Good, Chief – Gospels, Spurious

Good, Chief

What this consisted in was greatly discussed in ancient philosophy. Varro enumerated 288 answers to the question. By Plato "the good" was identified with God.

In the Old Testament while the "good" of the nation consisted in earthly well-being or prosperity (De 28 etc.), that of the individual was to be found only in God Himself (Psalms 16:2 the Revised Version (British and American), "I have no good beyond thee"; Psalms 41:1–5; Psalms 43:5; Psalms 73:25–28; Jeremiah 31:33 f; Habakkuk 3:17–19). This implied godly conduct (Micah 6:8, etc.), and led to the experience described as "blessedness" (Ps 1, etc.; Jeremiah 17:7, etc.). It is the "Wisdom" extolled in Proverbs 1:20; Proverbs 8:1 f (compare Ecclesiasticus 1:1 f; 5:1 f), elsewhere described as "the fear of Yahweh." That God alone can be the true "good" of man is implied in the fact that man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

In the New Testament the true "good" is placed by Jesus in "the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33; Matthew 13:44 f, etc.). This means nothing earthly merely (Matthew 6:19), but heavenly and eternal. It implies the Old Testament conception that God is the true "good"; for to seek the Kingdom supremely means whole-hearted devotion to God as our heavenly Father and to His righteousness. It was also spoken of by Jesus, as sonship to the heavenly Father (Matthew 5:45, etc.). This "good" is not something merely to be given to men, but must be sought after and won through taking up a right attitude toward God and our fellows, cherishing the Love that God is, and acting it out in kindness and righteousness, in resemblance to our God and Father (Matthew 5:43–48; here Genesis 1:27 is implied).

In some of the epistles Christ is represented as the true "good" (Philippians 3:8 Colossians 3:1–4,Colossians 3:11). This is because in Him God was manifested in His Truth and Grace; in Him "the Kingdom" was present; through His cross the world is so reconciled to God that men can find acceptance and rest in Him as their "good"; Christ Himself in the Spirit is our Life; in Him we have "God with us." Having God as our "good," nothing but good, in the truest and highest sense, can come to us. Even the most seemingly adverse things are turned into good "to them that love God" (Romans 8:28).

Our true "good" is found thus in God even in this present life; but its fullness can be realized only in the eternal life beyond. Placing our "good" in God leads to such life in devotion to the "good" that God is, as tends to bring all that is best to this present world. It is men's failure to do this that is the source of our misery (Jeremiah 2:13, etc.). The ultimate ideal is that God shall be "all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28).

W. L. Walker

Goodliness

good'-li-nes: This word is found in Isaiah 40:6 as the translation of checedh, commonly translated "mercy," "kindness," etc.: "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness (beauty, charm, comeliness) thereof is as the flower of the field." The rendering is retained by the English Revised Version and the American Standard Revised Version as appropriate in this place; checedh is frequently translated goodness.' In Isaiah 40:6 Septuagint has doxa, "glory" (so also 1 Peter 1:24), which also fitly expresses the idea of the passage.

Goodly

good'-li Tobh; kalos, lampros): In the Old Testament various words are translated "goodly," the most of them occurring only once; Tobh (the common word for "good") is several times translated "goodly," chiefly in the sense of form or appearance e.g "a goodley child" (Exodus 2:2); "that goodly mountain" (Deuteronomy 3:25); yapheh ("fair") is similarly translated in Genesis 39:6, the Revised Version (British and American) "comely," and mar'oh in 2 Samuel 23:21. Other words, such as 'addir imply excellence, honor, etc., e.g. Ezekiel 17:23, "bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar"; hodh, "his goodly horse" (Zechariah 10:3); others imply beauty, ornament, such as peer "goodly bonnets," the Revised Version (British and American) "headtires" (Exodus 39:28); shaphar ("bright," "fair"), "a goodly heritage" (Psalms 16:6); once 'El ("God of might") is employed, the Revised Version (British and American) "cedars of God," margin "goodly cedars" (Psalms 80:10); renanim ("joyous soundings or shoutings") is translated in Job 39:13 "goodly wings," probably from the sound made in flying or flapping; the English Revised Version has "The wing of the ostrich rejoiceth," the American Standard Revised Version (wings) "wave proudly." For "goodly castles" (Numbers 31:10) the Revised Version (British and American) has "encampments"; "goodly vessels" (2 Chronicles 32:27) for "pleasant jewels"; "goodly" is substituted for "good" (Psalms 45:1; Song of Songs 1:3); "goodly things" for "all the goods" (Genesis 24:10); "goodly frame," the American Standard Revised Version for "comely proportion" (Job 41:12).

