Eucharist Eunice

(see Communion)

(YOU niss)
First century AD

On the bright side, some eunuchs became national leaders, perhaps because of their connections with the ladies. One Christian eunuch was in charge of all the wealth of Candace. She was the queen of Ethiopia (Acts 8:27 nirv).

I. . .remember the genuine faith of your mother Eunice. Paul to Timothy,

2 Timothy 1:5
cev

Euphrates River

Map 2 K6

(you FRAY tees)

I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River. God to Abraham,
Genesis 15:18

Timothys mother
Writing from death row, the apostle Paul said he knew of Timothys faith, passed down from Timothys mother Eunice.

Eunuch
(YOU nuhk)
Hegai, the kings eunuch in charge of the harem, will see that they are all given beauty treatments. Esther 2:3

Castrated man, often a harem servant

Testicles were a deal breaker for men serving the kings wives in the royal harem. Testicles had to go.

Human civilization began along the banks of two rivers, many historians say: the Euphrates and the Tigris. Abrahams hometown of Ur sat alongside the Euphrates, a river that begins in the mountains of Turkey. It meanders through Syria and Iraq before draining into the Persian Gulf, a journey of about 1,700 miles (2,700 km). God promised Abrahams descendants land extending to the river. King Solomons influence did seem to reach that far. But today the Euphrates lies more than 200 miles (320 km) north of modern Israel, in Arab territory. Many Arabs, however, also lay claim to Abraham through his son Ishmael.

GONE FISHIN. Iraqi fishermen cast a net into the Euphrates River near Al Qurna, in the southland where the river empties into the Persian Gulf.

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Eutychus
(U tuh cuss)
First century AD

Excommunication
Call a meeting of the church. . . . Then you must throw this man out. 1 Corinthians 5:45

As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill. . .fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death. Acts 20:9

Removing a church member from

membership

Killed by a sermon Resurrected by the preacher

After indirectly killing this boy in Troas with what sounds like a long, boring sermon, Paul raised him from the dead then went back to preaching until dawnin what might be described as chutzpah.

Its a sanctified eviction of the unsanctified. In Old Testament times, Jewish law allowed Jews to expel fellow Jews from the community for flagrant sins such as incest. In New Testament times, Paul ordered the church in Corinth to expel a churchman who was sleeping with his stepmother. Paul said he hoped the excommunication would bring the man to his spiritual senses.

Evangelists
These are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Ephesians 4:11

Exile
722 BC for Israel 586 BC for Judah

The Lord will exile you and your king to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors.
Deuteronomy 28:36

Christian preachers
Gifted preachers, evangelists specialized in telling people about the story and teachings of Jesus. Evangelist comes from a Greek word that means one who reports good news. Writers of the four Gospels about JesusMatthew, Mark, Luke, Johnearned the nickname Evangelists. Church leaders tagged them with that brand by the AD 200s.

Eviction of the Jews from their homeland

Moses warned that once the Jews reached the Promised Land, they werent home free. He said if they disobeyed God by becoming serial sinners, God would exile them. Centuries later, prophets began warning the Jews that if they didnt get their spiritual act together, God would send invaders to erase the Jewish nation from the political map and exile those lucky enough to survive. Israel split into two nations in the mid-900s BC. First to fall was the northern Jewish nation of Israel. Assyrian invaders from what is now northern Iraq deported the survivors. As far as anyone knows, they never returned in any large group. The southern Jewish nation of Judah fell in 586 BC to Babylonian invaders headquartered in what is now southern Iraq. Though deported to Babylon, these Jews were allowed to return about 50 years later, when Persians from what is now Iraq defeated Babylon to become the new superpower of the Middle East. 159

Eve

(see Adam and Eve)

Evil spirit

(see Demons)

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DEPORTED captives are led into exile by a soldier. After the Jewish homeland fell to invaders, Jews were exiled to what is now Iraq.

