| Sabbath | Saturday, the seventh day of the week and a special day for Israelites or Jews. By God’s command it was set aside as a time for the people to rest and honor God. |
| sackcloth | A rough cloth made from animal hair that people sometimes wore to show sadness. |
| sacrifice | To offer a gift to God as an expression of worship, thanksgiving, or payment for sin. Also, the gift that is offered. In the Old Testament it was usually a special animal that was killed and burned on an altar. The Old Testament sacrifices offered for sins were symbolic of the perfect sacrifice that God himself would provide through Jesus Christ. Jesus gave his own life as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of all people. See Heb. 10:1-14. |
| Sadducees | A leading Jewish religious group. They accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament and believed that people will not live again after death. |
| Samaria | During Old Testament times, the capital city of Israel, the northern Israelite kingdom. In New Testament times, the name refers to the central hill country, the general area that had been occupied by the northern kingdom. |
| Samaritans | During New Testament times, the people who lived in Samaria, the region north of Judea. They were part Jewish and followed the Law of Moses, but the Jews of Judea did not accept them as pure descendants of Israel. |
| Samuel | The last judge (leader) and first prophet of Israel. |
| sapphire | A rare and valuable blue stone. |
| Satan | A name for the devil meaning “the enemy,” or “the accuser.” |
| satrap | An official who ruled over a Persian province. |
| scepter | A special stick carried by kings to show their authority. |
| scribe | Originally, an educated man who was skilled in reading and writing. By New Testament times scribes had become a distinct social and political group. Because of their work in copying the Scriptures and writing down explanations of the Law of Moses, many became experts in the law and were respected as teachers, lawyers, or judges. |
| Scripture | Part of the Scriptures or “Holy Writings”?the Old Testament. |
| scroll | A long roll of paper or leather used for writing on. |
| seal | A small stone or ring with a picture carved in it that was pressed into wet clay or hot wax to hold down the loose end of a scroll. It left a special mark, also called a seal, that was like a signature to keep anyone from opening the scroll except the right person. |
| seer | A kind of prophet (see “prophet”) who received messages from God in visions. |
| Selah | A word appearing in Psalms and Habakkuk that was apparently an instruction for the singers or musicians, perhaps meaning to pause or to get louder. |
| Sennacherib | A king of Assyria who ruled about 706-681 b.c. |
| Seraph angels | Special angels that God used as messengers. The name might mean that they were bright like fire. |
| Sharon Valley | The lowlands along the coast of Palestine. |
| sheath | A leather or metal case for carrying a sword or knife. |
| sheminith | The meaning of this word is uncertain, but it may refer to a type of instrument, a special way of tuning an instrument, or one of the groups that played harps in the Temple orchestra. See 1 Chron. 15:21. |
| Sheol | The place where people go when they die. This usually means the grave, but it can mean the place where spirits go. |
| Sheshbazzar | A governor of Judah mentioned several times in the book of Ezra. He is possibly the same person as the one named Zerubbabel, mentioned in Ezra 2:2 and elsewhere. If they are not the same man, then Sheshbazzar was the first governor of Judah, and Zerubbabel was the second. |
| sickle | A tool with a curved blade for harvesting grain and other crops. |
| Sidon | A non-Jewish city on the coast of Phoenicia (modern Lebanon). |
| sign | See “miraculous sign.” |
| signet ring | A type of seal that was worn on the finger. See “seal.” |
| silver coin | Or “denarius,” a Roman coin that was worth the average pay for one day’s work. |
| sin offering | Or “purification offering,” a sacrifice that was offered to God to remove impurities from sin and make a person fit to worship God. |
| skin disease | Traditionally translated “leprosy,” the Hebrew word means any of several diseases that cause rashes or sores on the skin. |
| slave woman | Or “concubine,” a woman who was owned by a man and treated like a wife. |
| sling | A strip of leather used for throwing rocks. |
| snuffers | Tools used to put out the flame on lamps. |
| Sodom | A city that God destroyed, together with the city of Gomorrah, because the people living there were so evil. See Gen. 19. |
| Solomon’s Porch | An area on the east side of the Temple, covered by a roof. |
| Son of David | A name for the Christ (Messiah) because it was prophesied that he would come from the family of David. See “David.” |
| son of David | Any person from the family of David. See “David.” |
| Son of Man | The name that Jesus most often used for himself. The phrase in Hebrew or Aramaic means “human being” or “mankind,” but in Dan. 7:13-14 it is used of a future savior and king, and this was later understood to be the Messiah, the one God would send to save his people. |
| song of David | This phrase (or a variation of it) is found at the beginning of many of the Psalms. It could also mean “a song dedicated to David.” |
| sorcery | When a person tries to use the power of demons and evil spirits to do magic. |
| special servant | The Greek word is diakonos, which is usually translated “servant.” However, in three places (Rom. 16:1; Php. 1:2; 1 Tim. 3:8-13) the service of those so described is associated with a local church, indicating that they were chosen to serve in some special way. Compare Acts 6:1-6. |
| spelt | A kind of grain like wheat. |
| Spirit | See “Holy Spirit.” |
| survivors | People who have escaped a disaster. Where this is marked, it means the Jewish people who survived the destruction of Judah and Israel by its enemies. |
| synagogue | A place in many cities where Jews gathered for prayer, study of the Scriptures, and other public meetings. |
| Syrtis | A shallow area in the sea near the Libyan coast. |
