (Isa. 19:9; Ezek. "27:7), and some have regarded them as its inventors." "In the wilderness, t ...

Learn more about Weaving weavers...


Week

"From the beginning, time was divided into weeks, each consisting" "of six days of working and one of rest (Gen. 2:2, 3; 7:10; 8:10," 12; 29:28). The references to this division of days becomes after ...

Learn more about Week...


Weeks Feast of

See [665]PENTECOST. ...

Learn more about Weeks Feast of...


Weights

"Reduced to English troy-weight, the Hebrew weights were: (1.)" "The gerah (Lev. 27:25; Num. 3:47), a Hebrew word, meaning a" "grain or kernel, and hence a small weight. It was the twentieth" "part o ...

Learn more about Weights...


Well

"(Heb. beer), to be distinguished from a fountain (Heb. `ain). A" "beer was a deep shaft, bored far under the rocky surface by" "the art of man, which contained water which percolated through" the st ...

Learn more about Well...


Westward

"Sea-ward, i.e., toward the Mediterranean (Deut. 3:27)." ...

Learn more about Westward...


Whale

"The Hebrew word tan (plural, tannin) is so rendered in Job 7:12" "(A.V.; but R.V., "sea-monster"). It is rendered by "dragons" in" "Deut. 32:33; Ps. 91:13; Jer. 51:34; Ps. 74:13 (marg., "whales;" "a ...

Learn more about Whale...


Wheat

One of the earliest cultivated grains. It bore the Hebrew name "hittah, and was extensively cultivated in Palestine. There are" various species of wheat. That which Pharaoh saw in his dream "was the ...

Learn more about Wheat...


Wheel

"(Heb. galgal; rendered "wheel" in Ps. 83:13, and "a rolling" "thing" in Isa. 17:13; R.V. in both, "whirling dust"). This word" "has been supposed to mean the wild artichoke, which assumes the" "form ...

Learn more about Wheel...


White

A symbol of purity (2 Chr. 5:12; Ps. 51:7; Isa. 1:18; Rev. 3:18; "7:14). Our Lord, at his transfiguration, appeared in raiment" "white as the light (Matt. 17:2, etc.)." ...

Learn more about White...


Widows

"To be treated with kindness (Ex. 22:22; Deut. 14:29; 16:11, 14;" "24:17, 19-21; 26:12; 27:19, etc.). In the New Testament the same" tender regard for them is inculcated (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Tim. 5:3-16) a ...

Learn more about Widows...


Wife

The ordinance of marriage was sanctioned in Paradise (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-6). Monogamy was the original law under which man "lived, but polygamy early commenced (Gen. 4:19), and continued" to preva ...

Learn more about Wife...


Wilderness

"(1.) Heb. midhbar, denoting not a barren desert but a district" or region suitable for pasturing sheep and cattle (Ps. 65:12; Isa. 42:11; Jer. 23:10; Joel 1:19; 2:22); an uncultivated place. "This w ...

Learn more about Wilderness...


Willows

"(1.) Heb. `arabim (Lev. 23:40; Job 40:22; Isa. 15:7; 44:3, 4;" "Ps. 137:1, 2). This was supposed to be the weeping willow," "called by Linnaeus Salix Babylonica, from the reference in Ps." "137. Thi ...

Learn more about Willows...


Wimple

"Isa. 3:22, (R.V., "shawls"), a wrap or veil. The same Hebrew" "word is rendered "vail" (R.V., "mantle") in Ruth 3:15." ...

Learn more about Wimple...


Window

Properly only an opening in a house for the admission of light "and air, covered with lattice-work, which might be opened or" closed (2 Kings 1:2; Acts 20:9). The spies in Jericho and Paul at Damascu ...

Learn more about Window...


Winds

Blowing from the four quarters of heaven (Jer. 49:36; Ezek. 37:9; Dan. 8:8; Zech. 2:6). The east wind was parching (Ezek. "17:10; 19:12), and is sometimes mentioned as simply denoting a" strong wind ...

Learn more about Winds...


Wine

"The common Hebrew word for wine is yayin, from a root meaning" "to boil up, "to be in a ferment." Others derive it from a root" "meaning "to tread out," and hence the juice of the grape trodden" "ou ...

Learn more about Wine...


Winefat

(Mark 12:1). The original word (hypolenion) so rendered occurs only here in the New Testament. It properly denotes the trough "or lake (lacus), as it was called by the Romans, into which the" juice o ...

Learn more about Winefat...


Winepress

"Consisted of two vats or receptacles, (1) a trough (Heb. gath," Gr. lenos) into which the grapes were thrown and where they were trodden upon and bruised (Isa. 16:10; Lam. 1:15; Joel 3:13); and "(2) ...

Learn more about Winepress...


Winnow

"Corn was winnowed, (1.) By being thrown up by a shovel against" the wind. As a rule this was done in the evening or during the "night, when the west wind from the sea was blowing, which was a" moder ...

Learn more about Winnow...


Wise men

"Mentioned in Dan. 2:12 included three classes, (1) astrologers," "(2) Chaldeans, and (3) soothsayers. The word in the original" "(hakamim) probably means "medicine men. In Chaldea medicine was" "onl ...

