Cornelius – Court Of The Sanctuary; Tabernacle; Temple

Cornelius

kor-ne'-li-us (Kornelios, "of a horn"): The story of Cornelius is given in Acts 10:1–11:18.

1. His Family and Station:

The name is Roman and belonged to distinguished families in the imperial city, such as the Scipios and Sulla. Thus he was probably an Italian of Roman blood. Julian the Apostate reckons him as one of the few persons of distinction who became a Christian. He was evidently a man of importance in Caesarea and well known to the Jews (Acts 10:22). He was a centurion in the Italian cohort. To understand this we must note that the Roman army was divided into two broad divisions, the legions and the auxiliary forces.

See ARMY, ROMAN.

Legions were never permanently quartered in Palestine until the great war which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem, 70 AD. From the year 6 AD, when Palestine was made into province of the second rank, until 66 AD, it was garrisoned by auxiliary troops recruited amongst the Samaritans and Syrian Greeks. The headquarters were naturally at Caesarea, the residence of the procurator. But it would not have been prudent for a garrison in Palestine to be composed wholly of troops locally recruited. Therefore the Roman government mingled with the garrison 600 soldiers, free Italian volunteers. With this cohort Cornelius was connected as centurion.

2. His Character:

He is described as devout and God-fearing, i.e. at least, one of those men so numerous in that effete age of decadent heathenism who, discontented with polytheism, yearned for a better faith, embraced, therefore, the monotheism of the Jews, read the Scriptures, and practiced more or less of the Jewish rites. He was well reported of by the Jews, and his religion showed itself in prayer at the regular hours, and in alms to the people (of Israel). Even Jewish bigotry was dumb in presence of so noble a man. Moreover, he seems to have made his house a sort of church, for his kinsfolk and friends were in sympathy with him, and among the soldiers who closely attended him were some devout ones (Acts 10:1,Acts 10:27).

3. His Admission into the Christian Church:

The story of his conversion and admission into the Christian church is told with some minuteness in Acts 10:1–48. Nothing further is known of Cornelius, though one tradition asserts that he founded the church in Caesarea, and another legend that he became the bishop of Scamandros.

4. Significance of the Incident:

The exact importance of the incident depends upon the position of Cornelius before it occurred. Certainly he was not a proselyte of the sanctuary, circumcised, under the law, a member of the Jewish communion. This is abundantly evident from Acts 10:28,Acts 10:34,Acts 10:45; Acts 11:3,Acts 11:18; Acts 15:7,Acts 15:14. But was he not an inferior form of proselyte, later called "proselytes of the gate"? This question has been much debated and is still under discussion. Ramsay (St. Paul the Traveler, 43) says that the expression, "God-fearing," applied to him, is always used in Ac with reference to this kind of proselytes. Such were bound to observe certain regulations of purity, probably those, this author thinks, mentioned in Acts 15:29, and which stand in close relation to the principles laid down in Le 17-18 for the conduct of strangers dwelling among Israel. Renan, on the other hand, denies that Cornelius was a proselyte at all, but simply a devout Gentile who adopted some of the Jewish ideas and religious customs which did not involve a special profession. The importance of the whole transaction to the development of the church seems to depend on the circumstance that Cornelius was probably not a proselyte at all. Thus we regard Cornelius as literally the first-fruits of the Gentiles. The step here taken by Peter was therefore one of tremendous importance to the whole development of the church. The significance of the incident consists exactly in this, that under Divine direction, the first Gentile, not at all belonging to the old theocracy, becomes a Spirit-filled Christian, entering through the front door of the Christian church without first going through the narrow gate of Judaism. The incident settled forever the great, fundamental question as to the relations of Jew and Gentile in the church. The difficulties in the way of the complete triumph of Peter's view of the equality of Jews and Gentiles in the Kingdom of Christ were enormous. It would have been indeed little short of miraculous if the multitude of Christian Pharisees had not raised the question again and again. Did they not dog Paul's steps after the Council? Certainly Ramsay is wrong in saying that the case of Cornelius was passed over or condoned as exceptional, for it was used as a precedent by both Peter and James (Acts 15:7,Acts 15:14).

As for Peter's subsequent conduct at Antioch, no one who knows Peter need be surprised at it. The very accusation that Paul hurled at him was that for the moment he was carried into inconsistency with his principles (hupokrisis). Of course, this incident of Cornelius was only the first step in a long development; but the principle was forever settled. The rest in due time and proper order was sure to follow. By this tremendous innovation it was settled that Christianity was to be freed from the swaddling bands of Judaism and that the Christian church was not to be an appendix to the synagogue. The noble character of Cornelius was just fitted to abate, as far as possible, the prejudices of the Jewish Christians against what must have seemed to them a dangerous, if not awful, innovation.

