Dictionary Entries: S

• 1 Samuel — 1 Samuel is an Old Testament history book that records the transition from judges to kings through Samuel, Saul, and David.
• 2 Samuel — 2 Samuel is an Old Testament history book that focuses on David's reign, covenant, sins, and kingdom troubles.
• Conversion of Saul — The dramatic encounter in which Saul of Tarsus met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus and became a follower of Christ, markin
• Parable of the Sheep and the Goats — Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:31–46 about the final judgment, where the Son of Man separates people as a shepherd separates sheep
• Parable of the Sower — A parable of Jesus about different responses to God’s word, pictured by seed falling on different kinds of soil.
• Sabbath — The Sabbath is the day of rest God established for Israel under the old covenant, rooted in God’s pattern of rest after creation.
• Sabbath day's journey — A Jewish customary measure for a short distance one might travel on the Sabbath; in Acts 1:12 it serves as a familiar way to descr
• Sabbath offerings — Sabbath offerings were the additional sacrifices prescribed for each weekly Sabbath under the Mosaic law. They were presented alon
• Sabbaths — The plural term for Sabbath observances in Scripture, usually the weekly day of rest and sometimes additional sacred rest days in
• Sabbatical year — The sabbatical year was the seventh year in Israel’s covenant life when the land was to rest and certain debts were to be released
• Sabeans — An ancient people mentioned in the Old Testament, especially in Job, associated with raiding and with the broader South Arabian wo
• Sabellianism — Sabellianism is a form of Modalism that says Father, Son, and Spirit are not distinct persons but different manifestations of one
• Sabteca — A biblical proper name listed among the sons of Cush in the Table of Nations.
• Sabtechah — Sabtechah is a biblical proper name listed among the sons of Cush in the Table of Nations. It most likely refers to an ancestral f
• Sackcloth — A coarse, rough cloth used in biblical times as a sign of mourning, humiliation, lament, fasting, or repentance.
• Sacrament — A sacrament is a visible church rite understood by many Christians as a sign, seal, or means of grace; evangelicals usually apply the discussion
• sacrifice — In Scripture, sacrifice is the offering of an animal, grain, or other gift to God as an act of worship, atonement, thanksgiving, o
• Sacrifices and Atonement — In Scripture, sacrifices are God-appointed offerings for sin, cleansing, thanksgiving, and fellowship. Atonement is God’s provisio
• Sacrificial animals — Animals designated by God for offerings in Old Testament worship. They taught Israel about holiness, sin, atonement, thanksgiving,
• Sacrificial rituals — Sacrificial rituals are the God-given acts and procedures by which Israel offered sacrifices in worship under the old covenant. Th
• Sacrificial System — The sacrificial system was the God-given pattern of offerings in Israel’s worship, especially described in the Law of Moses. It ad
• Sacrificial system as type — The Old Testament sacrificial system is commonly understood as typological, pointing forward to Christ and His atoning work. Its s
• Sacrificial systems — The sacrificial system is the God-given pattern of offerings ordained for Israel under the Mosaic covenant, especially in Leviticu
• Sacrificial terms — A topical overview of the Bible’s language about sacrifice, offerings, atonement, priesthood, and Christ’s fulfillment of the sacr
• Sadducees — Sadducees are a priestly and aristocratic Jewish group tied strongly to the temple establishment.
• Saints — In Scripture, saints are God's holy ones—people set apart to belong to him by covenant grace. In the New Testament, the term ordin
• Salamis — Salamis was a city on Cyprus where Paul and Barnabas began preaching during the first missionary journey.
• Salathiel — Salathiel is a biblical personal name, commonly identified with Shealtiel, a descendant of David associated with the postexilic pe
• Salem — Salem is the city associated with Melchizedek in Genesis 14 and is commonly identified with Jerusalem. It is primarily a biblical
• Salim — Salim is a place-name mentioned in John 3:23 as being near Aenon, where John the Baptist was baptizing. Its exact location is unce
• Sallai — Sallai is a biblical personal name found in post-exilic Old Testament lists, especially among the restored community in Jerusalem.
• Salmon — Salmon is a biblical man named in the genealogies of Judah and David, and in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.
• Salome — Salome is a woman named in the Gospel accounts as one of the followers of Jesus who was present at the crucifixion and at the empt
• Salt Sea — A biblical name for the body of water commonly identified as the Dead Sea.
• Salvation — Salvation is God's rescue of sinners through Christ from sin, judgment, and death into new life.
• Salvation history — Salvation history is a biblical-theological way of tracing God's redemptive work through history from promise to fulfillment, clim
• Samaria — Samaria is both the capital city built by the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel and the broader region associated with that
• Samaritan Pentateuch — The Samaritan Pentateuch is the Samaritan form of the first five books of Moses.
• Samaritan woman at the well — The Samaritan woman at the well is the woman Jesus met in John 4. Her conversation with Christ reveals His knowledge of her life a
• Samaritans — Samaritans are a people with their own sanctuary traditions and a complex relation to Jews.
• Samgar-Nebo — A Babylonian official or title named in Jeremiah 39:3 during the fall of Jerusalem; the exact identity and office are uncertain.
• Samson — Samson was an Israelite judge set apart as a Nazirite from birth, whom God empowered to oppose the Philistines. Though gifted with
• Samuel's judgeship — Samuel’s judgeship was his God-given role of governing Israel as judge during the closing era of the judges, while also serving as
• Sanballat — Sanballat is a biblical figure in Nehemiah who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls after the exile. He mocked, threatened,
• Sanctification — Sanctification is God's work of making His people holy in life and character.
• sanctifying work — sanctifying work is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Sanctity of life — The biblical conviction that human life is sacred because people are made in God’s image and life belongs under his authority.
• Sanctuary — In Scripture, a sanctuary is a holy place set apart for God’s presence and worship. It commonly refers to the tabernacle, the temp
• Sandal — A sandal was common ancient footwear in biblical times, appearing in everyday life and in several symbolic or legal actions.
• Sandals — Sandals were the common footwear of biblical times. Scripture mentions them in everyday life, travel, reverence before God, legal
• Sanhedrin — Sanhedrin is the leading Jewish council in the late Second Temple period.
• Saph — Saph is a Philistine warrior associated with the giant clans and slain by Sibbecai during David’s wars against the Philistines.
• Sapphira — Sapphira was the wife of Ananias in the Jerusalem church. In Acts 5 she joined her husband in lying about a gift and came under Go
• SAPPHIRE — A precious gemstone mentioned in Scripture, often used in imagery of divine glory, beauty, and costly adornment.
