Stephen M. Miller's Illustrated Bible Dictionary

s t e p h e n m . m I l l e r ’ s I l l u s t r at e d B I B l e d I c t I o n a ry

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eucharIst (see Communion)

eunIce(you niss)

First century AD

I. . .remember the genuine faith of your

mother eunice. paul to timothy,

2 timothy 1:5 cev

• Timothy’s mother

wrItInG from death row, the apostle Paul said he knew of Timothy’s faith, passed down from Timothy’s mother Eunice.

eunuch(you nuhk)

hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the

harem, will see that they are all given beauty

treatments. esther 2:3

• Castrated man, often a harem servant

testIcles were a deal breaker for men serving the king’s wives in the royal harem. Testicles had to go.

On the bright side, some eunuchs became national leaders, perhaps because of their connections with the ladies. One Christian eunuch “was in charge of all the wealth of Candace. She was the queen of Ethiopia” (Acts 8:27 nirv).

euphrates rIver(you fray tees)

“I have given this land to your descendants,

all the way from the border of egypt to the

great euphrates river.” God to abraham,

Genesis 15:18

human cIvIlIzatIon began along the banks of two rivers, many historians say: the Euphrates and the Tigris. Abraham’s hometown of Ur sat alongside the Euphrates, a river that begins in the mountains of Tur-key. It meanders through Syria and Iraq before draining into the Persian Gulf, a journey of about 1,700 miles (2,700 km). God promised Abraham’s descendants land extend-ing to the river. King Solomon’s influence did seem to reach that far. But today the Euphrates lies more than 200 miles (320 km) north of modern Israel, in Arab terri-tory. Many Arabs, however, also lay claim to Abraham— through his son Ishmael.

Gone fIshIn’. Iraqi fishermen cast a net into the euphrates river near al Qurna, in the southland where the river empties into the persian Gulf.

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eutychus(u tuh cuss)

First century AD

as paul spoke on and on, a young man named

eutychus, sitting on the windowsill. . .fell

sound asleep and dropped three stories to

his death. acts 20:9

• Killed by a sermon

• Resurrected by the preacher

after IndIrectly kIllInG thIs Boy in Troas with what sounds like a long, boring sermon, Paul raised him from the dead then went back to preaching until dawn—in what might be described as chutzpah.

evanGelIsts

these are the gifts christ gave to the church:

the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,

and the pastors and teachers. ephesians 4:11

• Christian preachers

GIfted preachers, evangelists specialized in telling people about the story and teachings of Jesus. Evangelist comes from a Greek word that means “one who reports good news.” Writers of the four Gospels about Jesus—Matthew, Mark, Luke, John—earned the nickname “Evangelists.” Church leaders tagged them with that brand by the AD 200s.

eve (see Adam and Eve)

evIl spIrIt (see Demons)

excommunIcatIon

call a meeting of the church. . . . then you

must throw this man out. 1 corinthians 5:4–5

• Removing a church member from

membership

It’s a sanctIfIed evIctIon of the unsanctified. In Old Testament times, Jewish law allowed Jews to ex-pel fellow Jews from the community for flagrant sins such as incest. In New Testament times, Paul ordered the church in Corinth to expel a churchman who was sleep-ing with his stepmother. Paul said he hoped the excommu-nication would bring the man to his spiritual senses.

exIle

722 BC for Israel

586 BC for Judah

“the loRd will exile you and your king to a

nation unknown to you and your ancestors.”

deuteronomy 28:36

• Eviction of the Jews from their homeland

moses warned that once the Jews reached the Promised Land, they weren’t home free. He said if they disobeyed God by becoming serial sinners, God would exile them.

Centuries later, prophets began warning the Jews that if they didn’t get their spiritual act together, God would send invaders to erase the Jewish nation from the political map and exile those lucky enough to survive. Israel split into two nations in the mid-900s BC. First to fall was the northern Jewish nation of Israel. Assyrian invaders from what is now northern Iraq de-ported the survivors. As far as anyone knows, they never returned in any large group. The southern Jewish nation of Judah fell in 586 BC to Babylonian invaders headquartered in what is now southern Iraq. Though deported to Babylon, these Jews were allowed to return about 50 years later, when Persians from what is now Iraq defeated Babylon to be-come the new superpower of the Middle East.

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exodus of the Jews

1400s or 1200s (debated)

“the loRd brought the people of Israel out of

the land of egypt like an army.” exodus 12:51

• Moses leads the Jews to freedom out of

Egypt

a week’s walk turned into a 40-year marathon when Moses led the Jews out of Egypt. About a week is all it took a walker to travel the 150 miles ( 241 km) from the Nile Delta, where the Jews had been enslaved, to the border of what is now Israel. They’d travel along a coastal road that linked the two territories.

