Galatians 4:14; 2 Corinthians 10:10; also Acts 23:5, and for his generally
making use of the help of an amanuensis (comp. Romans 16:22, etc.).
(4.) Another view which has been maintained is that this “thorn” consisted
in an infirmity of temper, to which he occasionally gave way, and which
interfered with his success (comp. Acts 15:39; 23:2-5). If we consider the
fact, “which the experience of God’s saints in all ages has conclusively
established, of the difficulty of subduing an infirmity of temper, as well as
the pain, remorse, and humiliation such an infirmity is wont to cause to
those who groan under it, we may be inclined to believe that not the least
probable hypothesis concerning the ‘thorn’ or ‘stake’ in the flesh is that
the loving heart of the apostle bewailed as his sorest trial the misfortune
that, by impatience in word, he had often wounded those for whom he
would willingly have given his life” (Lias’s Second Corinthians , Introd.).
- THOUSANDS (Micah 5:2), another name for “families” or “clans” (see
Numbers 1:16; 10:4; Joshua 22:14, 21). Several “thousands” or “families”
made up a “tribe.” - THRESHING See AGRICULTURE.
- THRESHOLD (1.) Hebrews miphtan, probably a projecting beam at a
higher point than the threshold proper (1 Samuel 5:4,5; Ezekiel 9:3;
10:4,18; 46:2; 47:1); also rendered “door” and “door-post.”
(2.) ‘Asuppim, pl. (Nehemiah 12:25), rendered correctly “storehouses” in
the Revised Version. In 1 Chronicles 26:15, 17 the Authorized Version
retains the word as a proper name, while in the Revised Version it is
translated “storehouses.”
- THRONE (Hebrews kiss’e), a royal chair or seat of dignity
(Deuteronomy 17:18; 2 Samuel 7:13; Psalm 45:6); an elevated seat with a
canopy and hangings, which cover it. It denotes the seat of the high priest
in 1 Samuel 1:9; 4:13, and of a provincial governor in Nehemiah 3:7 and
Psalm 122:5. The throne of Solomon is described at length in 1 Kings
10:18-20. - THUMMIM perfection (LXX., “truth;” Vulg., “veritas”), Exodus 28:30;
Deuteronomy 33:8; Judges 1:1; 20:18; 1 Samuel 14:3,18; 23:9; 2 Samuel
21:1. What the “Urim and Thummim” were cannot be determined with any
certainty. All we certainly know is that they were a certain divinely-given
means by which God imparted, through the high priest, direction and