• Sapphires — A sapphire is a precious stone mentioned in Scripture in contexts of beauty, wealth, and heavenly splendor. The biblical term name
• Sarah — Sarah was Abraham’s wife and the mother of Isaac. Scripture presents her as a key matriarch in God’s covenant purposes and as an e
• Sardis — Sardis was an ancient city in Asia Minor and one of the seven churches addressed in Revelation. Christ warned the church there tha
• Sardius — A biblical gemstone term for a precious stone usually understood as red or reddish-brown, used in sacred and visionary settings.
• Sargon — Sargon was the name of Assyrian kings; the clearest biblical reference is to Sargon king of Assyria in Isaiah 20:1, usually identi
• Sargon II — Sargon II was an Assyrian king mentioned in Isaiah 20:1, where his commander is sent against Ashdod.
• Satan — Satan is the personal spiritual adversary of God and of God’s people, portrayed in Scripture as the devil, tempter, accuser, and d
• Satan / Adversary — Satan is the personal evil being who opposes God, deceives people, and seeks to hinder God’s purposes. The word can mean “adversar
• Satan's names and titles — Scripture uses several names and titles for Satan that emphasize his role as adversary, deceiver, tempter, accuser, and ruler of t
• Satisfaction — A classic theological term for Christ’s atoning work by which He fully dealt with the guilt and offense of human sin before God.
• Satrap — A satrap was a provincial governor or chief administrator in the Persian Empire. In Scripture, the term appears in historical sett
• Saul — A biblical personal name used for more than one figure, especially Saul son of Kish, Israel’s first king, and Saul of Tarsus, late
• Saul's Reign — Saul’s reign was the period when Saul son of Kish ruled as Israel’s first king. It began with promise but ended in divine rejectio
• saving faith — saving faith is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Savior — A savior is one who rescues or delivers. In Scripture, the title belongs supremely to God and is applied preeminently to Jesus Chr
• SCAPEGOAT — The scapegoat is the goat sent into the wilderness on the Day of Atonement, symbolically bearing away Israel’s sins. It points to
• SCEPTER — A scepter is a staff or rod that symbolizes royal authority, rule, and kingship. In Scripture it can represent the reign of earthl
• Scepticism — Scepticism is the posture of doubt about knowledge, certainty, or justified belief. It ranges from cautious testing of claims to r
• Sceva — Sceva is a man mentioned in Acts 19 as the father of seven sons who tried to use Jesus’ name in exorcism without genuine faith or
• Scholasticism — Scholasticism is a medieval and later method of theology and philosophy that uses careful distinctions, formal questions, and logi
• Scholastics — Medieval Christian thinkers who used careful logic, distinctions, and formal debate to explain and defend theology. The term refer
• Science — Science is the systematic study of the natural world through observation, measurement, testing, and explanation. Christians may va
• science and natural law — science and natural law is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Science and Religion — Science and religion is the study of how scientific inquiry and religious belief relate to one another. Discussions often ask whet
• Scientific creationism — A modern apologetic movement that seeks to defend biblical creation through scientific-style arguments, often in opposition to evo
• Scientific method — The scientific method is a disciplined approach to studying the natural world through observation, hypothesis, testing, and revisi
• Scientific progress — Scientific progress is the advancement of scientific understanding, explanation, and practical capability over time. It reflects g
• Scientific truth — Scientific truth refers to reliable claims about the natural world reached through observation, measurement, experiment, and reaso
• Scientism — Scientism is the philosophical claim that scientific methods or empirical science are the highest, or the only, reliable path to r
• SCORPION — A scorpion is a venomous desert creature used in Scripture both literally and as an image of danger, pain, or hostile power.
• Scottish Reformation — The sixteenth-century Protestant reform movement in Scotland that reshaped doctrine, worship, and church government under Reformed
• Scribal schools — A modern historical label for proposed settings in ancient Israel and Judaism where scribes were trained to read, copy, preserve,
• Scribal tradition — The practices of biblical scribes in copying, preserving, teaching, and sometimes interpreting God’s Word; in some contexts the ph
• Scribe — A scribe was a trained writer, copyist, and often an expert in the Law in ancient Israel and later Jewish life. In Scripture, scri
• scribes — scribes are experts in the written law and its interpretation.
• Scribes and scribal practices — In the Bible, scribes were literate specialists who served as royal officials, record keepers, copyists, and sometimes teachers or
• Scripturalism — Scripturalism is an umbrella term for views that treat Scripture as the highest authority for Christian belief and practice, and i
• Scripture — Scripture is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Scripture and Tradition — The relationship between the Bible and the church’s inherited teaching and practice. In evangelical theology, Scripture is the fin
• Scripture interpreting Scripture — Scripture interpreting Scripture is the interpretive principle that clearer biblical passages help explain passages that are harde
• Scripture interprets Scripture — A hermeneutical principle that clearer passages of the Bible help explain passages that are harder to understand, because Scriptur
• Scripture reading — Scripture reading is the public or private reading of God’s written Word. In the Bible, hearing and reading Scripture is a basic m
• Scripture: Inspiration — The doctrine that God superintended the biblical writers so that the Scriptures are his true, trustworthy, and authoritative Word,
• Scrolls and codices — Ancient manuscript formats used to preserve and transmit biblical writings. A scroll is a rolled manuscript; a codex is a bound bo
• Scythians — An ancient people associated with the steppe regions north of the Black Sea, mentioned by Paul in Colossians 3:11 as an example of
• Sea — The sea is a created part of the world in Scripture and, depending on context, may also symbolize danger, chaos, or the nations.
• Sea of Galilee — The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake in northern Israel and a major setting for Jesus’ public ministry in the Gospels.
• Seah — An ancient Hebrew dry measure used for grain and flour, especially in Old Testament household and narrative settings.
• Seal — In Scripture, a seal is a mark or act that signifies ownership, authenticity, authority, protection, or confirmation. In theologic
• Seal of the Covenant — Seal of the Covenant is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Sealed Book — A sealed book is a scroll or written message closed so that its contents are hidden until opened by proper authority. In Scripture
• sealing — sealing is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Sealing of the Spirit — The sealing of the Spirit is God’s act of marking believers as his own by the Holy Spirit. It signifies belonging to Christ and as
• Seals and bullae — Ancient seals and bullae were used to mark ownership, verify identity, and secure documents or goods. In Bible study, they serve m
• Seasons — The ordered times and recurring cycles God has appointed in creation and in human life. In Scripture, "seasons" can mean both natu
• Second Coming — The Second Coming is Jesus Christ's future visible return in glory.
