bōlt ( נעל , nā‛al , "to bind up"): The ancient Hebrews had fastenings of wood or iron for the doors of houses (2 Samuel 13:17 , 2 Samuel 13:18; Song of Solomon 5:5 ), city gates (Nehemiah 3:3 , Nehemiah 3:6 , Nehemiah 3:13-15 ), prison doors, etc. (Isaiah 45:2 ), which were in the form of bolts. These were sometimes pushed back from within; but there were others which, by means of a key, could be unfastened and pushed back from without (Judges 3:23 ). These were almost the only form of locks known. See BAR; LOCKS .
In Habakkuk 3:5 , resheph (a poetic word for "flame") is rendered "fiery bolts" (the King James Version "burning coals"). It seems to denote "the fiery bolts, by which Yahweh was imagined to produce pestilence or fever" (Driver, Deuteronomy , 367).
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
WikipediaThe ISBE is a classic Bible reference compiled from nearly 10,000 entries written by over 200 different Bible scholars and teachers. In addition to the encyclopedia articles, all of the major words of the Bible are represented and defined.
The historical, cultural, and linguistic information in the ISBE can be of great value in Bible study and research.
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