Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical times, the concept of a doorstep or threshold held significant cultural and spiritual meaning. The doorstep was not merely a physical boundary but often symbolized the transition between the outside world and the sanctity of the home or sacred space. This entry explores the various mentions and implications of doorsteps in the Bible, drawing from the Berean Standard Bible for scriptural references.
Symbolism and Cultural SignificanceThe doorstep or threshold in ancient Near Eastern culture was often seen as a place of protection and blessing. It marked the boundary of one's home, a place where hospitality began and where the household's spiritual and physical safety was invoked. In some cultures, it was customary to anoint the threshold with oil or blood as a sign of consecration and protection.
Biblical References1.
Exodus 12:22-23 : The Passover narrative provides a profound example of the threshold's significance. The Israelites were instructed to apply the blood of the Passover lamb to the doorposts and lintel of their homes. "Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood in the basin, and apply some of the blood to the top and both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; He will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down." This act of marking the threshold with blood was a sign of divine protection and deliverance.
2.
Judges 19:27 : The tragic account of the Levite's concubine highlights the doorstep as a place of vulnerability and judgment. "In the morning, when her master got up and opened the doors of the house, he went out to go on his way, and there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold." This narrative underscores the doorstep as a place where the consequences of sin and societal breakdown are starkly revealed.
3.
1 Samuel 5:4 : The account of the Ark of the Covenant in the temple of Dagon illustrates the threshold as a place of divine power and judgment. "But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD. His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only the body remained." The breaking of Dagon's statue at the threshold signifies the supremacy of the God of Israel over pagan deities.
Spiritual ImplicationsThe doorstep serves as a metaphor for spiritual thresholds in the believer's life. It represents moments of decision, transition, and the choice between obedience and disobedience. Just as the Israelites marked their doorposts with blood, Christians are called to consecrate their lives and homes to God, ensuring that their spiritual "thresholds" are places of divine presence and protection.
Hospitality and CommunityIn the New Testament, the doorstep is also a place of hospitality and community. Believers are encouraged to open their homes and hearts to others, reflecting the love and grace of Christ. The doorstep becomes a symbol of welcome and fellowship, as seen in the early church's practice of meeting in homes for worship and breaking bread together.
In summary, the biblical concept of the doorstep encompasses themes of protection, judgment, transition, and hospitality. It serves as a powerful symbol of the boundary between the sacred and the secular, inviting believers to consider the spiritual significance of their own thresholds.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(
n.) The stone or plank forming a step before an outer door.
Library
When one at the Back of the North Wind Wanted to Know How Things...
... He had never seen her back. She might be sitting on herdoorstep still, looking
southwards, and waiting, white and thin and blue-eyed, until she was wanted....
Diamond Managed with Many Blunders to Read this Rhyme to his...
... Diamond turned and sat down on thedoorstep, thinking with himself that the tall
gentleman must either come in or come out, and he was therefore in the best...
When Diamond Went Home to Breakfast, He Found his Father and...
... I sit on thedoorstep, and hear the voices inside. I am nobody there, Diamond."....
"But you haven't told me how you get to thedoorstep, you know."....
The Call Intensified
... A kindly old Brahman woman had allowed us to sit on herdoorstep out of the sun,
and bit by bit we had worked our way to the end of the verandah, which was a...
Daily Bread
... Right about hisdoorstep were the magicians that had done it all. That
illustrates the process of discovery in the spiritual universe....
Eyes Right
... They have not thought that time is but thedoorstep of eternity, a thing of small
account, save that it is linked with the endless ages; and so they seek after...
He Blesses God for the Faith of his Little Girl
... She is thinly clad, is without bonnet or shoes. She has seated herself on thedoorstep
and says she must see you and will wait till you get up.'....
The Work of the Holy Spirit
... for when a man is foolish and knows it, there is the hope that he will one day be
wise: to know one's-self to be foolish is to stand upon thedoorstep of the...
I did not See Diamond for a Week or So after This...
... as I generally do when I am going to see her, and there she was against the door
into the big room, sitting just as I saw her sit on her owndoorstep, as white...
A Child's Prayer Answered.
... and taken away father, and mamma has got no money, and the landlord will turn us
out because we can't pay, and we will have to sit on thedoorstep, and mamma...
Thesaurus
Doorstep (11 Occurrences)... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) The stone or plank forming a step before an outer
door. Multi-Version Concordance
Doorstep (11 Occurrences).
...Winged (69 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Ezekiel 9:3 And the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the winged
ones on which it was resting, to thedoorstep of the house....
Pillar (72 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 43:8 By putting theirdoorstep by mydoorstep, and the pillar of their door
by the pillar of my door, with only a wall between me and them; and they...
Living-places (17 Occurrences)
... pelican and the porcupine will make their living-places on the tops of its pillars;
the owl will be crying in the window; the raven will be seen on thedoorstep...
Watchmen's (4 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 40:7 And the watchmen's rooms were one rod long and one rod wide; and the
space between the rooms was five cubits; thedoorstep of the doorway, by the...
Inkpot (3 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Ezekiel 9:3 And the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the winged
ones on which it was resting, to thedoorstep of the house....
Step (41 Occurrences)
... 1 Samuel 5:5 So to this day no priest of Dagon, or any who come into Dagon's house,
will put his foot on thedoorstep of the house of Dagon in Ashdod....
Jumping (14 Occurrences)
... Zephaniah 1:9 And in that day I will send punishment on all those who come jumping
over thedoorstep and make their master's house full of violent behaviour...
Width (58 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 40:6 Then he came to the doorway looking to the east, and went up by its
steps; and he took the measure of thedoorstep, one rod wide. (See NAS)....
Doorways (26 Occurrences)
... pelican and the porcupine will make their living-places on the tops of its pillars;
the owl will be crying in the window; the raven will be seen on thedoorstep...
Resources
How can I recover from a failed adoption? | GotQuestions.orgWho were the Assyrians in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgShould Christians celebrate Halloween? | GotQuestions.orgDoorstep: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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