G. H. Trever

Corner

kor'-ner (miqtsoa`, pe'ah, pinnah; arche, gonia, akrogoniaios): In Exodus 26:24; Ezekiel 41:22; Ezekiel 46:21,Ezekiel 46:22, miqtsoa`, "angle" is translated "corner"; pe'ah, "side," "quarter" and pinnah "corner," "front," "chief," are more frequently so translated, e.g. Exodus 25:26; Leviticus 19:9; Jeremiah 9:26; Jeremiah 25:23; and Exodus 27:2; 1 Kings 7:34; Psalms 118:22; Isaiah 28:16 ("corner-stone"); Jeremiah 51:26. Other words are kanaph, "wing" (Isaiah 11:12; Ezekiel 7:2); katheph, "shoulder" (2 Kings 11:11 the King James Version, twice); pa`am, "foot" (Exodus 25:12 the King James Version); zawiyoth, "corner-stones" (Psalms 144:12; Zechariah 9:15, translated "corners"). For "corner" the Revised Version (British and American) has "side" (Exodus 36:25), "corner-stone" (Zechariah 10:4), also for "stay" (Isaiah 19:13); instead of "teacher removed into a corner" (Isaiah 30:20), "be hidden," "hide themselves"; for "corners" we have "feet" (Exodus 25:12; 1 Kings 7:30); "ribs" (Exodus 30:4; Exodus 37:27); for "divide into corners" (Nehemiah 9:22), "allot after their portions"; for "into corners" (Deuteronomy 32:26), "afar"; the words to Israel (Isaiah 41:9) "called thee from the chief men 'atsilim thereof" are rendered by the Revised Version (British and American) "called thee from the corners thereof" (of the earth).

In the New Testament we have gonia ("angle," "corner"), "in the corners of the streets" (Matthew 6:5), "the head of the corner" (Matthew 21:42), "the four corners of the earth" (Revelation 7:1; Revelation 20:8); arche ("a beginning") (Acts 10:11; Acts 11:5); "chief corner stone" (Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6), is a translation of akrogoniaios ("at the extreme angle").

W. L. Walker

Corner Gate

kor'-ner gat.

See JERUSALEM.

Corner-Stone

kor'-ner ston (pinnah, zawith; akrogoniaios): Part of the public or imposing buildings, to which importance has been attached in all ages and in many nations, both on account of its actual service and its figurative meaning. Ordinarily its use in the Bible is figurative, or symbolical. No doubt the original meaning was some important stone, which was laid at the foundation of a building.

(1) With the Canaanites, who preceded Israel in the possession of Palestine, corner-stone laying seems to have been a most sacred and impressive ceremonial. Under this important stone of temples, or other great structures, bodies of children or older persons would be laid, consecrating the building by such human sacrifice (see FORTIFICATION, II, 1). This was one of many hideous rites and practices which Israel was to extirpate. It may throw light on the curse pronounced upon the rebuilding of Jericho (Joshua 6:26; see PEFS, January, 1904, July, 1908).

See CANAAN.

(2) Old Testament references.--The Hebrew word pinnah, "corner," is found or implied in every occurrence of this idea. Derived from a root signifying "to turn," it means "turning," and therefore "edge" or "corner." Ordinarily it is used with 'ebhen, "stone" (Psalms 118:22); or it may occur alone, having acquired for itself through frequent use the whole technical phrase-idea (Zechariah 10:4 the King James Version).

Figurative Uses:

While all the passages indicate the stone at the corner, there appear to be two conceptions:

(a) the foundation-stone upon which the structure rested (Job 38:6; Isaiah 28:16; Jeremiah 51:26); or

(b) the topmost or cap-stone, which linked the last tier together (Psalms 118:22; Zechariah 4:7); in both cases it is an important or key-stone, and figurative of the Messiah, who is "the First and the Last."

