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Bible Dictionary

JOASH

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JOASH

“Jehovah has given.”
(a) Man of Judah, of the family of Shelah (1 Chron. 4:22).
(b) A man of Manasseh, of the family of Abiezer, he was the father of Gideon (Judges 6:11, 15). Established in Ophra, he was well off. He had erected an altar to Baal and an Asherah, an emblem of the Canaanite Astarte. God ordered Gideon to destroy all of that. When the idolaters demanded Gideon to kill him for that act, Joash responded by defending him: “If he is a god, let him contend for himself” (Judg. 6: 11-32).

(c) Benjamite from Gibeah, joined David in Ziklag (1 Chron. 12:3).

(d) One of Ahab’s sons (1 Kings 22:26; 2 Chron. 18:25).

(e) Son of Ahaziah, king of Judah. When Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah, learned that his son had been killed, he had all those who remained of the royal blood put to death, and seized the throne. Only Joash was able to escape death thanks to his aunt Josaba, sister of King Ahaziah and wife of the high priest Jehoiada (2 Kings 11: 1-3).

Joash, one year old, was hidden in the Temple, where he remained for six years. In the seventh year, Jehoiada prepared a conspiracy to oust the usurper Athaliah from the throne (2 Kings 11:4-12). Athaliah was taken prisoner and immediately executed outside the Horse Gate (2 Kings 11:13-16).

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He began to reign in the year 842 BC, at the age of seven, reigning for forty years. Joash, advised by Jehoiada, destroyed the cult of Baal and ordered the restoration of the Temple, although the people continued to celebrate a cult on the high places (2 Kings 12:1-16). When Jehoiada died, the king and his people turned away from Jehovah, setting up groves and other idols.

When Zechariah son of Jehoiada prophesied against such practices, Joash ordered his death (2 Chron. 24:15-22; Mt. 23:35). Soon after Hazael, king of Syria, took possession of the Philistine city of Gath, and threatened Jerusalem; Joash was forced to hand over the treasures of the Temple to him.

Afterwards, Joash fell seriously ill, and Amasa assumed the regency. Some servants of King Joash killed him in bed in revenge of Zechariah son of Jehoiada (2 Chron. 24:25). His son Amaziah succeeded him (2 Chron. 24:27; 2 Kings 12:21).

(f) Son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. He came to the throne around 800 BC, and reigned for 16 years. This king continued to worship the golden calves of Bethel and Dan. However, he testified affection to the prophet Elisha and was grieved by his illness.

Elisha made him open the window facing the east and shoot an arrow, which he did. The prophet then ordered him to strike the ground with his arrows. The king did it only three times. The arrows symbolized the victories that Joash was to achieve over the Syrians.

If he had struck five or six times, he would have completely destroyed his power (2 Kings 13:14-25). After the death of Elisha, Joash provided one hundred thousand mercenary soldiers to Amasa, king of Judah, who wanted to carry out an expedition against the Edomites. Convinced by a prophet, Amaziah returned them.

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However, although these mercenaries had been paid in advance, they were irritated and set out to plunder the territory of Judah as they headed north (2 Chron. 25:6-10, 13). It is possible that this influenced Amasa to declare war on Joash.

In the battle of Beth-shemesh Amaziah was defeated, and Joash destroyed part of the walls of Jerusalem, taking the treasures of the Temple and the palace, and hostages with which to ensure peace. Upon Joash’s death, his son Jeroboam II acceded to the throne (2 Kings 14: 8-16; 2 Chron. 25: 17-24).

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Bible Dictionary

BETHEL

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BETHEL

is the name of a Canaanite city in the ancient region of Samaria, located in the center of the land of Canaan, northwest of Ai on the road to Shechem, 30 kilometers south of Shiloh and about 16 kilometers north of Jerusalem.

Bethel is the second most mentioned city in the Bible. Some identify it with the Palestinian village of Beitin and others with the Israeli settlement of Beit El.

Bethel was the place where Abraham built his altar when he first arrived in Canaan (Genesis 12:8; Genesis 13:3). And at Bethel Jacob saw a vision of a ladder whose top touched heaven and the angels ascended and descended (Genesis 28:10-19).

For this reason Jacob was afraid, and said, “How terrible is this place! It is nothing other than the house of God, and the gate of heaven »and he called Bethel the place that was known as «Light» (Genesis 35-15).

Bethel was also a sanctuary in the days of the prophet Samuel, who judged the people there (1 Samuel 7:16; 1 Samuel 10:3). And it was the place where Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, was buried.

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Bethel was the birthplace of Hiel, who sought to rebuild the city of Jericho (1 Kings 16:34).

When Bethel did not yet belong to the people of Israel, Joshua had to battle against the king of Bethel and other kings and defeated them (Joshua 12-16).

When the people of Israel had taken possession of the promised land, in the division by tribes it was assigned to the Tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18-22), but in later times it belonged to the Tribe of Judah (2 Chronicles 13:19).

It was one of the places where the Ark of the Covenant remained, a symbol of the presence of God.

