Gloria Christopherson

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Sunday School Activities

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Karen Hoy

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Shad Sluiter

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 Woollen and Linen

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How could there be ten tribes in revolt in Israel, when the tribe which provided the priests and Levites remained for the worship of the Lord in the Temple, in addition to Judah and Benjamin?

When thinking of this matter of the revolt from Rehoboam, and the division afterwards into two kingdoms, have you not for the moment forgotten that there were actually thirteen tribes in Israel?

Jacob had of course only twelve sons, but the giving of tribeship to Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, brought the number of the Tribes to thirteen. See Genesis 48:5, 22." TARGET="_blank">Genesis 48:5, 22. This is described in 1 Chronicles 5:1-2" TARGET="_blank">1 Chronicles 5:1-2 as giving the birthright. (i.e. the double portion, as in Deuteronomy 21:17)" TARGET="_blank">Deuteronomy 21:17) to the Sons of Joseph. Arid Ezekiel 47:13" TARGET="_blank">Ezekiel 47:13 shows that the arrangement will persist even in Millennial times.

The expression “The Twelve Tribes,” as used in Exododus 24:4; Matthew 19:28;" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 19:28; James 1:1;" TARGET="_blank">James 1:1; Revelation 21:12;" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 21:12; etc., became a kind of ideal description for them, and that the more readily because of Levi having no possession in the sense that the other tribes had. But when a list of twelve is given, either one tribe is omitted, as Dan in Revelation 7:4-8," TARGET="_blank">Revelation 7:4-8, or Manasseh and Ephraim are joined in one, as in Deuteronomy 27:12-13." TARGET="_blank">Deuteronomy 27:12-13.

This thought of twelve as an ideal number is also the most probable explanation of the statement, “He was seen.. . of the Twelve”, in 1 Corinthians 15:5," TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 15:5, since Judas was not present on the occasion referred to.

W.R.

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Free Online Bible Dictionary

The free online Bible dictionary section is part of the online bible program at Gospel Hall dot org.  In addition to the free online bible dictionary there are also free online Bible commentaries and online concordances.  The free online bible dictionary selection is available along with the concordances under the link to the left titled "Online Bible Search" or here.

Instructions for the Free Online Bible Dictionary

1. Select the link Online Bible Search.

2. You may ignore the top section of the page if you are interested only in the free online bible dictionary. 

3. In the section titled "Dictionary Search" type in a key name or phrase that is found in the bible.  For example, the online dictionaries are likely to have definitions for terms such as "Grace" or "Sin".  The online dictionary also has information regarding Bible places such as "Jerusalem" or "Egypt".

4. Select one of the online dictionaries from the dropdown list.  The list of free online bible dictionaries includes the American Tract Dictionary, Easton's Bible Dictionary, the International Bible Encyclopedia, Torreye's Topic Index, Thompson's Chain Reference Bible, and Vine's Greek Dictionary of New Testament Words.

5. Finally, click the "Go" button to search for your term.

6. You may also browse the online dictionaries by each letter of the alphabet in the last search box on the page.

About the Free Online Bible Dictionary (ies)

All of the free online Bible Dictionaries are in the public domain.  That is, they passed out of copyright protection after the 75 year period of time since original publish date.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - The American Tract Society (ATS) is a publishing organization that publishes evangelistic Christian literature. It was founded on May 11, 1825 in New York City for the dissemination of Christian literature in leaflet form and was a strong supporter of the temperance movement. It soon took rank with the American Bible Society. By 1851 it had distributed about 5,000,000 temperance tracts. The ATS is currently headquartered in Garland, Texas. It produces tracts, e-tracts, digitracts, and books. Over the years, ATS has produced many millions of pieces of literature.

Easton's Bible Dictionary - Easton's Bible Dictionary generally refers to the Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, by Matthew George Easton M.A., D.D. (1823-1894), published three years after Easton's death in 1897 by Thomas Nelson. Because of its age, it is now a public domain resource. Despite its name, many of the entries in Easton's are encyclopedic in nature, though there are short, dictionary-like entries. It contains nearly 4,000 entries.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) is a public domain Biblical encyclopedia. This encyclopedia was published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Hailed for its authoritative explanations of every significant word, person, and place in the Bible and Apocrypha, it is the standard by which all other Biblical encyclopedias are measured. In contains articles by nearly 200 scholars about archaeological discoveries, the language and literature of Bible lands, customs, family life, occupations, and the historical and religious environments of Bible people.