In the New Testament kalos ("beautiful") is translated "goodly" in Matthew 13:45, "goodly pearls" and Luke 21:5 "goodly stones"; lampros ("bright") in James 2:2, "goodly apparel," the Revised Version (British and American) "fine clothing," and Revelation 18:14, "dainty and goodly" the Revised Version (British and American) "dainty and sumptuous." In Hebrews 11:23, the Revised Version (British and American) ~bstitutes "goodly" for "proper."

"Goodly" occurs in Apocrypha, 1 Esdras 4:18; Judith 8:7 (horaios); 2 Macc 9:16, "goodly gifts," kallistos, the Revised Version (British and American) "goodliest."

W. L. Walker

Goodly Trees

(peri`ets hadhar, "the fruit (the King James Version "boughs") of goodly (= beautiful or noble) trees"): One of the four species of plants used in the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:40). In the Talmud (Cukkdh 35a) this is explained to be the citron (Citrus medica) known in Hebrew as 'ethrogh. This tradition is ancient, at least as old as the Maccabees. Josephus (Ant., XIII, xiii, 5) records that Alexander Janneus, while serving at the altar during this feast, was pelted by the infuriated Jews with citrons. This fruit also figures on coins of this period. It is probable that the citron tree (Malum Persica) was imported from Babylon by Jews returning from the captivity. A citron is now carried in the synagogue by every orthodox Jew in one hand, and the lalabh (of myrtle, willow, and palm branch) in the other, on each day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Originally the "goodly trees" had a much more generic sense, and the term is so interpreted by the Septuagint and Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.)

See FEASTS AND FASTS; BOOTH.

E. W. G. Masterman

Goodman

good'-man ('ish; oikodespotes): The word occurs once in the Old Testament and is a translation of the ordinary word for "man," 'ish (Proverbs 7:19). "The goodman is not at home," so the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), but the American Standard Revised Version, more correctly, "The man is not at home"; i.e. the husband is not at home; the Geneva and Douay versions have "My husband is not at home": so Wycliffe; while the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) has "There is not a man in her house." In the New Testament "goodman" is a translation of oikodespotes. This word occurs 12 times in the Synoptists, and nowhere else. the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) have 3 translations of the word, the American Standard Revised Version 2. In 4 places the King James Version has "goodman" while the American Standard Revised Version has "householder" or "'master of the house" (Matthew 20:11; Matthew 24:43; Luke 12:39; Luke 22:11). In all the other places, it is translated "householder" or "master of the house." the Revised Version (British and American) retains "goodman" in Mark 14:14 and Luke 22:11. The word liteerally means "master of the house," or "husband." The adjective is a mark of respect, and is used somewhat as our word "Mr.," an appellative of respect or civility. Relationship by marriage was distinguished by this epithet, as "good-father," "good-sister," both in England and Scotland. Later the adjective lost its distinguishing force and was swallowed up in the word.

J. J. Reeve

Goodness

good'-nes: This word in the Old Testament is the translation of Tobh (Exodus 18:9; Psalms 16:2, the Revised Version (British and American) "good"; 23:6), etc.; of Tubh (Exodus 33:19; Psalms 31:19; Jeremiah 31:14; Hosea 3:5), etc.; of checedh (Exodus 34:6), "abundant in goodness," the English Revised Version "plenteous in mercy," the American Standard Revised Version "abundant in loving kindness"; "The goodness of God endureth continually," the Revised Version (British and American) "mercy," the American Standard Revised Version "loving kindness" (Psalms 52:1), etc.