In Job 38:6 it beautifully expresses in figures the stability of the earth, which Yahweh created. In Zechariah 10:4 the leader or ruler in the Messianic age is represented by the corner-stone. The ancient tradition of the one missing stone, when the temple was in building, is reflected in or has been suggested by Psalms 118:22 (Midrash quoted by Pusey under Zechariah 4:7). It is probable that we should read in Psalms 144:12 not "corner-stones," but "corner-pillars," or supports (compare Greek Caryatides) from a different Hebrew word, zawith, Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, under the word

(3) New Testament passages.--Psalms 118:22 is quoted and interpreted as fulfilled in Jesus Christ in a number of passages: Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:7; it is also the evident basis for Ephesians 2:20. Isaiah 28:16 is quoted twice in the New Testament: Romans 9:33, from Septuagint combined with the words of Isaiah 8:14, and in 1 Peter 2:6, which is quoted with some variation from Septuagint. The Old Testament passages were understood by the rabbis to be Messianic, and were properly so applied by the New Testament writers.

See also HOUSE.

Edward Mack

Corners Of The Earth

See EARTH, CORNERS OF THE.

Cornet

kor'-net.

See MUSIC.

Cornfloor

korn'-flor (goren daghan): "Thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor" (Hosea 9:1 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "hire upon every grainfloor"). Israel had deserted Yahweh for supposed material benefits and regarded bounteous crops as the gift of the heathen gods which they worshipped. Yahweh would therefore cause the corn (grain) and wine to fail (Hosea 9:2).

See also THRESHING-FLOOR.

Coronation

kor-o-na'-shun (protoklisia): Occurs in 2 Macc 4:21 (the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "enthronement") where Apollonius was sent into Egypt for the coronation of Ptolemy Philometor as king. The Greek word protoklisia occurs nowhere else, and its meaning is uncertain. The reading in Swete is protoklesia, and this means "the first call."

Corpse

korps: This word in the King James Version is the translations of two Hebrew words, pegher, and gewiyah, while nebhelah, and guphah, which mean the same, are translated "body," with which the English word "corpse" (Latin, corpus) was originally synonymical. Therefore we find the now apparently unnecessary addition of the adjective "dead" in 2 Kings 19:35 and Isaiah 37:36. The Greek equivalent is ptoma, literally, "a fallen body," "a ruin" (from pipto, "to fall"), in Mark 6:29; Revelation 11:8,Revelation 11:9.

Corpses were considered as unclean and defiling in the Old Testament, so that priests were not to touch dead bodies except those of near kinsfolk (Leviticus 21:1–3), the high priest and a Nazirite not even such (Leviticus 21:11; Numbers 6:6–8). Numbers 19:1–22 presents to us the ceremonial of purification from such defilement by the sprinkling with the ashes of a red heifer, cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet.

It was considered a great calamity and disgrace to have one's body left unburied, a "food unto all birds of the heavens, and unto the beasts of the earth" (Deuteronomy 28:26; 2 Samuel 21:10; Psalms 79:2; Isaiah 34:3; Jeremiah 7:33, etc.). Thence is explained the merit of Rizpah (2 Samuel 21:10), and of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead, who protected or recovered and buried the mutilated bodies of Saul and his sons (1 Samuel 31:11–13; 2 Samuel 2:4–7; compare 1 Chronicles 10:11,1 Chronicles 10:12).

See BURIAL.

Even the corpses of persons executed by hanging were not to remain on the tree "all night," "for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that thou defile not thy land which Yahweh thy God giveth thee for an inheritance" (Deuteronomy 21:23).

H. L. E. Luering

Correction

ko-rek'-shun (mucar, usually rendered "instruction," is translated "correction" in several passages): The verb from which the noun is derived signifies "to instruct" or "chastise." The idea of chastisement was very closely connected in the Hebrew mind with that of pedagogy. See CHASTISEMENT. the Revised Version (British and American) and the American Standard Revised Version have changed "correction" of the King James Version to "instruction" in Jeremiah 7:28, reversing the order in the margins. shebheT, rendered "rod" in Job 21:9, is unnecessarily changed to "correction" in 37:13. In 2 Timothy 3:16, epanorthosis, is translated "correction." The difference between correction, discipline and instruction Was not clearly drawn in the Hebrew mind.

W. W. Davies

Corruption

ko-rup'-shun: The Hebrew words mishchath, mashchath, mashchith, and their Greek equivalents, phthora, and diaphthora, with numerous derivatives and cognate verbs, imply primarily physical degeneration and decay (Job 17:14; Acts 2:27, etc.). The term shachath, which the King James Version translates with "corruption" in Jonah 2:6, ought to be rendered "pit,". as in Psalms 30:9; Psalms 35:7 et passim, while shachath beli in Isaiah 38:17 means the "pit of nothingness," i.e. of destruction.

