Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/eastons/t0002750

Text File | 1993-10-09 | 30KB | 689 lines

$$T0002750
\North country\
a general name for the countries that lay north of Palestine.
Most of the invading armies entered Palestine from the north
(Isa. 41:25; Jer. 1:14,15; 50:3,9,41; 51:48; Ezek. 26:7).

$$T0002751
\Northward\
(Heb. tsaphon), a "hidden" or "dark place," as opposed to the
sunny south (Deut. 3:27). A Hebrew in speaking of the points of
the compass was considered as always having his face to the
east, and hence "the left hand" (Gen. 14:15; Job 23:9) denotes
the north. The "kingdoms of the north" are Chaldea, Assyria,
Media, etc.

$$T0002752
\Nose-jewels\
Only mentioned in Isa. 3:21, although refered to in Gen. 24:47,
Prov. 11:22, Hos. 2:13. They were among the most valued of
ancient female ornaments. They "were made of ivory or metal, and
occasionally jewelled. They were more than an inch in diameter,
and hung upon the mouth. Eliezer gave one to Rebekah which was
of gold and weighed half a shekel...At the present day the women
in the country and in the desert wear these ornaments in one of
the sides of the nostrils, which droop like the ears in
consequence."

$$T0002753
\Numbering of the people\
Besides the numbering of the tribes mentioned in the history of
the wanderings in the wilderness, we have an account of a
general census of the whole nation from Dan to Beersheba, which
David gave directions to Joab to make (1 Chr. 21:1). Joab very
reluctantly began to carry out the king's command.

  This act of David in ordering a numbering of the people arose
from pride and a self-glorifying spirit. It indicated a reliance
on his part on an arm of flesh, an estimating of his power not
by the divine favour but by the material resources of his
kingdom. He thought of military achievement and of conquest, and
forgot that he was God's vicegerent. In all this he sinned
against God. While Joab was engaged in the census, David's heart
smote him, and he became deeply conscious of his fault; and in
profound humiliation he confessed, "I have sinned greatly in
what I have done." The prophet Gad was sent to him to put before
him three dreadful alternatives (2 Sam. 24:13; for "seven years"
in this verse, the LXX. and 1 Chr. 21:12 have "three years"),
three of Jehovah's four sore judgments (Ezek. 14:21). Two of
these David had already experienced. He had fled for some months
before Absalom, and had suffered three years' famine on account
of the slaughter of the Gibeonites. In his "strait" David said,
"Let me fall into the hands of the Lord." A pestilence broke out
among the people, and in three days swept away 70,000. At
David's intercession the plague was stayed, and at the
threshing-floor of Araunah (q.v.), where the destroying angel
was arrested in his progress, David erected an altar, and there
offered up sacrifies to God (2 Chr. 3:1).

  The census, so far as completed, showed that there were at
least 1,300,000 fighting men in the kingdom, indicating at that
time a population of about six or seven millions in all. (See
CENSUS »T0000751.)

$$T0002754
\Numbers, Book of\
the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew
be-midbar, i.e., "in the wilderness." In the LXX. version it is
called "Numbers," and this name is now the usual title of the
book. It is so called because it contains a record of the
numbering of the people in the wilderness of Sinai (1-4), and of
their numbering afterwards on the plain of Moab (26).

  This book is of special historical interest as furnishing us
with details as to the route of the Israelites in the wilderness
and their principal encampments. It may be divided into three
parts:

  1. The numbering of the people at Sinai, and preparations for
their resuming their march (1-10:10). The sixth chapter gives an
account of the vow of a Nazarite.

  2. An account of the journey from Sinai to Moab, the sending
out of the spies and the report they brought back, and the
murmurings (eight times) of the people at the hardships by the
way (10:11-21:20).

  3. The transactions in the plain of Moab before crossing the
Jordan (21:21-ch. 36).

  The period comprehended in the history extends from the second
month of the second year after the Exodus to the beginning of
the eleventh month of the fortieth year, in all about
thirty-eight years and ten months; a dreary period of
wanderings, during which that disobedient generation all died in
the wilderness. They were fewer in number at the end of their
wanderings than when they left the land of Egypt. We see in this
history, on the one hand, the unceasing care of the Almighty
over his chosen people during their wanderings; and, on the
other hand, the murmurings and rebellions by which they offended
their heavenly Protector, drew down repeated marks of his
displeasure, and provoked him to say that they should "not enter
into his rest" because of their unbelief (Heb. 3:19).