In the New Testament it is the translation of chrestotes ("usefulness," benignity); "the riches of his goodness" (Romans 2:4; Romans 11:22, thrice); of chrestos ("useful," "benign," "kind," in Luke 6:35); "The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance" (Romans 2:4); of agathosune (found only in the New Testament and Septuagint and writings based thereon), "full of goodness." (Romans 15:14); "gentleness, goodness, faith" (Galatians 5:22); "in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (Ephesians 5:9); "all the good pleasure of his goodness," the Revised Version (British and American) "every desire of goodness." (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

The thought of God as good and the prominence given to "good" and "goodness" are distinctive features of the Bible. In the passage quoted above from Galatians 5:22, "goodness" is one of the fruits of the indwelling Spirit of God, and in that from Ephesians 5:9 it is described as being, along with righteousness and truth, "the fruit of the light" which Christians had been "made" in Christ. Here, as elsewhere, we are reminded that the Christian life in its truth is likeness to God, the source and perfection of all good. 2 Thessalonians 1:11 regards God Himself as expressing His goodness in and through us.

See GOOD; GOOD, CHIEF.

W. L. Walker

Goods

goodz (rekhush, Tubh; ta huparchonta): In the Old Testament rekhush ("substance") is most frequently translated "goods," as in Genesis 14:11,Genesis 14:12,Genesis 14:16,Genesis 14:21, etc.; Tubh is also 3 times so translated in the King James Version (Genesis 24:10, the Revised Version (British and American) "goodly things," margin "all the goods"; Nehemiah 9:25, the Revised Version (British and American) "good things"; Job 20:21, the Revised Version (British and American) "prosperity"). Other words, are 'on (Job 20:10, the Revised Version (British and American) "wealth"); Chayil ("force," Numbers 31:9; Ze 1:13, the Revised Version (British and American) "wealth"); Tobh (Deuteronomy 28:11, the Revised Version (British and American) "for good"; Ecclesiastes 5:11); mela'khah ("work," Exodus 22:8,Exodus 22:11); nikhcin (Aramaic "riches," Ezra 6:8; Ezra 7:26); Qinyan, "getting" (Ezekiel 38:12 f). We have ta huparchonta (literally, "the things existing") in Matthew 24:47, "ruler over all his goods," the Revised Version (British and American) "all that he hath," etc. Agathos is translated "goods" in Luke 12:18 f; skeuos ("instrument") in Matthew 12:29; Mark 3:27; ta sa ("the things belonging to thee") in Luke 6:30; ousia ("substance") in Luke 15:12, the Revised Version (British and American) "substance"; huparxis ("existence," "substance") in Acts 2:45; plouteo ("to be rich") in Revelation 3:17, the Revised Version (British and American) "have gotten riches." In the Revised Version (British and American) "goods" stands instead of "carriage" (Judges 18:21), of "stuff" (Luke 17:31), of "good" (1 John 3:17). "Goods" was used in the sense of "possessions" generally; frequently in this sense in Apocrypha (1 Esdras 6:32); ta huparchonta (Tobit 1:20); Ecclesiasticus 5:1, "Set not thy heart upon thy goods" (chrema), etc.

W. L. Walker

Gopher Wood

go'-fer wood (`atse ghopher): The wood from which Noah's ark was made (Genesis 6:14). Gopher is a word unknown elsewhere in Hebrew or allied languages. Lagarde considered that it was connected with gophrith, meaning "brimstone," or "pitch," while others connect it with kopher, also meaning "pitch"; hence, along both lines, we reach the probability of some resinous wood, and pine, cedar, and cypress have all had their supporters. A more probable explanation is that which connects gopher with the modern Arabic kufa, a name given to the boats made of interwoven willow branches and palm leaves with a coating of bitumen outside, used today on the rivers and canals of Mesopotamia. In the Gilgames story of the flood it is specially mentioned that Noah daubed his ark both inside and out with a kind of bitumen.