Figurative: At an early time we find the above-given words in a non-literal sense denoting moral depravity and corruption (Genesis 6:11; Exodus 32:7; Hosea 9:9; Galatians 6:8, etc.), which ends in utter moral ruin and hopelessness, the second death. The question has been raised whether the meaning of these words might be extended so as to include the idea of final destruction and annihilation of the spirit. Upon careful examination, however, this question must be denied both from the standpoint of the Old Testament and of the New Testament. Apart from other considerations we see this from the metaphors used in the Scriptures to illustrate the condition of "corruption," such as the "unquenchable fire," the "worm" which "dieth not" (Mark 9:43,Mark 9:18; compare Isaiah 66:24), and "sleep" (Daniel 12:2), where a careful distinction is made between the blissful state after death of the righteous and the everlasting disgrace of the godless. The later Jewish theology is also fully agreed on this point. The meaning of the words cannot therefore extend beyond the idea of utter moral degradation and depravity.

H. L. E. Luering

Corruption, Mount Of

(har ha-mashchith; to oros tou Mosoath): The hill on the right hand of which Solomon built high places for Ashtoreth, Chemosh and Milcom (2 Kings 23:13). The mountain referred to is no doubt the Mount of Olives. The high places would, therefore, be on the southern height called in later Christian writings the "Mount of Offence," and now, by the Arabs, Baten el-Hawa. Har ha-mashchith is probably only a perversion of har ha-mishchah, "Mount of Anointing," a later name of the Mount of Olives.

W. Ewing

Cos

kos (Kos, "summit"; the King James Version Coos): An island off the coast of Caria, Asia Minor, one of the Sporades, mountainous in the southern half, with ridges extending to a height of 2,500 ft.; identified with the modern Stanchio. It was famous in antiquity for excellent wine, amphorae, wheat, ointments, silk and other clothing (Coae vestes). The capital was also called Cos. It possessed a famous hospital and medical school, and was the birthplace of Hippocrates (the father of medicine), of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and of the celebrated painter Apelles. The large plane tree in the center of the town (over 2,000 years old) is called "the tree of Hippocrates" to this day. The older capital, Astypalaea, was in the western part of the island, the later (since 366 BC) in the eastern part. From almost every point can be seen beautiful landscapes and picturesque views of sea and land and mountain.

Cos was one of the six Dorian colonies. It soon became a flourishing place of commerce and industry; later, like Corinth, it was one of the Jewish centers of the Aegean, as well as one of the financial centers of the commercial world in the eastern Mediterranean. Among the benefactors of the people of Cos was Herod the Great. It is mentioned in connection with Paul's third missionary journey in Acts 21:1, and in its relations with the Jews in 1 Macc 15:23; Ant, XIV, vii, 2; x, 15; BJ, I, xxi. 11. For a list of works on the island see Paton-Hicks, Inscriptions of Cos, ix.

J. E. Harry

Cosam

ko'-sam (Kosam): An ancestor of Jesus in Luke's genealogy in the 5th generation before Zerubbabel (Luke 3:28).

Cosmogony

koz-mog'-o-ni.

See ANTHROPOLOGY; CREATION; EARTH; EVOLUTION; WORLD.

Cosmology

koz-mol'-o-ji.

See WORLD; PROVIDENCE.

Costliness

kost'-li-nes (timiotes, "preciousness," "an abundance of costly things"): Found only in Revelation 18:19, "made rich by reason of her costliness."

Cotes

kots.

See SHEEPCOTE.

Cottage

kot'-aj.

See HOUSE.

Cotton

kot'-'-n (karpac is the better translation, as in the Revised Version, margin, where the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) have "green" in Esther 1:6): The Hebrew karpac is from the Persian kirpas and the Sanskrit karpasa, "the cotton plant." The derived words originally meant "muslin" or "calico," but in classical times the use of words allied to karpac--in Greek and Latin--was extended to include linen. The probability is in favor of "cotton" in Esther 1:6. This is the product of Gossypium herbaceum, a plant originally from India but now cultivated in many other lands.

Couch

kouch (substantive.).

See BED.

Couch (verb): rabhats, "to crouch," "lurk," as a beast in readiness to spring on its prey. "If thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door" (Genesis 4:7, the King James Version "lieth"), waiting for it to open. Cain is warned to beware of the first temptations to evil, in his case especially a sullen and jealous disposition (compare Dante, Inferno, I, 30). See ABEL; CAIN. The tribe of Judah is compared for its bravery to a recumbent lion or lioness (Genesis 49:9; compare Numbers 24:9 f); and Issachar to "a strong ass, couching down between the sheepfolds" (Genesis 49:14, the King James Version "between two burdens"; compare Judges 5:16). "The deep that coucheth beneath" (Deuteronomy 33:13), probably the springs of water, or possibly, as Driver suggests, "the subterranean deep, pictured as a gigantic monster."