  This, like the other books of the Pentateuch, bears evidence
of having been written by Moses.

  The expression "the book of the wars of the Lord," occurring
in 21:14, has given rise to much discussion. But, after all,
"what this book was is uncertain, whether some writing of Israel
not now extant, or some writing of the Amorites which contained
songs and triumphs of their king Sihon's victories, out of which
Moses may cite this testimony, as Paul sometimes does out of
heathen poets (Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12)."

$$T0002755
\Nun\
Beyond the fact that he was the father of Joshua nothing more is
known of him (Ex. 33:11).

$$T0002756
\Nuts\
were among the presents Jacob sent into Egypt for the purpose of
conciliating Joseph (Gen. 43:11). This was the fruit of the
pistachio tree, which resembles the sumac. It is of the size of
an olive. In Cant. 6:11 a different Hebrew word ('egoz), which
means "walnuts," is used.

$$T0002757
\Nymphas\
nymph, saluted by Paul in his Epistle to the Colossians as a
member of the church of Laodicea (Col. 4:15).

$$T0002758
\Oak\
There are six Hebrew words rendered "oak."

  (1.) 'El occurs only in the word El-paran (Gen. 14:6). The
LXX. renders by "terebinth." In the plural form this word occurs
in Isa. 1:29; 57:5 (A.V. marg. and R.V., "among the oaks"); 61:3
("trees"). The word properly means strongly, mighty, and hence a
strong tree.

  (2.) 'Elah, Gen. 35:4, "under the oak which was by Shechem"
(R.V. marg., "terebinth"). Isa. 6:13, A.V., "teil-tree;" R.V.,
"terebinth." Isa. 1:30, R.V. marg., "terebinth." Absalom in his
flight was caught in the branches of a "great oak" (2 Sam. 18:9;
R.V. marg., "terebinth").

  (3.) 'Elon, Judg. 4:11; 9:6 (R.V., "oak;" A.V., following the
Targum, "plain") properly the deciduous species of oak shedding
its foliage in autumn.

  (4.) 'Elan, only in Dan. 4:11,14,20, rendered "tree" in
Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Probably some species of the oak is
intended.

  (5.) 'Allah, Josh. 24:26. The place here referred to is called
Allon-moreh ("the oak of Moreh," as in R.V.) in Gen. 12:6 and
35:4.

  (6.) 'Allon, always rendered "oak." Probably the evergreen oak
(called also ilex and holm oak) is intended. The oak woods of
Bashan are frequently alluded to (Isa. 2:13; Ezek. 27:6). Three
species of oaks are found in Palestine, of which the "prickly
evergreen oak" (Quercus coccifera) is the most abundant. "It
covers the rocky hills of Palestine with a dense brushwood of
trees from 8 to 12 feet high, branching from the base, thickly
covered with small evergreen rigid leaves, and bearing acorns
copiously." The so-called Abraham's oak at Hebron is of this
species. Tristram says that this oak near Hebron "has for
several centuries taken the place of the once renowned terebinth
which marked the site of Mamre on the other side of the city.
The terebinth existed at Mamre in the time of Vespasian, and
under it the captive Jews were sold as slaves. It disappeared
about A.D. 330, and no tree now marks the grove of Mamre. The
present oak is the noblest tree in Southern Palestine, being 23
feet in girth, and the diameter of the foliage, which is
unsymmetrical, being about 90 feet." (See HEBRON »T0001712;
TEIL-TREE »T0003597.)

$$T0002759
\Oath\
a solemn appeal to God, permitted on fitting occasions (Deut.
6:13; Jer. 4:2), in various forms (Gen. 16:5; 2 Sam. 12:5; Ruth
1:17; Hos. 4:15; Rom. 1:9), and taken in different ways (Gen.
14:22; 24:2; 2 Chr. 6:22). God is represented as taking an oath
(Heb. 6:16-18), so also Christ (Matt. 26:64), and Paul (Rom.
9:1; Gal. 1:20; Phil. 1:8). The precept, "Swear not at all,"
refers probably to ordinary conversation between man and man
(Matt. 5:34,37). But if the words are taken as referring to
oaths, then their intention may have been to show "that the
proper state of Christians is to require no oaths; that when
evil is expelled from among them every yea and nay will be as
decisive as an oath, every promise as binding as a vow."

$$T0002760
\Obadiah\
servant of the Lord. (1.) An Israelite who was chief in the
household of King Ahab (1 Kings 18:3). Amid great spiritual
degeneracy he maintained his fidelity to God, and interposed to
protect The Lord's prophets, an hundred of whom he hid at great
personal risk in a cave (4, 13). Ahab seems to have held Obadiah
in great honour, although he had no sympathy with his piety (5,
6, 7). The last notice of him is his bringing back tidings to
Ahab that Elijah, whom he had so long sought for, was at hand
(9-16). "Go," said Elijah to him, when he met him in the way,
"go tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here."

  (2.) A chief of the tribe of Issachar (1 Chr. 7:3).

  (3.) A descendant of Saul (1 Chr. 8:38).

  (4.) A Levite, after the Captivity (1 Chr. 9:16).

  (5.) A Gadite who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr. 12:9).

  (6.) A prince of Zebulun in the time of David (1 Chr. 27:19).

  (7.) One of the princes sent by Jehoshaphat to instruct the
people in the law (2 Chr. 17:7).

  (8.) A Levite who superintended the repairs of the temple
under Josiah (2 Chr. 34:12).

  (9.) One who accompanied Ezra on the return from Babylon (Ezra
8:9).

  (10.) A prophet, fourth of the minor prophets in the Hebrew
canon, and fifth in the LXX. He was probably contemporary with
Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Of his personal history nothing is known.

$$T0002761
\Obadiah, Book of\
consists of one chapter, "concerning Edom," its impending doom
(1:1-16), and the restoration of Israel (1:17-21). This is the
shortest book of the Old Testament.

  There are on record the account of four captures of Jerusalem,
(1) by Shishak in the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:25); (2) by
the Philistines and Arabians in the reign of Jehoram (2 Chr.
21:16); (3) by Joash, the king of Israel, in the reign of
Amaziah (2 Kings 14:13); and (4) by the Babylonians, when
Jerusalem was taken and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (B.C. 586).
Obadiah (1:11-14) speaks of this capture as a thing past. He
sees the calamity as having already come on Jerusalem, and the
Edomites as joining their forces with those of the Chaldeans in
bringing about the degradation and ruin of Israel. We do not
indeed read that the Edomites actually took part with the
Chaldeans, but the probabilities are that they did so, and this
explains the words of Obadiah in denouncing against Edom the
judgments of God. The date of his prophecies was thus in or
about the year of the destruction of Jerusalem.

  Edom is the type of Israel's and of God's last foe (Isa.
63:1-4). These will finally all be vanquished, and the kingdom
will be the Lord's (comp. Ps. 22:28).

$$T0002762
\Obal\
stripped, the eight son of Joktan (Gen. 10:28); called also Ebal
(1 Chr. 1:22).

$$T0002763
\Obed\
serving; worshipping. (1.) A son of Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 4:21,
22), and the grandfather of David (Matt. 1:5).

  (2.) 1 Chr. 2:34-38.

  (3.) 1 Chr. 26:7.

  (4.) 2 Chr. 23:1.

$$T0002764
\Obed-Edom\
servant of Edom. (1.) "The Gittite" (probably so called because
he was a native of Gath-rimmon), a Levite of the family of the
Korhites (1 Chr. 26:1, 4-8), to whom was specially intrusted the
custody of the ark (1 Chr. 15:18). When David was bringing up
the ark "from the house of Abinadab, that was in Gibeah"
(probably some hill or eminence near Kirjath-jearim), and had
reached Nachon's threshing-floor, he became afraid because of
the "breach upon Uzzah," and carried it aside into the house of
Obededom (2 Sam. 6:1-12). There it remained for six months, and
was to him and his house the occasion of great blessing. David
then removed it with great rejoicing to Jerusalem, and set it in
the midst of the tabernacle he had pitched for it.

  (2.) A Merarite Levite, a temple porter, who with his eight
sons guarded the southern gate (1 Chr. 15:18, 21; 26:4, 8, 15).

  (3.) One who had charge of the temple treasures (2 Chr.
25:24).

$$T0002765
\Obeisance\
homage or reverence to any one (Gen. 37:7; 43:28).

$$T0002766
\Obil\
a keeper of camels, an Ishmaelite who was "over the camels" in
the time of David (1 Chr. 27:30).

$$T0002767
\Oboth\
bottles, an encampment of the Israelites during the wanderings
in the wilderness (Num. 33:43), the first after the setting up
of the brazen serpent.

$$T0002768
\Oded\
restoring, or setting up. (1.) Father of the prophet Azariah (2
Chr. 15:1, 8).