See DELUGE OF NOAH.

E. W. G. Masterman

Gore

gor (naghach): "Gore" occurs only three times in the King James Version, namely, Exodus 21:28,Exodus 21:31 bis, "if an ox gore a man or a woman," etc.; in 21:29,32,36, the King James Version has "push" (with his horn), the Revised Version (British and American) "gore." The same verb in Piel and HithpaeI is elsewhere translated "push" and "pushing" (Deuteronomy 33:17, "He shall push the peoples," the Revised Version, margin "gore"; 1 Kings 22:11; Psalms 44:5; Ezekiel 34:21; Daniel 8:4; Daniel 11:40, the Revised Version (British and American) "contend," margin "Hebrew push at," as an ox pushes with his horns so should the king fight--a fitting description of warfare).

Gorgeous; Gorgeously

gor'-jus, gor'-jus-li (mikhlol; lampros): Mikhlol occurs twice in the Old Testament, translated in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "most gorgeously" (Ezekiel 23:12); in Ezekiel 38:4, the King James Version translates "all sorts" (of armor), the Revised Version (British and American) "clothed in full armor." Lampros ("shining," "bright"), is only once translated "gorgeous" (Luke 23:11); "Herod .... arrayed him in a gorgeous robe," the Revised Version (British and American) "gorgeous apparel." We have also in Luke 7:25, "They that are gorgeously appareled ([~endoxos, "splendid," "glorious") .... are in kings' courts." They were scarcely to be looked for among the prophets, or in the new community of Jesus.

W. L. Walker

Gorget

gor'-jet: Appears only once in the King James Version (1 Samuel 17:6), being placed in the margin as an alternative to "target (of brass)" in the description of the armor worn by Goliath of Gath. The Hebrew word thus translated (kidhon) really means a "javelin," and is so rendered in the Revised Version (British and American) and the American Standard Revised Version here and in 1 Samuel 17:45 ("Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin"). See ARMOR, sec. I, 4, (3). Gorget, though so rarely used in Scripture and now displaced in our revised versions, occurs not infrequently and in various senses in English literature. In the meaning of "a piece of armor for the gorge or throat" which seems to have been in the mind of King James's translators, it is found in early English writers and down to recent times. Spenser has it in Faerie Queene, IV, iii, 12:

"His weasand-pipe it through his gorget cleft";

Scott, Marmion, V, ii:

"Their brigantines and gorgets light";

and Prescott, Ferdinand and Isabella, III, 47: "The gorget gave way and the sword entered his throat."

T. Nicol.

Gorgias

gor'-ji-as (Gorgias): A general in the service of Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Macc 3:38; 2 Macc 8:9). Lysias, who had been left as regent during the absence of Antiochus in Persia, appointed Gorgias to take the command against Judea in 166 BC. In 1 Macc 4:1-24 is recorded a night attack by Gorgias with 5,000 foot and 1,000 horse upon the camp of Judas Maccabeus in the neighborhood of Emmaus, in which Judas was completely victorious. The victory was all the more striking as the force of Judas was considerably smaller in number and had "not armor nor swords to their minds" (1 Macc 4:6). Later on (164 BC) he held a garrison in Jamnia, and gained a victory over the forces of Joseph and Azarias who, envying the glory of Judas and Jonathan, in direct disobedience to the orders of Judas, attacked Gorgias and were defeated.

Jamnia as given in Josephus, Ant, XII, viii, 6, is probably the correct reading for Idumaea in 2 Macc 12:32. The doings of Gorgias in 2 Macc are recorded with some confusion. He was regarded with special hostility by the Jews. In 2 Macc 12:35 he is described as "the accursed man."

J. Hutchinson

Gortyna

gor-ti'-na (Gortunai): A city in Crete, next in importance to Gnossus. It is mentioned in 1 Macc 15:23.

See CRETE.

