About Words - Site Glossary

March 1, 2025 Edition

About Words

Introduction

There are many sources of confusion, compounding exhortations to one another and attempts to explain the faith. It is always good to define terms, although not necessarily where they are used. So, this glossary is formatted as a stand-alone article. Do not consider definitions here as authoritative, they are provided as a convenient way for website authors to clarify meaning.

Jesus’ teachings included cryptic content and clearly understood content. Examples of cryptic or secret teaching were the times Jesus would explain something to His disciples after the crowds had left. For this website, we intend to share everything that could encourage others to advance in the faith. For now, we trust God to cloak any website content a reader is unprepared to receive.

Notes

[1] We anticipate this document breaking website convention to put footnotes under the section Additional Information. When looking for a footnote start with the end of the section that references it.

Glossary

The guiding principle for words used on this website is that a reader will find them in a general dictionary of the English language and be able to use the definition found there to understand how the word is used here. It is always good to check in more than one recently published dictionary. Sometimes, a less common usage will require a comprehensive dictionary. An exhaustive list and use definitions.

Term Meaning as used here
agnostic a person who is undecided, doubtful, or uncommitted about a topic, such as the existence of God; Note: removed or rewrote uses of agnostic on this website
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aphantasia see visualize
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colloquial commonly spoken language; informal language; one dictionary specified spoken;
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corollary a concept that logically results from another concept
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contract agreement; given A then B is guaranteed or a penalty; a condition both parties agree to; see covenant, promise
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covenant agreement; two-party agreement; if party (1) does [A] then [B] will be true for party (2); a confederacy of groups by agreement; an understanding between 2 parties; see contract, promise
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dissonance
- a conflict in a person’s beliefs or emotions
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- cognitive dissonance, the uncomfortable feeling or stress when a person realizes belief in two concepts that cannot both be true, uneasy feeling when actions and feelings contradict
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- emotional ambivalence, experience conflicting emotions about a thing, person, situation, or concept
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- cognitive-emotional dissonance, when a person realizes that their emotions and beliefs conflict
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education as used hear: learned through listening to lecture or reading a textbook; see train(ing)
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elucidate make clear, understandable
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doctrine based on two or more recently published dictionaries of the English language: beliefs accepted because an authority promotes them; law; set of military strategies; dogma; a belief part of a set of religious beliefs; some would add that they are non-negotiable and members must accept them; see theology
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entity a general word for something which physically exists or is perceived to exist; such as a person, a special interesting group, club, business, country, government department, a city, and so on. Entities are often made or populated by people.
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ethics by agreement acceptable word alternative to morals; some content on this website has used ethics to describe right and wrong, that when one or the other is committed no intense feeling is created; see morals
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imagination that which exists only in a person’s mind. This requires elaboration, which will come in the form of articles. The use of imagination in evaluating theology. The use of imagination when God is inspiring or influencing it. For now, keep reading the Bible and submitting to God. see visualize
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law Various systems exist to instruct and guide people as to what is right and what is wrong.
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monetary money, currency, as used here a liquid asset
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morals by agreement, acceptable word alternative to ethics; some content on this website differentiates this from ethics by the strength of a resulting emotion; commit a moral wrong experience a clear feeling of guilt, commit a moral right and a feeling of pleasant; see ethics
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mystical outside of science; cannot be measured; commonly an influence, inspiration, or revelation from a source outside of science; can cause an effect on the material world above our threshold of awareness such that we are conscious of it;
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mysticism religion that is dependent on a mystical association or communion with an entity; note that Christianity is based upon an eternal God and Jesus death and resurrection
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promise an assurance for future action ; a commitment to something in future; a simple statement of strong intent without condition; see contract, covenant
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pejorative uncomplimentary; expressing disrespect; derogatory; negative; putting down; diminutive; belittle
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reason(ing) Purely human, perhaps inspired or influenced by God, premises that logically support a conclusion. However, reasoning by itself may fail a test of common sense of reasonableness. This is Reductio ad absurdum. Strong emotion can diminish our ability to discern the reasonableness of a conclusion. An awareness of these concepts can help clarify matters. Be gentle with one another; Christians who have confidence in their salvation could exist because, from their perspective, they have chosen to put their faith in a set of beliefs.
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soul active as a component of physical life; character; personality; comprised of a person’s morals, as defined in this glossary; see: spirit
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sovereign not controlled by a higher authority
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Spirit short for God, the third person of the Holy Trinity
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spirit not physical, outside of science, eternal, bi-directional association with Holy Spirit, see: soul
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strategic definition using our preferred interpretation of scripture to define theological keywords; this cannot be avoided entirely because we all have a responsibility to the truth as we understand it
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theology based on two or more recently published dictionaries of the English language: study of religious beliefs; rational study of religious beliefs; religious theories; a system of religious beliefs; see doctrine
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train(ing) as used here: teaching or being a student of learning a physical skill; see education
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visualize to create a picture in the mind; people with aphantasia cannot visualize (and may not know it) see imagination
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Abbreviations

Abbrev Definition
aka also known as
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BSB Berean Study Bible
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Gd An imaginary being who has been given all of the attributes, character, and nature of God, but does not actually exist. The use of this imaginary construct frees us to enter challenging discussions while maintaining humility before God and continuing in the deepest respect for the God of the Bible.
G-d Same definition as above
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Js Same definition as above, except this is for Jesus
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J-s Same definition as above
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Hs Same definition as above, but for the Holy Spirit
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H-s Same definition as above
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H.S. Third member of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit
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HS Third member of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit
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NT New Testament; N.T.
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OT Old Testament; O.T.
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WIP Work in Progress, pre-DRAFT, passed one independent review
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Units

These lists are incomplete and should not be considered reference or source material. The reference sources disagree on some of these. If you need the most accurate numbers then you should research to find them.