• Second Coming/Parousia — The Second Coming, often linked with the Greek term parousia, is the future personal return of Jesus Christ in glory. Scripture pr
• Second death — The second death is the final state of judgment and exclusion from the life of God.
• Second Great Awakening — A major period of Protestant revival and evangelistic expansion in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, especially
• Second temple — The Jerusalem temple rebuilt after the Babylonian exile and later expanded by Herod the Great; the temple standing in Jesus’ day u
• Second Temple Judaism — Second Temple Judaism is the Jewish world from the rebuilt temple to its destruction in AD 70.
• Secret sins — Secret sins are sins hidden from other people, and sometimes even sins a person does not fully recognize in himself. Scripture tea
• secular humanism — A non-theistic worldview that seeks to ground meaning, morality, and human flourishing in human reason and experience rather than
• Secular quasi-religion — A secular quasi-religion is a nonreligious ideology or movement that functions like a religion by giving people ultimate meaning,
• secularism — Secularism is the view or social arrangement that treats public life, knowledge, or morality as independent from God or religion.
• Security of the believer — The teaching that those who are truly in Christ are kept by God and can rest in his saving faithfulness, while Christians differ o
• Seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — A covenantal phrase for the descendants of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, especially Israel as the historical people th
• Seed of the Woman — “Seed of the woman” is a biblical expression from Genesis 3:15 that points to the offspring of the woman who will oppose and ultim
• Seeming — Seeming is how something appears to consciousness or presents itself as true, especially before it is tested against reality.
• Sela — Variant spelling of Selah, the Hebrew liturgical or musical marker found mainly in the Psalms and once in Habakkuk 3.
• Seleucia — Seleucia was the seaport of Antioch in Syria and the departure point for Paul and Barnabas at the start of their first missionary
• Seleucid rule — Seleucid rule was the period when the Seleucid dynasty controlled Syria and, for a time, Judea after Alexander the Great’s empire
• Self-authenticating knowledge — A philosophical term for knowledge claimed to bear its own warrant or credibility rather than resting entirely on external proof.
• self-authenticating Scripture — self-authenticating Scripture is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• self-control — Self-control is Spirit-shaped mastery over desires, speech, and actions.
• Self-deception — Self-deception is the act or state of misleading oneself, often by resisting unwelcome truth or rationalizing what one wants to be
• Self-Examination — Self-examination is the biblical practice of testing one’s heart, faith, conduct, and repentance before God in light of Scripture.
• self-existence — self-existence is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Self-Refuting Statement — A self-refuting statement is a claim that undermines its own truth, coherence, or possibility when applied to itself.
• self-rule — self-rule is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• self-sufficiency — self-sufficiency is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Semantic domains — A semantic domain is a category of related meanings used in language study. In Bible study, it is a tool for analyzing words in co
• semantic range — Semantic range is the range of meanings a word can carry across different contexts. In Bible study, context determines which sense
• semantics — Semantics is the study of meaning in words, phrases, and larger units of language.
• Semei — A biblical personal name found in Luke's genealogy of Jesus.
• Semi-Pelagianism — Semi-Pelagianism is the error that the first movement toward God comes from the unaided human will rather than from prior grace.
• Semitic influence — The influence of Hebrew, Aramaic, or other Semitic language patterns on biblical wording, syntax, idiom, or style.
• Seneh — Seneh is one of the two rocky crags beside the pass between Michmash and Geba in 1 Samuel 14.
• Senir — Senir is a biblical name for Mount Hermon, especially in texts connected with the Amorites and in poetic usage.
• Sennacherib — Sennacherib was a king of Assyria who invaded Judah during the reign of Hezekiah. Scripture records his threats against Jerusalem
• Sennacherib's invasion — The Assyrian campaign against Judah in Hezekiah's reign, culminating in the threat to Jerusalem and the Lord's deliverance of the
• sensuality — In Scripture, sensuality means shameless, unrestrained indulgence of sinful desires, often with a strong emphasis on sexual impuri
• Sensus Literalis — The sensus literalis is the plain, intended meaning of a biblical text as expressed through its words, grammar, genre, and histori
• Sensus Plenior — A proposed "fuller sense" of a biblical text: a meaning intended by God that goes beyond what the human author fully understood, w
• Septuagint — The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament made for Greek-speaking Jews.
• Septuagint and diaspora Judaism — A compound heading combining the Septuagint and diaspora Judaism; it should be split or retitled before publication.
• Septuagint textual families — Proposed groupings of Septuagint manuscripts or textual forms that share common readings within the Greek Old Testament tradition.
• Sequence — Sequence is the ordered arrangement of words, ideas, events, or steps so that one follows another in meaningful relation. It is a
• Seraiah — Seraiah is a Hebrew personal name borne by several different people in the Old Testament, including priests, officials, and return
• seraphim — Seraphim are heavenly beings seen in Isaiah’s vision of the Lord’s throne. They attend God’s holiness, worship him, and serve in h
• Sergius Paulus — The Roman proconsul of Cyprus who heard Paul and Barnabas, saw Elymas judged, and believed the gospel in Acts 13.
• Sermon on the Mount — The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ extended teaching in Matthew 5–7, where He explains the righteousness, character, and kingdom li
• Serpent — A serpent is a snake; in Scripture it can also function as a symbol of Satan, deception, danger, or judgment, depending on the con
• Servant — A servant is a person who serves under another’s authority. In Scripture the term may describe household service, slavery, public
• Servant Christology — A Christological approach that reads Jesus in light of Isaiah’s servant passages, emphasizing his obedience, suffering, mission, a
• Servant of the Lord — A biblical title for a person who belongs to God and does his will. In Isaiah, it also points to the Servant whom Christians under
• service — Service is active obedience that seeks the good of others for God’s glory.
• session — session is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Session at the right hand of the Father — The session of Christ is his present reign and priestly ministry in heaven after his ascension, described as being at the Father's
• Seth — Seth was the son born to Adam and Eve after Abel’s death and the ancestor through whom Genesis traces the human line leading to No
• Seven — In Scripture, seven often symbolizes completeness, fullness, or a divinely ordered whole, though it can also be used as an ordinar
• Seven churches of Asia Minor — The seven churches of Asia Minor were the seven real first-century congregations in the Roman province of Asia addressed by the ri
• Seven Spirits — A Revelation phrase that most often is understood either as symbolic language for the fullness of the Holy Spirit or as a referenc
• Seventh-day Adventism — A nineteenth-century Christian movement known for seventh-day Sabbath observance, emphasis on Christ’s soon return, and distinctiv
• Seventy — A biblical number that often functions as a rounded, representative, or appointed total. Its meaning depends on the passage, so it
• Seventy weeks — Daniel’s prophetic period in Daniel 9:24–27, commonly understood as seventy “sevens” that describe God’s purposes for Jerusalem, s
• Sexual Ethics — The biblical teaching on sexual purity, marriage, and bodily holiness. Scripture presents sexual intimacy as God’s gift for marria
• sexual immorality — Sexual immorality is any sexual practice outside God’s design for covenant marriage.
