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Older ManAid to Bible Understanding
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Christian “older men” may stand for or represent the entire congregation of spiritual Israel. According to this rule, the twenty-four older persons seated on thrones about God might well represent the entire body of anointed Christians who, proving faithful till death, receive the promised reward of a heavenly resurrection and thrones near that of Jehovah. (Compare Revelation 3:21.) The number twenty-four is also significant, for this was the number of the divisions into which King David divided the priests to serve at Jerusalem’s temple. The Christian congregation is to be a “royal priesthood.”—1 Chron. 24:1-19; Luke 1:5-23, 57-66; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 20:6; see OVERSEER.
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OliveAid to Bible Understanding
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OLIVE
[Heb., zaʹyith; Gr., e·laiʹa].
The olive tree was unquestionably one of the most valuable plants in Bible times, of equal importance with the vine and the fig tree. (Judg. 9:8-13; 2 Ki. 5:26; Hab. 3:17; Jas. 3:12) It appears early in the Bible record, as, following the Flood, it was an olive leaf brought back by a dove that indicated to Noah the recession of the waters.—Gen. 8:11.
The olive tree (Olea europaea) thrives in Palestine, particularly along the coast on the plains of Philistia (Deut. 28:40; Judg. 15:5) and up in the central highlands, as well as throughout the entire Mediterranean area. It flourishes in rocky, chalky soil, too dry for many other plants, and can endure frequent droughts. At the time of the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were promised that the land into which they would come was one of “oil olives and honey,” with “vineyards and olive trees that [they] did not plant.” (Deut. 6:11; 8:8; Josh. 24:13) Since the olive is a slow-growing tree and may take ten years or more to begin bearing good harvests, the fact that these trees were already growing was a decided advantage for the Israelites. The tree is exceptionally long-lived, producing fruit for hundreds of years, and it is suggested that some of the olive trees in Palestine date back to the early part of the Common Era.
The olive trees present a refreshing view throughout Palestine, often growing on rocky hillside terraces or carpeting the valley floors. The tree may reach a height of forty feet (12.2 meters). The gnarled trunk with its ash-colored bark has a profuse branch system bearing a thick foliage of slender grayish-green leaves. Though not generally thought of by many as being such, the tree is an evergreen. It generally flowers about May and is covered with thousands of pale-yellow blossoms. The ease with which these flowers are blown off is mentioned in the Bible. (Job 15:33) The fruit or olive berries are green when immature but ripen into a deep pruplish to black color. Harvesting is done in the autumn (October-November), and the ancient method of beating the tree with rods is still frequently employed. (Deut. 24:20; Isa. 24:13) In Bible times gleaners gathered the remaining fruit. (Isa. 17:6) By nature the tree is an alternately bearing one, that is, its good harvest is followed by a slack one the following year. The fresh fruit contains a bitter substance that is removed by soaking in brine, and the olives are then eaten raw or pickled. Their chief value, however, is in their oil, which composes as much as 30 percent or more (by weight) of the fresh fruit. One good tree, yielding from ten to fifteen gallons (37.8 to 56.8 liters) in a year, thus could provide the proportion of fats needed in the diet of a family of five or six persons. The wood of the tree is very hard and must be seasoned for years to be of value for woodworking.
The olive tree not only lives for centuries but, if cut down, will send up as many as five new shoots from its roots to develop into new trunks, and aged trees also will often perpetuate themselves in this way. New trees are frequently planted by using slips cut from a grown tree. Thus the psalmist’s illustration is very apt when likening the blessed man’s sons to “slips of olive trees all around your table.”—Ps. 128:3.
GRAFTING
Wild olive trees growing on hillsides were often subjected to grafting with cuttings from the cultivated productive trees in order that they would produce good fruit. It was quite contrary to the regular procedure, therefore, for wild stock to be grafted into a cultivated tree, inasmuch as the wild stock would continue to bear its own fruit. This heightens the force of Paul’s illustration at Romans 11:17-24, wherein he likened the Gentile Christians who became part of the ‘seed of Abraham’ to branches of a wild olive tree grafted into a cultivated tree to replace the unproductive branches that were broken off and that represented the rejected natural Jewish members removed from the symbolic tree for their lack of faith. (Gal. 3:28, 29) This act, “contrary to nature,” emphasizes God’s undeserved kindness toward such Gentile believers, stresses the benefits resulting to them as branches of “a wild olive” in receiving of the “fatness” of the garden olive’s roots, and thus removes any basis for boasting on the part of these Gentile Christians.—Compare Matthew 3:10; John 15:1-10.
