_Land of Moriah_. An unknown region. The Jews later supposed that Isaac was sacrificed on the hill at Jerusalem on which Solomon built the temple, but the Bible itself does not affirm it.
_Sacrifices_ were offered on bare rocks or on altars built of stone or earth. At first they were a way of expressing fellowship with G.o.d. The people ate part of an offering, and the rest of it was burnt, to symbolize that it was G.o.d"s share. Later the offering was something given to G.o.d. This last is the idea in the story of the sacrifice of Isaac.
DEATH AND BURIAL OF SARAH.
_Hitt.i.tes_ and _children of Heth_ mean the Hitt.i.tes, one of the tribes of peoples in Palestine before the arrival of the Hebrews. There was a great Hitt.i.te empire north of Palestine.
_Shekel_. An amount of money; in early times not a coin but a weight of money. In this story Abraham "weighed" the silver.
ISAAC AND REBEKAH.
_Mesopotamia_ means "between the rivers," the wide land far east between the Euphrates and the Tigris.
_Cave of Machpelah_. In early times caves were often used as burial places. The present inhabitants of Hebron believe the cave of Machpelah is under a building in their city.
JACOB.
_Pottage._ A sort of stew of lentils, a vegetable like beans.
_Birthright_. In many parts of the world, the oldest child has, by his birth, the right of becoming the head of the family {492} at the death of his father, with sometimes other rights and responsibilities.
_Paddan-aram_ or _Padan-aram_. "The country of Syria," lying northeast of Palestine, between Damascus and the river Euphrates.
_Pillars of stone_. Standing stones and heaps of stones were often set up at places held sacred. Oil was poured on such stones as an offering to G.o.d, or to express the idea that the places were holy. Such sacred places are found in almost all lands, and were very common in Palestine. The stones are still sometimes found standing.
_Jegar-sahadutha_ and _Galeed_ both mean "heap of witness," one in the language of Canaan, the other in that of Mesopotamia.
_Jabbok_. A stream flowing into the Jordan from the east.
_Peniel_. "Face of G.o.d." Sometimes spelled Penuel.
_Seir_. A section of country southeast of Palestine. It is high and rocky, sometimes called Mt. Seir.
_Succoth_, "booths." Its site is not known.
_Allon-bacuth_, "the oak of weeping"
JOSEPH.
_Dothan_. About ten miles north of Samaria. A story about Elisha is also located at Dothan. _Tales of Old Judea, 148_.
_Caravan_. A train of camels or horses. In the East people traveled together in caravans for protection against robbers.
_Egypt_. A land where civilization is very ancient. All through the Old Testament times it was a powerful kingdom. Its king was called, in the early stories of the Bible, the Pharaoh.
_Divining cup_. The custom of divining, that is, discovering hidden secrets by magic, was widespread in the ancient world. Sometimes cups of sacred water were used, and a special cup might be thought to have special value for divination.
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_Goshen_. A section in the northeast of Egypt, next to the Isthmus of Suez.
_Rameses_. A city in the land of Goshen. "The land of Rameses" is the country about this city.
_Embalming_ was a custom in Egypt. These people thought that their life in the next world depended on keeping the body from decay; so they filled the body with certain chemicals which kept it from the natural decay. The preserved body is called a mummy.
JOSHUA.
_s.h.i.ttim_. A place on the east of the Jordan. The site is not known.
_Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon_ are all in the southern part of Palestine, in what was later the kingdom of Judah.
_Book of Jashar_. A collection of poems of ancient heroes, from which also the beautiful lament of David over Saul is taken. _Hero Tales, 426_.
THE JUDGES.
_Hill country of Ephraim_. The mountain ridge in the central part of Palestine, which belonged to the tribe of Ephraim.
_Summer room_. A room built on the flat top of a house, to get the cool breezes in the hot summer days.
_Philistines_. A people who, like the Hebrews, migrated into the land of the Canaanites. They occupied the land along the coast of the Mediterranean. For a long time they were stronger in war than the Hebrews, and ruled over them. This name "Palestine" comes from "Philistine."
_Beating out wheat in the wine press_. Ordinarily in the East, wheat is threshed by being trodden out with oxen on a bare, hard piece of ground. It is usually in a prominent place, to get the wind for winnowing, and so could be easily seen by the {494} enemy. The wine press furnished a small, flat place where the little wheat they had could be threshed in secret.
_Angel of the Lord_. Any messenger from G.o.d, sometimes thought of in early times as being G.o.d himself in the form of a man.
_Ophrah_. A place in northern central Palestine, site not known.
_Baal and Asherah_. The Baals were the G.o.ds of the Canaanites. Each locality had its Baal (Lord), with an altar and a stone pillar, on some prominent place (the "high places" of the Bible). The asherah was a sacred tree or post standing near the stone pillar.
_Jezreel_. A beautifully situated town in northern central Palestine.
_Pitchers_. Jars in which were hidden torches. When the jars were broken with a crash, the torches suddenly flamed out in the darkness, and the noise and the unexpected light made a panic in the Midianite army.
SAUL.