Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Oxford Dictionary of the Bible, By WRF Browning

Christopher Hirst
Friday 13 November 2009 01:00 GMT
Comments

Snappy entries elucidate hazy Biblical events ranging from Naboth's vineyard, where Jezebel did the dirty, to the virgin birth: "Some modern theologians argue... if Jesus was miraculously provided with DNA by God, with no human ancestry, how did he have a human inheritance, of the house of David?"

We learn that the honey-like manna found lying in the wilderness was either a sap expelled by insects or the cocoon of a parasitic beetle.

Conveniently, a double portion fell on Fridays to prevent gatherers having to work on the Sabbath. Myrrh is contradictorily regarded as a narcotic (Mark 4:31) and as an aphrodisiac (Proverbs 7:17), though Browning firmly asserts: "The later tradition that myrrh symbolised grief is not biblical."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in