Exodus of the Jews

1400s or 1200s (debated)

The Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army. Exodus 12:51

Moses leads the Jews to freedom out of

Egypt

A weeks walk turned into a 40-year marathon when Moses led the Jews out of Egypt. About a week is all it took a walker to travel the 150 miles ( 241 km) from the Nile Delta, where the Jews had been enslaved, to the border of what is now Israel. Theyd travel along a coastal road that linked the two territories. 160

Moses took a road less traveledthe not particularly scenic route. He did this to avoid Egyptian forts and troops along the coastal road. If the people are faced with a battle, God told Moses, they might change their minds and return to Egypt (Exodus 13:17). Moses turned the crowd south, into the barren Sinai badlands. Egypts chariot corps chased them down and tried to herd them back to Egypt. But the Jews escaped through a wind-blown path through a body of water. When the Egyptians followed, the wind stopped, and the water rushed back into place, drowning them. The Jews camped at the foot of Mount Sinai for about a year, while the Bible says God gave Moses the 10 Commandments and many other laws. When the Jews arrived at Kadesh oasis near Israels southern border, Moses sent scouts ahead. They came back with

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shocking news. There were giants in the land. And the cities had walls protecting them. The refugees panicked, refusing to go further. For this vote of no confidence in God, he sentenced them to 40 years in the badlands. Scholars say they likely stayed at the oasis for most of that time. Afterward, Moses took them into what is now Jordan, where he died. Joshua took over and led the invasion force to Jerichoa border town on Israels side of the Jordan River. It would become the first city to fall in the Promised Land. Bible experts dont agree on when the Exodus happened. Theyre working with theories two centuries apart. 1400s. Some say the Exodus began in 1440.

Scholars get that number from a report that says Solomon started his Temple in the fourth year of his reign (about 960 BC), 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt (1 Kings 6:1). Add 960 BC to 480 BC; it equals 1440 BC. Others say 480 yearswhich is a dozen 40-year generationscould be a round-number symbolic way of saying a long time. One generation for each of Israels 12 tribes. 1200s. This later date is based partly on a report that says the Jewish slaves built the city of Rameses (Exodus 1:11). Thats the family name of a dynasty of 11 kings who ruled from 12931070 BC. Egypts most famous builderking, Rameses II, ruled from 12791212 BC.

SCENIC ROUTE. Instead of leading the Jews along the shortest route out of Egypt, some 150 miles (241 km) to Canaan, Moses bypassed the Egyptian forts. His route is uncertain, but a traditional route shown here would have covered roughly 700 miles (1120 km).

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Exodus, Book of
Famous sound bite: Let my people go. Gods order to Egypts king, Exodus 5:1

Trapped as slaves in Egypt, Jews find the exit. They cry out to God. He sends a deliverera fellow Jew who had been adopted by a former king of Egypt and then raised as a prince in Egypt: Moses. Convincing the king to free this army of slave labor is a tough sell. But 10 plagues later, the king is okay with getting the Jews gone.

Writer: Unknown. Jewish tradition credits

Moses.

Time: 1400s BC or 1200s BC. Scholars

debate which.

Location: Egypt.
Big scenes Enslaving the guests. Jacob had moved his family to Egypt to weather out a drought in Israel. They stay 430 yearslong enough to grow so large that Egypts king considers them a security threat. He enslaves them. Exodus 1 Moses: Jewish prince of Egypt. To control the Jewish population, the king orders all newborn Jewish boys thrown into the Nile Riverfresh meat for crocodiles. The mother of baby Moses complies. But she makes sure her baby floatsin a waterproof basket. Also, she floats him where the princess bathes. The princess adopts Moses and raises him in the palace. Exodus 2 Fiery, talking bush. Grown up, Moses becomes a hunted fugitive after killing an Egyptian foreman for beating a Jewish slave. Moses ends up working as a shepherd. While grazing sheep in the Sinai, he sees a burning bush. Out of the bush the voice of God orders him back to Egypt, to free the Jews. Exodus 24 Let my people go. Accompanied by his older brother, Aaron, 80-year-old Moses returns to Egypt and delivers Gods message. The king isnt impressed. First, hes considered a god himself: son of Re, the powerful sun god in a desert nation. Second, he has never heard of the Jewish God. Third, if the Jewish God had any muscle, the Jews wouldnt be in this fix. 162