Torrey's Topical Textbook is a reference book or concordance for topics found in the Holy Bible. It contains subject index guides to topics found throughout the scriptures. The work contains 628 entries and over 20,000 scripture references.  It was published long enough ago that the original edition is believed to be out of copyright, but the exact year of publication is not known from sources cited here.  Reverend R.A. Torrey was known for his prolific writings on religious subjects including Methods of Bible Study

The Thompson Chain-Reference system was devised by its namesake, Dr. Frank C. Thompson, in the early 1900s. Dr. Thompson was a young preacher in the late 1800s. He became dissatisfied with the reference Bibles that were then available to preachers.

Dr. Thompson believed the Bible should be presented in a simple, but scholarly way. He saw the need for a well-organized reference Bible that would be of practical use to the layman as well as a minister. In 1890, Dr. Thompson began the work he would continue for the rest of his life. He completed the "thought suggestions" opposite the verses throughout the Bible. These are what became the "chain-links" that are the heart of the Thompson system. Some of the men in Dr. Thompson's church saw his Bible and told him this would be a great help to them in their Bible study too. They encouraged Dr. Thompson to have his Bible, with marginal references, published so that everyone could enjoy the blessing of this helpful study tool.[1]
The first version of Thompson's study Bible was published in 1908 by the Methodists Book Concern of Dobbs Ferry, New York. Five years later, in 1913, Dr. Thompson was joined by B.B. Kirkbride, of Indianapolis, Indiana. The two men formed the Kirkbride Bible Company, in order to further improve and distribute Thompson's work.

The original Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, as well as several subsequent versions, were based on the King James Bible. Currently, editions based on the King James Version, New King James Version, New International Version and New American Standard Bible are available, as well as electronic versions that incorporate other features.

As of 2006, there have been more than 4,000,000 Thompson Chain-Reference Bibles sold.

Vine's Expository Dictionary is a reference guide to Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek words for English readers. Some versions of the work only contain Greek word definitions. It explains King James Version words in an original Greek in context. It provides the meaning of the word in a proper context of Greek background. For example: In English Bible, there is only one word for "love" but in NT Greek, there are four (two being used the mostly). Therefore Vines fills the gap between English Bible and Greek NT nicely and effectively. It provides the definition of a word (KJV word) more accurately than the English dictionary because it uses Greek use of the word. For example: The word, "godliness (1Tim. 2:2)" TARGET="_blank">1Tim. 2:2)" in Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary is defined as "1: Divine 2: pious, devout -" but in Vines, it defines it as " 'to be devout,' denotes that piety which characterized by a Godward attitude, does that which is well-pleasing to Him." It provides fuller meaning of the word by explaining how the word is used in the NT. It can be used with Strongs concordance. Every word is numbered with Strong's number so you can use it more efficiently.

 WHEN U.S. WORKS PASS INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

By Lolly Gasaway  University of North Carolina

 Definition:  A public domain work is a creative work that is not protected by copyright and which may be freely used by everyone.  The reasons that the work is not protected include: (1) the term of copyright for the work has expired; (2) the author failed to satisfy statutory formalities to perfect the copyright or (3) the work is a work of the U.S. Government.
 

1  Term of joint works is measured by life of the longest-lived author.
2  Works for hire, anonymous and pseudonymous works also have this term.  17 U.S.C. § 302(c).
3  Under the 1909 Act, works published without notice went into the public domain upon publication. Works published without notice between 1-1-78 and 3-1-89, effective date of the Berne Convention Implementation Act, retained copyright only if efforts to correct the accidental omission of notice was made within five years, such as by placing notice on unsold copies. 17 U.S.C. § 405.   (Notes courtesy of Professor Tom Field, Franklin Pierce Law Center and Lolly Gasaway)
 

LOLLY GASAWAY         Last updated 11-04-03
Chart may be freely duplicated or linked to for nonprofit purposes.No permission needed.
Please include web address on all reproductions of chart so recipients know where to find
any updates.

