Timbrel – Tyre Or Tyrus

Timbrel

An instrument of music, early and often mentioned in Scripture, Ge 31:27; Job 21:12. The Hebrews called it toph, under which name they comprehended all kinds of drums, tabors, and tambourines. We do not find that the Hebrews used it in their wars, but only at their public rejoicing, Ex 15:20; Isa 24:8; and it was commonly employed by the women, Ps 62:12. It consisted, and still consists, of a small circular rim or hoop, over which a skin is drawn. The rim is also hung with small bells. The timbrel is used as an accompaniment to lively music, being shaken and beaten with the knuckles in time. After the passage of the Red sea, Miriam, sister of Moses, took a timbrel, and began to play and dance with the women, Ex 15:20. The daughter of Jephthah came to meet her father with timbrels and other musical instruments, Judg 11:34. See MUSIC.

Time

Besides the ordinary uses of this word, the Bible sometimes employs it to denote a year, as in Da 4:16; or a prophetic year, consisting of three hundred and sixty natural year, a day being taken for a year. Thus in Da 7:25; 12:7, the phrase "a time, times, and the dividing of a time" is supposed to mean three and a half prophetic years, or 1,260 natural years. This period is elsewhere paralleled by the expression, "forty-two months," each month including thirty years, Re 11:2-3; 12:6,14; 13:5.

Timna

A secondary wife of Eliphaz the son Esau, a name which recurs in the records of the Idumaena tribes, Ge 36:12,22,40; 1Ch 1:36,51.

Timnah, Timnath, And Thimnathah

An ancient city of the Canaanites, Ge 38:12-14; on the borders of Judah and Dan after the conquest, Jos 15:10; 19:43. It was for a long time subject to the Philistines, and Samson’s wife was a Timnite, Judg 14:1-5; 2Ch 28:18. Its deserted site, now called Tibneh, lies three miles southwest of Zorah.

Timnath-Serah

Or Timnath-Heres, Judg 2:9, a town in Ephraim, which yielded to Joshua a home, an income, and a burial-place, Jos 19:50; 24:30. The site the Jewish leader is supposed to have chosen, now called Tibneh, lies in a rough and mountainous region on the road from Gophna to Antipatris.

Timothy

A disciple of Paul. He was of Derbe or Lystra, both cities of Lycaonia, Ac 16:1; 14:6. His father was a Greek, but his mother a Jewess, 2Ti 1:5; 3:15. The instructions and prayers of his pious mother and grandmother, and the preaching of Paul during his first visit to Lystra, A. D. 48, resulted in the conversion of Timothy and his introduction to the ministry which he so adorned. He had witnessed the sufferings of Paul, and loved him as his father in Christ, 1Ti 1:2; 2Ti 3:10,11.

When the apostle returned to Lystra, about A. D. 51, the brethren spoke highly of the merit and good disposition of Timothy; and the apostle determined to take him along with him, for which purpose he circumcised him at Lystra, Ac 16:3. Timothy applied himself to labor in the gospel, and did Paul very important services through the whole course of his preaching. Paul calls him not only his dearly beloved son, but also his brother, the companion of his labors, and a man of God; observing that none was more united with him in heart and mind than Timothy, Ro 16:21; 1Co 4:17; 2:1; Col 1:1; 1Ti 1:2,18. Indeed, he was selected by Paul as his chosen companion in his journeys, shared for a time his imprisonment at Rome, Heb 13:23, and was afterwards left by him at Ephesus, to continue and perfect the work which Paul had begun in that city, 1Ti 1:3; 3:14. He appears to have possessed in a very high degree the confidence and affection of Paul, and is therefore often mentioned by him in terms of warm commendation, Ac 16:1; 17:14,15; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4; 2Ti 3:10; 4:5.

EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY. The first of these Paul seems to have written subsequently to his first imprisonment at Rome, and while he was in Macedonia, having left Timothy at Ephesus, 1Ti 1:2, A. D. 64. The second appears to have been addressed to Timothy in northwestern Asia Minor, during Paul’s second imprisonment and in anticipation of martyrdom, A. D. 67. This dying charge of the faithful apostle to his beloved son in the gospel, the latest fruit of his love for him and for the church, we study with deep emotions. Both epistles are most valuable and instructive documents for the direction and admonition of every Christian, and more especially of ministers of the gospel. With the epistle to Titus, they form the three "pastoral epistles," as they are called.

Tin

A metal known and used at an early period, Nu 31:22, and brought by the Tyrians from Tarshish, Eze 27:12. In Isa 1:25 it means the alloy of lead, tin, and other base admixtures in silver ore, separated from the pure silver by smelting.

Tiphsah

The ancient Thapsacus, an important city on the western bank of the Euphrates, which constituted the northeastern extremity of Solomon’s dominions, 1Ki 4:24. The ford at this place being the last one on the Euphrates towards the south, its possession was important to Solomon in his design to attract the trade of the East to Palestine. Hence the building of Tadmor on the desert route. Perhaps the same city is meant in 2Ki 15:16, though some understand here a city of the same name near Samaria.

Tiras

A son of Japeth, supposed to have been the forefather of the ancient Thracians, Ge 10:2.

Tires

Or "little moons," are thought to have been ornaments of the neck, worn not by women only, Isa 3:18, but by men, and even on the necks of camels, Judg 8:21,26. Some supposed the tire, in Eze 24:17, was an ornamented headdress.

Tirhakah

King of Ethiopia, or Cuch, and of Egypt. This prince, at the head of a powerful army, attempted to relieve Hezekiah, when attacked by Sennarcherib, 2Ki 19:9, but the Assyrian army was routed before he came up, Isa 37:19, B. C. 712. He is undoubtedly the Tarcus of Manetho, and the Tearcho of Strabo, the third and last king of the twenty-fifth or Ethiopian dynasty. It is supposed that he is the Pharaoh intended in Isa 30:2; and that Isa 19:1-25 depicts the anarchy which succeeded his reign. He was a powerful monarch, ruling both Upper and lower Egypt, and extending his conquests far into Asia and towards the "pillars of Hercules" in the west. His name and victories are recorded on an ancient temple at Medinet Abou, in upper Egypt; whence also the representation above given of his head was copied by Rosselini.

Tirshatha

Perhaps meaning severe or august, a title of honor borne by Zerubbabel and Nehemiah as Persian governors of Judea, Ezr 2:63; Ne 7:65.

Tirzah

Pleasant, Song 6:4, a city of the Canaanites, Jos 12:24, and afterwards of the tribe of Manasseh or Ephraism; and the royal seat of the kings of Israel from the time of Jeroboam to the reign of Omri, who built the city of Samaria, which then became the capital of this kingdom, 1Ki 15:21,33; 16:6,23; 2Ki 15:14,16. Its exact location is unknown.

Tishbite

From Tishbe in the tribe of Naphtali, where Elijah was born, 1Ki 17:1. It is mentioned in one of the apocryphal books.

Tishri Or Tisri

The first month of the Jewish civil year, and the seventh of the ecclesiastical; called, in 1Ki 8:2, Ethanim, which see; and answering nearly to our October. On the first day of Tishri the feast of Trumpets occurred; on the tenth, the great day of Expiation; and on the fifteenth, the feast of Tabernacles commenced.