See ABYSS.

M. O. Evans

Couching-Place

kouch'-ing-plas (marbets; once in English Versions of the Bible, Ezekiel 25:5): The same Hebrew word, however, which means simply "place of lying down" of animals in repose, is used also in Ze 2:15 where the translation is "a place .... to lie down in." The figure, a common one in Scripture (see besides, Isaiah 17:2; Isaiah 27:10), suggests desolation.

Coulter

kol'-ter.

See PLOW.

Council; Councillor

koun'-sil, koun'-siler (sumboulion): An assembly of advisers (Acts 25:12); a body of those taking counsel (see Schurer's Jewish People in the Time of Christ, I (1), 60). Distinguished from sunedrion, the supreme court of the Jews, by being of a less formal character, i.e. less of an institution. For "council" in the latter sense, its most frequent use, see SANHEDRIN. A councilor (Greek bouleutes) was a member of the Sanhedrin. Applied to Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50). In the King James Version "counsellor."

Counsel; Counsellor

koun'-sel, koun'-seler (sumboulion): Ordinarily found as object of verb "to take" or "to give," expressing, beside the idea of a practical end to be reached, that of consultation and deliberation among those united in a common cause (Matthew 12:14; Mark 3:6). A counselor (sumboulos) is a confidential adviser (Romans 11:34); often in the Old Testament (Isaiah 9:6; Proverbs 24:6, etc.). Confounded in the King James Version with "councillor" (see above), the latter being an official adviser, which the former does not necessarily mean.

Count

kount (caphar, manah; psephizo): Used of arithmetical computation "to number" (Psalms 139:18; Numbers 23:10); also for kathabh, "to reckon," to indicate classification among or identification with, "count for a stranger" (Job 19:15); "count for his enemy" (Job 33:10). In the New Testament the arithmetical computation is less prominent, except in the sense of "calculate," psephizo, sumpsephizo, "to reckon with pebbles," each pebble representing a unit (Luke 14:28; Acts 19:19); of moral estimate, hegeomai and logizomai (Philippians 3:7,Philippians 3:13). The noun, from Hebrew kacath, "a count of" (Exodus 12:4), namely, in the arithmetical sense.

H. E. Jacobs

Countenance

koun'-te-nans:

(1) The noun (see also under the word FACE) is the translation of a variety of Hebrew and Greek expressions, panim; prosopon, being the most frequent. Besides these there are found mar'eh, "appearance," "shape," "comeliness," "visage," `ayin, "the eye," to'ar, "appearance," "figure," etc., and Aramaic ziw. To the Oriental the countenance mirrors, even more than to us, the character and feelings of the heart. The countenance (mar'eh) is"fair" (1 Samuel 17:42; 2 Samuel 14:27; Daniel 1:15); in 1 Samuel 16:12, literally, "fair of eyes"; "comely" (Song of Songs 2:14); "beautiful" (~to'ar, 1 Samuel 25:3); "cheerful" (panim, Proverbs 15:13); "angry" (Proverbs 15:23); "fierce" (Daniel 8:23); "troubled" (Ezekiel 27:35); "sad" (1 Samuel 1:18; Nehemiah 2:2,Nehemiah 2:3; Ecclesiastes 7:3). The countenance is "sharpened" i.e. made keen (Proverbs 27:17); it "falls," i.e. looks despondent, disappointed (Genesis 4:5,Genesis 4:6); is "cast down" (Job 29:24); "changed" (Job 14:20; compare "altered" into glory, Luke 9:29; Daniel 5:6,Daniel 5:9,Daniel 5:10; Daniel 7:28, Aramaic ziw). To settle one's countenance stedfastly upon a person (2 Kings 8:11) is synonymous with staring or gazing at a person. Not infrequently we find compound expressions such as "light of countenance," i.e. favor (Job 29:24; Psalms 4:6; Psalms 44:3; Psalms 89:15; Psalms 90:8); "health of countenance" (Psalms 41:11; Psalms 43:5); "help of countenance" (Psalms 42:5); "rebuke of countenance" (Psalms 80:16); "pride of countenance" (Hebrew 'aph, literally, "haughty," "lofty nose," Psalms 10:4).