  (2.) A prophet in the time of Ahaz and Pekah (2 Chr. 28:9-15).

$$T0002769
\Offence\
(1.) An injury or wrong done to one (1 Sam. 25:31; Rom. 5:15).

  (2.) A stumbling-block or cause of temptation (Isa. 8:14;
Matt. 16:23; 18:7). Greek skandalon, properly that at which one
stumbles or takes offence. The "offence of the cross" (Gal.
5:11) is the offence the Jews took at the teaching that
salvation was by the crucified One, and by him alone. Salvation
by the cross was a stumbling-block to their national pride.

$$T0002770
\Offering\
an oblation, dedicated to God. Thus Cain consecrated to God of
the first-fruits of the earth, and Abel of the firstlings of the
flock (Gen. 4:3, 4). Under the Levitical system different kinds
of offerings are specified, and laws laid down as to their
presentation. These are described under their distinctive names.

$$T0002771
\Og\
gigantic, the king of Bashan, who was defeated by Moses in a
pitched battle at Edrei, and was slain along with his sons
(Deut. 1:4), and whose kingdom was given to the tribes of Reuben
and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh (Num. 21:32-35; Deut.
3:1-13). His bedstead (or rather sarcophagus) was of iron (or
ironstone), 9 cubits in length and 4 cubits in breadth. His
overthrow was afterwards celebrated in song (Ps. 135:11;
136:20). (See SIHON »T0003427.)

$$T0002772
\Ohad\
united, or power, the third son of Simeon (Gen. 46:10).

$$T0002773
\Ohel\
a house; tent, the fourth son of Zerubbabel (1 Chr. 3:20).

$$T0002774
\Oil\
Only olive oil seems to have been used among the Hebrews. It was
used for many purposes: for anointing the body or the hair (Ex.
29:7; 2 Sam. 14:2; Ps. 23:5; 92:10; 104:15; Luke 7:46); in some
of the offerings (Ex. 29:40; Lev. 7:12; Num. 6:15; 15:4), but
was excluded from the sin-offering (Lev. 5:11) and the
jealousy-offering (Num. 5:15); for burning in lamps (Ex. 25:6;
27:20; Matt. 25:3); for medicinal purposes (Isa. 1:6; Luke
10:34; James 5:14); and for anointing the dead (Matt. 26:12;
Luke 23:56).

  It was one of the most valuable products of the country (Deut.
32:13; Ezek. 16:13), and formed an article of extensive commerce
with Tyre (27:17).

  The use of it was a sign of gladness (Ps. 92:10; Isa. 61:3),
and its omission a token of sorrow (2 Sam. 14:2; Matt. 6:17). It
was very abundant in Galilee. (See OLIVE »T0002778.)

$$T0002775
\Oil-tree\
(Isa. 41:19; R.V. marg., "oleaster"), Heb. 'etz shemen, rendered
"olive tree" in 1 Kings 6:23, 31, 32, 33 (R.V., "olive wood")
and "pine branches" in Neh. 8:15 (R.V., "branches of wild
olive"), was some tree distinct from the olive. It was probably
the oleaster (Eleagnus angustifolius), which grows abundantly in
almost all parts of Palestine, especially about Hebron and
Samaria. "It has a fine hard wood," says Tristram, "and yields
an inferior oil, but it has no relationship to the olive, which,
however, it resembles in general appearance."

$$T0002776
\Ointment\
Various fragrant preparations, also compounds for medical
purposes, are so called (Ex. 30:25; Ps. 133:2; Isa. 1:6; Amos
6:6; John 12:3; Rev. 18:13).

$$T0002777
\Old gate\
one of the gates in the north wall of Jerusalem, so called
because built by the Jebusites (Neh. 3:6; 12:39).

$$T0002778
\Olive\
the fruit of the olive-tree. This tree yielded oil which was
highly valued. The best oil was from olives that were plucked
before being fully ripe, and then beaten or squeezed (Deut.
24:20; Isa. 17:6; 24:13). It was called "beaten," or "fresh oil"
(Ex. 27:20). There were also oil-presses, in which the oil was
trodden out by the feet (Micah 6:15). James (3:12) calls the
fruit "olive berries." The phrase "vineyards and olives" (Judg.
15:5, A.V.) should be simply "olive-yard," or "olive-garden," as
in the Revised Version. (See OIL »T0002774.)