Goshen (1)

go'-shen (goshen; Gesem):

1. Meaning of Name:

The region where the Hebrews dwelt in Egypt. If the Septuagint reading Gesem be correct, the word, which in its Hebrew form has no known meaning, may mean "cultivated"--comparing the Arabic root jashima, "to labor." Egyptologists have suggested a connection with the Egyptian word qas, meaning "inundated land" because Goshen was apparently the same region, called by the Greeks the "Arabian nome," which had its capital at Phakousa representing the Egyptian Pa-qas (Brugsch, Geog., I, 298), the name of a town, with the determinative for "pouring forth." Van der Hardt, indeed, more than a century ago (see Sayce, Higher Criticism, 235), supposed the two words to be connected. Dr. Naville in 1887 found the word as denoting the vicinity of Pi-sopt (now Saft el Henneh), 6 miles East of Zagazig--in the form Q-s-m. He concludes that this was the site of Phakousa, but the latter is usually placed at Tell el Faqus, about 15 miles South of ZOAN (which see), and this appears to be the situation of the "City of Arabia" which Silvia, about 385 AD, identifies with Gesse or Goshen; for she reached it in her journey from Heroopolis, through Goshen to Tathnis or Taphnis (Daphnai), and to Pelusium.

2. Situation:

It is generally agreed that Goshen was the region East of the Bubastic branch of the Nile; and in Psalms 78:12,Psalms 78:43, it seems to be clearly identified with the "field (or pastoral plain) of Zoan," which was probably also the "land of Rameses" mentioned (Genesis 47:11) as possessed by Jacob's family (see RAAMSES; ZOAN). Where first mentioned (Genesis 45:10), Goshen is promised by Joseph to Jacob as a land fit for flocks, and the Septuagint here reads, "Gesem of Arabia," probably referring to the Arabian nome which took its name from the "desert" which defended the East border of Egypt. In the second notice (Genesis 46:28 f), the boundary of the land of Goshen, where Joseph met his father, is called in the Septuagint Heroo(n)-polis, and also (Genesis 46:28) "the land of Ramesse(s)"; so that in the 3rd century BC Goshen seems to have been identified with the whole region of the Arabian nome, as far South as Heroopolis which (see PITHOM) lay in Wady Tumeilat. Goshen included pastoral lands (Genesis 46:34; Genesis 47:1,Genesis 47:4,Genesis 47:6,Genesis 47:27; Genesis 50:8) and was still inhabited by the Hebrews at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 8:22; Exodus 9:26), after which it is unnoticed in the Old Testament. The name, however, applied to other places which were probably "cultivated" lands, including a region in the South of Palestine (Joshua 10:41; Joshua 11:16), "all the country of Goshen Septuagint Gosom), even unto Gibeon," and a city of Judah (Joshua 15:51) in the mountains near Beersheba. These notices seem to show that the word is not of Egyptian origin.

3. Description:

The region thus very clearly indicated was not of any great extent, having an area of only about 900 square miles, including two very different districts. The western half, immediately East of the Bubastic branch of the Nile, stretches from Zoan to Bubastis (at both of which cities records of the Hyksos ruler Apepi have been found), or a distance of about 35 miles North and South. This region is an irrigated plain which is still considered to include some of the best land in Egypt. The description of the land of Rameses (see RAAMSES), in the 14th century BC, shows its fertility; and Silvia says that the land of Goshen was 16 miles from Heroopolis, and that she traveled for two days in it "through vineyards, and balsam plantations, and orchards, and tilled fields, and gardens." The region narrows from about 15 miles near the seashore to about 10 miles between Zagazig and Tell el Kebir on the Southeast of this, a sandy and gravelly desert lies between the Nile plain and the Suez Canal, broadening southward from near Daphnai (Tell Defeneh) to Wady Tumeilat, where it is 40 miles across East and West. South of this valley an equally waterless desert stretches to Suez, and from the Bitter Lakes on the East to the vicinity of Heliopolis (Southeast of Cairo) on the West. Thus, Wady Tumeilat, which is fertilized by the Nile waters (see PI-HAHIROTH), and contains villages and corn fields, is the only natural route for a people driving with their flocks and herds by which the vicinity of the Red Sea can be reached, the road leading from the South end of the "field of Zoan" near Bubastis, and 40 miles eastward to the "edge of the wilderness" (see ETHAM) and the head of the Bitter Lakes. This physical conformation is important in relation to the route of the Israelites (see EXODUS); and Wady Tumeilat may very possibly be intended to be included in Goshen, as the Septuagint translators supposed.