Ten plagues. Egypts king is stubbornso stubborn that his nation has to endure 10 plagues before he finally agrees to release the Jews. Each plague seems to target an Egyptian god, some scholars say, to show that God is stronger: 1. Nile River turns red 2. frogs 3. gnats 4. flies 5. livestock disease 6. boils 7. hail 8. locusts 9. three days of darkness 10. death of oldest child. Exodus 711 Passover, the meal. Jews eat one last meal in slavery, while the angel of death moves through the land killing the firstbornbut passing over the Jewish households. The king, who loses his own son, frees the Jews that night. To this day, Jews commemorate their deliverance by eating a springtime Passover meal about the same time Christians celebrate Easter. Exodus 1112 Crossing the sea. Egypts stubborn king makes one last attempt to get his own way. Hoping to retrieve his slaves, he mobilizes his chariot corps. They never return. They manage to trap the Jews against a body of water. But God sends an all-night wind to blow a path into the water. It becomes the Jewish exit but the Egyptian drowning tank. When the chariot corps tries to follow the Jews, the water pours back into place. Thats the end of the Egyptian army in the Exodus story. Exodus 1214 10 Commandments. Moses leads the Jews to where he heard God speak at the burning bush. Its at Mount Sinai. They camp there for about a year. Thats long enough for God to give Moses many of the laws that will establish the Jewish nation and guide the people including the 10 most important laws: 1. worship only God 2. no idols 3. no irreverent use of Gods name 4. no work on the Sabbath 5. honor your parents 6. no murder 7. no adultery 8. no stealing

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9. no lies about your neighbor 10. no coveting what others have. Exodus 1920 Tent worship center. God wants to give the Jews tangible evidence that hes with them. So he has them build a tent worship center in the middle of the camp. Here is where the Jews will bring their sacrifices to God. Its a portable version of what will later become the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Exodus 2526, 3638

Exorcism
If I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too. Jesus to Pharisees, Luke 11:19

Driving demons out of a possessed person

Demons entered people. That was a widespread belief throughout the ancient Middle East. These demons caused a world of hurt: physical illnesses, destructive behavior, and lousy luck in general. Pagans, Jews, and Christians all conducted exorcism rituals. Many how-to records survive. In one, the exorcist made a figurine of the possessed person, ordered the demon out, and then broke the figurine. First-century Jewish historian, Josephus, said he watched an exorcist tie a ring to a small root and then put the ring next to the possessed mans nose. The exorcist pulled the ring as though pulling the demon out through the mans nose. The possessed man collapsed and the exorcist started reciting incantations, ordering the demon to never come back.

EXORCIST PRIEST. Screams, writhing on the ground, insults, vomiting, physical assaults upon the priest, spewing thick sputumthese are what the exorcist sees habitually. So says Father Jose Antonio Fortea, a Spanish priest and exorcist who has written on the topic.

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The Bible says some Jewish exorcists once tried invoking the name of Jesus and Paul. But the demon replied, I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you? (Acts 19:15). The possessed man then attacked the would-be exorcists. What followed was a switcheroo as far as Bible exorcisms are concerned: the demon drove off the exorcists.

Ezekiel, Book of
Famous sound bite: Dry bones, hear the world of the Lord! Ezekiel 37:4 tniv

Ezekiel
(ee ZEEK ee uhl)
Ministered from 593571 BC

Exiled in Iraqheadquarters of the Middle Eastern superpower called the Babylonian Empirea prophet named Ezekiel predicts the collapse of the Jewish nation. Its punishment for serial sin. But Ezekiels news isnt all bad. He says God will resurrect the Jewish nation, giving them a second chance and a fresh start.

Gods Word came to Ezekiel the priest. . .in the country of Babylon. Ezekiel 1:3 msg

Jewish priest, prophet living in Babylon

(Iraq)

Writer: Ezekiel. Time: Ezekiel ministers for 22 years, from

593571 BC.

Location: Ezekiel writes from exile in Iraq,

then known as Babylon.

A priest with no Temple, Ezekiel never got to follow his career path. Priests ministered only at the Jerusalem Temple, and only between the ages of thirty and fifty (Numbers 4:3). But when Ezekiel was 25, Babylonians from what is now Iraq took him captive to Babylon. God gave Ezekiel a second career: prophet in exile. Speaking on behalf of God, Ezekiel condemned the Jews for their long list of sins: idolatry, corruption, exploitation. He warned that judgment day was coming. Ezekiel lived to see it. Babylon invaded Judah in 586 BC, leveled Jerusalem, and wiped the Jewish nation off the political map. Afterward, he saw a remarkable vision of bones in a valley coming to life. It was a metaphor: God would resurrect the Jewish nation. Ezekiel probably didnt live to see that happen. His ministry seemed to end about 30 years before Persians from what is now Iran defeated the Babylonians and freed the political prisoners, including the Jews.