Learn more about Wise men...


Wise wisdom

"A moral rather than an intellectual quality. To be "foolish" is" to be godless (Ps. 14:1; comp. Judg. 19:23; 2 Sam. 13:13). True wisdom is a gift from God to those who ask it (Job 28:12-28; Prov. 3: ...

Learn more about Wise wisdom...


Witch

"Occurs only in Ex. 22:18, as the rendering of mekhashshepheh," "the feminine form of the word, meaning "enchantress" (R.V.," "sorceress), and in Deut. 18:10, as the rendering of" "mekhashshepheth, t ...

Learn more about Witch...


Witchcraft

(1 Sam. 15:23; 2 Kings 9:22; 2 Chr. 33:6; Micah 5:12; Nahum 3:4; Gal. 5:20). In the popular sense of the word no mention is made either of witches or of witchcraft in Scripture. "The "witch of En-dor ...

Learn more about Witchcraft...


Witness

More than one witness was required in criminal cases (Deut. 17:6; 19:15). They were the first to execute the sentence on the condemned (Deut. 13:9; 17:7; 1 Kings 21:13; Matt. 27:1; Acts "7:57, 58). F ...

Learn more about Witness...


Witness of the Spirit

"(Rom. 8:16), the consciousness of the gracious operation of the" "Spirit on the mind, "a certitude of the Spirit's presence and" "work continually asserted within us", manifested "in his" "comfortin ...

Learn more about Witness of the Spirit...


Wizard

"A pretender to supernatural knowledge and power, "a knowing" "one," as the original Hebrew word signifies. Such an one was" forbidden on pain of death to practise his deceptions (Lev. "19:31; 20:6, ...

Learn more about Wizard...


Wolf

"Heb. zeeb, frequently referred to in Scripture as an emblem of" "treachery and cruelty. Jacob's prophecy, "Benjamin shall ravin" "as a wolf" (Gen. 49:27), represents the warlike character of" that t ...

Learn more about Wolf...


Woman

"Was "taken out of man" (Gen. 2:23), and therefore the man has" "the preeminence. "The head of the woman is the man;" but yet" "honour is to be shown to the wife, "as unto the weaker vessel" "(1 Cor. ...

Learn more about Woman...


Wood

See [669]FOREST. ...

Learn more about Wood...


Woodoffering

(Neh. 10:34; 13:31). It would seem that in the time of Nehemiah "arrangements were made, probably on account of the comparative" "scarcity of wood, by which certain districts were required, as" "chos ...

Learn more about Woodoffering...


Wool

One of the first material used for making woven cloth (Lev. "13:47, 48, 52, 59; 19:19). The first-fruit of wool was to be" offered to the priests (Deut. 18:4). The law prohibiting the "wearing of a g ...

Learn more about Wool...


Word of God

"(Heb. 4:12, etc.). The Bible so called because the writers of" its several books were God's organs in communicating his will to "men. It is his "word," because he speaks to us in its sacred" pages. ...

Learn more about Word of God...


Word The

"(Gr. Logos), one of the titles of our Lord, found only in the" "writings of John (John 1:1-14; 1 John 1:1; Rev. 19:13). As such," Christ is the revealer of God. His office is to make God known. "No ...

Learn more about Word The...


Works Covenant of

Entered into by God with Adam as the representative of the human "race (comp. Gen. 9:11, 12; 17:1-21), so styled because perfect" "obedience was its condition, thus distinguishing it from the" covena ...

Learn more about Works Covenant of...


Works Good

"The old objection against the doctrine of salvation by grace," "that it does away with the necessity of good works, and lowers" "the sense of their importance (Rom. 6), although it has been" "answer ...

Learn more about Works Good...


Worm

"(1.) Heb. sas (Isa. 51:8), denotes the caterpillar of the" clothes-moth. "(2.) The manna bred worms (tola'im), but on the Sabbath there "was not any worm (rimmah) therein (Ex. 16:20, 24). Here these ...

Learn more about Worm...


Wormwood

"Heb. la'anah, the Artemisia absinthium of botanists. It is noted" for its intense bitterness (Deut. 29:18; Prov. 5:4; Jer. 9:15; "Amos 5:7). It is a type of bitterness, affliction, remorse," punitiv ...

Learn more about Wormwood...


Worship

Homage rendered to God which it is sinful (idolatry) to render to any created being (Ex. 34:14; Isa. 2:8). Such worship was "refused by Peter (Acts 10:25, 26) and by an angel (Rev. 22:8," 9). ...

Learn more about Worship...


Worshipper

(Gr. neocoros = temple-sweeper (Acts 19:35) of the great goddess Diana). This name neocoros appears on most of the extant Ephesian coins ...

Learn more about Worshipper...


Wrestle

(Eph. 6:12). See [673]GAMES. ...

Learn more about Wrestle...


Writing

The art of writing must have been known in the time of the early "Pharaohs. Moses is commanded "to write for a memorial in a book" (Ex. 17:14) a record of the attack of Amalek. Frequent mention "is a ...

Learn more about Writing...