Tithe

A tenth, the proportion of a man’s income devoted to sacred purposes from time immemorial, Ge 14:20; 28:22. This was prescribed in the Mosaic law, Nu 31:31. A twofold tithe was required of each Jewish citizen. The first consisted of one-tenth of the produce of his fields, trees, flocks, and herds, to be given to God as the sovereign Proprietor of all things and as the king of the Jews, Le 27:30-32; 1Sa 8:15,17. The proceeds of this tax were devoted to the maintenance of the Levites in their respective cities, Nu 18:21-24. A person might pay this tax in money, adding one-fifth to its estimated value. The Levites paid a tenth part of what they received to the priests, Nu 18:26-28. The second tithe required of each landholder was one-tenth of the nine parts of his produce remaining after the first tithe, to be expended at the tabernacle or temple in entertaining the Levites, his own family, etc., changing it first into money, if on account of his remoteness he chose to do so, De 12:17-19,22-29; 14:22-27. Every third year a special provision was made for the poor, either out of this second tithe or in addition to it, De 14:28-29. These tithes were not burdensome; but the pious Israelite found himself the richer for their payment, though it does not seem to have been enforced by any legal penalties. The system of tithes was renewed both before and after the captivity, 2Ch 31:5,6,12; Ne 10:37; 12:44; 13:5; but they were not always regularly paid, and hence the divine blessing was withheld, Mal 3:8-12. The Pharisees were scrupulously exemplary in paying their tithes, but neglected the more important duties of love to God and man, Mt 23:23.

The principle of the ancient tithes, namely, that ministers of the gospel and objects of benevolence should be provided for by the whole people of God, according to their means, is fully recognized in Scripture as applicable to the followers of Christ. He sent his servants forth, two and two, without provisions or purses, to receive their support from the people, since "the laborer is worthy of his hire," Mt 10:9-14; Lu 10:4-8,16. Paul also reasons in the same way, 1Co 9:13,14; Ga 6:6. For purpose of piety and beneficence, he directed the Corinthians, and virtually all Christians, to lay aside from their income, on the first day of the week, as the Lord had prospered them, 1Co 16:2. There is no reason to doubt that the early Christians gave more freely of their substance than did the ancient Jews, Ac 4:34-36; 2Co 8:1-4.

Tittle

A very small particle; literally, a small horn; the minute tip at the extremity of some Hebrew letters, Mt 5:18. In transcribing the Hebrew Scriptures, the Jews exacted the utmost accuracy. Every page and every line must contain just so much; and he most trivial defect vitiated the whole roll, and compelled the scribe to begin his task anew. Yet the extreme care thus expressed for the perfect integrity of the letter of God’s word is but a feeble illustration of the Savior’s care for the same word-every truth, every threatening, and every promise has the most perfect guarantee possible: "It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail," Lu 16:17.

Titus

A distinguished Christian minister of Greek origin, Ga 2:3; converted under the preaching of Paul, Tit 1:4, whose companion and fellow-labor he became, 2Co 8:23. He joined Paul and Barnabas in the mission from Antioch to Jerusalem, Ac 15:2; Ga 2:1; and subsequently was sent to Corinth and labored with success, 2Co 8:6; 12:18. He did not rejoin the apostle at Troas, as was expected, but at Philippi, 2Co 2:12,13; 7:6; and soon after resumed his labors at Corinth in connection with a general effort for the relief of poor Christians in Judea, taking with him Paul’s second epistle, 2Co 8:6,16,17.

Some eight or ten years later, we find him left by the apostle at Crete, to establish and regulate the churches of that island, Tit 1:5. Here he received the Epistle to Titus from Paul, then at Ephesus, inviting him to Nicopolis, Tit 3:12; whence he went into the neighboring Dalmatia, before Paul was finally imprisoned at Rome, 2Ti 4:10. Tradition makes him labor for many years in Crete, and die there at an advanced age. His character seems to have been marked by integrity, discretion, and a glowing zeal. He was trusted and beloved by Paul, whose epistle to him is similar in its contents to the first epistle to Timothy, and was probably written not long after it, A. D. 65.

Tob

A district beyond Jordan, where Jephthah took refuge when expelled from Gilead, Judg 11:3,5. Its location is not known.

Tobiah

An Ammonite prince, in league with Sanballat and the Samaritans against the pious Jews, who were rebuilding the ruined temple, Ne 2:10; 4:3. His threats and treachery were employed in vain. During Nehemiah’s absence, Tobiah was unlawfully established by some of the chief men of Judah, his relatives, in a fine apartment of the new temple; but was ignominiously expelled on the governor’s return, Ne 6:17-19; 13:1-9.