Moses took a road less traveled—the not particu-larly scenic route. He did this to avoid Egyptian forts and troops along the coastal road. “If the people are faced with a battle,” God told Moses, “they might change their minds and return to Egypt” (Exodus 13:17). Moses turned the crowd south, into the barren Si-nai badlands. Egypt’s chariot corps chased them down and tried to herd them back to Egypt. But the Jews es-caped through a wind-blown path through a body of water. When the Egyptians followed, the wind stopped, and the water rushed back into place, drowning them. The Jews camped at the foot of Mount Sinai for about a year, while the Bible says God gave Moses the 10 Commandments and many other laws. When the Jews arrived at Kadesh oasis near Israel’s southern border, Moses sent scouts ahead. They came back with

deported captives are led into exile by a soldier. after the Jewish homeland fell to invaders, Jews were exiled to what is now Iraq.



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shocking news. There were giants in the land. And the cities had walls protecting them. The refugees panicked, refusing to go further. For this vote of no confidence in God, he sentenced them to 40 years in the badlands. Scholars say they likely stayed at the oasis for most of that time. Afterward, Moses took them into what is now Jor-dan, where he died. Joshua took over and led the inva-sion force to Jericho—a border town on Israel’s side of the Jordan River. It would become the first city to fall in the Promised Land. Bible experts don’t agree on when the Exodus hap-pened. They’re working with theories two centuries apart.

1400s. Some say the Exodus began in 1440.

Scholars get that number from a report that says Solo-mon started his Temple in the fourth year of his reign (about 960 BC), “480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt” (1 Kings 6:1). Add 960 BC to 480 BC; it equals 1440 BC. Others say 480 years—which is a dozen 40-year generations—could be a round-number symbolic way of saying “a long time.” One generation for each of Israel’s 12 tribes.

1200s. This later date is based partly on a report that says the Jewish slaves built the city of “Rameses” (Exodus 1:11). That’s the family name of a dynasty of 11 kings who ruled from 1293–1070 BC. Egypt’s most famous builder-king, Rameses II, ruled from 1279–1212 BC.

scenIc route. Instead of leading the Jews along the shortest route out of egypt, some 150 miles (241 km) to canaan, moses bypassed the egyptian forts. his route is uncertain, but a traditional route shown here would have covered roughly 700 miles (1120 km).



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exodus, Book of

famous sound bite: “let my people go.” God’s

order to egypt’s king, exodus 5:1

trapped as slaves In eGypt, Jews find the exit. They cry out to God. He sends a deliverer—a fel-low Jew who had been adopted by a former king of Egypt and then raised as a prince in Egypt: Moses. Convincing the king to free this army of slave labor is a tough sell. But 10 plagues later, the king is okay with getting the Jews gone.

• writer: unknown. Jewish tradition credits

moses.

• time: 1400s Bc or 1200s Bc. scholars

debate which.

• location: egypt.

BIG scenesenslaving the guests. Jacob had moved his

family to Egypt to weather out a drought in Israel. They stay 430 years—long enough to grow so large that Egypt’s king considers them a security threat. He en-slaves them. Exodus 1

moses: Jewish prince of egypt. To control the Jewish population, the king orders all newborn Jew-ish boys thrown into the Nile River—fresh meat for crocodiles. The mother of baby Moses complies. But she makes sure her baby floats—in a waterproof bas-ket. Also, she floats him where the princess bathes. The princess adopts Moses and raises him in the palace. Exodus 2

fiery, talking bush. Grown up, Moses becomes a hunted fugitive after killing an Egyptian foreman for beating a Jewish slave. Moses ends up working as a shep-herd. While grazing sheep in the Sinai, he sees a burn-ing bush. Out of the bush the voice of God orders him back to Egypt, to free the Jews. Exodus 2–4

“let my people go.” Accompanied by his older brother, Aaron, 80-year-old Moses returns to Egypt and delivers God’s message. The king isn’t impressed. First, he’s considered a god himself: son of Re, the powerful sun god in a desert nation. Second, he has never heard of the Jewish God. Third, if the Jewish God had any muscle, the Jews wouldn’t be in this fix.

ten plagues. Egypt’s king is stubborn—so stub-born that his nation has to endure 10 plagues before he finally agrees to release the Jews. Each plague seems to target an Egyptian god, some scholars say, to show that God is stronger:

1. Nile River turns red2. frogs3. gnats4. flies5. livestock disease6. boils7. hail8. locusts9. three days of darkness10. death of oldest child. Exodus 7–11passover, the meal. Jews eat one last meal in

slavery, while the angel of death moves through the land killing the firstborn—but passing over the Jewish households. The king, who loses his own son, frees the Jews that night. To this day, Jews commemorate their deliverance by eating a springtime Passover meal about the same time Christians celebrate Easter. Exodus 11–12

crossing the sea. Egypt’s stubborn king makes one last attempt to get his own way. Hoping to retrieve his slaves, he mobilizes his chariot corps. They never return. They manage to trap the Jews against a body of water. But God sends an all-night wind to blow a path into the water. It becomes the Jewish exit but the Egyp-tian drowning tank. When the chariot corps tries to fol-low the Jews, the water pours back into place. That’s the end of the Egyptian army in the Exodus story. Exodus 12–14

10 commandments. Moses leads the Jews to where he heard God speak at the burning bush. It’s at Mount Sinai. They camp there for about a year. That’s long enough for God to give Moses many of the laws that will establish the Jewish nation and guide the people— including the 10 most important laws:

1. worship only God2. no idols3. no irreverent use of God’s name4. no work on the Sabbath5. honor your parents6. no murder7. no adultery8. no stealing



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9. no lies about your neighbor10. no coveting what others have. Exodus 19–20tent worship center. God wants to give the

Jews tangible evidence that he’s with them. So he has them build a tent worship center in the middle of the camp. Here is where the Jews will bring their sacrifices to God. It’s a portable version of what will later become the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Exodus 25–26, 36–38

exorcIsm

“If I am empowered by satan, what about

your own exorcists? they cast out demons,

too.” Jesus to pharisees, luke 11:19

• Driving demons out of a possessed person

demons entered people. That was a wide-spread belief throughout the ancient Middle East. These demons caused a world of hurt: physical illnesses, de-structive behavior, and lousy luck in general. Pagans, Jews, and Christians all conducted exor-cism rituals. Many how-to records survive.

In one, the exorcist made a figurine of the pos-sessed person, ordered the demon out, and then broke

the figurine.First-century Jewish historian, Josephus, said

he watched an exorcist tie a ring to a small root and then put the ring next to the possessed man’s nose. The exorcist pulled the ring as though pulling the demon out through the

man’s nose. The possessed man collapsed and the exorcist started reciting incantations, order-ing the demon to never come back.

exorcIst prIest. “screams, writhing on the ground, insults, vomiting, physical assaults upon the priest, spewing thick sputum—these are what the exorcist sees habitually.” so says father Jose antonio fortea, a spanish priest and exorcist who has written on the topic.



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The Bible says some Jewish exorcists once tried invoking the name of Jesus and Paul. But the demon replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). The possessed man then attacked the would-be exorcists. What followed was a switcheroo as far as Bible exorcisms are concerned: the demon drove off the exorcists.

ezekIel(ee zeek ee uhl)

Ministered from 593–571 BC

God’s word came to ezekiel the priest. . .in

the country of Babylon. ezekiel 1:3 msg

• Jewish priest, prophet living in Babylon

(Iraq)

a prIest wIth no temple, Ezekiel never got to follow his career path. Priests ministered only at the Jerusalem Temple, and only “between the ages of thirty and fifty” (Numbers 4:3). But when Ezekiel was 25, Babylonians from what is now Iraq took him captive to Babylon. God gave Ezekiel a second career: prophet in exile.

Speaking on behalf of God, Ezekiel condemned the Jews for their long list of sins: idolatry, corruption, ex-ploitation. He warned that judgment day was coming. Ezekiel lived to see it. Babylon invaded Judah in 586 BC, leveled Jerusalem, and wiped the Jewish nation off the political map.

Afterward, he saw a remarkable vision of bones in a valley coming to life. It was a metaphor: God would resurrect the Jewish nation. Ezekiel probably didn’t live to see that happen. His ministry seemed to end about 30 years before Persians from what is now Iran defeated the Babylonians and freed the political prisoners, including the Jews.

ezekIel, Book of

famous sound bite: “dry bones, hear the

world of the loRd!” ezekiel 37:4 tniv

exIled In IraQ—headquarters of the Middle Eastern superpower called the Babylonian Empire—a prophet named Ezekiel predicts the collapse of the Jew-ish nation. It’s punishment for serial sin. But Ezekiel’s news isn’t all bad. He says God will resurrect the Jewish nation, giving them a second chance and a fresh start.

• writer: ezekiel.

• time: ezekiel ministers for 22 years, from

593–571 Bc.

• location: ezekiel writes from exile in Iraq,

then known as Babylon.