• Sexual purity — Sexual purity is holiness in sexual conduct, desires, and relationships according to God’s design, with sexual intimacy reserved f
• Shadow and reality — “Shadow and reality” describes the Bible’s pattern in which earlier persons, institutions, or ceremonies point forward to a greate
• Shadrach — Shadrach was the Babylonian court name given to Hananiah, one of Daniel’s Jewish companions in exile. He is remembered for refusin
• Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego in the furnace — The Daniel 3 account in which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse idolatry, are thrown into Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace, and
• Shalem — Shalem is a biblical place name. It is sometimes discussed in relation to Salem and may be connected with Genesis 33:18, though th
• Shaliach — Shaliach is a Jewish agency term for a commissioned representative or envoy and is often used as background in discussions of dele
• Shallum — Shallum is a biblical personal name borne by several men in the Old Testament, including the short-lived king of Israel in 2 Kings
• Shalmaneser — An Assyrian royal name borne by kings mentioned in the Old Testament, especially in connection with the siege and fall of Samaria.
• Shalmaneser V — Shalmaneser V was an Assyrian king associated with the siege of Samaria and the final years of the northern kingdom of Israel.
• Shalom — Shalom is the Hebrew word commonly translated “peace,” but it often means more than the absence of conflict. In Scripture it can r
• Shame — Shame is the painful sense of disgrace, dishonor, or exposure before God or others. In Scripture it may result from sin, judgment,
• Shamgar — Shamgar was a deliverer in Israel mentioned briefly in Judges. God used him to strike down Philistines and bring relief to His peo
• Shammah — Shammah is a Hebrew personal name borne by several men in the Old Testament, not a distinct theological concept.
• Shaphan — Shaphan was a royal scribe in the days of King Josiah. He read the discovered Book of the Law before the king and helped set Judah
• Shaphat — Shaphat is a Hebrew personal name borne by several Old Testament figures, including the father of the prophet Elisha and at least
• Sharon — Sharon is the fertile coastal plain of Israel, known in Scripture for beauty, pastureland, and agricultural abundance.
• Sharp Sword — A biblical image of penetrating judgment, discerning power, and decisive authority, especially in connection with God’s word and t
• Shealtiel — Shealtiel is a biblical figure in the Davidic genealogy associated with Zerubbabel and the postexilic line that appears in both Ol
• Shear-Jashub — Shear-Jashub is the son of the prophet Isaiah. His name means “a remnant shall return,” and he appears as a sign in Isaiah 7:3.
• Sheba — Sheba is a biblical name for a South Arabian people, kingdom, or region, remembered especially for the queen of Sheba’s visit to S
• Shebna — Shebna was a high-ranking official in King Hezekiah’s court. In Isaiah 22 he is rebuked for pride and removed from office, making
• Shechem — Shechem is an important city in the Old Testament in the hill country of Ephraim. It is associated with patriarchal narratives, co
• Shechinah — Shechinah is a post-biblical Jewish term for the manifested dwelling presence of God among His people. The word itself does not ap
• Sheep — In Scripture, sheep are both literal animals and a common image for God’s people, who need His care, guidance, and protection. The
• Sheepfold — An enclosure for sheep; in Scripture, a sheepfold can symbolize the gathered people of God under the care and protection of the tr
• Shekel — A shekel was an ancient unit of weight that also functioned as a standard measure of silver and later as a coin. In the Bible it a
• Shekinah — Shekinah is a later Jewish term for God’s manifested dwelling presence, especially as seen in biblical scenes of His glory among H
• Shelter — In Scripture, shelter is the image and experience of protection, refuge, and safety, especially in God himself.
• Shem — Shem was one of Noah’s three sons and a major ancestor in the post-flood genealogies of Scripture. His line is especially importan
• Shem, Ham, and Japheth — The three sons of Noah named in Genesis, presented as the heads of the post-flood peoples and nations.
• Shema — The Shema is Israel’s foundational confession of the Lord’s unique oneness and the call to love him with wholehearted devotion, dr
• Shema Christology — A modern theological label for interpretations of New Testament passages that relate Jesus Christ to Israel’s Shema, especially th
• Shemaiah — Shemaiah is a Hebrew personal name borne by several Old Testament figures. The best-known Shemaiah was a prophet in the days of Re
• Shenir — Shenir is a biblical place-name for Mount Hermon or a portion of that mountain range, used as a regional name in Scripture.
• Shephelah — The Shephelah is the low hill country between the Philistine coastal plain and the central highlands of Judah. In Scripture it is
• Shepherd — A shepherd is one who tends, protects, and guides sheep. In Scripture, the image is used especially for God, for Christ as the Goo
• Shepherd and Overseer of your souls — A biblical title for Jesus Christ in 1 Peter 2:25 that presents Him as the caring Shepherd who leads His people and the watchful O
• Shepherd of Hermas — An early Christian writing from the post-apostolic period, valued for historical background but not received as Scripture.
• Shepherding — Biblical shepherding is the loving care, guidance, protection, and oversight of God’s people, especially as modeled by God Himself
• Sheshbazzar — Sheshbazzar is a leader linked to the first return from Babylonian exile. In Ezra he receives the temple vessels and is associated
• Shibboleth — A word used in Judges 12:5–6 as a pronunciation test to identify Ephraimites; by extension, it can mean a distinguishing word, phr
• Shifting of the Burden of Proof — Shifting the burden of proof is the error of requiring others to disprove a claim instead of giving proper reasons or evidence for
• Shiggaion — A rare Hebrew musical or literary term found in the heading of Psalm 7; its exact meaning is uncertain.
• Shiloh — Shiloh is the Ephraimite town where Israel’s tabernacle stood for a time. The name is also used in Genesis 49:10, where the Hebrew
• Shimei — A Hebrew biblical personal name borne by several Old Testament men, most notably the Benjaminite who cursed David during Absalom’s
• Shinar — Shinar is an Old Testament place name for the Mesopotamian land associated with Babylon, especially in the Babel and early kingdom
• Ship — A ship is a seagoing vessel used for travel, trade, fishing, and transport in the biblical world.