Togarmah

A descendant of Japheth, Ge 10:3, supposed to have given his name to the region of Asia afterwards called Armenia, Eze 38:15,16. It was celebrated for its horses and mules; and the men of Togarmah, like the modern Armenians, were an industrious, peaceable, and trafficking people, Eze 27:14.

Toi

King of Hamath in Syria, sent his son to rejoice with David on his victories over Hadadezer king of Zobah, 2Sa 8:9-11; 1Ch 18:9.

Tola

1.The eldest son of Issachar, and head of a family, Ge 46:13; Nu 26:23.

2. Of the tribe of Issachar, judge of Israel, at Shamir in Mount Ephraim, for twenty-three years after the death of Abimelech, Judg 10:1,2.

Tomb

See SEPULCHRE.

Topaz

A precious stone of wine-yellow color, with occasional pale tinges of green or red. It was one of the twelve gems in the high priest’s breastplate, Ex 28:17; 39:10, and was a highly prized product of Cush, or Southern Arabia, Job 28:19; Eze 28:13.

Tophet

See HINNOM.

Tormentors

The Greek word usually denotes men who had charge of instruments of torture, by which unwilling witnesses were compelled to testify, and the agonies of execution in some cases were protracted. The same men, however, were keepers of prisons and jails; and it is probably with reference only to their office as jailers that the word is used in Mt 18:34.

Tortoise

Le 11:29. The Hebrew word rather denotes a species of lizard, so named in the original for its slowness of motion.

Towers

Were erected not only in the outer walls and on the heights within cities, Judg 9:47-49; Ps 48:12; Lu 13:4, but along the frontiers of a country, at points where the approach of an enemy could be descried at a distance, Judg 9:17; Isa 21:6-9; Eze 33:2-6. A tower afforded a refuge to the surrounding inhabitants, in case of invasion; and often, when most of a city was subdued, the tower or citadel remained impregnable.

So God is a strong and safe protector of his people, Ps 18:2; 61:8; Pr 18:10. A slight tower or look-out was often erected for the keeper of a vineyard or flock, 2Ch 26:10; Isa 5:2; Mic 4:8; Mt 21:33; and travelers in Palestine see them in use at this day.

Trachonitis

In the time of Christ, was, as its name imports, a rugged province, lying on the northeast border of Palestine, south of Damascus, between the mountains of Arabia Deserta on the east, and Iturea, Auranitis, and Batania on the west and south, Lu 3:1. Herod the Great subdued the robbers that infested it; and after his death it was governed by Philip his son, and then by Herod Agrippa.

Tradition

Col 2:8; Tit 1:14, a doctrine, sentiment, or custom not found in the Bible, but transmitted orally from generation to generation from some presumed inspired authority. In patriarchal times, much that was valuable and obligatory was thus preserved. But tradition has long been superseded by the successive and completed revelations of God’s will which form the inspired Scriptures, the only perfect and sufficient rule of belief and practice. With this, even before the time of the Savior, Isa 8:20, all traditions were to be compared, as being of no value if they conflicted with it, added to it, or took from it, Re 22:19. The Jews had numerous unwritten traditions, which they affirmed to have been delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai, and by him transmitted to Joshua, the judges, and the prophets. After their wars with the Romans under Adrian and Severus, in view of their increasing dispersion over the earth, the Jews desired to secure their traditions by committing them to writing. Accordingly Rabbi Judah "the Holy," composed the Mishna, or second law, the most ancient collection of the Hebrew traditions, about A. D. 190-220.

To this text two commentaries were afterwards added: the Gemara of Jerusalem, probably about A. D. 370; and the Gemara of Babylon, A. D. 500; forming, with the Mishna, the Talmud of Jerusalem and that of Babylon. The contents of these voluminous works poorly remunerate the student of the laborious task of reading them. Our Savior severely censured the adherents of such legendary follies in his own day, and reproached them with preferring the traditions of the elders to the law of God itself, and superstitiously adhering to vain observances while they neglected the most important duties, Mt 15:1-20; Mr 7:1-13. The traditions of the Romish church, with less apology than the ancient Jews had before the New Testament was written, are still more in conflict with the word of God, and still more deserving of the Savior’s condemnation.