BIG sceneson a mission from God. Ezekiel sees a bizarre

vision that scholars say sounds tailored for a priest like Ezekiel. He sees God arriving on a chariot, accompanied by angelic beings. Israel’s most sacred relic—the Ark of the Covenant that held the 10 Commandments— is sometimes described as God’s chariot. And it’s topped with figures of angelic beings. God has Ezekiel eat a scroll—perhaps to symbolize that Ezekiel will begin speaking God’s words to the people. Ezekiel 1–3

ezekiel’s haircut and shave. Ezekiel cuts his hair and beard—as a symbol of Jewish doom. He di-vides the hair into three piles:

• pile one, he burns. the message: when

babylon lays siege to jeRusalem, a third of

the jews will die of disease and starvation.

• pile two, he chops with a sword. after

capturing Jerusalem, Babylonians will

execute a third of the survivors.

• pile three, he throws to the wind. a third

of the Jews will survive, but they’ll get

deported to Babylon. ezekiel 5–7

God leaves Jerusalem. In a vision tailored for Jews who can’t imagine God letting pagan invaders des-ecrate his sacred Temple, Ezekiel sees God leaving both



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the Temple and the town. Ezekiel 8–10 Bones. For centuries of sin—idolatry, corrup-

tion, exploitation—God sentences the Jewish political nation to death. Babylon will erase it from the map. But Ezekiel sees a vision of bones in a valley. God snaps the bones together, lashes them up with flesh, and breathes life into the corpses. resurrection. That’s what Ezekiel promises God will do to the Jewish nation. Ezekiel 37

ezra(ez ruh)

Arrived in Jerusalem in 458 BC

ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the

law of moses. . . . he came up to Jerusalem

from Babylon. ezra 7:6

• Jewish scholar returned from exile

• Brought supplies to upgrade the Temple

• Condemned mixed marriages

he’s famous for ordering Jewish men to run off their non-Jewish wives and children.

Harsh and bigoted, some charge. They add that this Jewish scholar’s demand lives on the flip side of Ruth’s coin. She was an Arab from what is now Jor-dan. She married a Jew and gave birth to King David’s grandfather. Ruth’s mixed marriage produced Israel’s greatest dynasty of kings.

Ezra, however, said he was trying to stop a second exile. He said God evicted the Jews from the Prom-ised Land because they married non-Jews and started worshiping idols that the spouses brought into their marriages. Ezra didn’t want an encore of judgment day.

ezra, Book of

famous sound bite: “you have broken God’s

law by marrying foreign women. . . . confess

your sins. . . . divorce your foreign wives.”

ezra 10:10–11 cev

a do-over is what God gives the Jews. Ezra, an ex-pert in Jewish law, wants to make sure they get it right this time. In the first go-round, Jews broke God’s laws

and ended up exiled in what is now Iraq and Iran. Back home now, they start rebuilding their homes and their lives. But when some marry non-Jews, Ezra orders divorce—on a national scale.

• writer: unknown. Jewish tradition credits

ezra.

• time: the story covers about 80 years. It

starts when persian king cyrus frees the

Jews to go home in about 538 Bc. It ends

with ezra’s return to Jerusalem in 458 Bc.

• location: most of the story takes place

in Jerusalem. But it starts with the Jews

exiled in what is now Iraq and Iran.

BIG scenes Iranians help the Jews. Exiled from their homeland and scattered throughout the Middle East in 586 BC, Jews live as refugees for about 50 years. When Persians (Iran) conquer the Babylonians (Iraq), King Cyrus of Persia not only frees the Jews, but he sends them home in 538 BC with gold, silver, livestock, and other supplies they’ll need to start rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple. Ezra 1–2 downsized: God’s temple. Even with Cyrus’s generous contributions to the Jewish refugees, when it comes time to pony up the goods for rebuilding the Temple, the best the Jews can manage is half a ton of gold and three tons of silver. In gold, that’s about the weight of a Harley Davidson Fat Boy mounted by a stout rider. In silver, it’s about one and a half Volkswagen Beetles. Big downgrade from the first Temple. David had stockpiled 4,000 tons of gold and 40,000 tons of silver—equal to a stadium’s parking lot of about 8,000 Harley’s and 13,000 Beetles. When some of the older Jews see how the Temple is shaping up, they cry. Ezra 3–6 nixing mixed marriages. Ezra arrives in Je-rusalem about 80 years after the first wave of Jews. An expert in the laws of Moses, he begins teaching the people. When he finds out that 113 men have married non-Jews, he orders them to divorce the women and to abandon their children. He argues that mixed mar-riages are what led their ancestors into idolatry—a sin that got the Jews exiled. Ezra doesn’t want his people heading down that road again. Ezra 7–10


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Stephen M. Miller's Illustrated Bible Dictionary