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Emek-kezizAid to Bible Understanding
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(Josh. 18:21) Emek-keziz’ exact situation is today unknown. The meaning of its name and its mention along with Jericho, Beth-hoglah and Beth-arabah in the Jordan valley may indicate a location in that vicinity.
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EmeraldAid to Bible Understanding
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EMERALD
A precious, brilliant, transparent gemstone that is a variety of beryl. Emerald is composed of aluminum and glucinum silicate and a small amount of chromium that imparts the green color to the stone. It is slightly harder than quartz and is usually found in nodular form or in distinct six-sided crystals.
Emeralds were known to the early Egyptians, who obtained them from Upper Egypt. They were probably among the valuable articles received from the Egyptians just prior to Israel’s departure from Egypt. (Ex. 12:35, 36) Later, an emerald was placed as the third stone in the first row of stones on the high priest’s “breastpiece of judgment.” (Ex. 28:2, 15, 17, 21; 39:10) The king of Tyre is depicted as wearing a covering of “every precious stone,” including the emerald, in the prophetic dirge delivered by Ezekiel.—Ezek. 28:12, 13.
The apostle John, in his vision of Jehovah’s heavenly throne, used the emerald to describe the rainbow that was “round about the throne.” (Rev. 4:1-3) When John saw the “holy city, New Jerusalem,” he observed that “the foundations of the city’s wall were adorned with every sort of precious stone,” the fourth being emerald.—Rev. 21:2, 10, 19.
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EmimAid to Bible Understanding
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EMIM
(Eʹmim) [frightful creatures].
A tribe or people that dwelt in the territory E of the Dead Sea. They are described as being great, numerous and tall “like the Anakim.” (Deut. 2:10) This comparison with the sons of Anak indicates that the Emim were giantlike in stature and fierce, for Moses stated to Israel: “You yourself have heard it said, ‘Who can make a firm stand before the sons of Anak?’” (Deut. 9:2) The origin of the Emim cannot definitely be established, although some think that they were a branch of the Rephaim.
During the time of Abraham the Elamite king Chedorlaomer defeated the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim. (Gen. 14:5) The Emim apparently continued to dwell in their land E of the Dead Sea for some time after this, as the Bible speaks of them as finally being dispossessed by the Moabites. The Moabites also used the name Emim to refer to the Rephaim.—Deut. 2:11.
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EmmausAid to Bible Understanding
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EMMAUS
(Em·maʹus).
A village toward which Cleopas and a fellow disciple were journeying when they were joined by the materialized Jesus Christ on the day of his resurrection. It was not, however, until after they reached Emmaus and Jesus “was reclining with them at the meal” that they recognized him. Following Jesus’ subsequent disappearance the two disciples returned to Jerusalem that same evening.—Luke 24:13-33.
The location of Emmaus is uncertain, at least a half-dozen different sites having been proposed. Most prominent among these is Amwas on the road to Jaffa, where the name Emmaus, at least, appears to have been historically preserved. Amwas was traditionally accepted as Emmaus as early as the fourth century C.E. by such writers as Eusebius and Jerome. An imposing objection to Amwas, however, is its distance from Jerusalem, for the primary clue Luke gives as to the village’s location is that it was ‘sixty stadia’ (equaling about seven English miles or approximately seven and a half Roman miles [11.3 kilometers]) distant from Jerusalem. (24:13) Amwas is 176 stadia W-NW of that city, almost three times as far as Luke mentions. It has been estimated this would have meant an arduous five-hour walking trip in the dark for Cleopas and his companion when returning to Jerusalem after Jesus left them. (24:33) Some have attempted to reconcile this distance gap by the reading of ‘one hundred and sixty stadia’ in the Codex Sinaiticus and other manuscripts, but the weight of manuscript evidence is in favor of the present text. Conversely, another oft-proposed site, Qaloniyeh, located on the main road to Jaffa and accepted by some as the Ammaous referred to by Josephus, is about thirty-six stadia from Jerusalem and so is too close to fit Luke’s record.
Some, therefore, prefer to identify Emmaus with El-Qubeibeh, on a more northerly Roman road than the other suggested sites. Here remains have been found believed to date back to the Greek Scripture period. The location, some sixty-three stadia NW of Jerusalem, lends support to the view that this may be the Biblical city. Nonetheless, any final identification is impossible at this time.
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EnaimAid to Bible Understanding
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ENAIM
(E·naʹim) [two springs].
A site near which Tamar, disguised as a prostitute, cohabited with Judah, resulting in the birth of Perez and Zerah. (Gen. 38:14-16, 21, 29, 30) Enaim was apparently situated between Adullam and Timnah. (Vs. 12) While considered by some geographers to be the same as Enam in the Shephelah (Josh. 15:34), its exact location is today unknown.
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EnamAid to Bible Understanding
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ENAM
(Eʹnam).
A city in the Shephelah of Judah. (Josh. 15:33, 34) Although Enam’s exact location is today unknown, some geographers consider it to be the same as Enaim mentioned at Genesis 38:14, 21.
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EnanAid to Bible Understanding
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ENAN
(Eʹnan) [having fountains; having eyes].
The father of Ahira the chieftain of the tribe of Naphtali in Moses’ day.—Num. 1:15; 2:29; 7:78, 83; 10:27.
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Enclave CitiesAid to Bible Understanding
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ENCLAVE CITIES
[Heb., miv·da·lohthʹ, “separated places”; “enclaves”].
Cities of a particular people or tribe that are enclosed within the territory of a different tribe. Modern-day examples of enclaves include West Berlin, surrounded by the territory of East Germany, and the property given to the United Nations, totally enclosed within New York city. A part of ancient Jerusalem remained a Jebusite enclave within Israel’s territory for four centuries until David finally captured it.—Josh. 15:63; Judg. 1:21; 19:11, 12; 2 Sam. 5:6-9.
In the division of the Promised Land among the twelve tribes, there were cities within the general territory of one tribe that were held by another tribe. According to Joshua 16:9, “the sons of Ephraim had enclave cities in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh” (NW), that is, “towns set apart for the Ephraimites inside the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh.” (JB; see also Joshua 17:8, 9.) Some of the sons of Manasseh resided in towns within the boundaries of Issachar and Asher.—Josh. 17:11; 1 Chron. 7:29.
Simeon’s inheritance consisted of cities all of which were located in Judah’s territory, because the latter’s allotment “proved to be too large for them.” (Josh. 19:1-9) The forty-eight cities administered by the Levites, including the six cities of refuge, were all enclaves in the territory of other tribes. (Josh. 21:3-41) In this manner Jacob’s deathbed prophecy concerning Simeon and Levi was fulfilled, that ‘they shall have a portion in Jacob, but will be scattered in Israel.’—Gen. 49:7.
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En-DorAid to Bible Understanding
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EN-DOR
[spring of generation].
A plains city located in the territory of Issachar but assigned to Manasseh. The Canaanites there were not entirely dispossessed but came under forced labor. (Josh. 17:11-13) En-dor is usually identified with the modern site of the same name, about midway between Megiddo and the southern end of the Sea of Galilee.
At Psalm 83:9, 10, En-dor is connected with Jehovah’s victory over Sisera. While not mentioned in the battle account at Judges chapters four and five, it evidently lay only a few miles S of Mount Tabor, from which Barak’s army descended. (Judg. 4:6, 12) It was also in the general region of Taanach and
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