In 2Th 2:15; 3:6, "tradition" means inspired instructions from the lips of those who received them from God, and were authorized to dispense them in his name. These apostolic sayings were obligatory only on those who received them as inspired directly from the apostles. Had any of them come down to our times, the only means of endorsing them must be by showing their agreement with the word of God, since inspiration and miracles have ceased.

Trance

A state of the human system distinguished from dreaming and revery; it is one in which the bodily senses are licked up and almost disconnected from the spirit, which is occupied either with phantasms, as in trances produced by disease, or, as in ancient times, with revelations from God. Numerous instances are mentioned in Scripture: as that of Balaam, Nu 24:4,16; those of Peter and Paul, Ac 10:10; 22:17; 2Co 12:1-4. Compare also Ge 2:21-24; 15:12-21; Job 4:13-21.

Transfiguration

Mt 17:1-9; 2Pe 1:16-18. This remarkable event in the life of Christ probably took place on Hermon or some other mountain not far from Caesarea Philippi; the tradition which assigns it to Tabor not being sustained. See TABOR.

The whole form and raiment of the Savior appeared in supernatural glory. The Law and the Prophets, in the persons of Moses and Elijah, did homage to the Gospel. By communing with Christ on the theme most momentous to mankind, his atoning death, they evinced the harmony that exists between the old and new dispensations, and the sympathy between heaven and earth; while the voice from heaven in their hearing gave him honor and authority over all. Besides its great purpose, the attestation of Christ’s Messiahship and divinity, this scene demonstrated the continued existence of departed spirits in an unseen world, furnished in the Savior’s person an emblem of humanity glorified, and aided in preparing both him and his disciples for their future trials.

Treasures

Kings were wont to store their possessions and guard what they most valued in well-fortified cities, hence called treasure-cities, Ex 1:11; 1Ch 27:25; Ezr 5:17. "Treasures in the field," Jer 41:8, were provisions, etc., buried, as is the custom in many parts of the world, in subterranean pits. Numerous ruined granaries of this kind are still found in the vicinity of Bethshean. The "pilgrim fathers" in like manner found heaps of corn buried in the ground by the Indians. In consequence also of the great insecurity of property in the East, it seems to have been usual from the earliest times to hide in the ground gold and jewels; and the owners being killed or driven away, or forgetting the place of deposit, these hidden treasures remain till chance or search brings them to light. They are much sought for by the Arabs at this day, and are believed by them to be the object travelers from the West have in view in exploring ancient ruins, Job 3:21; Pr 2:4; Mt 13:44. But a few years since, some workmen digging in a garden at Sidon, discovered several copper pots, filled with gold coin from the mint of Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander, unmixed with any of later date. This lost treasure, worth many thousands of dollars, had remained apparently undisturbed over two thousand years.

Trees

Were frequently used as types of kings, or men of wealth and power, Ps 37:35; Isa 2:13; Da 4:10-26; Zec 11:1,2. The "tree of knowledge of good and evil" bore the forbidden fruit, by eating of which Adam fatally increased his knowledge—of good by its loss, of sin and woe by actual experience, Ge 2:9,17. The "tree of life" may have been both an assurance and a means of imparting life, a seal of eternal holiness and bliss, if man had not sinned. Compare Re 22:2.

Trench

A passage of approach to the walls of a besieged city, like a deep ditch; the earth thrown up constituting a wall. The Redeemer, weeping over Jerusalem a few days before he was crucified under its walls, said, "The days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side," Lu 19:43. The Romans fulfilled this prediction by enclosing the entire city of Jerusalem by a wall, that the Jews might neither escape nor be relieved from without. In 1Sa 26:5, "trench" appears to mean the circle formed by camp equipage. See CAMP, ENCAMPMENTS.