(2) As verb (Hebrew hadhar, "to countenance") we find the word in the King James Version of Exodus 23:3, where the Revisers translate "Neither shalt thou favor (the King James Version "countenance") a poor man in his cause." Here the meaning seems to be that no distinction of persons shall be made by the judge. See Leviticus 19:15, where, however, a different word is used. There is therefore no need of the emendation proposed by Knobel and accepted by Kautzsch, who would read gadhol, "great," for wedhal, "and the poor" of the text. The Septuagint has penes, "poor."

H. L. E. Luering

Counter-Charm

koun'-ter-charm.

See AMULET; CHARM.

Counterfeit

koun'-ter-fit (kibdelos, anatupoo, homoioo): "Counterfeit" occurs as the translation of kibdelos, "mixed with dross," "not genuine" (The Wisdom of Solomon 15:9, "to make counterfeit things," the Revised Version (British and American) "mouldeth counterfeits," "spurious things, imitations"); 2:16 the Revised Version (British and American) "base metal" (compare Septuagint Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:11, "mingled garment," and 2 Corinthians 13:5,2 Corinthians 13:6, adokimos, "reprobate" (silver)). "Counterfeit" in the older sense of a representation occurs in The Wisdom of Solomon 14:17 (anatupoo, "to make a likeness"), "counterfeit of his visage," the Revised Version (British and American) "imagining the likeness from afar," and Ecclesiasticus 38:27 (homoioo, "to make like"), "to counterfeit imagery," the Revised Version (British and American) "to preserve likeness in his portraiture."

W. L. Walker

Countervail

koun-ter-val' (shawah, "equalize"): To thwart or overcome by acting against with equal force; thus, "The enemy could not countervail the king's damage" or loss (Esther 7:4 the American Standard Revised Version reads "The adversary could not have compensated for the king's damage"). "Nothing doth countervail (the Revised Version (British and American) "can be taken in exchange for") a faithful friend" (Ecclesiasticus 6:15).

Country

kun'-tri ('erets, "land," sadheh, "field"; agros, "field," chora, "region"): The foregoing are the principal words rendered "country" in English Versions of the Bible, though we find also 'adhamah, "earth" (Jonah 4:2); 'i, "island" (Jeremiah 47:4 the King James Version); gelilah, "circuit" (Ezekiel 47:8 the King James Version); chebhel, "rope" (Deuteronomy 3:14); maqom, "place" (Genesis 29:26 the King James Version); nepheth,"hill" or "height" (Joshua 17:11 the King James Version); genos, "race" (Acts 4:36 the King James Version); ge, "earth" (Matthew 9:31 the King James Version; Acts 7:3 the King James Version); patris, "native land" (Luke 4:23; John 4:44; Hebrews 11:14); perichoros, "country (the American Standard Revised Version "region") round about" (Matthew 14:35; Luke 3:3; Luke 4:37; Luke 8:37). In Hebrews 11:14 ff, "heaven" is referred to as a country. Egypt and Assyria were "far countries" (Jeremiah 8:19 the King James Version; Zechariah 10:9). The hill country (compare the numerous Gibeahs (gibh`ah, "a hill")) was the mountainous region to the North or to the South of Jerusalem. The low country, shephelah (see SHEPHELAH), consisted of the foothills to the west of the hill country. The south country or NEGEB (neghebh), which see, was the dry, extreme southern part of Palestine, approximately between Beersheba and Kadesh-barnea.

Alfred Ely Day

Countryman

kun'-tri-man (sumphuletes): "Of the same tribe" (1 Thessalonians 2:14); also in idiomatic rendering (genos) for those of one's own race or kin (2 Corinthians 11:26; Galatians 1:14 the King James Version, "one's own nation"). Compare Mark 6:4; Romans 9:3; and see COUSIN; KINSMAN, etc.

Couple

kup'-l:

(1) Used as a noun, indicates two objects of the same kind that are considered together. Thus we read of a couple of cakes (2 Samuel 13:6, used loosely), and a couple of asses (2 Samuel 16:1, Hebrew tsemedh).

(2) Used as a verb, it means to join or fasten one thing to another. This term occurs most frequently in the description of the tabernacle (see Exodus 26:6,Exodus 26:9,Exodus 26:11; Exodus 36:10,Exodus 36:13,Exodus 36:16). Couple is used in 1 Peter 3:2 to describe the joining of fear to chaste behavior (Hebrew chabhar) .

Coupling

kup'ling: Is the FV rendering of machbereth. This Hebrew word means joining, or the place where one thing is joined to another, as of the curtains of the tabernacle (Exodus 26:4,Exodus 26:5), and of the different parts of the ephod (Exodus 28:27; Exodus 39:20).