• Shishak — Shishak was an Egyptian king who sheltered Jeroboam and later invaded Judah during Rehoboam’s reign, carrying off treasures from t
• Shittim — Shittim was an Israelite campsite in the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River. It is especially remembered as the setting of Is
• Shofar — A shofar is a ram’s horn used in ancient Israel for worship, alarms, assemblies, and festival proclamations. In Scripture it often
• Shomer — A Hebrew lexical term from the שׁמר word group meaning "keep," "guard," "watch," or "observe," depending on context.
• Shoshannim — A Hebrew superscription term found in some Psalms; it is often associated with “lilies,” but its exact musical or liturgical meani
• SHOULDER — A biblical symbol of strength, burden-bearing, responsibility, or authority, though many references are simply literal uses of the
• Showbread — Showbread, also called the bread of the Presence, was the twelve loaves set before the LORD in the tabernacle and later the temple
• Shulamite — A biblical designation for the woman addressed in Song of Solomon 6:13, usually understood as the beloved or bride in the Song. Th
• Shunammite — A Shunammite is a woman from Shunem, an Israelite town. In Scripture the term most notably refers to the hospitable woman who care
• Shur — Shur is a wilderness region on the northeastern frontier of Egypt mentioned in the Old Testament.
• Shushan — Shushan, also called Susa, was a major royal city of the Persian Empire mentioned in the Old Testament, especially in Esther, Nehe
• Sibmah — A biblical town east of the Jordan, remembered for its vineyards and its appearance in prophetic judgments on Moab.
• Sibylline Oracles — An extra-biblical collection of ancient Jewish and later Christian writings presented in the voice of pagan sibyls. They are usefu
• Sicarii — A first-century Jewish militant faction known for dagger attacks and anti-Roman violence in Judea.
• Sidon — Sidon is an ancient Phoenician coastal city north of Israel, often mentioned alongside Tyre in Scripture.
• Siege — A siege is the surrounding of a city or stronghold by an army in order to cut it off, weaken its defenses, and force surrender. In
• Siege warfare — Siege warfare is the ancient military practice of surrounding a fortified city to cut off supplies, weaken its defenses, and force
• Sifra — Sifra is a rabbinic halakhic midrash on the book of Leviticus.
• Sifrei — Sifrei is rabbinic interpretive material on Numbers and Deuteronomy.
• Sihon — Sihon was the Amorite king of Heshbon whom Israel defeated during the wilderness journey east of the Jordan.
• Sikhism — Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that emerged in Punjab in the late fifteenth century and is centered on the Sikh Gurus and the
• Silas — Silas, also called Silvanus in several New Testament passages, was a trusted early Christian leader, prophet, and missionary compa
• silence of God — The silence of God refers to seasons in which God seems not to answer or act as expected, though He remains present and faithful.
• Siloam — Siloam is a pool and area in Jerusalem mentioned in Scripture, best known as the place where Jesus sent a blind man to wash and re
• Siloam inscription — An ancient Hebrew inscription from Jerusalem’s water tunnel that records its completion and serves as important archaeological bac
• Siloam Tunnel Inscription — An ancient Hebrew inscription discovered in Jerusalem’s Siloam Tunnel, commonly associated with Hezekiah’s waterworks. It is an ar
• Simeon — Simeon is a biblical personal name borne by several men, including Jacob’s son and the righteous man in Jerusalem who blessed the
• simile — Simile is a comparison that uses words such as like or as to make the meaning vivid.
• Simon — Simon is a common New Testament personal name borne by several different people, including Simon Peter, Simon the Zealot, Simon of
• Simon of Cyrene — Simon of Cyrene was the man compelled by Roman soldiers to carry Jesus’ cross on the way to the crucifixion.
• Simon Peter — Simon Peter was one of Jesus’ twelve apostles and a leading figure in the Gospels and Acts. Jesus renamed him Peter (Cephas), and
• Simon the Zealot — Simon the Zealot was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. The title distinguishes him from Simon Peter and probably identifies him
• Simpliciter — Simpliciter is a Latin term meaning “without qualification,” “simply,” or “absolutely.” In logic and argument analysis, it refers
• Simplicity — The doctrine of divine simplicity teaches that God is not composed of parts and is not divided within himself; he is one, perfect,
• Sin — Sin is rebellion against God that twists what He made good and turns us from His rule.
• Sin As An Epistemological Category — Sin As An Epistemological Category is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's wo
• Sin offering — The sin offering was a sacrifice in the Old Testament prescribed for dealing with sin and ritual uncleanness under the Mosaic law.
• Sinai — Sinai is the mountain where the Lord met Israel after the exodus, gave the law through Moses, and established the Mosaic covenant.
• Sinai Covenant — The Sinai Covenant is the covenant God made with Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai after the exodus from Egypt. It gave Israel G
• Sinai Peninsula — The Sinai Peninsula is the land bridge between Africa and Asia traditionally associated with Israel’s wilderness journey and the e
• Singing — Singing in Scripture is a God-given way to praise Him, give thanks, teach truth, and encourage His people. It is a fitting express
• Singing and psalmody — Singing and psalmody refers to the praise of God through vocal music, especially in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. In Scriptu
• singleness — Singleness is the unmarried state and can be received as a faithful calling under God.
• Sinlessness — The state of being entirely without sin. In Christian theology, this is affirmed absolutely of God and, in the incarnation, of Jes
• Sinlessness of Christ — The sinlessness of Christ means that Jesus was completely without sin in both nature and conduct. He lived in perfect obedience to
• Sinner — A sinner is a person who stands guilty before God because of sin in thought, word, deed, and inward nature, and who therefore need
• Sins of commission — Sins of commission are sinful acts a person commits by doing what God forbids. They are usually contrasted with sins of omission,
• Sins of omission — Sins of omission are sins committed by failing to do what God requires. Scripture teaches that neglected duties, not only wrongful
• Sirach — Sirach, also called Ecclesiasticus, is a Jewish wisdom book from the Second Temple period. It is treated as canonical in some Chri
• Sisera — Sisera was the commander of King Jabin’s Canaanite army who was defeated by the Lord through Deborah, Barak, and Jael in Judges 4–
• Sistrum — An ancient handheld rattle or percussion instrument, especially associated with Egyptian worship and ceremonial music.
• Sitz im Leben — A German scholarly term meaning the original life-setting or social context in which a text, saying, or literary form functioned.
• Sivan — Sivan is the third month of the later Hebrew calendar, used in Scripture as a date marker rather than as a theological concept.
