Meaning of “Aven”

1. Aven — nothingness; vanity. (1.) Hosea speaks of the "high places of Aven" (10:8), by which he means Bethel. He also calls it Beth-aven, i.e., "the house of vanity" (4:15), on account of the golden calves Jeroboam had set up there (1 Kings 12:28). (2.) Translated by the LXX. "On" in Ezek. 30:17. The Egyptian Heliopolis or city of On (q.v.). (3.) In Amos 1:5 it denotes the Syrian Heliopolis, the modern Baalbec.

2. Avenger of blood — (Heb. goel, from verb gaal, "to be near of kin," "to redeem"), the nearest relative of a murdered person. It was his right and duty to slay the murderer (2 Sam. 14:7, 11) if he found him outside of a city of refuge. In order that this law might be guarded against abuse, Moses appointed six cities of refuge (Ex. 21:13; Num. 35:13; Deut. 19:1,9). These were in different parts of the country, and every facility was afforded the manslayer that he might flee to the city that lay nearest him for safety. Into the city of refuge the avenger durst not follow him. This arrangement applied only to cases where the death was not premeditated. The case had to be investigated by the authorities of the city, and the wilful murderer was on no account to be spared. He was regarded as an impure and polluted person, and was delivered up to the _goel_ (Deut. 19:11-13). If the offence was merely manslaughter, then the fugitive must remain within the city till the death of the high priest (Num. 35:25).

3. Beth-aven — house of nothingness; i.e., "of idols", a place in the mountains of Benjamin, east of Bethel (Josh. 7:2; 18:12; 1 Sam. 13:5). In Hos. 4:15; 5:8; 10:5 it stands for "Bethel" (q.v.), and it is so called because it was no longer the "house of God," but "the house of idols," referring to the calves there worshipped.

4. Fair Havens — a harbour in the south of Crete, some 5 miles to the east of which was the town of Lasea (Acts 27:8). Here the ship of Alexandria in which Paul and his companions sailed was detained a considerable time waiting for a favourable wind. Contrary to Paul's advice, the master of the ship determined to prosecute the voyage, as the harbour was deemed incommodious for wintering in (9-12). The result was that, after a stormy voyage, the vessel was finally wrecked on the coast of Malta (27:40-44).

5. Graven image — Deut. 27:15; Ps. 97:7 (Heb. pesel), refers to the household gods of idolaters. "Every nation and city had its own gods...Yet every family had its separate household or tutelary god."

6. Haven — a harbour (Ps. 107:30; Acts 27: 12). The most famous on the coast of Palestine was that of Tyre (Ezek. 27:3). That of Crete, called "Fair Havens," is mentioned Acts 27:8.

7. Heaven — (1.) Definitions. The phrase "heaven and earth" is used to indicate the whole universe (Gen. 1:1; Jer. 23:24; Acts 17:24). According to the Jewish notion there were three heavens, (a) The firmament, as "fowls of the heaven" (Gen. 2:19; 7:3, 23; Ps. 8:8, etc.), "the eagles of heaven" (Lam. 4:19), etc. (b) The starry heavens (Deut. 17:3; Jer. 8:2; Matt. 24:29). (c) "The heaven of heavens," or "the third heaven" (Deut. 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; Ps. 115:16; 148:4; 2 Cor. 12:2). (2.) Meaning of words in the original, (a) The usual Hebrew word for "heavens" is _shamayim_, a plural form meaning "heights," "elevations" (Gen. 1:1; 2:1). (b) The Hebrew word _marom_ is also used (Ps. 68:18; 93:4; 102:19, etc.) as equivalent to _shamayim_, "high places," "heights." (c) Heb. galgal, literally a "wheel," is rendered "heaven" in Ps. 77:18 (R.V., "whirlwind"). (d) Heb. shahak, rendered "sky" (Deut. 33:26; Job 37:18; Ps. 18:11), plural "clouds" (Job 35:5; 36:28; Ps. 68:34, marg. "heavens"), means probably the firmament. (e) Heb. rakia is closely connected with (d), and is rendered "firmamentum" in the Vulgate, whence our "firmament" (Gen. 1:6; Deut. 33:26, etc.), regarded as a solid expanse. (3.) Metaphorical meaning of term. Isa. 14:13, 14; "doors of heaven" (Ps. 78:23); heaven "shut" (1 Kings 8:35); "opened" (Ezek. 1:1). (See 1 Chr. 21:16.) (4.) Spiritual meaning. The place of the everlasting blessedness of the righteous; the abode of departed spirits. (a) Christ calls it his "Father's house" (John 14:2). (b) It is called "paradise" (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7). (c) "The heavenly Jerusalem" (Gal. 4: 26; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 3:12). (d) The "kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 25:1; James 2:5). (e) The "eternal kingdom" (2 Pet. 1:11). (f) The "eternal inheritance" (1 Pet. 1:4; Heb. 9:15). (g) The "better country" (Heb. 11:14, 16). (h) The blessed are said to "sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," and to be "in Abraham's bosom" (Luke 16:22; Matt. 8:11); to "reign with Christ" (2 Tim. 2:12); and to enjoy "rest" (Heb. 4:10, 11). In heaven the blessedness of the righteous consists in the possession of "life everlasting," "an eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. 4:17), an exemption from all sufferings for ever, a deliverance from all evils (2 Cor. 5:1, 2) and from the society of the wicked (2 Tim. 4:18), bliss without termination, the "fulness of joy" for ever (Luke 20:36; 2 Cor. 4:16, 18; 1 Pet. 1:4; 5:10; 1 John 3:2). The believer's heaven is not only a state of everlasting blessedness, but also a "place", a place "prepared" for them (John 14:2).