It is also the English Versions of the Bible rendering of mechabberoth, and this refers more to the thing that joins the two objects, as beams of wood (2 Chronicles 34:11), or hooks of iron (1 Chronicles 22:3).

Courage

kur'-aj: Hebrew chazaq, "to show oneself strong" (Numbers 13:20; 2 Samuel 10:12; 1 Chronicles 19:13; 2 Chronicles 15:8; Ezra 10:4; Psalms 27:14; Psalms 31:24; Isaiah 41:6); ruach, "spirit," "animus" (Joshua 2:11 the King James Version); 'amats, "to be alert" (physically and mentally), "to be agile," "quick," "energetic" (Deuteronomy 31:6,Deuteronomy 31:7,Deuteronomy 31:23; Joshua 1:6,Joshua 1:9,Joshua 1:18; Joshua 10:25; 1 Chronicles 22:13; 1 Chronicles 28:20); lebhabh, "the heart," and figuratively, "person," "spirit" (Daniel 11:25); Greek tharsos, "cheer" (Acts 28:15). A virtue highly esteemed among all nations, one of the four chief "natural" (cardinal) virtues (The Wisdom of Solomon 8:7), while cowardice ranks as one of the mortal sins (Ecclesiasticus 2:12,13; Revelation 21:8).

Course

kors (from Latin cursus, "a running," "race," "voyage," "way"):

(1) euthudromeo, "forward or onward movement," as of a ship: "We made a straight course" (Acts 16:11; compare Acts 21:1); "We had finished our course." (the Revised Version (British and American) "voyage," Acts 21:7).

(2) A (prescribed or self-appointed) path, as of the sun: "Swift is the sun in his course" (1 Esdras 4:34); of the stars: "The stars in their courses fought against Sisera" (Judges 5:20 the King James Version) (see ASTRONOMY; ASTROLOGY); of a river (or irrigating canal?): "as willows by the watercourses" (Isaiah 44:4); of a race (techo "that the word of the Lord may have free course.") (the Revised Version (British and American) "may run") (2 Thessalonians 3:1).

(3) A career in such a course (dromos): "I have finished my (the Revised Version (British and American) "the") course" (2 Timothy 4:7); "as John fulfilled (the Revised Version (British and American) "was fulfilling") his course" (Acts 13:25); "that I might finish (the Revised Version (British and American) "may accomplish") my course" (Acts 20:24).

(4) A way or manner, as of life: "Every one turned to his course" (Jeremiah 8:6); "their course is evil" (Jeremiah 23:10); "walked according to the course aion, the Revised Version, [margin "age"] of this world" (Ephesians 2:2).

(5) Orderly succession: "sang together by course" (the American Standard Revised Version "sang one to another") (Ezra 3:11); "by course" (the Revised Version (British and American) "in turn") (1 Corinthians 14:27); the courses of the priests and Levites (1 Chronicles 27:1–15; 1 Chronicles 28:1; 2 Chronicles 5:11; Luke 1:5,Luke 1:8).

See PRIESTS AND LEVITES.

(6) A row or layer, as of masonry: "All the foundations of the earth are out of count" (the Revised Version (British and American) "are moved"; the American Standard Revised Version "are shaken") (Psalms 82:5).

(7) (The tongue) "setteth on fire the course (the Revised Version (British and American) "wheel") of nature" (James 3:6). The cycle of generation (ton trochon tes geneseos) here means the physical world as constituted by the round of origin and decay, and typified by the Orphic (legendary) cycle of births and deaths through which the soul passes in metempsychosis.

See also GAMES.

William Arthur Heidel

Course Of Priests And Levites

See PRIESTS AND LEVITES.

Court

kort.

See HOUSE.

Court Of The Gentiles

See TEMPLE (HEROD'S).

Court Of The Sabbath

See COVERED WAY.

Court Of The Sanctuary; Tabernacle; Temple

kort, sank'~-tu-a-ri: By "court" (chatser) is meant a clear space enclosed by curtains or walls, or surrounded by buildings. It was always an uncovered enclosure, but might have within its area one or more edifices.

1. The Tabernacle:

The first occurrence of the word is in Exodus 27:9, where it is commanded to "make the court of the tabernacle." The dimensions for this follow in the directions for the length of the linen curtains which were to enclose it. From these we learn that the perimeter of the court was 300 cubits, and that it consisted of two squares, each 75 ft., lying East and West of one another. In the westerly square stood the tabernacle, while in that to the East was the altar of burnt offering. This was the worshipper's square, and every Hebrew who passed through the entrance gate had immediate access to the altar (compare W. Robertson Smith, note on Exodus 20:26, Smith, The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, 435). The admission to this scene of the national solemnities was by the great east gate described in Exodus 27:13–16 (see EAST GATE).

