Topical Encyclopedia
The term "ascent" in the Bible often refers to a physical or spiritual rising, journey, or elevation. It is used in various contexts, including geographical locations, spiritual journeys, and metaphorical expressions of moving closer to God.
Geographical Ascent:1.
Ascent of Akrabbim: This is a notable geographical location mentioned in the Old Testament. It is part of the southern boundary of the land allotted to the tribe of Judah. The Ascent of Akrabbim is described in
Numbers 34:4 and
Joshua 15:3 as a steep pass or slope, marking a transition from the wilderness to the more settled areas of Canaan.
2.
Ascent of Ziz: In
2 Chronicles 20:16, the Ascent of Ziz is mentioned in the context of King Jehoshaphat's battle against the Moabites and Ammonites. The ascent is part of the route the enemy took to approach Judah, and it is a place where God instructed Jehoshaphat to position his forces.
3.
Ascent to Jerusalem: Jerusalem, being situated on a hill, required an ascent for those traveling to the city. This physical journey often symbolized a spiritual pilgrimage, as seen in the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134), which were sung by pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem for the feasts.
Spiritual and Metaphorical Ascent:1.
Psalms of Ascent: These fifteen psalms (Psalms 120-134) are traditionally understood to have been sung by worshipers as they ascended to Jerusalem for the three major Jewish festivals: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. They reflect themes of trust in God, divine protection, and the joy of worshiping in the temple. For example,
Psalm 121:1-2 states, "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth."
2.
Spiritual Elevation: The concept of ascent is also used metaphorically to describe a believer's spiritual journey towards God. This is seen in the New Testament, where believers are encouraged to "set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" (
Colossians 3:2), indicating a spiritual ascent towards heavenly values and priorities.
3.
Ascension of Christ: The ultimate ascent in the New Testament is the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven. After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, as described in
Acts 1:9-11. This event signifies His exaltation and the completion of His earthly ministry, providing believers with the hope of His return and the promise of eternal life.
Symbolism and Themes:The theme of ascent in the Bible often symbolizes a movement towards God, holiness, and divine presence. It reflects the believer's journey from the earthly to the heavenly, from sin to redemption, and from separation to communion with God. The physical act of ascending often parallels the spiritual growth and elevation that believers are called to pursue in their walk with God.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) The act of rising; motion upward; as, he made a tedious ascent; the ascent of vapors from the earth.
2. (n.) The way or means by which one ascends.
3. (n.) An eminence, hill, or high place.
4. (n.) The degree of elevation of an object, or the angle it makes with a horizontal line; inclination; rising grade; as, a road has an ascent of five degrees.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ASCENTa-sent':
(1) The rendering in the King James Version twice, the Revised Version (British and American) 14 times correctly, of Hebrew ma`aleh, "ascent," "pass," as a geographical term (the King James VersionNumbers 34:42 Samuel 15:30; the Revised Version (British and American)Joshua 10:10Judges 8:13, etc.).
(2) The rendering in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) of `olah in1 Kings 10:5, "his ascent by which he went up unto the house of Yahweh"; but `olah everywhere else means "burnt-offering," and all ancient versions support the Revised Version, margin, "his burnt-offering which he offered" (caused to go up), etc.
(3) In2 Chronicles 9:4 (parallel1 Kings 10:5) a very slight textual correction (supported by Septuagint) gives us the same words as in 1 Kings instead of the difficult `aliyah, "upper chamber," not "ascent" as the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) render it against all usage elsewhere.
(4) In the Revised Version (British and American)Ezekiel 40:31, 34, 37Nehemiah 12:37, of a flight of steps, stairs.
(5) In the Revised Version (British and American) (Hebrew `aliyah),Nehemiah 3:31, 32, margin "upper chamber" is to be preferred to text "ascent."
F. K. Farr
GUR; THE ASCENT, OF
gur, a-sent', (ma`-aleh ghur): The place where the servants of Jehu mortally wounded Ahaziah, king of Judah (2 Kings 9:27). The ascent (the King James Version "going up") was hard by Ibleam, the site of which is identified about 1/2 mile South of Jenin.
LUHITH, ASCENT OF
lu'-hith, loo'-hith, ma`-aleh ha-luchith): A place named inIsaiah 15:5Jeremiah 48:5. It is clearly identical with the way, or descent, of Horonaim. Eusebius, Onomasticon places Luhith between Areopolis and Zoar. Some way is intended by which fugitives from the Arabah could reach the uplands of the Moabite plateau. Guthe thinks it may be the road which leads from the district of the ancient Zoar on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea to the uplands through Wady Bene Hammad. Along this track ran also a Roman road. If Horonaim were the higher of the two places, this might account for the way being called the "descent" of Horonaim as going down from that place, and the "ascent" of Luhith as going up thence. Neither place can as yet be identified with certainty.
W. Ewing
ZIZ, ASCENT OF
ziz (ma`aleh ha-tsits; Hasae, Hasisa): A pass in the wilderness of Judea (2 Chronicles 20:16) leading from Hazazon-tamar (En-gedi,2 Chronicles 20:2). This is generally identified with Wady Chacaca, a valley by which the ancient road from En-gedi runs toward Jerusalem. At any rate, an echo of the ancient name survives here: possibly the actual ascent was the present steep pass from En-gedi to the plateau above. SeePEF, Sh XXI.