• Six — Six is a biblical number used for ordinary counting, measurements, and time references. It can carry limited literary or contextua
• Skeptical wisdom — An ambiguous scholarly label for wisdom passages that wrestle honestly with suffering, justice, and the limits of human understand
• Skepticism — Skepticism is the philosophical posture that questions whether human beings can attain reliable knowledge, justified belief, or ce
• Skin diseases — Biblical references to skin diseases, especially the conditions discussed in Leviticus 13–14, describe a broader category of visib
• Skins — Animal hides used in Scripture for clothing, containers, coverings, and other practical purposes.
• slander — Slander is speaking false or damaging words against another person. Scripture treats it as a serious sin because it harms a neighb
• Slavery — Biblical slavery refers to ancient forms of servitude, including debt service and household bondage. Scripture regulates these rel
• Slavery and servitude — Forms of bonded labor in the ancient world, including household servitude, debt service, and other forms of slavery. Scripture reg
• SLIME-PIT — A slime-pit is a pit or seep containing bitumen or asphalt. In Scripture it appears as a real landscape feature in the Valley of S
• Sling — A sling was a simple ancient weapon made of straps or a pouch used to throw stones with speed and force. In Scripture it appears i
• sloth — Sloth is sinful laziness or spiritual neglect that resists love, diligence, and responsibility.
• Smyrna — An ancient city in Asia Minor and one of the seven churches addressed in Revelation; it is known for the church’s suffering, pover
• Snare — A snare is a trap, and in Scripture it commonly becomes a picture of hidden danger, temptation, deceit, or judgment that entangles
• Snow — Snow is a created feature of the biblical world and a poetic image for whiteness, cleansing, cold, hardship, and God’s sovereign r
• Social classes — Differences in wealth, status, and social position that Scripture recognizes in human society. The Bible affirms equal human worth
• Social Ethics — Social ethics is the study of how biblical moral teaching applies to life in society, including justice, work, poverty, government
• Social identity theory — A modern social-scientific theory explaining how group membership shapes identity, belonging, and boundary-making.
• Social justice — Social justice is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Social memory — Social memory is the memory-studies framework that examines how communities remember, transmit, shape, and rehearse the past in wa
• social order — Social order refers to patterns of public and communal life shaped by justice, responsibility, and peace.
• Social World — The social world of Scripture is the ancient web of family, status, economics, customs, and community life that formed the setting
• Socinianism — Socinianism is the anti-Trinitarian error that denies Christ's full deity and redefines key Christian doctrines in rationalistic w
• Sociology — Sociology is the academic study of society, including social relationships, institutions, groups, and patterns of collective behav
• Socoh — Socoh is a biblical place name used for at least one town in the Old Testament, best known as the Judahite town near the Valley of
• Sodom — An ancient city of the Jordan plain, Sodom is remembered in Scripture as a place of great wickedness and as a lasting warning of G
• Sodom and Gomorrah — Two cities in the biblical account whose destruction by God became a lasting warning of divine judgment against grievous sin.
• sojourn — To sojourn is to live temporarily in a place that is not one’s permanent home. In Scripture it often describes both literal reside
• Sojourn in Egypt — The period when Jacob’s family lived in Egypt before the exodus, during which God preserved and multiplied His covenant people bef
• Sojourner — A sojourner is a temporary resident or foreigner living among a people not his own. In Scripture, the term often refers to the res
• Solipsism — Solipsism is the philosophical view that only one’s own mind is certain to exist, and that the external world or other persons can
• Solomon — Solomon is David's son and king of Israel.
• Solomon's Reign — The period in which Solomon ruled Israel after David, marked by wisdom, peace, prosperity, and the building of the temple, but lat
• Solomon's Temple — The first permanent temple in Jerusalem, built by King Solomon as the central sanctuary of Israel’s worship and the place associat
• Son of David — "Son of David" is a messianic title for Jesus that points to his descent from David and his rightful claim to David’s promised thr
• Son of God — “Son of God” is a biblical title used in several ways, but above all it identifies Jesus Christ in His unique relationship to the
• Son of Man — "Son of Man" is a title used in Scripture for a human being in some contexts, but in the Gospels it is Jesus’ own frequent title f
• Son of Man Christology — A christological approach that studies how Jesus’ use of the title “Son of Man” reveals his identity, mission, suffering, authorit
• Song of Moses — A biblical song associated with Moses, especially the victory song in Exodus 15 and the covenant witness song in Deuteronomy 32.
• Song of Solomon — Song of Solomon is a poetic wisdom book that celebrates covenant love, desire, and marital delight.
• Song of Songs — Song of Songs is a poetic wisdom book that another name for Song of Solomon, celebrating covenant love and marital delight.
• Sonship — Sonship is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Sopater — Sopater was a believer from Berea named among Paul's companions in Acts 20:4.
• Sopherim — Sopherim is a late rabbinic tractate associated with scribal and liturgical matters.
• Sorcery — Sorcery is the attempt to use occult powers, magic, or forbidden spiritual practices rather than seeking God. In Scripture it is c
• Sosthenes — Sosthenes is a New Testament person named in Acts 18:17 and in the opening of 1 Corinthians. Scripture identifies him as a synagog
• Soteriological Heresies — False teachings that distort the biblical doctrine of salvation by denying or corrupting sin, grace, faith, Christ’s saving work,
• soteriology — soteriology is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• soul — soul is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Soul / Spirit debate — A doctrinal discussion about whether Scripture uses “soul” and “spirit” as overlapping terms for one immaterial aspect of human na
• source criticism — Source criticism is a method that seeks to identify written sources that may stand behind the final form of a biblical book or pas
• Sources of theology — The sources of theology are the authorities and materials Christians use to form doctrine. In conservative evangelical theology, S
• Southern Kingdom Judah — The Southern Kingdom of Judah was the kingdom centered in Jerusalem after the united monarchy divided. It was ruled by David’s lin
• Sovereignty — God's supreme authority and rule over all things.
• Span — A span is a small biblical unit of length, commonly understood as the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little
• Sparrow — A small, common bird used in Scripture to illustrate God’s providential care for even the least valued creatures and, by extension
• Special Pleading — Special pleading is the fallacy of applying a standard to others while exempting one’s own claim from that same standard without a
• Special Revelation — Special revelation is God making Himself known clearly through Scripture, Christ, and His redemptive acts.
• Speech — Speech is the human use of words to communicate. In Scripture, speech is morally significant: it may be used for truth, praise, in
• Speech acts — Speech acts are utterances understood not only as conveying information but also as doing something, such as promising, commanding
• Sphere sovereignty — Sphere sovereignty is a neo-Calvinist social principle teaching that God has ordered human life into distinct spheres, such as fam
• Spices — A Bible-background term for aromatic substances and fragrant compounds used in perfume, incense, anointing, trade, hospitality, an
• SPIKENARD — A costly fragrant perfume or ointment mentioned in Scripture, especially in scenes of anointing.
