Circuit (תּקוּפָה, tekuphah') signifies the act of going round, as, for example, the apparent diurnal revolution of the sun around the earth (Ps 19:6); it is also used with reference to the completion of a year in the original of 2Ch 24:23; Ex 34:22 (in which passages it is rendered "end"); or of the term of pregnancy in 1Sa 1:20 ("when ... was come about"). The Scriptures, however, afford us very little information as to the astronomical knowledge of the Jews. SEE ASTRONOMY. In Job 22:14, the Heb. word is different. SEE CIRCLE. In 1Sa 7:16, and Ec 1:6, also, a different form of expression is used in the original to signify, in the former passage (סָבִב, elsewhere usually rendered "compass"), a regular tour of inspection, and in the latter (סָבִיב) the periodical series of gyrations, or, rather, directions of the winds, which in the East are quite regular in their seasons. In Ecclesiasticus 24:5, the original word is γῦρος, the rotation of the heavens; but in 2 Maccabees 6:4, it is simply περίβολος, an enclosure, e.g. of the Temple.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More