-
KidAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
KID
See GOAT.
-
-
KidnappingAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
KIDNAPPING
Seizing, carrying away and detaining a person against his will through unlawful force, fraud or intimidation. Kidnapping was a crime carrying the penalty of capital punishment under the Mosaic law. If a person were to steal or kidnap a man and sell him, or if the kidnapped individual was found with him, the kidnapper was to be put to death. (Ex. 21:16; Deut. 24:7) Prior to the giving of this law to Israel, Jacob’s son Joseph was sold into slavery and was a victim of kidnapping. (Gen. 37:27, 28, 40:15) God later turned this act into a blessing for Joseph in Egypt and be forgave his brothers for their wicked deed.—Gen. 45:4, 5.
In writing to Timothy, the apostle Paul made the observation that “law is promulgated, not for a righteous man,” but for lawless persons, including kidnappers.—1 Tim. 1:8-11.
-
-
KidneysAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
KIDNEYS
As with all the organs of the body, the kidneys were directly designed by Jehovah God the Creator. (Ps. 139:13) In sacrificial animals, the fat around the kidneys was considered especially choice, and was specifically mentioned as something that was to be made to smoke on the altar along with the kidneys in communion sacrifices (Lev. 3:10, 11; 9:19, 20), sin offerings (Lev. 4:8, 9; 8:14, 16; 9:10) and guilt offerings. (Lev. 7:1, 4) In the installation of the priesthood the kidneys of the ram of installation were first waved and then burned on the altar. (Ex. 29:22, 24, 25; Lev. 8:25, 27, 28) In this significance of choiceness, Moses spoke of Jehovah as feeding his people Israel with the “kidney fat of wheat” (“hearts of wheat,” NW, 1953 ed., ftn.).—Deut. 32:14.
The position of the kidneys deep in the body places them as among the most inaccessible organs. The Bible applies the term as relating to the inmost thoughts and deepest emotions. A wound in the kidneys would be a very deep wound, either literally or figuratively considered. (Job 16:13; Ps. 73:21; Lam. 3:13) Several times kidneys are mentioned in close connection with the heart, which is itself intimately associated with human emotions, such as affection, and motivation. (Jer. 11:20; 20:12) The kidneys are, in fact, affected by deep emotions, according to medical authorities, who say that sustained emotional strain can cause such diseases as diabetes insipidous (not “sugar diabetes”), in which the kidneys fail to function properly. So the Bible usage of the term is not based on imagination or tradition.
Jehovah knows the makeup of man in the most thorough and intimate manner, therefore He Is said to search out and to test out the “kidneys,” even as his Son also searches the “inmost thoughts [literally, “kidneys”] and hearts.” (Ps. 7:9; Rev. 2:23) Jehovah can “refine” the kidneys or “deepest emotions” of a person so that they become right before Him, and are made sensitive to that which is right or wrong.—Ps. 26:2; 16:7; Prov. 23:16; Jer. 12:2; compare NW, 1957, 1958 editions, footnotes.
-
-
Kidron, Torrent Valley ofAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
KIDRON, TORRENT VALLEY OF
(Kidʹron), [perhaps from a root meaning “black, dirty,” or one meaning “glow, burn, radiate heat”].
A deep valley that separates Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and runs first southeastward and then southward along the city. Waterless even in winter, except in case of an especially heavy, rain, the Kidron valley starts some distance to the N of Jerusalem’s walls. At first a broad and shallow valley, it continues to narrow and deepen. By the time it is opposite St. Stephen’s gate near the former temple area, it is approximately 100 feet (c. 30 meters) deep and 400 feet (c. 120 meters) wide. To the S of the former temple area the Kidron valley is joined by the Tyropean valley and the Valley of Hinnom respectively. From then on it continues southeastward across the arid wilderness of Judah to the Dead Sea. The modern name applied to the valley’s lower course is Wadi en-Nar (“fire wadi”), indicating that it is hot and dry most of the time.
Opposite Jerusalem, rock-cut tombs occupy the steep and rocky slopes of the valley’s E side. On its W side, about midway between the former temple area and the junction of the Tyropean and Kidron valleys, is the spring of Gihon. (See GIHON.) Not far from this spring the Kidron valley widens and forms an open space. It has been suggested that this open area may correspond to the ancient “king’s garden.”—2 Ki. 25:4.
King David, when fleeing from rebellious Absalom, crossed the Kidron valley on foot. (2 Sam. 15:14, 23, 30) For cursing David on that occasion, Solomon later restricted Shimei to Jerusalem, not permitting him to cross the Kidron valley under pain of death. (1 Ki. 2:8, 9, 36, 37) It was this same valley that Jesus traversed on his way to the garden of Gethsemane. (John 18:1) During the reigns of Judean Kings Asa, Hezekiah and Josiah the Kidron valley was used as a place of disposal for appendages of idolatry. (1 Ki. 15:13; 2 Ki. 23:4, 6, 12; 2 Chron. 15:16; 29:16; 30:14) It also served as a place of burial. (2 Ki. 23:6) This made the Kidron valley an unclean area, and it is therefore significant that Jeremiah’s prophecy pointed to a time when, by contrast, “all the terraces as far as the torrent valley of Kidron” would be “something holy to Jehovah.”—Jer. 31:40.
[Picture on page 991]
Looking south along the Torrent Valley of Kidron
-
-
KilnAid to Bible Understanding
-
-
KILN
A heating chamber designed for processing various materials. Kilns of ancient times were used for baking bricks, firing pottery and processing lime. Unlike the modern meaning of the English term “kiln,” the Hebrew word kiv·shanʹ does not embrace structures classified as ovens.—See OVEN.
In view of the progress made in pre-Flood times in the forging of copper and iron tools (Gen. 4:22), kilns were likely developed at an early point in man’s history. Though not directly mentioned, there is evidence for their use in Nimrod’s day. When about to build the city of Babel and its tower in the land of Shinar, the post-Flood people said: “Come on! Let us make bricks and bake them with a burning process.” (Gen. 11:3) Ancient Babylonian ruins reveal the use of kiln-fired bricks from ancient times. Such
-