• spirit — spirit is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Spirit and the law — The phrase “Spirit and the law” describes the New Testament teaching that the Holy Spirit does not lead believers into lawlessness
• Spirit Christology — A scholarly Christology model that emphasizes the Holy Spirit’s role in Jesus’ conception, anointing, empowerment, and ministry, w
• Spirit in OT — The Old Testament presents God’s Spirit as his active presence and empowering power in creation, revelation, wisdom, leadership, p
• Spirit in the Gospels — The Gospels present the Holy Spirit as active in Jesus’ conception, baptism, ministry, and teaching, and as the One who prepares G
• Spirit of Christ — “Spirit of Christ” is a New Testament expression for the Holy Spirit in relation to Jesus Christ. It highlights the Spirit’s union
• Spirit of God — The Spirit of God is God’s Holy Spirit, personally active in creation, revelation, empowerment, and salvation. In Christian doctri
• Spirit of the Lord — A biblical expression for God’s Spirit at work in power, revelation, holiness, guidance, and mission. In many contexts, especially
• Spirit of Truth — "Spirit of Truth" is a biblical title for the Holy Spirit, especially in Jesus’ teaching in John. It highlights the Spirit’s role
• Spirit procession — Spirit procession is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Spiritual — Spiritual describes what pertains to the spirit, especially the Holy Spirit and the life shaped by God’s presence, as distinct fro
• spiritual death — spiritual death is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Spiritual disciplines — Biblically shaped practices such as prayer, Scripture meditation, fasting, worship, confession, fellowship, and service that help
• spiritual dryness — Spiritual dryness is a season of diminished felt consolation or liveliness in one’s walk with God.
• spiritual gifts — spiritual gifts is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Spiritual gifts in the church — Spiritual gifts are abilities, ministries, and empowerments given by the Holy Spirit to believers for the good of the church. Scri
• spiritual maturity — Spiritual maturity is grown steadiness in Christlike character, discernment, and obedience.
• spiritual warfare — The believer’s real but God-governed conflict with Satan, demonic powers, temptation, deception, and accusation, fought by standin
• spirituality — spirituality is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Spiritually dead — A biblical description of fallen human beings as separated from God by sin and unable to give themselves spiritual life apart from
• Spoil — Goods, livestock, valuables, or other property taken from a defeated enemy in war or victory.
• Spring — A spring is a natural source of water; in Scripture it is also used as a figurative image of life, refreshment, cleansing, wisdom,
• SPRINKLE — A biblical ritual action in which blood, water, oil, or another substance is applied for cleansing, consecration, covenant ratific
• Spying out Canaan — The Israelite reconnaissance of Canaan before the wilderness generation attempted to enter the land, especially the mission of the
• Stacte — An aromatic ingredient in the holy incense of the tabernacle; its exact botanical identification is uncertain.
• Standard — A standard is a rule, measure, or norm by which beliefs and conduct are tested. In Christian theology, Scripture is the final writ
• STANDING — A believer’s accepted position before God, especially through faith in Christ.
• Staple foods — The ordinary foods that regularly sustained daily life in biblical times, especially bread, grain, oil, and other common produce.
• Star — A star is a light in the heavens created by God. In Scripture, stars may also function symbolically for rulers, angels, or other h
• Star of Jacob — A prophetic image in Numbers 24:17 of a ruler arising from Israel; Christians commonly understand its fullest fulfillment in the M
• States of Affairs — States of Affairs is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• States of Christ — A theological summary of Christ’s saving work, usually described as his humiliation and exaltation.
• steadfast love — steadfast love is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Stephen — Stephen was one of the seven chosen to serve the early Jerusalem church and is presented in Acts as its first Christian martyr.
• Stephen's martyrdom — The death of Stephen by stoning after his witness to Christ before the Jewish council, recorded in Acts 6–7. It is the first Chris
• Steward — A steward is a person entrusted with managing another person’s household, property, or resources. In Scripture, the idea also teac
• Stewardship — Stewardship means managing God's gifts faithfully because everything we have finally belongs to Him.
• Stewardship Check — Stewardship is the faithful management of life, gifts, time, and possessions as trusts received from God.
• stewardship of creation — stewardship of creation is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Stiff-necked — "Stiff-necked" is a biblical figure of speech for being stubborn, rebellious, and unwilling to submit to God. It often describes p
• Stilling the storm — The stilling of the storm is the Gospel miracle in which Jesus rebukes the wind and sea and the storm becomes calm. The account re
• Stipulations — Stipulations are the stated terms, duties, or obligations within an agreement or covenant. In biblical theology, the word is used
• Stoicism — Stoicism is an ancient Greek and Roman philosophy that stresses virtue, reason, self-control, and endurance under hardship. Christ
• Stoics — Followers of Stoicism, an ancient Greek and Roman philosophical school that stressed reason, virtue, self-control, and endurance.
• Stone — A broad biblical term for literal stones and for important images of witness, permanence, judgment, and the Messiah as the rejecte
• Stone of Stumbling — A “stone of stumbling” is something over which people spiritually trip, especially in Scripture’s description of unbelievers rejec
• Stoning — Stoning was a form of capital punishment used in the Old Testament civil law of Israel for certain grave offenses. In Scripture it
• Storage jars — Large clay jars used in biblical times for storing water, grain, oil, wine, and other household or agricultural goods.
• Stork — A large migratory bird mentioned in the Old Testament, especially in lists of unclean birds and in poetic references to God’s orde
• Storytelling and proverbs — Scripture uses narrative and proverbs as inspired literary forms: narrative recounts God’s acts in history, and proverbs express c
• Stranger — A stranger is a foreigner, outsider, or person outside one’s immediate community. In Scripture, the term often raises questions of
• Straw Man — A straw man is a logical fallacy in which someone misrepresents another person’s view in a weaker or distorted form and then attac
• Street Epistemology — Street Epistemology is a conversational method that uses careful questions to explore how a person formed and justifies a belief.