8. Host of heaven — The sun, moon, and stars are so designated (Gen. 2:1). When the Jews fell into idolatry they worshipped these (Deut. 4:19; 2 Kings 17:16; 21:3,5; 23:5; Jer. 19:13; Zeph. 1:5; Acts 7:42).

9. Leaven — (1.) Heb. seor (Ex. 12:15, 19; 13:7; Lev. 2:11), the remnant of dough from the preceding baking which had fermented and become acid. (2.) Heb. hamets, properly "ferment." In Num. 6:3, "vinegar of wine" is more correctly "fermented wine." In Ex. 13:7, the proper rendering would be, "Unfermented things [Heb. matstsoth] shall be consumed during the seven days; and there shall not be seen with thee fermented things [hamets], and there shall not be seen with thee leavened mass [seor] in all thy borders." The chemical definition of ferment or yeast is "a substance in a state of putrefaction, the atoms of which are in a continual motion." The use of leaven was strictly forbidden in all offerings made to the Lord by fire (Lev. 2:11; 7:12; 8:2; Num. 6:15). Its secretly penetrating and diffusive power is referred to in 1 Cor. 5:6. In this respect it is used to illustrate the growth of the kingdom of heaven both in the individual heart and in the world (Matt. 13:33). It is a figure also of corruptness and of perverseness of heart and life (Matt. 16:6, 11; Mark 8:15; 1 Cor. 5:7, 8).

10. Queen of heaven — (Jer. 7:18; 44:17, 25), the moon, worshipped by the Assyrians as the receptive power in nature.

11. Raven — Heb. 'orebh, from a root meaning "to be black" (comp. Cant. 5:11); first mentioned as "sent forth" by Noah from the ark (Gen. 8:7). "Every raven after his kind" was forbidden as food (Lev. 11:15; Deut. 14:14). Ravens feed mostly on carrion, and hence their food is procured with difficulty (Job 38:41; Ps. 147:9). When they attack kids or lambs or weak animals, it is said that they first pick out the eyes of their victims (Prov. 30:17). When Elijah was concealed by the brook Cherith, God commanded the ravens to bring him "bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening" (1 Kings 17:3-6). (See ELIJAH »T0001167.) There are eight species of ravens in Palestine, and they are everywhere very numerous in that land.

11 results from Easton's Bible Dictionary

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Bible Search for “Aven”

1. Genesis Chapter 1 Verse 1 — In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2. Genesis Chapter 1 Verse 8 — And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

3. Genesis Chapter 1 Verse 9 — And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

4. Genesis Chapter 1 Verse 14 — And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

5. Genesis Chapter 1 Verse 15 — And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

6. Genesis Chapter 1 Verse 17 — And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

7. Genesis Chapter 1 Verse 20 — And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

8. Genesis Chapter 2 Verse 1 — Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

9. Genesis Chapter 2 Verse 4 — These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

10. Genesis Chapter 4 Verse 24 — If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

11. Genesis Chapter 6 Verse 17 — And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

12. Genesis Chapter 7 Verse 11 — In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

13. Genesis Chapter 7 Verse 19 — And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.

14. Genesis Chapter 7 Verse 23 — And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

15. Genesis Chapter 8 Verse 2 — The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;

16. Genesis Chapter 8 Verse 7 — And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

17. Genesis Chapter 11 Verse 4 — And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

18. Genesis Chapter 14 Verse 19 — And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

19. Genesis Chapter 14 Verse 22 — And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

20. Genesis Chapter 15 Verse 5 — And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

21. Genesis Chapter 19 Verse 3 — And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

22. Genesis Chapter 19 Verse 24 — Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

23. Genesis Chapter 21 Verse 17 — And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

24. Genesis Chapter 22 Verse 11 — And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

25. Genesis Chapter 22 Verse 15 — And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

26. Genesis Chapter 22 Verse 17 — That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

27. Genesis Chapter 24 Verse 3 — And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

28. Genesis Chapter 24 Verse 7 — The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

29. Genesis Chapter 26 Verse 4 — And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

30. Genesis Chapter 27 Verse 28 — Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

31. Genesis Chapter 27 Verse 39 — And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

32. Genesis Chapter 28 Verse 12 — And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

33. Genesis Chapter 28 Verse 17 — And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

34. Genesis Chapter 49 Verse 13 — Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

35. Genesis Chapter 49 Verse 25 — Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

36. Genesis Chapter 49 Verse 27 — Benjamin shall raven as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

37. Exodus Chapter 9 Verse 8 — And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

38. Exodus Chapter 9 Verse 10 — And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.

39. Exodus Chapter 9 Verse 22 — And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.

40. Exodus Chapter 9 Verse 23 — And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

41. Exodus Chapter 10 Verse 21 — And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.

42. Exodus Chapter 10 Verse 22 — And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:

43. Exodus Chapter 12 Verse 8 — And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

44. Exodus Chapter 12 Verse 15 — Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

45. Exodus Chapter 12 Verse 17 — And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

46. Exodus Chapter 12 Verse 18 — In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.

47. Exodus Chapter 12 Verse 19 — Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

48. Exodus Chapter 12 Verse 20 — Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

49. Exodus Chapter 12 Verse 34 — And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.

50. Exodus Chapter 12 Verse 39 — And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.

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