$$T0002779
\Olive-tree\
is frequently mentioned in Scripture. The dove from the ark
brought an olive-branch to Noah (Gen. 8:11). It is mentioned
among the most notable trees of Palestine, where it was
cultivated long before the time of the Hebrews (Deut. 6:11;
8:8). It is mentioned in the first Old Testament parable, that
of Jotham (Judg. 9:9), and is named among the blessings of the
"good land," and is at the present day the one characteristic
tree of Palestine. The oldest olive-trees in the country are
those which are enclosed in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is
referred to as an emblem of prosperity and beauty and religious
privilege (Ps. 52:8; Jer. 11:16; Hos. 14:6). The two "witnesses"
mentioned in Rev. 11:4 are spoken of as "two olive trees
standing before the God of the earth." (Comp. Zech. 4:3, 11-14.)

  The "olive-tree, wild by nature" (Rom. 11:24), is the shoot or
cutting of the good olive-tree which, left ungrafted, grows up
to be a "wild olive." In Rom. 11:17 Paul refers to the practice
of grafting shoots of the wild olive into a "good" olive which
has become unfruitful. By such a process the sap of the good
olive, by pervading the branch which is "graffed in," makes it a
good branch, bearing good olives. Thus the Gentiles, being a
"wild olive," but now "graffed in," yield fruit, but only
through the sap of the tree into which they have been graffed.
This is a process "contrary to nature" (11:24).

$$T0002780
\Olves, Mount of\
so called from the olive trees with which its sides are clothed,
is a mountain ridge on the east of Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:7;
Ezek. 11:23; Zech. 14:4), from which it is separated by the
valley of Kidron. It is first mentioned in connection with
David's flight from Jerusalem through the rebellion of Absalom
(2 Sam. 15:30), and is only once again mentioned in the Old
Testament, in Zech. 14:4. It is, however, frequently alluded to
(1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:13; Neh. 8:15; Ezek. 11:23).

  It is frequently mentioned in the New Testament (Matt. 21:1;
26:30, etc.). It now bears the name of Jebel et-Tur, i.e.,
"Mount of the Summit;" also sometimes called Jebel ez-Zeitun,
i.e., "Mount of Olives." It is about 200 feet above the level of
the city. The road from Jerusalem to Bethany runs as of old over
this mount. It was on this mount that Jesus stood when he wept
over Jerusalem. "No name in Scripture," says Dr. Porter, "calls
up associations at once so sacred and so pleasing as that of
Olivet. The 'mount' is so intimately connected with the private,
the devotional life of the Saviour, that we read of it and look
at it with feelings of deepest interest and affection. Here he
often sat with his disciples, telling them of wondrous events
yet to come, of the destruction of the Holy City; of the
sufferings, the persecution, and the final triumph of his
followers (Matt. 24). Here he gave them the beautiful parables
of the ten virgins and the five talents (25); here he was wont
to retire on each evening for meditation, and prayer, and rest
of body, when weary and harassed by the labours and trials of
the day (Luke 21:37); and here he came on the night of his
betrayal to utter that wonderful prayer, 'O my Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will,
but as thou wilt' (Matt. 26:39). And when the cup of God's wrath
had been drunk, and death and the grave conquered, he led his
disciples out again over Olivet as far as to Bethany, and after
a parting blessing ascended to heaven (Luke 24:50, 51; Acts
1:12)."

  This mount, or rather mountain range, has four summits or
peaks: (1) the "Galilee" peak, so called from a tradition that
the angels stood here when they spoke to the disciples (Acts
1:11); (2) the "Mount of Ascension," the supposed site of that
event, which was, however, somewhere probably nearer Bethany
(Luke 24:51, 52); (3) the "Prophets," from the catacombs on its
side, called "the prophets' tombs;" and (4) the "Mount of
Corruption," so called because of the "high places" erected
there by Solomon for the idolatrous worship of his foreign wives
(1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:13; Vulg., "Mount of Offence").

$$T0002781
\Olympas\
a Roman Christian whom Paul salutes (Rom. 16:15).

$$T0002782
\Omar\
eloquent, the son of Eliphaz, who was Esau's eldest son (Gen.
36:11-15).

