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DorAid to Bible Understanding
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dependent towns actually lay in Asher’s territory, these were given to the tribe of Manasseh, who proved unable to dispossess the inhabitants remaining there. (Josh. 17:11-13; 1 Chron. 7:29) Later the territory of Dor, overseen by one of Solomon’s sons-in-law, provided food one month out of the year for the king’s household.—1 Ki. 4:11.
The city of Dor is usually identified with el-Burj, just N of the small harbor town of et-Tanturah, hence on the long narrow coastal plain stretching along the Mediterranean Sea from Cape Carmel to the Crocodile River. This location on the coastal plain has caused some discussion as to the meaning of the frequently used phrase “the mountain ridges [from the Hebrew na·phahʹ; “highlands,” AT, “hillsides,” JB; “borders,” AV] of Dor.” (Josh. 11:2) Some authorities believe this refers to the cliffs that line much of the coast in this region, thus associating the Hebrew na·phahʹ with the Arabic term nafnaf, meaning “cliff, precipice.” Others believe it may indicate the hilly slopes that begin two miles (3.2 kilometers) inland from Dor and culminate in the heights of Mount Carmel.
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DorcasAid to Bible Understanding
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DORCAS
(Dorʹcas) [Gr., gazelle].
A Christian woman in the Joppa congregation abounding in “good deeds and gifts of mercy,” evidently including the making of inner and outer garments for needy widows. (Acts 9:36, 39) “Dorcas” corresponds to the Aramaic “Tabitha,” both names meaning “gazelle.” Possibly Dorcas was known by both names, as it was not uncommon then for Jews, especially those living in a seaport such as Joppa with its mixed population of Jews and Gentiles, to have a Hebrew name as well as a Greek or Latin name. Or, Luke may have translated the name for the benefit of Gentile readers. Dorcas is the only woman mentioned in the Scriptures as having the feminine form of the word “disciple” applied to her. This, however, does not mean that she held a special position in the congregation, for all Christians were actually disciples of Jesus Christ. (Matt. 28:19, 20) Though her death around 36 C.E. caused much weeping among the widows who had apparently benefited greatly from her kindnesses, the fact that no mention is made of sorrow on the part of a husband suggests that Dorcas was unmarried at the time.
At her death the disciples at Joppa prepared her for burial and, on learning that Peter was in Lydda, just a few miles SE of Joppa, sent for him. Undoubtedly they had heard about Peter’s healing the paralytic Aeneas there and this may have given them a basis for reasoning that the apostle might resurrect Dorcas. On the other hand, they may have turned to Peter simply for consolation.—Acts 9:32-38.
Following a procedure similar to that used by Jesus in resurrecting Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:38-41; Luke 8:51-55), Peter, after dismissing everyone from the upper chamber, prayed and then said: “Tabitha, rise!” Dorcas opened her eyes, sat up and took Peter’s hand to rise. This is the first-reported resurrection performed by an apostle, resulting in many becoming believers throughout Joppa.—Acts 9:39-42.
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DothanAid to Bible Understanding
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DOTHAN
(Doʹthan).
A city figuring in two Biblical narratives. Dothan is today identified with Tell Dotha, situated on a hill in a small basinlike plain lying between the hills of Samaria and the Carmel range, ten miles (16.1 kilometers) NE of Samaria.
Young Joseph found his brothers and their flocks “at Dothan.” It is thought likely that they were to the N of that city, on the pasture ground through which ran the road connecting Gilead (E of the Jordan) with the Mediterranean seacoast and Egypt. This may have been the route traveled by the “caravan of Ishmaelites” who purchased Joseph.—Gen. 37:17-36.
Centuries later the king of Syria dispatched a heavy military force to Dothan to arrest Elisha. Here the prophet’s fearful attendant had his eyes miraculously opened to see the fiery war equipment of God in “the mountainous region . . . all around Elisha,” that is, either on the same hill where Dothan stood or the nearby hills to the E, S and W of Dothan. (2 Ki. 6:11-17) The Syrians, in encircling the city, may have also posted themselves in these surrounding hills, from which they then ‘came down’ when Elisha went out of the city to meet them. The enemy forces were rendered harmless, however, when miraculously struck with a type of blindness, Jehovah perhaps using the angelic forces in accomplishing this.—Vss. 18, 19; compare Genesis 19:1, 10, 11.
The ruins of Tell Dotha are believed by some to offer a fairly complete sketch of Palestinian culture down to the third or the fourth century C.E. It was apparently thriving during the aforementioned Biblical periods. Certain rectangular-shaped cisterns found here, measuring ten feet (3.04 meters) deep, are thought by some to be similar to the “waterpit” into which Joseph was cast.
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DoveAid to Bible Understanding
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DOVE
[Heb., yoh·nahʹ; Gr., pe·ri·ste·raʹ].
The dove is one of the first two birds specifically named in the Bible, Noah having sent out a dove three times after the Flood to determine the drainage of the waters. (Gen. 8:8-12) The Hebrew name yoh·nahʹ is thought to derive from the word ʼa·nahʹ, meaning “to mourn,” and evidently is in imitation of the mournful cooing sound made by the dove. (Isa. 38:14; 59:11, 12; Ezek. 7:16; Nah. 2:7) While “dove” and “pigeon” are often used interchangeably in English, both birds being classed as of the family Columbidae, the term “dove” is usually restricted to the smaller varieties generally living wild and regularly migrating. Since the distinction in English between dove and pigeon is quite indefinite, translators usually render yoh·nahʹ as “dove” except when it occurs in association with “turtledove” (as in all cases relating to sacrifices), in which texts it is generally translated “pigeon.”—See PIGEON; TURTLEDOVE.
VARIETIES AND DESCRIPTION
The most common varieties of doves found in Palestine are the rock dove (or rock pigeon), the ring dove (also called the wood pigeon) and the stock dove. Large flocks of ring doves migrate through Palestine, northward in the spring, and southward in the fall, and they are found particularly in the forests of Gilead and Carmel. The stock dove settles chiefly around Jericho and on the eastern side of the Jordan, while the rock dove breeds on the coastlands, along the gorges of the Jordan valley and the highlands to the W. Doves characteristically have a plump, full-breasted body, graceful neck, a small rounded head with rather slender bill, and short legs. The feathers are very compact, giving the bird a rather sleek look. Though sometimes all white, the doves are frequently of a blue-gray color, while some have an iridescent sheen on parts of the plumage, causing it to take on a metallic appearance in the golden sunlight. This may be indicated at Psalm 68:13, although the reference there to “the wings of a dove covered with silver and its pinions with yellowish-green gold” is thought by some to refer to some richly wrought art piece taken as spoil.
The dove has a soft, gentle appearance and disposition, earning for it the name of ‘the sheep of the bird world.’ Thus the name Jonah (Yoh·nahʹ) was and is a popular name for Jewish boys (Jonah 1:1), while the name of Job’s daughter Jemimah evidently corresponds to the Arabic yamamatu, also meaning “dove.” (Job 42:14) The birds are notable for their devotion to their mates and their affection, and in courtship they bring their heads together and each bird takes the other’s beak in its own much like a lover’s kiss. “My dove” was thus an apt term of endearment used by the Shulammite maiden’s shepherd lover. (Song of Sol. 5:2; 6:9) The maiden’s eyes were likened to the soft gentle eyes of a dove (1:15;
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