• Strong Drink — Strong drink is a biblical term for intoxicating beverage, often distinguished from ordinary wine by greater potency or intoxicati
• Structuralism — Structuralism is a modern analytical approach that explains language, culture, or thought by looking at the underlying structures
• Structure and literary unity of the Pentateuch — The arrangement and coherence of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy as one foundational literary unit in Scriptu
• STUBBLE — Dry stalks left after harvest. In Scripture, stubble often symbolizes what is weak, fleeting, or easily consumed, especially under
• Stumbling Block — A stumbling block is anything that leads a person toward sin, unbelief, or spiritual harm. Scripture uses the image both for moral
• Subjectivism — Subjectivism is the view that truth, value, or meaning depends chiefly on the individual subject’s perspective, feelings, or judgm
• Subjectivity — Subjectivity is the condition of being shaped by a person's own perspective, experience, consciousness, or inward point of view, e
• submission — Submission is willing, ordered yielding under God-appointed authority for the sake of obedience and peace.
• Submission to authorities — The Christian duty to honor, respect, and ordinarily obey legitimate human authorities under God, while never complying with comma
• Subordinationism — Subordinationism is the Trinitarian error of treating the Son, and sometimes the Holy Spirit, as less than the Father in essence o
• Subsistence farming — Farming carried on chiefly to feed a household or local community rather than to produce surplus for sale. In Bible study, it is b
• Substance — A broad philosophical term for that which exists in itself and serves as the underlying subject of properties or change.
• Substance dualism — Substance dualism is the view that mind or soul and body are distinct realities, not merely different aspects of one physical subs
• Substantivalism — Substantivalism is the metaphysical view that space, time, or spacetime has real existence in its own right, rather than being onl
• Substitution — Substitution means Christ took the sinner's place under judgment so sinners could be reconciled to God.
• Substitutionary Atonement — Substitutionary Atonement is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• substitutionary death — substitutionary death is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Substitutionary sacrifice — Substitutionary sacrifice is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Succoth — Succoth is a biblical place-name used for more than one location in the Old Testament, including Israel’s first campsite after lea
• Suetonius — Suetonius was a Roman biographer whose writings include brief references relevant to early Christianity.
• Suffering — Suffering is real pain in a fallen world, yet God can use it without calling evil good.
• Suffering Servant — The Suffering Servant is the servant figure most fully described in Isaiah, especially Isaiah 52:13-53:12, who suffers innocently
• Sufficiency — The complete adequacy of God’s provision for its intended purpose; in evangelical theology, especially the sufficiency of Scriptur
• sufficiency of Scripture — sufficiency of Scripture is a biblical and theological term that names a real doctrine, condition, or aspect of God's work.
• Sumer — An ancient civilization in southern Mesopotamia that provides historical background for the biblical world, though it is not itsel
• Sumer and early civilization — Sumer was an early Mesopotamian civilization that helps explain the ancient Near Eastern world behind parts of Genesis, but it is
• Supernatural — Supernatural refers to what lies beyond or above the ordinary processes of the natural world, especially the activity of God, ange
• Supersessionism — Supersessionism is the theological claim that the church supersedes Israel in God's redemptive purposes, though the term covers mu
• Supervenience — Supervenience is a philosophical term for a dependence relation in which one set of properties cannot change unless another set ch
• supplication — Supplication is earnest prayer in which a person humbly asks God for help, mercy, provision, or guidance. It is a common biblical
• Supralapsarianism — A technical Reformed theological view that places God’s decree of election and reprobation logically before his decree to permit t
• surfeiting — An archaic biblical word meaning overindulgence or dissipation, especially in eating and drinking, that can dull spiritual alertne
• Suzerain — A suzerain is a superior ruler who holds authority over subordinate rulers or peoples by covenant or treaty. In Bible study, the t
• Suzerain-vassal treaties — Ancient Near Eastern agreements between a great king (suzerain) and a subordinate ruler or people (vassal). Bible readers sometime
• SWALLOW — A small bird mentioned in Scripture, especially in poetic and legal contexts. Its biblical use is minor and usually points to swif
• Sycamore fig — A fruit-bearing tree of the ancient Near East mentioned in Scripture as part of ordinary agricultural and economic life, especiall
• Sychar — Sychar is the Samaritan town named in John 4:5 as the setting for Jesus’ conversation with the woman at Jacob’s well. Its exact lo
• Syene — An ancient city in southern Egypt, used in Scripture as a marker for Egypt’s southern boundary.
• Symbolic actions — Actions in Scripture that visibly communicate a God-given message, especially prophetic sign-acts that embody judgment, warning, o
• Symbolic clothing — A biblical motif in which garments symbolize status, character, mourning, purity, righteousness, shame, or salvation.
• symbolism — Symbolism is the use of images or objects that point beyond themselves to a larger meaning.
• synagogue — A synagogue was a local Jewish meeting place for prayer, Scripture reading, teaching, and community life. In the New Testament, Je
• Synagogue inscriptions — Ancient inscriptions connected with synagogues that help illuminate Jewish life, leadership, patronage, and worship settings in th
• Synagogue leadership — The recognized officers and leading persons who oversaw worship, teaching, order, and practical administration in a local Jewish s
• Synagogue school — A historical description of synagogue-based religious instruction, especially the reading and learning of Scripture; the Bible sho
• Synagogue worship — Synagogue worship is the communal prayer, Scripture reading, teaching, and exhortation associated with Jewish synagogue gatherings
• Synagogue worship elements — The common features of synagogue gatherings in biblical times, especially Scripture reading, prayer, instruction, and congregation
• syncretism — Syncretism is the mixing of biblical faith with beliefs or practices that do not belong with it.
• Synecdoche — Synecdoche is language that uses a part to mean the whole, or the whole to mean a part.
• Synod of Dort — A 1618–1619 Reformed church council held in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, best known for the Canons of Dort and its response to Remo
• Synonyms — Synonyms are different words with overlapping meaning, though they do not always carry exactly the same force in every context. In
• syntactical analysis — The study of how words, phrases, and clauses are arranged to communicate meaning, especially in careful Bible interpretation.
• syntax — Syntax is the way words and phrases are arranged to make meaning in a sentence.
• Syntax analysis — Syntax analysis is the study of how words, phrases, and clauses are arranged in a sentence to communicate meaning. In Bible study,
• Syria — Syria is the biblical region north of Israel, often corresponding to Aram and the Aramean kingdom centered at Damascus.
• Syriac Bible — The Syriac Bible is the Bible in the Syriac language and an important witness in Eastern Christianity.
• Syriac Fathers — A collective term for early Christian writers and teachers from Syriac-speaking churches in the ancient Near East.
• Syrian Antioch — Syrian Antioch was the major city of Antioch in Syria and an important center of the early church in Acts.
• Syrophoenician — A Syrophoenician was a person from Phoenicia in the region associated with Syria in the Roman world. In the New Testament, the ter
• systematic theology — Systematic theology is the orderly study of what the whole Bible teaches about major doctrines, arranged by topic so believers can