Greek
304. anabathmos -- a going up, anascent... a going up, an
ascent. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: anabathmos
Phonetic Spelling: (an-ab-ath-mos') Short Definition: a step, a flight of
...Strong's Hebrew
4608. maaleh -- anascent... 4607, 4608. maaleh. 4609 . an
ascent. Transliteration: maaleh Phonetic
Spelling: (mah-al-eh') Short Definition:
ascent. Word Origin
...4610. Maaleh Aqrabbim -- "ascent of scorpions," a place on the S....
... "ascent of scorpions," a place on the S. border of Isr.... Word Origin from maaleh and
aqrab Definition "ascent of scorpions," a place on the S. border of Isr....
5930b. olah --ascent, stairway
... olah. 5931 .ascent, stairway. Transliteration: olah Short Definition: stairway.
Word Origin from alah Definitionascent, stairway NASB Word Usage stairway (2...
5930. olah -- whole burnt offering
... 5929, 5930. olah. 5930a . whole burnt offering. Transliteration: olah Phonetic
Spelling: (o-law') Short Definition:ascent.ascent, go up to...
5944. aliyyah -- a roof chamber
... upper rooms (4).ascent, upper chamber, going up, loft, parlor. Feminine
from alah; something lofty, ie A stair-way; also a second...
5927. alah -- to go up, ascend, climb
... ascend, climb NASB Word Usage all means go (1), approach (1), arise (2), arose
(1), ascend (12), ascended (10), ascending (2), ascends (2),ascent (1), attack...
Library
The Lowell Lectures on theAscent of Man
The Lowell Lectures on theAscent of Man. <. The Lowell Lectures on theAscent
of Man Henry Drummond. Table of Contents. Title Page. PREFACE....
Book iii. TheAscent: from the River Jordan to the Mount of...
... Book III. THEASCENT: FROM THE RIVER JORDAN TO THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION.
. {hebrew}. In every passage of Scripture...
TheAscent of the Body
The Lowell Lectures on theAscent of Man. <.... CHAPTER I THEASCENT
OF THE BODY. THE earliest home of Primitive Man was...
[Illustration:Ascent of Elijah. ]
... Half Hours in Bible Lands, Volume 2 Rev. PC Headley. [Illustration:Ascent of Elijah.].
[Illustration: Elisha on His Death Bed.]. [ Prev] [Top] [Next ]....
The Lowell Lectures on theAscent of Man
The Lowell Lectures on theAscent of Man. <.... Title Page. THE LOWELL LECTURES
ON THEASCENT OF MAN BY. HENRY DRUMMOND. THIRTY EIGHTH THOUSAND. LONDON....
He Made the Pillars Thereof of Silver, the Couch of Gold, the...
... 10. He made the pillars thereof of silver, the couch of gold, theascent thereto
of purple; and the midst thereof he strewed with love for the daughters of...
As, Then, by the Higher MysticalAscent from Matters that Concern...
... As, then, by the higher mysticalascent from matters that concern ourselves to that
transcendent?... [1948] by the higher mysticalascent, anagogikos....
Preface
The Lowell Lectures on theAscent of Man. <.... animals. Its theme is
Ascent, not Descent. It is a History, not an Argument....
The Northern Coast of Judea. Beth-Horon.
... Yet the passage andascent here was very strait; which the Talmudists do thus describe:
"If two camels go up together in theascent of Beth-horon, both fall...
The Altar. The Rings. The Laver.
... The altar was, on every side, two-and-thirty cubits; after theascent of one cubit,
it was so straitened, that it was less by one cubit in the whole square...
Thesaurus
Ascent (32 Occurrences)... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) The act of rising; motion upward; as, he made
a tedious
ascent; the
ascent of vapors from the earth.
...ASCENT.
...Akrabbim (3 Occurrences)
... probably the general name given to the ridge containing the pass between the south
of the Dead Sea and Zin, es-Sufah, by which there is anascent to the level...
Scorpion (6 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. SCORPION. skor'-pi-un (aqrabh; compare Arabic
aqrab, "scorpion"; ma`aleh `aqrabbim, "theascent of Akrabbim"; skorpios....
Zin (9 Occurrences)
... Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ZIN. (1) A town in the extreme South of Judah, on the
line separating that province from Edom, named between theascent of Akrabbim...
Luhith (2 Occurrences)
... Made of boards, a Moabitish place between Zoar and Horonaim (Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah
48:5). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. LUHITH,ASCENT OF....
Gur (2 Occurrences)
... A whelp, a place near Ibleam where Jehu's servants overtook and mortally wounded
king Ahaziah (2 Kings 9:27); anascent from the plain of Jezreel. Int....
Adummim (2 Occurrences)
... ADUMMIM. a-dum'-im ('adhummim, perhaps "red spots"): "Theascent of Adummim" is
one of the numerous landmarks mentioned in defining the northern border of Judah...
Ziz (1 Occurrence)
... ZIZ,ASCENT OF.... At any rate, an echo of the ancient name survives here: possibly
the actualascent was the present steep pass from En-gedi to the plateau above....
Jeruel (1 Occurrence)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Founded by God, a "desert" on theascent from
the valley of the Dead Sea towards Jerusalem. It lay beyond...
Jambs (19 Occurrences)
... (See RSV). Ezekiel 40:31 The arches of it were toward the outer court; and palm
trees were on its posts: and theascent to it had eight steps. (See RSV NIV)....
Resources
What are the Songs of Ascent? | GotQuestions.orgHow many times did Moses ascend Mount Sinai? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the significance of the Medo-Persian Empire in biblical history? | GotQuestions.orgAscent: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
Topical Bible •
Bible Thesuarus