$$T0002783
\Omega\
(Rev. 1:8), the last letter in the Greek alphabet. (See A
»T0000001.)

$$T0002784
\Omer\
a handful, one-tenth of an ephah=half a gallon dry measure (Ex.
16:22, 32, 33, 36)="tenth deal."

$$T0002785
\Omri\
servant of Jehovah. When Elah was murdered by Zimri at Tirzah (1
Kings 16:15-27), Omri, his captain, was made king (B.C. 931).
For four years there was continued opposition to his reign,
Tibni, another claimant to the throne, leading the opposing
party; but at the close of that period all his rivals were
defeated, and he became king of Israel, "Tibni died and Omri
reigned" (B.C. 927). By his vigour and power he gained great
eminence and consolidated the kingdom. He fixed his dynasty on
the throne so firmly that it continued during four succeeding
reigns. Tirza was for six years the seat of his government. He
then removed the capital to Samaria (q.v.), where he died, and
was succeeded by his son Ahab. "He wrought evil in the eyes of
the Lord, and did worse than all that were before him."

  Beth-omri, "the house" or "city of Omri," is the name usually
found on Assyrian inscriptions for Samaria. In the stele of
Mesha (the "Moabite stone"), which was erected in Moab about
twenty or thirty years after Omri's death, it is recorded that
Omri oppressed Moab till Mesha delivered the land: "Omri, king
of Israel, oppressed Moab many days, for Chemosh was angry with
his land. His son succeeded him, and he also said, I will
oppress Moab" (comp. 2 Kings 1:1; 3:4, 5). The "Moabite stone"
also records that "Omri took the land of Medeba, and occupied it
in his day and in the days of his son forty years."

$$T0002786
\On\
light; the sun, (Gen. 41:45, 50), the great seat of sun-worship,
called also Bethshemesh (Jer. 43:13) and Aven (Ezek. 30:17),
stood on the east bank of the Nile, a few miles north of
Memphis, and near Cairo, in the north-east. The Vulgate and the
LXX. Versions have "Heliopolis" ("city of the sun") instead of
On in Genesis and of Aven in Ezekiel. The "city of destruction"
Isaiah speaks of (19:18, marg. "of Heres;" Heb. 'Ir-ha-heres,
which some MSS. read Ir-ha-heres, i.e., "city of the sun") may
be the name given to On, the prophecy being that the time will
come when that city which was known as the "city of the sun-god"
shall become the "city of destruction" of the sun-god, i.e.,
when idolatry shall cease, and the worship of the true God be
established.

  In ancient times this city was full of obelisks dedicated to
the sun. Of these only one now remains standing. "Cleopatra's
Needle" was one of those which stood in this city in front of
the Temple of Tum, i.e., "the sun." It is now erected on the
Thames Embankment, London.

  "It was at On that Joseph wooed and won the dark-skinned
Asenath, the daughter of the high priest of its great temple."
This was a noted university town, and here Moses gained his
acquaintance with "all the wisdom of the Egyptians."

$$T0002787
\Onan\
strong, the second son of Judah (Gen. 38:4-10; comp. Deut. 25:5;
Matt. 22:24). He died before the going down of Jacob and his
family into Egypt.

$$T0002788
\Onesimus\
useful, a slave who, after robbing his master Philemon (q.v.) at
Colosse, fled to Rome, where he was converted by the apostle
Paul, who sent him back to his master with the epistle which
bears his name. In it he beseeches Philemon to receive his slave
as a "faithful and beloved brother." Paul offers to pay to
Philemon anything his slave had taken, and to bear the wrong he
had done him. He was accompanied on his return by Tychicus, the
bearer of the Epistle to the Colossians (Philemon 1:16, 18).