In Bethel the prophet Samuel judged the people.

Then the prophet Elisha went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some boys came out of the city and mocked him, and said to him: “Go up, bald man; Come up, bald! When he looked back and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the forest and tore to pieces forty-two boys” (2 Kings 2:23).

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After the division of the kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam I, king of Israel, had a golden calf raised at Bethel (1 Kings 21:29) which was destroyed by Josiah, king of Judah, many years later (2 Kings 23:15). .

Bethel was also a place where some of the Babylonian exiles who returned to Israel in 537 BC gathered. (Ezra 2:28).

The prophet Hosea, a century before Jeremiah, refers to Bethel by another name: “Bet-Aven” (Hosea 4:15; Hosea 5:8; Hosea 10:5-8), which means ‘House of Iniquity’, ‘House of Nothingness’, ‘House of Vanity’, ‘House of Nullity’, that is, of idols.

In Amos 7: 12-13 the priest Amaziah tells the prophet Amos that he flee to Judah and no longer prophesy in Bethel because it is the king’s sanctuary, and the head of the kingdom.

The prophet Jeremiah states that “the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel” (Jeremiah 48:13), because of their idolatry and, specifically, the worship of the golden calf.

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Bible Dictionary

PUTEOLI

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PUTEOLI

(lat.: “small fountains”).
Two days after arriving in Rhegium, the ship carrying Paul arrived at Puteoli, which was then an important maritime city.

The apostle found Christians there, and enjoyed their hospitality (Acts 28:13).

It was located on the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples, near the site of present-day Pouzzoles.

The entire surrounding region is volcanic, and the Solfatare crater rises behind the city.

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Bible Dictionary

PUT (Nation)

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PUT

Name of a nation related to the Egyptians and neighbors of their country (Gen. 10:6).

Put is mentioned with Egypt and other African countries, especially Libya (Nah. 3:9) and Lud (Ez. 27:10; Is. 66:19 in the LXX. Put appears between Cush and Lud in Jer. 46:9; Ez. 30:5).

In the LXX he is translated as Libyans in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Josephus also identifies it with Libya (Ant. 1:6, 2), but in Nah. 3.9 is distinguished from the Libyans.

Current opinion is divided between Somalia, Eastern Arabia and Southern Arabia (Perfume Coast).

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Bible Dictionary

PURPLE

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PURPLE

A coloring substance that is extracted from various species of mollusks. The ancient Tyrians used two types of them: the “Murex trunculus”, from which the bluish purple was extracted, and the “Murex brandaris”, which gave the red.

The ink of its coloring matter varies in color depending on the region in which it is fished.

Piles of murex shells, artificially opened, have been discovered in Minet el-Beida, port of ancient Ugarit (Ras Shamra), which gives evidence of the great antiquity of the use of this purple dye (see UGARIT).

Due to its high price, only the rich and magistrates wore purple (Est. 8:15, cf. the exaltation of Mordecai, v. 2, Pr. 31:22; Dan. 5:7; 1 Mac. 10 :20, 62, 64; 2 Mac. 4:38; cf. v 31; Luke 16:19; Rev. 17:4).

The rulers adorned themselves in purple, even those of Midian (Judg. 8:26). Jesus was mocked with a purple robe (Mark 15:17).

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Great use had been made of purple-dyed fabrics for the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:4; 26:1, 31, 36) and for the high priest’s vestments (Ex. 28:5, 6, 15, 33; 39: 29). The Jews gave symbolic value to purple (Wars 5:5, 4).

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Bible Dictionary

PURIM

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PURIM

(Heb., plural of “luck”).
Haman cast lots to determine a day of good omen for the destruction of the Jews.

As Haman’s designs were undone, the liberation of the Jews was marked by an annual festival (Est. 3:7; 9:24-32) on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar.

This festival is not mentioned by name in the NT, although there are exegetes who assume that it is the one referred to in Jn. 5:1.

This festival continues to be celebrated within Judaism: the book of Esther is read, and curses are pronounced on Haman and his wife, blessings are pronounced on Mordecai and the eunuch Harbonah (Est. 1:10; 7: 9).

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PURIFICATION, PURITY

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PURIFICATION, PURITY

In the Mosaic Law four ways to purify oneself from contamination were indicated:

(a) Purification of contamination contracted by touching a dead person (Num. 19; cf. Num. 5:2, 3),

(b) Purification from impurity due to bodily emissions (Lev. 15; cf. Num. 5:2, 3).

(c) Purification of the woman in labor (Lev. 12:1-8; Luke 2:21-24).

(d) Purification of the leper (Lev. 14).

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To this, the scribes and Pharisees added many other purifications, such as washing hands before eating, washing vessels and dishes, showing great zeal in these things, while inside they were full of extortion and iniquity (Mark 7: 2-8).

In Christianity the necessary purification extends:

to the heart (Acts 15:9; James 4:8),
to the soul (1 Pet. 1:22), and
to the conscience through the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:14).

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