GROVES AND PRESSES
Conditions permitting, nearly every village in Palestine had its olive grove. Its failure, as when damaged by its principal enemy, the caterpillar, constituted a grave disaster for the people. (Amos 4:9) King David had valued olive groves in the Shephelah region. (1 Chron. 27:28) The mountain ridge to the E of Jerusalem about a “sabbath day’s journey” distant was noted for its olives in King David’s day, and by Zechariah’s time was already called “the mountain of the olive trees.” (2 Sam. 15:30; Zech. 14:4; Luke 19:29; 22:39; Acts 1:12) The large number of ancient stone olive presses found throughout Palestine testify to the extensive cultivation of the tree. The “gardens” of that time were frequently in the nature of an orchard and often contained an olive press. Thus the garden named Gethsemane, to which Jesus retired after the last supper with his disciples, draws its name from an Aramaic term gath shemanimʹ meaning “an oil press.” Olives were also trodden by foot at times.—Mic. 6:15.
FIGURATIVE USE
The olive tree is used figuratively in the Bible as a symbol of fruitfulness, beauty and dignity. (Ps. 52:8; Jer. 11:16; Hos. 14:6) Its branches were among those used in the Festival of Booths. (Neh. 8:15; Lev. 23:40) At Zechariah 4:3, 11-14 and Revelation 11:3, 4 olive trees are used as symbols of God’s anointed ones and witnesses.
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Olives, Mount ofAid to Bible Understanding
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OLIVES, MOUNT OF
A chain of rounded limestone hills located on the eastern side of Jerusalem, a “sabbath day’s journey” away, and separated from the city by the Kidron Valley. (Ezek. 11:23; Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:12) Anciently, this ridge was covered with palm, myrtle, oil and, particularly, olive trees. (Neh. 8:15) From the olive trees this range got its name. During the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., however, the Mount of Olives was denuded of its trees. (Wars of the Jews, Book V, chap. XII, par. 4) Including the so-called “Mount of Offense,” the Mount of Olives extends about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from NE to SW and has four summits. According to a recent survey, the highest and most northerly of these eminences rises to an altitude of 2,963 feet (903 meters) above the level of the Mediterranean Sea or more than 400 feet (122 meters) above the general elevation of Jerusalem.
Notable events of Bible history are associated with the Mount of Olives. King David, barefoot and weeping, ascended the Mount of Olives as he fled from his rebellious son Absalom. (2 Sam. 15:14, 30, 32) King Solomon built high places for idolatrous worship there. (1 Ki. 11:7) King Josiah later made these unfit for worship. (2 Ki. 23:13) In the first century C.E., Jesus Christ often met with his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, located on or in the vicinity of the Mount of Olives. (Matt. 26:30, 36; John 18:1, 2) When at Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples customarily spent the night at Bethany on the E slope of the Mount of Olives, undoubtedly in the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. (Matt. 21:17; Mark 11:11; Luke 21:37; John 11:1) Apparently from Bethphage, near Bethany, Jesus, seated on the colt of an ass, commenced his triumphal ride over the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. (Matt. 21:1, 2; Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29) And it was on the Mount of Olives that he explained to his disciples what the ‘sign of his presence’ would be. (Matt. 24:3; Mark 13:3) Finally, after his resurrection, Jesus ascended from there into the heavens.—Acts 1:9-12.
[Map on page 1252]
(For fully formatted text, see publication)
MOUNT OF OLIVES
c. 2420 FEET (738 METERS)
c. 2550 FEET (777 METERS)
c. 2650 FEET (808 METERS)
c. 2963 FEET (903 METERS)
Jerusalem
Kidron Valley
Bethphage
Bethany
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OlympasAid to Bible Understanding
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OLYMPAS
(O·lymʹpas).
A Christian at Rome to whom the apostle Paul sent greetings.—Rom. 16:15.
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OmarAid to Bible Understanding
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OMAR
(Oʹmar) [eloquent].
Second-listed son of Esau’s firstborn Eliphaz; a shiek of Edom.—Gen. 36:10, 11, 15; 1 Chron. 1:36.
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OmegaAid to Bible Understanding
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OMEGA
[Ω, ω] (o·meʹga, meaning “great o”).