Trespass

An injury done to another, with more or less culpability. The Mosaic law required a trespasser not only to make satisfaction to the person injured, but by an offering at the altar to reconcile himself to the divine Governor, Le 5:1-19; 6:1-7; Ps 51:4. Christ repeatedly declares, that in order to be forgiven of God, we must be forgiving to men, Mt 6:14,15, and that no brother must have aught against us, Mt 5:23,24.

Tribe

Jacob having twelve sons, who were heads of so many families, which together formed a great nation, each of these families was called a tribe. But this patriarch on his death-bed adopted Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph, and would have them also to constitute two tribes in Israel, Ge 48:5. Instead of twelve tribes, there were now thirteen, that of Joseph being two. However, in the distribution of lands by Joshua under the order of God, they reckoned but twelve tribes and made but twelve lots; of the tribe of Levi, being appointed to the sacred service, had no share in the distribution of the land, but received certain cities to dwell in, with the first-fruits, tithes, and oblations of the people. Each tribe had its own leaders and tribunals; and the whole twelve, in their early history, constituted a republic somewhat resembling the United States. In the division made by Joshua of the land of Canaan, Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh had their lot beyond Jordan, east; all the other tribes, and the remaining half of Manasseh had their distribution on this side the river, west.

The twelve tribes continued united as one state, one people, and one monarchy, till after the death of Solomon, when ten of the tribes revolted from the house of David, and formed the kingdom of Israel. See HEBREWS.

Tribute

Every Jew throughout the world was required to pay an annual tribute or capitation-tax of half a shekel, about twenty-five cents, in acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty and for the maintenance of the temple service, Ex 30:12-15. It was with reference to this that Christ says, in effect, Mt 17:25,26, "If this tribute be levied in the name of The Father, then I, The Son, am free."

In other New Testament passages, tribute means the tax levied by the Romans. On the question of paying tribute to foreigners and idolaters, Mt 22:16-22, Christ gave a reply which neither party could stigmatize as rebellious, or as unpatriotic and irreligious. By themselves using Caesar’s currency, both parties acknowledged the fact of his supremacy. Christ warns them to render to all men their dues; and above all to regard the claims of him whose superscription is on every thing, 1Co 10:31; 1Pe 2:9,13.

Troas

A maritime city of Mysia, in the northwest part of Asia Minor, situated on the Egean coast, at some distance south of the supposed site of ancient Troy. The adjacent region, including all the coast south of the Hellespont, is also called Troas, or the Troad. The city was a Macedonian and Roman colony of much promise, and was called Alexandria Troas. The Turks call its ruins Eski Stamboul, the old Constantinople. Its remains, in the center of a forest of oaks, are still grand and imposing. The apostle Paul was first at Troas for a short time in A. D. 52, and sailed thence into Macedonia, Ac 16:8-11. At his second visit, in A. D. 57, he labored with success, 2Co 2:12-13. At his third recorded visit he tarried but a week; at the close of which the miraculous raising of Eutychus to life took place, Ac 20:5-14, A. D. 58. See also 2Ti 4:13.

Trogyllium

The name of a town and promontory of Ionia, in Asia Minor, between Ephesus and the mouth of the Meander, opposite to Samos. The promontory is a spur of Mount Mycale, Ac 20:15.

Troop

Isa 65:11. See GAD 3.

Trophimus

A disciple of Paul, a Gentile and an Ephesian by birth, came to Corinth with the apostle, and accompanied him in his whole journey to Jerusalem, A. D. 58, Ac 20:4. When the apostle was in the temple there, the Jews laid hold of him, crying out, "He hath brought Greeks into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place;" because, having seen him in the city accompanied by Trophimus, they imagined that he had introduced him into the temple.

Some years afterwards, Paul writes that he had left him sick at Miletus, 2Ti 4:20. This did not occur at Paul’s former visit to Millets, since Trophimus went with him to Jerusalem; nor on the voyage to Rome, for they did not go near Millets. It is therefore one of the circumstances which prove that Paul was released, and revisited Asia Minor, Crete, Macedonia, and perhaps Spain, before his second imprisonment and death. Of Trophimus nothing farther is known.

