oath (oth), 1. an appeal
to God to witness one's statement of intention to speak the truth, keep a
promise, remain faithful,
etc. Oaths were made in promising to do or not do something specific (Gen.
14:22), in pledging allegiance to someone of superior rank, as a king (I
Kings 18: 10), in threatening or vowing that something specific will take
place (I Sam. 14:24), concerning the damage of another's property (Ex.
22:11), the suspected theft of another's possessions (Lev. 6:3), the alleged
unfaithfulness of awe (Num. 5: 19), etc. Certain phrases usually accompanied
the making of an oath such as "behold, the Lord be between thee and me for
ever" (I Sam. 20:23) or "as the Lord liveth" (I Sam. 14:39) and the
performing of such acts as raising the hand toward heaven (Gen. 14:22) or
cutting a sacrificial animal in half and walking between the halves (Jer.
34:18). 2. a binding and solemn agreement between two or more individuals;
covenant: Gen. 26:28.
oblation (ob-la'shan), 1. an offering of a sacrifice to God, usually an inanimate object, as meat (i.e., meal), firstfruits, or land: Lev. 2:4,12; Ezek. 45:1. 2. the thing or things offered: Lev. 7:29; Num. 31:50.
observer of times, a person who is thought to be able to foretell the future, probably by means of his observations and interpretations of natural phenomena, as the rustling of leaves, the sound of wind in the trees, the buzz of insects, changing cloud formations, etc.: Deut.18:10,14.
occurrent (a-kur'ant), something that happens or takes place; occurrence; incident: I Kings 5:4.
offering (of'ar-ing), a gift offered to God as an attempt by the giver to bring himself into a personal relationship with God by cleansing himself of sin: The gifts, or offerings, have been named in accordance with the type of thing given (drink, meat, or meal offering), the manner in which they were given (burnt offering, incense offering), the state of mind of the worshiper (jealousy offering, peace offering), and the time of day at which the offering was presented (morning offering, evening offering). Offerings were made by man as an acknowledgement of his sinfulness and basic frailty and the recognition that he could not enter into a covenant with God without obedience and faith. The laws governing sacrificial offerings are discussed in Leviticus. The practice of offering sacrifices seems to have fallen into a subordinate position, if not into disuse, in New Testament times. Offerings found no part in the ministry of Jesus and His disciples placed no emphasis on them in their teachings. The sacrificial offering of Jesus was that of Himself, an offering greater than all others: Heb. 7:27; 9 and 10.
offscouring (of'skour-ing), something, scoured off; garbage; rubbish; refuse; filth: Lam. 3:45; I Cor. 4:13.
oft (oft), often: Job 21:17; Matt. 18:21.
oil olive, olive oil, a light-yellow oil pressed or gently beaten from ripe olives, used in cooking, lighting, ointments, etc.: Ex. 27:20; 30:24; Lev. 24:2.
oil tree, probably, the
oleaster, a southern European shrub resembling the wild olive, having
fragrant, yellow flowers and
olive like fruit: Isa. 41:19.
old wives' fable, a silly story or superstitious belief such as might be passed around by gossipy old women: I Tim. 4:7.
oliveyard (ol'iv-yard),
an area of land devoted to the cultivation of olive trees; olive orchard:
Ex. 23:11; II Kings 5:26;
Neh. 5:11; 9:25.
omega (o-meg'a, o-me'ga), the twenty-fourth and last letter of the Greek alphabet; see alpha and omega.
orner (o'mar), a Hebrew dry measure equal to about four pints: Ex. 16: 16,18,22.
onycha (on'i-ka), an
ingredient of the holy incense that Moses was directed to make (Ex. 30:34):
it is believed to have
been obtained from a bivalve mollusk of India or the Red Sea; possibly from
part of the shell, which when burned produced
a strong odor.
onyx (on 'iks ), a precious stone, probably the same variety of agate still known by this name, with alternate layers of color, often black and white (Ex. 28:20; 39:13; Ezek. 28:13): some authorities believe that the stones were more likely lustrous specimens of beryl or malachite.
oracle (or'a-kal), 1. a divinely authoritative communication to men: Rom. 3:2; Heb. 5:12; I Pet. 4:11. 2. the Decalogue: Acts 7:38. 3. all the written utterances of God in the Old Testament: Rom. 3:2. 4. the inner shrine of Solomon's temple: I Kings 6:16; 8:6; II Chr. 4:20. 5. the chambers in the heathen temples where the gods delivered their utterances: the oracle of Apollo at Delphi was one of these.
organ (or'gan ), 1. a musical instrument, probably a kind of pipe made of a row of reeds or tubes of graduated lengths bound together lengthwise and played by blowing across the top, open ends: Gen. 4:21. 2. any kind of wind instrument: Job 21: 12; 30:31; Ps. 150:4.
Orion (O-ri'an),
in Greek and Roman mythology, a hunter whom Diana, goddess of the moon,
loved but accidentally killed: he was placed in the heavens by her as a
constellation: the Hebrew conception of this myth made the hunter out
to be a dull-minded giant bound to the skies (Job 9:9; 38:31; Amos 5:8).
ornament of the legs, a tinkling ornamental chain which fastened the anklet on one leg with that on the other: worn by women: Isa. 3:20. See anklet.
| osprey (os'pre), a large bird of prey of the hawk family, the exact identity of which is uncertain (Lev. 11:13; Deut. 14:12): it is thought to 4ave been a fish-eating variety that is an excellent diver, characterized by glossy-brown plumage on top and white under parts with a brown band across the breast. |
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ossifrage (os'a-frij), a
large, fierce bird of the vulture family, with grayish-black plumage
streaked with white: Lev. 11:13;
Deut. 14: 12. Sometimes called gier eagle.
| ouch (ouch), 1. an ornamental brooch set with precious stones and attached to the shoulder piece of the high priest's ephod: Ex. 28:11; 39:6. 2. a gold clasp that fastened the gold cords of the high priest's breastplate: Ex. 28:13; 39:16. |
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outgoing (out-go'ing), used in the pl. 1. an outer limit; boundary; border: Josh. 7:9; 19:14. 2. the act of going out; source; beginning: Ps. 65:8.
outlandish (out-lan'dish), from an outside, or foreign, land; hence, foreign; strange: Neh. 13:26.
outwent (out-went'), the past tense of outgo, meaning "went faster than": Mark 6:33.
overcharge (o'var-charj),
1. to place too heavy a load or burden on; weigh down; overburden: II Cor.
2:5. 2. to blame too
strongly; accuse too severely: Luke 21:34.
overlive (o"var-liv'), to live longer than; outlive: Josh. 24:31.
overpast (o'var-past"), ended; past; gone: Ps. 57:1; Isa. 26:20.
overplus (o'var-plus), too great an amount; excess; overpayment: Lev. 25:27.
overrun (o"var-run'), 1. to run faster outrun: II Sam. 18:23. 2. to run or spread out over so as to cover, as flood waters: Nah. 1:8.
overseer ( o'var-se-ar ), a person who watches over and directs the work of others, as the officer in charge of a household (Gen. 39:4), a foreman who supervises workers (II Chr, 2:18), a director of singers (Neh. 12:42), or, simply, a leader of others (Prov. 6:7), particularly a bishop (Acts 20:28).