C. R. Conder

Goshen (2)

go'-shen (goshen):

(1) Mentioned as a country ('erets) in the South of Judah distinct from the "hill country," the Negeb and the Shephelah (Joshua 10:41; Joshua 11:16). Unidentified.

(2) A town in the Southwest part of the hill country of Judah (Joshua 15:51), very probably connected in some way with the district (1).

(3) See preceding article.

Gospel

gos'-pel (to euaggelion): The word gospel is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word which meant "the story concerning God." In the New Testament the Greek word euaggelion, means "good news." It proclaims tidings of deliverance. The word sometimes stands for the record of the life of our Lord (Mark 1:1), embracing all His teachings, as in Acts 20:24. But the word "gospel" now has a peculiar use, and describes primarily the message which Christianity announces. "Good news" is its significance. It means a gift from God. It is the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins and sonship with God restored through Christ. It means remission of sins and reconciliation with God. The gospel is not only a message of salvation, but also the instrument through which the Holy Spirit works (Romans 1:16).

The gospel differs from the law in being known entirely from revelation. It is proclaimed in all its fullness in the revelation given in the New Testament. It is also found, although obscurely, in the Old Testament. It begins with the prophecy concerning the `seed of the woman' (Genesis 3:15), and the promise concerning Abraham, in whom all the nations should be blessed (Genesis 12:3; Genesis 15:5) and is also indicated in Acts 10:43 and in the argument in Ro 4.

In the New Testament the gospel never means simply a book, but rather the message which Christ and His apostles announced. In some places it is called "the gospel of God," as, for example, Romans 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:2,1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Timothy 1:11. In others it is called "the gospel of Christ" (Mark 1:1; Romans 1:16; Romans 15:19; 1 Corinthians 9:12,1 Corinthians 9:18; Galatians 1:7). In another it is called "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24); in another "the gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15); in another "the gospel of your salvation" (Ephesians 1:13); and in yet another "the glorious gospel" (2 Corinthians 4:4 the King James Version). The gospel is Christ: He is the subject of it, the object of it, and the life of it. It was preached by Him (Matthew 4:23; Matthew 11:5; Mark 1:14; Luke 4:18 margin), by the apostles (Acts 16:10; Romans 1:15; Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 9:16) and by the evangelists (Acts 8:25).

We must note the clear antithesis between the law and the gospel. The distinction between the two is important because, as Luther indicates, it contains the substance of all Christian doctrine. "By the law," says he, "nothing else is meant than God's word and command, directing what to do and what to leave undone, and requiring of us obedience of works. But the gospel is such doctrine of the word of God that neither requires our works nor commands us to do anything, but announces the offered grace of the forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation. Here we do nothing, but only receive what is offered through the word." The gospel, then, is the message of God, the teaching of Christianity, the redemption in and by Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, offered to all mankind. And as the gospel is bound up in the life of Christ, His biography and the record of His works, and the proclamation of what He has to offer, are all gathered into this single word, of which no better definition can be given than that of Melanchthon: "The gospel is the gratuitous promise of the remission of sins for Christ's sake." To hold tenaciously that in this gospel we have a supernatural revelation is in perfect consistency with the spirit of scientific inquiry. The gospel, as the whole message and doctrine of salvation, and as chiefly efficacious for contrition, faith, justification, renewal and sanctification, deals with facts of revelation and experience.

David H. Bauslin

Gospel According To The Hebrews

See APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.

Gospels Of The Childhood

child'-hood.

See APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.

Gospels, Spurious

spu'-ri-us.

See APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.