Foreword
God’s message for mankind, contained in the Bible, was meant to be understood. Unfortunately, such understanding is notably rare today. The faith of many has been weakened by the pressures of modern times. Nevertheless, a steadily increasing number of persons now feel a definite and urgent need for gaining a clear understanding of the Bible. They want knowledge that is solid and reliable, facts on which to base their convictions and hope. They seek a guide for solving the everyday problems of life and for making right decisions in times of crisis. Above all, they are interested in God’s promise of everlasting life and in knowing his requirements. (John 17:3) This information the Bible will give them, but they need to understand what they read. (Prov. 4:7-9) As a help, this publication Aid to Bible Understanding has been prepared.
The Bible account is made up of many features. People of many races and nations: what they said and did, their customs, emotions and their right or wrong worship; places: including lands, cities and villages, mountains, rivers and torrent valleys, with their native trees and plants, birds and animals; notable events: the rise and fall of empires and kingdoms, political conspiracies and oppressions, major battles; and, most important, the record of God’s dealings with men: his mercy and miraculous saving acts, his judgments, promises and prophecies—all these things and many more have their place in the Bible record. They all have significance, and the more we know about them the clearer God’s overall purpose can become to us.
Aid to Bible Understanding contains thousands of articles on these subjects, prepared over a period of about five years. Some 250 researchers in more than 90 countries contributed to the work. The resulting material was sent to the international headquarters of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in Brooklyn, New York. In checking and editing the information gathered, the facilities of the Watch Tower Society’s own libraries of thousands of volumes, as well as various large libraries in New York City, were used. Some forty translations of the Bible in many different languages were consulted, and these are cited in the various articles. In this way the best scholarship, including the results of the most recent research, could be brought to bear on each subject.
BASIS FOR MATERIAL
The principal authority on which all the articles are based is the Bible itself. It is in this respect that this work differs from other publications of a similar kind. It is true that knowledge of the original languages of the Bible—Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek—has been greatly increased by the research of lexicographers. Likewise the archaeological investigations in all Bible lands, including Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and many others, have unearthed ancient writings and records, as well as interesting artifacts from the time that the Bible was being written. Yet, in our considering such material, care was exercised to evaluate properly the views advanced and the conclusions drawn by secular researchers and other scholars, in this way distinguishing between mere theory and clear fact. The superior reliability of the Bible record itself was recognized. The editors of this volume thus were not influenced solely by what is simply the presently “popular view” among lexicographers, archaeologists and religious commentators, especially since such popular views often fail to harmonize with the Bible account. Yet even such contrary views are not entirely ignored, and the reasons for rejecting them are often presented.
In our concern for reliability we have also been careful to sift out what is often presented as archaeological evidence supporting the Bible but which has only a superficial appearance of support and in reality presents no solid claim to any relationship with the Bible. As an example, the layer of silt (in some areas, several feet thick) that a well-known British archaeologist discovered in certain excavations in the Mesopotamian valley has been used in the past as “evidence” of the Noachian flood. But this silt is found only in the region of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and therefore indicates a local flood (or floods) and not a deluge of global proportions as was the case in Noah’s day. Thus, in the article on DELUGE such superficial support is not presented, but other evidence, much weightier and more substantial, is given, pointing to a flood of truly global extent.
In dealing with historical events, we have recognized the difference between true history and reconstructed accounts. We have sought to determine the actual sources for statements regarding ancient events. The conquest of Babylon by Cyrus may be taken as an example. Discussions of this event by modern historians may be found in many publications. Yet the historians are all obliged to draw from the same basic sources for the picture they present, a picture that frequently varies from historian to historian. Instead of the modern historians’ sometimes imaginative description, we have shown what these basic sources themselves say. In this way the reader can see the general agreement of the ancient sources as well as the details on which they disagree.
By such a balanced approach to matters we have endeavored to “keep holding the pattern of healthful words,” staying true to the Bible facts while taking into account other sources of information. (2 Tim. 1:13) We believe the reader will find the information presented to be both factual and thought-provoking.
ITS AIM
Aid to Bible Understanding is not intended to be a doctrinal commentary or an interpretative work. However, many words are employed in the Bible in both a literal and a figurative sense. The figurative usage is often more important to understanding than the literal meaning, as in the prophetic symbolisms of Daniel and Revelation. In its aim to aid understanding, this book shows the sense of the figurative expressions by means of a study of the context, related texts and surrounding circumstances, and endeavors to make clear the doctrinal subjects and the application of prophetic symbolism, not arbitrarily or to conform to a creed, but, rather, on the basis of other Bible texts and the known facts of history. These texts and facts are cited so that the reader may give consideration to their application and reach a satisfying conclusion. In this way, hundreds of Bible texts are clarified to the individual’s understanding and the Bible is seen to be a unified and harmonious book, “beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.”—2 Tim. 3:16, 17.
This does not mean that this publication attempts to resolve all problems or to clarify every detail in the Bible record. While the reader will find satisfactory explanations for many so-called “contradictions” (which are only superficially so), yet there are many points that cannot presently be resolved with certainty. This is so for the simple reason that the Bible does not provide detailed information on the subject or because reliable facts are not available from secular sources. (See, for example, DARIUS NO. 1.) Where this is the case frank acknowledgment is made.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
The student of the Bible will find Aid to Bible Understanding a very helpful instrument. In private Bible reading and study when coming across a term that is unfamiliar, or about which he is not fully informed, he will find it profitable to look up the term in this publication. With very few exceptions, the subjects contained are words and expressions found in the Bible. In the complete work, we have endeavored to consider every person, place, plant and creature mentioned in the Bible. For the saving of space and in order to give the reader a greater wealth of information, some closely related subjects are not treated separately, but are grouped together under a general heading, such as ARMS, ARMOR; ATTITUDES AND GESTURES; and DRESS.
In giving the present-day location of Biblical sites that are generally not so well known, we have tried to make it easier to find these on the maps by including the distance from other better-known places. Historical background or geographical features that help in forming a mental picture of the place are often given where these will contribute to the understanding of the Bible passage involved.
The dates given may not in all cases coincide with the popularly accepted chronology found in many Bible dictionaries, encyclopedias and commentaries. This is because this publication follows the Bible closely and gives superior weight to the Bible reckoning as compared with the chronology based on ancient secular sources, many of which are clearly unreliable.—See CHRONOLOGY.
In the articles dealing with persons, we have endeavored to draw the reader’s attention to relation or association with well-known individuals, to particular qualities or attitudes displayed; also to underscore any issues involved, and to bring to bear details of time, place and circumstance that throw light on the actions, speech or attitude of the individual—points that might otherwise pass unnoticed. See AARON; ADONIJAH; BARNABAS.
The Bible is the most absorbing and interesting book on earth, and the most profitable to read and study. We have designed Aid to Bible Understanding with the aim of increasing, not only Bible knowledge and understanding, but also heart appreciation for its Author, Jehovah God, to bring praise to his name in the minds and on the lips of all who use this work. It is our earnest prayer that it may serve to help hundreds of thousands of persons to open their hearts more widely toward Jehovah God in full confidence and devotion to him.—Isa. 40:8.