Bible Dictionary Definitions

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Translation	Verse	Text
Strong Concordance	Isa 55:13	Instead of the thorn [05285] shall come up [05927] the fir tree [01265], and instead of the brier [05636] shall come up [05927] the myrtle tree [01918]: and it shall be to the LORD [03068] for a name [08034], for an everlasting [05769] sign [0226] that shall not be cut off [03772].

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Word

Easton Dictionary - Definition

BRIER

This word occurs frequently, and is the translation of several different terms. (1.) Micah 7:4, it denotes a species of thorn shrub used for hedges. In Prov. 15:19 the word is rendered "thorn" (Heb. hedek, "stinging"), supposed by some to be what is called the "apple of Sodom" (q.v.).

(2.) Ezek. 28:24, sallon', properly a "prickle," such as is found on the shoots of the palm tree.

(3.) Isa. 55:13, probably simply a thorny bush. Some, following the Vulgate Version, regard it as the "nettle."

(4.) Isa. 5:6; 7:23-25, etc., frequently used to denote thorny shrubs in general. In 10:17; 27:4, it means troublesome men.

(5.) In Heb. 6:8 the Greek word (tribolos) so rendered means "three-pronged," and denotes the land caltrop, a low throny shrub resembling in its spikes the military "crow-foot." Comp. Matt. 7:16, "thistle."

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Word	Easton Dictionary - Definition
EVERLASTING	eternal, applied to God (Gen. 21:33; Deut. 33:27; Ps. 41:13; 90:2). We also read of the "everlasting hills" (Gen. 49:26); an "everlasting priesthood" (Ex. 40:15; Num. 25:13). (See ETERNAL .)

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Word	American Tract Society - Definition
FIR	An evergreen tree, of beautiful appearance, whose lofty height and dense foliage afford a spacious shelter and shade. The Hebrew word often seems to mean the CYPRESS, which see. It was used for shipbuilding, Eze 27:5; for musical instruments, 2Sa 6:5; for beams and rafters of houses, 1Ki 5:8,10 9:11 So 1:17.

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Word

Easton Dictionary - Definition

FIR

the uniform rendering in the Authorized Version (marg. R.V., "cypress") of berosh (2 Sam. 6:5; 1 Kings 5:8, 10; 6:15, 34; 9:11, etc.), a lofty tree (Isa. 55:13) growing on Lebanon (37:24). Its wood was used in making musical instruments and doors of houses, and for ceilings (2 Chr. 3:5), the decks of ships (Ezek. 27:5), floorings and spear-shafts (Nah. 2:3, R.V.). The true fir (abies) is not found in Palestine, but the pine tree, of which there are four species, is common.

The precise kind of tree meant by the "green fir tree" (Hos. 14:8) is uncertain. Some regard it as the sherbin tree, a cypress resembling the cedar; others, the Aleppo or maritime pine (Pinus halepensis), which resembles the Scotch fir; while others think that the "stone-pine" (Pinus pinea) is probably meant. (See PINE.)

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Word	American Tract Society - Definition
LORD	This name belongs to God by preeminence; and in this sense ought never to be given to any creature. Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, the Son of God, and equal with the Father, is often called Lord in Scripture, especially in the writing of Paul. The word LORD, in the English Bible, when printed in small capitals, stands always for JEHOVAH in the Hebrew. See JEHOVAH.

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Word

Easton Dictionary - Definition

LORD

There are various Hebrew and Greek words so rendered.

(1.) Heb. Jehovah, has been rendered in the English Bible LORD, printed in small capitals. This is the proper name of the God of the Hebrews. The form "Jehovah" is retained only in Ex. 6:3; Ps. 83:18; Isa. 12:2; 26:4, both in the Authorized and the Revised Version.

(2.) Heb. 'adon, means one possessed of absolute control. It denotes a master, as of slaves (Gen. 24:14, 27), or a ruler of his subjects (45:8), or a husband, as lord of his wife (18:12).

The old plural form of this Hebrew word is 'adonai. From a superstitious reverence for the name "Jehovah," the Jews, in reading their Scriptures, whenever that name occurred, always pronounced it 'Adonai.