The twenty-fourth and last letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the long form of the letter “o.” However, the distinction between the long and the short was evidently disappearing at the time of the koi·neʹ Greek, thus making this sound close to that of oʹmi·kron.
Numerically, o·meʹga, when accented (ω΄), denotes 800, and, with the subscript (,ω), 800,000.
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OmenAid to Bible Understanding
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OMEN
Anything viewed as giving some indication about the future; a situation or occurrence thought of as portending good or evil. (Gen. 30:27; Num. 24:1) Looking for omens, as a form of divination, was specifically prohibited by God’s law to Israel. (Lev. 19:26; Deut. 18:10) But apostates like Judean King Manasseh did look for omens. (2 Ki. 17:17; 21:6) Since this practice is condemned in the Scriptures, evidently faithful Joseph’s comment about use of his silver cup to read omens was merely part of a ruse. (Gen. 44:5, 15) By making it, Joseph represented himself, not as one having faith in Jehovah, but as an administrator of a land where false worship prevailed. He thus gave no hint of having anything in common with his brothers and kept his true identity concealed from them.—See DIVINATION.
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OmerAid to Bible Understanding
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OMER
(oʹmer).
A dry measure amounting to one-tenth of an ephah. (Ex. 16:16, 18, 22, 32, 33, 36) The ephah measure is calculated at .62 bushel (22 liters) on the basis of archaeological evidence concerning the capacity of the corresponding liquid-measure bath. (Compare Ezekiel 45:10, 11.) An omer measure would therefore equal two dry quarts (2.2 liters).
A comparison of the Hebrew text of Exodus 29:40 and Numbers 28:5 reveals that a ‘tenth part’ means a tenth of an ephah, or an omer. This provides a basis for rendering the Hebrew ‘tenth part’ as “tenth of an ephah.”—Num. 15:4, AT, JP, NW, Ro.
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OmikronAid to Bible Understanding
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OMIKRON
[Ο, ο] (omʹi·kron, meaning “little o”).
The fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. It is one of the two letters denoting an “o” sound and has the short sound of “o” as in “not.”—See OMEGA.
As the numeral, accented oʹmi·kron (ο΄) signifies seventy, with the subscript (,ο), 70,000.
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OmriAid to Bible Understanding
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OMRI
(Omʹri).
1. Fifth listed among the nine sons or descendants of Becher, a son of Benjamin.—1 Chron. 7:6, 8.
2. Prince of the tribe of Issachar during David’s reign; son of Michael.—1 Chron. 27:18, 22.
3. Sixth king of the northern ten-tribe kingdom of Israel. Nothing of Omri’s ancestry is recorded, not even the name of his father or tribe. Omri founded the third dynasty of Israel (those of Jeroboam and Baasha preceded), his son Ahab and grandsons Ahaziah and Jehoram succeeding him, all four totaling some forty-six years (951-905 B.C.E.) on the throne. (See chart, pp. 340-342.) Omri’s granddaughter Athaliah ruled six years on the throne of Judah. (2 Ki. 8:26; 11:1-3; 2 Chron. 22:2) Jehu, who wiped out the house of Ahab and established the next dynasty of Israel, is called a “son [that is, successor] of Omri” on the black obelisk of Shalmaneser III. In fact, the Assyrians continued calling Israel “the land of Omri” and Israel’s kings “the house of Omri” long after his descendants had ceased ruling—a tribute to his power.
Omri came to the throne, not by inheritance, but by the sword. He had been chief of Israel’s army under King Elah (and perhaps under his predecessor Baasha) when Zimri, chief of half the chariots, overthrew Elah, took the kingship for himself and wiped out the house and friends of Baasha. As soon as this was reported to the Israelite army, at the time camped against the Philistines at Gibbethon, “all Israel,” doubtless the tribal heads “in the camp,” made Omri their king. At once they withdrew from Gibbethon and stormed Zimri’s capital Tirzah. Zimri, seeing the hopelessness of his cause, burned down the king’s house over himself, tragically ending his seven-day rule.—1 Ki. 16:8-20.
But a new rival to Omri presented himself—Tibni the son of Ginath. The Populace remained divided for four years, during which time civil war presumably raged until Omri’s supporters defeated Tibni’s, securing undisputed rule for Omri. Zimri had died in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa of Judah (951). (1 Ki. 16:15-18) Finally, in the thirty-first year of Asa (947), Tibni died in some unstated way, leaving Omri eight years of sole rule, down to the thirty-eighth
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