Trow

An old word for think, Lu 17:9.

Trumpet

The Lord commanded Moses to make two trumpets of beaten silver, for the purpose of calling the people together when they were to decamp, Nu 10:2. They used these trumpets to proclaim the beginning of the civil year, of the sabbatical year, Le 23:24; Nu 29:1, and of the jubilee, Le 25:9-10. See MUSIC.

The feast of Trumpets was kept on the first day of the seventh month of the sacred year, which was the first of the civil year, called Tishri. The beginning of the year was proclaimed by sound of trumpet, Le 23:24; Nu 29:1; and the day was kept solemn, all servile business being forbidden. In addition to the daily and the monthly sacrifices, Nu 28:11-15, a solemn holocaust was offered in the name of the whole nation, of a bullock, a ram, a kid, and seven lambs of the same year, with offerings of flour and wine, as usual with these sacrifices. Scripture does not mention the occasion of appointing this feast.

Tryphena And Tryphosa

Female disciples at Rome, apparently sisters, and very useful in the work of evangelization, Ro 16:12.

Tubal

A Son of Japheth, Ge 10:2; supposed to have been the originator of the Tybareni, who occupied the northeastern part of Asia Minor. They were a warlike people, and brought slaves and copper vessels to the market of Tyre, Isa 66:19; Eze 27:13; 32:26; 38:2; 39:1.

Tubal-Cain

Son of Lamech and Zillah, inventor of the art of forging metals, Ge 4:22.

Turtle-Dove

Or Turtle, the Columba Turtur; a distinct bird from the common dove or pigeon, smaller and differently marked, and having a soft and plaintive note, Isa 59:11; Eze 7:16. It is a bird of passage, Jer 8:7, leaving Palestine for a short trip to the south, and returning early in spring, Song 2:12. It is timid and fond of seclusion, and pines in captivity, Ps 11:1. The law allowed it as a burnt or sin-offering by the poor, Le 1:14; 5:7; Mt 21:22, and in several cases of purification, etc., Le 12:6-8; 14:22; Nu 6:10; Lu 2:24. Before the giving of the law, Abraham offered birds, which he divided the other victims he left the birds entire, Ge 15:9.

Tychicus

A disciple employed by the apostle Paul to carry his letters to several churches. He was of the province of Asia, and accompanied Paul in his journey from Corinth to Jerusalem, Ac 20:4. He carried the epistle to the Colossians, that to the Ephesians, and the first to Timothy. The apostle calls him the Lord, and his companion in the service of God, Eph 6:21,22; Col 4:7,8; 2Ti 4:12, and had intentions of sending him into Crete, in the absence of Titus, Tit 3:12.

Type

In Greek tupos, a word denoting some resemblance, and translated "figure" in Ro 4:15, "ensample" in Php 3:17, "manner" in Ac 23:25, and "form" in Ro 6:17. So also Moses was to make the tabernacle according to the type or model he had seen in the mount, Ac 7:44. In the more general use of the word, a scriptural type is a prophetic symbol, "a shadow of good things to come," Heb 10:1, "but the body is Christ," Col 2:17. The typical character of the old dispensation is its most distinguishing feature. For Example, the paschal lamb and all the victims sacrificed under the law were types of the Lamb of God, and illustrated his great atonement; showing that guilt deserved death, and could only be atoned for by the blood of an acceptable sacrifice. But they were also intended to foretell the coming of their great Antitype.

The Old Testament types include persons, officers, objects, events, rites, and places. Thus Adam and Melchizedek, the prophetic and the priestly office, manna and the brazen serpent, the smitten rock and the passage over Jordan, the Passover and the Day of Atonement, Canaan and the cities of refuge are scriptural types of Christ.

However striking the points of resemblance which an Old Testament event or object may present to something in the New Testament, it is not properly a type unless it was so appointed by God, and thus has something of a prophetic character. Due care should therefore be taken to distinguish between an illustration and a type.

