American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

28

Dedication

A religious ceremony by which any person, place, or thing was devoted to a holy purpose. Thus the tabernacle and the first and second temples were dedicated to God, Ex 40:1-381K...

29

Deep And Depths

The deep, or the great deep, signifies in Scripture, hell, the place of punishment, the bottomless pit, Lu 8:31, compare Re 9:1 11:7; the grave, Ro 10:7; the deepest parts of th...

30

Deer

A wild quadruped, of a middle size between the stag and the roebuck; its horns turn inward, and are large and flat. The fallow deer is naturally very timorous: it was reputed cl...

31

Defile, Defilement

Many were the blemishes of person and conduct that, under the Jewish ceremonial law, were esteemed defilements: some were voluntary; some were inevitable, being defects of natur...

32

Degrees, Psalms Of

Is the title prefixed to fifteen psalms, from Ps 120 to Ps 134 inclusive. Of this title commentators have proposed a variety of explanations. The most probable are the following...

33

Dehavites

A people beyond the Euphrates, who furnished colonists for Samaria, 2Ki 17:24; Ezr 4:9; supposed to be the Dahae, on the east of the Caspian sea, and under the Persian government.

34

Delilah

A Philistine woman, whom Samson loved, and who betrayed him to the enemies of Israel, Jud 16:1-31.

35

Deluge

That universal flood which was sent upon the earth in the time of Noah, and from which there were but eight persons saved. Moses’ account of this event is recorded in Ge 6:1-8:2...

36

Demas

A fellow-laborer with Paul at Thessalonica, who afterwards deserted him, either discouraged by the hardships of the work, or allured by the love of the world, Col 4:142Ti 4:10Ph...

37

Demetrius

1. A goldsmith of Ephesus, who made models of the famous temple of Diana at Ephesus, which he sold to foreigners, Ac 19:24-4. Observing the progress of the gospel, not in Ephesu...

38

Derbe

A small town of Lycaonia, in Asia Minor, to which Paul and Barnabas fled from Lystra, A. D. 41, Ac 14:20. It lay at the foot of the Taurus mountains on the north, sixteen or twe...

39

Desert

The Scriptures, by "desert," generally mean an uncultivated place, a wilderness, or grazing tract. Some deserts were entirely fry and barren; others were beautiful, and had good...

40

Deuteronomy

Or the repetition of the law, the fifth book of the Pentateuch, so called by the Greeks, because in it Moses recapitulates what he had ordained in the preceding books, De 1:1-6 ...

41

Devil

A fallen angel; and particularly the chief of them, the devil, or Satan. He is the great principle of evil in the world; and it is his grand object to counteract the good that G...

42

Dew

The dews in Palestine and some other oriental countries are very copious, and serve very greatly to sustain and promote vegetation in seasons when little or no rain falls. Maund...

43

Dial

An instrument much used before the invention of clocks, to tell the time of day by the progress of the sun’s shadow. The dial of Ahaz, 2Ki 20:11Isa 38:1-9, seems to have been pe...

44

Diamond

The hardest and most brilliant of gems, very rare and costly. The largest diamonds known in the world, procured from India and Brazil, are guarded among the royal treasures of E...

45

Diana

Or ARTEMIS, a celebrated goddess of the Romans and Greeks, and one of their twelve superior deities. In the heavens she was Luna, (the moon,) on earth Diana, in the unseen world...

46

Dibon

DIMON, Isa 15:9, andDI-BON-GAD, Nu 33:45,46, a town of Gad, Nu 32:34, but afterwards of Reuben, Jos 13:17. It lay in a plain just north of the Arnon, and was the first encampmen...

47

Diklah

A tribe descended from Joktan, Ge 10:27, and dwelling in Southern Arabia, or perhaps near the head of the Persian gulf.

48

Dinah

Daughter of Jacob by Leah, Ge 30:21, his only daughter named in Scripture. While the family were sojourning near Shalem, she heedlessly associated with the Canaanitish maidens, ...

49

Dionysius

A member of the court of the Areopagus at Athens, converted under the preaching of Paul, Ac 17:34. Tradition says that he was eminent for learning, that he was ordained by Paul ...

50

Diotrephes

An influential member, perhaps minister, of some early church, censured by John for his jealous ambition, and his violent rejection of the best Christians, 3Jo 1:9,10.

51

Discerning Of Spirits

1Co 12:10, a miraculous gift of the Holy Ghost to certain of the early church, empowering them to judge of the real character of those who professed to love Christ, and to be in...

52

Disciple

A scholar, Mt 10:24. In the New Testament it is applied principally to the followers of Christ; sometimes to those of John the Baptist, Mt 22:16. It is used in a special manner ...

53

Discover

Mic 1:6, to uncover, or lay bare.

54

Diseases

Were introduced into the world by sin, and have been greatly increased by the prevalence of corrupt, indolent, and luxurious habits. Besides the natural causes of diseases, evil...