2. Solomon's Temple:

The fundamental conception out of which grew the resolve to build a temple for the worship of Yahweh was that the new structure was to be an enlarged duplicate in stone of the tent of meeting (see TEMPLE). The doubling in size of the holy chambers was accompanied by a doubling of the enclosed area upon which the holy house was to stand. Hitherto a rectangular oblong figure of 150 ft. in length and 75 ft. in breadth had sufficed for the needs of the people in their worship. Now an area of 300 ft. in length and 150 ft. in breadth was enclosed within heavy stone walls, making, as before, two squares, each of 150 ft. This was that "court of the priests" spoken of in 2 Chronicles 4:9, known to its builders as "the inner court" (1 Kings 6:36; compare Jeremiah 36:10). Its walls consisted of "three courses of hewn stone, and a course of cedar beams" (1 Kings 6:36), into which some read the meaning of colonnades. Its two divisions may have been marked by some fence. The innermost division, accessible only to the priests, was the site of the new temple. In the easterly division stood the altar of sacrifice; into this the Hebrew laity had access for worship at the altar. Later incidental allusions imply the existence of "chambers" in the court, and also the accessibility of the laity (compare Jeremiah 35:4; Jeremiah 36:10; Ezekiel 8:16).

3. The Great Court:

In distinction from this "inner" court a second or "outer" court was built by Solomon, spoken of by the Chronicler as "the great court" (2 Chronicles 4:9). Its doors were overlaid with brass (bronze). Wide difference of opinion obtains as to the relation of this outer court to the inner court just described, and to the rest of the Solomonic buildings-- particularly to "the great court" of "the house of the forest of Lebanon" of 1 Kings 7:9,1 Kings 7:10. Some identify the two, others separate them. Did this court, with its brass-covered gates, extend still farther to the East than the temple "inner" court, with, however, the same breadth as the latter? Or was it, as Keil thinks, a much larger enclosure, surrounding the whole temple area, extending perhaps 150 cubits eastward in front of the priests' court (compare Keil, Biblical Archaeology, I, 171, English translation)? Yet more radical is the view, adopted by many modern authorities, which regards "the great court" as a vast enclosure surrounding the temple and the whole complex of buildings described in 1 Kings 7:1–12 (see the plan, after Stade, in G. A. Smith's Jerusalem, II, 59). In the absence of conclusive data the question must be left undetermined.

4. Ezekiel's Temple:

In Ezekiel's plan of the temple yet to be built, the lines of the temple courts as he had known them in Jerusalem are followed. Two squares enclosed in stone walling, each of 150 ft., lie North and South of one another, and bear the distinctive names, "the inner court" and "the outer court" (Ezekiel 8:16; Ezekiel 10:5).

5. Temple of Herod:

In the Herodian temple the old nomenclature gives place to a new set of terms. The extensive enclosure known later as "the court of the Gentiles" does not appear under that name in the New Testament or in Josephus What we have in the tract Middoth of the Mishna and in Josephus is the mention of two courts, the "court of the priests" and "the court of Israel" (Middoth, ii.6; v. 1; Josephus, BJ, V, v, 6). The data in regard to both are difficult and conflicting. In Middoth they appear as long narrow strips of 11 cubits in breadth extending at right angles to the temple and the altar across the enclosure--the "court of Israel" being railed off from the "court of the priests" on the East; the latter extending backward as far as the altar, which has a distinct measurement. The design was to prevent the too near approach of the lay Israelite to the altar. Josephus makes the 11 cubits of the "court of Israel" extend round the whole "court of the priests, " inclusive of altar and temple (see TEMPLE; and compare G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, II, 506- 9, with the reconstruction of Waterhouse in Sacred Sites of the Gospels, 111 ff). For the "women's court," see TREASURY.

Many expressions in the Psalms show how great was the attachment of the devout-minded Hebrew in all ages to those courts of the Lord's house where he was accustomed to worship (e.g. Psalms 65:4; Psalms 84:2; Psalms 92:13; Psalms 96:8; Psalms 100:4; Psalms 116:19). The courts were the scene of many historical events in the Old Testament and New Testament, and of much of the earthly ministry of Jesus. There was enacted the scene described in the parable of the Pharisee and Publican (Luke 18:10–14).

W. Shaw Caldecott