Measures

Dimension

  • cubit
    • linear measurement based on the forearm, elbow to tip of middle finger, 1 cubit is approximately 18 inches
  • mina
    • 1.25 lbs
    • ? Sumerian unit
  • span
    • tip of thumb to tip of little (last) finger
  • rod
    • 6 cubits, about 10-1/2 feet
  • fathom
    • 6 feet
  • furlong
    • ?
  • omer:
    • definitions vary;
    • 1 Biblical omer = 9.30 cups dry US measure (cup);
    • approx 2.3 liters;
    • approx 0.61 gallon, $\frac{1}{10} epah;
    • may be translated as a sheaf
  • ephah:
    • 10 omers;
    • around 1/2 bushel;
    • 5.8 gallons

Time

  • 12-month year
  • 12 hours per day, longer hours in the summer, shorter in winter

Sundial time is apparent time; mechanical clocks indicate mean time. The hour was not divided into minutes until mechanical clocks were invented near the end of the sixteenth century. This is due to seasonal changes in how long an hour, and dependence on sundials (among other). Seconds indicators as a clock-works complication were added. Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Second

Fluids, Liquids

Equivalence

  • 1 log = 1/12 hin, Lev 14, oil to purify lepers
  • 1 hin = 1/6 bath

Materials

Partial lists of materials mentioned in the Bible or known to be used during Biblical times.

Metallic Elements in Bible times

  • copper
  • gold
  • iron
  • lead
  • silver
  • tin

Metallic Alloys in Bible Times

  • Brass KJV
  • Bronze NKJV

Modern times:

  • copper and zinc is brass
  • copper and tin is bronze

Woods

  • acacia
  • algum, almug
  • almond
  • apple, Song 8.5
  • cedar
  • cypress
  • fig
  • gopher, several theories varying from a construction technique to a construction material
  • juniper
  • oak
  • olive
  • pine
  • pomegranates
  • sycamore

Plants

  • date palm

    Related to Writing

  • stone

  • clay

  • vellum

  • paper

  • inks

  • Paint

Textiles (weaved, knitted, crocheted)

  • sheep hair
  • camel hair
  • cotton is not mentioned in the Bible but is believed to be known in ancient times

Textile alternative: leather.

[File name: 130-materials.tex/pdf]

** Weight**

  • Silver mina = 1.25 lbs = 1/60 talent = 60 shekels
  • Gold Mina = 1.25 lbs = 1/60 talent = 60 shekels

Monetary

A complete treatment of this topic would include dates, locations, and disagreements in reference material.

Roman Silver

  • denarius, the base or standard unit
  • shekel = 4 denarii (and equivalent to the Greek stater), approx 10 grams, aprox 0.5 oz. See note at the bottom of this page for one approach to establishing the value of a shekel.
  • Tyrian shekels = 1/2 shekel

Value

The Value of Money (what it is worth, what you could buy with it)

  • 1 denarius = 1 day’s wages for a laborer
  • 1 aureus (gold coin) = 25 denarii (a unit associated with very wealthy people)
  • 1 talent = 10,000 drachmas (a unit associated with royalty or treasury use)
  • Good Samaritan paid the innkeeper 2 denari to feed, shelter, and look after the wounded man.
  • Parable of Lost Coin, woman searched for 1 lost denaris.
  • Unjust steward put into prison for owing over 100 denarii.
  • Herod the Great’s annual income at the time of his death was said to be about a thousand talents, he was a ‘multi-millionaire’.

Notes

shekel: To see how one writer arrives at a value see https://biblicalsausage.wordpress.com/2017/06/12/the-value-of-biblical-money-shekels/

[File name: 140-money.tex/pdf]

Bible Interpretation

This section has been moved to an article in BnB.

Notes

Format

The primary document preparation software for this website is Scrivener. It is easy to learn and low-cost to purchase. Scrivener does not have glossary capability built in, so this is formatted as a stand alone article. This glossary will always be a work in progress (WIP).

Background

This website exists for those who have an interest in spiritual development. The original directive or intent was to provide ideas to people who know their lives are on a trajectory away from the church and Christianity. The two specific challenges are how the faith is described, and God seems distant.

When a Christian’s life direction is away from the things of God, it could be due to a misunderstanding. The source of the misunderstanding may be how words are used. It could be that the person speaking or writing is using a word correctly, but they intend a less common usage. Many factors compound the problem, such as the meaning of words can change over time. Jargon terms have special meanings often excluded from published dictionaries of the language.

Bible Versions

A goal for site content is to be independent of the Bible version. This is the reason many articles contain quotes from several versions. The literal interpretation of a verse may conflict with some church denomination’s teachings. If we know that a concept being promoted in an article or blog post conflicts with any mainstream church, we try to use the version of the Bible that the denomination prefers. Exceptions will exist for various reasons. See the Bible interpretation series (currently being written or edited) in the BnB section.