(3.) Greek kurios, a supreme master, etc. In the LXX. this is invariably used for "Jehovah" and "'Adonai."

(4.) Heb. ba'al, a master, as having domination. This word is applied to human relations, as that of husband, to persons skilled in some art or profession, and to heathen deities. "The men of Shechem," literally "the baals of Shechem" (Judg. 9:2, 3). These were the Israelite inhabitants who had reduced the Canaanites to a condition of vassalage (Josh. 16:10; 17:13).

(5.) Heb. seren, applied exclusively to the "lords of the Philistines" (Judg. 3:3). The LXX. render it by satrapies. At this period the Philistines were not, as at a later period (1 Sam. 21:10), under a kingly government. (See Josh. 13:3; 1 Sam. 6:18.) There were five such lordships, viz., Gath, Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron.

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Word

American Tract Society - Definition

MYRTLE

A beautiful and fragrant evergreen tree, growing wild throughout the southern parts of Europe, the north of Africa, and the temperate parts of Asia; principally on the seacoast. The leaves are of a rich and polished evergreen; the flowers white, with sometimes a tinge of red externally; and the berries are of the size of a small pea, violet or whitish, sweetish, and with the aromatic flavor which distinguishes the whole plant. These are used for spices in the Levant. It furnishes a useful tonic medicine, Ne 8:15; Isa 41:19; 55:13; Zec 1:8,10,11.

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Word

Easton Dictionary - Definition

MYRTLE

(Isa. 41:19; Neh. 8:15; Zech. 1:8), Hebrew hadas, known in the East by the name as, the Myrtus communis of the botanist. "Although no myrtles are now found on the mount (of Olives), excepting in the gardens, yet they still exist in many of the glens about Jerusalem, where we have often seen its dark shining leaves and white flowers. There are many near Bethlehem and about Hebron, especially near Dewir Dan, the ancient Debir. It also sheds its fragrance on the sides of Carmel and of Tabor, and fringes the clefts of the Leontes in its course through Galilee. We meet with it all through Central Palestine" (Tristram).

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Word	American Tract Society - Definition
SIGN	A token, pledge, or proof, Ge 9:12,13 17:11 Ex 3:12 Isa 8:18. Also a supernatural portent, Lu 21:11; and a miracle, regarded as a token of the divine agency, Ex 4:7-9 Mr 8:11. The "signs of heaven" were the movements and aspects of the heavenly bodies, from which heathen astrologers pretended to obtain revelations, Isa 44:25 Jer 10:2. See SHIP.

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Word

Easton Dictionary - Definition

THORN

(1.) Heb. hedek (Prov. 15:19), rendered "brier" in Micah 7:4. Some thorny plant, of the Solanum family, suitable for hedges. This is probably the so-called "apple of Sodom," which grows very abundantly in the Jordan valley. "It is a shrubby plant, from 3 to 5 feet high, with very branching stems, thickly clad with spines, like those of the English brier, with leaves very large and woolly on the under side, and thorny on the midriff."

(2.) Heb. kotz (Gen. 3:18; Hos. 10:8), rendered akantha by the LXX. In the New Testament this word akantha is also rendered "thorns" (Matt. 7:16; 13:7; Heb. 6:8). The word seems to denote any thorny or prickly plant (Jer. 12:13). It has been identified with the Ononis spinosa by some.

(3.) Heb. na'atzutz (Isa. 7:19; 55:13). This word has been interpreted as denoting the Zizyphus spina Christi, or the jujube-tree. It is supposed by some that the crown of thorns placed in wanton cruelty by the Roman soldiers on our Saviour's brow before his crucifixion was plaited of branches of this tree. It overruns a great part of the Jordan valley. It is sometimes called the lotus-tree. "The thorns are long and sharp and recurved, and often create a festering wound." It often grows to a great size. (See CROWN OF THORNS.)

(4.) Heb. atad (Ps. 58:9) is rendered in the LXX. and Vulgate by Rhamnus, or Lycium Europoeum, a thorny shrub, which is common all over Palestine. From its resemblance to the box it is frequently called the box-thorn.

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