Big scenes On a mission from God. Ezekiel sees a bizarre vision that scholars say sounds tailored for a priest like Ezekiel. He sees God arriving on a chariot, accompanied by angelic beings. Israels most sacred relicthe Ark of the Covenant that held the 10 Commandments is sometimes described as Gods chariot. And its topped with figures of angelic beings. God has Ezekiel eat a scrollperhaps to symbolize that Ezekiel will begin speaking Gods words to the people. Ezekiel 13 Ezekiels haircut and shave. Ezekiel cuts his hair and beardas a symbol of Jewish doom. He divides the hair into three piles:

Pile one, he burns. The message: When

Babylon lays
siege

to Jerusalem, a third of
disease

the Jews will die of

and starvation.

Pile two, he chops with a sword. After

capturing Jerusalem, Babylonians will execute a third of the survivors.

Pile three, he throws to the wind. A third

of the Jews will survive, but theyll get deported to Babylon. Ezekiel 57

God leaves Jerusalem. In a vision tailored for Jews who cant imagine God letting pagan invaders desecrate his sacred Temple, Ezekiel sees God leaving both 164
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the Temple and the town. Ezekiel 810 Bones. For centuries of sinidolatry, corruption, exploitationGod sentences the Jewish political nation to death. Babylon will erase it from the map. But Ezekiel sees a vision of bones in a valley. God snaps the bones together, lashes them up with flesh, and breathes life into the corpses. resurrection. Thats what Ezekiel promises God will do to the Jewish nation. Ezekiel 37

and ended up exiled in what is now Iraq and Iran. Back home now, they start rebuilding their homes and their lives. But when some marry non-Jews, Ezra orders divorceon a national scale.

Writer: Unknown. Jewish tradition credits

Ezra.

Time: The story covers about 80 years. It

starts when Persian king Cyrus frees the Jews to go home in about 538 BC. It ends with Ezras return to Jerusalem in 458 BC.

Ezra
(EZ ruh)
Arrived in Jerusalem in 458 BC

Location: Most of the story takes place

exiled in what is now Iraq and Iran.

in Jerusalem. But it starts with the Jews

Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses. . . . He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon. Ezra 7:6

Jewish scholar returned from exile Brought supplies to upgrade the Temple Condemned mixed marriages
Hes famous for ordering Jewish men to run off their non-Jewish wives and children. Harsh and bigoted, some charge. They add that this Jewish scholars demand lives on the flip side of Ruths coin. She was an Arab from what is now Jordan. She married a Jew and gave birth to King Davids grandfather. Ruths mixed marriage produced Israels greatest dynasty of kings. Ezra, however, said he was trying to stop a second exile. He said God evicted the Jews from the Promised Land because they married non-Jews and started worshiping idols that the spouses brought into their marriages. Ezra didnt want an encore of judgment day.

Ezra, Book of
Famous sound bite: You have broken Gods Law by marrying foreign women. . . . Confess your sins. . . . Divorce your foreign wives.
Ezra 10:1011
cev

A do-over is what God gives the Jews. Ezra, an expert in Jewish law, wants to make sure they get it right this time. In the first go-round, Jews broke Gods laws 165

Big scenes Iranians help the Jews. Exiled from their homeland and scattered throughout the Middle East in 586 BC, Jews live as refugees for about 50 years. When Persians (Iran) conquer the Babylonians (Iraq), King Cyrus of Persia not only frees the Jews, but he sends them home in 538 BC with gold, silver, livestock, and other supplies theyll need to start rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple. Ezra 12 Downsized: Gods Temple. Even with Cyruss generous contributions to the Jewish refugees, when it comes time to pony up the goods for rebuilding the Temple, the best the Jews can manage is half a ton of gold and three tons of silver. In gold, thats about the weight of a Harley Davidson Fat Boy mounted by a stout rider. In silver, its about one and a half Volkswagen Beetles. Big downgrade from the first Temple. David had stockpiled 4,000 tons of gold and 40,000 tons of silverequal to a stadiums parking lot of about 8,000 Harleys and 13,000 Beetles. When some of the older Jews see how the Temple is shaping up, they cry. Ezra 36 Nixing mixed marriages. Ezra arrives in Jerusalem about 80 years after the first wave of Jews. An expert in the laws of Moses, he begins teaching the people. When he finds out that 113 men have married non-Jews, he orders them to divorce the women and to abandon their children. He argues that mixed marriages are what led their ancestors into idolatrya sin that got the Jews exiled. Ezra doesnt want his people heading down that road again. Ezra 710

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