Topical Encyclopedia
In the context of the Bible, the term "network" is not explicitly used in the modern sense of interconnected systems or communication structures. However, the concept of a network can be understood through various biblical themes and narratives that emphasize interconnectedness, relationships, and the spread of influence or information.
Biblical Usage and Symbolism1.
Physical Networks: · The term "network" appears in the Bible in reference to physical structures, particularly in the construction of the Tabernacle and the Temple. For example, in the construction of the altar, a network of bronze was used as a decorative and functional element.
Exodus 27:4 states, "Construct for it a grate of bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the mesh." This network of bronze served both as a practical component and as a symbol of strength and unity in the sacred space.
2.
Social and Relational Networks: · The Bible frequently highlights the importance of social and relational networks among God's people. The early church, as described in the Book of Acts, exemplifies a network of believers who shared resources, supported one another, and spread the Gospel.
Acts 2:44-47 illustrates this: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need. With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
3.
Spiritual Networks: · The concept of a spiritual network is evident in the interconnectedness of the Body of Christ. The Apostle Paul uses the metaphor of the body to describe the church, emphasizing that each member is connected and plays a vital role.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 states, "The body is a unit, though it is comprised of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink. For the body does not consist of one part, but of many."
4.
Networks of Influence: · The spread of the Gospel and the influence of God's Word can be seen as a network of divine influence. The Great Commission in
Matthew 28:19-20 commands believers to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you." This directive establishes a network of evangelism and discipleship that extends across the globe.
Theological ImplicationsThe concept of a network in the Bible underscores the importance of unity, cooperation, and the sharing of resources and responsibilities among believers. It highlights the interconnectedness of God's creation and the communal nature of the Christian faith. The networks described in Scripture serve as a model for how believers are to interact with one another and with the world, reflecting the relational nature of God Himself.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A coalition of various organizations; a fabric of threads, cords, or wires crossing at certain intervals, and knotted or secured at the crossings, thus leaving spaces or meshes between them.
2. (n.) Any system of lines or channels interlacing or crossing like the fabric of a net; as, a network of veins; a network of railroads.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
CHECKER-WORK; (NETWORK)chek'-er-wurk (sebhakhah): This was a kind of ornamentation used on the tops of the pillars of Jachin and Boaz before the porch of the Temple (1 Kings 7:17). Its exact form is not known. SeeTEMPLE. For "a broidered coat" (Exodus 28:4 the King James Version), the Revised Version (British and American) gives "a coat of checker work."
SeeBROIDERED;EMBROIDERY.
NETWORK
net'-wurk (sebhakhah): the Revised Version (British and American) in2 Kings 25:172 Chronicles 4:13 (also in the plural, 4:12, 13), for "wreathen work" and "wreath" in the King James Version (of the adornment of the capitals of the pillars of Solomon's temple; see JACHIN AND BOAZ). "Networks" inIsaiah 19:9 is in the Revised Version (British and American) correctly rendered "white cloth." In the American Standard Revised Version "network" is substituted for "pictures" in the King James Version (Proverbs 25:11), "baskets" in the English Revised Version margin "filigree work."
Strong's Hebrew
7639. sebakah -- latticework,network... 7638, 7639. sebakah. 7640 . latticework,
network. Transliteration: sebakah
Phonetic Spelling: (seb-aw-kaw') Short Definition:
network.
...2355. chor --network
... chor. 2356 .network. Transliteration: chor Phonetic Spelling: (khore) Short
Definition:network....network The same as chuwr; white linen --network....
7730. sobek -- anetwork (of boughs)
... 7729, 7730. sobek. 7731 . anetwork (of boughs). Transliteration: sobek
Phonetic Spelling: (so'-bek) Short Definition: branches....
7568. resheth -- a net
... Word Origin from yarash Definition a net NASB Word Usage net (20),network (2).
net work. From yarash; a net (as catching animals) -- net(- work)....
5908. akkabish -- a spider
... spider. Probably from an unused root in the literal sense of entangling; a spider
(as weaving anetwork) -- spider. 5907, 5908. akkabish. 5909 ....
Library
Achan's Sin, Israel's Defeat
... The site of Ai seems to have been satisfactorily identified on a small plateau among
the intricatenetwork of wild wadys and bare hills that rise behind Jericho...
The Allies of the Tempter.
... Neither can you estimate the mysterious attraction that plays all through thisnetwork
of social relations, nor the energy of good or of evil with which it is...
Elucidation.
... have supposed that even the learning and ingenuity of Lightfoot could fish out of
very dark waters such shining booty as fills thenetwork about "Abercius of...
The First Theban Empire
... other two, passes the town of Shodu, and is then subdivided into numerous canals
and ditches, whose ramifications appear on the map as anetwork resembling the...
The Influence of Tradition.
... to do is thwarted, counteracted, or destroyed by influences of this sort, and how
weak and imitative souls are entangled in thenetwork of traditional...
With the Rev. William Burns
... in southern KIANG-SU and north CHEH-KIANG, living in our boats, and following the
course of the canals and rivers which here spread like anetwork over the...
The God of the Rain
... humanly speaking, sure to be fertile, because always supplied with water, brought
out of the Nile by dykes and channels which spread in anetwork over every...
Calcutta and the Mission Centres from Delhi to Amboyna
... Under Danish passports, and often without them, missionary tours were
made over Central Bengal, aided by itsnetwork of rivers....
Introductory Essays
... them the superstitions with which the original institutions of Christ had been overlaid,
and thus releasing men's consciences from a vastnetwork of ceremonial...
Dialogue Between a Gentleman and a Shepherd.
... hand, which he laid upon his left shoulder; in his right hand he had a long switch,
and under the armpit a bag, in a small net of hemp-cordnetwork; the net...
Thesaurus
Network (19 Occurrences)... 2. (n.) Any system of lines or channels interlacing or crossing like the fabric
of a net; as, a
network of veins; a
network of railroads. Int.
...NETWORK.
...Apples (11 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 7:18 And he made ornaments of apples; and two lines of apples all round
over thenetwork, covering the crowns of the pillars, the two crowns in the...
Crowns (27 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 7:18 And he made ornaments of apples; and two lines of apples all round
over thenetwork, covering the crowns of the pillars, the two crowns in the...
Pomegranates (20 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 7:18 And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the onenetwork,
to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so...
Cups (28 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 7:41 The two pillars and the two cups of the crowns which were on the tops
of the two pillars; and thenetwork covering the two cups of the crowns on...
Lines (42 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 7:18 And he made ornaments of apples; and two lines of apples all round
over thenetwork, covering the crowns of the pillars, the two crowns in the...
Grate (6 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Anetwork of brass for the bottom of the great altar of
sacrifice (Exodus 27:4; 35:16; 38:4, 5, 30). Noah Webster's Dictionary....
Rows (29 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 7:18 So he made the pillars; and there were two rows around on the onenetwork,
to cover the capitals that were on the top of the pillars: and so did...
Capitals (21 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 7:18 So he made the pillars; and there were two rows around on the onenetwork,
to cover the capitals that were on the top of the pillars: and so did...
Chapiters (15 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 7:18 And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the onenetwork,
to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so...
Resources
What is the Acts 29 Network? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN)? | GotQuestions.orgWhat are Jachin and Boaz? | GotQuestions.orgNetwork: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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