"The Book of Life"
Important books to not be named in... (prison, current criminal investigations / convictions, death row etc.) OPPOSITE: (wealthy, wise, etc.) Is "Membership" in the local congregation is a biblical concept / mandate?! (discuss) What is the earliest example of membership in the bible? It was a family / that God made into a nation... What is the book of Life? The purpose of local membership at Salem: To fulfill the two great commandments for the appointed season...
Membership “The Book of Life”
8105 רַהַב (rǎ·hǎḇ): n.pr.masc.; ≡ Str 7293, 7294; TWOT 2125c—LN 93-pers. Rahab: sea monster (Job 9:13; 26:12; Ps 89:11[EB 10]; Isa 51:9+), note: some sources translate as a common noun, “afflictor,” or “arrogant”; note: Ps 40:5[EB 4], see 8107; see also domain LN 12.1–12.42
רַהַב (rǎ·hǎḇ): n.pr.masc.; ≡ Str 7293, 7294;—LN 93-place Rahab: name for the land of Egypt (Isa 30:7; Ps 87:4+), note: some sources translate as a common noun, “afflictor,” or “arrogant”
BABYLON (PLACE) [Heb bābel (בָּבֶל); Gk Babylōn (Βαβυλων)]. A major city in central Mesopotamia, located on the Euphrates (32°33´N; 44°24´E). It played an important role in the history of the ANE during the 2d and 1st millennia B.C. Its present name comes from the Hellenized form of the Akk Bab-Ilu, literally meaning “the gate of god” which appears in the Bible in the usual form as “Babel.” Undoubtedly, it was the most famous E city of antiquity, and also the most fascinating one—for many people it symbolized the whole Mediterranean civilization.
Two different sources explain this exceptional fame. It was first through the writings of Herodotus, who visited the city in the 5th century B.C., that the West became aware of the metropolis. The other source is the biblical writings, both OT and NT. This source does not treat the city with admiration as the Greek writers did, but in a negative manner based on the memory of conflicts between the great Mesopotamian empires and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Indeed, “Babylon” became symbolic of wickedness in many biblical writings.
TYRE (PLACE) [Heb ṣōr (צֹר)]. TYRIAN. One of the most ancient towns on the Phoenician coast. Tyre (M.R. 168297) is situated about 40km S of Sidon, and about 45km N of Acco. In antiquity it was an island ca. 600–750m from the mainland (Curtius Hist. of Alex. 4.2.7), but since the time of Alexander the Great (actually beginning in the summer of 332 B.C.)
KUSH (PLACE). From the early 12th Dynasty the name Kush applied to the territory lying S of Semna at the 2d cataract on the Nile river, and was often paired with Wawat (Lower Nubia) between the 1st and 2d cataracts (Posener 1958). The name was later extended as a term for Nubia in general. Both the region and its inhabitants are mentioned a number of times in the Bible; see CUSH (PERSON) and ETHIOPIA (PLACE).
Church Covenant
Pacto de la Iglesia
ZION (PLACE) [Heb ṣiyyôn (צִיֹּון)]. An ancient name for various parts of Jerusalem, of Judah and all the land, and also a metaphor for the people of God, at various periods, from biblical times to the modern period. See ZION TRADITIONS.
A. Origin and Meaning of the Name
The exact meaning of the name is uncertain. Various proposals as to etymon of the word include: (1) the Heb ṣāwāh, “to erect” (i.e., a structure), or ṣāyāh, “to be dry” (because of the dryness of Jerusalem; cf. Isa 41:18, “parched ground”); (2) the Hurrian seya, “brook,” “river,” suggesting the Gihon spring just below the City of David; (3) the Arabic ṣahweh, “hillcrest,” “ridge,” i.e., the location of the city; Ṣahyūn (= “Zion” and the comparable Syr root Ṣĕhyûn, from which the Ar form may have developed); or possibly, the most plausible, ṣâna, “protect,” from a hypothetical etymon *ṣiyan, “fortress.” This etymon is related to the Heb root ṣnn found in the derived form ṣinnâ, “(large) shield.” These Arabic etyma would suggest that Zion was a fortress located on a ridge.
Among the many references to Zion are (1) “the sons of Zion” (once, Lam 4:2); (2) the “Daughters of Zion” (one time, Cant 3:11); (3) “the Daughter of Zion” (many times in the OT and twice in the NT); (4) “the Virgin Daughter of Zion” (three times, 2 Kgs 19:21; Isa 37:22; Lam 2:13); (5) Mt. Zion (a number of times); (6) Zion (many times) or O Zion (six times). Although not used as frequently as the name Jerusalem (760 times), Zion is a very common appellative for Jerusalem and God’s people.