  The story of this fugitive Colossian slave is a remarkable
evidence of the freedom of access to the prisoner which was
granted to all, and "a beautiful illustration both of the
character of St. Paul and the transfiguring power and righteous
principles of the gospel."

$$T0002789
\Onesiphorus\
bringing profit, an Ephesian Christian who showed great kindness
to Paul at Rome. He served him in many things, and had oft
refreshed him. Paul expresses a warm interest in him and his
household (2 Tim. 1:16-18; 4:19).

$$T0002790
\Onion\
The Israelites in the wilderness longed for the "onions and
garlick of Egypt" (Num. 11:5). This was the _betsel_ of the
Hebrews, the Allium cepe of botanists, of which it is said that
there are some thirty or forty species now growing in Palestine.
The onion is "the 'undivided' leek, _unio_, _unus_, one."

$$T0002791
\Ono\
a town of Benjamin, in the "plain of Ono" (1 Chr. 8:12; Ezra
2:33); now Kefr 'Ana, 5 miles north of Lydda, and about 30 miles
north-west of Jerusalem. Not succeeding in their attempts to
deter Nehemiah from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Sanballat
and Tobiah resorted to strategem, and pretending to wish a
conference with him, they invited him to meet them at Ono. Four
times they made the request, and every time Nehemiah refused to
come. Their object was to take him prisoner.

$$T0002792
\Onycha\
a nail; claw; hoof, (Heb. sheheleth; Ex. 30:34), a Latin word
applied to the operculum, i.e., the claw or nail of the strombus
or wing-shell, a univalve common in the Red Sea. The opercula of
these shell-fish when burned emit a strong odour "like
castoreum." This was an ingredient in the sacred incense.

$$T0002793
\Onyx\
a hail; claw; hoof, (Heb. shoham), a precious stone adorning the
breast-plate of the high priest and the shoulders of the ephod
(Ex. 28:9-12, 20; 35:27; Job 28:16; Ezek. 28:13). It was found
in the land of Havilah (Gen. 2:12). The LXX. translates the
Hebrew word by smaragdos, an emerald. Some think that the
sardonyx is meant. But the onyx differs from the sardonyx in
this, that while the latter has two layers (black and white) the
former has three (black, white, and red).

$$T0002794
\Open place\
Gen. 38:14, 21, mar. Enaim; the same probably as Enam (Josh.
15:34), a city in the lowland or Shephelah.

$$T0002795
\Ophel\
hill; mound, the long, narrow, rounded promontory on the
southern slope of the temple hill, between the Tyropoeon and the
Kedron valley (2 Chr. 27:3; 33:14; Neh. 3:26, 27). It was
surrounded by a separate wall, and was occupied by the Nethinim
after the Captivity. This wall has been discovered by the
engineers of the Palestine Exploration Fund at the south-eastern
angle of the temple area. It is 4 feet below the present
surface. In 2 Kings 5:24 this word is translated "tower" (R.V.,
"hill"), denoting probably some eminence near Elisha's house.

$$T0002796
\Ophir\
(1.) One of the sons of Joktan (Gen. 10:29).

  (2.) Some region famous for its gold (1 Kings 9:28; 10:11;
22:48; Job 22:24; 28:16; Isa. 13:12). In the LXX. this word is
rendered "Sophir," and "Sofir" is the Coptic name for India,
which is the rendering of the Arabic version, as also of the
Vulgate. Josephus has identified it with the Golden Chersonese,
i.e., the Malay peninsula. It is now generally identified with
Abhira, at the mouth of the Indus. Much may be said, however, in
favour of the opinion that it was somewhere in Arabia.

$$T0002797
\Ophni\
mouldy, a city of Benjamin (Josh. 18:24).

$$T0002798
\Ophrah\
a fawn. 1 Chr. 4:14. (1.) A city of Benjamin (Josh. 18:23);
probably identical with Ephron (2 Chr. 13:19) and Ephraim (John
11:54).

  (2.) "Of the Abi-ezrites." A city of Manasseh, 6 miles
south-west of Shechem, the residence of Gideon (Judg. 6:11;
8:27, 32). After his great victory over the Midianites, he slew
at this place the captive kings (8:18-21). He then assumed the
function of high priest, and sought to make Ophrah what Shiloh
should have been. This thing "became a snare" to Gideon and his
house. After Gideon's death his family resided here till they
were put to death by Abimelech (Judg. 9:5). It is identified
with Ferata.

$$T0002799
\Oracle\
In the Old Testament used in every case, except 2 Sam. 16:23, to
denote the most holy place in the temple (1 Kings 6:5, 19-23;
8:6). In 2 Sam. 16:23 it means the Word of God. A man inquired
"at the oracle of God" by means of the Urim and Thummim in the
breastplate on the high priest's ephod. In the New Testament it
is used only in the plural, and always denotes the Word of God
(Rom. 3:2; Heb. 5:12, etc.). The Scriptures are called "living
oracles" (comp. Heb. 4:12) because of their quickening power
(Acts 7:38).