| tar | Or “pitch,” a thick oil that must be heated to become liquid and that is used to seal the boards with which ships are built. |
| Tarshish | A city far away from Israel, probably in Spain, famous for its large ships that sailed the Mediterranean Sea. |
| tax collector | A Jew hired by the Romans to collect taxes. Tax collectors often cheated, and the other Jews hated them. |
| Teman | An area in the northern part of Edom, although the name means “South.” |
| Temple | The permanent building in Jerusalem that replaced the portable “Holy Tent” that was used by the Israelites from the time of their wandering in the desert to the reign of King Solomon, when the first Temple was built. Like the Holy Tent, the Temple was the center of Israelite worship, although provision was made for it to be “a house of prayer for all nations” (Isa. 56:7). |
| Ten Towns | Greek, “Decapolis,” an area on the east side of Lake Galilee that once had ten main towns. |
| Tent of the Agreement | Literally, “Tent of the Testimony,” the tent where the Box of the Agreement was kept. See “Holy Tent.” |
| Tent, Holy | See “Holy Tent.” |
| thank offering | A special fellowship offering that people gave to praise God and thank him for doing good things for them. A part of the animal being offered was burned on the altar, but the people ate most of it in a fellowship meal at the Temple. See Lev. 7:11-26. |
| the Way | A symbolic name used by followers of Jesus Christ to describe their faith as “the way” to God through Jesus. |
| threshing | Putting newly harvested wheat or other grain on a hard floor and walking on it or beating it with special tools to separate the hulls (see “chaff”) from the grain. |
| Thummim | See “Urim.” |
| Tigris | One of the two large rivers that flow through the countries of Babylonia and Assyria. |
| tomb | A grave dug in a wall of rock or a building where a dead body is buried. It can also be a small building made to show respect for important people who had died. |
| torture | To hurt or cause someone pain, often to force them to say something against their will. |
| traitor | A person who turns against his or her own country, friends, or family and does anything to help their enemy. |
| tree of life | The tree whose fruit gives people the power to live forever. See Gen. 2:9; 3:22 and Rev. 22:1-2. |
| tribute | Money paid to a foreign king or nation for protection. |
| tunic | A piece of clothing like a long undershirt. |
| turban | A head covering made by wrapping a long piece of cloth around the top part of the head or around a cap worn on the head. |
| Tyre | A non-Jewish city on the coast of Phoenicia (modern Lebanon). |
