cockcrow, (Judges 7:19) and the “morning watch,” lasting till sunrise. (Exodus 14:24) In the New
Testament we have allusions to four watches, a division borrowed from the Greeks and Romans.
These were—
•From twilight till 9 o/clock, (Mark 11:11; John 20:19)
•Midnight, from 9 till 12 o’clock, (Mark 13:35) 3 Macc 5:23.
•Till daybreak. (John 18:28) The word held to mean “hour” is first found in (Daniel 3:6,15; 5:5)
Perhaps the Jews, like the Greeks, learned from the Babylonians the division of the day into twelve
parts. In our Lord’s time the division was common. (John 11:9)
Daysman
an old English term meaning umpire or arbitrator. (Job 9:33)
Deacon
The office described by this title appears in the New Testament as the correlative of bishop.
[Bishop] The two are mentioned together in (Philemon 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:2,8) Its original meaning
implied a helper, an assistant. The bishops were the “elders,” the deacons the young active men,
of the church. The narrative of Acts 6 is commonly referred to as giving an account of the institution
of this office. The apostles, in order to meet the complaints of the Hellenistic Jews that their widows
were neglected in the daily ministration, call on the body of believers to choose seven men “full
of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom,” whom they “may appoint over this business.” It may be
questioned, however, whether the seven were not appointed to higher functions than those of the
deacons of the New Testament. Qualifications and duties. Special directions as to the qualifications
for and the duties of deacons will be found in Acts 6 and (1 Timothy 3:8-12) From the analogy of
the synagogue, and from the scanty notices in the New Testament, we may think of the deacons or
“young men” at Jerusalem as preparing the rooms for meetings, distributing alms, maintaining
order at the meetings, baptizing new converts, distributing the elements at the Lord’s Supper.
Deaconess
The word diakonos is found in (Romans 16:1) (Authorized Version “servant”) associated with
a female name, and this has led to the conclusion that there existed in the apostolic age, as there
undoubtedly did a little later, an order of women bearing that title, and exercising in relation to
their own sex functions which were analogous to those of the deacons. On this hypothesis it has
been inferred that the women mentioned in (Romans 16:6,12) belonged to such an order. The rules
given as to the conduct of women in (1 Timothy 3:11; Titus 2:3) have in like manner been referred
to them, and they have been identified even with the “widows” of (1 Timothy 5:3-10)
Dead Sea
This name nowhere occurs in the Bible, and appears not to have existed until the second century
after Christ. [See Sea, The Salt, THE SALT]
Dearth
[Famine]
Debir
king of Eglon; one of the five kings hanged by Joshua. (Joshua 10:3,23) (B.C. 1440.)
(a sanctuary), the name of three places of Palestine.
•A town in the mountains of Judah, (Joshua 15:49) one of a group of eleven cities to the west of
Hebron. The earlier name of Debir was Kirjath-sepher, “city of book,” (Joshua 15:15; Judges 1:11)
and Kirjath-sannah, “city of palm.” (Joshua 15:49) It was one of the cities given with their “suburbs”
to the priests. (Joshua 21:15; 1 Chronicles 6:58) Debir has not been discovered with certainty in
frankie
(Frankie)
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