Tyrannus

The name of a person at Ephesus, in whose school Paul publicly proposed and defended the doctrines of the gospel, Ac 19:9. By some he is thought to have been a Greek sophist, a teacher of rhetoric or philosophy, converted to Christianity; while others suppose him to have been a Jewish doctor or rabbi, who had a public school.

Tyre Or Tyrus

A rock, the celebrated emporium of Phoenicia, the seat of immense wealth and power, situated on the coast of the Mediterranean, within the limits of the tribe of Asher, as assigned by Joshua, Jos 19:29, though never reduced to subjection. Tyre was a "daughter of Zidon," but rapidly gained an ascendancy over this and all the other cities of Phoenicia, which it retained with few exceptions to the last. It is mentioned by neither Moses nor Homer; but from the time of David onward, reference is frequently made to it in the books of the Old Testament. There was a close alliance between David and Hiram king of Tyre, which was afterwards continued in the reign of Solomon; and it was from the assistance afforded by the Tyrians, both in artificers and materials, that the house of David, and afterwards the temple, were principally built, 2Sa 5:11; 1Ki 5:1-18; 1Ch 14:1-17; 2Ch 2:3; 9:10.

The marriage of Ahab king of Israel with Jezebel, a royal princess of Phoenicia, brought great guilt and endless misfortunes on the ten tribes; for the Tyrians were gross idolaters, worshippers of Baal and Ashtoreth, and addicted to all the vices of heathenism. Secular history informs us that Tyre possessed the empire of the seas, and drew wealth and power from numerous colonies on the shores of the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The inhabitants of Tyre are represented in the Old Testament as filled with pride and luxury, and all the sins attendant on prosperity and immense wealth; judgments are denounced against them in consequence of their idolatry and wickedness; and the destruction of their city by Nebuchadnezzar is foretold, which is also described as accomplished, Isa 23:13; Eze 26:7; 27:1-28:19; 29:18. After this destruction as it would seem, the great body of the inhabitants withdrew to "insular Tyre," on an island opposite the former city, about thirty stadia from the main land. This had been a sort of port or suburb of the main city, but was soon enlarged into a new Tyre, and became opulent and powerful; it was fortified with such strength, and possessed resources so abundant, as to be able to withstand the utmost efforts of Alexander the Great for the space of seven months. It was at length taken by him in 332 B. C., having been first united to the mainland by an immense causeway, made of the ruins of the old city, the site of which was thus laid bare, in remarkable fulfillment of prophecy: "And they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water;" "and thou shalt be no more; though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again," Eze 26:12,21. The ships of Tyre returned from long voyages to find it not only taken but "devoured with fire," Isa 23:1,14; Zec 9:4. After many subsequent reverses of fortune, and various changes of masters, Tyre at last fell under the dominion of the Romans, and continued to enjoy a degree of commercial prosperity, though the deterioration of its harbor, and the rise of Alexandria and other maritime cities, have made it decline more and more. Savior once journeyed into the region of Tyre and Sidon, Mt 15:21; and a Christian church was here established before A. D. 58, Ac 21:37. Compare Mt 11:21-22.

The church prospered for several centuries, and councils were held here; and during this period Tyre was still a strong fortress, as it was also in the age of the crusaders, by whom it was only taken twenty-five years after they had gained Jerusalem. Since its reconquest by the Turks, it has been in a ruinous condition, and often almost without inhabitants. At present it is a poor town, called Sur, slightly defended by its walls, and having a population of less than three thousand. It occupies the east side of what was formerly the island, one mile long and half a mile from the shore, thus enclosing two so-called harbors separated by Alexander’s causeway, which is now a broad isthmus. The only real harbor is on the north; but even this is too shallow to admit any but the smallest class of vessels. It is filled and the north coast of the island lined with stone columns, whose size and countless number evince the former magnificence of this famous city. But its old glory is gone for ever, and a few fishermen spread their nets amid its ruins, in the place of the merchant princes of old.