Bible Dictionary

Classic 19th-century Bible dictionary entries — names, places, and terms explained from Scripture, drawn from Easton, Smith, Hastings, Hitchcock & Schaff. — 7,288 entries

Sara,
SA'RA, same as Sarah. Heb 11:11; 1 Pet 3:6.
Sarah
Princess, the wife and at the same time the half-sister of Abraham (Gen. 11:29; 20:12). This name was given to her at the time that it was announced to Abraham that she should be the mother of the pr…
Sarai
My princess, the name originally borne by Sarah (Gen. 11:31; 17:15).
Saraph
(burning) mentioned in (1 Chronicles 4:22) among the descendants of Judah.
Sardine
SAR'DINE, Rev 4:3, or SAR'DIUS, Ex 28:17, a gem of a blood-red or flesh color, susceptible of a high polish, and also called "sard" or "carnelian." Its former name it obtains from Sardis, in Asia Min…
Sardine Stone
(Rev. 4:3, R.V., “sardius;” Heb. ‘odhem; LXX., Gr. sardion, from a root meaning “red”), a gem of a blood-red colour. It was called “sardius” because obtained from Sardis in Lydia. It is enumerated am…
Sardine, Sardius
(red) (Heb. odem) the stone which occupied the first place in the first row of the high priest’s breastplate. (Exodus 28:27) The sard, which is probably the stone denoted by odem, is a superior varie…
Sardis,
SAR'DIS, a city in Asia Minor, and the capital of Lydia. Sardis was situated at the foot of Mount Tmolus, about 50 miles north-east of Smyrna and 30 miles south-east of Thyatira. It was on the river …
Sardites
removing a dissension
Sardites, The
descendants of Sered the son of Zebulun. (Numbers 26:26) (In the Revised Version of (Revelation 4:3) for sardine stone. The name is derived from Sardis, where the stone was first found.)
Sardius
SAR'DIUS. Ex 28:17. See Sardine.
Sardonyx,
SAR'DONYX, only mentioned in Rev 21:20. Like the sardine, this stone is a variety of chalcedony. The sardonyx combines the qualities of the sard and onyx, whence its name. In this gem as used, a whit…
Sarepta
(Luke 4:26). See ZAREPHATH.
Sargon
(In the inscriptions, “Sarra-yukin” [the god] has appointed the king; also “Sarru-kinu,” the legitimate king.) On the death of Shalmaneser (B.C. 723), one of the Assyrian generals established himself…
Sarid
(survivor), a chief landmark of the territory of Zebulun. (Joshua 19:10,12) All that can be gathered of its position is that it lay to the west of Chislothtabor.
Saron.
SA'RON. Acts 9:35. See Sharon.
Sarothie
are among the sons of the servants of Solomon who returned with Zerubbabel. 1 Esd. 6:34.
Sarsechim,
SARSE'CHIM, the chief of the eunuchs in Nebuchadnezzar's army at the taking of Jerusalem. Jer 39:3.
Saruch.
SA'RUCH. Luke 3:35. See Serug.
Satan
Adversary; accuser. When used as a proper name, the Hebrew word so rendered has the article “the adversary” (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). In the New Testament it is used as interchangeable with Diabolos, or t…
Satyr,
SA'TYR, a fabled creature of Greek mythology, compounded of a man and a goat, and supposed to be the deity of forests and rural places. Isa 13:21; Isa 34:14. The expression "satyrs shall dance there,…
Sauepta
SAUEP'TA (smelting-house), the Zarephath of the O.T., a Phoenician town on the Mediterranean Sea between Tyre and Sidon. Luke 4:26. It is now called Sarafend, south of Sidon.
Saul
Asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48. (2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, “asked for”), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first kin…
Saul. Of Tarsus.
SAUL. OF TAR'SUS. See Paul.
Saviour.
SAVIOUR. Luke 2:11. See Christ.
Saw.
SAW. This tool, among the Hebrews, probably resembled that so often depicted upon the Egyptian monuments. It was only single-handled; the teeth ran in the opposite direction to ours, therefore the wo…
Scapegoat.
SCAPEGOAT. Lev 16:20. See Goat.
Scarlet.
SCAR'LET. Gen 38:28. See Colors.
Sceptre,
SCEP'TRE, a wooden staff or wand, 5 or 6 feet long, usually overlaid with gold or decorated with golden rings, with an ornamented point. It was borne in the hands of kings and others in authority as …
Sceva
An implement, a Jew, chief of the priests at Ephesus (Acts 19:13-16); i.e., the head of one of the twenty-four courses of the house of Levi. He had seven sons, who “took upon them to call over them w…