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Bible Coloring Sheets

Select several of the 350 Bible Coloring Sheets that cover nearly every story in the Bible. These pre-made Bible coloring sheets are in PDF format.  The sheets contain a word search activity, a crossword puzzle activity and a Bible coloring sheet.

You may also be interested in Bible worksheets that you can create from a Bible verse. 

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Some of the free Bible games here include:

1. The Bible board game Lost Bible Searchers Game .  This free Bible game requires each player to travel the map of the Bible world collecting lost pages from books of the Bible.

2.  Books of the Bible Game .  This collection of six free Bible games uses the names of the books of the Bible to help students learn their order and some facts about each book.

3. Criminal Suspects of the Bible .  This free Bible game requires students to identify the bad guy based on a police record of his/her crime.

4. Tribulation Survivor Game .  This is one of the many free Bible games in the downloads section.  Students are put into the Great Tribulation with the goal of surviving great disasters, persecution of the Antichrist and famine.

For more traditional free Bible games, browse the350 Sunday school worksheets that contain a coloring page, crossword puzzle and other activities to review a Bible story.

Use one of the puzzle makers below to create your own free Bible game. 

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Online Bible Text

Resources at the Gospel Hall for online Bible Text

Depending on your search for online Bible text, you may be looking for

• Online Bible Text Search in multiple versions.  You can read the text of the Bible in multiple Bible versions.
• Printed Texts for hanging on the wall.  We recommend www.textools.org
• Commentaries on the text for reference in Bible Study.
• Articles related to gospel themes found in New Testament Bible Study.

The Bible in various versions is available in the form of a full text Bible search. 

 Instructions for using the Full Text Bible Search in your Bible Study...

1. Select the following link -  gen 1:1-5" TARGET="_blank">gen 1:1-5&search=&ver1=kjv&ver2=bbe">Full Text Biible Search .

2. Type in a passage Bible reference such as John 3:1-5" TARGET="_blank">John 3:1-5 as pictured.

3. Choose the one or two Bible versions to search in the Bible text search form. 

4. Optionally, you may select the second Bible version to complete the full text search.  The second, optional parallel version, is not required to make a full-text search.

5. Click Search to launch the bible text query.

If you enter a text search for a word or phrase, the full text results of your  bible search will be different with each Bible version since the language in each Bible version is slightly different.

About the versions of the Bible

The King James or Authorised Version of the Bible is an English translation of the Bible text first published in 1611. The New Testament text was translated from the Textus Receptus (Received Text) edition of the Greek texts, so called because most extant texts of the time were in agreement with it. The Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text.

Modern English Bibles such as the New American Standard Bible and the English Standard Version decline to use the Textus Receptus, opting instead for what many modern scholars feel are more reliable critical editions.

The King James Version has had a profound effect on English literature. The works of famous authors such as John Milton, Herman Melville, John Dryden, and William Wordsworth are deeply inspired by it.

The Bible In Basic English (also known as BBE) is a translation of the Bible into Basic English. The BBE was translated by Professor S. H. Hooke using the standard 850 Basic English words. 100 words that were helpful to understand poetry were added along with 50 "Bible" words. The New Testament was released in 1941 and the Old Testament was released in 1949.

The American Standard Version (ASV) of the Holy Bible was first published in 1901. It has earned the reputation of being the Rock of Biblical Honesty. Although the English used in the ASV is somewhat archaic, it isn't nearly as hard to understand as some passages of the King James Version of nearly 3 centuries earlier. This translation of the Holy Bible is in the public domain, since its copyright has expired. You are encouraged to download, copy, publish, and use this translation freely.

John Nelson Darby Version

First published in 1890 by John Nelson Darby, an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher associated with the early years of the Plymouth Brethren. Darby also published translations of the Bible in French and German.

The English Standard Version (ESV) was Published in 2003 as a translation to bridge the gap between the accuracy of the NASB and the readability of the NIV.

The ESV is an “essentially literal” translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. As such, its emphasis is on “word-for-word” correspondence, at the same time taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. Thus it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and meaning of the original.

In contrast to the ESV, some Bible versions have followed a “thought-for-thought” rather than “word-for-word” translation philosophy, emphasizing “dynamic equivalence” rather than the “essentially literal” meaning of the original. A “thought-for-thought” translation is of necessity more inclined to reflect the interpretive opinions of the translator and the influences of contemporary culture.

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