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Monday, July 19 2010
The English word "threshold" originated from an old Anglo-Saxon word, therscvald, which literally meant to thresh a wood i.e. the first part of threshold, thersc, is the very same root word as used for threshing grain, and vald is the Anglo-Saxon/Germanic word for a wood or forest. The logic of the term is that the threshold, a wood or timber that was placed at the entrance of a house, was "threshed," or "thrashed," as people entered or exited the building so that it was the only part of a door frame that was subject to wearing away. The term "threshold" later came to mean a doorway itself, or in a more philosophical sense, a starting point, or a boundary.
"Threshold" is used by the King James Version to translate two Hebrew words. The first is pronounced sawf. It means a limit, or a boundary. The other Hebrew word is pronounced mif-tawn. It means a sill, a horizontal timber that forms the lowest part of a frame. Both words mean the same as the English word, as illustrated by this example.
"19:26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light. 19:27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold." (Judges 19:26-27 KJV)
"He brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward"
Various cultures have customs and traditions regarding thresholds. After the Philistines briefly captured the Ark of the Covenant (see also Raiders Of The Lost Ark), they adopted the custom of not walking on the threshold of their pagan temple.
"5:1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. 5:2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. 5:3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. 5:4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. 5:5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day." (1 Samuel 5:1-5 KJV)
The LORD delivered numerous other object lessons to His people, as well as to others. When King Jeroboam (see Jeroboam Of Israel) corrupted the new northern kingdom of Israel with gross idolatry, which included the worship of "groves" (upright posts that served as idols), he brought the punishment of the LORD (see 'Before Abraham Was, I AM') upon his kingdom - and his own family. Since he worshipped timbers, his child died as its mother came to the timber, the threshold, of the palace.
"14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. 14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.14:17 And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died." (1 Kings 14:15-17 KJV)
Gates had thresholds too, as in this example of a vision given to Ezekiel.
"40:6 Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east [see also Why Did They Face East?], and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad. 40:7 And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed." (Ezekiel 40:6-7 KJV)"47:1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar [see Living Waters]. 47:2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side." (Ezekiel 47:1-2 KJV)
Jerusalem today is not a "holy city" in God's sight. He calls it Sodom and Egypt because of how those who reject the Messiah "leap on the threshold" of His House with their Violence (which means violation) against His genuine Law. That will change only after the Messiah returns (see Zionism).
"1:8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel. 1:9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit. 1:10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills." (Zephaniah 1:8-10 KJV)
Fact Finder: What "threshold" was crossed when the Lamb of God was sacrificed?
See Why Was It Torn?
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This Day In History, July 19
1333: The Scots and the English fought the Battle of Halidon Hill.
1525: The Catholic princes of Germany formed the Dessau League to fight against the Reformation.
1533: The first reported autopsy in the New World was performed in Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola. Its purpose was religious - to determine whether a set of Siamese twins had one soul or two, so that the priest would know how many postmortem baptisms to perform. Two "souls" were found, and 2 baptisms were performed. (see Where Is Your Soul?)
1553: Lady Jane Grey was deposed and Mary Tudor was proclaimed Queen of England.
1588: The Spanish Armada was first sighted, off Cornwall. In Spanish "Armada Invencible," it had been sent by Philip II of Spain to assist in an invasion of Britain by Spanish army troops from the Netherlands to force the British back under Roman Catholic rule. The Spanish fleet consisted of 130 ships with about 8,000 sailors and 19,000 infantry. The English navy, with battle commanders such as Francis Drake, John Hawkins and Martin Frobisher, obliterated it.
1692: 5 Massachusetts women were hanged for witchcraft. 15 young girls in Salem accused 150 citizens in the area with witchcraft during that year.
1799: The Rosetta Stone, a tablet with hieroglyphic translations into Greek, was found in Egypt.
1870: France declared war on Prussia, beginning the Franco-Prussian war.
1877: The first Wimbledon tennis final was played.
1941: Winston Churchill introduced his "V for Victory" campaign which rapidly spread through Europe. The BBC took the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which matched the dot-dot-dot-dash Morse code for the letter V, and played it before news bulletins.
1942: During the Second World War, German U-boats (attack submarines) were withdrawn from positions off the eastern coast of North America due to highly effective U.S. and Canadian anti-submarine countermeasures.
1980: The 22nd Olympics opened in Moscow with more than 45 nations boycotting the games in protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
1985: Christa McAuliffe was chosen as the first schoolteacher to fly in the space shuttle. She was later killed along with the other astronauts in the Challenger explosion.
