A Visit With Jesus: Bible Dictionary

Explore biblical people, places, events, objects, ideas, and other terms. Search the dictionary directly, browse alphabetically, or narrow the list by category or Testament.

All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

300 entries found

DEDICATION, FEAST OF

Festivals & Holy Days • Inter-testament

The Feast of Dedication was an eight-day Jewish festival beginning on the twenty-fifth of Kislev. It commemorated Judas Maccabeus’s cleansing and rededication of the temple and altar after their defilement by Antiochus Epiphanes.

See Details

Dedication, Feast of the

Festivals & Holy Days • New Testament

The Feast of Dedication, later known as Hanukkah, commemorated the cleansing and rededication of the Jerusalem temple after its defilement by Antiochus Epiphanes. It lasted eight days and is mentioned in the New Testament during Jesus’ ministry.

See Details

DEED

Christian Life • Both

A deed is an act, work, or action. Depending on the context, Scripture uses it for ordinary conduct, God’s works, or wicked practices and offenses.

See Details

Deep

Death & Afterlife • Both

In Scripture, the deep can mean the grave or abyss, the depths of the sea, the primeval watery waste, or the bottomless pit. Its meaning depends on the passage and may describe either earthly depths or the realm of judgment.

See Details

Deer

Agriculture & Daily Life • Both

Deer and related animals such as the roe deer, fallow deer, ibex, and gazelle appear in biblical descriptions and lists of animals. They are especially used as images of grace, beauty, swiftness, and life in the wilderness.

See Details

DEFER

Agriculture & Daily Life • Both

To defer means to postpone or put off until a later time. Biblical usage may describe an indefinite postponement, a definite delay, or a temporary waiting period.

See Details

DEFY

Government & Society • Old Testament

To defy means to taunt or challenge someone to combat, as Goliath challenged Israel. In another Old Testament context, the word is better understood as declaring or denouncing.

See Details

DEGENERATE

Sin & Judgment • Old Testament

Degenerate describes something that has turned from its original quality into an inferior or corrupt form. Jeremiah uses the image of Judah as a noble vine that became the growth of a foreign vine.

See Details

Degrees, Song of

Worship & Prayer • Old Testament

The Song of Degrees is a title applied to Psalms 120–134. These fifteen psalms are commonly understood as pilgrim songs sung by worshipers traveling up to Jerusalem for the great festivals.

See Details

Degrees, Songs Of

Worship & Prayer • Old Testament

The Songs of Ascents are Psalms 120–134, a collection associated with going up to Jerusalem. They were probably sung by pilgrims traveling to worship at the temple during Israel’s appointed festivals.

See Details

DEHAITES

People & Groups • Old Testament

The Dehaites were a people settled in Samaria by the Assyrian ruler identified in Ezra 4:9. Their precise identity is uncertain.

See Details

Dehavites

People & Groups • Old Testament

The Dehavites were a people settled in Samaria by the Assyrian authorities after the exile of Israel. Their precise identity is uncertain, though they may have been a Persian or nomadic eastern people.

See Details

Page 9 of 25

Bible Dictionary

This dictionary brings together information about the people, places, events, objects, words, and ideas encountered in Scripture.

Each article begins with material prepared for A Visit With Jesus. Where available, entries also include biblical usage, historical background, original-language information, Scripture references, related dictionary terms, and links to related Bible figures.

Many articles also preserve entries from classic Bible dictionaries, including Easton's, Smith's, and the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. These historical sources are presented separately within the full article.

Quick Dictionary Lookup