Page 576 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

SAPPHIRE - SATAN

SAPPHIRE. A precious stone, apparently of a bright- Princeton University between 1910 and 1914. Originally
blue color (Ex. 24:10; 28:18; Job 28:16; Eze. 28:13). there were 78 great pillars, each 58 feet high. The
SARA, SARAH (princess). The wife of Abraham. At temple was also devoted to Zeus and to the worship of
first her name was “Sarai,” meaning dominating. God the imperial cult. An excavation in 1962 uncovered the
changed her name to “Sarah,” meaning queen (Ge. largest ancient Jewish synagogue yet discovered. The
17:15, 16). Sarah was given the promised son in her old first stage of it was built sometime after the earthquake
age (Ge. 17:19-21; 18:9-14; 21:1-8). Abraham and of 17 A.D. (Edwin Yamauchi, New Testament Cities, p.
Sarah both laughed about God’s promise at one point in 71). It was built by the gymnasium. Nearby was one of
the record (Ge. 17:17; 18:12), but they went on to the main Roman avenues. It was about 55 feet wide,
believe God, by His grace, and are listed in faith’s hall which is twice as wide as the typical modern roadway. It
of heroes (He. 11:8-19). was paved with marble blocks and lined with porticos
SARAI. [See Sarah.] with colored mosaic floors. Along the street at this point
SARAPH (a venomous serpent). 1 Ch. 4:22. were shops owned by Jews. Some of the plaques have
been recovered, such as one saying, “The shop of Jacob
SARDINE, SARDIUS. One of the precious stones the elder of the synagogue.” There was a fountain in the
mentioned in the Bible (Ex. 28:17; 39:10; Eze. 28:13; entrance hall of the synagogue. The floors were covered
Re. 4:3; 21:20). “The Hebrew odem, from adam, to be with mosaics. The walls had designs made of marble
red, ruddy, seems to denote the ruby; as adam does in inlays. The main hall is thought to have had a capacity
Persian a beautiful gem, of a fine deep red color, with a of 1,000. There were thrones for Elijah and Moses. The
mixture of purple” (Treasury). [See High Priest.] throne of Moses was possibly occupied by the head
SARDIS (the remainder). The location of one of the rabbi, the president of the Sanhedrin, and the throne of
seven churches in Asia Minor that was addressed by the Elijah by visiting speakers. Smaller thrones have also
risen Christ in Revelation 2-3. See Revelation 3:1-6. been discovered in the ruins of the synagogues at
Sardis was located about 50 miles south and slightly Chorazin in Israel, at Hammath by Tiberius, and on the
east of Thyatira, and was situated on the northern slope island of Delos in Greece.
of Mt. Tmolus. The river Pactolus flowed by the base of SARDONYX. A semi-precious stone similar to the
the mountain, and the surrounding area is a well- onyx with parallel bands of chalcedony. The bands are
watered plain. The soil is rich and the climate moderate. shades of red (Re. 21:20).
Its acropolis (high fortified city) was built on a rock of SAREPTA (pouring forth). Lk. 4:26.
soft sandstone 950 feet high, which was a spur of the
mountain, and its southern perpendicular wall was SARGON (righteous prince, sun prince). Sargon II
considered impregnable and thus left unguarded, (722-705 BC) was a king of Assyria (Is. 20:1). He
though, as we will see, troops found a way to scale the conquered Samaria and took the Jews of the northern
wall and successfully attack the city in the 6th and again kingdom captive. Bible critics prior to the mid-1800s
in the 3rd century B.C. The historian Pliny said the art claimed that Sargon never existed and that the Bible
of dying wool was invented here. There were vast flocks was wrong, since they had found no mention of Sargon
of sheep in the surrounding region and the wool was in historical records outside of the Bible. “In 1842, Botta
sent to Sardis for processing. Its carpets were so famous discovered the ruins of the Sargon’s palace, in
that they were used by the king of Persia. The sands of Khorsabad, on the north edge of Nineveh, with treasures
its rivers produced much gold, and gold and silver coins and inscriptions showing him to have been one of
were first minted in Sardis. The city featured Assyria’s greatest kings. Yet his name had disappeared
magnificent pagan temples, such as the temple of Zeus from history, save this lone mention in Isaiah” (Halley).
(Jupiter, Jove), that was built by Alexander the Great, Sargon I (c. 2334-2279 BC) founded an empire that
and the temple of the goddess Artemis (Diana). The city stretched from Elam to the Mediterranean Sea (New
was also infamous for its immoral habits. Some World Encyclopedia).
extensive archaeological excavations have been done at SARID (residue). Jos. 19:10.
Sardis (called Sart today). The first period of excavation SARON (great plain). Ac. 9:35.
was between 1910 and 1922. Excavations began again SARSECHIM (chief of the eunuchs). Je. 39:3.
in 1958 and have continued to the present. The SARUCH (connection, binding). Lk. 3:35.
gymnasium and Roman bath had 100 columns on the
front façade. It was restored between 1965 and 1973. SATAN. Satan, meaning “accuser,” is one of the titles
The temple of Artemis is in the valley by the river. By of the enemy of God (Re. 12:9-10). We do not want to
the 20th century it was completely covered with dirt focus on Satan, but the Bible does say that we should
except for the top of the two tall pillars. It was not be “ignorant of his devices” (2 Co. 2:11), so we
excavated under the direction of Howard Butler of should understand enough about him to defeat him.

576 Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity